Everything is Fabuloso!

I know, I am a bad blogger.  I disappeared again. But not to worry, everything here in Mazatlan is Fabuloso!

This popular cleaning product (of which an entire aisle of super market is dedicated) really sums up our condition since my last post.  We've been so busy, and accomplished so much in the last two months, that I have barely had time to grab a siesta or two, let alone find the time to sit and write.
So, let me make amends and bring you up to speed.

The end of January, and beginning of February was crazy around the Hacienda.  We were in high-construction gear, trying to have everything ready for our first visitors, Julie and Randy, Karen and Issac.

With a deadline of February 9th. looming, we had as many as thirteen workers in the house at one time chipping, banging, plastering, plumbing, painting, electrical and so on.  It was a beehive of activity.  I was on stand-by, as each room was finishing, to do blitz-decorating.  Here is what some of that process looked like..

Our Main workers, Brothers Daniel & Jose

Repairing the lights in the fountain

Restoring the antique Stained Glass Windows

Greg above, looking a bit bewildered in the midst of the chaos!

Some how, we managed to pull it off! We had the guest bath, the portico and two beautiful bedrooms done and waiting for our friends arrivals.  Here are some of the after shots:

We are pretty happy about the way the spaces have turned out. Our friends told us, "you didn't buy a house, you bought a resort". I guess it really does feel like a resort, and we are just fine with that.  Although, the resort was not so tranquil over Carnaval.  All of the traffic that normally goes along the Malecon was rerouted, and went right past our casa, with loud blaring music until 4 or 5 in the morning!! So if you want to experience Rio or New Orleans visit us during Carnaval, but don't expect to get any sleep!

Here we are during the some of the Carnaval festivities:

After our friends left, and Carnaval ended, it took about a week for us to catch up on our sleep and recover over all.  We took a break from construction for another few weeks, just to get ourselves and the house sorted out.  Man, was that glorious. Sleeping in until eight or so, and not dealing with the constant dust and noise of the work. But we had to get back at it, as there is still much to do around the hacienda.

Along with the sleep, we caught up on some social activities with all of our Maz friends. We went out and enjoyed all of the fun entertainment that the city has to offer.  I even played a small bit in a murder mystery dinner theater performance one night.

Gettin my ham-bone on!

With Friends Contessa and Colin.

We also hosted our very first party at the hacienda on St. Patty's day.  Greg corned ten kilos of beef, and he then made all of the side dishes, carrots, colcannon and Irish soda bread.  We even managed to find a good quantity of Guinness beer to serve.

A house full of friends

Doing my best to man the roulette wheel for some luck 'o the Irish!

Lovely lady friends!

Most of our Canadian friends are starting to head back north for the summer. We have been meeting up with them as much as possible, to enjoy their company before they head out. Besides that, Greg and I have gone to the theater for a dance program, laughed our heads off at a comedy show and enjoyed many evenings of music in the Plazuela Machado.  Our new life in Mexico is really full of adventure, fun, friends and contentment.

I promise that I will carve out the time to update you on a more regular basis.  This way my next entry won't be as long as War and Peace.

With Love, and adios for now!

There be Giants afoot!

While strolling the Malecon earlier this week, I came face to toes with a group of giants.  Which for this time of year in Mazatlan, is a normal occurrence. These towering creatures are "monigotes" (loosely translated paper dolls) made from paper mache,  they are here to celebrate Carnaval with the rest of us little people.  Eleven are now positioned around the city to welcome the more than 400,000 expected visitors and to supervise the entire week long party. 

The theme for this year's Carnaval is Los Suenos De Momo or the Dream of Momo.  I am told that Momo was a mythical greek god. These monigotes are all characters from his dreams and imagination. The earthly designer, artist and creator of these super-sized darlings is Mazatlecan Jorge Gonzáles Neri.  They are very different from last years monigotes, which were all musically themed.  I think these are just magnificent.  They are so colorful and creative, you can't help but to be memorized by them.

This one is called the "Luz en el Océano" or the Light of the Ocean".  He was the first to go up.  He did have a tragic start though. When the were erecting him, his arm fell off!  Good thing he is a mythical creature, because he quickly grew another one.

This lovely lady, "Luz de Luna" is providing some moon beams for me even in the middle of the day.  But she really is at her best in the evening, when like all of her other friends, she is all lit up against the city skyline.

All of Mazatlan is busy sprucing up for the big week of Carnaval. Colorful lights are being hung over the streets, new palm trees are being planted, bandstands and banos are well under construction.  This year the festivities begin on February 12th and conclude on  Fat Tuesday, February 17th. 

Mazatlan hosts the third largest Carnaval in the world, right after Rio De Janeiro and New Orleans.  Mazatlan's first official Carnaval was held in 1898, and for 117 years has been the biggest party in all of central Mexico.  So it is only fitting that an enormous event like this, would be the home of legends and giants!

Now this is living!

Yesterday, we broke free of our one-room dwelling, the bedroom. We have begun to inhabited the second room in our hacienda "la sala de estar" or the living room.  The room is a glorious 16' x 13' room with 18' tall ceilings. It has been fully wired for sights and sounds, highspeed internet and a new mini-split (AC).  It has been freshly painted, the ancient floors buffed and scrubbed and the street side window shutters have been refinished. The beginnings of our furniture and artwork are finding their places.  My temporary desk is in one little corner and Greg's is in the other, hidden in the built-in cupboard.

At last, we have a comfy, cozy place to crash after a long day of work and reno-ing.  I didn't realize how claustrophobic I was becoming in our bedroom, which has served as the place to sleep, living room, office and storage closet all rolled into one.  Because of all the stuff we had jammed in the room, we could only open the widow for ventilation and not the two doors.  Now, everything opens up to the lovely courtyard, as was intended!

Within the next week, more of our custom furniture will arrive, and with it our TV credenza. We'll be able to put the finishing touch on this room soon after.  Refinishing all of the wood work in the living room will be a slower project. So, we will do that (as they say) in a poco y poco fashion.

For now we are all happy (Lucky included) to sit back, put our feet up and just enjoy the beginning of our grand casa!

The Spanish word of the day is Polvo!

Living and working in our Mexican construction zone is a challenging business.  We arrived last week to find our home renovation at a near stand-still, which was challenge, numero-uno. Our architect/contractor proved to be a lousy money manger.  He must have went to the Enron school of business and accounting, because his method was the "what's yours is mine, and what's mine is mine". Our workers and subcontractors had not been paid the monies that we had been sending down. Evidently, our architect/contractor paid himself and barely anyone else.  We're not talking big money, but enough to put a sizable chink in the work flow and our budget.

Because the work had halted, so had our ability to make hot water! To add to that, our new guest bathroom had only a working commode and little else (no shower, sink, finished walls, etc.). That wouldn't have been too big of a problem, if they had not completely demoed our only other bathroom as well.  The plan was to finish one before tearing into the other. So, we improvised.  Cold showers in the courtyard with the garden hose, Brrr.  Our kitchen sink now doubles as our bathroom sink for the rest of our hygiene tasks.

Now that we have reestablished the payroll, the workers are moving at a fast clip. Everyday by 8:00am, we are overrun with a five-man work crew, several electricians, painters, and all sorts of delivery guys. It's a beehive of activity.  But, these busy bees have generated something else...Polvo.  Polvo is the Spanish word for dust. I learned that this week, and it is everywhere and on everything!

The inside of our pantry resembles the inside of Tut's tomb. Climbing into bed at night, is like taking a snooze on the beach.  Coffee, yes please, with scoop sugar and polvo in mine! And, I am sure that the polvo generated from chiseling into our near two hundred year old walls, delivers a special brand of polvo, perhaps laced with mysterious microbes of some long forgotten plague. Ha! But this is what we signed up for, and it is fun, none the less, to see the progress on a daily basis now.

So, at the end of each day we sweep-up, wipe down, and have a gritty glass chilled of wine and enjoy our little slice of dusty heaven.