“Rest until you feel like playing, then play until you feel like resting, period. Never do anything else.” Martha Beck

I believe my last Musing ended with “… And tomorrow we rest.” Well, it was a very short one…..the minute we returned from dropping Jeanette off at the airport, it was time to enter the holiday decorating mode. Sometimes I wonder if David really knew what he was getting into 😂 It’s a well-known fact that Christmas is my favorite time.

And, “It’s beginning to look like . . .” with ten Christmas seasons under his belt, David places every single ornament just so on the tree……..the Jew boy sure knows how to decorate a 🌲 👏.

Our upside-down tree has now been replaced by a new, beautiful fiber optics one with a beautiful shape. It’s got programmable changing lights with a festive color palette to choose from.

The house is now fully decorated with many items carrying happy and wonderful memories shared. And since it’s our first Christmas away from family and friends, we relish them even more. It will be amazing to experience Christmas in Mexico – it’s celebrated here differently … the Latin Navidad is more low key and just finding nice decorations is challenging.

Sappiness aside, we went to Guadalajara in search of a new 🚘 . We were driven there by Spencer, a lakeside car agent, and he drives the Mexican way – before you could blink we were test driving our first car.

Test driving USA vs. Mexico . . .
USA: driver’s license, proof of insurance, a pint of blood, your first born………
Mexico: here’s the keys ~ enjoy!

We tested:
VW Tiaguan . . . loved the drive but hated the harsh, plastic interior
Kia Sportage . . . surprised at its handling, power and quality interior, yet a bit too small
Honda CRV . . . reliable, but boring and hated the cabin layout
Hyundai Tucson . . . love at first drive, handling, power, cabin layout, space

So we have one on order; hopefully, we can take delivery by Christmas – it’s 2019 in sophisticated sand color with wine interior and fully loaded with all the latest safety equipment. By the way, David had the final say on the car.

After 2 failed attempts, our mattress was finally delivered late one stormy evening earlier in the week. Switching bedroom sets between rooms proved a daunting task – little did I know that the base of the king-size bed was one single, solid, heavy wood unit; the headboard was attached with 16 screws, but with persistence and an electric drill they came out. Now we can happily say the three bedrooms are set and open for business.

So now the old four poster bed we shlepped down is once again my ultimate dream space.

Also, we had a self-contained gas-burning fireplace with logs installed. It can get here in the evenings being at 5,400 ‘ elevation. Gas is cheaper than running electric heaters, plus it looks good and romantic. By the way, Mexican homes don’t have any kind of heat, so you bundle up.

Discovered a new eating place……Venezuelan Arepas – ground maize dough or cooked flour prominent in the cuisine of Colombia and Venezuela. It’s similar in shape to the Mexican gordita and the Salvadoran pupusa. Arepas are filled with an assortment of meats or vegetables and cheese ~ yum 😋 yum

Next week we open a Mexican bank account……stay tuned.