Monday, March 26, 2007

Buenos dias, buenos dias, buenos dias

Many of my good friends know this method, but I am often confronted by people telling stories of being stopped and attempting to speak Spanish to the federalli's or police and ending up having problems. Let me recount the advice given to me in the early 80's when I used to drive down in a truck "sourcing" furnishings and accessories for my restaurant design business. A business associate who had already been working in Mexico for 20 years said 'NEVER SPEAK SPANISH TO THE POLICE OR FEDERALLI'S". " Only say buenos dias no matter what they say" he continued, "And by the third buenos dias they will tell you to andela"! Well he was so right and I have probably driven at least 100 times all over Mexico alone and any time I'm stopped I do that and I have never gotten past the third buenos dias without them telling me to go on. I have NEVER in 38 years paid a bribe..............and I really don't think I have ever been asked for one so I get really, really tired of people talking about the "bribe" system in Mexico.

Driving to Texas a few years ago with a good friend who grew up in Mexico and moved here in the 50's, he wanted to see the "buenos dias thing" in action. He kept quiet and was amazed how well it worked when we were stopped at a checkpoint. He could hardly contain his laughter until we drove away.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Sixty five!!!

How can it possibly be that I will be sixty-five years old in a couple of weeks - I think I'm in my forties....I may not look like it, but I feel like it.........well, most of the time! It is absolutely astonishing to me that I will be receiving Medicare soon ( a good thing) but that the majority of my life has passed (not a good thing) confounds me. I remember when my Dad remarried at age 50 (and I was 18) and I thought "Why would anyone that old remarry?' Ha, it is all relative, isn't it? I have had a full life with a beautiful family and a successful business. The only thing missing is a loving companion, but, I have learned to be grateful for what I have and to not dwell on what I don't.
The picture above is me at age 2 in Chicago where I lived until age 10 when my parents discovered there was a place that didn't have much snow in the winter and we moved to Shreveport, La. That was a cultural difference. I finished growing up in Louisiana, married and had my three wonderful children in that state. The rest of my life, 34 years of it, was spent in Houston and the surrounding areas of that city. Houston was good to me in many ways but it is also where my husband died at 36 and my daughter recently at 42. Bittersweet.
Bu,t I AM in a new season of my life ready to look forward to adventures and friendships and whatever the "golden years" provide to me. I move on with the richness of friends and the love of family. I'm a lucky lucky lady!

"Shiny" shoes

Patent leather shoes used to be popular in the USA! I had them and my granddaughter Jessica, when she was old enough to say what she wanted, always wanted me to take her for "shiny shoes" as she called them. Oh how she danced and twirled in those shoes and when that pair wore out we would go shopping for another new pair. Well whe's 15 now, so no more shiny shoes.............BUT I can't help noticing the little girls walking up the hill in the mornings to the school near me - yup, shiny shoes. They wear them with knee socks and their uniforms or folded over lace socks just like Jessica did. A heartwarming sight.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Primavera Desfile (Spring Parade)




There are many, many parades in San Miguel but my MOST favorite is the Primavera with all the pre-school and kindergarden children dressed as lady bugs, butterflies, turtles, sharks, lions, and every imaginable animal. Every year I dash to the jardine to watch the happiness of the children and to marvel at the creativity of their mothers. Yes, these costumes are ALL hand made - no Target or Walmart or wherever you would buy a costume - yes, all HAND MADE. It is an absolute delight. So, I take rolls and rolls (yes I still have a "point and shoot" camera) of pictures and the pictures are never as wonderful as just watching the children. The picture of the children behind the fence at the Parroquia look like a zoo of little children to me.

An "unknown" response

It happened today! I got a comment from someone I don't know (Thank you Todd).........It's funny. I started writing this for myself and not especially thinking about who else would read it other then me and a few friends. BUT I now realize how much fun those comments are.......and to get one today from Todd was a delightful surprise. I checked his blog and he lives outside Patzcauro with his wife, a kitten and a rabbit! How he found my blog is a mystery to me but it was nice to get a comment.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

A BIG LIVING surprise in the garden

I've had many surprises in the garden - the cutter ants, the scorpions, a plant that I thought was dead but wasn't.......but NOTHING as surprising as today! I noticed the feral cat outside my kitchen window walking toward the garden with something relatively big and black in its mouth and my first thought was "Oh no, I HOPE that's not a rat". So I waited a few minutes until I got up my courage and walked around the corner of the building to where she went and to my absolute astonishment and delight, there, squirming and mewing are four precious baby kittens - three tabbies and a little black one. She had made a bed for them behind some discarded chicken wire and it now extends to a boulder so they can't get out. I chuckled because I have been vacillating about a kitten or a dog......which to get, if any, and I think the decision has been taken out of my hands! They are so fluffy and fat and cute. I have never fed the feral cat, but, since seeing the kittens, she now has milk and rotisserie chicken......Seeing those kittens reminded me so much of when my children were little and one of our cats would have kittens. Julie always had a kitten in her pocket............or a frog!

Breakfast on the Roof Terrace

I LOVE having breakfast up on the roof on Sunday mornings! It is so tranquil with the only sounds being the birds singing and the hummingbirds zipping around the plants. To add to that delight this morning, my son John is here and so it was especially wonderful to have him to share homemade biscuits, fresh orange juice, scrambled eggs and bacon.
The views of the canyon, with the new shade of spring green on the trees and the wildflowers that bloom bright yellow this time of the year, is breathtaking. We also noticed that the chinaberry tree and the jacaranda are budding. By this time next week they will be in bloom and there will be swarms of monarchs coming through heading to you!
I think paradise is where you make it.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Oy vey, NOW Liverpool!

It's confirmed, Liverpool, an upscale department store, is building a free-standing building next to the new mall where Gigante, MMCinemas, McDonald's and many other stores are being opened! Yikes, is all I can SAY. I'm not really sure what I THINK.

The Alamo @ Atotonilco






















The Second Annual "Siege of the Alamo" was held last Tuesday, March 6th out at Joe and Chuck's ranch. All Texans are well aware of this date, but not many other Americans are.......so Bill, the instigator of much of the fun in San Miguel, planned this event for the first time last year. It is a battle of water balloons and water pistols as seen in the pictures. It is a silly fun thing to do..........It grew this year and there were probably about 40 people there ready to run and throw. Each chose sides, a Texas bandana or a Mexican one denoted what team you were on. Then the Texans were outside and the Mexicans inside. If you look at the picture of the facade (which is an exact replica of the Alamo) you will note the upper windows which were great for lobbing water balloons from ( a fact that escaped me when I was outside). All of a sudden I was hit and started scurrying first one way and then the other trying to outmaneuver "whoever" was using me for target practice (thanks Ron). I'm sure I looked like a nut running one way and then another until I realized I needed to run AWAY from the building. By then I had been hit four times by water balloons. Of course, I and everyone else were laughing so hard it wasn't easy to think. The Texans "stormed" the Alamo (actually we just opened the door) and starting lobbing water balloons in and everyone surrendered. It was hysterically funny.
The day proceeded with a fabulous lunch and much laughter. Half of the fun was laughing at the outfits people had on...............I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.







Sunday, March 11, 2007

The Feast of St. Joseph


The Feast of St. Joseph is March 19th. I always remember that because my Dad's name was Joseph. Growing up as a Catholic, we always knew the special saints days but I don't remember celebrations for each and every saint as there is in Mexico.
Last year as I was walking down the hill on Cuesta de San Jose near my house, this procession was coming up the hill. They were carrying the statue of St. Joseph to the little church nearby for a celebration. It turns out that many of the 22 churches in San Miguel "procession" up the hill with their statues on the 18th so they can have a celebration on the 19th. A convocation of Josephs, so to speak. I love the simplicity of the peoples' actions.

An Ode to Flash







Flash was my companion, co-pilot and best friend for 13 years! I didn't seek her out to begin with, but rather she was given to me by an old boyfriend. I took her reluctantly. The first thing she did was dash and "flash" out the door the first day with me racing after her.........not a good beginning, but, hence her name "Flash". She loved to go off on her "gypsy" trips as I called them and of course, I was always trailing after trying to find her either on foot or in the car. These adventures occurred everywhere we lived in Houston and then in San Miguel. Very aggravating but always gratifying when she either came home or I found her.
The grandchildren all loved her. There was never an event or anything going on that Flash wasn't right in the middle of it. Every single picture of every Christmas, Easter or any other gathering has Flash in the picture. I once said to my oldest granddaughter Jessica that I was sorry she too didn't have a dog, and her response was, "But Grammy I do, it's Flash". Oh how they loved each other. It has been 2 1/2 years since Flash was killed here in San Miguel. Yup, it was her last "gypsy" trip to the mercado. She loved to go down the hill and visit with all the people and then she would sit on the curb and wait for me to pick her up in the car - the walk back up the hill was too much for her......she didn't make it home this last time. I can just now write about her. I never would have believed the deep sadness and longing one can have for an animal but I have truly experience both for Flash. She was a great buddy!



Monday, March 05, 2007

I am not a photographer, by any means, but I do think I'm a chronicler. I see this woman a couple of times a week when I walk to get my mail. But this day, she had this exquisite blue shawl on and with the white flowers and the beautiful wood door, I just had to take a photo. I think she is so beautiful. She always greets me and I intend to take a copy of this photo to her. I hope she likes it.
I carry my little camera in my purse most of the time, because if I don't, I miss out on so many "moments" such as this.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

On the road to Ixtapa

This is another "gasoline emergency" picture taken a few years ago on the road to Ixtapa! No one forwarned me that once you left Patzcauro that there weren't any gas stations for many hours. I LOVE this photo. In addition, the woman who had this place had a "bano" which made me happier then the gas, I think. Anyway, while "spring cleaning" this past week I came across this and wanted to share it with you. A far cry from the service stations in the USA!

Friday, March 02, 2007

Butterfly Sanctuary Chinqua in Michoacan



I have noticed quite a few monarchs passing through my garden heading north already. Do they know they shouldn't be going yet? Usually it is the end of March after the jacaranda trees have started to bloom. The jacarandas, a beautiful lavender- colored tree, are prolific in San Miguel and in Mexico and the monarchs love to suck the nectar from the lavender blooms. It is quite a sight.
So, about this time last year, I traveled to Chinqua with friends to see the sanctuaries where between 200 million and 500 million butterflies "winter" each year. Weather is the determining factor of how many get here. We drove about 3 hours through absolutely majestic country of lakes and hills and beautiful forested areas. We reached 10,000 feet where the firs are as thick as any forests I have seen in the USA. Upon arriving, there is a feeling of "sacredness" here. No car headlights are allowed and people greet you to rent horses to you so you can get up to the areas where the butterflies are.............this was an adventure I had NOT counted on! These were BIG horses with wooden saddles. Not my idea of luxury travel, but not wanting to be a "spoil sport" I hoisted myself up (with the help of several Mexican men) onto this giant beast. It took us about 45 minutes to get to a place to "dismount" and then we hiked through very, very silty soil for another 30 minutes or so at 10,000 feet and by the time I saw the butterflies I was ready to see anything! It was magnificently beautiful and so quiet that you could hear their wings............they were fluttering everywhere as it was a relatively warm day and it looked like orange and yellow raindrops. I sat on a log by myself and they came all around me as though I wasn't even there. A "once in a lifetime" experience. I hated to leave for a couple of reasons, One being the beauty and TWO being that I had to get back on that horse! But, I did and returned to the tiny village where our van was parked. Our driver Arturo Morales had brought fresh eggs for the children because he says that is protein and that the families need that. I wish you could have seen those children gently carrying those eggs to their cabins. And then I always travel with granola bars or toys that my grandchildren save for me to bring to Mexico. I had teletubbies and all kinds of Disney characters and dinosaurs for them. The grins on their faces to get a toy was "priceless".
Some facts about the monarchs, the amount of butterflies in the trees of the sanctuaries could cover 15 football fields and it takes six generations for them to migrate to the US and return each year..............notwithstanding "facts", it is one of the great joys of life to enjoy these miraculous creatures every year.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Taxi Spanish

Suffice to say I have taken Spanish classes off and on for the last 15 years but alas, IT just is very difficult for me. And yes, I did business in Mexico for almost 30 years BUT always hired interpreters. So, here's the scenario.
I walk DOWN the hill from my house to the centro frequently, but very infrequently (let's say almost never) do I walk UP the hill. It is a breathtaking adventure, to put it mildly. So, I take one of the plentiful taxis up the hill for 20 pesos which is about $1.70US.
After getting in the taxi and greeting the taxi driver with "Buenes tardes" usually, I launch into where my house is: "Arriba Cuesta de San Jose" and the rest of it in Spanish and I actually say it all pretty fast...........hence they think I can speak fluent Spanish so they often launch into something that I get about every eighth word.............
Then I MUST say "Neccesito practicar mi Espanol" and from there the conversation in Spanish begins. They correct the words I say incorrectly, but very gently. They correct my pronunciation, but kindly. We laugh and talk and the next thing I know I'm at my door and sometimes wish we could keep talking. They ALWAYS seem to have enjoyed the exercise!
And often, I get inside and am not sure exactly what we talked about but it is so much fun. And then I realize all of the mistakes I made gramatically or with pronunciation but I AM learning.