what a find!

I can't believe our outlandish luck at finding this place to rent. I'll attempt to do it justice by word and photo. Let me just say that the owners scored BIG TIME when they stumbled on it for sale a few years ago. Off the beaten path, on a tiny little alleyway but only about 4 or 5 blocks from the jardin, the center of town. The house has a garage but a washer and dryer have recently been moved in there so we can't get big Vincent inside. But there is a large "landing pad" outside the garage where he will be perfectly happy (and safe). Tonight we will go up to the third floor for a sunset view of the city. Photo opp, of course. Right now I am so tired I don't want to write anything further. But tomorrow is another day and I will attend to my responsibilities at that time. It will be worth you wait, I promise.

it's all legal

We picked up our FM3 ID cards this morning in Manzanillo which means we are finally here legally. Actually, we were legal before this but our FM3's had expired last month and I don't like this waiting period. Feels too much like limbo. So we're now good to come in and out of the country for another year without a visa or new car papers. We also have our own CURP numbers (Clave Única de Registro de Población), sort of a Mexican Social Security number. You need this number if you want to get a cell phone (why, I don't know) or a driver's license (should you ever been that foolish).

I'm packed and ready to leave early tomorrow morning for our mountain holiday in San Miguel. This is the latest we've ever been; it will be quite warm. Mr. C's Mexican Primroses are safely in Marie's care while we are gone; they will probably burst into full bloom in the next couple of days. I remember once, years ago, he was trying to germinate a Flamboyant tree from seeds we had brought home from Guadaloupe. We took the pot with us on a trip up to Tlaquepaque so he could tend to it daily. Sheesh! But not this time; he's leaving the primroses with a babysitter.

The house we have rented has both WiFi and broadband so there will be no interruption in your reading pleasure ~ I hope.

note on a passing

When the news came last week of the death of Elizabeth Taylor, I was reminded of the time when I was nine or 10 years old that I saw her, up close and personal. I went with my father to the MGM studio to visit the set of "Father of the Bride." My uncle Malcolm was an art director at MGM and, although he was not working on that particular movie, he asked my father if he would add some "technical advice" on the wedding ceremony scene. Well, who could say no? Part of the movie was filmed on the lot, but the actual wedding was filmed at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills.

I remember riding in the car to the studio lot, so antsy and squirmy. The idea of seeing her ~ I had seen both "Lassie Come Home" and "National Velvet" by that time and thought she was wonderful ~ caused great excitement. Then we rolled up to the gate, my father told the guard who he was and where we were going, and the next thing we were walking into a huge hangar-like sound stage where people were scurrying around setting up lights and other equipment. My father warned me to be quiet and not to squeal when I saw the "star." But there she was, a radiantly beautiful girl, all of 18, about to get married, or so I thought. It turned out that this was to be a rehearsal of the wedding scenes; processing up the aisle, where to stand, who goes where, who says what, basically how the Anglican marriage ceremony is conducted.

And then it was over. My father took my hand and brought me over to where the cast was standing. I said "How do you do?" and shook hands with everyone. When I shook her hand, she leaned down and said "Hello, Susan," in a very soft, sweet voice. And yes, she did have violet eyes. I probably blushed beet red but I don't remember. My father chatted with my uncle while I oogled the actors, and then we went home. I do remember telling my mother, "She said "hello" to me!"

So that's the story of how my life-long fascination with Elizabeth Taylor began. The whole thing started with only two words, "Hello, Susan" but I will never forget them. RIP, Liz.

the persistent gardener

You may recall some months back I posted this photo of Mr. C's Mexican Primrose starts. He had 5 pots of these little beauties, each one with a different show of foliage. No explanation for that.


As of yesterday these leggy little things have started blossoming. The flowers are a pale yellow with a bright yellow stamen. The Mexican Primrose bushes at home have blossoms of a different shape, with rounder petals of a deeper pink hue. The five plants are all loaded with buds ready to burst open. Probably while we are up in San Miguel, unfortunately.

This is quite a triumph for the resident agronomist. He has tried growing other things, such as lemon cucumbers (one matured about the size of a walnut), cranberry tomatoes (we got three), other flowers (coreopsis ~ nada). But this year his Mexican Sunflowers blossomed, one zinnia from the entire seed packet made a showing, and now the primroses. It's been a banner gardening year!

Daylight Savings Time begins for us tonight. Another hour to enjoy the glorious sunshine and warm evenings.

only one more evening at Dago's

I glanced at the calendar and realized that we have only one more dinner at Dago's this season. Next week we'll be in San Miguel, the following Friday is iffy because of an invite to a big comida at the Morelos Hotel at mid-day featuring their famous chiles rellenos which will probably preclude a dinner later. On Good Friday the crowds may be overwhelming. So that leaves the last Friday in the month. Even though it's Pasqua the hoards will have thinned down and perhaps we can have a final shrimp feed. My dinner tonight underlined what I said in an earlier post; best shrimp on the malecón. I said "good bye" to Sibyl and Paul for this season. They have started building a house about a block from here; first step is a beautiful wall around the property. Actual constructions of the house starts next year.

Re. yesterday's perusal of someone's "mystery" library. Not my sort of stuff. More pot-boiler style than those I am interested in. However I did bring home a Harlan Coben; he's always fun. Otherwise, I left empty handed. But the afternoon was quite delightful; domino game followed by a good dose of chat and the exchange of "getting to know you" information. The hostess and her spouse are from Washington state and plan to be here for several months during the winter. Not full-timers at this point.

Don't know what's on tap tomorrow since I won't be doing the opera, although I might just tune in for a moment to give a listen. More "closing up" activities, I expect. That means bagging up pillows, packing away clothes not to be worn again this season. That means that I'll wear the same old shorts and shirts for the next month. Mr. C has already begun the shut-down by taking down the blades from the ceiling fans downstairs and wrapping the motors in plastic bags, getting the small bedroom ready for it's share of boxes and bags of stuff. I'm happy to do as much as possible in advance of our SMA trip; less to do when we get back.

I noted that we really didn't seem to have much we were planning to take home, far less than usual. Of course, I say that before we go to SMA.

"There's not going to be much shopping in San Miguel this year," he noted.

Ha! That's what he thinks!

adios Marzo, bienvenidos Abril

Where in the world have the last four months gone? Well, wherever they are, they're gone and it's time to move on. But before we go, today was Opening Day for Major League Baseball. It was 41º in Cincinnati, there was 2 feet of snow on the ground in Minneapolis, and the SF Giants and the LA Dodgers are to play tonight and here it is too early to know anything. The beloved Vince Scully begins his 62nd year as the voice of the Dodgers making sense of it all for the listeners, no matter which is your team.

But tomorrow begins the glorious month of April.

• April 1st is, of course, April Fool's Day. It is also the birthday of gal pal Liz. Happy Birthday, Liz!
• April 2nd is departure date from Cuyutlán for Neighbor and Mrs. Nelson, back to California. They actually fly out of Guadalajara on the afternoon of the 3rd, but they will be deserting the beach on Saturday. It's also the broadcast of the Met's Das Rheingold. I may have to give it a pass. Wagner, you know.
• April 3rd begins Daylight Savings Time here in Mexico. Spring ahead. That means it will be dark until around 8 AM and sunset will be after 8 PM.
• On Monday, April 4th we go into Manzanillo to pick up our FM3 documents. Mrs. Neighbor Nelson went last week and even though they told her the FM3 would be ready, she had to wait more than 2 hours. We'll see.
  
• Tuesday morning April 5th we leave for our annual trek to San Miguel de Allende. We have rented a different place this year but in the same area. In fact, about a block or two away. Since DST has started we will have to leave a bit later than usual; we have to wait until it is really daylight before hitting the road. But it will still be lovely daylight when we get there. It's 400 miles, about an 8 hour drive.
• After that, I don't know what we'll be doing during the next few days of vacation. Going to restaurants, taking in a concert or art show if possible, and just hanging out in that delightful place. There will be a trip to Dolores Hidalgo, of course, for more pots and other talavera goodies.

Meanwhile, tomorrow evening at Dago's, of course, to have really good shrimp and to say "good bye" to the Nelsons. They are the first of the winter crowd to leave. Next will be Sandy (Brad is staying on to finish up an irrigation system he is installing), then Sibyl and Paul. One by one (or two by two) we are closing out the 2010-2011 season. We aren't leaving until May 1st. But take heart! The 2011-12 season is only seven months away!

lovely lunch, delightful dinner

Here's what I learned at lunch: Dago does the best shrimp on the malecón. We went to a different puesto this afternoon and now I know better. I won't make that mistake again. I have tried three other places and none holds a candle to his way with shrimp. Nonetheless, lunch was lovely. Good conversation in a gorgeous setting. The breeze was warm, the view spectacular. My luncheon companion is leaving here in 10 days for Ottawa and perhaps then on to Europe to visit family. But she and her husband will be back for next season, and we will, I hope, do this again.

After lunch I went over to Jack's to help him install his new modem so he, too, will have his own reliable internet connection. But nothing is ever easy, is it? There was a problem with one of the cables and I couldn't get it hooked up. I'm taking one of our cables over to see if it's a flaw in what Telmex gave him. He's eager to get his own service up and running so he doesn't have to schlep over to the cybercafe every day to check things out. Perhaps I'll send Mr. C over to deal with it!

Tonight's entertaining dinner was also very nice. The quiche was creamy and delicious, the Sinaloa tomatoes I bought to slice and dress weren't quite ripe; still a bit hard. But at least they were a change from those dry Roma things that are the standard here. It's true that they make the best sauce but I get tired of them. What I want is a really juicy, acidic Beefsteak or even some nice Early Girls. But not here. Mr. C made some refreshing vanilla ice cream, always a treat, and added some sweet sliced strawberries. The conversation ranged from real estate problems here in Cuyutlán to libertarian issues such as the legalization of marijuana in California (everyone thought it would pass. Surprise!), to the class-action suit by women workers at WalMart. And a whole lot more. Sammy, the dog, didn't say much but his presence was most welcome.

Tomorrow afternoon is a domino game at a home down in the colonia. I understand that the hostess has quite a collection of "mystery" novels. I'm looking forward to giving them the once over for future readings.