Into the forest 2012

RETURN TO SUMMER HOME 2012

 

The day I began editing this story, summer had returned.  The temperature soared to almost 90F (30C+) and it was humid.  It was actually hotter than Bucerias.  Another day or two like that and Mrs.T would have been up in arms for me to turn on the A/C.  However it was just a one-day event and the weather is back to pleasantly seasonable levels.

 

We have our summer/winter rotation fairly well down to a routine.  Two points need to be made.  First, both locations are our homes, not just houses.  Although Ohio is certainly more of our home base, our condo is just as much a home.  Secondly, we count our blessings that we are fortunate enough to enjoy this ability to shift back and forth and enjoy weather that is better for our health – mental as well as physical.  To our younger friends we can only recommend:  work hard and live long.

 

But each time we rotate there is some new adventure or little challenge awaiting us.  This year I had the task of resolving issues related to our telecommunications.  When we discussed moving to the forest, I made clear my need for high=speed internet and decent television (and no mowing).  Both items presented challenges upon this return with the hardware and the service providers.  Our Master Geek, Nick, has also provided yeoman's assistance with the machines.  A big thank you goes to him for his efforts.

 

Here is R's story about this year's return to the holler:

 

 

 

Well we are back north.  Having heard what a warm winter they had in Ohio we hoped to return to summer.  Alas, not so.  As soon as we came back it turned cooler and rained a lot.  Sigh!!  The good news is that a lot of my flowers were in bloom.  We came back to 'a host of golden daffodils' and a lot of wild flowers too.  The dogwood and red bud trees were blooming so it was hard to be too depressed.  I immediately went out and started weeding and chopping and came down with a slight case of poison ivy, still being treated with hydrocortisone cream.  Dan, not to be outdone developed a bunch of little bites under his arm which I diagnosed as chiggers.  (Mrs.T does not have a medical degree however.  –dt) I suggested spraying a lot of OFF under his arm but he rejected that idea in favor of a long soak in the hot tub - drown those little rascals is my theory - and washing all the bedclothes.

 

Well this meant I would have to make the bed.  I hate making the bed!  We have a king-sized bed and I cannot reach the middle very well.  What happens is when I put on the fitted sheet there is always a large wrinkle in the middle.  When I tug at one side that wrinkle disappears but another one pops up.  Then I have to go to the other side and repeat the process.  Eventually I get the bottom sheet fixed and move on to the top sheet.  This sheet does not wrinkle.  What it does is hang down longer at the top than at the bottom.  When after much tugging I get the top sheet straight, it is on to the blankets which behave the same way.  The bedspread is more complicated because you not only have to get it straight all around, but you also to leave just the right amount at the top to tuck the pillows in.  Why, you wonder, don't you have Dan make the bed, or at least help me.  I have tried.  Sigh!  Any bed that he touches looks decidedly scruffy!  I am sure in my mind that he is capable of making a bed but he won't do it.  The only way I know of getting a man to make a bed is to send him to boot camp.  There is a funny story about my nephew Evan- who is a Marine- but I won't go into that.  I thought about making Dan do pushups if he did not make the bed right but decided it was easier just to make it myself.  (Making a bed is a waste of time.  And I could do it perfectly well  –dt)

 

When we came home we immediately had problems with our TV and our computer. (The internet provider actually, but that is another long story.  –dt) Dan worked very hard to solve these problems and it involved a lot of phone calls such as, "If you want customer service, push number one".  Don't you hate those phone calls?  Also, it turned out when we came home we had a 55 inch radio.  The guy finally came and took it away.  He will, we hope, return it all fixed.  Nobody fixes things here anymore but fortunately this was under warranty.  The computer problem was to use a new satellite with more computer juice. (Bandwidth on the provider's new satellite.  –dt)  Evidently we have it now and we can make Skype calls from our house.  They left the old dish and I am trying to think of something to do with it in my garden, a birdbath perhaps?  Any suggestions? 

 

Meanwhile I have been working outside with my flowers and pond.  I was happy to see all my fish made it through the winter, and even I think some new babies.  Not only that but we have a very large turtle.  I am not sure if Stinky or Sinky has returned but if he has he has grown quite a bit. (Most likely it is a completely different turtle waiting to be named.  –dt)  The turtle is quite fond of the waterfall.  Whenever I turn it on, he surfaces and gazes at it rapturously.  Unfortunately we also have a good sized black snake.  (R has the classic snakes and spiders phobias; neither bother me.  –dt)  He basks near a rock at one side of the pond. 

 

My wildflowers are blooming quite well.  When I am out driving on errands and see wildflowers blooming in unattended locations - not at people's houses - I stop and dig up a plant or two to add to my wildflower garden.  I cannot do this when Dan is with me because he thinks I will be arrested. Well I haven't been yet.  (One day….  –dt) I found a flower on some old coal mine land last week that I did not recognize but it turned out to be a flower I knew but in a color I had never seen - a blue Virginia Waterleaf; I had only seen white ones.  By the way this year I have some white forget me nots.  I always have loads of blue ones but white ones are new to me.  In addition to wildflowers our son Nick came home for a visit this past week and he and I planted trees.  He bought ten rootstocks which he plans to use to graft on starts from apple trees at our old house.  He also brought me two little peach trees.  By the time we had everything planted and protected from the deer - we hope - we were quite tired.

 

About every twenty years or so, the Catholic Church changes a few words in the mass.  Not a lot and not the main point of it all.  Oh they may throw in one big words like Constantinople; no that's not right- constitutional; no – consubstantial; anyway something like that.  But on the whole the changes are relatively minor.  I am convinced they do this to keep people like me from sleeping through church and are trying to make us sit up and pay attention.  At any rate this past year was a change year.  The first half didn't matter much because we were in Mexico and mostly mumbled our way through the Spanish responses as best we could.  This past Sunday I was daydreaming a bit and the priest said, "The Lord be with you," "And also with you" I responded automatically.  Of course everyone else responded with the new improved version, "And with your spirit."  (Which I learned originally in Latin –dt)  "OOPS!" I said out loud without really thinking about it.  Several people in surrounding pews tittered while Dan looked at me like: Who is this strange woman beside me: I have never seen her before.  Oh well.  (It is all about trying to get a more accurate translation.  NB: Mrs.T is not Catholic.  –dt)

 

With all our planting done Nick and I spent a day at The Wilds looking at animals, I thought a baby Bactrian camel was especially cute.  They come from China and are almost extinct in the wild.  They have a lot more fluffy hair than Dromedary camels and two humps.   (The Wilds – www.thewilds.org – is a unique animal reserve for conservation and research especially with endangered species.  It is on 10000 acres of reclaimed strip mined land.  –dt)

 

 

Here are some pictures around the house and at The Wilds:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157629598945498/

 

 

Hope your spring is off to a good start.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

Say "Cheese!"

AT IT AGAIN

 

This season every time Mrs. T goes diving she has a new adventure.  This week was no different.  Here is her short story about this week's excitement:

 

Art is long and fame is fleeting.  Still, everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame.  Mine is now – at least the guys I dive with tell me I'm going to be famous in Mexico.

 

It happened like this.  This week we were diving at Las Islas Marietas, a small group of islands just outside the bay that are a marine and bird sanctuary.  Often when you dive there a park ranger comes along in a small boat to check that you have the wristband that shows you have paid the park fee.  The dive company supplies these and includes the fee in the cost of the trip.

 

Seeing the boat approaching I instinctively held up my wrist but the ranger shook his head.  After a brief consultation the dive masters explained that they wanted to take pictures of us.  The pictures would be used to advertise Las Marietas.  We all agreed to participate.  The photographer took a few pictures of us in the boat.  Then the first dive group of three divers, in their 20s, and their dive master put on their dive gear and got into the water.  The photographer yelled some instructions.

 

"They want you to get in the water with those guys so they can take your picture," Alex told me.  "You will be famous!" he encouraged.

 

I agreed – to get into the water – so the other three dive masters rapidly inserted me into all my dive gear and I jumped in and swam over for the photo shoot.  I expect the photo will have the caption "People of all ages enjoy diving at Las Marietas."  Either that or my inner beauty was really shining through!

 

We had great dives but the water was cold.

 

 

We are excited to be having another visit from Rita next week.

And Happy Birthday to Monsieur B.

 

No pictures this post.  But I guess you should scan the web to see if Mrs.T is indeed famous.

Dan and Rebecca

SIRENA Means Mermaid in Spanish

FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE SIRENA

 

No we have not disappeared.  Things around here have been rather normal, except for the weather.  We have had an unusual spate of cloudy days and even several days of rain – just sprinkles except for one day.  A few days of precipitation in the winter are not out of the ordinary but this year has had more than what we have come to expect.  Nothing tragic.  But the muse has not been inspired to write much.  And she has not been painting much either.  She has been able to squeeze in a few shopping trips.  (See the picture of the new wall hanging that graces 'Daphne's' room.)  She has been doing some group jigsaw puzzles.  (Thanks Judy.) And she and several of the other ladies managed a trip to the drag show at the Luna Lounge.  (Photos courtesy of Judy S.; thank you again!)  So it has not been completely dull.

 

And we are surrounded by our second group of Canadians, now of the French variety from Quebec and Ottawa.  They are friendly and likeable folks and we enjoy their company.  Unfortunately our French skills are a bit rusty, if they much existed at all.  But we are quite happy they are here and pleased to include them as nos bons amis.

 

Mrs. T continues to SCUBA dive every week if possible.  R was not pleased one week when her trip was cancelled because the other folks arrived too inebriated to safely venture onto the boat as rightly decided by the captain.  And although most of the diving has been anticlimactic since the encounter with the whale, each week still holds its adventures.  So she decided to write about this week's dive to give a taste of what happens even during a 'routine' dive.

 

The poem preceding this installment was written shortly after the Jonah experience.

 

DIVING

Rebecca Sellers Terrible

 

 

I leave behind a world of light

Falling backwards into free

I seek the glory of the night.

 

In shaded depths of faded sight

Within the wonders of the sea

I leave behind the world of light.

 

In realms ruled by creatures of might

In fathoms floating heedlessly

I seek the glory of the night.

 

Small fishes luminescing bright

Through corals coursing endlessly

I leave behind the world of light.

 

In caverns of a wondrous height

Their denizens I dimly see,

I seek the glory of the night.

 

Where ever many stars are bright

Where never is a boundary

I leave behind a world of light,

I seek the glory of the night.

 

 

A bit about the poem.  When we go diving I sit on the edge of the boat, hold my mask and regulator (the thing you breathe with) firmly to my face, give a little push, and fall backwards into another world.  It is always a shock; the water feels cold at first in spite of our wetsuits.  You move slowly with some effort.  On the other hand you are weightless.  And if you relax the water will often carry you where you want to go.  If the water is surging back and forth – imitate the fish.  Swim as they do when water is going your way, and then rest flat against the bottom or anchor on a rock while the water flows back.  Often a fingertip is enough to hold you still.  (I have to say the tips of my diving gloves are beginning to wear out.)  I was surprised to discover that fish do not swim all the time.  They spend a lot of time just hanging out and either lying on a rock or sand or floating in calm water.

 

The sounds under the water are magnified and distorted.  To hear things clearly you need to stop breathing for a moment; the sound of your breath and your bubbles when you exhale overwhelm a lot of other sounds.  One of my favorite things is listening to the whales sing.  Their songs are a cross between a low pitched hum and an oink.  Exactly what they are saying is open to dispute, but they are definitely discussing something.  There are some common calls recognized as mothers talking to babies, distress calls and things like that.  (Chow time?  -dt) But most calls still are mysteries to us.  They say whales also talk or sing at a frequency too low for humans to hear.  The same thing is said about elephant communication.  I wonder if an elephant stuck his trunk in the ocean if he could talk to the whales.  Just a thought. 

 

Underwater everything slows down at least for me.  The sea creatures dart here and there easily.  There is a lot less light underwater; perhaps that is why many of the fish and corals are so brightly colored.  The deeper you dive of course there is less light.  Many of the fish here are luminescent.  One of my favorite is the blue damsel fish.  It is dark blue with light blue shining spots.

 

Alex is my dive master.  Yes I do realize that Lincoln freed the slaves, so perhaps I should clarify that Alex is the dive master I always dive with while staying in Bucerias.   (If you do not remember Alex, there is another picture this month.  –dt) Usually just the two of us dive together and are more or less dive buddies; we know and trust each other implicitly.  Sometimes Alex has other divers as well as me and then it is business rather than just pleasure for him.

 

When you dive a lot with the same person it is amazing how well you can communicate with hand signals.  (Perhaps you have seen TV programs where divers have microphones, but that is much too expensive equipment for the casual recreational diver.  –dt) When Alex is leading a dive group it is sort of an underwater tour where he points out the sights and animals, etc.  When it is just the two of us diving alone it is more of an exploration.

 

Alex is a fisherman.  (And he makes more money taking people on fishing trips.  –dt) Sometimes when diving with just me he takes his spear.  I on the other hand like to collect shells.  (Anyone want several boxes?? –dt) And of course there are octopi.  Alex and his family love to eat octopus.  I have had it and do not like it that much.  So when there are just the two of us we will catch an octopus for Alex's supper.  I actually almost never do the catching as they are too fast for me.  But I can often spot them and point them out to Alex. 

 

The other day we were swimming along when I saw a good-sized octopus swim by me.  I turned after it and as soon as he knew he had been spotted he immediately dropped to the ocean floor and tucked in his tentacles pretending to be a rock.  (To see the ability of octopi to hide, view this clip full screen:  http://www.sciencefriday.com/videos/watch/10397   -dt)  I caught Alex and made the octopus hand signal.  Alex grabbed the creature and began shaking it vigorously.  This is a thing Alex does to dispatch them: first you grab the octopus, then you shake it, then you squeeze it, then you pull out some part of its insides, and then it is dead.  I don't know how to do this and I don't want to know.  If Alex wants to eat octopi, he needs to kill them as far as I am concerned. 

 

Well he had just about finished the shaking part when I spotted another octopus.

"Octopus!" I signaled.

"Yes, yes, I know." Alex nodded.

"No. Another octopus!"  I poked Alex and pointed.

Alex, wanting both, thrust the present capture into my hands - shaken, not squeezed (HaHaHa  -dt) – and swam off in pursuit of the second creature.

 

Well this first octopus was still very much alive and determined to escape.  I was trying to hold onto as many arms or legs as possible.  And it kept trying to elude me.  In desperation I tried to trap it by pushing it against my tummy.  This seemed to work fairly well until suddenly I realized there seemed to be a lot less octopus than there was a few moments previously.  Grabbing the remaining part and staring down I determined that the octopus was attempting to climb under my buoyancy vest to hide between it and my wet suit.

 

A couple of pertinent facts need mentioning here.  First is that octopi have no bones and can squeeze into very small spaces.  Number two fact is that if you are wearing a 5mil wetsuit, you can't feel much of what is happening on the outside of it.

 

There commenced a tug-of-war with me trying to pull the creature out by three legs and the octopus trying to crawl under cover with the other five.  Well of course it won.  And squirting out an indignant cloud of ink pulled my vest closed behind it.  Well, what could I do now?  And more to the point, would it try to crawl out the back? I swam slowly in a circle and did not see it.  I thought I might have felt a lump on my stomach.  I still had an uninvited passenger.  Then Alex arrived with the second octopus, already dead.

 

"Where is the octopus?" Alex signaled.  

I pointed to my tummy.  It is hard to believe how much amazement can register upon a face covered by a diving mask.

"You ate it raw?" Alex must have been thinking.  He shook his head, "That's impossible! Where's the octopus?" he signaled again.

I pointed to my stomach again.

"Did it swim away?" Alex asked.

"No!" I tried to point under my vest.

Alex shrugged, "I don't get it."

 

After we had swum around for a while longer, I looked down and saw a couple of tentacles tentatively emerging from behind my vest.  I poked Alex who finally grasped the situation – he also grasped the octopus.  After a short struggle it was subdued and added to the dinner menu.

 

Sometimes it is easier to go to the minisuper.

 

Here are few pictures:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157629088147118/

 

Nope, no underwater pictures.  Mrs. T does not take them; she would rather watch the things around her than fool with a camera when she would mostly have pictures of empty water.

 

We will be back up north about Easter and hope to see many of you in April and May.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Wonderful Visit

SISTERS

 

Iguanas are ubiquitous here.  To say, "I saw an iguana!", would let us know that you are a tourist.  Nothing wrong with that, Bucerias needs your dinero.  But most folks here do not get that excited about them unless they are causing some sort of damage.  Some of you may recall that one time we had an iguana run across the courtyard into the pool to avoid the cat.  Crystal had fun catching it, the iguana that is.  (There are pictures is some previous post.)  We have two kinds here:  black and green; I doubt that is a scientific classification, just the difference in color.  The green ones are decidedly more interesting.  It is easy to see how close-ups of them were used as dinosaurs from 1930s into the '60s in such movies as King Kong – the original! - and Journey to the Center of the Earth.  Iguanas can go just about everywhere; they have these long claws/toes that can grip just about any surface and they can squeeze into rather small cracks.  There is one thing they cannot climb: glass.  As noted below a large green guy has taken to showing up right outside the kitchen window.  When he actually attempts to climb the window he makes noise that I would liken to fingernails on a chalkboard – ouch.  This was one of the new experiences for my sisters who visited us for a week.  They and Rebecca squeezed in just about as much activity as possible.  Mrs. T's story covers most of the action:

 

 

We had a lovely visit with Dan's sisters, Rachel and Janice.  We went whale watching (The women that is – dt) and saw lots of whales including a baby, who Oscar, the marine biologist and whale specialist, said was about 2 weeks old.  You could tell it was a baby because he was just learning to hold his breath and could only stay down for about 7 minutes.  We followed them – two adults and the baby – and every 7 minutes they came up.  The adults normally stay down for 20 to 30 minutes.  Oscar can recognize individual whales by their tails.  He said maybe he would name an unnamed well one after me.  What fun! (This is due to Mrs.T's underwater encounter which even Oscar has not had –dt)  We also followed a mating pack.  Simone was leading 5 males on a merry chase.  The youngest eventually dropped out.  (This sounds too familiar to me –dt) We didn't stay for the conclusion which would happen in deep water.  Oscar gave us the details of what would happen.  (These are too explicit for the general audience that might read this -dt)

 

On another day we went shopping in Puerto Vallarta with the two Judy's.  There were no cruise ships so PV was less crowded.  Rachel and especially Jan made a valiant effort to support the local economy by buying all kinds of amazing things which are not generally available in Ohio.  They got into the spirit of shopping in Mexico with bargaining on prices.  We saw some amazing sand sculptures, enjoyed walking on the newly improved Malecon, and climbing the metal sculptures.  When we got overheated we enjoyed stopping for a cool drink.  And we had a nice lunch overlooking the Cuale River.

 

The girls were quite taken by the green iguana who recently has taken to perching on our kitchen window ledge.  But mostly we just lay around by the pool or at the beach, listening to the waves.

 

We did take time away from our serious basking to walk into town for the Fiesta.  This is the week we honor Our Lady of Peace, the patron saint of Bucerias.  Every night there is a little peregrination – parade – sponsored by a different barrio.  There are mariachi bands and dancing, Indian dancers – usually children dressed in native costumes.   (You may have read about our participation in one of last year's events.  –dt) The church is full of flowers and music.  And of course there are fireworks.  I missed the dancing horses in the parade on the last day because I was SCUBA diving.  And unfortunately for them the sisters had already left by then.  But reports were that the horses were great.  The fiesta lasts about ten days and then we slow down to enjoy our routine life in Mexico – warm and wonderful.

 

Here are lots of pictures, many courtesy of Jan:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157629069421837/

 

We have heard that real winter has visited a few of you.  Keep warm and dry.

 

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holidays and More

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

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

Vignettes of Life in Bucerias

MARVELOUS MEXICO

 

As we have previously mentioned, most things here at our winter home have become routine to us even though we are living outside the United States.  But they still hold a lot of charm, especially for those who have not ventured far from home.  Nothing wrong with home; not everyone has the same wanderlust.  We find it important to try to be attuned to the local culture and not impose – particularly patronizingly – our ways and values from north of the border.  And we think we have done a decent job of fitting in thus far.  Although we are proud to be U.S. citizens, we do not have a monopoly on what is right or good.  Every culture and peoples have something valuable to offer.  In this vein Mrs. T has a few vignettes of our life here. 

Mexicans love their holidays and find almost every opportunity to have a parade and celebrate.  Often we have just stumbled upon an event; we are not as plugged into the news as we would like.  Many times special activities happen on Sundays as happened with two of these stories.  As we do not normally take cameras to church, we do not have pictures for those episodes.

 

REVOLUTION DAY

As I watch Luche Libre, I think it might be a good metaphor for Mexico.  Full of color, passion, and movement, the spectators excited, involved – and yet no one really takes most of it seriously.  One of the things I really love about Mexico and Mexicans is the sense of humor.  Somehow I cannot imagine a wrestler in the U.S. wearing bright pink tights with a big purple heart across the rear.  (On the other hand, Mrs.T is not a devotee of professional wrestling.  –dt)

Which brings me to the parade.  After mass we encountered a parade down the lateral that parallels the highway.  It had already gone down several streets.  The parade celebrated the revolution of the campesinos which put Francesco I. Madero in power.  (There are several Maderos in Mexico's history. –dt) There were bands and a queen throwing candy.  There were several children's groups of various kinds.  Our favorite part of the parade was near the end.  A troop of little boys about 7 – 8 years old were decked out neatly in identical army uniforms.  Most of them had magnificent mustaches drawn on by eyebrow pencil and military hats made of construction paper.  They carried homemade mortars made of coffee cans fastened together and painted black.  How cute we thought.  The next group was a squad of campasinos of about the same age.  They had big sombreros and had bandoleers crossed on their chests.  Of course they too had mustaches and mortars.  There were some girls with them wearing big colorful skirts.  The girls had bandoleers and mortars too – but no mustaches; you might think it odd I mention that but you will understand if you have ever seen many pictures, especially self-portraits, of Frida Kahlo.  (http://www.reproduction-gallery.com/oil_painting/details/copy_artist/1022580036/masterpiece/Frida_Kahlo/museum_quality/Self_Portrait_with_Deigo_on_the_Breast_1953.xhtml   -dt)  Just as they got to where we were standing the kids started letting off firecrackers in their mortars making an impressive noise.  At first I did not understand but both some soldiers and campesinos began to fall down.  "They are fighting a battle," Dan said.  That explained why kids held their stomachs and made horrible faces as they fell.  They may have been crying and groaning too but I if so I could not hear it for the noise of the 'mortars'.  The battle went on for a few minutes with heavy bombardment and serious losses on both sides.  Finally we saw a small hand among the soldiers waving a white handkerchief.  The battle was over and the campisenos were victorious!!

 

VOTING

We knew elections were coming up.  There were the usual ads on television.  And the day after Thanksgiving we had seen quite a parade extolling the virtues of voting 'Green'.  But it was not a national election and we did not pay much attention.  When we arrived at church for Sunday mass – the week after the 'revolution' – we knew something special was happening.  There was more than the usual number of food vendor carts all around the square and other folks selling knick knacks.  People were milling about and a few musicians were playing.  We did not understand what was happening but there was a long line snaking around the plaza in the hot sun.  "What are all these people doing?" I asked a nun who was at her table selling rosaries and such. "They are voting," she replied.  (The nuns are there every Sunday; they are Sisters for the Perpetual Evangelization of the Holy Eucharist – or something like that.  They perform valuable community service.  –dt)

 

BIRDS

One morning I awoke to a cacophony of shrieks, hoots, screams, and whistles.  It sounded as if every bird in Mexico had taken up residence outside our window.  Not only that, but they all were complaining about it.  It did not seem possible to me that all those different birds could be in the same place.  When I peeked out the window I discovered I was right.

There was a good sized flock of Mexican black birds perched on the two palm trees near our window.  These birds are clever mimics.  They were going through their entire repertoire of other bird calls.  Whether this was some kind of bird version of our talent 'reality' contests or what exactly the point was I never did figure out.  Mexican birds do not seem to be as musical as the birds I am familiar with up north but they certainly are enthusiastic.

 

COOLING DOWN

The weather here has varied from hot to balmy.  If I get hot, I sometimes jump into the pool to cool off.  (Mrs.T frequently is hot due to hormonal issues common to women of a certain age.  -dt)  One day I was pretty hot so I stayed in the pool a long time just peacefully floating on my back thinking of nothing in particular.  When I looked up I saw two vultures circling high above me.  As I seemed to detect them considering me thoughtfully,  I decided it was time for me to get out and dry off.  I hope we get solar heating installed soon because as winter comes – even in tropical Mexico – the pool becomes more and more refreshing, so to speak.

 

CONSTRUCTION

There is new building construction happening on both sides of our condo complex.  One building is another set of five new condominiums, one to a floor.  I am not sure what the other building is going to be.  The buildings are six and four floors and tower over our two story building.  The lot where the burro occasionally grazed will be gone.  The new buildings will take part of the sky and we will no longer see as much of the sun or stars.  I suppose whenever you live in a town the sky is not yours to own.  Sigh….  Mexican building construction methods are not what we are familiar with.  There is one particularly nice thing however – the workers sing as they build.

We also have a major street repair project going on in Bucerias now.  They are relaying the cobblestones.  The official title of this project is 'Fewer Bumps.'  Note that is fewer bumps, not no bumps – truth in advertising I suppose.  Actually the cobblestones are fairly smooth in the sections they have completed.  Dan and I hope they do not run out of either rocks or enthusiasm before they get to our street because we have quite a few fairly significant bumps and potholes on Francesco I Madero.

 

Some construction pictures; self-explanatory:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157628337193587/

 

Hope you are enjoying the beginning of winter.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com