Arroz Verde

I love to have friends in for dinner but with the destruction/construction going on in our house for the last 3 months, we haven't had many dinner guests. Over the weekend, I thought things are getting back in order so it was time. Well little did I know that the electrician would be coming at 5:00 PM in the evening to work until dark, or that we were in for another round of chipping dust on the stairs, or that the patio would be dug up for the sewer line. Silly me, I thought we were down to finishing touches. By the time I realized that all of this would be going on, I had invited 4 guests for dinner at 7.

But it all turned out okay. I had a mango salsa out when the guests arrived and since I had been delayed in getting the meat in the oven, everyone gathered at the bar in the kitchen and watched dinner being put together. I able to prepare a dinner of a pork loin roast, green rice, carrots with a mustard/brown sugar sauce and a mixed green salad. I hadn't made the green rice in a while but it is a really good recipe by Jim Peyton from Fine Cooking Magazine.

Arroz Verde (Green Rice)
Serves six to eight

1/2 cup tightly packed fresh cilantor sprigs
1 cup tightly packed fresh stemmed spinach leaves (about 1-1/2 ounces)
1-1/4 cups homemade or low-salt canned chicken broth
1-1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-1/2 cups long-grain white rice
1/4 cup finely minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
I usually add 1/2 to 1 whole serrano seeded and deveined

Put the cilantro, spinach, and broth in a blender and blend until the vegetables are pureed. Add the milk and salt and blend a bit more until well combined.

In a medium (3-quart) heavy-based saucepan with a lid, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the rice and saute, stirring about every 30 seconds, until it just begins to turn golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly, Add the contents of the blender, stir well, turn the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, turn the heat to very low, and cook for 20 minutes. Stir the rice carefully to avoid crushing it, cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let the rice steam in the covered pot for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

We finished it off with a Chocolate Pecan Chess Pie and vanilla ice cream from Santa Clara. When we are in Mexico I make the pie with the Mexican chocolate that has a bit of cinnamon and sugar in it and instead of a tablespoon of Bourbon, I add Presidente Brandy or sometimes Kalaua. It is a little different than my American version but guests seem to like it.

As usual I enjoyed all the talking and lingering at the table.

Chicken Broth

I know that this is going to sound silly but today a can of chicken broth stopped me in my tracks. So I'll have to explain. This is the first time I have ever, ever seen canned chicken broth in Mexico.....not in Walmart, not in Costco, nada, zip, ever. Often when we come I'll bring a case of chicken broth and one time when I asked friends who were driving down to see us to bring a case, they thought we were a little weird.....until they rented a house for a month or so and realized how hard it is to come by chicken broth.

Over time I've adjusted my cooking to be sure that I cook a chicken fairly often for soup or chicken salad and I hoard my homemade chicken broth. I save every scrap of chicken in the freezer so I can add it to the stock. Oh, you can buy a kind of powdered chicken bouillon but it just isn't the same as real chicken broth.

Today, I was in a fast walk up the street to look for a small chandelier at the iron shop when I passed Carey's. I never shop there because they bring in American foods and charge outrageous prices but the cans of chicken broth by the door stopped me. Swanson's low salt Chicken Broth. I had no choice, I had to ask how much it cost.....$2.30 for a 14 oz can. I put it down and went on my way. Mmmm.....I think it is about time to buy another chicken to stew.

Why did he do it?

A couple of weeks ago I posted a blog reference to some photographer friends. This blog was 365 photographs, one a day, for a whole year. Yes I know that lots of people try to shoot a "picture a day" but this was different because the photographer was using a 8x10 camera.....big box camera that has to be on a tripod and have individual sheets of film loaded into it. And it was different because he was so focused (excuse the pun) on his subject matter, Shooting a stranger a day. So this meant he had to cart this camera setup, keep loaded film holders, and go out in the street everyday, spring, summer, fall and winter (in Chicago no less) and find someone to photograph. These are not candids, shot from the hip. There isn't any way you can hide an 8x10 camera. He had to have some interaction with the stranger. Not every photo was a keeper, still he took the time to make the photograph maybe in between business appointments or before he picked up the kids or after the dentist. Then he processed the film and put them in his blog, day after day, after day...for a year.

All in all, I'd guess he had about 25 really engaging photographs from this year. For those of you who aren't photographers this might seem like slim-pickings. But National Geographic photographers go on assignment with 100's and 100's of rolls of film and how many make it on the pages of the magazines.

Some of the friends that I shared this photographer's site with, said; he should have edited, edited, edited, maybe he didn't know the difference between what was good and what was bad, or maybe he was just focused on shooting an image a day and didn't care whether it was good or not.

Was this a fair criticism of his work? Actually this was more a criticism of HIM because he didn't edit. If he had only put up the 25 outstanding photographs, the same comments would not have been made. You know what, I think he knew he was opening himself to that kind of criticism when he started his daily photographic blog. All photographers know that all light situations are not good for photography, light leaks happen especially with large-format cameras, and the photo gods do not always smile on us. So I ask myself why he did it...letting the world see his failures, his so-so as well as his successful images. Was he looking for the discipline and pressure? What did he learn about photography, about his work, about himself by this disciplined approach for one year?

A Special Place for Dinner

We started having dinner at L'Invito seven or eight years ago when the restaurant was on Correo. It was an interior patio and the bar and kitchen were in rooms at the back. The owner is Silvia Bernardini. She is Italian and has culinary training from Italy and France. At that time she was serving fixed price dinners....salad, pasta and dessert for $100 pesos.

The patio setting was beautiful with bouganvilla up the walls, soft lights and cozy tables. We loved dining out, except when a sudden rain came up or in the winter when it was cold. When that happened all the diners tried to crowd into the little bar. First Sylvia tried the little chimeneas but that often meant that smoke from the fire was wafting into someone's face. Then she tried the portable outside gas heaters, they worked better but on a cold windy night it wasn't sufficient. Still we loved the atmosphere. But most of all we really liked her food. The ensalada mixta was and still is one of Ned's favorites. It is a simple salad of lettuce, tomato and onion but she must use a special olive oil to dress it.

About 4 years ago she lost her lease and moved to a place on Umaran. It was all inside and although the food was still good but getting pricier, we seldom went there because we didn't like the atmosphere. There were several rooms and I felt closed in. So we were delighted when she moved once again. This time to the Instituto de Allende. The restaurant is in a wonderful space that is long and bordered by a deep portico that looks across a big patio toward the Parroquia Church. The portico is a great place for cocktails or if the wind gods permit, a great place to have dinner. Inside the restaurant There is a huge fireplace at one end and a long bar and windows and doors that open to the view of the Parroquia. It is a charming, relaxing atmosphere. When we want a special romantic dinner, L'Invito is our restaurant of choice.



On this night we had cocktails on the portico and wanted to have dinner there but the wind was gusting so hard that at times the table covers flew off the table. We moved inside. Silvia had several specials which were tempting but Ned ordered a Penne with eggplant. It was the first time he had ordered that dish and he thought it was delicious. Of course he loves eggplant.


I chose the chicken scallopini. Muy delicioso. We always plan to have a dessert and Silvia had told us that she had just made a Tiramasu....one of my favorite desserts but we were too full to order it. One night I must go to L'Invito and just have dessert otherwise, I may NEVER get to try the Tiramasu.

Construction - Week 12

It looks like a room! And now we are ready to paint!

After a meeting with the Architect on Saturday a week ago where we basically said, the concrete and brick work should have been finished and if the albanil isn't finished this next week then we need to find someone else who can finish the job. So an amazing amount of work was accomplished this past week. They grouted the entire terrace, about 450 sq. ft. in 1-1/2 days....it took four day for the same space downstairs. The new stairs were finished with saltillo tile on the treads and talavera tile on the risers. They look great.



The plumber was working too. The comode and faucets were installed in the bathroom. The laundry room plumbing was set and the washer and dryer moved back into place. The plumber had recommended that we put a small hot water heater and water tank on the roof to supply the new bathroom and laundry. Stands had been made for them but we had to lower the stand for the water heater and raise the stand for the tank in order to get good hot water pressure. But that isn't any problem. Just chip, chip, mix a little extra concrete and it is done.



Looking from the fireplace end of the room you can see wires sticking out holes. Yes, the electrician was here too pulling wires. He seems to know where the TV, internet, plugs, light fixtures and switches all go. Just hope that it will all work.

The terrace plants were taken back to the roof so now the patio is beginning to look a little better. I can see we have a lot of work to do to get the garden on the patio back into shape but until the sewer is connected and the outside painting done, I'm not going to do anything about it.

Juan and Raphael, our painters, checked in with us during the week. They will be here on Monday ready to go. First thing will be getting the doors and windows painted so we can get the glass installed and be weathered in. I think the inside painting will go fairly fast because they aren't working around furniture. They will also do the Saltillo tile floors. That will take time. The tiles have to be cleaned, then sealer two times and then a finish coat. You really can't rush that because you need to have drying times between applications.

We will put a tile roof over a part of the terrace but we are so tired of construction right now that we have decided to finish up with what has to be done and give ourselves a little break. We have been back in San Miguel for 3-1/2 months and all we have done is construction. Initially the architect had said that the project would take about 8 weeks. I was not as optimistic about finishing that fast. My guess was it would take 12 weeks. We just finished week 12. But I'm really pleased with the way the new space has turned out and I can't wait to get our studio/office set up.

Looking Both Ways

One evening when we were in London several years ago, I had my son take me down to the River Thames. I wanted to photograph across the river back toward Parliment and catch the lights at twilight. We got there a little early and I set up my tripod and exposed several negatives as the light dropped lower and lower.



I felt that I had captured what I came to do and that the walk along the river with the lights would make a nice image. I was folding up the tripod when we realized that there were some fireworks going off behind us. I turned and moved quickly to set up facing in the other direction.



Here was my picture. And it was another one of those Whacks on the Head that I need from time to time to remind me to look at what is behind me when I'm photographing.

Now here is the strange thing about these two images. They were made about 8 years ago but I have never printed them. I don't know why not.

Mexican Utilities - Gas

We use propane for cooking and heating. The cost for it has gone up in the three years we have had the house. In the warm weather it probably costs us about $40-50 a month for cooking and heating water. There isn't any central heat, just fireplaces with propane heaters or lava rocks in each bedroom and in the sala. Not the most efficient way to heat a house but the cold weather lasts for a couple of months with maybe some cool mornings or evenings for a month on either side of that. During that time the houses do get cold so for the two or three colder months the cost for keeping the propane tank filled will double maybe even more if we have a really cold spell and you use the fireplaces during the day.

Using electric heaters isn't a good option because it is very expensive to heat with electricity. We have heard of people who have had renters who used electric heaters and they have had electric bills in the hundreds of dollars....like $500 or more. As I mentioned in a previous post, the cost of electricity in San Miguel is more expensive than it is in the USA.

How do you get propane gas into your house? It is delivered to your door by truck. You can call the gas company or if you see the truck in the street, you just stop them and tell them you need gas. The good things is that the trucks seem to have a route that they follow playing a little jingle over their loudspeaker so you know when they are near by. Ranchocalypso calls it noise pollution but somehow the little two-line jingle, and all of the other mobile businesses that come "singing" down my street, is a part of the charm of living in Mexico for me. I'm not hidden away in a house but a part of my neighborhood.

If you have a tank on your roof, they come in a tank truck. One of the men goes up to the tank, drops a rope, pulls up the hose from the truck and they pump the gas up. There is a meter on the truck and you pay cash for the delivery. Most people in the older houses use cylinders of gas. The tall cylinders come on a different truck but it is the same thing. You either flag them down or call for a delivery. What amazes me is that the men who deliver the cylinders carry them up the street if the truck has to park downhill and will also carry them up stairs. How do they do it all day long? The Mexican men are strong.

This Morning

People often ask what do you do in San Miguel de Allende. I don't know that this morning was typical but I'm not sure what a typical day is. What I do know is that this morning was delightful.

Since we are in the midst of a addition to our house here, the first thing every morning seems to be a meeting with the architect or maestro over some building issues. This morning it was about lowering the hot water heater and raising the water tank to get stronger pressure for the hot water in the new laundry and bathroom. The good news was that we have no leaks in the newly installed water lines. This is really good news as it would mean chipping into the new tile and floor.

After that I headed out. I stopped for a few minutes at Joan's house who has just arrived for the next few months. Then over to see another friend who wants to make a career change. I helped people do that in a former life so we talked about what she might want to do. Then off again toward the Centro. But not in a straight line....no, no, no. I zigged and zagged from one side of the street to the other checking out the small stores.

At one where we have bought a number of things for our house here and in Houston, I talked with the owner. He has a metal shelf that isn't for sale but he is getting some like it made and he will have it in a few days. It would be great for our bathroom. He has a lot of mirrors in his store but none were quite what I wanted for the new bathroom. He can have a punched/pressed tin one made for me just exactly the size and design I want. I'm going to recheck the size and talk with him again. Can you imagine the cost of custom designs in the USA? Here it will cost the same or very nearly the same as one he already has in his store. And I'll have it in a week or two.

I haven't been in the galleries for a while so I stopped in them to check out what is new. At ZoHo, Mary and Gerry still are putting up pieces that speak to me. I should buy something quickly because the prices are sneaking up and up. At a pottery store, I found a wonderful water jug that my friend Pat who died 1-1/2 years ago would have loved. That made me sad but also glad to know that she is still with me in so many ways.

Next I walked up Umaran to Ralph's lighting store. I may have some wrought iron wall lamps made for beside the bed in the downstairs bedroom. If so, I'll need shades. He has some great ones. He said not problem. He will make lampshades that fit in any color or fabric I want. Also visited with another friend from my Colonia who was in his store. Then on up the street to check out a furniture store. Nothing caught my eye there but I looked at my watch and it was 1:30. So I headed back toward the house with stops for things for our dinner.

What a wonderful morning. Exercise, shopping and friends.

El Puente

El Puente
Originally uploaded by BillieS.

El Puente is a new restaurant on Canal near the Quebrada bridge. We had tried it once before and thought it was pretty good. We like to find small restaurants that are operated by a Mexican family because you soon make new friends with them and it feels good to see them become successful. The restaurant is a long narrow building with two stories of dining space but probably not more than 8 tables. It is painted a nice green, with art on the walls and dark green cushions on the chairs. A very pleasant place.

Our friends Diane and Tom arrived at their house from a semester of teaching and living in Morelia. They like to try new places too so we took them. We were glad to see some of the tables occupied.

Ned ordered Enchiladas del portal and Tom ordered Enchiladas Suisas. The last time we were at the restaurant I had chicken and mushroom crepes with a espinaca sauce and it was good. Diane and I decided to order that again. But this time I was surprised.



As you can see the sauce is a rather unusual color. The owner said that spinach, parsley, cilantro, green beans, soy, cream and swiss cheese were in the sauce. To me, it looked like there was also food coloring. While the taste was okay, not as "spinachy" as the previous time, but okay, the color was very unappealing and I think affected our enjoyment of the dish.

I want them to succeed and will probably try El Puente again, but I hope that the presentation of the crepes is not GREEN.

The Fathers in my life

First Father is my own Dad. I can't believe he has been dead for about 20 years. A young man from the Great Depression who went out to work to support his mother and brothers and sisters after his father died. He seemed so unreasonable when I was 15 and wanted to date a boy who was 21, or when he came out to the car when I had been sitting too long before coming in from a date. But I remember so many of our talks about world events and his strange mix of racism, conservatism but with a very liberal bent for unions and social programs. He wasn't a very vocal or demonstrative father but my sister and I never doubted that we were his world and he wasn't going to let anything bad happen to us if he could protect us.

I know my father-in-law was a wonderful father because he raised a wonderful man. But I know him best as a grandfather. He adored all six of his grandsons and even after his wife died and he was alone he would take one grandson at a time to spend the day. During that day he would take them anywhere they wanted to go and eat anywhere they wanted to eat. They were a "Prince" for the day. He was very generous with each one of them and they all adored him.

My husband Ned......today I can't imagine how I knew when I was just 19 years old when we became engaged that he would make a good father to our children, but I KNEW and I was right. He was a wonderful father to 3 boys and now all three of the older grandsons adore him. It is pawpaw this and pawpaw that. He takes the time to shoot baskets or catch the ball with them or put together toys. If I walk into their house first, the first thing they say isn't, "hello Mimi" but "Where's Pawpaw."


Pawpaw and Will

Two of our sons who have children are good fathers but then they had a good example to follow.

Michael, our oldest son, has two boys, 9 and almost 6 years old. He is the "sports father." Taking them to college games, pro games and helping coach all the various little league sports they become involved in. He likes to talk to them at night when they should be going to sleep about their day and what they are doing. I've seen him take a son aside and talk through their fears so that they can move on to a new experience.


Michael and Jack

Douglas, our youngest son also has two boys, 5 and a 2 month old. He can make a game or putting together a train seem like so much fun. He is good at sitting back and figuring out where the kid is coming from and working with him on that level. He is enough of a kid himself that he can't resist getting Maxwell the newest piece of Thomas the train or Star Wars character. And he is also very good at just talking to his oldest boy and helping him learn about people and the world. The baby is a little young yet for conversation but he sure does hear his father's voice and feel his father's arms around him a lot.


Douglas and Maxwell

Our middle son, Gary, doesn't have children but he is Uncle Gary to the four grandsons. He is important in the grandson's life because he plays with them and they know he will protect them. He is another example of what a Man is.


Uncle Gary and Will

I'm so blessed to have these wonderful men in my life. I don't know how you can raise children without a father. So Thank you and Happy Father's day to all my "Dads."

Construction - Week 11

Construction - Week 11
Originally uploaded by BillieS.

There may be an end to this project because we have progressed far enough to put paint samples on the walls. But we are still mixing concrete.

And putting the pieces together. On Wednesday they lifted the grill work up and installed it over the long windows. This was all done by hand and would never ever have been approved by OSHA.

Ned, Pancho and the grout mixer are trying to decide if the color is right.



But finally the whole 2nd floor is grouted. Now we can get on to the fun stuff. Raphael, the painter came and mixed color samples.



My friends Gary and Joseph came over to help me evaluate the colors. Gary is watching Raphael fan the sample so we can evaluate the color. I think the lighter sage green that you see will be on the walls in the studio.

The colors in the picture at the beginning of this update....the red and the darker gray green will be used on the second floor landing and in the stair well.

I'll use the red on the back wall as you can see in this image and put the gray-green on the sides of the stairwell. The stairs will have saltillo tile on the treads and the terracotta and white patterned tile that you see in the opening image on the risers. Yes, I know this is a strong color scheme, but I think it will be smashing. Oh, and just in case you think these colors are strong....I'll be using the red in the bathroom too. I struggled so with colors in our Houston house but here....right or wrong....I feel very confident of this choice.

Yeap, that is Ned going up the stairs. Isn't this going to be an interesting architectural feature of the new addition?

Happy Birthday to Doug

Doug and Maxwell and starwars
Originally uploaded by BillieS.

Today is Douglas William Mercer's 42nd birthday. Damn, that sure does make me old. Not sure how that happened. The picture is of Doug and his son Maxwell.

We've tried to call to wish him a happy birthday from his parents in Mexico but had to leave a message on the answering machine. Might not be able to talk to him even if we reached him. We're using VOIP and this evening there are problems with the cable internet. But that is another blog....Mexican Utilities - Cable.

Happy Birthday, Doug, from Mom and Dad

Mexican Utilities - Telephone

Telmex is the Mexican telephone company. It takes months and months to get a new telephone line. When people start to build a new house they go and sign up for telephone service in hopes that by the time the house is finished a year later, they will be able to get a telephone. If you can manage to get a telephone number, and you know someone who knows someone who knows someone, there might be a way to find the installer in your area to connect the phone for you for a nice "tip."

Your phone service provides you with 100 phone connections per month then you start to pay for each additional connection. Basically that is 3 phone calls per day and if you are connecting to the internet via phone line.....well you can see that it adds up fast. The cost of the basic 100 calls per month is about the same as the monthly cost in the USA where there are no limitations on local connections.

So now you have a telephone.....you deal with regular outages. Maybe your phone is working but the phone of the person you are trying to call isn't working. Last year parts of the phone system here in San Miguel didn't work for months. After delegations of people when to Celaya to complain to TelMex District Management, the State Government AND the phone company got a lot of bad press, some needed repairs and upgrades started being done in the town. But it is still taking months to get a new phone line.

Another aspect of telephone service for those of us from the USA is keeping in touch with family and friends back in the States. Making traditional long distance international phone calls quickly becomes very expensive. VOIP (voice over the internet protocol) became available through services like Vonage and lots of us ex-pats signed up. For about $15/month you can buy 500 minutes of calls or you can sign up for unlimited minutes for about $25/month.

You can have a USA number that is dedicated to Vonage and your family and friends can call that number and it will ring through to your Vonage phone in Mexico. And you can call from Mexico just as if you were sitting in the phone area code you have chosen. Most of the time the sound quality is as good as if you were calling from next door. We make our internet connection through a cable modem but we have heard and problems have been reported in the news that if you are making your internet connection through the digital telephone lines that TelMex has narrowed the bandwidth and it isn't working as well. TelMex denies that they have done such a dasterdly deed. Another good thing about the VOIP service is that when the TelMex local phone system isn't working you can call friends here in San Miguel through their VOIP number.....and that also avoids getting another connection toward your 100 connections per month.

So much has changed in the last 5 years in regards to all the utilities that I am sure if I were to write this a year from now, it would be different and the phone service would be better. But today it is what it is.

Digital photography

Digital photography.....it has happened so much faster than I thought it would and although I was seeing it happen, Kodak's announcement yesterday that they were going to stop making photographic papers was like a whack on the side of the head.

For those of you who are not photographers, especially those who do not use black and white film and do your own darkroom work to create your art, this announcement may not mean much at all. But those of us who work in the darkroom spend countless hours and money on testing papers and finding the paper that best expresses our images, the announcement comes as a shock. Especially if we had settled on one of Kodak's fine art papers for our work. In Kodak's announcement they said that the demand for black and white photography papers is declining 25% a year. In a Business Week article someone who owns a photography shop was quoted as saying that he still sells a fair amount of photography papers to students and hobbyist but that the professional photographers have moved to digital.

When we were designing and building our house in Houston, one of the main criteria was that I have room for a good darkroom and a workspace. That was just six years ago. At that point I couldn't imagine life with out my darkroom. I haven't used that darkroom in over a year. The last set of black-and-white images for a gallery show that I printed in the darkroom was 3-1/2 years ago. Wow, I can barely believe that myself. My friend and fellow photographer, Ellie, was just a year or so later buying a new house. She had the room to build out her darkroom, but she was already testing the digital world. She kept debating about building it, until she finally realized that she was able to make fine art prints via inkjet processes. If I had built a house a little later, I think I would have done the same thing.

When I look back at the last 6 years what has happened that pushed me to make the switch.

• Six years ago you could not get a good neutral archival black and white print from an inkjet printer. A lot of methods and techniques were used by photographers and some methods could do the job fairly well but were complicated with technical issues and dedicated printers. For a non-techie like me they seemed overwhelming. Now between software and technical advances in inks and printers, it is possible to make beautiful archival black and white prints as well as outstanding color prints.
• Six years ago digital cameras were expensive....at least the ones with enough megapixels to make gallery size prints. Another deterient was that the digital capture just wasn't as good as film. Not the case anymore. Today even the Canon Rebel XT can get you in the ballpark .
• Six years ago the inkjet papers were few and far between. Everyone was experimenting to find papers with greater DMax. Now there are some amazing papers. There are still some issues with semi-gloss and glossy papers "feeling" like plastic but now I'm a believer and think that new papers will be in our hands soon.
• Six years ago if you wanted to continue to use film, scan it and output via an inkjet printer, you either had to purchase a very pricey drum scanner or send your negatives out to be scanned at a service..again pricey. Now, especially if you have medium or large format film, you can buy a scanner in the $400-700 range and make very useable scans.
• Six years ago we were not living most of the time in Mexico away from access to the darkroom.

Although I was always facinated with photographs and liked taking "pictures," it was making prints in a darkroom that opened my eyes to creative possibilities. I still remember the first time I saw a print come up in the developer. I cherish the times I spent in the dark, rocking trays and watching. Since Kokak's announcement, I guess in a sense I'm grieving for losing that experience. But you know what? I still have a darkroom, there are still photographic papers available and I could go into my darkroom and print..........but I don't.

Mexican Utilities - Electricity

The electricity was off again. Like the water, the electricity being off happens regularly. But an even more regular event are drops in the electrical supply....I guess you would call them brownouts. Everyone tries to put all their appliances on surge protectors but after losing the power supply to my laptop, I've brought down a battery backup/surge protector.

Although I've read that electricity is cheap in Mexico, here in San Miguel there is a basic charge that would probably supply a few light bulbs and maybe a small refrigerator, the cost then jumps significantly. Ned figured that the cost per kilowatt hour in Houston is $.12/hour and the equivalent cost in San Miguel is $.18/hour. But the most difficult thing to deal with is the outrageous bills that come from time to time. Maybe you have been getting a bill for $100 for 2 months (the bill only comes every
other month) then the next bill is for $500. Nothing changed in your house but the electric company says the amount of electricity used was 5 times as much). They will cut off the electricity if you don't pay so you pay and then protest....sometimes they will cut the amount in half if you have an electrician check out your house and say that nothing is wrong with the wiring.

After we got a bill that was double the previous month, Ned started checking the meter two times a day and keeping records. He became the electricity police and we were turning off every light that wasn't essential. Some days the meter said we used as much at night as we did during the day. Does this make sense when the computer is off, the lights are off, and all that is running is the refrigerator and maybe the clocks on a few appliances? We don't have any idea how the meter can work in this fashion but the electric company says it is in good working order.

All I really know is that electric bills give everyone something to talk about at parties. Seems that everyone has a story.

Rain

Rain?
Originally uploaded by BillieS.

April and May are the hottest times of the year here in San Miguel. After the rainy season ends in October or November, it is dry and as the summer draws closer it is hotter and dustier. Usually by this time of year we are into the rainy season, if not rain everyday at least several times a week.

This year everyone is complaining about the heat in the middle of the day and we have had some nights when there is no breeze and it doesn't seem to cool down at all.

This afternoon we were teased with clouds and great gushes of wind, even a few drops of rain but not enough to even wet the cobblestones. At least the clouds and wind keeps things a little cooler but we need rain.

Mexican Train

Jean invited us for dinner and to play the Mexican Train Game. Mexican Train Game? We had not heard of it before but as we mentioned it to several people, either they had played or had heard of the game and wanted to play. Mmm.....well we want to be in on the action so we went to Jean's last night for the party. We had a wonderful dinner prepared by Jean's maid and then cleared the table for the game.

When they brought out the box the game was in, I wasn't so sure that this was going to be fun....it is a tin box that kind of looks like a kids lunch box with a train on it. The contents were dumped on the table. Dominos. Lots of dominos. We did a demo game to learn the rules and then set in to play. It is every man or woman for themselves and it was fun. It is a game that adults can enjoy, but the kids would too. I'm sending Mexican train dominos to my grandchildren tomorrow. Oh, and I have to order us a set too.

Friday Night on the Terrace

We had planned to go out for dinner Friday night but at 7:45 PM we found ourselves on the 3rd floor terrace with a little wine, so relaxed after a long week of construction dust and noise, we couldn't imagine pulling ourselves together enough to walk into town. And besides the hillside was so beautiful in the setting sun.

Plan B, don't go anywhere. Just have dinner on the terrace. The closest para llavar (food to go) was Juanita's just around the corner. It is a tiny place but oh, such good pizza. While Ned went to get us a pizza, I opened wine, got plates and napkins so everything was ready to go back up to the terrace when he returned.

We sat there munching on our pizza and watching the hillside grow darker and lose definition except for the yellow torch of the street lamps and pinpoints of lights from windows. The sky gradually darkened too, deeper and deeper blue until the green of the hillside and the dark blue of the sky was just a slight change in color at the horizon. The church lights came on at the Parroquia outlining the spires. We even had a few fireworks from somewhere beyond the Parroquia. It had been such a hot week but the terrace was cooled with a soft breeze.

Plan B turned out to be a very good plan.

Construction - Week 10

Construction - Week 10
Originally uploaded by BillieS.

The architect Luis Kahn who designed the beautiful light filled Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, was quoted in the book, Luis Kahn: The Construction of the Kimbell Art Museum by Luca Bellinelli, as saying that stairs should be an event in a building. Our stairs in this little house in San Miguel are an "event."

This week the window near the top of the second floor landing and the tragaluz over the stair well were installed and the stairwell became a light filled column. I knew that the way they had made the stairs was architecturally interesting but the light defined the shapes and it became an architectural sculptural "event."

We had just one hitch about the stair well this week. The iron banisters were delivered. I was horrified. They looked common and like they could have come off the rack at a Mexican "Home Depot." I immediately called the architect. What we currently have on the stairs going to the second floor is a very simple banister with one support column per tread....it would never pass city code in Houston. The railing is a lovely slightly twisted and hammered metal. It is very simple and I think it is elegant. I'd never thought a lot about it until the new ones were delivered and then I realized that what made it so lovely is that it is all handmade. Nothing is premanufactured. I had said that I wanted the new banisters to be the same as the old not realizing what that really meant. The architect immediately realized that a handmade banister like we had on the first floor had to be used. Although this is not an expensive house, there are a few special handmade touches that give it a very warm quality. It will cost more but it will be worth it in the total feeling of the house.

This week the lavanderia or laundry room took shape. The sink/washboard has been installed. No self-respecting Mexican laundry room would be without this sink. It makes no difference if you have a washer and dryer in the lavanderia, the maid expects to pre-work stains before putting them in the washer. And actually we have found that having this sink is very useful for any number of tasks. So we are glad to see that it is in place.

One other issue this week was the doors....well not actually the doors but the closing of the metal doors. I decided to do metal doors because the wooden ones shrink althought the carpenters tell you that the wood is kiln dried. Maybe so but we are in such a dry climate they shrink more. And surprisingly San Miguel also has it's fair share of termites. Well, to get to the point, after the doors were installed they were not closing properly. The Maestro had them take the doors out and reinstall and then brace the door jams so that there was no shifting as the plaster dried. Now all the doors are working fine.

Ta Daaaaaaaa.....the new studio/office is beginning to look like a real room. The tile is laid on the floor but the grout for the tile is on the black-drop cloth in the center of the floor. For two days they have been mixing grout to get the "right" color to go with the tile. I have no suggestions because the tile changes color when it is sealed so I have to rely on their experience to get the right color grout. They are doing their best to get it "right." I love the lay-out pattern of the tile. It is the same that we have downstairs. In a new home in Houston the Saltillo tile in this pattern would have been a significant up-charge.

This week the slope of the terraza was figured and a subfloor was put in. Now it is time to put in the tile. This terrace is going to have a wonderful view of the city and the hillside. We are hoping that the masonery guys will be done by about Wednesday of next week. Then on to plumbing, electrical and painting.

Mexican Utilities - Water

The city water is off. Not a surprise because it is off periodically. It is the reason why most of the houses built now have cisterns and water tanks. Sometimes it will be off just a few minutes and sometimes for a few hours. I've heard stories of the water being off for several days in houses that are up on the hillside.

We often see water running down the street from a break in a water line so even if the water supply was deemed safe for drinking, I won't drink unfiltered water from the tap because there are too many breaks in the lines. Three times a week we have 19 liter water jugs delivered to the house. The cost per jug is 16 pesos, about a $1.50 each. Many of the houses built by or for gringos have water filtering systems but they have to be maintained properly and if you have a water filtering system then you need a pressure tank to keep the water flowing thru the house. Life in Mexico gets more complicated (and expensive) with each added amenity. Actually, I've been surprised at how easily we have adjusted to using bottle water.

Today the water being off is a problem. The masonery people are trying to finish up on the house so we have lots of concrete mixing going on for the sloped floor of the terraza so it will drain properly as well as a number of other projects. In fact at one time today there were 3 piles of different cement mixes outside the front door. After the water went off, we were able to run a hose from the back terrace where the water supply is from the water tank that can get it's supply from the cistern.

Water is precious here and the issue of having adequate water supply for the future was the subject of several conferences in the last year. There are proposals for building a Jack Nickolas golf course in the area and those of us who are residents wonder how that can be done without significant impact on the water supply.

Over the next few days I'll blog about the other utilities.

Memory Links

I've been scanning negatives from one of the three-ring binders I brought to Mexico. I'm being disciplined and going through each binder from front to back and looking at each contact sheet and choosing those that I will scan. This past week has been a binder from May to October, 1996....Texas churches from various excursions, a trip to Puebla, and our first trip to England.



Wells Abbey, in Wells, England

Although the trip to England was primarily a visit to London to see a grandson.....and his parents too, we did take a few days to drive outside of the big city to some other towns. I remembered the whole trip with great fondness but it was remembered as a "package." When I start looking at the images, I started remembering the pieces of the "package" in detail.....where we parked the car on the roadside while we found the lady with a key to a church, the feeling in a church of worshipers from the past, the walk we took down a trail, the clouds that covered the sun as I waited for them to pass so I could photograph another church, the B&B where we stayed, the tiny bedroom and miniscule bathroom, the chinz on the breakfast table, the cozy evening out of the rain in a pub, a roundabout that seemed endless as we looked for a sign for our exit, the terror of learning to drive on the "English" side of the road. Each picture opened another slide show of the trip. You can see some of these images on my photography website.

How many times have you heard someone say that if there was a fire or some disaster, they would try to save their family pictures. They are so important to us because they provide links to what is stored somewhere there in our brains. And this isn't just to the images but it opens our memory to links of smells and sounds.

Who first said, "A pictures is worth a thousand words."

Mexico's Economy

We receive a Mexican economic report from Lloyd's each month. Those who contemplate living in Mexico might be interested in a few items from the month of June or you can read the entire newletter by following the links in the URL listed above.

• HEALTHY ECONOMY - Various statistics show that Mexico's economy continues its healthy growth. For example, the Finance Secretary, Francisco Gil Diaz, has said that the number of tax payers has increased by almost 2 million, or 10%, over the past 4 years. Some 18 million individuals and 5 million businesses are now formally registered for taxation purposes. In addition, the budget deficit has been reduced each of the last four years, with a balanced budget expected in 2006. The Finance Secretariat reports, and private sector analyst agree, that economic growth is well on track to exceed 3.88% this year, and that inflation should drop below 4%.
• REGIONAL DISPARITIES - One economic challenge still to be faced is how to reduce the growing disparity between the prosperous north and relatively poor south of the nation. National Statistics Institute (INEI) figures show clearly that the gap in economic development is widening. From 2000 to 2004, for instance, while the center and north of the country enjoyed GDP growth rates of about 5% a year, the economies of the west and south-east grew by only 2.4%, thus, ways must be found to catch up with the considerable economic progress that has occurred in the north.
• SECONDARY MORTGAGE MARKET - The federal government is taking steps to develop the secondary mortgage market, as well as private sector insurance plans for mortgage credit. In turn, these developments should make it possible for banks and mortgage companies to offer housing loans for up to 95% of a property's value. The insurance will allow mortgages packed for resale to obtain a AAA credit rating, making them attractive to investors. The amount of credit available in the house sector has risen rapidly since 2000 in the states of Nuevo Leon, Jalisco, Coahuila and Baja California, though it has remained relatively stagnant in the Federal District, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Yucatan, Sonora and Sinaloa.
• REMITTANCES STILL RISING - The total value of remittances received by families in Mexico from the estimated 11 million Mexicans working abroad reached 4.065 billion dollars during the first quarter of this year. This was 20.55% more than the same period a year earlier, according to the central bank, Banco de Mexico. During the first three months, 12.32 million remittance transactions were made, giving an average value of 330.12 dollars per transaction. The two states to benefit most were Michoacan and Guanajuato. Analyst are predicting that the total remittances for the year may exceed 20 billion dollars, more than crude oil exports, tourism income (likely to be around 12 billion dollars this year) or direct foreign investment. Remittances have risen from the equivalent of 1.21% of GDP for the period 1995-2000 to 2.2% of GDP in 2004.

The economic indicator for us personally is that when we came back to Mexico about 2-1/2 months ago, we were getting about 11.4 pesos to the dollar. This week it was 10.6 pesos to the dollar.

And the answer is............?

Or maybe the title should be....How many answers can you get to the same question? Here in Mexico it seems to be as many different answers as the number of times you ask the question.

Last night at a dinner party, one of the guests had just gotten his FM2 which gives you immigrant status. It is a step up from an FM3 which is resident status. The FM2 is for 5 years and the question about how long you can be out of Mexico during that 5 year period is one that us gringos are always trying to figure out. Even asking at the immigration office seems to vary with who you talk to. We have gotten answers from no more than 180 days during the 5 years to 1-1/2 years during the 5 year period. And for those of us who drive in and out of the country, we aren't sure what difference it makes because no one checks your visa when you cross the border. If you are flying in and out, the airlines take up the visa or send you over to immigration to have your FM2 or FM3 and passport stamped. But then there is the question of does any of this get into their computers. But the bottom line is, the more you ask about it, the more answers you have and the more confused you are.

Another example of multiple answers is from a couple of years ago although it is just another one of many examples. We had heard that on Good Friday in Atotonilco a town close to San Miguel, they had a procession and reinactment of Jesus being nailed to the cross and that we needed to be there by 10 AM to see it. We decided to go. When we got there, vendors were beginning to set up their booths and the streets were fairly deserted. We started asking when the procession would take place and where it would start and in which direction it would go. We asked a policeman, a nun and someone who seemed to have a roll in organizing the event. We heard it will come up this street, down this street. It will start at 11, at 12, at 1. As it turned out, it started about 1:30 and came down the street and to a hill by the road.

We like to keep up with the religious processions and events here in San Miguel so I can photograph them. What is published in the local newpaper isn't right most of the time or else it isn't in the paper at all. So Ned has started going to each of the churches when he is in town and checking their calendar of events. Yesterday was suppose to be confirmations at 10, 11 and 12 at the Parroquia. I was there with my camera at 10. Not a single girl in a white dress with relatives in tow.

We like the parade of the Locos in June but so far this year we have heard it will be on June 11th, 12th or the 19th.

I guess I just need to be prepared at all times with the camera and keep asking questions. I'd keep a list of all the answers and put a tick mark beside each answer when I heard it then maybe I could go with the one that has the most tick marks..............
Still I'd never be sure that I had THE RIGHT ANSWER.

Construction - Week 9

We've hit the wall. We just want to be finished. We're tired of having workers in the house from 8 AM to 6 PM, tired of the dust, tired of the noise and tired of living in limbo and chaos. I know this sounds a bit dramatic but bottom line is.....get it finished! And this is from a couple who 5 years ago built a new house from scratch in Houston and would have considered building another house at the point it was finished.

The thing that made me realize I was hitting the wall this week was the stairwell. There was an existing stairway from the living area to the old terrace which is now the new floor. A stairs had to be built from there to the new terrace. In the process the old space had taken a lot of hits from the construction and since we were plastering the new room slightly differently than the downstairs, I said "Replaster the whole stairwell like the new room." I thought that it would be like a coat of paint, you just go over the existing finish with the new. You can imagine my surprise when I came home from grocery shopping to lots of chip, chip, chip and rubble in the entry floor. Then I find out that you can't put a thin coat over old plaster because it will not adhere correctly. So...new plaster.



Just when I thought the chipping was done, we were into another big "chipping." I wanted to sit down and cry. We have a drop cloth that encloses the stairwell...but that does not keep out all the dust and certainly not the footprints nor the plaster chips as they fall down the stairs in push into the sala. That was the hour I knew that I had hit the wall. Enough!

Some of the things I've learned from this experience...SO FAR...who knows what else I may discover about remodeling in Mexico.

• Things will get lost in the translation. Not just the words but in the cultural translation.
• Let it go. In the USA, I can demand and get what I want but here if I take a hardline, I will not win. Go with the flow...once again it is a different culture.
• Realize that the Mexicans have their way to build things. You should ask questions but in the end you have to trust that they know what they are doing when they make a countertop 42 inches from the floor instead of 36 inches.
• When you say make it like this existing door doesn't mean make it exactly like this door, to the craftsman it means make it similar to this. The way to get "closer" to what you want is to give them a drawing with EVERY measurement on it.
• When they tell you we will be finished in 8 weeks, they don't actually mean 8 weeks....they mean we will be done in 8 weeks give or take a few weeks.
• Be prepared for some surprises, some will be wonderful and others will be....well, surprises.

The new countertop and sink in the bathroom. It was 42 inches above the existing floor but when the tile was laid it is now 36 inches...I think it is...maybe I should measure....or maybe I should just let it go!

The fireplace isn't exactly what I thought it would be, but it is one of the nice surprises.

You can see in the fireplace photo they have started the tile on the floor of the new room.

The architect tells us that the masonry maestro will be out of here by next weekend and we can start with the painting, finish the plumbing and electrical and other finish work. Mmmmm.....we'll keep our fingers crossed. I had said that I thought the project would take 3 months. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that will be the case.

Roses

I love having fresh flowers in my house especially roses but in the USA that can get expensive. Here I like to keep flowers in several places around the house. Usually I'll have roses on the table or in our bedroom.



If the Rose Lady stops at my house, I can get a dozen roses for 25 pesos...about $2.30. But I'm not always here when she goes down the street so I buy them from the "Rose Man" who always has roses outside of Espino's grocery. Sometimes, like now, the roses are 35 pesos and sometimes like during Easter the roses are 50 pesos. Even at 50 pesos a dozen, they are less than $5 US dollars for long stem roses.

Comida at a Friend's Casa

Our friends, Barry and Tracy, invited us for a swim and comida. The longer I live in Mexico, the more I love the Mexican custom of having your main meal in the afternoon. Barry and Tracy live in our Colonia. Their house is tucked behind a long corridor covered with bouganvilla. It opens into a garden and house that makes you feel like you are in a old, gracious hacienda with deep porticos, comfortable seating and a big table to gather around for a delicious meal, a little wine and a lot of talking.

After a few snacks of chicken wrapped in prosciutto with a horseradish guacamole and tomato, mozzarella, basil and slices of bread, it was time for a swim. Some people have a pool....well, to have a pool and a few others have a pool because they use it and it is a part of their lifestyle. That is Barry and Tracy...they use their pool daily. With San Miguel's reputation as a haven for gringos, you might think there are a lot of houses with swimming pools but that isn't the case.



We moved from the table to the pool and continued with the conversation. Then when we all looked like prunes, we went back to the table under the deep portico.



Tracy is one of those hostesses who make it all look so easy and she also serves delicious food. Today it was pork tenderloin marinated in garlic, ginger, soy sauce and honey, a crisp coleslaw and potato salad. It was getting dark when we finally left the table and parted from our friends.

I have a friend who is a cancer survivor. She says we should make good memories everyday. They can't get any better than this.