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?

Beauty Shop / Little bottles of Coke

As you know I was sick with the flu during December and a good part of January and had not been able to take my mom to her favorite beauty shop in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico.  While I recommend going on a Monday or Tuesday, I did not take her with me on my two prior trips because it was just too cold for her.

Can only show you my haircut because mother got upset
the last time I posted a picture of her on my blog.

I was dreading it because one time I took her to get her hair done on a Friday and ended up spending more than three hours there.  I usually get off first to see if she can fit us in...was very surprised she did not have any customers.  Later learned her dad had passed away last Saturday and she did not open her shop until today.

$6.00 pesos is .47 American cents

A while back a reader wrote to inquire if they sold little Coke bottles in Mexico because he owned an old fashion dispensing machine.  I no longer have his e-mail or for that matter even know if he still reads me. At the time I did not find them, today I saw them at Gutierrez (a grocery store).

$4.90 at today's exchange rate is .38 American cents

I also saw this little washboard and thought....humm it just might work in Terlingua :-)

30.30 pesos is the equivalent of $2.37 US dollars

A reader wanted to know what exactly the rates I put up on my blog mean.  So an explanation is in order. The first number on the sign is the rate you will receive if you change $1.00 US dollar.  In the picture below, if you were to go into that Exchange House you would come out with $12.80 Mexican pesos.

Say you did not find anything to buy and wanted to sell back your Mexican pesos...you would only get back $0.9846 American cents.

12.80 divided by 13.00 = 0.9846 USD

I put up the dollar exchange rates for my benefit as I will buy Mexican pesos when the dollar is high and get more bang for my buck. I do not recommend you do this unless you live along the border like I do or visit often.  I try to pay for everything in Mexican pesos and if I do not use all my pesos...no big deal, I will use them the next time I come to Ciudad Acuña.

I get a lot of inquiries asking if Ciudad Acuña is a safe place to visit.  From my experience and my point of view it is...but ultimately only YOU can make that decision.  Mexico gets a bad rap in the American media and granted some places in the interior of Mexico I would never even consider venturing into.

However, you never hear in the same media about the good things Mexico has to offer, like affordable health care, low grocery prices, excellent travel destinations and the warmth and generosity of its people.  That is what I try to portray on my blog.

Take for instance this afternoon as we were heading back to Del Rio...the lines to cross into Mexico were so long they extended beyond the toll booths on the American side.  That gives you an idea of how many people visit this border city during the weekend.

By comparison when I got to American Customs...there wasn't even a line!

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Have been sleeping like a baby

If you have been reading my blog for a while you know that I tend to stay up late at night not necessarily because I want to.  Part of it is because I am a night owl but mostly because for years I have suffered from insomnia.

When I was taking my cholesterol lowering medication one of the side effects was that it made me sleepy (in case you are not familiar with this type of medication you take it at night when your body tends to produce cholesterol).  Quit taking it when my doctor no longer gave out free samples of Crestor. I found out it would cost over $200.00 for a 30 day supply as I have no health insurance.

I am therefore happy to report that for the past three nights I have slept like a baby and have fallen asleep before midnight.  I don’t know if it was because I laughed like crazy during the late night show monologues that I had not watched in a long while and they relaxed me to the point that I fell asleep?  Will not question it, just grateful.  I apologize to all the blogs I follow for not having paid you a visit these past couple of nights but this is the reason why.



Was so hot Friday this vendor was inside the bank cooling off as he waited for customers in Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila.

Mom wanted me to take her to the beauty parlor so her wish is my command.  She has been going to this beauty shop in Ciudad Acuna for years but the owner sold her business two years ago though the lead hairstylist is still there.  There was just something about the new owner that did not sit well with either one of us so we decided to look for a new establishment.

We have found it!! This is our second visit to this beauty shop and we really like her, plus she has excellent prices, an accessible location, parking and a great personality.  A haircut and style cost $60.00 Mexican pesos (yesterdays exchange rate was $12.00 pesos to sell dollars, $12.30 pesos to buy dollars) or the equivalent of $5.00 USD.  Mother and I are sporting new do’s.

Our new stylist and her daughter who turned six this particular day.

I want to welcome Dave who signed on as a follower.  His blog is Living Out Here http://livingouthere.blogspot.com/

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.