I have a problem with authority.
The "text" function will be the end of all normal social interaction betwixt humans.
There are too many great books out there to waste one's time reading Tropic of Cancer (sorry Henry Miller fans, but 376 pages of obscenities does not a novel make).
When your A/C chooses to break, it will be on the hottest day of the year.
Lucy Liu is, in fact, the bomb.
I have writer's block, folks. And so, in light of my crippled ability to create through words, I will be taking a beginner's knitting class at The Yarn Shop on Monday evenings. Wish me luck...
Monday, June 22, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Pet Peeve
I want to be an upstanding citizen. I want to do good works and give unselfishly. And we all know that there are enough charities and non-profits out there in need of help, right? So why have I contacted three different volunteer-dependent organizations in the past few months and gotten no response from any?
I mean, are you fucking kidding me?
When I make donations, my checks get cashed with a supreme display of efficiency. So where is that efficiency when a person wants to donate time instead of cold, hard cash? And you know, if they’re just overflowing with good Samaritans and don’t need any more volunteers, then how about showing a little common courtesy to the rejects by dropping us a quick line to say so? “Thanks, but no thanks.” See, it’s not that hard.
I’ll even volunteer to do THAT.
I mean, are you fucking kidding me?
When I make donations, my checks get cashed with a supreme display of efficiency. So where is that efficiency when a person wants to donate time instead of cold, hard cash? And you know, if they’re just overflowing with good Samaritans and don’t need any more volunteers, then how about showing a little common courtesy to the rejects by dropping us a quick line to say so? “Thanks, but no thanks.” See, it’s not that hard.
I’ll even volunteer to do THAT.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
My Own Personal Chaos
Living in your new house while performing mass renovation on it is economically viable. It will also make you a teensy bit insane.
The refrigerator is in the basement while we pull up kitchen tile that looks like it was positively welded to the underlying hardwood. The tile itself is an unsettling smorgasbord of yellow, violet and a strange olive-grey hybrid. At the same time, we are pulling down the ceiling tiles and rafters to (hyuck, hyuck) “raise the roof”. The cabinets have no handles, as I took them off to paint but got distracted. The stove is a hulking, ancient contraption that looks like the thing that landed in Roswell.
Our washer & dryer are in the ½ bathroom. The couch is in the dining room. And the dining room table is apparently being held hostage in a Slumberland warehouse, the location of which is known only to the very top dogs over at the CIA.
On the upside, the first round of demolition went well and our house is now free of icky paneling, old carpet, and faux wood accessories. The mutant shrub that was feasting on the right half of the porch – also gone.
I hope to have one room finished before the end of the month…a sanctuary amidst my own personal chaos.
(Everything in this posting is completely tongue-in-cheek. I love my new/old house and the projects associated with it.)
The refrigerator is in the basement while we pull up kitchen tile that looks like it was positively welded to the underlying hardwood. The tile itself is an unsettling smorgasbord of yellow, violet and a strange olive-grey hybrid. At the same time, we are pulling down the ceiling tiles and rafters to (hyuck, hyuck) “raise the roof”. The cabinets have no handles, as I took them off to paint but got distracted. The stove is a hulking, ancient contraption that looks like the thing that landed in Roswell.
Our washer & dryer are in the ½ bathroom. The couch is in the dining room. And the dining room table is apparently being held hostage in a Slumberland warehouse, the location of which is known only to the very top dogs over at the CIA.
On the upside, the first round of demolition went well and our house is now free of icky paneling, old carpet, and faux wood accessories. The mutant shrub that was feasting on the right half of the porch – also gone.
I hope to have one room finished before the end of the month…a sanctuary amidst my own personal chaos.
(Everything in this posting is completely tongue-in-cheek. I love my new/old house and the projects associated with it.)
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Phoenix Rising
Like the mythical bird, this blog is going to be reborn from its ashes. Effective - now.
After ransacking old files for old tax returns, paystubs and bank statements, zigzagging across town a couple times to sign paperwork, nagging, haggling, and stamping my feet, we finally - FINALLY - closed on our new house. I expect to post the occasional update (complete with before & after pictures, natch) as we go though the renovation process. Now that summer is here to stay, we can see that we will have peonies, tulips and hostas along the driveway and a rhubarb plant in the backyard!
We picked out a table and chairs last weekend and are negotiating for paint colors (I fancy walls that beg to be looked at; Dan prefers neutral tones). Luckily for us, there are enough rooms - and thus walls - to divvy up between ourselves without causing too much bloodshed and heartache.
In unrelated but equally important news, my oldest younger sister has been in town since Monday and we're having a great time being girly together and hanging out as peers, like we didn't really get to do when I was growing up. With a 7 year age gap between us, I'm sad that I "missed" all those years in the same house with her - now we live 1,000 miles apart and I can't seem to get enough time with her.
Ah, well. Such is life, and I'll take what I can get! Off to have some fun now...
After ransacking old files for old tax returns, paystubs and bank statements, zigzagging across town a couple times to sign paperwork, nagging, haggling, and stamping my feet, we finally - FINALLY - closed on our new house. I expect to post the occasional update (complete with before & after pictures, natch) as we go though the renovation process. Now that summer is here to stay, we can see that we will have peonies, tulips and hostas along the driveway and a rhubarb plant in the backyard!
We picked out a table and chairs last weekend and are negotiating for paint colors (I fancy walls that beg to be looked at; Dan prefers neutral tones). Luckily for us, there are enough rooms - and thus walls - to divvy up between ourselves without causing too much bloodshed and heartache.
In unrelated but equally important news, my oldest younger sister has been in town since Monday and we're having a great time being girly together and hanging out as peers, like we didn't really get to do when I was growing up. With a 7 year age gap between us, I'm sad that I "missed" all those years in the same house with her - now we live 1,000 miles apart and I can't seem to get enough time with her.
Ah, well. Such is life, and I'll take what I can get! Off to have some fun now...
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Best Easter Quote
My good friend Angela, in reference to Cadbury Creme Eggs:
"I like to scoop out the goo and just leave a little bit so my chocolate to goo ratio is higher."
Happy Easter to you and yours.
Friday, March 27, 2009
And All That Jazz
Last night Dan and I dusted off our ‘going out’ clothes to attend the Blue Note 70th Anniversary Jazz Concert at the Lied Center.
I do not profess to be a jazz expert. Really, I don’t know the first thing about it. I just know what I like and what I don’t. And this, this I like.
The opening notes bubbled with the crispness of fine champagne, rising through the air and bursting over our heads and under our feet, reverberating through our limbs as if they were tuning forks. It was lyrical; it was melodious. It was inspired. The set began with Freddie Hubbard’s Hub-tones and closed on Cedar Walton’s Mosaic; however, a standing ovation won us an encore performance of Dexter Gordon’s Soy Califa. I found some new favorites in the Blue Note 7’s renditions of Idle Moments (Grant Green), Search for Peace (McCoy Tyner) and Criss Cross (Thelonious Monk).
In short, it was a romantic evening that I think we need to repeat at least once a month. We have been so busy lately that it’s easy to fall into the bad habit of overlooking one another. So, last night was about taking a time-out from responsibility and putting our commitments aside to remember the most important one of all - the one we made to each other.
(The Blue Note 7 consists of pianist Bill Charlap, guitarist Peter Bernstein, Ravi Coltrane - yes, son of John - on the tenor saxophone, Lewis Nash rocking the drums, Nicholas Payton on trumpet, Peter Washington strummin’ bass, and alto sax played by Steve Wilson.)
I do not profess to be a jazz expert. Really, I don’t know the first thing about it. I just know what I like and what I don’t. And this, this I like.
The opening notes bubbled with the crispness of fine champagne, rising through the air and bursting over our heads and under our feet, reverberating through our limbs as if they were tuning forks. It was lyrical; it was melodious. It was inspired. The set began with Freddie Hubbard’s Hub-tones and closed on Cedar Walton’s Mosaic; however, a standing ovation won us an encore performance of Dexter Gordon’s Soy Califa. I found some new favorites in the Blue Note 7’s renditions of Idle Moments (Grant Green), Search for Peace (McCoy Tyner) and Criss Cross (Thelonious Monk).
In short, it was a romantic evening that I think we need to repeat at least once a month. We have been so busy lately that it’s easy to fall into the bad habit of overlooking one another. So, last night was about taking a time-out from responsibility and putting our commitments aside to remember the most important one of all - the one we made to each other.
(The Blue Note 7 consists of pianist Bill Charlap, guitarist Peter Bernstein, Ravi Coltrane - yes, son of John - on the tenor saxophone, Lewis Nash rocking the drums, Nicholas Payton on trumpet, Peter Washington strummin’ bass, and alto sax played by Steve Wilson.)
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
These Are the Days
Mondays have virtually no redeeming qualities. They loom on a dark horizon, promising a week of early mornings, starchy clothes and turbo-charged fluorescent lights. They are the Grim Reaper of the weekend. But the first warm, brilliantly sunny Monday afternoon after a long winter - this is an entirely different sort of Monday.
I roared into our driveway after work (roared, I say, because I drove hubby's Titan for the day, so he could fix last Friday's left-front blow-out on my Neon), eager to enjoy the remaining hours of daylight. So Dan and I pulled our bicycles out of the shed and pedaled down the Rock Island trail behind our house. Red-bellied robins peppered the grass along the path. Grass! Can you believe it?! The breeze tickled my face and the sun warmed my soul. Then, after a quick dinner of Asian tuna over mushroom rice and a lovely Piesporter, we scurried off to a 7:05 showing of the much-touted indie flick "Slumdog Millionaire". It was heartwarming and almost poetic.
And if one magical day wasn't enough to satiate our appetite for spring, yesterday turned out to be just as nice. Dan fired up the mini camping grill and cooked some juicy burgers in the golden afternoon light. With Rilo Kiley on stereo and a 6-pack of Red Hook ESB, we were basking in our good fortune like iguanas in the Caribbean sun. We made a brief appearance downtown to give love to the Irish and then called it early - with full bellies, wide smiles and happy hearts.
Monday, March 9, 2009
So This Is Love...
I found it. I found the thing that's going to make me whole again after a week of running around with my foot on the gas. I have developed a Sunday afternoon ritual, and I call it: the bath.
Now, I'm a shower-type-person by nature. But I think that's largely, and perhaps unfairly, due to the time factor. About a month ago, I dug out the aromatherapy apothecary kit that I got for Christmas '07 and put it to good use. Sea salt mixed with eucalyptus essential oil, peppermint leaves, a mandarin masque and blood orange sugar rub, milk soap, lemon-sage lotion and a mug of chamomile tea later, I was convinced that I would never be angry with anyone again. I felt incapable of anger.
So this is my new love. And it's a great, great love. A true and perfect love. I haven't missed a Sunday since then, and if you're not treating yourself to a sinfully long soak every once in a while, I say shame on you. Heed your shampoo bottle and wash, rinse, repeat.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Hurtling Through Time
A few things that happened this week in our world...
Sunday: Our adorable nephew William came over to ride the dune buggy with Dan, while my mother-in-law and I went shopping for bedding and knickknacks for the guest room. I got THE BOMB duvet & sheet set from Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Monday: We cruised the streets, scoping out all the vacant houses in the 'hood. Drove by about 12 before it got too dark to see any more.
Tuesday: A quick appointment to view a house, and then one of Dan's brothers had a reception at Bennigan's for his new job with Waddell & Reed. I ended up with a lapful of Bud Light, but that's another story.
Wednesday: Dan raked leaves for a woman with a sprawling downtown Victorian and made $100, while I renewed my food handler's permit to do the catering-thing. Dinner with friends at Bread & Cup.
Thursday: We had two appointments to see the houses we found most intriguing from our drive-bys. We just might have something here, people...and the night ended with drinks at Barrymore's.
Friday: Straight after work, I raced down to the Fox Hole where a nice, younger crowd showed up to break it down.
We're headed back to Wilber in a couple of hours, but tomorrow I'm hoping to write a little more about our house-hunting experiences, future plans and, most importantly, my new love...
Sunday: Our adorable nephew William came over to ride the dune buggy with Dan, while my mother-in-law and I went shopping for bedding and knickknacks for the guest room. I got THE BOMB duvet & sheet set from Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Monday: We cruised the streets, scoping out all the vacant houses in the 'hood. Drove by about 12 before it got too dark to see any more.
Tuesday: A quick appointment to view a house, and then one of Dan's brothers had a reception at Bennigan's for his new job with Waddell & Reed. I ended up with a lapful of Bud Light, but that's another story.
Wednesday: Dan raked leaves for a woman with a sprawling downtown Victorian and made $100, while I renewed my food handler's permit to do the catering-thing. Dinner with friends at Bread & Cup.
Thursday: We had two appointments to see the houses we found most intriguing from our drive-bys. We just might have something here, people...and the night ended with drinks at Barrymore's.
Friday: Straight after work, I raced down to the Fox Hole where a nice, younger crowd showed up to break it down.
We're headed back to Wilber in a couple of hours, but tomorrow I'm hoping to write a little more about our house-hunting experiences, future plans and, most importantly, my new love...
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Things I Love Thursdays
Bavarian cream donuts. - Deliciously decadent.
Closed pink tulips. - They're so lovably perky and full of promise.
And romance, baby, romance.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Things I Love Thursdays
The simple things.
Things like my 8-year-old college sweatshirt with the frayed cuffs and the paint on the sleeve. Things like a smile from a stranger.
Things like Andes mints.
And things like unseasonably warm winter weekends.
I think I'm finally feeling "settled" now...
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
This Month's To Do List
Read more.
Write more.
Take more pictures. Take any pictures.
Try out my new used bike.
Take my dog for longer walks.
Exercise.
Call the bank and get them to tell me my damn pin number, because I've frickin' forgotten it.
Write more.
Take more pictures. Take any pictures.
Try out my new used bike.
Take my dog for longer walks.
Exercise.
Call the bank and get them to tell me my damn pin number, because I've frickin' forgotten it.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Back in the Game
I've been absent lately, as me and the Mr. set up house and hit the pavement to find a new career path. We were skeptical about what we'd find in the present economy, and we steeled ourselves for a lengthy search. Still, those worries didn't stop me from jaunting off to New York last weekend.
But wait - there was a reason! I took my mama-in-law to see the Big Apple for the very first time and we had a wonderful trip. In addition to all the regular tourist things (Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, etc.), we did some things that both tourists and real New Yorkers alike enjoy from time to time. For starters, we had tickets to Wicked on Thursday night and I was delighted to see that this show is still going strong. With many shows shutting down production on Broadway, it was refreshing to see a full house at the Gershwin theatre.
On Friday we had a real treat and visited the original Bliss spa in Soho. They have 7 locations across the US with 2 more in the pipes, as well as 2 international stores and another on the way. If you're in any of those areas (you can find the list on www.blissworld.com) and you want a soul-shattering experience, I would highly recommend the 'carrot and sesame seed body buff'. Natural ingredients like milk, honey and sea salt make you feel cleansed and wholesome and pure, while the body wrap, light massage and Vichy shower turned our limbs into putty. In a good way. In fact, we enjoyed ourselves so much (they also offer complimentary tea, cheese and crackers, brownies and olives in the lounge) that we made a Saturday appointment for facials!
We spent our last afternoon at the Museum of Natural History - I've think I've written in the past that this is one of my favorite places in the city. I've been more times than I can remember, but I probably still haven't seen half of it. Luckily for us, they had the butterfly exhibition set up and we were able to get up close and personal with hundreds of colorful, glittery mariposas.
Combine all that with a little live music at Terra Blues in Greenwich village, a walk through Central Park, chocolate-covered strawberries from Godiva, shopping for teddy bears at FAO Schwartz, and meals at all my favorite haunts and we had what can only be called "a frickin' blast".
Now lest you think I've forgotten that this post was originally about finding a job - think again, dearies! I went on an interview this past Tuesday and I'm happy to report that I was offered the position. So now I'm a productive and contributing member of society once again. Hubby is at his first interview at this very moment, and I have absolute conviction that he'll be offered a job, too. I couldn't ask for more.
Well, maybe just an early spring.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Shivers and Shakes
So after cruising the southern hemisphere for a while, I had pretty much forgotten what winter was all about. We've been back in Lincoln less than a week (actually just a weekEND, really) and got quite the rude awakening, but it's been so good to see friends and family. It'd been much too long.
We've spent the past couple of days setting up house and catching up on old times with old friends. On Friday I called Time Warner to reconnect our internet service and was told that it would be at least 10 days before they could get around to us. What a pleasant surprise when I hit Safari for no good reason at all and Google popped up! I don't know where it's coming from and I don't much care. It's nice to be back in the groove.
I'll be uploading travel pics to Flickr between now and Wednesday and *ahem* job-hunting as well. Yay to the former and blech to the latter.
Stay warm, friends.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head
At the risk of sounding a bit self-centered, I think the gods are telling me that it's time to cash in my chips (err - pesos) and go home.
It has been raining in Cozumel since we stepped (okay, I lurched - ferries make me nauseous) off the ferry four days ago. I'm bored, and if my spirits are not dampened, then at the very least all of my clothes are.
I'm holding out for the elusive ray-of-sunshine but if that big firey ball doesn't pop up tomorrow morning with a great big Mr. Kool-aid smile, then I will have no choice but to admit defeat, steel my tummy, and head back to the mainland.
But dammit, I really wanted that tan.
It has been raining in Cozumel since we stepped (okay, I lurched - ferries make me nauseous) off the ferry four days ago. I'm bored, and if my spirits are not dampened, then at the very least all of my clothes are.
I'm holding out for the elusive ray-of-sunshine but if that big firey ball doesn't pop up tomorrow morning with a great big Mr. Kool-aid smile, then I will have no choice but to admit defeat, steel my tummy, and head back to the mainland.
But dammit, I really wanted that tan.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Comings and Goings
I had a couple of slightly strange/unsettling experiences yesterday...
The first is that I had a 1200 appointment at La Paz spa for a body wrap. I´ve had them in the past and at different spas, and they were all the same: massage the body with special ´stuff´, wrap, heat for 20 minutes, rinse. But here...well, there was no gentle massaging into the skin, no cocoon-like wrap, no incubating heat, and no rinse! Instead, I was roughly worked over with two very cold oil concoctions and told not to shower for the remainder of the day. The end.
The other is that I thought for about 2 hours that someone had gotten the numbers from my debit card and made fraudulent charges to my account. If this has ever happened to you (and despite my vigilance, it´s happened to me on more than one occasion), then you understand how your tummy flips and your stress levels soar as you contemplate the inconveniences of cancelling your card, closing your old account and opening a new one and trying to negotiate the details from a foreign country where you are temporarily without recourse to your funds. So it was with an immense sigh of relief but also a serious pang of embarassment when I finally got in touch with the bank only to be reminded that I had, in fact, made the purchase in question a few days earlier. Oops.
To shake off the weird vibe of the day, I stopped by a photography exhibition showcasing local artist Patricio Robles Gil and another guy whose name totally escapes me at the moment. The former housed pictures of exotic wildlife, flora and several landscapes and, though the subjects were deserving and the talent was clearly top-notch, I thought it was kind of unremarkable...like blown-up glossies of any edition of National Geographic - gorgeous but a bit commonplace now.
On the other hand, Mr. X´s exhibition, entitled Falsos Reflejos, was an inspired collection of black-and-white pairs of females in the nude, skillfully contorted in graceful poses that mirrored one another at first glance, but on closer inspection were actually slightly different: a left leg crossed instead of a right, palms facing up instead of down. I feel uncomfortable taking photos of photos (unlike paintings), so I´ll have to post an update when I remember the guy´s name and then you can look ém up.
On Wednesday I went to the local artisans´market, where they sell things like wood carvings, woven baskets, textiles and trinkets. Showing what I like to think of as ´great self-restraint´, I left only $10 poorer with a ceramic vase painted in traditional blue and white, some embroidered doilies and a game of loteria, purchased out of nostalgia. I recall playing this game (basically illustrated bingo) in school as a child during the obligatory Spanish lessons of south Texas´public elementary schools. I´m a bit surprised now because some of the cards would probably not go over so well with our present society´s rigid sense of political correctness. Examples:
El Borracho (the drunk) - Illustrated by a disheveled man holding a liquor bottle.
El Diablito (the little devil) - The infamous red body, forked tail, horns and pitchfork.
La Sirena (the mermaid) - Bare breasts for 8-9 year olds?
El Negrito (the little black man, apparently) - Depicted in severely mismatched clothing, wearing a straw hat and carrying a cane. Um, okay...
But I still think it´s fun so I´m going back today to buy one for my kid sister, who turned 7 yesterday.
Tomorrow we board the 0600 bus outta here, so more in a few days...
The first is that I had a 1200 appointment at La Paz spa for a body wrap. I´ve had them in the past and at different spas, and they were all the same: massage the body with special ´stuff´, wrap, heat for 20 minutes, rinse. But here...well, there was no gentle massaging into the skin, no cocoon-like wrap, no incubating heat, and no rinse! Instead, I was roughly worked over with two very cold oil concoctions and told not to shower for the remainder of the day. The end.
The other is that I thought for about 2 hours that someone had gotten the numbers from my debit card and made fraudulent charges to my account. If this has ever happened to you (and despite my vigilance, it´s happened to me on more than one occasion), then you understand how your tummy flips and your stress levels soar as you contemplate the inconveniences of cancelling your card, closing your old account and opening a new one and trying to negotiate the details from a foreign country where you are temporarily without recourse to your funds. So it was with an immense sigh of relief but also a serious pang of embarassment when I finally got in touch with the bank only to be reminded that I had, in fact, made the purchase in question a few days earlier. Oops.
To shake off the weird vibe of the day, I stopped by a photography exhibition showcasing local artist Patricio Robles Gil and another guy whose name totally escapes me at the moment. The former housed pictures of exotic wildlife, flora and several landscapes and, though the subjects were deserving and the talent was clearly top-notch, I thought it was kind of unremarkable...like blown-up glossies of any edition of National Geographic - gorgeous but a bit commonplace now.
On the other hand, Mr. X´s exhibition, entitled Falsos Reflejos, was an inspired collection of black-and-white pairs of females in the nude, skillfully contorted in graceful poses that mirrored one another at first glance, but on closer inspection were actually slightly different: a left leg crossed instead of a right, palms facing up instead of down. I feel uncomfortable taking photos of photos (unlike paintings), so I´ll have to post an update when I remember the guy´s name and then you can look ém up.
On Wednesday I went to the local artisans´market, where they sell things like wood carvings, woven baskets, textiles and trinkets. Showing what I like to think of as ´great self-restraint´, I left only $10 poorer with a ceramic vase painted in traditional blue and white, some embroidered doilies and a game of loteria, purchased out of nostalgia. I recall playing this game (basically illustrated bingo) in school as a child during the obligatory Spanish lessons of south Texas´public elementary schools. I´m a bit surprised now because some of the cards would probably not go over so well with our present society´s rigid sense of political correctness. Examples:
El Borracho (the drunk) - Illustrated by a disheveled man holding a liquor bottle.
El Diablito (the little devil) - The infamous red body, forked tail, horns and pitchfork.
La Sirena (the mermaid) - Bare breasts for 8-9 year olds?
El Negrito (the little black man, apparently) - Depicted in severely mismatched clothing, wearing a straw hat and carrying a cane. Um, okay...
But I still think it´s fun so I´m going back today to buy one for my kid sister, who turned 7 yesterday.
Tomorrow we board the 0600 bus outta here, so more in a few days...
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
An Unexpected Paradise
So, 2009 finds us waaaay down south in sun-drenched Mexico. We arrived in Mexico City on 29 December and spent the next few days in the zocalo, meandering through the crowded streets and ducking into galleries and museums whenever we came across them. For all its hype as a veritable black hole of violent crime, we had an uneventful travel experience that included many rides on the subway and even a late-night excursion on New Year´s Eve. For a city of such magnitude (population somewhere in the vicinity of 20 million), it still retains its old-world style and charm. You cannot walk more than two blocks without coming across a church that will damn near take your breath away. Go ahead. I dare you to try. We ventured out to Teotihuacan one afternoon for a tour of the ruins and temples there. It was perfect for a day trip and also whet our appetite for Chichen Itza, which we´ll hit up in about a week.
On the very 1st of January, we took a bus out to the colonial town of Valle de Bravo. And this is where I sit now, writing of unexpected paradise. Mountainous, green and situated around a sparkling lake, this little city is a happy place. A haven for paragliding folks, the town is currently hosting one competition and preparing for the World Championships at the end of this month. My hubby is in a state of bliss and while he is soaring through the clouds, I am fully grounded and falling in love with the narrow cobblestone streets, the perpetually festive atmosphere, and the yummy tortas from Cafe El Torton next to our inn.
Yesterday we spent the afternoon hiking through the surrounding forest to witness the migration of the monarch butterflies, who come here in droves to complete their cycle of life and death. The air was thick with busy scurrying and the orange of their wings was luminous in the sun.
We divide our meal time evenly between restaurants and street vendors and have not been disappointed yet. Around the corner from our cozy little room at Posada Mary is a short street dubbed Taco Alley. The second cart on the left makes a deviantly delicious choriqueso taco. You simply can´t have just one, and for only 10 pesos each (roughly 75 cents) why would you??
By the by, the weather is marvelous and the people are wonderfully warm and friendly.
Though we´re in no hurry to go, our itinerary has us heading off to the Yucatan on the 10th. We´ve never been to Cozumel and 2009 seems as good a time as any to change that.
On the very 1st of January, we took a bus out to the colonial town of Valle de Bravo. And this is where I sit now, writing of unexpected paradise. Mountainous, green and situated around a sparkling lake, this little city is a happy place. A haven for paragliding folks, the town is currently hosting one competition and preparing for the World Championships at the end of this month. My hubby is in a state of bliss and while he is soaring through the clouds, I am fully grounded and falling in love with the narrow cobblestone streets, the perpetually festive atmosphere, and the yummy tortas from Cafe El Torton next to our inn.
Yesterday we spent the afternoon hiking through the surrounding forest to witness the migration of the monarch butterflies, who come here in droves to complete their cycle of life and death. The air was thick with busy scurrying and the orange of their wings was luminous in the sun.
We divide our meal time evenly between restaurants and street vendors and have not been disappointed yet. Around the corner from our cozy little room at Posada Mary is a short street dubbed Taco Alley. The second cart on the left makes a deviantly delicious choriqueso taco. You simply can´t have just one, and for only 10 pesos each (roughly 75 cents) why would you??
By the by, the weather is marvelous and the people are wonderfully warm and friendly.
Though we´re in no hurry to go, our itinerary has us heading off to the Yucatan on the 10th. We´ve never been to Cozumel and 2009 seems as good a time as any to change that.
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