Yaaay!!!!! The wire transfer made it to the proper account (I was REALLY worried about this) and now the new unit is on its way. According to the DHL tracking number, it is at the Mexico City sorting facility. I am hoping it will arrive tomorrow.
Once the unit is here, we can think about leaving for El Salvador. We do plan to get it installed here, with Mike doing the majority of the work, and Senor Emilio doing that which Mike lacks the tools and/or the know-how. For example, there is a matter of "vacuuming" which has to do with getting the freon from the old unit to the new one, or something like that, and it takes special tools. We thought about hunting Senor Emilio down today, but decided to wait until the unit is here so we know what we will need him for. I am really anxious for this whole process to be finished. I am also aware that if Senor Emilio can't help us, we will just take it on down to El Salvador and get it installed there. We have heard from reliable sources that this can be accomplished as there are frig guys that work with the equipment on the fishing boats.
Yesterday I had a great girls-day-out with a friend here - the plan was simply for grocery shopping and a trip to the ferreteria (hardware store) but we ended up stopping for "a beer" and ended up with several beers and the sort of great heart-to-heart one can only have with a sister or a really good girlfriend. It really did me good and I feel truly grateful for good friends like Heather.
It is starting to get really hot and humid and I know it will only increase as we get closer and closer to the equator. The good part is that I am starting to acclimate again. The last two times I walked around during the day I noticed that although I was hot and sweaty, I wasn't uncomfortable. Wet and drippy yes, but not miserable and uncomfortable. I consider that a success.
Other than waiting for the frig unit to arrive, we have not been up to anything exciting since we got back from Chiapas. Like I said before, it is not all thrills and excitement here on the waterfront. I have been experimenting with some new recipes, because Mike and I decided we needed to eat better. I have used the lack of a frig to allow us to eat out way more often than we should - not from a financial perspective, but rather from a health perspective. In Mexico, the emphasis is on meat, meat, and more meat, along with some beans, cheese, and tortillas. Veggies are given short shrift, at least in standard restaurant meals. I for one am tired of being fat, and getting enough exercise is always hard, when your living space is tiny and it is too hot for a lot of outdoor exercise, my new-found lack of discomfort not withstanding. So it is time for an eating paradign shift, and I am actually looking forward to it. The stores here do not have the variety of vegetables one finds in US supermarkets, and you pretty much have to take what is offered. There are almost always tomatoes, various peppers, and chayote squash, but everything else is there sometimes and not other times. For example, there was no lettuce at all available yesterday, nor was there any cabbage or other greens, except for some spinach that was really wilted and not worth buying. There were three (yes, only three) heads of broccoli, and two of them were well past their prime. I did find some avocados that will be ready in a couple days, and some nice onions.
However, there is one thing here that is hard to find in the US for a decent price and that is soy protein, like they use to make meatless hamburgers and things like that. I like to use this in chili and spaghetti and things like that, but in the US it is really expensive and hard to find. Here it is sold out of large bins and is very reasonably priced, so I have it at the ready. It also does not need to be refrigerated and keeps for a long time if stored in a good sturdy plastic bag. Mike likes it and it makes a lot of meals a lot healthier. I also started adding oatmeal to pancakes, which besides making them healthier also makes them heartier. I now eat them with this incredible hibiscus flower jam I bought from the bed and breakfast we stayed at in Oaxaca, but I am going to have to learn to make this jam because my jar will not last forever. It is by far the best jam I have ever had. I sent an email to the propriortess of the B&B and begged for either the recipe or at least a push in the right direction. It is so good I would not blame her in the least if she keeps it secret.
I have made a real effort to keep politics out of this blog, but I have to admit I am very unhappy about the way things are going in the US. It seems like we are being dragged back into the fifties - are we women REALLY having to fight all over again for something as simple and mainstream as birth control? Seriously? I read today that some dimwit in Arizona wants to pass a law requiring women to get a statement from a doctor that birth control is being used only for "medical purposes" and that an employer is entitled to have that information. I have no idea what that would accomplish. It seems like someone somewhere still believes that sex is only for procreative purposes, and unless we are trying actively to have a baby, we should not be allowed to have sex, even if we are married and already have kids. What sort of crap is this? Why is it my boss's business? I am really upset about all this. And the wierd part is that the people espousing this are the same people complaining about wanting less government and wanting government out of their business. These same people complain that employers have the "right" to determine what sort of things are covered by people's medical insurance, the argument being that it is against their religious beliefs for women to use birth control, and since they pay part of the premium, their rights trump a woman's right to use birth control if she wants to do so unless she pays for it out of pocket. And then these same people are totally against the government providing health care. Why don't they just be honest and admit they want to make all the rules according to their religious beliefs? To me, that sounds like sharia law. Scary stuff.
OK, I am off the soapbox. I guess because this is my blog, I can say whatever I want to. If someone is so angered by this that he or she stops reading, well, I guess I will have to deal with that, although it is hard for me to think that I upset someone to the point they no longer want anything to do with me.
So I am going to get back to the peace and quiet I can have here, because I don't have to read the news if I don't want to or if I find it too upsetting. Right now I am going to kick back with a cold beer.
"Terra incognita, as I had seen it until then, meant free of complications. That terra incognita could present its own complications had never occurred to me." Joan Didion
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