Private Party

Well, you can celebrate anything you want.  John Lennon ~ Dig a Pony

We usually wait, don’t we, to celebrate things until the end? We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries at the end of each year, babies and puppies after they’re hatched, bridges when they’re finally crossable. We wait to throw a housewarming party until the end of construction and furnishing, when all is in place.

In my life, all is not in place. There are projects to finish everywhere, leaks to stop, decisions to weigh, things to buy and move and remove. Nothing is ended.

But this week, I’m celebrating anything I want.

First, I’m celebrating the departure of the main construction crew. I was more than ready to have them gone. Their work isn’t completely finished, but Arqui and I have decided to go it alone from here on out and use the Maestros and our own crew to complete the few remaining structural pieces.

The comparative silence on the jobsite makes me a little giddy. Marco Antonio, our cleaner-upper and nightwatchman, has swept every corner, disposed of every empty Coke bottle and wad of trash. The site looks and feels more orderly. I feel like I can breathe and think again.

  

Now that I can get a clear look at what’s done and what’s not, I’m better able to slap some plaster on the money dike to stop its leaks. I was getting anxious. Some of the leaks seemed torrents at times, others insidious trickles that came and went. There were too many to plug with my fingers, too many to keep my eyes on.

The truth is, I had a fit. You could accurately call it a screaming halt. No more, no more, until I see it all in writing.

Arqui went to work calling every last worker for a complete accounting of all they’d spent and all they expected to spend to finish their part of the job. Now we’re making a new list: this yet to be done at this cost. I know I will have to delay a few things, cancel others altogether. I don’t mind. This project will continue in some ways for years, and I’m comfortable with that. At least I have clarity.

So I’m celebrating that. Along with the fact that next Thursday will be one year from the time we received our building permit, and it seems to me we've accomplished quite a lot in a year, considering construction and especially construction in Mexico.

But there’s something I’m celebrating even more: being in San Pancho in the summer. Oh, it’s not for everyone. It’s drippy hot most days, a steamy greenhouse of a world, the greens so diverse and vivid they grab your eyeballs and don’t let go.

  
Yes, Gretchen. It is rainy season!

 

 
Nights often begin with lightning flashes and grumbles of thunder over the water and in the hills behind the town. Sometimes, sudden explosive cracks right above us are followed by night-long deluges.

On the unstormy nights, the jungle din is thick as soup. When I listen attentively, the piercing drone of crickets and cicadas and frogs separates into individual voices. Among the chirps and screeches, I hear one that sounds like a child learning the kazoo, another with the twangy thrum and reverb of a didgeridoo. 

In the morning, I fish errant land crabs and floating flower petals out of Bobby’s pool.

              
 
I laugh at the hordes of parrots zipping from tree to tree, always en masse, always jabbering and gossiping in their fly-bys. A giant lizard which I’ve yet to see visits the patio every night, leaving behind a single poop the size of a chihuahua’s which shatters in the sun into a pile of irridescent beetle shells.

Sometimes I follow a butterfly around in hopes of catching it open-winged and still enough to photograph.

In the days and the evenings, I have the privilege of being with the people who choose to be here. There aren’t many gringos left in the heat of August, but what a delicious group remains. You can't be a sissy to live in San Pancho in the summer, and you must have your own resources. We are self-entertaining and mutually reliant.

We play Mexican Train dominoes until late at night. When I play with Judith and Jesse on his porch, fans blowing and mosquito repellent close at hand, Judith and I usually let Jesse win. Okay, we don’t let him win, but he wins most of the time. We think it’s because he uses some sort of strategery, rather than just match the pretty colors like Judith and I prefer to do. We give him a lot of grief about it, but we don't really care one bit. We're usually laughing too hard.

I have finally had time to get to know new friends Allyson and Rick. Last Sunday, I was invited to their charming jungle home perched in the palms, where we devoured a tasty brunch al fresco and (oh, joy!) did the New York Times Sunday crossword together. Perhaps you don’t know how addicted I am to that puzzle, and what a delight it is to find others who are as obsessive about words, especially words convoluting around a graph.

That evening, the three of us joined Nicole and Jeremy and Mark at Miro Vino beside the plaza in Sayulita for an evening of antipasti and salads and fish dishes, wine and conversation. Lucca, the owner, closed that night for the rest of the summer, but we promised to return in October.

Tuesday night we troop to Panchito's for movie night. 

This week, we watched The Night of the Iguana, tickled by the shots of Puerto Vallarta as a tiny village in the early 1960's and by the precision and black comedy of the performances. It was magical, sitting under the big palapa in our own little village, surrounded by thunder and lightning and rain and the sounds of Mexico. I felt like I was sitting on the veranda of Ava Gardner’s ramshackle Costa Verde Hotel, only paces away from Richard Burton and Deborah Kerr as they prepared to free the giant iguana.

These, then, are my personal celebrations for this week, my own private party. I'm so glad you came. My wish for you is that you will take the time soon to celebrate the magic in your own life -- right now, in the middle of it all.

Yes, you can penetrate any place you go. John Lennon ~ Dig a Pony

Listen to a Didgeridoo if you want to

Or watch John Lennon sing Dig a Pony!

✦    ✦    ✦

Next week, I’ll be in Tlaquepaque for the Enart Arts and Crafts exposition. Then I’m going to Ajijic to visit a kooky little friend of ours. Guess who? I’ll give you a hint:

                                         

Comments

[Gretchen Goodliffe]

Your pen is, once again, sprinkled with magic. I just sat back and drifted after reading your Private Party Post. You have such a way of grabbing onto and hugging your "todays"...... suffering little tantrums, resolving the reasons for them and quietly moving aside for awhile and just floating about in the middle of the new surroundings. Your desire to have it all finished and all the ducks in a row has been somewhat redefined and I really really like that, it reminds all of us where our priorities really ought to be... here in the today. Thanks Candice, and enjoy that rainy season with all its colour.

[Candice]

Hi Jeanne. Since you probably have that old Mango Marg recipe close at hand...and I don't...how about sending it in as a comment so we can share it with everyone?

Thanks for all your good comments!

xo
C

[Jeanne]

Hi Candice - off topic but wanted you to know that you are a published author in a cookbook. One of the frequent visitors to Isla Mujeres put together a cookbook with visitor's recipes as well as restaurants on Isla's recipes. I sent in 5 or 6 - and I also sent your Mango Margarita's recipe. Got my copy of the book and your recipe is listed - spelled your name wrong but close enough - Candace Fulton. Hope you don't mine! It's for a good cause - raising money for La Gloria English School on Isla Mujeres.

[Greg Close]

Your little brother is celebrating his new found freedom and a new place to live, too! I can smell and hear the joy of San Pancho summertime and wish you the finest time there is. Love you to pieces, mi hermana fabulosa!
---g

[Linda Aaron]

Candice,
It sounds divine and simply steamy with passion and possibilities. Could there be a novel in your future?
Sometimes the least desirable conditions bring surprising treasures and experiences.

Look forward to your next post enjoy your peace and quiet, sounds like you are surrounded by wonderful friends.

xo
LA

[Jeanne]

I would love the see the groups of parrots flying around. Looking good! Sounds like things are calming down somewhat. Enoy the Arts and Crafts exposition - that sounds like great fun. And enjoy your visit with our kooky friend!