Listen to the birds.....

January 8, 2009

My daughter Cecily and her husband left reluctantly for Vancouver last Sunday. The weather in Vancouver didn’t help much. I think she is already planning her trip back in April. We went boogie boarding in Rancho Banderas which is the perfect beach for this activity. It has big enough waves to push you to the long flat sandy beaches. They call me the BBQBB (Boogie Board Queen of Banderas Bay) LOL!!!!. On their last night, we went to the Malecon in PV and had dinner at the Bubba Gump Restaurant. It was okay and touristy. Then we headed to the Cuban place, La Bodega. It was so packed that it was hard to breathe inside so we decided to take a stroll on the Malecon. It was very lively and busy that evening as it is the last weekend of the Christmas holidays. We stopped for coffee and desert at Roberto’s overlooking the boardwalk and the Xiutla dancers sculpture. It was a great spot for people watching, watching the fireworks and just listening to the waves. It was a very enjoyable evening.

The evenings and early mornings are getting cooler that you almost need a light cardigan. The days are always gorgeous and warm. Yesterday, we visited friends staying at the Grand Mayan and we had a great time floating on the “Lazy River”. They have this manmade pool/river around the complex and you float around in an inner tube. John and Brian had the most fun. Yes, our friend Brian is here with his wife Diane. They love Bucerias and can’t wait to explore it. Diane loves cats so she is the most popular person in our neighborhood. The cats follow her around because she bought tons of cat food and a dish with four compartments. It’s like serving smorgasbord to the cats.

This morning, I was peeling a ripe papaya grown locally while the sunshine is peeking through my kitchen window. I couldn’t resist but admire the orange color of the flesh and when I bite into it, it was so sweet and busting with flavor, it was like tasting sunshine. I closed my eyes while savoring the taste and feeling the warmth of the sun on my face and I could hear birds chirping from my window. God loves me! My poinsettias are healthy and thriving well, they almost look like fake ones. They are indigenous to Mexico and locally called “Noche Buena”.

People ask me what I do all day. And I tell them, I’m always busy. It seems that I spend a lot of my time waiting. Like this morning. I am sitting by the pool doing some computer work and waiting for the maid to finish cleaning the house. I am also waiting for a couple of friends who are visiting from Minnesota and I’m also waiting for the Telmex guy to hook up my phone. The waiting for the telephone guy is another thing, just like waiting for the plumber or the carpenter. The Telmex office told me that they are sending somebody today so I should be home. If the guy doesn’t show up today, he will show up tomorrow. That means I have to be prepared to wait for two days for the telephone guy to show up at my house. So I wait, wait ,wait. In the meantime, I can do some laundry, study some songs, sort my charts and make some salsa and guacamole.

We are playing at Adriatico Ristorante on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7 to 10 pm and we are starting to see old friends and regular “snowbirds”.

Cheers!
Armi

Welcome 2009

January 1, 2009


Dear Friends,

Happy New Year!!! Feliz Ano 2009!!!

It’s hard to believe that today is the first day of 2009. The year 2008 has seen the best and the worst of the global economy but in the end the resiliency of human nature will always prevail. I have to admit that in spite of all the news of doom and gloom, 2008 has been one of the most exciting year for me and my family. Let’s all hope that we will all learn from our mistakes and we should look after our world better for the sake of our future generations.

We are almost settled with our house in Bucerias. There seems to be never ending things to buy. It is very helpful having a car so we can drive around and compare prices. We’ve been to so many stores that sometimes I forget what I was looking for and which store has the best price. I bought a coffee table set at Sam’s and a nice bamboo area rug from Wal-Mart. I bought most of my gift baskets from Costco and all my vases and centerpiece arrangements from a store in PV called Tlaquepaque (named after the shopping town). Waiting for the sub trades is another story. I would get a phone call that the plumber is coming in the morning so we wait all day but no show. The electrician is no better. My dryers are not working properly so I had to dry clothes on a clothesline for weeks now. But when they show up, they are very nice and they fix whatever is necessary.

There is a construction next door to our house and it is both annoying and interesting. The workers start at 6:30 am Pacific time. They said that it is the regulation time. They are building a retaining wall and the workers literally pick up these heavy rocks one by one and pile them up to build the wall. They would mix cement in a small rotating mixer and apply the mixture to hold the rocks together. They dig the trenches with pick and shovel. All of this work under the heat of the sun, and I can tell you, those guys work very hard.

We had a great Christmas with friends and family. My daughter and her husband arrived on Christmas day sans their luggage. With all the icy weather and airport chaos, I am not surprised that they lost their luggage somewhere in Salt Lake City. We had a lovely turkey dinner courtesy of John. It turned out to be the best turkey dinner we ever had and everyone had a great time. I was at the supermarket “Mega” the previous day and was frantically looking for ingredients and trimmings for the dinner. Can you imagine trying to look for rosemary, thyme and sage. I found rosemary (hojas de romero) and thyme (tomillo). No luck with the cranberry sauce. But our friends, Linda and Doug have managed to uncover a can somewhere in their cupboard.

Last Monday, we were in Sayulita and Cecily and Anthony were learning how to surf. It is a lively beach town with gentle waves that is ideal for beginner surfers. I love boogie boarding but I haven’t tried surfing. I don’t know if I can get up on the board before the wave flips me. The Mexican tourists were in full force this week because Christmas is their big holidays. Everyone from the neighboring inland cities descend to Puerto Vallarta to spend their holidays. This is quite a relief as the North American tourists are down significantly. There are a few vacancies in the hotels and the beaches are less crowded. We go to a beach called Distilladeras almost twice a week and it’s the most beautiful beach in the Banderas Bay.

We are still at Adriatico’s every Tuesdays and Wednesdays except last night which was New Year’s Eve. We had a great time at the Café des Artistes ushering the New Year 2009. I’ve never seen a lot of beautiful women in one place and lots of legs everywhere. They got to be the Four Seasons crowd. It was a great evening.

Cheers!

Armi