THANK YOU
It has been a while since you last heard from us, longer than we realized. I have been trying to get the resident muse to put something together but she had not been inspired. And actually most things have been rather routine. Just a few highlights before the main story.
As many of you know and most have guessed, we are at our Winter Residence where it is sunny and warm, or at least should be. Up until a few days ago the summer had not ended. November 2013 will probably show record rainfall and record high average temperatures for Puerto Vallarta.
When we last wrote, Mrs.T was working on a new wood sculpture. Well either she is getting stronger or there was a fault in the wood because her work split in half. Not to worry: An almost-last-minute shipment of 200+ bulbs arrived that she needed to plant. It is dangerous to let her look at a plant catalog when she is in a good mood. And there is plenty of wood for another project when we return north.
We also made a trip to Idaho to attend the wedding of Rita's son Jim – a simple, nice affair with tons of great, yummy food (prepared mostly by son-in-law Chris). This is the real west with real cowfolks. Unfortunately Rita broke her foot the day before we left. Thank you Ruth – yes, all sisters' names start with R – for staying a bit longer with the invalid. Rita should be completely healed by Christmas vacation when she will make her now annual visit.
Here is R's latest – perhaps her very best:
Thanksgiving. We have so much to be grateful for. Does anybody remember the Johnny Appleseed grace we used to sing?
"Oh the Lord is good to me. And so I thank the Lord, for giving me the things I need: the sun and the rain and the appleseed. The Lord is good to me!"
Johnny Appleseed (aka Jonathon Chapman) was your pretty basic guy. It really did not take a lot to make him happy. I think as we get older we seem to be going backwards, understanding we really need less and less. We have our health, more or less. We have our family and friends. I have more or less given up worrying about the wrongs and troubles of the world. I found that all this worry did no good to either the world or me. I realize that many of you have tried to explain this to me for years but I think I finally got it.
Since I no longer have to spend my time worrying I have extra time to spend enjoying life in general and Mexico in particular. So here they are in no particular order, the things I am grateful for:
v My husband Dan. I know he is a little grumpy but he is also brilliant and funny. I find we laugh together more than we used to. I like that.
v (My wife Rebecca. Although she can be confusingly convoluted, she is very caring and forgiving.)
v Our children Marla and Nick. I find great joy and comfort in their love.
v The sun. Some days I just stand and soak it up. If I were a flower I would grow a foot a day here.
v The sea. The sea is warm here and I can float on it back and forth with a little taste of salt on my lips.
v The underwater world. I love visiting the strange creatures, the little caves, the great whales, the dolphins that play, and Alex, my friend and guide.
v The mountains. They reach for the sky and call me to explore.
v The taste of fresh squeezed orange juice.
v The nights with stars and kissing geckos and music from a Spanish guitar.
The Lord is good to me.
(As made famous by Disney: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_IrdS-zu48 )
A few comments about the pictures. Alexander is the cute grandson of Luis; he has been staying at Jacarandas with his mom Karen while her broken leg heals. The empty plate is what was left of delicious treats prepared by Eduardo and Karla of Tuna Ceramica; they were like elephant ears that tasted like pizzelles – I should have taken a picture before they disappeared. The whale shark is now hanging in Daphne's room with the other fish. And the ladies warmed up with a 500 piece puzzle; they are finishing a 1000 one now.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157638131113755/
And don't worry – we will have sat down to a traditional Thanksgiving feast at Sandrina's. (Fantastic pumpkin pie!) The restaurants here actually provide for two Thanksgivings, one in October for the Canadians and one in November for we folks from the States. (Some of our Canadian friends may be going over the border about now to seek out much cheaper USA turkeys for their freezers.) Like the restaurants we celebrate twice, once with the family before we depart and once here.
Finally, a big Thank You to you, our many readers around the world. Best wishes to you all.
Dan and Rebecca
www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com
