When I was younger, so much younger than today, I had little awareness of economic tides. I really wouldn’t have noticed if for instance a bag of potato chips increased in price by 50 cents or if a car battery cost increased by 30%. Increased costs were merely a fact of life and you rolled with or more accurately were mostly oblivious to it all.

Now I will admit that this numbness was largely a part of being middle class and never really wanting for anything other than dreaming of things like a Ferrari or a 48’ sailboat. But the times they are a changing.

I don’t look in mirrors as much as I used to and I do look at prices a whole lot more. In mere weeks the cost of food here in Mexico has increased substantially. The news from the U.S. is loaded with reports of a depressed housing market, escalating gasoline prices, devaluation of the dollar around the world, little consumer confidence etc. etc. etc.

For us life these days is a lot about making adjustments to accommodate these increases while living on a fixed income. That is a misnomer in itself in that we really are living on less continuously when you live on a fixed income – based on the aforementioned and more.

We learn to live without some things and to substitute for the high cost of other things. I remember my parents near the end of their lives would mix the ‘expensive’ coffee beans with more affordable, lesser quality beans to stretch it out. My father would take his garbage bags and dump them in Wal-Mart’s dumpsters until he got caught.

When they passed away, both dying within 3 days of one another, I was in their home getting issues settled. I noticed that in their kitchen my father had collected a lot of those small packets of condiments freely available at fast food restaurants. Quite simply they had adopted methods to stretch their dollars – now we are starting to do the same.

But our friends here in the Hood who didn’t come from middle class beginnings had little to nothing to begin with and now their 300-500 US dollar monthly incomes are really insufficient. It is hard to make adjustment from nothing to less than nothing – quite sad.

I wonder if it is easier for us to live on less when we live amongst those that have so much less – most likely. Even at this level of social strata there is some ‘keeping up with the Jones’s.’ All still it is a poor neighborhood we live in – when you hear the question paper or plastic around here it relates to the type of plate you want your food to be served on. A family of four may only possess 3 metal spoons – mostly picking up food with pinched tortillas.

Tougher times heaped upon tough times are sad to watch. Jose, 32, is the tortilla winner for a family of four here in the Hood. He is a God fearing, husband and father who works at a bottling plant in Coatepec. His pay averages about $400.00 U.S. dollars a month. He seems to get about two days off each month and is paid by the pallet count he bucks up to waiting delivery trucks.

Jose gives $135.00 US to his wife every 15 days. This is the sum used to feed and manage the family. The balance of his income is used for extraordinary purchases like shoes or school project expenses, or to clothe their God children (not their own), or for tools for the many side jobs he gets, and to pay back the loan he got to build a bathroom on to his casa.

We have all read these stories. But, when you live with people whose lives are intertwined with your own it is all the more real and disheartening. But then their energy, spirit and family values lift you back up, making you stop feeling sorry for yourself and learn to appreciate how much we have.

The tales of knowing life intimately in two countries is really quite something. Future and Cultural Shock take on new meaning. I am sure it is less so in the more developed cities of Mexico where the expat invasion has changed the fabric of life. Here we are more observers of the life rather than participants in much of the reason for change. There aren’t enough of us here to unbalance the economy of life – yet.

I love this oft told story that was written a couple hundred years ago by a German poet named Heinrich Heine. It goes like this:

Once upon a time, there was a simple fisherman sleeping in his small boat. A rich, powerful businessman came up and saw him there. The rich man asked him why he was not out fishing since it was only early afternoon. The fisherman told him that he had already caught enough fish for the day. The businessman was confused by this attitude and began to lecture him. “But if you work all day, then you can make more money!”, the rich man said, “And you can buy a bigger boat. Then you can hire other men, catch more fish, and then make more money.” The fisherman looked confused and asked, “Why would I need to make so much money?” The rich man replied, “Then you could retire and not have to work anymore.” The fisherman then looked at him with a smile and said, “I’m not working now.”

The lesson here is a rich man is not he who has the most, but he who needs the least; a lesson you will learn here soon enough. Stay Tuned!

Looking to the left of here you can see I have whittled down the months of Blog entries. I have expunged 265 entries so far with another 150 or so to go – I have room! You knew I couldn’t stay away. Thank you all for your comments and emails.

I love cilantro. I was raised going to restaurants that added color to the plate with parsley. I would try to eat it but it was spiny and sour tasting. How I wish they had used Chinese parsley or the leaves of the Coriander plant more commonly known as cilantro.

I love the fresh smell and unique taste. Here in Mexico it is more popular than potato chips and a whole lot better for you. Rick Bayless a Mexican food writer, television chef and restaurant owner who conveys the heart, soul and flavor of Mexico writes of cilantro, “Having served close to a million and a half diners in the last decade, I can confidently say, we’ve almost all been won over. We love cilantro…with very few exceptions.”

To my surprise there is an entire web site dedicated to those who hate cilantro:

http://www.ihatecilantro.com/

I had no idea that it was a love/hate relationship. Hard to believe there would be a place on the Internet dedicated to those that dislike the herb. Some describe it as waxy and soapy – neither of theses descriptors would I use. Like Bayless I find it hard to imagine anyone that doesn’t love cilantro – but then I feel that way about Beluga caviar too.

We started using it primarily in the salsa I make – but now we have it in all kinds food like shrimp tacos, avocado tacos, guacamole, salmon patties, scrambled eggs, and just about anything that is enclosed by a tortilla.

You can get a good size bunch for as little as a peso – but more often two. It is hard to store and has a short shelf life. Again quoting Bayless, “If cilantro is sold with the roots, it will last a little longer in the refrigerator. At [my] restaurants, we refrigerate cilantro standing up in a tub with a little water at the bottom. At home, I have had good luck loosely rolling unwashed cilantro in barely damp paper towels and storing it in a plastic bag. Too much water will cause the leaves to deteriorate quickly; the dry air of a refrigerator is cilantro’s worst enemy, so keep it covered. I like to soak my cilantro sprigs in cold water for an hour or so before their debut to perk them up to a just-picked freshness.”

Our experience parallels Rick’s comments as it is short lived. We continue to experiment with ways to extend its storage life – but using it quickly after purchase it the best – well second to pulling it from your garden as needed.

Although cilantro and coriander are most often associated with the cuisines of Mexico and Asia, the herb originated in the southern reaches of the Mediterranean. Coriander has been found in Egyptian tombs dating back 3000 years. It is even mentioned in the Bible in Exodus 16:31, where manna is described as “small round and white like coriander seed.” The ancient Hebrews originally used cilantro root as the bitter herb in the symbolic Passover meal.

Thanks to the Romans and their conquests, cilantro’s use and legend spread to Europe and Asia, where it appeared in recipes for potions used as aphrodisiacs in China during the Han dynasty (207 BC-200 AD). The Romans themselves used coriander with cumin and vinegar as a preservative which they rubbed into meat.

In literature, coriander is mentioned as an aphrodisiac in The Tales of the Arabian Nights. And those famous sugarplums which fill children’s dreams at Christmas time were originally sugar coated coriander, a treat that offered a sweet start and then a spicy burst of flavor. Later the recipe included small bits of fruit and became the confection we know today.

We did buy fresh cilantro in the U.S. but we have also bought it from the Vitamin Cottage as organic cilantro cut for $18.00 plus a pound – ouch.

If you are headed down here soon, get a leg up on things and buy some cilantro and make some dishes with it. Fresh cilantro smells as good as it tastes and will liven up just about anything you add it to except maybe ice cream – try it, you’ll like it! Stay Tuned!

I wish I was announcing I am giving up this Blog because I won the HUGE lottery yesterday – but no that is not the case. I guess you have to buy a ticket to have a chance to win.

We met up with Maria and Ray yesterday afternoon at the Italian Restaurant.

Ray had contacted me after finding this Blog via some research on Veracruz.

Maria and Ray are members of a mixed marriage (still not sure how I feel about that description), like Anita and I. She is from Xalapa. He is from Indiana. They met in a cardboard factory and have been married 5.5 years (Ray adds the half). – Seems romantic – anyone remember the film “An Officer and a Gentlmen”?

Now they are a couple caught between two worlds – that of the United States where they met and Maria’s homeland Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. It appears they are opting for future living here in Veracruz.

Sadly Ray will head back to the States Monday. They are a positive couple and will be happy wherever they end up.

Anita and I had a couple more scrumptious meals at Stephano’s restaurant – we continue to recommend it to anyone that makes their way to these parts.

In talking with Ray I have come to realize that my Blog is too big and ungainly. In some ways it seems that it might be more of a disservice to have so many words rambling along than a help to anyone that wants to know more about our part of Mexico.

I think there are a lot of people that simply do not get the SEARCH function available herein. I have mentioned it now and again, but there are oh so many that have interest and limited computer/research skills. This pretty much equates to my needing to be more organized and less relying on others skills of searching.

Couple that with the fact that I am out of space on my server – I have decided to delete some of the older year’s entries. So starting from there and heading forward entries will go away or I may just leave this Blog and start anew like others have done?.

I have never been well organized and this Blog is no exception. Michael and Wayne, and others have divided Blogs with more focused entries based on some categoric division. Oh that I could be that organized. Further to that Michael who writes with a hand that seems to be guided by angelic wordsmiths from days of yore has four or more Blog sites divided in parts by volume, I assume, as some of their titles include a Part X descriptor.

Anita again reminds me of the search function provided by the program design – but still it seems this isn’t used much as I get a surprising amount of questions regarding things that are easily found using the search feature. I guess that is why FAQ’s are so popular – but I have always thought they were too parsed for my tastes – hmmmmm.

In any case the volume of entrie will dwindle; in fact it has already started. And I will make an effort to condense and organize for the future.

Jim Phypers tells me he is moving forward to video Blogging – this when I chastise him for so few entries in his existing Blog. Hmmm – talking heads with video clips. I am not sure I am going to make it around that corner. I have resigned myself to the fact that I am no longer guapo and don’t see a lot of gain pasting my mug on a super sized bandwidth video Blog – but perhaps recording the spoken word would simplify things for both me and the readers/listeners.

It is a time for reflection on all these things in any case. This all started as a method of communication for family and close friends – surprisingly as far as I can tell people in that category do not read this Blog or on the rare occasion they visit – so that purpose has proved a failure. Maybe Jim’s right in the sense that people just don’t read any more. Often I am accused of too long of Blog entries and if you have been here for any time at all you know I try and limit my words to a 1000 or less – breached upon occasion.
But I do have a fairly broad readership of people who do not know me – could that be a telling thing in itself?

I am often disappointed at the amount of entries supplied by Bloggers that I like to read like Nancy of “Count Down to Mexico” fame. Now that she is past the count down and living in Mexico she is either too busy or sees less reason to create Blog entries – and there are others.

So I am parsing down this huge Blog and will slow down on my input/output taking the time to reflect on the value of the effort and if I need to be moving towards the future with audio or video Blogging. I will stay active on the Forum.

As mentioned in the past writing this Blog has had a cathartic benefit. I may dismiss this as a mood I am in – getting back to 1000’s of words spewed out at random – we shall see. So you don’t need to stay tuned – but please check back now and then because the beat goes on, it just needs to find its rhythm right now…

Have you seen any of the debates?

I have come out with the stance that I am apolitical. Here I wouldn’t want to affiliate with the concept of politics lacking importance; rather I choose to not get too involved. I do pay attention to some of it, but I really am apathetic to most of it – the nonsense anyway.

When you live in a country where you are strongly warned to NOT get involved with their politics; and be damned that I should have to accept being coined a ‘guest’ where I live – here I am forced to avoid homeland political opinions.

OK so the short answer here is I have not seen any of the many debates that have occurred between presidential candidates in America. I don’t have my head buried so far in the sand that I don’t realize that these people have an affect on my life – because of course they do.

Perhaps my apathy is more a matter of self preservation – keeping my blood pressure in healthy numbers.

Practically speaking there are those that vote for who they think can win and then there are those who vote their conscious and perhaps even heart. I tend to affiliate more with the latter category which is all the more reason why I am somewhat apathetic – I haven’t ever really supported a candidate that won.

Now there is still the choosing between the lesser of two evils to consider – but on balance I feel too much like a sellout when considering that. So maybe I wasn’t the greatest of Americans from the standpoint of exercising that “freedom” to vote? But, now I am in a safe zone where I am law abiding by not getting involved with the politics of my home country.

Since I don’t have a right to take a stand here where I live, I will bring up a common theme that transcends ‘local’ politics; one I have made my feelings clear on many times here in this Blog – that of the subject of undocumented immigration occurring between the southern border of the U.S and the northern of Mexico.

I appreciate the fact that the two leading candidates on the more likely to win Democratic side came out saying in agreement in the debate last night, and I quote, “In a university auditorium in the heart of Texas, the two rivals agreed that high-tech surveillance measures are preferable to construction of a fence to curtail illegal immigration.” Hallelujah to those political foes from the same party!

I don’t want a great wall ala East and West Germany between the country from which I was born and the country of which I have adopted (even if it hasn’t totally adopted me).

I have other thoughts about what I have read about these candidates – but we aren’t supposed to talk politics, religion or sex to be socially light hearted – three subjects I can gin up opinions on when the need be.

Let’s just say cheerfully that I am happy with both candidates’ views on that subject and move on to the fun of living in Mexico – Stay Tuned!

(Longer Ladder HERE)

We claimed Our new ladders (escaleras) yesterday afternoon.

We headed back down the hill with Abundio. He had ordered and then stored at his house our two ladders. This took a while as Abundio advised us that we wanted our ladders made from dry wood. When he ordered ours he said he would wait for them to be constructed from dry lumber.

We also got the Mexican pricing by having Abundio order the ladders.

Whenever we arrive at Abundio’s it is an event. He has a flock of grandchildren that come out to see the gringos – we are an unusual sight for them.

We had to open the window between the back and the passenger compartment, as well as the back camper shell window to accommodate the ladders length of 16’4”.

OK so I am more excited about getting the new ladders than you probably are – but there is a story here.

After they were loaded in the truck we started to say our thank you’s and goodbyes, but Abundio was wanting us to do something else? We thought at first he felt we needed a red flag on the back of the ladders that extended beyond the rear of the truck by only about 10-12”. I was confused.

Here in Mexico they do in fact use the red flag method of notice for long loads surprisingly enough. I mean you can see just about any strange thing on the roads here – but if you have a long load you should have a flag.

This was not the situation though. Abundio explained that the ladders must be concealed as they are not legal to own – what?

Apparently the Mexican Government is cracking down on the abuse of cutting trees illegally. Here I was confused still more in that we bought these ladders from a factory that had stacks of ladders.

I remembered that getting back into the ‘factory’ area was a bit strange and the owner seemed to be somewhat uncomfortable with us being in the factory. There were no outward signs that this ladder fabrication company existed – now that became clearer.

So we had unwittingly purchased ladders made from pine that could be in question as to the source of the wood. We found plastic to cover the protruding section and we covered the section that rested on our dashboard with black plastic garbage bags.

My idea of exporting the rather novel hand made ladders fell completely out of favor at that point.

We carefully drove the three and a half miles to Ursulo Galvan feeling like criminals – ugh! Along our route we pass right by the local police station. So now we own two ladders that we hope will take on a weathered look in short order. Our illegal pine ladders rest on our deck for the moment.

I am thinking Abundio might have told us this story before we ordered the ladders. So be careful that you don’t unwittingly become a criminal in Mexico. I won’t be bringing up the ladders again. Stay Tuned!

Major activities in the sky tonight. Someone pointed out on our Forum that tonight there is a total lunar eclipse happening. This will be the last chance to see one for a couple of years. It starts at about 9 PM Central Time (most of Mexico’s time zone).

But before that show there is a long three minute pass by over Veracruz of the International Space Station at 7:05 PM. So we’ll have our heads in the clouds tonight.

We have been trying to get someone to make us a door for the new bodega for quite a time. Typically here you don’t just run to Home Depot and buy a framed door to install. There are a lot of welders around these parts. We pass one on the main street going into town in Coatepec. There is one around the corner from Abundio’s casa in Xico and his son-in-law is a welder further up the road in Xico.

So what’s the problem(s) you might be asking? Most, if not all, of these fellows do not have cars. Abundio the gardener extraordinaire who walks a mile and a half to and then from work up here five or more days a week has never driven and certainly never owned a car; nor does he have any desire to at 65 years young.

You folks from the U.S., can you imagine a person never driving in their entire life – and a male person at that. Not to sound sexist, but I have met a few U.S. women that have never driven including our next door neighbor in Colorado.

These soldadors (Spanish for welders) can’t just be called and then show up at your casa – I saw one get off the bus in Ursulo Galvan with his welding box – one of those hernia giving buzz box welding units weighing in at about 200 lbs. They might weld but don’t expect them to drive to your job site.

There are some cars in Ursulo Galavan, but not a lot. I would hazard a guess that less than half the households have cars – probably a lot less. Now this is quite incongruous with the fact that traffic snarls every which way; and the driving conditions in Xalapa are New York City traffic insane.

People generally take very good care of their cars in Mexico. They are after all a major expense. It is not unusual to see a car parked in the living room of a casa here; I am not kidding. Many city lots are very narrow with the houses built one against another. The lots are often no wider than a single car garage.

It is also not unusual to see a garage floor beautifully tiled. This probably encourages the owner to toss in a sofa and television creating a Mexican version of a U.S. great room – a totally living and parking area.

Being health and environmental types we have always tried to not share our living quarters with the garage. We don’t like the garage that enters into the house as the fumes from vehicles, gas cans and the many chemicals associated with house and garden are not good company. So the idea of essentially pulling your car inside your house doesn’t work for us.

Xalapa with its nearly half million people now has building codes on the books that require off street parking – again with the narrow lots the front of the houses are garages. Our neighbors Rafael and Rosa Lillia actually have a vehicle each. This is their vacation house after all and they obviously belong to the more affluent set.

Our neighbors on one side in Ursulo Galavan have two cars – but they are extranjeros (gringos from the U.S.). And Veronica and Miguel own a vehicle each – so it isn’t the back woods here. But none of the aforementioned has garages.

The only place you can be sure that there will be covered parking is the Auto Hotels; the ones that you can rent by the hour. They provide covered (hidden) parking for their clientèle.

So unless you are buying a chunk of land in these parts, parking is a consideration and can be a problem. We have three more cars and a motorcycle waiting for us back in New Mexico – thinking of parking. The total sum value of our vehicles probably does not measure up to the cost of one new vehicle.

I have put out requests on the Forum asking what the ‘right’ vehicle for Mexico is with a variety of answers of course. We actually drive very little having filled our truck up with gas once since we have been here for nearly 5 months. This is in part to the credit of public transportation. We are amazed at the places buses will go to here in Veracruz.

You can get a cab in Xalapa for 15 pesos to take you across town (25 peso or more if you are an unknowing gringo). We have been known to drive to the edge of Xalapa and take cabs from there due to the narrow streets and lack of parking and madcap drivers.

I won’t even get into the quality of the roads here in Mexico – I’m sure if you have read anything you have read about the holes and topes. Owning, maintaining and parking a vehicle in Mexico is certainly more of an adventure than in the United States; and after all that is why we are all here – for the adventure – no? Stay Tuned!

ENLARGE the FOG HERE

Below is foggy Mexico. In the bright light and not so vivid panorama each hill and tree and mountain exists with a kind of force and mystery that seems not natural but super natural.

When it is like this our lives become confined to the indoors in a manner. The windows lead to little more than fog. Mexico is less that and more part of the unknown beyond.

Inside there are signs that we are no longer in Kansas though like fresh leaves of mint Anita has gleaned from a plant on the porch and a bowl full of avocados that we certainly couldn’t have afforded north of the border.

Then the sounds of bleating sheep, horseshoes clapping on cobblestones out on our street and distant church bells from the pueblo of Xico. The mystery is cleared up. We are your guides. Even foggy days are sweet and melodious here in Mexico. Stay Tuned!

Do you remember a short while back when I wrote about sighting the International Space Station? Well here is an opportunity that starts in a few hours and goes on during the week.

It’s a glorious Sunday morning here at Rancho del Cielo. Seven eigths of the way down from eight miles high when you touch down you’ll find that it’s stranger than known – a little casa hidden in the green mountains of Mexico. The air is clean blue and the water in the river below bubbles and sparkles like diamonds in the sky. We are muy contento – satisfecho!

Before we arrived here Saturday afternoon we headed into Xico to have an afternoon dinner at Stephano and Leslie’s Italian restaurant.

We took our little bird Bueno Juju with us as later we were heading up to Rancho del Cielo for several days. He is a good traveler and restaurant diner too.

Our friend Bob Johnson, a local artist and film producer, arrived just as we were seated. Bob’s two dogs preceded him into the restaurant. Stephano recognized Bob’s pooches. There was quite a menagerie with the house cat, Bob’s dogs and our little Juju.

We had a terrific thin crust Italian style vegetarian pizza with wine and beer. We lingered for quite a time catching up on things with Bob and enjoying the scene.

In as much as we were celebrating belatedly Anita’s birthday she had a creamy tart with a chocolate, ricotta, and pine nut sauce – muy sabrosa!

Stephano brought out a terrific bottle of Vermuth. It is a sweet or dry white wine flavored with bitter herbs and fortified with alcohol. The chief centers of the manufacture of vermuth are Turin, Italy, and Marseilles, France. Really a wonderful after pizza libation.

We arrived up at Rancho del Cielo just before sundown. It was in the low 80’s, sunny and beautiful.

We watched the George Clooney film, “Michael Clayton”. Then off to bed listening to the fiesta in full swing down in the pueblo.

This morning we got up a bit late around 7 AM. I fired up the espresso maker and Crosby, Still and Nash’s “Southern Cross”. We are watching Pico de Orizaba blend into the thickly soaked moist air rising up from picturesque Xico pueblo. It looks to be a fine day here – hope yours is the same. Stay Tuned!

We had two life and death events in the last couple of days. Two 18 year old jovens crashed their motorcycle into a vehicle. The motorcycle driver died on the scene. The other, a boy from Ursulo Galvan hung on for a couple of days but was disconnected from life support and subsequently died.

Lidia’s mother was this boys godmother and therefore is responsible to buy new burial clothes.

The church up the way rings its bell twice to signify a death in the Hood. Of course any death is sad – but when it is a young person the pain and hurt are compounded.

So many youths seem to consider themselves invincible – many die having thought that; participating in some action lacking good judgment like high speed racing on a motorcycle with a passenger. Needless to say we in the Hood are saddened.

On the other side of that, Doctor Veronica our friend delivered a baby the other night rather unexpectantly. It seems that near midnight her doorbell was ringing. A mujer in the neighborhood had stomach pains and was pregnant. Veronica first suggested she head to the hospital – but it was too late for that – the baby was ready to enter the world.

Veronica’s husband Miguel rushed out to get gloves and accessories needed for a baby delivery. In short order the baby arrived at their house in Veronica’s office. I understand this was Veronicas fourth in house birth.

Veronica is the type of woman that must greatly enjoy this part of her practice – bringing in life.

This was the birth mother’s third so she knew what to expect and all went smoothly. Anita reports that the woman was hoping to get her tubes tied as part of the delivery activity – but this is not something Veronica does in her home medical office – so the need for fast delivery precluded that.

As is the practice and tradition here expectant mothers refrain from walking through cemeteries or attending funerals. Most new babies and their mothers are cared for 40 days after the birth.

If for some reason a pregnant woman has to attend a funeral she must gather seven flowers from different arrangements; take them home and boil them into a tea which must be consumed – steeped in tradition.

The dead boy has been brought back to Ursulo Galvan where funeral events will start today. Neighbors bring raw rice, beans, oil, sugar, coffee and salt to the boy’s house. Food will be prepared for the visiting mourners.

It is a beautiful day here this Saturday. Life and death play out in our colonia like a Mexican novella.

We are heading up to Rancho del Cielo – Stay Tuned!