The Blacks

BLACKBEARD, BLACK BART, and BLACK BUTT

 

The Muse has delegated this episode to your humble editor who will bring you up-to-date on some of the happenings as we head towards our last weeks at the Winter Residence.

 

First, as many of you know, we were burglarized and robbed in January.  No, not here in Mexico, but at the Summer Estate in Philo.  More than once.  One or probably several miscreants broke into our house and made off with televisions, cameras, a computer, pocket knives and tools, cash and coins, and – most dearly – Rebecca's jewelry.  Mrs.T even took a one-week trip back north to make a preliminary assessment and do some basic cleaning.  She also got an alarm system installed by ADT.  We will make a fuller evaluation of other missing items when we return.  Like most folks, we were underinsured and can only hope for some compensation.  However, the memories engendered in the trinkets of 45 years are now more fleeting.  If any of you see the very distinctive items that R has worn over the years, please let us know.  Many, many thanks are owed Jonnie E. and his family for their assistance in this entire ordeal.  We cannot make additional comments because, as it is said, the case is still 'open'.  Just don't believe what you see on TV shows.

 

The puzzle ladies have really been outdoing themselves of late.  They have been plunking pieces down left and right, and completing puzzles at a phenomenal rate.  A few pieces have even been added by the gentlemen.  You see can the results in the linked pictures.  Thanks to those who donated puzzles.

 

Several of the ladies also made their way to Puerto Vallarta for what has become an annual outing to stroll, shop, and lunch.  I have been informed that Rebecca has a couple of items on order to add to her trousseaux.  You will see Mrs.T with her new best friend; the editor apparently has been supplanted.  Thanks go to JS the Taller for those pictures.

 

On the sports front, Mrs.T is concerned that your editor may be moving to Canada.  I now have a more than passing interest in ice hockey.  Courtesy of PS I have been learning the finer points of rugby.  And most of all through the many Manitobans, I have become thoroughly acquainted with the intricacies of curling.  We held a couple of sessions to watch the Canadian Women's Curling Championship, aka The Scotties, on our big screen TV.

 

Most of you probably have only the faintest knowledge of curling when you saw it during coverage of some Winter Olympics.  And most likely that is when you either took a munchies break or switched channels.  It is a deadly serious sport in Canada, particular in the provinces in the midsection of the country.  It is somewhat like a cross between bocce and billiards but on ice.  In the championship game Jennifer Jones, the skip for the team from Manitoba, won with the hammer stone in the tenth end.  A lawyer by profession, she is considered the preeminent female curler in Canada; you won't see her in the courtroom too often.

 

The inevitable urbanization of Bucerias continues apace.  From our bedroom window we can see where a new seven-storey condominium high-rise is projected to be in construction soon.  The area has been cleared and a guard is on duty.  You will see a picture of Juan Carlos, the man who brings strawberries and other fruits – we recently had mamey - to our front door, holding one of the escapees from the lot where the overgrowth was cleared.  Many large iguanas had been thriving on this essentially empty piece of land.

 

And to the main part of this newsletter.  You may have heard of Blackbeard the pirate, Edward Teach, who preyed upon ships in the West Indies in the early 18^th century.  And you might have heard of Black Bart, Charles Edward Bowles, the English-born gentleman bandit in the late 19^th century American west. But only a few are familiar with The Black Butt, aka Culo Negro, who had recently emerged in the annals of Bucerias.  And very, very few have actually seen it.

 

Apparently R was anxious for another visit to Dr. Victor.  As you read in our last installment, she had begun horse riding at a stable in our area.  She even bought a nice pair of tooled leather boots in Vallarta.  And she was doing well the first few weeks considering she was riding an English saddle with which she had an earlier mishap up North.  Well, a couple of weeks ago she had an incident at her lesson.  The horse 'shied' and decided to suddenly do a hop to the East, much like the 'Time Warp' in Rocky Horror .  However, the laws of physics being what they are, Rebecca remained in a northern trajectory whereupon she had a rapid and unexpected dismount from the horse, landing upon her backside and hip.  It was a very, very bad bruise.  And her abdomen was shaken like a concussion particularly with her hip banging her insides, per The Voodoo Doctor's analysis.

 

Unfortunately Dr. Victor was in Guadalajara for the weekend.  But when he returned, and as the bruise grew in intensity as well as the pain in her innards, we headed up the hill where he confirmed the diagnosis.  With several rounds of anti-inflammatory injections and antibiotics, Mrs.T has returned to her normal self and the bruise has almost dissipated.  She even went horse riding yesterday and said it was more comfortable than the bus from PV.  Although I suggested it, she did not permit any posterior pictures to document the Culo Negro; we only have eyewitness accounts.

 

Here are just a few pictures:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157651075916935/

 

 

We have observed that there really is winter up north.  We hope you all are staying dry and warm.  And don't get stressed moving snow around; it will melt soon enough.

 

Best wishes,

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

At It Again

REBECCA RIDES AGAIN

Not satisfied with boogie boarding and scuba diving (She recently saw seahorses. -dt), Rebecca decided that she would attempt riding horses while here in Mexico.  Thank you, Tori, for making that recommendation. Hmm.  The friend of one of our neighbors facilitated Mrs.T's visit to one of the stables in the area; there are several.  They even play polo nearby on occasion. 

A couple of other events should be noted.  The puzzle ladies have been at it, plunking pieces down left and right.  We thank all the folks that have donated puzzles to the cause, particularly Helen and Barrie who contributed a puzzle of Ravensburger Castle they encountered on their European River Cruise.  I am giving them a special shout out because, partially due to their splendid reviews, we are going on the same cruise in June.  Hmm again. We may come back with another puzzle.

And the annual Festival of Our Lady of Peace is wrapping up as we are composing this.  Most of you are familiar with the event with lots of peregrinations, entertainment, and fireworks.  Saturday is the final day and will have the blessing of the boats, presentation of the queen, and the final Castillo. (They actually wound up with five of them.  –dt)  It is a big day for our lovely town.

Here is Rebecca's story about some of her activities:

 

 

The word has gotten out.  Evidently horses all over the world know Rebecca is easy.  I have started horse riding lessons in Mexico and it is deja vu.   You might recall when I was riding in Ohio Tori told me to hit the horse and I gave him a little tap and he turned his head and smirked at me.  Well last week in Mexico the teacher told me to give the horse a kick and when I gave him a little nudge he turned his head, and you guessed it, different horse but the same exact smirk!  But nonetheless I persevere. 

The stable here is much more of a rich person's place.  Here a groom leads up your horse, holds the horse's head and tries not to laugh as I struggle to climb on.  I pretend I am rich but I don't think I am fooling anybody.  My horse is a large sturdy black horse named Simon.  He is a little lethargic.  One of the riders told me everybody starts on Simon.  Of course another rider told me he was high spirited and bucked a lot.  I think that was a joke.

 

They have 32 horses and teach English riding and jumping.  I bought a beautiful pair of cowboy boots.  All of the other adults wear very high black boots and stretchy pants which if they even had them in my size would not be flattering to say the least.  All of the other riders I have met are either men, or teenage girls, or young children.  Some of the riders seem quite accomplished.  The men are either friendly or gallant to me or both.  The teacher and the horses speak Spanish but I'm getting along.  I am not at all sure that Simon likes me.  Next week I am bringing him a carrot.  Simon is very good about stopping, but kind of hard to get started.  I have to kick him a lot and yell "VAS!!" which is Spanish for go.  I ride with an English saddle and so far I am doing okay.  (She has not fallen off; no hoof cleaning either.  –dt)

 

The boogie boarding has been a mixed bag recently.  Some days there have been great waves, not too big or too small.  Some days there have been no waves at all; so we walk the shore looking at tide pools and picking up shells.  Getting there and back has been a little complicated at times as we ride the bus.  I need one hand to carry my boogie board, my handbag/backpack is slung over my shoulder, one hand desperately grasps my shorts which are apt to slide down when over my dive skin or my slippery bathing suit, another hand holds the money for the bus, a final hand holds out my old people's card so that I can ride the bus for half price.  This would be easy enough for an octopus.

 

Last week we had a very grumpy bus driver.  (NB: There weren't any waves that day.  –dt) I was the last of a long line of riders laden with various paraphernalia to get on at the beach stop. "VAMANOS!! VAMANOS!!"  - Let's go!, he shouted at me.  I stumbled up the steps and let go of my shorts to hold out the money.  Alas at that moment gravity struck and I almost had a wardrobe malfunction.  "SIENTASE!!" - SIT DOWN!, the driver yelled at me.  A nice lady grabbed my board so I could adjust my slipping shorts.  After lurching down the aisle - the bus was now racing around the mountains at full speed - I managed to nudge a man over so I could sit down. 

 

Since I had not paid, I followed accepted procedure and passed up my fare.  "Seis" -6, I said, letting the driver know I expected 4 pesos change from my 10 peso coin.  "Seis," said the lady in the seat in front of me as she passed on my fare.  This honor system always works and I had never known it to fail - until this day.  My four pesos did not come back.  Shortly a money collector slouched down the aisle.  (Some busses have an 'assistant' to collect fares.  –dt) "You owe me four pesos!" I accused in Spanish.  "No, you owe me two!" he shouted back.  Usually bus drivers are nice but you meet the occasional grump and they have been known to overcharge foreigners.  'I have a third-age card.  I am half price."  I replied waving my card at him. "Yes, she is old, give her a discount!" said the man in the seat across the aisle. (Her grey mane obviously verifies the fact.  –dt) Thanks, I think.  "You young people should show more respect," said another older lady.  Faced with a general revolt, the driver returned my change.  After a few miles I carefully dismounted the bus holding all my stuff with my right hand and my shorts with my left and slowly but triumphantly trudged home.

 

A few peregrination pictures and a puzzle too:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157650496132145/

 

We hope all of you are warm and safe.

Happy Lunar New Year!

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

HEALED

TOTALLY REPAIRED?

 

Below you will read that Mrs.T feels much better.  She will know better after she returns from scuba today, 29 December.  She was not really given clearance by Dr. Victor.  She is probably about 90%+ recovered.  She neglects to mention some other things we did:  the annual Posada at Mary Paz, a large puzzle with Judy, a fiesta for El Buzo, a bronze casting demo, and a visit to the Friday market to see the Aztec dancers.  A small sample of events is in the pictures at the end of the story.  But R is indeed feeling much better and ready to get back to her normal routines.  Plus she wants to add horse riding.  I may see her once in a while.

 

 

I am well.  Thanks in part to all the prayers and good wishes of all our friends my dislocated shoulder is recovered.  I had to wear the sling for three weeks and have ultrasound therapy for two weeks.  At first Dan had to help me dress and eat.  He took this good naturedly and almost seems a little disappointed that his help is longer needed.  (No comment  -dt)

 

When I was younger I took great pride in self-reliance.   But now, Emerson notwithstanding, it seems a lot less important.   Perhaps I no longer feel the need to prove my competence, such as it is, and now I lean towards Williams and am content to rely on the kindness of strangers. (Just wait; one more author reference to go.  –dt)

 

When I was wearing the sling I was amazed to find that all kinds of people took care of me.  One afternoon I was standing - looking perplexed, I am sure - at the light waiting to cross the highway.  The turning lanes in Mexico work differently and I have to think carefully to know when to cross.  "Are you lost, Lady?" A soft voiced Mexican man asked.  "No," I replied.  Are you hurt?" he asked.  "No."  "Do you want to go across the road?" he asked yet again.  "Yes," I replied shyly.  He gently took hold of my undamaged arm and helped me across.  I remembered when I was a Girl Scout you were supposed to do good turns and one of them was to help old ladies cross the road.  Am I an old lady now? (I will not answer that, but her gray hair gives her a certain stature.  –dt)

Another day I was riding the bus and the driver told two teenagers to get up and let me sit in the seat reserved for the disabled.  One time I went shopping with Judy.  We got off the bus at Walmart and were making our way slowly down the steep narrow path from the road.  "Do you need help, Lady?" a kind young man asked, "hold my hand."  "Yes, thank you", I replied and he walked below me holding his hand above  his head as I made my way down.  Men and women, boys and girls helped me on and off the bus.  They held my purchases and occasionally carried them.  "Be careful," they cautioned, "Take your time." 

 

One day I was crossing the road illegally - not at a crosswalk - and got stuck in the median.  A police car stopped and was flashing his lights.  "OH NO!!" I thought, "I'M GOING TO BE THROWN IN A MEXICAN JAIL FOR JAYWALKING!!"  But no, that nice policeman stopped traffic and gestured me to finish crossing with a polite little bow.

 

Well as I get older I seem to take myself less seriously.  If you can laugh at yourself maybe you can laugh at the world sometimes.  This past week I managed to do all my YOGA exercises sort of, if not well.  I will admit downward facing dog almost turned into downward falling Rebecca, but I managed. (Corpse Rest Pose is R's best yoga move.  -dt ) This week I hope to go diving!  Alex has promised to help me a lot to protect my shoulder.  Today I plan to start making my Buckeye candies.  They have to be ready for the big Ohio State football game on the first of the year. (GO BUCKS!  -dt) If you guys were here I would give you one.  (I will attempt to have some saved for those of you that are 'regulars'.  –dt) As you are not, I wish you the happiest of New Years.  "God Bless Us Every One."

 

Vignettes:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157649592528589/

 

Epilogue:  Rebecca returned from her first after-injury dive not too worn out and in good shape.

 

Prospero Anno,

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

Snafu

Flickr did a snafu and did not properly link to the photos in the last email.

I think this will work:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157649798166162/

dt

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

HELLO EVERYONE!

Today is Hanukkah (spelled several ways) and next week is Christmas.  We wish all of you the happiest of holidays including Kwanzaa and New Year as well.   

Especially for our artist friends:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157648598716571/

Snuggle and keep warm,

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

Exciting Events

TV TIME

This installment of our newsletter has several parts.  We hope to send it on schedule – if we have such a thing – that is about the time of the events described.  But if it comes to you well after the events it is because we have been struggling with our internet connection.  About now you are noticing the style of writing is that of the editor, more journalist than storyteller.  The reason for that will unfold below.  And lots of photos.

 

In our last report there was a picture of Rebecca and friend Judy, a.k.a. Dr. Puzzle, working on the first puzzle of the season.  We noted that they were planning a shopping trip.  Indeed, they were not fooling around.  Soon they had bus tickets to Guadalajara and reservations at a hotel adjacent to the famous El Tianguis of Tonala.

 

Although Tonala is a city in its own right, it is known as the shopping mecca of Guadalajara.  The tianguis is a massive, sprawling market that opens on the sidewalks and streets Thursdays and Sundays, everyday leading up to the Christmas holidays.  It features seemingly endless stalls with many of the knick knacks and craft items that we can buy here in Bucerias but at greatly reduced prices because many are made there.  Everyone who stays in Bucerias for a few years makes at least one trip there.  And elsewhere in Tonala there are some really fine shops to buy furniture, lamps, vases, and other furnishings.  It pairs up with Tlaquepaque on the other side of GDL where fine arts abound.  We featured both towns in a story some years back.  So the ladies were off for an overnight shopping extravaganza.  (Ironically as they were completing plans for their trip, another yet-to-arrive shopping companion emailed suggesting the same thing for February.)

 

Meanwhile – actually beginning last year – Don, Judy's husband and one of Rebecca's boogie boarding posse, and a couple of his buddies were planning a deep-sea fishing trip.  They wanted to go out and catch the 'big ones'.  Don and Doug in particular are avid fishermen in their native Canada.  Like all good Canucks, they spend more time 'at the lake' than at home during the summer.  (Don is a catch-and-release person.)  The men did some comparison work and selected a company to take them out beyond the bay into the deep waters where occasionally there are trophy fish.  They got everything in order and were off to the boat early on the appointed morning.  It was no accident that shopping and fishing were scheduled for the same day.

 

Both fishers and shoppers had a good time, but the fishers were probably more successful.  They bought back a good haul that has been filleted and frozen for future consumption.  They had plenty to share.  The shoppers did not come back empty-handed, but not with the bulging suitcases that could have been expected.  Here are a couple of pictures of the catch of the day and more of shopping:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157647159368004/

 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157649497928575/

 

 

 

Meanwhile, this intrepid reporter was in downtown Bucerias for the Revolution Day parade.  Like all countries Mexico has its calendar of holidays.  But we rarely put one to waste – days off with parades are always in order.  Fireworks are usually in the program as well.  This year's Revolution Day parade was full of enthusiastic youngsters – girls dressed in the styles of a century ago and boys made up as mustachioed members of Villa's forces.  There were also representatives of many sports groups, schools, and other organizations.  And like all our parades there were a couple of bands and 'dancing' horses.  A few pictures tell the story; the parade made a loop so there may be some duplicates:

 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157649413657832/

 

 

 

This year our television picture has been lousy, even worse than last year when it was just plain bad.  The picture often has moved in and out of focus and on the good days the 'snow' has been getting close to a white out.  We have been getting our TV service through the cable provider that has a virtual monopoly and made a few people quite wealthy. The signal has really degenerated.

 

The programming never has been spectacular, but it has been adequate.  As we have related in the past, we had channels in Spanish, in English – sometimes dubbed, sometimes with subtitles – a German channel, and movies sometimes in other foreign tongues.  And for a while we had several music stations. You notice the 'sometimes' because we never quite knew what we would be getting.  The 'TV Guide' that listed the programming was often not working and valueless when it did, only showing what was on at the moment,  There was no feature to see what was going to be shown more than an hour in advance.  To its credit, last year for some unknown reason the cable had the Big Ten Network and we saw numerous Ohio State basketball games.  We don't sit around watching television all day, but we needed to make a switch and started investigating alternatives.

 

Strange as it might seem, except to Canadians, for some oddball technological reason folks up north of the US are able to use one of their satellites to receive programming down here.  Many places have sprouted dishes that provide Canadian programming.  Our fellow owner Randy had installed such a dish and generously suggested that perhaps our solution would be to piggyback off his system.  And it happened that he had a spare unused receiver.  We just needed to contact the folks that installed his system and see what could be done.

 

Joannes, our condo administrator and another neighbor, gave us the number of the installation person.  We called and set up a date for him to come.  We have become accustomed to some schedule 'slippage' here – not unusual up north as well – and so we were not too shocked when the date and time for the tech's appearance had come and gone.  Another call, another time, and another no-show.  But wait, it is after sundown and we get a call that he is outside our closed door.  We let him in and he was ready to go to work in the dark.  We knew this was a bad idea. We explained what we wanted, Mrs.T doing much of the talking as his English was not up-to-speed.  Naturally he wanted to look at the dish.  Fortunately Randy was at home and could tell him where to look.  But we needed a key to gain access to the area where he could get on the roof.

 

And then the big crash happened.  As she was calling to see if Joannes was home and could lend a key, Rebecca stumbled in the dark and fell.  The tech tried to catch her but she went down in a heap, whacked her head, and dislocated a shoulder.  Pain.  When we got her on her feet, R's arm was hanging like a broken Raggedy Ann doll.  We got her to a chair and bound her arm to her body with a beach towel.  (The tv guy was able to get on the roof and determine that he could hook us up to the dish but that he would return in the daylight the next day.)

 

Time to telephone Dr. Victor.  Yes, he was at the clinic.  And yes we could come right over.  Randy was kind enough to provide transport and we were at Clinica Santa Rosa in a very few minutes.

 

Dr. Victor took an x-ray and confirmed the dislocation.  More importantly there were no fractures.  Having watched a few too many ER shows, Mrs.T thought he would just yank her arm back into place and we would be off.  But Dr. Victor thought it would be much better if she would be out cold so as to be relaxed.  Although his anesthesiologist was available, R had recently eaten so fixing it that night was not possible.  We would need to come back in the morning the next day before any eating or drinking.  Dr.Victor gave her some pain meds and bound her more professionally than the beach towel.  And he asked what date we had returned and why we had not come to say hello earlier.

 

So just before 6am we were in a taxi returning to the clinic where Dr. Victor was waiting.  The anesthesiologist came in shortly after our arrival and R was taken into the clinic's operating theater.  She was in there a bit but everything went fine.  She was a little dopy for a while but in much less pain.  In the pictures you will notice she also has quite a shiner; maybe I should have put some frozen fish on it.  Unfortunately she needs to wear the sling for about three weeks; it should be off in time for Rita's holiday visit.  SCUBA and boogie boarding are off limits for a while.

 

A couple of pictures of the injured one:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157649482849021/

 

 

 

After we returned home and one more call we got the cable tech to show up and wire us up.  With Randy's assistance and a stable internet connection we were able to contact the satellite folks and get our box up and running.  Now we have a wonderful picture, too many stations to list, and a guide that is actually useful.  We are going to be more Canadian than ever.

 

Many thanks to Randy for his help through these travails.  Thanks also to D&J for the roses.  Now if we can get the internet working.

 

 

Gobble, gobble and keep warm up north.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

Warm and Sunny

Ah, fresh tangerines and strawberries

 

As most of you know we have decamped from the north and have installed ourselves in The Winter Residence.  Turnaround took less than a week.  And it was not too long before Juan Carlos came by in his truck with fresh strawberries and tangerines.  The tangerines are simply splendid – sweet and juicy.  And we have already had fresh-squeezed oj from Mary Paz several times.

One of the first things we always do is purchase pesos for our phone; we have a cell specifically for Mexico.   Of course the first call was to Alex, R's dive buddy.  She has already been out with her fish friends and expects to go again next week.

Mrs. T gives a brief synopsis of the summer and our first few days south:

 

Now is the summer of our discontent made glorious by the sun of Mexico.

It was a pretty hard summer for me.  First I fell off a church pew.  (Those of you in a certain art organization will know where the pew is.  –dt) Then I was cured of bursitis in my shoulder by the longest needle in the world.   After that I fell off a horse.  (A previous installment -dt) Next I strained my other shoulder by overuse of my new chainsaw.  Finally, I had a rather large mass removed from my breast - not cancer, thank God.  (As The Voodoo Doctor had told her.  –dt)

After all that I am ready to relax lethargically in our Southern home.  (a.k.a. The  Winter Residence.  –dt) Most of our stuff has been arranged to its approximately correct locations.  We have bought a few basic supplies at Mary Paz.  I think Judy (Dual degrees in shopping and puzzling –dt) and I have created a monster because often when I want to buy something Dan says, "You and Judy can buy that at Sam's Club."  (Actually except for things in jumbo sizes I prefer shopping at the aforementioned Mary Paz, one of the best minisupers in town.  –dt) The thing is now he has broadened his sights.  He no longer wants large-sized mouthwash and toilet paper.  Now he wants a big screen TV. (Why not?  -dt) I guess I don't mind as long as we can take a taxi.  If he thinks I am lugging a 60 inch TV home on the bus he is seriously deluded.  Hurry Judy, Help!! Help!!

Judy has come and we went on a major supplies expedition - no TV.  But, alas it was not an unqualified success.  In all fairness, Judy warned me that those hot dogs looked pretty small but they were so cheap I bought them anyway.  When we got them home it seemed as if they had shrunk even more.  They were the skinniest hot dogs I had ever seen.  Still we thought we might as well try them how bad could they be?  Well, REALLY, REALLY BAD.  I took one bite and chewed and chewed but the bite would not come off.  I think the casings are made of heavy plastic.  Dan was not to be defeated by a mere tube steak.  He got a serrated knife and chopped the durn things to bits.  He proceeded to eat them and pronounced them "not too bad."  Well good for him because I am not going to eat them.  I told him he didn't have to eat them either but now he has a plan to uncase them and cook them in a casserole or something.  Hmmm?  Not only that, but the potato chips I bought, because they were cheap, taste funny too.  Not as bad as the hot dogs, but neither greasy nor salty nor anything bad for you.  Just to tell you how bad they are we have had the bag for three days and it is still half full.  They are mostly tasteless. I think maybe I got zucchini chips by mistake. (The backstory here is that Mrs.T has been known to inhale a pound bag of chips in just one or two sittings. –dt) I guess the moral of this story is you get what you pay for or don't pay for, as the case may be.

Well the US elections are over and as usual lots of people I voted for lost.  Sigh.  The good thing is being in Mexico we are spared many of the obnoxious TV ads.  We saw a few for Connecticut and New York when Dan watched the New York channels.  I figure they were all the same anyway so you could just take out one local name and substitute another, e.g., "My opponent voted for gun control!"; "My opponent voted against gun control!!"; "My opponent has a nephew getting food stamps"; "My opponent is a Nazi, a communist, a Christian, a Jew, or all of the above.": "My opponent mooned his high school Latin teacher at a toga party!"; or whatever.  We didn't get many election ads from New Jersey; I believe that the block captain came around the week before the election and told you who you will vote for or else he will break your knees. (R has watched one too many episodes of the Sopranos.  –dt) I sent in an absentee ballot before we left for Mexico.  Vote early and often I always say.  Isn't democracy wonderful!?

 

Only a couple of pictures.  Although the ladies seemingly are doing a puzzle, they are actually planning a shopping trip to Tonala.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157648773771048/

Anyone know the orange fungus/mushroom/??

 

Hope you folks up north are enjoying the first visit of the Polar Vortex.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com