Having just returned from a week at Walt Disney World the week before Christmas, I thought I'd jot a few things down.
It was a glorious week. Michael had arranged a one-bedroom unit in The Paddock - a section of Sarasota Springs Resort - that was near the area we were in last year (The Springs). Our 'home' faced a lake with a walkway across the lake. Our balcony (which went unused, alas) faced the lake with fountains in it. If we had been on the other side of the building, we would have had a view of the Reedy Creek Fire Department, one of whose EMTs, Jason, had saved my life several years ago while at WDW in the Old Key West Resort by attending to my miserable back and putting us in touch with a doctor who would come out to the resort and prescribe 'wondrous' meds! I did manage to take a photo of the RCFD for old times sake....
But so much for fond memories.
I had intended this report to cover our day-by-day activities, but - ya know - time has passed and it's all a blur!
I do remember visiting Disney Springs a few times (we used the boats several times; nothing like alternative modes of transportation) including twice at Raglan Road. Both times we showed up early and they courteously accommodated us. Great fun!
Disney Springs is quite large at present - and it continues to grow! One needs the endurance of a track horse to make it from end-to-end. We did it twice; that was enough! I was drooping by the end of the circuit. The pizza place at the old end (Wolfgang Puck's) was good, though a bit guess-and-by-golly as to how it worked. We decided to skip The Earl of Sandwich on the first night based on the waiting line.
The Boathouse was great, as it had been before. A little bit on the pricey side, but really good! We love this place.
We also met up with faceBook friends at Old Key West's Olivia's for dinner and a how-do-you-do. Great fun and good food.
After a week, we were a bit spent and happily took our flight home - then the 4-hour drive home.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Warning Pffffft!!!
Well, the Category 5 Hurricane Patricia missed us, big time. It came ashore at a sparsely populated area rather farther south of Puerto Vallarta, so our friend who had recently moved there only got rain and a lot of wind overnight. [Whew!] His mother and some other relatives were visiting at the time. Glad they're all safe.
Here in San Miguel - after the storm passed through several sets of mountains, diluting its strength - we only received a gentle, night-long rain followed in the morning with a warm breeze. I was rather disappointed that everything occurred while we were asleep!
There were times in my youth when electrical storms would arrive in southern Indiana and my mother would discover me kneeling on my bed, propped up on my elbows, looking out the open window, watching the lightning! Yes, I got a lecture each time - but it's so easy to say 'Yes; I understand' and then do it the next time anyway! And somehow she knew just where to find me whenever there was a storm...but it was magical! Now if only our dogs didn't freak out over thunder and lightning....
I understand that the storm made its way across Mexico and is now tearing up Texas with flash floods as it moves into Louisiana and points east. I'd feel sorry for the Texans if there were any reasons to do so. [Sorry, friends there live there. You knew what Texas was like and you still moved there!]
In a side note, the pain-in-the-ass person in San Miguel, who complained bitterly about the moderators on our SMA Civil List who refused to let him post the US Embassy warning on the List because it warned US citizens to avoid the west coast of Mexico (many, many hours away from San Miguel - it's a two-day trip when we go to the beach) because it wasn't San-Miguel-related (one of the guidelines for using the Civil List), has been removed from the Civil List when he was agitating to remove the moderators from their 'cushy jobs'. ( Most members don't appreciate their faults being pointed out to them; it's a volunteer position; you spend a lot of time teaching people who are too lazy to find out on their own how to do things on Yahoo groups; did I say it was a volunteer position; there are only three moderators for over 9100 members...you get the picture.) A former employee of the New York City Board of Education, he still has that 'I know better than thou' attitude.
Hope he'll be happy on his own Facebook page! We note that he hasn't revealed that he has been bounced from the List...probably too crushing to his ego. [evil laughter]
Here in San Miguel - after the storm passed through several sets of mountains, diluting its strength - we only received a gentle, night-long rain followed in the morning with a warm breeze. I was rather disappointed that everything occurred while we were asleep!
There were times in my youth when electrical storms would arrive in southern Indiana and my mother would discover me kneeling on my bed, propped up on my elbows, looking out the open window, watching the lightning! Yes, I got a lecture each time - but it's so easy to say 'Yes; I understand' and then do it the next time anyway! And somehow she knew just where to find me whenever there was a storm...but it was magical! Now if only our dogs didn't freak out over thunder and lightning....
I understand that the storm made its way across Mexico and is now tearing up Texas with flash floods as it moves into Louisiana and points east. I'd feel sorry for the Texans if there were any reasons to do so. [Sorry, friends there live there. You knew what Texas was like and you still moved there!]
In a side note, the pain-in-the-ass person in San Miguel, who complained bitterly about the moderators on our SMA Civil List who refused to let him post the US Embassy warning on the List because it warned US citizens to avoid the west coast of Mexico (many, many hours away from San Miguel - it's a two-day trip when we go to the beach) because it wasn't San-Miguel-related (one of the guidelines for using the Civil List), has been removed from the Civil List when he was agitating to remove the moderators from their 'cushy jobs'. ( Most members don't appreciate their faults being pointed out to them; it's a volunteer position; you spend a lot of time teaching people who are too lazy to find out on their own how to do things on Yahoo groups; did I say it was a volunteer position; there are only three moderators for over 9100 members...you get the picture.) A former employee of the New York City Board of Education, he still has that 'I know better than thou' attitude.
Hope he'll be happy on his own Facebook page! We note that he hasn't revealed that he has been bounced from the List...probably too crushing to his ego. [evil laughter]
Friday, October 23, 2015
Embassy Warning!!!
Well, we received the warning from the American Embassy in Mexico City this morning, courtesy of the SMA Civil List. Good thing, too, as our individual notification has yet to appear. We signed up for the individual notifications when we registered with the State Department as living in Mexico.
Luckily, Hurricane Patricia is headed into the western coast of Mexico - not anywhere near us. From the Associated Press:
In the meanwhile, the BBC is predicting rain for Mexico City and some points north of there. We're expecting some of that rain, although the BBC only shows Mexico City on their map of Mexico, so we are usually relegated to 'by guess and by golly' as far as our forecasts are concerned.
Luckily, Hurricane Patricia is headed into the western coast of Mexico - not anywhere near us. From the Associated Press:
MANZANILLO, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Patricia headed toward southwestern Mexico Friday as a monster Category 5 storm, the strongest ever in the Western Hemisphere that forecasters said could make a "potentially catastrophic landfall" later in the day.
Residents of a stretch of Mexico's Pacific Coast dotted with resorts and fishing villages on Thursday boarded up homes and bought supplies ahead of Patricia's arrival.
With maximum sustained winds near 200 mph (325 kph), Patricia is the strongest storm ever recorded in the eastern Pacific or in the Atlantic, said Dave Roberts, a hurricane specialist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
...A friend of our moved to Puerto Vallarta last year; we hope he's safe and sound.
In Mexico, officials declared a state of emergency in dozens of municipalities in Colima, Nayarit and Jalisco states that contain the bustling port of Manzanillo and the posh resort of Puerto Vallarta.
In the meanwhile, the BBC is predicting rain for Mexico City and some points north of there. We're expecting some of that rain, although the BBC only shows Mexico City on their map of Mexico, so we are usually relegated to 'by guess and by golly' as far as our forecasts are concerned.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Day of the Dead
In just a little over three weeks it will be Day of the Dead here in San Miguel. We don't usually partake in the festivities (the Jardin will be awash in bodies both local and from other Mexican cities) and neither of us really enjoy crowds any longer.
My sister, her husband, and two friends will be joining us during the time of the festivities, so we may go to the effort to provide the makings for an altar this year.
Unlike the US, where Hallowe'en is the big draw on October 31st, Mexico celebrates November 1st (Day of Remembrance for children who have died in the last year) and November 2nd (Day of Remembrance for adults who have passed on recently). There will be public altars and many homes will have their own particular altar. On the 3rd, the altars will be transported to the local cemetaries and set up on the graves of those being remembered.
What's involved in an alter? Wild marigolds, canes of the sugar plant, small sugar skulls for the children replaced with large sugar skulls for the adults. Toys and candies for the children replaced with food and mézcal for the adults. Not sure what you put out for teetotalers...water? Sodas are uncapped for the spirits' ease in drinking.
Not that trick and treating hasn't begun to catch on, but at least most of the traditional festivities are tied to actual people who have passed on and it's not just a time to dress up and attempt to scare people - oh, and collect goodies!
My sister, her husband, and two friends will be joining us during the time of the festivities, so we may go to the effort to provide the makings for an altar this year.
Unlike the US, where Hallowe'en is the big draw on October 31st, Mexico celebrates November 1st (Day of Remembrance for children who have died in the last year) and November 2nd (Day of Remembrance for adults who have passed on recently). There will be public altars and many homes will have their own particular altar. On the 3rd, the altars will be transported to the local cemetaries and set up on the graves of those being remembered.
What's involved in an alter? Wild marigolds, canes of the sugar plant, small sugar skulls for the children replaced with large sugar skulls for the adults. Toys and candies for the children replaced with food and mézcal for the adults. Not sure what you put out for teetotalers...water? Sodas are uncapped for the spirits' ease in drinking.
Not that trick and treating hasn't begun to catch on, but at least most of the traditional festivities are tied to actual people who have passed on and it's not just a time to dress up and attempt to scare people - oh, and collect goodies!
Friday, September 18, 2015
A Natural Remedy that seems to work!
I have held off writing about the weather. Of course, that's often what's happening down here....
We've just made our way through the El Grito (the alleged speech made in Dolores (but repeated here and many other places through out Mexico), encouraging the locals to join the fight for freedom from foreign powers.
And then there is always Independence day (the next day) when we celebrate the winning of the War of Independence 11 years later. [It's a really big country; it take a while to reach everyone.]
But today was a little different. A few moments ago (about 5:40 pm Central) there was a loud clap of thunder. And not just a 'clap' but a rolling clap of thunder; ea 'peal' I guess.
We'd recently been made aware of a 'natural' remedy for nervous dogs - i.e., Miyake - and, based on the recommendation of a friend, Michael found that our groomer carried the product: Kalman.
A few days ago we had some warning of an upcoming storm and he gave her a drop under her tongue. And while she was a little excited during the storm, she wasn't doing her shaking/vibrating thing for hours.
Today the peal of thunder was the first indication that a storm was here. And although she had started shaking at the first sound of thunder, she is now (a few minutes later) lying down under Michael's computer (her usual spot) and not shaking! Panting a little but relatively calmer than usual.
Now, I'm not a great believer in 'natural' remedies but this seems to actually work!
And do we have any hint that a storm may occur? Yes, but the map that the BBC uses only notes Mexico City and Acapulco. We sort of guess where those indicators of rain are on the map and take it as an indication that there may be rain in the forecast. Not exactly rocket science, but a guess that is better than any local forecasts. [I.E, we have no local forecasts as we have no airport here, and thus, no weather station.] The nearest is the airport in Leon, which is about an hour-and-a-half away from us. The BBC's maps of Mexico and Central America is about as true as we get. At least it's updated throughout the day!
So the thunder peals have retreated into the distance and it's now 'gently' raining. And Miyake is in much better shape than her usual experience. While still panting, she is lying down and not sitting up, hugging the back wall of the room.
Have we thought of a thunder shirt for her? Yes, but they are about $40 and the little vial of Kalman costs only $7.50. And should last a year or so at a drop a storm!
Plus we'd have to wrestle her into the thunder shirt. And if it didn't work, we'd be back to the Kalman, again. If anyone out there is using the thunder shirt, I wish them well. We'll stick with the Kalman in the meanwhile.
We've just made our way through the El Grito (the alleged speech made in Dolores (but repeated here and many other places through out Mexico), encouraging the locals to join the fight for freedom from foreign powers.
And then there is always Independence day (the next day) when we celebrate the winning of the War of Independence 11 years later. [It's a really big country; it take a while to reach everyone.]
But today was a little different. A few moments ago (about 5:40 pm Central) there was a loud clap of thunder. And not just a 'clap' but a rolling clap of thunder; ea 'peal' I guess.
We'd recently been made aware of a 'natural' remedy for nervous dogs - i.e., Miyake - and, based on the recommendation of a friend, Michael found that our groomer carried the product: Kalman.
A few days ago we had some warning of an upcoming storm and he gave her a drop under her tongue. And while she was a little excited during the storm, she wasn't doing her shaking/vibrating thing for hours.
Today the peal of thunder was the first indication that a storm was here. And although she had started shaking at the first sound of thunder, she is now (a few minutes later) lying down under Michael's computer (her usual spot) and not shaking! Panting a little but relatively calmer than usual.
Now, I'm not a great believer in 'natural' remedies but this seems to actually work!
And do we have any hint that a storm may occur? Yes, but the map that the BBC uses only notes Mexico City and Acapulco. We sort of guess where those indicators of rain are on the map and take it as an indication that there may be rain in the forecast. Not exactly rocket science, but a guess that is better than any local forecasts. [I.E, we have no local forecasts as we have no airport here, and thus, no weather station.] The nearest is the airport in Leon, which is about an hour-and-a-half away from us. The BBC's maps of Mexico and Central America is about as true as we get. At least it's updated throughout the day!
So the thunder peals have retreated into the distance and it's now 'gently' raining. And Miyake is in much better shape than her usual experience. While still panting, she is lying down and not sitting up, hugging the back wall of the room.
Have we thought of a thunder shirt for her? Yes, but they are about $40 and the little vial of Kalman costs only $7.50. And should last a year or so at a drop a storm!
Plus we'd have to wrestle her into the thunder shirt. And if it didn't work, we'd be back to the Kalman, again. If anyone out there is using the thunder shirt, I wish them well. We'll stick with the Kalman in the meanwhile.
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Thank Heavens for Small Miracles
And we have functioning printers again!
The newest cheap-o cartridge for my laser printer was acting up. Over the printed text there were often undulating lines of smeared text. Not so horrible if I was printing a page of a spreadsheet (just print them again until you get a clear version), but really aggravating when printing a transcript for proofing. There was often no way to tell what the text underneath those undulating lines said! [Hope it was right, as it couldn't be read.]
I had gotten a new cartridge that still exhibited this problem. Thought I could solve it by purchasing a new ID tag for the cartridge. Thought - yeah, this is the solution, but as it turns out, the tag that came as part of the refilled cartridge was stuck on with blobs of glue. No joy in Mudville here!
And we couldn't use Michael's printer because it just stopped printing! The new ink cartridge wouldn't fit into place regardless of what we tried.
And after Michael printed a portion of the transcript on my printer and then had to go through and re-print the messed-up pages individually, he announced that it was time to replace both of the printers.
Now, the Office Depot had had printers on sale several weeks ago and he talked me out of buying one for $79 pesos (about $5.25 USD at the exchange rate at that time). (Of course they used the older model of toner cartridges that fitted them - and are no longer manufactured; thank you,Michael.) Obviously today's cartridge refills were full price, but that's how printer manufacturers make money: sell the printer cheap and stick it to the users on the required toner cartridges.
So checking out Office Depot on-line, and comparing what they had in stock with what we needed to replace our current printers, we identified some options. While the most viable option was to get two of the same B/W printers, Michael had had a printer/scanner/color printer and I wanted to get the same for him again.
So we hemmed and hawed and eventually flagged down an employee to make our needs known. We bought a returned Canon scanner/printer/color printer for Michael that was on sale (and since someone had taken it home, it came with both the black and the tri-color cartridges in it at no extra charge. My laser printer was on sale for less than half of the laser cartridge - and it came with one in it (although no knowing that, I now have a spare cartridge).
So the total was about a little less than $2500 pesos - or at today's exchange rate (which was a little over $16 pesos to the dollar!), about $154 USD! Yippee!!!! So we celebrated with lunch at the local McDonald's - where they cook to order - and we ran into a friend who had questions about converting a Residente Temporale visa to a Residente Permanente visa that we were happy to answer.
Once we got home, we quickly installed the new drivers for Michael's Canon and my Samsung printers and they are operational and networked.
Whew!!!!
The newest cheap-o cartridge for my laser printer was acting up. Over the printed text there were often undulating lines of smeared text. Not so horrible if I was printing a page of a spreadsheet (just print them again until you get a clear version), but really aggravating when printing a transcript for proofing. There was often no way to tell what the text underneath those undulating lines said! [Hope it was right, as it couldn't be read.]
I had gotten a new cartridge that still exhibited this problem. Thought I could solve it by purchasing a new ID tag for the cartridge. Thought - yeah, this is the solution, but as it turns out, the tag that came as part of the refilled cartridge was stuck on with blobs of glue. No joy in Mudville here!
And we couldn't use Michael's printer because it just stopped printing! The new ink cartridge wouldn't fit into place regardless of what we tried.
And after Michael printed a portion of the transcript on my printer and then had to go through and re-print the messed-up pages individually, he announced that it was time to replace both of the printers.
Now, the Office Depot had had printers on sale several weeks ago and he talked me out of buying one for $79 pesos (about $5.25 USD at the exchange rate at that time). (Of course they used the older model of toner cartridges that fitted them - and are no longer manufactured; thank you,Michael.) Obviously today's cartridge refills were full price, but that's how printer manufacturers make money: sell the printer cheap and stick it to the users on the required toner cartridges.
So checking out Office Depot on-line, and comparing what they had in stock with what we needed to replace our current printers, we identified some options. While the most viable option was to get two of the same B/W printers, Michael had had a printer/scanner/color printer and I wanted to get the same for him again.
So we hemmed and hawed and eventually flagged down an employee to make our needs known. We bought a returned Canon scanner/printer/color printer for Michael that was on sale (and since someone had taken it home, it came with both the black and the tri-color cartridges in it at no extra charge. My laser printer was on sale for less than half of the laser cartridge - and it came with one in it (although no knowing that, I now have a spare cartridge).
So the total was about a little less than $2500 pesos - or at today's exchange rate (which was a little over $16 pesos to the dollar!), about $154 USD! Yippee!!!! So we celebrated with lunch at the local McDonald's - where they cook to order - and we ran into a friend who had questions about converting a Residente Temporale visa to a Residente Permanente visa that we were happy to answer.
Once we got home, we quickly installed the new drivers for Michael's Canon and my Samsung printers and they are operational and networked.
Whew!!!!
Monday, August 17, 2015
Dental News
Although I still haven't managed to add the photos to my exposé on the cobblestones here in San Miguel, I have celebrated the end of my dental process with photos of my walk to the dental clinic that's been doing the work.
This photo is taken from the parking area of the best gym in town (at our corner, too, not that it matters) looking across the highway that goes to Celaya and Costco/Home Depot/Sam's Club. This is where I time my crossing carefully to make it across the road between the cars speeding down the highway towards the glorieta (roundabout) where the highway meets the Libramiento (ring road) around town. Reminds me of those warning signs on the Interstate 5 near the border control point that warn of people crossing the highway - only we don't have any warning signs here. It's take your life in your hands time!
The shop on the left is the Pharmacia Guadelejara - a good source for inexpensive drugs. Antibiotics (and perhaps some other drugs) require a prescription, but otherwise it's walk up and place your order.
Next to the pharmacy is a building that formerly held a Brazilian restaurant (recently closed) and then an appliance store for upscale kitchen hardware. The brownish buildings at the far end are part of a small shopping center with offices, shops, restaurants, and a bank.
After crossing the highway I walk in front of these buildings and turn left into the shopping center at the bus stop where there's usually a small crowd milling around. An intercity bus (Coordinados) stops there as well as an intracity bus that heads out to the sports center (Unidos Deportiva) outside of town. Some of the intracity buses fo three-quarters of the way around the glorieta, depositing passengers safely at the Mega parking lot; others drive straight through the glorieta and drop passengers for Mega at this point.
This is the shopping center. Shops and restaurants along the left side; more of the same at the far end. The unfinished building in the center of the photo is unnamed at this time; probably a restaurant with underground parking (the building took over part of the parking spaces) They've been working on it for about a year now. I walk through this center towards the back and out to the Libramiento.
Leaving the shopping center I walk on the sidewalk (!) past the TelCel offices (the cell phone service which we use - the driveways are for their parking lot). When the sidewalk ends (and it does), it's on to the dirt path alongside the Libramiento.
Here's the walk alongside the highway. We walk on the dirt path rather than the paved shoulder because cars zip past on the roadway as they come up the hill and make the curve (we hope) - and they're not too careful about observing the painted line denoting where the shoulder is located! Shoulders are used for many things here in Mexico: pulling over to let another vehicle pass; passing another vehicle; driving on when you're a slower car than others in your lane.
This photo shows the edge of the parking lot for the new Burger King (just out of sight), the Pemex station next door, and some offices along the Libramiento. There is no sidewalk here, so one has to be careful of cars entering/leaving both the gas station and the new fast-food restaurant. At the far end of the picture is the used car display area for the local Nissan dealer.
Having made it safely this far, we then head off overland on this little path, cross a cobblestone road, walk past the next set of offices (sort of maroon in the picture), then walk along the shoulder (watching for on-coming traffic) and eventually reach the dental clinic (it's in the building in the distance). The whole trip takes 15-20 minutes and you hope there's no rain 'cuz those dirt paths turn into mud holes!
On Saturday I finally had my permanent bridge cemented into place (it fits so much better than the temporary, which kept coming unglued between appointments). There's only a second cleaning left for this afternoon and I'm free! Until next year or until something else goes wrong with my mouth! I've been dealing with this process since May, when a tooth broke. Of course, we had a 5-week cruise booked for later that month, so the process has taken a little bit longer than normal, but my mouth is back to near-normal.
This photo is taken from the parking area of the best gym in town (at our corner, too, not that it matters) looking across the highway that goes to Celaya and Costco/Home Depot/Sam's Club. This is where I time my crossing carefully to make it across the road between the cars speeding down the highway towards the glorieta (roundabout) where the highway meets the Libramiento (ring road) around town. Reminds me of those warning signs on the Interstate 5 near the border control point that warn of people crossing the highway - only we don't have any warning signs here. It's take your life in your hands time!
The shop on the left is the Pharmacia Guadelejara - a good source for inexpensive drugs. Antibiotics (and perhaps some other drugs) require a prescription, but otherwise it's walk up and place your order.
Next to the pharmacy is a building that formerly held a Brazilian restaurant (recently closed) and then an appliance store for upscale kitchen hardware. The brownish buildings at the far end are part of a small shopping center with offices, shops, restaurants, and a bank.
After crossing the highway I walk in front of these buildings and turn left into the shopping center at the bus stop where there's usually a small crowd milling around. An intercity bus (Coordinados) stops there as well as an intracity bus that heads out to the sports center (Unidos Deportiva) outside of town. Some of the intracity buses fo three-quarters of the way around the glorieta, depositing passengers safely at the Mega parking lot; others drive straight through the glorieta and drop passengers for Mega at this point.
This is the shopping center. Shops and restaurants along the left side; more of the same at the far end. The unfinished building in the center of the photo is unnamed at this time; probably a restaurant with underground parking (the building took over part of the parking spaces) They've been working on it for about a year now. I walk through this center towards the back and out to the Libramiento.
Leaving the shopping center I walk on the sidewalk (!) past the TelCel offices (the cell phone service which we use - the driveways are for their parking lot). When the sidewalk ends (and it does), it's on to the dirt path alongside the Libramiento.
Here's the walk alongside the highway. We walk on the dirt path rather than the paved shoulder because cars zip past on the roadway as they come up the hill and make the curve (we hope) - and they're not too careful about observing the painted line denoting where the shoulder is located! Shoulders are used for many things here in Mexico: pulling over to let another vehicle pass; passing another vehicle; driving on when you're a slower car than others in your lane.
This photo shows the edge of the parking lot for the new Burger King (just out of sight), the Pemex station next door, and some offices along the Libramiento. There is no sidewalk here, so one has to be careful of cars entering/leaving both the gas station and the new fast-food restaurant. At the far end of the picture is the used car display area for the local Nissan dealer.
Having made it safely this far, we then head off overland on this little path, cross a cobblestone road, walk past the next set of offices (sort of maroon in the picture), then walk along the shoulder (watching for on-coming traffic) and eventually reach the dental clinic (it's in the building in the distance). The whole trip takes 15-20 minutes and you hope there's no rain 'cuz those dirt paths turn into mud holes!
On Saturday I finally had my permanent bridge cemented into place (it fits so much better than the temporary, which kept coming unglued between appointments). There's only a second cleaning left for this afternoon and I'm free! Until next year or until something else goes wrong with my mouth! I've been dealing with this process since May, when a tooth broke. Of course, we had a 5-week cruise booked for later that month, so the process has taken a little bit longer than normal, but my mouth is back to near-normal.
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