Homemaking

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Mutual Trust

My landlady and her husband just left from fixing my toilet. Well, he fixed it and she and I gabbed. She was quite impressed by my report about the Road and was devastated to see the state of the ceiling in the bathroom. I’d told her that rain came in and caused the paint to start flaking, but the impact of this didn’t hit her till she saw the damage.

My relation with my dueña has been very good. We don’t have any sort of written agreement, but with a bit of give and take on both sides, this business relationship works. She trusts me that the rent will show up at some point and I trust that repairs will be done in a timely manner. She pays the gas and power bills to make sure service isn’t cut off and I don’t balk and reimburse her as soon as I can. And, of course, she got internet in and handles all inquiries related to that while I do my best to keep her house clean and neat and alert her of problems.

Unfortunately, the yardmate situation has been terrible. I like the house, the location, the price, and get along well with my landlady, but I’ll confess that there have been many times since the yardmate arrived in December that I have thought of moving because of her. She is also the reason I hesitated in committing to the idea of coming back to this house, with the fear that the yardmate had the same thought.

But I’ve heard through the grapevine that the yardmate is going to look for other accommodation if she comes back to Isla next year and this makes me very happy. I’ve decided not to say much more about the yardmate because I don’t want to sink to her level.

I want to come back to this house because it works for me, the kinks with the landlady are worked out, and I’ll know I’ll have good internet within a few days of arrival. It just doesn’t seem worth my time to look for a more architecturally interesting building, something cheaper, or even something quieter.

I’ve been a homeowner for more than half of my adult life and I have to say that there are real perks to being a tenant — like not having to fix your own leaky toilet. 😀

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First Time in an Auriga

This morning, I accompanied my friends L&D to Office Depot to help them purchase a printer for the Isla school, where they teach English. This was a sponsored trip, so I was not uncomfortable that all transportation costs and tips were covered for me. What a treat this trip was since I barely had to carry anything and it took minutes to get across town, not an hour!

We took a pulmonía to Office Depot and were out very quickly because I had done research prior. We’d met at the Isla panga at 9:00 and left Office Depot at 9:50! We wanted to go to Soriana next door, so I asked if we could leave the purchases behind the till (not so eloquently) and the cashier understood and said not a problem.

Next, L&D headed to Soriana while I hit the bank. Now, this was one heck of an uncomfortable situation because the bank guard insisted on helping with my transaction. I wasn’t able to withdraw 7,000 from that bank (Scotia). The guard explained that I needed to do increments of 2,000 or 5,000. I can’t take 8,000 pesos out at once (daily limit), so that meant I would need to pay two withdrawal fees in both Canada and MX.

I thought of trying the bank across the street to avoid that, but the guard didn’t understand and was adamant about helping me do the two transactions. Frankly, crossing a very busy highway with no guarantee I’d have any luck at the other bank, that could have even higher fees for all I knew, wasn’t appealing, so I let him have his way, but I did not tip him! I don’t know if he was expecting it or not, but that an expensive enough withdrawal as it was. But the experience was worthwhile just to understand why I had issues at ScotiaBank in the past.

I then went to Soriana and spent almost 600 pesos! Unfortunately, they no longer carry hummus (I asked), but I did find a falafel kit with tahini sauce for 123! Wow! I did not buy it, though! My only real food splurge was some Spanish salami that I occasionally find in Canada. I also found the sweet relish! It’s not with the mustard and ketchup, but rather with the hot sauces. Heinz brand squeeze bottle for 30 pesos, very reasonable!

I loaded up on paper goods and laundry detergent, taking advantage of transportation! My only non-splurge was a 37-peso magazine at the checkout because the headline ‘A world without chocolate, the cocoa tree illness’ caught my eye.

The lady ahead of me in line noticed that I’d put the magazine on the belt and asked if I could do some translating for her as her Spanish isn’t good. She wanted me to tell the baggers to put her cold stuff in her insulated bag and distribute the rest into a lot of bags as she has had back surgery and can’t lift anything heavy. I managed it!

L&D had been just ahead of me in line, so they were waiting at the entrance. We took our carts to Office Depot to get the printer, then headed across the parking lot to flag down an auriga, a pick up truck taxi, since we had too much stuff to fit in a pulmonía. Home Depot is across the road, so there are always aurigas there to help people lug home materials. L has a good whistle and was able to catch the attention of a driver who swung around in traffic to come pick us up.

The aurigas have benches along the length of the truck bed, a canopy,  a gate because people have actually fallen out of them, and a healthy sound system! The trip to the panga took no time at all.

There, a guy was quick to grab our big stuff and bring it down to the dock for us. Funny how in Canada and the US I’d be worried about getting robbed, but this is perfectly normal here!

The water was really rough today, so we had to be very careful getting out of the panga. Someone brought our things up to an auriga on this side. I told the driver that L&D were going to their hotel, but first we had to go to my place. I gave my street name and said the white house with the orange door (I really need to learn the word for gate). He understood perfectly, took the exact route I would have taken, and even backed up to the gate before helping me unload.

The internet wasn’t back when I got home. I put together the rent money and went to see my landlady. I’d stopped first thing this morning to ask her to call TelMex and she told me that I should have internet by 1PM, which I do!

I’ve had a full couple of days, so I don’t think I’ll be working this afternoon. I’ll clean the house, go for a walk, and I’m meeting Contessa for dinner.

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Early Morning Chill

I always put the laundry on first thing when I get up and I was blasted by cold air when I stepped out the door around 6:15! It was only 9C/48F outside! I started the machine, then went back inside for a cardigan and a five peso coin before heading ‘downtown’ to pick up some tortillas.

Isla residents rise early, so there was already quite a bustle on the streets. It’s neat to watch children and workers not only leave Isla to come to work, but also arrive on Isla for work. I encountered one of the servers from a beach restaurant arriving from Maz, which surprised me. Isla feels so much like a suburb, not an employment destination!

Tortilla production was in full swing when I arrived. I now know how to order them like a local. The Gringos usually use their fingers to show the stack size they want, but locals arrive with exact change and specify a monetary amount. Five pesos is just right for me to have some the first day and then pop a few in the freezer for the next day or two. I’ve been buying too many eight peso stacks from the boy who goes door to door and they go stale in the freezer before I can finish them.

Bread is cheap in Mexico, but whenever I buy tortillas, bread comes off as being expensive! I’ve been having too much bread lately, not aided by the fact that the veggie guy has been selling some really nice buns. So I did the smart thing, bought a bunch of buns, got them out of my system, and now never want to see another bun for the rest of my life (or at least the winter 🙂 ).

There’s really nothing nicer in the morning than a still hot from the tortilleria tortilla with bit of grated cheese that just softens, not melts, from the residual heat. Well, unless it’s also accompanied by strong Mexican coffee! 🙂

Off to work I go. Going to be a full few days into next week, but nothing too tedious and I’ll have my evenings off.

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Monday Lunch Date

Dale confirmed this morning our tentative plans to meet at the Mercado today for lunch. I’d been up early working and was eager for a break, so I took off around 10:00 to do some shopping before meeting her at noon.

My first stop was the clothing aisle in the Mercado, where I wanted to buy a peasant blouse in dark purple or rose. I found a shop that looked promising and had lower prices than the one where I bought my dresses.

I thought that the clerk was very good. I said I wanted a blouse and didn’t know how to say peasant style, so I showed a dress with a bodice in that style and she understood. We then went through colours and she dug deep to find exactly what I wanted. I didn’t feel pressured.

I love the detailing at the sleeves and down the front, but not the boxy shape. I'll see if I can find someone who can nip in the waist a little.

I love the detailing at the sleeves and down the front, but not the boxy shape. I’ll see if I can find someone who can nip in the waist a little.

I was able to knock 60 pesos off the quoted price and got it for 290 pesos.

It’s been so long since I’ve bought nice new clothes that the prices never cease to amaze me, but, really, $24 for a nice top is nothing!

Then, I did an amble around the area, just to see what was open on a late Monday morning before ending up at Waldo’s to get a few things on my list. Dale was coming into Waldo’s as I was coming out; good timing!

She did her shopping, then we went back to the Mercado for a bit before going upstairs for lunch. Unfortunately, my enchiladas today, while tasty, were nowhere near as yummy as they were last time. Dang! But we still came out of there stuffed for 90 pesos, including the tip, for both of us!

We did a bit more shopping after and I finally found an apron in the style I’ve been looking for, which I was able to bargain down to a mere 70 pesos, so I snatched it up. I’ll have to see if I can find a seamstress to put a few darts it as it is definitely made for a stereotypically corpulent abuela, but the price was too good to not grab it!

Pinafore-style apron, a bit shorter than what I would have liked. The colour scheme is acceptable and I love the pockets in the front. It is *huge* though! :)

Pinafore-style apron, a bit shorter than what I would have liked, but I’ve never seen in person an apron in this style in any length. I bought my last one on Etsy! The colour scheme is acceptable and I love the large pockets in the front. It is *huge* though! 🙂

I was initially quoted six dollars in English and I asked in Spanish for a price in pesos. That wound up being 75 (15 pesos less than the USD price). I countered with 60 pesos and the lady said the best she could do was 70. Shop in the currency of the country you’re in, folks! 🙂

Dale then wanted to show me a new bar she’s discovered that has photographs of old Maz along the walls. It’s called Edgar’s and the beer was cheap. Two Tecates were just 37 pesos!

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The sign made me laugh “Ladies welcome (GentlemAn also)”

We looked at a bit more clothes after as Dale was looking for a blouse and I was looking for a skirt, but we struck out. We parted ways at the corner of Leandro Valle and Aquiles Serdán, where she got on a bus and I headed off towards the panga.

En route, I stopped in at Ley to see if they had my favourite yoghurt in stock. They had one, yay! There was another flavour there that made me curious as there was an ingredient I wasn’t sure about. I asked a lady next to me if ‘pasas son uvas secas’ (literally ‘pasas are dried grapes’) and she looked at me for a moment looking rather bemused before smiling and saying yes. I will try the raisin one the next time I see it!

I can’t believe it’s quarter to four already as I have work to do unless I want to be working by 6:00 again tomorrow. But I have to say that the break in routine was really welcome!

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Lighting a Propane Stove

I Skyped with my good friend L last night and he brought up something that he has told me before, in relation to my exploding BBQ lighter last night. It’s something that I’ve known for years and which he has shown and demonstrated to me, but which has never stuck. And it bothers me because I could have saved myself a lot of money over the years and also prevented yesterday’s accident.

His words of wisdom?

You don’t need fire to light a fire.

He’s, of course, right. To light propane, all you need is a spark.

I have friends who light their RV stoves with flint spark torch igniters.

I haven’t had much luck with them for propane stoves. They are great for lighting a soldering torch because you can bring the tip of the torch right over the sparking surface, but with a round propane burner, you just can’t get in close enough. It takes me too long to light the stove with one of these and I have a mini explosion each time because the propane has time to build up.

So you need the opposite scenario, a flint that creates a concentrated spark. Guess where you can get one of those? A BBQ lighter.

Which brings me back to my friend L. He has been lighting his RV stove with a depleted BBQ lighter for years.

So guess how I lit my stove the four or five times I lit it today? Yup, with a spark from my now depleting BBQ lighter. It works great and I start the stove on the first snick of the lighter, rather than clicking it several times to get a flame going.

I feel like a complete moron, but I plan to cook with gas for the rest of my life, so I have plenty of time to make up for years of stupidity!