the ups and downs of daily life

What's up? My mood, for one thing. Last night I had dinner with two dear friends. We went to the local tapas restaurant where we enjoyed assorted salads ( I had arugula and beets, Ali had a Spanish version of a Niçoise, Babz has something with lots of herbs). Our main tapas plates were mellijones (mussels) poached in milk, ravioli stuffed with mushrooms and cheese, and a cold mushroom dish. Ali brought a luscious Spanish rojas. A couple of hours of great talk solved all the problems facing the new administration and included an animated history lesson of the Spanish Civil War. It was really a dinner to say adios since I will not see them again for 5 months. A thoroughly enjoyable evening, as our dinners together always are.

Another UP was was getting my body ready to face five months in Mexico. This included a morning massage, a trip to the waxing salon (no explanation needed OR provided), followed by a manicure and pedicure. I am now ready for (almost) everything!

What's down? The stock market, overall. But so is the price of gas. In fact, gas in the US is now cheaper than it is in Mexico. When we left last year, gas at PEMEX was the equivalent of $2.48 a gallon. At the local station it is now $1.99 a gallon. Also down is the ratio of dollar to peso. It now costs us 72¢ to buy a peso instead of 84¢ which it what it was on Monday. The temperature is also down; tonight we are expecting 40º. It's time to get to the warm. The low in Cuyutlán is listed as 71º.



What's up? I am packed and ready to go, almost. I am feeling that the country is in good hands and I can leave with a free heart. I will be watching with great interest as our president-elect gets his cabinet in place; Hillary for State, Holder for AG, Geithner for Treasury (seemed to be a kick-start for Wall Street this afternoon), Napolitano for Homeland Security (let's have a humane but tough policy for immigration, although I'm thinking I'd rather have her stay in Arizona and kick McCain's a** in a race for the Senatein 2010 which she would be sure to win!). I've already contacted a friend at the beach who has a TV. I've requested a front-row seat on January 20th to watch this new era begin. I agreed to bring the beer.

59 days until 1/20/2009: End of an Error