Arch_Trees_from Porch
Grace and Beauty
A quote from “Northern Exposure, Three Doctors, 1993 by Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider. “Sometimes the mind, for reasons we don’t necessarily understand, just decides to go to the store for a quart of milk”.
David took the two pictures accompanying this post yesterday morning as we sat on our porch eating our lunch…or was it breakfast…whatever and enjoying a little down time.
Down time, you ask, I am sure. Yes, oddly the days are going by rather quickly here….at least so since our furniture/belongings arrived and we’ve begun the nesting process.
I’m sure everyone is aware of the phrase “multiple personalities” also known as Dissociative Identity Disorder. My generation will naturally gravitate to “Sybil” a TV movie about Shirley Ardell Mason. The movie came out in 1976 with the character Sybil being played by Sally Fields. It was excellently done and portrayed Shirley’s battle with 16 different personalities – diagnosed by Dr. Cornelia Wilber. Long story short, after 11 years of therapy Dr. Wilber and Ms. Mason were able to combine all of these personalities into one complete self and Shirley seemed content and well adjusted. She went on to teach art and was a prolific painter until her death in 1998.
My area of study, so you’ll have to bear with me as I try to get to my point, although I seem to have misplaced it at the moment. Which, in essence is my point.
We love the beautiful lush green plants (even out of season they are lush). While some of the mountains have lost their color, they are still beautiful, rolling, immense and enchanting. The mornings are sunny and, though the nights may be cool at between 40 and 50 degrees, the days usually are in the high 70’s to 80’s. Nothing to complain about, right? After all, my family in Wisconsin is suffering through it’s first major snow storm with temperatures in the teens and wind chills at 17 degrees below zero and David’s family, in Texas, have had lows and highs pretty close together in the 30’s and 40’s.
One minute we are enjoying all the beauty that Mexico has to offer, and the next we are trying to remember exactly what needs to be accomplished today, what can be put off until tomorrow and what may never happen or, for that matter, does anything “need” to be done at all?
We’ve tried the Jimmy Buffet approach – which works rather well for a while…find a comfy beach chair, sit down, drink and do nothing.
We’ve tried the intrepid traveler stance – let’s walk the area and get to know our surroundings. This too works except that after a while wobbling over cobblestones – no matter how great the exercise is – can put one’s muscles – some we never knew we had – into a uproar.
We’ve jumped in the car and headed into the manic traffic patterns of which David is becoming quite comfortable – good/bad – we’re still unsure. The gleam in his eye could mean he’s enjoying himself or something completely diabolically sacry…I’m not so sure what. And the remnants of city life kick in – we must stop at the farmicia (pharmacy), the Super Lake (large gringo grocery store), Mailboxes Etc. store (speaks for itself), the ferreteria (hardware store) and on and on. Until we realize we are launching ourselves into a frenzy of “must dos” like we were back in the states.
My point, we are gradually trying to contain our many personalities into a single, easy-going, it-will-get-done-when-it-gets-done attitude and it is not going quite as easily as we expected. Good grief, I hope it doesn’t take us 11 years to accomplish.
Right now I’m thinking I really should sweep the house. I’d like to sit down and read. I’d like to get our shared office/studio finished so that we can use it as the view from the mirror door is amazing. We should pick up the laundry.
See what I mean, the insanity of “life” with all its “could do”, “should do”, “must do” phrases preface each thought – not that I’ve ever been accused of thinking too heavily. For now, I think I’ll make this post and move onto the porch with my latest J.D.Robb novel and try to put at bay any of my personalities that think otherwise…or maybe I really should pick up the milk?!
“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both.” James A. Michener
David is a commercial photographer. He says I am prejudice, but reality speaks for itself. Most all of the pictures contained in our blog site are David’s. He has an eye for interesting and beautiful things. He can make the mundane seem fascinating. He will barrel right in, when there is a picture to be taken, and take it.
He has the ability to make people smile radiantly. He draws people out with his sense of humor and makes them relax – even the mega stars and public figures he’s photographed become more human and more likable.
Some of the most difficult shots I’ve seen him take – buildings without much merit, roof tops for people who sell roofing – turn out amazingly compelling.
He does not have a sense of how talented he is – others do.
In the next few posts I’m going to take you on a journey letting you get too know our little hamlet. David has joined the crowds who are celebrating the patron Saint of Ajijic – St. Andrew – and taken the most wonderful photographs.
However, before that happens, I wanted to share a little of David’s sense of humor with you. He is, as the quote above says, “the master in the art of making little distinction between work and play” and you will rarely see him without his camera…except in these shots which I took in our backyard.
David Getting Ready to Jump
Mid-Jump
Touch Down
After Jump
“A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains.” Dutch Proverb
Since I’ve never been burdened with a bushel (or any other measurement) of brains, I use my patience often.
As you’ve heard me lament many times already, our furniture and belongings have not yet arrived. However, our patience has supposedly paid off.
They tell us our furniture has made it to Ajijic. They tell us this, though I have no proof except for two phone calls David has had with our movers over the course of the last few hours.
We received a message, after an email inquiry I made yesterday, that our belongings had arrived and we needed to contact the movers for delivery. David called immediately and was asked, when would he like to take delivery? His response, how about now was greeted with, how about Monday.
Okay, we can make it through one more weekend. I’m wondering if it would be possible to go and visit our stuff? You know maybe pull out a few hundred things we are dying to get our hands on? Perhaps, gaze upon a few items that hold special meaning – like, maybe, our toaster. I guess that isn’t going to happen as they are still in their crates.
Life is full of ups and downs, a few steps forward and ten steps back. For now, we march as one into the weekend knowing – though we have sustained yet another slow leak in our air mattress, our time is near its end and we will simply bound joyously into four more days of adventures in sleeping.
Pass the bottle of sleeping pills; I think I’m ready for a quick nap before the bed hits the floor!
(The pictures accompanying this post are a view of our blow up mattress and of Lumpel-Still-Skin – our cat – sequestered within said blow up mattress.)
The Blow UP
Lumpel Still Skin
A Quiet Garden Corner
As you know I like to begin each post with a quote…or something similar. This morning, as I began writing my post I came up with many quotes that seemed to fit the bill and was hard pressed to find just the right one. Weeding out most of them (ha, ha) and sharing one with David I thought was particularly funny, him not so much – these are the two that struck a note:
A Veggie New Age Song: Peas would rule the planets, and love would clear the bars. It was the dawning of the Age of Asparagus, age of asparagus
And a Rodney Dangerfield quote:
My wife’s a water sign. I’m an earth sign. Together we make mud.
David’s family, as I understand it, had a person who did the major yard work while he and his brother Jody did the mowing.
When I was younger I mowed the lawn with a push lawn mower (3/4 of an acre) and later on my brother took over. I do still have some lingering thoughts in regard to that process since once he started mowing my father decided to buy a riding lawn mower. I’ve gotten over that, though I still think it was a bit unfair to pay him more when he actually enjoyed riding that mower!
My point, you are probably wondering is this – we have a gardener – Senor Magay. He is absolutely wonderful! I mean it. He performs magic on our yard. It’s not an easy yard to take care of – large with many different types of plantings, lots of watering, raking, cutting, pruning, fertilizing, etc. He does it all. He smiles the entire time. He receives $100 pesos (about $7.76) for stopping in once a week for this work, and working three to four hours. The amount that was actually agreed upon between the people who set up our house for us was $90 pesos, but David increased it to $100.
I’m not used to having anyone do my lawn, yard work, etc. On top of it – there David and I sat, this lovely Saturday afternoon…he on his laptop and I reading “The Historian” enjoying life on our porch. I felt guilty sitting there. I felt I should be down there lending a helping hand. Yet, Senor Magay, like so many of the Mexican people we have come across, would not hear of it. They are pleasant, smiling, generous, always wanting to practice their English on us and extremely helpful. Working hard seems to be a past time, although I’m still trying to get used to the hours – starting in the morning until lunch – gone for several hours – returning and working, often, until sundown.
They make me tired just watching them. I guess it’s time for lemonade!
Fortunately, Les noticed him on the roof before he could make his pitch for liability insurance, presumably by falling off of it.
OK–you don’t need to tell me this isn’t a gecko. I can tell the difference between ordinary lizards and geckos. Geckos wear glasses.
A local insurance agent
We have at least 3 varieties of small peppers growing on bushes in our yard, and to tell the truth, I haven’t dared try any of them.
These little red ones below are the most common. Tiny little things, they are at most 3/4 inch long. I swear they made my skin burn for a while after I just accidentally touched a bunch of them. I don’t know what the occasional black peppers are. They are full and plump, so it’s not like they are dying or anything.
Small red peppers
Then there are these yellow-orange peppers (they’re yellower than in the picture). We only have a few of these bushes in the yard, and they don’t have as many peppers on them. The peppers are a little longer, and plumper, than the red peppers. Are they hot peppers, like the red ones, or more like salad peppers? Don’t ask me!
Little yellow-orange peppers
Lastly, against the back wall, we have this nascent little pepper bush whose peppers are a deep red. They’re long, maybe 2 inches, not full at all, rather kind of dried looking, and just plain look HOT! These are the peppers I used to see in the grocery store in Dallas that were labeled ‘Chili Peppers.’ We only have this one little sprig growing, so I hope it really comes to life.
Deep red 'Chili Peppers'
OK, so I don’t know my mangos from my papayas, as an earlier reader suggested. So I leave it to you all to help me out here.
Is this a mango or not? The fruit are around 4″ in diameter, and maybe 6″ from stem to stern.
Are these mangos or papayas?
These next fruit are what I, probably mistakenly, call papayas. They’re a lot bigger than the ones I’ve been calling mangos – maybe 8″ in diameter and a full foot long. They’re also a lot more oblong and pointier at the end. And the leaves are a little different.
Are these papayas or mangos?
So you tell me folks, which are which? All I can say for sure is that they aren’t the same.
We’ve a beautiful mango tree in the backyard, not that i’m very fond of mangos. There’s also a papaya tree or two in the front yard, the bananas i’ve already shown you, the limes of course, a eucaplyptus tree, and some tiny little red and green peppers.
Our mango tree - we didnt have many of these in downtown Dallas
Our yard is just beautiful. We have a tree with a stunning orchid hanging from it. (notice how nice our house looks in the background)
Our orchid and house
And we have 4 banana trees with full bunches of fruit hanging from them. they aren’t ripe yet, but we’ve got more than enough it you want some.
One of our 4 banana trees, laden with fruit.
Henry Kissinger once said:
“For other nations, utopia/paradise is a blessed past never to be recovered, for Americans it is just beyond the horizon.”
Hello from just beyond the horizon!!
Okay, so we’ve only been here since Saturday (October 31 2009 – Day of the Dead). While it was certainly an unusual day to arrive – on many levels – it was none-the-less our first day here.
Having never given much thought to my own personal definition of paradise or utopia, my thought as I sat on our porch looking out over our beautiful yard the first morning we were here, paradise sprung to mind.
This dwelling is, in fact, so closed in – large gates that allow you entrance via a small door (by foot) or large metal doors via car (which my love is still working on understanding!) you only hear what is going on around you.
David often mentions; “you never know what is behind these doors and most often the beauty is amazing….spoken as a fabulous photographer and intellect.
A friend, with whom I have been corresponding with since we started our blog and someone who lived in Ajijic for a year before returning to Maine, spoke volumes when she said: “I found moving to Mexico much like a marriage – first the wonderful honeymoon stage where everything is perfect. Then the warts and blemishes begin to show.” However, then she goes on to mention various places she enjoyed, giving us helpful tips and simply being someone I can turn to with the many questions that clamor for an answer, bounding around in my head!
We’re not exactly sure what we are doing…at least I’m not. Wondering the streets, taking in the sites, listening to the strange noises at night or sitting in the quiet garden in the morning listening to the children laughing, shouting and doing all the things children world wide do, is paradise.
Missing family and friends is ever-present but knowing this is something we’ve committed ourselves to and, for a commitment – living here isn’t anything either of us has known before – makes it bearable, exciting and, dare I say it, grand.
We both talked with loved one’s yesterday. I for an extended period with my young grandchildren who had many questions and were fascinated with the answers or the stories I had to tell. That’s nothing new as at ages 6, 7 and 8 I can still dazzle them with my humorous take on most things happening around me….and they all love Dora the Explorer!!
So, folks, for now this is paradise and we will write of our adventures, our thoughts, our insights, our silly experiences and those that touch our heart deeply – as it will keep us connected to those who sustain us as we journey into the utopia that we seem to be in at this moment.
Thank you to all of our family and friends who wonder, are concerned, pray, make wonderful comments, or otherwise support us on this new adventure in our lives for we would not be able to do it without that love and support.
Les
