We've Got Mail!!!

Wow, what a surprise we had yesterday!

Gail has appointed herself the Mother Theresa of Los Amores. We buy huge quantities of coke and cookies so she can feed the masses. Whenever she sees any of our workers outside she pours them coke and gives them cookies. Naturally they all love her. She is without doubt the most popular owner amongst the workers. In all fairness, they work hard, outside in the heat, doing the most grunging work: digging ditches six feet deep with pickaxes and shovels so they can install a new drainage system; hammering the sides of the buildings with chisels so they can repair cracks in the concrete; weed eating the entire lawn area because the mower has broken down. All of this without any eye or ear protection, no hard hats, in sandals - no steel toed boots here. They work ten hour days from Monday to Friday and on Saturday five hours. Of course, they do have their two hour siestas in the middle of the day! It's often the only time of the day that we have peace and quiet around here. It is still a construction site with lots of noise and dust. Even so, it's all good. It's Mexico in December and the sun is always shining.

Anyway, back to our surprise. It suddenly occurred to Gail yesterday that she had been neglecting the guards as she goes about doing her "good work" lol. So, off she went with a glass of coke and cookies to the guard station. Our favorite guard, Rosita, (a sweet girl around 25 or so) was on duty and was delighted with her snack. Gail explained in her Spanglish that Rosita could bring the glass back to our house number 56, when she was finished. Rosita said 56? and gave Gail a bundle of mail.

We didn't know that the mail is delivered to the guard station by the post office and we have to ask if there is anything waiting for us. So it proves the theory that you are rewarded for good deeds!

We had Christmas cards from my sisters Janet and Brenda, a beautiful photo Christmas card from Graeme, Ceci and baby Nicolas and a PACKAGE from Dale, Tim, Trent and Michelle! Inside the package was a Santa wine bottle cover, a set of window stickies of a snowman and snowflakes, two blinking Christmas tree pins (which arrived just in time for us to wear at our owners pot luck tomorrow night and a Burl Ives singing Christmas card.

Last year my sister Brenda sent us a card which belts out Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad". We kept it for this year- Gail drives me crazy opening it constantly. Brenda was so kind to send us a hilarious card with a Mexican snowman wearing a sombrero and serape this year- no singing! HOWEVER, my good friend Dale obviously loves Gail more because now we have another singing card. It was difficult for me last night listening to these cards, sometimes both together. I am threatening to hide them if this continues!!

Anyway, we were so completely thrilled and pleased to receive this mail. We have a tiny little tin angel that I bought at a craft fair here and a teeny little Christmas tree with glued on bobbles for our decorations.

I also brought as our only tree ornaments the Swarovski crystal snowflakes that Lea has been sending us for years. I've hung them from our dining room light fixture and they are beautiful and festive.

Thank you for thinking about us!