15 months later...

We have gone home to Canada and back again to Mexico since the last post and are close to going home again.
It is nearing the end of February and we have again had a nice winter in the warmth.  I (Dar) have had some issues this season, my knee has caused all kinds of problems and pain, down for aprox 5 weeks. Then I got Salmonella and down for another 5 weeks. I am better now but my knee is still a problem.

We had some really nice people from Hawaii, stop at the park for a week (and then another week) :) Maggie and Joni and Star.  We are happy to say they are our good friends now and hope to keep in touch with them and visit where ever they land when they're finished their adventure of driving Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador. Their set up for the trip is excellent!

Close up ;)

Star freshly bathed for the trip.

Stop, Drop and Rub my Belly!





























Last night dinner at the restaurante Avenida for Pozole, my favorite!




In a few days some more friends are coming, we will pick them up at the airport and drive to Melaque to visit even more friends ;) back on March 1st to spend the last month here before we pack up and leave for another season. Leaving April 1st this year, should be fun Semana Santa starts on March 29th this year. Oh well, we'll take it slow and keep movin.

Will try to post more. Try to.

Interesting Tree

MEXICAN FLOWERING DOGWOOD

Cornus florida urbiniana

a.k.a. Magic Dogwood

An exotic Mexican variant of the more common Flowering Dogwood. The variety is noted for its flower bracts, which are fused together, resulting in an amazing display of spirals and shapes. No two flowers would seem to look exactly alike. When in bloom the tree can be covered with hundreds of the beautiful white flowers in an ornamental display like no other.

Description

A deciduous tree usually growing to 10-20 feet. Date of leaf drop varies depending on the climate, but leaves tend to stay on the tree longer than its more common cousin.

Hardiness

Mature trees are hardy to some frost, probably to at least 10F and possible lower. Said to be hardy to zone 6-7. Younger trees should be protected from hard freezes or long frosts.

Growing Environment

Grows best in filtered sun, as it is a naturally occurring understory tree. Can be container grown. Shield from strong afternoon sun. Grow in fairly moist, acidic soil as trees have low tolerance of alkaline conditions.

Propagation

Can be propagated by seeds or by rooted cuttings. Seeds are best sprouted after cold stratification at 38-42F for up to 90-120 days.

Uses

Planted as an ornamental. When in bloom it is often considered one of the prettiest flowering trees.

Native Range

Native to Eastern Mexico from Nuevo Leon through Veracruz.

3 weeks here

After being here for three weeks we have accomplished a lot. Outside bathroom tiled, curtains hung
 ( to be reviewed next year), 5 fans installed, RV. clean inside and out. Ready to settle in now.
We have gone twice on the bikes to PV. We are going to Guadalajara in the middle of December to see Carlos Santana, Gloria Estafan and many more bands. We will ride there and sight see then go to the concert and maybe stop in at a few other places on the way back? Leon for leather goods?  Friday woman's darts is in full swing, many women there today. Nice to see everyone again. I still haven't gone to see about Spanish classes again, but. I will soon, I think :/

Morelia - Day of the Dead

Morelia – Day of the Dead By Dorothy Bell Photography by Bill and Dorothy Bell “I think I would like to be buried in Mexico next to a big family. That way I would hear mariachis and laughter. I would hear sweet whispers of respect and smell the candles, marigolds and incense. I would be fed delicious foods and drink the best of tequilas. I would hear stories of people I wish I had known.” Day of the Dead and Halloween have only skeletons in common. What is meant to scare in the US and Canada has a significantly different interpretation in Mexico. The Day is not for sorrow, but for remembering and respecting the departed. Many believe a 3000 year old Aztec ritual that was originally celebrated in August dedicated to Mictecacihuatl “Lady of the Dead" and Queen of the Underworld. The festivities were celebrated for a month and after the conquest, remained a persistent celebration much to the chagrin of the Spanish who considered the practice pagan and sacrilegious. So with a “if you can’t beat them join them” attitude the celebration was moved to the beginning of November to coincide with the Catholic All Saints and All Souls Day. Mictecacihuatl has relatively been reborn so to speak and recently morphed into Katrina, the “elegant one” the popular female skeleton Image with a wide brim hat. She was created in 1913 by Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada and later replicated and made popular by famed Mexican muralist Diego Riviera in his mural “Dream of a Sunday in Alameda Park.” Katrina, the rich upper class lady does not escape death; it comes to all of us, the rich and poor. Death, the great equalizer; a natural part of our existence. This is Day of the Dead. Not to be feared by children or commercialized by Hallmark. It is a time to honor the life and passage of loved ones. Last year my husband Bill and I spent Novemer 2, theDay of the Dead in the Morelia, the Capital city of the State of Michoacán in the center of Mexico. Michoacán is an interesting place to celebrate this particular day. Patzquaro is known for its revelry, Morelia for its captivating “Katrina” statues and the highlands as being the birth place of the monarch butterflies. Most of Mexico’s ancient cultures, the Toltec, Aztecs and Zapotecs to name a few, all believed that the butterfly was the rebirth or reincarnation of souls. We walked about Morelia’s Centro or city core and were amazed at the displays and beds of marigolds everywhere. There was joviality in the air as we strolled by tiny park benches and down large pedestrian walkways. Vendors sold cookies and cakes with skulls or skeletons. The sugar skulls appeared most often with bight accents for the eyes – some red and blue. Children would be given these skulls as a treat, often with their name printed on the forehead. Store after store had displays and Katrina mannequins. Restaurants had special menus or” living statues” or should I say living skeletons entertaining and enticing potential customers to enter their establishment. As much as the mood was playful, urban and charming in Morelia, the neighboring city of Patzquaro was somber and reflective. Patzquaro is Morelia’s Indian cousin, so celebrations, fiestas and lifestyles are always somewhat different. Here in this Indian Colonial city, the mood was far more personal. While the rabble-rousers, tourists and cameras went to Janitzo, the Island on the lake, the focus of the event for this city was the graveyard just outside of town. We walked inside the walled Pantheon and with a somber demeanor, we walked the grounds that had been decorated and visited the night before. The cemetery was crowded with loved ones who talked in whispers to each other. Candles had burned all night and left ponds of wax on the graves and pathways. The ground was a carpet of marigolds with little brown patches of earth between the graves. The air was heavy with incense, and duty. Love and respect. People were sitting on the ground or standing at the gravesite of a departed. Talking. Mumbling. Music rang out from another corner of the yard; an old love song. There were full bottles of tequila, letters and of course an overwhelming abundance of flowers. These are a few of their favorite things. And more marigolds than you have ever seen. The same color as the church in San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas. A golden yellow; almost orange. It was a moving experience not a cultural one. I told Bill I wanted to be buried in Mexico next to a grave of someone who had a big family. I would like to hear the mariachis and touch the flowers every year. Become a Friend on the Riviera Nayarit Click Here

Day of the Dead - Dia de Los Muertes

Mexico Celebrates Day of the Dead Tara A. Spears It may have started out as a somber religious event but today Mexico celebrates on November 1 and 2 with vibrant enthusiasm. These days are typically observed with friends and family in remembrance of their passed loved ones. The families spend the day playing the departed’s favorite music, eating the departed’s favorite foods or spending the day at picnics around gravesites. It is a fiesta to honor the good memories of a loved one and to celebrate life. November 1st is especially reserved in remembrance of any children that have passed. Family members and friends adorn graves with toys and gifts in honor of the little ones that have died. Some gifts may even include their favorite foods and drink. Mexicans believe that the departed’s spirit will return to spend the day with them so in return the family has a huge party to celebrate. They decorate with the traditional Zenpasuchitl marigold flower. Candles are lit to serve as a guide for the spirits to make it back home. The photos are from the Jaltemba Bay area.November second is reserved to honor the adults that have passed. Family typically decorate using the Zenpasuchitl (a type of marigold) flower and candles besides photos and some of the loved one’s favorite things: it’s not unusual to see tequila or actual food at gravesites besides lovely floral arrangements. For weeks before you will see thousands of skulls and skeletons on sale to be used to decorate this festive day. Baked pastries and bread in shape of bones are available in markets. Some stores even sell skull candies. They symbolize a person "cheating death" because the person ate it. You can even buy them with your name on it and put it on the altar at home. Once you break a piece of this really hard candy then it´s said that you have cheated death. Involving the children in the preparations for the celebration of El Dia de los Muertos, whether making the ofrenda, or altar, arranging flowers, or packing the food for the cemetery, seems like a positive means of de-horrifying death. As the family honors the dead, children learn that death is a natural part of the life cycle and therefore, not something to fear.

After a couple of days here...

Well we've been here a few days now and I can tell you, It is HOT and Humid. If you don't get the majority done by noon and the rest by 2pm forget it. 2 fans installed in the patio, 3 more to go above the RV. Sunshades were delivered and will be installed in the next few days. RV and the roof have been washed (Thank you Luis). Azullejos have been picked and will be delivered tomorrow morning and I think Pierre will start tiling on Tuesday. Lot's going on! Dalia and Miguel just left to go back to school in PV. Sponge Bob Square Pants Piñatas 13 of them have been made for Angelica, I did the faces :) People always say what do you do all day in Mexico. This is some of it, and a siesta here and there. Adios por ahora muchachos.

Last Day # Post 13

First full day here. Very warm last night, hard to sleep. Up this morning I made coffee and Brad went to get cereal and milk at the corner store. Had breakfast and then Alejandro came to help Brad fix the fan. After some fiddling and trying and changing, got it working. I did some cleaning and translating. Then later Angelica came to help me clean some more. Tomorrow Alejandro and Brad will go to Tepic to buy some material for sun screens and 5 fans for the roofs outside. I'll go buy food and things we need, and laundry. It's such an exciting life here, lol, similar to Canada work, fix, clean. Cheerrs!