Christmas in September

Had a lot of errands to run this morning and even though I set the alarm for 7:00 a.m. kept on waking up all night long.  Decided to get up at 5:30 a.m. something that seldom happens.  Almost had a tragic event as I went to bring the car from the garage/carport area to the front of the house.  It was still dark and when I backed out the car, the lights shone on this lump on the ground.  Got off to check what it was as I did not feel a thump or anything like it.  Saw it was Waldo (the cat) all curled up in a ball.  Waldo, Waldo I screamed he opened up one eye and meowed but not a painful meow but a "can't you see I am sleeping kind of meow"...what a relief I did not kill him!  What was he doing asleep at 7:00 a.m. and why wasn't he under dad's old car like he always is?  Darn cats...they have a mind of their own!

You will be glad to know that I had a meeting with my CPA this morning and all my tax documentation is in his capable hands.  I can now forget about that horrible subject for another year!

While it was still early enough decided to make a trip to Wal-Mart.  Went to see if they had any lawnmowers on sale as it is the end of the season and what did I find?  No lawn mowers, gardening stuff, grills or cook-out stuff but CHRISTMAS IN SEPTEMBER!!!

Whatever happened to waiting until after Halloween?  Even then we still have Thanksgiving!  I guess if people did not buy stuff so early then they would not put it out?  By golly it was 90 degrees today...who can get in the Christmas spirit in this kind of weather?

Like to see all the vehicles that park at our local Wal-Mart

For my readers that follow gasoline prices...these were the local prices around town today Sept 30th.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Menudo / Barbacoa / Claire

Decided I needed to eat a good breakfast so I could focus on the task at hand...taxes :(     Mother lives in the southern part of the county so it is a long drive to the north of the city where the national fast food chains are located.  No problem, we have Taco Riendo a locally owned little restaurant not far from her house.

I had my sights set on a bowl of menudo, but lord and behold they sold out and it was still early :-(
What to do?  Went to check out a Carniceria (Meat Market) close to the laundromat I always go to but they were out too!  Darn, it wasn't even that late.....I have purchased menudo up until 10:30 a.m. before!

I could have probably gotten some in town but I settled for some barbacoa instead.  If you have never tasted barbacoa...you have no idea what you are missing.  I know this picture does not do it justice and it might even make it less appealing but trust me...it tastes delicious.  I cooked me a scrambled egg, chopped some onions, jalapenos and cilantro...warmed up some corn tortillas and had me a scrumptious breakfast. :D

All afternoon we were warned of a rain event but where mother lives she only received .04 of an inch.  The other day Captain Joey asked me about Claire the mare.  I had not seen her at her owners or his son's house but I saw her today back by the Duck Pond.  Will write a post on my other blog.  If you care to read it just click on my header picture and it will take you there.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Honesty

Got a call from the guy that does the yard maintenance in Houston to let me know that due to the rains last week he did not mow my lawn but that he was going to mow it on Wednesday.  I have never met him and we only converse when he calls to let me know he mowed the yard so I can mail him a check.  He could have easily said he cut it last week but I certainly appreciate the fact that he was honest.  Will have to thank my homeowners association neighbor who recommended him.  Sure wish I could find an equally honest and  hardworking lawn guy in Del Rio but my old time blog readers know all about mother's handy man....Mata Gatos (Cat Killer)...that is why I sort of work on her yard, to keep that idiot from coming over, grrrrrr!!!

It is funny or perhaps sad depending on how you look at it, the things I will undertake to keep from working on my taxes.  Yesterday I cleaned out my room and today I chopped pesky baby mesquite trees and watered the plants and real trees with the rain I captured in my water catchment system for dummies.  Could these chores have waited?  They certainly could have!

While cleaning my room I found my camera as well as my old mouth guard....have no idea what I did to my new one though.  However, while I was in town and preparing to take a picture...it told me my memory card was missing...RATS!!!  So I am sorry that even though I found the camera, I have nothing to show for it.

I filled up dad's old car for $3.10 a gallon...if I had a Stripes debit card it I could have purchased it for $3.07 a gallon.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Feeling Testy

My mother's neighbor parks his family vehicles along our fence line and he once again mowed that area yesterday...guess he was giving me a hint?  Too bad...I will pretend I did not get it...it is bad enough I have to put up with his stepson, his loud music and beer guzzling friends on the weekend.

While it may be fall in other parts of the country here in Del Rio it is hot as hell.  It was 94 degrees as I made a feeble attempt at cutting down some of the tall grass using my garden shears.  After two minutes I pretty much decided it was futile and since I do not have a dreaded HOA to deal with...it can stay that way!  This gal does not like yard work!

Decided to come back inside and face my real demons at this particular time...my taxes :-(  

Please don't lecture me about getting them done on time, blah, blah, blah....I get enough of that from my mother.  I am and have always been a procrastinator and at this stage of my life it is not going to change.  So if you don't see me posting...in a nutshell that is the reason why.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

I apologize :-(

Got a couple of e-mails wanting to know why I erased a post last night.  I have been working on this post for a couple of days now making sure I covered as many bases as I could since after all...it is a guide for "virgin car and tent campers" wanting to attend the 2013 Terlingua Chili Cook-off.

To be honest it still needs a bit of polishing and I hit the Publish key by mistake!  Sorry about that!  I will try to get it published in the next couple of days.

On to other matters...for once it was to my advantage to procrastinate as gasoline prices went down.  I still can not find my camera so no pictures were taken.  I paid $3.12 for regular gasoline today.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Caldo de Res/ Shadowmoss / Algodones, Mexico

Today I got a wild hair and decided I would brew me up some Caldo de Res.  In case you are new to my blog...I am not very good in the culinary department.  I have made it before with semi good results but what I cooked today was down right awful!

Friday I made some rice that was half edible so I had it with my caldo de res to make it a little more palatable.  I sure hope Mom feels up to cooking again or I may wind up poisoning us both!  Where is my tall weathered cowboy (TWC) to save the day?

Shadowmoss - I remember you posting on my blog that you were thinking about going to Algodones, Baja California, Mexico for dental work.  Today I read a great review on a high tech clinic there on another blog. Was going to let you know about it and lord and behold you had already read it!

For the rest of my readers if you are in the Arizona or California area and are looking for some affordable but at the same time quality dental care I invite you to read the following post http://mobilecodgers.blogspot.com/    I have no affiliation with the doctor, clinic or the person who writes the blog.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Back to procrastinating

While I love living in Del Rio...there are some things I miss about living in the big city... like.the post office being opened on Saturday.  I know it is my fault for not wanting to drive in the rain and leaving everything to the last minute but I really needed to have a letter postmarked...oh well :-(

Ran a lot of errands this morning but I have no pictures to show for it because I somehow misplaced my memory card.  The cheapest gasoline price was at the new Stripes $3.14 a gallon with their debit card and $3.17 without it.  For some reason half of the pumps had the yellow "out of service" bags on them.  Have no idea why but I was not about to wait in line at the available pumps (patience is not one of my virtues) so off I drove...maybe I will fill up Monday?

Needed to make a trip to the dreaded laundromat but that place was jammed packed!  Another item that will have to be postponed.  What I can not postpone any longer is getting all my tax documentation together so I can take it to my CPA.  I have the October 15th  tax deadline looming bigger and bigger as each day goes by :-(

If my procrastination were not bad enough...my CRS has decided to give me a run for my money as well!  For the life of me I can not find my mouth guard, not even the old one and I have misplaced the medications I  recently purchased in Mexico!

I really need one of those sheds I often feature on the blog so I can bring some form of organization into my life.  However, I have to weigh whether I want it in Del Rio or in my future place in Terlingua as I obviously can not afford one at both locations.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

No telephone service

It has been a cloudy, gray and rainy day..perfect sleeping weather if only I could  sleep!  Needed to run several errands but alas this gal does not drive in the rain...so it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Thus far today we have only received  .82 of an inch but for some reason the electricity was out for a little more than an hour and now our home phone is out.  It is days like this that I am so glad I purchased my MagicJack Plus...I simply plug it into my modem and as long as the internet does not go down I have telephone service.

The one item I purchased a couple of months back and regret is the WakaWaka solar lamp. Besides being overpriced  ($48.42 including tax and shipping) it has never lived up to the 80 hours of operating time on its lowest setting...heck I am lucky if  it even lasts thru the night...grrrrr!!!

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Mexico is Devastated

Not feeling up to chasing garbage trucks I got up at 7:00 a.m. and took out the trash.  Would you believe they came just shortly after that?  Now it was my neighbors turn to go chase them but she went in her truck! They must have received a lot of complaints because they came back around in the afternoon,.

Living along the border we receive the programming from the two main Mexican networks whose signal is beamed to Ciudad Acuna from Mexico City.  We have been glued to the television set watching all the devastation taking place not just in Acapulco but all over Mexico.

I have never seen Mexico face such a catastrophic situation that encompasses not just one city like the earthquake of 1985 that hit Mexico City.  These two weather systems...Hurricane Ingrid in the Gulf of Mexico and tropical storm Manuel in the Pacific...are responsible for 85 deaths thus far.  More are expected to be added as soon as they can get to inaccessible villages and rancherias.

This is even worst than Katrina as we are talking about a whole nation versus just a city.  The looting of major department stores has begun but at least in Acapulco the federal forces have stepped in and gotten it under control.  As if they did not have it bad enough, tropical storm Manuel has now strengthen and is expected to become a category 1 hurricane and bring rains to the only three states in the nation that had so far been spared  Baja California Norte and Baja California Sur as well as the state of Sonora.

My cousin has made it to a shelter and at least he has a roof over his head, food and water.  He has also secured a seat on the 64th federal forces flight out of Acapulco but that might take a while as today they are only up to the 16th flight.  Here is a video from CNN...

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2013/09/19/pkg-darlington-mexico-acapulco-floods.cnn.html

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Family Drama

We got some needed rain yesterday as well as today.  We are having Houston like humidity but I am not complaining and are very grateful for the liquid gold so needed in this part of the country.  It is sad to see all the flooding taking place out west as well as in Mexico.  Many people have lost practically all their patrimony.

In the mist of it all we are having some family drama.  It seems my cousin decided at the last minute to go to Acapulco for the weekend.  How a man that is always connected to the internet, gets constant alerts on his cell phone can overlook a hurricane on the Gulf of Mexico and a tropical storm in the Pacific is beyond me...surely there must be a woman involved!

I could care less about his personal life but his lack of judgement has made my poor uncle a nervous wreck as well as my mother.  In case you were not aware there is an emergency situation being lived in Mexico right now. With the exception of three states all of Mexico is practically underwater.  Acapulco has 40,000 tourists that can not leave the city because the highways are closed due to serious damage, boulders and/or landslides.  Air traffic has also been suspended because the airport is underwater. The Mexican army is bringing supplies to Acapulco and then transporting stranded tourists back to Mexico City where they can make connecting flights.

The problem is there is no way to get to the airport except walking for miles and many streets are impassible.  He was able to make a 30 second call to my uncle to let him know he was alright but had little food and water and no electricity.  Tonight he was able to contact him once more.  However he has no idea when he will be able to make it back home and so this preventable saga continues... :-(

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

September 2013 trip to Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico

Mother asked me to take her to the beauty shop in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico.  I always tell my readers that it is best to go to Mexico on a Monday or Tuesday but it seems like I do not follow my own advice!  Actually we are going to be busy next week so it had to be Friday or wait two weeks. If you have to go on a Friday try to go early.  Early in my book means before noon :D

Lucky me...I arrived when they were having another surprise ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) sting at the International bridge. Note that the officers this time are behind the toll booths unlike in my last trip.  This is their usual M.O. We were just waived through.

I tried to snap a picture after we crossed the toll booth so you could see all their vehicles and personnel but I was driving and could not focus on them, sorry...but I did get to take a lovely picture of my 2003 Spurs Championship banner :)

It pays to be the early bird.  No traffic going into Mexico.

This is Mexican customs and they are automated.  If you get a green light you just proceed such as we did.  If you get a red light a buzzer will sound and your vehicle will be searched.  Usually it is just a superficial search unless they send you to a second revision...that has never happened to me thus far.

As you exit customs you get a view of a plaza they built a couple of years ago.  Have no idea why they tore down so many buildings to get it built...it mainly sits empty during the day, have no knowledge how it is during the evening time.

Mexico celebrates its 203rd Independence on Sunday so there are going to be parties all weekend. They had a lot of flags flying all over the city.

Remember last time we came to the beauty shop we spent nearly three hours there?  Not this time...we were her first customers.  Her clients did not start arriving until she was almost done with me. Mom will probably kill me for posting her picture but here she is with Claudia her hairdresser and owner of the shop.

If you are ever in Ciudad Acuña I highly recommend her beauty salon.  She styles both men and women's hair and has excellent prices.

Last time I came to Ciudad Acuña was because I was running low on my medications.  I do not buy my medicine in regular pharmacies (there are hundreds here) but at Gutierrez (a grocery store chain) that has more affordable prices.  Unfortunately because of that they tend to sell out and I was only able to buy a 30 day supply.  Note:  American citizens can cross back a 3-months supply.

I like to shop in the Gutierrez that is located in the old part of town not the newer one that is north of the city were City Hall moved to and where the newer stores such as Bodegas Aurrera (owned by Wal-Mart) and Merco are located.  There does not seem to be as many people at this one and I always find a parking space in the handicap section.

If you ever grocery shop in Mexico you will note that the sackers in the morning and early afternoon are senior citizens and after two o'clock when school lets out it is young kids.  That is because it helps both the stores that do not have to hire extra employees and the seniors and kids that benefit from part time employment. In the States we would never consider tipping a sacker unless they helped us to our car.  However in Mexico they work solely for tips, so please do not forget to give them a little something. If they do a good job I give them $10.00 Mexican pesos...if they do a crappy job like the man today did, I give them $5.00 Mexican pesos.

This lady is a great sacker.  She is dressed in her Independence Day attire.
In the background is a cutout of Miguel Hidalgo known as the father
of Mexican Independence.

Two senior sackers also dressed for the occasion.

In case you forgot this is the store that sells the yummy cakes.  Again I was strong and resisted!

Mexican Independence cakes

Could not help but photograph the other yummy chocolate cakes....

The large cakes that I use to buy :(

Regular size cakes

 A sampling of dollar prices down Exchange Rate Alley:

Today I was in the market to buy pesos and got them at the rate of $12.55 Mexican pesos to $1.00 US Dollar.

Crossing back to the U.S. was a breeze with only two vehicles in front of me at Customs. ALL the traffic was headed south.  The lines to cross into Mexico were backed up to the toll booths. Wanted to take a picture but my camera was in my purse in the back seat...sorry! :(


Good night.  May you all have Terlngua Dreams.

Chasing the garbage truck among other things...

Mother lives in the county not in the city limits of Del Rio.  While we are serviced by the same company...let's say we are the redheaded step-children as far as services go.  We consider ourselves lucky if they pick up the trash before two o'clock.

Heard the garbage truck but thought I was hearing things...sure enough they were picking up the trash and it was only 8:00 a.m.  Grabbed my robe and ran to open the gate as my neighbor was also scrambling to take her trash can out.  Had to run after the truck, lucky they saw me and put it in reverse.  Sure would have made a funny video :D

Went by the hospital to pre-register my mother for a procedure she is having next week.  The hospital nurse even called me yesterday to see why I had not registered her yet...what is the rush?  Being a small town hospital it does not take long but today I had to wait for more than an hour to be able to see HER!

As you can see the registration area is empty.  Only me waiting
on the nurse.

Swung by the recycling center as we had a lot of things I had not been able to drop off in a while.

Old computers and big monster TV's

 Progress in Del Rio...a new dealership!

It was cloudy, muggy but still hot.  Officially it only got to 91 today and we had .01 of an inch of rain but none by mom's house.

The cheapest gas today was found at the new Stripes.

While I have seen this before...I can't help but think those kids peering out the window look creepy!

Rental RV at HEB

Creepy, creepy, creepy!

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Side Effects vs Benefits

It is a wonderful 76 degrees outside right now.  The dark clouds have been around all afternoon as well as some lightning and thunder.  Per Weatherbug it rained .55 of an inch but we did not see a single drop at mother's house.  Wish I could open up the windows because it is cooler outside than inside!

Have you ever watched drug company commercials and noted that the list of possible side effects is longer than the benefits derived from taking some medications?   Mother was prescribed Ciprofloxacin Tablets but after reading the following I don't think I want her to take them anymore:

This medicine is associated with an increased risk of tendon problems.

These include pain, swelling, inflammation and possible breakage of tendons.

The risk of tendon problems is greater in patients who are older than 60 years.

The Achilles tendon in the back of the foot/ankle is most often affected.

However, problems may also occur in other tendons (eg. in the shoulder, arm, hand).

Problems may occur while you take this medicine or up to several months after you stop taking it.

The list goes on and on and even though she only has to take it for 10 days I do not feel comfortable with her doing so.  She has enough issues to deal with without adding more to the equation.  Have not spoken to her doctor since his nurse called me Friday afternoon saying she had an urinary infection and he was prescribing some medication for her.  I think I will buy her some Cranberry juice instead.  It is hell to get old and even harder to watch an elderly parent having to go through it.

Got my first e-mail at my new account terlinguadreams@gmail.com and they inquired about today's header picture.  The reason I photographed it was because when I looked at it...it gave me peace and tranquility.  It was hanging in one of the many clinics we have been to recently.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Catching up on my sleep

Friday morning I decided I really needed to tackle the laundry.  It was towels, blankets and pillow cases.  I had wanted to try these bigger commercial dryers, was hoping they worked better than the smaller ones but NO they do not.

Since I was already out and about went by the P.O. Box and to little HEB (the original one).  There were four older gentlemen waiting for the bus and one followed me back to the car when I came out...he wanted to look at dad's old car.  Even told me where to take it to see about getting the headliner fixed.  He warned me to not let them talk me into replacing it...just to fix the original one.

For my readers that follow gasoline prices...

Come Friday evening I struggled to stay up till 11:30 p.m. something quite odd for me as I do not go to bed until the wee hours of the night.  What is even odder (is that a word?) is that while I woke up to give mother her medication I went back to bed every time and actually fell asleep again!  Officially got up at 2:12 p.m. this afternoon...so I slept a little over 14 hours...I must have really needed it!

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Chicharras and Cats

The moats I made a couple of months back needed re-doing and today was probably going to be my last chance to get them done with less effort due to the ground still being soft from yesterday's rains. I did six but only two of them turned out decent.

I am paying the price for it tonight!  My arms, shoulders and back are aching and it hurts to lift a gallon milk jug...oh well...hopefully this will be the last yard work I attempt this season!

The rains finally gave me a break from having to water every night.  I usually can not get to this chore till after 10:00 p.m. and lately the chicharras have been going crazy.  If you have never heard the sound a chicharra makes...it is similar to that of a rattlesnake and it gives me the creeps.  Only reason I know it is not a rattlesnake is because it is high up on the trees...even though I guess a snake can climb trees too?

That is the main reason I do not run off the cats that congregate at mom's house to sleep and/or pass the time even though I do not particular care for the lovely scent they leave behind.

I named this one Annie

     

You have already met Waldo on prior posts

   
  Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.                                    

Trash / A/C repairs / Water Catchment

Been up and at it since early this morning.  First thing was to put out the trash only for the trash truck to not show up.  Then I remembered a while back when I broke down and actually bought our town newspaper that stated that when there is a holiday your pick-up day is delayed.  Guess none of my neighbors read the paper either because everyone had their trash cans out.

The A/C people called to let me know they were coming to install the new part.  They finished right in the nick of time as the skies opened up and we had a wonderful rain event.  They took off running and never told me how much I owed them!  Guess it is free? :D

Seriously these folks gave us a good price on the unit we purchased two years ago, come on the day you call them and are very professional.  When they tell you they will be there in 30 minutes they mean it unlike the plumber or the Triple A guy who obviously have different ways to measure time.  Amistad Heating and Air Conditioning have the Terlingua Dreams seal of approval.

It was obvious it was going to rain so I put out my buckets and storage containers.  I also made use of my smaller buckets.  Per Weatherbug we got .44 of an inch and the temperature dropped 20 degrees for which I am very thankful.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.