Wash Day

Well it's wash day again and you've got piles and piles of laundry that need to be taken care of right away! What to do, What to do!

While we were renting an apartment after we first moved here to Mérida we had to figure out what to do about laundry. The apartment didn't have a machine.

There were plenty of Lavanderias around. In fact there is, well was one just around the corner fromm the apartment. Lavanderias charge per kilo to wash, dry, and fold your dirty laundry. Many people favor the use of lavanderas; I just have a problem with someone else doing my laundry, I'm not sure why, it's just so - personal.

Our friend Terry was letting us use his machine, so every two weeks we were putting our stuff in our travel back packs and spending the better part of the day at his house; one machine and at least 2 loads to wash and then line dry. Usually I'd hang the first load until the second load got done then take it all back to the apartment to hang.

We finally found an actual laundr-o-mat. You know washers, dryers, coins, detergent in tiny packages, etc.

In case you want to find it here are the directions:

Self serve laundry-Mayalav
Calle 60 #134
Colonia Miguel Hildalgo

Cupules West to Circuito Colonias, left on Circuito Colonias to the Hidalgo glorietta,
right at the glorietta which will be Calle 21/Ave Hildalgo, go about 12 blocks and you’ll come to a small glorietta, go straight at this glorietta, you’ll see a VIPs Restaurant off on your right and then Plaza Las Americas Mall (big building) on your right. This Calle is still 21 and it is divided with two lanes going each way and there is a strip mall on the left (there is also a laundr-o-mat in this strip mall, but it's crowded). The next light is Calle 50. At tyhis intersection the store "Big Home" will be on your left and a Niplito plumbing store on your right. Go straight at this intersection and then Plaza Dorado Mall will be on your right, (another big building). At the next light (Calle 60) it dead ends, turn left and you’ll see Mayalav on your left. You need to go about a block and make a U turn to get back to the Mayalav.

I like this particular MayaLav because it is big and airy, typically clean, has a bathroom, always a breeze blowing through, there are tables and chairs for sitting and waiting, large tables for folding, a TV, a corner store close by, and good parking.

You buy tokens from the attendant to use in the machines, the machines don't take actual money, but be warned, WAIT to buy your tokens until you know exactly how many you need. If you buy to many they won't give you a refund, and you are not supposed to keep them and bring them back to use later. Tough, that's exactly what I did the one time I asked for too many tokens for the dryer.

I went recently to Mayalav, because even though I have a washer, it is not big enough to do the comforter/bedspreads, add to that that I like to dry the big bedding so it is nice and fluffy.

We are expecting company and of course I needed to launder the bedcovers since usually the guest bed is Tate's bed.

Add to that the heat and we have switched to a colorful sheet as a bedcover on our bed.

So, you can see some of the prices below

And here you can see how big and open the facility is.

To wash 2 big comforters and 4 shams it cost mee 110 pesos - one large washer and one medium, and 2 dryers for 28 minutes each.

There you have it! Say GoodBye to the Laundry Day blues!

Mexico's Health Chief Receives Plaudits

The Mérida English Language Libray's (MELL) newsletter was recently delivered to my Inbox. I finally opened it this morning.

In the newsletter was a re-printed story concerning the H1N1 virus, and how it was handled by Mexico's Health Secretary, José Ángel Córdova.

I think it is a very good story and explains alot of the reasons for the actions taken that I personally, and probably several of you as well, were not aware of.

Therefore I re--re-print it here:

it's long, so grab your coffee

Mexico's Health Chief Receives Plaudits

By William Booth and Joshua Partlow
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, May 11, 2009

MEXICO CITY -- The face of the flu outbreak in Mexico is all bushy eyebrows and droopy mustache, and it speaks in tones deeply somber but not quite funereal. The face belongs to a previously obscure gastroenterologist named José Ángel Córdova, the health secretary, who is now the second most powerful man in Mexico.

For 17 consecutive days, Córdova has been giving the nation and the world a daily diagnosis of an epidemic -- and explaining the tough measures that he and Mexico are taking to confront it.

The treatment appears to be working, and Mexico and Córdova are winning applause from global health experts for a swift, coordinated, transparent response that probably saved lives here and abroad.

"I think we should all shout, 'Gracias, Mexico!' I believe the Mexicans have prevented a true pandemic from happening," said Laurie A. Garrett, senior fellow in the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of "The Coming Plague," a book about newly emerging infectious diseases.

Every day, sometimes twice a day, in a series of 27 nationally televised news conferences, Córdova explains his bar graphs and pie charts in a measured monotone, probably not unlike the way he might tell his patients the results of their colonoscopies.

Unlike the Chinese government, which hid SARS patients in military hospitals and stonewalled international health monitors, the Mexican health secretary takes questions from the news media as he defends often-unpopular decisions -- closing restaurants, schools and churches, and barring fans from soccer games. He explains why the government believes that "social distancing" is a vital tactic to slow the spread of the virus.

"I am like this. I will not change ever. I always have been like this," Córdova said in an interview, explaining how he has tried to communicate the threat without inciting panic. "We will continue sharing the information because we are sure this information will be useful to the other countries, and we don't wish for the other countries to suffer."

In the wake of avian flu outbreaks, some developing countries have balked at sharing samples of their viruses, out of concern that developed countries and their pharmaceutical industries are exploiting the pathogens to patent vaccines that would later be sold. Córdova said Mexico has given over samples of the virus to international organizations to help develop a vaccine.

If Mexico had not closed down commerce and government as it did, according to calculations by Óscar Mújica, an analyst with the Pan American Health Organization, the virus would have killed 8,605 people and put more than 30,000 people in the hospital. The death toll from swine flu stood at 48 people as of Sunday.

"Now you hear some people saying that it was an excessive response. But what people seem to forget is that the reason why this crisis is now coming down was because the initial response was so vigorous," said Julio Frenk, dean of the Harvard School of Public Health and Mexico's health secretary from 2000 to 2006. "I think Mexico did a great service to the rest of the global community. It gave other countries of the world time to prepare themselves."

When the outbreak began, Mexican President Felipe Calderón was constitutionally required to be protected from infection and the health secretary was required to assume extraordinary powers to control the epidemic.

This clout helped Córdova take decisive action at a time when his decisions to limit public life in Mexico were costing the country billions of dollars in lost business revenue.

"It was really complicated, because I needed to explain and try to be clear what will happen if we don't make these decisions," he said.

Calderón's support for the measures was crucial, Córdova said. From the beginning, Córdova said, Calderón's directive was: "We must move faster than the epidemic."

Mexicans have paid a heavy price. Finance Secretary Agustín Carstens officially declared Thursday that the Mexican economy was in recession and that inflation was accelerating. He forecast that the economy could contract by 4.1 percent this year because of the global financial crisis and the swine flu outbreak. The epidemic cost Mexico $2.3 billion, as consumer spending plunged and foreign tourists disappeared.

Córdova's step-by-step measures were taken from a plan devised in coordination with the World Health Organization after the earlier outbreaks of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, and avian flu. Mexican epidemiologists had run models calculating that a lethal avian flu virus could infect a million people in eight weeks and kill more than 50,000.

Such a toll was on Córdova's mind, he said, when he first heard of the outbreak of a suspicious influenza. "The first problem was this is a new virus, and nobody knows what was going to be the behavior of the new virus. Nobody knows," he said.

The confirmation that Mexico was facing a new swine-human flu came April 23 at 3:00 p.m. in a conference call with Canadian and U.S. health officials. By 11:00 that night, Córdova went on television and announced the closing of schools.

After shutting down every school in Mexico City, the government expanded the closures nationwide. Troops deployed across the capital to hand out millions of face masks to pedestrians. Within a few days, posters materialized in subways and public squares instructing people to wash their hands and go to the hospital promptly if flu symptoms manifested themselves.

Some of the measures went against the grain of Mexican society. The government barred fans from soccer games, allowing the televised matches to continue in empty stadiums. Sunday Masses were called off in one of the most Catholic countries in the world. All nonessential government and commercial activity was vastly scaled back, including restaurants, theaters, museums, movie theaters, gyms, pools and sporting events.

Despite the shock and expense of such decisions, Mexicans largely abided by the measures and the shutdown was orderly. The government stopped short of other measures, such as closing borders or stopping public transportation.

Mexico was more prepared than many countries might have been to handle such an outbreak. It had a national early warning system in place to look for unusual clusters of infectious disease. It had a stockpile of a million doses of flu treatment ready for an emergency.

"I am just floored by how good their response has been. Couldn't ask more from a country, especially a poor country, a developing country," said Paul J. Gertler, professor of health services finance at the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley, who has worked in Mexico. "I think the whole world will be better prepared for what comes in the fall because of Mexico."

Rally Round the Flag, Boys!

Doing a GOOGLE search on this phrase - Rally Round the Flag, Boys! - brings up numerous hits, almost all of which focus on political drama, and using a flag as a symbol to call to arms supporters to defend, support, and justify an extremist view or stand.

That said, it has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of this post EXCEPT that I was looking for a catchy phrase for the Title.

One of my neighbors came to me the other day to let me know that there will be a political rally for Angélica Araujo, Diputada Federal III Distrito Candidada on our street on Saturday, 30 Mayo from 6-10pm. And that our street will be closed between 77 and 79, that's calle 70 if you want to come see a political rally.

Terrific, we have a visitor coming in on a 9pm flight.

(just means we need to move the car in the afternoon,

and may have to park a block away after her flight arrives)

I've been noticing an abundance of PRI Verde campaign banners and stickers around the neighborhood. Also, the only election flyers we receive are for PRI Verde, hmmmmm!
I thought ms Araujo was PRI Verde, but on her website there is an X through the PRI Verde logo. Another confusion for me is the use of the OK signal, which seems to be used by ms Araujo and her campaigners, and supporters. You know the one, your thumb and index finger create a circle, and the other three fingers sort of stick up - I thought this was considered an obscene gesture here in México.

So much I don't know about Mexican politics.

Rain, Beautiful Rain

Well we had a lovely rain here in the San Sebastian / La Ermita section of Mérida this evening.

I keep completely informal track of rains, but only rain that makes a measure in my rain gauge. The last rain I recorded was 1/2 inch on January 15, this rain was 3/4 inch in 45minutes.

This was so needed and welcome. I hope it indicates the start of rainy season for us here.

Bats II, the blog continues...

We have bats, I've posted about the bats before. I don't mind the bats, they don't scare me. I am not afraid that they will attact me and suck my blood, or that they will get caught up in my 2ft high bouffant hairdo. I HATE the bat poop. We have a large covered terraza, they like to swoop in on one open side thats high,

then soar down to the pool for a dip and circle back through.

The walls are splattered, the furniture cushions are splattered, the table tops are splattered; And that shit just won't wash off.

Friends who also have bats found that putting up strings of stencil banners stopped theirs. Other friends leave lights on and that stops theirs. We bought the machine that emits the high pitch sound that repels, bats, vermin, and mosquito. Others say leaving the fans running deters theirs.

We've sat out in the evening with friends, laughing, talking, fans running, lights on, sonic sound machine silently emitting ultra high frequency bat deterrent sound...and yep, bats circling above our heads. So for us - lights 0, bats 1 - fans 0, bats 2 - sound machine 0, bats 3. On to the next bat deterrent.

We stopped last week as Casa Borges on Calle 66, sorry can't remember the cross streets. They sell costuming; already made costumes, pieces, parts, forms, and supplies for costume making, a very cool store. They also sell the plastic stencil strings of banners. They have a variety of color options. A string of 10 banners costs 45pesos - we bought 4 - we have a large terraza.

Don't the banners look lovely!

So last night we are sitting further out on the patio (not under the covered terraza) watching a fabulous lightening show going on. We were also checking lighting; Tom installed a new patio light. So there we sit, new patio light, pool lights, terraza lights, fans, banners flapping, and bats, lots n lots of bats. We have several kinds - the big fruit bats that suck my oranges dry, and eat the fruits off my and my neighbors fruit trees, little tiny ones that I can't identify, and some also unidentified medium size ones. banners = 0, bats = 4. Yep, bats just flew under the banners, didn't seem to bother them at all.

So, this is the high open space where they come in, then just make a half turn and you can see where they dip down into the pool, then around and up again. It's like a roller coaster ride I guess!

We've heard a red light will stop them, sure wish we could find a red light bulb.

Grocery Shopping - Chedraui Itzaes

Moving to a new Country requires a lot of ability to accept new things and accept things that are different from what you are used to.

One of the things that was very foreign for me, and required some steeley reserve were the grocery stores. I'm born n bred in the good ole USofA, we put everything in plastic and/or styrofoam; sometimes several layers of it. Imagine my shock, surprise, dismay, and horror at seeing food out, open, and shudder ... touchable.

I recently went to my local Chedraui; here a supermarket store is a 'Super', and small market is a 'mercado', and small neighborhood store is a 'tienda'. Chedraui is a grocery chain, but unlike the states they are not all cookie cutter. My Chedraui, on Avenida Itzaes, serves a very different clientele than say the Chedraui Norte. My neighborhood has mostly local born residents, people of modest means. The north end of town has a lot of people from other States, and from other Countries; People with a more elevated income level. This difference shows in the products available. The difference isn't in quality, my carrots are of the same quallity as the north end store. The difference is in the variety of things offered. There are way less prepared and pre-packaged items in my store.

Well the point of this is to show friends NOB (North of the Border) what a typical 'Super' looks like.

This is the Entry and Parking

This is the Entry, carts are to your left

This is the bakery - you can see the trays and tongs there lower mid picture. You use the tongs to place the bakery items you want on your tray, take it to the desk, you can see the guy waiting there in line, and a worker will bag n tag your selections. I had a close up of the pastries which are lovely but lost it trying to resize these photos. Also, on this day after I had taken the 2 photos in the bakery are I was approached and asked not to take photos inside the store. I tried to explain I wanted to show friends NOB our beautiful selection of pastry, but they still said no.

Produce area, you select your fruits n veggies, bag them if you want or leave them loose, and they get weighed at the check out.



This is one aisle in the dry goods area. I was paranoid about getting caught taking pictures again so didn't get any more.

One of the areas I couldn't get pictures because it was to busy was in the meat and seafood area. There are your regular freezer chest items, your styro packaged items, your display chests where you tell the person what you want and how much, as well as several open bins of frozen or partially frozen specials of the day. Typically there ia a 4ft x 4ft x 10inch deep chest full of chicken leg thigh, or breasts. You use a bag and gather up what you want then have it weighed. This takes a bit of getting used to, as does the smell. Shoppers tend to use their hands to disgorge the large chunks of skin or fat from the pieces they want to buy, then bag their selections for weighing and purchasing. There are no gloves, no sanitizer, no paper towels. I do purchase meat at Chedraui, I have purchased from these open bins IF the chicken is still more than half frozen, and knock on wood, so far no problems. It's interesting what you can learn to get comfortable with.

Tom and I have both commented on how less concerned with the obsessive nature we once took for granted and expected in the USofA.

Guess you'll just have to come see the rest of the store for yourself.

On the other side of this Chedraui from the first photos you can catch a trici taxi to get you home with your purchases. This Chedraui is only about 6 blocks from me so when I walk it costs me 10 pesos to use a trici taxi. I haven't remembered to get a photo of Enrique with his trici yet; he currently rents the trici but hopes to have his own one day. I have taken photos being driven home by Enrique. He helps me carry in my purchases and I give him a few extra pesos.

This is my view from my perch on Enrique's trici. You can see another trici in front of us.

You can see that Enrique wraps cardboard (carton)

around his ankle to protect his ankle and pants.

Meet Alfonse

We can't have too many friends, can we?

When we came to Mérida we brought with us two cats. Two older cats, one at the time 21, the other at the time 10. We really didn't expect Matt, the older one to last tooo much longer, and then well who knew about Tatie. We wanted to travel, still do actually, and having animals just creates issues don't they. Well, time has passed, we've been here a bit over 3 years now, we've done some travelling - we still have both cats; we acquired, (read - I went out an bought) 2 parakeets, we have a dog, and now --- we have Alfonse.

Back in Colorado I had a small (about 1 1/2 gallon) acrylic fish tank similar to this. It was on my office desk to provide much needed stress relief. After I left my cushy office job - the tank and Alpha, the Betta came home. I found, and still do find Bettas to be incredibly personable fish and enjoy having one around. I had been checking around trying to find a small tank so I could get another Betta. I found this exact same tank at the petstore in the mall here in Mérida; it cost 1100 pesos, thats nearly 100USdollars. My tank in the US had cost me 20bucks at Wal-mart. And No, I couldn't get it at the Wal-mart here! Trust me, I tried. Anyway, a new friend was coming and kept asking was there anything we wanted brought down - Welllll - I sent in my request, and she agreed, so for 20bucks, and the good graces of some new friends, we got Alfonse's little habitat!

This picture is just a cool double reflection thast makes him look sort of dragonish.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

In a scene from L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz, the four companions (Dorothy, Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow) become lost in the forest. What frightens the companions most is possibility of what may be hiding behind every tree and rock. Imagination takes hold, and fear - the mind killer - spreads among the companions, until the entire group is fraught with apprehension and dread. Then, naming, or giving face to what could lurk in the forest is all that’s needed to change the behavior of the traveling companions.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

The hesitency of the explorers is transformed, even though apprehensive, they can now continue on slowly, realizing that the perceived danger was an imagined one, and that their fear had no basis in reality.

This same imagined fear plagues many of us when thinking about the possible bugs and lizards and rodents that could enter our homes here in Mérida. I get a number of inquiries asking how do you get rid of or prevent the ...bug, lizard, or rodent. Some people have great fear over the geckos and small lizards that are prevalent here. With regard to the geckos, and lizards (anoles in particular) Be not afraid, these little critters are your friends, they eat things, scary things, things you don't want to know about.

I have a large yard, and way in the back I have a compost pile. Garden waste, you know cut limbs, branches, weeds, etc. get piled up high and then break down into usable mulch, then more gets added and the cycle resumes. Today I was back there giving the compost pile a good watering down. This really helps the waste to breakdown much faster. I haven't given it this big a watering down in quite a while.

Today, being inordinatly hot I was just standing there in the shade pointing the hose at the pile, not wanting to walk out into the sun to get back to the house to turn off the water. Well after several minutes, I notice a mouse come running out from the far side of the pile and head up the rock wall - Crap!

Then a few more minutes and double whammy holy crap - a rat scurries out from under the pile and into a hole in the corner where the dog is constantly sniffing around - makes sense now, the dog's interest!

OK, I'm cool, no fear, it's just a mouse, just a rat, I'm not afraid of no rodents by golly gosh!!

Then after a brief moment I am noticing other little movements, HAYSUE KRISTOE cockaroaches, OK now those guys creep me out, give me the heebie geebies, and make me run screaming like a little girl!!!

Now I'm thinkin time for a bonfire, this pile has to go - but wait, now lots of little anoles are showing up... They are eating the roaches, oh my gosh Anoles Are My Heroes!

Be not afraid of the little lizards and geckos, they won't hurt you - They are your friends, they are protecting you from really gross and disgusting, horrible, nasty, icky, creepy, yucky, scary, gross cockaroaches.

GACK!

Amazing Race in México

OH MY GOSH!!! You can vote for which Latin American country to hold the next Amazing Race. It is between Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and México.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE, and be sure you vote for MEXICO!


The site is in Spanish, the voting box says ENCUESTA, after you select the México button you push VOTAR!

Oh my gosh, the Amazing Race here in México, Yippee, Whoopee, Yaba Daba Do.


PS - Thanks to Jonna for this info

Día del Maestro - Teachers Day

Today is Teachers Day here in Merida!
Thanks to Teachers everywhere for all you do!

Today in the Diario they announced that an additional hour per day will be added to class days so that the schoolyear will end on its regular day, July 10. This is to make up for the 35 hours of school that was missed due to the H1N1 influenza closures.

And if I am reading the Diario correctly, highly unlikely, the Union and SEP (I don't know what SEP is) came to an agreement that the teachers will receive 12 days pay for the time missed due to the influenza closures. I am really happy to hear that, as to loose that much of your income here in Mexico, and probably anywhere could really devastate your life.

The teachers had to go into the schools last weekend and disinfect their classrooms, and common rooms prior to the return of the students. And I've noticed the kids and teachers all wearing the blue facemasks. Canucka in Cancun indicated in a blog that some kids there were turned away from school if they didn't have their facemasks. For folks with kids, she really offers a lot of valuable "raising kids in Mexico' advice. Even if you don't have kids, her blog is full of valuable and insightful info - a real must read!

Design Theory meets Chaos

Classic Design Theory

Classic design theory promotes unity in terms of the objects present. As such, unity discusses the need to tie the various elements together. Unity is a measure of how the elements of a design seem to fit together - to belong together. A unified work represents first a whole, then the sum of its parts.

Nancy in Mazatlan, from Countdown to Mexico recently posted about her patio redo - her desire to unify the look and design of her patio.

I'm planning a trip to Ticul to do the same thing. I need to create a sense of unity, as if I actually had a plan - as if, indeed! - I'm really bad about seeing one pot I like and buying it, even if it is a completely different style from all the others.

In fact I have one sort of French Renaissance cement pedestal pot with an asparagus fern that just doesn't fit anywhere so sits in a corner with other things I've purchased that just don't yet seem to have a purpose or are waiting for, well who knows what - Divine inspiration...

See, none of these things seem to have a common or unifying theme or look. But I like each piece independently of the others.

Oh, what's a girl to do!
Let's just call it eclectic! Which kind of says I have no plan, I just like it! The trick is how do I bring all these very different elements together and merge them into a cohesive decorating scheme.

Taking a lesson from miss Scarlett "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow."

Black-Headed Trogan - Birding in my BackYard

As I do most mornings, this morning being no exception, I took my coffee and went to my pergola to enjoy both the coffee and the garden. Early is the best garden time, just at or after dawn as it is so refreshingly cool; the birds are starting their early morning activities, and the buses have not yet swung in to full operation for the day.

This is actually Tom and Tate enjoying the pergola

I typically don't take my binoculars, but usually have to come back to the house to get them, and again this morning being no exception. So why did I come back for binos this morning- A new visitor to my garden and to the neighborhood I believe as I hadn't seen him before and this terrain isn't typical for the Trogans

I got some photos, but my zoom isn't powerful enough -

This is the photo as taken

and this is cropped so you can see the detail.

A very exciting siting for me. A personal first, AND in my backyard.

This morning the Trogan was feeding on insects, it would fly out, do a quick loop, similar to the way Flycatchers catch bugs, and then return to perch with a morsel (looked to be caterpillars).

The few times it flew a distance it flies in a peaks and valleys motion.

Also on this mornings, not year round visitor sighting list, Blue-Gray Tanager, Vireo (still trying to decide exactly which one), groove-billed Ani, oh shoot, there were more I just can't think of them at the moment.

Aperitif or Digestif - Home Brew Limoncello

Guess I never really gave much thought to what the difference is between an Aperitif and a Digestif. But in deciding to blog about making lemoncello I had to do a bit of research, and in so, have made fascinating discoveries.

Since an Aperitif is meant to be a stimulant for the appetite and to invigorate the palate, an excess of alcohol which dulls the taste buds and causes other unwelcome results on an empty stomach is not recommended. An aperitif should have a light, clean, crisp, almost astringent flavor, should not be overly sweet and is best served cold, but without ice. So chill the beverage, and the glassware. Vermouth is a standard Aperitif. (I personally am fond of Campari -Very tall with lots of ice and lemon.)

Digestifs and nightcaps, however, can afford a heavier composition in both alcohol level, and sweetness. Think port, cognac, fruit, or herbal liqueurs. Much heavier flavors and sweetness levels meant to fill and satisfy, and promote digestion. Here in the Yucatan a very popular Digestif is the regional Xtabentun, a licorice or anisette and honey liquor similar to Sambuca, Grappa, and Ouzo.

This all brings me to Lemoncello or Limoncello, you choose. We recently took friends Joanna and Jorge out to lunch to celebrate Jorge's birthday. After lunch, while dropping J&J off at home, they invited us in for a quick digestif. Quick because it was coming up , well it was actually after siesta time. So we went in for a bit of Joanna's home-brewed limoncello - Oh my gosh was that tasty. Fresh lemon flavor a bit too sweet for me but that is after all the nature of a digestif isn't it. Anyway, I get in my own way here - It was really refreshing and tasty and Joanna graciously shared her recipe.

So as I had heard that CostCo actually has bags of yellow lemons I decided to give this brew a shot. So the other day while out and about we stopped in. I hadn't been in to CostCo in months and months and months mainly because Tom and George, who have a weekly BDO (Boys Day Out), when George is in Mérida that is(Oct - Apr) tend to make CostCo one of their regular stops, along with several other places I prefer not to go (HomeDepot). So George - if you read this, I really am missing you!


OK, back to the limoncello - Joanna's Lmoncello recipe

1.5ltrs of Vodka

12 yellow lemons - use only the outer most lemon peel avoiding as much of the white pith as you can. I found my mandolin to work perfectly for this this shave. Much better in fact than me trying to shave the peel with a very sharp knife. Clean the lemons, and shave off the yellow peel, add to a large glass container sufficient to hold this plus 1.5 ltrs of vodka, cover and store in a dark place for from 3 - 10 days (Joanna says 3, but many recipes on the internet extend the time, so I am giving the option here)

Here are my lovely yellow Eureka lemons grom Costco,

which by the way, and according to the bag - had been bagged 6 weeks ago!

Once your Vodka mix has steeped, brew up a simple sugar syrup -

1k sugar, added to and brought just to the boiling point with 1 ltr of water.

Let this cool, then add to the lemon vodka mix. Mix thorougly and stain and decant your Limoncello into decorative bottles. Store in fridge or freezer till use.

Here is my container of lemon peel and vodka under the guest bathroom sink.

Just a few more days and I too will have Limoncello in my fridge - Take me to lunch and afterwards I'll invite you in for a Digestif (Boy does that sound like a come on or what?) Nevermind, you have the recipe, brew your own!

Guest Blog - LET'S BLAME MEXICO

Friends Richard and Leslie recently sent out a letter expressing their displeasure at the Mexico Bashing that seems to be eminating from some in the USofA. I agree with much of what they say, and too feel my hackles rise when everything gets blamed on Mexico, or when Mexico is being portrayed in an unfairly and/or erroneous light (mostly due to ignorance).

Illustration by Satoshi Kambayashi
Here is (printed here with permission) their letter -



LET'S BLAME MEXICO
From time to time I have been sending reflections of our experiences in Mexico to family and friends. This might be considered more of a diatribe than a reflection. Over the past few months the negative US press has been cranking out story after story portraying Mexico and its citizens in a negative light.


Actually our first awareness of the distortions occurred about 18 months ago during the high prices of gasoline in the US. Evidently, US citizens who lived along the border were driving into Mexico to purchase gasoline at around $2.70 a gallon. The articles warned US drivers that Mexican gas was dirty and that it would have disastrous results in their engines if used. At that point we had lived here for 8 months and had been regularly filling our car with Mexican gas, with no ill effects. Friends who had lived here for three years or longer reported the same....no problems. We became suspicious about the US news reports and discovered that the US oil companies were behind the promotion of the negative press. They wanted to keep the US customers buying their higher priced gasoline. The second piece of information which supports the reality of lies by the oil company propaganda machine is that 70% of all Mexican gasoline is refined in Houston. Pemex, the Mexican government's oil company, ships most of its crude oil to Houston and then brings it back to Mexico. Were the oil companies implying that their refineries in Houston were producing dirty gas? I don't think so.


This negative story was followed a few months later with a series of articles, including a number in the NY Times, about the tainted tomatoes that were causing illnesses in the US. Nearly every article blatantly stated that the tomatoes were from Mexico. It caused a ban on Mexican tomatoes being shipped to the US and other countries. It destroyed the tomato producers economic viability here. No one would buy their crop. Later it was quietly acknowledged that the tainted tomatoes were actually produced in the US.


The next negative stories involved the number of deaths near the border, suggesting that tourists were in danger in Mexico due to the war between the drug cartels and the military. In a village near Merida eight headless bodies were found. They were identified as drug dealers who were killed by a rival drug gang in Cancun and their bodies dumped near Merida, where some of the leaders of the rival gang lived. In reality there is a war here. In the past 18 months over 8,000 Mexican citizens have died as a result. The war is also between the cartels over territory and control of the supply lines......these supply lines developed after the US did such a good job shutting down the supply lines from Colombia which transported drugs by sea and air. The US market's demand for illegal drugs is driving this. And the availability of the automatic assault weapons from the US gun dealers is supplying the drug cartels with their weapons and ammunition. The local citizens ask us about the prevalence of guns in the US. They don't understand because citizens in Mexico are not allowed to own guns. This problem is a US problem, which George Bush ignored. Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton have publicly acknowledged that the US shares the blame, due to the demand for illegal drugs and the supply of assault weapons, which the US has done little to restrain. That resulted in the President and the Secretary of State being verbally attacked by Republican extremists as being weak and apologetic. Frankly, I believe they were merely being honest. A refreshing change from other politicians of recent memory. This morning on the CBS News we heard a US politician suggesting that the border with Mexico be closed. Sounds like shutting the barn door after the pigs have already escaped.


It is not my intention to deny the seriousness of the executions, murders, physical attacks, assassinations, and kidnappings. Yes, these things are happening and on a regular basis. If you are a member of the Mexican army or a member of a police force, you are a target. Federales and policemen wear bullet proof vests constantly because there is a constant fear for their lives. Rival drug gains target each other as well as the police, politicians, and soldiers. We have never felt in any danger personally but we do not attempt to buy or transport drugs. We do not hang out where these activities takes place. I feel much safer here than when I worked in Newark.


Now, the swine flu problem is providing the latest opportunity to blame Mexico. I suspect that we will discover that this strain of the influenza problem did originate in Mexico. However, the descriptions we read in the US papers, including the Times, do not reflect our experiences.


Mexico is blamed for allowing this virus to spread. Mexico is blamed for a slow response. Mexico is blamed for being a dirty country. Let me report what we see here “on the ground,” as the news reporters say when talking about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our schools have been closed for a week and will remain closed for another week. (This includes the Yucatan, while the closest documented case of swine flu is 800 miles away.) All gatherings of more than thirty people have been banned, forcing the cancellation and postponement of events, banks have closed, business are requiring their employees who deal directly with the public to wear masks. The local Mexican League baseball team, Los Leones, are still playing their games, but in front of empty stadiums, televised with piped-in crowd noises. Even the mascot was wearing a mask.


At the grocery store yesterday, the baked items which are normally sitting on trays, such as our favorite chocolate donuts, were under plastic protection. The clerks were all wearing masks, even in Blockbuster. The amount of traffic on the streets has dropped considerably; it almost feels like a Sunday. A number of restaurants are closed. The tourist trade is disappearing. People are canceling trips. The economic impact of this will be devastating to an already fragile economic system. Costs here are rising. Some food items have doubled in the time we have been here.


Yes, I am defensive about Mexico. Having existed for decades beneath the imposing shadow of the US and other industrialized nations, Mexico seemed to be developing into a responsible democratic nation. There was an emerging middle class, which is now threatened. There was a rising standard of living. I am concerned about the continuing impact of all these events on the future here. The real estate market has dried up. There are no buyers. Our architect, who in 2008 was awarded the Mexican Architectural Digest prize for best renovation, had 12 properties being renovated at one time. Now he has one renovation and one new house that his parents are building.


After all this negativity let me conclude with one humorous and perhaps positive story. The previous governor of the Yucatan, a member of the PAN political party, had built a brand new specialty hospital. It was scheduled to be opened in the fall of 2007. It was a wonderfully designed building. In the 2007 election, the new governor was from the PRI political party. She decided that the new hospital would not be opened. PRI did not want to give any positive publicity the opposition party. (Imagine this: one political party blocking the efforts of the other political party, in spite of the needs of the people. How can politicians in a so-called civilized country act that way? …. Uh,...oh,.... excuse me,..... never mind.) Anyway, the new hospital was recently, finally, opened. So I guess there are some evidences of hope.


In the meantime, we wash our hands, stay away from public gatherings, get plenty of rest, drink lots of water, and wait.........and we still read the Times but with a suspicious eye.
Richard and Leslie