Winter

It is so cool in my house now I feel I must put on the jeans and long sleeves. We are having a cool wave, with clouds and rain for several days now, and it will continue. Forecast is for low temp to dip below 40 F and tomorrow a high of only 65 with rain. Hard to believe. But I can handle it, after all every day can't be sunny and 82 degrees.



This weather pattern created some big waves recently and one of the Party Boats got into trouble (I don't think passengers were on board), with damage and it beached on shore. The waves and tide made for only a foot or two of beach, so the tourists were not happy about that I bet. This created a very different scene from my usual beach shots you have been seeing.


I feel my nutrition has improved a lot living in Mexico due to the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. A common street food is freshly squeezed juices and liquados, agua frescas, and horchatas. The giant green fruit on her table in the photo is the Jaka fruit. See Victor inspect the fruit, which has an intense smell. It is the largest tree born fruit in the world. Interesting beverages made from grains are horchata, made from rice, oats, or barley. Also, with no access to Byerly's Grocery store anymore, to pick up a fresh made rhubarb-strawberry pie and delicious Hagen Daz chocolate ice cream, we just do without. Any cravings for desserts or ice cream, must be satisfied by making our own. We have our own ice cream maker, and we have been making the famous Doubletree Hotel chocolate chip cookies. If we must have a dessert, we roam the streets looking for someone selling homemade flan, usually at night, and especially on weekends. There are ice cream shops but not with the good dark chocolate flavor we like, peanut butter chocolate, or raspberry chocolate chip such as from Sebastian Joe's in Minneapolis that we so loved.


Sunday we took a ride off the main highway away from the ocean, closer to the mountains to look at a village called El Capomo. The paved road was in good condition, and the scenery was lovely with many mango and orange orchards, and corn fields. We came upon a goat farm and had to stop to photograph the adorable babies running and jumping, so full of energy and very playful. Sad to think they will turn into Birria for us to eat. In the article, be sure to click on the recipe link and note all the wonderful spices that go into this dish. We are lucky enough to have a birria taco stand just a couple blocks from our house that we enjoy very much.

The Mayan hamaca (hammock) is absolutely the most comfortable way to relax that could possibly exist. It supports your back wonderfully, and is cool and refreshing on a hot day. It can be slept in at night, and some Mexicans do, as it is their only bed. They are strong and will last a long time if kept out of the sun and rain. It is necessary to have more than one (we do) because we used to fight over it. The "Mayan crochet hammock" is very roomy and the most comfortable of all. In La Penita you can find the Mayan hammocks at Hala's Hamaca Maya shop for a very reasonable price.