Dale Evans Reincarnate

I tell ya, she's turning into a regular caballera!! Whether on Luna (above) or Cuerva (below), Mom's looking good. Not quite ready for the rodeo yet, but, by her own admission, starting to feel much more comfortable on the back of one of these beasts! Gotta get her a hat!

Going Out

Well, it's not actually cold cold, but pretty chilly for here, and with no means of heat other than portable electric or propane, it's pretty chilly inside as well. We're layering up inside, sleeping under our down comforter, and when we really want to warm up, we just go outside and sit in the sun or take a walk around town. The thick walls of the house keep the inside chilly, but it's lovely and sunny outside. After getting dressed to go out this evening in my wool blazer and knitted scarf (Thanks, Pam!), I decided I was dressed entirely too warm and went back and changed.

Dia de la Independencia

Lots of noise from the street this morning! This is what we saw when we opened the door! More pics. All the primary schools in Ajijic were lined up to march past our house and on to the square. There were bands, floats, convertibles with beautiful senoritas....

And DANCING HORSES!!!

Candy's Movie Premier

Hope I'm not stealing her thunder, but Candy, Corey, and Gaby went to Pensacola yesterday for the premier of Chatterbox, a movie about friendship among middle school kids. Candy plays the mom. Here's the trailer http://www.chatterbox-themovie.com/trailer.php She's great! Gaby seemed to really enjoy seeing her mom on the big screen.

Links to New Blogs

Notice at the top right, there are three new blog links. One is a new one from Corey, Candy, and Gaby--Fun in Fairhope. Another also has pictures and videos from CC&G--Mobile Gallery. And the third is Susannah's new blog--Inane Chatter. I've suggested that she add pictures but she hasn't had time yet to do that.

Making Tamales

Gaby and I made tamales today. And they are muy rico! First, Gaby made a huge batch of the filling on Tuesday. Then today she brought the corn husks (ojas) for wrapping and the masa (cornmeal dough) for lining the ojas. We had already borrowed her mother's enormous steamer to cook them in. So, today we rinsed the ojas and drained them, then spread the insides with a thin layer of the masa. Gaby used the back of a large spoon (cuchara) to do the spreading but Bob and I couldn't get the hang of it. The more we tried to spread the masa thinly, the more it just peeled loose. Finally, I decided to use my hands and found that I could do it much more easily por mano than with the cuchara. After spreading the masa, we put a large spoonful of the filling inside the oja, then wrapped it up like a little package, later stacking them inside the steamer. I think we made over 50. Anyway, they're done, and we've eaten a couple and they're delicious! I think I can do it on my own now. Yay! Pics.

The filling (se llama Picadillo):

10 chicken breasts, cooked separately and cubed

1 kilo of potatoes, cooked and cubed

Saute 1/2 kilo of tomatillas, 2 onions (chopped), 6 poblano chiles (cut into strips)

In the molcajete, grind 7 (or so) chiles nopaleros, about 20 dried chiles de arbol, and a couple of cloves of garlic; liquify them and cook with water and salt, then strain

Add everything altogether and cook for about 1/2 hour, covered

Add several mint leaves near the end.

Chill in fridge before filling the tamales ojas.

Buen provecha!

Walmart Opens!!!!

La Gran Inaguracion Hoy!

It's official. Walmart has finally come to Lakeside (the area between Chapala on the east and Jocotopec on the west). The debate has been raging among the expat population since the rumors first started last year that Walmart was coming. Would it put the small mom and pops out of business? Would it challenge the only local "big box" store in the area, Soriana in Chapala? Would it cause Superlake, the grocery store that caters to expats' specialty needs, to lower its prices? Would it bring needed work to the area? Well, debates may still be ongoing, but Walmart opened anyway to huge fanfare yesterday with huge crowds, bands, free food, balloons. It looked like the equivalent of one of Mexico's big fiestas. And, in fact, it was a fiesta.

Bob and I arrived just a bit after noon. The parking lot was packed, buses were parked in front of the store. Giant advertising things were blown up and waving in the breeze. There was such a crowd in front of the door that we could hardly squeeze inside. Within, the aisles were so packed that we shuffled along one after another. While there were a few gringos here and there, the overwhelming majority of the customers were Mexican, piling their carts high with goodies. Doesn't seem to be any loss in consumer confidence from what we could see. In the grocery section, there was gridlock with store attendants offering samples of cheese, cold cuts, various salsas, etc. We've never seen anything like the crush of people. Keep in mind that Walmart is not new to Mexico. There are at least three in Guadalajara and one in most largely populated areas of Mexico. But this one here means that shoppers have more choices in one place without having to drive or take the bus into Guadalajara. And there are goods that aren't readily available locally such as electronics and small appliances. (Gaby scouted out the store yesterday evening with her brother to pick out a new mp3 player for her niece.) Of course, I'm not hailing Walmart as the answer to the world's problems--far from it. Just reporting on the phenomenon here.