Thursday, November 23, 2006

Thanksgiving Day, 2006

Ah, winter is here! The humidity disappeared overnight a few days ago, and the days are lovely and sunny; the nights are a bit cool (65-70F). We started a new Thanksgiving tradition and made tamales today. Jerry and I sat down at the kitchen table with home-made Chile Colorado sauce laced with moist and succulent chicken, spread the home-made masa on the corn shucks and tied them up into neat little bundles. Steamed them for two hours and they were delicious. A wonderful and new type of Thanksgiving feast for our new life together in Mexico.

Yesterday, we were honored by a brief visit from some good friends from Portland, who were on a cruise ship that made a stop in Puerto Vallarta. It was so wonderful to see Lesley and Candy. They were full of questions about our life in Mexico, and in telling them about our experiences so far, I realized how contented I am to live here. I am particularly happy to be living in this small Mexican town of Bucerias.

After they returned to Vallarta, we went for a walk on the beach and watched the sunset. Then, we stopped by The Coffee Cup, a small coffee shop that we visit often. The manager greeted us cheerfully , as did her children who often keep her company while she works. People walked by with a friendly "Buenas tardes" as we sipped our lattes in the cooling evening air. I began to understand and appreciate that we are beginning to feel at home in this small community, where the clerks at the ferreteria (no, this is not a place where you buy ferrets, it is a hardware store) greet Jerry enthusiastically by name whenever he comes in, where our next door neighbors call "Buenos dias, Jerry and Karen" when they spot us on the roof having our morning coffee. We miss our friends and family back in Oregon, to be sure, but we have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, and we are happy to be in Bucerias, Mexico.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

New pictures - but not here

Well, I am having no luck at all loading pictures on the blogspot - they have a new beta product, and it isn't working very well. After reading the "blog about the blog" I realize that others are having the same problem, so maybe they will fix it. In the meantime, I've loaded some pictures at the address below...should be easy to reach...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/casabucerias/

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

BEFORE AND AFTER




Hola amigos! Here are "before and after" pictures of our little casa from the outside. Quite a difference! Note the wall and gate, driveway with improved elevations so the rain does not run into the yard, glorious new color, and the palm trees have been trimmed a bit. There is still lots of landscaping to be done along the wall, where we had flower beds built. That was before we realized that we would be visited by a small herd of Brahma cattle every few days - they are pastured down the road, but regularly roam to greener pastures. We'll have to find something to plant that cows won't eat and is also somewhat trample-proof. On the roof, you can see our little "gazebo" where we sit and have our morning coffee and watch the sun come up. (Being so close to the equator, we have about 11-12 hours of daylight regardless of the season. Right now, the sun comes up about 7:15 am and sets about 6:30 pm. In the summer, we have slightly more daylight.) With my next post, I'll add some interior shots...we are both well and happy, and SO glad to have internet access again.





Monday, November 13, 2006

BLONDIE and DAGWOOD and INTERNET!


After my post from the internet cafe this morning, I returned home and guess what? The switch in Guadalajara had been turned on and we had access at last!

Here's a picture of our puppies, Blondie and Dagwood. We adopted them from our next door neighbors, a Mexican family, and they are quite a challenge, but bring lots of joy and laughter into our lives.

I'll get to work putting together some new pictures of the house and post again ASAP. Thanks to so many of you who have been asking about our blog and wondering why we haven't posted in awhile. Hasta luego!

Internet access getting closer!

We finally gave up on the cable company and applied for a phone line, we were promised that it would be installed within seven days. Three and a half weeks later (last Wednesday), it was actually installed! Now, we are waiting for the DSL to be turned on by some mysterious and unreachable process in Guadalajara...we are almost there!

Much has happened since I posted last - the staircase is now built, we have had a wonderful visit from daughter Justine and we have a acquired two puppies, Blondie and Dagwood. Hopefully, I will soon be able to post many pictures of our remodeled casa and our menagerie as well.

Until then - hasta luego y buena suerte!