Pride of Barbados

Sixteen More Bags

This is phase II of the front yard project. I need about 16 more bags of soil.

Rock Stars

Retta and Cliff showing their stuff. They had already mastered the flamenco fan, castnuelas and claves

The egg and the maracas (rhumba shakers) are multi-use, as demonstrated here:

Do Phat Chicks Like Chilis Con Queso??

yes

they

do

The Fisherman's Tale

My grandson, Clifford Danger Johnson is a certified fisherman.

He got busted for fishing where it was not allowed.

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/four-yr-old-busted-for-illegal-fishing

HA!

But guess what? From Clifford's blog last week:

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Big News!
My dad ran into Joe Diaz tonight, the man who told us we could no longer fish at Butler Pond ... and guess what he said?! He said TPWD called him and told him that we could fish at Butler Pond and that he was sorry and that he made a mistake and FISH AWAY! Woo hoo! I jumped up and down when my mom gave me the message! I know where we'll be spending our mornings when school starts back up ... (TPWD IS THE BEST!!)
Posted by Cliff at 8:19 PM

Listerine Overdose

Did you know it was possible to OD on Listerine? I guess there are chronic users out there. Even crazier, are people who will sell their scripts for narcotics and/or trade other alcohol in preference for the Listerine! How about a blood alcohol of almost 500? Yes, they weren't very awake.
Check out the information below and you can see what Listerine contains (without running to the medicine cabinet to read the label). The best thing about this information is that it tells you what will happen to you in the ER - just in case you didn't know.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002666.htm

Saltillo, Dia Seis (último dia)

The photo is from our graduation on Thursday. And here is a link to a newspaper article. They quote me in there somewhere, but I am sure (though nice) that isn't exactly what I said...

We left Saltillo around 930 Saturday morning. Riding with us, were 3 Catrina's

I wish I had a picture of the three of them as they are pretty spectacular. One of them belongs to Donald and the other two are going to the Mexic-Arte Museum here in Austin.

We spent about an hour at the border. I can't imagine how hot it must be for the vendors who are out there all day or for the people in cars with no AC. It was hot even with AC, but impossible to complain since we had it so easy.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip. I think our group melded quite well and I am anticipating the next trip. Monday night, I made a call with a Spanish-speaking only patient and family and I felt MUCH more comfortable with my Spanish. Later on, we went to a house where they only spoke Burmese - ummmm....

Indeed, I feel humbled by our host's generosity and hope that when I do return, I will be able to bring back a lot more than t-shirts and patches and stuff. Not that every firefighter in the world doesn't love that stuff. I just think I can do better.

Saltillo, Dia Cinco, Part Dos

A couple of things from earlier posts:
The best description of serapes I could find was this one http://knol.google.com/k/hamix/serapes-blankets-history-and-art/3ae6onwgfhu1a/4#
but it does lack what we were told and that is that the Chicchimecs didn't migrate, but were forced to the Saltillo area. They were from a warmer clime and started making serapes to stay warm.
The link to El Morillo ('cause you are going to want to go there) http://www.hotelsaltillo.com/

Before I go on to the rest of this, all of the photos were kindly donated by the other members of our crew. For one, I did not bring a camera, and for two, my POS phone just wouldn't take any - but some of you already know the recent history of this phone.

Anyway, onto the second part of day 4. While we were at lunch in the pavillion, I met up with Micaelá, the patroness Mary Ann and I had stayed with. Micaelá had brought a fellow teacher (Philipé) with her. I was sitting next to Louis. It turns out Louis has a daughter who lives in Poway and Philipé has a very good friend in Imperial Beach, just off 14th street. Small world.
After leaving the pavillion, we returned to the hotel and got ready to go see the fire works. We were to go to the Casino and give a secret handshake for entrance. Did I mention that this was the Fiesta del Christo ? We waded shoulder to shoulder through the crowd, only to find that we had passed the entrance, so we waded back the other way and made our way into the exclusive Casino (not a gambling place - casino means club or "casa de juego") which was founded in 1874. We got there just in time and were hustled up to the roof. My friends stood on the bleachers to see the fireworks as there were lots to be seen below the level of the roof. All in all, the fireworks produced lots of smoke. I declinded to stand on the bleachers as I was wearing some slutty heels in hopes of dancing later (okay, not very slutty, but heels). Had I been on the bleachers, I would have missed the giant skyrocket that landed on the roof, hitting an older woman on the neck and arm, sending sparks at two children. The little girl escaped with a very small burn, but the little boy must have lost a few hairs, as I did see some sparks as his father frantically put out his hair. I offered my advice to the lady (ice), but she declined, saying that she would go home and apply "gresa".
After the fireworks, we (Don, Billy, Freddie, John, Glen and Vincent) once again waded through the crowds to the club where we (I) intended to dance. There was a warm up band that did an awesome version of "Don't Mess with my toot toot" to a cumbia beat. I danced with Don. He is an excellant dancer, and after so many years of not going dancing, it was a challenge to keep up with him. But someone as good as Don, made it pretty easy. I asked a young man to dance and he was reluctant at first, but I gave him a sob story about a poor, old, Americana, and eventually, he agreed. In reality, I gave him a lot of money so I wouldn't be embarassed in front of my friends after he turned my down (kidding)!
That was Rafael. Next, I danced with Edgar, who was so young, he was trembling in fear. Probably fear that his friends were making fun of him. Then one fellow asked me to dance, but I had to decline on the following dance as he was either very happy to dance with a woman, or he had something stuffed in the front of those pants... So I danced mostly with Rafael, who was very sweet and a good dancer to boot. We did not leave until 130. The latest night for me, but it was a ton of fun and I felt safe with all of my handsome friends.

Saltillo, Dia Cinco, parte uno

We were up early and then waited for our ride to the montañas. It was a short ride, but long, due to some unpaved road. We ended up at a small resort and took a walk up into the fresh air and generally enjoyed the scenery. Then we went to a fancy resort, Monterreal where they have golf and sking and lots of other things, but it was just to look around. The skiing in the summer is done on a non-snow slope. Several employees demonstrated both skis and snow boards - they were quite good. We returned close to the city where we had a party at an outdoor pavillion. More fabulous food, and a variety of salsa, Tequilla and Sotol. I had never heard of Sotol before, let alone tried it. Not bad. They were playing older mexican ballads and I asked for something more modern, say... Reagaton. Pepe demonstrated his agility and athleticism, no way could I keep up with him. But what a sweetheart, Pepe shared his recipe for the rice dish we were served. It starts out with boiling the rice with curry and tumeric. I plan to make a vegetarian version. Louis brought coasters for everyone. I picked some pink ones and was thinking they would need felt on the bottom, but they are remarkably smooth. Then it was time to load up and come back to town and get ready for the fiesta tonight.

Saltillo, Dia quatro

Yesterday was so late, that I did not get to post, so even though it is late again, I do not want to get too far behind. Tomorrow is a big fiesta here and we are going straight to the mountains in the morning.

Today, was the third and final day of class. Last night, we left a bottle of wine (I gave the other bottle to an older patron of the bomberos. Louis said I should be sure to take my ID with me to prove my age - flattery gets you a bottle of wine)with our hostess. It turned out that she has a HUGE cup and mug collection, so we also gave her the Austin mug. Micela´likes coffee as much as I do, so I was grateful that she is an early riser and had it all ready, plus fruit and pastries. Class was another day of learning how much Spanish I do not know. Our teacher taught the class using very little English, so at times, I felt quite lost. We had a nice little graduation and did a little piece at the end for the TV camera, shouting, ¡Saltillo, eres tu! and then pointing at the camera. The flowers our leader ordered for the teacher did not show up on time. Fortunately we had a nice little gift bag with bluebonnet soap from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center a very nice stationary set and a bag of Austin Nuts (packed in Manor, Texas), packaged and ready to go for the teacher. Lunch at the same restaurant with more napolitos (and they were heavenly), pasta soup and carne. Then on to the Museum of the Desert in Mexico where we spent a considerable amount of time. It is a great museum - lots to see, beautiful and modern. I could have watched the bats for hours. We had little time to get back and change before going to the next fire station. More. Good. Food. I do not know what it was for sure, that is I forgot the name, but it was good. ¿Did I say it was good? Another guitarist, (he does play in a Mariachi band - one of my favorites) this one after dinner and I danced with Rueben (another patron), a very short dance, but quite fun. Finally, we made it back here and now I am off to bed because as I said, we are going to the mountains first thing. BTW, this area reminds me of both Wyoming and Austin. It has the mountains of Wyo and a lot of the plants of Austin.

Saltillo, Dia Tres

Day three and we were up early and on to the second day of class. For some strange reason, the toilets had seats yesterday, but no toilet paper. Today, they had toilet paper, but no seats...
We picked more figs. Class lasted until 2. It is good that class can not go longer than 2, because my brain could not possibly take more than that. We went to the same restaurant for lunch and had napolitos mixed with onions, and ceviche - the best I have ever had. Then we went to the mueseum of the history of the battle of La Angostura By the time we made it back to the hotel, we had little time to get ready for the next meal at a fire station. This time we went to Station 4. More good food and a trio on guitars. The mosquitos were out. Finally, Mary Ann and I went to stay with one of the Patrons. Her name is Micela´and she is a very delightful lady. It was only sad that we did not have more time to spend with her. Another late night.

Saltillo, Dia Dos

I forgot to mention that the mayor of Saltillo is springing for our rooms at the Hampton for the week. We thought we were staying with patrons except for the first night. So, we will spend one night with our patron.
The second day in Saltillo we spent in Spanish class. Our maestra is very patient and we have all learned a lot. The class is being held in a meeting room at the new Municipal Archives. It is a very interesting building with a great big courtyard. No AC, but none is needed the weather is ABSOLUTELY perfect. The weather forecast was for temps in the 50´s, but if that is what it has been it does not feel like it. I have had no need for a sweater. Oh, and the bonus at the Archives, is fruit trees right outside the door of our classroom. The peaches are not ready, but the figs are huge and some of them were ready! We finished class around 2 or 3 and then to lunch before heading downtown to the big Mercado and the Museo del Palacio. We did stop at a store that make serapes and got to see the looms and learn why and how serapes came to be (I will save for another post). Tonight we went to fire station 2 where one of the firefighters made homemade tomales. They were unbelievably delicious! I was only going to eat one as we had some really fabulous chicken mole (the best mole I have ever eaten) at lunch, but stopped at 3 when I could have eaten a dozen! Now back to the hotel for some sleep.

Saltillo, Day Uno

We left Austin at about 0900 Monday morning and arrived in Saltillo at about 2000. We met with Saltillo firefighters at the Walmart, then drove to a dealership where our van could be safely locked up. Then we got in the two Saltillo vehicles and went for lunch before going to the immigration place for our tourist visas. This took about 3 hours...or so. We crossed the border at Laredo instead of someplace else because it was felt that would be safer as there is much more traffic. Apparently the drug lords and such are mostly bothering vehicles with Mexican plates on lonlier stretches of road. The drive was not bad at all. We arrived at the Hampton in time for their afternoon snack time, which includes free BEER! Then a super quick change, and onto Fire Station 1 (the north station) for a reception and dinner. Dinner was a hot soup that was super tasty and roast pork with fresh tortillas and guacmole. It was late, but we were not done. A few quick tours by this and that and then we had to go see a "special friend". This turned out to be a visit to a hotel (El Morillo) with only 14 rooms, a restaurant and a pool. They hosted an international opera competition last week. The rooms have no AC, no phones, no television and they are only 48 dollars a night. The family that owns the property has a pear orchard and they make tequilla with a pear in the bottle. No, we did not drink any Tequilla. But it was a beautiful place and they wanted to show it off to us. I have already made up my mind that I will be back. Hotel by midnight.