Happy Birthday Emily

Our granddaughter, Emily Jordan, is 13 today. Here she is in all her volleyball-playing glory; blond hair flying, rosy cheeks, glorious long legs. She is in the 7th grade, and despite that, a charming, lively and delightful young lady. We sent her a pair of beautiful pearl earrings from that store that is home of the Little Blue Box. I spoke with her tonight and she was delighted. I told her I hoped it was the first of many she would receive throughout her lifetime. Also today, on her birthday, her brother Andrew took off to spend his Spring break, not in Ft. Lauderdale or Balboa Island, but in China and Taiwan. Last year he came to visit us here. I guess China and two age-mate traveling companions trumps Cuyutlán and grandparents. And so it goes . . .

Today the Patient and I tackled the garden. Our little fountain in the front garden was on the fritz so he took it apart and got it burbling again. I hacked down the Elephant Ear philodendron in hopes it would rejuvinate itself. I did laundry for the first time, eager to see how far from it's moorings the washing machine would dance, but it stayed pretty well put. It takes forever as we have no water pressure. All water is delivered by gravity; you pump it up to a holding tank on the roof (el tinaco) and it flows down into the kitchen or bathroom or laundry when you open the tap. Consequently it takes a l0000ng time for the washer to fill with water and we have the wimpiest shower imaginable. Our bathroom is on the second floor, the tinacoon the third so there's not much drop to work up a good shower force. The guest quarters are on the first floor; they have better luck. You have to remember to run the pump so you don't run out of water. And to shut the pump off so the tinaco doesn't overflow! The household water comes from the city; we pay an annual fee of about $70 for all the water we can possibly use. We also have a well, but that water is used mostly to irrigate the garden. If it should happen that the city water is either running slowly or not at all (and that happens) we can use a very long hose and pump water from the well up to the roof. It's a whole different way of life.

If it's Sunday it must be tacitos. On Sunday, and on other days during holiday celebrations and Easter, various vendors set up their stalls around the central square (el jardin) and sell mini-tacos. They open up about 6:30 PM, just as worshippers are coming out of evening Mass. For 30 ($2.85) pesos you can get a plato of five little soft-tortilla tacos piled with b-b-q'd beef or pork and shredded lettuce, with a side of boiled beans, fried onions and sliced radishes. You bring these beauties home, open a cold beer . . . no Sunday dinner at Mom's was ever as good.