Blog Catalog Blog Directory

The Perfect Christmas Tree

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 09:05:51 -0600

Christmas morning overlooking Xico, Veracruz is socked in. Not with hanging Christmas stockings, but with dense fog. Christmas Eve day was sunny and spectacular so we can’t complain – much. Even though we live alongside a terrible surface of the

Sunrise South of the Border

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:37:47 -0600

Christmas Eve Morning in Xico Mexico: The sun also rises here up on the mountain at Rancho del Cielo. At 6:30 AM a balmy 65 degrees with a light wind produced a majestic sunrise with Mexican colors. The burnt orange sky and a fine cup of Mexican coff

The Right-of-Way belongs to Horses, Mules & Burros

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:52:32 -0600

Xico, Mexico – On our streets cars and trucks must make way for horses, mules and burros. The fact is anything that can be made mobile may be seen on our streets; bicycles, 3 & 4 wheelers, push carts of all description, cars and trucks, and of

Season of Madonna’s

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:50:37 -0600

The other night The Callahan’s and The Calypso’s scooted around Xico after ten – most senior citizens were tucked warmly in their beds by then but not our intrepid biker angels. My mission was to get some photos for you to see what goes on in

I am but a Lowly Lab Rat!

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:14:28 -0600

Mexico is a great laboratory for the learning and exercise of patience. I have never been a particularly patient man. I am learning, but it is pretty apparent that I won’t complete the course before I die. Here on my Blog I know I can open up to yo

No Tarnished Stars Found in Mexico

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 08:56:43 -0600

This time of year almost all “extranjeros” Bloggers living in Mexico will be writing and showing photos about the celebrations. There are a lot of them. If you want to read and see photos about the season you have but to look over to the

Hooked on the Big Grass

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:52:45 -0600

Parts of Mexico are famous for bamboo furniture. Giant bamboo is the largest plant of the grass family; and we are hooked on it! On a beautiful sunny afternoon three couples of new settlers in Xico drove up to Bamboo Town. There you will find several

It Will Rock You…

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:17:13 -0600

If you have read any reviews of Mexico you already know it is a noisy country. Quiet at 10 PM until 8 in the morning kinds of rules simply do not exist. If you can’t sleep unless it is quieter than a moment of silence at a wake you will either lear

Mexican Bird Dogs

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0600

We have been looking at real estate of late. Before I start getting email from family and friends as to WHY we would be looking for more real estate, let me remind and state right off that I simply enjoy looking. I am a real estate junky. The activit

One Indian Said to the Other…

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:02:54 -0600

Here in Mexico we do not celebrate the arrival of Europeans at Plymouth Rock; the beginning of the ethnic cleansing of the American Indian. There is a lot to be thankful for. We gather those thoughts each time we participate in this holiday – not

60 Days of Power for a Pound of Coffee

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:30:27 -0600

In our ongoing effort to let readers know what it cost to live in our part of paradise, here are some recent cost examples. We occasionally indulge ourselves by purchasing large baked muffins. They are comparable in size to one’s I have seen in co

The Get-A-Way

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:37:01 -0600

Get-a-ways are designed for just that. Living day to day in Xico, Veracruz we seldom if ever have anything to get away from. Life is easy going and fun right in town. Rancho Del Cielo is just 3 miles across town past the cemetery and up the mountain

Peso Pan

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:22:12 -0600

My love affair with all things bread goes way back. Since moving to Mexico I have become a big fan of peso pan. For one peso or about seven and a half U.S. Cents here in our neck of the tropics you can buy a savory piece of pastry. To be a connois

Naolinco – A “Shoe”-In Winner

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:57:26 -0600

I last wrote that the bad roads in Teocelo were getting new visitors off on the wrong foot. You will encounter better roads on the 32 kilometers drive northeast of Xalapa arriving at the pueblo Naolinco de Victoria. Follow highway 140 through Xalapa

TEOCELO

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:01:20 -0600

Some years ago when we were new to the area a fellow that had been here a couple of years took me to task for remarking about the amount of trash cast on the sides of the road and the holes and generally poor condition of the roadways between Coatep

Hotels in Mexico, Mexico City Hotels, Luxury Mexico Hotel Deals

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:03:17 -0500

Mexico is a city for all - a place for families, couples, love, romance, fun, business and historic culture. After a long travel visiting places of Mexico like Puerto Vallarta, Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Los Cabos, Grand Canyon, Tulum and more, you wi

Dipping Into the Church Sacraments

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:32:59 -0500

I went to bed late last night finally falling asleep to a real snoozer – “Public Enemies” with Johnny Depp. Now you would think I could sleep through just about anything if I can sleep during 140 minutes of Tommy gun battles – but read on. At

Global Thinking

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:00:52 -0500

I really like writing a Blog. Some of you may know that this Blog is posted on GlobalPost (for the link to GlobalPost see upper right hand corner or the bottom of this page or on the logo below). Steve over at ‘same life — new location&#

Vecinos

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:58:30 -0500

You can pick your friends but not your relatives or your neighbors. Neighbors (vecinos) are typically a luck of the draw thing. We have some neighbors that have become very good friends, some others quite the opposite. Often in Mexico, where houses v

I climb way up to the top of the stairs…

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:56:41 -0500

After a weekend of rain that I am assuming was pushed over here by Rick, we have a beautiful Monday morning – the luck of the working class – harsh weather weekend and glorious Monday morning! (Click on any photo to ENLARGE) The sun rising over

Freedom – A two Edged Sword

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:32:06 -0500

A couple of dawns ago a neighbor in the Hood had a house explosion, an entire meltdown of everything other than stone. A poor but giving group of friends and neighbors gave items for this woman to begin rebuilding her life. Everything she owned went

Coatepec Bio Regional Organic Market

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:11:24 -0500

I haven’t provided a dose of local color of late. What with being obsessed with moving. Saturday mornings are usually reserved for a quick trip to the Casa de Cultura de Coatepec. This historic building is on Jimenez de Campillo right where the n

Scat on the Poop Deck

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:47:47 -0500

If you have been reading along you know Mexico is a land of rich traditions and mysteries. There are witches, warlocks, witchdoctors and priests who will cure your ills from your head to your soul. Wives tales and rituals abound. The latest to which

One More Dish

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 11:06:05 -0500

One more dish and we will have a place setting for four! I installed a dish to send and receive Internet data 22,000 miles above the equator. In terms of Internet connection quality and speed our part of Mexico is a third world county. We always seem

Moving On Up to the West Side

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:00:11 -0500

We haven’t rented a place since – well since I was my son’s age (about 44 years ago). Moving however has been a common occurrence, and I hate it. That is what we are doing now – moving stuff to our newly rented townhouse in Xico, Veracruz, Me

A Groundless Claim

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:46:40 -0500

Getting grounded is an important part of safely operating first world electronic equipment in a developing nation. What does this mean to you and me here in Mexico? It is safe to say it means more to me than most in as much as I have an electrical/el

You can’t always get what you want!

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:18:28 -0500

Rolling Stone Magazine’s 2004 list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time listed the Rolling Stones’ tune “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” at number 100. It would have been higher on my list. I loved the blending of the London Bach Choir

Another BRIGHT Idea

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 10:29:34 -0500

Upon returning from the United States to our home in Mexico the first order of business is to put into play the many items purchased. Each visit includes the gathering of things to make life more comfortable south of the border; or dare I write life

The World is Mine!

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:57:21 -0500

We are winding down our stay in the U.S. – well so I would like to think. The truth is we may be here until the end of the month; but we are ready to go home. The glitz of Las Vegas and the charm of Capitan have not assuaged our preference to be in

Jamaica Sorbet in Our Future - Yum!

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 10:50:46 -0500

We returned to New Mexico this week. We accomplished all of the tasks on our list for a visit to Las Vegas including: getting my passport, signing on for social security, getting my Canon lens repaired and our truck computer exchanged; we also bought