Lifestyle

Category

Surfing Adrian

The waves have been pretty nice lately, I imagine part of the reason is the tropical storm Adrian, out in the ocean way west of us. This morning the surfers were enjoying themselves – of course a Saturday morning always has more surfers than a weekday, but today was even more popular than usual.  I counted more than 20 surfers at one point. There are a mix of surfers and bodyboarders.  Bodyboarders like to do a move where they go...

Too much choice sometimes…

Friends who aren’t retired or who haven’t been to México will ask “what do you do all day?” I think it’s a funny question because boredom has never ever been a problem for me.  I usually have way too many things going on, and some days I even have trouble deciding what to do because of it! Some days I just like to play in my office-workroom.  Above is a picture of my main work table.  I have bins below...

April wildlife adventures

Every April there are a couple of weeks where the termite hatch is on.  When we were new here we were surprised one night when jillions of these flying critters invaded our well-lit home.  We asked our housekeeper what they were and she said they are “things that go to the light.”  Now we know that we just turn out the lights for about 15 minutes and they find some other light to go to and not bother us.  They...

It’s the season to be ….busy.

I went AWOL again, I know!  Lots has been going on, we are having fun for sure.  I never got around to editing the video of the Carnaval parades, and I have to confess it probably isn’t going to happen now.  But here’s some of what we’ve been up to: We went to the Bow Wow Meow, a fundraiser for Proyecto Animales de la Calle (PAC) at the Condominium Om.  It was a great event, a lot of money was...

Siesta time

Somehow those hot and humid days of summer became etched into my retinas. Until the last couple of days I couldn’t actually believe that you could go outdoors and sit in the sun – YES – in the sun – without expiring (and perspiring) in a matter of seconds. Why can the heat have so much more power than the perfect? The last two days in the afternoon I have taken my tea and my book (…er, Kindle) out on...

Estero del Yugo

Paul and I love birds and when I read about the Estero del Yugo in M! Magazine back in July I knew I wanted to visit. Why did it take us so long, anyway?  It is a place to visit every season of the year.  I plan on going back frequently, and could sit for hours with my binoculars watching the wildlife.  When you go, carry with you binoculars and a camera – and during the rainy season I would...

Poor lonely blog…

It has been another week between posts!  What is wrong with me?  Can’t I think of interesting things to say about Mazatlán? Well, yes… and no. After living here more than three years I have to admit every impromptu parade or quirky item being carried on a bicycle doesn’t cause me to run for the camera anymore, it is just life as usual.  Wonderful life as usual, but still. I have to admit, too, that I am probably more involved...

the summer blahs

All our traveling is over for a while and we are settling in to the rainy season here in Mazatlán.  This September has been incredibly rainy so far, pretty much every day lately. I love the big crashing thunder and crazy lightning shows and I love it when the rain pounds down so hard you can’t believe it. It feels like Mexico when it is raining hard like that!  Lately, though… it has been drizzly day after drizzly day and...

The download

As I visited family in the US, I frequently noticed how foreign things felt. People are too freaking polite! Good grief, people!  Quit waving each other access to the intersection and just GO!  I didn’t even rent a car this trip so I barely drove at all – but I still found myself flabbergasted at how SLOW people drive – and how SLOW they turn (ever hear of hand over hand?) and how LONG they stop at a stop sign. ...

We’re back from a break!

Paul’s birthday is in June and each year we have been taking advantage of low season summer specials for hotel rooms in Mazatlán to have a bit of a getaway.  Last year we spent only one night at Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay, and this year decided to spend two nights at the Inn at Mazatlán.  It is great to lounge by the pool and let someone else do the cooking and cleaning! The Inn at Mazatlán’s staff seems very friendly...

We love visitors

…and we had a wonderful time when our son Phil visited this week on the spur of the moment.  He is still planning on bringing the family for a visit at Thanksgiving, but this trip was a solo one.  That’s the way it is when the kids are in school! Here are a few highlights: One day was a bit overcast, but enjoying a beer under a palapa is still a wonderful way to spend an afternoon!   Of course...

A Bird Tale

Do you remember back in 2008 when Paul and I took care of 50 baby parrots for a couple of weeks?  I wrote about the experience here and here and here. When they left our care I wrote about them here. When they were about a year old Conrehabit released them to the wild, but a few were evaluated as either being too tame or physically unable to live in the wild.  That’s how we ended up with Pancho and...

Please forgive me!

I know, I know, I have been a real sporadic blogger lately!  I have plenty of excuses, which I’m sure you aren’t interested in hearing about. We had company, though – our son and daughter in law and our granddaughter came over from México City for five days.  Our son travels a lot on business and our daughter in law is busy with her Foundation so it had been hard to find a time we could get together.  Consuelo is...

You need to be flexible…

In order to live happily  in Mexico, I believe you need to be flexible. Can’t find sage when you want to make Thanksgiving stuffing?  Buy Hierbas Finas and make do. Can’t find lemons?  Use lime, or orange, or grapefruit, and discover how good and different it is. Can’t find peanut butter that you like?  Grind your own or use Nutella. Can’t find clothing that suits your figure?  Have a seamstress clone something you own and love. Can’t find something –...

A few observations – North and South of the border

The Highway We arrived in Seattle at dusk and by the time we were driving North in our rental car it was full-on dark. We were driving along like kids who’d never seen the city marveling at the brightly illuminated highway.  Five lanes each way, with bright white striping marking the way.  Endless rows of red tail lights in front of us and endless rows of headlights the other way. All so orderly, so lined up and neat.  Blinkers blinking....