NEVER leave the house without your camera in Mexico!

Gosh darn, I did just that on Tuesday and I can't get the photo op out of my head! I'm at Carmela's beauty shop getting a pedicure and facing the open door. An elderly Mexican woman came to the door selling the fragrant little white and yellow wildflowers that grow in profusion in the countryside. THAT is not unusual - except, on top of her head she had about a dozen birds of paradise tied together and laying flat. It looked like a prehistoric headdress.........or the woman on the beach at Barre de Potosi with the iguanas on her head..........I SO wanted to have my camera that I ached to get that photo but gosh darn, the camera was at home. With the light behind her I just couldn't stop looking at her. I have NOT been able to get the vision of that woman out of my mind!
My camera has not left my purse any day since.........

Oops, Hyder House website error

Ok, here is the correct address to read about the Hyder House, if you're interested.
www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/10/properties/rehyder.php Sorry about that!

Audubon Gala - A "la di da" Event

For so many years when I had my business, I HAD to dress up for so many social events that I HATE doing that now, but every now and then something comes up and I DO. Each year, I DO
go to the Audubon Society of San Miguel Brunch. I figure, "How much would you have to get dressed up for a brunch?"..........Well this year it was held at the Hyder House and it is spectacular. All of these photos were taken on the grounds of the property. The house, which now encompasses 7 houses is a total of 13,000 sq. ft of living space! Spectacular is not a strong enough word. BUT it is not pretentious, more like quirky spectacular. These two photos are of Las Monjas church and a cupola that is on the property and Las Monjas
church. The grounds, as you can see, are as spectacular as the house size.

If you're interested in reading about the house you can go to www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/10properties/REhyder.php . I enjoyed seeing it, the style show that Barbara Porter put on with local exotic models and the camaraderie of the people. I visited with a lovely couple who have lived all over the world. She, a regional director for USAID, a country director for the Peace Corp and on and on; he, a retired minister. HIS description of his sermons, a cross between Lenny Bruce and Robin Williams.........would love to have been there! Delightful couple.

There was not a bad view anywhere on the grounds. The food was brunch food (what can I say) but it was very, very well planned by all volunteers. Oh, and Bobby Kaplan and his group played jazz and blues while sitting next to the pool.

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon, eh?

A "Drum Roll" Please

I can't wait another minute to share a picture of Matilda Isabella with you. I've been waiting for John to email to me some photos he took that are so adorable but I'm sending one from when she was a day old! But first.............here's Dr. John (the proud Dad) getting ready to go in to be with Lisa during the birth. The smile belies his nervousness and tension about the whole thing. I raised those kids to smile for a photo - no matter what! Just kidding................... Here's "the first glance" for Lisa when they brought her from the nursery to her room. Needless to say it was awe. Mom is doing fine - as Lisa said, "None of these shots are "Glamour shots"". She has such a great sense of humor! I love that about her - among other things.

And, ta da, here she is Matilda Isabella Eckrote - the apparent heir to who knows what - hopefully a life of happiness, comfort, joy and tranquility. A road traveled with lots of love, friends and family..............

It's a miracle - each and every birth! Ain't life grand?

The Wall is Finished

Here it is as they put the last stone in! I ran out with my camera when I saw this happening from my dining room window. The men looked so surprised to see me and smiled when I asked if I could take a photo of them finishing the wall. You'll notice that none are looking at the camera. It's that old adage that the camera steals their soul. Seldom, unless it is a child or a westernized Mexican, do I get a direct shot. The men WERE pleased that I praised the beauty and length of "their" handiwork. If you enlarge the photo by clicking on it you can see a pipe running at the top of the photo. It is a water pipe that used to send water to the factory that made "manta" which is a natural color cotton. It was put in in the 1920's I've been told. Unfortunately the manta factory closed last year and so I guess the water pipe is no longer used. I wonder how long it took them to make all the piers to install that water pipe that long ago!

Amanda and Patrick

I've had several inquiries about how Amanda is doing........where is she............what's her progress? So here is the latest! I talked to her today and the last drain has been removed.......yeah..........it was 18" long.........yuk! She is enthused because now they can move her to TIRR - Texas Institute for Rehabilitation (don't know what the other r is for). She sounded better then she has since this began. Thank goodness. She'll probbly be at TIRR for about 6 weeks the first time......

This picture was taken when they came down to visit a couple of years ago........GREAT people!

"Itchy"

I was laying on the chaise today reading and getting a little tan. Oh my gosh, I can wear sandals again.....my feet aren't cold anymore. I survived January......yeah!
But, I digress. I sat and read the blog of Misty at www.sweettooth.typepad.com/mst I thought I was intrepid but this woman is INTREPID! Her writing makes me laugh out loud.......she is a character and she just gets in a car, a plane or a sailboat and takes off. She has been all over Indonesia, quite a few places in Mexico - she loves Yelapa too - and it made me want to jump in the car and take off!
I'm just "itchy" to go but where would I go? Well maybe Patzcauro-Uruapan for the Palm Sunday Market - I think I wrote about it last year in March. I've been so many times though, I need to do something different, although I love that area so much! I think I'm going to Chiapas in May - #2 on my list to go this year - right behind Cuba. Or I could take off and just NOT have a destination - which is always a fun way for me to travel. Just "hit the road" and take the backroads...............sometimes. Any suggestions?
Oh and another thing, if you doubt that San Miguel is a Mexican town read Misty's blog for January 2008 when she spent the month here.........great read.

"THE" Debate

Watched the "debate" last night on CNN in AUSTIN, Tx. Boy those Texans were rowdy - yee ha! I was on a debate team in high school and unless the rules have changed significantly, that was NOT a debate! It was just each person saying their stuff that they've been saying BUT I must confess, I was darn impressed with Obama - yes, yes I know I've already voted for Hillary in the primary in Texas but heck, a girl can change her mind, can't she?
Want to know what I was impressed with? I was impressed with the fact that he couldn't be "baited" by Hillary with the silly comments about his plagiarism and that he is open enough to talk to Cuba without "an agenda" and preconditions. To me that said a LOT! A LOT!
I'm emboldened to discuss this on the blog now because no one cuzzed me out with my blog on Hillary. THAT was refreshing, to say the least! THANKS for all of your comments. Any more?

Oregon

Life is so interesting! I've been reading a fellow blogger's page and he is from Oregon. Few people know that almost 30 years ago I worked in aviation for a company based in McMinnville Oregon as their HR Director for everything east of the Rocky Mountains. I loved and still love anything to do with aviation (both fixed and rotary wing) - I had also previously been with a company that managed federal contracts and that is how I first came to Mexico because I managed a State Dept contract in Mexico City that provided aviation personnel to maintain the atty general's fleet of aircraft for drug interdiction (yup, its been going on THAT long.) It was how my love affair with Mexico began.........
Although I was based in Houston, I traveled a LOT to Oregon and all over the US with the company based in Oregon. I left that position because I was traveling a lot, had three teenagers, was recently widowed, and needed to be home. BUT I loved Oregon and often wonder how different my life and that of my children would have been had we relocated to Oregon when they wanted me to do so.
IT is a beautiful place!

Tuesday's Child is Full of Grace

As I was driving to the hospital yesterday afternoon to welcome Matilda to this world, that poem that my mother used to recite popped into my head! I remember Tuesday, because I was born on Tuesday - trust me I might have grace, but I've never been graceful........
Baby Matilda made her arrival in a content, tranquil way and has remained very quiet. She is nursing and comfortable as are Mom and Dad in Celaya at the hospital. No specific measurements were given before I left there last night to drive home but we "guesstimate" she's abut 6 1/2 pounds and at least 21 inches. Lots of dark hair and rosebud colored skin. Just beautiful. Pictures to follow, of course.
The Drs. and nurses were all wonderful and Lisa and John wanted the baby to only have organic clothing and organic lotions, etc. and the staff was very gracious about all of these different ways of doing the usual routine things. I was impressed.
It's wonderful to share joyful news with all of you!

Waiting, waiting, waitgng

Why is it when you're waiting for something it seems like forever before it happens or the person you're waiting for shows up? Well that is the case with Baby Matilda - granchild # 6! While I was in Texas in January there were a few "incidents" and so we allllll thought she was coming early - due date March 1st! So Mom-to-be has been on bedrest since the third week of January and we have all been holding our breath............
Some of us, myself and my son, have been scurrying around trying to get the nursery ready for the new "tenant" and finally today I got the balloon shade and the curtains up. John has painted the room and made an incredible shelving unit that has a double set of little doors with a rod inside to hang all of her assorted "hanging wardrobe". It is tooooo cute - painted white. The rocker has been recovered and so ANY DAY now a new tiny human being will occupy the earth. It makes me choke up just to write that...........I so remember when I brought my first child, Jennifer, home from the hospital and would just stand for hours looking at her in awe that an actual human being had occupied my body. What a miraculous thing. So we're ready Baby Matilda, come out, we're all ready to love you, cuddle you and help you in this big world!

Musings for a Friday

Got myself up at 7AM this morning because the "basura truck" MIGHT come today! It did, but not early and long after I left at 10AM......oh well. So I left and had Josefina the maid carry my bag of basura over to the school and put it with their stuff that way I didn't have to wait around for the truck! (I'm getting smart!)
I had a "list" of stuff to do, such as, (1)stop at the oilcloth store and get 3 meters of pink and white gingham oilcloth for shelf paper for Baby Matilda's shelves in the nursery - store was not open at 10:15.......oh well. (2) Stop at farmacia for prescription, yeah accomplished;(3) buy two birthday cards, accomplished;(4) buy "necessities" at Bonanza, GREAT grocery store, accomplished ; (5)pick up mail, oops saw Dorothy and Yvette having breakfast - stopped to visit, picked up mail, accomplished;(6) get Atencion, our local newspaper and the Mexican newspaper, accomplished. Ok, that may not sound like a lot but it IS a lot of walking......and it all takes time - like two hours worth at 6400 ft elevation. Hmm, I wonder if you burn more calories because of the exertion of the elevation? Interesting thought! We have a saying that you're not supposed to do more then three things a day in San MIguel and one is to get up......a joke, for sure.
I did have a delicious lunch with friends at Oliver's a tiny new restaurant with four tables that serves the best hamburgers I've had in San Miguel - either that or I had worked up an appetite with all the walking I had done...............While eating lunch a funeral procession came by with about 100 people walking with a group of mariachis, with a truck loaded with flowers bringing up the rear. They were walking to the panteon (cemetary). Since it was mid-day and the sun can be very intense, most of the people were walking under umbrellas. That, plus the mariachi music, reminded me of the funerals in New Orleans..............
Those are my Friday memories!

Hillary

I sent off my ballot for President in the Texas primary on March 4th. As I was filling it out I was remembering that the first time I voted it was for John F. Kennedy and I was in college. WOW! I was honored to fill this ballot out for a WOMAN in the hopes that finally our country will have a woman leader as many other countries have had - for centuries!
I have followed Hillary's career for many, many years and her accomplishments with the Children's Defense Fund and the process of getting CHIP, the Children's Health Insurance Program started, lo those many years ago, just to name two.
I love Jimmy Carter, today, as a stateman, but when he came into power as a President, it was a learning curve that stopped the country dead in its tracks. Obama is a great orator but he does not, in my humble opinion, have enough experience, nationally or internationally to move our country forward at this critical time, without a long learning curve.
It's funny that I'm writing this because I know we're NEVER supposed to discuss religion or politics.........but, so be it. I admit I'm proud to be a Democrat and to have voted in every election for the last 48 years! And, I respect your right to disagree and vote for other people and I don't understand why people today get mad at each other if we don't have the same views. Isn't that what a democracy is?

Elderly

The "coffee klatch" topic on Monday, was what is elderly, when are we elderly? The topic continued yesterday at a party I was at..........the subject came up because when I was in Houston at the hospital with my friend Amanda, the Drs. kept referring to her as "elderly". She is 62! Ok, that would make Raquel Welch, elderly!!! If you met or saw Amanda when she's NOT in a hospital you would think she might be 50.........so finally when a 40-something female Dr. referred to Amanda as "a woman THAT old", I called her on it! Sorry, I couldn't keep my mouth shut. I said, "Wow, I'm offended. I can't believe you refer to her as "elderly" and "old"" She's only 62. The medical profession needs to change their attitude about age!"
So, that was the topic for two days. A few in our coffee klatch group are near 80 but you would never know it unless they had told you. One woman in particular, who is my buddy at the Tuesday Market, can shop more then I could ever imagine and is always ready to do more. She wears ME out. And, she's 15 years older then I am..........
Living here in San Miguel has been a BIG eye opening experience for us ex-pats as it relates to age. Many, many 80 and 90 year olds are still playing golf daily and tennis a few times a week and volunteering in a zillion projects. It cetainly has been an eye opening experience for me.
So, the consensus is, it's all about attitude and health. We've all known people in their 50's who act and feel older mentally and physically then many of us "older" folks. WE still have a lot of "life" in us! It IS the "golden time" of our lives. (By the way, I'm 65 and sure don't think of myself as elderly!)

Happy Birthday Ron!

I LOVE this picture of Ron! It shows his humor, his silliness and just how great a guy he is..........I met Ron and Fred on the beach in Puerto Vallarta over 16 years ago. WE like to say it was in our "hot" days! And, we're NOT referring to the weather..............Ron and Fred were just starting to date and now have been life partners for 16 years. We clicked and had so much fun together for the time we were all there - I working, them goofing off! You know how when you travel you always say you're going to stay in touch with someone you meet, but seldom do you actually do that? Well, we have. Over the years while Ron and Fred lived in Dallas and had a business that brought them to Houston or vice versa, we would get together and catch up on our lives.
Then when I moved to San Miguel and talked about how wonderful it is and suggested they come visit and they did - little did I realize they would MOVE here! But they have - sold their business, bought a house and sold everything in the USA and are HERE.
How delightful! Ron and I are like two siblings - alwaaaaaaaaaaays picking on each other.....We all never get together that we don't end up laughing and being silly. Silly is good! And if you look at this picture of Ron - isn't he silly? But he is a sweetie too............
Happy Birthday Ron!!!!!!!!!!

Garden in February

I was trying to finish up the roll of film and took this photo the other day and decided to share it with you, The azaleas have started blooming and the butterfly lillies never seem to stop! This is the view I see from the window in the living room when I'm on the chaise reading orwatching television. Isn't it lovely? This particular garden is all in white flowers. Not blooming right now are the white bourganvilla and the white daisies. With the feeding and rain in the last few days, I presume the whole garden will be in bloom in the next couple of weeks.

Gracie Belle

I think this picture of Gracie Belle, which is the dog of four of the grandchildren is adorable! She sleeps like this in the family room and it cracked me up when I saw her. The family got her last year at Christmas and she brings smiles and giggles to the kids all the time. I'm so glad they have her. She is so funny. She loves to circle the swimming pool, at breakneck speed in the summer time, and literally fly through the air with all four paws straight out and her ears in the air as she hits the water. You can't help but laugh. When Gracie came to live with this wonderful family, there were already two grown resident cats, Chip and Cheeto.............one of them has NOTHING to do with Gracie but the other one plays and plays with her. Darn cute!

If Gracie doesn't have her nose buried while she is asleep, she finds someone to be near. Here she is with my youngest granddaughter, Emma.

NOW I have a dachsund just like Gracie living in the guest house with the young couple who has rented it for the next year. They are adorable and so is their dog, Guinness. She's this little bitty thing with a bark as big as a lab. It cracks me up every time she barks or takes after my cat Velcro. I've noticed lately though, she's not barking at Velcro and Velcro isn't running as fast, so I HOPE that soon they will become buddies.

I love animals and the four years I didn't have a pet were pretty lonely, although I swore I was never going to have one again after my dog Flash was killed accidently.......Never is a very long time.........

The "Great Wall" continued

These are the piles of rocks that have been dumped across the narrow calle (street) from my house and in front of the school. With a wheel barrow and a hammer they load these physically on the wheelbarrow, haul them into the area where they are making the wall and start breaking them up for "the wall". They mix mortar on the ground inside the school ground and haul that in buckets up the boards to the wall - which is now almost 10 ft high! The wall doesn't appear that high from the angle of this photo, but trust me, it is. They dug down and made a trench about four feet down in the ground and started the wall that way. I'm reading "World without End" by Ken Follett right now and it takes place in England in the 1300's

There are many descriptive parts about building cathedrals and walls etc. Guess what, they built them just the same way 700 years ago. You seldom see mechanical equipment here, even when houses are built, but rather the bucket with handmade cement going up the ladder when they are working on the second floor. It is quite fascinating. Yes, I do sometimes feel as though I live in Medieval times - but that is better then 10,000 expats! Ha.

On Saturday they worked hard allllll day and I was reconciled to rock dust and hammers forever but they cleaned up and moved alllllllll the rocks before they left on Saturday. All the rocks were moved onto the school grounds. Of course there was still dust and so I, with my trusty hose, tried to settle down the dust from the terrace upstairs. But the heavens helped more with a totally unexpected heavy, heavy rain and hail last night for several hours. You will never know how much we appreciate rain this time of the year to"settle" the dust and help the plants! Yippee................

10,000 Ex-pats

Well I have for a long time "pooh poohed" the idea that there could possibly be that many expats in San Miguel. By my count it seems like there are about 2500 of us full time........but last night caused me doubt as I went to the Fourth Anniversary of La Aurora (I'll explain what that is in a minute or two). I kid you not, there had to be at least 4000 people there! Or at least it seemed that way. Last year there were 1500 and although I've never gone in the four years since it opened, I looked like a guppy with my mouth hanging open at the amount of people. Within an hour of the appointed opening at 6PM, you" couldn't stir them with a stick". Yes, I know there was free champagne and chocolate, but geez there was a flock of them. I also realize this is "high season" and a lot of these people are snowbirds but holy moly....it was wall to wall people. I am now reassessing what I've been told in the recent past and ready to admit there are more expats here then I have realized for quite a while..............darn.
Ok, for those of you who don't know what LaAurora is, it was a fabric mill that made "manta" fabric which is a natural cotton. It brought a lot of jobs to San Miguel and it closed down a few years ago. This is a perfect example of "adaptive reuse" in architecture. They have left a lot of the big equipment and cogs and things in the building but the majority of the space is now art galleries, designer showrooms, a couple of restaurants and a wine bar. I so love when a building that can no longer function in its intended capacity is reused in a new and effective way. When I redesigned the Hacienda del Sol in Tucson it was an adaptive reuse as well. It had been a girl's finishing school from the 20,30's and 40's that became (with design and modification) a boutique resort hotel and restaurant. I was honored to do this project.
(PS) I had intended to post the photos of the rocks and the wall today but for some reason the blogspot won't let me upload them...........maybe tomorrow.

A "red letter" DAY

It's official - Amanda is out of ICU! A month.......Wow! She is in a private room and got her first ride today in a real wheelchair, not horizontal on a bed going down the hall - but SITTING UP and able to see people and out windows and hallways! This probably doesn't sound so wonderful but if you have ever been horizontal in a hospital bed with tubes and stuff in you for 30 days - it is like "paradise"..........In addition, two of her grandchildren, Andrew and Samantha who are wee ones, were allowed to go see her in her room. They are 1 and 3 years old so this is quite a feat for this to occur. They flew in from Boston just to see their Granny. I KNOW it meant the world to Amanda!
I continue to pray for my dear friend and her husband and family. I pray that this whole ordeal will be over sooner then later and that the end result will be a complete recovery. I know if Amanda has any way to affect the outcome, it will be sooner and complete!

Tickling your "funny bone"- The Pastor's ass

This made me laugh out loud so I decided to share it with ya'll!
The pastor entered his donkey in a race and it won! The pastor was so pleased with the donkey that he entered it in the race again and it won again!
The local paper read: *Pastor's Ass out front*
The bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the pastor not to enter the donkey in another race.
The next day, the local paper headline read: *Bishop scratches Pastor's ass*
This was too much for the bishop, so he ordered the pastor to get rid of the donkey. The pastor decided to give it to a nun in a nearby convent.
The local paper hearing of the news posted the following headline the next day: *Nun has best ass in town*
The bishop fainted. He informed the nun that she would have to get rid of the donkey, so she sold it to a farmer for $10.
The next day the paper read: *Nun sells ass for $10*
This was too much for the bishop, so he ordered the nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to the plains where it could run wild.
The next day the headlines read: *Nun announces her ass is wild and free*
The bishop was buried the next day.
The moral of the story is...being concerned about public opinion can bring you much grief and misery.......even shorten your life.............be yourself and enjoy life! Stop worrying about everyone else's ass and you'll be a lot happier and live longer!

The "great" wall of Mexico!

I came home on Monday to two HUGE piles of rocks, no boulders dumped on the road between my house and the school. Oops, the principal is at it again....adding on to his already 100 yard stone wall along the arroyo supposedly to "protect" the kids! Although the kids never go over there.........
My neighbors said the big pile directly outside my gate was dumped at 4AM and literally scared them out of bed. It is quite a boom when they dump all those boulders.......you can imagine. It has blocked the street - prevented anyone from using the street as a thru-street (which I don't mind) but it has caused havoc for the kids coming to and from school and the taxis that bring some of them because they all have to back up the street...........Three more dump truck loads have been delivered in the last two days.
I go up on the roof and watch three men, break the boulders and build this beautiful rock wall. It is immense...........three men with only hand tools and some string tied across the top. They have built at least 50 feet with a height of about 6 ft in a week! So maybe it didn't take millions of men to build the great wall of China!
Never a dull moment in the neighborhood. I'll take pictures when it is finished...............or do you want to see it in progress?