Saturday, February 24, 2007


Local critter

Emily and I had a fall friend, one I wouldn't object to seeing again. Apparently it's a Spiny Orb Weaver, an arachnid. It has a hard, yellow and black shell, sort of like a crab.

Our only problem was when it built its web in a spot where Boots or one of us would walk into it. Apparently it caught on and stopped that. It stayed around until the weather got too rainy in the fall, then disappeared.
Christmas bargain

Emily and I went to one of the local grocery stores during the holidays. I spotted something in the liquor section and had to buy it. I simply couldn't pass up a "Lord of War" DVD (a movie I wanted to see) and a liter bottle of Don Pedro Brandy (not bad stuff) for 100 pesos (less than US $10).

There were some other movies as well, but how many 1L bottles of brandy do I *really* need? (That was Emily's argument, not mine; I admit she had a point, maybe.)

We finally watched the movie a few days ago. We enjoyed it. There is a brief Don Pedro ad before the movie starts, but other than that, it's the original movie. If they do this next Christmas, I might stock up and bring the extra bottles back to the States as gifts.
Christmas in Monterrey is noisy!
Mexicans enjoy celebrating holidays with fireworks. Starting Christmas Eve we heard firecrackers (some little, but mostly big, like M-80s), bottle rockets, and other loud things. We were told to expect it at midnight, but no one waited that long. Eventually it quieted down somewhat, allowing Boots, our fearless dog (ha!), to allow us to sleep. This didn't last long, since the midnight Mass crowd got home about 2 AM and promptly ignited their fireworks... in the empty lot across the street from our house... until about 3:30.


Here's Emily with her low-key fireworks (the legal kind).

We did NOT get up early to open presents. In fact, we didn't open them until around noon. I'm holding an item Emily really wanted: a hand-held bug zapper. I'm sure she'll put it to good use once the mosquitoes return.

Here's the fabulous chicken Emily baked for our Christmas dinner.


Boots even got a special treat. Emily took leftover egg yolks (from cardamom bread - yum!) and whipped up a sort of quiche. Eggs, meat, cheese - Boots' favorite food groups!

Here's a picture of a special cake (rosca de reyes) made for the holidays (New Years, in particular). It's mildly sweet, has bits of fruit around the outside, and hidden somewhere inside is a small, plastic toy (a baby). It's considered good luck to find it. More details on this page.
Walk pix
Here are a few pictures Emily took on a recent walk we took with Boots.

This is a monument at "our" end of the Calzada del Valle. It was presented by a group, the Italy-Mexico League or something like that. (Now that I've forgotten, I'll have to look at the plaque again.) The globe lights up green at night.

Here's our favorite pedestrian overpass on Calzada San Pedro. It's quite attractive. Those are the peaks of Chipinque in the background.

This is from the overpass of Calzada San Pedro, probably a mile from our house. In this view we're looking southwest down Lazaro Cardenes, a major street. This is looking in the general direction of Saltillo.


This shot is of a local lawn ornament/statuary shop (although they have other art work inside). Yes, the statue is covered in Christmas balls for the holidays (gone now). During major futbol (soccer) season, he'll often sport the colors of a team. And, yes, those are Beatles statues. I don't know why, but the locals seem to like the Abbey Road cover shot, which they alter. Don't ask why, given the small population of Indian and SE Asian people locally, but there are a lot of Hindu and Buddhist statues and figures available in local shops. There are also several Egyptian-themed shops. Just another little mystery.

Here's a shot of Boots on the walk. She rarely holds still for a shot - camera bad! Scary!

Here's a shot of Mitras, a small mountain on the outskirts of Monterrey. It's been used heavily for aggregate for construction, so it's missing chunks. I'll have to dig and see if I have any more shots of it.
Ah, warm days are here again!
By 10 AM it was 77 degrees and warming. By 11:30, 80. I saw my first butterfly of the year today. The geckos continue to appear nightly on the porch and I spotted this year's first anole last week.

I'm taking a little time off my classes today to catch up on some posts. Bear with me, some of this stuff will date back to Christmas! Better late than never, right?

Meanwhile, here's the view from my desk in the den. It's not much, which is a large part of why we chose this room for the den, as opposed to the guest bedroom. That room looks out over our yard and has a tree in it, not the neighbors' roof.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Time flies.

Actually, I've found it more-or-less has two speeds: when you need the time or you're not paying attention, it zips; when you really just want the staff meeting to be over, it slogs along, seemingly in defiance of mighty Entropy.

So, I looked up yesterday and the tree has leaves, not just buds. This is the same area, although I couldn't pick out the exact branch, as my last posting, some 18 days ago.

I am quite swamped in my classes now. I'm running behind in one class, holding my own in two others, with two more starting in a couple weeks (and one, thankfully, ending around the same time). Problem: NVCC hasn't delivered the exams to my proctor. I know there were some delays due to severe weather in the US in the last couple weeks, but it didn't take two weeks last semester.

On the plus side, I did get my copy of Jessica Mae Stover's newest publication: Greyfeather Catch. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but hope to soon. Thanks for the prompt delivery, Jess!

Monday, February 05, 2007

It was a long, cold winter....

But apparently it's now spring! Yes, the picture tells the story. I still have leaves falling from my trees, but Emily noticed new leaves and blooms are beginning to open. I'm down to mowing about once every four to six weeks, but I expect that to pick up as the temperatures rise.

Meanwhile, it's been in the upper 50s today. I must admit I feel sorry for the wife of one of Emily's co-workers, who is teaching at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee this semester. With wind chill, it's about 15 below today.

For those (few) out there who read this space, I apologize for the long absence - and had NO idea it had been so long! I will endeavor to do better this year. With three separate class start dates this semester, and four different end dates, not to mention an additional three credits (17!), I will be even busier. I will be better organized, however, so I hope to devote more time to this space.