blah...blah...blah... Ginger!

First off, I’ve got to tell you that I’m not a big trees and forest gloom kind of girl. I prefer open vistas, lots of sky and sun - lots of sun. I’m not sure why I thought buying a house with a huge banyan tree for a neighbor was a good idea but it was a lot smaller 2 years ago. It has grown and grown and recently I realized that it completely crossed our yard, adding lots of gloom and shade. See how those go together for me? I could never live up under big trees, they give me the creeps at night and the lack of light is depressing. Mimi and I once left Vancouver Island a week early because we couldn’t find anywhere to park the RV that wasn’t up under the gloomy trees.

So, I wanted the part over my yard cut back to the wall. It’s not my tree, it actually lives on the wall between two of the neighbors yards but it covers a good portion of the block. It’s really tall, the area is crowded and I didn’t want anyone getting hurt nor did I want to buy my neighbors a new roof. So, I’ve been on a search for an experienced tree guy to cut it back. I found one, through a friend of a friend, that had good references. He lives on the outskirts of the city and has no phone so I called the lady he works for on Thursdays and she had him call me on her phone. He came over and looked at the tree and said it wasn’t a problem, he’d cut it back.

Yesterday was the big day. First off, the exterminators were here in the morning so all the critters had to be taken away and I had to stand guard on the fish ponds. That went well and then Manuel and two helpers came to do the tree. He went up with just a rope and a machete and by the end of the day there is a quarter of that huge tree missing and sun has returned to my yard. It does look a bit odd with a chunk out of it, kind of like a pie chart. It will leaf out again though and I don’t really care anyway because… I have light again!

I took a bunch of pictures, the one that I didn’t remember to take was a shot of the whole tree before the cutting. Oh well, just fill in the blanks.

The first cuts with the machete

One down

farther out

a pause to clear up

moving higher

the big one starts to fall

lowering it carefully

Mimi surveys the missing chunk of tree

They chopped all the wood into fire sized pieces, loaded all the branches into our truck and Mimi drove it to their pueblo. They dropped off the firewood at Manuel’s grandmother’s house so she can make tamales and dumped the rest near his house. It was a big job and I was very happy with how careful they were and how efficient, plus they cleaned up really well. Total cost? $2500 pesos or a little less than $190US. Not cheap but a job well done.

Work begins on our yard after Carnival, the rock is coming out, more planters are being built and I hope to have a yard I can putter in with more space (and now more light) for plants.

Even the mannequins are checking their junk.

Liverpool Department Store

Playa waves next to the ferry dock

looking the other direction down the beach

Wonderful day yesterday! Here’s a couple pics from the ferry dock in Playa del Carmen, you can see that the wind and waves were high. It was a wild ride over to Cozumel on the ferry. I don’t get sea sick (loud knocking on wood, never say never) but I heard some odd sounds coming from around the boat. I sat in the front row and just didn’t look back.

Elaine and Mary

Mary and Elaine met me at the dock and we had a wonderful few hours. These are heart friends, those you know will never fade whether you see them or not but it was wonderful to see them in the flesh. We walked and talked and stopped for some food. I haven’t been over to Coz for at least 5 years and the changes there are as large as the changes in Playa in that time… huge. There were 4 or 5 cruise boats in town and the non-stop “hey lady” got a little old. I’m glad to see tourists returning though, we need them and their money.

They walked me back to the ferry dock and caught a cab back to their ship. It said the next ferry was at 3pm so I sat on the dock enjoying the sun. The difference there on the leeward side of the island from the wind and waves in Playa was astounding. Suddenly the ticket guy came out of his booth and told me there was a ferry leaving, to go and get on. It was only 2:15pm but… T.I.M. (this is Mexico) and I was really happy he saw me and came and told me.

water next to ferry dock on Cozumel, quite a difference!

As I was pulling out of the parking lot in Playa, I got a call from Mimi. She had landed, Jaime and Kathy had picked her up and they had a few more stops to make in Cancun. They offered to bring her to Akumal and I headed home.

It is so wonderful to have her home. I can’t tell you. Chica was pretty pleased as well, it seemed to take her a minute to realize how long it had been since she saw her and then she got excited all over again. She pretty much glued herself to Mimi’s side for the rest of the evening.

She's home!

This morning the wind has subsided some and the sun is out and it is perfect sunning weather, cool and breezy enough to not get too hot soaking up the rays. I’m in heaven, my ginger is back, I’m sitting on my deck in the sun getting my dose of vitamin sol and life is very, very good.

gotta love it!

sunny and warm inside

Because I’m up early this morning and because it’s been a while since I posted pics from inside our condo, I took these. This is my solution to the cold, howling wind outside.

Again all night it howled and screamed and whistled, this time it was more muted because I shut the windows and doors and pulled the curtains. It’s going to be a rough ride to Cozumel on the ferry. My deck looks out at the tip of Cozumel, so all those waves are in my path.

Tropical tip: if you don’t have long pants and it is suddenly cold, put on lotion. It keeps you warmer. The opposite is really important, if it is hot and humid do not, ever, put on any lotion or you will be swimming in sweat instantly. That’s my tip of the day and I’m off to the island.

our other home

waves on Half Moon Bay

Chica and I drove over to Akumal last night.  I brought her because she’s the one that is a problem and I thought she’d do better with some more attention.   We got here about 10pm, came upstairs and crashed.  The wind howled all night long, it screams and whistles and howls as it goes between the buildings.  Eerie.

This morning the waves were big and wind whipped and it was only warm off the beach behind protection.  So, I canceled my plan to try and get some sun this morning, I need my tan for my mental health but these cold fronts have left me pale and bereft.

I’m off to Cozumel tomorrow to meet up with some good friends who are on a cruise.  I’m meeting them at 11am and thought it would work perfectly if Mimi arrived in Cancun at 6:30.  Well, she didn’t get that flight so she’s arriving at 2:30 and I’ll be on the island.  Our friend Kathy is going to pick her up and I’ll pick her up from their house in Paamul.

Did you notice though?  The Meemster is actually returning!!!  It’s been 2.5 months that she’s been up in the US.  I think this is the longest we’ve been apart in 18 or so years.  I’m very happy she is coming back, I need my ginger back at home.

Here he comes...

There’s an old man who begs on a corner I pass many times a week.  He’s bent and stooped and has a cane and an old plastic chair that he sits in when the light is green.  When it is red, he walks along the stopped cars, slowly and off balance and asks for money.

I usually give him 5 pesos every week or so, and just wave him off in between.  The other day, I gave him the 5 pesos and he looks up at me kind of sideways because his back is so crooked.  I expected a polite gracias but what I got was a leering

Gracias, ¡MAMACITA!

I was so shocked that I answered in English,  No! You didn’t just say that! Then, the light turned green and I drove off.  Now, I’m not sure whether to give him another 5p someday or not.  Maybe I should give him 10p?

the ladies man

Tita says: no sand tacos and no grape or nail cutting either. KTHXBAI

Learning a language is not a straight forward thing, at least for me. It goes in loops and whorls and there are good Spanish days and bad Spanish days and days when my brain seems to have forgotten even the most basic words that I’ve known for years. Sometimes, my brain just substitutes another sort of similar word and goes on. Lazy brain. Sometimes it’s funny, other times it is just run of the mill embarrassing. Here are a couple that happened recently.

I’m at the mall, getting some tacos, and the server asks me if I want corn or flour tortillas. I quickly ask for SAND tortillas. WTF? He’d just said the word for flour (harina), I’ve probably known that word for more than 20 years, but my brain substituted sand (arena) and thought it was good to go. He looked at me, thought, obviously got the error and gave me flour. I just slunk away.

I had all 3 dogs in the truck because I’d taken them out to run at the RV park. I was driving back past the vet and decided to stop in and see if they would trim their nails. This is something Mimi usually does but the vet does it for free. I run in to see if they have time and ask the receptionist if I can bring my 3 dogs in to have their GRAPES (uvas) cut.

She gives me an odd look and tells me that is surgery and I have to have an appointment. I still don’t realize what I’ve said so I look puzzled and say I thought I could just drop in. She’s in the process of telling me that it is a serious surgery when I realize I must have done it again. I start replaying what I’ve said and realize the problem. Except, now the old brain won’t come up with the word for nails (uñas). I fall back on making cutting motions on my hands and now she is really confused. Finally, the word slithers into my brain and I hold my hand up and ask if we can start again. We both laughed but mine was a little fake.