Hotel Playa de Cortes

Christmas Day we and some friends went out for dinner at the Playa de Cortes Hotel located in the Miramar area of Guaymas.  It is a lovely old building with some interesting history.  It also has some RV sites on the property and is located right on the Sea of Cortes.  It is also fairly close to the Pearl Farm.
We had a leisurely dinner and then went to walk on the beach with their dog.  Unfortunately their dog doesn't like the dark and it was cold so we didn't do much walking after all.
A nice way to spend the evening.

Front entrance.













Fountain by the parking lot.

Fountain in the inner courtyard.

View of the back.













View from the back of the hotel.

Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad

Merry Christmas to everyone near and far.  We hope that you all have a wonderful holiday season.
I spent part of the day yesterday phoning relatives and friends and wishing them all a Merry Christmas.  Then I baked a couple of loaves of bread and some cinnamon buns.
We spent the evening at home quietly, well we were quiet, the fireworks of course were going on; but we are kind of used to them.
This morning I made some more phone calls and think I am done with that for the day.
Today we are going out for a walk on the beach and  dinner out with some friends.  I will make sure and take some photos of the beach for those of you up north.
The landlords daughter in law just came over with a neighbor and gave me an invitation to a birthday party for tomorrow, so I guess I will be shopping tomorrow morning.  Roy asked who the party is for, so I explained that it is the neighbors aunts granddaughter lol.  Should be fun.
My mom is still in the hospital, she has had several set backs due to infections; but will be moving to a stroke unit on Monday if all stays the same.  She still has the feeding tube in her stomach and is unable to speak, although she is now managing to get out a couple of words.  Her mind is sharp though.  Hopefully with some therapy she will get through this once again.

Christmas According To Kinder Dumbo

Yesterday afternoon around 5 PM we headed downtown to the auditorium.  Kinder Dumbo was putting on their annual Christmas Concert.  We did some errands first and then headed over there.  Parents and children in costume were arriving along with (I assume) grandparents and relatives.
We sat down to await the show.  The children were dressed in the fanciest costumes.  There were little soldiers, gingerbread people, dolls, santas, mrs. santas, a couple of evil persons, etc..  It was fun to watch them all getting ready and their excitement level was high.  It was very well co-ordinated and started shortly after 5.
The play was about Santa being kidnapped by a couple of evil doers who were trying to stop Christmas from happening.  It was done very well, such small people speaking their memorized lines so well, amazing.
Along with the rest of the crowd we loved it, it was extremely well done by all involved.
After the show was done there were the usual thank yous to the parents, etc. for all the help given to make the concert and school year a success.
I didn't take my camera as usually I don't get very good pictures there in the dark; but regret it now as I could have gotten some cute photos of the kids before the show started.  Oh well.  You will just have to imagine lots of tiny bodies in lots of fancy costumes.
This morning I made a batch of bread and butter pickles which hopefully will turn out OK.  I didn't bring my recipe with me and so I used one that I found on the web.  Hard to say how it will turn out.  Good thing Roy likes being a guinea pig!

Tis The Season

  I have been busy but mostly with stuff that isn't really interesting to others, so no point in relating it.  Just kind of integrating more into the local community in my own way.
Friday night was the annual Christmas Parade.  As it was going to be dark by the time both happened I didn't bother taking the camera.  The parade had the usual Christmas type things including of course Santa Claus.  After the parade everyone headed over to the malecon where they had a stage set up and some children were dressed up and singing carols.  This year they also had a boat parade, the boats were decorated with lights and looked nice, it must have taken the owners a lot of time to do the decorating.  They turned on the big fountain and had it synced to Christmas music.   We wandered around and sat around and people watched and visited with our friends that we met there so a good time was had by all.
Yesterday I got energetic and made a big turkey lunch and baked bran muffins, mincemeat pie and a lemon meringue pie.  We both ate way too much and relaxed the rest of the day.  I took a piece of mincemeat pie down to my landlady and we discussed and dissected mincemeat and other recipes for awhile. She said she had not eaten it before, not sure if she liked it or not, she said she did.  I explained to her that a lot of people do not care for it.   I have been reading some Spanish cooking blogs trying to improve my cooking/baking vocabulary in Spanish, not sure if it is helping or not; but can't hurt..

I'm Back

Just being really lazy lately about blogging, wasn't feeling good and just didn't' have the energy I guess.  Well, it's an excuse anyway.
I was having trouble with one ear almost a month ago and finally went to a Dr. and got a weeks worth of antibiotics, that didn't work so returned and got another weeks worth.  In the meantime I went to Phoenix with a couple of friends for a few days. We had a good time there meeting and having dinner with some relatives of mine and also shopping.  I bought 4 bags of red licorice and we ate them in a few days, should have bought more lol.
  When I returned the ear was still not good so returned again to the Dr..  She checked it out and decided that it was still inflamed and sent me to a specialist that same day, as she said she couldn't do anything else for me.  The specialist checked it all out and decided that I needed to go to the dentist and get a mouth guard as he decided that I have TMJ or something similar.  He gave me a prescription for aniti-inflammatory medicine and something else to stop the first one from bothering my stomach, cost of the specialist was 500 pesos or about $41.55 CAD.  In the meantime I got the flu so had to cancel my dentist appt. for a few days.  After I got over the flu I called the dentist for an appt. and had him check me out.  He couldn't find any other problems so did an impression for a mouth guard and told me to return in a few days as he was going out of town.  Returned on Friday for the mouth guard, got heck from him for not taking the anti-inflammatory meds., paid him 800 pesos for the mouth guard (about $66.47 CAD) and went on my merry way.  I found out by experimentation that the pills that were to protect my tummy from the other ones were the ones bugging me, so I cut those out and am fine on only the anti-inflammatory ones.  Go figure!  Anyway whether it is the mouth guard that I wear at night or whether it is the pills, my jaw/ear are feeling much better, thank goodness.
Still going to Spanish class once a week and also have started going back to help the children with their English.  I think there was only one day last week that I wasn't uptown, that is crazy for a homebody like me.
I got some yarn and have been doing some crocheting also, so have been busy.
It is cold here and we are freezing to death, some kind of cold front up north and right now at 12 noon it is only 21 C., crazy weather is a month early compared to other years.
The shrimp festival was held in San Carlos on Saturday and we were just to lazy to go, so no new pictures to show.

Heading For Phoenix

I am just getting ready to head to Phoenix, Arizona for a few days.  A friend of mine here has a friend visiting from England and her flight leaves from Phoenix in a day or so.  My friend wanted company for the trip back here so I volunteered.  I had been thinking of going there soon anyway, so this seemed an opportune moment.
I have family in Phoenix that I have never met.  My one uncle moved to the USA when I was approximately 1 yr. of age and by the time my mom and dad could take time out of their lives and could afford to travel far I was long gone from home.  One of my cousins and I have been in contact by email for the last while and I really would like to meet up with her and the rest of the family.  I had discussed heading up there over USA Thanksgiving as some of my other relatives from Canada will be there at that time; but when this opportunity arose I decided to go now when it was convenient.  Travelling with friends will surely be more fun than by bus and besides we have decided to have a shopping day also, how could I resist that?  I think Roy is happy about it as well, (he volunteered me for the trip immediately lol, hmmmm maybe I should think about this eh?)  Somehow I don't think the bus trip, listening to a bunch of strangers recount old family history, etc. was really his cup of tea lol.
The husband (along with a partner), of one of my cousins has several Italian restaurants in Phoenix and we will be dining at one of them one evening.  The restaurants are the Red Devil Italian Restaurants so that should be good, it has been awhile since I have had good Italian food.
Hoping to have a good time.
My mom is doing a bit better yesterday, she has had several not so good days so hearing that she finally had a good day was nice.  She has a feeding tube and is not speaking so is in for a long rehabilitation road again and this time she knows the route so is also somewhat depressed which is not good.  My sister is there and also my brothers sometimes.

The Party Continued

This afternoon there was a knock on the door and when I opened it the older granddaughter from across the street stood there with a table centerpiece from the party last night.  I thanked her and she left.  Shortly after there was another knock on the door and there stood the little birthday girl with 2 bags of candy.  We had left the party before the bags of sweets and centerpieces were handed out, so the girls personally delivered them to us.

The Party

We went to the party last night for awhile.  Wasn't feeling great so we didn't stay for a long time.  There were a lot of people there; probably over a hundred.  The salon de eventos has playground equipment and they had also brought in a couple of those blown up bouncy house things.  They had 2 ponies there giving the kids rides and also a clown/magician that put on a show for the kids at one point.  There was a live band, one which is quite popular here.  They had a hot dog man giving the kids hot dogs and had a hot meal for the adults.  Beverages and snacks flowed freely.  I tried to get a photo of the birthday girl; but she wasn't having it, every time I tried she would turn away.  She looked really cute with her hair all done up and a long, gorgeous white dress.

Alan and Diego with one of the ponies.













My mom had her swallow test this morning and I guess it did not go well, so they are going to try again this afternoon.  She also had another CT scan, so we will see what if anything that shows.  Her blood pressure fluctuates and they are working on the meds, yet again.  Only time will tell I guess.  Hoping for the best.

Mom

My mom had another stroke last night.  They did a CT scan and it didn't show any bleeds so they gave her the "clot buster" drug and will do another CT scan on Monday along with a swallow test.  She is not talking again; but her writing is legible so that is better than the last time.  Her mind is good and she is writing notes to everyone saying what things she wants brought to her.  It has been less than 24 hrs. since the stroke so at this point it is still a waiting game.
I have what I think is a nasty ear infection.  Ear is aching, jaw is aching and neck is stiff and sore, hot and cold spells, so I am not doing much of anything.
Update on the Telmex guys and their new post at the neighbors place.  The other day they came back and tied the old post to the new one and added some ropes and a pulley to the whole thing.  One guy began chopping at the old pole with an ax and shortly thereafter they lowered the old pole to the ground with the pulley mechanism. Worked pretty slick.  Loaded the old pole onto their trucks and away they went.

We are supposed to go to the neighbors grand daughters baptism/birthday party tomorrow, so I went uptown and got a gift yesterday.  Will see how I feel tomorrow and decide if we will go or not.  I don't like to miss this one as the last party they threw I had a splitting headache and stayed home so don't like to miss this one too.  We will see.

Just Another Day

When we came home from San Carlos it seemed that our refrigerator was not cooling, the freezer part was working fine; but the frig part was not cool.  We shut it off for awhile thinking that maybe it had frozen up with the door not being opened for 5 days; but that didn't help.  We turned it to a cooler temperature, didn't help either.  We decided that the fan had probably quit working.
About 3 blocks from us is a repairman.  We had taken our electric frying pan to him when the switch went and he honestly told us that he probably couldn't get a new switch as it was from Canada.  We left it with him for a couple of days and when we returned he explained to us that he just couldn't find a new switch that would work.  Since then every time we see him on the street he says hello or waves to us.  We decided to try him first.  We wandered over there and explained what we thought was the problem.  He said that he could come over soon and Roy waited for him while I continued on to the store to pick up a couple of things.  I assumed that I would be back before he arrived at our place as "ahorita" (soon), doesn't always mean that soon.  When we were there before I had spoken to him in Spanish and he had also spoken in Spanish, naturally.  When I arrived home, he had already been there and left.  Roy said that the repairman had spoken to him in English.  Too funny.  Anyway he had taken the fan out and said that he would be back in an hour or so.  Sure enough about an hour later he returned with another fan, put it in and it worked.  Cost:  200 pesos for the fan, 150 pesos for labor for a total of 350 pesos, which is about $28.05 CAD.  The frig is working perfectly.
Yesterday we heard some commotion outside and as good, snoopy neighbors we had to have a look.  There were 2 Telmex trucks parked at a neighbors home.  Just ordinary 1/2 ton trucks with the toppers on the truck beds.  On the top of one of the trucks was a long wooden telephone pole.  The hole was already dug, we had missed that part somehow.  Anyway they backed the truck with the pole on it up close to the pole and lowered the one end into the hole.  They then slowly backed the truck up so that the pole slid off of the truck and stood in the hole.  One man then steadied the pole while the other shoveled in the dirt, tamped it down and voila it was in place.  One guy then climbed the pole while the other guy threw him up the stuff he needed.  It didn't take long and soon they were gone.  A job well done.  No heavy equipment needed.







































We were downstairs chatting with the landlords last night and our landlady was telling me about a new coffee that she had seen advertised on TV and heard good things about.  It is made by Nescafe and is an instant coffee.  They are advertising  that it has twice the antioxidants in it that green tea has.  She gave us a couple of packets and we tried it this morning.  We thought the taste was OK; but that it was pretty weak.  If we used it again we would put 2 packages in for 1 cup.  I need to google it to see what all the hype is about.  Interesting though as the package only lists 100% soluble coffee as ingredients.
Anyway that was the day.

Queremos Halloween

Last night we sat out by the house entrance at our friends place and handed out Halloween treats.  They came shouting, "queremos Halloween", got their treats and left.  It didn't last long.  Geordie unfortunately did not appreciate the yelling children and spent a nervous evening.

We have been watching the hummingbirds and orioles? that come to the feeder.  I love watching them.  One of the hummingbirds flew into the house yesterday and Roy had to capture it in a towel as it tried to get out of the window.
































































We again walked down the beach and then over to the marina and had breakfast.  We have been having a nice light breakfast there, eggs with ham, beans, toast and coffee for 30 pesos.

  After breakfast we walked all around the marina and then being lazy old folks we took the bus back here.

A plaque of remembrance for some people lost at sea.

Just Hanging Out

Nothing too exciting going on with us, we are just hanging out with the beasties.  We walked along the beach yesterday morning and then walked down to the marina for breakfast.  We had a nice chat with the restaurant owner and then walked back to the house and pretty much did nothing for the rest of the day.
This morning we took the golf cart and went for a few groceries at a different store and also had breakfast out.
Chad, just being a cat.

View walking down the beach.

In San Carlos

We are spending a few days in San Carlos at a friends home looking after their dog and cat.  They and their visitor from England have gone to visit Guadalajara.  They should have fun; especially since they will be there for Day of the Dead.

Distance wise San Carlos is only about 15 miles from where we live in Guaymas; but it is a world away in things other than mileage.  San Carlos has beautiful views that is for certain.

This morning we went out for breakfast, it wasn't great, the food and cleanliness of the restaurant has definitely gone downhill since the last time we were there.  We haven't been to San Carlos for probably 6 months or so and things have changed I guess.

  We then went to the grocery store.  Talk about sticker shock!!  The price for a can of coffee was double what we pay in Guaymas.  We picked up a couple of things and went to the check out.  When the clerk gave me my change I just looked at it and then back at her with raised eyebrows.  Oh no, she said, I told her in spanish that she still owed me 100 pesos, or around $10.00.  She agreed and then gave me all of my change and we left.  Not a good shopping trip.

Other than shopping we are having a good time here with the animals.

This is our buddy Geordie.

Bran Muffins With Cranberries

When I was in Canada this summer with my mom I got hooked on Bran Muffins with Cranberries (bollos de salvado con arándanos in spanish).  In the Yorkton hospital the coffee shop has Robin Donuts coffee and pastries,etc..  Robin Donuts is a chain that seems to be mainly in Saskatchewan.  They used to have a few in Alberta; but it seems that most of them have closed down.  I am sure I will get some hate mail for this next sentence; but Robins coffee and muffins are much better than Tim Hortons, in my mind anyway.  The muffins are definitely moister and fresher.  Anyway, when mom got moved to Regina there was a Robins on my way from where I was staying to where mom was in the rehab. hospital.  Unfortunately they didn't have the bran/cranberry muffins, maybe it was just a promotion thing.  Anyway since I have been back home in Mexico I have been craving those muffins; but it has been too hot here to have the oven on.  I bought all the stuff I needed when I went shopping the other day in hopes of cooler days to come.  The last few mornings it has been only 18 or 20 C. when I got up so this morning I decided to bake a batch of bran/cranberry muffins.  I did and they turned out yummy, fresh out of the oven with butter melting on them, yum.  Took a few down to our landlord as his wife is away visiting relatives in the USA right now.  Hope he likes them.  He jokingly told me that they should be healthy for Roy and I joked back that Roy only likes greasy food, like tortas and hot dogs, not stuff that is good for him.  Roy wants onion rings for lunch today, I rest my case lol; but then I am not any better, as I am looking forward to the onion rings also.  Not something we get here, and not something that I make very often.  We normally eat a lot of chicken breast without the skin and quite a few veggies, so I guess we are allowed some digressions.

Almost Sweater Weather

The last 2 mornings it has only been 18 C. when I got up, chilly.  Almost time to put on a sweater; but it warms up to a toasty 30 C. by afternoon, so it is not winter yet.
Landlord was being run ragged by his littlest grandson yesterday morning.  Up and down the stairs countless times.  Grandpa had put a hat on little Diego and said that he is going to be a fisherman in his free time instead of a futbol player like his dad.  Diego is a little cutie and is lots of fun now.  Definitely has lots of energy. 

Nothing Much Going On

Not too much going on right now.  Tropical Storm Rick gave us a pass and instead hit Mazatlan and the area around there.  Good for us, not so great for them.  Hope all is well down there.
There were some really nice clouds last night though.


























The local cats that we are feeding are getting quite comfy up here.  They have been sleeping in our patio chairs at night and now come running to eat when they see me come outside.  Spoiling them I think maybe.  There seems to be only 1 baby kitten left of the 2.  Life is tough on the streets.


























Went uptown and bought some fabric today so I guess I will be busy sewing tomorrow. 

We're Legal

We had taken all the papers into immigration at the beginning of September to re new our FM3's.  On Thursday we remembered that we had been supposed to pick them up on the 7 th of October, oops!!!!  We went down there and the lady apologized to us.  The booklets were ready except for the bosses signature and he was away that day in Hermosillo.  No problem, we told her and she said to return on Friday.  We decided to wait until Monday before we returned and did so yesterday.  The boss was in and they had us sit down at his desk while he filled out some other paperwork and had us sign whatever it was that he filled in.  Then he gave Roy a paper and said something to me that I wasn't quite getting.  I guess something finally filtered through to my brain and I asked him if that paper was just to prove that we had paid, he said yes.  Then he said that there system was down and that they couldn't print out the same paper for me and that I should return for my page today.  I asked him if I really needed that paper and he kind of shrugged his shoulders and smiled.  I don't think I will bother going back for it, as if I hadn't paid they wouldn't have given me the FM3.  Wonder if that will come back to bite me in the butt next year????  We thanked them all for their help and left with our renewed FM3's in hand.  Mission accomplished for another year, a pretty painless process.
Rick has now been downgraded to a Tropical Storm and looks like he will hit south of us.  Good news for us; but not so good news for wherever he lands.  It is cloudy here this morning (at 7:30 AM) and a bit cooler, only 28 C. (feels like 33 C, with 89% humidity), so we have the door and windows open which is nice.  We hope for the best for the people wherever Rick ends up.  It is just beginning to rain now.
Some friends from Canada that have a home in San Carlos have arrived and they popped in to visit us yesterday.  It was nice to see them again and their visitor also.  She visits every year from England and it was nice to see her again also.
There is a store called Aka Sí (not sure if it is a chain or not, goggled it and nothing much came up) that opened here awhile back, there is one in centro and another one close to the mall. Every once in awhile they have peanut butter.  Went there yesterday and sure enough they did, the last time they didn't.  So I picked up 3 jars so we will be good there for awhile.

Look What I Found

Normally I don't like to go shopping and only go when I have to.  I have really been wanting some fresh homemade bread lately; but it is still too hot to have the oven on for that long.  I have also been wanting some bran muffins.
I decided that I would go yesterday and see if I could find the ingredients that I wanted though so that I will be prepared when it cools off.  Roy also needed a new pair of flip flops and with his foot size it is difficult to find them here, we had looked at a few places the last time we were uptown and found nothing.  He needs a size 12 up north which equates to about a 30 here or 31 depending on the shoe.  Usually the largest size we find here is 29 which is not big enough.  My little electric food chopper decided to die the other day so I also wanted to look for one of them, not with very high hopes though as there are not a lot of electric kitchen appliances here.  Last year when our electric frying pan died I asked at a couple of places and the answer was always, "no hay", in other words, "we don't have them".  Yesterday I was surprised to see that at these same stores they are now carrying electric frying pans, go figure.  I jokingly said to Roy last night that perhaps I am responsible for the electric frying pan coming to Guaymas lol.  Ask and you shall receive and it only takes a year.  Oh well, at least they have them now for the next time we need one.
So, no food chopper downtown.  There are still a couple of places to look at the mall so will try them another day; but don't have very high expectations.
On to the flip flops.  Asked a couple of places and got the usual, we don't have them answer.  Then stopped at a young fellows stall outside of the market place.  He had some but the price was 68 pesos which was pretty high for the product available.  I started to walk away and the price came down a bit, I hesitated some more and the price of 68 pesos came down to 55.  I bought them.
While I was chatting with a merchant at one place, this fellow was listening I guess and after I was done he came up to me and told me that my spanish was very good.  I am afraid that his hearing must be really bad, like my spanish; but it made me feel good anyway.  I chatted with him for awhile and found out that we had both known a fellow who had passed away awhile back.  There are not many of us here so we tend to stick out lol.  Anyway had a nice conversation with him and he made me feel good about my lousy spanish skills.
On to the baking ingredients.  I have found a multi grain bread here that I like, made by Bimbo of course.  It has sunflower seeds in it along with 4 or 5 other seeds and things.  It is difficult to find though and most of the time it is not in the stores.  The lady at the little Bimbo store told me that it is because there is not much demand for it as most of the people here like white bread and I know that.  The day after Tropical Storm Jimena passed through here the landlords asked me if I wanted to take a drive with them around town.  I did and so did one of the other neighbor ladies.  We drove through several sections of town and in each area stopped at all the little stores as both the other ladies were out of bread.  One stop was at one of the little Bimbo stores and they, along with all the other stores were out of white bread.  Que lastima for the other 2 ladies, for me not a big deal as we had bread at home.  This little store had 1 loaf of multi grain bread and before grabbing it I asked the other 2 if they would like it.  Scrunched up noses and an emphatic NO from both of them, so I grabbed it, a happy camper.  Go figure.  Roy also loves white bread.  Anyway I want to try and replicate this multigrain bread so a hunting I went for ingredients.
I decided to try a bulk place that has been open for a few months and has a good selection of stuff.  Several health food stores also carry nuts and grains; but I thought the bulk place would be cheaper if they had what I wanted.  This store is called MOY and has stores in various places in Mexico and also the USA.  They are very friendly and helpful people who moved here to open this store from Guadalajara.  The lady helped me find what I needed and the fellow chatted the whole time with me.  I ended up buying a kilo of whole wheat flour, 1/2 kilo of bran, 100 grams of sunflower seeds, 100 grams of sesame seeds and 1 bag of ground flax (not sure of the weight; but a good sized bag) and the total bill came to 38.50 pesos (about $2.94 CAD).  I was happy and had a good language work out at the same time.  They didn't have any raisins; but I found those at the grocery store so I am already to bake when it cools off.  Score 1 for me.
Of course I needed to use the washroom so headed for Woolworths.  You have to pay 5 pesos there to use it and then you get a ticket for 5 pesos off of your purchase.  The washrooms are very clean, equipped with paper, soap and an air hand dryer, so I usually go there.  As I was walking down one of the aisles I saw a familiar looking package.

I love peanuts/peanut butter in any shape or form so grabbed a  package to try.  They are a bit different than in Canada where this was my one chocolate treat; but were pretty good.  The peanut butter filling has bits of corn in it for some reason.  It says on the package "flakes of corn".  Not sure why; but whatever tasted good anyway.
Then when I went to the local Soriana I noticed that they had the bags with 4 of them in.  Will have to remember that for my next snack attack.  A nice find.  I also found blue cheese there, that was a first.  I love blue cheese on toast so of course snapped some of that up.  I think it might actually be Danish blue cheese as the label said, "danubleu".  Who knows, it tastes good anyway.  I am thinking a blue cheese sauce to pour over tortilla chips, might be good.  You never know what you will find, maybe some day a cheddar cheese will be had.
All in all a good shopping trip.
Weather wise we are keeping an eye on Hurricane Ricks progress.  This has been a crazy weather year for here, very unusual activity for us.  Rick is, the last time I looked a Catagory 5 and they are predicting that he will hit the Baja and cross the Sea of Cortes and then hit the mainland just south of us.  This won't be til about Thursday so things can change a lot before then.  We are not panicking but are keeping a close eye on it.  I hope that Nancy and Paul in Mazatlan don't have too many problems with the storm, as on its present track it could create some havoc there also and in many other places. 

It's Raining, It's Pouring

Here we go again, what is with the weather this year?  There is another Tropical Storm out there, this one is named Patricia.  It started raining about 8 AM this morning and is just pouring down. The usual river is again running down the street.  It is so gray out that you can't hardly see the mountains.  Unreal.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all in Canada.  Have a great day.

The Tianguis (outdoor market)

Several days a week there are tianguis' held in different areas of the city.  The one close to centro is on Wednesdays.  We haven't been going over the summer as it is so hot to walk around; but it was cooler yesterday and we wanted to look for a couple of things so we decided to go.  I have never taken any pictures at the tianguis so I took the camera yesterday.  I didn't get any shots that were exciting and in fact it seemed like there was only about half of the usual venders there.  Not sure if that is because of the season or because some of them are out of business because of the storm Jimena.  There were lots of people around; but other than the vegetable/meat areas there didn't seem to be many buying.
I got some veggies and a couple of other things; but there was nothing too exciting there.  The plant lady did have some nice looking plants; but I don't think I will get anymore.  The landlady gave me a couple of plants that I am trying to get started so all my pots are full for now.

Getting Scrubbed

We've been gradually working towards getting our upholstered chairs cleaned.  They were very dirty/dusty.  Our street is dirt/gravel and you could dust the furniture daily, if you were so inclined-- me, not so much.  Anyway on one of our trips to immigration when we were working on getting our documents ready for renewing our FM3's we walked past a cleaning place called Chem Dry, so we went in and asked them for an estimate.  The receptionist made sure that we understood that it was just an estimate and that when the guys saw the furniture the price could change depending on size, etc..  It wasn't a bad price, pretty reasonable actually; but we decided to wait until mañana lol.  In a conversation with our landlady I happened to mention that I was thinking of either buying the spray cans of foam and cleaning them myself or hiring these guys.  She said that she knew of a guy that did good work.  He is a friend of Nancys dad apparently.  Sometimes it is who you know lol.
Anyway Tropical Storm Jimena intervened and we did nothing.  One day the landlady asked if I still wanted the guy and I said yes, I guess she had forgotten about it and we were in no rush so I hadn't mentioned it either.
On Monday night the landlady came up with this guy and he looked at what we wanted cleaned and gave us a price.  We agreed and he asked what time Tuesday would be good for us.  I explained that I had a class in the afternoon so he said he could come at either 9 or 10 AM and we agreed on 10 AM.
Yesterday morning he showed up at about 5 minutes to 10.  We took everything outside onto the patio and he went to work.
When we were at Chem Dry we noticed that they had the power shampooers and were working on some mattresses out in their yard, well we didn't expect the same type of equipment from this fellow and our expectations were met.  He arrived with a vacuum cleaner, a bucket, a brush and a backpack full of his cleaners and went to work.
It took him about 3 hrs. or so to do the work and he worked steadily, only taking about a 5 minute coca cola/cigarette break with Roy.
His boss came by a couple of times to check on him to see if he was ready to go yet and on his last pass he came upstairs wanting to know what was taking him so long as they had another job they needed to get to.  The worker explained that the recliners were big and Roy had taken the backs off of them so that he could get right down inside to clean so there was lots of area to do.  The boss watched for a bit and then started to help him out and they quickly finished.
We paid the bill of 720 pesos, about $56.00 CAD at yesterdays exchange rate, tipped him, (factoring in the pack of cigarettes that Roy had given him) and they went on their way.  I got their phone number/name for next year.  A good job well done.  He and Roy were having some interesting chats together throughout the morning.  The worker didn't speak English and Roy doesn't speak much Spanish; but they were yakking away out there and was funny to listen to from the sidelines.  I, naturally stayed inside so as not to impede the work progress, lol.













I headed uptown in the afternoon to go to the bank and do some shopping before Spanish class.  I was looking for a necklace to match a certain outfit and haven't been able to find what I liked.  I tried a few places and the staff helped out without finding anything.  Did what I needed to do and headed to Woolworths to use the bathroom before class.  Here to use a bathroom you usually have to pay about 3 pesos; but then you get a fairly clean washroom with toilet paper, etc..  Well yesterday the ladies were collecting 5 pesos and I went hmmm; but then they gave me a discount slip for 5 pesos to use when I went through the till.  Too funny.  So if you actually buy something there your trip to the washroom is free.  The bathroom there is really supposed to be for customer use; but it is one of the few that I have found in Centro to be fairly clean and tidy so I don't mind paying for it.  I passed a fellow, his mom and his little boy in the aisle on my way out.  The little boy maybe 3 or 4 yrs. old was having fun trying on Hallowe'en masks.  His dad pretended to be scared of him and then he took the mask off.  He noticed me coming down the aisle and put it back on, so I pretended to be scared and got a good laugh from him.  Later I noticed them heading towards the check outs so I gave them my bathroom discount ticket to use.  Too funny.
After a good Spanish class I went necklace hunting again and did find what I was looking for.  I then went looking for a torta place as I had promised to bring back tortas for supper, all the places were closed at that time of day (too early for Mexican dinner) so I got on the bus and headed home.  At one of the stops a little boy and his brothers and mom got on the bus.  He and I both recognized each other, as he is one of the students at Hogar Paz y Bien where we go in the winter to teach the children some English.  He smiled and giggled when he saw me and then as they sat behind me he was telling his mom who I was.  I turned around and asked him if he was using his English words, he assured me that he was, yah right, anyway I said to him, maybe a little and he laughed and agreed.  I told him we would probably be back in November as the other ladies don't live here they live in the USA and Canada.  I told him that I was the only one that lives here and his mom laughed.  When I turned back around I could hear his mom telling him what to say to me so he then called me and said that he hoped to see me in November, so I told him the same thing.  He kept chattering to his mom about the classes and when I got off we said our goodbyes.  A nice encounter and good to see that he didn't frown when he saw me anyway.

Fall Color

I guess you can say it is fall, at least that is what the calendar says; although you wouldn't really notice it yet here.  The humidity is still here along with the heat.  I am hoping the humidity will disappear magically in a week or so, it seems to me that it left about the 12 th of October last year.  So I am hoping.  Once that leaves you don't notice the heat and fall has arrived in my mind.  The temperatures also do start cooling down a bit.  With all the rain lately the mountains are looking very green and lovely.
I cleaned off the patio Sunday afternoon while it was cooler, ( 29 C., 84% humidity, felt like 35 C.), it is all relative I guess, as before the "feels like" temperature would hover around 43 C. with the humidity.  I moved around some of the plants and took a few photos.
  It must be almost 3 yrs. ago that we bought this little bougainvillea plant/bush.  It has almost died several times and has basically done nothing up until this summer.  All of a sudden it began to grow and is actually looking alive, healthy and bush like.  It is beginning to bloom and is pretty.

The Desert Rose just keeps blooming and blooming, never seems to quit and also keeps growing.  At one point this summer it lost a major amount of leaves for some reason; but has recuperated and is doing well now.














The Jasmin blooms off and on and smells heavenly.