Yard Work Cont.

Well, Juan did show up.  In his brand new bright red SUV.  Looked over the situation and advised me it would cost $50 to fix.  So I tell him that I will go inside and wait for him to fix it.  "You no unnerstand Missy, I no fix today, I be back tomorrow."  Two days later, no Juan.  I text him and tell him that after waiting for two days for him to show up and no phone call, I have found someone else to do the work and no longer need him.

Did I just do that - with no backup plan?!  What was I thinking?  Now what?

I take to the local FaceBook page for the city that I live in asking if anyone knows anyone reliable, who is reasonable in his pricing and who I can count on to show up.  I get two recommendations.  I give my phone number to a gal who says she knows someone and get a phone number for another one.  I wait for a call from the one and call the other, leaving a message to call me back and what I am looking for.  I sit back and wait.

I get a message from the fellow who had my phone number.  States that he understands that I am looking for someone to paint my bathroom.  WTF?  I call him back and tell him that I don't need my bathroom painted, but rather need my sprinkler system leak repaired.  He seemed confused, or stoned or maybe both.  I tell him that I get home from work around 3:45 and ask that he come by to see if he can give me an estimate.  Would he like the address?  No, he'll get it from me when he calls.

In the meantime, the other fellow, Scott, calls.  Very professional and concerned that I might not know how to turn the sprinkler system off and that he wants to help me turn it off right away.  I assure him that I already have the system turned off, and that I just need it fixed.  He tells me that if it is okay with me, he will come by around 7:30 the following day to see just what I need done.  I tell him that I will be at work, but he is more than welcome to come by to assess the situation.

I get a voice message on my cell phone mid day while at work from Scott, telling me that not only has he come by, but he has fixed the leak and we can work out a price when I get home from work and he stops by!

I get home and Scott calls asking if it's okay if he come by.  It is.  Scott explains that it will cost me $30 for having him fix the leak.  I argue with him and tell him the first estimate that I got was for $50 and to please take at least $40 from me.  He states that he couldn't do that and will be happy if I just tell everyone that I know that he is available for yard work.  As he has been so reasonable in his pricing, I ask if he would be interested in mowing Bill's precious grass every week and he says yes.  Now he's got me going...

Let me explain something - they use a lot of various size rock to decorate yards here in Phoenix.  Walk areas use a very small size rock and we have a lot of it in our back yard, surrounding our grass.  While this small rock looked great when we bought this house just under three years ago, it has disappeared since then (mostly tracked into the house by the dog!).  It needs to be replenished.  I ask Scott if he would like to give us a quote.  You bet he would!  Tells me he will be back to mow the grass and to give me a quote. Take that Juan - coulda, woulda, shoulda!

Scott shows up and gives me a quote.  He doesn't know it yet, but he's got the job.

Oh - and by the way, I never took the other guys call.  He just wasn't eager enough.  And he didn't even try to reach me a second time...

Happenings

I know that it has been awhile since I took fingers to keyboard.  A lot has been going on.

My husband, who has been out of work since January, finally was offered a contract job in Orlando, Florida.  He's been gone a couple of weeks now and it could go on for a year.  It's a good thing though as under the contract, he gets paid an hourly wage and there is open opportunity for O.T.  Right now he is staying with friends that we have known for over 40 years, who, at this point, are not asking him for any payment for allowing him to stay there.  I am sure this will change as time goes by - no one wants a permanent house guest!

So, I am now having to tackle all matters with the house.  I thought (foolishly) that it wouldn't be a problem as, after all, I lived a very single, independent live for over 15 years before Bill came back into my life.  What could be so difficult this time?

I go out one morning and there is water all over the back patio and into the backyard.  A leak has developed in the sprinkler system, which I now have to turn off.  We've had leaks before and Bill has always dug them up and fixed the system.  I do not know how to do this, not do I think that I would want to, even if I did know.  Time to call our resident sprinkle system guy to come over to fix it.  He is scheduled to show up on Monday, which I have taken as a vacation day from work.

We have a very small patch of grass in the backyard.  Keep in mind that we live in the desert and having grass requires a lot of work.  It is Bill's pride and joy (besides the dog) as he has worked very hard to get it to grow and be very green.  It was time to mow it this week - something that Bill normally does every week, but I thought I could let it go for two weeks.  So I get out the mower (electric) and start mowing...  no problem.  Then I realize that the mower seems bogged down and leaving clumps of grass in it's wake.  Aha!  Time to empty the basket.  Easy, right?  Not so fast.  I struggle with getting the basket off.  It doesn't budge.  I keep struggling.  Nope.  I call Bill and ask him what am I doing wrong?  I follow his instructions (which is exactly what I was doing before I called him).  Still no go.  I give up.  Finnish the mowing, leaving clumps of grass all over the place including the path back to the garage where the mower is housed.

Hopeful that Juan (the sprinkler guy) can get the basket off when he shows up, if he shows up...  Juan is a nice guy, but not so dependable.  While he says he will be here today, I follow up with a phone call to remind him.  He says "You no worry Missy, I be there later."  In Juan's world, "later" could mean tomorrow or the day after.  Good thing I have experience with time schedules like this from having lived in Mexico.

Ah...  The joys of owning a house!

Dreams

I find myself dreaming about living in the same fishing village in Mexico that I lived in 20 years ago.  I wake up and I want to shout "Yes!  I can't wait!"  I worry that I will be disappointed when I get there.  The good news is that we don't HAVE to stay there.  We will be 'footloose and fancy free' and able to go wherever we want to go.  So I keep a list of those places that seem most promising.

While I yearn for a beach, warm water to swim in and the cool sand that makes up the beaches in the Yucatan, I then think:  "Who am I kidding?  Do I really want to venture out on a beach at 66 years of age in my granny bathing suit?"  There is a big difference in venturing out on a beach in your 40's and then showing up in your 60's!

I have to stop and remind myself that it doesn't have to be all about the beach.  I can just simply enjoy the laid back lifestyle, find a comfortable hammock and read a book with the soft gentle breeze and sounds of the Caribbean wafting over me.  Sounds like heaven to me.  I can still smell what it feels like.  If that doesn't make sense to you, then you have never been there, done that.  I have and I must say that I can't wait to go back.

And I also look forward to going to sleep every night so that I can dream about 'Mi Caribe' and all that awaits us when we get there.  Es muy tranquilo en la Yucatan.  Mi alma es aya...

Buenos noches mi amigos, hasta manana o otra dia....

Time - slipping by

OK.  I'm feeling better today and will be going back to work tomorrow.

In the meantime:

I have come to realize that time is slipping away and there is oh so much to do to get ready for the transition.  I also realize that while I am retiring on July 31st of this year, that doesn't mean that we have to be packed and out the door on that day.  I doubt that we will be ready to put the house up for sale before the fall and that will leave us time to get everything in order.

Granted it's going to rough getting everything taken care of prior to our leaving and also coordinating the sale of the house with when we are totally ready to leave.  I have to keep reminding myself that I have done this before, it's no big deal, and we will get through it.

I had started to scan old photos (and new) onto the computer, when I realized that it is a daunting task and one that will take several months.  I have been the family photographer for almost 50 years - that's a lot of photos!  I keep stopping to email copies of the photos on to family and friends.  The point being that I am trying to get rid of excess baggage (numerous photo albums).  We want to start this new phase of our life with minimal 'things'.

I have made more contacts with the people that I knew from the last time that I made this exodus.  They all have been very helpful and I look forward to seeing them again.  We just need to see if we can stay in the same area with our income from SS or if we will have to seek out another area.  I am nervous and anxious and wildly optimistic all at the same time.

Sick

I'm sick.  I have a cold.  The kind of cold that makes you wish that you could fall asleep and wake up in a few days feeling like new again.  It's a head cold that will eventually travel down to my chest, making me cough as if I am dieing from tuberculosis, consumption or some other rare disease.

I feel as if my head is in a vise.  I can't breathe through my nose, which makes my lips dry up and burn as if they had been exposed to the sun too long.  Cotton where brains should be and a buzzing in my ears making it very difficult to follow any conversation at all, least of all those with any merit or normal interest in times of well being.  "What do you think about ____?"  I don't.  And I don't care that I don't.

I want to go to sleep, but that too eludes me.  I toss and turn.  Sleeping, at most, what seems like only minutes at a time.  My head pounds and my ears buzz.  No rest for the weary here.  I need to blow my nose once again.  Will it ever stop running and let me be?  I sneeze frequently and observe what I perceive to be voluminous droplets of fluid escape from my nose and mouth.

I hate being sick and yet it happens every year at this time.

Mexico

I wanted to share some photos of my stay in Puerto Morelos, Mexico.  1989-1993

There were so very many good times and I miss all the friends that I made there.  But have to say that I look forward to the next chapter; possibly seeing some of those old friends and to making new ones.

Hasta luego mi amigos!

Yearning

As I connect with more and more of the friends I had in Mexico, and who are still there, I find that I can't wait to get back.  I know that things have changed (and not always for the better), but oh, how I miss being in Mexico!

I'm going to try to scan photos that I took during my, almost, 4 year stay there over this weekend.  I may not be able to post them all at once, but they will all get there eventually.

Mexico and Arizona are the only places that I have ever felt 'connected' to and Arizona comes in as 2nd.  I have enjoyed my time here (with many ups and downs) but it is now time to leave and live la vida bueno in the land of (almost) perpetual sunshine, tranquility and some of the most incredible people that I have ever come across in my lifetime.

In the meantime, I have told the cleaning crew at work that "Necessito a practicar mi Espanol, con ellos por favor" and they have responded "No problema."  I am blessed and they are patient and kind as I stumble through the basics.

Felicidades fin de semana, mi amigos.  Hasta luego.