Spring tour de Grankids 2012

Returning from Cozumel to Houston, our first stop this year was at the Baxters’ house in Hempstead.  As always, we were so wrapped up in the many happenings there, we came up short in the picture taking department.  Here are the highlights:

Cody, 9, is playing on a 9-10 year old baseball team.  The rules call for a 9 year old on each team to pitch at least 1 inning every game.  Cody was chomping at the bit to be that 9 year old and got his wish while we were there.  While his mom was biting her nails, he did a fine job.  He struck a batter out and only allowed 2 runs.  He kept his cool after he pitched a few wild pitches.  Very impressive!

Ashlee has graduated from UT in Austin and was home for Easter weekend.  Cody is always excited to have his big sis home.  That is, at least, until the obligatory teasing comes on!  The horses were happy to go for a walk on a beautiful spring day.

Kelley and Ash on Shay and Gigi.

One of the Baxters’ 4 dogs found a bunny’s nest the day before Easter.  It took a hard sell to convince Ash and Kelley that the baby bunnies would probably do just fine if we let them be.

Some pics on their cell phones before putting them back in their home.

Couldn’t resist this vantage point on Shay that I had when I looked up from the bunnies!  Doesn’t she just exude an aura of intelligence?

Cody leads a farm boy’s dream life!  I just loved watching him in his Texas sized cowboy hat walking to the riding ring with his stirrups on his shoulder so he could ride for a while.

Boy and horse – oh, and Mom too!

Ash did barrel racing a few summers.  She doesn’t have any problem handling a flighty teenaged Gigi.

I’m glad that Cody isn’t a fan of this blog.  He wouldn’t be happy to know I was including this photo with him looking like a country/western singer!

So, some of the things we missed recording with photos were:

Cody handling his dad’s tractor with skill that makes Grandpa envious.  He used the tractor to move and smooth dirt for a retaining wall. 

He continues to love fishing and is happy that the ponds in the area have filled again with some rains this spring.  He, Jamie B. and Grandpa took  4 wheelers up the road and did some serious fishing before dinner one night. Grandpa caught the most fish.  All fighting bluegills!

Cody absolutely demolishes us playing Pictureka.  The object of the game is to find hidden pictures before other players do.  Cody was actually sitting out some rounds so that Grandpa and I could catch up.

Cody LOVES school and his grades show it.  He changed to a very small K-12 school about a 1/2 hour away.  Cody loves having a wide range of ages around and he says that there are no bullies. 

Finally, there is a new addition of a swimming pool at the Baxter house.  Fun times racing and making some pretty hefty currents in the above ground pool.

Our final days

It’s started as it does every 6 months.  Peggy is doing a great job at impersonating Wendy Whiner.  “I don’t want to pack up. I don’t want to be an adult.  Why can’t I go spend the whole day playing?”  Here are some miscellaneous photos of our wind-down days.  Ed is missing because he’s being responsible- packing and getting ready for our tenants to move in!

Peggy and  her friend Jodi spent a good part of a day at a resort up north.  For the price of a scrumptious breakfast, they were able to be tourists.  The resort was a building that looked unoccupied for years.  Now it has a wonderful restaurant on the beach, a climbing wall and a nice snorkel area.

Edwin and Marianna came by the other night and said that fresh fish was on at El Farito, his parent’s cocteleria!  Wonderful fish soup with grouper and fried barracuda and wahoo.  We are so spoiled!  Edwin’s father and mother are at the end of the table.  Edwin is across from Peggy and Marianna is next to her. Ed, being responsible, is taking the picture.

Our big buddies are back!  We thought that with the new construction across the street that they must have picked up and moved.  The other day, though, as Peggy and Marianna were sitting on the front porch, this guy came across the street, under our gate, through the lawn and to the top of the wall by the time Ed got our camera.  Cuddly looking isn’t he?

It happens with amazing frequency here that someone sees a need and figures out how to meet it.  If you’re on Facebook, check out Tadeo’s Shoes.  This is a loosely knit group of people brought together by one woman.  She had met a man who for 24 years has been fitting and bringing down prosthetic devices and shoes from the US.   This was a fundraiser breakfast the other day.  Most of us, spent the morning with the tears flowing at the touching stories.  The topper was a 2 year old boy who now has a chance of living his life on his own two feet thanks to these people.

Had to take this picture before Sarah starts charging.  We’ve known Sarah for 10 years.  She and her husband Tommy own a small apartment building a few blocks away.  She took up watercolors 2 years ago and now  her paintings on tee shirts and prints are seemingly all over the island.  Sarah’s dogs come to our gate every day as they walk by.  Al, the black lab, looks as if he must be on steroids and Lily is about the most laid back dog ever.

Vinyl Anti-Cyclonicas

Ed just hung the last of the outside vinyl window coverings. These were his creation for tropical storm/ hurricane protection on the downstairs windows.  Peggy is so impressed with Ed’s ingenuity and long distance precision.  He took loads of measurements last year before we came back to the US.  He had to figure out how to design each  individual piece because each window configuration is different. 

Prior to this, we used plywood sheets bolted to the window protectoras (wrought iron bars).  Plywood was heavy, cumbersome, and had to be painted every other year. Not to mention taking up precious storage space in the bodega.  Although we hope the vinyl fabric will never be tested, we think that they will prove to be less work and provide as good, if not better protection.  When not it use, they roll up and are secured by nylon straps and buckles. Here’s a photo of the one covering the kitchen window as if ready for a storm. The other photo is of the same window with the covering rolled up.

Peggy just has to make one more glowing remark while Ed blushes.  While Peggy was out of town this past summer, Ed figured out how to get the mothballs out of a sewing machine of Peggy’s mom.  Peggy does NOT machine sew – too hazardous.  Ed figured out how to thread the machine and sew the beige sun shade that you see at the top of the window.  This man’s talents are truly impressive.

Fiesta!

First off, we are VERY sorry to report that we have NO pictorial proof of the fun time we had here the other night.  NO pictures of our friend, Polo, whipping up some pretty fantastic Pambazos.  Our battery eating camera had seemingly gone a binge while it was tucked away. And, of course, we had no extra supply.

The idea for the party stemmed from our falling in love with Pambazos several years ago.  Jorge included us with his Mexico City friends where Pambazos took center stage.

Pambazos are sandwiches that are street food in Mexico City.  They are made by filling a bread roll with mashed potatoes and chorizo sausage.  The filled rolls are dipped in a tomato based sauce made with guanajillo chilies.  They are then fried and served with salsa verde made with tomatillos and habaneros, cream, cheese and lettuce.

When we told Polo that we were expecting over 30 people, he suggested that we might want to have his friend, Olga (yes, she really is a Mexican) make some Mexico City style tamales too.

What a great idea!  Olga and her friend made 50 absolutely delicious tamales of three different types – salsa verde, mole and rajas (green chile peppers) with cheese.  The crowd went wild!  Even the locals who typically scoff at Mexico City aka Chilango food, were beside themselves.

So after a week of our scurrying around in search of  ingredients for the Pambazos and a day of preparation in our kitchen, our party in the backyard was a big success.  As usual, the biggest treat was having our friends, some only Spanish speaking and others pretty much English speaking, having a good time together.

Happy Birthday Aubrey Belle!

Two years old today!  Bossy and just so much fun! 

Final Home Improvements for This Winter

We’re finishing up our normal home improvements down here for the season. We previously posted Pulpo’s construction of new shelves in the kitchen and dining room, the new stand for the roof tinaco, and the bathroom counter. Carpenter Amando built sliding doors for underneath the bathroom counter and a tank topper for the downstairs bath. Both are great. We added a dining room table and chairs. Really moving up in the world!  Outside house painting was next- same color scheme just brighter. Finally, a new downstairs A/C unit! We’ve been afraid to turn this on as we just haven’t used it in 4 years.  Who knows what would come flying out of there?  But this year we really had to do it as we have  some folks (the Pennings) staying here this summer.  Ed, brave man that he is, waited until Peggy was gone to turn the dial and………nothing. No fan. It just hummed. No iguana parts or spiders.  Phew!   So we called Alvaro, the man who sold and installed our bedroom units. He pulled out the old unit- piles of fine gravel, rusty parts, and pretty much dead. Alvaro just shook his head and said “new one”.  It was an adventure trying to find a new unit that would fit our opening. Alvaro and Ed visited 5 stores with no success.  It took a day so so for Alvaro to find a new unit- with remote control! It installed pretty easily. He wired it up and Voila! It worked! After a 3 minute warm up  (or should we say cool up?),  it pumps out cool dry air. Just have to remember to close the windows! It cooled things off quite well.  So, enjoy it Pennings! If you’re looking for something to do, you can watch the electric meter spin!

Sunday Pictures

Instead of going to church, we’re taking pictures.  We just had a little rain and things look so fresh and pretty!  Especially since Pancho and his wife, Leny (gardeners) were here on Friday and the lawn was mowed and trimmed by Rodolpho on Tuesday.  We have a little overexposure going on here but hopefully, you get the idea!

Actually, the following pic was taken yesterday.  Ed just finished painting  most of the house.  Isn’t it pretty with a bit brighter yellow and trim?  You can see how much the coco trees have grown since we moved in by comparing it to the one the heads up on blog.

Lots of conversations are held at our front gate with both human visitors and dogs.

Peggy was happy to see that Mother in Law’s Tongue in the back is producing some flowers instead of just spikey leaves!

Lynn’s coleus just goes crazy in the winter.  We plant a few puny little stems and a month later this happens

Wish you could see these without the overexposure.  Put on your sunglasses?