August
28th: The Auction
What
a day; what a thrill; what an event!
I've
been to a few auctions and love the energy thatsurrounds
the day. As buyers and bidders we are looking for that special rare antique or
piece of art for which we pay minimal dollars and can take to the Antique Road
Show and discover its worth a small fortune. (Although,
Many
people come to an auction and just want a great deal on every day items. Others
buy things they didn't know they wanted. When
we first moved to Eau Claire and I was in my " garden phase of life"
I struck gold with my auctioned purchase of a complete bee keeping setup
including hives, net helmets, sprayers, smokers and stuff that I had no idea
what, or how to use but, for $20, I'm in the beekeeping business. It made my
day.
Auctioneer,
Jerry Andrews and his staff are the consummate professionals when it comes to
the auction business. They handled everything from advertising to setting up,
and seeing that the area is returned to normal. Well done!!
We
had a terrific turnout of friends, students, strangers and the curious. All
seemed to be aware that we were moving to Mexico and so many came up to us to
us to wish us well. How wonderful to have soooo many friends.
We
sold everything! If it wasn't anchored or tied down, it got sold... Furniture,
collectibles, electronics, even chicken wire and our two wonderful BMWs.
I
guess it's only stuff and I was glad to see it being recycled. What a great
party!
September
3rd: SMA - San Miguel de Allende
It's
7am Monday morning. We've been here for two days. I'm writing while sitting on
the rooftop terrace overlooking SMA. The town spreads out below while the hills
climb into the clouds to the East. Birds are singing; a few hummingbirds fly by
looking for morning succulents. Huge cactus trees adorn the grounds below with
leaves topped with flowering bulbs about to give birth. Is this paradise, or
what?
Today
we are going into town to get additional keys to our casa (home) made and take
care of our post office box at a private service. All our mail will be first
sent to the office in Laredo, TX and they carry the mail to San Miguel and
deliver it to our door. We are told that this is faster and more reliable than
the Mexican postal service… So, off we go to town.
Now
since we don’t have a car we can choose to walk, take a cab or a city bus which
comes within a block of our casa. Since
one of my goals is to be become better fit, we walk. This alone is a great
adventure. The first part of the walk is about ½ mile on an uneven cobble stone
street circa 1500 A.D., at least. Cars and busses crawl along the road to avoid
the wheels falling off.
Once
we hit the portion of the street that is paved, or at least the cobble stones
have been worn down to a 19th century passible grade, the going is great.
Sidewalks, like the streets are made with stone and small. You have to watch
where you walk, looking down as well as up to avoid being struck by signs or
overhanging whatever.
The
walk is eye candy of small, independently owned and family run shops ranging
from fast food, (chicken & Mexican menus) Mexican handcrafted colorful art,
handmade metal lamps, medical practices, gift shops, a wood shop that makes and
restores the beautiful doors that adorn the fronts of SMA homes and business.
Check out the book “The Doors of San Miguel” on Google. We found the key shop…
Don Pedro’s, a small hardware store where we had keys made.
After
getting to the Jardin, the center of town we found the postal box store and
took care of business making sure we were signed up and the mail would be
delivered.
Next
stop… Mextel, the telephone company, for a cellphone. If you want a slice of
Mexican life, take the bus. Just like you read… packed, hot, babies crying,
standing room only and only Mexican spoken… constantly! The only thing missing
was the cage with a live chicken. It was a real treat and wonderful entry into
this way of life. Never did get the cellphone… lines too long. Besides, do I
real need it?
I
need to digress a moment before I tell you about the evenings, mouth dropping,
dinner.
We
are living in a Mexican section of town. We wanted to do this to immerse
ourselves in this culture and to get a different perspective on this world.
Well, this is not E.C. It’s more like a bad day in Beirut in some places. Some
streets are unpaved, like ours. Many homes are partially finished. Families continue building when they have
the money for supply’s. But, what is beautiful is that families spend their
time outside playing with the kids, young lovers walk hand in hand, some
doorways host Mama serving tacos to make a few pesos… It’s a real slice of life
that works so well in the community.
We
found a little family owned pizza restaurant around the corner from where we
live. It’s a huge building with a 25’ ceiling that serves wood fired pizza and
Mexican food. Sara, our dog was with us and she sat next to the table with us.
We were the only customers.
So,
the three of us our sitting at a coca cola painted table when all of a sudden a
Burro and his master walks in the triple wide door loaded with wood for the
wood burning fire pit and stop three feet from our table to unload. This is a
first for me. I look at Lorelei and Sara who are sitting with their mouth open
in a huge smile. This is right up Lorelei’s passion for animals. She starts
petting and brushing the Donkey who just stands in place and I think, laughing
to herself.
Sara just takes it all in as
though this is the way life is…. And you know, maybe she’s right.
