Tepoztlán

It is just after 2 and we have 42 customers!!!!!

2009-11-14T14:30:00.001-06:00

Alberto is in Oklahoma and Viny and I are running the spa and we are busy, we have a lot of new customers and some returning customers, and I hope to hit 50 before the day is over. I miss the rains, but our business will be better without them. The bathrooms are clean, the hot tub is clean, everything is going great. Little Veneno is in my lap at the moment, he wont stay at the house, so I asked Ines to bring him when she left, and she did. We have chicken tinga again, after not having it last weekend.
The Jeep has not run in a few weeks. I took the battery out, bought a new one yesterday at Costco, Mario put the new one in, today it runs fine. That is a relief. I still don't have my Xterra back, we will call again on Monday.
We have a new guy from Washington DC who is now living in Cuernavaca, he found us on the internet and I hope he will become a regular here, he likes the place today.
Alberto now has his new Oklahoma drivers license. He is looking for Oklahoma insurance, we have Texas insurance but for some reason that wont do. He took some CPR test this morning and made 100 per cent. Monday he takes his ACLS.
It is now just before 4 and we have 54 customers. So it is a very good day so far.
However, one customer says his cel phone was taken from his locker, so far it has not been found. We are still working on this problem. We may have to move the lockers so there is no privacy, if we are going to have thefts.

Janet Dawson

2009-11-13T22:10:00.000-06:00

This morning Marcia came over at 9 and she and I drove into town in the pickup to pickup Rena and then we took the toll road to Cuernavaca and to the Newcomers meeting to hear the brilliant and fascinating Janet Dawson speak about art. There was a good turnout, her talk was wonderful as ever, and I saw a few people I know. Afterwards I bought 3 pair of earrings for Sherrie, perhaps Carl will take them with him and mail them to her. He and Mark are supposed to be here tomorrow night, if the snow does not delay them.
This afternoon Viny and I went into town to get our fruit and veggies and flowers for the weekend. We ate at Villa Cardel, I had beans and guacamole, as usual. We then went to Los Buenos Tiempos so I could read La Jornada.
Then home, and we worked some at the spa, Viny more than me. Tonight I got to watch this weeks episode of Californication, which was hilarious at times.
I talked with both Sherrie and Alberto tonight. I talked with Allstate today, just before 6, but no further progress on my getting the check.
We are hoping for a lot of customers at the spa this weekend.

Glad to be home again

2009-11-11T20:01:00.001-06:00

Monday morning we got up at 4 a.m. and Alberto and I left in his car driving north to the border. As this was a day when his car tag was not allowed to drive in Mexico City, we first had to try to solve that problem. My other worry was driving through the northern suburb of Mexico City, Tlalnepantla, where we are always stopped by the crooked police and shaken down with threats for money. However, we were apparently early enough that we just zipped through Mexico City. When we got to the start of the toll road to Querétaro, just beyond Mexico City, we stopped for gas and bathroom and I could see my breath for the first time in over three years.
Alberto drove the entire way. Several years ago we left Mexico City and reached the border in twelve hours. This time, we left Tepoztlán and were on the bridge waiting in line to cross the border just before six p.m., thirteen hours.
After we passed through San Luis Potosí, I suppose it was, we saw a turnoff for the road to Reynosa, and I though of GringaNMexico, and hoped she her Chino and their little Daisy, still in utero as far as I know, were doing well.
We also saw big nice color billboards saying not to buy the cactus and other plants and animals for sell along the highway. We then saw dozens of little places along the highway selling the meat of hundreds if not thousands of snakes, and live birds, and many many cacti. The numerous signs state it is a federal offence to buy these endangered items, but it is apparently not against the law to sell them, as it is entirely open, for many miles along the highway.
We had discussed what to do when we reached the border, as it would be too late to do our business about the car, but we could go shopping if we wanted to. We could stay in one of the large motels as we entered Nuevo Laredo, we could go downtown close to the border and stay, and walk over to the US to eat and shop, or we could park the car in a secure place and walk across and spend the night. However, we wound up deciding to drive across, even though our car tag expired years ago.
We drove to the border and showed our US passports and began answering the questions asked of us. We were then told to pull over to the right to be inspected. We were told to take all the items out of the car and place them on the table. Three guys began inspecting the car, under the car, using mirrors held close to the ground, they folded up the back seats to look under them, they tapped on the car parts, they looked under the hood. They used a little black box, perhaps that senses drugs. There was a dog present at a short distance, they never used the dog. The most interesting part to me was the use of a flexible fiberoptic scope to look in the gas tank. One guy used this device, looking into a lens with perhaps a camera on the end, and moving the flexible tube around a lot. Once in a while he would ask one of the other guys to take a look also. The guy with the tube in the tank took at least five minutes, and the entire search took at least 45 minutes. Alberto thought because in answering their questions at the booth we had told them I was returning to Mexico the next day and Alberto was going on in the car to Oklahoma. He thought maybe because I was dropping him off they were suspicious. Of course, they found nothing, and told us to put our stuff in the car and go. If they noticed our expired car tag, they did not comment on this to us.
We drove to a Motel 6, where we have stayed numerous times with Goliat, and got us a room, which had been newly remodeled.
In my opinion, both Nuevo Laredo and Laredo looked better than when I last saw them.
We then went shopping at Sams and Walmart and a dollar store, and then went to eat, then back to our room.
Yesterday morning we took a taxi downtown to the Motor Vehicle Department and got a temporary tag good for thirty days. We asked some about changing the title from my name to his name, but were unable to do that. Alberto will also need to get a drivers license in either Oklahoma or Texas. He will try to change the title. We had to go buy a months worth of liability insurance before we could get the temporary tag, we paid more than we would have had to pay if we had done this on the internet, but we did not know in time.
I hope Alberto does not have trouble getting the permanent tag with the car in my name. If so, he will have to change it to his name, I did sign the proper places, I hope.
I bought a car battery charger, which at the moment I am using on the Jeep battery. I bought some electric hair clippers which hopefully Viny will use to cut my hair later tonight. I bought me three pair of underwear and a pair of thongs. I bought some catnip for the cats and a little FM radio for one dollar, which I have actually used. I bought a protective case for Vinys iPod Touch and some Neutrogena soap he wanted.
After coming back to the motel area from downtown, we walked to Ross, one of Albertos favorite stores, but we did not buy anything there.
Then, he dropped my off near the bridge and he headed north to Dallas by himself. We had asked our taxi driver, who took us from the motel to downtown for about twelve dollars, how much it would cost for me to take a taxi across the border to the airport, and he said about $65, and that I could save a lot by walking across the bridge and getting a cab on the other side. So of course I was going to do that. I did not know that pedestrians are chaged to walk across the bridge, 15 pesos each time. That means that all the people who live on the Mexican side and walk across to work each day pay that twice a day. I asked a worker at the bridge how much a taxi to the airport would cost and she said about $5. When I crossed, with my two suitcases, I asked a taxi and he said 100 pesos, so I went on to ask another. I finally found one with a meter, and wound up being charged 107. I asked the young taxi driver if he had traveled to other parts of Mexico or to the beach, and he had not, because of lack of money. He does not have a US Visa so cannot even cross the border in his taxi.
I got to the Nuevo Laredo airport about noon, I knew the flight I expected to take was at 735, but I thought there was a chance there would be another flight. There was not. The airport there is nice enough, but there are only two flights each morning arriving from Mexico City and then returning there, and two flights in the evening from Mexico City and then returning there. On weekends there are three flights. You cannot fly to anywhere else but Mexico City. It is usually business people taking these flights. When I bought my ticket the agent said it was 1900 pesos. I told the agent that I had just seen it on the internet for 1500 pesos. He said to get that price I would have to buy it on the internet and use a credit card and there was no internet access at the airport, so I paid the 1900 pesos. There was a small snack bar at the airport and I spent the afternoon there. Nestor, the young guy working there, makes 150 pesos a day for his days that last from about 7 a.m. to about 9 p.m. He manages to have an old car and a cel phone. I dont know how it does it, that is about 12 US dollars a day that he earns. He was born in Chiapas and his family moved to Nuevo Laredo when he was twelve. He has a US visa. He could cross each day and work on the US side. He says all the people who do this are doing it on tourist visas, they do not have permission to work in the US, and that one of his friends who did this for a year recently had his visa revoked by the US, and he does not want to risk losing his US visa.
Our plane finally took off, I took a bus at 1010 from the Mexico City airport, to Cuernavaca, and took a taxi home, for 150 pesos.

2009-11-07T16:40:00.000-06:00

This is Viny going up the steps of the spa this morning, with the poinsettias on each side.

I hope they stay pretty at least until Christmas.
It is nice and sunny today, it is half past four and we only have 11 customers, our first three customers are from Mexico City and they said it was cold and cloudy there. Maybe we will do better tomorrow.
Everything is fine here, I suppose Alberto and I will leave Monday morning to drive to the border.
A couple of Vinys friends are here, so he will stay at the spa tonight with them.
Little Kenia is in my lap. Golda is in her pen. Canela and Blackie are staying near her. I will let her out when we close tonight.

2009-11-05T21:22:00.000-06:00

Alberto went to Mexico City yesterday and will be back tomorrow morning. He bought a new and different timer for the steam generator.
This morning Mario and I went into town to get some mortar mix and some thin bricks. I stopped by the plant nursery and bought 18 poinsettias for the steps of the spa, I planted them later this afternoon. Mario has finished five of the ten columns we need to put a roof on the cistern at the spa. He is now putting a row of cement blocks two blocks high to hold the dirt between the cistern and the rock trough water filter. We will plant shady plants in there.
I will try to add some photos tomorrow, or at least Saturday.
My car is still in the shop in Cuernavaca, they say it might be ready by noon Saturday, they are still waiting on a part. Vinys Jeep has a low battery, we will take Albertos Rodeo tomorrow with Marcia to go shopping in Cuernavaca.
I suppose Alberto and I will leave Monday for the border.
This evening I cooked up a big batch of mushrooms, I made about half of them into soup and will use the other half with pasta, so we can eat this this weekend. Viny and I had some of the soup this evening, it is quite good.

2009-11-01T14:33:00.001-06:00

It is half past two and we have twenty customers, so not bad so far. We are hoping for a few more. It is more sunny today, does not look like it will rain. We have some new customers and some returning customers, that is always the best, so we can continue to grow.
We have been giving a little chocolate skull to each person, we are about out of those, we have some gummy ones, but they appear to be messier, we may just offer each person one of these from the box, as they are not wrapped individually like the chocolate ones were.
After we closed last night the other three and two of our waiters went to see Halloween II in Cuernavaca, I stayed home, of course. The US is now on the same time as we are, that will be helpful in watching my TV shows.
I will try to get to Cuernavaca this week to get some blood drawn, just routine, I did this about a year ago and never got the results, as they were lost.
Golda grabbed little Veneno again last night, no harm done this time, apparently. She is in her pen today, she escaped this morning through a large hole she tore, Mario fixed it, he will put chain link on the pen this week, hopefully, she can tear through everything else, it appears.
And hopefully I can get my car back this week. Albertos Rodeo continues to leak transmission fluid, now worse than ever, apparently, he has to keep adding more for it to move. That will need to get fixed before he can drive it to the US.
I just realized yesterday was Rubys birthday, I will send her an email right now, if I can find her address.
It is now half past four and we are up to 33 customers, so it is turning out pretty good. It will now only get better as the rains apparently have stopped. While I love the rains and will surely miss them for the next 8 months, our business will improve.

Days of the Dead

2009-10-31T12:05:00.002-06:00

The Days of the Dead are my favorite holidays here in Mexico. Things are so pretty here, the rains have just stopped, more or less, everything is green, and with these holidays, there is a lot of yellow. Walking around town is beautiful, many people are selling marigolds, as well as cox comb, or celosia, and other flowers, as well as candles and incense.

We made our altar here at the spa last night and this morning, and I put a lot of marigolds on the steps coming into the spa. We have a lot of native marigolds growing on our land and blooming right now. The smell of the marigolds help the dead find their way home.

Last night we went into town to walk around a little and we went to Tantra to eat. We watched much of a video of Bob Marley, it was very good and interesting.

I got home too late to see Bill Maher, but I can probably catch a re-run in a day or two.

I talked with Sherrie this morning, she is doing fine.

It is now half past six and we have had 25 customers, so not bad considering it was rather cloudy and even rained a little. We are happy with this number, and we hope for more tomorrow.

We had one guy from Cuernavaca but he currently lives in Washington, DC.

And a guy from Boston called from Mexico City and he plans to come next Saturday.

Golda has stayed in her pen all afternoon, so, so far so good.

The Butterfly Circus

2009-10-29T19:48:00.000-06:00

Steve Cotton has a link on his blog to this video, and I liked the video so much that I am placing it here and suggesting that everyone watch it. It is about 20 minutes long, and worth every second.
http://www.thedoorpost.com/hope/The%20Butterfly%20Circus/

2009-10-28T19:25:00.000-06:00

Last week Viny and I paid for an Italian cooking class today at El Mango. This morning we got ready to go, got into Albertos car, the Rodeo, and it would barely go. There was even a warning light on saying something like low power. I restarted it a time or two, and it did the same. We got down to the front gate, but I decided we should not trust it, and I decided to go back to the house and take the pickup. I started the car again and it worked fine getting back up to the house, but we still took the pickup. When we got to El Mango, there was a closed sign up. A young worker inside saw us and came to the gate, saying the event was on Friday. I asked about the cooking class and he opened the gate and told us to come inside. We did, and the lady came out and said a group of students wanted it to be next Wednesday instead so they changed it and she had tried to call us but did not get us. So we will go back next Wednesday.
Alberto went to Mexico City to go to an awards show tonight at the National Auditorium with Javier, Alberto was all excited about it, as there should be a lot of famous performers there.
Viny and I went into town, I went to the IMSS clinic to see about getting blood work and perhaps an EKG, I succeeded in getting the paper for the blood work, but apparently not an EKG. That is all right. I got the blood work last year but the results were lost. I will have to go to Cuernavaca and wait in line to get an appointment to return to get the blood work done. Then go back to have my blood drawn, then hope the results are not lost again.
We went to Villa Cardel and had some guacamole and beans, then walked around some, bought some fruit and veggies.
Yesterday Viny and I put up four metal panels around our fence and cistern to try to keep Golda from climbing into our yard, but she can still manage to climb in. Today Viny put up some more blockage, but she finally managed to climb over that as well. We will keep at it, we are afraid she will get in and the little dogs will bark and bite at her and she will get mad and hurt or kill one or more of them.
Little Frida and Kenia are in my lap at the moment.
In town there are marigolds for sale everywhere. I will try to buy more on Friday to cover the steps to the spa with. We still have to make our altar for this weekend in the spa. It is easier each year as we know more what we are doing and we have more and more stuff to make it with.
We went to Los Buenos Tiempos and I read the papers. Viny climbed to the pyramid while I was at the clinic.
Viny is taking me to lunch tomorrow at La Sombra del Sabino for my birthday.

This is a tree at the edge of our land, the green pod to the left becomes first like the white spindle on the right and then like the big fluff of cotton or kapok in the middle. I think it is from the bark of this tree that all the little houses for sale to tourists in town are carved.

I am 65 today and Tlaloc is giving me rain

2009-10-27T11:11:00.007-06:00

It rained last night and it is still raining a little. Viny and Canelo just got back from climbing to the pyramid, they went in the rain.
Inés gave me a box of chocolates this morning. I had two wonderful chocolate turtles for breakfast that Marcia gave me earlier. We four are going to lunch at El Brujo at 2 today.
Yesterday we were going to drive the Xterra to Cuernavaca to the Nissan agency to get the key system fixed. We got as far as down to the front gate and it died and I could not start it again. I had the two keys, neither would work. Alberto said we had a third key, he went back to the house and got it, but it would not work either. So, we went to the agency in his car and talked with a guy and he got a helper and his little computer and we went home, he followed us. He hooked up his computer to the Xterra, there was a problem with the motor but not with the key system. So, he called a wrecker and they came and hauled the car to the shop. Alberto called today, they have it, should know later today what the problem is. The wrecker was 1200 pesos, or about a hundred dollars.
I have receieved birthday wishes from many people, including Sherrie, Saundra, Ben, Maria, Gordon, Don Dorn, Mauricio from Morelia, Lloyd, Viny, Alberto, Marcia and her sister Diane, Inés, Ms. Liz, Bob, Melissa, Greg, Linda Burton, Zorana, Mendy Hays, Howard Griffin, Ruby Ginn, Sam, Jessica, Julia, Sofía, and the wonderful Gringa-n-Mexico, Lindy and others I am not thinking of right now. The sun is out a little right now.
I just ate some of the guacamole Viny made last night.
Alberto says he has decided to go to California to work, he wavers between there and Texas.
Little Frida is in my lap.
Mario probably will wait until Thursday to pour the cement for the next column because of the rain today.
Golda has been sleeping on top of all the blankets and stuff in the downstairs apartment. That is fine, but I want to keep working on our wall and fence to prevent her from getting in on her own. Whenever she shows up the little dogs start attacking her and barking and then she gets mad and that will wind up as another disaster.
I talked with Sherrie and Ben this morning, I will try to talk with Saundra but I cant find her number at present.
This week I have to keep in mind that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert come on at 9 p.m. and not 10 p.m. I managed to remember last night and watched them.
I have several photos I am going to post today, but Alberto needs the computer at the moment.

These are some of the flowers we had at the spa this past weekend, more flowers than customers.

The white blossoms are a musaenda, there are also pink versions. And two coleus on the right, one not planted yet, in Albertos outside garden area.

The outdoor shower, with hot water, is behind these beautiful plants, no one ever uses this shower as you cannot really see it.

Marcia gave us a little piece of this plant and now we have a wall of it.

This is one of the viajero palms.

These are the flowers that were at the bar this past weekend.

I dont remember the name of this plant, it is in Albertos maze section.

These are some of our banana plants, all grown from our own babies.

These are some of our hammocks.

My last Sunday to be 64

2009-10-25T13:14:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow I plan for us to try to drive the Xterra to the Nissan dealership in Cuernavaca and see if they can fix the problem with the chips in the keys.
Tuesday, on my 65th birthday, we are going to lunch at El Brujo in Tepoztlán with Marcia.
Carl has already ordered the items from Amazon.com that I wanted him to bring, he should have them within a week, and will bring them plus a couple of things that arrived at Saundras house after they had left for here. So before long we should have our satellite radios to provide music to the spa, inside and out. That will be nice.
It is just before one, we have seven customers. Alberto just showed up with the three little dogs, saying he could not help it, they got out and he could not stop them. Javiers family just left after being here for several days.
Also tomorrow I hope to put up more barriers for Golda getting into our yard. I will keep at it until she cannot get in.
I watched Graham Norton last night, it was pretty good, but it started raining and I did not get to see much of Saturday Night Live, which was a re-run anyway. It rained a lot, for hours, I guess that is from Rick, as I really think the normal rainy season is over.
The others went to a party last night and got in about 430 this morning.
Mexico changed time this morning, the US does this next weekend.
I have made a mushroom quiche and a potato quiche this week, as well as lentil soup. Alberto says this lentil soup is not as good as the last.
A lady I buy flowers from who lives in San Juan Tlacotenco is supposed, with the help of her husband, find me some laurel plants.
I am going to try to find a new screen for the dryer to order for Carl to bring, the one we are using is torn and hard to clean and replace.

catching up

2009-10-24T19:56:00.000-05:00

We are all doing great. I realize I have not written much on this blog for a while, not because there has not been a lot happening, but computer problems. I will try to catch up today and tomorrow. It will be kind of rambling, and not in order, probably.
Veneno is recovering from his near fatal attack by Golda. He spent five days in the hospital, now is quite active and back to his usual irritating self, with still some unhealed wounds. Golda is in her pen that Mario made, she will spend time there when we are open, I am going to try to put up more barriers around our yard so she cant jump or climb in, now she can get in at least two ways. I dont want her to get in while we are not home, as that might be tragic. I love Golda, she is a wonderful dog.
About five or six months ago a large black dog appeared down outside our gate, I thought he was a big poodle. He came here a few times, got along with the outside dogs, Mario liked him, then he returned with an injured back leg. Recently I noticed a big lump on his hip and thought the leg might be out of place instead of broken, so I took him to Miguel, a vet. Miguel says he is a giant schnauzer, not a poodle, and that he is young, maybe a year old. He said surgery would be long and difficult with a difficult recovery and that he was doing fine the way he is, not hurting and happy and getting around all right. So Miguel castrated him and I brought him back home. He is a wonderful dog. And so is Canela, the other outside dog. I wish Golda would leave both of them alone, sometimes Canela leaves for two or three days if Golda is mean to her.
Viny and I are enrolled for a few hours Italian cooking class this Wednesday at El Mango, in Tepoztlán.
Today I received a birthday card and a Halloween card from Sherrie, and she put some money in my bank for my birthday, which is coming up in a couple of days, on the 27th, my 65th.
Howard Griffin also wished me a Happy Birthday.
And Marcia had already given me two bags of chocolate turtles from Sanborns.
The Xterra stopped while Viny was driving it recently, Alberto went for a mechanic, it was the battery, but also the chips in the keys apparently are no longer coordinated with the starter in the car, so we are going to try to take it to the Nissan dealer on Monday in Cuernavaca and see if they can rectify matters.
We had 13 customers today, I hope for more tomorrow.
I had a new employee start today, to clean while we are open, no one is happy with him but me, but I need someone to keep the bathrooms clean as many customers dont know how to use dry toilets, and they make a mess, so to speak.
I will try to catch up more tomorrow, only one customer is left, it is not yet 8, and so we will be out of here shortly, and back in the morning. I think the others are going to a party tonight, I am staying home, of course, with the dogs.

Lindy in Reynosa with her Chino

2009-10-22T21:37:00.000-05:00

The only comment so far on my recent post about the guy being beaten in Tulsa was from www.gringa-n-mexico.blogspot.com and I have started at the first of her blog, which took a while to find, and am trying to read it in chronological order. I love it. She started out in Michigan with her Mexican husband, he got deported and so they moved to Reynosa. Her blog is wonderful.

2009-10-21T11:21:00.002-05:00

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2009

Another gay bashing in Tulsa

Posted by Timothy Beauchamp at 8:13 PM

For every unreported gay bashing there are countless others that don't get this kind of attention. As the readers are probably aware, I live in Oklahoma and, besides my family's ranch in northeastern Oklahoma, I spend a lot of time living in Tulsa, Oklahoma at my late grandmother's house. I wrote a post on October 14th about "Republicans and Hate Crimes". In today's Tulsa World, an article appeared about another attack. Its time to pass Federal Hate Crimes protections for the LGBT community.

What should have been a 10-minute walk to a friend's house ended with a trip to the hospital for Brandon Patrick, a Tulsan who said he was severely beaten Sunday night because of his sexual orientation.

Three people followed Patrick down the 1300 block of South Rockford Avenue about 11:45 p.m., yelling homophobic slurs and threats, he said.

Patrick, who is gay, said he ignored the group until they closed in and then asked why they were accosting him without provocation.

The assailants then started beating, biting and slashing at Patrick with a blade, he said, leaving him with several cuts on his head and body.

Yes, its time to send a message this kind of thing won't be tolerated anymore.

Saundra, Don, and Bob have gone

2009-10-17T17:16:00.001-05:00

We took Saundra, Don and Bob back to the bus station in Cuernavaca yesterday morning and they took a bus at 905 back to the airport in Mexico City. They got to their house about 730 or so last night.
I think they had a good time, I hope they will come back soon, I think Bob will be back about in January, perhaps with a friend this time.
We did not make it to Puebla or Mexico City, Bob can probably do these when he comes back. But we did a lot. We went to an ex-hacienda we had not been to before, and it is spectacular. We went to Lake Tequesquitengo, and we want to go back and spend the night. And we got a good view of Popocatepetl, with just a few clouds that were moving all the time.
Our electricity went out during a storm last night, at about 8, and even though we called many times, we did not have electricity again until about twenty until three today. That slowed down our heating the hot tub and we had no music until then, and Viny put some beer on ice to get it cold. But it all worked out all right.
Little Veneno is back over here, much the worse for wear after the attack by Golda last Saturday night. Alberto brought him home from the hospital in Cuernavaca yesterday, he walks around a little, I am sure he is glad to be home. They wanted to keep him even longer, but Alberto can cleanse his wounds.
Both little Kenia and Frida are in my lap at the moment.
I am wearing another pair of Dons jeans. Like the Cubans, I am so glad for gifts of clothing. And whatever else. Both Don and Bob left me their extra pesos, even though Bob will be back soon. I immediately went to Costco and bought me a pair of shoes, which I like a lot.
I made some lentil soup this morning and it is quite good, Viny made some steamed vegetables, which are also good and I had both for lunch.
Because of no electricity I was not able to see Bill Maher last night, maybe I can catch a rerun later in the week. Even if there had been electricity, the rain would have messed up the reception.
Our next guests, as far as we know, will be Carl and Mark the last half of November. There are some things I hope to order in time for them to bring them.
We have 21 customers a little after five. It rained briefly, has been cloudy, and is very cloudy and cool in Mexico City. Not as cold as Saundra says it is in Owasso, though.

The Cunninghams continue to have a good time

2009-10-12T21:33:00.000-05:00

We only had 11 customers yesterday, it was cloudy and rained a little. We are confident our business will pick up once the rains stop, which will be soon. It rained a lot last night.
Yesterday afternoon Don, Saundra, Bob and I went to Pushkar in Tepoztlán for lunch. I had wanted to go there since I saw their beautiful exterior. That is the prettiest part of the place. We ate outside, it is not a very big place, all of the main courses were 195 or more, including chicken. We did not have a main course. Once there was enough.
Today we all went down south a short distance to an ex-hacienda where we had not been before, del Puente, in Xochitepec. It is spectacular. I had chicken curry, very good, for 130 pesos, other chicken was from 110. Even at El Pan Nuestro in Tepoztlán they now charge 140 for their chicken. At the market we get four chicken breasts for about 90 pesos. I want to take Sherrie and Larry there, as well as Greg and Gordon, and maybe Carl and Mark. There is another one near there that we also have not been to, and I want to go there also.
We came back by the vet clinic in Cuernavaca and Viny and Alberto went in to see Veneno. He continues to heal. Alberto will check on him again tomorrow. While they were there, I bought a few guppies for our fountain at the spa.
Three days more here for Saundra and Don and Bob, we plan to visit Amecameca, Taxco, and Cuernavaca in those three days.
Mario has started building a pen for Golda, he will finish this week, we will keep her there at least when the spa is open, and maybe other times also.

Saundra, Don and Bob are having a good time

2009-10-10T18:16:00.000-05:00

We have been to Cocoyoc and La Hacienda de Cortés. Last time, Cocoyoc was her favorite, I really like La Hacienda de Cortés. We have also eaten at Floré, Villa Cardel, El Brujo, La Posada del Tepozteco, and today we went to La Sombra del Sabino. Tomorrow we will try to go to Pushkar, where I have been wanting to go for a long time.
Bobby actually climbed to the pyramid yesterday, they closed the entrance to the pyramid just as he got there, so he wants to go back again when it is open.
The three of them actually walked down to the front gate this morning about 930 and took a combi into town and shopped until I got there after 12 noon. They did fine. Saundra bought quite a bit of stuff today, Bob some.
When Saundra first saw Inés, she said Hola, Inés, me llamo Saundra. I was quite proud of her, she has actually been studying Spanish some at home.
Probably on Wednesday we will go to Mexico City and stay two nights and they will leave Friday morning and we will then come home.
We talked with Sherrie last night, we will try to talk with her again while they are here.
Little Kenia is in my lap.

Saundra, Don and Bob arrive tomorrow!!!!!

2009-10-04T14:33:00.001-05:00

It is half past three and we have 23 customers, so pretty good. And a few more should show up.
We closed at 9 last night and about 11 Alberto, Javier and Viny left for Cuernavaca and returned about 430 this morning.
I tried unsuccessfully to watch Saturday Night Live, but could not get it to come in clearly enough. The networks are still not working for me.
It really thundered and lightened and rained a lot. So the rainy season was not quite over after all. For the first time since we have lived here, Tehuatzin got upon the bed, she was so scared of the thunder. Of course, I was up on the bed also.
Alberto is just leaving to take Javier to catch a bus. Javier just informed me he will probably not be here next Sunday.
Marcia is getting Chori, the little white poodle, back, as the family that took her cannot adjust to her. Little Mariana, with the broken leg, is doing well, I hear.
It is now twenty past three and we are up to 30 customers, just like yesterday. Except today, there might still be a few more, as it is fairly early.

Saundra Don and Bob are coming Monday!!!!! We made it to 30!!

2009-10-03T16:28:00.002-05:00

It is a little before four and we have 26 customers and we have one upstairs bedroom rented for tonight, so much better than the last two weekends. Maybe even a few more will arrive yet today. And maybe tomorrow will be good also. I suppose the rains are about over for this year, I will certainly miss them.
And then Monday afternoon I get to go to the bus station in Cuernavaca to pick up Saundra, Don and Bob, fresh from their trip to New Orleans. We will have a good time while they are here.
Last evening Anita, one of Marcia's medium sized dogs, bit little Marianas leg and broke it. I took Mariana to Santiago de Tepetlapa to Miguel's place, and he put a splint on it and brought her home today, she is doing well. I hope it heals well enough that she can use it again, she is a good little dog.
Yesterday the bird of paradise place actually had birds of paradise, so we have flowers everywhere today, they area beautiful.
We have one guy from Chicago today, and two from New York. One of the New York guys says our spa is prettier than the ones in NYC. But I already knew that.
It is now half past four and we have 27 customers. Maybe we will still hit 30.
Little Kenia is in my lap.
At half past five two new guys showed up, so that makes 30 for today, so far.

last day of September

2009-09-30T23:24:00.000-05:00

Finally on Tuesday of this week my California bank gave me access to the money from the sale of maricon.com that had been in my account for one week. I started ordering the things I wanted from Amazon.com, mainly two satellite radios and an iPod for Viny. However, in spite of many attempts the past 36 hours or so, I have not been able to accomplish the order. For reasons unknown to me, my debit card from my Mexican bank is not accepted, even though there is adequate money in the account. Then, I tried using a direct transfer from my California bank, but this has not worked either, again, even though there is adequate money in that account.
I tried this evening using a credit card, I am not sure it will work, I should know by morning, and if not, Marcia is going to come over and let me use one of hers and I will then pay her for what I charge.
Today Viny and Alberto and I drove through Tlayacapan and Milpa Alta and to the edge of Xochimilco, turned around, came back to San Pedro Atocpan and had lunch and then back to Tlayacapan where I bought 20 flower pots to put on the steps of the spa and then home.
Viny and I then went into town and I read the papers and Viny climbed to the pyramid twice.
This evening Miguel was bringing little Guillo home after 8, I was going over to help Marcia get him down to her house, but one of our phones did not work so I missed it, but she wrote me that he walked home himself. He is only alive because she brought him home from where he was dying down the road a couple of kilometers, and now he is healthy and beautiful.
Tomorrow I hope to go to Conaplor in Cuautla and get plants for the flower pots and perhaps other plants as well.
I was finally able to watch Dexter tonight, with the great John Lithgow. I saw him on Broadway a few years back, in M Butterfly. He was good then and he is good in Dexter. I was just now trying to watch Californication, but the reception was so poor I finally turned it off.
Viny and I will go grocery shopping Friday morning in Cuernavaca.
All our dogs and cats are fine.
We are hoping for a lot of customers this weekend.
I made a little lasagna last night, it was quite good, with asparagus and spinach. I made more tonight, with shrimp and asparagus, it was even better. I made the sauce both times also.

Another slow day at the spa

2009-09-27T16:16:00.000-05:00

It is partly sunny now, it was raining earlier. It is just after four and we are finally up to eleven customers. Things will pick up when the rains stop, but I love rains.
I was not able to watch Saturday Night Live last night. Between the rains and the reception it just didn't happen.
Tonight there are too many things on at once that I would like to watch, like the new episode of Dexter, Brothers and Sisters, Californication, MadMen, and it seems like something else. But they are all repeated during the week, so I will probably get to see them all eventually, just not tonight.
Viny I think has now given up on an iPhone and wants a new iPod touch and a new camera. Those we can probably swing. I hope to get my satellite radios and maybe a few small things. Alberto continues planning his trip to the US, trying to figure out how to take his car, which he will probably do, as he will need a car.
Horacio Franco, a flautist, is playing Tuesday night in Cuernavaca, I hope we can go. However, I hate to leave the house and the dogs when it is dark, so I frequently back out on things, but maybe we will actually do this.
It is now quite sunny and beautiful. I love it here.

A slow cloudy day at the spa

2009-09-26T18:19:00.000-05:00

We finally got up to 17 customers today, so not that bad, but no one was here until about 1230 and then we only had 3 people until after two. It finally picked up a little. The weather was worse in DF and that always hurts our business here.
Saturday Night Live is live tonight, I hope I get to watch it.
Apparently Saundra, Don and Bob are still visiting Melissa and Jeff, I guess they wont be home all that long before coming here.
Viny has about given up on an iPhone because of the cost of buying it and then the monthly charge. He can get along with his cel phone. He will get a new computer soon and he may also get a new camera, if he finds one he really wants.
I hope to get some things done starting Tuesday, as that is when the bank will release the money from the sale of maricon.com. I owe about half of it to Marcia, it will be good to get that paid back. Then I wont owe anyone. She has sure saved us several times with loans.
The first thing I will do is order the two satellite radios so Saundra can receive them in time to bring them. We really need them for music here at the spa, and I want to listen to one during the night. I have great faith in Amazon.com and I think they can get them delivered before the 9th of October.
It rained a little this afternoon, it has been cloudy pretty much all day, with a little sun now and then.
We bought some baguettes at Sams this week and Viny made me and Alberto and Javier sandwiches on them today, they were quite good.
Viny made us very good salads last night, I ate mine while watching Bill Maher. He even made the dressing, which was excellent. He really likes cooking and has a talent for it.
I hope to go to Tlayacapan this week to see about getting some flower pots to go on the steps of the spa, and maybe we can drive toward Xochimilco to see what Alberto saw when he took the bus that route to Mexico City. I have never gone that way.

Finally some good news about Oklahoma in the New York Times

2009-09-23T20:04:00.000-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/magazine/27out-t.html?_r=1&hp

This afternoon Viny and I dropped Alberto off at the toll booth so he could catch a bus to Mexico City and then we went downtown and walked around some, looking for some bread Viny wanted. Then we went to Los Buenos Tiempos and I read the papers, he continued shopping and found a loaf of bread.
Before we left home I made some chocolate chip cookies and when we got back, after it stopped raining, I took a couple over to Marcia. It has rained a lot lately. I love the rain.
This afternoon there was suddenly a lightening strike and a very loud crash of thunder. I was here at the computer, our modem cracked and hissed, we unplugged things, but there was no more lightening and our modem apparently was not harmed this time.
Viny has been cooking up a storm lately. He made very good suppers the past two nights. He finds recipes on the internet and gets the ingredients and then just jumps in and does it. He made excellent honey mustard dressing for his salads. Today he bought some fresh rosemary, I can smell it, he is steaming some veggies and cooking some chicken, perhaps with the rosemary. He really is quite talented about cooking.
Alberto continues trying to get stuff lined up to go work somewhere in the US.
I hope I can get two little satellite radios ordered and delivered to Saundra before they leave, I think I can swing it. We will use them for music at the spa, indoors and out, and I will also use one of them here to listen to during the night, rather than my computer.

Larry Kramer spoke in Dallas

2009-09-23T08:53:00.000-05:00

LARRY KRAMER'S REMARKS AT DALLAS GAY PRIDE CELEBRATION, SUNDAY, SEPT. 20, 2009

We must never forget that everything we have won can very quickly be taken away from us. We have seen this time and again. Presidents come and go ignoring us. This president is no different. Once again he is not doing it for us and once again we are letting him get away with it. This President is another loser for us and I predict he will remain this way.

We must remember that we do not have the freedom to marry, to inherit, to adopt, to share our health insurance, to learn about our history in our schools. To learn that our two greatest presidents, Washington and Lincoln were gay. We do not have the freedom to live as straight people have the freedom to live. We do not have the freedom to have our bars not raided by police and officers beating us up with such fury that we land in hospitals.

We have not learned to fight back with the same fury with which they fight us. You do not get more with honey than with vinegar. There are over one thousand benefits from our government that straight couples get that we are denied. This is not freedom. This is not equality. America's Bill of Rights says we are meant to be equal.

You must know, we must never forget, that every single treatment for hiv/aids is out there because of gay aids activists, led by ACT UP chapters across the country and Project Inform in San Francisco. They did not come from the government. They came because gay people fought like tigers and screaming banshees to get the system that hates us deliver them to us. If you want to read how we did it get my book The Tragedy of Today's Gays. This achievement, the obtaining of these drugs, I believe to be the single greatest achievement gay people have accomplished in all of history and we must be remembered for it.

The lesson should be clear. The lesson should be obvious. It should show us what we are capable of achieving when we put our minds and hearts and brains and bodies together and work together all together as brothers and sisters and one big family. There is not one person here today who is not capable of being such an activist.

We get what we fight for. And we are not fighting. Every single one of us is not fighting. They fight better than we do. There is a concerted and never ending vein of hate in this country and in this world dedicated to keeping us in our place. It is evil to force people to be what we are not -- free. We are not free.

I love being gay

I love gay people.

How can I say this without offending everyone else, I think we're better than other people.

I think we are smarter.

I think we are more talented.

I think we are more aware.

I think we make better friends.

I think we make better lovers.

I think we're more tuned in to what's happening, tuned into the moment, tuned into our emotions, and other people's emotions.

Yes, I think that gay people are better than other people.

I think the only thing we are not so good at is fighting back.

I hear talk of the new generation of gays and the old generation of gays, and how different we are. That is not true. We are all one generation. We are all related. We are all each other's brothers and sisters. We are all one family, the gay family.

And I passionately and desperately want all my brothers and sisters to stay alive and well and on this earth, with total equality with every straight person.

Being gay is the most important thing in my life.

I love being gay. I hope you do, too.

Good movies

2009-09-22T21:22:00.000-05:00

Last night Alberto and I watched Man on Wire, the story of Philippe Petite and his walking on the cable stretched between the World Trade Center buildings. It showed a lot about the construction of the twin towers, and that was very interesting. Even though the movie was reconstructed, and perhaps not very true, it is true he walked between the two buildings. We both enjoyed the movie a lot.
I am currently watching Georgia O'Keefe, and it is also very good. She has now just arrived in Taos in 1929. Apparently this is a new movie, I am glad I am watching.
This morning we went to Ocotepec and Cuernavaca looking at places that sell automatic electric gate and openers. Partly because of the prices, we will probably talk with Andrés, the blacksmith we have used the most, and see what he would charge to make our front gate and does he know how to install an electric opener. I installed the one on our gate in Oklahoma, but I would rather not do it here.
We looked a little at iPhones, apparently they cost about a thousand dollars here instead of the $299 in the US.
Mario poured the cement into the cardtube filled with rebar today, so we now have the first of the ten columns on the large cistern at the spa, which will someday support a roof. We will try to do one column per week, until we get the ten done.
Golda is already over at Alberto's apartment, she knows it is bedtime and she goes there to sleep.
I made some wonderful scones just before dark, and whipped cream to put on them. Viny took one bite and said he would not eat any more, saying he did not want the calories. Alberto ate one and said it was better than the desserts at El Brujo, which is true. Mine are also better than the ones at La Sombra del Sabino, in my humble opinion. I also made some biscuits with pepper, they are also very good. I took Marcia three scones and some whipping cream just before dark.