Light
Each morning I seem to be waking earlier and earlier. Maybe it is the quality of the fresh air and light in the city. Maybe it is a result of the quiet; or the sounds of the doves cooing. Whatever the reason, it is becoming one of my favorite times of the day....
Commerce v Gratitude: The Big Battle
Each year at this time, we are inundated with incessant "holiday" greetings. These are sent by mail, email, voice mail and perhaps even by carrier pigeon. They are sent by individuals and companies from whom we never hear during the year--and sometimes are not even...
Time to Take a Seat
Our lounge furniture finally arrived last night. It was designed by Richard Schulz in 1966 for the Florida home of Florence Knoll. She wanted modern design that was well crafted to withstand the rigors of the Florida coast weather and salt spray. He recently sold his...
Late is new early
Time, and how it is treated, is one of the most interesting experiences for me so far in Mexico. When I say time, I do not mean the way a CEO thinks of time: precision. When I say time it is the Mexican use of the word which means, so far as I can tell, "as long as it...
Lessons learned
Dreaming about, designing and building our house in Merida has been a long process. There have been many ups and lately, many lows. The ups come from the excitement of thinking through an idea, sketching it, debating it, re-sketching and then overseeing the documents...
Where do our reflections lead us?
This is a reflection on reflections: There is a moment when I enter our new house that I wonder where I am. Have I stepped onto a different planet? Each step is full of potential and bathed in light. I am wandering from a world of 45 years of non-stop work into a...
We are official
Lea and I have our Residente Temporal. It is valid for 12 months and can be renewed four times. The fifth year we will switch to Residente Permanente. The process took 4 weeks to the day. Two weeks for the application and two weeks to process in Mexico City. We are...
Update on the House
We are entering the final week of construction on our house. This week hardware, the kitchen, final landscaping, touch-up painting and glass infill at the screen units will be done. Week after next will be cleaning. Here are some updated pictures:
A poem from our friend Kurt
YUCATAN On a slate swept clean by a stone from the sky, where masons once stacked temples high above the trees and fire-breathing conquistadors stamped the earth flat again, where haciendas bloomed amid raw henequen spikes– this is the place to spread your colorful...
"Vamos a comerciar errores"
Yesterday we discovered that the stone block for the bedroom terrace fountain was not cut square. One side was skewed by 10 mm to 18 mm. Since the stone abuts the stone flooring, this skewed line would show in relationship to the paving stone grid. We also discovered...
Romancing the stone
Yesterday we offloaded the 60 CM X 60 CM X 60 CM carved stone block that will be used for the fountain outside our bedroom. It was quite the ordeal in that it weighed 600 kilos. Seeing these strong, dedicated masons and builders tackle the problem of moving the stone...
INM Residente Temporal & Jerks
Today Lea and I completed step two of becoming "Residente Temporal." If all goes well, our visa cards will be returned from Mexico City in about 2 weeks. We have an excellent attorney: Lic. Antonio Bernardo Achach Esquivel. Hernandez and Associates Calle 15 No. 127...