triptych paintings for sale

SOLD
SOLD
SOLD!

Tom and I recently came into possession of a lovely triptych painting.  

As lovely as it is we really have no room for it.  Therefore we've decided to sell it - with the money raised to go to spay and neuter cats here in Merida.

Each of the 3 panels measures 15 3/4 inches x 19 5/8 inches.

The panels are board and have a reinforced center board from which the hanger is mounted.

The artist name appears to be Frenas, or Frenqs, well you decide.

We are willing to accept offers, but really if someone wants to give us maybe 600pesos, that's 2 females spayed, or 3 males neutered
we would be so much more than thrilled!

Crock Pot Pork with Chipotle and Dates

A year or so ago friend Joanna posted a blog about a porkchop and chipotle dish that I thought sounded very yummy! 

Tonight we are having a gathering (about 12 people) and I am using Joanna's recipe as a jumping off point for a Crock Pot Pork with Chipotle and Dates. I am switching it to pork chunks so that they can slow cook and be fork tender;  with this size crowd we have to eat off our laps and that's tough enough without adding fork AND knife service.

I started with 2.5kilos of pulpo de cerdo, which is more or less pork roast, but cut into chunks and pieces.  I cut it all into tennis ball or smaller size pieces.  
about 10 cloves of garlic chopped,
a large onion chopped,
about 3 chipotle peppers with some of the adobo,
1 1/2 cups of minced dates, boiled in 1 cup of water to create a paste.  I have another cup of pitted and halved dates that I will add much later,
and an Indio beer, plus some salt and pepper.

Here you can see the ingredients. 

There were too many dates which caused the broth to be too sweet, so I never added the full dates.  I would reduce the amount of dates by about half. I then added 3 more chipotles to balance the sweet.  There was a good tang to the meat mix, but that was toned down once plated with the accompaniments. 

I think a sprinkling of fresh minced rosemary on service would be a fabulous addition.

Here is the mix in the crock pot.

It was WAY tastier than the picture implies.

The pork was served with couscous with pinenuts, roasted veggies, rosemary bread, and a citrus salad.

(and of course I neglected to take that photo)

The meal started with spinach and feta pinwheels rolled in hojaldra, and ended with dark chocolate truffles rolled in walnuts.  

And then there were the 7 bottles of sparkling wines. 

It was a fabulous party, but because of the friends, not the wine!

So there you have it, a new crock pot recipe.

the m&m face off!

So Tom and I went to the movie theater today. 

We saw the new Mission Impossible movie.  It was very good, action packed but not overly gorey or bloody.  


We bought our regular, to share,  large popcorn, ginormous soda, and a package of m&m peanuts.


We're sitting there and Tom hands me an m&m, I look at it and it is brown, I pull a face and Tom wants to know - What???


PUHLEEEESE!   We all know that in Flavor - yellow and green are the best, followed by orange, then reds are borderline, and with the blue and brown, well why bother, they just aren't very good at all!

Tom then pulled a face, ate the brown one and gave me a yellow!

More Mexican Holiday traditions are still on the way!

Just when you thought the Holidays were winding down and you could get yourself away from the table.

Well if you live in Mexico you couldn't be more wrong! And if you live here in Merida you would be even more wrong!

Not only do we have the New Year, and New Years eve coming up, we are also gearing up for Merida's 470th birthday (6 January)! Which is also within the 'festival de la ciudad' festivities.

Also on 6 January is Dia de los Reyes Magos, or 3 Kings Day. This is also known as Epiphany and signifies the conclusion of the 12 days of Christmas. (but not the end of the party'ing).
This is the more traditional day of gift giving .


On the evening of the 5th of January families gather in the early evening to share the Rosca tradition; rosca y chocolate. Rosca de Reyes is a sweet egg bread shaped in a ring or crown sometimes studded with dried fruits. Inside the Rosca is baked a small baby doll figure (representing the baby Jesus), the lucky recipient of the doll gets to host the Candelaria party on 2 February.

Candelaria signifies the day Jesus was presented at the Jewish Temple 40 days after his birth.

Tamales are the traditional food served for the Candelaria party. And this will officially signify the end of the Holiday Season. phew!

Well, don't forget 2 February is Groundhog Day!

ah, the smell of electrical burn in the morning...

First - Merry Christmas to All!




Now, on to my story - So yesterday morning, we were preparing to start on some out of the house activities and we heard an odd, yet intuitively known, deep toned pop and hiss. We both turned and zombie walked into the office and straight to the desk, another deep toned pop and hiss and the smell of electrical burn intensified.

The super duper high watt voltage suppressor electrical strip, in to which the laptop, desk lamp, TV, and dvd player were plugged ceased to suppress.

We started by switching the strip off, then pulling the the plug for the strip out of the wall, and then disconnecting the appliances.

Tom tore the strip apart and the inside was charred inside.
Good thing we were close to the office and heard all this as it was starting.

So, all my tec/geek/electronics friends - just what is a good quality, yet reasonably priced surge protector for electronics equipment?

So what we had was a Belkin SurgeMaster 2950 joule Transient Voltage Surge Suppressor,
model F9G930-10


in doing some research I have discovered it was subject to a recall a few years ago because the plastic case separates, but nothing about it spontaneously combusting.

tis the season...

...and there have been no shortages on parties, theatrical events, cultural events, and just plain fun with friends events!

We had a christmas party the other night for the girls at a group home, complete with tree, santa, gifts, dance performances, sing alongs, and cake.

Purpura Plastika had an exhibit of art by participants from several workshops -

and of course the wedding of our dear friends daughter - oh, and the reception!

It's been a great few weeks, and looks to be just as good for the upcoming few. Parties here, parties at friends', Friends in from out of town, part-timers back for the winter,

Not to mention the planning for the 2012 Spay n Neuter Campaign,
if you want to volunteer or donate just shoot me an email!

Holiday Season here in Merida! - Las Posadas

As a part of the traditional christmas celebrations here in Mexico are the posadas.

December 16th saw the start of Las Posadas,
the nine days of celebration culminating with Christmas Eve, or Noche Buena.

Here in my neighborhood, which is an older and more traditional YucaMaya neighborhood, they still celebrate with posadas, which are fiestas or parties that prepare for the arrival of the baby Jesus on December 25th -

The posadas typically starts with the group gathering and praying a rosary, then part of the group splits off to become peregrinos (pilgrims) going from home to home, singing the traditional posada song - which come from the stories of how Mary and Joseph had to travel village to village seeking shelter. The peregrinos pass around the neighborhood in a procession, complete with costumed Mary and Joseph, palm leaves, candles, etc and sing in front of differing houses. Most of this is prearranged, and the different houses will all deny Mary and Joseph shelter until they get to the last house, which invites the peregrinos in and offers them all a beverage, typically ponche*, and maybe some cookies. It really is a lovely tradition.

*Ponche is a lovely drink, served warm, of fruit juices, sugar cane or pilloncillo, cinnamon, chunks of fruit, etc. I'm sure the recipe changes a bit family to family, and region by region, depending on what is seasonally available.

Noche Buena (the evening of the 24th of December) is when the big day of family celebration occurs. Families get together to attend midnight mass then gather to eat, drink, sing, and celebrate the season. There is typically a piñata, which is hugely popular with all ages. Piñatas are not just for the kids! There is also a big midnight meal, as well as gifts. One such gift is the aguinaldo, which are bags with fruits, nuts, and candies.

The traditional piñata used for Posadas is a star with 7 cones, or points. I found a few relationship details about the Star shape, and the number of points.

One says; "The points on the star represent the devil and the seven deadly sins, the goodies inside are blessings El Diablo is hiding, and busting it open releases them." Sanchez and Sons, Pinata makers in Phoenix

Another says; "All these elements have a meaning:

• The seven cones represent the 7 sins
• Being blindfolded represents faith
• The stick represents virtue
• The inside treats are the glory of God that falls upon you" mamalatinatips.com

I am not religious, but I still enjoy and appreciate these traditions.

It's one of the many things I love about living here in Mexico - it has opened my eyes more fully to differences, and I have an ever growing respect for the traditions and beliefs of others.

Restaurant Review - casa del agua steak house, Merida

I recently had the opportunity to take lunch with friends at casa del agua steak house. This new Steak House is located on calle Perez Ponce No. 407A x 31 y 33, in colonia Itzimná, Merida.

The building is a renovated 'Casona' Big House. It is quite grand and has some lovely details and water features. The open space is just a bit too open for me, almost austere, with no art work, but of course TVs.

Our table shared 2 appetizers; the BBQ shrimp, and the salmon carpaccio. The sauce of the shrimp was fabulous, but for me it overpowered the shrimp so that it could have been served on anything. The carpaccio was fresh, light lightly smoked and quite tasty. I liked the slivers of habanero, but really missed the traditional egg, onion, capers, and lemon presentation. And there were definitely not enough crackers for the amount of salmon.

Our table of 6 ordered dinner with 4 of us selecting beef items, and 2 of us choosing salmon. Apparently the meat is imported from either the US or Canada, and is certified as either Angus or Hereford. And as tends to hold true, when in a steak house you should order steak. We ordered 2 filets, 2 rib eye, and 2 salmon meals. The meat orderers were all wowed by their meals while Janean and I pronounced our salmon dishes as good. We also ordered asparagus in hollandaise for the table to share.

I show you the salmon dish, not because of the salmon, but to show the veggie garnish which is a grilled slice of eggplant, zucchini, and mushroom, which to me was much tastier than the salmon, and I can't now even remember what the sauce was.

The asparagus was quite good, the sauce very creamy and buttery, but not very lemony.

We had several bottles of wine, a few cocktails and desserts. I'm more of a savory than a sweet person, so for me the desserts were just ok, but everyone else thought they were good.

But the most impressive for me was the coffee service.

Each coffee orderer was served a small french press,

and a box with a variety of selections to add to your press.

a variety of sweeteners, including a dark sugar, 2 roasts of coffee, and chips of cinnamon bark. The barrister loads your press, pours in the hot water and after that you are on your own.

One note, if it is your first time there, and you are approaching from Montejo along perez ponce heading East you have to be very careful or else you'll miss it, then you'll find yourself lost. Just as you round the corner, starting to head in a Northerly direction, a ways before the right swing onto avenida aleman it is just there on your left, the frontage is quite small and you can't see any indication that you are upon it. If you are approaching from the North, heading South along perez ponce it is quite visible. They need a banner, at least until they have established their client base.

The Green Movement

A friend sent me this as an email -

I like the message and thought I'd pass it on.

Especially, now that I am turning into an 'old' person, and am a conspicuous consumer!

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

• She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.
• Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over.So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
• We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every storeand office building.
• We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.
• Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind.
• We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days.
• Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young ladyis right. We didn't have the green thing back in our day.
• Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember, not a screen the size of the state of Montana .
• In the kitchen,we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.
• When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
• Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power.
• We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right. We didn't have the green thing back then.
• We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.
• We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razorblades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the green thing back then.
• Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service.
• We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances.
• And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 20,200 kilometers (12,552 mi) miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

2011 FM2 Renewal process

Time once again to renew our documents which allow us to live in this country. We've been doing this for quite a few years now, and regardless of all the changes that have been made we feel like we've got it down! Piece of cake. No Problem! Oh how the mighty have fallen!

Actually so far it hasn't been all that bad! I went online and filled in the required forms for renewing our FM2's - here is the link for that form: http://inami.gob.mx/index.php/page/Solicitud_de_Estancia

Of Course our printer died, we took it to the repair shop and were told it would be cheaper to buy a new one. But a friend has/had an old one that he didn't use anymore so we got that. Then the trouble started. This older printer doesn't support Windows 7, so after 3 unsuccessful attempts to install the software I gave up. I installed it on our older computer, you know, the one that could go into catastrophic heart failure at any minute. Well it held up, did its duty, and our forms are all printed.

note - I've heard Firefox isn't working well so I did use a computer that has Internet Explorer.
Also, for all sorts of other processes, Application, Renewals, etc friend Steve has done a fabulous job of spelling it all out step by step http://yucalandia.wordpress.com/living-in-yucatan-mexico/moving-to-mexico-fmm-fm2-or-fm3/


Under “* ¿Qué desea hacer?”: Choose: “Extender la estancia”

Under: “* Especifique”: Choose: “Refrendo de inmigrante”

Since this is for Renewal you have your current FM2 card and it should have all the info you need; NUE, and CURP. Apellido is your last name, and Nombre is your first and middle name, exactly as it is on your card.

Well, like I said, this is for renewal only, so you should be able to figure the form out, it really is quite simple and basic.

The hard/harder part came when I was trying to find the Form online to be able to pay the fee before going in to start the paperwork process. I have heard that this really expedites the procedure if you are pre-paid. I couldn't find it, and the friend who had done it before didn't bookmark the page, but did send me a scanned copy of his form thinking that might help me in my search - It didn't, so what I eventually did was to go online and find a site that would take a PDF form and turn it into a WORD doc. So that is what I did, I now have the payment form as a WORD doc that can be filled in and used as needed. WooHoo.

OK, so we show up at INM at 9AM on a Tuesday, 6 December, the line is out to the street, we wait - after about 45 minutes we get to the desk, and thankfully I do speak Spanish, because the nice guard was able to explain, and more importantly I was able to understand, that he was telling me that because of the number I was about to receive (65) I probably wouldn't get in today and would have to come back another day. Now had I not been able to understand all this I could have spent hours waiting to finally be turned away. Anyway, Thanks to the nice guards advice we went home and plan to go back again, but much earlier.

OK, It is now Friday, 9 December - In our hope to get in, we, like MANY others have shown up more than an hour before opening and queued up on the sidewalk. At 7:45 we were in line at INM, which opens at 9.

At about 8:45 they opened the gates and allowed us on to the INM property where we queued up once again to sign in to the log book and receive our first ficha (numbered ticket), We received #20.

The numbers start to be called at 9 and then you queue up in front of an agent in front of a computer where you say what you want - she inputs info and then gives you another ficha, in a variety of colors depending on what your needs are, different colors designate different rooms once you actually enter the building, this time we were Red #16. Once the hour was past 9AM Tom walked the 3 blocks to the Bank with our vouchers to pre-pay our fees, I waited for us to be called into the building.

About 10am we were called in to the building. It was a short wait once inside the building.

We approached an Agent that we have seen many times before. She starts going through our paperwork, everything is order, it's looking good, we're moving right along.....THEN, SCREEEEEECH! Halt! Bam! Our Financial statements are 6mth year to date statements from the company that issues our pension; these are the same statements we've used in years past. The statement shows the amount we receive monthly, AND the YTD amount. No Good! They want a statement that shows exactly how much, in each of 3 consecutive months. Great, our pension funder doesn't offer that type of statement - long explanations ensued. She accepted our documents, but asked that we get the type of statement she wanted and get it back to her, before 1:30. Great! So home we raced, poked around in our pension webpage, then our bank webpage, finally we print out several things, create the type of doc she wants, and high tail it back up just in the nick of time! She's happy, we're happy, all is right with the world!

By this time it is 1:30, we've been involved in all this since about 7:30 when we left the house - so far we've had coffee, and I now have a headache, we're crabby, ok more that crabby, and we're really hungry. Off to lunch.

OH, and she said to not bother checking back until January because in all likelihood nothing will happen before then. It is the Holidays, and their offices are closed QUITE a few days during the Holidays, which include 5 days in early January for All Kings Day.

This new system is really working!

iPad2 update, UPDATED

So if you read my previous post you know that I had to turn my less than 5mth old iPad2 in for replacement.

I called this AM about 11:30 and was told that the replacement wasn't in, and that No, they didn't know when or if it would be. Now I must point out that the guy I had worked with, and asked for was 'Busy' so this info came from someone else.

I called again about 1:45 and was put through to My Service Guy, Jose Luis - SHAZAMMMMM
my iPad2 is in, and I can pick it up before 2, or after 4. I hit the road!




My replacement iPad2 is busy charging right at this moment, and in a few hours I will start all over with the whole initialize and setup procedure, so stay tuned, check back, fingers and toes crossed!!!!!

My iPad2, an update!

There's an Apple in Merida!

An Apple Authorized Service Center that is! -







The Store is called Avante,

and this is their web link





I was just there! The staff were all friendly, and many of them speak English. Well at least as well as I speak Spanish, so most anyone with some Spanish can work it.
You've got to be able to help out some!

I can't take credit for this discovery, Barry and Yesenia found it -
Barry told me, now I'm telling you!


The map on their web link is pretty good, but for more concise directions write this down;
calle 23 x 16 y 18 #107B, Col Chuburna. Since most everyone knows where CostCo is here in Merida that is where I'll start - if you are heading North on Technologia you make a U turn at the retorno right at the CoctCo, Now the instructions will be the same if you are coming South on Technologia, You make a Right on 23A, go till you get to the stop sign, then make a Right, then at 23 go Left, The store front is on the Right just at the corner by the Stop Sign - this is what it looks like.







Now for the sad news, sort of! My iPad2, that I got in July while in Houston, is being replaced. I'm not sure I'm happy. First, they have to keep it in order to get me the replacement, so I am Ipad-less right now. While waiting and pondering my decision I sat and emailed myself a bunch of stuff from the iPad, Notes, Photos, etc. Then I did a RESET - sort of like a computer FORMAT command -I hope - to erase all my personal info.

Now that I am home, the note things I sent made it - but no photos came???Did I not give them enough time between sends, who knows, the photos are gone!

I probably should have come home with it, tried to sync it all to my computer then erased it, but the last time I tried a sync the iPad to the computer the iPad froze - I could turn it off, couldn't get any response when once again attached to the computer. Finally after letting it sit for 24 hours I got it started by doing a hard reboot, which involved three things pushed simultaneously for some determined length of time. Of course I lost all my stuff.

In telling Tom about the event I was telling him, This is what I think happened, and what I think will be happening...He hates that kind of stuff, but hey, I am trying to conduct business in Mexico with knowing proper Spanish!

So what I think is - They can't repair the iPad, It's under warranty, I'll get a new one, an English one, should be in tomorrow, or Monday, maybe Tuesday, call him to check if its here/there!


Lots of people ask me if I LOVE the iPad. No, I don't love it, I do like it quite a bit. I probably would prefer an iPhone, or iTouch, now that I know what I know. The iPad is great if you travel alot. But for everyday carryin around it gets heavy, and bulky. And I do like the everyday carryin around part.

Cilantro Cumin Dipping Sauce

AFAD recently held their Annual Fundraiser

Tom and I donated some wine, and made a tray of about 125 botanas for the event.

Nothing super fancy, just skewers with a variety of grape tomatoes, cheese chunks, and black olives. But what was apparently the BIG hit is/was a Cilantro Cumin Dipping Sauce that I make with some frequency.

This sauce is something I just throw together - Now I know I could go out and buy the stuff and make it and do measurements and blah, blah, blah.... but if you know me then you know that won't happen.

Therefore, here is the recipe, as I know it!


One large bunch of cilantro, cleaned and patted dry - do not cut off stems
3-4 large cloves of garlic
juice of 3 limon indios These are sort of like key limes in the USofA, you could use any tart citrus, lemon, lime, sour orange....
1 T cumin seed and 1/2 tsp oregano, toasted
oil - avocado oil is good, olive oil if salad grade, or canola oil. maybe 1/3 cup

salt, pepper

and I like a bit of heat so I add a bit of chili; serrano, habanero, jalapeno, whatever I have, but I always roast it a bit on the comal.


put it all in the food processor and go at it.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Hago esta salsa con frecuencia - lo usamos en todo tipo de cosas - no hay una receta real, por lo tanto, no hay medidas exactos.


Un manojo de cilantro, limpiado y secado - no corte los tallos
3-4 dientes de ajo grandes
jugo de 3 limon indios, jugoso
1 T semillas de comino y 1 / 2 cucharadita de orégano - tostado (este es el secreto, comino y oregano bien tostado)
aceite - aceite de aguacate, de oliva, si el grado de ensalada, o aceite de canola. tal vez 1 / 3 taza

sal, pimienta al gusto,

y me gusta un poco de picante entonces agregar un poco de chile; serrano, habanero, jalapeño, cualquire lo que tengo, pero siempre que asar un poco en el comal.

Purpura Plastika

I have written a number of posts about Purpura Plastika and their Art Therapy programs.

I am a huge fan of, and so very proud of what these artists accomplish with kids and women from, shall we say distressed situations.

You can read my posts Here and Here


They are planning a SALE this coming week. Not much notice - I know!

I was going to write about it, but Joanna has beat me to the punch so I will direct you to her well written and full of photos post

CLICK HERE

and don't forget to visit PPK's website for more info and lots more photos

funny how you just get used to things a certain way...

Tom and I have been buying our coffee from Cafe Organico for several years now. If you are in the area (Mérida) it is located on Calle 33D por 72(Ave. Reforma), in the Centro Comercial Colón.

We always get the Italian Roast (tostado italiano), and very fine grind (molido fino). The italian roast is their darkest roast. Well about a month ago their grinder broke. They were bringing in bags of already ground coffee, or you could always buy the whole beans and grind it yourself (why didn't I think of that?)

We happened in one day when they were out of our roast, so instead of thinking it through and buying the beans, I do have a grinder, somewhere! I said no problem, we'll come back. We, I don't often go up to where the cafe organico is so we ended up completely out of coffee. No problem, I ran, walked, well actually I drove the 6 or so blocks to Chedraui and bought some coffee there; Chedraui brand, their Gourmet selection. It ended up on the compost pile. Guacala!

We went without coffee a few days, then I bought some Gravat, which is what a bunch of people here use. Neither Tom nor I ever finished a full cup, and we pitched nearly a full 12cup pot everyday.

We are used to and enjoy our Organic, Chiapan grown, Italian Roast, fine grind coffee.

We happened to be up in that area the other day running errands and we stopped in - the grinder is fixed, the container was full of italian roast beans, we have coffee, and we are very happy.

We drained the full pot yesterday - it was a very good day!

They do deliver, I even have the number, 9999252831, so someone tell me - why don't I just call and get it delivered?????? Add to that "Way up There" is maybe 3 miles???? GEEEEESHHHHHH!