Debi in Mérida: December 2012

a very ferruginous christmas

So check out our Christmas present

This is a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl. They have a fairly easy call to mimic, and they are fairly easy to call in, as is evidenced by this little fella that Tom called in right above our heads this morning!

here's a link with a bunch of much better photos!

It's official, finally

I've been talking about having a second car for more than a year, probably close to two years. Something small, easy to maneuver,easy to park, cheap to run, repair and maintain....

Tom and I have gotten to the point where are actually having to schedule the car to ensure it's use when needed. Anyway, I've talked about it, but haven't actually done anything about it!

Well a few months, actually nearly 6 months ago I knew of a friend who was planning to return to the US and wanted to sell the car, but didn't actually want to let it go until she was on the runway heading back to the USofA. That's a tough sell. Anyway, several promises to buy fell through, and I finally stepped up and actually made a down payment, that was in October. Today was collection date! She's not actually on the runway, but with the holidays we really had to get this wrapped up.

So today I got my, 'not so new' car.

What this is is a 2002 Chevy Corsa 5-door hatchback,

with 28000kilometers(17400miles)

Okay, for those of you living here in Merida, that might have an interest in the buying/selling process - This is a Yucatecan plated car, for the Seller, all you do is enter the following simple statement on the back of your Original factura, or bill of sale.

"Cedeo los derechos de la presente factura a de sr/sra ____buyers name________."

the seller signs it and provide the buyer with a photocopy of their identification and a utility bill.

AND, and this is the part I love, IF this vehicle has been sold several times, then there will be several similar statements from each Seller.

The minimum paperwork you must get with your car is -

(Factura, original): if you buy it from a used car dealer, it must be an orginal invoice from them (if they own the car), copy of the invoice of Origin from both sides (with proper endorsements of previous owners) copies must be well made and clear. If it's from a direct person, just the orignal invoice when they bought the car with all the endorsements of previous owners (check to see if the names are as indicated in the endosements)
Copy of the Id from the owner (IFE, or passport)
Copy of Bill from his address (telmex, CFE).
Original of Tarjeta de circulacion (transit permit).
Original of Tenencias for past 4 years.( tax of ownership)
The owner might give you a letter of sale for you to sign, where you accept the car in the conditions it is in, and you are liable for what ever this car is responsible for from this date on.

For the Buyer, when you go to register the vehicle in your name you take -

that original signed factura, and a copy of front and back, in fact all the items listed above
the copy of sellers id
the copy of the sellers utility bill
your original id and a copy,
original utility bill with your name and address and a copy

at least I think that's all you'll need. I went today to attend to this paperwork, however, my immigration documents are with INM(immigration) and they wouldn't accept the notification letter from INM and my copies of my visa card.

so sometime in January I should have a better handle on what the Buyer must do.

Cookie Porn (close this now if you will be offended by cookie porn)

You know it's Christmas when you get

your cookie porn.

So for some reason I just asked Tom

which one is mine?

We weren't sure - so I ate the cookieboy!

Yummy, gingerbread with sprinkles!

Thank you cookie pornsters!

Immigration Renewal 2012, part 3

Immigration Renewal 2012, part 3
go back to part 2 here

For the most up to date info always refer to Steve's site - it's where I check to see what's new, what's happening.

OK that said - Tom and I returned to Imigracion yesterday. We had an FM2 after 5 years with an FM3, and are going for our Residente Permanente visa. So depending on your situation, your results could be different - We had everything we thought we could possibly need - What they took was - and this was the same for both of us!

Our FM2
the form we filled out online
copies of passport, first pages only, the ones with the info.
our monthly pension/retirement statement
copy of fidecomiso page that includes address and our names
copy of our last fidecomiso payment
they provided a letter that they have where you fill in the blanks with what you want to do

after all this was reviewed and deemed to be in good form we were sent to the bank to pay the 1000peso fee to begin the paperwork process.

the payment sheet for the 1000pesos to initiate the paperwork

We were instructed to check back starting the second week in January to see if our documents are ready.

Hibiscus sabdariffa, jamaica tea

There is a very popular beverage brewed and served here in Merida; it is called jamaica (HA MY KA).

I regularly brew, serve, and drink jamaica here at the house, and have never given much thought to the plant itself, other than realizing it is some form of hibiscus. Jamaica is actually from the Hibiscus sabdariffa plant, which is apparently also known as roselle. .

Another popular use of the Hibiscus sabdariffa is for the production of bast fibre.

There are apparently a lot of cooking applications and I am curious to research more of them and give them a try! You can make jelly, roselle jelly, can't wait to give that a shot! I have on occasion used the flowers after brewing the beverage in stirfrys. The green leaves are apparently similar to a spicy spinach, perhaps similar to arugula.

A friend recently gifted to me a plant he picked up at a flea market here in Merida.

Check this out!

This is the actual plant from which jamaica tea is brewed.

How awesome is this. A different friend, who is from Hunucma, just outside of Merida was here a few days ago and we were talking about this plant - He advises me that this plant doesn't typically grow here, but rather is typically found growing in Tabasco. Well we'll see, I 'm going to try to keep it alive, wish me luck!

By the way -- from WIKI -- Many parts of the plant are also claimed to have various medicinal values. They have been used for such purposes ranging from Mexico through Africa and India to Thailand. Roselle is associated with traditional medicine and is reported to be used as treatment for several diseases such as hypertension and urinary tract infections. There is currently insufficient evidence to demonstrate any beneficial effect of roselle on raised blood pressure or on blood lipid lowering. Experimental results are contradictory.

Hibiscus sabdariffa has shown in vitro antimicrobial activity against E. coli. A recent review stated that specific extracts of H. sabdariffa exhibit activities against atherosclerosis, liver disease, cancer, diabetes and other metabolic syndromes.

Drink up!

Festival Anual de las Artes Otoño Cultural, Mérida, Los Juglares

Every year there is a funded month plus long cavalcade of Cultural events. This amazing Festival is called Otoño Cultural. This year it started 8 November, and runs through 16 December.

Most nights there are any number and variety of events and activities for you to choose from; dance, music, comedy, ...

This link has a good list of the activities should you wish to fill your evenings for the new week or so -
http://www.divertorio.com/entrada/teatro/festival_anual_de_las_artes_otono_cultural_merida_novdic_2012.html

This link is to the SECAY's 'official' site, they are the ones that have made this festival possible, but their site is a bit more difficult to navigate, this link goes straight to tonight's (5 Dec)offerings.
http://www.culturayucatan.com/index.php?option=com_eventlist&view=day&id=20121205

We attended a performance by Los Juglares at the Teatro Peon Contreras last night. Los Juglares is a fantastic Trova group, and we've really loved them since we first saw/heard them our first few months here, back in 2006.

Four months ago we were returning home to Merida from Houston. We were fortunate that we were seated next to a young meridano returning home from a visit to LA. Mitch is studying to be an abogado, a lawyer, He and Tom chatted the entire flight and we've maintained contact - he's visited, we email, we phone, and we facebook. He knows of our affection for los juglares and offered us VIP seating at last nights performance. It just so happens that one of the los juglares (Cesar) is his brother in law. SWEET!

We met Mitch and his girlfriend Bruni in front of the theatre, we were then directed to a side entrance, through backstage where we greeted and chatted with Cesar and some of the stagehands. We then proceeded to our seats, row 2! SUPER SWEET!

It was a fabulous performance, that included an amazing maraca solo by the incredibly dynamic Chucho, a short very entertaining majic, and a special surprise, a song by Gianni Rivera who has an amazing voice. It was a fabulous performance.

In addition to singing and songwriting, these guys are fabulous guitar players.

Chucho entertaining the crowd, kissing the ladies, and playing some awesome maracas.

incredible guitar playing.

Gianni Rivera, an amazing crooners voice!

We were then honored to be invited along with the family and friends to grab a late night bite - we all made our way over to parque Santiago, it was a bit after 11pm, 4 or 5 tables were pulled together and we sat and ate, chatted, laughed and just had such a special evening.

Tercer Concurso National e Internacional de Piano 'Jose Jacinto Cuevas' competition.

Whenever you talk to or ask anyone about what they like or why they chose to live in Merida, one of the top two answers will be the cultural activities. And the cultural activities abound. Merida boasts a fabulous symphonic orchestra, which played last night with the three finalists of the Tercer Concurso National e Internacional de Piano 'Jose Jacinto Cuevas' competition.

Now I enjoy symphonic music, or Classical music, whichever you prefer; but I have a difficult time to attend symphonic events because it is just to sit-still for me. I dose, I know, my bad!

I enjoy my classical music - at home - turned up loud - while I am doing projects or housekeeping. Maybe if I knew more about music I could sit and appreciate it. I'm a bit of a metal head too, but I don't sit still and listen to that either.

Anyway, we went to the performance of the 3 finalists in this piano competition; young men all, 21, 22, and 25 years old. A Colombian a Mexican, and a Cuban. They were amazing, and yes, my head did dip a few times.

The audience were given sheets on which we could vote our favorite. I have to say that it would have been easier if the music were of similar style and effort. The first two performances were a Schumann and a Chopin, with similar qualities, but the third piece was a Prokofiev, - and so different, and if forced to choose, I didn't last night because as I said I just don't know enough about music, but for me, and for Tom, the young Colombian, Wilson Esteban Labrador Lopez stole the show ~ They each were/are each incredibly talented, but the music and the intensity of the Prokofiev piece just made it more dynamic.