Christmas in Ajijic

I should have reported on what happened on my return (Dec. 1st) with 3 satellite receivers and a DVD player. When my luggage was put through the x-ray machine, the young woman operating wanted me to open the big suitcase to see what was there. I showed her a receiver and explained; she nodded but asked about the other things. When I explained that there were 3 receivers, she gave me a long hard look, but then waved me to go ahead. Then, I had to press the button and got the red light (only the 2nd time in going to Mexico)! Again the young fellow who was to examine my suitcase wanted to know what the receiver was and then saw the DVD player underneath. He didn’t go below that where the other 2 receivers were. We were chatting about where I lived, how long and was I learning Spanish (I was able to do most of this in Spanish). Anyway, with this he concluded his inspection and I was allowed to continue. Although they could have required that I pay the customs duties, I think that they are told not to hassle ex-pats as long as they do not appear to be carrying anything really forbidden, like drugs or guns. Thus, it all worked out.

With regard to the TV, the antenna we have just gives us marginal reception for the HD channels (the regular ones are fine). A couple we can get most of the time, but others, especially the Oasis nature channel that we especially want, we get only intermittently in the evenings. Luis is supposedly trying to set up a much larger antenna, but I think is having trouble getting it to work properly. Shaw is on 2 satellites; thus, there needs to be 2 separate receptors to get the signals, but they have to be able to switch back and forth as one changes channels. Kate and Jack have one, but I don’t think that Luis has done one himself. He seems to be a knowledgeable technician so I expect that he will get it worked out.

At LIA, the big event for Christmas is Christmas Eve. There is a dinner after which there are piñatas and Santa gives a gift to each child. We are planning to have our gift-giving with the girls here at our place in the afternoon. Some things (clothes) they can take back to LIA, but other things we’ll keep here for them when they come. BTW, the kids love the big TV in the spare bedroom so they can lie on the bed while watching their movies. We found out that they do not get much time to watch TV at LIA. Only on weekends are they allowed to watch TV or a movie. Thus, watching a movie at our place is a treat.

For Christmas Day, instead of going to a restaurant like last year, Jack and Kate are hosting dinner. They are providing chicken, Barb is doing sweet potatoes and veggies, Sonia is providing hor d’oeuvres and Paul & Kay doing dessert. It should be very pleasant and Kate & Jack’s place is lovely with a nice view.

Raffle

There are many charities operating here and a great many fundraising activities. We try to give some support to as many as we can. Recently, I was approached by a woman selling raffle tickets on a TV for Niños Incapacitados (Children with Disabilities). It helps families to deal with and get treatment for such children and also do horse therapy for some (it seems to be very beneficial for many kids). I bought a single ticket for 100 pesos without any expectations. About 2 weeks ago, I got a telephone call saying that my ticket had been drawn as the winning ticket and would I please come and pick up the TV! The TV is a 40” LCD made by Sharp (actually assembled here in Mexico); Bev, who I mention below, told me that it is the very model he has been lusting after. The surprise was great and provoked the issue of what to do with it. It wasn’t as easy as you might suppose.

When we moved to Mexico in May 2008, we fully intended to buy a TV--doesn’t everyone have one? However, we had to plan our priorities in line with our monthly income. A TV was several notches down the list of things that seemed more compelling. After some months, Barbara and I decided that we were not missing a TV, remembering that in Nova Scotia it had been difficult at times to find anything that we wanted to watch in spite of large numbers of channels via satellite. Besides, we would have to decide what route to take for TV service. Mexican cable has some English channels (all American) or one can go to satellite service. There are a couple of American companies or Canadian Shaw Direct (formerly called Star Choice). With new, more focused signals, the American services are more difficult to get as there is less spillover into Mexico. So far, Shaw has the best signal. Also, one has to decide if you are going to get someone to set up an illegal receiver or go for a legal approach.

Well, we have decided to keep the TV and have had to find out our options. Shaw is the best choice. There is a local outfit linked with a small company in Ontario that ships Shaw receivers and installs antennas. This is quite an expensive route. I found that I could buy the Shaw receiver I want at Futureshop in Canada, on sale for $150, but would cost close to $400 here. I have had Larry buy one for me. However, there is the process of getting an account with Shaw. Because Shaw allows more than one receiver on an account, it is the custom here to share an account with 2 or 3 others, which means that you also share the monthly cost. A couple of individuals were advertising for people to share their accounts and we have hooked up with one of them, Bev. With another couple, there will be 3 of us on the account. When I talked with Bev, I mentioned that we wanted a couple of extra HD channels. This has stimulated the others to think in this direction also. They have asked me to get 2 more HD receivers for them. I shall have to take a carryon suitcase to bring them all back! Fortunately, these new models are smaller than the older ones. I also managed to find a fellow in Chapala who has the antennas for Shaw (it is different from most satellite antennas because it has to pick up 2 satellites). He came and installed the antenna last week.

We have decided to put the TV in the guest bedroom. Few people are coming to visit us anyway and the TV is thin and doesn’t take up much room. Also, with curtains, the bed and a big new wall hanging, the sound should be improved as a result of fewer echoes than is the case in the living room. With all the hard surfaces in the latter, it can be difficult to make out dialogue, especially if the actors have accents.

I mentioned a new wall hanging. Barbara gave away the very cheap painting that had been in the guest bedroom since we arrived. Finally, she decided that we should get Mexican hand made carpet for the wall. She spent a lot of time looking around Ajijic last week. We also went to the 3 day Feria (fair) for artisans in Chapala. The latter brings a large number of artisans, some from as far away as Oaxaca, to show and sell their wares. Anyway, although there was nice stuff, we didn’t see exactly the right colours, size etc. On Sunday, our usual friends were not at Open Circle, just Barbara and I. We went to the Garden Restaurant, which is one of our favourites, but not of the others. Next door is a small shop with knitted stuff and lots of woolen rugs. We found one that is the right size (about 4’x6’), good colours and a nice scene (a tree with many different coloured birds. We bought it.

The annual festival for Ajijic’s patron saint, San Andres (St. Andrew), began on Sunday. We are having lots of rocket bangers, morning, noon and night. Mexicans really party; the different groups who each sponsor the festivities for a day (entertainment and fireworks every night) have been planning and raising money all year since the last festival. By the way, I have watched people launching the rockets from their hands; the rockets are over 6 inches long and go up more than 100 feet. The guys hold the rocket with one hand and with the other light the fuse with a cigarette! The rockets explode with a deafening bang so there is a significant amount of explosive. I’m sure that there must be accidents, but the guys are so casual about doing it.

Catching up

There has been a long hiatus. I shall try to fill in the blanks in the next couple of days and then get back into the rhythm.
When we went to Canada in July, we had another break in. We had taken our computers, iPod etc. to Kate and Jack’s; as a result the thieves apparently didn’t find anything that they wanted to take! However, in the aftermath, we decided to do substantial upgrades (see photos). The thieves got in by using a large screwdriver to pop open the lock on one of the doors from the patio. We have added padlocks and screens that are very difficult to cut on all the patio doors. We put iron bars on all windows that open (these are almost universal in Mexico and we should have done it earlier). We put a new gate with bars on the front entrance; as you can see, we had the old solid door repainted yellow so the iron work on the new gate stands out. Now, we can see who is there before we unlock the gate. Finally, we had a sliding door with steel bars (like in a prison cell) installed on our walk in closet; that makes it a strong room with a heavy padlock. We now put money, computers, etc. there when we go out. All this means that thieves will now have to come prepared with heavy tools to get in. It is discouraging, but necessary and not just in Mexico.

After early predictions of heavier than normal rainfall this year (June and July were pretty good), rainfall in August and September was extremely low. Lake Chapala ended the rainy season almost an meter below the levels of the previous 2 or 3 years. There was a respite in October because of a hurricane that blew in from the Pacific. It did a lot of damage to some of the beach communities in the vicinity of Puerto Vallarta. For us, it meant 4 days of heavy cloud and rain--about 100 mm (4”). Nevertheless, rain this year (we are unlikely to get any more) is only about 750 mm. (29.7”) as compared to the recent average of 850 mm (33.5”). In spite of being careful, four days of cloud were too much for the solar water heater and we ran out of hot water after 3 days. I had to turn on the gas heater. But after 1 day, the sun was out again and I could turn off the gas heater. With lots of sunshine every day, we have oodles of hot water.

Love in Action wants to teach the kids English as a means of getting them better prepared for jobs. English is especially useful here where there are so many ex-pats, but is beneficial for many jobs elsewhere with foreign companies established in Mexico. They had several teachers last year, but most were snowbirds and the program practically ground to a halt when they left. I have volunteered to teach a small group (4 at the moment), one hour a week. I have been there 3 times and so far it has not been a roaring success. It has been a very long time since I was teaching at this level (9-10 year olds). Also, it has been difficult to get a schedule so the kids arrive on time. I’m sure that we’ll all get into the swing of things soon.

Last Sunday, the speaker at Open Circle was Richard Rhoda; he is coauthor (both are geographers) of a book, Geo-Mexico published a little over a year ago. It’s a fascinating book which I read in just a few days. Much of his statistics are in the book, but he did update some in the presentation. He was pointing out how significant Mexico is in the world in terms of size and diversity of its economy and of its population, its diversity in languages, animal species, climate zones, cultural aspects, etc. It has made enormous strides in many areas in the last 20 years or so. Since its meltdown in 1994 when it required a $48 billion bailout (completely repaid earlier than the terms), Mexico’s governments have been very careful in managing its finances; it is coming out of this recession faster and better than the US--in fact not unlike Canada. It is certainly no longer accurate to think of Mexico as a 3rd world country, although some of the native people still live in 3rd world conditions (as indeed there are pockets in Canada and the US). It is only a couple of years behind the US in terms of life expectancy (a huge jump from earlier in the 20th C), but is also 2nd in the world behind the US in terms of adult obesity! He pointed out (he’s an American) that based on last year’s statistics, an American is 25 times more likely to die in traffic in the US than in visiting Mexico. Furthermore, as long as they don’t visit or connect with drug gangs, their chances are further greatly reduced in Mexico. The ignorance of people NOB (north of the border) is truly astonishing; I know from myself before I came here.

I am leaving for Windsor, Ontario on Thursday (Nov. 24th) to visit with my family there. Dad seems to be having problems with balance and has fallen several times in the last 2 or 3 months, one requiring 6 stitches for a cut on his head and another requiring an x-ray on his hand. He is 95 now and in other ways his physical health is pretty good. As last year when I went at the same time, I shall be there for Rosemary’s birthday on the 27th. I return on Dec. 1st.

The Spirit Level

The solar water heater is working well, lots of hot water. We are certainly pleased. In addition, the company that sells the heater, also sells a gismo, called ScaleWatcher. The water in this area is fairly hard; the water in La Floresta is not as bad as other areas, but still it can be a problem. Most water softeners use salt and require a lot of maintenance. This product involves putting a wire coil around the water pipe directly after the pump; the gadget then passes a current through the coil to create a magnetic field. It rapidly changes direction and fluctuates the frequency. This then changes the ionization of the calcium and magnesium molecules in the water so that they don’t stick and pass through the system. The effect lasts, so they claim, for about 48 hours, long enough for the water to go out and down the drains. It also claims that it will remove existing scale from pipes gradually over a 3 month period. I don’t know for sure, but the water does seem ‘softer’ and soap lathers very well. We don’t want the heating coil in the water heater to clog up with scale.

Well, the rain has started as about the 7th of June. That means that from Sept. 29th we had only 1 modest rain in April. However, we have had 4 rains now in June for a total so far of 3.5 inches. Most have been mild rains, but last Friday we had a really strong storm with high winds and 2.4 inches in less than 4 hours. The high winds drove the rain against our north facing windows and a lot of water came in under the windows as they are not designed to keep water out. I did some mopping and by morning the rest has dried out. Other people were not as lucky; some developers divert the drainoff channels and this causes some houses to get inundated in heavy rains. The temperatures are cooler now--most days in the high 70s or low 80s.

We have gone regularly to the Sunday morning forum called Open Circle. I had offered to do a presentation on the book, The Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. It finally got scheduled and I did my presentation on Sunday, June 12th. The authors are British epidemiologists; they bring together the results of over 200 studies, the majority of which show that greater inequality in a society leads to worse outcomes on a number of health aspects (life expectancy, mental illnesses and addictions, obesity, children’s educational performance, homicide rates, imprisonment rates, etc 9 measures in all). What is astonishing is that in comparison with 22 other rich countries, the United States, the richest country on earth, comes out at or near the bottom on every measure. Average incomes do not seem to matter; it is the degree of inequality within each society that largely determines how well or poorly each country does. This in fact is a stark contradiction of the claims of laisser-faire liberals/neoconservatives that inequality is ‘good’. If you would like to read my presentation, use the link for MY WEBPAGE and then click on the link there.

We shall soon be making our trip back to Canada--leave July 7th & return July 24th. We are going to Toronto first to spend 3 nights with Faye and Keith; then to Nova Scotia. We shall be spending part of the time in the next 2 weeks at White Point Beach with Jeff, Tara & the boys the first week; then with Angie, Matt and Sam in the 2nd week. The rest of the time we’ll be in Halifax doing errands.

Going solar

More news. First the bad news. Last week we were robbed for the 2nd time. This time it happened some time shortly after 2 in the afternoon. I had been home all morning, but had to leave at 2. Barb was out in front of the wall working in her flower gardens. As far as we can figure out, they came over the wall from the house behind. Our neighbour there has an electric security fence, but had been having some work done. Apparently, the fence was not on. The person who is living in the house left about 2 also. In any case, they came in, took money from Barb’s purse and found the money I kept in a drawer. I think that we lost about $400 - 500 dollars. We are going to get a bit more upgrading to the security. Again it seems evident that someone in the neighbourhood is watching and takes advantage of any opportunities.

We are in the midst of having a Mexican incident. On Saturday when we came home, the water pump was not working. I finally got it going briefly and decided to do a load in the dishwasher. However, while the timer worked, the pump inside didn’t. We began to notice other things; lights would dim, then brighten; the fan would slow down and then speed up. In fact, the power was fluctuating. I got the water pump and the dish washer going just before bed. However, Sunday we were back to no water pump and fluctuating power. I called Jose Luis and said we should get a new pump as this one had caused us a great deal of trouble. He came and thought that it wasn’t the pump malfunctioning again.He took it to check and he was correct. He had a voltage tester and sure enough the voltage was fluctuating massively; the juice was never enough to run the pump. He checked all our circuits; we then went next door to Steve’s house and the situation was the same there. Finally, he called the power company, CFE. They said that they were aware of the problem. Our street plus the next cross street were affected. Finally, at 5:40, I tried the pump and it worked; hallelujah. Altogether, it was over 50 hours.

The other news is that after talking about it for about 2 years, we have finally moved to have a solar hot water heater installed (the small photo is from the company site, but you get the idea). There are several different systems. Ours uses evacuated tubes (i.e., a vacuum) to collect the heat. The water circulates by convection up the tubes into the tank. Because we have a pressure system, this water is not connected to the domestic water system. Instead, there is a copper coil in the tank and the domestic water is pumped through the coil where it is heated.The unit was delivered last Friday and the plumber has done a bit of work already. It should be installed by the end of this week. In the end we decided to get the 280 litre tank. It cost $300 more than the 210 litre tank which is said to serve 4 people. However, this tank will give a bigger margin, not just when we have guests, but also on those rare occasions when we have several days in succession of rain and cloud. It has happened only once in 3 years. When we decided on the size, we weren’t sure that we would be able to keep the existing gas heater as backup. However, the plumber figured out a way to do that. The company says that during the hot weather especially, the heater can heat the water to 75º C (almost 170º F).

We have been spending 600 pesos a month (about $55) for propane. We recently discovered a small leak (now fixed) so that might not have been just our consumption, but the price of propane has been going up. Just last year it was about 4.75 pesos per litre. This year it is 5.6 pesos (about Can $0.49)--still pretty cheap as it is subsidized by the government. They say that heating water accounts for 75 - 80 % of power costs in a home. I figure that the payback on the water heater should be about 3 years, more or less. If so, that’s over 30% per annum as an investment--not too shabby. It will also make a small reduction in our carbon footprint. The heater is being installed on the flat roof over the bathrooms. Thus, an additional advantage will be that we won’t have to wait for 2 minutes running the hot water for a shower the way we do with the gas heater, being on the opposite side of the house. We will have to run the water longer for the kitchen, but the only time we use hot water there is to run the dishwasher, less than once a day. It has taken us a long time to take the plunge, but we are pretty excited.

Lake Chapala Society

I am now a Director at Large on the board of the Lake Chapala Society. I was not looking for such an ‘honour’. In January I met Fred Harland, vice president, at LCS. Barb and I had gotten acquainted with Fred and his wife on the trip to Morelia over a year ago. They are Canadians and very nice; we always chat a bit when we meet. At the encounter in January he asked me if I would let my name stand for the board. The new constitution, which was approved last December, called for 3 or 4 additional members on the board so they were looking for new bodies. I thought for a couple of minutes and finally agreed. I was certainly not eager, but I thought of all the people who volunteer to work at LCS. Almost everything is done by volunteers, many of whom give quite a few hours a week. I had already decided to stop doing my online courses so no longer had that as an excuse. The Nominating Committee, by whom I was interviewed, provided only sufficient nominees to fill the vacancies. There were no nominations from the floor at the annual meeting in March, so I and the other nominees were elected by acclaimation for a 2 year term. Actually, this was all indicative of a salutory situation. Two years ago, everything was in a turmoil as some previous members of the board were very unhappy with a new constitution proposed by the new board. They were attempting to put the organization on a more business-like approach and some of the people were unhappy that the old, ‘club’ approach would bechanged. However, the board brought some of the former members in and revamped the proposed constitution sufficiently. When the revamped constitution was put to a vote in December, there was opposition voiced and only 2 or 3 people voted against the new constitution. Everything has calmed down; things are running better. I have attended 2 board meetings and have been appointed to 2 standing committees.

Once again we have evidence about how quickly we can get medical stuff done. I had a recurrence of a pinched nerve in the lower back. Last time was just shortly before we were to leave to drive to Mexico in 2008. I was given a couple of exercises plus a very good book, Treating Your Own Back. The exercises cleared up the pain very quickly and I had no problem driving to Mexico. However, with no pain, I long ago stopped doing the exercises. This time, there was referred pain down my right thigh above the knee. I should have read the book and started the exercises again before going to the doctor, but I didn’t. On Wednesday, Dr. Garcia arranged for me to see a specialist in Guadalajara the next day. The latter did electromiography; that uses small electrical charges to the nerves to locate exactly where the problem was. By that time I had already decided that it was probably a pinched nerve in my back and he confirmed it. When we expressed our amazement that we got in so quickly, he laughed and said it was probably because it was the week after Easter and a lot of people had not returned from holidays as a lot of businesses and schools shut down for 1 or even 2 weeks. Anyway, he gave me the report and I took it to Garcia the same afternoon as he had requested. Garcia then called a physiotherapist to make an appointment for the next morning, Friday. It turns out that the latter lives only a block or so away. As a result, she came to my house for the 2nd and 3rd treatments. Some of the exercises she gave me weresimilar to those in the book. The exercises are the real answer and I have been having little pain most of the time.

More people are coming down here. A friend of Kate’s, Carol, who has been visiting here regularly for 7 years, finally got her husband Joe to come here in March. Joe really liked it and they decided to buy a house as Joe is finally thinking about retiring. The house they bought (they were down to close last Friday) is just a block and a half west of us on Camino Real so they will be close neighbours. They are very nice; Kate and Jack were unable to go out on Friday night to celebrate with them, but Barb and I did.

For 2 Saturdays we were invited to Jack and Kate’s with the girls to swim in the pool in their new house (they moved in about April 10th). It is a lovely pool and especially good because, as you can see, there are steps at one end. The twins are well on the way to being able to swim, Fatima not so much.

Back online

It has been rather up and down since my last blog; I’ll try to fill in before resuming (I hope) on a more regular basis.

In January, Angie & Matthew had a baby, Sam, and making a third grandson; this is a recent photo. Barb wanted to see this new addition and went to Halifax from late January until Feb. 7. Then, while she was away, we had a burglary (about Feb. 2nd). I am certain it was someone who had been watching us and the house. Barb walks the dogs every day about the same time about 9:30 or 10 a. m. for about an hour. However, with Barb away, I was walking the dogs about the same time. On Tuesday, when neither the gardener nor maid come to the house, I took the car to Guadalajara. Sometime, not too long I think, after I left (i.e., just before or at noon), the burglars (there had to be at least 2) climbed up the wall beside the water aquaduct ditch and in. There was only about 30 inches space (see photo) there beside the little bodega (storage shed); all the rest of the wall has virtually impenetrable bougainvillea. My 27 inch iMac plus my old laptop, which were both on my desk, were stolen. The external hard drive for our backups was also taken.I should have taken care of that gap in the bougainvillea and not had both computers and the hard drive on my desk. I was feeling too secure.Fortunately, I had saved most of my personal files on the iPod about a year ago. Thus, I was able eventually to recover the older stuff.

With that lesson, we did some work to add more security. At the side where they entered, we had them install about 20 feet of concertina; that is circular barbed wire and razor wire. Then, along the front wall, we added about 3 feet of wrought iron fence with barbs at the top to the wall (see photos). It was very upsetting and I was certainly kicking myself for being so blaise. I have replaced the iMac and tried to get back to normal.

With the illnesses and the trip to Nova Scotia, Barb has had a hard time getting her energy back. She seemed to be alternating good and bad days. However, this past week has been quite good.

We have had other work done. Pam, a friend of Kate’s of many years standing, last summer bought a house here. However, she decided to renovate virtually the entire house. First, she wanted to replace her gas stove. It is a very nice Bosch but she in putting in a separate stove top and oven. She sold us the stove at a very good price. As our stove was old and not very good, Barb was delighted. Thus, we had Jose Luis’ men install it. Then, subsequently, in fact just last week, she offered us her dish washer at an even better price. The men were back to install the dish washer. It was a very tight fit, but they chipped out the floor and wall a bit to squeeze it in (see below). While they were at it, we had them run a gas line from the stove in the kitchen and out to the BBQ in the patio. Now, we don’t have to worry about filling the little tank periodically as the BBQ is now connected to the big propane tank. It was good timing because it was only 5 or 6 days since the little tank had gone empty just as we were cooking leg of lamb. Fortunately, with the new stove, the oven works well and we were able to finish the lamb in the kitchen. The oven door in the old stove did not close properly so we never were able to use it. Thus, as the song says (taking a bit of liberty), “Everything’s up to date in La Floresta.”

Since we arrived, we have had dressers and bedside tables in the bedrooms that were not well made. There were no sliders on the drawers and they all had a tendency to fall out when you went into them. We finally gave them away to LIA; Anabel, the director, was pleased to get them as the older girls need them for their clothes. They are young and can more easily cope with drawers. We brought so few clothes with us that we didn’t really use the dressers; instead she got a table which you can see above). She did get new bedside tables (below). All of these were very inexpensive. The style is called ‘rustico’ which is what we have in most of the house.

Maintaining my past habits in this blog, I have to talk briefly about the weather. After the cool weather in Nov. and Dec., the weather in 2011 has been warm. In fact since early March, it has been hot. It hit 90º F (32º C) on March 28th. That matched the high temp for the last 2 years (usually late April and May). We have been getting temps in the middle to high 80s (28 - 32º C). There had been no rain since last Sept. 29th (i.e., 200 days with no rain). However, Saturday late afternoon, we had a thunder storm and rain! It only amounted to .7 inches (18 mm.), but it is rain. Usually, there is about 2 inches Oct. - Dec. and another 2 inches or so from Jan. to the end of May. The average for April is .3 inches so we have more than doubled that for this year.

Out with the old and in with the new

I have not kept up with posts for this blog. Barb and I have been busy and have had illnesses since my last post in November. I’ll review very quickly. Barb got a very taxing flu just before I went to Windsor, Ontario on Nov. 25 for RoseMary’s birthday. I suggested that I call off the trip, but Barb wouldn’t hear of it. Thus, she was left alone trying to recover while I was away for a week until Dec. 2. On Dec. 4, Jeff, Tara and the 2 grandsons arrived for a visit. Barb was eager and determined to see and do as much as possible. She had not fully recovered and after they left, she had a relapse and complete exhaustion. Then, I got sick on Dec. 22nd. I ended up spending most of 4 days in bed, including Christmas Day. Then, just after the New Year, Barb got a cold from which she is just recovering.

We are hopeful that we have turned the corner. Most of November and the first 3 weeks or so of December were cool. We probably wouldn’t have minded it so much if we had not been fighting the bugs we had. However, since late December, the temperatures have been rising. Saturday, Jan. 8th, the high temperature was 77 F or 25 C; Sunday was even better at 78 F or 25.5 C. This is very pleasant and should help our recovery.

This past week we had some significant work done. It started when we discovered that one of the big ceramic pots that we had bought for the palms (see the post for June 28, 2008) had broken. There was an absolute jumble of roots. After considering various possibilities, we contacted Jose Luis. We decided to have holes cut in the patio where the pots have been sitting and plant the palms in the ground underneath. Only one pot had broken, but it would only be a matter of time for the other one. One of Jose’s jobs got put off. As a result, his men were free to start immediately. At first they tried to use an electrical jack hammer, but it couldn’t make a dent in the concrete. Thus, they had to do it with hammers and chisels! Also, under the top layer which had been done in the renovations just before we bought were 2 more layers, one of brick. The photos show the palms duly planted just where they had formerly been in the pots.

As is usual, once we got started, we ran into another problem. The roofs on 3 sides slope to the patio. Thus, during the rainyseason a lot of water comes into the patio. There is a catch basin in the middle that has drains to take the water eventually outside the wall to the drainage aqueduct beside our lot. We had forgotten about the tile drains. They were right in the middle of the first hole that was dug. They would keep the palm too high but also, the roots of the palm would probably eventually clog up the tiles. Thus, it was decided to dig a new ditch into the catch basin to install a new PVC drain. Mexicans are amazing when working with concrete. They chiseled out the flagstones and set them aside. Later, after installing the new drain pipe and filling in the trench, the flagstones were replaced and already, it is blending in with the old.

In addition, Barb had 2 little tables and 4 lamps made of metal. She wanted them all painted the same colour. Also, we had a patio table with 4 chairs that we had bought second hand. But the paint had chipped and peeled. Barb had found a chaise-lounge in the same metal and style, but it was painted white. We decided to have them all painted; Barb had thought of light brown for the patio furniture, but I urged for yellow and as you can see in the photos, Barb agreed. Also, the fireplace in our bedroom was a bright orange that Barb had never been happy with. It is now toned down with a kind of burnt orange. It was all done in less than a week. It has been quite a while since we had any major work done, and it’s not quite done yet, so stay tuned