Today, I was in my office at my computer chatting online with Marilla when the US telephone rang and it was James from New Mexico calling to say hello. Moments later, the Merida house phone rang and was answered by the machine in my office. As a message was recording and I was still on the US cell phone and eyeing the computer for a response from Marilla, someone rang the doorbell. Then Eva and our iron worker, Alex, decided to stop outside my office, open the door, and talk while the buses drove by. And Jose decided now was the time to wash the floor in my office. It was a wild few minutes, which NEVER usually happens here. There is often one or more of those things happening at once, but rarely all of them together.
So, after the pandemonium died down, Eva and I headed off to shop. We went to a benefit for Save the Children Mexico. One of the committee members goes to India every year and shops and brings back lovely things to sell to benefit this charity. This year the “store” was held at Margarita Molina de Patron’s home. She has built an exquisite house (that has been in Architectural Digest) on the grounds of an old hacienda that has been turned into a privada or gated community just at the north end of the city. The beauty of the area is partly all the ancient plantings that have been preserved around the homes; however, this particular house is also a beauty all by itself. Combining the best of modern with the tried and true, Margarita’s home has niches in her dining room filled with Chinese export porcelains in blue and white, fabulous art and fresh flowers everywhere, painted murals on the mamposteria walls, a huge loggia with comfortable furniture in which to spend the day happily looking out at her long cobalt-blue tile lined pool guarded by sculptural columns of the orange Dzitya stone native to this region (we have insets of it in our floors but nothing like these monolithic columns). Giant beams hold the ceiling up to the sky while her living room and dining room have glass doors to keep the air in the air conditioned spaces. Of course, we managed to find a few things we could not live without… and helped out the children (we hope some of them in Tabasco where they are under water at the moment!!), too.
Tonight is an art opening by a friend who is a photographer at the house of another friend, who is an architect and has designed this home where the gathering will be held to sell. First, we have friends coming here for a drink and then we four will go to the house of other friends (who live near the house of the opening) for another drink and then we six will go to the opening. We have found that bad wine and horrid canapés tend to be served at these openings, so we drink ahead of time!! Tomorrow night, more cocktails with friends, then Sunday a brunch, and then the work week begins.
And it actually is a working week these days. Eva has opened her heart again and has drawn in folks who need some help. She is helping our friends, Paul and Michael, remodel the house they bought here. She is working with Patricia who got screwed by her architect and spent lots of money with little results to finish that project. She is managing projects for Jim and Judy like adding skylights and refinishing their pasta tile floors. And she just fixed up Jen and Brian with Monique who will rent their Merida home for a year and bake her fabulous breads there. Eva is also working with massage clients in her spare time. And so what is Sandy doing while Eva is busy? Helping out, keeping the home fires burning, a little writing on the side, and making it possible for Eva to do all these things.
We have been doing some little fixing – seems to be never-ending. We had a door to the guest rooms repaired, some clips added to the iron doors so they stay closed without being latched (and therefore hard to open), and one more rod added to the terrace so we can completely close it off against the sun. These curtains were really helpful during the hot months of summer, but now that it has been positively perfect weather for several weeks, we are closing the curtains less often. I don’t know if this is the Gulf Stream or some other natural phenomenon, but our weather would make San Diego blush, it’s been so divine. NO A/C needed at all, even by Eva. We, especially she, pray that this will last and last.
There seem to be two types of people who are moving to Merida, and we mean extranjeros as opposed to the Mexicans who are coming here in droves, too. One is like us-- adventurers who want to buy a wreck and make it into a palace and then sell it at a huge profit only to do it over and over again (yeah, we got off that train before the over and over again part!! well, actually before the sell it at a huge profit part, too, hmmm). And the other is those folks seeking a small place for an inexpensive retirement. It is possible here still to find property and remodel it (new electrical, plumbing, and upgrades) for under $200,000 and sometimes even for less than that. (If anyone saw the LA Times article about Merida (and we know everyone that was interviewed), Joan Farrell says she only spent $110,000 and has a nice, cozy home for one.) On the other end, is the new golf club that is being constructed where lots (and smaller ones than we had in Glenview) start at $100,000 and then you need to put a house on it, but the club house is really fabulous!!
We expatriates (ex-patriots?) love the relaxed atmosphere, the charming customs, the gracious people, and the cheap prices for labor while tolerating the frustrating mañana syndrome. When we first got here, our workers would answer any inquiry about “can you do…” with “yo puedo” or I can. And I just loved this, until I found out there were not necessarily any skills to back up that affirmation. So when the pedal was to the metal, things could not be done as promised and then you have to punt. Or trades people in response to “when will this be ready?” would (and still will) say tomorrow at 4pm when they have no intention of any such thing. This we never found charming!! But we came to accept it as part of the culture so it gets done when it gets done and that is that. No tantrums or yelling or threats or pleading gets things done any faster than whenever they get done. Oddly, we learned that there is NOTHING that has to be done at a specific time. When you are scheduling construction things, this is really a big pain, but ultimately, you just go with whatever it is and sigh a lot.
We spent a long weekend recently at Hacienda Chichen, which is not only next to one of the new seven wonders of the ancient world Chichen Itza, but also the owners of the hacienda actually own the land that the ruins are on. And there is a dispute about what Belissa should do with her inherited land. [see Ownership fight erupts over Maya ruins A dramatic rise in tourism ignites a debate in Mexico: Should a private family own an archaeological treasure? By Sara Miller Llana Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor from the October 17, 2007 edition http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1017/p20s01-woam.html?s=backdaily ] We had a wonderful time
indulging in chocolate (cacao) massages and Mayan full moon ceremonies and chaya omelettes for breakfast and walking around the ruins (thankfully without so many people as were there when we went during the spring equinox -- that caused Marilla to swear she never would return). And we made it to Balankanche and the cenote that village woman made into a destination called Yokdzdnot.
So, after the pandemonium died down, Eva and I headed off to shop. We went to a benefit for Save the Children Mexico. One of the committee members goes to India every year and shops and brings back lovely things to sell to benefit this charity. This year the “store” was held at Margarita Molina de Patron’s home. She has built an exquisite house (that has been in Architectural Digest) on the grounds of an old hacienda that has been turned into a privada or gated community just at the north end of the city. The beauty of the area is partly all the ancient plantings that have been preserved around the homes; however, this particular house is also a beauty all by itself. Combining the best of modern with the tried and true, Margarita’s home has niches in her dining room filled with Chinese export porcelains in blue and white, fabulous art and fresh flowers everywhere, painted murals on the mamposteria walls, a huge loggia with comfortable furniture in which to spend the day happily looking out at her long cobalt-blue tile lined pool guarded by sculptural columns of the orange Dzitya stone native to this region (we have insets of it in our floors but nothing like these monolithic columns). Giant beams hold the ceiling up to the sky while her living room and dining room have glass doors to keep the air in the air conditioned spaces. Of course, we managed to find a few things we could not live without… and helped out the children (we hope some of them in Tabasco where they are under water at the moment!!), too.
Tonight is an art opening by a friend who is a photographer at the house of another friend, who is an architect and has designed this home where the gathering will be held to sell. First, we have friends coming here for a drink and then we four will go to the house of other friends (who live near the house of the opening) for another drink and then we six will go to the opening. We have found that bad wine and horrid canapés tend to be served at these openings, so we drink ahead of time!! Tomorrow night, more cocktails with friends, then Sunday a brunch, and then the work week begins.
And it actually is a working week these days. Eva has opened her heart again and has drawn in folks who need some help. She is helping our friends, Paul and Michael, remodel the house they bought here. She is working with Patricia who got screwed by her architect and spent lots of money with little results to finish that project. She is managing projects for Jim and Judy like adding skylights and refinishing their pasta tile floors. And she just fixed up Jen and Brian with Monique who will rent their Merida home for a year and bake her fabulous breads there. Eva is also working with massage clients in her spare time. And so what is Sandy doing while Eva is busy? Helping out, keeping the home fires burning, a little writing on the side, and making it possible for Eva to do all these things.
We have been doing some little fixing – seems to be never-ending. We had a door to the guest rooms repaired, some clips added to the iron doors so they stay closed without being latched (and therefore hard to open), and one more rod added to the terrace so we can completely close it off against the sun. These curtains were really helpful during the hot months of summer, but now that it has been positively perfect weather for several weeks, we are closing the curtains less often. I don’t know if this is the Gulf Stream or some other natural phenomenon, but our weather would make San Diego blush, it’s been so divine. NO A/C needed at all, even by Eva. We, especially she, pray that this will last and last.
There seem to be two types of people who are moving to Merida, and we mean extranjeros as opposed to the Mexicans who are coming here in droves, too. One is like us-- adventurers who want to buy a wreck and make it into a palace and then sell it at a huge profit only to do it over and over again (yeah, we got off that train before the over and over again part!! well, actually before the sell it at a huge profit part, too, hmmm). And the other is those folks seeking a small place for an inexpensive retirement. It is possible here still to find property and remodel it (new electrical, plumbing, and upgrades) for under $200,000 and sometimes even for less than that. (If anyone saw the LA Times article about Merida (and we know everyone that was interviewed), Joan Farrell says she only spent $110,000 and has a nice, cozy home for one.) On the other end, is the new golf club that is being constructed where lots (and smaller ones than we had in Glenview) start at $100,000 and then you need to put a house on it, but the club house is really fabulous!!
We expatriates (ex-patriots?) love the relaxed atmosphere, the charming customs, the gracious people, and the cheap prices for labor while tolerating the frustrating mañana syndrome. When we first got here, our workers would answer any inquiry about “can you do…” with “yo puedo” or I can. And I just loved this, until I found out there were not necessarily any skills to back up that affirmation. So when the pedal was to the metal, things could not be done as promised and then you have to punt. Or trades people in response to “when will this be ready?” would (and still will) say tomorrow at 4pm when they have no intention of any such thing. This we never found charming!! But we came to accept it as part of the culture so it gets done when it gets done and that is that. No tantrums or yelling or threats or pleading gets things done any faster than whenever they get done. Oddly, we learned that there is NOTHING that has to be done at a specific time. When you are scheduling construction things, this is really a big pain, but ultimately, you just go with whatever it is and sigh a lot.
We spent a long weekend recently at Hacienda Chichen, which is not only next to one of the new seven wonders of the ancient world Chichen Itza, but also the owners of the hacienda actually own the land that the ruins are on. And there is a dispute about what Belissa should do with her inherited land. [see Ownership fight erupts over Maya ruins A dramatic rise in tourism ignites a debate in Mexico: Should a private family own an archaeological treasure? By Sara Miller Llana Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor from the October 17, 2007 edition http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1017/p20s01-woam.html?s=backdaily ] We had a wonderful time
indulging in chocolate (cacao) massages and Mayan full moon ceremonies and chaya omelettes for breakfast and walking around the ruins (thankfully without so many people as were there when we went during the spring equinox -- that caused Marilla to swear she never would return). And we made it to Balankanche and the cenote that village woman made into a destination called Yokdzdnot. 
Our beautiful lirio has finally stopped blooming. We had four absolutely gorgeous trunks on which countless lillies erupted, smelling divine, and delighting us every single day. Now we will know what to expect next year!!
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