Finally settling in

So at long last we are not just staying in a house, we are settling into our home. There are still finishing touches and small acquisitions to be made but all of the essentials are in place.

I began painting a design above the bed that continues to be a work in progress ( Lynda do you recognize the curtain?). This all looks a bit different doesn't it? I sit and look around me sometimes and am in awe that this is my life. I have things I've brought back from trips around the world and art that has been gifted me by friends who are artists. There are photos of our many friends and loved ones on our refrigerator and bulletin board and we already have a schedule of events revolving around new friends, acquaintances and committments. What a lucky girl I am, especially when I contrast that to the life of some of the people around me. The desk clerk makes 107 pesos a day (about $12.00) and works 7 days a week. At least it's a regular job though. The guys we hired to work on the house take work as they find it. We spend more on lunch sometimes than most make in two days. There is a tiny little Mayan woman who works at the hotel. She is one of the sweetest people I've ever met. About my age , very hard working and kind. her needs are met but there is very little room for extras. Hers is the only gift to be given by me this holiday. I crocheted her a shawl. I presented it to her this morning and she cried. We always tip her and today we will leave one much larger. This season, this is the type of giving I am able to perform. I'm not running around shopping like a crazy woman to by things for people who don't need them. People who already have so much there is no room to put it. This simple shawl and a few dollars hopefully let her know she is cared about and appreciated as well as relieving a bit of lifes daily burden. I am living in my second home and don't have to work. I don't take my fortunes for granted. As we near December 25th, I hope we all remember to be grateful for what we have. Most of us not only have more right now than many others do, but more than they can ever hope to have. On the other hand, they are richer than many. They have a simple life but are happy. As long as they have something to eat, shelter, and family, they are content.

I am content. I am loved, my family is well, I have food and shelter and the ability and the desire to share what I have. For those of you who look forward to my blog for a few laughs, I am sorry to be so serious this week. I am just feeling so fortunate that I have the ability to take risks. That I get to live this charmed life, and that I get to share it with you all. Thanks for being part of my adventure.

Recent addition

The gentleman on the left is Nacho ( I swear that's his name- it's short for Ignacio) and on the right is one of his seven sons, Manolo. Nacho is the comisario of Santa Clara. This doesn't really mean too much, it's more of a title like Royal Rosarian Princess. What power do they really hold? but in Nachos case it involves a stipend, an illusion that you are somehow involved in monitoring criminal activities or local disputes and you occasionally ride around with three or four of your buddies in an older car with "Santa Clara Comisario" emblazoned proudly across the drivers door. We haven't quite established how one becomes the comisario but Nacho lost out to Chupy last year...prior to that he had held the position for around 13 years. One of the duties entrusted to the comisario is the turning on of Santa Clara's water supply each morning and turning it off each evening. As far as we can tell, these times, like many things in mexico, are left to whim. It depends on when the person in charge of said duty chooses to get up and do it and remembers/feels like doing it at night. Nacho is a practicing alcoholic so occasionally the water is left on all night, or perhaps isn't turned on until 10:00 some mornings, and some days it doesn't come on at all..."where does the water come from?" you may ask. There are cenotes everywhere in the Yucatan. They are underground, fresh water rivers. They sometimes surface as a sort of waterhole,pond, pool whathaveyou and sometimes just flow along underground. They even surface in the waters of the gulf where the fresh and salty waters mingle...must really freak out the fish. Anyway, this particular cenote near Santa Clara has been tapped into like a great keg and the pump, once turned on, sends the water through a very small pipe, sort of a cross between pvc pipe and a garden hose. At our house, it comes from the road underground and surfaces to be used as we see fit. Ours runs to a cistern, a large concrete well, into which another hose is submerged. On the roof of our house is the water tank that serves the house. All water tanks are on the roof here. In this tank is a floating device like a toilet. When the water level gets low, an automatic pump kicks on ( one of our many new upgrades...John used to have to get the pump going then climb up on the roof and put the hose in and wait for it to fill) and water from the cistern gets pumped up to the water tank...Now, John and I don't use a lot of water so we are happy with this system, however, water is a very hot topic among the gringos with pools, washing machines, tended yards that they actually set up sprinklers for ("wait...I thought you lived in a little fishing village?"....well, it's changing!) They are forming groups, signing petitions and generally getting very heated about why the water system isn't up to their standards. Don't even mention the word water unless you are prepared to listen to a tirade.... But back to Nacho...local rumor has it he is...how shall I say this..less than scrupulous. Manolo as well. They have in fact "borrowed" tools and things from us in the past. Some have found there way home while others....We paid Manolo to install screen doors and a year and a half later we were still waiting for one...but in his defense, that's our fault. This is a big no-no. Anyone who has been here for more than a week knows better. So upon our return to the house last week from our trip to the city, we discovered our large tool box and a couple of saws were gone. Screw drivers, tools for the truck, tape measure...you know, tools-gone. So the investigation proceeded...Nacho happened by and we told him. His response was we should get a dog (remember he's in charge of this sort of thing...the comisario...). We believe he is a bit unhappy with us because we used workers other than his sons. Who knows but it seems that all the gringos have a story involving something missing and Nacho....this is our little Peyton Place ( for my young readers that means a little town with soap opera tendencies). You see what happens when you have no television or newspapers? You discuss Nacho and the water situation.......
So speaking of water, these pictures were taken on the back of our property where it borders the mangrove swamp. Our friend who is a wildlife photographer went nuts when he realized our property bordered the swamp and asked if he could have a little dock put in. So a couple of weeks ago ( prior to the case of the missing tools ) Nacho and manolo and three of the other sons cut through the trees with machetes, some with shoes, some without, used a post hole digger and some logs and constructed this dock. The swamp doesn't look very interesting in this shot but it's full of a wide variety of birds and, remember? crocodiles. we are going to get a little tiny flat bottom boat to pole around in.

This is John and our friend Mark test driving the dock (Mark's the photographer).

So one last water related story and I'll take my leave. John and I were working on projects around the house. He was varnishing and I was constructing a wall out of bamboo. It was a very hot day and we were both sweating quite profusely so to replenish our systems, we were taking in a lot of water. John stopped to take a break and I heard him coughing, gagging, spewing..I thought he had some water " go down the wrong pipe" as they say. He held up his quivering hand and displayed a bottle that i thought (and so had he) was water but upon further inspection I realized with horror was the paint thinner. I asked "did you swallow it?" he nodded yes as the gagging and spitting continued. "Very much?"...another nod. several things went through my mind at once,,,where is the doctor again? we don't have insurance, will this require a hospital? do you throw up or not throw up paint thinner...I got him some milk and brought out a bottle of tums. "Here" I said thrusting them at him. Once he got some down I instructed him to make himself throw up which he proceeded to do for the next few minutes alternating with more milk/Tums intake. When I saw him shaking like a first time roller skater, I brought him a stool. Once he relaxed a bit he informed me "at least I had the where with all to throw my cigarette right away!" I could just see it...I turn to witness my husband with a ball of fire blazing around his head...oh sure, I know some of you are horrified and others ( my close friends..) are laughing hysterically by this time....I must say, the bottle did look like a beverage. I thought to myself the day we bought it "this isn't a good idea...." Needless to say, his throat was raw for the next several days and he felt poorly but came through it.

Nacho came by the other day to show us a giant crab (giant by local standards...it was average for Oregon). He was chatting with John who was holding down the hammock. He told him that in two or three years, John might be the comisario. "Wouldn't that be something? Me, the comisario?!" I had a vision of John rolling around in the truck investigating petty thefts and water thievery with "Santa Clara Comisario" emblazoned on the side and a bottle of cleaning solvent in his hand.......

other life forms

I've spoken with you previously about the birds, now I'd like to address some of the local wildlife.
One day on a drive back from Dzidzantun, we saw a very recently deceased snake in the road. John stopped for a closer look ( why wouldn't a person stop to examine roadkill...) and informed me it was a rattlesnake. I will admit I too leaned in for closer inspection and could actually see the rattles which, by the way, were still quivering though the poor guy was obviously deceased. About three weeks later on the same drive we saw another snake. I may have mentioned it to you before. It was roughly the size of my upper arm and was a grizzly site that I refrained from looking at for longer than it took to determine what was supposed to be encased in its skin was now residing on the road...sorry for that detail but i'm trying to fill you in....So, I was beginning to understand why we see guys on days that are hot enough to melt asphalt wearing rubber boots peddling down the road on rust covered bicycles with guns slung over their shoulders. After the day we saw a tarantula crossing the road ( "to get to the other side...")I made up my mind you would never get me to walk in that grass. John and I have discussed on many a night drive home down that road that should a breakdown ever occur we are not walking anywhere. We would spend the night in the car.
So about three days ago, another road kill appears closer to our house. This one is a boa with a beautiful skin basically unblemished by its fatal interaction with a vehicle. As we pull away, John comments that "I should be skinning these. I could dry them out back. I'm sure I could sell them or maybe barter with someone". My initial vision was of John as a Crocodile Dundee like character brandishing his machete out back stringing up yet another snake carcass on a coconut tree. "Maybe we should wait until you actually know how to tan them" I suggested.
While discussing these topics, people have tried to tell us that we did not see a rattlesnake. That there are no rattlesnakes here. So I went on line this morning and looked it up . There are in fact rattlers and there are vipers- the poisonous variety- several of them evidently. The list of snakes was about 25 names long. Some are tree varieties. I don't know which is worse- having one drop down on you from above or the water variety that silently swims up to you and comes face to face with you while you're trying to stay afloat.
Here's another snake conversation we had with a woman from Canada. We were riding in the truck with the windows open, I was in the back seat so it was a bit hard to hear. I thought I heard her say something about mating snake balls. I commented "I couldn't hear you" and she repeated louder "mating snake balls in Manitoba" . What?! She proceeded to explain how there are tens of thousands of garter snakes-more than anywhere else in the world-in this town called..i think it was Narcisse in Manitoba, Canada. They live in these underground dens through the winter . Come spring, they come out into the open and begin mating. I guess their.."activity" results in a big ball of snakes. These snakes evidently follow some sort of route that leads them over a highway. " Oh yeah" my friend said" it got so bad cars were hitting these things and sliding all over the road so they had to put in sort of viaduct for them. There's a big mating snake ball statue and everything in the middle of town. it's quite a tourist attraction". Well, I thought this was the craziest thing i'd ever heard of so i looked it up on Wikipedia. Sure enough, there it was. Evidently the big freeze of 1999 really decimated the masses and thats part of what prompted them to put in the viaduct. they also put up signs by the freeway warning people to watch out. It has greatly reduced fatalities. Wow, who knew? Mating snake balls complete with statue...." Guess what we're goin' to see for vacation kids!...."
I was at a vets with a friend the other day getting eye medicine for her cat and spotted oddly labeled bottles of something that looked like snake oil sold by a traveling salesman. "What is that?" I inquired pointing behind the counter. The man rattled off an explanation while my friend translated. It was a Mayan , well, medicine man's( for lack of a better name) remedy for snake bites. You rub it on externally then ingest the rest. He says it works to keep you alive until you get to the doctor. He proceeded to tell us a story about a fisherman who was out on the ocean. He was very allergic to bees and carried a bottle with him. Good thing because one day while he was fishing, a swarm of bees ( who knew bees went out to sea! evidently he did and that's why he brought the medicine..) attacked him and he was covered in bites. Someone asked me why he didn't just jump in the water. I don't know why but as his throat began to close he drank the medicine and was able to breath well enough to get himself into shore and to the hospital. Stupidly, I did not purchase any of this magic elixir but now that I have learned about the wide array of snakes, I may go back.
We have also heard stories of crocodile sightings. Of course the first time I did not accompany John into town he saw one but I had a sighting of my own the other day. His lair is just off the road in the "manglar"- the mangrove swamp where he likes to hunker down under a tree. First of all, I think of a swamp as stagnant and draped in spainish moss. A place where chian gang escapees flounder through while beating off water moccasins.This is not like that. The water moves, is pretty clear and the mangroves are short stubby things that have birds on them not moss. This fellow was about 4 ft long and not scary looking at all.
We now have a little dock built on the back of our property that goes out into the manglar. Our friend is a nature photographer and asked if he could have one built for photo opps. We don't really mind, but it feels like we are leaving the back door wide open......

on the subject of food...

Since today is thanksgiving, I thought that food might be an appropriate topic.First of all, I'd like to clear up the fact that everyone seems to think we are eating mexican food. I can understand why one might think this, seeings how we are living in Mexico and all, but actually we live in the yucatan. Yucatacans do not consider themselves mexican or even part of mexico. They are Mayan and their food is very different. Almost every restaurant or little storefront cocina serves mayan food.They all have the same menu...panuchos, enchilada suissa (this is a chicken enchilada with a green sauce topped with swiss cheese), salbutes (sp?) which is sort of like an enchilada but is stuffed with boiled egg and has a sauce made out of pumpkin seeds.mmmmm.. The only exceptions are a couple of really bad ( so I'm told ) chinese food places and a couple of pizza joints ( don't order the lasagna...it resembles a batch of bad dog food and came in a disposable foil pan). Keep in mind there are many places here, we just haven't been to them.We went to a couple of good Argentine places......steak lovers rejoice! ( I had a nice salad). All in all, vegetables are sorely lacking. This is reflected by a number of bow legged people...my gramas people suffered from rickets...lack of vegetables. They do have something called Chaya though. Its a green leafy plant, bush actually, that is used like spinach and evidently has many health benefits though I can't actually tell you specifically what they are but hey, its dark green and leafy. They even have juice bars where they mix up fruity drinks with chaya in a blender. Whole familys slug down pitchers of it. I also can't find a sweet potatoe but can easily buy (for a price!) a Washington state apple. Oranges can be purchased for next to nothing. I was visiting a friend the other day when a truck slowly rolled by. The driver was shouting ( I have found out this is a regular occurance for people announcing the sale of anything from propane to water) oranges 40 for 20 pesos ( the peso is around 11-12 to the dollar right now) . "Wanna go halves?" my friend asked. She grabbed her coin purse and we ran to catch him. We stood at the back of the truck with her large plastic washtub while he loaded us up with green orbs. " They take long to ripen up?" I asked. "they're ripe' she informed me "that's the color they are".The next morning I pulled out my plastic juicer we had purchased the week before and whipped up two glorious, sweet glasses of unadulterated orange juice. My half will last us three days....for less than a dollar.

So far I have not found any burritos, enchiladas with red sauce, tacos or empanadas. Panuchos are everywhere, which is what i had for my thanksgiving dinner. A saucer sized corn tortilla (crispy) covered with a smear of refried black beans then topped with shredded turkey, either an avacado slice or cucumber slice,tomatoe and shredds of purple pickled onion (don't knock it till you try it!). I got 4 of these for 50 pesos. No way could I eat all that but in true thanksgiving tradition, I gorged myself and ate three with a bowl sized glass of fresh mango juice.John does not care for these and wasn't hungry at the time so later he dined on a bag of pork rinds, two coconut cookies and a couple of yogurt drinks. Oh. and a Coka Light....Coke is everywhere here...any little tiny closet sized tienda in the living room of a house in a crossroad in the middle of nowhere has coke...thats explains why the diabetes rate is so high here....

So, onion, cucumber, tomatoe and avacado are your vegies...and chaya. Chicken, fish ( we live at the beach remember) and turkey-lots of turkey-shredded. Not like slices of turkey breast. Not many potatoes and forget trying to find a good loaf of wheat bread. I made spaghetti last week-what a challenge! I felt like I was on a scavenger hunt looking for italian seasonings and the tomatoe sauce wasn't much easier. I finally found some basil and oregano and a packet of what was being sold as spaghetti seasoning but what I smelled when I opened it did not conjor any images of tuscan hillsides , gondolas or , for that matter, anything I had ever smelled before. I threw it away...

Our diets have changed considerably since moving here. Lots and lots of yogurt, granola, corn flakes (often all mixed together in a big bowl), something I never had at home-cup-o-noodles-there's some vegies! Those microscopic cubes of carrot with two peas and three kernels of corn. Sometimes a tuna sandwhich-witch?wich? my standard-torchiditos- like Cheetos but with a little kick, and John's favorite, little pastries that are made by a lovely local lady. They come in all different shapes but have the same taste-pie dough. I don't care for them. Scrambled eggs and refried black beans.....thats about it. I occasionally cook but not every day. Its hot and we just aren't that hungry.

So, my turkey panuchos today with the fresh mango juice were a real treat. Today was thanksgiving and I did that. I gave thanks for being healthy, being with my husband of thirty years, knowing my kids are OK, being warm, for the ability to eat anything at all and have a bed to rest my weary head on at night. For the opportunity to live an adventure instead of fighting for survival. For not having to eat that dog food lasagna again........

Let's talk about the birds....

Being a huge Seinfeld fan, I feel that most life situations can be related to an episode of said series. I also find that , more often than not, I am the only one to appreciate the comparisons. The last time I tried to relate this to someone, they stared at me blankly before stating " I never liked that show". I don't know how many of you out there are fans as well, but for those who are, perhaps you remember the episode where George runs over a pigeon. His date is horrified at which point he tries to explain that humans and pigeons have an agreement...they are supposed to get out of our way. He thinks the car incident is a fluke and goes to the park where he kicks a pigeon in front of a young boy and his shocked mother.

I have not seen many pigeons here, but there certainly is no shortage of avian life here. There are spoon bill herons, pink flamingos, storks, vultures, pelicans and a cast of others too numerous ( and unknown ) to mention. One thing many of them have in common is they have a very different modus oporundi. First case in point.....when driving at night, it is very, very dark out our way as there are no street lights between towns. you never know what you might come across on the road so it's important to be somewhat hypervigilant. So, you grip the wheel and lean forward (because we all know that somehow enhances your vision) looking for any forms of life that may be crossing your path. Periodically, you see a set of glowing eyes that usually belong to a dog that knows enough to retreat into the brush as you approach but from time to time this glowing set of eyes propells itself upward and heads directly at the windshield missing it seemingly by inches. This always makes us grateful for the massive amounts of raw garlic we've been eating ( its good for the heart in addition to being a fine insect repellant). These are birds that for some reason, choose to sit in the road and wait for the last possible second to move. i believe the are called nightjars. Then we have case #2....John likes to "check the perimeter" at night. He stands at various points around the house with a flashlight illuminating the night and hoping not to find anything. One night during his rounds, he called quietly for me to "check this out". I joined him on the back porch and after several "over there...to the left"s I saw a bird about two feet tall standing between the cocnut trees. I can only describe it as dorky. He had a look about him like a high school nerd who's just been busted accidently walking into the girls bathroom. He moved very stiffly a few paces to the right where he positioned himself behind the trunk of a tree. It reminded me of when I was little I thought I was invisible to monsters if I was under the sheet. I wanted to say "we know you're there you know". We waited for several moments then moved around to where the light shone on him again. After freezing for a bit he was off again wandering around the back yard. For the next several nights, the same scene played out. Then one night upon our return from the internet, we pulled into the driveway (in the dark) and who was there but our guy. We stopped the truck at the gate. he didn't shy from the headlights but actually started to approach the truck. He positioned his body in a way that looked like he was straining to see who we were and asking" is that you Bob?" ( we have since named him the bob bird). He continued to move toward the truck until he was about three feet away. As if suddenly realizing we weren't who he thought we were, he scurried off around the corner of the house and into the back yard. Case #3 is an odd little thrush. He first appeared about five days ago. We were just waking up and heard a strange tapping noise. It was this thrush pecking the window. After several pecks, he would move over just a few inches and repeat. This escalated into full fledged head banging and when that didn't achieve it's desired outcome- whatever that was- it flew up a bit and literally threw its entire body at the window. This has gone on for five days now every morning at dawn. Always at the same window, same time. I saw a robin in the back yard the other morning by John's compost pile and the thrush flew down and drove it away.

I spoke to a woman the other day and she said "there's something weird with the birds down here. We've hit so many of them with our car it's awful. We never hit any in the states". So you see, that just confirmed my thoughts. Evidently, there is no deal here. Maybe learning cultural differences and nuances doesn't just apply with the human population. Maybe there is in fact a deal in place down here that I just haven't discovered yet because I haven't learned the language.

Random musings on ritual and regalia

As many of you loyal followers know, the whittling down of our possessions and the decisions about what to bring took months. With very limited space in our "ark", what was important was analyzed from many stand points...is it something we can't get there? is it something that is expensive there? is it something essential to our day to day lives? Therein lies the crux of it....what IS essential to a life? It reminds me of the old question about if you could only take three things to a deserted island what would they be. As a child, I had a little suitcase packed with my most treasured objects that I kept under the bed ready to go at any moment. Should the house catch fire or some other possible scenario happen that would render everyone else wringing their hands about their losses, I would be smugly clutching the handle of my little plaid suitcase thinking "too bad they didn't plan ahead" (this planning ahead for worst case scenario is an entirely different topic I will perhaps one day address ...)To us, books and music are essential...artwork...a generator ( we do live in a storm belt and the power goes out)..the shoes and clothes we could have reduced even more...it's warm! and really, people tend to wear the same things over...Two small things we brought were three inch high glass bottles. One is white with a red lid, the other clear. Contained within them are remains..human remains..Let me clarify that we have not been dismembering people and "preserving" them in jars..these aren't pickled fingers or eyes. They are ashes from cremations. We were a little concerned about a thorough inspection at the border..."and what is this powder in these jars..?" The white jar is Gretchen, John's daughter, the clear one , Ray, John's 40 yr friend. John thought they might enjoy Mexico so we carefully wrapped them to keep them safe...to keep them from getting hurt..(?!) I built them a little house out in the front yard and decorated it with shells. Last Tuesday, a couple of my new friends took me to a town called Izamal. It has two claims to fame -one is that all of the buildings are painted yellow, the other that they have a virgin that the pope blessed-actually, crowned- in the 90's. She "lives "in a huge church that is completely surrounded by a very large wall (sidenote...the church and wall were constructed using the stones from the top portion of a nearby pyramid..you actually see what's left of the pyramid by looking just over the churches wall). Her actual room is beautiful..lovely paintings, chairs for those who come to pray, posts where you hang little "milagos' a sort of charm that is symbolic of an ailment ( you buy them in the gift shop. They were out of the headache ones for John so I bought a man with a missing foot...), frescoes on the walls, chandeliers. She "sits' behind locking glass doors (they keep her safe...).When there is an event or service, she slides out of her little house on a rail like a train and appears on the other side of the wall high up behind the pulpit in the chapel. It's quite fabulous really. It reminded me of a magicians trick...I feel terrible that i can't remember her name and have to keep referring to her as "the virgin"..I'm sure she would prefer to be remembered for a different accomplishment...anyway, she has a glorious crown that the pope gave her AND she has a wardrobe!! Who knew?! Icons have wardrobes? Every so often...REALLY special occasions...someone gets the honor of donating a new ensemble to her. Well, as you can imagine, these are no simple cotton tunics or shifts...no calico or gingham...these are embroidered, velvet, golden, silver, shiny, sumptuous garments...beaded, crocheted and preserved on mannequins behind glass when not in use (yet, on display).

Well, I did a lot of good works......but I didn't stay a virgin. So, I did not get a crown and my clothes are kept in a pink footlocker (it keeps out the scorpions and spiders...) My lovely home is magnificent to me

and was also constructed from simpler beginnings...

and out front sits our own version of a shrine. A simple little three sided house covered in shells. We'll add to it and build on it as time goes by. I don't think they'll be getting any outfits though.....

is this fall...?

As I sit here focusing my thoughts and feelings in preparation to launch into my weekly discourse, I am pondering how cool and grey it is here this morning and how familiar that feels. My perch is the second floor breakfast area at the hotel which is an open area (literally open- one wall is merely vegetation)overlooking the street. I am quickly reminded that I am not, in fact, in Oregon as a rusty '70 something truck drives by with the bed filled to the rim with bananas.
This is the coolest day we've seen so far. There was a storm in the night with high winds and rain that washed away the heat. As I walked to the breakfast area, it felt like an early September day where it's still warm enough for shorts and sandals but you can feel a change coming and you know summer is over. That always brought a tinge of sadness and a grim preparation for nine months of grey, cold and damp. As that feeling started to encroach on me this morning, I shook it of by reminding myself " I'm in Mexico!". I don't know what fall looks like here but the desk clerk last night was wearing a jacket! Obviously it's already chilly to him. I wonder if he was having the same feeling of hunkering down for winter. We've been here before in December around Christmas and New Years and while we were languishing in the ability to wear shorts and thongs, the locals had on jackets and gloves.
Last night we arrived at the library about fifteen minutes before the meeting and after selecting a couple of books to read it dawned on me it should be time for the meeting. I looked up to see John approaching from the meeting area with his palms opening upward in an "I don't know" motion. "There's no one here" he told me. How odd. Was it a holiday of some sort? Had they moved locations? we asked the woman behind the desk and she informed us "it's still really early" which led us into the revelation that a time change had apparently taken place. Yes, we are in fact WAY out of the loop......So this morning as I sat down to a lovely breakfast of fresh fruit and toast, I decided maybe we should get on line with MSN and take a glance at what is going on in the rest of the world. The usual horrors...murders in Mexico, people already stricken with poverty hit with some horrific natural disaster, a conservative getting elected somewhere and...wait...what's this....cheese being recalled...Costco cheese??? Didn't I just "report" on this? I ask you again-what is going on with cheese??!!! What do all these portents signal? Why am I unable to decipher the message being sent? In all of my 53 years I've never had so much involvement with cheese and now I can't seem to escape it's innundation. E coli tainted cheese at costco.....the home of Mennonite cheese.......
Speaking of food products, in an attempt to ward of the ever marauding mosquito, we have taken to eating large quantities of raw garlic. Three or four times a day, John chops up several cloves and we ingest them with various other liguids and edibles to make the intake easier. John learned the hard way that taking in too much at once can make you sick to your stomache and can burn your throat (he had to buy some Halls lozenges). The payoff is a definate decrease in bites. After the night with no windows-last Monday night- I had at least fifty bites, and that is a conservative estimate. After starting the garlic regimen, I have only been bitten two or three times. Apparently some mosquitos are really desperate. Serious addicts who will do anything for their next hit......
So, we're packin' it up and headed back to the house..the one with windows and a hot water heater and lovely tile and lots of concrete dust covering every possible surface. I'll be wearing a long sleeved shirt, John will be wearing long linen pants and we won't be stopping to buy cheese, only more garlic. Hopefully we won't hear of any recalls on that......