don't do this at home

Happy New Year, dear readers.  It's been surprisingly quiet here in our little beach-side village.  I thought there would be discos galore last night but I'm not really sure there was even one.  The hotel terrace next door was a lively place but it was quiet nice traditional ranchero music with some singing and dancing by guests.  But there was one absolutely glorious spectacle at around 11 PM.

I went out to sit on the balcony to listen to the music and enjoy the (relatively bug-free) night, when I looked up into the sky and saw what appeared to be huge fireflies out over the sea.  It was truly breathtaking.  I recognized these as globos de luces, little paper hot air balloons.  You light the paraffin candle, hold on until it begins to rise, then let go and, if you're lucky and the wind is low, they will float up gently.  Last night was perfect; there was no breeze  so they floated up slowly and crossed the night sky at a stately pace.  I noticed more being launched from the hotel next door.  We first saw these at a party in San Carlos on one of our drives down here.  There was a christening party held out on the lawn of the hotel and when it got dark the guests sent up probably 100 of them.

You wait until the air is nice and warm, then let go and up it goes.

UP . . .

UP . . .

I wish these pictures were better but I was so startled to see them that I just grabbed the iPod and snapped away.  Believe me, it was magical.

Now, if you did this at home you'd end up in San Quentin.

OPERA NOTE:  Tomorrow's opera is Joann Strauss's Die  Fleidermaus (The Bat) from the Met with James Levine back on the podium.  It's going to be GOOD!

 

lunch in El Real

We have a delightful friend from Milwaukee who has one of the apartments in the casa.  In fact, the apartment he bought is the very one we used to stay in before he bought  it and we bought the house.  Each year when he comes down for his vacation we get together for  a lunch or dinner to talk about old times and our mutual affection for Marie.  This year we went out to El Real to the Crab on the Beach, a huge open air restaurant with fantastic views and pretty good food.

We got there around 1:30, a good hour before the usual crowds arrive for comida.  Mr. C and I both had camerones al mojo de ajo and Al had filete al mojo de ajo ~ you know the rule; if anyone has garlic, EVERYONE has garlic.

There were about 20 shrimp swimming in garlic-infused butter that wafted around the table in the most wonderful aromatic cloud.  The meal was very good and all of us enjoyed everything.  NOTE:  I always take a little plastic box with me to bring home leftovers, and this was no exception.  Between the two of us we brought home enough shrimp for today's lunch.

 This is the view from the dining room.

Really not too shabby.  The reindeer on the right is part of the restaurant's Christmas decoration.  When was the last time you went to a resto that had a creche as part of its display?

It was a lovely lunch with good food, good views, good talk.

It's the last night of the year and so far it has been quiet down here at our end of the malecón.  I have no idea what's to come.  But as we close down for the night, here's the last sunset until 2016.

Like the year almost past, it's not really a spectacular sunset, but it is colorful and satisfying.  Some wonderful things happened; my trip to Europe with daughter Alex, a couple of great visits with g-kids and g-dogs (in Bozeman), good health news for both Mr. C (9 years since cancer treatment) and me (no cavities, low test numbers, and  the surgical wound is healing nicely), some good books, some good movies, some good food and drink.  All in all, it was a year worth living.

Happy New Year, dear readers, and I intend to recount new adventures in the coming year.

Good Night and Good Luck, as someone once said.

what's in your backyard?

We came home this afternoon after a lovely lunch in El Real with our Pal Al (more on that tomorrow) to discover this pair of Guinea hens nestled under the palm tree in the back garden.  I don't know where they came from, how they got into the garden or how long they are planning to stay.  They didn't say.  But they're quite beautiful and I'm happy to offer them shelter while they need it.  I don't know if they're nesting, if they're a pair ~ boyfriend and girlfriend ~ or if they're just a couple of freeloaders, but it's nice to have something back there besides iguanas.

the line was dead

Well, dear readers, it happened again this year.  The phone/internet line ended up lying in the street and we were completely cut off.  No news.  Nothing about the world, the homeland or even the Kardashians.   It was hard being in the void.  But today when we returned from our morning trip to the market, the lights were flashing and we had a dial tone.  I figure that the reason it happened so quickly ~ last year we were without phone/internet for 2 weeks while the lines lay undisturbed where they had fallen ~ is that one of those affected is a legislator from Colima.  It never hurts to have neighbors with influence in high places, aka Telmex.

To recap briefly.  Christmas was quiet and very nice.  Saturday night the influential Colima neighbors had a HUGE quinceanera party that went on until about 5:30 AM Sunday morning.   Even though your faithful reporter was totally dragged out due to lack of sleep, we decided to keep our date with Colima on Sunday morning.  Off we went to all the big box stores ~ Home Depot, Sam's Club, WalMart ~ with long lists and a fist of pesos.  Four hours later we were back home with a car full of stuff we had decided we needed plus a couple of "finds" we hadn't planned on.  Unpack, put away, regroup and it was off to Fernando's for comida.  This has become another ritual puesto visit;  Dago's on Friday, Fernando's on Sunday.   

Up and out this morning after a very quiet night.  The market was busy and full of it usual beautiful produce.  I browsed the tables piled high with the usual wardrobe enhancement offerings but made no purchases this week.  My last week's skirt will hold me for a couple of weeks.

It's actually a little cooler today which is greatly appreciated.  I realize it's the tropics, but enough is enough already.

Merry Christmas

It's Christmas Eve here in the humid tropics.  Last evening was the season's first party down at Chuy's puesto.  It was a "y'all come" hosted by one of the J Boys (Jordan) who bought a big mess of beef and beer and invited us all to come down and enjoy  carne asada and cerveza.  It was all  wonderful and  a fine way to kick off the season.  Thank you Jordan!

 If you are dreaming of a warm and wonderful Christmas, think about  coming to Mexico and putting your fanny here and watching the sunset.

Right now it's time to go to sleep and dream of sugarplums and Santa and tomorrow's Cerdo con Salsa Verde that I cooked for our Christmas dinner.  Can hardly wait.

I hope all your Christmas dreams come true, no matter what they are.  You undoubtedly  deserve them!

HOT

Here it is, almost Christmas, and we are wilting under really hot, humid days and nights.  We have the fans going non-stop but it is very uncomfortable.  I checked back in the blog over the past couple of years and at this time we were having cool, rainy days and nights.  But this is ridiculous!  I get out of the shower and, after drying off, I'm as wet as before.  This, too, will pass but right now it's no fun.

We finally got our Christmas lights up (I'll take a pix tonight) and things are looking almost festive.  I bought some noche buena plants at the Monday market to get myself in the mood.  And some red/white flowers with lots of greenery for an added touch.  Still, when it's 82º with 85% humidity it's hard to be very jolly.

Mr. C has gone off to Armeria for a hair cut and it's time for me to bustle around and red up the place.  It's still quiet in town; crowds won't start until Thursday evening.  I think there is a disco at the north end of the malecón (we're at the south end) for some entertainment over the weekend.  The city fathers have encouraged everyone to clean up around properties (they do that twice a year; Christmas and Easter) so there's a lot of weed hacking and tree trimming going on.  The beach is still a sorry sight; I played dominoes at Chuy's yesterday and took a good look at the destruction wrought on his puesto.  Almost half of the front is completely gone.  But little by little the owners are getting things back in order to welcome (they hope) next week's vacationers.

Other than the above mundane news, it's life as usual here at the beach.

Reading a splendid book, the biography of Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson.  An excellent read, especially in this time of political buffoonery.  What a remarkable gentleman he was; wise, witty, crafty, temperate in all things, a very compelling personality.  Isaacson does a wonderful job of making him come alive and seem almost contemporary.  What the book tells me, among other things, that society hasn't changed much in 300 years. 

Saturday night sky