Beer / Turkey Leg / Loaded baked potato

It has been warm, cloudy, humid and muggy.  Last night I did not even need my covers.  This morning it rained making it even more humid.  We are supposed to have temperatures in the high 80's to low 90's with rain all week.

I had every intention of going to Walmart but got a late start and as much as I am still incredulous about...Del Rio now has a rush hour and I am done with those!

Decided I would go to little HEB instead to buy a six-pack for the basketball games this evening. When I was at HEB this past Sunday I was not able to purchase beer because it was not noon yet.

A 16 oz six-pack of Natural Light sells for $4.99 but they had a special on 30-packs of the same brand for $16.98 making that a Best Buy.  Had an employee place it on my cart as I can not lift one without throwing my back out.

 
I was hungry so decided I would head to Hot Pit Bar-b-q and buy me a turkey leg that I could shred and eat with my salad.

While there decided I would also buy a loaded baked potato and divide it into four portions for later in the week.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Early to rise / Menudo / Barbacoa / Comparison Price Shopping

I was wide awake by 6:00 a.m. and since I could not go back to sleep turned on the TV so I could catch up on all the shows I have recorded on my DVR and hopefully delete a few.  I have been sleeping with my windows partially open as at least at nights it gets down to the very comfortable '60s.

My boys (my stray cats) were having none of that and came to sit by the window ledge and whine until I finally gave up and went outside to feed them.  Walked to the front gate to see if Mr. Joe's step-son's vehicle was there as I suspect he and his family no longer live there...me doing my happy dance!  Only to see that more litterbugs had dumped trash along the fence line.

Lined my five-gallon bucket, put on my plastic gloves and started picking up trash at 7:00 a.m.  The only person that came out was the nosy neighbor's son as he made his way to town I presume to buy breakfast.

Hum....breakfast?  Yeah, I can go for that.  I allow myself one day a week to eat whatever I want. The only problem is that it is Sunday and my favorite "menudo" selling restaurant now closes on Sundays.  If I want to partake in their delicious dish I have to buy it the day before.

Headed to HEB where they make a version of "light menudo" and "lower fat barbacoa" though they would not get a five-star rating from me...it was "eatable".  

It was so good not to have to encounter any crowds at the store that I took my time and went to price compare some items I have posted that I buy in Mexico.

Comparison Price Shopping

Garnier Nutrisse Hair Color sells at HEB for $6.97

The same item in Mexico sells for 39.00 Mexican Pesos divided by an exchange rate of $17.30 for the equivalent of $2.25 USD. That is a savings of $4.72 each which will more than pay for the $4.00 USD in tolls to cross to Ciudad Acuña.

I purchased a Garnier Fructis shampoo 650 ml for $39.60 Mexican pesos divided by an exchange rate of $17.30 for the equivalent of $2. 29 USD.

That same item was selling at HEB in Del Rio for $4.94 saving you $2.65 per shampoo bottle more than paying for the tolls to cross back to the USA which depending on the exchange rate range from $1.60 to no more than $1.80 USD.

While I still had 3/4 of a tank full I decided to top my tank as it is only a matter of time for prices to go up as high as they have in California where they are almost $5.00 a gallon.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Spurs Corner

I have often said that if I did not write it down whether in my Personal Journal or my Blog...then it did not happen...tonight I will subscribe to that philosophy...tomorrow it might be a different story.

Mr. Joe's wife / Pollito / Heavy downpours

I mentioned on a prior post that Mr. Joe, mother's nice neighbor mowed along the outer fence line.  We have so many darn litterbugs that throw their trash out their car window but I had not had a chance to go pick it up.

Trash day in this part of the county is on Wednesday.  Looked out the window and the sky was really dark so decided to hurry up and go pick up the trash before the storms began.  Mr. Joe's wife came out rolling her own container to the curve and we got to talking.

Turns out she also goes to Ciudad Acuña for pretty much the same thing I do...doctors, labs, the vet and groceries.  The only difference is I go in the mornings or at noon and she prefers late in the afternoon. Told me she got home at 11:00 p.m. the other night after spending two and a half hours in line.

Pollito (the lawn man) drove by in his 18 wheeler dump truck and stopped to join the conversation though this is a narrow street and he was blocking a lane.  He asked me when I wanted him to come mow the weeds.  I told him in May but only if the ground was not wet because he had left ruts the last time from his tractor.  Also threw in that I would prefer if he could get it done in one or two days so it would all grow out evenly.  Last time it took him two and a half months...grrrrrrrrr!!

All of a sudden the skies opened up and we received a very heavy downpour. Thus, I did not get to pick up all the trash I had intended as we all headed different directions seeking cover.  By the afternoon the sun was out and we had beautiful blue skies while the temperatures were still in the '70s.  I knew it was going to probably be the last Spring Day we would enjoy in a while. Today as well as for the coming days we are expected to be in the '90s...sigh!... :-(

Last night I was so tired I fell asleep watching an NBA game I really wanted to see.  Was going to get up and make a post but decided my sleep was more important. I, therefore, can not wish you Terlingua Dreams because it is 1:36 p.m.  So have a nice afternoon instead.

Late night jamming to YouTube videos

The mornings have been chilly and gray.  Except for a couple of days in March and April in the 90's and one that reached 107 degrees, we have had below normal temperatures for this time of year.  That is a good thing!

I missed the six o'clock news but I do believe we are expecting rain tomorrow.  I was outside transferring water around so I can make room for more in my rain catchment system.

Yesterday was such an enjoyable day no neighbors around they were all at area parks celebrating Easter with their families. I decided to make Caldo de Res (Beef Soup) to use all the vegetables I still had from my trips to México. I opened up the windows and had a good crosswind circulating through the house that kept the kitchen from getting warm.

Last night I just could not go to sleep so started watching YouTube videos as I tend to do when this happens.  I have always wished that I had been old enough to have attended Woodstock but I was a kid at the time. The musician I would have most liked to have seen perform was Carlos Santana. Thanks to technology I was able to watch his original performance, boy was he young!

Forward to newer videos and that is how I came upon one of Santana a couple of months back with the Lonely Boys at the 2004 Latin Grammys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxbmHc9ZBys    It is almost sacrilege to say but I do believe Henry Garza could well be his successor after seeing this American Music Awards performance with Carlos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6mY6vEa8DY

Needless to say, the music made me want to jam not sleep!  Forced myself to go to bed at 5:30 a.m. so it is no wonder that I have done absolutely nothing all day.  Oh, by the way, the Lonely Boys are from San Angelo, Texas and their father is a widower and a good looking TWC.  Enrique Garza is shown on a YouTube video jamming with his boys and the legendary Willie Nelson.

My cousin is on vacation and asked me to keep my cellphone turned on in case my uncle needed something as he would likely call me before he dialed him.  I do not like technology but I have to say that Whatsapp has come in handy for calls to other countries.

There was an earthquake this morning in Mexico. My cousin felt it because he is vacationing close to the epicenter but could not get through to my uncle.  He finally answered and come to find out he did not even feel it or even know about it because the seismic alarms never went off.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

2019 Easter Camping along the banks of San Felipe Springs - Part II

After leaving San Felipe Lions Park I went down the road to another park.  This park did not exist when I was growing up in Del Rio.  The first thing I noticed was the two RV's. I know I am going to get in trouble for saying this but I do not consider bringing your RV as camping.

There is something about camping out in a tent and like Rick and Kathy of "It's About Time" http://ricknkathyrousseau.blogspot.com  fame mentioned on my prior post "memories of sleeping on the ground with rocks poking you in the back".

I think everyone, in particular, the kids will be making wonderful memories camping and sleeping in tents during Easter.  Thus when they become adults they will learn the value of "roughing it" and better appreciate the comforts an RV affords.

The lady in red sure walked fast she passed me up leaving her sister and kids behind. She was still wearing her pajamas because it was chilly and/or had just gotten up.  This park has more parking than the other area parks. It also has the longest walk to bring your stuff in when you are setting up camp.

I stopped at the bridge to take pictures but since the sun was not high up enough and I do not take good pictures using my cell phone they are not good quality shots.

After you cross the bridge there is a very large area with huge trees suited for tent camping. There was plenty of room for those that had not yet arrived.

I hope you had an enjoyable Easter weekend with family and friends or whomever you chose to spend it with.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

2019 Easter Camping along the banks of San Felipe Springs - Part I

I do not know what is wrong with me I keep on waking up early (for me). I am NOT a morning person and today I once again woke up at 6:57 a.m.  Since I could not go back to sleep I got up and fed the cats.  It was nice and cool ( 62 degrees) so decided I would go for a morning drive to the area parks and check on the campers.

Was surprised that there was still a lot of room available.  I suppose today they will start coming in earnest. In years past, I usually come by late Saturday afternoon or at noon Sunday.

People were barely getting up and starting to make breakfast. These pictures were taken at Star Park that faces Highway 90.

My next stop was San Felipe Lions Park.

It is here that I noticed the first RV's.

This year there were a lot more port-o-potties available for the campers.

Since it was still in the high 60's there was no one enjoying the waters of San Felipe Springs who like most springs tend to be on the cold side no matter the season.

This afternoon it reached 88 degrees so I am sure a lot of people cooled off in its spring waters.

This particular campsite had small tents like for children and they seemed to still be asleep.

Headed to the next park down the road from San Felipe Lions Park.  I will post those images tomorrow.

Would have liked to have taken more pictures but people were waking up and I did not want to invade their privacy.

Headed to the new Burger King down the road and enjoyed a quiet breakfast.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Camping at area parks / Mr. Joe / Killer hail

Even though I went to bed late I was wide awake by 7:00 a.m.  Last night since it was Spurs game night I did not have time to eat dinner as I was trying to finish my other chores. I had a small bag of chips at half-time to squelch my hunger.

Decided to treat myself to some breakfast tacos this morning. Leilani would be proud of me, I did not wear a lick of make-up, put on my cowboy hat and sunglasses and no one was the wiser.

For some reason, I kept on thinking today was Thursday instead of Good Friday.  This morning after 10:00 a.m. the city parks along the banks of San Felipe Creek were open to the public for camping during the Easter weekend.

Mother's nice neighbor once again mowed the grass along the outside fence line...thank you, Mr. Joe!  Now if I could just muster the will to take care of what is inside the fence :-(

I mentioned on my last post that Ciudad Acuña and surrounding "rancherias"...little ranches in nearby towns...had suffered the brunt of the baseball size hail.  I found the story on the Mexican newspaper El Zocalo but instead of showing pictures of the hail they chose to show pictures of dead sheep, goats and other animals that were killed by said hail.  I do not have the heart to post the picture on my blog.  If you want to read the story here it is  http://www.zocalo.com.mx/new_site/articulo/mata-la-granizada-a-ganado-en-jimenez

I was a little bummed out because today is not the first, second, third but fourth time within the past four weeks that someone I know passes away and I do not have any knowledge of it. Many people are choosing not to be listed in the local newspaper because apart from the cost hardly no one reads it. Such was the case with the lady that was laid to rest this morning. I had to go to the funeral home's webpage to learn of her passing.

I think I have managed to write a "downer post" without meaning to but what can I say, this is what I have to work with.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Thunder, lightning, heavy winds, rain and hail

We were warned by the weather stations in San Antonio that we were under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch beginning at 9:00 p.m.  Had to once again go outside to put away anything that might become a projectile.

I wanted to watch the Houston Rockets game but the lightning show followed by thunder and heavy winds made me turn it off and disconnect most everything. With my WiFi turned off found out how slow my cell phone really is without it.

Could not watch TV, could not go online...what is a gal to do?  Take a nap of course.  At first, I was unable to do so but then I fell into a deep sleep.  I could hear the thunder and lightning but it was like I was in a deep trance or heavily sedated.

It was 11:03 p.m. when Paquito snapped me out of my deep sleep state when he started fighting with another cat (a stray) and I had to go outside to yell at him. I do not know why he always picks on this cat while not on other strays when he comes over to eat or drink water.

Turned on the TV and by now the storm was reaching Uvalde with hail and heavy winds. That is when I found out that Ciudad Acuña had taken the brunt of the storm. They had received golf size hail which people were sending pictures of to various San Antonio news outlets.

This morning I woke up early and headed to HEB to get a jump on the crowds and very glad I did. I was home by 9:30 a.m.

There was no damage at mother's house and today turned out to be a beautiful sunny day with a high of 84 much better than the 91 degrees we had yesterday.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Trip to the Dentist

I can not believe it took me all weekend to get over my trip to México. I was exhausted and did not get to do my other chores.

I had mentioned that I was on a waiting list if there was a cancellation at my dentist's. I just had this feeling they would be calling me Monday and sure enough they did.  It was the only time I was glad I had my cell phone turned ON.

Incredibly, I got up very early Monday morning and was able to get to the things I had neglected over the weekend. Gassed up for $2.45 per gallon. Went by the post office, the bank and stopped to buy two breakfast tacos at Stripes where they KNOW how to make tacos!

My appointment was at noon so left at 11:17 a.m. Made sure to write down the mileage, it was 5 miles from mother's house to the dental office and took me 20 minutes.

I got a tooth filled for $58.00 dollars and had my teeth cleaned for $45.00 for a total of $103.00 USD. I usually pay in Mexican Pesos but chose to pay in dollars today.

Went to run a couple more errands before heading to the Amistad Dam Port of Entry.  Since I was not in a hurry I stopped at the dividing line where the Eagles are located and took some pictures. I also added some to the prior post.

From here you can get a great view of Lake Amistad.

 As well as of the Rio Grande River. México to the right and USA to the left.

Joined the line to cross the border at 3:30 p.m.  On a prior post I had said it was a 10-mile drive from downtown Ciudad Acuña to the Amistad Dam Port of Entry but I was wrong it is a 17-mile drive.

 After a few minutes, more had joined the line behind me.

I reached the ICE agent at 5:17 p.m. It took me 1 hour 47 minutes to cross the border.  Then had to drive another 17 miles to get home but at least I can tick off another thing off my To Do List.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


NBA Corner

Last night I was going to watch the game between the Clippers and the Golden State Warriors, but it was so boring and obviously the GSW were ahead by a lot so changed channels. This morning I woke up to find the Clippers made an unbelievable comeback and  I missed it...grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

April 12, 2019 trip to Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila - Part III

Left Bodegas Aurrera and headed back to town to pick-up Paquito. On my other blog, I list the Veterinary Clinic and other pertinent information as well as costs. You can read my blog by clicking on the header picture on this blog or here http://mylittlewalter.blogspot.com/

I headed for the Amistad Dam Port of Entry. I had not been out this way in a while. On the way there you pass many Maquiladoras and they were just letting out. The Maquiladoras hire private bus services for their employees. The buses consist of former School District buses from the United States and the drivers drive like crazy.

Would have loved to have taken pictures but it was just too dangerous to try. Though I was going 60 mph I was passed by many Texas State plate bearing cars going very fast. From downtown Acuña to the Dam it is about 10 miles  17 miles.

This was the line when I arrived, it sure beats the line at the Main International Bridge where the wait was 90 minutes according to my now favorite Border Wait Times webpage https://bwt.cbp.gov/index.html?com=0&pas=1&ped=0&plist=2302

The dividing international line at the Amistad Dam bridge is where the monument with both the American and Mexican Eagles stands,

A close-up, sorry I did not do a good job as I used my cell phone...

Plaque that commemorates the year it was built and the US and Mexican Presidents at the time.

This is looking West from the American side.

The wind was very strong. It felt like the bridge was moving or that I was on a ship at sea.

Though the line was long it was moving at a steady pace.

It took about 25 minutes to cross the border.

This sign shows the hours of operation being from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

As I mentioned previously you do not have to pay a toll either way.  As an added bonus if you buy liquor you do not have to pay taxes on it at this International Crossing as the State of Texas does not have a booth to collect State Liquor Tax.  Just make sure you declare it when you cross.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

April 12, 2019 trip to Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila - Part II

I was enjoying just looking around Soriana without being in a rush.  I started to get hungry as I had not eaten breakfast because my intention was to leave Paquito at the vet and come back home.

I had canceled my dental appointment previously because of the uncertainty of a border closing and getting stuck in México if that took place. I really hate going to the dentist but sometimes one does not have much choice.

The dental office I go to is located at the entrance into Ciudad Acuña. Soriana is in the northern part of the city. Hoping to be seen today if someone canceled drove back to the tourist district.

I was not able to land an appointment but I was put on a waiting list in case there was a cancellation next week.

México is mostly a Roman Catholic nation and they religiously observe Easter. Today was the last day of classes for both public as well as private school students. They are off for two weeks.

I had also canceled my appointment for blood work so I needed to know what days they would be open for business next week. To my delight, they will only be closed Thursday and Friday.

I only plan on making one trip in case I land a dental appointment next week. International bridge crossings are always busy during Easter, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas and New Years.  Now add the current situation we are living at this time with agents being temporarily relocated to other border points to deal with the influx of immigrants and I do not want to imagine the border wait times during Easter. However, my health is more important and I can always cross at the Amistad Dam Port of Entry even if it means driving miles out of my way.

By now I was starving to death so decided to drive back to the north part of town where all the big grocery stores are located. Bodegas Aurrera (owned by Walmart) is located in the only mall in Ciudad Acuña...Plaza Bella...so decided to head to their food court.

Decided to try Taco City's tacos al pastor. They were not what I expected but ate it anyway as I was famished by now. Actually, the only palatable thing was their hot sauce.

I had to wash away the horrible taste of the tacos so wandered down the mall to an ice cream stand and bought me an ice cream cone. Now that tasted good!

By now it was past 2:00 p.m. too late to head home as I was going to pick up Paquito at 4:30 p.m. Headed to Bodegas Aurrera to kill some more time. Was surprised there were so many workers stocking shelves at this time of the day. Wondered if this had anything to do with the long lines to cross products between countries.  I can only imagine how bad it would get if the current administration actually closed the border.

When I got to their liquor aisle it was obvious that it was understocked,  I have never heard of Tequila Campo Azul Clásico Reposado but at a price of $102.00 Mexican Pesos divided by an exchange rate of 17.30, it was only $5.90 USD.

Mexican Egg Nog is sold year around and contains liquor. Rompope Coronado at $98.00 Mexican Pesos is equal to $5.66 USD,

 

Another item that is very affordable in México is make-up.  For the same reason as other beauty products such as shampoo, conditioner, hair dye, face cream, toothpaste, etc. etc. They are manufactured in México.

Pond's make-up products...

Garnier hair products...

To be continued........


Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.