encountering a stall

There seem to be no mozos available to help Fernando on our painting project. He thought his sobrino (cousin) was going to be available beginning today ~ yesterday being a wash ~ but apparently not. No mozo. Maybe tomorrow?

But yesterday was not a complete wash. We went into Tecoman to pay our tourist visas at the bank. Every time we do this it is like reinventing the wheel. These folks had never seen such a transaction and so four tellers were gathered around the only chap who seemed to know what to do. I mean, come on people. We do this every year at this bank and we can't be the only folks here on a tourist visa. In the past they have run it through the machine, stamped and signed it, taken our money and off we go. This year we are given yet another piece of paper to attach to the originals (two pieces this year instead of one). I think the President's brother must be in the paper mill business.

Then we made yet another trip to Prisa, the paint store for yet another shade of paint. I decided that the purple (Sweet Lilac) that I chose for the terrazzo wall and posted a couple of days ago is simply too dark. It overwhelms the more pastel tan shade of the house. Wrong intensity. So I bought another, lighter, more pastel shade: Twilight Chimes. (Who thinks up these names?) I have taken a couple of pictures of it but it looks too blue; it's a lovely pale violet. I'll try in another light and see if I can get a more true hue. If I were willing to wrestle with Photo Shop maybe I could recolor it. I'm not.

Tomorrow we are off to Armeria to pay our taxes and annual water bill: total for two lots and water for one house for one year will be about $250. Can't beat it.

I was skeptical of the appointment of Leon Panetta for CIA director. I've changed my mind. He's just the guy to keep those spooks from knifing the new President in the back.

12 days until 1/20/2009: End of an Error