Things I'm glad the robbers didn't take...

So, it's been about three months since we got robbed. It was an inconvenience and a hassle to go through the fingerprinting, police report and submitting receipts and information to Allstate, but it was all worth it. Allstate came through like I couldn't believe and reimbursed us for everything, including items that didn't work and/or we didn't have receipts for. When I went through the insurance fiasco a couple years ago when my youngest son had a car accident that wasn't his fault, I was fully expecting to have to put up a fight. Not so. They didn't question anything, and sent a check within a week. Considering I paid $208 for the year for renter's insurance, even with the $500 deductible, we were very, very lucky when mayhem hit. By the way, I love those commercials...

It would have been pretty devastating if we hadn't had insurance or if they didn't reimburse us, and I'm sure I would be feeling pretty differently about everything now. But since we did, I can now look back and say I'm glad there were things the robbers didn't take. Electronic things are expensive and important in this day and age, but they don't have an emotional value. Most of the things I'm glad the robbers didn't take have very little monetary value (which is why they weren't stolen), but they mean a lot to me, and it really would have pissed me off if they HAD taken them.

My Frida wall hanging. This is actually a pareo I bought in May of 2007 and just bought some stretcher frames and stapled it on them. Now I can enjoy it every day. (My sons think Frida is a little creepy with the unibrow, but to each his own.)

My tiny little beaded purse (it's only about 2" x 3") that I bought at La Bruja when I had the fish soup. The bead work the women do on the island is just beautiful.

My braided colorful belts...

One of several sand, sea glass and shell collections from the Isla beaches...

My batiks...

...and Mexican mirror given to me by a friend...

And here is Sergio...the sweet, talented guy who makes those batiks...

One of my many wall decorations...

The Mayan calendar leather painting I got at Chichen Itza and my little Mexican purses that I always use when I go to Mexico.

Juan, the skeleton...a favorite of my son, Jeffrey (not)...

The little doll from the Mayan ladies on Isla...and the cloth I purchased from the sweet lady who got on the bus at Chemax on my way to Valladolid...

Even the silly little bobble-heads. The little coin purse was a gift from the Mexican professor in our department who is from Monterrey who knows I love Mexico. As for the little turtle in the middle, I went to a new opal shop on Isla last time I was there and was the only person there. (I can't remember the name, but I had never seen it before.) The owner talked to me for a long time about fire opals and what's legitimate and what's not. His stuff was very expensive, so I didn't buy anything, but on my way out, he gave me the little turtle which was marked at $10 USD. I'm sure it was way overpriced, but I thought it was a nice gesture. Just another reason I love Isla.

The little wooden thingy is a back-roller given to me by the woman who gave me a massage while I was staying at the Hotel Plaza Almendros (can't remember her name, but it was a wonderful massage). The little foosball guy doesn't have anything to do with Mexico, but it brings back good memories of long nights playing foosball in my dorm at the University of Minnesota (when I wasn't studying, of course). I've held on to this little guy for 35 years. The little embroidered cloth was a free gift when I bought some jewelry at Alejandro's right next to the zocalo.

I love shopping at this place. Alejandro is very sweet and doesn't pressure you at all when you're in his shop.

I bought the sun and the fire opal necklace charms there...and the blue inlaid necklace. The other items are just things I bought from beach vendors. I love them all.

And, last but not least, I'm glad the robbers didn't take my virtual seashore scene that my sons gave me a few years ago. Living in land-locked southcentral Texas, I switch it on now and then to remind me of the waves against the shore. Having three boys has given me a "few" gray hairs, but every once in awhile, they do exactly the right thing.