Greg and Gordon arrive today

"Life shouldn't be waiting for the storm to pass;
it should be about dancing in the rain"
I just saw this quote on Lisas page, Lisa of Viva la Buena Vida.  It reminded me of what I said about the marchers in the parade when it started raining and hailing, as they sure danced in the rain, instead of waiting for the storm to pass.
Greg called this morning from Dallas to say he saw the airline people in OKC taking off one of their suitcases in OKC because of overweight on the plane.  Gordon called from Mexico City airport to say their other suitcase did not make it either and they are going to wait until 3 when the next plan arrives to see if it is on that plane, before coming on here.  He will call again when they leave the airport for Cuernavaca so one of us can go get them at the bus station in Cuernavaca.  
Little Kenia is in my lap here at the spa as I type.
We have a new massage guy, Rod, who showed up today and he is currently giving his first massage here.  He was born in Chihuahua and has lived in various parts of Mexico, he thinks Cuernavaca is too humid and thinks Zacatecas has the best weather in Mexico.
It is now just past six, we have had 30 customers today, pretty good, but of course I want more.  And we need more.  
Alberto and Javier went to the bus station in Cuernavaca to pick up Greg and Gordon.  They arrived in Mexico City but neither of their bags did, they waited about two hours for the next plane from Dallas to arrive, one bag arrived and the other one didnt.  Supposedly the second bag will be delivered here somehow later.
Pay, Albertos uncle, called to say our prices are all too low, that we should charge more for the entrance fee and more for food and drinks.  I certainly agree, but I have to work on Alberto about this, he hates to raise the prices, fearing we will lose business.  I think we would make more money with slightly higher prices.  
Tomorrow is election day, Alberto has never voted in Mexico, he does not know whether to vote for one of the candidates or parties, or to nullify his vote to join the hundreds of thousands of voters here who are dissatisfied with the whole system of thieves. 

They bless the rains down in Africa - Toto

I have cooked more than usual this week.  I made two quiches, one mushroom and one onion, the mushroom one was better.  I am still eating on them.  I took a piece of each to Marcia.
I made some lentil soup last night, it did not last long, it was very good.
I bought some beautiful peppers this week, Viny did not know what kind they were but said they are common in La Goma and they are too hot to actually eat.  I steamed them, sautéd mushroom, added some coconut milk for a soup, put it over rice, Alberto thought it was quite good, I did not eat all of my peppers.  I also made some sweet rice with mango, it was very good.
Marcia actually placed two dogs this week into very good homes.  She is usually much better at taking them in than she is at placing them with people.  Negro, now called Lobo, went out east of town, and cute little Bruni, now Renita, went up the mountain to the north.
I think Alberto actually got up this morning to climb the mountain with Viny and little Canelo.  They are not yet back.
This morning on Towleroad.com I saw the following video.  It starts off with the singers making the sounds of a thunderstorm, such as the ones we have here.







 

Alberto did climb the mountain this morning, and so did Veneno.  They all four got back safely.
As far as I know Viny never listened to a Michael Jackson song prior to June 25, 2009.  Now he is listening to them constantly, and Alberto is looking up videos of Michael on youtube.  It was an unnecessary death, it seems.
We are planning to go into town this afternoon and eat at the new restaurant and then get our fruits and veggies for the weekend.
Greg and Gordon arrive tomorrow!!!

You gave me hyacinths first a year ago. They called me the hyacinth girl. TS Elliot

We made a little money on Saturday at the spa, but not yesterday. Maybe better next weekend, when Greg and Gordon will be here.
Viny and I went into town today when Inés left and we took her. I made some lime cheesecake today and took Marcia a little cup of it. It is very good, I think I like it better than the other lime dessert I made twice last week. This cheesecake is supposed to have a crust made of coconut and pecans, which I will try to do next time.
I went back into town with Alberto when he was going to his French class and we went to Los Buenos Tiempos and read a couple of newspapers to catch up on the news.
Raulyn finally got internet connection today at his apartment in Mexico City, after waiting several days for the installer to appear.
Both little Frida and little Kenia are in my lap at the moment.

Tomorrow there is supposed to be a guy show up at Marcia's to take home the little puppy she found at her gate recently. I plan to take them home up the mountain towards San Juan Tlacotenco, about noon.

 

 I know I put a photo of this fountain and the blooming water hyacinths a few days ago, but a couple of days ago I thought it was even prettier, with more water hyanciths blooming.  And Golda, looking at me, and Canela, looking down, were there also.

 

 Today there were even more blooming, so I took yet another photo of it.  It really is pretty at the moment.  I think each bloom may only last one day, but there sure are a lot of them at the moment.  We hope to get the pump fixed soon that pumps water into the pot in the middle, and overflows, for a fountain, and then we sometimes put cut flowers in the pot for the weekends when the spa is open.

He gave them hailstones for rain

We wound up with 36 customers yesterday, so pretty good. It is half past two today, Sunday, and it is slower so far today, but people continue arriving now and then. Just as I was typing this, two older guys, about my age, showed up by taxi. They are from Austin, formerly San Francisco, and are spending three weeks in Cuernavaca studying Spanish.
This morning on NPR Susan Werner was featured. She has been on NPR before, but I missed her. For her most recent CD, she took popular songs and added some classical aspects to the music. I found this on youtube of her, it is good.





 

Back when we had no internet for a few days, I wrote a little for this blog, and will stick in here what I wrote then.

Fathers Day
Alberto arrived this morning after ten. Our first customer arrived twenty before ten and the next not until about noon.
Viny called the internet people again this morning. Their own rule is they will fix your internet connection within 72 hours, so they told him they would fix it within 72 hours, although he first called them last week about it. I try to get him to be more assertive with people, it is hard for him to do this.

He gave them hailstones for rain

Saturday morning Viny and I got up early to catch a bus to Mexico City to see the parade. Viny and his friend Javier, and Alberto and his friend Javier, as well as Edgar our waiter, were going to pass out publicity for our spa.
When we got to the bus station at Tasqueña we waited about half an hour for Edgar to show up, he came from Cuernavaca; Then we took the metro to Insurgentes.
We went to Café Ventura, a block and a half from the metro station, at the corner of Hamburgo and Genova. It was quite crowded. Alberto and Javier were already there with two other friends.
Fer, one of our customers who had told us about this place, was there. Raulyn came by himself and ate breakfast with us.
We then walked up to the Angel and then on the Diana statue. The floats were still assembling; people were still putting on costumes. People were asked to be there by 11, the parade was to start at 12 noon, people were still putting on costumes at 1.
We saw several of our customers, they usually saw us first. I stayed with Raulyn and his friend Luis and another friend for a while, but later lost them. I walked on to the Zócalo, thinking I would watch the rest of the parade arrive from there. There were huge tents set up in the Zócalo with dinosaur exhibits, but I did not go in. I became concerned that the floats might not come as far as the Zócalo because of the traffic, and I walked back down two or three blocks and found a place to stand to watch the parade.
I saw three guys totally naked, walking down Reforma. There were probably more. However, totally naked protests are fairly common in Mexico City, especially if the protesters come from out of town. Sometimes they wear paper masks of hated politicians.
People were having a good time. The crowds on the sidewalks would cheer on the people walking by, asking them to turn around or to pose for photos, or to kiss.
It started to rain. I got under an awning. It started to hail, pea-sized hail. The people continued to march, laughing, some of them even kicking water from the street onto each other. Their costumes, if they were wearing one, were totally soaked, a few had umbrellas. He gave them hailstones for rain and they made a party of it.
I got home a little after seven and Mario, who had stayed until I arrived, went home. Viny called and got home about 930 p.m.
We have not had internet in about three days, and the phone at the house does not work, but the one at the spa, on the same line, does. Viny has called the internet place a few times, they are quite irritating.

Now back to real time.  It is still Sunday, just before six p.m., we got up to 21 customers today, so not as good as yesterday but okay. Maybe more next weekend. Little Frida is in my lap. Two of Alberto's cats have been here much of the day. Little Frida is the only dog that bothers them, usually.

It has been raining almost daily, as it should during the summer.  We are having a rather cool summer.  I have been hearing of over 100 degree weather for Oklahoma City, it is far from that here.
We are hoping for sun during the day on Saturday and Sunday as this is better for our business.
Yesterday Alberto picked Javier up in Cuernavaca and they went downtown and ate.  Viny and I went into Tepoztlán.  I had received an email from the two owners of Muelle 32 where Viny and I have eaten several times saying they are opening a new restaurant in the Valle de Atongo and yesterday was their first day.  Even though neither Viny nor I were hungry, I wanted to check the place out.  We went there and it is extremely pretty.  It is their house, they have lived there 12 years, they have two indoor dining rooms and a large outside dining area.  It is on a little stream and they have a huge rubber tree in their back yard and huge redwood trees, here called ahuehuete.  We would like to take Greg and Gordon there, but I dont know if we will have time for that.  We will certainly try to take Sherrie and Larry there.  Viny thought it was prettier than Las Mañanitas.  The owners are Vera and Gustavo and the name of the restaurant is Rincón del Encanto.
Yesterday morning we three and Marcia went to Cuernavaca to do our weekly shopping.  As we had so few customers last weekend, we did not need much yesterday.
Viny is planning Greg and Gordons visit.  He is planning for us to go to Las Estacas one day and to Puebla the other day.  On Sunday we will stay here at the spa.  They are only here for three days.
The plants in the outside area of the spa are looking better and better.  But the restaurant yesterday showed us how much prettier places can be over time, and ours needs more time still.
It is now after seven and we have had 38 custsomers, so pretty good.  I hope for as many or more tomorrow.  It has not yet rained today, it has been cloudy most of the day with very little sun.  Chuy has given four hours of massages, which is also good for him and for us.
Little Frida and Kenia are in my lap at the moment. 
Maybe we can get some more bamboo next week, I would like to get more planted for this rainy season. 
I am adjusting farily well to live without television, I still watch Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on the internet, I am thankful for that.  I hope to have our television going again soon. 

Golda la jota

Friday morning I could not find Golda.  She usually sleeps in the bodega, I don’t think she will let Canela sleep in there.  Canela was out and about, but no Golda.  Viny and I went to Cuernavaca to Costco and Mega to do some shopping for the spa for Sunday and for us for the week.  When we got home, I went back over to the spa to see if Mario had seen Golda, he had not.  He said he would go around the land looking for her, because she kills snakes and maybe one of them bit and killed her.  While I was in the spa with Mario, I thought I heard Golda.  We started trying to look in the little rooms, I went to get the keys as they were all locked.  We thought she was in room J but I had trouble finding that key, and when I did and I opened the door, there was Golda, none the worse for the night in the spa.

Friday afternoon we dropped Alberto off at the toll booth so he could go to Mexico City.  We went into town and got our fruits and veggies for Sunday, and some extra for us.  Then Viny remembered he wanted a tattoo for the parade tomorrow, so while he got a henna tattoo that is not really henna, I went to Los Buenos Tiempos and read the papers and drank a Diet Coke.  We then came home.

He is now steaming some veggies for us and I am making chicken breasts stuffed with apples.  I hope they get cooked inside. 

Monday

Last Friday the electricity was off for several hours and when it came back on there was no internet and we still don’t have internet.  We do have the local phone, at first just in the spa, but now it is working in the house also.  Viny has called about the internet twice and I called today.  I guess it will get fixed some day.  In the meantime, we have no television, as it is dependent on the internet.  Alberto does have his local Dish Network, which he likes a lot.

I ordinarily watch quite a bit of TV, and I am having to adjust to no TV for the moment.  I read a book over the weekend, it was not very good. 

We only had nine customers on Sunday, so we really did not make much money.  We think people were tired after the parade and staying up much of the night, plus it was Father’s Day.  Maybe next week will be better.

I am currently listening to Four Saints in Three Acts.  I hope that is not a sign of desperation, but it is a sign of boredom.

Viny left by bus this afternoon to go to Taxco.  His former classmate, Miguel, is having a christening for one of his little kids tomorrow and invited Viny.  Viny will be back either tomorrow or the next day.

Mario made us some stands for umbrellas today, they look nice.  Cement in plastic tubs with a pipe in the middle for the umbrella handle, and the cement is covered with little rounded rocks.  Now we need the umbrellas.

It is raining almost nightly, so the plants are doing well. 

I made a lampshade in the bar with a piece of paper today, Alberto likes it and so do I.  I will make more for the other lights. 

Both little Frida and little Kenia are in my lap as I am typing.

We went into town this afternoon so Viny could catch a bus and Alberto and I went to Los Buenos Tiempos for a while and I read two Mexico City newspapers, so I am not totally out of it as far as world events go, but I do miss my BBC and NPR, both dependent on the internet. 

Greg and Gordon will bring two satellite radios; we don’t have one that works currently, so that will be another option not dependent on the internet.  I do love the rainy season, but we have frequent power outages and especially internet outages during the rainy season.

I made a batch of good brownies today and after we got back from the store I made some sticky rice and some vegetable soup.  The veggies for the soup are sold in a little packet and cost 5 pesos, about 40 cents.  I added some fresh corn I bought yesterday to make it even better. 

Pooh, one of the Canadian cats, stays over here much of the time and now sleeps nights on the couch with Cica. 

I could watch DVDs, of which we have dozens I have not seen, if I weren’t too lazy to get it together.  I may go do that, it is really not that different and I have already heard Four Saints in Three Acts about three times. 

Tuesday

This afternoon the repairman came about the internet, brought a new modem, hooked it up and it immediately worked.

Last night I did watch Gran Torino on DVD, I liked it a lot.  I also watched a DVD of early Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.  Then, for the night, I left a DVD of Music for Montserrat on.

Viny called this afternoon, the ceremony is tonight, he will be back tomorrow.

I made biscuits and scrambled eggs this morning for me and Alberto.  I also boiled some beans.  This afternoon I made a mushroom quiche.  

I did not get the TV going in time to watch the reruns of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colberto, so I watched them on the internet.  Then, at 8, the TV started working so I am watching America's Got Talent.  

Last Sunday at the spa I wrote about the parade on Saturday, when I can, I will post what I wrote, I have to get it from the computer there.

Alberto and I went into Tepoztlán this afternoon and drank Diet Cokes at Los Buenos Tiempos and read the daily papers.

I have been wanting a Key Lime pie, so I found a recipe on the internet and will try to make one in a couple of days, when I get the condensed milk.  We almost always have plenty of limes.

Little Kenia and Frida are in my lap at the moment.

orchids

I have been so hard up for chocolate that I was eating the chocolate chips.  Yesterday I decided to make chocolate chip cookies.  I made the dough, which looked, good, and I added all the chocolate chips I had not eaten, which was a lot.  Then I added a bag of pecan pieces and a bunch of coconut.  By that time, I had added more stuff than would mix into the dough and I realized I could not actually form cookies, as they would not hold together.  So, I decided to put it all into a pan and bake it and then cut it into bars, which I did.  It turned out rather nicely, but still does not hold together very well, because of the small amount of dough.
Today Marcia called, needing a chocolate fix, and she came over and had a bar and I sent one home with her.  They are quite good, even though they fall apart.
Today is local market day, and Alberto, Viny and I went into town and sat at Los Buenos Tiempos for a while reading the newspapers and having soft drinks.  On the way to the car I bought three orchids, two of which I tied onto one of the palm trees and the other bunch of orchids I placed atop the outdoor fountain at the spa.  I hope they all survive.
We are getting ready for our trip to Mexico City to pass out publicity for the spa and to watch the parade on Saturday.  I will come home after the parade, Alberto is going Friday night and will probably stay Saturday night also, as may Viny.  The last buses are about 11 and the bars only open about then, and they will probably want to go to some of the bars that night.
It has rained the past two nights, which is great, but there has been a lot of wind, this always affects our telephone and internet and television, but it is worth it for the rain.  After a while, the winds will stop but the rains will continue.
Most of our spa customers have heard about the spa from the internet, this week I have really spiffed up our presence on the internet, I think.  The results will be in the pudding, as they say.
After writing the above, it occurred to me that the little orchids may never again look as good as today, so I went out and took these photos.

 

 A couple of weeks ago I tied an orchid to this same palm tree.  I wrapped a piece of cloth around the roots to keep them more moist, they will need to be sprayed with water about every day.  About everything in these photos of orchids is in focus except the orchids, but maybe you can get the idea of how pretty they are.

  

 I tied this one to the same palm tree, so there are now three little orchid plants on this same palm tree.  Hopefully, if they survive, they will attach themselves by their roots to the trunk of the tree and the string will no longer be necessary.

  

 This is a clump of small orchid plants, which I just placed on top of the fountain, I hope it will stay long enough to attach itself to the rock wall.