Progressive Sunrise Pictures

This morning is really quite pretty and almost getting cooler. I stepped outside to see what the cats were doing and was met by 79 degrees of fresh air. 79, not a typo. That's cool for us. I'm telling you how badly I've suffered through the summer with all that air conditioning. Within the next few weeks we should be sleeping with air off and windows open. It's worth waiting for. Listening to the lapping water is so lovely to sleep to.

I love how the sunrise changes the color of the water. It looks like melted copper. If I ever figure out how to post a link to YouTube, I'll try a video so you can see the melted copper turn into waves.

Never underestimate the value of running water. Tap water. How did my ancestors survive with just pitchers and basins? I kind of think I have a hand washing OCD, rather minor, but hard to control when my hands feel sticky. I'm fine around horses where my hands are constantly dusty, grimy, sweaty. But as soon as I hit the house I'm washing. Soap and water.

So we went without running water for 48 hours while some water main to the city was whatever...replaced, moved, something that made them turn the town off. Oh how I suffered. Can you feel my pain? We were down to washing with bottled drinking water. I was extremely conscious of every time I had to get my hands clean NOW! It's a problem.

At least I don't have an issue with rechecking light switches and locked doors and coffee pots. (Thank God for the automatic turn off switch in the Krups!) There's surely other issues I'm not copping to or consciously admitting to myself.

I could sure use a piece of pizza right about now. When Barbie and Sybil were here they made such a wonderful pizza for me. I may have to go scrounge one up. Any good ideas of what I should put on it? I like almost everything. I just about inhale Hawaiian style pizza. I can't remember chewing the salty sweetness of ham and pineapple combined. It goes right over my tongue as fast as I can get it into my stomach.
Time for lunch!

Sonora is standing next to her mother, Pony, in this quick snapshot. It's truly unbelieveable to see this little 3 month old foal growing like a weed and filling out and building muscle. I completely give credit to the grass out in the desert. Also, having more than just a paddock to explore has got to make a difference in muscle and brain development, and bone growth. Pony gave birth to Sonora on June 14.
My Bella is now a year and a half old. Her mother is Pony and her father is an incredibly beautiful Andalusian. Her eye is what artists try to achieve. She was born on March 17, 2005. Notice how green the desert is behind her.
It took me all of 5 minutes to fall in love with her and 2 1/2 months to buy her. It scares me to death to think about starting a yearling. What if I make a mistake?!! She has had the ferrier trim all 4 feet, and has stood quietly while being tied, and has had a large old saddle cinched on her back. All done with gentle hands. She has accepted all of this willingly and seems to know what her job will be in a few years. Right off the bat you might consider her to be a Buckskin, but I'm thinking maybe next spring she will shed out as a grulla.

Pony, Sonora and Bella are going back out to the hundreds of acres for more free grazing. They just came in for pedicures this week. There are two more mares and foals out there, and a little band of geldings on the other side of the fence that hang together. I miss seeing Bella when she's on pasture but all the boring little lessons I might try to teach her can't possibly compare to the mental and physical growth, and learning her own balance while being out in her little herd. I have to remember that anything bad that could happen to her in the wide open spaces, could happen in the paddocks as well.

This is the last one, I promise. (Cara Scissoria greeting cards) Tickles my fancy as I'm sitting here watching/listening to the replay of the 9/11 news. My whole body is droopy and exhausted from worry about our Proud country.

That's probably too small to read. It says, "Livin' Velveeta Loca" It's from Cara Scissoria greeting cards. There are some very funny political ones and Christmas cards.

Wow what a week! My fun sister and her fun daughter came to visit just in the nick of time to enjoy the dramatic weather we had all week. They flew out yesterday and naturally today dawns bright and clear, smooth and cloudless. Oh well. My niece had a wonderful time tanning by the hot tub which was filled with cold water that turned warm all on it's own. Barbie and I did get to snorkel but the water was still just a bit too stirred up from the hurricane to see the beautiful fish.

I drove the girls back to Hermosillo alone since my husband was busy. That was also a treat to have the opportunity to shop at my own pace after I dropped the girls off. I stopped at a supermarket that has had my attention everytime we've driven past. I really like to grocery shop and shopping in a foreign grocery store has always been a treat. Now the game is to find as many familiar and favorite foods that might be hiding within the Mole' sauces or refritos. This store suprised me with the abundance of choices, even more soup choices. That is one of the main things I always remember and feel guilty about upon returning to the Otro Lado is the amazing choices we take for granted. Simply makes me dizzy as I fill my basket with old faithfuls. Anyway, this nice market was clean, well stocked, and took over an hour to browse through. I picked up a piece of ginger-root so we might consider making something Chinese this week.

I get to go out to see Bella today. The mares and babies are back home. I'll try to snap a picture of Sonora for you. She shows the positive effects of being free and happy for almost a month. Every foal should have this chance to muscle up.

ahem. I spoke too soon. The Tropical Storm formally known as Hurricane John did come for a visit and is staying around longer than I would have wanted. It's been raining for almost 12 hours and the wind picked up sometime in the middle of the night. But it's the swells and surf that really command your attention. Pounding surf that rattles in your chest and hits the sea walls with such gusto that the spray goes above the roof lines. Pretty intense. I tried to snap some pictures but it just doesn't do justice. I'll keep trying a post something if it seems worthy of your inspection.

By the way, I am a weather junky so that's why I bore the dickens out of you with weather stories. Also, being raised in the San Francisco Bay area did not prepare me for real life, weatherwise. It's much more dramatic everywhere else in the world than is SF.

Big John is on his lumbering way, slowly spinning up the Mexican coast. You can't tell it by this mornings' picture of the smooth-as-silk bay, with the fishermen fishing and snorkelers floating by. Maybe by this time tomorrow the swells will be big and the surf nasty.

Patience. It's all about learning patience.

Living in Mexico has taught this anal-Anglo that everything does not have to happen this instant. If you are willing to wait a damn minute you may have what you desire, or something close to it, or something even better.

Another valuable lesson I'm learning is that Mexicans as a generalization do not judge people on their looks, but more on their hearts. Somehow the folks I have met are so much better at looking into your soul and deciding if they want to be friendly with you or not.

There goes Pluto. As happy as we all were with our little 9 ball neighborhood, there was some discussion awhile ago that there could be more gaseous, circling snowballs added to this cute planetary system. That wasn't exactly earth-shattering to imagine there could be more, but it seems a bit devastating to decrease our escape options.

Ok let's get back to this hurricane stuff for a minute. There's Ileana out there somewhere in the western Pacific making our bay look so mad it's like a 5 year old having a tantrum. The waves are beating the shore and seawalls, trying to get their own way. Did you ever think the Sea of Cortez could be so influenced by what happens hundreds of miles west, way over the Baja Peninsula?

I think the So. Cal. surfers are ever so happy to get their boards on this free ride. Some businesses might be short-staffed while the kids hang 10.

Down here I just get seasick if I watch too long.

I'm getting the drift of the word "monsoon." It took it's time coming through but then hit like we were in the middle of a hurricane. Lightening, thunder. Sideways rain. It was everything you dream it would be and more.

Speaking of Hurricane, did you see the Spike Lee HBO special on Hurricane Katrina? Wow. Thank you Spike. It was marvelous and right on target. We watched all 4 hours and both agreed it put any little annoyances completely in perspective. I can't compare anything I've ever gone through to what the gov-ment did to those people. I also remember how angry I was last year as the horror was unfolding. And Barbara Bush, shame on you for being so out of touch with reality that you would think those thousands of people would enjoy camping on the floor of the Astrodome. Please go stay in your gilded cage and take your ass-hole son back with you.

My Bella is out grazing on the desert grasses, free as a bird. She's with the mares and their babies and I bet they are all giddy with delight at the freedom and full grass-bellies.

You know, this time going into the US made me feel "threatened and vulnerable." Dina and I learned of this latest threat as we were driving to the border. It was odd to think that the US was under Orange alert while not being in the US. It was somewhere else. Then, as I watched the news last night in Green Valley, which is very close to the border, I still felt removed. But, as I crossed back into Mexico today, I felt completely relieved to be out of the "footprint" of terror.

So Dina and I snorkeled a little while yesterday. I saw the most beautiful blue fish down around my toes and made Dina come over to have a look. Such a beautiful example of why nature is better in person.

Speaking of...The tortoises are out and about due to the grasses growing as high as a "tortoises" eye. The big boys are thrilled to be able to lumber about and feed to their hearts' content on the bounty that springs forward in the summer monsoon season. It's quite amazing that the desert can come alive so quickly in the heat of summer. I suppose everyone on the US east coast sees this as the growing time and it's not odd at all. I just think of it as the dried-grass time.

Now we are getting more excited about the Fall. We hear that the really nice month is October, when the weather cools a bit and dries up and the water stays warm.

Guaymas was 105 yesterday and we stopped and had tacos at the Michocan spot I love. Totally wonderful.

I've got to tell you something that makes me chuckle each and every time I think of it. A few months ago we were taking my old station wagon into the big town to put new tires on it. I was driving it ever so gently when she decided to cough and sputter and quit running. I had just entered the highway, carefully merging into the slow poke lane when the engine quit and thus the steering lost it's power. After stopping and putting her into P, I was able to start her back up. So, we continued for another few hundred meters when she quit again. Same drill. Over to the side and into P and turn her back on. By then, the husband who thinks I can do anything (because I tell him I can) is out of sight and over the next hill wondering why I'm going so slowly. At least 4 stops and starts later I catch up to him and switch cars, thank god his is a shiny Tahoe with major AC. WELL, it turns out the damn car was out of gas but still registered a half tank. Baaad Girl. Now comes the chuckle: Here we sit out on the side of the highway close-but-no-cigar to a gas station...in Mexico! Yep. Black smoking wrecks of cars with major busted out windshields that have only one gear are chugging by and giving us knowing nods that they've been there, done that. sigh I lived through it in spite of my neurosis.

Lean Cuisine

I will never so much as look in the freezer section for it again. It's not ever going to be in my refrigerator again. gag

It's hot and muggy and I'm in a hurry. I'll certainly have sweat running down my back all day. I wish it would carry away the fat cells with it.

Pause. Fast forward. Pause. Fast forward. I haven't seen the movie, Click, but it just dawned on me today that it is time to reflect. Why? Because the indignity of all time, I dribbled Metamucil down my chest. Wait a minute! Where did that come from that I am taking my daily dose.

Here I am/was merrily going along in my 30's, 40's and then BAM upper 50's, fa godsake. And taking a cup-full of cheer to start my day and slosh down my boobs.

The BadGirl, Emilia, left us last night sometime and the bay is back to being lovely, calm, smooth like a lake. The day dawned grey, overcast, and H U M I D! Key West kind of wet.

I only have a few days to wait for Kina. Come ON, will ya.

I wonder what the rest of the world is doing? We've got some kind of angry Neptune out in our sea this morning. I could tell before I ever opened my eyes since I could hear the surf pounding the shore. As I suspected the swells are big, rollings waves as they pass my patio and head straight into the southern facing shore. When they hit it feels like thunder and is beautiful to watch the spray covering the homes. Now I wonder how long a paint job lasts over there.

Speaking of paint, we are getting our exterior painted a lovely soft salmon. It's taking days and days to accomplish the whole house and I know we will both be pleased with the results.

The way I feel Right Now is happy to be out of the US and disgusted anew with GW and how he acted at the G-8 Summit. His condescending and bored attitude to all attendees is more hurtful to our nation than we may understand. Rubbing Angela Merkel's shoulders as if they were close relatives like mother and son, and the s**t heard round the world to Tony Blair is really unbearable. I wish they would keep him home until this horrible 8 years runs it's course and we can try oh so hard to elect a gentleman/woman to be our head of state. I can't tell you how embarrassed I am. My own children could be rambunctious in inappropriate situations, but we usually had more stranglehold on them than Dick or Carl have on this idiot.

OK. I had to go out and take a walk to finish this, otherwise I was off on a rant. Sorry. We Americans must truly use our heads next election. Oh I've gotta quit or I'll go off again.

Lovely, humid, hot day ahead.