(Post 254 of 263 – please scroll down for the May highlights posts as I doubled-posted on July 3rd.)

I did about 6 weeks of work in 3 weeks in June and somehow managed to completely deep clean my entire house (right down to emptying all closets and cleaning inside) in preparation for my housesitters arriving. My house cleaner only ever did surface cleaning, so this was a much overdo project to make sure the house felt fresh for them.

For that project, I decided to invest in a Dyson vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter as I knew that would do a better job at deep cleaning than the usual wipedown. I can’t believe I’m going to share this pic, but I am just to show you how worthwhile it is to invest in good tools for your home. 🫣

Major rain was incoming by departure time, so I was smart and did all my laundry well ahead of my sitters arriving so I could set up their suite. They said they were delighted by the HUGE bedroom and how clean everything was. The guest bathroom really needs a full gut as I find it feels a bit “grotty,” but a brand-new cabinet made a surprising impact.

The pineapple lamps in the guest room never fail to crack me up.

I had a bunch of errands to run in the neighbourhood one morning, so I treated myself to breakfast at the market here in Chuburná. You know you’re a local when the server brings your order and a giant bowl of picante with a comment of “So you won’t have to ask for more.”

On the subject of local food, I found a taquería, Sagrada Parilla, that has what I think might be the best nachos in the city. They use high quality ingredients (the cheese is especially good) and do a northern-style al pastor without achiote. The salsas are incredible. The red one in this photo is tamarind based and that perfect mix of salty, sweet, and spicy. Pineapple is extra, but necessary.

June cat pics:

The sitters said they would have a rental car, so I needed a place for them to park, a reason for needing to get rid of Moya as I’m storing a friend’s truck in the other covered bay. When Moya left in May, I discovered that the automatic door for the bay in which she was stored wasn’t closing correctly. It would hit something at closure and think there was an obstacle, so it would reopen. So I had to make sure maintenance was done on it ahead of the sitters’ arrival. There’s a place just up the street from me that services my door motors, but they were absolutely impossible to get ahold of. I tried all the phone numbers and even rang the bell at the business, but no one answered. I asked my neighbourhood Facebook group if anyone had any recommendations and all I got was those guys “but good luck getting ahold of them.” So I branched out and asked in an expat group. Several people responded with the same guy, who is across town from me. I was getting a bit desperate, so I messaged him anyway. He replied immediately, “I’m literally around the corner from you. Can I come right now?” 😲 In less than 45 minutes from posting my question, the work was done, and that included my racing to Walmart to get some cash as he doesn’t take transfers. There was no repair to do, just basic maintenance, and all it cost was 700 pesos! I’m so pleased to have a “garage guy” in my contacts now as I have two other doors that need maintenance!

The most interesting thing that happened to me in June pre-trip is I got new glasses for the first time in 12 years!!! I had been getting checkups regularly, but didn’t have enough change in my vision to justify getting new glasses, especially since I had so many pairs to use up. Now that I was down to a final pair with no backups and that I needed new prescription sunglasses, in addition to having some problems with transitioning between near and far vision developing in the last few months, it felt time to change. I also planned to drive on my vacation for the first time in three years, so I wanted to make sure my vision was healthy enough to do that.

I was of course a little bit last minute for this project, so I went to Gran Plaza, where there were several optometrists, and picked one that could take me right away, had affordable frames, and could guarantee my glasses within a week. I was delighted to learn that a huge part of my new vision changes is I no longer need glasses for close-up vision! But there is just enough change in my far vision that the optometrist felt it would be good to upgrade my prescription to reduce the work my eye muscles have to do to go from near to far vision. He was spot on. I ended up not having the usual adjustment period with the new glasses. He was also very respectful of my budget and suggested this lightweight frame with clip-on sunglasses. Clip-ons have come a long way. These attach magnetically and you can’t tell that the sun lenses are removable. There wasn’t a lot of choice in this model, but I found a pair I loved.

Ahead of my trip, I got a haircut and treated myself to a manicure. I love these dark colours, but they just don’t last on the fingers, so I’ll go with a lighter, more natural, shade next time. The salon is just around the corner street from me, so I’m on strict orders to make this kind of pampering a more regular event!

This takes us to June 17th. Take out your passport for the next couple of posts!