Travel

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Custom Kitchen Cart

I’m starting to get unpleasantly cynical and suspicious in my advancing age as the effects of society in general are starting to rub off on me. There are so many people in my life, some of whom I love very much, who are very much in the frame of mind that anything that sounds too good to be true is too good to be true or who have the mindset that everyone is out to scam them. I try to have faith in people and the odd time that I am scammed, I remind myself that it was more of a failing on their part to have not been trustworthy than on my part to have trusted.

So…

As I’m spending more and more time in my kitchen, I’m figuring out what I need for storage based on how I cook. For one thing, there is a problem with outlets being in very awkward spaces. Just to do something as simple as make coffee has me having to reach around the microwave to plug in the kettle. I determined that what I needed was a cart on wheels on which to put all the things that I might want to plug in, with the top being my breakfast and snack centre, complete with toast, kettle, phin, coffee and tea canisters, etc.

I would want the cart parked for use by this outlet, but I wouldn’t want it nearly as deep or long as the plastic table because I will eventually have a stove. Also, I’d want it counter height (90cm/35in) as a table is way too low to work at.

I was worried that by the time I get a stove and an island, the cart would be in the way, so I wanted to be able to park it in this nook:

Needless to say, I couldn’t find anything available commercially at any price. I did come close with a cart I found that was the right height, but it was very shallow and narrow, with only one shelf and wire metal baskets underneath.

While browsing Facebook Marketplace on Tuesday, I saw a cart marketed for the storage of cosmetics and thought that something like that, but bigger, would work for me. I clicked on the link and got to a page for a woodworking shop that seemed to have nice things. So I contacted them with a picture of the cosmetics cart and explained that I wanted something similar, but 90cm tall by 35cm deep by 75 to 100cm wide and with shelves instead of boxes .

They almost immediately replied with a quote of only $700 and they could deliver on Friday. So I asked how I could order it. Of course, all I had to go on was that page, so I had no idea if this company was legit or not. For ordering, I was told I could come to their workshop and pay $400 in cash or I could deposit that $400 to their debit card at an Oxxo. The debit card was in a name that matched the Facebook page and I thought why would a scammer give me their banking information and address? So I went ahead and made the deposit through Oxxo and the company reverified my order. I thought all was good.

Wednesday evening (the following day) is when things got weird. They messaged to ask if I still wanted the cart. I replied that I’d made the deposit and provided a picture of the receipt. I then got asked a few things that made me think that I wasn’t speaking with the same person, but he insisted he was. Then, I got told the last thing you want to be told when you suspect you might be in the process of being scammed, “Don’t worry. We’re honest people.” Hmm…

So I was surprised this morning, Friday, at nine, when I was messaged again to ask when I could pick up the cart! I was provided an address in a residential neighbourhood in south Mérida near the airport. The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. I haven’t had that happen a lot in my life, but I knew that I wasn’t comfortable going out there as things stood. I was going to ask my neighbour to go with me when I had a DUH moment.

I messaged the shop to send me a picture of the cart. If they could provide one, then, obviously, I wasn’t being lured into some sort of trap. The picture came immediately and there was no doubt it was my order. I let out a sigh of relief (and a giggle of happiness because I liked what I saw in the picture!) and immediately headed out.

It was a very long drive through centro, but I knew that I could come home via the periférico, which would be twice the distance, but half the time.

I found the address without any problems. By the time I got out of my truck, there was a guy standing outside the curb with my cart! I examined it and couldn’t stop smiling as I took in all the details. It was better than perfect. Exactly what I wanted, but with unexpected actual craftsmanship. My gamble had paid off. I was pleased that I’d listened to my gut and made sure I was safe, but also that I ignored the voices in my head telling me I’d just wasted $400.

So here it is! 🙂

If you click the picture, it will embiggen and you can see more details!

The way the legs were done, the whole thing is 40cm deep so it doesn’t fit perfectly into the nook, but the door still opens fully so I’m happy to have the extra depth.

Look at the corners of the shelves and the routing along the edges!

The wheels are very good quality and the shelves are thick, solid, and double reinforced. This cart is going to serve me very well! I asked for it unfinished because I have turquoise paint to use up. 🙂 With how long paint takes to dry here, I probably won’t get to use the cart for a full two weeks, but it will be worth the wait!

Eep, I’d better get back to work so that I can hopefully get a first coat of paint on the cart and maybe the shelving unit too tonight!

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I Got a Letter Today!

The Mexican postal system Correos de Mexico is terrible. It is slow and unreliable. I once mailed my best friend a letter from Mazatlán and it never arrived. So when she told me that she mailed me a letter to Mérida on October 5th, let’s just say that I wasn’t holding my breath about ever seeing it.

A month and 10 days later, I went out to look for mail, something I do almost daily because 9 times out of 10, mail ends up wedged into a door grill or slipped under a garage door instead of in my mailbox. But today, there was something in my mailbox:

I teared up as I clutched the precious gift to my chest. I could not believe that it had reached me!

(I was amused by the purple stamp on it, “remember that November 12 is mail carriers day,” when the letter arrived four days after it!)

As always, Bast’s letter had a funny sticker on the flap, this one related to the sticker that she put on the letter that took just 10 days to reach me in Bulgaria:

Now, I’m feeling motivated to find a post office here and to try again to send her a letter. My limited experience so far with Correos de Mexico really gives me a sense of what it would have been like to send mail in ancient times!

It’s been a pretty good day. I had my best night of sleep here so far, which meant I got a bit of a late start. But I still met all my deadlines and work wouldn’t stop pouring in. I remain eternally grateful for that. Cashflow this month is tough, but I think that things really will be better starting in December.

Late afternoon, a couple came by to pick up all the moving boxes I had stored in the maid’s room. In a less humid climate, I would have broken them up and stored them for use in a few years, but they would have likely been mouldy, smelly, and possibly even too damp to use by that point. Better to let someone else use them while they are still in good shape. So now, what to do with that room? Hmm…

After, I paused to make a really nice dinner that included the packet of butter chicken sauce my hosts in Chelem brought back for me. What a treat! I had to go back to work after, but it was nice to stop to make a full dinner and then eat on my pretty china.

I hope I’m going to start catching up on sleep as I’m too exhausted in the evenings to go enjoy all the wonderful free stuff going on in Mérida, like movies, concerts, and dance shows. I have to keep telling myself that things are likely not going to slow down until January, but that after that, I’ll still have 21 months (at least) left to enjoy all that Mérida has to offer. I just need to get over this last hump — and remember that I’m here a year earlier than I thought I would be after spending 10 months in Europe. Of course, things are going to be tight. At least, business is very good and my house is very comfortable! So really, I have no complaints. 🙂

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The Year-Round Road to Tuktoyaktuk Is Finally Complete

Long-time readers may remember the heady days of my Klondike summers, when I finally fulfilled my dreams of seeing Canada’s far north. Oh, those days seem so far away now, but they are some of the months I will remember most fondly in my old age. They taught me that dreams really do not have deadlines and that achieving them is particularly sweet after you’d given up hope. I may never again drive the Alaska, Klondike and Dempster Highways again, may never again see a show at Diamond Tooth Gertie’s or fly over Tuktoyaktuk’s pingos, but I did it!

Exploring the north is going to get a little easier for tourists because this coming Wednesday, November 15th, 2017, after years of delays, the all-year gravel road between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk is finally going to open. For the first time in Canada’s history, it will be possible to drive year-round to each of our three coasts.

I would like to invite you reread my series about Driving the Dempster Highway and to revisit the towns of Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. I feel privileged to have done so and to have spoken to locals so that I know that while this year-round road will change life in Tuk, in some ways not for the better, this road is ultimately a Good Thing worthy of celebration.

Standing in the Arctic Ocean at Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, August 2010

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Cocooning

I seem to have lost a day…

I cannot for the life of me remember what I did on Friday besides do an inordinate amount of typing. Perhaps that was all. I do remember that as the time crept to 7PM, I discovered that one of my Saturday jobs was so easy I still had energy to do it, which would reduce my Saturday work load, which would reduce my Sunday work load, which would reduce my Monday work load…

So I decided to order a pizza from a place that left a flyer in my mail box. $100 plus a $10 tip got me a surprisingly good humongous pizza (and by that, I mean I got FOUR meals out of it!) with three toppings. In the hour that I would have stopped to make dinner, I was able to do the easy job, finishing literally as the doorbell rang.

So now, I’ve found a good cheap pizza place nearby. 🙂 Sometimes, I want more American-style pizza (think Domino’s, Costco’s or little Caesar’s), but sometimes the cheaper Mexican style is fine. This one’s crust was particularly good, even if the cheese wasn’t quite right, and they sliced the onions the way I like them.

Saturday, I was up stupidly early for some reason and got a mountain of work done before noon. I was just done after that. There were so many things I could have done with my day, but I wasn’t going anywhere or in the mood for chores. I broke out the LEGOs and a series on Netflix and wiled away a very rainy afternoon enjoying not having the pressures of maintaining someone else’s home for the first time in a long time.

Today was another heavy work day, but there were things to do. I managed to get the truck out mid-morning (my automatic garage door opener is giving me grief) to go around the block to the Extra (Circle K in the US) to get two 5 gallons of water since I still haven’t figured out home delivery yet. One block closer and I would have walked them home. If delivery doesn’t get figured out soon, I need to find myself a dolly or something because getting the truck in and out of the parking bay and the doors open and shut took about twice as long as the actual purchase of the water!

Around 1PM, I headed out to the sushi restaurant I recently discovered to try their Sunday buffet. It was decent and good value, but I’ll stick to à la carte from now on. I really must be starting to develop Mexican sushi tastebuds because I found their smoked salmon and cream cheese roll quite good!

Then, I went to Superama to see what treasures I could find. It’s really not a place to buy your basics available at any Mexican supermarket, but it is a great place to find good quality butter and imported veggies and cheeses. I had to laugh as I was looking at the cheese when a lady asked if I wanted to try a sample. I ended up buying a nice hunk of Port Salut for a fraction of what I would have paid in Canada. What a treat that will be!

Going through the small home goods section, I found a lightbulb I thought might fit my bedroom lamp (kept forgetting to look for one!) and I also found, to my immense surprise, something I expected to have to hunt for, a two-prong to three-prong adapter:

Even more surprising, it was only $21 for a pack of three!

These will let me plug my three-prong power bars into the house’s myriad of two-prong outlets.

I contacted APC/Schneider Electric, the manufacturer of my UPS (uninterrupted power supply) to ask them about using their equipment in my high voltage power situation. They really came through with their reply. Based on the info I gave them about the new outlet and how it is grounded, they say that the UPS and its surge protection will still work despite my getting the “building wiring fault” warning light. So I should absolutely keep using it and should favour it for plugging in any of my electronics. I can use the other outlets in the house, for example to plug in an iPad charger overnight or a TV, but the high voltage may damage things over time. So I’m best off to only plug in when I need to. I don’t have an expensive TV or stereo, so now I know I don’t have to worry about the high voltage.

I was pleased when the kid at the cash asked me if I wanted to make a withdrawal with my purchase. I forgot to go to HSBC before going to the sushi restaurant and figured that if I needed cash this week, I could just walk to the bank then, not remembering that cash withdrawals are available at some stores. So the kid saved me some time.

My shopping done, I called my second Uber. It’s pretty funny how it’s almost twice as far to get home from Superama by car as it is to walk, but I wasn’t going to walk since I had heavy things like wine in my bag. The trip only cost me $30, so it was well worth it. I think calling Uber will eventually start to feel part of my routine instead of something still a bit dark and mysterious. I don’t know how much fuel I would have spent driving Moya to the restaurant and then Superama and back, but I do know for sure it would have been more than 2CAD! Plus, I didn’t have to worry about getting her in and out of the garage or parking, I got some exercise walking over there, and I got to enjoy the AC in the Uber car!

When I got in, I tested my lightbulb and, yay, it worked! It’s also similar to the bulbs in the ceiling so now I know what I need to buy to replace the ones that don’t work. Poco a poco… 🙂

Then, extra work came in and I had to get cracking or having a 15-hour day tomorrow. I really need to do at least another now and it’s 8:30. Zzz…. I’m so tired but, thankfully, I’m slowly starting to sleep longer stretches here and might be able to get back on track to solid nights. Hopefully!

I’m approaching the two-week mark of being here and still can’t believe how easily I took to the house. It does help that I had access to it for two months, but still, there has been almost no adaptation period and even with all that I still want to do with it, it’s already home.

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Shopping Locally

It was a very late night and a ridiculously early morning. By 12:30, I was falling asleep at my desk. Instead of taking a nap, I went for a walk to get some sun. I made it back to “downtown” Chuburńa de Hidalgo, which was bustling at that hour. There was brisk business being done at the market even with the construction going on and I was lured in by a rack of sandals.

I have the bad habit of being barefoot all day if it’s safe to do so, regardless of the type of material I’m walking on. Here it’s just tile and more tile and cement — my feet are sore. I’ve been wanting to pick up a very specific type of sandal in a foamy material. The name brand types are pricey, the cheap ones are really inexpensive, and then there are mid-range models. That’s what I wanted and I haven’t had much luck the few times I’ve been out and about.

The shopkeeper had quite a variety of styles and sandals and he had me try on a bunch until we figured out my Mexican size (somewhere between a 40 and a 42). I came to the rather amusing realisation that my “tiny” feet for my stature by US and Canadian standards are actually quite large here. Nothing was fitting right until he pulled out a foamy material sandal that was like sinking my foot into a cloud. Absolutely perfect. Bliss even. I wasn’t crazy about the mint green and they were a bit dirty, but they were going to be garden sandals anyway. And then, he said, “Oh, I have another pair in pink…” My house sandals! 🙂

The price was $65 per pair and when I asked him the price for two, he looked at me like I was an idiot and said $130. I gave him a squinty look and said, “But I’m buying two…”  He hemmed and hawed and finally knocked off $10. 🙂

Here they are. I can’t believe I found exactly what I wanted so close to home!

I’ve been wearing the pink ones all afternoon and they are making such a difference. I’m reminded of just how sore I was working at the store in Campbell River until I stopped caring about the dress code and put on my hiking boots.

After buying the sandals, I went to pick up half chicken for lunch. I’m still struggling with the fridge (more below) and preferring to shop daily. At $75, a half chicken is good value as it gives me two meals. The owner started to bag up my meal and asked if I’d bought my sandals in centro. I replied, “No, at the market here. It’s important to shop in your neighbourhood.” She gave me a huge grin at that and added extra bags of rice and coleslaw to my bag!

I came in and enjoyed my lunch. I’m getting used to the Yucatecan-style rice and coleslaw and find that the two mixed together is really quite nice. The coleslaw is made with the juice of sour orange, a staple here. Once I identified that still relatively new-to-me flavour, I found the coleslaw more palatable on its own, but it is really sour!

The fridge is cycling between being a good temperature and being way too cold and freezing everything. A very nice guy on a fridge forum had me troubleshoot a few things and he’s pretty much convinced at this point that I just need to get a thermometre and be more patient as I play with the settings as it can take a full 24 hours for a slight change on a dial to take effect. So far, I haven’t lost anything, but I obviously want to be 100% confident that the fridge is fine before I really fill it. It is such a nice model with a lot of neat features that I don’t want to give up on it. I do think I wouldn’t have trouble making my money back on it as it would make a really good beer fridge, but I can’t afford to replace it right now until I sell it and I don’t want to sell it because I have so much in the freezer. Anyway, in the meantime, I make it a point to shake my almond milk several times a day to make sure it’s still liquid in the morning!