I am a procrastinator by nature but this...condition, habit...seems to escalate during winter months. While I can not say we have had a true winter (maybe a week) the temperatures have been low enough to ground me.
I am backed up in the laundry department and though I carry a load in the trunk of my car in case there is not a lot of people when I go by...I have yet to stop.
My car needs to be serviced and now that I finally found some coupons, they expire tomorrow. What are the odds that I will make it to the dealership?
Was hoping to make a trip to Houston this month and bring back my almost new electric heaters. By the time I go, I probably will not need them anymore.
Need to swing by HEB and buy some meat so I can make some chicken or beef caldo and use all the vegetables I bought last week in Mexico, as I am so tired of eating salads.
My mother always wants me to rake leaves and I have not done that either. The few times the temperature has dropped to the 20's (twice) the leaves seem to have protected the weeds that are already growing and it is only January! I know I need to get a handle on them or I will regret it later.
If you have been trying to call mother's house and it just rings and rings...the telephone is not working. A week ago Saturday I got the scare of my life when I saw the lights on the cordless phones flashing late at night indicating someone was using it. We have one four-prong jack that connects our three landline phones and it is in my bedroom. Grabbed my gun and headed to the kitchen where we have a cordless phone that does not require a jack. Thankfully, there was no one there. Turned on the phone and you could hear a Mexican radio station which I suspect operates on the same frequency.
Disconnected the phones for the night but I had the same issue the following day. This time I only plugged in the corded phone to the four-prong jack. This happened a few years back and they came and installed new wiring on the telephone pole.
Need to call them but I have to be here to let them in and I need to tie up Pedrito, that in and of itself is going to be quite a job. So if you need to reach Mom or I...send us an e-mail.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Spurs Corners
What is happening to our Spurs? Two losses in a row and a lackluster performance! Though I have not had a beer since Terlingua, I promise if they win, I will make "a big sacrifice" and drink one or have a glass of wine (that is if I can make it to the store to buy some).
Terlingua Dreams
Governors Landing Campground - Lake Amistad - Del Rio, Texas
Monday, January 30, 2017
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Martes de Cosecha - Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico
Last Thursday we made a trip to Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila in order to go to the beauty shop. While I did manage to get a couple of groceries at Aurrera (owned by Walmart) they did not have a good selection of produce and the little that they had was expensive by Mexican standards.
A cold front and rain are on the way. Decided to take advantage of sunny skies and temperatures in the 80's and made our way back across the border.
The new toll booths are almost finished. They relocated them for security reasons so they can be closer to new ICE and Homeland Security building.
If you have been reading me for a while, you know that I prefer to go to Mexico on Tuesday as grocery stores like Gutierrez, Merco and Soriana have lower prices on that day. It used to be called "Martes de Frutas y Verduras" (Tuesday of Fruit and Vegetables" but it is now called "Martes de Cosecha" (Harvest Tuesday).
Was surprised at how many vehicles there were...many with Texas license plates sprinkled with some other states...Snowbirds looking for a good bargain?
I found excellent deals including the bargain of the day, tomatoes at $3.90 Mexican pesos for one kilo (one kilo equals 2.2 lbs). To simplify this, let's use an example of $20.00 pesos to one US dollar. 3.90 Mexican pesos divided by 20.00 exchange rate equals .195 US cents.
.195 cents divided by 2.2 lbs ( the equivalent of a kilo) equals .0886 cents or .09 American cents per pound. Now tell me that is not a GREAT deal!
I bought tomatoes, cilantro, onions, bananas, chayote, carrots, serranos, squash, papaya, and melon. Other food items such as Oaxacan cheese, turkey hot dogs, sweet bread, bolillos. Non-food items at excellent prices...toilet paper and bleach.
You will find better liquor prices at grocery stores versus liquor stores.
The same goes for beer...
If you prefer to have a mixed drink at a local bar, they let you know up front how much they take your dollar for...
So how much is that in US currency? The first number is the Compra number, which is how many Mexican pesos you can buy with your dollar. The second number is the Venta number which is how many Mexican pesos it takes to buy one US dollar. For our purpose focus on the Compra figure. I used 20 to 1 ratio, had I had used the higher rate my bargains were even cheaper.
Here are some exchange rates down Exchange Rate Alley:
The line to return to the USA was just about the same as last week's but this time without cars being searched...12 minutes.
I have been asked in the past if there are some safe taxi companies to take you to Mexico. Yes, there are. To be fair all the taxi companies in Del Rio are safe at least to my knowledge I have never heard of someone having a problem with them.
Before they built the new ICE and Homeland Security building, the city offered free parking lots in case you wanted to walk across. Those are no longer available but you can park your vehicle in the taxi company's lot provided of course that you use them to transport you across the border. These establishments are open 24 hours a day.
There are two companies that have their installation close to the International Bridge...Border Taxi and Amigos Taxi. However, most taxi companies will take you to Mexico.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
A cold front and rain are on the way. Decided to take advantage of sunny skies and temperatures in the 80's and made our way back across the border.
The new toll booths are almost finished. They relocated them for security reasons so they can be closer to new ICE and Homeland Security building.
If you have been reading me for a while, you know that I prefer to go to Mexico on Tuesday as grocery stores like Gutierrez, Merco and Soriana have lower prices on that day. It used to be called "Martes de Frutas y Verduras" (Tuesday of Fruit and Vegetables" but it is now called "Martes de Cosecha" (Harvest Tuesday).
Was surprised at how many vehicles there were...many with Texas license plates sprinkled with some other states...Snowbirds looking for a good bargain?
I found excellent deals including the bargain of the day, tomatoes at $3.90 Mexican pesos for one kilo (one kilo equals 2.2 lbs). To simplify this, let's use an example of $20.00 pesos to one US dollar. 3.90 Mexican pesos divided by 20.00 exchange rate equals .195 US cents.
.195 cents divided by 2.2 lbs ( the equivalent of a kilo) equals .0886 cents or .09 American cents per pound. Now tell me that is not a GREAT deal!
I bought tomatoes, cilantro, onions, bananas, chayote, carrots, serranos, squash, papaya, and melon. Other food items such as Oaxacan cheese, turkey hot dogs, sweet bread, bolillos. Non-food items at excellent prices...toilet paper and bleach.
 |
| $11.90 divided by $20.00 = .595 cents per kilo .595 kilos divided by 2.2 = .27 American cents a pound |
The same goes for beer...
 |
| A six pack of Bud Light goes for the US equivalent of $2.98 |
If you prefer to have a mixed drink at a local bar, they let you know up front how much they take your dollar for...
So how much is that in US currency? The first number is the Compra number, which is how many Mexican pesos you can buy with your dollar. The second number is the Venta number which is how many Mexican pesos it takes to buy one US dollar. For our purpose focus on the Compra figure. I used 20 to 1 ratio, had I had used the higher rate my bargains were even cheaper.
Here are some exchange rates down Exchange Rate Alley:
The line to return to the USA was just about the same as last week's but this time without cars being searched...12 minutes.
I have been asked in the past if there are some safe taxi companies to take you to Mexico. Yes, there are. To be fair all the taxi companies in Del Rio are safe at least to my knowledge I have never heard of someone having a problem with them.
Before they built the new ICE and Homeland Security building, the city offered free parking lots in case you wanted to walk across. Those are no longer available but you can park your vehicle in the taxi company's lot provided of course that you use them to transport you across the border. These establishments are open 24 hours a day.
There are two companies that have their installation close to the International Bridge...Border Taxi and Amigos Taxi. However, most taxi companies will take you to Mexico.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Saturday, January 21, 2017
Where has the month gone?
This month has just flown by and I have yet to do anything constructive. Harris County (Houston, Texas) property taxes are due on January 31st and it is always a challenge to find where I put them. Now I can not seem to locate the HOA (Homeowners Association) annual fee statement. Think I will just call them on Monday rather than turn the house upside down to find it. I used to be so organized, what happened to me?
I ran out of Internet Anytime data but still had Off-Peak available on DISH. There is no such thing as roll-over of data but somehow I ended up with 9.0 GB of Anytime at the start of this new billing cycle instead of the usual 5 GB, will need to call and find out why. Did they read my blog and see how much I complain about their service?
Thursday we finally made it to the beauty shop in Ciudad Acuña. Though we both needed a hair cut I mainly did it for Mom.
Afterward, we went to the newer Aurrera located closer to the tourist district. We usually frequent the larger store located in the north part of the city but it was getting late and I did not feel like driving that far.
I forgot to take my camera so I have no pictures to document this trip. The return trip to the US should have taken ten to fifteen minutes as the lines were not that long. It turned out to be a 35 minute wait as the lady border agent searched a car for the longest time instead of sending it for a more extensive search in the area designated for that purpose.
The weather has been foggy and damp in the mornings but by mid-day, the sun has been shining and temperatures have been in the 70's. We have only had two very cold days in the 20's and two in the 30's so winter has been kind to us thus far.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Spurs Corner
My San Antonio Spurs have been playing great, in particular, the young talent. Was surprised to read that Lebron James called Gregg Popovich the greatest NBA coach of all time. Spurs fans have always known that...just did not expect to hear it from James...he is certainly correct in that point.
Just to show that I don't always bad mouth DISH, I was in hog heaven this week as they offered a five-day NBA League pass for free. You see, I also follow other teams in the NBA. Have I mentioned that basketball makes me happy?
I ran out of Internet Anytime data but still had Off-Peak available on DISH. There is no such thing as roll-over of data but somehow I ended up with 9.0 GB of Anytime at the start of this new billing cycle instead of the usual 5 GB, will need to call and find out why. Did they read my blog and see how much I complain about their service?
Thursday we finally made it to the beauty shop in Ciudad Acuña. Though we both needed a hair cut I mainly did it for Mom.
Afterward, we went to the newer Aurrera located closer to the tourist district. We usually frequent the larger store located in the north part of the city but it was getting late and I did not feel like driving that far.
I forgot to take my camera so I have no pictures to document this trip. The return trip to the US should have taken ten to fifteen minutes as the lines were not that long. It turned out to be a 35 minute wait as the lady border agent searched a car for the longest time instead of sending it for a more extensive search in the area designated for that purpose.
The weather has been foggy and damp in the mornings but by mid-day, the sun has been shining and temperatures have been in the 70's. We have only had two very cold days in the 20's and two in the 30's so winter has been kind to us thus far.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Spurs Corner
My San Antonio Spurs have been playing great, in particular, the young talent. Was surprised to read that Lebron James called Gregg Popovich the greatest NBA coach of all time. Spurs fans have always known that...just did not expect to hear it from James...he is certainly correct in that point.
Just to show that I don't always bad mouth DISH, I was in hog heaven this week as they offered a five-day NBA League pass for free. You see, I also follow other teams in the NBA. Have I mentioned that basketball makes me happy?
Sunday, January 15, 2017
Weather not as bad as predicted
We were warned of severe storms, hail, winds and lighting to take place this weekend. The skies were ominous enough to keep me home but the rain and lighting did not materialize until late this afternoon and nowhere near what was predicted.
I even untied Pedrito Friday afternoon after his supper. I did not want him getting wet or worst yet being hit in the head by Texas size hail.
I was reading fellow blogger Gypsy's post and smiled because I too decided to take a nap yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a four-hour nap as I waited for the chicken and vegetables to boil. Thank goodness Mom was on top of it or I could have burnt the house down :-(
I told Mom to wake me as the Spurs were playing an early game in Mexico City...do you think she did? NO!!! She said I needed the sleep and that I was snoring...jajajajajaja! Oh well, they ended up losing because I was not cheering them on :)
I even went to sleep at 10:30 p.m. last night though I was wide awake by 2:15 a.m. but unlike the prior night decided to stay in bed and finally managed to doze off. I am very tired so I think I will call it a night after the evening news.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
I even untied Pedrito Friday afternoon after his supper. I did not want him getting wet or worst yet being hit in the head by Texas size hail.
I was reading fellow blogger Gypsy's post and smiled because I too decided to take a nap yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a four-hour nap as I waited for the chicken and vegetables to boil. Thank goodness Mom was on top of it or I could have burnt the house down :-(
I told Mom to wake me as the Spurs were playing an early game in Mexico City...do you think she did? NO!!! She said I needed the sleep and that I was snoring...jajajajajaja! Oh well, they ended up losing because I was not cheering them on :)
I even went to sleep at 10:30 p.m. last night though I was wide awake by 2:15 a.m. but unlike the prior night decided to stay in bed and finally managed to doze off. I am very tired so I think I will call it a night after the evening news.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
My Tex-Mex Origins
Set the alarm to 6:00 a.m. but for some reason I have been wide awake since 4:00 a.m. Belinda, why in the world would you want to get up so early? Actually I wouldn't...but Fibromyositis tends to do that, to us suffering from it :-(
So what is a girl to do at this hour? Well,.one can go online and use up all the available "Off Peak Internet" I had left!
What better way to do that, than sign on to YouTube and listen to the music that took me back to my origins...Tejano Music, also known as Chicano Music back in the 80's..
You see...I grew up in Austin, Texas, a "real city"...where I was able to listen to the top 40 hits.in the nation. Was surprised that when we moved to Del Rio, a small border town in the late 60's, that I would also have that alternative available to me.
The seventies was the decade that defined me as a person. It is the era that I came into adulthood. It has always been of special significance to me...in particular my days as a "Disco Duck"...something that makes others cringe, but I must say brought great happiness to my life.
When Disco died...a small part of me died as well. Then I discovered Chicano music or like some like to call it...Tejano Music. It would be a feat to try to explain that to someone. Only if you grew up in Texas or in other cities with heavy Mexican-American concentration that you could understand what this means.
This evening I have been listening to Conjunto Bernal, Bobby Naranjo y Direccion, Josefa Band, Jesse Serrata, Carlos Guzman and so many other old school Tejano greats. For some unknown reason...music has always taken me back to the old days of my youth, when I had what I thought was "a perfect life".
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
So what is a girl to do at this hour? Well,.one can go online and use up all the available "Off Peak Internet" I had left!
What better way to do that, than sign on to YouTube and listen to the music that took me back to my origins...Tejano Music, also known as Chicano Music back in the 80's..
You see...I grew up in Austin, Texas, a "real city"...where I was able to listen to the top 40 hits.in the nation. Was surprised that when we moved to Del Rio, a small border town in the late 60's, that I would also have that alternative available to me.
The seventies was the decade that defined me as a person. It is the era that I came into adulthood. It has always been of special significance to me...in particular my days as a "Disco Duck"...something that makes others cringe, but I must say brought great happiness to my life.
When Disco died...a small part of me died as well. Then I discovered Chicano music or like some like to call it...Tejano Music. It would be a feat to try to explain that to someone. Only if you grew up in Texas or in other cities with heavy Mexican-American concentration that you could understand what this means.
This evening I have been listening to Conjunto Bernal, Bobby Naranjo y Direccion, Josefa Band, Jesse Serrata, Carlos Guzman and so many other old school Tejano greats. For some unknown reason...music has always taken me back to the old days of my youth, when I had what I thought was "a perfect life".
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
No library, no Internet, no Soap Opera
Just got off the phone with an employee at the Val Verde County Library and it remains closed to the public. You are probably asking...if you have a computer at home, why do you need to use the one at the library? For one I am nearing the end of my allotted 5GB Anytime per monthly cycle (I have 0.3 remaining or almost nothing). While I have 4.2 GB Off Peak (2:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.) that defeats the purpose of taking my computer out of my bedroom and being able to go to sleep at a normal hour (OK, normal for me).
I do not have a printer and do not plan on purchasing one. However, I am in need of printing out some coupons so I can have my car serviced. Whenever I have printing or copying needs...I like everyone else head to the library where it is more economical (.10 cents per page).
Thirdly, I have missed three episodes of my soap opera that ends next week. My mother told me just to imagine what happened. I did not devote six months of my time to imagine anything, I want to see it live and in person. That is never going to happen with my low Internet speeds, even when we had Time Warner Cable, it would buffer continuously.
I went to Walmart and attempted to use my tablet to watch it there but it told me that I did not have that programming on DISH. Called DISH, called Telemundo and I still can't watch anything. Where is my TWC (tall weathered cowboy) to help me deal with all this technology?
On a more positive note, it was warm yesterday and it will be warm today. Went by Tractor and Supply to pick up more food for the critters and the young man that checks me out and then puts the bag in my vehicle remembered me and said: "this time it took longer for you to come, had not seen you in a month". I just smiled at him, with my CRS...I have no idea when was the last time I came!
Stopped to wash my car and was going to fill-up but I think I will wait a couple more days and see if the price comes down some more. It was at $2.13 per gallon in HEB. Monday we went to San Antonio and Hondo, Texas had the best price at $2.04 per gallon for regular unleaded.
Heard from three people yesterday, that I had not heard from in a while...have not decided if that is good or bad in particular from two of them...I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop. There is a saying in Spanish "Piensa mal y acertaras" that more or less translates to "think the worst and you will be on the right path". Sorry, that is the pessimist in me coming out.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
I do not have a printer and do not plan on purchasing one. However, I am in need of printing out some coupons so I can have my car serviced. Whenever I have printing or copying needs...I like everyone else head to the library where it is more economical (.10 cents per page).
Thirdly, I have missed three episodes of my soap opera that ends next week. My mother told me just to imagine what happened. I did not devote six months of my time to imagine anything, I want to see it live and in person. That is never going to happen with my low Internet speeds, even when we had Time Warner Cable, it would buffer continuously.
I went to Walmart and attempted to use my tablet to watch it there but it told me that I did not have that programming on DISH. Called DISH, called Telemundo and I still can't watch anything. Where is my TWC (tall weathered cowboy) to help me deal with all this technology?
On a more positive note, it was warm yesterday and it will be warm today. Went by Tractor and Supply to pick up more food for the critters and the young man that checks me out and then puts the bag in my vehicle remembered me and said: "this time it took longer for you to come, had not seen you in a month". I just smiled at him, with my CRS...I have no idea when was the last time I came!
Stopped to wash my car and was going to fill-up but I think I will wait a couple more days and see if the price comes down some more. It was at $2.13 per gallon in HEB. Monday we went to San Antonio and Hondo, Texas had the best price at $2.04 per gallon for regular unleaded.
Heard from three people yesterday, that I had not heard from in a while...have not decided if that is good or bad in particular from two of them...I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop. There is a saying in Spanish "Piensa mal y acertaras" that more or less translates to "think the worst and you will be on the right path". Sorry, that is the pessimist in me coming out.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Who is to say...who is the winner?
Seven days into 2017...I am finally able to make a post! To be totally honest with my readers...I have no idea how I even have a blog!!!
To refreshen your memory, I got my computer out of my bedroom along with my big screen television set, in order to get some very needed sleep. Did it work? Of course, it did...that is why I have not had a chance to make even one post thus far.
Not to give total credit to being able to go to sleep at a normal hour without being able to make a post, but the Val Verde County Library played a big role on this as well. You see, the library has been undergoing a remodelling for two plus years and it is still not completed.
Wanting to use their computers, called them last week only to get a voice recording saying that they would "tentatively" be opened for business on January 3rd. Drove by there on Friday, January 6th only to be told by a construction worker that the library would be closed until further notice.
Of course, my DISH TV and the Internet have been having fits only because the temperature dropped well below freezing...just four more months until this darn two-year contract is over...actually until the Spurs season comes to an end that this DISH nightmare will be over and done with!
We have had our hands full. Only in the first days of January, we have had three doctors appointments with two of them being out-of-town.
Today, I said goodbye to my diet and went out and bought me some menudo. The place I purchase it from makes the best in Del Rio, except for today...they piled on the salt! Obviously, some new employee made it.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
To refreshen your memory, I got my computer out of my bedroom along with my big screen television set, in order to get some very needed sleep. Did it work? Of course, it did...that is why I have not had a chance to make even one post thus far.
Not to give total credit to being able to go to sleep at a normal hour without being able to make a post, but the Val Verde County Library played a big role on this as well. You see, the library has been undergoing a remodelling for two plus years and it is still not completed.
Wanting to use their computers, called them last week only to get a voice recording saying that they would "tentatively" be opened for business on January 3rd. Drove by there on Friday, January 6th only to be told by a construction worker that the library would be closed until further notice.
Of course, my DISH TV and the Internet have been having fits only because the temperature dropped well below freezing...just four more months until this darn two-year contract is over...actually until the Spurs season comes to an end that this DISH nightmare will be over and done with!
We have had our hands full. Only in the first days of January, we have had three doctors appointments with two of them being out-of-town.
Today, I said goodbye to my diet and went out and bought me some menudo. The place I purchase it from makes the best in Del Rio, except for today...they piled on the salt! Obviously, some new employee made it.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
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