Ten cuidado con la gripe porcina. Be careful with the swine flu

We are in the middle of a swine flu alert. The Mexican government thinks it is serious enough to close every school in the country and many churches and other public gatherings are cancelled. In Mexico, as in many other parts of the world, labor Day is celebrated May 1. There are HUGE parades as Labor Day is a big deal here. That giant parade is cancelled and that, more than anything, got my attention. Anyway, Tuli thought she needed to be prepared... Tomorrow, we try to find Tamiflu. You can buy antibiotics over the counter here, so we'll get a some, just in case the flu comes here. So far nothing. Ten cuidado y limpia su manos, por favor. ( Be careful and wash your hands!)

A face with character

This is a lady of undetermined age who picks up cans and bottles on the malecon in Progreso. Her face had so much character we had to have a picture of her.

Street corner band in Progreso

We were driving in to breakfast this morning when we saw a street corner band.There was a municipal policeman listening to them and a couple other guys.They looked like they were having fun, but I am not going to say they sounded like Santana. You can listen for yourself!

Another beautiful sunset in Paradise

Not quite the Yankees...

These guys look motley, but they are into baseball. and just to make the game more interesting, there are cow pies scattered throughtout the outfield. This ball field is just a few miles away from our casa, right next to the restaurant where we went on Palm Sunday to see the drag queen show. We all thought that baseball and drag queens were not the best combo, but everything was just hunky-dory. There were a few fights at 2nd base, but isn't that the way the game goes?

Helping Hands

These kids were from a church group and were spending their school break helping to build homes in Chuburna, the little fishing village near us. They looked like they were having a good time and doing a good thing all at the same time.

Running with a stick in your mouth

Street cleaning, Mexican style

We needed more materials for the hooch on the beach so we scoured Chuburna ( that's the village closest to us, and also at the end of the road) and found bamboo poles and recently cut coco fronds. Since they were way longer than the car we did the town a favor and swept the street on the way back home. A few days later a hooch appeared in the yard, ready for a party. Our friends Mike and Judy were pressed into service and we had dinner on the beach at sunset. It was pretty darn groovy. I don't think it gets better than this!

California Dreamin'

The Monterey area was home to us for many years and we miss it, but we love being in Mexico. It's warm (OK, hot) and tranquilo and everybody seems pretty happy to be here. We are glad to be here and the problems of the world are a bit more removed although we keep up with the news and friends and family. So we're not completely disconnected from reality. Anyway, it's nice to go back and visit, but we're sure glad we live here.

Best neighbors

We sure miss our neighbors and friends of many years, Mary and Peter and their son Rob. Let's not forget Missy, also known as Slasher and The Shiv, due to her lightning quick claws. Mary says she'll come visit us after the annual morel hunting expedition with her brother in Iowa. We've shared many a meal and borrowed stuff from each other , mostly garlic and butter!

Lover's Point Beach

We lived across the street from this beach for many years. It's a safe little beach for kids and beginning scuba divers. The water is FREEZING! About 58 degrees. BRRRRRR. But very pretty!

Good Ol' Days

It's a yearly festival in Pacific Grove, CA where we lived for 16 years before mving to Mexico. It has great crafts and food and awesome people watching. It's held the 1st weekend in April and sometimes the weather cooperates and sometimes it doesn't. This year was really nice, from what I hear. I didn't get to go, boohoo.

Can you smell those ribs?

The food at Good Ol' days is always awesome and these ribs are no exception. My other favorite is Mom's sweet potato pie with vanilla ice cream. Delish.

Diane and Hugh

These two hippies are Diane and Hugh, some friends from Pebble Beach. Diane worked at the knitting store with me for several years and makes awesome soap and lotions from natural ingredients. She is a true pal and I miss her absurd outlook on life. We keep in touch with our weekly calls, but it's not the same as being there! They are both from a kinder , gentler era and have managed to keep that 60's spirit alive and well.

Cloud Report from Monterey, CA

Where's the butter?

You just can't get Dungeness crab in Mexico. The water is way too warm. My mouth is watering just looking at this picture and someone I know admitted to maybe having just one...

Street Music at Fisherman's Wharf

Chief stayed in a hotel across from Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco on the way home to Mexico.It's a great spot for people watching and great seafood, too.

The upholstery shop

My friend Judy needed some foam (fuma) to upholster her dining room chairs. She remembered seeing this place and after some finagaling ( is that a word) we found it. We finally got it through to them that we wanted foam for the 6 chairs and they wanted to charge us $72.oo! That's dollars. I don't think anything in the whole place was worth $72.00. we were pretty sure that was the gringo price so we left and found something that worked for way less!

Seagull Report

Yes, I know they're seagulls and you've seen 10 million of them. But aren't these beautiful pictures that Chief took after luring them close with old tortillas?