Two Men's Junk ...

We were up at 6:00 AM Saturday morning, setting up tables for a Yard Sale for items that did not find a home when we had the estate sale a few weeks ago. This set-up was a whole lot easier than the previous 3 day event and our expectations were not nearly as high. At yard sales, people want a $10.00 wine glass for 50 cents and a Cuisinart stainless steel coffee maker priced at $15.00 for, obviously much less, because it didn't sell.  There were the really nice margarita glasses priced at $1.00 each that no one wanted. The 27 inch iMac with a crashed hard drive actually sold very quickly. I'm certain we had that way under priced. Things like a partially used table top candle went for 25 cents and a zip-lock bag full of never used greeting cards for 50 cents. Who knew anyone still mails greeting cards in this age of e-Cards with singing elves? Hardback books at 50 cents seemed to be the most popular item and we sold dozens.

The quite chilly morning (a little late in the season for such an event) and the still poor economy failed to deliver the usual throngs waiting in line for the sale to begin. I sat outside, in my blue fleece hoodie, from 9 AM until 2 PM, and with Alan's help we disposed of miscellaneous items that had been crammed into closets and chests of drawers for decades. When the sale ended, I boxed and bagged the leftovers and waited for the truck from Victory Home to take the items back to their thrift shop.

I can't tell you how good it feels to have all that 'stuff' gone. I feel that starting this process several months in advance of the actual move is far less stressful than a last minute purge. It will be quite easy to get out of the house once it sells. We have just enough furniture remaining to meet our needs, and there will be no packing countless boxes to move to another location.

To wind down, on Sunday afternoon we took the dogs to an almost deserted beach to frolic in the sand for a while, much to their delight. We then brushed off the sand, climbed into the motor home, fetched a few tacos from the Taco Bell across the street and settled in for a nap. I think our pups actually like their new little home.

Back home to Mérida

After what seems like a long, ho-hum summer, we are finally back home for a visit. If "back home" sounds a little strange, well.... it is. We are not yet here permanently, but coming for one of our semi-frequent visits seems like coming home. After a long 12-hour day in three airplanes and four airports, we arrived in Mérida at 7:53 PM. Our flight from Houston departed IAH at 6:40 PM, so we arrived in just over an hour although the flight time is approximately two hours. This is all thanks to Mexico for initiating Daylight Savings Time a couple of weeks before the United States. DST fools the mind but not the body.

We had been in the house about 15 or 20 minutes when Alan suddenly noticed that these two mirrors were missing from the front sala. We've been burglarized, I exclaimed!  We were puzzled that nothing else appeared to be missing. I immediately placed a call to Ruben, our faithful and extraordinary property manager. Oh, the mirror to the left of the entrance door fell and the glass was broken. He had removed the other mirror and had taken both to a repairman to attach a heavier guage wire and brackets.  I will need to speak with the owners of the store where the mirrors were purchased. An employee of the store installed them and one would assume that it would be done properly.

After we calmed down a bit, we headed out for a late dinner. We ended up at a new Taco place down at Calle 60 y 59.  I can't remember the name, but something about "spinning top" (La Trompo??).  These are not your Tex-Mex tacos, but Yucatecan style and quite good.

Full stomach, fresh linens on a comfortable bed - all we needed for a good night's sleep..