Log #63, December
Winter at the SolCasa RanaQuemada
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31 December
Chucking Chickens
... And some poultry in a pear tree
It all started with a clove of garlic. A bunch had sprouted in the camp kitchen, so Stan plopped them into one of our many waiting beds out back ... the beds we haven't had time to do anything with cuz we were so busy watching work, inside. Next morning, two of the sprouts were left standing, and the day after that, none.
Crazed man terrorizes chickens - stolen garlic triggers attack (not to mention piles of poop).
Stan saw
the empty bed, grabbed a stick, and went after our long-time trespassers. They've claimed squatter's rights in our mandarina tree,
but originate from the coop up the hill.
One man waving a stick was no match for said squatters. Though he cleared the yard for the day, they contentedly roosted in their favorite tree that very same night. However, our neighbor Lucy was more resourceful. She apparently caught a load of Stan's maniac act and decided to help us out. Come Sunday and her day off, she trooped up to our front door with three of our little neighbor hoods in tow and offered to deal with our backyard problem (Lucy always rattles on at breakneck speed, whether she's talking to me or her dogs. In this case, I caught every tenth word and finally figured out what the offer was after three repetitions).
Theirs was a rousing rodeo round-up that lasted half an hour. Some of the unsuspecting critters were hauled back to their coop, but Stan spied a couple under Lucy's arm, headed for her kitchen (mmmm, tastes just like iguana).
Another benefit of Lucy's visit, besides losing half a dozen foul ... after transiting the camp kitchen and seeing our spartan living conditions, she took pity and brought us a huge bowl of stew for our dinner (beef).
29 December
For Linda
19 December
Oh No, More Beer!
Victoria's Familiar and Mega bottles
Victoria beer was introduced in the Baja sometime year before last. I remember the special introductory prices at Carnival in La Paz, MX$10 for a large cup (a pint for a buck). At that time we were buying Pacifico in "ballenas," the .9 liter size (quart) returnables. Changing brands to a shade darker, slightly richer Victoria that sold for less made alot of sense for those of us whose summertime consumption was a ballena-a-day ... easier to haul a 12-pack to the boat.
Victoria called their .9 liter size bottles Familiares. Ha! Family-size beers. That's our style.
On our last trip to the deposito here in lovely Manzanillo, to exchange empties for fulls, we discovered that Victoria has thrown a monkey wrench into our beer consumption gears. Instead of the Familiar, which is no longer available, they bumped up the size of their family bottle to a "Mega," 1.2 liters. A 12-pack of Megas is alot to tote, even though we're not hefting it over lifelines, and a cold bottle covered in slippery condensation, dangerous to pour one-handed.
Such are the trials and tribulations of life at the SolCasa RanaQuemada.
14 December
IP2Map, Bogus or No?
Don't blinks and flashes on your screen just drive you crazy? I personally dislike anything that moves and will scroll past it faster'n I can delete a Viagra ad.
If you've noticed this obnoxious flashing icon on the bottom of SolWeb's home page, and if you've been the least bit curious and clicked on it, you may have noticed a map that shows we have hits all over the western world. Hm, how can that be? I only know two or three friends, and maybe my four computer-literate relatives, who hit this site, so who's hitting us from, for instance, Willemstad, Curacao?
I checked my own hits on the map using my current IP address (if'n you want to know your own IP address, you can check here), and then checked the IP2Map logs, I'm shown as visiting from the state of Oaxaca and also from Quintana Roo. Stan explained to me that our internet provider, TELMEX, assigns the IP addresses in blocks and that it's possible that today's block resides in the southern states.
What about you? Do you show up on the map, and where does IP2Map think you are? Email stanburn(at)earthlink(dot)net and tell us what you see (Earthlink has a vicious spam blocker that might ask you to beg, "Pretty please" to deliver your email).
12 December
Virgin of Guadelupe Celebration
The Virgin of Guadalupe
float and fluttering street decorations
While snapping shots of work around the house, Stan was able to wander down the street and steal a shot of the neighbors' float. We only have a nodding acquaintance with these neighbors. We're shy and try hard not to insult sensibilities or infringe on privacy, but we also have a natural curiosity about the culture and how our neighbors celebrate. Hopefully, with patience, we'll be able to learn more about the local customs, first hand.
11 December
Virgin of Guadelupe Interrupts Sleep
The Virgin of Guadalupe
Explosions so close we could hear their whistling trajectories shattered our early morning snooze and sent the cats scurrying for cover.
Yesterday our neighbors on the corner hung colorful, fluttering cut-paper decorations across the streets around their house, indicating a fiesta to come. What a fiesta it was ... this morning at 5:00AM ... in the dark.
Besides a live band and singers there were speeches, pep rally-like chants, and much cheering, all in the name of the virgin. Each and every phrase was punctuated by explosions of window-rattling proportions. There was even a float decorated with flowers and a Juan Diego tilma.
Wikipedia's abridged version of the virgin's appearance in Mexico goes like this: "According to Catholic accounts of the Guadalupan apparition, during a walk from his village to the city on December 9, 1531, Juan Diego saw a vision of a Virgin at the Hill of Tepeyac. Speaking in Nahuatl, Our Lady of Guadalupe said to build an abbey on the site, but when Juan Diego spoke to the Spanish bishop, Fray Juan de Zumárraga, the prelate asked for a miraculous sign. So the Virgin told Juan Diego to gather flowers from the hill, even though it was winter, when normally nothing bloomed. He found Spanish roses, gathered them on his tilma, and presented these to the bishop. According to tradition, when the roses fell from it the icon of the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared imprinted on the cloth."
The Dark Madonna conveniently appeared in Mexico only ten years after the conquering Spaniards banned the indigenous gods and forced conversion on their subjects. All of Mexico embraces her and celebrates her three appearances to Juan Diego between the 9th and 12th of December. How the firecrackers work into that equation, heaven only knows....
10 December
Cost of Living
MX$66 - worth of veggies
MX$1,250 - worth of ladder
Laborors are fairly reasonable to hire. The labor is the old-fashioned kind; not too many time-saving gadgets to help speed the job along, our guys are mixing concrete in the street, and using a clear hose full of water as a level.
Contractors are reasonable, but that's offset by some of the stuff that's not. Hardware we're buying to support the remodeling is expensive; electrical boxes, wire, and parts and pieces for switches and outlets are pricey. Our rickety aluminum ladder cost MX$1,250. Cosmetics and sundries; TP, paper towels, soaps, lotions, bug sprays, are pretty high-priced, too. On the other hand, fresh food seems less expensive. Locally grown veggies are in the reasonable category, but one must be careful. I accidentally grabbed a bag of grapes grown in the US, to the tune of MX$50!
Now that we're partial carnivores, we snag a chicken off the spit every once in awhile. On Tuesdays the special is a chicken and a half for MX$79, plus a MX$10 bag of baby potatoes, roasted underneath the chicken spit and flavored with dripping juices. Yummy. Another favorite is the shrimp taco from the street vendor at MX$9, three whole shrimp for less than ninety cents (our hard-earned dollars are weighing in at MX$10.98 each).
8 December
The Serendipity of Contracted Work
RanaQuemada bath, roof and kitchen contracted work
As long as some contractors keep lagging behind schedule, our budget is going to keep up. It's convenient, in a way, that the kitchen people haven't shown their eager little faces. As long as they don't finish, we don't pay. The roofing guys and the bathroom guys are perfectly willing to take incremental payments. So, just as we had planned, our "cruising kitty" is supporting the house and remodeling project, and our principle is still intact.
Only in Mexico would we be able to accomplish so much with so little ... just one of the reason we live here.
6 December
Something about Thursday
All hell broke loose, today, in the home improvement department. First Rámon called to make an appointment to look at the bathrooms and work up an estimate for the walls. Then six burly guys showed up with a truckload of roofing equipment and a truck-full of sand right behind them. Yee-hah! Let's break the RanaQuemada budget all at once!
Not so bad, really ... the roofer only asked for 20% up front, and Rámon only wanted material costs. Still, forking it over is going to entail twelve trips to the ATM to accommodate the daily withdrawal limit.
What didn't happen today is work on the kitchen. The Corian man from Guadalajara was the only contractor no-show. Too bad, cuz when he starts on the Corian, he'll want to hump it all through the weekend - somebody's gonna hafta miss a futbol game.
Stan filling in conduit lines
Rámon's ready to start walling in the bathrooms tomorrow morning. Wow, is that ever causing a flurry, tonight. Stan is madly filling holes, bricking up half the window, and wiring bathroom fans. He already installed the green boxes for bathroom lights, and he popped out holes for fan exhausts earlier today. He's been so busy he barely got time for lunch, and no siesta at all. All that sweat on his shirt proves what a hard day it's been. I'll go make him a cup-a-soup to keep his strength up.
5 December
Chivo and Gale
4 December
Happy Birthday to Ardith (yesterday)
Ardith
Picudos
Besides birthdays, we're celebrating futbol. More to the point, we're celebrating the win of our Division 2 home team, the Picudos. The home boys have prevailed in playoffs for two weeks, now, defeating two tough teams. Each playoff consists of a home and an away game, and the winning score is the cumulative total for both games.
Picudos futbol team, coaches, ballboys and groupies
Howard
and Jean covered in victory confetti
Stan's Picudos jersey
Besides enjoying rowdy games, we discovered that a friend's husband played for the US national team (back in the day), and it was a blast dragging them down to the stadium to watch the local boys' brand of futbol. According to Stan, Howard, Jean and I joined him for two of the most exciting games of the season - lots of action, frantic crowd, tacos and beer - soccer Mexican style. I'm hooked.
Picudos fans
Crowds swelled for the playoffs. During the regular season, only a handful of spectators showed for games, and Stan developed some futbol friends, like the two guys in the center of the picture, Rámon (blue shirt), Adolfo (white cap) and Chino (red shirt behind Rámon), more sedate members of the crowd. Others bring drums, noisemakers, confetti and some kind of foamy yuck to squirt over the crowd for every Picudos score.
Since Howard joined the party, he's been building quite a following and, after only two games, the local fans recognize him as a futbol hero and stop to shake hands and say hello.