What I miss about Mexico living in Mexico.

Kino has come a long way, greeting street dogs without fear or angst

morning walk

my companions

I

I look forward to chatting with Alvaro every day

Roof chicken will be on the chopping block by noon, the chihuahua told me so.

home again

back in guard dog position and attitude

When we didn't live here and only visited, I would almost be overcome with the beauty and novelty of it all. I ached when we had to leave, missing the simplest things. Ev made fun of me (secretly I know he liked it) for always exclaiming that everything in Mexico is more "-er": the limes are juicier, the people are kinder, the smells are smellier, the carrots are carrotier, the music is sweeter, the water is wetter.

Today I was reflecting on being just past the one year mark. I still notice and appreciate the glorious weather, neon bougainvillea, the tenderly cared for descansos, overburdened pickup trucks leaning careening down the highway, sides of beef piled on sidewalks, 10 styles of mango, being stopped by curious cops just to chat, trotting out to the yard to pick a lime, the kindnesses and encouragement of complete strangers.

What I notice is that I'm not clutching my hands in the market, not screetching for Ev to stop the car so I can take a picture of the giant pile of fresh picked garbanzo on the side of the road, not worrying that I won't be able to remember the exact color of blue of the door I saw, savoring a pineapple because I'm sure I'll never taste one as good again.  It seems I've relaxed a little. I can take it all in almost casually because it will still be here tomorrow.  I miss the heady rush of novelty, and the heart fluttering moments.  What I have are the slightly gleeful looks Ev and I exchange when one or the other says quietly, "wow, this is our life now" or "Want guac with that? Hang on, be right back."

November

Evboy has been here for a little vacation.  The days have been lovely and easy.  A little hiking, biking, sunset watching, doctor visiting, patio sitting, international waterski championship enjoying, cable stringing, dog loving, eating and drinking. A perfect 10 days.

A short post about our Sunday food shopping

We had to run in to "town" (Chapala) on an errand this morning so we stopped for eggs benedict, bacon and cappuccino at a French restaurant next door to the open air market.  Evboy is coming down, Evdad wanted to stock up on good food before he gets here so we don't have to waste precious time doing the mundane.  Breakfast with a generous tip was 300 pesos=18 dollars.

I stopped for a big bag of vegetables to make salsa and snagged a pineapple, too.  85 pesos=5 dollars

We bought a kilo (roughly 2 pounds) of bacon, and a half kilo of homemade sausage. 127 pesos=7.61 dollars

We moseyed around the corner to our favorite beef butcher to buy a couple of steaks and ended up with the entire filet.  After Ev cut off 8 steaks, we bundled up the rest into a packet to make carne guisada or a stir fry. 333 pesos=19.96 dollars

I bought 18 gladiola stems and she wrapped them in the white nubes for me. 110 pesos-5.70 dollars

Ev is sitting right next to me-he, of course, can remember the prices.  He said for you to stand by-tomorrow he'll take a picture of his (40 peso-2.40 dollar) 5 carnita taco plate  that he usually finishes off with a 20 peso hamburguesa. He says, "now THAT's a deal"

This is our life.

Meanwhile, back at the Ponderosa.

Click on the pictures. For some reason, they're being cropped.  Our little village of Ixtlahuacan isn't a tourist attraction, though it is regionally known to throw good parties.  I learned this from a taxi driver (where all reliable information is generated).  We have a panteon, or cemetery, across the highway.  My friend Karen and I went to check it out the week before Dia de los Muertos to see it as families were preparing for the celebration.  It was a beautiful cool and clear day.  Not much was happening, but there were a few graves being tended lovingly and the maintenance men were cleaning up the grounds. The graves are so wonderful, everybody does what they can afford.

 This one might be my favorite.

 Having a little sink hole problema.

 The papel picado this family is hanging on their child's grave is much like Buddhist prayer flags.

When we got home from Patzcuaro we heard that Ixtla's DdlM party had been cancelled due to rain. Ixtla doesn't have a newspaper, we've always wondered if the whacky church bells were sending out morse code because everyone seems to know what the heck is going on except for us.  Turns out, all important village announcements are made by a guy driving around with a speaker on his hood.   We stumbled on the rescheduled celebration by accident.There was a Catrina contest, a desfile of allegorical cars and a beautiful exhibit of altars.This young lady's mother was pushing for a win.  The young lady wasn't having it.

I asked this young lady if I could take her picture and it turned out to be a dude. He made his costume out of loteria fabric and Barbie dolls.

 Her costume was made out of chip bags.

 I'd be so freaking crabby if I was dressed like this for hours.  She was loving the attention.

In Mexico, safety always comes first.  The men were cutting down a big sign wired to poles.  The driver backed the truck up with the basked loaded and extended. No one flinched.

The altars.  They must include certain elements, I intend to know more by next year. I noticed salt, mirrors and booze in each one. You can read that one gal is noted for having the first answering machine in Ixtla. Yeah!

The murmurings are back. They disappeared over the summer.

Finally, we walked home in the dusk.  The streets are always filled with kids: roping, pitching pennies, throwing rocks at each other, playing marbles, tormenting the dogs.  Just bein' kids.