Chili and Charity

Yesterday was the big Chili & Charros 5th Annual International Chili Cook-Off benefiting El Centro de Crecimiento on the grounds of the Hotel Real de Minas.  There was a big turnout, as might be expected.  There are lots of Texans here (they avoid both the cold winters and the blistering summers) and lots of interpretations of what chili should be.

In addition to judged placements of chili and charros, there was the popular People's Choice winner which is determined by popular vote of those attending.  Anyone can join as a contestant (there is a minimum number to qualify as part of the International Chili Cook-Off organization) and there were individuals, restaurants, hotels, et cetera who sponsored entries - about 40 of them altogether.

Besides a small pot of their particular chili for the judges, most entries also furnished tastes for the multitudes to enjoy.  Upon entry to the grounds each individual was presented with a small bag containing a small styrofoam cup, a plastic spoon, and a napkin (there was also a coupon for a 2-for-1 drink/beer at a downtown restaurant, and some other leaflets) with which to taste as many chilis as you felt capable of consuming.  There were nearly 40 to choose from, and we did our best to try them all.  We did arrive about halfway through the festivities and some were out of chili already, but we still tasted about 15 and voted for the Winner's choice.  Just as we arrived a bit late, we also left a bit early so we're still in suspense over whether our choice won the contest.

In addition to the chili and charros there were drinks to be had and a good-sized silent auction offering services, paintings, silver and tin works, objets arte, et cetera to the highest bidder.  We should hear in a few days how much money was raised for charity.  And the top three winners may proceed to the Grand Finale to be held in Houston soon.

Charities are a big deal in SMA.  There is so much need and many of the expats who live here are involved in one or more charities to raise money for everything from building and staffing school kitchens to provide hot meals, building simple homes for the folks on the campos who live in shanties if they're lucky, to educating young children with libraries, additional classes, providing computers and training to kids, and scholarships for high school and college, cleaning up the local reservoir, providing a no-kill alternative to the local animal pound - you name it!

The Chili & Charros benefited El Centro de Crecimiento (Center for Children with Disabilities), an organization which offers opportunities for children with disabilities to improve their physical condition, eduction, and self-esteem so that they can become contributing member of our community.  The Chili Cook-Off isn't the only fundraising event of the year, but a very popular one!

And in honor of the Chili Cook-Off, we're preparing a Chipotle Chili in the crockpot downstairs.  The aroma drifting upwards to our office are quite tempting - maybe lunch?

No Hay Nieve en San Miguel

There is no snow in San Miguel, though it's occasionally a bit nippy (hace poquito frio).  We read the weather forecasts posted automaitcally on our internet home pages and see daily temperatures for Reseda, CA; Santa Fe, NM; and Houghton, MI (Michael's hometown). 

While Reseda is noted for summertime temps into the 110's, Houghton gets quite cold up der in the UP (Upper Peninsula of Michigan) this time of year, with a forecast for today of a low of 4F and a high of 5F!  There is snow in the UP!

Santa Fe's weather tends to be closer to ours though it has snow that we don't.  Last year there was a sprinkling of snow on some nearby mountain tops and everyone was agog.  Although the longitude and latitude differ, Santa Fe and San Miguel are both hill towns at about the same altitude (6500 - 7000 ft range).

We're hoping that we're past the cooler weather here.  Although temps now dip into the 40s at night, once the sun rises things start to warm up, usually into the high 70s or low 80s.  Our homes, though, are made of concrete and brick and take some time to warm from the sunshine.  Some rooms in our house (like the entire first floor) stay remarkably cool at this time of year.  Well, they stay cool in the summer, too; it's just more noticeable at this time of year.

Although we have heaters, they are electrical - and electricity is a bit pricey SoB.  So we've been shopping for gas heaters.  So many choices (not really): portable, portable with a fan, or wall mounted, but that's about it unless you want to consider portable with a tank or one that connects to the household gas supply.  [Like most homes in Mexico, we do not have central heat/AC nor do we have any fireplaces in our current home, with or without gas logs.]

And since we didn't pick up a gas heater earlier in the year when the choices and prices were better, they are now fewer.  We may just bundle up and wait until next year - who knows, we may be in a different house that has gas heaters!

Our next event should be the rainy season: Hay lluvia en San Miguel!

Survival

Well, here we are on January 1st, 2011.  We've survived six months in San Miguel, our first calendar year in SMA, our very own power outage, and the end-of-year holidays.  Not bad, if I do say so myself.

You've read about our first six months earlier, so I'll skip to the more recent happenings.

The power outage began the day before New Year's Eve day.  It had been pretty windy with gusts in the 30-mile-per-hour range when our lights began flickering.  If we're running too many appliances throughout the house we sometimes suffer from a dimming of all lights, but this was worse. 

The TV in the living room simply turned itself off and then eventually back on.  The kitchen lights were dimmed even when no other kitchen appliances were being used.  The exhaust fan wouldn't exhaust. The light next to my computer took several tries to turn it on.  The bathroom heater would only put out mildly warm air.  And to add insult to injury, the microwave's turntable would revolve, but it wouldn't cook anything!

Then we couldn't reach our Pedro by telephone and the electric company (CFE) wasn't answering their phones, either. Michael later walked into Centro and found the office was closed.  [The observation of holidays in Mexico is a whole other subject.]

Luckily we located a number for an electrician who had been recommended to us by friends (husband of our friends' maid) who was available to come take a look at things.  He brought two helpers and they called a service emergency number for CFE, so we had four people and a CFE truck here who discovered that the tree growing in our entry garden (it's now tall enough to reach above the second floor terrace) had a branch that pushed against the electric wiring that feeds the house and had broken the cable that supports the wire.  The wire then stretched without the supporting cable and broke the grounding connection. I suppose we're lucky the house didn't go up in flames or something, but they fixed the problem, advised us to replace the connections for the meter (that's another story), and we promised to trim the tree - or at least to tell our landlord of the need.

That left us free to enjoy our NYE dinner at a local restaurant.  The menu was quite tasty; we chose mushrooms with garlic, cream of poblano soup (which was outstanding), and the rib-eye steak with roquefort sauce and sides.  The steak came out on a sizzling platter that would put Ruth's Chris to shame.  Even the veggies were sizzling hot.  And the roquefort sauce (which was served on the side and looked more like gravy) was excellent, too.  The meal was accompanied by as much wine as you cared to drink, so over the three hours we were there (had to wait for the ball to drop, right?) we managed to drink quite a few glasses.

At one other table was a group of three chelangos (folks who live in Mexico City) who were a bit rowdy, but one of the three spoke fine Spanish, French, and English and we not only kibbitzed between tables, we ended up joining them after dessert for a few more glasses of wine!  We all had a great time!!  [There was something about meeting up at four o'clock this afternoon at another restaurant downtown, but I'm not sure we're going to make that!]

So great a time that the owner of the restaurant discreetly sent his son on his motorcycle to follow us as we walked home to make sure we made it safely.  Guess he felt that we needed to cross a sketchy part of the colonia to reach our home - which we did, safely.  Of course folks were out on the streets (not really well lit in some areas), and it was reassuring to have company!

And by only ten-thirty this morning I somewhat resembled a human being again.  It reminded me of a recent time when we met a couple at a party where the wine flowed freely (one of our friends is a sommelier) and then we stopped at La Azotea for a few rounds of margaritas on the way home.  One of the guys did not survive the night unscathed.  [We did see them a couple of days later in Centro and were invited over to see their home, so all is forgiven, I guess.]

Thus we made it through the holidays in one piece.  Unless they're very anglicized, most Mexican families give gifts to their children on January 6th, the traditional date the three magi arrived in Bethlehem and presented their gifts to the Christ child.  I'm guessing hoping that should be a fairly quiet occasion.

And speaking of quiet, last night was pretty quiet compared to Christmas Eve, when the dogs were really bothered by the fireworks.  We were able to sleep through the night with no barking, so it's just as well that we cancelled our plan to send them out to the kennel in the country.

Here's to more frivolity in the new year!  Feliz ano nuevo, amigos!!!

Not So Silent Night

Have I mentioned that Mexico is kinda noisy?  We repeat that bit of intelligence to each other every time the neighborhood is noisier than we were accustomed to NoB. ['NoB', not 'back home' because that raises another series of questions: Which 'back home'? Los Angeles, a particular part of greater Los Angeles, southern Indiana - or for Michael, Upper Michigan, Minneapolis/St Paul?]

Christmas Eve brought it all rushing back.  It is a custom in Mexico to celebrate with fireworks.  Not the fancy aerial displays (which are lovely but usually centered around the Jardin), but the aerial bombs.  The big bombs are used for saints' days and that sort of event but frequently, in the neighborhoods, with smaller, hand thrown bombs. This includes saints' days, a family birthday, an historical celebration (we were glad to be out of the country during the actual dates of the Bicentennial), or even a party. Christmas Eve was not an exception, except our neighborhood took it to the next level.

Fireworks exploded pretty regularly from about midnight til after 2 AM. And it's not the fireworks, particularly, so much as the result of the fireworks on our dogs.  They are all sensitive to loud noises in varying degrees, but one in particular nearly barks herself silly if the noise is insistent and nearby. The question is: How to stop them?

Nothing works. Speaking calmly to them; speaking sternly to them; yelling at them; holding them; petting them; telling them it will be alright; explaining the neighbors are Neanderthals; shutting them in their crates in a back bedroom; covering the crates; bribing them with food; nothing.  Sleep is impossible - unless you've really been celebrating yourself, but then one of us eventually wakes up, anyway, and must deal with the barking. [We don't want to disturb the neighbors on the other side of the house, who are remarkably at quiet most times.]

Christmas Eve's celebration was particularly exuberant and the kids on our block eventually tossed a few of the fireworks up onto our second floor terrace, right outside our bedroom.  Those were particularly lovely! Of course, the adults in the families were nowhere to be seen!  We can only surmise that they were inside, partying in their own way.

I had already tried the tack of taking the dogs downstairs to watch television together in the more secluded living room and had eventually returned to the warm bedroom (dogs in tow).  Watching television had had its normal effect and I, at least, was falling asleep.  So it was Michael who was the one awake at that time and went out onto the terrace to have a few choice words for the little darlings who were preparing to toss even more fireworks onto the terrace.  They didn't.

Christmas Day has been remarkably quiet in the ole neighborhood.  No one has been out and about on the street.  The music they play next door has been absent or subdued. We're once again looking at real estate ads for homes out in the campo.

Michael tells me that last night was pretty quiet (that magnum of 1999 vintage champagne at the gathering of ex-pats for Christmas dinner was very tasty) though the dogs were a bit sensitive to even more distant noises.

We're booking them into the doggie B-and-B out in the country for New Years Eve!

Holiday Greetings!

This year - due to a near-Christmas vacation in Cabo, the time lag for ordered cards to reach us, be signed,  and be mailed back to the States, and some very last-minute planning, we're sending out our holiday cards via e-mail:

Otherwise, Christmas will arrive Saturday, apace.  We're visiting one of our favorite restaurants for an early dinner Christmas Eve and to make reservations for their New Year's Eve Dinner.  Christmas Day we're invited to our friends' home just a few blocks away for a potluck dinner with several other mutual friends; other friends will be dropping in later in the evening. 

We've found lovely, small, locally-grown Brussels sprouts so we will be taking our Even-Our-Brother-in-Law-Likes-These recipe of shredded sprouts sauteed with prosciutto and garlic in butter, then baked with heavy cream and Parmesan -- what's not to like about that?  And a couple of Magnums of 'J' Champagne (I know - correctly, sparkling wine) - 1999 & 2000, I think.

Hope all your holidays are what you want, too!

Cabo-itis

So we awoke this morning to a view of the mountains instead of palm trees, the bay, and today's visiting cruise ship.  Only the dome on the San Antonio church pierced the layer of mist that blanketed San Miguel.  Eventually we crawled from beneath the covers to discover that the bedroom was about the same temperature as outside: 37F!  It's a wonder all the air wasn't frozen, not just a layer of mist.

The temperature was a dead giveaway - we had returned from a week in Cabo very late last night after traveling most of the day.  We left the resort at 11:30 am by shuttle to the airport in nearby San Jose del Cabo for a flight to Mexico City, then taxi to the Estacion de Autobus Norte, then a 'luxury bus' ride (really comfy seats, but it was still a 4-hour trip) through Queretero and on to San Miguel.  We got out of the taxi in front of our house at 11:30 pm.

It was the end of a week in a quiet resort (no telephones/TVs/etc unless you visited the Lounge for a news/sports fix; even WiFi was limited to the coffee bar).  Designed to mimic a tropical Mexican village there were no big blocks of hotel rooms (like El Pinko next door).  Only villas arranged in mostly circular three-storey buildings with thatched roofs facing the beach or arranged around the pools.  On the edge of Cabo San Lucas, it was close enough to town to provide excellent walkable access to our favorite restaurants.  Taxis are ridiculously expensive in Cabo: $6 for a short ride within town.  We're spoiled, I guess, by the $2 taxi rides here in SMA.  They got no tips from us!

It was a week of sloth - rising late; lounging under a palapa on the beach, waving a little flag for food & drink service;  afternoon drinks at one of the swim-up pool bars; deciding upon which restaurant to favor with our presence for dinner each night.  A tough life, but someone has to do it, right?

The worst part was the inconvienience of trekking to the coffeehouse to get a WiFi signal.  Internet access is a new thing for the resort, but they should really think of expanding it throughout the buildings.  It was a pain to keep up on my moderator duties for a SMA forum.  I'm sure I could have done a better job if it was easier to access. And doing research for future travel required multiple trips back to the coffeehouse. 

Of course, there was no drifting off to sleep to a television, either, but we could get used to that.  Cabo (and Puerto Vallarte) were our only exposure to Mexico before we decided to retire to SMA and there's such a difference!  We love SMA, but we'll be back in Cabo at the end of February with my brother and again in mid-May by ourselves.  (And perhaps again in December if our villa hasn't sold.)

The other thing we missed was the company of our four dogs.  There was actually space on the king-size bed to stretch out - imagine that!  They returned home from their own little vacation at Wendy's B&B this morning and were napping on the bed with me this afternoon.  It works so much better with the larger bed than the one we had in California (but the bedroom there wouldn't have held a king-size bed without wall-to-wall mattress).

So we're back home, trying to keep warm in our sweatsuits and slippers, and dreaming about our time in Cabo.  When's our next trip?

At least it will feel more like Christmas here in SMA!

Another Day in Paradise

So once again the weather is back to normal for this time of year: highs in the low 80s; lows in the middle 40s.  Facebook brings news of family and friends with pictures of snow and reports of gusting winds. Brrrrr....


And yesterday was nothing special - stores were open, people went about their business as usual - unless you're an ex-pat and then it's Thanksgiving!  Folks who post on the Civil List forum have been in a tizzy over which turkey to purchase (44p/kg frozen at Sorriano; 150p/kg 'fresh' and  'organic' at a specialty store and everything in-between); how frozen a 'fresh' turkey should be (even the USDA - which doesn't apply here in Mexico - allows 'fresh' to be maintained at 32F which can easily slide into the freezing zone, so 'where's the beef?' to mix metaphors); where to find cranberries - especially fresh ones for their favorite sauce for the turkey.  One person's turkey arrived with only some of the giblets inside; this generated a whole series of postings about exchanging 'parts' if your turkey had any extra.  The final poster reported that she was an old lady and looking for an extra bladder!

We opted to accept friends' invitation to join them at a small restaurant that was serving a traditional T-Day feast late in the afternoon.  The restaurant owner had recently given up her location in Centro and had converted the lower level of her house and patio into a restaurant in Colonia Allende.  ['Lower level' was still a storey-and-a-half above street level, which provided a lovely view over SMA, particularly as the sun set and lights came on.]

We had offered to drive our friends who live near us to the restaurant rather than take taxis, so we made a trial run to find the location in the morning.  Good thing we did as it's the penultimate house at the top of a dead end street with no room for our van to make a turnaround.  We had to back down the hill for 2 blocks until there was a road into which we could maneuver for a 3-point turn.  As a result, we each took taxis to dinner. I wouldn't want to think about backing down the street while full of food and wine!

Our friends told us that they approached three different taxis before they found one that would take them to the restaurant. We were lucky and our first taxi agreed to deliver us there.  He did charge a bit extra, but it was worth it to avoid the parking/turnaround problem.

The dinner itself was great: four appetizers [panela (a cheese) baked with herbs, marinated mushrooms, crudites with a dill dip, and a lovely green salad], several side dishes [wild rice & mushroom dressing, creamed spinach, mashed potatoes & gravy (good on the dressing and turkey, too), mashed sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts & carrots, and a tart cranberry sauce], and, of course, tender, moist turkey baked in a pizza oven [with everything else, we never reached the deep-fried turkey].  Dessert was pumpkin pie and a fruit (perhaps prune?) crisp, both served with mounds of lightly-sweetened whipped crema (we don't do whipping cream down here).  A nice blend of traditional and Mexican-interpreted dishes.

And the best part was dinner with good friends and no preparation or clean-up!  We think of our friend in California who probably did herself in cooking a terrific feast for her family who don't really care much about food.

The attendees yesterday were, as you might expect, all ex-pats who didn't want to miss their Thanksgiving Day feast.  One ex-pat did bring a Mexican friend and politely introduced her to each table.  Otherwise it included the usual assortment of folks.  The ex-pat community here may be large, but one sees many of the same folks regularly.  Don't know where the others hide. We recognized a few of them from the Farm and Dairy tour we took when our friend Diane was in town last week. And our friends knew more, of course. Our table was just chatter, chatter, chatter for the whole three hours.

Afterwards we walked down the hill to the main street and caught a cab to the Jardin for drinks at La Azotea where the weather was so pleasant the awning was retracted and the plexiglass barriers behind the bougainvillea  plants along the edge of the terrace had been removed.  Ah, San Miguel!

We then toddled off home to feed the dogs and sink into bed.  They did not get turkey - and I hope they weren't anticipating last year's leftovers.  Maybe that's why Miyake decided to bark most of the night until I enticed her downstairs to watch television together?

Ah, well - another day in paradise!