Contemplative Bliss

Our first guest has come and gone and I am catching a glimpse of the peaceful rhythm of life after building. This morning I took a tray of coffee up to my writing loft and luxuriated in the sound of the surf rolling onto the beach and the steady breeze from my ceiling fan. The only short fall is my computer signal will not reach the loft, so tomorrow we will have to buy a range extender in Cancun. But this little space is hands down my favorite spot in the house. It is my upper room, my private retreat and my pinnacle for contemplation. I have a mahogany colored desk and chair, a Chinese armoire full of books, and a daybed piled with Indian pillows. These are back-dropped by 3 Moorish arched windows that overlook the sea. It doesn't get better than this.

It's not all coconuts.

Whenever you say you live on an island in Mexico, people begin to ooooh and aaahhh. But one of my missionary friends who has lived abroad said knowingly, "It's not all coconuts - is it?" I just finished reading one of my friend's blogs about her frustrations in Mexico with a chuckle and an "I feel your pain" in my heart. But there must be some sadomasochistic tendency in me because for some reason I always come back loving the good and putting up with the bad and the ugly. Anyway in 6 days we will joyfully return to Isla Mujeres. I will once again try to shove a cacophony of household goods into 6 suitcases - 4 lights, swimming pool equipment, bedspreads, mattress pads, pictures,leopard pillows, foodstuffs, toys,candle holders,and an urn. We are Mexico's version of the Beverly Hillbillies when we go through the airport, except we have a chihuahua instead of a bloodhound. (I know you are thinking Granny probably did not have leopard pillows.) I go by the strategy that if your family has enough suitcases they will just wave you on so they don't have to search through all your crap. Anyway I am making preparations for our pilgrimage with great anticipation. Hasta la vista baby!

My Favorite Things

In 5 weeks I will be back on my beautiful island. My days are busy constructing our website, researching advertising, and deciding what I need to take back the most in our 6 check-ons. Our plans to bring a container of furniture back to the island have been put on hold and more possibly canceled. To make a long story short, they said that as long as we resided in Mexico our things could be in Mexico; but if we ever left, our things had to leave the country too. There was a little more to it, but that point alone was enough to convince my packing-dreading husband to give up the idea (one less 1 ton bookcase to move.) Well I am adjusting to the idea and consoling myself with the fact that it will enable us to return to the island a little sooner. I miss getting up with the sunrise, reading in the hammock, driving my golf cart to the market, buying fish right off the boat and fresh tortillas from La Gloria. These are a few of my favorite things. Just call me a Mexican Julie Andrews.

Imperfect is Perfect

If imperfections are a mark of hand made goods, then my house is surely hand crafted! We are down to our last 2 weeks and it looks as if we will not finish. We are going to shut it up and finish where we left off when we return. We are thoroughly exasperated with the struggles of building, as I know our builders are too. Hopefully we will return refreshed and ready for the final details.
That said, I will say the house in general is quite magical. It has the pathos of a renovated ruin off the coast of Spain. The rock walls and stone floors give it old world charm while the grass palapas add that Caribe vib. Throw in hints of Morocco and you have Magi Azul – Caribe Beach House.
We are now sleeping in one of the almost finished rooms upstairs. At night I light my candles on the patio, listen to the surf and watch the palm trees and grass edges of the palapa sway in the breeze. I can almost feel my blood pressure go down after a hard day of monitoring workers. There is such a sense of peaceful relaxation here even while it is still a construction zone. I remember when we first started and I was trying to get the workers to do irregular finishes on the walls and rounded imperfect corners everywhere. I said, “Imperfect is perfect.” Well I am certainly getting what I asked for in areas I never expected, but I am also learning to live with those words and realizing in Mexico that truly – “Imperfect is perfect.”

Magia de Jose

The house is just starting to transform from a building site into a home. I love the new grass palapa entry and covered patio. The pool should be finished this week, and so far it looks beautiful. When we are through it will be surrounded by multi-tiered bamboo gardens and overshadowed by palms and oleanders. I am hoping it looks like a Balinese garden. If I can keep the workers from trashing each others work before the house is finished or before I lose my mind and temper it will be a small miracle. Everyday I find new paint, wood stain and chicken asada grease on the rough stone floors and I pace the house like Yosemite Sam with fire coming out of my ears. This house has been the most stressful project we have ever undertaken besides raising a teenager (that is another blog.) Instead of spending the whole blog harping on my frustrations, I would like to sing the praises of one lowly worker. He is not the architect. He is not even the foreman. He is just one of the workers who always tries to do a good job and always listens to my broken Spanish and somehow understands what I want. I have never caught him rolling his eyes at my requests, and he is always very truthful and sympathetic with me. Plus he is also an expert at all things concrete. Yesterday as we surveyed bathroom counters that were done improperly and looked unacceptable. We discussed possible solutions and what could and couldn't be done. Finally we came upon a compromise that I think Jose can make work. I told him he would use the magia de Jose (the magic of Jose) on them. I left the site in my golf cart with peace and confidence that everything would be alright (no small feat.) When I look back on this building process, Jose will be one bright spot in the picture. I thank God for the magia de Jose - a young man with patience, a work ethic of excellence and a talent for taming the Yosemite in me.

Magi Azul

Some months ago I decided that Casa Leon was not the name that I wanted for the house here on Isla Mujeres. I didn't want clients thinking a person named Leon owned the house. Leon in Spanish means lion, and at one point I was going to have a lion fountain spouting water into the pool. However the lion is gone along with the name. From Casa Leon, I pondered The Grotto - Beach House. I got mixed reactions. My father was appalled that I was going to name my house after a cave. I explained that grottoes were sometimes gardens and sometimes ornately decorated. Our house has so much stone work that the name really does fit well. However, as much as I had visions of candle light and monks in mysterious old ruins, I was afraid clients might have visions of cold, damp caves. And so I continued my quest for that name full of mystery and magic. While reading a foreign design magazine I ran across an article titled "Magi Azul." As soon as I saw that title I said, "Oh I love that!" And so Magi Azul - Caribe Beach House was born. My husband, Stan, then asked me, "What does that mean?" I said, "It means blue magic. Imagine the blue ocean, the blue sky and the magical beauty of it all." My husband, the consummate investigator, then does a web search and informs me that magic is magia in Spanish and that magi were wise men. I, however, was undeterred and a women with a passion. "It doesn't matter," I said. "It's a great name. The magi were star gazers, travelers and seekers of truth. It still works." Then I, the consummate researcher nerd, did a linguistic search and found that magi does indeed mean magic in Swedish! So all those visiting Swedes will know exactly what I mean! The rest of us will just think it's cool no matter what language it is. I tried to explain to Stan that it didn't have to have a specific definition. It is about the emotions the words evoke. The words even sound and feel beautiful rolling off your tongue. The g in Magi is pronounced like the g in genre (Maagjii Ahzzuul) Magi Azul. Didn't that feel good? So as house construction is coming to an end so is my search for a name I love. I have found it -
Magi Azul
~
Caribe Beach House.