Some good things that are happening in our community...

The picture at the top is Casa Hogar (literally, "a house that is a home"), the orphanage/children's shelter that is being built here in Bucerias, entirely with donations. Please take a few minutes to look at http://www.manosdeamor.com/and read the story of this phenomenal effort, which is being led by local resident Valiene Heckart. From now until the end of the year, a generous local architect has offered to MATCH each donation. AND, the organization has US 501(c)(3) status, so your donations are US tax deductible. I know that money is scarce and times are uncertain, but please consider a donation to this wonderful organization. You can even donate using PayPal from the Manos de Amor (hands of love) website.

The bottom picture is a wondrous treehouse that is being built at the public swimming pool for the children to play in...it will be a magical thing when it is finished, and I'll keep you posted with photos of both projects as they progress.

Now, for the good news/bad news item: the good news is that the rainy season is almost over. The bad news is that the rainy season is almost over. We love the storms and the cooling rains, for this is the most uncomfortable time of year for heat and humidity. But when the rains go at long last, so does the humidity, and gradually, the heat. We enter six months of ideal weather: cool nights (50F-55F) and warm days (75F-85F). We bid goodbye to the rains reluctantly, and we will certainly welcome them when they return next June.

The US presidential election is the main topic of conversation everywhere we go. Because we now have a SKY TV satellite dish, we are able to watch the US news and the debates (But NO annoying commercials or political messages). Everyone we know from the US is casting an absentee ballot (ours were emailed to us and we will mail them to Oregon on Monday). We are members of Democrats Abroad, a worldwide organization that has produced this wonderful video, showing support for Barack Obama from expat Democrats all over the globe. This will make your day, I promise. It may even bring a tear to your eye if you are like me and cry at Hallmark commercials... http://blip.tv/file/1338283

That's it for now - mas tardes.

The right place at the right time

It is not unusual to encounter moments of breathtaking beauty here, and we were lucky to come across one this afternoon. This baby iguana posed just inside our front gate atop a blooming bird of paradise...what a wonder he is, with his long, delicate fingers and long, subtly-ringed tail. With luck, he'll grow up to be a 4-5 foot long adult, like the ones we enjoy watching in our big mimosa tree, and who herald both the sunset and the dawn with their whistling...

Puff Earns Her Wings.....

When we came to Mexico, we brought our two cats, Puff and Polo. They endured 12 hours in their carriers, and when they were finally released, they found a whole new world. They loved their new world, especially Puff. She developed an uncanny facility for tracking down and catching the enormous cockroaches that lived around the condo we rented in Vallarta. And when we moved to Bucerias, her hunting prowess extended to little field mice and lizards. She had a wonderful life, enjoying the warmth of Mexico.

Puff's Mexican adventure has come to an end. She was (we think) about 15 years old, and for the past few months, her age had begun to show. She was having trouble eating, and Dr. Wenceslao carefully cleaned her teeth and removed the few that were abscessed. He discovered a small bony growth on her jaw that he suspected was a tumor, and it grew rapidly. Finally, she could barely open her mouth, and I had to feed her by hand. It was time to say goodbye.

Her passage was gentle, thanks to Wenceslao. When it was done, we asked him "how much?" and he shook his head, tears in his eyes. "No charge for Puff."

The picture above is a tribute to brave Puff, as a merkitty, watching over her brothers and ready to rescue Polo from the giant squid.

Driving in Mexico...confusion, but no road rage

When we first arrived in Mexico, I didn't drive much. Jerry is an adventuresome driver and I like to tease him that he was "born to be a Mexican driver." Mexicans, who are sometimes painfully polite and courteous, apparently lose those qualities when they sit behind the wheel of a car. Driving here is an adventure, and despite the fact that I am a confident driver who has had a license since age 16, I was reluctant to take it on. After we moved to Bucerias, it occurred to me how foolish it was to depend on Jerry to go everywhere with me, and so I gradually began to venture out on my own. Now, I am a pretty confident Mexican driver, and I even have a ticket to prove it (running a red light - yes, I did it. The fine was $110 pesos, or a little over $10 USD.). Last week, The Vallarta Tribune, a local English language weekly paper, published the following tips for driving in Mexico. I know this smacks of stereotypes and generalizations, BUT they are ALL TRUE. Really.

• Turn signals will give away your next move. A real Mexican driver never uses them.
• Under no circumstances should you leave a safe distance between you and the car in front of you, or the space will be filled in by someone else putting you in an even more dangerous situation.
• Crossing two or more lanes in a single lane change is considered going with the flow.
• The faster you drive through a red light, the smaller the chance you have of getting hit.
• Never, ever come to a complete stop at a stop sign. No one expects it and it will inevitably result in your being rear-ended.
• A right lane closure is just a game to see how many people can cut in line while passing you on the right as you sit in the left lane waiting for the same jerks to squeeze their way back in before hitting the orange construction barrels.
• Speed limits are arbitrary figures, given only as suggestions.
• Remember that goal of every Mexican driver is to get there first, by whatever means necessary.
• It is traditional to honk your horn at cars that don't move the instant the light changes.
• Just because you're in the left lane and have no room to speed up or move over doesn't mean that the driver behind you won't flash his high beams, thinking you can go faster.

Now here is the amazing part. Despite the fact that drivers cut in front of each other constantly, run stop signs and red lights and often park in the middle of the street, they never get visibly angry. They don't exchange rude hand signs. They don't yell at each other. There is NO road rage.

A few months ago, our friend Salvador came to visit us, parking his car in the middle of our street, even though there was plenty of room for him to pull over to the side. We were sitting on the patio having coffee when we heard someone calling from the front of the house, "Buenos dias. Buenos dias!" We went around to the front. There was a pickup behind Salvador who could not get by. Did he honk? No. Did he yell? No. Did he ram Salvador's car? No. He politely called "Buenos dias" until Salvador moved his car. Then he waved happily and went on his way.

What a place. Reason number 416 "why we love Mexico."

Meeting with El Gobernador!

Governor of the state of Nayarit, Ney Gonzalez

This morning, the officers of the Amigos de Bucerias had the pleasure of meeting with the governor of our state, Ney Gonzalez . Following a general meeting of our group a few months ago (in which many questions were asked regarding future development in our area), we requested a meeting with the governor. A few days ago, the American Consular Officer for Vallarta, Kelly Trainor, called and said we were "on" for this morning.

Meeting with Governor Gonzalez was pretty much like meeting with Governor Kulongoski in Oregon (or any other governor, for that matter, I'm sure). Except, of course, Governor Kulongoski speaks Ingles, would likely not have invited us to his family's vacation home in Nuevo Vallarta (three miles from us), and would not have given us almost two hours of his time.

I was very impressed with the level of knowledge Gov. Gonzalez has regarding the details of the plans being made for our state, and especially the coastal area that runs from the state border north to Rincon de Guayabitos (including Bucerias) - an area that has recently been christened Riviera Nayarit. An impressive amount of state and federal money has been pledged for development of this area.

Our immediate area has been targeted for a number of new health care facilities, including a new 30-bed hospital, outpatient clinics for mental health, alcohol and drug addiction and HIV. Outreach and prevention programs are also planned, along with a cardiac and diabetes center.

Most reassuring to us, was that Bucerias is slated to remain a puebla tipica, or typical small Mexican village. Plans do include an expansion of our town plaza and construction of a malecon, or boardwalk, along the ocean front downtown.

Ney Gonzalez is a charming, well-educated and amiable man, with a good sense of humor. It was a privilege to meet with him, and a bit reminiscent of my working days.

Lichees, lizards and lovely visitors...

Top picture: a pile of lichees harvested from the huge tree in the middle of our patio; Center picture: a lovely Brown Anole Lizard showing off his dewlap; Bottom picture: Kim, Amelia, Josie and Jeff at The River Cafe in Puerto Vallarta

We've had a wonderful week, with glorious summer weather. For the last eight days, we were especially excited to have VISITORS FROM CHINA! Son Jeff, his wife Kim and their two daughters Amelia and Josie got on the plane this morning, heading for the US for a few weeks before they return to China, where Jeff and Kim teach in an international school in Wuhan, Hubei Province. They enjoyed being tourists: scuba diving, boogie-boarding, going to the Splash Park, swimming at the beach, shopping and eating great Mexican food. It was so hard to say goodbye...

So many wonderful fruits are coming into season right now - we are inundated with fresh mangoes...so many friends bringing us large bags of sweet, sun-ripened mangoes. Fortunately, we can reciprocate with bags of lichees, a walnut-sized fruit that is not native to Mexico, but actually was introduced from China. It is a huge favorite of Mexican people, who love their spicy sweetness. They are also pretty expensive - about $10 ($100 pesos) for a kilo bag. So we have become pretty popular in our neighborhood, as Jerry goes from house to house with gifts of lichees.

That pretty little lizard is called a Brown Anole, and they scamper all over our patio, jumping from tree limb to tree limb and post to post - they can jump about 2-3 feet. They love to show off their bright orange dewlap. To us, they are a metaphor for beautiful and mysterious Mexico - they look very modest and ordinary, blending quietly into the background until they throw back their heads and surprise us with such an extraordinary display of beauty.

Mexico's Glorious Disorder............

This picture was taken on October 13, 2007 at the foot of the arroyo on the beach at Bucerias. That was our last big rain, and 13 cars washed down the arroyo!

For your reading pleasure, a column written by a Canadian about Mexico that really captures some of the reasons why we love it here so much:

Mexico's Glorious Disorder puts Nanny state to shame.

Having just returned from a week in Mexico, and therefore being an expert, this is what I have to report:it is just like Canada...30 years ago.

• People smoke in restaurants.They ride in the back of pick up trucks.There do not appear to be seat-belt laws(or,frequently,seat-belts).Half the pasty white population of Canada frolick in the water with nary a lifeguard in sight.
• A vacationing builder from the United States stood poolside and gazed dumbfounded at the construction workers clambering,untethered,high atop the concrete skeleton of the condo complex being erected next door."seventy-two feet up and not one of them is wearing a safety lanyard,"observed the American, his voice a mixture of admiration and horror.
• It was, in short,gloriously unregulated-just like canada used to be back when kids could take peanut butter sandwiches to school and skate without helmets.
• In Mexico,smiling street vendors served up food that had basked in the sun longer than an Albertan after a six-margarita breakfast.

• The waterfront walkway had no railing,not even a yellow line painted along the edge to prevent inattentative strollers from tumbling,lemminglike,to the jagged rocks far below.Parasailing tourists soured high in the sky before plunging straight into beaches packed with first-time jet skiers-and not one of them had to sign a liability waiver before doing so.
• On new years eve,the fireworks burst directly overhead and fell at the feet of delighted celebrants.The floor of the bus that carried us downtown was fissured with thousands of cracks,just one pothole away from exploding into a cloud of rust-colored dust.

• The municipal planner appeared to have been drunk.All the properties in town had seemingly been tossed into a giant paper bag,given a good shake and dumped on the ground in a dizzyingly haphazard manner.A gated mansion sat by a Quonset hut crammed with truck tires,which was beside a franchised chicken joint,which was next to a corn field,followed by a car lot,a hospital,and a farmhouse.

To repeat: the disorder there was glorious.

• In Canada we have allowed ourselves to be regulated,sheltered and shepherded to the point that our national costume should be the fluorescent-orange safety vest.We have banned lawn darts,mandated bicycle helmets and robbed our playgrounds of any apparatus that spins until you trap a limb/throw up/or have fun.

Few of the rules in which we wrap ourselves are objectionable when viewed in isolation(smoking in restaurants?yeuck!bleh!ptooey!) but the cumulative effect of all these directives is a nanny state that smothers us until we are incapable of moving,of making our own decisions. The result is a society with a false sense of security.It absolves us of any personal responsibility.Coffee too hot?Sue McDonald's. Slip on the sidewalk?The city should have cleared the ice. Fall off the cliff?There should have been a warning sign.

So Viva Mexico! Down with over-regulation and those who would inflict it upon us!

written in 2007 by Jack Knox, Times Columnist

Saving a Pelican

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Top picture: poor pelican trapped against the fence under the vegetation
Center: Jerry rides in the back of the truck to transport the pelican back to the beach
Bottom: The pelican is back in his element, on his way out to sea

Last Sunday was a typical lazy day - Jerry took the dogs for a walk in the late afternoon, and Blondie and Bob seemed very interested in the field down the street from our house. They spotted a stranded amigo - a poor young pelican who had apparently become trapped in the field. He must have landed there and in trying to get out, got tangled in the vines and vegetation. Poor thing. He wasn't going anywhere, and he was very weak and dehydrated.

Our neighbor Pepe helped Jerry get him out of the field - Jerry handed him over the fence to Pepe - and we prepared to drive him down to the beach. Jerry sat in the back of the truck, holding the pelican's large bill very tightly shut. Only a six-block drive.

When we released him on the beach, we attracted alot of attention and lots of offers to help from Mexican families who were enjoying their Sunday afternoon at the beach. But the young pelican did fine on his own, letting the surf carry him out to sea - and home again.

Some images from our daily life in Bucerias..

(1) The fruteria where we like to shop for fresh fruits and vegetables; (2) One of my favorite places, The Gringo Bookstore, run by our friends JoAnne and Patricia; (3) I am learning to cook authentic Mexican food - this is pollo con salsa roja y chorizo; (4) The reason why we sold our washer and dryer. This is where we take our laundry; and (5) our favorite little restaurant, Tacos Itzel - yummy and CHEAP!!

Our daily lives here in Bucerias are filled with color, flavor and serenity. Here are a few images that help to convey what it is like to live here. At the fruteria, I can buy 3-4 large bags of fresh fruits and vegetables for less than $100 pesos (about ten dollars). I love to buy fresh papayas, mangoes, chayote, potatoes, brocolli, chiles, peppers, pineapple, limes, oranges, bananas, onions, garlic, tomatoes, tomates verde, cilantro, zucchini and more. All fresh, all naturally ripened. So good.

The Gringo Bookstore is about the only place in town to buy English language books, so it is a favorite place as well. Among our friends, we do a pretty good job of exchanging books, however, and I am never at a loss for something to read.

I am having a great time learning to cook authentic Mexican food - the sauce for this dish is made of dried chiles (guajillo and ancho), garlic, tomatoes, onions and chicken broth. This chicken is so good it just falls off the bone into a warm, fresh tortilla. I've been posting some of my recipes on Ehow.com under "MexicoKaren" if you want to take a look.

The lavanderia is owned by our neighbors Karl and Rosa. Karl is from Houston and is married to Rosa, whose family is from Bucerias. They run a great business - 12 pesos a kilo for our laundry all clean and folded, just like it has been ironed! We sold our washer and dryer before we ever hooked it up....one of life's greatest annoyances has been taken care of.

Tacos Itzel is just up the street from us and is owned by a family who started serving wonderful tacos in their yard. Chickens, dogs and children (with or without diapers) run around underfoot. I know it looks a little rustic, but you will never find fresher, better tasting food. Tacos, enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas, even empanadas made with fresh shrimp. A typical meal here of chicken enchiladas (huge chunks of chicken in a monstrous homemade tortilla, fresh salad) and a large glass of agua fresca (fresh fruit drink, made with pineapple, mango, rice, other good things) for BOTH of us is less than $5.00!!! It is crowded every night, with Mexicans and gringos alike.


These are just a few of the things that make our lives sweet every day. Come and visit, and we'll take you to dinner - our treat!!

A Dog Named Bob

Top picture: Bob in closeup
Bottom picture: Bob enjoying daughter Justine's company

Every now and then, something really nice happens - in our lives, it actually happens pretty often, and we are grateful for that. While I was visiting daughter Justine in Portland, a little dog showed up at our front gate here in Mexico. It camped outside for a few days, and Jerry has a tender heart, so he began to feed him. The dog had a splendid long tail, which dragged rather strangely on the ground.

When I returned home, accompanied by Justine, the dog was very happy to meet us. But on the second day, something peculiar happened: his tail fell off. We could not find it; it was just gone. What was left did not look healthy, so Jerry took him to our veterinario marvilloso, Wenceslao.

Apparently, he had been hit by a car. Wenceslao removed what was left of his tail because it was gangrenous, fortified him with antibiotics and sent him back home with Jerry the next day. A name became necessary: "Bob" seemed to fit him just right, given the condition of his tail (or non-tail).

Bob has turned out to be a good-natured and affectionate little dog, who gets along well with Blondie and Dagwood. He'll be staying with us for awhile...long enough for his tail to heal and to be neutered. Then, we will try to find him a permanent, loving home. In the meantime, a dog named Bob is apparently just what we needed. Who knew?

A New Kind of Christmas

From the top: Nativity scene in the plaza at Valle de Banderas; handmade pinatas on a side street in Valle de Banderas; Dan and Jim cradling our new pinata for the ride home; our Christmas pinata; papel picado for Our Lady of Guadalupe hanging on our patio

We have had a busy and joyful month: in mid-November, our wonderful friend Jim came to spend two weeks with us. He was the best kind of guest, who helped me to see our new home through his delighted eyes. Two days after he left, our friends Susie and Dan arrived, along with new friends Shari and Jim. It was great fun showing them around our beautiful Bahia de Banderas: the pictures above were taken the day we went to Valle de Banderas, the small town that is the seat of our municipality. As we were leaving town, we drove down a small side street, and in front of a very modest home hung an array of colorful Christmas pinatas - all painstakingly crafted by the family that lives there. Susie bought us a beautiful big Christmas pinata for our home - too big to put in the cab of the truck...no problem, Jim and Dan were riding in the back, Mexican-style, on lawn chairs and held it carefully all the way home.

Just before they returned back to Portland and Tacoma, daughter Justine arrived to spend almost two weeks. We spent lots of time enjoying her visit with our friends - going to dinner at the little restaurant we call "Tacos under the Trees", shopping at the new Liverpool shopping mall in Vallarta and simply resting on our back patio. I tearfully put her on the plane this afternoon, and now we have time to reflect on the many happy memories of the past month, as well as prepare for our Christmas celebration.

On Sunday, we were invited to attend a Christmas "posada" at our neighbor David Velasco's viviero (nursery). Friends Harold and Sue and Joan and Dennis came with us - we were the only "gringos" in attendance. There were about 200 people there, all sitting at tables nestled under the towering palms and beautiful flowers. Bunuelos were served (fried flour tortillas with a honey syrup) and delicious tamales. As I sat there in the warm afternoon sun, watching the children taking turns at hitting the colorful Christmas pinatas, I heard "O Come All Ye Faithful" sung in Spanish by young and tender voices. I realized that we are beginning to find a new Christmas.

It's not the one we have cherished in the past: the fun and frenzy of shopping amidst the sounds of Christmas Carols, decorating a fresh and fragrant Douglas fir, lighting candles throughout the house to chase away the winter gloom. This one is full of sun and light and warmth and more simple pleasures. We'll be spending Christmas Eve and Christmas with our friends Joan and Dennis, Harold and Sue, Bonnie and Brian. We will all miss our friends and family who are not here with us, and we may reminisce about Christmases past. But we will surely remind each other that we are all so fortunate to be spending our Christmases in this friendly, sunny country that is our new home. Feliz Navidad to all.

Tenemos dos chivas bonitas (we have two beautiful goats)

Top picture: Noelle and Virginia
Bottom picture: our Thanksgiving feast, served on the patio. The picture above shows my sweetheart Jerry, Linda, Jim, Sue and Harold. On the lower left corner - a plate of homemade pork, corn and cheese tamales.

As we mark our second Thanksgiving in Mexico, we have some sadness and some happiness - one of the goats has been sold. The vivero manager Pepe came to our house early one morning about a week ago and said that the owner has ordered him to get rid of the goats...they are starting to eat the palm trees. So Pepe talked to Jerry and offered to give us one (of our choice). Jerry chose Virginia. Then, he said that we could also buy Noelle ($500 pesos, or $50). But June (the biggest one - and the one we named after Jerry's mom) had already been sold. So someone came and got her. It was very hard to watch her being captured and taken away, and the little ones cried and cried.

Jerry made a trip to the ferreteria for fencing and to the feed store for hay - we are now sharing our yard with Virginia and Noelle. Not exactly what we had planned for that space, but we are happy to have them, and they seem to be figuring out that they have landed in a good place.

Our Thanksgiving celebration this year included some special treats - our good friend Jim Grant joined us from Portland, and our friends Linda, Sue and Harold also shared tamales with us. Jim, Jerry and I put them together the night before and had a great time. They did not look perfect, but they tasted heavenly.

It goes without saying that we have much to be thankful for this year, as always. Our friends and family in Portland remain in our thoughts and we miss you all. But.... you CAN come and visit. Ask Jim - doesn't he look like he is having a good time? Book that flight!

Adios to sweet May....

In the midst of much happiness and accomplishment, some sadness occurs. That is the full flavor of life, and we must taste it all. One of the goats who live next door to us has died.

If you read this blog, you already know that Jerry and I have a deep affection for the goats that share our world. They live in the vivero next to our house, and since their owner is absent most of the time, we care for them, i.e., feed them, make sure they have water, have conversations with them, take pictures of them, etc.

A few days ago, the pretty little goat we call "May" became ill. Over the period of just a few hours, she simply lay down and died. Her owner, Raul, did try to give her some medicine, but his attempt to make her better failed.

Her amigas miss her terribly. Poor June, the other grown goat, just stands and stares at the place where she died. She is not even interested in a tortilla snack. Her kid, Noelle, cried all night the first night. Virginia, the other kid, has been very kind and nurturing to Noelle, and she seems to be doing better.

Although Jerry's family kept goats when he was a child, I have never had any exposure to these sweet animals. They have such gentle spirits - who knew?

May was the most gregarious of the group - always the first to come over to be petted, always nudging her way to the front of the group when snacks were offered. We will all miss May.

LIFE KEEPS GETTING BETTER, OR.......

all this and Chinese take-out, too?

The gorgeous yellow-flowered bush (we don't know what it is called) pictured above is actually a pretty good metaphor for our experiences and attitudes toward our adopted country. About eight months ago, we admired a beautiful bush with abundant yellow flowers that was growing in a vacant lot a few blocks away from us. "Could we take a cutting?" we wondered. We finally decided that it would probably be OK, but when Jerry went down the street to get a cutting, the bush was gone. Not only had it been chopped down, the whole lot had been burned to clear all the vegetation. A tiny little blackened stump remained. Jerry dug it up and brought it home.

He planted it in our front yard and then we forgot about it. A month or so later, we were wondering what the new foliage in the front yard was - oh, could it be that poor dead bush? It grew and grew. It got REALLY tall and started crowding out the other plants, especially the bamboo. The bamboo fought back and also got bigger. But the bush still had no flowers. Then, a few days ago, they all seemed to appear at once.

Mexico is an amazing and magical place. Things are not always what they appear to be...there are hidden treasures and surprises waiting for us in unexpected places.

A month or so ago, we were visiting with our friend Jorge, who is one of the first people we met when we moved to Bucerias. He owns a lovely gallery, Casabor, that is full of wonderful paintings, sculptures and art objects. We drop in often to see what he has added to his inventory, and we have bought some very nice pieces from him to adorn our own little casa. I mentioned to him that "I (uh) have some (hmmm) paintings I've (uh) done," and asked if he would (hmmm) mind taking a look at them and giving me some (umm) advice on whether I could sell them, and if so, how could I best (hmmm) accomplish that. He generously agreed.

Yesterday, we picked up 16 paintings from the frame shop, and Jerry suggested that we stop by and show them to Jorge. I was a little reluctant - I did not want to presume on our friendship. But I thought they looked pretty good matted and framed, so I was feeling brave. As Jorge helped us unload them, he began to exclaim "I love them!" As he looked through them, he was full of encouraging comments. He liked the colors, the style, the clean lines. He began walking around the shop, planning where he would hang them. The bottom line? He took them all to hang in his gallery - minus one I had already sold and the mer-kitties, which I want to keep.

I was stunned (still am!). This is a dream come true for me. So much better than my original plan - a show in conjunction with the Bucerias Art Walk (which has now been postponed until November). I have been painting (almost) obsessively for several months and I am overwhelmed that someone besides Jerry and me and our family and friends thinks they are good. I am almost ready to call myself a real artist.

NOW - the icing on the cake:

We are very grateful for a growing circle of friends. Last night, we went to a party at a friend's house that was attended by about 25 other expats. All of them interesting and friendly people - some we have known almost since we arrived, others who are new acquaintances. The occasion? An expat couple who have lived here 18 years has decided that the thing Bucerias needs most is (drumroll)....Chinese takeout! YES!

Richard is Chinese, and he and Denise used to own a Chinese restaurant. He is a wonderful chef, and he brought dish after dish for us to sample. It was all delicious: dumplings, egg rolls, shrimp rolls, Kung Pao chicken, cashew chicken, beef and broccoli, on and on and on. Oh gosh - and THEY DELIVER. Wow.

PS - Oh (in case you are wondering) Oscar and the vanished workers have not returned. It looks like they probably won't. Not ever. Oscar has given up and is taking a job in a car wash in Vallarta. So we have hired our friend Jeno, who is a masonry "maestro" to finish the stucco. He is doing a beautiful job. Then we will ask our friend Alfredo to finish the plumbing and electrical work. And Pancho, a very talented metal worker, has already been here to measure for the gates and windows. Bit by bit (poco a poco). That is the way things happen here. And that is fine with me.

What do I do all day?

Lately, I paint. The painting gets blurred sometimes because the sweat runs off my face into the paint, but I doggedly keep at it! This is a painting of our three cats as mer-kitties, done purely for fun.

The rest of my paintings will be part of a show the last Thursday of this month here in Bucerias, and I'll get a chance to see if anyone else likes them besides me and Jerry (and maybe even likes them enough to buy one!) Most of them are posted on our flickr site www.flickr.com/photos/casabucerias/

That's the good news. The bad news is that construction has come to an (almost) complete standstill on our upstairs addition. Two weeks ago, our workers were offered jobs at twice the pay, as well as mucha comida y mucha cervesa in Mascota, a town in the mountains about an hour's drive from here. That's the last we saw of them, and Oscar, the contractor, is still trying to hire a new crew. Hmmmm - we haven't actually seen or heard from Oscar in almost two weeks, so he may have joined his crew in Mascota. Doesn't answer his phone and his buzon (mailbox) is full - probably messages from lots of other customers wondering why the work they already paid for isn't done yet.

So, we continue to live and learn...we have our friend German helping us with the finishing stucco, and will continue to make a little progress daily. Jerry is learning how to be a Mexican plumber, and I can hear him chipping away cement upstairs to bury the sewer pipe for the toilet as I write this. The temp this afternoon is 90.5F with 90% humidity, and it is slow going!

We remain optimistic and happy despite the setbacks, and look forward to the day when we FINALLY have all the construction done on our little casa.

Arriba grows!

Work is progressing on our upstairs addition, but not always as fast as we want, of course. Everyone who builds or remodels a house in Mexico (Mexican or gringo) has similar experiences: only about half of the workforce shows up on Monday (San Lunes) and some days, the workers don't show up at all (algo paso, or "something happened", i.e. their truck broke down; there is illness in the family; a sister is getting married). The casual pace of life here is part of what attracted us to Mexico; it takes some getting used to, and you must park your sense of time urgency at the border.

When we moved in, we were getting our electricity from a spurious underground "extension cord" that ran from our neighbor around the corner, through the field next door and under the yard to our back door, where there was a breaker box with ONE 10 amp circuit. In two more days, it will have been a year since we moved in....and this week, we finally got our new electricity hooked up! Yes, it has taken that long. We had the house rewired for 220v electricity last year, but the new wiring required a new meter and new account with CFE (the federally-run power company). Getting the new account approved took weeks, but that was just the beginning. The first problem was that we were too far from the nearest connection on our street. After we hired a lawyer, they came to the house twice and measured (over several weeks' time) , and decided that it was within their guidelines after all. Then the CFE installer decided that the standard to hold our line was not strong enough. We had to rebuild it. We did. More months passed. They came and looked. Adjustments were needed; it should be taller. OK. We made it taller. Months passed again. They came back and looked. Some tree limbs would have to be cut. OK. We would cut them immediately. They said they would be back in una hora (one hour). Weeks passed, and they didn't come back. Finally, Jerry flagged down a passing CFE truck and begged them to come and hook us up. It took 35 minutes and a $200 peso propina. ($20 USD tip). Hooray! I can finally use my wonderful Ron Popeil chicken rotisserie!

Why we love Mexico #283

Our cat Puff traveled with us here to Mexico and has made the adjustment wonderfully well. Puff is a geriatric kitty, having migrated across the street from her noisy dysfunctional home to live with Jerry about 10 years ago. He estimates that she was 3-5 years old then. Because she looked just like the kitty in Fun with Dick and Jane, he renamed her Puff.

She is a bit aloof and dislikes being held, although she loves to be petted. Last year about this time, we took her to the vet in Vallarta and had her fur trimmed back because of her thick and fluffy coat and the hot and humid summer weather. She didn’t care much for the process, but she was happy with the result.

This year, we took her to one of our most cherished Bucerias resources, Dr. Wencesla Lopez, the veterinarian who practices just down the street and around the corner from us. Uncharacteristically, Puff LOVES him.

Earlier this week, we took her in about 10 in the morning. She hopped willingly into her cat carrier, anticipating a visit to Wencesla (used to take two of us to get her in, and she always drew blood.) When we arrived, she started to purr, and he was happy to see her as well. He took her to the grooming table to begin (yes, he does the grooming himself), and we knew that she was in good hands.

When we returned to pick her up a few hours later, he said, “No, she is sleeping. When she wakes up, I’ll give her a bath.” We could see her snoozing on the grooming table behind him. She lifted her head, gave us a disdainful look, and went back to sleep. We were sure that we would return to find poor Wencesla’s arms cut to ribbons. A bath? You must be kidding!

When we returned later in the day, he crooned to her as he picked her up “C’mon Baby.” She looked and smelled wonderful and there was a spring in her step that was not there earlier in the day. “She loved her bath,” he reported.

The cost for this full day at the Wencesla spa? All that personal attention, schmoozing and nurturing? $150 pesos – less than $15 US dollars.

Is there a Wencesla ANYWHERE in the US? I don’t think so. Another reason to love Mexico.

Arriba! Vista del Mar – and how I ended up cooking tacos for 8 hungry Mexicans

(1) We invited the goats in to mow the lawn for us, but they were more interested in the plumeria and the bamboo! From left, May, Noel, June and Virginia. The handsome old billy goat behind Virginia is Jerry, of course.

(2) The first columns go up for our arriba!

(3) The vista from the roof of our new addition.

(4) A beautful Bucerias sunset viewed from the roof.

We have finally begun working on our upstairs addition, and it should be completed within the next month or so. We’ll have a big bedroom (12’ X 19’), a bathroom with a BATHTUB (hooray!) and a small extra room we’ll use as a little kitchenette (so that we don’t have to go downstairs to make our morning coffee). There will also be a large patio in the front and a stairway to the NEXT level that will hold a private little terraza. From there, we can see actually see the bay, all the way from Yelapa at the south to Punta de Mita at the north. We are very excited!

Yesterday (Sunday) started out cool and quiet after a very dramatic thunderstorm the night before. Lightning crossed the sky from one horizon to the next most of the night, and we lost electricity about nine o’clock in the evening. Gets a little stuffy with no ceiling fans, but the rain cooled things off a bit and we slept fine. Got up the next morning (still no electricity) and cooked a package of our hard-to-find breakfast sausages from the freezer because they were thawing...our friends Cheto and Beto came by and promised to return in the afternoon with our friend German to mix up some cement and get the ceiling poured for the bedroom addition on the main floor. German arrived about five with his three sons and three more friends to help...only took about two hours to haul all that sand, gravel and cement (four BIG bags) to the roof, mix it on the spot and pour it. By that time (still no electricity), more meat from the freezer had thawed and we had LOTS of carne asada tacos for everyone. Almost had to cook by candlelight (thank goodness for the gas stove), but the electricity finally came back on about 7:30 pm. Another beautiful day in Paradise, made perfect by good friends and good food.

I've posted some new pictures on Flickr if you want to see more - three new paintings from a new series I am calling The Faces of Mexico. You can find them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/casabucerias/.

Finally, some pictures from my trip to China!

I've been home for two months today, and I'm finally getting some pictures from my trip to China posted. Long story...my camera chip was damaged, and so far, I have recovered some, but not all, of the hundreds of pictures I took. I wil keep trying, but I have posted about 300 pictures on our flickr site at

http://flickr.com/photos/casabucerias/sets/72157600772229111/

If you take a look, you will see LOTS of pictures of the terra cotta warriors from Xian. Aside from seeing my family, this was without doubt the high point of the journey. Two farmers outside Xian, digging for a well in 1974, had no idea they were beginning excavation of the most astonishing tomb in the world's history. There are more than 6,000 warriors (all of them different) guarding the tomb of China's first emporer. It is an astonishing sight.

And of course, there is a Wal-Mart in Xian.

Summer pleasures

Summer in the tropics - very warm and very humid. Having spent one summer here already, we know what to expect: it is hot now, but it will get hotter. Soon, we'll cut our activities back during the heat of the day and take a daily siesta. Because we have chosen not to live with air conditioning, we rely on fans to keep us comfortable. We have ceiling fans in every room, and they run 24 hours a day. We also have fans placed strategically to draw in cool air and flush out warm air. All in all, not too bad.

Even though it is very warm, there are summer pleasures to be had: mangoes are in season, sweet and delicious. Limes are also in season - only 5 pesos (50 cents) a kilo! Melons, papayas, pineapples as sweet as honey. New critters are showing up, like the lizard above, showing off for us. Look carefully at the picture and you'll see another lizard on the opposite side of the pole! And the bottom picture? Another summer refreshment - cool and creamy iced coffee, made with wonderful Compostela coffee beans in our espresso machine. Mmmmmm.

As we get ready to celebrate this Fourth of July with fried chicken, spare ribs, watermelon, carrot cake and potato salad, we are grateful to have new friends to share the day with us. Sue, Harold, Alejandro, Susan, Barry and Jeanne will be joining us...much better than last year!

Happy Independence Day to everyone!