Mold, Rust and Bugs, Oh My!

In my last post, I wrote about the amount of rain that has been falling.  Come to find out this actually is somewhat unusual.  There is tropical storm Manuel and Hurricane Ingrid to the northeast and south, so we are feeling the effects of these here.  This is the peak time of year, although hurricane season lasts until November 30th. I did know this moving here.  But it is not something to worry about.  There are systems set up and it is something you have warning and time for.  Not that I am necessarily interested in experiencing one, especially the aftermath....blessings to all of those who have passed or lost their homes recently.

So,as I wrote in my last post: "... the plants and earth are happy with so much water.  As are the mold and the mosquitoes...".  With an already existing high humidity (90% today), and mucho rain and no sun, this is the perfect breeding ground for mold and mildew! Yay!  

Our neighbors are a young couple from Guanajuato where it is drier and so this is new for them also, and one of them had a brown leather jacket....Giovanni called it green. yuk.   See pictures and read in this blog:  http://hilaryinmumbai.com/2011/07/25/mold-wave/

I caught a few things of mine early and cleaned them, but there is still no sun to put them out in.  This is the essential ingredient in combating the stuff.  I actually sent a couple of important things home with a friend who just went back to Detroit bc I didn't want them to get ruined.  It can be kept in check, but it is a lot of work....ufff.

I just found some jewelery this morning that was beginning to get fuzzy.  Wood and seeds and cotton cord, natural stuff goes first.  So I will get to them shortly, but there is still no sun.  We are putting some things under a hot lamp and keeping lights on and fans moving.  This morning I reminded myself that it is all just temporary and impermanent, right?

And so if something is not getting fuzzy and green, it is rusting!  All bikes here that are not brand new are rusty. And they just paint on top of it so it doesn't look rusty.  I looked at a bike where they painted the chain silver!

You don't even have to go anywhere near the salt water.  You don't even have to bring something outside to get rusty, it is just the high level of moisture in the air.  Kitchen utensils, metal snaps and buttons on clothes, anything.



A friend of mine was just visiting for a couple of days.  She got eaten up by mosquitoes.  Like me when I first got here.  People here say you build up antibodies after awhile?  I am not reacting as much as I was when I first got here, so maybe.  They are different here.  they are small and black and fast.  You don't even hear them or see them, and don't feel the bite until they are gone so you don't even get the satisfaction of smashing them, (this is the one bug I might kill, generally I take spiders and things outside and let them go). I really wouldn't mind sharing my blood, it is just the itch that lasts for days is terrible...why so mean, mosquito?  I call them stealthy, little stealth bombers, and they love the rain, and the more water there is the more breeding grounds...

Then there are the cockroaches and little teeny ants that invade your house and are really just something you need to get used to.  I was freaked out at first and we do have things in place to keep them in check, but I think they are just inevitable.  I guess I kinda pretend that the cockroaches just aren't there.  You don't really see them.  Not like the time I was in New Orleans and they were crawling on the fruit bowl in the middle of the day.  But these are BIG here, but they are a different kind, my understanding is they are more of an occasional visitor than an infestation (I will spare you a photo of them!)  And I just read that that you can get borax here, it is called ácido bórico and you mix it with sugar and the ants go bye bye.   Will have to try this.