Phase II : Life With A Mason

::Still making headlines all across the country, the Ghostbusters are at it again. This time, at the fashionable dance club, The Rose. The boys in gray slugged it out with a pretty pesky poltergeist, then stayed on to dance the night away with some of the lovely ladies who witnessed the disturbance. This is Casey Kasem. Now, on with the countdown.:: 

I feel so blessed to have a family in Mexico that loves me.  Manuel, aka Lolo, has hired the albañil to begin Phase II of the renovations on my little casa.  There are some words in Spanish that I simply can't hear, and the new albañils' name is one of them.  I believe his name is Virgilio, and his main focus for the next week is to lay tile on the kitchen and garden entrance floors.  No sooner had Virgilio completed his first day of work, Lolo and Charlie (Cha-ley), the albañil that constructed the concrete archways for the doors, arrive and the fiesta begins! It has been one of those six month stretches where the learning curve is altomente peligroso.  With much help from my girl pals and Lolo et al, I've succeeded and a celebration seemed in order.  Go Team!  Let's Rokit! 

Beautiful Broads Abroad, I wish you could all bring a hammock over for a slumber party!   It seems that every minute there is something fascinating to watch or learn in this little hood of mine.  Take the other day for example.  There was nothing more lovely than observing  three men cheerfully load and unload a flatbed truck with the 3 cubic meters of tiles to be used in the kitchen.  I don't know how to explain this, but Mexico has a way of making me feel extremely feminine.  

Back in the USSR (jajajaja!), right or wrong, I always made it a point to be as competent, complimentary and collaborative as possible in my relationships.

I can't tell you how shocking it has been to learn that there are people who seriously believe that most women are gold diggers and/or ball busters.  How I miss Austin!  The more interesting aspect of this bewildering view of women is that it is generated by women who are supported by their husbands.  Hello!  I work seven days a week, eight hours each day.   I acknowledge that every culture has its' issues to deal with regarding the way the genders are perceived, but at least in my little Mexican family I am respected as a sacred and knowledgeable person. 

In addition to the tiles given to me from the renovation rubble of a friends' castle/convento home, I purchased a few mixto patterns that will transition well with the pre-existing floors of the other two rooms.  Virgilios' preparation of the kitchen floor for the antique mosaico encaustic tiles, known here as pasta tiles,  created a successful co-dependent relationship between concrete dust and every last pore of EVERYTHING in all parts of my little house!  Concrete dust will now be the mistress of La Colmena Azul for many weeks to come.  Lolo's arrival could not have been better if planned.  Booze is a great equalizer and truth serum!  A beer, a shot of tequila, and an opportunity to hear tales of the odd history of my hood was a welcomed momentary release from adulthood. 

Lolo has been an expatriate.  He lived in San Antonio, TX for a bit but didn't care for it very much.   Here he has family, connections, and a deep belonging that satisfies him.  I have inherited a family that watches out for me and teaches me how to really live in Mexico. 

Have I mentioned that I seldom drink?  

I have the lowest alcohol tolerance of anyone you have ever met.  As the sun slips behind La Ermita,  Lolo tells Charlie a story I haven't heard before and I ask him to repeat it in English.  You see, when Lolo and Yoyo were doing the initial remodel, they had all kinds of hood visitors popping in asking questions and making comments.  A note of advice to English speakers - do not assume that you are not understood by Yucatecos.   I now know how I am perceived within my expat community.  Conversely, locals should not assume that their brethren will take advantage of the expatriates.  I now know which neighbors attempted to have me pay for work to their properties.  The language cloak of invisibility doesn't always work!   

Seems everyone loves a good yarn.  The furniture delivery people had told me that ten years ago my house had been a cantina.  What I hadn't until now, was that the other part of my house, owned by the Ice Cream People was the brothel!  OMG!  I just knew there was a brothel under my nose!  Is that the funniest thing you have ever heard or what?  It gets better!  My sweet Abuilita, the one across the street that is going to teach me how to raise Yucatan stingless bees, asked Lolo if I was opening a "house of the women."  Howllllllaaoooooo!  She must have gotten this idea into her head the day I brought twelve of my beach amigas into the city to celebrate my birthday.  Hear that chicas?  We should have named my house The Best Little Bee Hive in Yucatan!

Create the life you want!
The Broad

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