“There will be a rain dance Friday night, weather permitting.” George Carlin – American stand-up comedian, actor and author.
On the first day – What is that I hear? Could it be thunder rolling across the sky and rain falling on our clay tile roofs? We won’t have to water our gardens today. Looks like a great time to curl up with a book or work with the photographs we’ve taken or simply sit on the porch and enjoy the quiet time. We can still go out. We’ll simply add an umbrella to our layers of clothing.
On the second day – My gosh it’s still raining. We are beginning to see small rivers building on the streets. We are on a hill consequently all water journeys to Lake Chapala. While there is some concern about pollution – commercial and residential run off and the fact that there are veritable islands of sea weed chocking the lake, it is still interesting to watch the water heading back to one of the largest lakes in Mexico.
The weather gives us an opportunity to watch the lake from our mirador – gray against the stormy, cloud filled sky. Palms blowing in the breeze and all of nature fed by this gift from the rain gods.
On the third day – Look at that there are actual streams developing as rain water runs off everything it touches. The saturation level has been met. You begin to wonder if you step in one of the streams will you too be deposited into beautiful Lake Chapala.
On the fourth day – you begin repeating the cobblestone idiom again – if I want to look I can’t walk. Because of the wetness we must take into account the “slippy slide” effect. Cobblestones are a challenge under dry conditions – when wet they are tantamount to cruising for a bruising…as you slid butt-first to town central. Not a particularly graceful way to make an entrance into one of the lovely café’s that dot the square.
On the fifth day – we decide we need to go out regardless of how wet it is. To our amazement there are actual waterfalls gushing from various places that, though fascinatingly interesting, weren’t there before – if memory serves correct. Forging ahead, people, though wet and soggy, go about their lives with determination and fortitude. The phase “what’s with all the rain” is often heard spewing from the mouths of visitors as well as locals. Industrious sales people not only have rugs, purses, toys, etc strapped to their backs they have added the obligatory “bumpershoots” (my Welsh background surfacing) and windshield wipers to the list of sale items.
One fellow, with windshield wipers in hand, grabbed our wipers – once we stopped the car thank goodness – and held us hostage for the better part of five minutes trying to complete a sale.
Have we angered the rain gods in some way? Isn’t the rainy season, according to my research, supposed to take place between May and October? Are the gods not aware there are snow birds down here that have left cold and gloomy climes to feel the hot sun?
For heaven sakes, it now looks like we have an infinity pool in our backyard. If either of us decided to take a swim it could be dangerous for our neighbors. Jumping into the pool would most certainly cause a title wave of gushing water. Said neighbors would have to exit their houses and traverse their property via canoe as walking would not be an option.
The sun has risen today. The ark we started for lack of better things to do will lay dormant, we hope, until May!
Not even an inch to spare.
No wiggle room.
Our new roses are enjoying the rain.
“If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands.” Douglas Adams – British comic, writer, author of A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
I know what a duck looks like. I know what a robin looks like. That’s about as far as it goes.
David and I keep binoculars on one of the tables on our porch because the birds in Mexico are fascinating (you’ve seen the Spanish speaking parrot’s photos). We find them to be both colorful and boisterous. I ask you, would it be any other way here? These two-legged, warm blooded animals with wings, a beak and bodies covered with feathers have to compete with all the other larger then life activity here.
David knows more about birds then I do – which isn’t hard since I know nothing. He also has a tipster in that his brother is an avid birdwatcher and he can enlist his aid should we be stumped as to what type of winged creature might be sharing our garden at any given moment.
Below are some pictures David took of a beautiful fellow that has exhibited signs of male dominance which is also part of every day life in Mexico.
He is beautiful, proud, passionately sings at the top of his lungs each morning and seems to be king of the roost in our garden, as well. You cannot take him for granted. He makes his presence known by loudly declaring what I believe is his ownership of this tree, that branch, that flower, that palm or where ever else he may alight.
He is quite animated. If you are quietly reading, he will take ownership of the sound barrier and break same until you set the book down and pay attention to him. He does not simply enter our garden; his fight is like a highly choreographed dance with graceful and rhythmical movements that crescendo in a gentle landing on the tiniest of limbs. As is the case with most birds, from what I am told, his coloring is much more vibrant then his female companion. She seems content to simply stand by and watch the performance as we do.
There are many other birds we have not as yet been able to catch on film. In particular our little humming bird friend with her red beak, hyper wings and angelic face who is a mainstay as she zooms from one place to the other making our hearts leap and smiles descend upon our faces. We’ve noticed more and more birds coming to visit each day. The brightest of reds, yellows and oranges flitting from flower to flower or gently sitting upon the end of a palm branch and swaying in the breeze.
“I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn.” Henry David Thoreau
Oh, and by the way, I do think I’ve seen ducks on Lake Chapala – but don’t quote me on that. Pictures are below. They do not, however, remind me of ducks I’m seen prior to this – like the Mallard for instance or Loons which, I believe are members of the duck family. I’m adding some of the photographs David took during our walk this past week. Enjoy
The Male of the Species
I Am Bird, Hear Me Roar
The Mexican Duck in Relevant Surroundings
A Bevy of Ducks
An Angel Way Up High
Artistry of the Door
Does this door give a glimpse of the personalities within?
“Remember what Bilbo used to say: It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” J.R.R. Tolkien, English Writer – The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings
It was a day like any other day. Birds singing, as if on stage, with heart held open and voices rising to the rafters trying to out do each other in jest and merriment.
The “gas guy” (Beano has nothing to do with it) letting everyone know he has tanks for purchase. Kids heading off to school laughing, kidding, teasing and running – like any other town across the world.
Only this day had another unplanned, unexpected adventure in store for David and me. After doing the necessary things each day demands…like getting out of bed, visiting the loo, starting the coffee, David suggested we take a walk up to the Chapala/Jocotepec Carretera corridor and visit the artist shop, a frame shop and Farmacia Guadalajara. We set out.
Since we have arrived in Ajijic, our waking skills have vastly improved. Though we still need to learn to stop walking when we see something – lest we end up on our respective cans, our leg muscles are stronger then ever (thank you cobblestones) and both of us have lost significant weight (another good reason for retirement in the Chapala region!). To be honest, we haven’t quite mastered the “stop, look, continue walking” thingy yet as there is just so much to see our minds have trouble taking it all in and our feet don’t readily respond to this type of stimuli. Walking into walls, branches, taking sudden dips into holes from missing cobblestones or trying to get out the way of errant taxi drivers is part and parcel of the walking experience.
Heck, we find ourselves stumbling up the steps to our own mirador frequently because our minds have been distracted by something or the other. Ain’t life grand?!
As we walked further down the road we were stopped by a gentleman handing out enticements to eat at a café. The lure – a free beverage with purchase of lunch. Needless to say, we stopped and enjoyed the busy scenery and a great meal.
Heading off again we decided to take the road toward the lake which led to La Nueva Posada (The New Inn) http://hotelnuevaposada-ajijic.com/. David has joined the artist club which meets on the first Monday of the month at La Nueva Posada and he wanted me to see it first hand.
The inn is lovely, old, set right on the lake with elegant stairway, beautiful architecture and exquisite gardens and attractive in-house and café style restaurants. As we wondered out into the garden area we came upon a huge cage with two of the most gorgeous parrots either of us had ever seen (pictures below).
David began taking pictures and our two friends began posing for the camera. Both of us, like we do with dogs, cats and children, began saying “hola” to these lovely creatures. When, suddenly, out of the blue, the character closest to his camera says “Buenos tardes” in a voice so low it reminded us of Jeff Dunham’s Senior Jose Jalapeño on a Stick. He had this look of….oh for goodness sake, I’d better set these people straight or there’s no telling how long they’ll keep up the photo session. It was fantastically funny, endearing and totally unexpected. David took a few quick pictures of the Bird of Paradise blossoms and we were off.
As we headed home, believe me a long way off, we kept laughing about the delightful parrots at La Nueva Posada. We passed the “Hotel Casa Blanca” …picture necessary because Casablanca is one of my favorite movies. Many more photographs will follow in future blogs.
One aside, as we neared the turn off for our street, after winding through wonderful new neighborhoods, sites and sounds – like the xylophone street musician (I didn’t even know xylophones made good street instruments, one would think they’d be hard to carry), David hit a “bump”. He was in front of me one moment and then spiraling down the street, heading straight for an electric pole at warp speed. I ran after him thinking, oh my gosh, what happens if he hits the pole? The next thing I knew he had wrapped his arm around the pole, spun as if in a choreographed dance movement and ended up facing me with a big grin on his face.
William James, pioneering American psychologist once said to change one’s life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions. I can state unequivocally – David has commandeered flamboyant and immediately. Viva Mexico!
A character and a half!
Maybe if I ignore them they'll go away.
Breathtakingly beautiful
Another view of the Bird of Paradise
Xylophone Street Musician
The sign is cool.
I think you can pick out Senior Jose Jalapeño on a Stick
“Methinks it is a token of healthy and gentle characteristics, when women of high thoughts and accomplishments love to sew; especially as they are never more at home with their own hearts than while so occupied.” ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Marble Faun, 1859
Veni, Vidi, Velcro. I came, I saw, I stuck around. ~Author Unknown
Methinks the first quote above is a bunch of hooey – at least as far as I’m concerned. The curtains I was sewing for our studio are now hung. They look good from a distance.
Let me make it perfectly clear (yes, I’m channeling Dick Nixon!), at no time during the sewing process was I “at home with my own heart while so occupied”. If I’d have been able to figure out a way to Velcro the hems on the curtains, I would have done so.
I threaded the needle on the sewing machine so many times you’d have thought I was going for a hand-eye coordination award. The mere fact that I could see the needle hole to thread it was some type of miracle. The bobbin was another thing. Good heavens, who knew it would take spools (yes in the plural) to accomplish 24 curtain panels.
When I first learned to sew, I believe it was in 7th grade Home Economics class, an inkling of just how domestic I was to become surfaced. At that time every item meant to be sewn was basted (not like a roast or chicken – big long hand sewn strokes to hold the material in place) prior to actually sewing it. Come to think of it, I’m pretty good at basting poultry and, as if it matters, aced that class.
I diligently sat basting a hem on the apron I was supposed to be making for this particular class. It took me most of the 45 minute “hour” of class to get the work done. The five minute dismissal bell rang. I stood up to put my sewing kit away and low and behold I had basted the apron to my skirt. This was 7th grade – no tact involved here – any classmates within eyesight cracked up laughing. Needless to say, but I shall anyway, I did not ace this class!
For some reason the teacher saw no humor in the situation simply grabbing this little “cutty” tool and excising the garment from my skirt while letting me know in no uncertain terms I’d better start taking this class seriously if I ever expected to have a husband and family in my future. Gees, lighten up – I know a lot of women who don’t even know what a sewing machine looks like!
There are many fabric shops in Guadalajara and a few in the Lake Chapala region (I’ve written about them in past blogs). The shops are generally airy and display their many bolts of material in such a way that the colors “pop” and even the most novice of future seamstress people are drawn in. The next time I’m tempted to wonder into this world of domesticity, I shall repeat the mantra “go to someone who knows what they are doing” (this has worked well for me in the past, on many other levels, and I have every belief it will continue to do so into the unseen future). You have but to look at all of the hand-stitched Mexican clothing that one sees in the town square marketplaces and the signs that say “seamstress here” or “upholstery done to order” in our very own village.
David and I met a lovely couple while strolling the village on Sunday who invited us in to see what an absolutely spectacular job they have done on the home they purchased just up the block from ours. During the course of our conversation and comparing of notes on where we were in the process of setting our homes up the lady asked if we had to pay duty on the sewing machine when we brought it in? To which I replied that it was older then Methuselah and no one bothered even looking at it. She then commented she had purchased a sewing machine here, for fear the duty would be high if she bought it in from the states. The sewing machine was about the size of a loaf of bread and was just about as useful as a loaf of bread. I just loved that comment and it gave me hope as I can do a lot of things with a loaf of bread that would amaze and astonish you. (As an aside, if the item you plan on bringing in is over a year old – keep the receipts – you do not have to pay duty on it.)
Some times the better part of valor is to recognize one’s inabilities and become one with them.
Bear in mind...nice at a distance
Circling the studio...again at a distance
David's domain - we went with burgandy tiebacks
An outside view
Close up view over rooftop
J. D. Salinger, American writer of the novel The Catcher in the Rye, a classic story of adolescent rebellion wrote:
“He kept saying they were too new and bourgeois. That was his favorite goddam word. He read it somewhere or heard it somewhere. Every thing I had was bourgeois as hell. Even my fountain pen was bourgeois. He borrowed it off me all the time, but it was bourgeois anyway.” The Catcher in the Rye
I love words and bourgeois is one of them. The simplest definition of the word is being of the property-owning class and exploitive of the working class (according to Marxist thought). I like the way the word rolls off your tongue. Like exophagy , callipygian, sciolism, lamia etc. The meaning of the word isn’t as important as being able to throw them into a sentence. Knowing their meaning is somewhat helpful and should bear at least a wispy relevance to the topic at hand. I liken it to being able to holler them out while in the throws of passionate conversation. The title of this blog, bourgeois, is such because I felt compelled to use the word and will now try to weave it into life here in Ajijic.
[Quick definition of words above;
Exophagy - the practice, amongst cannibals, of not eating one's relatives or members of one's tribe (yuk!)
Callipygian - having beautiful or elegantly shaped buttocks
Sciolism - pretentious superficial knowledge
Lamia - female enchantress or demon]
Tony Shalhoub (a native of Wisconsin) plays Adrian Monk on the TV series “Monk”. He plays a detective with OCD and, quite honestly, does a pretty good job of being on point with his interpretation of someone with that disorder. The opening number to the series has a line in it that goes something like “It’s a jungle out there. I may be wrong…but I don’t think so…it’s a jungle out there.”
Heck, it is a jungle out there possibly more so because of the financial devastation of the past couple of years. And then there’s Mexico.
When we started looking into moving to Mexico we heard, mostly, about the drug wars. While there certainly are areas of Mexico where there is turmoil, we haven’t seen it here in the Lake Chapala region. We have seen some gang graffiti – very little, mostly “wanna be” scribbles on walls.
I’m pretty open minded and also somewhat dense when it comes to noticing anything other then the beauty and warmth of not only the climate but of the nationals we’ve met here. Some say I am still in the “honeymoon” phase of life in Ajijic. Trust me, I’ll take honeymoon over reality any day of the week.
Okay, where am I going with this? Naïveté is a mainstay for me. Like so many others who are children of the 60’s I am pretty open to the “live and let live”, “flower power” philosophy.
We were marching for everything back in the 60’s. There was so much going on, so many exhilaratingly fascinating subjects to speak out about, get down about, drop out about, turn on about. Handcuffing yourself to various objects was the norm. We even had a person handcuff themself to the Xerox machine in our office for I can’t remember what cause.
Picture someone innocently entering the copy room to make humongous copies of some document or the other and finding this highly agitated person attached to the machine. Opps, pardon me, I wonder if you might move a smidgeon so that I could punch 10 copies and hit the “start” button. I’m down with what your doing…though. Heavy man. Most ace!
Most things were totally bourgeois. We were not going to be slaves to the man. None of our freedoms were going to be given up. Working nine to five wasn’t an option. We were free spirits. We felt the “system” was bourgeois. No matter what walk of life we came from…we were the have nots and proud of it. We could live off the land – even if most of us had our own bedrooms and three square meals a day and had never met a cow in our respective lifetimes – we were still put upon. I’m not saying all of us felt this way…really…but it was sure fun to protest.
For gosh sake, if you are looking for a place to move where each day is a new day. Each day offers up opportunities to explore. Each day brings you in contact with the people of this region who, as I mentioned so often before, celebrate a life that revolves around family and the church. If you want to meet people from the US, Canada, Europe, who are of like mind and adventurous spirit, this is the place to be.
It may be a somewhat bourgeois society. There is poverty here. However, there is hope, there is laughter, activities, parades, fireworks…up the ying yang (heaven only knows why or what they are celebrating at 4:00 a.m. in the morning but we’ve become used to it), church bells ringing, bonfires going in the evenings where everyone simply sits on the curb and chats, laughs, drinks a brew and enjoys life.
The people in our small village still return to homes that are adobe structures with many small rooms composing the whole. They sweep their steps every morning. Walk almost everywhere they want or need to go, operate small shops out of the front of their homes, set up food stands right outside their front door where people can buy all sorts of delicacies. The local butcher shop has half a cow hanging from its hooks. Vegetables, coffee (fresh from the fields), raspberries and strawberries on each corner, etc.
That proletariat exist is true, even here. It is also beautiful, pristine, ancient and welcoming.
Below are photographs David has taken recently and enhanced with his new software. Enjoy, think and consider.
Young Aristorcrats
Man of the Masses
A Window to Our World
Pool Art
“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place…I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” Elliott Erwitt – an advertising ad documentary photographer (circa 1928) known for his black and white candid shots of ironic and absurd situations within everyday settings – the mask of the “indecisive moment”.
“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever…it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” Aaron Siskind – abstract expressionist photographer.
It is somewhat mind boggling how each day here brings forth another experience as yet unfelt, unseen or unimagined. Most days dawn picturesque. Sunlight drifting over our tropical garden sending dapples of billowy brightness across our porch and into the rooms of our home here in Ajijic.
I have a different mind’s eye view of things being from the Midwest. One assumes I’ve spent time watching amber waves of grain or endless rows of cornfields which couldn’t be more off target. You can’t help but see grain and corn as you travel the State of Wisconsin – which isn’t all bad – however the urban areas have the obligatory Calatrava’s (bridges and art museum), theatre and arts districts, Marquette University, Harley Davidson (okay not very sophisticated though an interesting cultural statement) etc.
David, having been raised in Texas and traveled much throughout the world has a more seasoned and urbane outlook on life. His photography reflects this sophistication. Give me a camera and I’ll start snapping away – cutting heads off, using shadows to my disadvantage, or simply taking a picture which later prompts the question: “What exactly is this?”
Recently David purchased some new art work software and he has been enthusiastically learning the ins and outs of it ever since. Not only does he seem to catch the essence of a given moment in his photographs, he now has a novel opportunity to improve on that image.
Of course, as spouses do, he brings finished photographs down from a day in the studio and asks the inevitable. As for me, everything he does holds beauty, warmth, tells a story, has amazing clarity, etc. However there are many disclaimers when one listens to my responses, I love the guy, I think his grasp of photography is phenomenal, I adore the subject matter – Mexico, Ajijic, Lake Chapala, the Sierra Madres, Guadalajara – well you get my drift – a bit biased in nature.
I am attaching several photos he’s taken recently. If you have the time and the inclination please give us your thoughts, critiques, musings. I believe he’s captured life in Mexico and given others who have yet to travel here, as well as those who have been here, a new prospective through the eye of his camera.
In Step and Arm-in-Arm - Life in Ajijic
What is Behind the Green Door?
A Touch of Yellow
A Glimpse Beyond
Beauty of the Moment
Joe Adcock, a American first baseman and right-handed batter in Major League Baseball, best known for his years with the powerful Milwaukee Braves team of the 1950’s said: “Trying to sneak a fastball past Hank Aaron is like trying to sneak the sunrise past a rooster.”
If you are a reader of our blog you already know, you can’t sneak a sunrise past an Ajijic rooster. Ajijic roosters cackle regularly usually beginning at approximately 2:00 a.m. Not wanting to miss a sunrise over beautiful Lake Chapala is understandable, I guess.
It has taken us a while to get used to our local fine feathered friends. Their enthusiasm at odd hours of the morning – and afternoons and evenings for that matter – is well documented within our blogs.
Here’s an interesting aside, David was sitting in the studio one morning working. The door is normally wide open. All of a sudden he felt this presence sharing the space with him. Low-and-behold there, not 2 feet from his chair, hovered a tiny hummingbird. As hummingbirds do, he was “standing” straight up, wings flapping so fast you could not see them and his beautiful face watching David excitedly. He flew rapidly to the left. He flew rapidly to the right. Came back to David’s side and then flew out the door leaving David smiling with the sheer joy of the experience.
One of the nice things about retirement is that there is no time clock to punch. Our need is basically non-existent when it comes to racing to get ready once our feet hit the bedroom floor. It has taken some time to get used to an unregimented lifestyle. Trust me, though many people say they can’t wait until they can “retire from the rat race”, it is not so easy. Okay, now don’t shoot me, I sometimes really miss the excitement and “hardly” ever routine of a normal work-a-day.
Routine is so engrained after decades of working – no matter how unstructured your work environment might be – you find yourself slipping into a schedule – even when you aren’t responsible for opening the office, catching a flight to who-knows-where, setting up for an early “assignment”, or simply gearing up to deal with the morning rush hour.
When I worked on the 42nd floor of the Firstar Center in Milwaukee, I would frequently find myself in my office by 6:00 a.m. (honestly, 6:00 a.m. and there were people there ahead of me – talk about being driven) and I would be treated to mystical sunrises over Lake Michigan. Some of the most beautiful and dazzling sunrises were in the winter when the crispness of the air and the vapors coming off the lake combined to highlight the sunbeams as they headed reassuringly toward high noon.
David arose early this morning and headed up to our Mira Dor to set up his tripod and camera wanting to capture the beautiful sunrise. He did, as he usually does, just that. The pictures below were taken this very morning, Tuesday, January 19, 2010, and the results are spectacular. I’m also sharing pictures David took of the mountains behind our home in August 2009 and January 2010. Enjoy.
Mark Twain wrote: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” We both realize we are extremely blest to be able to share wonderful adventures here in Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico together.
January Sunrise Over the Mountains in Ajijic
January Sunrise Over Lake Chapala, Ajijic
Sierra Madres in August 2009
Sierra Madres in January 2010
Desperate times call for desperate measures none more desperate then when a toilet decides to stop functioning. At least that is what I thought until David, after spending some time viewing said arreglo (Spanish for toilet) that would no longer inodoro (Spanish for flush) properly declared: “I think I can fix this myself!”
David is an amazing man. I’ve learned many things about him over the time I’ve known him. He comes from fine “stock”. A brilliant parentage, accomplished and talented siblings, artistic and well know extended family members, a history of a top of the line education as well as travel and many successes. He has hob-knobbed with actors and presidents. You name a topic and David can discuss it with little to no effort. He is well-versed in so many areas I am constantly and continually amazed. His abilities as a photographer are seen by example in this blog.
However, I had not seen this aspect of his personality prior to our move to Mexico…the “handyman” aspect. I had seen an interesting attempt at growing tomatoes. David, being David, studied up on just how to raise our three little newbie tomato plants, finding out how much watering they required, type of soil, tending, etc. Oddly, and amazingly I do not have a picture to share. Once the plants began to grow we purchased some wire trellises to hold them up whereupon he began to trim them as he had read he should. I guess the best way to describe how they looked as they grew would be to say they looked like monks. He trimmed off all of the leaves and branches except for the very top stating, with applied logic all of the energy would go into this area of the plant thereby producing mega tomatoes. We did have two tomatoes start to blossom and suddenly disappear. He’s planning another attempt in Mexico.
We have many ferreterias (Spanish for hardware stores) near our home and we have learned another time saver – while practicing what word to use to describe our need is a good thing, it is sometimes better to take a picture to make sure they have an idea of what the heck we are babbling about. Taking pictures has saved us much time. It’s not quite as funny as our trying to express our needs in broken Spanish and hand gestures but, let’s face it; we were in a hurry to have the arreglo inodoro again!
He did it. He fixed it. He not only fixed the toilet, he fixed the shower head, he fixed a door lock that Senior Magay and his helper tried to fix twice with little success. He also replaced door handles on many of our sliding doors. He got our pre-Hispanic (just kidding) stove and oven to light without benefit of matches. He lights fires that stay lit all evening with a minimum of tending and, the biggest job so far – our large metal gate has been made much more sturdy by his hard work with a cement drill, no less, and heavy nails.
I can’t wait to see where his mind and tools take him next! Mexico has given him the opportunity to develop yet another aspect of his interesting personality. Viva Mexico!
Lauren Hutton and Jane Seymour- Okay, we were all young once!
Texas Senator John Cornyn and Mrs.Bush.
President George H. Bush and the Guy Who Fixed the Arreglo
George W. Bush – Does someone look startled here?
Said Arreglo – I knew you’d want to see the finished version.
Door Handles – Notice the Attention to Detail – All right – So It’s Just a Door Handle!
A Man with a Drill
“All of us have moments in out lives that test our courage. Taking children into a house with a white carpet is one of them. ” — Erma Bombeck American humorist
“No woman gets an orgasm from shining the kitchen floor. ” — Betty Friedan American writer, activist and feminist.
Let me state upfront, if I’ve offended anyone by either of the quotes my sincere apologies. I’ve never had a house with a white carpet but have friends who do and I can relate to Ms. Bombeck’s quote.
Betty Friedan was born many years before I hit this earth. Being a “child of the 60’s” and having been involved in one of the bra burning incidents in Chicago as well as having many friends who were considered “flower children”, lived in communes and practiced free love, I totally understand where she was coming from. I couldn’t do any of the things I mentioned above (except the bra burning incident) as I was too busy going to school, working full time, interning and raising two lively children as a single parent while in my 20’s. I can honestly say, however, I never experienced an orgasm from shining a kitchen floor – mostly just sleep depravation.
I must have experienced temporary insanity of the first degree over the Christmas and New Year holidays. For some strange reason I felt compelled to begin a project which tested my domestic capabilities – small though they are. I decided to make draperies for the studio.
I’ll ask my friends to stop roaring with laughter immediately – thank you. Even my new friend, Ruth, commented, “what, are you crazy…with all the people willing to do that type of work for so little in Mexico?!”
Not only did I decide to sew and intended to make 24 black panels and 24 white panels to cover all of the windows in the studio, I never considered there would be language barriers beyond what I’d seen so far – measurements are not the same here. I also did not take into consideration my parents had given me a sewing machine over 40 years ago and it might not be up to speed decades later.
Oh well, my head spinning with ideas for draperies that would give our little studio that extra pizzazz that it needed, plus the functionality that David needed to block the sun when working on his photographs, we headed to Telas la Central – a wonderful little fabric shop within walking distance to our house.
Jumping to the chase, after buying them out of all of the black and white poplin material they had on our first visit, as well as thread and tie-back material, I started my project.
I have completed one set of drapes for one set of windows (actually two sets as we have double drapes on all of the windows) and it only took me two visits to the fabric store to realize I should simply bring my tape measure and show them what I needed rather then try to translate it into figures they would understand.
The pictures below are of the first of drapes we put up. I am working on the second set now. They turned out pretty well considering my domesticity level. There is one small flaw, David and I are sharing the studio – while the black and white lace tiebacks look fine for me he has suggested something a little more masculine. We looked for tiebacks that had Playboy Bunnies on them with no luck. I also considered sending a request back to Wisconsin or Texas to see if someone might be able to find ribbon with the naked lady silhouettes. After all, they are on the mud flaps of trucks and Harley’s everywhere. No luck there either.
For now we are using burgundy ribbon and hoping to find some type of “enhancement” to make David a little more comfortable.
One little aside, curiously, every time we visited the fabric store we dealt with this lovely young lady with an infinite amount of patience and her dad who reminded me of someone although I couldn’t quite put my finger on who it was he resembled. The fatigues and cigar were so familiar and then, after they gave us these two lovely carry-all bags – it dawned on me their “famiela Mexicanno” (family name) Castro. If only he’d have worn the hat!!
David maintaining his masculinity despite the lace tiebacks.
Another view of what we are calling David’s challenge.
Hi folks,
It seems like some people haven’t received emails announcing a post ‘Binoculars’ which was posted yesterday, Tuesday the 5th. To view the post, please just go straight to the website itself, http://boomerstomexico.com.
Thanks,
–Les
