Dia mundial del medio ambiente

Turns out yesterday was World Environment Day.  We learned this after the fact, but as it turns out we had put out for the regular solid waste collection, a large container of clean plastic containers and tin cans we had been accumulating, and Carmen had also policed around the house and up & down the streets a bit, disposing of the scraps of paper and plastic trash blown out of passing vehicles or was discarded by sloppy passers-by.  Here, separation of waste materials takes place right beside the garbage compactor truck, which has bags and boxes strapped or tied to it for plastic, steel, newspapers and the like.  When a container is completely filled with a recyclable material, someone lifts it to the top of the truck where it is tied on.  At the end of the run the truck is quite a sight, covered as it is with bags and stacks of flattened cardboard. Only true mixed garbage goes into the maw of the compactor.  This seems so much more sensible than compacting everything and then picking thru the mess in some centralized recycling facility.

A hard rain again last night and steady all last sunday. However at this time of year the temperature only drops into the high 60s F with the nighttime tormentas. so we leave the windows open except if there are gusts blowing the raindrops thru the screens. Around here, when we get rain it's often accompanied by a bit of (usually distant, 9 seconds away or so) trueno y relampago (thunder and lightning, donner und blitzen).  This kind of sound and light show was very rare in Anacortes, WA, so we're kind of in awe of the spectacle here and beginning to like the dramatic, usually brief, tropical downpours.  At night we often smell the fragrance of whatever orchid is currently flowering.  We've heard that flowers which smell strongest at night are normally fertilized by moths.

We are reminded occasionally that we still live on the Pacific ring of fire.  Every so often we feel the ground tremble.  Not long ago we awoke one morning about 5am with our bed jiggling.  There was a tremor down on the isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca. No damage to speak of, but it's always unsettling when what is presumed to be solid underfoot, isn't. (It seems that most of the faults that are subject to underground movement are on the Pacific side of the country, most often in the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero.)  Then that same morning at 8am there was a tremendous boom, as a power transformer down the street blew up!   We expected a long period without electricity, but CFE had it replaced in about four hours. 

We finally put a bar along the bottom of our car gate where we saw the gray cat belly-squiggling under. Then a week later we found her sitting just inside our back door discussing who knows what with our own cats – very quietly. Shooed her out and discovered another place that she could squeeze thru. She surely is slender, and gets along well with the other two. We just do not need or can afford another animal, so we blocked that access point off as well.  The animals will just have to visit nose-to-nose thru the gate.

Seems that the zafra (cane harvest) is finished for this season, which means the air is cleaner. We have worked hard getting the black soot off from everything. We are busy “working” on jigsaw puzzles and reading, including the Harry Potter series, borrowed electronically from the Anacortes library, which we have not read before. Our bleeding heart Clerodendrum thomsoniae (flor de bandera) is blossoming beautifully this year.

Things are happening! First and most interesting – Gardi cat found us a salamander. Are they not just the cutest creatures? Long slender bodies with a bulbus roundish head and tiny short stick like legs with toes. This one was medium brown and in our back yard. Actually in a large empty flower pot which Gardi tipped over with a small crash of the ceramic pot. Carmen rescued it and hopefully saved it in some thick plantings.  She notes that american robins are out and about singing the songs we grew up with.  Since Mexico is as far as they migrate south for the winters, the ones we have seen must be stoking up getting ready to wing their way north!

The house construction across the street to the east of our house has been restarted after a five month break of no action. The work and daily progress keeps us entertained. One of the fellows working has a great voice and spends much time singing at the top of his lungs.

From our rooftop we saw some construction happening at the other end of the banana field to our east – well behind the house being built, just about a block away.  When it first started we assumed (as indicated by the city building permit nailed to the wall), that is was a large residence.  To our disconcertion it is actually a storage yard and bodega (warehouse) for storing chicken crates, usually loaded high on parked semi-trailers. No live chickens, but some of the odor is still there! So far we have seldom smelled anything at our house, but there are occasional hints or whiffs of "fragrance" on the breeze.

Our good quiet neighbor, Valentin, to our west has moved out. Bummer. The house is a rental and is now being spruced up. We hope the next tenant speaks English and is quiet, and perhaps this time with no barking dogs. Time will tell.  Also the house to our immediate south (actually used as an office), with which we share a wall, has had no visible activity in it since before Xmas.

Thanks to Homeland Security and Bernie Madoff, BanamexUSA has canceled all of the bank accounts it holds with folks living in Mexico, giving only a month's notice, so we have been scrambling to find the best new arrangement for our banking needs. BanamexUSA was so convenient, providing peso withdrawals by local ATM from our accounts held in California, and charging no international funds access fees. This also means that we must have our social security sent to a different location. Talk about frustrating!!!!

On the way home from our walk into town today, we purchased 17 manila mangoes for US$0.78. The time before we bought a bunch of fresh litchis.  We love the availability of fresh, inexpensive tropical fruit.  When visiting the bank, we walked past a nearby house in downtown Fortín, where we heard and saw two men yesterday sitting on the front porch and speaking english. We were in a hurry at the time so did not stop then, and they were gone later. Will introduce ourselves eventually.

We went to bed one night recently and discovered that part of our upstairs is now lit with a bright new halogen light. We could probably read by this light in the one bedroom. The new light is aimed down Avenida 21, but canted in such a way to illuminate our north wall from the power pole across the street. It will certainly give us more security, and at no cost to us except for a bit of glare! The bedroom we sleep in has curtains heavy enough that the extra light does not bother us, plus it is easier to see when we go to the potty in the night. So, what we first considered to be a bad thing, is actually all good!

We discovered the hugest paper wasp nest (about the size of a soccer ball) we have ever seen near our chimney high up on the north wall outside! We are getting up early in the mornings when the air is as cool as it gets, and spraying with a long jet of insecticide. We now see little wasp activity, and need to eventually get brave enough to knock it down, hoping that the wasps have all departed.

We are getting back into fix-up mode again. Dan put up the toilet paper roller and towel rods in our new bathroom, and also hung a full length mirror and installed a door stop in the tiled floor. Next we sanded off the deteriorating finish on our cedar chest. We have two power sanders, so we could both work at the same time. Had to mix a bit of special stain for some trim strips. Carmen gave the whole chest three coats of new nitrocellulose lacquer.  We also sanded some rough spots on the bed frame we had made for the guestroom, and restained and sealed that too. While we had the lacquer out, we disassembled our queen-sized storage bed John Janda had built for us, and attached padded galvanized steel channel stock on the bottom, to raise the structure about 3/4" off the floor.  When we reassembled things we touched up the surfaces where the shallow flooding coming inside from the terrace had damaged the finish.  The bed is now high enough that it stands completely off the the floor--so no more worries about damaging things from stormwater emergencies or wet-mopping the tiled floor.

We still have many small projects. Dan was going to paint a sealer on a bit of our wall that faces the house to west (where Valentin lived). There are some fellows working there getting ready to repaint that house, so Dan asked if he could go over with our ladder to work on that face of our wall while they were there. The fellow showed up this morning and suggested he could do the application of the impermeabilizante for us.  Dan was happy to pay him, and mark that job off our to-do list.

Una orquidea grande

Domingo 09 Mar - Sábado 15 Mar 2014  How we do enjoy listening to the church bells and the singing coming from over from the Capilla de la Sagrada Trinidad across and up the street from us.. While having a spanish lesson with flashcards on our mirador, with Gardi laying at our feet, we saw over a dozen zopilotes (turkey vultures) floating along on the air currents overhead. Lots of butterflies too, and a couple parrots flew by. A truck with policemen drove by. The one standing in the back looked up and waved to us. 

Carmen started a 1500 piece jigsaw puzzle. Once she starts a puzzle, she is rather addicted to it. What ever she does not get done in the mornng before looking at the puzzle, just does not get done that day. There could be worst addictions, of course.  Carmen cut Dan's hair and of course Gardi loves having the clippers run over him, just the body of the unit which vibrates strongly. He climbs onto Dan's lap and pats the clippers until he gets his turn of the massage.

Dan has been unable to check our Sandander local bank account online, so we went to the bank to get things straightened out. The bank officer made a phone call and handed the phone to Dan. He had to keep telling the guy on the other end of the line to speak more slowly. It can be most difficult to understand a phone conversation in a foreign language when there is background noise at both ends, at least for our old ears. We left the bank with a newly reset password, being assured that he could now check our account from home. Guess what! No can do!-  Now the token which supplies a new countersign number to type in when we want secured info is not recognized, although it seems to display it's 8 digits when the button is pressed. We must go back to the bank again.

Celia, a block west of us, came up to the house and asked us to come and look at a blossoming plant she had. It is a huge Dendrobium nobile orchid, about 2.5 to 3 feet diameter, just starting to bloom with large flowers of white and purple. With the buds just starting to open, we should have more than 200 flowers, all 2" to 3" in size.  We bought it for $16 US. It is in a wire frame and she had two others, one of which is in a tree crotch. Apparently this particular orchid, native to the Himalayas, is a source of some very effective natural folk medicines.  Celia came back the next day because she had heard the two men from Cosco down again talking about us seeing the land they had for sale. She said we could buy her property, which is a normal width 10m lot down on Calle 9, but its very deep and goes back to the creek. No thank you, tho' we would like to see the area behind her house where she says she has an orchard. Another lady was admiring our out-front garden and asked if she could have a start from a verbena plant.  Carmen believes she is bringing a piece of hers that is a different color.

Carmello stopped by with more flowers for sale. Yes, we bought a few more. This must stop, as Dan told him, as we have really no room left for more plants. He told us he was waiting outside our gate monday for us to return, when the police stopped and told him to move on and fined him MX$300 for loitering. Apparently they thought he was up to no good, and so were they just protecting us? Or was the problem that he did not have a license for selling? Or did he just look like a campesino they could lean on?  He took them to a neighbor to reassure them that he indeed did sell plants to us, and he always waited for our return. Carmelo has been telling us that our Pata de Cabra (Pink Orchid tree) needed drastic action.  So we clipped it way back and put lots of cuttings into a pot. We're hoping to get a healthy plant again. It is certainly ill, with all the branches turning black and all leaves fallen, which apparently is not the norm for his supposedly hardy tree.  We also have a pot in which we planted some seeds from the dried pods, in case the Bauhinia monandra cuttings don't take.

The fellow from Honduras stopped at our door again, asking for mexican coins. We gave him a juicebox. Also the fellow who hurt his leg was here, ditto. A lady selling avocados came by, but the bag she handed us had squishy fruit in it – so, no thank you. A woman in a wheel chair accompanied by five grown children rang our doorbell. They had two small cans for money. Did not understand their story but we gave her some pesos. A lady stopped to speak english to Carmen for awhile. She is a Jehovah Witness and is here for a few months. She was raised in Jamaica, and then spent the next 40 years in the US in Massachusetts, Florida, and North Carolina. Her next move is to western South Carolina. She is living presently with a mexican family about five blocks south of us, and she said that everyone has told her that an english-speaking couple live here. We had a nice chat and she will stop by again.

We had lunch at Ania and Frank's wednesday – a surprise birthday celebration for Tamara who is married to Tim (from California). They live near Coscomatepec, 40 minutes north of here. The cake was a cheese pie with pear topping and final garnish of filbert stuffed candies. As usual, Ania's meal was superb! Seems that their kitty will be popping forth with kittens soon. Can hardly wait to see them. Hope her delivery will be safe. Carmen had a cat that would have died in delivery had she not been there to help her by straightening a kitten that was crossways in the birth canal, so Carmen worries about other small mama cats. Well she has to have something to worry about...!

Cosme was here again wanting to spray our plants. Carmen has bought spray and takes care of them herself. He tried hard to find some insects. There are always a few, but some of his “insect” finds were in fact soot. He is the person who sold us our first orchids, all tiny. He seemed perturbed when he saw that we have purchased more and larger ones from others. Celia came by to see that we had carefully put the huge one, we bought from her, in a proper location. She thought it should get more sun or be hung in our bugambilia tree, where of course it would get no sun. Dan pointed out that we put it in thesame orientation on a south wall comparable to where she had it. The piece of vanilla orchid from breakage a year ago, which we had potted in moist medium, is finally sending up it's new growth

We went to IMSS clinic again friday to get two appointment slips for Dan. This is the at least the eighth time that we went for the envio to the opthamologist. Finally it was ready, along with the one for urologist. We then went to the IMSS hospital to pick up an appointment slip for Carmen's next eye exam. Come back next friday, we were told. We walked two blocks east of there to a commercial meat market, where we purchased a pork roast, tilapia, ground beef and arrachera beef, all at excellent prices. There was a special on the tv news about seafood going up in price, since demand is so high this time of year during Lent. The wholesalers have imported shrimp from central america because they could not supply the heavy market this year.

We have been looking for magnesium sulfate to fertilize out plants with. To this point, no luck. Tim and Tamara, who are farmers, told us the only place that carries it is FYPA (Fertilizantes y Productos Agroquimicos) a local firm with branches all over Mexico.  Driving home from Córdoba, we saw their sign along the bulevar and stopped to inquire. This was only their main office, and we had to wait outside until we could be buzzed up into their suite of offices. Behind the closed gate and entry to this company was a most beautiful set of office buildings. Would never guess it from the street front -- gorgeous landscaping inside the compound also. Once upstairs, we learned they only sell it in giant quantities. Would take us a few more lifetimes to use a ton of it at two tablespoons per gallon of water, but it also was available in 50kg bags under another label. They did give us a list of their agrochemical stores where the product was actually available. We'll check that out sometime when we're in east Córdoba--chances are a clerk at the store will know someone who buys from them and repackages for retail consumption. 

To finish this week off, we took down our exension ladder from it's high storage spot and Dan got up onto the parking entry roof to re-cement (caulk with adhesive, actually) an end barrel tile that he was afraid might fall off. A job he had not looked forward to.

Then there was the unfortunate besucona (gecko) Gardi invited in to visit.  Either slow, old or particularly unwary, it let Gardi catch it three times. First time he carried it into the house and we at first thought it was a small snake. Did our feet ever come up off the floor fast! Carmen caught it and put it back outside.  Inside, Gardi was inside wondering where the big part went to. The tail, which was still squirming all over the place, he finally ate. Yum. Well maybe they are yummy, we will probably never try one. Now Gardi cat went back outside and almost immediately came back inside with the still lively gecko. Again Carmen put it back outside. This time further from the house in some heavier bushes. It took about ten minutes before we saw Gardi again bringing it inside and we quickly picked him up, along with the wiggling gecko in his mouth, and put them back outside with the door firmly closed behind them.

A una iglesia

Domingo 05 - Sábado 11 Enero   

It finally happened. After many neighborly invitations to churches in the area we finally agreed to go to church with Oscar & Nancy, and family, who live two blocks south of us. They have a pickup truck, so we followed them in our car, since the directions seemed confusing to us. Took us about 15 minutes to get to the church. We had to take the autopista west a short distance, and a short drive north thru the country. The little village where the church is, maybe a dozen homes, is La Cumbre de Metlac, a part of Dos Rios, the town northwest of the where the big bridges cross the deep Metlac barranca. 

Were we actually going to attend an Iglesia Bautista Gracia (Grace Baptist Church)? Apparently yes, as we leaned when we turned a final corner and saw the front of the building.  Upon arriving, one parks along a dirt road. The church is new, recently plastered and painted, and still building roofs over the outside area. Immediately Oscar introduced us to some english-speaking folks and also the minister. One lady is from New York. Everyone was very friendly. People mingle about outside for a bit, or avail themselves of coffee and treats, then go into the church. There is a stack of bibles, all in spanish, on a table by the door for those who did not bring one.  Some folks had their bible on a tablet device.  The church is tall-ceilinged and painted white inside, with two aisles and 12 seats across. Also a small balcony up in back, where most of the teens sat. Probably 120 to 150 folks attending today, standing room only in the back.  

Boom, boom, boom – the amplified music has started. Soooo loud, it could have shaken a dwelling. Drums and acoustic & electric guitars were played by six men of various ages. One could sing as loud and off-key as one wanted and the persons standing next to to you could not hear you. Our ears started ringing. For almost an hour, everyone remained standing and the young man at the podium directed the sound, responsive readings and songs. The lyrics for the songs (but no musical notation) were projected high on the front wall. We have not seen this done before, but it sure beats handing out song books. Finally with continual praises to God in prayer and song, we sat. Children at this point went into another part of the church, for sunday school. The music used was not hymns, at least with any tunes we were familiar with, but seemed to be shorter pieces of sung praise. Seems most folks didn't need to look at the lyrics, so we suspect the music was the same each week.

All first-timers were asked to stand and asked where they were from. Several towns were represented by the dozen or so newcomers. Following this, the pastor made some announcements about classes during the week and planned work sessions (for the new roof over the front patio), then launched into an hour-long sermon which was about "doubting Thomas," asking everyone in the congregation to follow along in their own texts.  The sermon was all about what was written in the scriptures, what events had transpired then, and  how we today can understand each passage.  This was all similar to Carmen's church upbringing. However, Dan's churchgoing history is different, with the liberal pastors he recalls mostly sermonizing with only a brief reference to scripture and much more interpretation and application of the ideas to modern life. The sermon was entertaining since the minister was full of movements while talking. Many times the congregation let out joyful noises and "amen's" at what the preacher said. Bit different from the more sedate services we are used to.  

Being the first sunday of the month, there was communion, open to all present. The grape juice and bread was passed out to those standing. The bread was an uncut small round loaf that folks had to break a wee piece from – not too sanitary. More songs of praise, and then the offering was collected by people carrying long poles with a long black bag at the end. This is good. No one can see what the other puts in. At the end of the service there were a few more announcements, and an invitation to all to stay for a meal or snack after the service.  Everyone shakes hands with people standing near them, and after the service closed, as they walk outside. There is a small eating area, where foods prepared by women of the church are served, which one pays for at prices listed on a chalkboard, to reimburse the ones who furnished them. 

We now felt a little awkward and at loose ends, so made an excuse and went to our car to leave. We had left home at 10:30am and were told the service was over at 1pm, but it went almost an hour more, and could easily have taken more time if we stayed to eat and chitchat. Just as we were about to get into our car, a man who spoke some english came up and talked for awhile. He asked if we would be back next week. Dan said maybe and the fellow wanted to know why a "maybe."  We told him the music was a bit too loud for us, and perhaps next time we could sit in the balcony, since Carmen is unable to tilt her head back comfortably to read the lyrics high on the back wall. We actually will probably never devote this much of every sunday going to a church - but who knows. We definitely did appreciate the experience, and meet some nice people. You can see some video about the church here.  We both feel that one doesn't necessarily have to be together with others in a church building to express our praise and thanks for this beautiful world, loving friends and the dear family we are blessed with.

Monday morning we got a phone call from Luci, Shattuck's housekeeper. Something was wrong with the lock on the back gate over at Las Magnolias, Frank and Ania's home. (We've included some fotos of their beautiful residence.) She felt that someone had tried to break in. We drove over to check it out about 10:30am, just as fog and much colder air was rolling in. The lock – whatever caused the problem, needed replaced. We drove into Fortín and bought a new lock that we could set to the old combination. Back later in the day, now with some chipi-chipi precipitation happening and spent much time changing over to the new lock, involving widening holes for the thicker cable.  The new one is stiff and difficult to use. Imagine it will loosen up with time.  We showed Luci how the new lock worked.

Back home, in the afternoon rain, Carmelo showed up. We would have bought fewer plants had the sun been shining, but we felt sorry for him out in the bad weather, and he had been waiting for us in the cold and wet. We did tell him that we would buy no more gazanias after today though. Really, nine is enough! They have to be in the full sun or the flowers do not open. Full sun, we have very little of except on our terrace outside the bedroom. We remember seeing a cemetery in Turkey full of these beautiful flowers.

Come the evening just about dark we got another call from Luci, this time explaining that the new lock wouldn't trabar (fasten).  We offered to go over and see what was what.  By this time it started to rain. We got up to the back gate, with a flashlight, and sure enough the tongue and lock wouldn't fit together.   Also the tongue end of the new lock was missing its protective cap (which has the little nubbin on it to show where to line up the digits), so something was amiss for sure.  The cap had fallen off somewhere in the dark. It appears that instead of feeding it thru carefully she had wrenched the tongue end out thru the rebar loop, tearing off the plastic cap from the end of the cable in the process.

With the cap off, the knurled resetting ring is exposed, so she obviously twisted the reset ring while turning the digits.  The lock wouldn't shut because it no longer was set for a known combination.  Fortunately we brought the old lock in the car with us so it was threaded thru and things locked again.  The new lock was also left there, unlockable, and it was too dark to hassle with removing it, as the stiff cable was wound round and round the door frame.

Wednesday we went back to fix the lock situation (after buying another, simpler, cable lock just in case), and to feed their kitty.  We determined that the expensive cable lock just wouldn't work without risk of inadvertent & occasional loss of its combination, so we removed it and installed the smaller one with a fixed combination. The cat was nowhere to be seen.  Since we were out with the car, we shopped around looking for stovepipe for our new small hot water heater, to be installed just outside the kitchen on the front porch. Letting it vent into that space would just bring exhaust fumes into the kitchen, so a pipe thru the porch roof is a must.  Few people seem to vent above their heaters, so finding stovepipe meant traveling all over the city. Dan also visited an obscurely located warehouse in Córdoba which stocks refractories and high-temp materials, scoping out options for building a fireplace-insert rocket stove he's got ideas for.  When we got back home Dan called Luci with the new numbers for the lock.

All this week our house has been serenaded by a gray cat in heat. Doesn't she know that our Gardi is an "it"? Gardi has not been allowed outside our bedroom with out a halter and leash, since he went traipsing across the roof tops of our neighborhood. Just afraid that he might slip and fall into a cravasse or jump down into a yard where he can not get out. And he would die a slow death. When Gardi first came to live with us, he had no collar. Whenever Pepe, our six pound Pomeranian dog, was getting his collar put back on, after a hair cut and bath, Gardi would try to get his neck into it. We bought Gardi a collar, put it on him, and he strutted around like a proud peacock. He always gets upset if we take his collar off, and yes he also stands perfectly still to get the harness put on, until, that is, the leash goes on. Immediately his stomach hits the floor and you can't budge him. He should be living with little people who like to dress up their animals – like Carmen when she was young. She still remembers putting clothes on her cat and taking it sled riding down the hill next to her home. That kitty always seemed to be happy with the situation, or so she remembers.

Cosiendo y Cociendo

Domingo 06 - Sábado 12 Octubre   Our planned hike for sunday did not happen. It rained the night before, and we felt the forest would be too wet and footing would be slippery. None of us work after all, so we can do it any day of the week that might be dry and not too hot. Weather conditions are supposedly going to be such, by later this week.

Some fellows from Honduras stopped at our gate today, asking for anything we could help them out with. Dan gave them an old tee shirt and underwear, plus a juice box. We have decided to separate some of the extra clothes we brought with us to give to the needy at our gate. Too bad it is always men, as Carmen has some clothing that she now admits she will never wear again.. There seems to be a store in downtown Fortín that is for only second hand clothes. Every day there are fellows on top of the trains traveling across Mexico from south of the border.

We got a start on the big piece of fabric for our new futon cover. Just the cutting on sunday. Monday Carmen sewed three sides of the futon cover and tuesday she put in the two zippers. The cosiendo (sewing) all finished and it fits the futon very nicely. She had not done a zipper in forty years, so Dan found a site on the internet that had a video of exactly what she needed to do. It was so easy! Our sewing machine does have a zipper foot. This project went so well, that she took the stitching out of a triangle couch pillow to wash the cover. She now has to re-stuff the pillow case and stitch the opening back together. One by one perhaps she will get all our pillow covers cleaned.

Most of the schools are back in session, but there are still a few teachers on strike and the manifestaciones are still closing the highways all over the state We are hoping to go to Orizaba before Carmen's scleroderma doctor appointment the first part of November. There is a small foam shop in Orizaba where we want to have the seat cushion for the closet seat in our bedroom made. Carmen is happy with the painted wooden cover of this center chest unovered, but Dan had in mind when he designed and built it, that it would have a cushioned seat, and he still thinks it will be better that way.

It's been awhile since we shopped at Home Depot, after being regular weekly or more frequent shoppers there for so long. Our foreman from the crew we had here building for us, called a few days ago and asked if we would check on the price of a pump for his little community water system. Oh yea! We now have a reason to drive to Home Depot for something other than a couple small items. It seems to be true that Carmen wants one of every plant available, but Dan seems to want one of everything at Home Depot. We each have our toys!

Dan bought a Stanley miter box to replace an almost worthless wooden one he's had for years. He wants to cut some accurate 45º angles to make some picture frames, and the old box just is too inaccurate. When we got home, he discovered that it was missing the two cam pins that hold the wood in place while sawing. Bummer. Now we must return it for an exchange. Maybe Carmen will need some more planting soil soon, and some lightweight tezontle (lava rock) which works out well for pot drainage. Perhaps some more slug bait too! In the US we were happy to see plants grow. Here they grow so fast! We are frequently pruning back. So far, we can put the prunings in the banana field to the north of us, but they will become a problem when that field someday turns into houses.

Rooster dear, from down the street to our west, has been crowing at two in the morning. Is this not a bit early for catching worms? But, the guinea fowl, that seem to live in the forest a block west of us, seem to be waking up later than usual – about 9am. They used to wake at 6am and do their cackling, as only guinea can do. If you are not familiar with their unique call, listen to them on the internet.  Saturday morning we woke to a woodpecker tapping away on our roof beams. We looked out the window, hoping to be able to see the bird as it flew away, but we were given a surprise as two landed on the telephone pole just outside our bedroom window! They appear to be Smoky-brown peckerwoods (Picoides fumigatus, locally named Carpintero café). They rattat-tap-tapped a bit, then flew off.  Just a little evening rain now, just enough to leave a few glistening jewels on some of the larger plants' leaves.  Our papaya tree is getting quite substantial--glad we picked a big pot for it.

We now have purchased enough tightly sealing lidded plastic containers that our friendly tiny ants can no longer get into our foods. Everything that is in the kitchen and not in a sealed can, is now in one of these containers.

Smij cat likes catching butterflies. We have seen her let them go after she plays with them awhile, as cats will do. Our deck outside our upstairs bedroom is a great place for catching such things. The best place to just admire them fluttering by is on the rooftop mirador. Now we can attest to the fact that black butterflies do not settle well in a cats stomach, and they have many parts, which are very visible when thrown up.

Carmen spent a full day cociendo (cooking) in the kitchen, which she has not done in a long while. She did catch up things such as pie crusts to freeze and cobbler topping, and hummus to eat for our supper and freeze. Then beef liver with bacon and fried onions with yams mixed with the extra cooked garbanzo beans. Topped off with a two person banana cream pie. On a crust of crushed coconut cookies. The next day she baked a two person portion of apple cobbler. The apples are so good this time of year. Inspite of these goodies, Dan is managing to lose a few pounds simply by serving up smaller food portions. He has a bad habit of always cleaning his plate, even if over-served. Carmen is just trying to keep her weight where it is.

A fellow has discovered that we are suckers for buying new plants. He does have nice starts. Lots of herbs, which we might now have all we will use. Also some flowers that we do not have yet. Our passion fruit now has eight fruits at least, and Dan figures his efforts at pollination are beginning to pay off. Dan can hardly wait for them to ripen. The flowers, of course, are magnificent, but only last one day.

The lot across the street to our east has been graded flat and a trench dug around it where we assume the perimeter wall will go. So, it seems that our wish for one large house, most likely on one level, will be built there. How exciting. We hope it will have a beautiful yard for us to enjoy, and it looks as if it will face us. A man with crutches just walked by on the calle. Many people here walk on the road instead of using sidewalks. Often the sidewalks have vegetation growing out over them, or perhaps a utility poles inset there (with no widening of the walkway around it,) so that little sidewalk space is actually available.

Oh woe is me, says Carmen. She counted the jigsaw puzzles she brought here, and she has already done seventeen of the 37. However, she has done the 500 and 750 piece ones and has the 1000 piece puzzles left. She also has to take the time to clean and repaint the upstairs bathroom shelves. We were going to leave them stained & varnished, but have decided they will look better if they are painted the same as the walls. In the past, whoever painted took little care to cut in the paint edges, leaving sloppy paint on the shelves. Also, as she considers herself the painter of our family, she will eventually scrape and re-paint many inside wall areas where the paint is loose. Dan has a far longer list of little things that need accomplished around the house, some definitely more pressing than others. However, since the pressure to complete renovation tasks while our crew was here is over, he doesn't want to rush into things, but would prefer to putter thru these things de vez en cuando, as the inspiration strikes and there's nothing more interesting to spend his time on. After all, isn't that what retirement should be all about? Plus, we really need to venture out by car and do some exploration of the surrounding countryside. And travel to some of those places that we have not visited by bus in the past is definitely in the cards.

Our spanish lessons on the mirador still are a looked-forward-to time of the day. Many of the folks passing by give us a cheerful wave. Gardi cat especially enjoys his time up there with us, as he walks the wooden counter-height shelf around the structure, and purrs to us. He also enjoys the mariposas (butterflies) that chance by. This week there have been more of the little Turquoise Emperors. Also a yellow variety with vertical black stripe patterned wings.

Una semana atareada

Domingo 29 Sep - Sábado 05 Octubre   What a way to start a semana atareada (busy week)! As Carmen was reaching for her storage container of oatmeal, she noticed ants in her new unopened two pound bag of sugar! No sooner did she get the little ones sifted out of the sugar, than she saw a new package of cookies with far more ants than the sugar had! Breakfast was very late! Mother nature always seems to balance the bad with some good happenings – and so it was. While giving plants out front a drink, Carmen was watering near this sizable rock behind the geraniums, when suddenly the rock made a hop! Who would ever expect to see a toad in such a small garden area. Cats were warned not to bother it. We can just sit inside and imagine toady working hard to catch his dinner.

Early in the week, an excavator was busy removing the remaining vegetation and leveling the new building lot across the street. As a result we had men using our little wall at the base of the fence as a front row seat for watching their excitement of the day. We had a great view ourselves from the rooftop mirador, during spanish lesson time. After all had gone from the site, Dan went across the street and found some pieces of broken concrete there to bring back and put in a developing hole just west of our parking entrance. Heavy vehicles have driven over and broken up the edge of a new section of concrete we had put down. You may recall we told you that the city elected not to repair an obvious waterline leak we spotted there, asking us to wait until rainy season had passed to see it it would go away on its own. As if! But, aren't cracks wonderful! So much more decorative than plain old smooth surfaces. Nothing new has happened at the field across the street since the clearing that took place. We are anxious to see what will go in there.

Wednesday morning we left home at 7am. First stop was the bank in downtown Fortín for an atm draw. Next, we both had IMSS appointments with Doctor Rendón, scheduled for around 9am. We arrived nice and early at 7:20am, hoping to be amongst the first in to see him. Well, there were many others with the same idea and we did not get taken until 9:30. We both had books to read, just for this situation. Carmen was there just for her monthly meds, and Dan to set things up for his yearly physical. Seems that all the IMSS family physicians do is talk to patients about any perceived health changes, pains or complaints, authorizing prescriptions & necessary tests, and generating referrals to any specialist that might be called for. Weight and blood pressure are checked by the doctor's nurse and he checks lungs and heart with a stethoscope. All the data is entered on the computer terminal on the doctor's desk. We shall see how an annual physical is conducted, after our test results are in. How different will it be from what we are used to in the US? After picking up the prescriptions, we left there about 10:30a. Doctor Rendon's english may be improving faster than Carmen's spanish.

Next we drove the ten blocks to the main hospital in downtown Córdoba, and finally found a parking place a couple of blocks away. We waited behind a dozen or so people for Carmen's labs appointment, which was set up for the week just before her early November visit with the rheumatologist in Orizaba. Unfortunately, Dan's labs appointment can not be made until next month. We can not see how the IMSS system could work out for people who are working full time. However, what else do we have to do but stand or sit around and wait? And, the people-watching is always great. We did see, while at the hospital, the widest woman we have ever seen. Perhaps she has a thyroid problem, otherwise, why would anyone carry that much weight around willingly?

Our next items on our list required lots of walking around downtown Córdoba. We passed the Casa de Cultura where a free exhibition of some of the artworks of Diego Rivera were on display. We wandered thru the cool rooms, admiring the works, however we were disappointed in the selections of his paintings. There were some of his early cubist works, before he came back from studying in Europe and changed his more realistic painting style. Dan had been hoping to see more studies of his murals of working life, or maybe a portrait he made of his wife Frida Kahlo. It was well worth the stop nonetheless. As usual, the attendant wanted to know all about where we were from, etc. Such friendly folks here!

Dan had looked up various addresses in an almost year old phone book, which is notoriously incomplete and unhelpful. And again it was wrong several times, citing addresses where the tenant no longer was the store we were looking for, or just totally misdirecting us. We were trying to find a battery for a Clarity phone brought south with us, which has an answering machine attached. Seems to be no such battery in existence here. Not even at Radio Shack. Also looking for a fabric shop to buy material for a new futon cover, and an agricultural chemicals store for some weed killer. Wish Home Depot would get it in, to make our shopping easier. At any rate, we walked many blocks and made many stops and found nothing. By late afternoon we were beyond exhaustion. Had not eaten since breakfast, and foolishly had nothing to drink. When will we ever learn that we must drink when exercising in the heat of the day?

The last three downtown stops of the day were within a block of each other. Thank heaven for that! We went to Sears to check out their vacuum cleaners, which we had looked at online. However, the store had only two models, neither of which we wanted. Next was our favorite fabric store, ModaTelas. Here we handled and considered lots of fabrics, finally narrowing choices down to three, then finally, one. Next thread, none of which matched well, and then a long closure. We had to be satisfied with two shorter zippers (which will slide open in two directions), since nothing was available longer than 70cm.

Leaving the purchased items at the fabric store, we went next door to Waldo's, where we assumed we would find what we wanted. Wrong again. The store's stock had been changed since the time of our last visit, and the sections in the store moved around. The large glass lever-lock storage jars which we had purchased there several times were not there. Nor were Dan's favorite oatmeal cookies, or the fig or apple bars he had been longing for. We did find the bulk hand soap. After picking up the stuff from the fabric store, we walked the five blocks up and down hill, to our car. Always so happy to see that our car is right where we thought we left it!

Next a drive to Chedraui and a walk over to Josefinas. Still looking for those favored cookies. Plus we still need some tightly closing storage containers to keep the ants out. Found some containers at Chedraui, plus we bought a large toronja (grapefruit, our favorite thirst quencher) soda pop and started drinking. Did we ever need the liquid. Next stop was WalMart, where we found more storage containers for the kitchen, which was a good thing, since while we were gone, those ants found a small piece of chocolate in a ziplock bag. We do seem to keep our ants happy! Had to make one more bank stop, since at the morning stop only Carmen's card would work.

Finally back in Fortín, we made one last stop at the floral market, where we checked with the lady who was trying to purchase a true citronella plant for us. She finally told us that she was not able to find a source for this, even though we believe this lemon grass relative is grown somewhere in México for medicinal & industrial purposes. Disappointing, as we hoped to grow some natural and effective mosquito repellent here at home. Back in the house again by 6pm, talk about exhaustion. Groceries & goods stored away and a quick bite of leftovers.

The next day Ania stopped by to ask us if we'd like to come for dinner and games friday. But of course! She had walked from their new rental place nine blocks away while Frank did a bit of maintenance there. On her walk, she snipped off three starts for a plant she admired, and stuck them into one of our planters here to try to root.  Our plants up the upstairs terraza are doing well.  We actually have some yellow flowers on the Thevetia ahouai, a plant Ania ripped from her garden and which had so little root we were sure it would die.  Some bright red Bishop's Balls are not far behind.  Also we've posted a picture of a bloom from our white Mandevilla, happily spreading over our wall-top fencing.  Friday's meal was delicious and beautiful as usual! She had made a torta de elote (a polenta-like firm pudding) served with a sauce of yogurt & cotija cheese over it. She also prepared a salad of cooked then cooled alcelga (swiss chard) with a garlic yogurt dressing, a steamed whole broccoli head with cooked herbed garbanzo beans, plus some beef and chicken. Totally wonderful! Plus, for a change, Carmen won the set of four rummy tile games, with Dan winning one of the games. We tentatively planned to go on a hike together on sunday, depending on the weather.

Kitties made another trip to visit Doctor Vargas. He certainly is a friendly man! Both cats got free vitamin B shots. Apparently the vitamin is good for cats, just like people. Why did our US vets never suggest them? Gardi got his feline leukemia shot, and they both got two mouthfuls of a paste for internal parasites, plus we have three days worth of pills to get into them twice a day. Luckily we can crush the pills into their moist food and they happily chow them down.

We have a rotting piece of tree branch with many different kinds orchids well attached to it, near our front entry. We noticed termite debris under it, so have injected Festermicide into holes in the wood. Seems we are not able to get to the correct spot, because every day there is more termite leavings (frass) on the ground below it. Frustrating. While out one day, we purchased a pot of black petunias to hang up near our front gate, and Dan took his Craftsman taladro (drill) into a little repair shop where we see a man working on all sorts of domestic appliances on his street-side countertop. He immediately disassembled the drill, and it was done shortly, later in the day, and very inexpensively. Supposedly more rain is arriving for the next few days, followed by, finally, some clearing. Still having giant thunders briefly during the nights! Carmen's cousin Maxine skyped us saturday evening. Always is great to talk to friends and relatives, and we wish it would happen more often!

PS, iGoogle terminating, & a Chrome tweak

If anyone has been using iGoogle for your browser's start page, you will have noticed the message each day reporting the termination of this service at the end of this month.  A personalized start page, configured to be the page that opens when you call up your browser (whichever one you use), can be populated with convenient gadgets giving current news, data and links.  Think weather, news headlines, stock market reports, sports scores and the like -- hundreds of gadgets/widgets exist, mini-applications which run in little boxes you can place on your page.

I have been testing some replacements for the expiring iGoogle service.  The best seem to be Protopage and igHome, both are stable and flexibly configured.  Convenient widgets on Protopage for me are:  AccuWeather for Fortín, Breaking Mexico News, Random Quotes in Spanish, and Google Translate, plus some US/intl news sources.  igHome has more gadgets available: most of the above, three Spanish vocabulary builders (Word-, Verb- & Idiom-a-Day) and a even gadget that samples all the new MexConnect articles.  igHome also seems to allow more flexible sizing of the gadgets you select.  When iGoogle goes away, I will most miss the Nahuatl Word of the Day feed, not available from the other services.

Here's a fix if your browser of choice is Chrome.  Google recently made changes to the New Tab page.  Before, it opened a display of large tiles for your most recently opened webpages, with a second page (to the right >) for your chosen web apps, identified there by labeled large tiles.  Now the New Tab page opens with much smaller web history thumbnails, a big Search box, and any webapps you use accessible by clicking a new icon.  That icon opens a popup box of a small number of your webapps only identified by graphic icons.  Here's the fix to get rid of that superfluous, space-eating, Search box (you use the address bar at the top of the browser window for searches, right?), and restore utility to the display of webapps.

Open a new tab in Chrome, and go to the following address:  chrome://flags
Scroll down to the entry "Enable Instant Extended API" and click into the dropdown box selecting "Disabled"
Result: the new changes to the New Tab go away and Chrome behaves like it did before.

Dan

Semana Santa

Domingo 24– Sábado 30 Marzo 2013.  This was a slow week, due to weather and the Easter holidays,    with little of note that happened. So we'll dispense with our usual day-by-day commentary.  Our house renovation work has moved back outdoors, since the new bathroom is mostly finished. After a progressively more rainy sunday, our crew called in monday morning experiencing a steady downpour at home up in Coscomatepec, on the slopes of Orizaba, to say they would not be in that day.

They did opt for a chance at better weather here in Fortin the next day. However, it was still intermittently wet, so Dan suggested that the two guys not finishing the bathroom and tilework should attack the task of taking out part of the wall in the master bedroom. This is where the other window we removed to make a space for the terraza door will go. The guys were happy to get in out of the rain, since most of the demolition could take place from inside. Our pile of escombro (construction debris) at the side of the road is growing larger. Despite being sheltered most of the time, they were soaked by the end of the workday.

Wednesday was supposed to be a replay, with rain in the forecast, so when they left tuesday night they said if it was raining the next morning, we wouldn't see them until the following week. Seems they celebrate La

Pascua (Easter) season very seriously down here, from holy (aka, maundy) thursday thru Easter sunday. However, after a cloudy beginning here, and presumably rain up in Cosco since the guys didn't show up, wednesday turned out to be beautiful. Our welder, Mauricio, spent the day working on welding the structural skeleton for the mirador shelter's roof.

We have seen many processions of people thruout these last four celebrated days of Semana Santa (holy week). Some of but a few people, and some with a crowd stretching out a couple blocks long. People singing, bearing liturgical images, statues and crosses, usually adorned with flowers and fabrics. People carry candles when the processions are at night. Since we are contraesquina (kitty-corner) from the new La Trinidad chapel, the processions often pass by the house.

On thursday, even though the crew didn't show up, late in the day our carpenter Meliton, came to install the two puertas we had salvaged from the set of french doors off the dining area. He had stripped them, filled out the grooves where their styles joined, and refinished them. He reset the sheets of glass we had been storing and rehung the doors, one at the end of the passageway near the new bathroom, and the other in the master bedroom, and then installed the new locksets. Dan reinstalled the protection bars that we had repainted earlier, on each door. The welder has continued on the mirador all day. Both craftsmen returned on friday, and we had Mauricio here again on saturday finishing up the mirador superstructure.

Despite the sometimes cloudy days and precipitation, we are enjoying the climate here.  Being from the wet side of Washington State, we would surely miss the clouds, and the rain here just rolls off our backs.  Many locals carry umbrellas when the weather is inclement, but our long years in the PNW have trained us well on how to dodge between the drops, and how to find things indoors to do when it really pours. We are grateful for the flores this town is known for, and the front yard is colorful thruout the year, with the bugambilia always showing it's colors, and the plumbago, repeatedly showing its lilac-colored blooms  that come out after we cut it back regularly.  We will certainly miss our lilac hedge in Anacortes, but since the city there put in the front sidewalk, all that was left of that is a few small rescued reminders of it's former glory.

Our Gardi cat has escaped from our front yard twice this week, exploring the area outside the fence. Once he was sitting in the back area, just waiting for Carmen to come pick him up. The other time we found him on the sidewalk on the north side of the house. He saw Dan and was so happy to see him. So – kitty no longer gets to go outside 'til the extra rods have been welded into the fence to make the openings narrow enough to be cat-proof. Gardi is sulking. Smij continues to sleep in her drawer under the bed during the day. Wonder where she will go when the workers are cutting thru the wall to install the two small windows (salvaged from the laundry room) in her chosen retreat room?

Cortinas

Domingo 03 – Sábado 09 Marzo 2013.  (Dom 03^rd) Sun, sun – oh beautiful sun, back after a few darker days! (On the other hand, we wouldn't enjoy the sun so much if there weren't days to serve as a contrast. So, when the days cloud up, they're appreciated too.) Carmen is anxious to start making curtains, but she can't stop cleaning today. Since we now have a concrete slab instead of dirt outside our back door, there should not be so much filth tracked in, should there? Put out a large laundry this morning. Gardi was outside with us in the front area. Both Carmen and Gardi gave Dan a shock. This fellow walked buy, who speaks english. Carmen yelled SIR SIR, 'til he looked back at her, and she proceeded to ask him his name. Gabriel. She told him she really liked his puppy, to which he answered that the puppy belonged to his brother. Oh! This could be why she did not exactly recognize him. He does look much like his brother. Now to find out what the brother's name is, since he always speaks to us in english. These two guys run a car wash a few blocks north of here. They would like us to stop by, but Dan washes our car.

Shortly after this happening, Dan says: “Gardi is outside the gate.” Oops! The little rascal. He tried to get back in thru the front gate, as some people walked past, but then he remembered that the gate is blocked off with tighter fencing. Luckily he did not run across the road as he considered. At least he does not run from us as our other cat, Smij, would do. Once we got the gate unlocked and open, Gardi ran to go inside our door which was closed, so he laid in the sun and rested til we were done with wringing out and hanging laundry. Will be good to be able to hang laundry out back when the construction is finished.

Noontime, Dan called Mauricio, our ironwork man. He came over shortly there after, to bring the window bars he had finished, and to measure for his next jobs. Dan also called Melitón, the cabinet maker, to come measure for the bathroom cabinets tomorrow. Dan washed the car and had to call to Carmen to help dry it, since the sun was drying it so fast, and that leaves water marks.

Ania's birthday is today. She invited us over for the evening. She gave herself a wee birthday celebration by making two flans (date & almond) and a cake, plus coffee and lemon grass tea. Also there were her daughter and her husband from Veracruz, her in-laws from Cordoba. The suegro (father-in-law) of her daughter is a doctor in Córdoba. Also there was a couple from Mexico City, the god parents of Ania's children. Ania's mother was still here from Warsaw, Poland. Polish, spanish and english were spoken, sometimes all at the same time. Most interesting. Was great to be included in a family happening. A few days ago, we had sent Frank home with a fossil-filled rock for Ania, from a beach in California, so she treated it as a birthday present and was proudly showing it to all. Otherwise, she does not expect birthday or Xmas presents.

When we arrived home, Dan had an 'urgent' skype messeage concerning taxes, from one of his clients in WA. He spent an hour with the person, using skype. Carmen was wanting mexican hot chocolate. That is made with the cocoa that has cinnamon in it. Yumm. And don't forget those lemon flavored marshmallows!

(Lun 04^th) Last night dipped to 48ºF. Day warmed quickly to mid-80s. Busy around here today. Our carpenter arrived about 9:30am. Dan and he talked about Dan's design for the bathroom cabinetry. Then Frank and friend came to talk to the carpenter about doing a project for him at his new house. Meanwhile, we discovered that Luis's birthday is today. Carmen had planned to make chocolate chip cookies, so she made a huge one and wrote Feliz Cumpleaños Luís on top with frosting, and stuck a candle in it. Presented the cookie at lunch time, along with a normal-sized cookie apiece. Turned into six fellows for lunch on our front porch at our small table there, because one of Luis's brothers and one helper are doing a job couple houses south of here joined them. Soon we will have three fellows. Seems that Frank needs one of the helpers now, and we will not need four guys every day, as the tasks wind up.

Our garafon of drinking water was delivered and the two men each got a cookie too. Also all our visitors today got cookies (the carpenter, then Frank accompanied by Salavador visiting from DF, and they took along with them a pack to take home to Ania). Carmen spent awhile with plants out front today. She let Gardi cat loose out side with her. He did sit on the wall edge where he could have gone thru to the outside, but he apparently still remembered his fright from being caught out there the day before. He made no attempt to leave the yard. Don't expect that goodness to last. Dan spent some time on the porch bench reading. Much warmer outside than in today. Gardi got to go out a second time and he was ready to come in and take a nap in a sunny window before Carmen finished cutting back and transplanting stems of fuchsia starts, along with sweeping the porch. Dan had a woman stop along the sidewalk and admire the flowers along our fence. Wonder why more people do not grow flowers? Though there are many flowering bushes, vines and trees. Saturday we saw a huge tree loaded with large yellow sprays of bright yellow flowers.

(Mar 05^th) Carmen and Dan cut the material for the medium bedroom curtains. We carefully folded the full length that we purchased, and cut it into four equal parts. So smart, rather than measuring and cutting each piece. Right? Carmen finished two panels. One complete window. Now should she finish all the other two panels, or put these up and admire the work? Put them up! Thank the heavens that we chose to do this. The curtains were several inches different in length! Apparently our perfect cuts were not so perfect! Now, all the tops are finished, and the two bottom hems had to come back out. But, the two panels not hemmed yet were of equal length – what luck! Luckily Carmen was in a very good frame of mind today, so this hem removal and re sewing the hems did not bother her today. She said the fabric is beautiful and luscious to work with.

Dan spent some time painting the bottoms (where he won't be able to reach once they're installed) of the new window protections, basic gloss black. He also did some tax prep work.

Our crew worked on a final plaster wall coating. Most interesting to watch them preparing all the different mezclas (mixes) of cement, lime and screened sand as determined to be needed for each task, flipping the plaster onto the walls, then spreading and smoothing it all. Melitón the carpenter stopped by to measure for the cabinet behind the toilet and under the sink. He left with Frank to discuss Frank's project. He is unwilling to move his equipment to Frank's place and work there on an hourly basis, so Frank did not hire him.

(Mie 06^th) We walked to the store to order more cement and sand to be delivered. Turned out that FortiFerre, the place we had been buying it from was closed. At present, it seems they are out of business, Luís says from extending too much credit when they first opened last year, and not being able to collect those debts. Too bad for them, so we went to the Torralba Ferreteria, a nearby place where we had shopped several times before, and which also deals with block, cement and the like, along with a good line of hardware.

On our way home we stopped at our neighbor to the west. He works different shifts, but we heard music coming from his house. Dan talked to him about us refinishing his side of our wall, and attaching our fences securely to the poles we put at the top of the ten foot wall. Luís, our foreman, arranged to have his guys go over there when the neighbor, Valentín, is at home. Two of them worked there until 1pm today, and will continue to do so until the job is finished. Probably a week for all, including plastering the bare bricks, painting the wall with impermeabilizante and finally stretching the cyclone fencing in place. They had to first of all cut back our bougainvillea and hang protection over Valentin's plants. Will look good when finished, the sealer, from Fester, is a deep terracotta color The other crew worked finishing walls, the sink base counter and the seat in shower. SO GOOD to see these things happening. So much of the tedious work doesn't show as much time involved, but of course is most time consuming.

The welder dropped off some of his finished window and door protections, and took measurements for the next job of the stairway going up to the top of the roof. He said he has built lots of stairways, but not like this one. He needs some time to figure out exactly how he will construct it. Luis immediately cemented installed the protection bars over the window in the shower stall, and one door.

Carmen finished the cortinas (curtains) for the medium sized bedroom. Dan helped hang them just before he had to take the crew to catch their bus home for the day. We now have curtains instead of blankets on the windows of the room we presently are sleeping in. Dan again is enjoying his tax work.

(Jue 07^th) Bathroom wall tiling started today. More decisions. Being that there is a slight pattern in the wall tiles – which way to orient them? Final decision – sideways to make room appear wider, rather taller. Also the basket weave trim tile is oriented that direction.

While hanging laundry out – always an eventful time – a fellow stopped and started telling us where he was from, etc. Then he started weeding outside our gate, along the sidewalk. He did not ask for anything, just kept talking and weeding. What to do in cases like this. We did not ask him to work for us. Dan gave him a bottle of Ensure nutritional drink. This is what we intend to continue giving people who ask for food. Seems to be one or two a week. One fellow a couple weeks ago asked if we did not have any tacos. Pretty fussy?

Smij cat seems to want to go outside. She is so terrified of all, and she won't let us pick her up when she is scared, so she is certainly not allowed outside without a halter and leash. Gardi was on the front porch and she sitting inside the screen door watching him. Carmen showed her how Gardi gets picked up to go in and out the door. Next we got her a halter that we had been using on Gardi for his first outings (now he goes out with no attachments). Smij has a much deeper chest so we had to loosen it. When we felt the harness was ready, we next picked her up to put the harness on her. Ensued was a battle of the wills, which Carmen won. Smij now in halter and leash was carried outside. Interesting, but terrifying. Unfortunately, Carmen had not thought this thru about timing. The people for the office next door were just arriving for the day, so lots of foot and auto traffic. We attempted two brief Smij's outings. She did however have a bit of a look about. We decided to leave the harness on her a few days, and will give her some more outings. Want her to be familiar with what is outside the door – just in case she gets out accidentally. She, once inside with leash off, ran part ways up the stairs and sat there and cogitated about her adventures for awhile.

(Vie 08^th) We walked into town to go the atm and to pay our electric bill, and had a little set-to with the machine in the CFE lobby. Carmen insert two bills into the slot, but only the second bill was receipted. Dan went to explain the problem and a tech came out to open the back of the machine to release the other bill, which he then reinserted to pay our account in full. Live and learn! Also had to pick up another gallon of impermeabilizante at the Fester store. Later, while Carmen was out watering plants, the other brother from the carwash from up the street walked past. Turns out his name in Christian, and he and his brother were born, and grew up in, Houston,Texas. Recently, their parents were expelled from the US for being undocumented, so the whole family moved back here to live.

Today Dan worked on year-end accounting & tax prep tasks, and Carmen finished a hard jigsaw puzzle. Meanwhile, our crew worked on wall tiling in the bathroom (looking good) and finishing the west wall, making it ready for painting. Near the end of the day they installed the protective gate in front of our laundry/shop door. They will not be coming in tomorrow because they will be rewiring the church in their little community.

(Sáb 09^th) An adventure today! We took the bus round mid-day to go to Orizaba to attend a fair, their annual ExpOri. We love the ride from Fortín towards Orizaba along the winding hillside road through bamboo groves and jungle-like foliage. Many huge trees were in full bloom at this time. One in purple, another in orange, some white, some beige. Of course the pinks and yellows. Beautiful!

We knew where we were headed for, north of the main cemetery at the city fairgrounds. The only problem was that we got off the bus waaaaaaaaay too early. Had to walk several blocks in the 1pm sun. The event had many booths selling handicrafts, displays set up by local companies, plus all sorts of carnival rides & eat-from-the-hand foods. We were too early for the entertainment we had hoped to see – the voladores (fliers), men from Papantla who twirl down, suspended by long ropes from a rotating platform atop a high pole. The entertainment was oriented more for the evening hours, and even many vendor booths were not yet open, and the carnival rides not yet functioning. Having visited everything we wanted to see, and since we did not want to wait around for the crowds to show up, and darkness to arrive, we headed back to Fortín.

On the way back, in Cuautlapan, we counted 136 large huge stake trucks in lines eight deep, full of raw sugar cane, waiting for the El Carmen refinery to allow them in across their scales. The bus we returned on was destined for Córdoba via Fortin. We stayed on it thru the town to see where it went, planning to get off near the park downtown. Oops! No center of town stops anymore. So, we traveled five blocks beyond where we wanted off. Actually closer to home than to the bank where we needed to go yet. After a quick bakery stop at the panaderia, by the time we walked back we were ready for a quiet evening at home.