Hunting for summer

I just came back from a Mexico vacation. While I was in Mexico there was snowstorm after snowstorm at home. I felt bad for my neighbors who I knew were taking turns shoveling my walks and driveways while I walked the beach in search of sea glass. I have good neighbors.

Being back at home always leaves me yearning for the tropics with its warm weather. So I went on a hunt for summer. I needed a lovely bowl to display all my sea glass so I hit TJMaxx for inspiration. Found the perfect bowl and then browsed the store. Suddenly, I found it. Summer, tropics!

Those colors! Those fronds! It called to me. But wait, was I being rash? Do I need another bedspread? Well, of course. Does it look too old lady-ish? Probably, but I am an old lady. I circled the aisle and came back to it, eyeing it warily. Another customer approached. I pounced. It's mine. Summer is here, at least in my bedroom.

 

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Tropical topic

I went to Mexico for a couple of weeks. I need an occasional tropical fix because even though I've lived in Colorado all my adult life, I haven't forgotten growing up with a beach and palm trees all around. Tropical foliage gladdens my heart!

In Puerto Vallarta, bougainvilleas are everywhere, climbing as vines, cascading over walls, and grown as standards. Pinks and purples, yellow, orange, red, sometimes all of those forming a colorful umbrella overhead while strolling the streets. Love them.

I walked the beach looking for sea glass. I found these seaweed-covered rocks. When the waves hit them they had streaming green hairdos.

The streets are lined with colorful market stalls. Bargaining is expected and you're supposed to play. You can test a vendor's resolve by walking away. They probably won't let you. 'No, gracias' is a good phrase to keep in mind.

How about a refreshing drink of coconut milk? A pile of coconuts is a pretty good indication there is a machete-wielding vendor close by.

He chopped the tops off of our coconuts and plunked in a straw. Drink up! Actually not very tasty. We noticed that the locals liked theirs spiced up with limes and hot sauce. I passed on that. Rum might have helped though.

I have an old pair of Minnetonka sandals that I've worn out but love. I can't find new ones in that style so I took them to a huarache store and asked them to make me a new pair. This is Marco Antonia cutting out the pieces for my new sandals with a curved knife.

He sewed them together on this machine.

Old sandal, new sandal. Not bad for 400 pesos, about $28 USD.

We needed to go to the grocery store and load up on pan dulce, sweet bread. In other words, pastries for breakfast. You take a metal tray and tongs and walk around making your choices. The senorita then wraps everything up for you. We might have gotten a few too many.

Shouldn't these eggs be refrigerated? Ah well, when in Rome, or Mexico...

The Mexican Army is a familiar sight on the streets. The automatic weapons a little off-putting. Never fear, it's quite normal for a show of weapons here.

Time for dinner. The Dubious Gardener was very fond of this molcajete full of seafood. I saw octopus suckers in it. No thank you. Grilled dorado in garlic butter suits me just fine.

Back to the balcony in time for sunset. This is my attempt at a selfie, trying to stretch my arm as far as I could to avoid double chins. This is serious business.

And my reward, a beautiful sunset.

And afterglow in the sky.

But then back to normalcy. Mountains, and clouds like fields of snow. Which was what it was actually doing below them. Welcome home, goodbye tropics.

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Home again, home again...

And suddenly it's spring at home! After warming my tootsies in sunny Mexico for a few weeks I came home to find that all the huge snow mounds had melted, my street was no longer a one-lane plowed track, and the tulips and daffodils were poking up. I swear I brought the warm weather home with me. Also lots of memories of Mexico. And a new life bird.

I'd stopped to admire this Royal Poinciana tree on the way to breakfast one morning. This is not something I ever see at home. I thought the flowers looked like tulips until I looked at it closely. The individual blossoms are actually orchid-shaped but they grow in large clusters. While I was taking it all in, this guy landed.

This is a Golden-Cheeked Woodpecker. Wow, what a bird! As soon as I spotted the red and yellow head I knew it was a life bird for me. And since I've misplaced my Mexican bird book somewhere I had to immediately head off to the American Book Store and look it up in their Mexican field guide. Such excitement. I treated myself to this great Pina Colada for breakfast.


And then I had the entree. I did gain six pounds while I was gone. I made sure to eat a lot of fish for dinner but I think that was probably offset by the lovely breakfasts like this, and perhaps the Pina Coladas.

Mostly, I hung out on the balcony and watched the ocean and the people on the beach, and read books. I brought nine along and had to scrounge a few more left behind by departing tourists.

I did get up occasionally and move around. On one of those occasions I visited a new botanical gardens which was started two years ago. Look at all those bouganvilleas. They make the lone plant that I winter over look pathetic. The hacienda below is the main building for the gardens. It not only houses an impressive collection of botanical books to peruse but also a restaurant and a gift shop (they didn't take credit cards which is probably a good thing for me). The owners live in half of the second floor. Nice set-up.

There's something about gauze curtains blowing in the breeze that speaks to me. Add flowers, birds, the ocean, and warm weather and I'm in tropical heaven.

So, back to reality. It's a good thing we now have an extra hour of daylight so now that I'm finally caught up at work, I can spend some time in my shattered garden in the evenings. Then catch up on all your blogs. And dream of lazy days in Mexico!

Gone to Mexico

"See you" in March!

Packing flowers

After two months of wearing snow boots, today I wore flipflops around the house getting my feet accustomed to them again. In a few days I'm off to Mexico for a couple of weeks. Normally on the day I fly out, I've been up half the night before trying on clothes to see if they fit and then frantically stuffing things into my suitcase. This year I decided to pack a few days in advance. What a concept!
I've been leisurely hauling the "Mexico stuff" up from the cedar closet in the basement and deciding what size I am this year. I have a whole range of sizes and patterns to choose from. I hardly ever wear a floral print at home, but I'm not staying home. I get a kick out of dressing like a typical tourist. It's almost like going to a costume party and I actually have worn some of these clothes as costumes at Halloween. Of course, you won't find clothing like this in a Mexican department store. Most Mexican women dress like "norteamericanas" - they wouldn't be caught dead in this apparel. I'm perfectly happy to join the throngs of those who look like tourists, because I am one! And there's something about being surrounded by all the tropical colors - flaming bouganvilliea cascading over sun splashed walls, red and orange and yellow hibiscus, a canopy of yellow primavera overhead - that makes my usual blue jeans and boring white blouses a sacrilege.


The hard part is figuring out how to pare down the packing. I know there are women who throw on their Travelsmith reversible dress and hit Europe for two weeks with only an overnighter to haul around, but I can't conceive of that. On the other hand, do I need 8 pairs of capris for a 16 day trip? I don't know, I can't decide. Will 6 pairs of shoes be enough, or too much? After I return home each year I make an attempt to write down what I wore so I'll have guidelines for the next time. Each year I misplace the list. Well, I have a few days to decide, rather than the normal few hours I've given myself in the past. What isn't negotiable are the 6 or 8 novels I'll bring, a couple of bird guides, and my binoculars. That must be what's weighing down my suitcase, not all those flowery clothes!