CHRISTMAS and MORE

Well, the Christmas season is about over. Here in Mexico Epiphany a.k.a. Three Kings Day is the main holiday of the season. You can read a very nice piece about it at our sister-in-law's blog: http://www.sue-feathersandflowers.blogspot.com/ (This is a great blog to follow!) Soon our tree and Nacimiento will be coming down and going back into storage for another year.

The Muse has not been neglecting her duties; there is a short piece below that she wrote about the season. But we have had a lot of interesting happenings that have filled the time. Rebecca's sister Rita made her annual visit, but a week ahead of the holiday so she could return to Idaho to be with her family, particularly the grandchildren whom we are assured will be appropriately spoiled. The two R's had their usual great time together. It was highlighted by Rita's first adventure into SCUBA which she thoroughly enjoyed. Mrs.T fails to mention the (temporary) tattoos they received on the beach one day. And on the last day the waves were just right so they could boogie board.

Christmas was quite nice, particularly as it was a Whale of a Good Time. Following up on her experience of being eyed personally by a humpback (The incident is now famous among divers all around the bay.), Mrs. T received a necklace made by Jorge, one of our local jewelers, and a family of whales made by Carla at Tunn, a new ceramic studio just down the street from the condo.

Here is Mrs.T's short piece:

WHAT the DICKENS?

We had our Christmas presents, remembered Christmas past, and the future – we leave to the future.

I received a set of whales made by Carla, a young sculptor who has recently moved with her husband and children from Zacatecas to Bucerias. The family came to visit Christmas day. The children, a boy about 3 and a girl about 1, ignored the coloring books I had bought them. But they loved playing with the animal pillows and looking at our Nacimiento. Kids being kids, if I had a large, empty box that probably would have been even better. Nonetheless I enjoyed them.

Dan got some Mexican style Ranchero shirts and a new hat. And also I gave him a chess book which should keep him occupied for a while; it is in Spanish. (Nice beginner book with some challenging problems; easy to follow. –dt)

We went to the 11:00 Mass, came home and stuffed ourselves - ham, potatoes, salad, chocolate torte, etc. Then we puttered around watching football, reading emails, calling family and friends. A kind of sleepy, happy repleteness, lapsing into naps.

As Tiny Tim said on that Christmas long ago, "God Bless us, every one."

Mrs. T did not write about our post-Christmas adventures. First we had another visitor. You may recall Daphne from our visit to Victoria; she made the wonderful Trifle which we had at an equally great dinner at Peter and Judy's home. She flew down on New Year's Eve, one day ahead of the rest of her family, and needed a place to bunk out for the night. We had offered our spare room which she readily accepted and we were quite pleased to have her visit. She, Peter and Judy (who had come on the same flight), and R went down to the beach to watch the fireworks. I had been hobbling around on a bad knee and did not feel like standing around in the sand. Our three Victorian friends had not been here for the around-the-bay fireworks and hot air balloons and enjoyed the time. (You can check out photos from last year.)

Then R had a bad experience going diving. There were many divers over the holidays and for some reason Mrs.T was relegated to a crappy boat with bench seats with no backs. Well, the captain was zooming a bit much and hit a wave with quite an impact that send the passengers akimbo and knocked Mrs.T off her bench, hitting the bench behind her. She received quite a blow but was able to complete her dives. The boat did not even have a proper ladder to enter and exit the water which made for more difficulties. Fortunately an x-ray at Clinica Santa Rosa showed that she did not crack any ribs and just had a bad muscle bruise from which she has recovered.

About that bad knee: I fell and essentially blew out my knee – great pain to say the least. Dr. Victor called in his orthopedic specialist who did some arthroscopic work on it; Clinica Santa Rosa has a first- class operating room. Since this was emergency surgery, Mrs.T called our insurance for preapproval and we expect to be reimbursed. (Note to Rita: While in the doctor's office we met some folks with family in Mountain Home. –dt)

The pictures are self-explanatory. One of our typical sunsets is included for your enjoyment.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157628739839237/

Hope all is well with you.

Dan and Rebecca