"con permiso"

This is a "magic" phrase in Mexico! It was told to me by Warren Hardy who has a very good language school here in San Miguel about seven years ago! The culture of Mexico is very courtly and when passing a Mexican it is appropriate to say "con permiso" - with your permission - and they will give you permission to pass..............The appreciation on the faces of people when I'm walking down the street and need to pass or walk between them is palpable when I use this phrase. I treasure the look. It is magical because if you are in a crowd and want to get through - saying "con permiso" is like the "parting of the seas"........quite remarkable. People just graciously move aside to let you through. It also is extremely effective if you're in a store and none of the clerks are approaching you or offering to help (which is a cultural thing because they do not want to "impose on your space") so, if you say "con permiso" they come over immediately and offer to help. It's knowing these little things that add to the joy of living in Mexico.

Starbucks

The town has been abuzz (an understatement) about the opening of Starbucks on one of the many corners near the jardine! Wow, the civilist was aflame with information about a protest march (this civilist is read mostly by ex-pats) and how our town is going to be ruined and if there weren't so many Americans and Canadians here there wouldn't be a Starbucks. Never mind that there are SEVEN in Queretaro and very few ex-pats, very few. NOW the news is that Starbucks is going into Tampico. Good Lord, there are NO Americans that I have EVER seen there!
So, for all the "entitled" Americans who think everything in San Miguel is for and because of them, rethink. It really is for and wanted by the citizens of Mexico!
Oh and by the way, for those of you who are NOT in San Miguel, only 25 people showed up for the protest so in truth, very few people really cared...............
It was MUCH ado about nothing!

Saturday Night in San Miguel

ProMusica piano concert of Gershwin and ragtime, performed by acclaimed pianist Richard Dowling - Cost 150 pesos (less then $15US); Dinner at Oliver's - delicious - Cost 75 pesos (close to $7 US); A Saturday Night with friends - PRICELESS.

"Soft air"

Ahhhh, the fierce winds from a couple of weeks ago have disappeared and "soft air" has arrived. You know what I mean, don't you? Those soft stirring breezes and the air caresses your skin. You can sleep with the doors or windows open at night. I LOVE this time of year.
I remember as a child growing up in the south (before airconditioning) how much I loved having the attic fan on, pulling that moist breeze in the window. Well, we don't have moist here, but we do have clean, dry air..............It's magnifico!
On the other hand, those fierce winds must have blown the monarchs to Tampico cause none have come through here on their way north. They should have come through mid-March to stop to feed off the jacaranda trees - have seen NONE..........darn, always one of my favorite sights each year...........
Oh well, EVERYTHING can't be perfect in paradise.

SUNSET MAGAZINE

We're being "double teamed" this month with articles about San Miguel. The latest is in Sunset magazine and it is so beautifully written it made ME want to go to San Miguel - oops, I'm already there! Here's the link. www.sunset.com/sunset/travel/article/0,20633,1717689.00.html It really captures the essence of our village. If it makes you fellow bloggers want to come to visit, let me know. I would LOVE to meet you............Just met Traveling Shoes and her husband this past week..........DELIGHTFUL! When are you coming to town?

Pregnant Man!

Since Telmex came and "fixed" my internet thingy last week I now get www.yahoo.mx even though my email is on yahoo USA. So I have to go over to the USA after I get the mx. version. Aggravating, but I don't, of course, know how to change that! That's neither here nor there, because today on the home page of Yahoo mexico they have a picture of a man four months pregnant!!!!!! Is this the wave of the future? If so, civilization is near its end...............just kidding, but I wonder how many men would want to go through morning sickness for months, then swollen feet, the worst heartburn on the face of the earth, difficulty breathing and all the other stuff that goes on for nine months..............actually why do we women? This is all said 'tongue in cheek" so don't go getting huffy about it...............I'm not "male bashing"!
The picture is pretty darn funny looking and he's nude..............

Ensalda de jardine

Ok, I'm not talking about lettuce tomatoes and onions - I'm talking about bourganvilla petals, petunia leaves, alyssum blossoms and the worst, everything off the rangoon creeper vine!
Last year the cutter ants were on the road and built mounds - see the blog "Attack of the Ants" in Feb 2007, but this year I find mounds everywhere ..................in the garden............it is like they are saying "Ah ha, she thinks we're in the lower garden, let's all head into the shady area" and then I find them in the shade garden and they say, "Ah ha, let's all attack the zinnias". It's a war........one I would prefer not to have to participate in cause I don't like to use poisons, BUT I don't know what else to do........
Oh yes, before someone makes this suggestion, I DID try giving them corn meal - I imagine they are making cornbread to eat with their ensalda de jardine!

CHIAPAS

I'm off to Chiapas the end of May! Chiapas has been HIGH on my list, along with Oaxaca and Cuba........I'm thrilled. I've been reading all the books I have on Chiapas, on the Lacondon peoples and of course the textiles and villages famous for the textiles. So far I've planned a trip to Palenque and Cascada Aqua Azul, the Tzotzil village of San Juan Chamula and Zincantan, and hopefully I can find a guide to take me to the jungle where the Lacondons live. I have studied and been researching these people for a long, long time.
In my lifetime I wanted to meet and see Tarahumaras in Copper Canyon who are still nomadic and the Lacondons who are still the most remote Indians in Mexico. Well if you have followed this blog for a while you saw the Tarahumaras when I went to Batopilas in November 2006 and so I hope I have a memorable time in the Lacondon jungle.
Stay tuned!

Southern Living

This month's issue of Southern Living magazine has an interesting and colorful article on San Miguel. Here is the link: www.xouthernliving.com/southern/travel/weekends/slideshow/o,14243,1720522,00.html
Enjoy!

Amanda

Amanda came home from the rehab hospital on "Good Friday"! It's so wonderful to see this photo of her (in her turtle case) with Patrick, her husband; her son Ryan and his two children Samantha and Andrew. Note their T-shirts .........how cute! I have been writing about my dear friend since January when she, Patrick and three other granddaughters were in a near fatal auto accident. Amanda was the most severly injured with a 20% chance of survival. Well, friends, let me tell you, Amanda is such an amazing woman that those Drs. had no idea that there was no doubt she would survive.
She's home for a couple of months until her broken left arm and all her broken ribs have more time to heal and then she's back to TIRR for a few months of physical therapy.
In the meantime, she is firmly ensconced where she can see the water and the beautiful sunsets on the bay south of Houston. She is surrounded by family, friends and her wonderful husband. Those things are better then any medicine. I can hardly wait to get up there to see her again.

New Blog Discoveries

As you well know, if you read this blog, I cannot figure out how to do anything other then write and upload photos. I cannot figure out how to add links, how to add a photo of myself, how to categorize and even though I hooked up to Sitemeter it keeps coming back each month with -0- readers. So, I'm circumventing the system and listing below some new blogs I've started reading - some wacky, some informative and one very lovely one. I LOVE all of your blogs that I know about and religiously read them daily with my first, or sometimes second cup of coffee. You ENHANCE my life! One blogger, Travelin' Shoes and her husband, are coming over to visit tonight because they are in San Miguel and I'm really looking forward to this!
So here's the list: SEVEN DAYS IN SAN MIGUEL - www.pennblog.typepad.com/mexico/epilogue/index.html
A VEGGIE VENTURE - www.kitchen-parade-veggie-benture.blogspot.com
BLAKE'S MEXICO - www.blakesmexico.blogspot.com
FLAVORS OF THE SUN - www.flavorsofthesun.blogspot.com
MEXICO CITY/AN OPINIONATED GUIDE - www.mexicocitydf.blogspot.com (informative)
STUFF WHITE PEOPLE LIKE - www.stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com (wacky)
TRIBAL TRAPPINGS - www.tribaltrappings.blogspot.com (lovely)
Enjoy!

From the "Sublime" to the "Ridiculous"

After all of the solemnity of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, everything turns around into exuberance and silliness on Easter Sunday! First of all, everyone who can hear is awakened at 5:30AM with a barrage of fireworks - not the pretty ones - just the loud ones. "They" say this is their way of sending petitions to the Gods.............enough already (just kidding). By 6 or a little later it is over and one can turn over and go back to sleep....... Then about 10:30 or so, intermittent fireworks go off and one knows they have started to blow up the Judases. These Judases are paper mache and cardboard and when they blow up a leg goes one way and the rest of it goes in a zillion different directions. The children are underneath waiting for the prize........a leg, a head or whatever. They grab it and run to their parents - all the time laughing.
The Judases used to be Fox, or various local officials and once in a while a guy named Bush. It is all in fun and very funny.
Deb Hall wrote a whole thing on the history of the Judases and you can go to her blog, oops, I don't remember the whole name to read more (I'll put it in the next blog).
You can see by the number of Judases that it takes a while to blow them all up. No one leaves "empty handed". Pardon the pun!

Hazardous Waste Disposal and Warning

You are NEVER going to believe this! Those new CFE, or whatever they call them, light bulbs that look like a pig's tail - they are so full of mercury that if one breaks that it MUST be disposed of as hazardous waste.....this was on the NBC Nightly News so it isn't something I read that might not be true. I'm mystified that something that dangerous could be touted as the next great invention for the betterment of the environment. Just think of how many of those will be replaced over a life time and they say they cannot go to a landfill - so where the heck are they going to go? I'm here in Mexico - do you think they have a separate place for those things, NOT! I wonder in the USA where they will go. There is a 7 step "process" to dispose of them.........get REAL!
I saw this on the news several days ago and I"m still shaking my head...........

A wide range

I have a stack of nine books to give away tomorrow at a brunch I'm going to.......my way of recycling..........and in looking at the stack, I realized what a strange range of books they are that I have been reading!
Here's the list - State of Denial, by Bob Woodward; The Sisters Mortland (which I did not read); To the Nines by Janet Evanovich; Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier; The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd; The Road by Cormac McCarthy; Still Missing (didn't read); A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffet (one of my heroes); and Thunderstruck by Erik Larson. Strangely, the ones I liked - To the Nines - never read Janet Evanovich but she has a quirky way of writing and some funny phrases - loved her word for a body guard "steroidasaurus" - isn't that descriptive? Enjoyed Thunderstruck about Marconi and a man named Crippen in England - Larson's research is amazing and he makes a non-fiction book read like a novel. Didn't read The Sisters Mortland and Still Missing - read 6 pages of the first and didn't like it and the subject matter of Still Missing about kidnapped children is NOT my cup of tea..........I NEVER, in the past, would have not finished a book but I now don't waste my time if it doesn't interest me or the writing is dull..........State of Denial was upsetting because of how duped we, as Americans, have been by the Bush Administration. Thirteen Moons was not as good as Cold Mountain........Loved The Secret Life of Bees and Thurderstruck. Jimmy Buffet has written better things.........You have to be "in the mood" to read Cormac MCarthy.
What I love here in Mexico, books are like gold and so I read whatever I get - and it has expanded my horizons and introduced me to authors that if I were buying the books, I would probably not read! What are your reading these days?

NEVER a dull moment!

I'm back "on line"! It's Good Friday and the technician came today and was here about an hour - oh whOOee, he was so cute, it's a good thing he couldn't speak English, cause I might have asked him to stay a week - JUST KIDDING - I think.........I had no idea how much I use this computer til I didn't have it for 3 days......wow! Had "extra" time to do other things..........SOOOOOOOO, I decided to go see the crucifixion in Montes de Loreto this morning. The newspaper article said that it was in an area where no Norte Americanos go so, naturally, I decided I wanted to see it - plus my friends Ron and Fred live over that way...........The newspaper also said it was a realistic depiction of the crucifixion.........I FAILED to get that hint! Since most of the streets in San Miguel were closed for neighborhood processions and the big procession in centro I had to drive all the way around the town on the by-pass. What would normally be a 10 minute trip was a half hour.................
Well, I'm here to tell you it was a REALISTIC CRUCIFIXION! The Roman soldiers on horseback in their red velvet tunics were whipping the three penitents carrying the crosses - not lightweight at all - and whipping them on their bare flesh! The men were bleeding - as if that wasn't bad enough, they then TIED them to crosses and hung them on this hillside. The men were wailing and screaming (I'm hoping that was acting) but it upset me so bad that I had to leave..........truly! It was very, very upsetting. There were about 300 Mexican families standing there but I couldn't take it. I, like you, have seen movies about this all my life. I was raised Catholic so I've been down the road of stories and sermons and the whole shebang all my life - but, this was very very different.
I'm home now.......it is muy tranquila aqui and I think I've had all the realism I need for this weekend. HAPPY EASTER!

Computer is DOWN!

We have been having EXTREMELY high winds here this week - blowing pots off the roof kind of winds! Can't see the blue sky for dust winds............YUK! So since Telmex in their infinite wisdom has loose lines for my computer hookup on the roof.............or did................I now have no computer service and probably won't til next week after Easter.
And EVERYTHING, including Telmex is shut down til next Monday for Easter processions and services..................I trooped down the hill to centro today and hence I'm able to send this message from an internet cafe. Adaptable, flexible and relaxed - all qualities needed to live in Mexico.................ha!
PS Black cat in internet cafe has done everything but knock me out of the chair.............it has stepped on the keyboard, draped itself over the screen and checked out my bolsa.............where else in the world?

WHY no Oven someone asks!

Well the answer is that I live in a Mexican house built for a Mexican family - not one of those homes built for the American market. Mexicans basically cook on cooktops, hence, no oven. I looked at putting in an oven under the six-top cooktop but there is a boulder there.....this house is built into the side of the rocky cliff! Hence, no oven............but I have adjusted to not having it, and if I want to do a lot of baking - like a big batch of chocolate chip cookies - I do have friends who have ovens and by offering a couple dozen cookies - I get to use their oven!

Thirteen People for Dinner

Last night was a lovely evening - soft breeze - stars that you could almost reach up and touch and flowers everywhere. We dined out in the courtyard - no bugs......... I had been cooking for two days (more on this later) and it was fun to have special friends over to meet my daughter Julie who is here in San Miguel for her first visit. She came to meet Baby Matilda and has been thrilled to hold, feed and just enjoy a little baby again...........She's been staying at my son and daughter-in-law's house and it has been great for them too, to have a "seasoned" Mom to give information. (Grandparents are too ancient to ask)!
I love entertaining and cooking - menu: Baked Ham, Au Gratin Potatoes, Corn Souffle, Brocolli Casserole, Boiled Shrimp with cocktail sauce and purchased croissants and cheese cake. All Julie's favorite foods and our traditional Easter dinner in years gone by. The "adventure" of this is of course, that I DO NOT have an oven so I have become proficient in preparing ahead and using my little toaster oven and pyrex dishes that fit in there to cook multiple things..........over a period of time and then reheat just prior to serving. Thank goodness for Ann Criswell, who was the Food Editor of the Houston Chronicle for over 30 years because when I initially told her of my dilemma seven years ago she responded with great microwave cookbooks...........so now I've learned to do soooooooo many things in the microwave also, like the ham!
It seems to work and I LOVE when people go back for seconds and thirds...........it really isn't much fun just cooking for myself - although I do from time to time.
So, I rolled a dinner party and Easter dinner all into one! Today I was worn out and haven't left the house.............(I'm in the midst of a fascinating book on Marconi by Eric Larson)
Wish you could have been here for dinner too...........

Lions, tigers and bears, Oh My!

I find it IMPOSSIBLE to edit these photos! I think they are so darn cute..........My absolute favorite of the parades of San Miguel - which at last count number in the hundreds, truly! The parade is made up of "pre-schoolers" which include kindergartners. They march for about a half mile with the end being where all parades end - in front of the parroquia. Then it is mayhem of lions, tigers, bears and butterflies all mingling and hoping that maybe their mom or dad or grandmother will buy them a treat. If they don't, you do not ever see a whiny child.

These three munchkins had already had their green Popsicle as seen ALL over their mouths and costumes while watching the parade. Precious aren't they?

This little puppy kid even had the hand wave down and just made me chuckle out loud......

The children are SO beautiful from the time they are babies until...............I looked at this wee one and thought - oh my goodness she is beautiful now, what will be her life when she is a teenager?

Then, while watching the parade when you think it can't possibly get any cuter - this group comes by with all the kids doing the "alligator rock" and everyone was clapping and laughing out loud. I swear there could not be a better parade on earth............

The creativity of the teachers, the parents or whoever never ceases to amaze me.........you can go to March or April of last year and see butterflies, lady bugs and I don't remember what else if you need more happiness in your life today............I hope you've enjoyed these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them to share with you.

MORE conchero photos........

Last week on the 8th of March I wrote about the conchero dancers who "start" the Easter season. I SWORE I wasn't going to take any new photos since I have a zillion already and I didn't until I left the jardine. I went to get my mail and came out of the mail place and the back of this young dancer was right there - I HAD to photograph him, especially his belt.....notice the turtle shells and the animal skins - very cool. So, ok, I had that photo and I crossed the street and turned around to look and I just HAD to have a photo of him. So, I recrossed the street and asked if it was ok to take a photo and he said yes.............. I LOVE how he is sorta slouched against the wall but most of all, I love that he has a Fanta in his hand..........a little refreshment after all the dancing.
I wonder who is he? How old is he? Where is he from? Does he work or go to school? How long has he been dancing? Is it a family tradition? Instead I nod my head, say gracias and move on. But I think he is magnificent.............and hope his regal appearance depicts the life he will have.

So now I'm strolling back to the jardine pleased that I have controlled my urge to take a zillion more photos and voila, here is a banner to the Virgen just leaning up against the wall - calling to me. I give in and photograph it! C'est la vie! I love it...............

"Pure" Mexico

Recently I was eating bbq brisket at Longhorn Cafe in San Miguel.......a little bit of Texas in Mexico.......when it was pointed out to me that my right rear tire was almost flat. Ay caramba -I finished my delicious meal and headed to Pemex for air in the tire..........three days later, the same thing.......oy vey! I HATE to deal with anything that has to do with a car BUT I knew I HAD to.......so I got out my trusty Spanish dictionary to figure out how to say "patch" in Spanish and headed to a place that I "thought" they would fix the tire.........worrying all the way that I might not be able to communicate. (I don't know why I continue to "stress" about that) Anyway, I started out by telling the old man when I pulled in to this place that my Spanish was "muy mal" - "very bad" and then said could he patch the tire.......si, si he says........With that two teenagers take the tire off and all the stuff like getting it off the rim, putting it in a bathtub of water - truly an old bathtub - and then the old man comes over. I guess he is the "maestro" - he finds the problem, puts on the patch and then lets the teenagers do all the work to get the tire back on my car. Total time - 10 to 15 minutes: Total cost 30 pesos - so cheap I HAD to tip him. He broke into a HUGE grin and thanked me all the way as I got in the car..........I love it - I SO love Mexico! No pretense, just a place to do a job that needs to be done.

Fonts

What the heck is a webding? ThisWhat the heck is that mess? The first sentence is "webding"! Can someone explain to me what you do with that????? Can you tell I'm bored and fooling around with the blog rather then doing what I intended to do tonight? Doesn't that happen to you once in a while................

Centro is "a'buzz"

When I'm up here on the hill I forget about ALL the activity in centro -a 10 minute walk away. I walked down yesterday to buy some oilcloth and three light fixtures - oilcloth for 2 meters - 50 pesos; three tin and glass fixtures 200 pesos (less then $20 US) ! BUT while in the mercado there were mothers everywhere with little ones in town buying butterfly, cow, ladybug and all kinds of assorted "spring creature" costumes for the Primavera parade. This parade is made up of kindergartners every year and is so colorful and innocent and just plain wonderful.........
Then I went to the tienda for the oilcloth and it was chock-a-block full of women buying yards and yards of purple fabric for Easter pageants............everyone is getting ready for next week!
The city of Mexico City empties out starting this Friday and there will not be a beach in Mexico that is not covered with families alllllll next week. Lots and lots of Mexicans come home from the USA for the Easter week as well.
In addition to all the scurrying for Easter, on Tuesday (unbeknownst to me) there was a bomb scare in centro! Everyone in the jardine was talking about how they cleared out all the streets and everyone scurried home. I asked the taxi driver what was found and he said just a bolsa with trash in it that said "peligroso, no tocar". Danger, don't touch................He laughed. I tend to agree with him-but it is good to know that the police do have a response plan.

Things are a'changin'

Thre was an Immigration meeting last week here in San Miguel with the new "sub-director" and others. The financial requirements have gone up for people to get their FM-3, which is the next step after a Tourist Visa. In the past the amount was much much lower, originally like $600 a month and it is now $1,240 a month (250 times the annual income of a Mexican citizen). You can get your original FM-3 either at a Mexican Consulate office in the USA, as I did in 24 hours, OR here. It costs about $140 for the first one and then it must be renewed each year with again, proof of income and other documents. The cost is about that much each year. After being here 5 years, if one feels they are going to live here permanently, then they can apply for "immigrado" status and get an FM-2. This requires proof of income of $2,078 a year - (400x the annual income of a citizen of Mexico)! YIPES. In addition, one is limited on how much of the time one can be out of Mexico and may no longer drive a US plated car. I'm sure there are many other things I'm not aware of.......the GOOD thing is once you have your FM-2 for 5 years you do not need to reapply each year - hence after 10 years in Mexico if you do your FM-3 for 5 and your FM-2 for 5, you're here free and clear with no need to prove anything........

I guess all the artists and retirees who came down here with $600 or less a month to live in Mexico are "up the creek" as they say............sad and disappointing. I know many of them.....a loss for Mexico and us.

Beginning of Easter Season

I bet you think the "Easter Season" starts with Palm Sunday and ends on Easter - it used to for me. BUT, not in Mexico..........it began here on Thursday night when the conchero dancers arrived with their shells around their ankles, their drums and spears in hand and their most fabulous headdresses. I LOVE this time of year!
While going through my photo boxes last week, half of one box is Indian ceremonies. I LOVE the indigenous dress and ceremonies of Mexico........I confess these two photos were taken last year because I said "Self, no more!" BUT I have to confess I took a few photos yesterday and will share them next week. There were many more Aztec dance groups this year and their costumes were spectacular. If I only knew where they got those feathers, I think I would make a trip to that village. They are breathtaking. The dancing, as I said, started Thursday evening and restarted, I presume at 6:45 AM yesterday when the booms of fireworks knocked us all out of bed (just kidding, but it DOES wake you up). I could hear the drums up here at my house even though I'm a 10 minute walk! The drum beats made me hurriedly dress and head to see and hear all the Indians. I was NOT disappointed.
I often wonder how they possibly find time for all of the practice for these ceremonies. I have a female friend who is an Aztec dancer. They practice three times a week for several hours each time. She works at a bank nine hours a day and is a massage therapist for several hours each evening - six days a week. But her dedication to the dance of the Aztecs is very very important to her. She tells me they MUST preserve their heritage! Thankfully............

Isn't this headdress beautiful? Often the back of their headdresses will have a painting of something, the Virgen or a special ancestor or whatever. Click on this photo for an enlarged view of this magnificent headdress.

The drums went on til late last evening............and then the church bells started. Magnifico - drums and church bells! So Mexico..............

"Mezik" is a BAD dude!

If you look back on my last blog there were several comments, one from someone whose name is "Mezik". He said to "click here" for a comment and when I did, this stuff called XP Antivirus Protection came up and it said all this stuff like Trojan Info stealer, I-worm Nodoom and Backdoor: Win 32 were all now on my computer and I needed to run two programs to remove them....THANKFULLY I did not run them and called my computer guru who said "DO NOT" run them because then there IS a mess! SO DON'T CLICK ON MEZIK, delete it as spam......He caused a waster two hours and lots of anxiety. (I am not technologically savvy, to put it mildly)

Why anyone would do something so mean I have no idea! I so love the blog and it has been such a catharsis for me..........Now I feel vulnerable knkowing that someone would intrude on this joyful thing that I have found such pleasure in........Darn it!

The "Unexpected" in LIfe

I was in Jalpan for Day of the Dead last year. While sitting in the jardine, a young lady walked by with this lizard on a string! Now I've seen the huge iguanas on people's heads and shoulders on the Pacific coast but not a tiny one with a collar and a string! I was amused and started talking with the girl and asked if I could take the photo. She obviously agreed! So, here's the deal, I was so busy focusing my attention on the lizard that it wasn't until I got the photos developed that I saw her shoes! Aren't they wonderful? Day of the Dead shoes...........in Mexico, on a teenager! I absolutely LOVE this photo because it was so unexpected........

Photos to Dream By

I have a "to do" list that I try to ignore..........but for the last couple of days I've been trying to get the photo boxes straightened out.............it's done, thank goodness. BUT it was fun and I found lots of photos that I had forgotten about. These four "stuck out" because each one had scotch tape on the back..............they were my photos to dream by when I was still working and wishing I wasn't! They were scotch-taped right above my phone so when I was talking with difficult sub-contractors, or delayed suppliers or unhappy clients, I could look at these and remove myself - unbeknownst to them..............The first photo is of Puerto Vallarta in the late afternoon light. This photo and the one below were taken at a house in Gringo Gulch that I restored in about 1990 for a client. His mother had been the first American to build a house in PV in the mid 1950's. Even National Geographic had written a story with photos about it!
I loved watching the sunset from the front terrace every evening. I NEVER tired of the beauty. I usually spent a month at this house because rather then being paid by my client, I negotiated to use the house a month a year for five years...............everyone was happy!
This photo was taken from the little palapa cottage that I stayed in many times in Yelapa which is south of PV. You could only get there by panga (a dugout boat with a motor) and I think it is still that way today. The only sounds there were the sound of coconuts falling from the trees and the waves lapping at the shore................total beauty. The cottage was less then $15US a night.
This last photo is the beach at Concha Chinas. I like the naturalness of this photo. It was taken right in front of the house of another American woman, Silver Killen, who also moved to PV in the 50's. She was and still is quite a character.............She had indoor swimming pools in her houses painted black with duck decoys in them....At night, with only candlelight, you had to step carefully to keep from falling in the pools..............She rode around in a chartreuse jeep with fringe all over it.....................what stories she could tell!
So, these were my escape mechanism - I recommend it to everyone. Today I don't need any of those escapes because life is "muy tranquilo".

"Olde" clothes

I LOVE old clothes to wear around the house........I totally understand men who have a favorite t-shirt or old flannel shirt they've had for 30 years that they don't want to get rid of.....I do NOT understand why their wives want them to get rid of it!
Angie, a friend here in San Miguel, and I were discussing what we wear when working in the garden and I must admit her outfit is infinitely better then mine. She wears rubber boots, the top of an old sweat shirt around her head when she's trimming trees and stuff and an old sweats outfit she says she has had forever. I, on the other hand, hate a lot of clothes, so if I can get away with sandals, a pair of old soft capris and a tank top, I'm a happy camper.......
I love the days I stay home and ramble around the house in my "old clothes"!

The "Little Shop of Horrors"

Remember that movie and the plants that attacked people? Well I am blessed (I say that tongue in cheek) with one in my house. When I moved in here almost 7 years ago there was this container with a variety of little cacti in it......attractive, THEN! Well that cute little variety of cacti have grown to be "death defying".
Here's the scenario - twice a year I have to move it. Once so I can put the space heater in for the winter months and once to move it back to "it's" place by the window to the side of the fireplace where it can't attack anyone!
Last fall, dressed in shorts and garden gloves, armed with tongs and a towel to throw over it, I began the process of moving it behind the chaise to another window. Slowly I moved.....so far so good.......and then this long cylindrical thing that is now about 6 FEET long broke loose from the tongs and WHAM, hit me in the leg.......WOOOOOOW was that startling! I couldn't put it down because it is so heavy I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get my hands down and around it to pick it back up! I managed to get it to the pedestal, set it down and then go hunting for the tweezers...........zillions of little tiny white thingies in my leg, ouch!
So, about two weeks ago when I decided that the cold was over (thank goodness) I put the heater back in the bodega. And for two weeks I looked at the empty space knowing that the reverse migration needed to happen..........two weeks it took to get up my courage. SO this morning in my heavy, heavy long flannel robe with garden gloves on, a bigger bath towel and the tongs, I was ready. (Isn't that a horrible mental image) I moved the chaise, rolled up the rug, moved the coffee table - basically "cleared the decks" so it would be a smooth sail. All the while I was listening to CBS Sunday Morning, my favorite show all week. THIS time I got it over there without the 6 ft long thing attacking me and only one thorn in a finger..............WHEW. It really does look pretty in front of that window because there is fuscia bougainvillea outside and it is lovely.
The bottom line of this is a woman, who lives alone, MUST be self-sufficient to live in Mexico. Willing to schlep her garbage to the basura truck, climb ladders to prune trees, etc. etc. etc. BUT you know what - I wouldn't trade it for anything - living in Mexico, that is!