Merry Christmas everyone!

It is 5am Christmas morning. I have been awake since 3:30 so I decided to just get up. I am curled up on the sofa in our bodega covered with Maurice’s sweatshirts. It is cold here in the mornings! Gees! I thought this was Mexico! Well, I guess it beats 2 feet of snow so I should not complain.

Yes we are still sleeping in the bodega. I know most of you think we have moved up already, but no, we have not. Maurice now has half of the solar panels installed so we are getting close. The electricians and plumbers have a couple more days of work left. They just do not seem to want to finish. They are so close, yet we are having a hard time getting them to show up to finish. You would think they would want their final payment, wouldn’t you? The wrought iron guys are another group that still has to finish their work here. They have to install the gates and finish painting the railings that are already installed. They are also making some headboards for Laguna and Boca that we have not seen yet. The landscaping is coming along amazingly well! Everything looks so good with palms and cactus around. It really brings the place to life. Then there is the big clean-up needed; both inside and out. Last week Jesus (pronounced hey-soos) came to us looking for work as his job in Todos Santos ended. We were thrilled! If you remember we had wanted to hire him a month and a half ago. He will begin with us Monday. We promised him a couple of months work but if things go well we hope we can keep him here. He will be a big help to us. His first job will be to clean up what still remains of the construction…..stray re-bar, some concrete chunks, things like that.

So today is Christmas and we actually celebrated Christmas Eve last night. This was a last minute decision for us. The bodega is a mess since we are in transition and the top is a mess since we are trying to get unpacked. I finally got most of the things for the kitchen put away, at least what we moved here from the storage unit. The thing is we have no counter tops or sink yet so nothing could be washed. I will have to empty all the cupboards to wash everything when the sink goes in but at least I can do that gradually. Anyway, two days ago I said to Maurice, “Do you think we can have Christmas Ever here?” We decided all our efforts would go to make that happen. While I emptied the remaining boxes and tried to get everything put “somewhere” he hung lights and ceiling fans. We pulled it off. Last night we had Keith and Sharon over for our first Christmas Eve at Arriba de la Roca. We grilled steaks on the BBQ and I even found some boxes with Christmas decorations that we had scattered around. We even had a small tree. So even though there were displaced things sitting around, and furniture with no place to call home yet in the middle of the room we enjoyed Christmas dinner with our good friends.

Today we are invited to some Italians that Maurice met a couple of years ago. He ate with them a few times when I was still in Canada and really enjoys them. He is excited to have an Italian Christmas dinner!

For now I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, or Happy Chanukah. May the year 2011 be one filled with blessings for you and your loved ones and hopefully it will include a trip to Arriba de la Roca.