Happy Mother's Day!!

On our little block any day is a good day for a party. Mother's Day is a very good reason. :) Carmen our social coordinator, was around earlier last week to collect the needed signatures for the permits to close off the block and have a band in the street, and to collect table and chair rental orders. Around 8ish PM give or take and hour or so the band arrives and people start setting up their tables.

In the US Block, work, church, social get togethers that involve meals are generally pot lucks. Everyone brings something to share, it all goes on the communal table and each person helps themselves. Here the pot luck concept isn't practiced. Each family fixes their entire meal, it's brought out to their table and served to their invited guests and family.

Don't get the wrong idea it's not that anyone of our neighbors wouldn't share their last tortilla with you. It has more to do with being able to take care of, feed and love your family. Each women knows what is best for her family, no one can cook as well as she can, no one knows just exactly how you like your meat spiced, etc etc... In this culture a women's value to her family, community, and herself centers around her ability to care for and feed her family. If the concept of a pot luck was presented to my neighbor ladies the first thing out of their mouths would be " what you don't think my cooking is good enough, you have to eat Senora..... chicken and rice?? Does she know how to peel the skin off or salt it just the way you like it?? NO, you will eat right here, I will cook for you."

Each family's table is set up next to their neighbors but each family brings their dinner from their kitchens and sits down together to eat. Now when you start visiting from table to table rest assured that every table you stop at will insist that you have something to eat :) It's that old unwritten competition thing again. To refuse is to insult, to eat to much or enjoy someone else's food is a guaranteed insult to the women of your family. Feeuuu!! who knew life could be so complicated!! :)

The street being set up just before the music arrived.

Boys are boys the world over!!

This is our little table. Because it was 10pm when most people sat down to dinner LW and I ate much earlier in the evening. We had planned to have desert and champagne when everyone else had their dinner. Hmmm that looks like tuna salad and beans not desert to me. Yep remember that who thing about being offered food??? :)

I've decided that it just must be unmanly for men to dance in public once they reach a certain age. But it's not unwomanly!!!!!

That is until you have loosened your joints up with a goodly amount of cervesa. Then to heck with this unmanly business :)

Once again that special little block on Bernardo Vasquez had a wonderful fiesta and it was very quiet on our block until sometime late in the morning :)

Have a most audacious today or tomorrow depending on where in the world you are ;)

One Perfect Day :)

I don't know about anyone else but if I go to many days in a row with no time for myself or worse yet no time to make a bit of art, I turn into a real cranky kid! :) I'm soooo thankful the LW understands this bit of quirkiness and is always wonderful about giving me space. Well I suppose there's also a bit of self preservation on his part. We have both learned from our pasts that mind reading isn't included in the relationship package. Just so there are no surprises or misunderstandings we make a point of telling eachother that we might not be the best company that day. Sooooo yesterday morning I announced I was staying home, working on a way over due project and making a huge pot of Bolognese sauce!! :) Comfort food rules!!

Back months ago I bought this very so nasty rubbery-plastic bird bath thingy from one of the Expats moving back north. You know those cheap faux wrought iron yard ornaments from Wal Mart. LW's idea was to send it to the recycler but I thought I'd play around with some paints and see if I could "rust" it up a bit.

I use some DAP wall mend to simulate paint build up from years of painting :)

I painted on a good coating of crackle medium. When it was dry I literly slapped on a coat of white latex house paint.

Then painted in the rust with a sepia colored art glaze I found at the fabric store. A good rubbing of my secret antiquing medium (shoe wax) Finally I finished up with a coat of "Mothers" clear wax. It's like paste wax but smells better, and you can find it in the car department. When you buff it off (shhhh I use LW shoe brush!) you end up with a nice sheen of protective covering :)

Have you guys noticed that buy some not so small miracle my blog pictures are getting better??? Hmmm must be the new Canon Power Shot and my brave exploration of our Kodak easy share software??? Maybe in another 40 years I'll be ready to try photoshop. But for now I'll leave that to LW!!

Have a most audacious today or tomorrow depending on where in the world you are ;)

A Little Bit of Art & JP Update

Book is: Art Making, Collections & Obsessions by Lynne Perrella

I'm one of those kind of girls that doesn't not like Surprises. I've always been that way. In fact at Christmas I have no problem unwrapping a gift that I already know what it is. But then I'm also one of those kind of girls that likes to always have all the cards on the table, know all the options. There is nothing worse then hidden agendas Oops I'm sliding off track :(

Back to surprises. Yesterday I went over to JPs to help her shower and change her dressing. SO there we were she looking down while I gently worked the tape loose and removed the dressing from one of the two pins (actually they are the size of those wood skewers for cooking) As the pin is exposed we immediately noticed it was out farther out it was the day before, and then in slow motion we watch the pin slide out and fall on to the bed!!! :( Damn what did I tell you about surprises???!! Call to her family doc who calls the orthopod who tells us to meet him in his office this morning. A couple of xrays later showed that the remaining pin was also working itself out. So we are on to plan B. The bones comprising the "ball" of her shoulder are all still in place. For 4 weeks she'll keep her arm in the immobilized splint while the bones knit together. Then start physical therapy. She will loose some range of motion but then she never played tennis before the accident so she won't miss it to much :)

I'm sure a number of you have heard that medical care here cost quite a bit less then it does in the States. It is also far far more person oriented. Here is a little for instance.

Yesterday JP made the call to her Dr's cell phone ( no going through a service) if the Dr. thought she needed to see JP the Dr would have made a house call for around $20 US. Her Doc calls the orthopod who tells her to be at his office in the morning at our convenience for an xray. When we got to the office this morning both her Dr.s were there. Xrays were done to the cost of $17.00 US (yes the decimal is in the right place). Then into the office for a consultation on options. Sutures removed and the remaining pin removed. Charge? Nothing as it's considered as part of her surgical follow up care :) One of these post soon I'll try to explain how this can possibly be while still receiving the same kind of high tech care that is available in the States.

I only found enough time to make a bit of art. But any time you can make even a bit of art is good time. :) I had bought 5, 2 inch frozen Charlottes that look to be out of the 20s. Every time I see Amy Hanna, Deryn Mentock or any one of the talented artist making altered jewelry with frozen Charlottes I just itch to try my hand at it. This is the pin I made.

The stone is a piece of faceted clear crystal with some amberish (new color) streaks. On the back of the crystal I transferred a clip art that is a piece of a "love letter" with a women's head and the word love. It's really impossible to get a clear picture with the way the light hits the facets.

To the bottom of that I attached a coffee colored glass heart that has 2 milagros hanging from it. One is a heart the other is a woman's head.

Next to the heart is hanging the frozen Charlotte.

The last charm is a tiny glass bottle in which I placed the words Just Be. Then filled it with a bit of beach sand an two very very tiny Mermaid tears.

So baring any more surprises I think it's time for this Bloglandian seek out a bit of low tech entertainment (a good mystery novel).

Have a most audacious today or tomorrow depending on where in the world you are ;)

I'm Home & It's MAY DAY !!!

I spent my first night at home last night, it's May Day, and JP is on the mend!! :) We spend 6 days on a real roller coaster trying to keep her Blood Pressure down and her Blood Sugar level. It was a struggle but we were just stubborn enough to win :) Now all we have to do is keep her bones stable and her healthy while the bones knit together. JP had large doses of radiation 4 years ago as treatment for her cancer and it has left her bones a bit soft.

It's May Day, and International Labor Day a national holiday for many countries. Mexico is one of those counties. Mexico's government like most of Latin America is a form of Socialism. The people have the right to public protest. Yesterday one of the large main intersections in town (just a few blocks away from our house) was closed to traffic. There is a new dam and reservoir project to be built for the city. When it's completed and opened it will flood and destroy a number of old and historical villages. These are Ejito lands (basically the land is owned communally by the village) These villages were promised a partial payment no later then April 30th. No payment came so they were making their presents known. These are people who historically have been made promises, had their land, homes and families taken away from them then told to go along or build a larger cemetery. Now when a promise is made and not kept they can become a force not to be ignored.

So what did you do for May day??? Dance a round the May pole,

put on your prettiest Spring frock,

Galliano 4 Doir

bring tons of flowers in from the garden, weave buttercup chains, fill a tussie mussie or baskets with lovely flowers and deliver them???

When we were growing up my Mum use to help us make construction paper baskets, we would fill with flowers from the yard. Then early in the morning we would deliver our May baskets. We would sneak (well we thought we were) up to the door hang the basket on the door, ring the bell, then run and hide. This was one of the first traditions I taught my kids. We would make plans weeks a head. How to make the baskets that year, what to fill them with, and the most important decision who to gift then to. :)

Since it's a tiny bit hard to send you all lovely May baskets, I found this old video to share with you. Way Way way back in the "olden days"... 1967 the musical Camelot was released. Gads I loved that movie!!! I had the "original soundtrack LP" Oye I think I played it so many times I wore flat spots in it!! :) I knew all the songs. There is one titled "The Lusty Month of May" and till this day I go around humming it every May Day (yep really!!) Sooooooooo in this wonderful age of utube I found the song, but not only the song but the clip of the movie with the song!!!! Yeaaaaaa :) Now sit back and if you were born before say before 1960 enjoy an old memory. If you aren't old enough to have even been a glimmer in you mum's eye, sit back and enjoy a little piece of movie history that can't help but put a smile on your face. And I dare you not to hum the song for the rest of the day :)

Have a most audacious today or tomorrow my Bloglandian friends depending on where in the world you are ;)

Thank You!! :)

Jackie P and I would like to send a huge Thank You to all the Bloglanian friends that have kept her in your thoughts and prayers :) JP is home, we got the good to go light yesterday afternoon. Because she is alone at night I'll spend the next night or two with her. We are planning a Pajama Party :)

Actually JP was extremely happy with her medical care and I was really impressed with the care she received. They were able to place pins in to stabilize her shoulder, now it's up to her and her bones for the healing process.

We used a very small 20 bed hospital where JP had all the care from a staff that was not understaffed and overwhelmed!! Mexico is still a culture where family is depended on to assist in the patient's care. In fact all the rooms are equipped with day beds so that a family member can sleep comfortably during the night. Because Dr's must repay their medical education with 2 years of service there was a physician on site 24 hours!!!

I have always felt comfortable with the level of medical care here in Mazatlan and Mexico, now having experienced it first hand I would have no problem remaining in Mexico for any medical care :) I some cases Mexico is far more innovated the the US. One area is pain relief. Opium drugs are very seldom used so they have developed alternatives which actually work better without the side effects morphine, and codeines have.

I'm thinking a little seista is in order so I'll try to do a bit of a posting this evening. Please have a most audacious today or tomorrow depending on where in world you are ;)

PS. Please take the reports on the Swine Flu news about Mexico with a grain of salt. Remember that although 100 people have died with symptoms of the flu that is a very very small percentage of the population of Mexico City. Mexico City is the most populated city in the world, with 29+ million, people just in the metropolitan area. We are very comfortable with the precautions the government has and is taking. They are extremely prepared to handle many outbreaks that other countries US included are not. Actually WHO (the World Health Organisation) has been very impressed with the way the country was prepared and is handling this outbreak!!

International Charm Day, April 28th

So what could be more fun on April 28th then celebrating International Charm Day?? I Ask you?? Nothing... well unless it's your birthday maybe :)

Amber Dawn has put together a huge charm party to celebrate the day. How about heading over to her party blog to see what's up and what delightful plans she has put together?? Then sign on along with blogs from all over Bloglandia for a bit of fun!! Why you could even put together your own activity to help celebrate :) Ready? Set? Race you to the Blog button, what? where? oh for heaven sakes just open your eyes!!!

Jackie P is scheduled for surgery at O'Dark Thirty tomorrow. The surgeon isn't sure whether her bone can be pinned or will have to have a prosthesis to replace the head of the bone. So we will see when we see tomorrow. Depending on how much work is done will dictate how much her BFF will be playing nurse :) I know every one's plates are always spilling over but if you have a spare minute or two to think please send a bit of positive chi to a very exceptional example of a genuine good and caring person :)

Have a most audacious today or tomorrow depending on where in the world you are ;)

Happy Earth Day

Mexico can be a real dichotomy. Most of the nation is still very poor and for generations has lived with the "reuse, remake, recycle, make do" media phrases before they became the current catch phrases. You can't spend 5 minutes in this country before you see 100 examples of using what you have on hand to make something work :) Things that the advanced developed nations throw away because there is no way to fix it to work again are fixed here. Mexico has more then earned the title of being able to fix anything :) But the most amazing part is that they are able to fix things with literally nothing. I have mentioned often that second hand stores are not common, and finding second hand furniture is even more uncommon. Truly nothing goes to waste There are some of the most amazing & inspirational artists behind every mechanic, shoe repair, steel worker, plumbing, hardware, electrical, paint.... stores!! Steampunk is a way of life here!!! :)

On the other side of the coin many in Mexico have not had the time, money or energy to realise that all things are finite not infinite. It takes everything they have to survive and thoughts that future generations might not have clean air, etc is not something that is a reality to deal with. But even that is changing, slowly but it is changing. Mexico realises and accepts the responsibility of protecting their country's resources. This is, (and rightly so) a proud country of ageless beauty with a history of a people who have cared, protected and respected nature in all her forms :)

Have a most audacious today or tomorrow depending on where in the world you are ;)