Choose the Redhead

Plan B (flat)

2010-09-15T22:10:00.006-06:00

Since the piano fairy still has not managed to leave a piano under Emory's pillow, I decided it was time to move on to plan B (or plan B flat as Mike dubbed it). I did have my heart set on a piano but given the gypsy nature of our lifestyle, violins seem much more appropriate to our living space and infinitely more portable.

Compared to a decade of piano lessons, my experience with string instruments is meager. In 7th grade I decided I wanted to learn to play the fiddle in addition to the piano. I eagerly signed up for the strings class at school but was disappointed to learn that the class already had 15 violinist and 12 violas. They only had room for me with either the cellos or the basses. I chose the cello (naturally, can you imagine someone my size playing the bass) and made the best of it. Within a week of starting I was promoted to first chair, which isn't saying much because there were only two of us and the other cello was a 7th grade boy (by the way the only other boy in that class was the bassist) who really didn't care about learning to play anything. But I can still say proudly I was first cello in the Howell Middle School strings orchestra for two whole years. I didn't come by my violin until my second year in college. It is a family hierloom of sorts, over a hundred years old, beautiful with lots of cowboy fiddle character but it's the devil to tune. I dived in with both feet, paying a violin music major 12 dollars a month for begining violin lessons. It was challenging but I enjoyed it thouroughly because it was such a nice break from studying all the time. Unfortunately practicing violin for an hour everyday in a crowded college apartment with stressed out roommates did not work out so hot. As my studies intensified and I had to start working I stopped taking lessons. But I always intended to continue sometime when life got a little less busy. It's now been 17 years and it has been waiting patiently for me all this time. If you can't get what you want you work with what you've got right? I scoured ebay, craigslist and the want ads for a reasonably good quality and low priced 1/4 size violin for Emory. It arrived on Monday, she is very excited that we get to take violin lessons together. My project next week is to find a teacher, buy a tuner, some extra strings and ear plugs for everyone else in the house.

our week

2010-08-28T10:25:00.004-06:00

This was our first week back to homeschool, and I was a little busy fine tuning our new rythym to post, so this will be a couple of posts rolled together. Try to keep up if you can.

The corn is officially upon us, washing over us in waves along with the zuccini and tomatoes, a perfect vegetable storm. The kids have just discovered raw sweet corn is a perfect summer treat. Plundering the garden for snacks is one of the best things about their summer.

the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and Luc's foot for scale.

We kicked off earth science this year with a scale model of the solar system. So many representations of the solar system in childrens books and encyclopedias are not to scale. I think it is impossible for kids to really understand the immensity of space and our tiny spot in it by looking at picture books. Our scale is roughly 1"=20 million miles. We made a large circle of paper aprox. 27" in diameter to represent the sun (the kids colored it to look like it was on fire and labled it). The rest of the planets were made with playdoh, and we used the driveway for a back drop since we needed over 15 feet to lay it all out.

Pondering our insignificance in the universe. The Sun is at the bottom of the photo next Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars (which you can see if you squint) followed by Jupiter (white) Saturn (yellow) Uranus (lavendar) Neptune (pale yellow) and the dwarf planet Pluto (so tiny 1/8 " we made a chalk circle around it so we wouldn't lose it)

our wee little playdoh earth

Emory has complained that she did not have enough skirts in her wardrobe, so her new fall clothes have included mostly denim skirts and lots of colorful tights and leggings. It is not fall yet, in fact it is still quite hot, but she begged me so prettily that I consented to let her try out her new clothes this week. She must have been sweating a lot.

I love tights and chuck taylors

The alternator died on our car last Friday. Bruce resourceful as he is, decided it was a repair he could do himself. I admit I was doubtful. He bought a Chilton guide, a serpentine belt and a rebuilt alternator at the autoparts store. Two hours later our car was in perfect working order. Color me impressed. Bruce confesses that he owes his success to my dad's well stocked tool cabinet. It cost us less than half of what it would have if we had taken it to the autoshop.

Emory discovering how to blend oil pastels, and Luc exploring his cuisenaire rods

Our new approach to school has been fairly succesful, though it has only been one week. Emory has had a lot more control over her school work and more time devoted to the things and subjects that she likes. Art for example. I am so exicted to introduce her to real art materials. I didn't get my first set of oil pastels until I was in high school, and my first set of acrylic paints until I was 16. It is magical watching her experience and explore all of this cool stuff she has never seen or used before.

good to know

2010-08-20T16:26:00.004-06:00

Lately Luc has taken it upon himself to communicate some "important" guidelines and rules by posting helpful signs around our apartment.

Don't touch the oven if it is hot

Take out the garbage before it starts to smell

Don't feed the fish and Don't touch the fish

three fish

2010-08-17T12:00:00.001-06:00

Saturday evening we paid a visit to my sisters house, to help her put up a swingset for her kids. This was our first visit since we returned from Mexico, and we discovered among the other changes they had gotten a fish tank. The kids were enchanted by it. So we started musing about the possiblity of getting one of our own. Lucky for us my brother's pet salamander Moxie, perhaps the longest living salamander ever, died a few months ago leaving a perfectly good aquarium sitting in the attic. On Monday we drug the aquarium down from the attic, cleaned it out, and made sure it would hold water. Then we spent the next several hours debating about where to put the darn thing, when every square inch is occuppied every square inch counts. I finally decided to move some stacks of books on a cabinet, which were only gathering dust anyway, temporarily to a corner on the floor (too many books not enough book shelves). Then we went and spent alot of money at the pet store (at least the fish food is cheap). And now we are officially pet owners for the first time ever. Happily the kids are just as enchanted with our fish tank as they were with my sisters. In fact, Lucas decided to sleep on the couch so he could fall asleep while watching his fish.

The kids call our new living room feature the "fish light"

two wheels

2010-08-16T20:34:00.006-06:00

On Friday, after two days of constant begging, pleading, whining, and complaining from Lucas, I removed the rear axel from the Convert-O tricycle and transfomed it into a bicycle. It is more like a training bicycle than an actual bicycle, but for him it is an important rite a passage, a mark of distinction that says "I no longer ride baby bikes".

The bike is a bit more worn and beat up since the last time we made this trike to bike change. It seems that we were much more eager for this developmental step when we did it with Emory, because we knew there was another child excitedly waiting for the beloved silver tricycle to be handed down to him. Now Lucas is excitedly waiting for the Schwinn Stingray to be handed down to him, but there is noone waiting for the magical silver trike. He spent some time experimenting with this new mode of transportation, while his sister impatiently watched and instructed from the sidelines. Finally, she convinced him to let her give him a demonstration, as if by seeing it done with skill he would immediately grasp the technique.

Needless to say, it didn't work but I did have a vivid flashback to this same little girl tearing around the driveway on the silver tricycle in a green tutu three years ago.

And in the garage one forlorn wheel and axel, are all that remains of the "baby bike" years.

Clocks and Calendars

2010-08-11T23:13:00.002-06:00

Sometimes having an empty space is o.k., a blank wall can be very restful, good for meditating and all that. I don’t believe in filling every empty space, but sometimes something really is missing. I am currently puzzling over a blank spot in my kitchen, above the art table between the outside door and window. I decided I want to put a wall clock here. At present we have no wall clock in our house, our last one died circa 1999 (we do have a small digital clock on the microwave but it just isn’t the same because I have to squint to read it from across the room, I have poor eyesight remember). One placed here, near the door as we come and go, would be ideal. The paper circle is just a place holder to help me think about what kind of clock I want.

As I was surfing around looking for something like this…

I stumbled across this…

A clock with a perpetual calendar, now that’s the ticket! So I went in search of a wall clock/perpetual calendar combined. Sadly, it turns out that very few perpetual wall calendars come with clocks, and so I narrowed my focus to just the perpetual calendars. Wherever I looked they all seemed to be either very lame or crazy expensive (nothing in between, don’t you hate that). What to do? Hmmmm… Could I possibly design my own? Something similar to this one would be cool I but don’t see how I could do it, and have it look anywhere near as sophisticated.

And then I stumbled across this one. It is too bad it was already sold but it could be very diy-able. It’s magnetic (don’t you just love that it is a faux wood magnet board, trippy) and only has three moving parts which is a plus.

Honestly, I don’t spend all my free time pondering over mundane details like this…but sometimes it is fun to take a blank spot and see where it leads you.

Things that have turned out suprisingly well

2010-08-07T18:12:00.004-06:00

My biggest project after painting the basement was rearranging the kids room/Bruce’s office. If my kids aren’t sharing a bed then they are sharing a room with their dad’s office space. That can be kind of a bummer since the toys must be kept to a minimum in this space. Art work is always welcome though. I found the giant magnet board at the same second hand furniture store where I bought the school supply cabinet, it was 7$ (what a score huh?). There are no overhead light fixtures in this room so I bought a large Japanese paper lantern, some reproduction cloth covered braided electrical cord (looks kind of like a rope), a plug and a socket and designed my own hanging lamp. I borrowed my parents projector to trace the words on the wall with pencil and then painted them. The large wire baskets (from etsy vintage) are for holding reading books and treasures. The closet is small but big enough for a Malm dresser from IKEA and a few hanging dresses and shirts. I moved Bruce’s desk under the large window along with the two huge filing cabinets. The back wall is floor to ceiling books and bookshelves. It is a long way from a dream bedroom but I am pleased with the result.

The new mirror in my bedroom was kind of an afterthought, we had another much cheaper /smaller mirror that was adequate but not really great, and I had nowhere to clip my little lamp. What a difference a big mirror makes in a dim basement room! It makes the space feel bigger and it reflects all the light from the window back into the room. I am so glad I did it.

In our bedroom we have been using some hand me down wall lamps from my parents, which have been in this same bedroom since 1984 (about the same era as my hand me down living room set, but that is another story). They were gold and shiny, and they made me feel old. I bought this pair of lamps on ebay. I don’t know very much about them except that they are vintage, Italian, and someone had spliced in two huge (hideous) 12 volt transformers on each lamp cord so they could be plugged into an American outlet . Honestly electrical repair is new territory for me, I have only re-wired two lamps before, but I loved they way they looked so I gave it a whirl. I found two 12 volt transformers for halogen lamps small enough to fit in the base of each online (oh internet how wonderful you are!). Add two new black lamp cords from the hardware store and voila! The only tricky part was salvaging the original switches from the old cords. I managed to pop them off without damaging them (so lucky), and with my dad’s help I was able to splice them into the new cords (very tricky stuff since both of us have poor eyesight). Bruce, who does not always share my aesthetic sense, loves them. My success is complete.

After I painted the kitchen it was apparent that the art table was in need of a face lift. Nothing major here: a new coated table cloth, and some new storage a la IKEA for art supplies (that up until now have lived mainly on my desk). I punched a hole in each bucket, bent some left over Grundtal hooks that I had and called it perfect. Next to the bathroom this is the most used space in our little home.

I have been gathering and organizing all of the school supplies into our cabinet, all the while trying to figure out how to create some type of work box system for Emory. I didn’t have any room for drawers or bins or boxes. Then it came to me, magazine files (I am sure that I am not the first person to have come up with this solution, but that doesn't diminish my eureka moment one bit). These are the Flyt boxes at IKEA, I think they were 5 for 1$ or something like that. Another frugal success story.

Lest, you think I have the midas touch or something I am considering another post “Things that have turned out surprisingly bad” it would be a really long post though.

Back

2010-08-01T22:15:00.006-06:00

I have really not been motivated to write anything for a while. I needed a nice long vacation to transition back to my life in the US. But I have had several people over the last two weeks ask me when I am going to blog again, so maybe I will pick it up now that I have rested a bit. So to bring everyone up to speed….We are residing again in the basement apartment at my parent's home. It has two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, laundry, and bath. We also have over an acre with grass, trees, a vegetable garden, fruit orchard, sandbox, treehouse, playhouse and swingset, chickens, a dog, a cat, and a barn with horses. It is one of the nicest places our family has ever lived, and for a kid it is heaven on earth. Our life is very different here and that takes some getting used to. I spent the first few weeks in June unpacking our toys and belongings from storage, it was like Christmas for the kids. I also undertook to repaint the kitchen and living room, since they haven't been painted since we first moved here six years ago. I also rearranged furniture, bought a new clothes dresser for the kids, moved artwork around, reorganized closets and bookshelves and other types of nesting to make it feel like home.

I have also been doing a lot of reading and library research (I love having a library again!) regarding homeschooling. We started out as tentative homeschoolers because our transient lifestyle dictated it. However, the more research we have done into education and educational philosophies the more convinced Bruce and I have both felt that this was the best option for our kids to develop into self learners capable of directing their own lives without all of the pitfalls, wasted years, and disappointments that he and I have encountered along the way. My current reading pile:

It is mostly John Holt, every parent should read "How children learn". The "school" books have started arriving, and since we needed a place to store all of the books and supplies I acquired this cabinet at a local second hand furniture store for $40.

We will probably outgrow this in a year or two, but until we have a room that can be a dedicated library this will have to do. It fits perfectly in our kitchen and when I finally get it organized and stocked withbooks and art and paper supplies it will be a self service station for the kids. I also acquired a set of Montessori map puzzles (by far the most expensive educational item I have ever purchased even at 60% off),

an easel and a globe, an electric pencil sharpener (Luc's current favorite), and an indestructible tape dispenser (my new favorite etsy find).

I am also hoping that by some miracle we will be able to save up for a used piano because Emory has been dreaming of piano lessons for months now. Angie's piano has been temporarily stored in my mom's living room for the last two months and Emory plays it every chance she can get, she has several original compositions that she plays over and over along with a song that Great Grandma taught her to play by ear.

As far as the kids are concerned life could not be better. Emory made a deal with her mother, grandmother, and great grandmother to do extra chores and odd jobs to earn money for an American Girl doll (personally I think everyone was a little too easy one her, and great grandma gave her $50 just because, but what could I say?). She chose Molly.

She has also jumped into the library's summer reading program with both feet, going to the library once a week to pick out new books is a huge treat for her. Lucas got glasses. I didn't think he could get any cuter, I was wrong.

He also acquired a hand me down razor scooter from Tilman, it is his new favorite mode of transportation. Since we had to skip swimming lessons last year we had to do some catch up, but both have done well and progressed rapidly. If that miracle I mentioned earlier ever appears we might continue swimming lessons through the fall and winter. So far their summer has been full of all the things that make summer here in the US so great, camp outs with stargazing and roasted marshmellows, 4^th of July fireworks, picking and eating raspberries and peas in the garden, finding the fresh chicken eggs every morning, playing with the neighborhood kids and lots of cousins, hiking in the mountains, running through the sprinklers on hot afternoons, and riding your bike up and down the street from sun up to sun down.

We are happy to have Bruce home safe, and our family all together again. We don't know how long this next chapter of our life will be, or what it will include but we are trying to settle in and figure that part out. I have given up on expectations, because nothing ever turns out like I expect it to anyway. We are temporary/longterm, and having put down no roots we feel out of synch with the world. We are pausing here for now and catching our breath, expecting nothing but hoping somehow that good things will come.

Last Day

2010-05-31T08:51:00.007-06:00

We spent our last day cramming odds and ends into stuffed suitcases, doing laundry, cleaning out closests and cupboards, learning how to make Sonia's mole, doing some last minute shopping, backing up computer files, enjoying our last moments with friends, and getting emotionally ready to leave Bruce behind (it is so hard to go home without him, but we will be reunited in 6 weeks).

Sonia made mole today and I took lots of notes

Lynneth, Bruce and Hoover casually discussing the workplan for the next 6 weeks

Like father like daughter, leaving Bruce will probably be hardest on her (daddy is her favorite)

Our 9 months in Mexico have finally come to an end. The last 3 have been the toughest, but I survived it (6 months is still my psychological limit for living in Latin America). Looking back it has been an extraordinary experience for our family (not one I want to repeat, but extraordinary just the same). When we started out on this adventure we hoped we would emerge on the other end with something to build our future on (i.e. a job) but it appears that we will be right back where we started (just older and wiser with lots of great family memories). Bruce has decided he will try applying for a postdoc next year (I think a year in Washington D.C. would be a dream) we will cross our fingers and see where that takes us. What ever the future brings I am looking forward to spending our summer surrounding ourselves with friends and family and savouring all those things we have had to do without these past nine months.

Day #2: can we get it all in 4 bags?

2010-05-30T19:54:00.002-06:00

I spent the afternoon packing, hopefully none of these guys will be over 50lbs. It is amazing how much stuff we accumulated in 9 months, fortunately I have been able to give 99% of it away. We came with 6 bags (8 if you count Bruce's) we are going home with 4.

Day #3: a lost tooth and a fat lip

2010-05-29T20:40:00.003-06:00

We spent the whole afternoon driving around Tuxtla running errands, but in the end we didn't get very much accomplished (I will rant some other time about how difficult it is to accomplish anything quickly and efficiently in a 3rd world country). While we were out Emory lost another tooth, and she is very excited about that. By the time we got home it was late and the kids were pretty wired from being stuck in a car all day. Instead of getting ready for their baths, as they were told, they had a bit of an altercation in the bedroom while unsupervised that resulted in a little blood, a fat lip, and a LOT of drama.

This is what happens when your little brother throws a hair brush at you and actually makes contact.

Here is the latest gap in Emory's smile which compliments her fat lip nicely

A very penitent Lucas, worried that the tooth fairy might not give Emory her tooth money when he sees her fat lip wrote a little note of explanation. As you can clearly see it was his fault because he threw the brush, even though he was provoked into doing so. There were also copious amounts of blood acoording to Lucas' representation.

Day #4: last day of excavation (this time for real)

2010-05-28T12:49:00.003-06:00

The last day of excavation was supposed to be two weeks ago, but Bruce decided to extend the excavation. He reduced his field crew down to 11, while another crew of 20 provided by INAH began backfilling the deepest pits. Today his crew officially finished up, and we honored the occasion with a group photo. We are in a trench cut into the front of mound 11 standing on bedrock for the most part. The little tunnel in the back goes in about 3 meters and ends at a set of stairs, one of the earlier platforms (think of pyramids like nested dolls).

getting organized for the photo, in the trench walls you can see the white clay outline of one of the later pyramids.

one of the eleven guys didn't make it into the photo but Flor de Agua did. Bruce is in the center and Lynneth is at the far left, I'm standing with the kids (as if you couldn't tell which one was me I'm the whitest one there).

Day #5: house guests

2010-05-27T09:59:00.006-06:00

Late last night the project's artist arrived at the house with his 6 year old daughter in tow. Lucas and Emory have enjoyed having a little playmate, her name is Flor de Agua and she is as pretty as her name.

For some reason they all chose to sit together in the window while they worked, my kids really look like redheads don't they?

Day #6: cloudy and cooler but no rain

2010-05-27T09:53:00.003-06:00

photo by Lucas

Day #7: we heart Ramona

2010-05-26T09:33:00.002-06:00

We get by with a daily dose of Ramona Quimby, who is Emory's new favorite literary hero.

Day #8: When your kids tell you they are bored just ignore them

2010-05-24T17:01:00.004-06:00

If you ignore them they will eventually take charge of their own entertainment and amaze you with their ingenuity.

after 40 minutes of whining that there was nothing to do, Luc eventually gave up on his parents, scavanged a cereal box from the garbage and started making a monster mask, no more boredom

Day #9: officially in the single digits

2010-05-23T20:33:00.003-06:00

For my kids Sunday is the most boring day of the week. We attend sacarament meeting at the local branch, on an outdoor patio of a small house the church rents. It is shaded and there are fans to help take the edge of the heat off, but when it gets this hot there is no way around sweating. For my kids it is an especially tiresome hour because they don't understand a word that anyone is saying. After sacrament we walk back home and have a primary lesson for the kids in our living room. They spend the rest of the day trying to kill the boredom, which usually leads to enormous messes.

That is a pile of used drawing paper that my kids were in the process of recycling into confetti to throw for their parade.

Day #10: finishing up

2010-05-23T19:41:00.004-06:00

I spent most of Saturday finishing a few pots I was reconstructing, and helping Bruce out with a few other artifacts. This week I will be turning my attention to packing and organizing for our departure so I won't be spending much more time with the artifacts. I also walked down to the plaza with Emory so she could pick out a birthday gift for Grace. She is so very excited to see her cousins again, and buying the birthday gift makes our departure that much more real to her.

Lucas snapped this picture of me in my pj's glueing pottery, I look like an old woman because I slouch, and my t-shirt makes me look like I am pregnant. It may look like I have just given up on life staying in my pj's most of the weekend, but I haven't stooped to wandering around the house in my underwear yet like Bruce

Day #11: Cartoons

2010-05-21T12:26:00.003-06:00

Hoover and Carlos have a small black and white TV for watching soccer games in the evenings, this morning we decided to let Lucas and Emory watch some cartoons (we had to do something to be able to get some work done). They are watching the"espitufas" (smurfs). Watching cartoons on a small black and white TV in spanish with static was a big treat for them, my kids are such good sports. I can barely remember the black and white TV we used to own when I was a kid, but it was way better than this. They are surrounded by bags of pottery, dirt, and other archaeological material.

Day #12: So have YOU thought about YOUR food chain lately?

2010-05-20T09:04:00.002-06:00

This is what I woke up to this morning, Emory shoving this picture in my face as I tried to peel my eyes open. It is a bird attacking a worm, or "a food chain" she proudly informed me. "The worm eats dirt, the bird eats the worm, and we eat the bird...or a cat does". Food for thought. I'm not sure if the worm looks happy or not.

Day #13: Bored out of their heads

2010-05-20T08:54:00.002-06:00

where the wild things really are (photo taken by Lucas with Emory's camera)

As exciting and stressful as the last few days have been for the adults, they have been horribly dull and boring for the children. They are constantly being told to play quietly, not run, not yell, pick up their toys, stop fighting, stop whining ....you get the picture. They are not allowed outside the house for more then an hour or two every few days. They are going crazy with boredom, they have read all their books, watched all of their movies, played with all of their toys and they are BORED (and sweaty).

Day #14: exciting but surpisingly calm

2010-05-18T16:24:00.003-06:00

Our first glimpse of the media today came in the morning paper, it was very exciting for Lucas and Emory who quickly recognized their dad and Lynneth. It has been fun to watch the news spread around the world on the internet, from Russia to New Zeland. It looks alot like the game of telephone, and we have been chuckling over each new crazy version of the story. The nytimes article I linked to yesterday evening is still the most accurate, but the INAH website (also linked to yesterday) has the most pictures and they now have a video interview on youtube (all in spanish of course). National Geographic has also posted a brief article and more pictures. Our day has been suprisingly calm, the phone has only rung once, but there has been a lot of e-mail and a few television crews did show up at the site while Bruce was digging. It looks like this will play out for the next few days, but I think today was the peak.

Day #15: the news is out

2010-05-17T19:19:00.006-06:00

The news is out in the New York Times and the Mexican noticias and INAH (click on the "Hallazgo de Tumba Millenaria" a bit over the top but oh well)

Day #16: Sunday a day of rest

2010-05-16T21:23:00.002-06:00

Sunday is the only day we get to take a break, a nap, and breathe for a few minutes. While I was napping I dreamed I was home, when I woke up I had an incredible urge to pull out the suitcases and start packing. I went and glued a pot together instead. I finished the chapter on Pancho Villa in my Mexican history book. Bruce and I talked off and on about what next week will be like, INAH politics, project finances, Emory's wild behavior, the possiblity of a family vacation in the fall, artifacts and how to organize them, lists of things to be done before I leave etc. It rained for an hour and then it got really hot again, my t-shirt is soaking with sweat. Now Sunday, the calm before the storm, is over (only two more to go), its time to go to bed, and hopefully somehow I'll be ready for the chaos Monday is going to bring. No pictures, its Sunday and I was resting.

Day #17: last day of excavation...no wait maybe not

2010-05-16T20:59:00.004-06:00

I have been anticipating the close of the excavations and a more relaxed rythym as lab work begins. Saturday was supposed to be the last day of digging. My hopes were dashed as a last minute discovery and the prospect of additional funding have resulted in Bruce extending the field season two more weeks. It feels kind of like a disappointing ground hog day. We will now be doing double shifts with lab work and field work proceeding simultaneously. Lucas and Emory are going stir crazy, and with all the extra stress and anxiety swirling around them they are starting to act out much more. It also started raining, the early signs of the monsoon season. Yes the roof definitely leaks, we have had to move furniture and collect all the extra buckets. So in addition to everything else we will also be trying to keep all the important stuff dry every afternoon. No pictures today.

Day #18: five going on six

2010-05-15T09:27:00.003-06:00

Last night as he was getting ready to go to bed Lucas observed that he has five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot. Then he added "when I grow to be six I will have six fingers and six toes". We hope he won't be too disappointed when his hypothesis is disproved.

Day #19: navigating the stress and chaos

2010-05-13T12:44:00.003-06:00

Any archaeologist will tell you that the last week of any excavation is crazy. Time is running out, you are behind schedule, normal routines and organization go out the window, pressure is building, and the most important discoveries of the entire project will inevitably be found within the last few centimeters in the last hours before backfilling must begin. This project is no different, but we have the added difficulty of having to navigate the trecherous and complicated politics of international relations impecably timed to coincide with the last week of excavation. I am praying that tempers can be checked and cooler heads prevail. I wish it were June already.

Day #20: running out

2010-05-13T12:38:00.002-06:00

The cream of wheat is running out. It has been a small comfort to us (even though we don't relish hot cereal as much when we are sweating). But now there is only enough left for one more batch.

Day #21: worn out

2010-05-13T12:33:00.004-06:00

2 more pairs of pants worn out. We will be coming home with just the clothes on our backs, because most of the clothing Lucas and Emory are wearing looks like rags. The clothes are wearing out and we are wearing out.

Day #22: we see an Oreo, she sees a tutu

2010-05-11T10:21:00.005-06:00

Lately Luc and Emory have been raiding the garbage for raw material to use in their art projects. Here we have, in the style of Lauren Child, a ballerina with a tutu cut from an Oreo cookie box. The mind of child is a marvelous thing is it not?

Day #23: Comitan and Chinkultic

2010-05-09T20:22:00.004-06:00

Saturday night we all enjoyed a nice dinner out in Comitan (my mothers day gift). The climate in Comitan is somewhere in between San Cristobal and Chiapa de Corzo i.e. perfect, not too cold not to hot. We were able to enjoy the sunshine in a little park near the central plaza Sunday morning without breaking a sweat, it actually felt like spring for a change.

Lucas enjoying his breakfast doughnut

After attending a sacrament meeting in town we drove to a nearby archaeological site, Chinkultic. This site was unlike any we have visited thus far. Being up on the central plateau, the climate is mild and the site is surrounded by senic lakes and pine forests. It was a beautiful breezy day for our last archaeological field trip in Mexico.

This is the first time we have ever explored ruins in our church clothes.

Because it wasn't hot I completly forgot about sunscreen and hats (bad mother!). This site is somewhere between 5,000 and 6,000 feet above sea level, and being this close the equator the sun is pretty fierce. Emory and I both got sunburned, but Bruce and Lucas as usual did not. As I am typing this its about 98 degrees in the house, with the addition of my sunburn I feel like I'm sitting in a toaster oven.

Day #24: getting out of Dodge

2010-05-09T19:06:00.002-06:00

Around 8 pm on Friday night our water cut out, in the middle of bathing the kids (so typical for Mexico, sooooooo typical). So after a great deal of cursing and groaning we threw some clothes and toothbrushes into a suitcase and drove to a hotel in town. We were all very tired, hot, and grumpy...but the hotel had air conditioning, running water, and sponge bob so we felt a little better Saturday morning. While Bruce went to the site to work for the morning we watched cartoons, had pancakes for breakfast and went swimming in the pool. When we got back to the house around noon we had running, albeit brown, water. We didn't care much about the water though because we reloaded our suitcase and drove up to Comitan to escape the heat for the weekend.

enjoying a rare cartoon binge in the air conditioning Saturday morning

Day #25: our new field vehicle

2010-05-09T18:55:00.005-06:00

After waiting for a week to rent a car in town through some friends, the deal proved to be a no show. So Thursday night Bruce went to the airport and rented a Nissan. He manages to make it work by storing most of the field equipment at the site, so he only needs to drive 3 people and a few boxes and bags of equipment to and from the site everyday. It has a few advantages over the suburban: air conditioning, it fits in the garage, and it uses a lot less gas.

Day #26: ice cream in the garden

2010-05-07T09:20:00.002-06:00

Ice cream in the garden sounds much more picturesque than it actually was. The ice cream was cold, sweet, and refreshing, but the garden was buggy, muddy and smelled bad (because of the open sewer drain there). We were hot, sweaty, and smelled bad too (Emory commented that she smelled just like a horse) but the ice cream part was good.

Just looking at Emory makes you want to take a shower doesn't it?

Day #27: el cinco de Mayo

2010-05-05T18:55:00.004-06:00

It is not a federal holiday in Mexico, and not a big deal unless you live in Puebla. The battle at Puebla, Mexcio May 5th, 1862: 4,000 Mexican troops vs. 8,000 highly experienced French troops, the Mexicans won the battle but ultimately lost to the French forces who proceeded to occuppy Mexico.

The French intervention lasted 3 years. The French military eventually withdrew its support (afraid that with the civil war ending the United States would now be free to engage with the French invasion force in Mexico) and returned to Europe. Emperor Maximillian Hapsburg was captured and Benito Juarez had him executed, and that was the last sucessful invasion of the Americas by any foreign country. Because it is sandwiched between the heroic struggle for Mexican independence and the even grander Mexcian revolution, the French intervention and the battle at Puebla do not recieve much celebration. Viva Mexico!

Day #28: Temple night, pizza night

2010-05-05T18:38:00.002-06:00

Once a month Bruce and I go to the temple. It is usually a Tuesday night, which is the same night that dominoes pizza has a 2 for 1 special. We buy pizza for everyone, as a pay back for watching our kids for 4 hours. Lately we have been inviting the elders to stop by and join us because we have so much pizza and it is a special treat for them too. It seems to be a good arrangment for everyone, Bruce and I get to go to the temple and have some alone time, the kids get to watch a movie we have downloaded and afterward play games when the elders arrive (they really enjoy being able to speak in English with new people), and everyone else gets to take a little break and have a pizza party.

Lucas begged one of the missionaries to draw the pirate ship from Emory's drawing book

Day #29: things you can do on mother's day

2010-05-04T14:17:00.002-06:00

Emory provided me with this helpful list of ideas of things to do on mother's day.

eat in bed, make a card, make a cake, buy flowers, go out

Day #30: the scorpions are coming

2010-05-02T17:45:00.003-06:00

We found this one in the kids room late Saturday night (technically Sunday morning). Yeah it's gross, but smashing them with a shoe is effective. Apparently the heat is bringing them out, so we will be ramping up our scorpion abatement efforts this week. Our friend Esmarelda recommended that we fumigate with raid, not really an option I want to consider. So I did a little research today, turns out that one of the best ways to get rid of scorpions is to introduce a few chickens. Is there any problem a few chickens can't fix? Unfortunately chickens in the house is not a viable option for us, so we will settle for cleaning up all the dead leaves in the garden, moving furniture and sweeping daily, and I'm going to start looking for some boric acid to spread around. I want to survive these next 4 weeks without a scorpion related injury.

Day #31: a night out

2010-05-02T17:36:00.002-06:00

Bruce's former graduate advisor and his wife took two days off from their field project and drove up from Guatemala to visit us over the weekend. Bruce and Lynneth gave them a tour of the site and the lab house and the collections at the foundation on Saturday. That evening we all met up with Emiliano, his wife Gillian, and son Xavi at the Balam steak house in Tuxtla for dinner. It was nice to be out with friends, food, and air conditioning.

Day #32: the interview

2010-05-01T08:39:00.002-06:00

Bruce finally had his interview with the New York Times. He is really new to all this business, so he was nervous, and he has no idea how he came off. We are really praying that when the story breaks it isn't so garbled that it will be a career ender (thats kind of a laugh since he doesn't even have a job so we have nothing to lose). We can only hope that our stars will align and all the politics will lean in our favor so that this is somehow a huge hit (or at least not a disaster).

pacing the floor nervously, he looks tense doesn't he?

Day #33: a fort from sofa cushions

2010-04-29T18:54:00.002-06:00

my kids are the blurry streaks of energy

Day #34: lots of sweat and lots of pottery

2010-04-29T18:51:00.002-06:00

you have to like jigsaw puzzles to do this stuff

Day #35: the day we made a circus

2010-04-27T19:46:00.004-06:00

4 months a go I found some little paper model sets in a papeleria in San Cristobal, they are part of a curriculum on vernacular achitecture for school kids. Most of them are pretty boring, but the circus is kind of cool . Lucas found them in our box of art supplies a few days ago and has been begging me to cut the circus out and put it together with him, and since the dvd player died...well. It even has a pink elephant, which Lucas keeps calling the giant pig.

Day #36: the day the INAH press core came and took pictures of everything except my laundry

2010-04-26T18:31:00.004-06:00

2 reporters 2 photographers and a camera man descended upon us today, it was pretty intense for 3 hours. Thankfully the kids didn't budge from pbskids once the entire time.

Dr. Emiliano Gallaga, the project co-director organizing some objects to photograph

Bruce and Emiliano discussing the recent finds with the INAH reporters

Don't you just love that there are lego buildings and laundry in the background. You can't really take yourself that seriously when you live with kids, because this is how you look to the rest of the world.

Day #37: beating the heat

2010-04-26T18:22:00.005-06:00

For the past month or so my kids have been doing all of their artwork on the floor, and I just realized why. Its cooler down there, and it makes perfect sense to sprawl your hot little body against the cool tile while you work.

Day #38: the day the suburban died

2010-04-24T17:14:00.004-06:00

We went up to San Cristobal on Friday night to escape the heat and let Bruce do some research at the foundation's library. We spent a fabulous mosquito and sweat free night in a hotel, and enjoyed San Cristobal's perfect climate most of Saturday morning while Bruce worked at the foundation. But when we were ready to leave, the suburban wouldn't start. I think it decided to breakdown at that moment so it wouldn't have to go back to the heat of Chiapa de Corzo, at least thats what I would do if I was the suburban . We were not so lucky, we had to take a taxicab back down the mountain to the sweltering heat. However, unlike the dvd player, the suburban will be resurrected, when it gets a new starter on Monday.

Bruce and Carlos discussing why you can't find a mechanic who works anywhere in Mexico on Saturday, mala suerte!

Day #39: the day dvd player died

2010-04-24T17:00:00.002-06:00

It was accidently dropped (again) by Lucas on the tile floor, and is now disabled for good. We get sound but no picture. When I informed them that I couldn't just go out get another one (like we do when the playdoh dries up) Emory cried and Lucas was very somber. The battle against boredom just got alot tougher.

mourning the loss of our dearly loved boredom buster

40 days in the sweatshop

2010-04-22T10:25:00.009-06:00

S is for scorpion
Last Tuesday I was just dozing off to sleep around midnight, but then suddenly my mind became alert again when someone switched on the hallway light. I was just about to get out of bed to investigate which kid was wandering around when I heard a loud WHACK! I jumped up and quickly started down the hall, noting on my way past the kids bed that Lucas was missing (no surprise as he is usually a late night wanderer). As I approached the kitchen Lucas stepped into the hallway. I started to scold him for being out of bed, when I noticed Hoover, who had been working late on some field drawings on the computer, also standing in the hallway puting his sandal back on his foot. Then Lucas blurted out "look mom its a scorpion!" At that same moment I glanced down at the 4 inch dead scorpion in the middle of the floor between the three of us. Then I think my heart stopped because I realized that, even though Hoover was wearing sandals, and I had automatically put on my flip flops after jumping out of bed, Lucas, the most vunerable of the three of us, was barefoot. Instinctively I swept him up from the floor. Apparently Lucas seeing the light on in the main room where Hoover was working, had decided to get up and do some coloring and drawing. After doodling for a while at some point he decided that he needed to go to the bathroom but was afraid to go into the hallway because it was dark. He explained this to Hoover (who understands Lucas' english very well I guess). When Hoover turned on the light the scorpion was scurrying through the hall, and Hoover quickly killed it with his shoe. Thank goodness for gaurdian angels, for a child Lucas' size a scorpion sting would have been life threatening.

The squished and mangled body of the scorpion, tucked into a plastic bag. I wasn't about to take it out of the bag just to take a picture of it.

S is also for Sweatshop

The project has been very intense the past few weeks, there have been some very significant finds, and Bruce ended up getting additional funding from National Geographic to extend the excavatoin a few more weeks. I am not really allowed to post any pictures or say anything specific because of the agreement Bruce has with National Geographic but when it all gets released in the press I'll let you know. In the meantime I have been busy like the rest of the project members cleaning artifacts, glueing pots back together, and sweating...ALOT.

Hoover, Lynneth, and Carlos sweating it out under the work lamps

40 days

It is official, 40 days left (Emory and I counted twice to double check) then we can get off this ark. But I can't start packing yet so I have to somehow keep my mind off the fact that I am burnt out and homesick...and hot and sweaty and itchy. I am so ready to live somewhere where there are no scorpions scurrying around at night, my kids can drink the water out of the faucet without dying, people don't pee in the street in front of my house (if I had a peso for everytime someone used our porch as a public latrine....), and anyway you get the idea I need to stop whining now. So for the next 40 days I'll post a picture about something we did.....

Day #40: the day gato got his leg back
The stuffed gato (it is funny but that is what my kids automatically call all cats now) Emory got when she fell out of the hammock, has finally started to fall apart and has had 3 legs for 2 months now. Today Emory decided to get out her needle and thread from her embroidery project and re-attach it. She said "it was a very hard to do mom, but look its done !"

Easter weekend

2010-04-05T09:38:00.002-06:00

Holy week is without argument the biggest holiday in Latin America everyone goes to the beach or some other vacation destination and school and government shut down for two weeks (yes Holy week = 2 weeks vacation). Bruce managed to get three and a half days from his field workers but he had to pay them for a full week of work (that is the law in Mexico). So our easter holiday began on Thursday evening, with this:

the kids patio after the first tropical downpour of the season (photo by Emory)

No the floor is not really shiny, it is covered with water. If I didn't have a caption under this photo we could easily mistake it for the flooded basement at home. We discovered that the patio where the kids sleep gets really wet when it rains, and that the "new" roof on this old house leaks. It would have been nice to have the shop-vac, but we managed with buckets and mops. Fortuantely, the kids love getting wet when its hot, the leaks in the roof are not big ones, and dry season is still in full swing so we have until the end of May to worry about really waterproofing the artifacts and computer equipment.

While most of you were complaining about the snow on Saturday, we were cooking hotdogs on the grill, surrounded by picks shovels and field equipment, in the sweltering 100 degree heat.

Bruce looks disgusted for some reason, maybe he is imagining what Derek would say about his pathetic grilling skills

I was wondering if I would have to use kool-aid or something really organic like beets to dye easter eggs this year, but I found this single box of food coloring under a dusty pile of cake decorating supplies at the grocery store.

los colorantes

los huevos

la resulta

Other than that Chiapa de Corzo was eerily quiet for the holiday (it really is a very small town when everyone leaves for vacation). We spent most of our weekend sitting on the sofa in front of the floor fans watching conference on the computer, and we took lots of cold showers. And in spite of my childrens worries that he wouldn't find us, the Easter Bunny managed to bring some chocolate eggs, coloring books, and bubbles as presents to welcome in the new spring.

five minutes after this photo was taken Luc spilt his bubbles, and ten minutes after that he spilt his sisters (photo by Emory)

The Things We See: Surgeries and their prices

2010-03-28T15:32:00.005-06:00

It has been a few months since I posted one of these. This sign is posted in the lobby of the clinic where we have been taking Emory. It is considered a courteous and helpful thing to post the prices for services, kind of like a restaurant. Only instead of contemplanting a menu while you wait you get to contemplate how much it could cost you if your visit with the doctor doesn't go so well. The exchange rate is currently around 12 pesos to the dollar.

Well at least its not typhoid

2010-03-24T18:31:00.004-06:00

Monday morning Emory woke up around 6 am complaining that her stomach was hurting and she started having diarrhea and began vomiting an hour later. By the evening she had developed a fever and was still not able to keep any food down. We had hesitated to take her to the doctor because at home we usually let stomach flu (which is really food posioning) just run its course, and we have reservations about medical care in Mexico (for reasons I don't want to go into here). However, Hoover and Carlos, who have had much more experience with this sort of thing, explained that all of her symptoms, including a painful distended stomach, indicated a serious infection. So Bruce made a few phone calls and located a 24 hr clinic 3 blocks from the house, and the doctor on call happens to be a member of the branch here. She suspected it might be typhoid and after taking a blood sample started Emory on 3 different intravenous antibiotics.

our second visit to the clinic for intravenous antibiotics

Lucas found this process fascinating, Emory is one tough cookie sometimes

When we returned with Emory to the clinic 12 hours later for her second infusion her condition was much improved. Her blood work indicated that she didn't have typhoid but another strain of bacteria that produces smiliar antigens, and requires the same treatment. The main concern the doctor has now is that Emory's large intestine is quite inflamed and there is a chance it could spread to her appendix (if I have reservations about the medical care in Mexico, I defintely have reservations about emergency surgery in Mexico).

By the end of the day on Tuesday Emory was almost her regular self, enjoying some pizza, and very excited to show anyone who would listen what her large intestine looks like and where her appendix was. We went back to the clinic Tuesday night for one more infusion of medicine.We got into some trouble when the Doctor found out we gave Emory pizza for dinner, apparently she was supposed to be on a liquid diet (oops!). They removed her IV tube (or whatever they call those things) and we got a perscription for all of this:

Emory isn't sure but she thinks she preferred vomiting and feeling sick to swallowing 5 pills and getting a shot in her bottom once a day. Apparently 7 year olds still can't swallow pills (who knew? not me). So I have learned (the hard way) that I have to break them up and dissolve them in water and then coax and cajole her to toss them down quickly or it will be yuckier. You just can't imagine how much drama is involved....it has to be seen to be believed. But the pills are a simple thing compared to the shots. Emory can be a very brave girl, she has endured all of this so far without being overly anxious, but the shots....well that is another matter. When it comes to shots and Emory I have learned that I can't get emotional, I am the mom and I have to be pragmatic, just get it done as quickly and cleanly as possible. After our first one this morning the nurses and I have determined that a good ratio would be 3 adults to 1 Emory. That is, it requires 3 adults to restrain 1 Emory in order to administer 1 shot in the buttocks, any fewer and you run risks of getting kicked or missing the buttocks (which we almost did today). Fortunately we only have 4 more shots to go, and then its just the pills. We have gotten all our medical care including the medicine from the pharmacy for the bargain basement price of $120 dollars, but if we end up having to get an appendectomy after all of this, I am still going to be ticked off.

The mind of Emory

2010-03-21T14:14:00.005-06:00

photo by Lucas with Emory's camera

It would be impossible to record all of the moments throughout the day where Emory makes us smile and laugh, she is a very clever and energetic little girl. Here are some examples from the weekend.

The conditions of our life here are unsetteled, chaotic and stressful, and as a family we have decided that we all (parents as much as children) need to find better ways to deal with our anger and irritation. As Emory and Lucas quarrel often we have really tried to emphasize appropriate ways to express our anger. So when I came upon this sign posted at the entrance to their bedroom/patio I was very proud of her for trying a more constructive tactic. I also laughed because the only thing Lucas might understand from this note is that his name is mispelled and those are some seriously angry eyebrows, hilarious and adorable.

This morning I recieved this sewing instruction book as a gift (Emory couldn't figure out how to write "instructions" so she opted for a synonym "class")

Each page contains an illustration of an original clothing desgin followed by step by step instructions for sewing the garment.

At the end of the book she has included a "sewing song" to sing while you are sewing, it is my favorite part.

photo by Lucas with Emory's camera

She never ceases to suprise us, here is an outfit for "exercising" comprised of thermal underwear and dress up socks left over from her halloween costume, you go girl!

when you have 'hot hair', everything is harder

2010-03-16T12:13:00.004-06:00

I did try to get around to posting something last week, but frankly I ran out of steam. And then mother nature decided to turn the heat on. It has been in the high 90's and low 100's for the last week and a half, and with no air conditioning that means lots of sweating and of course Emory's bane... 'hot hair'. The problem with heat is that it makes you tired and lethargic, and when that heat is constant (it never goes away not even at night) you get more tired and lethargic. You also start to get grumpy and irritable because you can't sleep in heat like this. Bruce and I toss and turn, but the children especially have been sleeping poorly with lots of nightmares. This is particularly a problem with Lucas who had one of his worsts night terrors ever on Saturday. He was convinced that worms were crawling on his skin. It was 3 am and he was adamant that we take his clothing off, shrieking and writhing the whole time. It didn't even help when we put him in the shower, and then clean pajamas and underwear. He just kept jumping and screaming trying to brush off the imaginary worms, his fear was so intense that I actually began to wonder if he was having an hallucination. I had to use every calming technique in my arsenal but 4 hours later an exhausted and sweaty little boy finally drifted off to sleep in my arms. We all spent most of the day Sunday trying to catch up on sleep, and Lucas (poor little guy) thankfully has not had a repeat yet (fingers crossed on that one).

So here are a few more random odds and bits, but nothing really coherent...I have 'hot hair' remember.

Chiapanec Mole

Sonia our cook makes an awesome mole, and her salsa verde is also quite fabulous. I will be getting the recipes for those two things, and she assures me they are "muy facile"...so if nothing else I will return from Mexico a better cook than when I left. I'm not sure if I will be able to afford to eat whole avocados 3 or 4 times a day though...oh I love, love, love cheap ripe avacodos!

I really thought my luck was going to change for the good when I found 10 pesos in my breakfast cereal. I don't think I have ever seen real money as a breakfast cereal gimmick before, cool!

Escaping the heat, the children catch a quick nap in the cool mountain air on the way to San Cristobal. A brief reprieve from 'hot hair'.

Making her own paper dolls, the mind of this little girl is a wonder. You will notice she is even putting eyeglasses on the dolls too!

a few moments from our week

2010-03-07T17:41:00.008-07:00

Angie commented last week that I should take lots of pictures. So here are a few moments from our week.

playdoh aliens

Machete manueveres

I've noticed a common theme in Emory's drawings and little notes to me, home

3 months seems like forever doesn't it?

Kirsten's marshmallow structures inspired me to learn some new Spanish vocabulary...como se dice "marshmallow" ?

building with "palillios" and "malvaviscos"

my blogging has been a little thin lately because I'm reconstructing pots, lots and lots of pots

very tedious but very satisfying, no matter how wrong everything else may be in the world, I can at least put this pot back together...and it feels good

They are two peas in a pod, whether they are playing dress up or sleeping toe to toe in their twin sized bed

March(ing) on

2010-03-02T09:13:00.008-07:00

From previous experiences I had determined that my limit for living in the field in Latin America used to be 6 months, but I am having to stretch myself beyond that limit now. Logically assuming that my limits are psychological I pause, take a deep breath and keep telling myself "its all in your head, you can survive this". But some days......well its tough to convince myself that I can make it another 3 minutes let alone 3 months. Our family life as usual has been swept up into the project. With all of the adults focusing on things archaeological the kids get less attention and more time in front of movies or on the computer. As stress levels rise patience decreases, and kids who spend their whole day stuck indoors (because it is so stinking hot outside) get very sassy and misbehaved out of boredom. My exercise routine has gone by the wayside, there just isn't time for Bruce to watch the kids so I can go running (if I have to do a tour like this again I'm going to insist on a treadmill for my own sanity). Because our home is also the field house we share it with 3 other adults and a cook, so we are never alone when we have our meltdowns or other family dramas. When everyone goes home on the weekends we do get to have a little break from all of the intensity, and we even get out with the kids to the park. I'm learning that survival is about coping strategies, little things like: taking a cool shower 2 or 3 times a day when you are hot and sweaty, turning the living room into a dance floor so the kids can burn some energy, no big plans on the weekends and lots of quiet downtime for reading and talking (about things other than archaeology, very important).

the artifacts are multiplying

they are everywhere

So in regards to reading.... I have been slogging my way through this brick.

I was determined to finally get a better grasp of Mexican History this year, so I plopped down 35 dollars (highway robbery!) for this book at an English book seller in San Cristobal back in November. I enjoy history and normally would have rapidly finished a book this size, but reading the tragic and hopeless history of a 3rd world country while living and experiencing the modern results of said history is depressing beyond belief, so I can only take it in short spurts. I have managed to work my way up to the Mexican Revolution and Pancho Villa 1/3 of the way through. I am always amazed by how fascinating historical characters can be, and the heroes of Mexican history do not dissapoint. You could not invent fictional characters this colorful they just wouldn't be believable. So far my two favorites are Benito Juarez and Fancisco Madero compared to the other numberless murderers and powermongers of Mexican history these two stand out as fairly decent fellows, worthy of some comemoration. Benito Juarez was the orphaned indian who became the first "real" president of Mexico. Francisco Madero, a spritualist ascetic who channeled the spirits of the dead (including is brother Raul and former president Benito Juarez), believed God had called him to do a great work for his people. He was a pacifist, and ironically the father of the Mexican Revolution.

My two least favorite Mexicans are Miguel Hidalgo and Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (of Alamo fame). I think that both of these guys were nuts, period. Miguel Hidalgo lead the movement for Mexican independence from Spain with his famous "grita de dolores", because ( I think) he was mentally ill, and therefore crazy enough to do such a thing. He is glorified beyond recognition in paintings and a revered hero of Mexican independence, but he was nothing more than a madman who butchered a lot of innocent people, in my opnion. In contrast, noone reveres Santa Anna whose life and times were so melodramatic they could have been a telenovela. Most would agree that Santa Anna was one of the worst things that ever happened to the newly independent country of Mexico.

The greatest villan of Mexcian History so far? well after Hernan Cortez that would be Henry Lane Wilson U.S. ambassador to Mexico in 1910.

The facts have been disputed but it is now generally accepted that Henry Lane Wilson was the catalyst behind the assasination of Francisco Madero (previously mentioned) and coup d'etat of Victoriano Huerta which prolonged the Mexican Revolution for years. President Woodrow Wilson after learning of Ambassador Wilson's involvment had him dismissed in 1913.

So that is my two bits on Mexican History, so far....If finish this book I will be amazed.

Hands

2010-02-21T15:27:00.006-07:00

Hands for reading:

Babar is a great read anytime. It would be nice if we could all have a nice Old Lady to buy us whatever we wanted too!

Hands for sewing:

Found! A cure for my tornado on two feet. I stumbled upon this little embroidery kit in the market and thought "what the hey, its worth a try". I am amazed at the transformation. It keeps her quietly occupied for hours on end. I do have to re-thread her needle every 3 min. and constantly untangle the knots... but I'm not complaining.

Hands for making:

Pipe cleaners have been discovered in Chiapas! The Bachand children are ecstatic (especially Luc who is making robot butterflies here)

Hands for pairing:
Mike commented that I stand out like a sore thumb in this town. The more I stick out the more Bruce seems to blend in, like a chameleon. He looks like a local now from all the sun he has been getting. If there ever was anyone not engineered to live in the tropics it is me, and if there ever was anyone perfectly adapted to live in the tropics it is him. What a pair we make eh?

"M" is for Mosquito

2010-02-16T09:29:00.005-07:00

Last week I was in the middle of changing a load of laundry when I happened to glance down at a bucket next to the washing machine. Sonia uses it for mopping the floors and it had about 3/4 of an inch of water left in the bottom. I noticed a number of dark "wormy" things about 1/2 inch long swimming in the water. They turned out to be mosquito larvae, yuck! I had always naively assummed that mosquito larvae were tiny almost microscopic things. We promptly dumped the bucket out in the hot sunny very dry garden on the patio, die you vile pests! It felt good to have a little revenge for all the red itchy welts on our arms and legs, but I am sure that the execution of a dozen mosquito larvae did nothing to diminish the robust population of mosquitos in Chiapa de Corzo. They are just a part of the package, if you live here you live with mosquitos. My kids have developed an awe and even a little fear of them, as they recently learned that Alexander the Great probably died from malaria which he got from a mosquito bite. Malaria is not so much a concern for us here but dengue fever is and precautions must be taken. So how do we live with them?

1. Mosquito repellent.

We may not be dipping ourselves in DDT or Permethrin but applying OFF daily gets old really quick, it makes everything smelly and it can't be that healthy. Mosquito repellent is a practical solution if you are going camping for the weekend, not if you have to use it daily in your home for several months. Generally I put some repellent on the kids around sunset, but mainly we go without it.

2. Mosquito nets.

The real question here is not how do we live with mosquitos but how do we sleep with them? as anyone who has ever tried to sleep with mosquitos buzzing in their ears will tell you. Furthermore the most dangerous times for contracting malaria or dengue are between dawn and dusk. Mosquito nets are effective but they do have a few problems. They are incredibly stuffy and in a hot humid climate every breeze is essential. They are also cumbersome and tricky to get in and out of. If you have to get out of bed to help your kids get out of their bed several times a night (drinks of water, nightmares, bathroom emergencies etc.) you begin to see the absurdity of having mosquito nets. The kids sleep with a mosquito net, but we do not. So how do we manage to sleep with the mosquitos?

3. Fans.

A wonderful modern convenience, and it kills two birds with one stone. It provides air conditioning and it blows the mosquitos away. Easy, elegant, effective, but there are some critics who tell us that sleeping in a breeze all night is not healthy. Hoover for one prefers no repellent, no mosquito net, and no fan; he just pulls the sheet over his head. I'm sticking with my fan for now.

In spite of the precautions, mosquito bites are inevitable and we have to live with that. Our stoic moto is "the more you scratch the more you itch".

Dia de la Amistad

2010-02-13T19:43:00.006-07:00

Valentines day is not usually a big holiday for our family, sometimes we get around to making valentines sometimes we don't, sometimes we decorate the house sometimes we don't. I was not particularly motivated to decorate or make valentines this year (with so much going on I don't have much energy to be creative). However, we did manage to pull together a little bit of valentine fun. After school work on Friday the kids spent several hours making valentines for everyone on the field project. Our large dining table is fantastic for things like this. If I could have my wish I would always have a huge dining table like this, because you can really spread out and enjoy an art or work project. We put the valentines under everyones plates at the big afternoon meal, and I made some brownies for a special Dia de la Amistad dessert.

it turns out that valentine making is great handwriting and cutting practice.

Bruce and the kids put a little more effort into their valentines day surprise. They spent several hours on Saturday fighting traffic in Tuxtla to buy me a huge box of good chocolates. For some people chocolates on valentines day are cliche, I am not that jaded because this is the first box of chocolates I have ever recieved for valentines day. I will enjoy them thoroughly.

I was happy with my chocolates, but Bruce surprised me again with a pair of amber earrings (Chiapas is world renowned for its amber). I have never been much of a jewlery wearer myself because I could never figure out how to do it and still be my casual self. But I do like jewerly and I have always admired people who could wear jewelry and still be sophisticated and casual at the same time. Accesories??? well this pair of earrings may be a new jumping off place for me. Thanks Bruce, I love the earrings.

busy

2010-02-07T17:10:00.004-07:00

Well the first week of February has come and gone, and we have been so busy that I never got around to posting anything here. For the most part my kids have been busy being kids, and boredom does not last around here very long because there is always something new to do. We have gotten our school rythym back so 2 or 3 hours of every weekday are devoted cheerfully to that. Emory has been busy photo documenting her life with her new camera. This week she has enjoyed dressing up her dolls and then photographing each outfit or hairstyle so that she can "remember which combinations looked best". Lucas has been busy writing stories, he carefully executes a picture and then has his mom or his sister write the words he nararrates. Pirates and robots are popular themes. The both of them have also been busy trying to find and watch every Charlie and Lola episode on youtube (giving all of the adults some much needed quiet time).

school is in session, Emory working at the table and Lucas on the computer

Whether I like it or not I am always busy doing something like laundry, reading stories, redirecting kids with boundless energy, breaking up fights, cleaning up disasters, applying mosquito repellent and fetching lots of drinks of water and snacks. I am also acting as support staff for the project which means I help make everything run smoothly at the house, like supplying our cook, Dona Sonia, with everything she needs to cook for 7+ adults. I also help out with special tasks like pottery reconstruction, and artifact storage. This week I have been busy reassembling a 2,000 year old pot in between the usual chaos of two energetic kids. Fortunately I'm not so involved in this task that I can't set it aside when I have to. It may sit like this for another week or so before I get back to it.

I have put my knitting needles away to focus on this for a little while

Bruce has been busy digging some really deep holes, negotiating labor disputes, fixing cameras, solving computer software conflicts, getting sun stroke, refining his spanish, and having the time of his life while wondering if this whole experience is going to get us anywhere.

As the days slip quickly away all of us have been busy wondering what life will hold for us at the end of this adventure. The kids have been asking if daddy will finally have a job?and where will we be living? In the evenings after everyone goes to bed Bruce and I have been busy discussing what our options will be come June 1... as strange as our lives have been here in Mexico we are savoring the rare feelings of freedom and independence that come from having our own home and being able to provide for ourselves even if it is temporary. We are hoping for some miracle that could save us from losing that again, but are not optomistic. In the meantime we'll just keep ourselves busy.

El Chorreadero

2010-01-31T14:50:00.007-07:00

On Saturday we went to El Chorreadero, a cave with a subterranean river and water fall about 15 min. drive from town. The river beyond the cave flows into a series of little pools and cascades where people can swim in the clean cold cave temperature water. I think this is about as cold as you can get and still be within Chiapa de Corzo city limits. The cave is only accesible by a guided tour which can take from 12 to 16 hours to traverese to the other end (maybe someday when the kids are older). We were content to just peak inside and then swim in the cold clear pools below the waterfall.

Everything about this sign says "photo op!" it even has an arrow for heaven's sake. Translation for the non-spanish speakers: "We suggest that you do not swim in an inebrieted state". Spanish always sounds so polite, we English speakers would just say DO NOT SWIM WHILE DRUNK no polite suggestions there.

The cave entrance is just above the waterfall, which is currently very slow because it is dry season.

Looking into the cave, the floors and walls had a glass like polish to them, and the water was amazingly clear.

Judging from the walls the water must be very high during rainly season.

Lucas trying out his new birthday swimsuit for the first time, Bruce making sure it has a snug fit.

There were many pools of varying sizes and depths, all with sandy bottoms.

Bruce and the kids swimming in the pool just below the cave entrance.

It was a great way to cool off on a hot Saturday.

SEVEN

2010-01-26T08:55:00.004-07:00

THE BIRTHDAY SHIRT (completed just before we moved)

THE NEW BIRTHDAY SHOES

THE NEW BIRTHDAY WATCH (thanks Mike and Angie for the super gift!)

THE BIRTHDAY CROWN (to complete the birthday ensemble)

STUFFING THE BIRTHDAY PINATA

THE BIRTHDAY CAKE (it was sabroso!)

THE BIRTHDAY GIFT (a camera of her very own)

HANGING THE BIRTHDAY PINATA

THE END OF THE BIRTHDAY PINATA (pinatas in Mexico are made of pottery, so they are much harder to break)

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL

"adios parachicos!"

2010-01-24T15:49:00.007-07:00

That's what the 3 year old boy across the street shouted while waving from his door step at the parachicos parading down our street yesterday. Saturday was officially the last day of the San Sebastian festival. Our new house is two blocks from the town plaza and has been right in the middle of the daily marching route for all of the processions, marachi bands, and parachicos for the last 4 weeks.

parachicos on their way to the Santo Domingo

It has been very LOUD, but lots of fun to be right in the center of everything. Generally the music, marching, and bottlerockets start about 9 am and go until 8 am the next morning (we are looking forward to finally being able to get some sleep this next week). In addition they have set up a large carnival and stage on the main plaza and there are concerts everynight.This festival gets bigger every year and is such a mishmash of folklore, cultural traditions both ancient and modern, catholic ritual, and the performance of community identity I couldn't explain half of what we saw.

The end of the festival is marked by a mass around sunset in the Santo Domingo cathedral (a building that is over 400 years old!) in the center of town. They cleared all of the benches from the central hall of the cathedral and hundreds of parachicos (the people dressed up in masks, bushy blond and hats and bright serapes) and chiapanecas (women in the beautiful embroidered dresses) danced in followed by a procession of priests and deacons and the image of Saint Sebastian (with arrows and all), they were in turn followed by more parachicos and banners from each of the barrios in the town. The building was packed, and it felt like a sauna. If it had just been Bruce and I we might have been able to endure it long enough to stay for the mass and watch the dancing at the end, but we had two small children who were ready to pass out from the heat. The 90 degree heat outside felt cool and refreshing after standing in the crowd inside the cathedral. When we got home we gave the kids a bath and enjoyed some ice cream.

a very young parachico dancing in the cathedral

he stopped long enough to let us take his picture

chiapanecas in their beautiful dresses

they consented to smile for my photo

Bruce and the kids next to a parachico waiting for the procession to arrive.

The parachicos enter, followed by a procession carrying San Sebastian, and the banners. Bruce was filming this, and you will see a brief glimpse of me and the kids sweating it out.

Chiapa de Corzo is genrally a pretty sleepy little town, it only has one traffic light after all. It will be nice to get back to the normal slow pace of life this next week.

Half Way

2010-01-19T11:31:00.005-07:00

The festival of San Sebastian is in full swing, a "parachico" parading past our house and truck. By the way we have it on good authority that we are renting the most beautiful house in the city

As January races past us we officially reached the halfway point of our stay here in Mexico. As a whole I have been amazed by the resiliance of my children during the last 4.5 months. Sleeping on floors, sharing a twin bed, living out of suitcases, having to interact with everyone besides their parents in a foreign language, having no where to run around and be a kid, having only one playmate (which happens to be your sibling), eating strange and unappetizing (for them anyway) food, even facing the possiblity of no Christmas tree. They have weathered it all, and still seemed to be generally happy and well adjusted. But this recent move has shown that they do indeed have limits. Lucas has begun to ask me constantly, when do we go home? Can we go home tomorrow? Do you remember how to get home? And this morning he announced that the day we go to the airport will be the happiest day ever. Furthermore, it has almost been impossible to get Emory back into her school routine. The week we moved into the new house she started to throw unbelievable tantrums when it was time for schoolwork. Naturally it was impecable timing, in the middle of orienting the project cook, setting up the house and purchasing and organizing equipment and supplies, and helping Bruce to get the excavations underway. I have had no choice but to patiently (and some times not so patiently) endure 4 hours of yelling, crying, whining, sulking, and pouting to get through 2 hours of school. The Mexicans living and working with us are probably puzzled and bewildered by this "American" home school.

I was grateful to take a few days off from school while Mike and Angie were here. We had a wonderful visit with them, the kids especially enjoyed the time with their aunt and uncle. I leave it to Angie to post on her blog all about the things we saw and did. But all good things must come to an end, and today we were right back in the saddle again. Emory had several teary moments throughout the day, and kept saying that she wanted to go home like Mike and Angie did. She is also just old enough to recognize the difference between having a birthday (coming next Monday) at home with family and friends, and here with just the four of us. We have promised her a pinata and that has mitgated most of her birthday blues.

Bumper cars at the San Sebastian fair. It has been a bumpy thrill ride so far, only 4.5 months more to go.

Can we stop this ride now please? I think I want to get off

2010-01-09T19:40:00.012-07:00

Our move ended up going better than we hoped in some ways and worse than we expected in others, but we are here now so I'll just give you the highlights (or lowlights as the case may be).
We spent all day cleaning and moving out of our old house on Thursday (did I mention that I hate moving). Friday morning we loaded up a large truck we hired for the day to transport all of the field equipment, furniture, and other supplies to the new house. Bruce and Emory drove down earlier that morning to get the workers he has hired started cleaning the brush off the the site. Lucas and I stayed behind with Hoover (a good friend and one of our field personnel) to help load the big truck (I was way too busy and much too exhausted to take pictures of any of this process, but you will have to take my word for it that it took less than an hour and it was impressive). On the way out of town Hoover, Lucas, and I stopped by the old house to return the keys and collect the deposit. Unfortunately there was a bit of a disagreement over a matter of new paint. More unfortunately I was short tempered (whoa! big surprise) and I know just enough spanish to get myself in really REALLY big trouble. Fortunately he did not call the police on me (though he did some shoving and alot of shouting), because Hoover managed to calm him down, and after some begging and tears he gave us back part of our deposit. After bungling that matter I tried not to speak spanish to anyone else for the rest of the day, and Bruce will be handling all of our rental negotiations from here on out, you can be sure. Because of the deposit debacle we were a little late in getting down to the new house, fortunately it was an unbelievably cold day in Chiapa de Corzo (coldest day on record we have been told) so moving in was a snap (it certaintly helped to have 5 or 6 of Bruce's workers come down and unload the truck).
Compared to our old house, our new house is beautiful, bigger, and cheaper (I wish we had just started out here in the first place). We had worried that it would take serveral days to get our internet up and running, but all we had to do was plug our modem into the wall jack, presto! amazing! I think I'm going to really like this house.

la casa nueva!

The old theater across the street from our new house

looking into the main room from the corridor, the ladder belongs to the men who have been repairing the the roof.

The kids room, is actually on the patio. Our room is behind, and it is still a disaster so no pictures yet.

Looking out from our bedroom window into the kids room, and the garden. The main room and the kitchen are beyond.

no it is not the Taj Mahal it is our bathroom!

Our little Luc turned 5 Sunday but because of the move and the begining of the project we couldn't really plan anything for him. We had decided that on Saturday we would take him shopping for some new tennis shoes and a new swimsuit (one that will stay above his butt crack), stop for some pizza afterward, and pick up a cake and some ice cream at the grocery store on the way home. Unfortunately we ended up having a lot of minor house repairs, a huge list of errands to run, and supplies to get...so time was short and hectic. To make matters worse we discovered that all of our US bank accounts have been frozen. What??? Being a Saturday there was no one we could call. Undaunted we dusted off our credit card and set out with a more modest game plan: tennis shoes and a swimsuit, but no pizza, and a VERY inexpensive birthday cake at the grocery store.

Luc new these tennis shoes were meant to be his on first sight.

Unfortunately in the process of purchasing these shoes we may have demagnetized the credit card. What??? So there we were in the grocery store check out line with a birthday cake and a swimsuit from the clearance bin, with two US bank cards, and credit card that had all ceased to function. We did some quick arithmetic on our fingers and handed over the Mexican bank card, which worked thank heaven. I managed to make him a birthday t-shirt the day before we moved (Thanks Helen and Casey for sending the freezer paper). He was very excited to wear it so that all the Mexicans would know how old he was.

Honestly, by the end of Saturday I was ready to call it quits, change the plane tickets and fly home with the kids. Fortuantely for Bruce all of our bank cards were useless, so I was stuck in Mexico.
Sunday was comparatively calm (given the previous two days worth of excitement), we spent the afternoon at home quietly celebrating Luc's birthday.

Emory pitched in her bit with a birthday crown and a birthday card, and Bruce produced a surprise birthday gift!

The surprise gift turned out to be a Lego set, a first for our family. It kept Bruce and the kids occuppied most of the afternoon.

The digging begins officially on Monday, and Mike and Angie arrive on Wednesday. I will be very busy the next few days setting up this house, and getting everything operational. I will be back in about a week with lots to show and tell.

The Things We See: The Tortilla Machine

2010-01-04T08:34:00.005-07:00

There is nothing like a tortilla machine to mezmorize your kids. Of course this is an obligatory stop on our way through the grocery store.

A few other noteworthy items:

1.We did finally manage to rent a house yesterday (hurray! thanks for all of your encouragement and prayers)

2.We will be moving house in three days and things are going to be really chaotic around here, so I will not be posting until I get settled with internet service.

3.It is probable that Lucas has H1N1 (perfect timing right?)

New Years, a holiday I could skip

2010-01-01T12:09:00.010-07:00

I have been sparse on the updates here since Christmas, we have been busy but not with holiday activities. It is the mundane things that have taken all of my attention. Bruce lost his cell phone on the 23rd and we have been trying to get a replacement (a lot harder than you would think it should be, even in Mexico). Nursing a sick kid and a sick husband, i.e. 16 boxes of kleenex, gallons of decongestant, and ibupofen and no sleep for me.We have also been making lots of trips to Chiapa de Corzo, the project begins next week and we still have not found a house to rent. 2 weeks ago this problem was merely frustrating, 1 week ago deeply concerning, this week it is a crisis. The pick'ns are mighty slim, and we have been scouring this little one horse town for months.
So far we have managed to find 3 houses that were big enough, but none of them will work and all of them are too expensive (like break the project budget expensive). House number 1 is across the street from the site, it is brand new and unfinished. It is missing sinks and fixtures in the bathrooms and kitchen, and all of the bedrooms and bathrooms are on the second floor (not good unless you like living in a commune with all of the project personnel). House number 2 has a big kitchen and 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms divided nicely between the first and second floor, but no yard and no garage to park the two field vehicles securely (very important detail). But the real deal breaker for me is the colors, ouch my eyes, my eyes! What is it with people painting every wall, nook and surface inside and outside a different neon color? Isn't it more expensive to buy that many different cans of paint? The 3rd house is outside of town in a new gated subdivision, it is brand new with a 2 car garage and air conditioning but it is prohibitively expensive and so far from anywhere that the kids and I would essenitally be trapped there all day every day (at least our prison would be air conditioned though). Bruce even inquired about the nasty house we rented last year, which now has a new paint job and a new roof , but the owner does not want to rent it.
So I am supposed to be getting ready to move in 6 days but I have no where to move to. All of this uncertainty has not helped my holiday blues. I think New Years is one of my least favorite holidays. Each year I find myself farther from anywhere I hoped or want to be, and our circumstances more bizarre, transient and desperate than the previous year. Who wants to celebrate that? I think Bruce is starting to hate New Years too, because he resolves each year to try and make things better and finally break out of our slump only to be reminded at the next New Years that he got nowhere. He just got up this morning and went to work at the foundation like it was any other day.
When the going gets tough the tough get going and somehow I always manage to surprise myself. Yesterday I surpised myself by being motivated enough to build a cardboard dollhouse with Emory.

even if we can't find a house to rent the dolls will have one

complete with bunk beds, a walk in closet, and a quaint patio

materials used: cardboad boxes, cereal boxes, masking tape, and glue (I'm particularly proud of the roof)

Truthfully I got way too absorbed in this project, and was burned out before we finished all the furniture, but she is ecstatic (I bet it will fall apart by the end of the week though). This morning I got going by deciding to take out the tree and throw out all of the holiday decorations, to speed this lousy New Years holiday along. I find that controlling the little things like that diminishes my sense of helplessness. Afterward I felt a little bit better.

all that is left of our happy little Christmas

Feliz Navidad

2009-12-27T12:49:00.011-07:00

This year all of our Christmas decorations were homemade, we hung origami paper chain garlands around the living room and I made german paper stars and baked cookies to hang on the tree.

Even our nativity was made out of paper this year. I have very vivid memories of the nativity silhouette we used to put in the window when I was a little girl. I think it was made by Grandma Bradshaw or Grandma Sampson.

Our Christmas package from Casey and Helen arrived (un milagro verdadero) with all of its Christmas goodies. (thanks again you guys for praying it safely here!)

We made our traditional holiday tortilla hors d'oeuvres, but we had to kick them up a notch because I couldn't find any anaheim chiles (I mixed 1/2 jalepenos 1/2 serranos). They were pretty hot!

I ended up putting my tiny kitchen to the uiltimate test by cooking a last minute turkey with stuffing. The 15 lb turkey just squeezed into my itty bitty oven.

We enjoyed the turkey, stuffing, pozole, and pollo estilo Oaxaca with the Hoover family, Lopez-Ruiz family, and 4 elders late Christmas eve. Mexican dinner is typically very late in the evening. It was close to 10 pm when we finally started carving the turkey (Lucas was ready to go to bed).

Santa got peanutbutter cookies this year. Our tree was beautiful but Chirstmas eve in Mexico is not very peaceful, our neighbors set off fireworks well into the morning hours. We are used to that kind of thing though, and we slept in spite of the noise.

Since our trip to Oaxaca was our Christmas present this year Christmas morning was pretty simple. Santa brought Emory some new dolls and more doll clothes. Lucas got a set of cars with interchangeable parts so you can creat your own. Lucas pauses momentarily in his joy to announce that Easter is coming soon. He is also very excited for dad to open his present (a lint roller). "It is to lick your pants off" he says.

You can click the link below to see the rest of the video footage we took Christmas morning.

Oaxaca Part IV: vamos a la playa

2009-12-18T17:19:00.006-07:00

We left Oaxaca City on Thursday morning and 6 hours of winding mountain road later we arrived at the the small beach village San Agustinillo. Oaxaca's beaches are a very popular destination for surfers (warm water and great surf), but this small community did not have as big a surf as the other towns further north and south so it was very tranquilo (i.e. very quiet and only a handful of people). We spent Thursday and Friday relaxing, swimming, reading, and napping at this beach (which we had mostly to ourselves). It was the final leg of our trip, and our Christmas present to ourselves. There is not much to write about it (the pictures and videos say it all), other than we wish we could have stayed longer (but we had used up all of our sunscreen anyway). It was a very special memory for the whole family.

Emory building a sand castle, Bruce and Luc in the surf beyond

Watching the sunset, the only time we really saw any people was when everyone came down to the beach in the evening to watch the sunset. The couple standing behind me were the owners of the beach cabana we rented.

a perfect sunset, that little building in silhouette is a shrine to Mexico's patron saint La Virgen Guadelupe

Lucas trying to get his dad's attention from the beach. Bruce and Emory are playing in the surf and Lucas wants to go in too. He has been told he can't go into the water without an adult, so he is keeping his distance by running away from the waves.

Lucas getting into the rythym of beach living

Bruce and the kids looking for crabs on the beach in the morning. There were a couple of surfers not having much luck getting up, and one or two beach combers. They all left the beach within the hour, and we had it all to ourselves for the rest of the day.

We didn't send out any Christmas cards this year, but I think this will make a good stand in. Happy Holiday's Everyone!

Oaxaca Part III: a very full day in Oaxaca City

2009-12-17T17:11:00.008-07:00

On Wednesday Bruce had a meeting with another archaeologist that took most of his day, so the kids and I set out on our own to explore the city. Our first stop was a Guatemalan Textile Museum, but first we passed through the Zocalo and took so more photos of those beautiful poinsettias.

The textile museum was a pleasant surprise, because I did not have very high expectations. The galleries were modern and the collection was eclectic and every piece was vintage, i.e. it had been used and worn with its own life history. Above the museum was a large research library and study area and a modern textile conservation facility.

After the textile museum we walked up to the Santo Domnigo cultural center, an old colonial convent which includes the regional museum and a spectacular botanical garden. While we were inside the Santo Domingo church Emory asked if she could take some pictures, so I let her shoot away. But, since we couldn't use a flash none of her pictures turned out (Emory has no ability to hold still).

Then we went around to the entrance of the botanical garden, where we ended up joining a guided tour in spanish.

I was very busy listening to and translating the tour so I gave Emory the camera and told her to take pictures of the garden as we went through. At the end of the tour I looked at the camera. She had taken over 200 photos, wow! I sorted through her photos over our lunch, I put together some of her best ones here.

After lunch we walked over to the home of Benito Juarez, Mexico's first president after gaining independence from Spain. You might say Benito Juarez was the equivalent of George Washington except: that he was an orphaned indian, who was apprenticed to a book binder who paid for his education, and though he became a lawyer never made more than a modest living (probably because he was dedicated to serving indian populations). The house was small and humble to say the least.
By this time it was well into the afternoon and quite hot. We walked down to the Jardin Socrates, a small plaza where there are a number of small nieverias. Nieves are basically iced milk (not ice cream). The flavors were numerous and exotic.

Emory chose chocolate

I had rose petal

Lucas tried the carrot coconut

The most exotic flavor had to be tuna (I was not brave enough to try that one).

After finishing our nieves we walked back to the hotel, and put our sore feet in the pool. After Tuesday's pool experience I did not want to go swimming, so we just sat on the edge and I read to the kids.

After Bruce got back we all went back up to the Santo Domingo, this time to go to the museum. The sun was setting and the evening air was balmy. The museum's collection was beautiful and extensive covering most of Mexico's history, but the most impressive parts were the colonial architecture of the building itself and the amazing vistas of the botanical garden from above.

We left the museum and walked down one block to the Casa Oaxaca. We had been told that it was one of the best restaurants in town, and it was. We finally had our first chance to eat some bugs, a kind of cheese fondu with tomatillo and chapulines (which are basically grasshoppers).

They were delicious but more chewy than I expected. The real stars of the show were the moles. Oaxaca has more varieties of mole than any other state in Mexico. Bruce opted for the mole negro over turkey, and I had the mole amarillo over chicken.

The mole negro was incredibly dense with flavor and was smokey and bitter at the same time

The mole amarillo was like a sweet curry

The meal was the perfect ending to our stay in Oaxaca city.

Oaxaca Part II: Monte Alban, a brief lapse in parental supervision, some new books, and the Zocalo

2009-12-16T16:44:00.001-07:00

In the center of the Valley of Oaxaca rising above Oaxaca City is a low mountain. The ancient Zapotec capital of Monte Alban sits on top of this mountain, commanding a 360 degree view of the entire Oaxaca Valley and the cities and pueblos within it. The mountain was leveled off by the Zapotec to form the vast platform on which the pyramids were built. On Tuesday morning after breakfast we drove up the mountain to the site. We were astounded and impressed by the size, scope and location of the city on top of the mountain.

the grand plaza at Monte Alban

one of the giant pillars at the sunken plaza, and hey! there is that bag again

While we were walking around the site, Bruce got a phone call from the someone on the city council at Chiapa de Corzo. The Mexican government was holding a big ceremony to open the ruins of Chiapa de Corzo for tourism that afternoon (we couldn't attend because we were in Oaxaca) and the local radio station wanted to interview Bruce about the site. They agreed to call him back at 3 pm to interview him. By this time it was getting pretty hot, so after a brief walk through the site museum we headed back to town. We had lunch at a cafe on the Zocalo (central plaza). The Zocalo was practically carpeted with poinsettias, which made it a very picturesque spot to eat lunch. Unfortunately the food wasn't that great. Luckily we had to rush through our lunch in order to be back at the hotel in time for Bruce's interview.

The kids really wanted to go swimming in the hotel pool, so while Bruce went up to a rooftop garden above the pool to be interviewed over the phone, the kids and I went swimming. 10 minutes later Bruce came down to the pool seriously distressed, his cell phone had died in the middle of the interview. I told him to go get my cell phone and switch out the batteries to see if his would work. Our hotel room faced onto the pool, so I was calling out to him from the pool as he went into the room trying to get his phone to work. Luc needed to go to the bathroom at that exact moment, so the kids and I got out of the pool and went into the room. Bruce was still struggling with his phone so I told him to switch the batteries back and use my phone to call the radio station back. Throughout the chaos of getting two kids in wet swimsuits into the bathroom and then back into their suits, Bruce (who couldn't get a hold of the radio station) was becoming extremely agitated. By this time both kids were eager to get back to the pool. As we were walking out the door I suggested Bruce call his contact on the city council. The kids were both at the poolside by this time, and I told them both to wait for me while I turned on the sidewalk to tell Bruce, who was still in the room trying to find the number for the city council, something else about the cell phones (I can't remember what it was now). In the next instant I heard a splash and as I turned around I saw Luc slip under the water. It was pure adrenalene from that moment on because I have no memory how I got to the middle of the pool where Luc was (I can only imagine it was some kind of crazy belly flop dive). I do remember smacking my knee on the bottom of the pool (it was only about 4 feet deep). And then we were at the side of the pool again both of us coughing, sputtering and crying, and Emory still screaming like a banshee that her brother was drowning.

Lucas and I spent the rest of the time sitting on the side of the pool holding eachother, watching Emory swim by herself. Bruce was able to get in touch with the city council member, who contacted the radio station which called Bruce back to finish the interview. After unwinding from all of the excitement we decided to walk over to Amate Books, one of the best english bookstores in Mexico. We all spent the better part of two hours browsing through all of the books, and we each ended up buying two new books to take home. Conveniently there was a creperie above the bookstore, which made a nice light dinner for us. After dinner we ambled through the streets back to the Zocalo, where an evening concert was being performed among the Christmas lights and poinsettias. Life is never dull when you have kids, but it sure is exhausting.

Bruce looks like he is ready to call it a day

Why do Mondays have to be this hard?

2009-12-15T15:14:00.009-07:00

Saturday night when we returned home from Oaxaca there was a suspicious patch of concrete in the driveway.

My intution told me that this probably wasn't a good sign, and I suggested that we ask the landlord about it. Bruce was tired and didn't think it was anything important. Sure enough, Monday morning in the middle of my first load of laundry (I have a mountain of clothes to wash from our trip) the water cut out (i.e. our cistern ran dry). Bruce was in Chiapa de Corzo all day meeting with town officials, looking for a house to rent, and doing a radio interview, but he managed to get a hold of the landlord for me. Miguel (the landlord) came over at 9:00, and immediately noticed the afore mentioned concrete patch. He explained that it meant they (the water service) had cut off our water, probably sometime while we were away. He was surprised and immediately went to their offices to find out why, since he had paid the bill. It turns out our next door neighbor is the one who didn't pay his bill, but the water company somehow confused the houses and cut off our water instead. What lousy luck! The water company assured Miguel that someone would be by to reconnect our water by early afternoon. So I took the kids out to eat for lunch and then afterward to the grocery store. While we were out we decided to stop by the Christmas tree lot to price the trees (we had promised the kids that we would get a tree when Bruce got home later). I was stunned to find the lot was completely empty. They had sold all of the trees, and were not planning on getting anymore, and there were no other treelots in San Cristobal. The kids were anxious, so I called Bruce and told him we were counting on him to find a tree in Tuxtla. We hung out as long as possible at the grocery store, hoping that by the time we got home our water would be connected again, no such luck. So I had: a mountain of laundry, some of which was sitting damp and half washed in my washing machine, a sink full of dirty breakfast dishes, two kids who go to the bathroom every 15 min or so with no way to flush the toilet, and to make matters worse Luc, who had been nursing a mild cough since Saturday, developed a full blown cold, and we couldn't even wash our hands let alone bathe him. By 5 pm we knew there was not going to be any water, so I began to contemplate taking the kids to a hotel for the night. Meanwhile Bruce had been desperatly searching for a Christmas tree in Tuxtla, during rush hour. He went to Home Depot, Wal Mart, and every grocerystore and shopping mall he could think of, they were all sold out of trees. He called around 6 pm to break the bad news. Imagine how your kids would react to the news that they probably weren't going to get a Christmas tree? If you imagined hysterical crying, screaming, wringing of hands, collapsing on the floor in paroxysms of agony then you have a pretty good idea of the scene that played out here. After going through every display of grief and anguish in her repertoire, Emory picked herself up off of the floor and started a more pragmatic line of attack. "well if we can't get a tree mabye we can decorate a chair with Christmas lights or maybe I can make a tree out of paper and we can hang it on the wall", thats my girl! I was pursuing a less pragmatic line of thought, call grandma and have her loan us the money for some plane tickets home, chances are we would be home have taken baths and washed our clothes before the water company could reconnect our water here. At that moment Bruce called to let us know that he had found a tree, at his very last stop on the way home, a little convenience store just out side of Chiapa de Corzo. Hooray! We had planned on getting a small Christmas tree, but since all of the trees were the same price he decided to get a big one.

It is only halfway decorated, I didn't buy enough Christmas lights for a big tree, but we will fix that soon enough.

I don't think the kids have ever been happier to see their dad. Our landlord loaned us two buckets and filled them with water so we could flush our toilet, and even offered the use of his bath if we wanted to bathe Luc. He also promised to go back to the water company first thing in the morning. We opened another bottle of waterless handsoap, ordered a pizza, put the Christmas lights on the tree, and were thankful for the end of Monday.

Today at 9:00 the water company arrived, and reconnected our water.

removing the concrete patch

digging out the shutoff valve, the whole family came out to watch and take pictures, these guys probably thought we were nuts

All is well that ends well I guess, unfortunately it rained this afternoon so my laundry is still waiting to get done.

Oaxaca Part I: a long windy road to a hot dry place

2009-12-14T15:36:00.006-07:00

Since we won't be doing much in the way of Christmas gifts this year we decided to take a little family trip before the field work starts in January. We left early Monday morning and drove northwest across the hot dry Isthmus of Tehuantepec and into Oaxaca. The Isthmus is home to a seriously huge wind farm (that I did not get any good photos of) that peppers the ranches and farms throughout. Oaxaca reminds us of Tucson with its cactus, agave, and maguey. Judging by all of the roadside shops mezcal, a relative of tequila which is produced from maguey, is chief among the products made and sold in Oaxaca.

It took us about 8 hours to get from San Cristobal to Oaxaca city because of the labyrinth of mountians and hills that surround the Oaxaca Valley. Holy camino sinuoso! Towards the end everyone was carsick except Bruce (I know, I need to stop kidding myself that I am 25 and can still get away with driving in Latin America without dramamine). Fortunately we arrived before any loss of lunch. The climate in Oaxaca city in December is perfect, sunny and dry but not too hot. We stayed right in the heart of the centro historico, and although our hotel was not as great as they advertised it to be... it was convienient to all of the sites and museums. Our first stop after settling in that night was a museum of course. We went to the Rufino Tamayo Museum of Precolumbian Art one block down from our hotel. It is a 17th century house that has become a museum for the private artifact collection of the painter Rufino Tamayo. The collection was fairly extensive, with a number of unusually beautiful pieces. Our kids are getting pretty used to the boring archaeology museum routine, and have developed strategies to get through them quickly. The most effective is a bathroom emergency about halfway through, nothing like the threat of peeing ones pants to get your parents to get a move on.

I realize that I am wearing this bag in almost every photo that Bruce takes of me and thats o.k. because I love it. I take it with me everywhere and it is holding up to the test amazingly well. It is the perfect size (not too big not too small), I can wear it across my body to leave my hands free for holding on to kids, it is waterproof and it goes with everything. After 4 months of steady use in a 3rd world country it has proved to be worth every penny. It looks like a purse but basically it is our emergency kit, and when I have it I am prepared for most things (except a change of pants if we don't make it to the bathroom)

After we found the bathroom for this little guy and left the museum we stopped for dinner in another 17th century house turned restaurant nextdoor. However, the best part of this day was taking a hot shower and going to bed

The Things We See: This is what "Ford Tough" means in Mexico

2009-12-12T19:57:00.005-07:00

We just arrived home from our week long trip to Oaxaca and I will start posting about that soon, but for now you just get this tidbit from our trip home today.

The Ford Ranger is perhaps the most ubiquitous automobile in Mexico, and boy do they work them hard. Bruce and I think that the Ford engineers couldn't have imagined a tenth of the uses and abuses that these little trucks have here. The horse has wisely been blindfolded, so he doesn't have any idea how narrow and windy the road is.

Wool and lots of paper

2009-12-01T21:10:00.006-07:00

My hands started to cramp up towards the end but I persisted, and managed to finish both sweaters by Sunday morning. I used the same pattern as last year for Emory's cardigan. It is simple and the one button boxy style suits her. I love the colors, she says she looks like a rainbow. It took me about a month to knit (stretched out over 3 months of only knitting occassionaly). Luc's vest was a last minute decision. I stumbled upon a store in town that sells yarn from France and Spain. They had a few washable wool blends so I asked Luc to pick a color he liked, they had a marled green, a bright blue, and dark red....he picked grey. I was disappointed but it was his choice.

This was my first attempt at a sweater vest. It was a snap, sleeveless sweaters are definitely the way to go, so much easier. It took about a week and a half to knit up. I'm so happy with how they both came out, too bad they will only get to wear them for another 4 weeks. Winter will officially be over for us when we move in January.

Our advent calendar is stocked and ready to go. Bruce rolled his eyes when he saw that I had packed this, but the kids where ecstatic. I told him that I didn't bring it for him anyway.

The unpacking of the advent calendar has sparked a decorating frenzy. Every corner of the house is being populated with little holiday vignettes like this one.

Yards and yards of paper chains are being assembled from origami paper (yes, Bruce I managed to pack few packages of origami paper along with the stockings and the advent calendar). Throw in a few poinsettas and it is begining to look a lot like Christmas. We are heading to Oaxaca on Monday so our tree will have to wait until we get back.

The Things We See: Live and Let Live

2009-11-29T14:10:00.001-07:00

Mexico is color: colorful people, colorful cars, and colorful sayings. I am begining to believe that every vehicle in this country has been christened with some kind of pet name. This truck just looks like a "Lupita" doesn't it.

The road less traveled

2009-11-27T14:17:00.005-07:00

Instead of enjoying the magic of the first snow followed by sledding and snowangels we treked through a mosquito filled jungle and heard howler monkeys. Instead of turkey and stuffing with family and friends we had a cozy mexican hot chocolate at a street cafe. Instead of piano lessons and weekly trips to the libary we make do with the small stack of books we brought with us and the vibrant music, food, and culture that surround us . Our road is really no more beautiful or difficult than the road anyone else may be traveling, it is just different. For example, I can have fresh squeezed orange juice, and all the perfectly ripe avocados I can eat. But I can't drink the water out of the tap, and I have to put up with the 3 inch cockaroach living behind my bathroom faucet, who likes to pop out at night and surprise me. We have traded a set of familiar senic vistas for a set of foreign and exotic ones, both are breathtaking but as different from eachother as day and night. In order to take this road we have traded home, roots, traditions, stability, comfort, financial well being, and material goods for travel, adventure, memories and experiences. The biggest challenge in taking this road less traveled is not being able to relate to either the Mexicans among whom we are living, or those family and friends left behind because our lives are so different. In spite of the isolation I feel at times, I have to keep reminding myself I am living the dream, and that the price to travel this road is probably no greater than that to take any other road. It is just less traveled, and I'm thankful for the rare opportunity I have to take it with my little family.

enjoying a chocolate followed by a nice walk around town

this is a classic Bachand pose in front of a very colorful garage door

Emory loved the little door knocker

very picturesque dog in a window

we hope you all had a lovely holiday too!

Snapshots

2009-11-23T10:35:00.007-07:00

Here is a quick rundown of what everyone has been up to when we are not traveling:
In addition to getting ready for the field season Bruce has been conducting a survey of the Chiapa de Corzo pottery at the regional museum, and helping the Mexicans with the re-housing of the pottery.

When he is not at the museum he is working on various different projects at the foundation, one of which is cutting pot sherds for paste and temper analysis. Here he has just returned home after spending the morning cutting pottery, that is one dirty face.

I have been busy with my hands, as usual. I havebeen knitting like a fiend for the last two weeks to finish Emory's sweater and a little vest for Lucas.The reveal will be soon.

Emory took these photos of me, she did great didn't she!

I also started making some christmas ornaments for our christmas tree, here I am folding some german paper stars.

Emory seems to be the busiest of all, when she is not inventing new games to play she is writing stories or drawing something. Her favorite school projects are the ones she gets to color.

Emory preparing for our trip to the macaw reserve

egyptian hieroglyph project, our names in cartouches

Lucas is just riding the waves of energy and fun that his sister generates. His only complaint is that she is an early riser (the lights go on at 7 am and she is usually pushing her groggy little brother out of bed so she can make it and get on with her busy project filled day), he is often tuckered out by mid afternoon and needs a break from all the excitement (so does his mom).

how to cope if your sister is an early bird and you are a night owl

Because he is the calmer of the two he is usually the companion of choice whenever anyone has to run an errand. Lucas is very popular with the Mexicans who like to touch and kiss him for luck.

which is sweeter the pan dulce or that little boy?

Los Revolucionarios

2009-11-21T12:37:00.003-07:00

This post was sparked by an email I got from Ann, regarding Mexican holidays in November. There is really only one (after Dia de los Muertos). November 20th, the anniversary of the Mexican Revolution, a bloody civil war that lasted from 1910 to 1920. I had planned on taking the kids downtown to a museum on Friday morning, not being from around here I had completely forgotten about the date. We were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in the middle of a huge parade. Each school was represented by a contingent of students performing dances, and sports stunts among other things. However, the main theme of the parade was the Mexican Revolution, so most of the students were dressed as revolucionarios. Since I was standing in a large crowd with just a point and shoot, and two children to watch out for, my photographing was severely limited. So I opted for video (it was a parade after all). Now here is the disclaimer, as a photographer I am fair, as a videograher I am poor. So here are two rotten video clips of the parade, but I hope it can still give you a taste of what we saw.

This first clip is a group of little revolucionarios being led by either Pancho Villa or Emiliano Zapata (not sure which). They are singing a revolutionary song couldn't hear it clear enough to tell you what it was about. They are all carrying wooden machetes or rifles and the boys have fake bullets straped across their bodies (what do they call those things again? I forget).

November 20th parade from Holly Bachand on Vimeo.

This next group of kids deserves a prize for best use of the ubiquitous plastic water bottle, the scourge of the non-recycling 3rd world (where all your drinking water must come from a plastic bottle). They painted them and filled them with beans or something to make them rattle and taped them together to make these cool batons. If you look quick you can catch a glimpse of the fathers of the Mexican Revolution (Francisco Madero, Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa and some others I couldn't identify) marching right behind them, in front of more little revolucionarios.

Recycling plastic water bottles from Holly Bachand on Vimeo.

American children should be kind of bummed that they don't get to run around with rifles and machetes sporting mustaches and sombreros on the 4th of July. Muskets and tricorner hats just don't pack the same punch. In that same vein we don't have any really good revolutionary songs either, yankee doodle is not gritty and emotional at all. You should have heard the stuff the kids here were singing about. (I'm just being sarcastic here, don't start sending me e-mail about being unpatriotic and unamerican). Happy 20th of November everyone, and Viva Mexico!

The Things We See: Tapachula Dancers

2009-11-16T11:36:00.007-07:00

This was taken during our trip to Tapachula. A group of dancers were performing in the main plaza. I have no idea what region this dance comes from I don't think its Chiapas, perhaps Oaxaca? Yes those are real wine bottles and glasses on their heads. Hope it makes you smile, enjoy!

Tapachula Dancers from Holly Bachand on Vimeo.

Yaxchilan

2009-11-15T21:45:00.009-07:00

We got up Friday morning early in order to catch the first lancha (river boat) down river to the archaeological site Yaxchilan. Yaxchilan has the most impressive and most extensive hieroglyphic record of all the Maya sites, and for years I have wanted to see both the Usumacinta river and the site of Yaxchilan, I was not disappointed. The river was still shrouded in fog as we set out on our 40 min ride.

boarding the lancha on a foggy morning, that is Guatemala on the opposite bank

they only had adult sized life jackets on the lancha

The high canopy on the Guatemala side of the river wrapped in wisps of fog was particularly beautiful, and we saw a number of water birds including kingfishers on our way. We were the first ones to arrive at the site and we had the place to ourselves for 2 hours. As the sun came out and burned off the fog from the ruins and the surrounding jungle, it became clear that this was an incredibly beautiful site.

Emory on the path through the jungle to the site

our first glimpse of the ruins through the trees

We discovered bats inside many of the abandoned palace rooms, and 4 or 5 troops of howler monkeys in the trees on the grand plaza. As we climbed up to the grand acropolis two troops of howlers began their unearthly screaming in the trees directly above us. Bruce and I have experienced this before, but it was great to share that with our kids, who were dumbstruck by how loud and terrifying such small monkeys can sound (I wanted to post some of the video we took of it, but I don't have the software to make small enough to post on this blog). Towards the end of our tour of the site we even saw a group of 4 or 5 toucans take flight through the upper cannopy.

a male howler monkey in the trees

everyone found their niche

Emory in front of a carved stela lying on its side

we saw lots of ants on this trip but that's not them

that's me and the kids at the base of a large ceiba tree in the main plaza

We left the site just as the large tour groups started to arrive. Since we had to travel upriver on the return trip it took an hour to get back to Frontera Corozal. There wasn't much to hang around for in Frontera Corozal, so we packed up and headed back to San Cristobal. We stopped in Comitan 6 hours later for the night, and continued home Saturday morning. 4 days and 16 hours of driving later we have a mountain of laundry to do and we are all itching with mosquito, chigger, and ant bites but it was so worth it.

La Selva Lacandona y Las Guacamayas

2009-11-15T20:40:00.007-07:00

On Wednesday morning we left San Cristobal around 6 am to drive down to the Lacandon Jungle along the Guatemala border. The drive took us about 6 hours. We stopped to stay at an ecoreserve park known as Las Guacamayas, which among other things is a sanctuary for scarlet macaws. The restuarant and sleeping cabins sit right along the Lacantun river.

Bruce and the kids with the Lacantun River in the background

our cabana

the path to our cabana was covered by this amazing hibiscus arbor

Unfortunately it is not the time of year to see macaws, as they migrate in and out of the reserve seasonally. However, we saw many other tropical birds and heard several troops of howler monkeys. We caught the tail end of the tropical depression that was hurricane Ida. It rained out the rest of our afternoon but made the weather comfortably cool for the jungle. We slept well until the howler monkeys woke us just before dawn. After an early breakfast we took a guided two hour hike through a small patch of jungle protected by the local ejido (land cooperative). Most of the land around has been turned into cattle grassland. It was quite muddy and buggy, an authentic jungle experience I'd say. It brought back many fond memories of the Peten for Bruce and I. It was fun to be able to introduce our kids to all of the amazing plants, bugs and animals.

inspecting the roots of a giant ceiba tree

there were clouds of mosquitos but our kids didn't seem to mind them so much

They were especially impressed to see a troop of spider monkeys in the canopy overhead. We have been learning about them in school, and Emory was awed to see the pictures from her encyclopedia come to life. Only when they started urinating on us, in typical spider monkey fashion, did we decide to move on.

can you spot the spider monkey before he pees on you?

After 2 hours we emerged from the canopy into a cow pasture; muddy, bug bitten (even Lucas somehow managed to get a fire ant down is pants), and tired. Lucas announced to the world that he does not like ant bites, and he hates the smell of cows. After showering and changing shoes and clothes we packed the truck and drove 2 hours further to Frontera Corozal a small town on the Usumacinta River. This river forms the border between Guatemala and Mexico. We stopped to stay at the Escudo Jaguar, another hotel perched on the banks of the river. Emory loved this place, because the cabanas were bright pink and the beds had huge mosquito nets. I did not find the giant mosquito nets very reassuring, but I was so tired I slept well enough.

Some Desperate Laundry Maneuvers

2009-11-10T07:21:00.009-07:00

Hurricane Ida sent rain, all day every day last week. As the laundry began to pile up I had to resort to putting up clothes lines in the house. Nothing is more depressing then being stuck indoors on a cold dreary rainy day surrounded by damp clothing (that never seems to get dry because there is so much humidity in the air).

With Halloween over I was able to focus my attention back to finishing the play kitchen. I had to brainstorm for a few days before I finally came up with the solution. First, it had to be inexpensive because we will only be using it for 6 more months. Second, it could not permanently alter or change the stucture of the little cabinet, i.e. I couldn't cut any holes for the sink. Third it had to be made with something I had on hand or easily found around town.

here are the table, cabinet, and chairs with a new paint job

So here is what I came up with. 6 plastic juice bottle lids (free), one plastic handle from a bottle of laundry detergent (free, and artfully cut ), one small bit of scrap lumber from the lumber yard down the street (free), 10 small nails (10 pesos for a package), some white and black craft foam from the stationary store (12 pesos for a package), glue. First, I painted and varnished the piece of wood to match the cabinet.

Then I tacked it to the cabinet with two small nails. Then I nailed all of the juice lids, and the plastic handle to the wood and the cabinet top with more small nails (note that the plastic lids will pivot on the nail).

Next I cut out the craft foam and glued it to the cabinet top. Here is the result.

I learned that painting polka dots is a lot trickier than you would think, it took two tries before I got the stools correct. I made a lot of mistakes with this project, all of them with the paint. If you could see it up close and in person you could see what I'm talking about. The varnish was effective but horrible, smelly and sticky. It also changed the color from a nice light blue to a dark yellow/blue and is very uneven. The great thing is that my kids don't care what the paint looks like, and they play with it everyday.

by the way all of our play dishes come from Plasticos Don Jaun, did I mention that I love that store!

it keeps me motivated

2009-11-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

The past 3 weeks I have been running at the sports park for about 30 min. in the early morning before Bruce drives to Tuxtla. We pull the kids out of bed and pack them in the truck with blankets and slippers. While I run Bruce reads to them. On sunny days there are two orange juice vendors next to the track, we often bring a pitcher and have it filled with fresh squeezed orange or grapefruit juice while Bruce and the kids wait for me.

Here is one of the vendors with his little orange juice cart, notice my pajama clad kids running behind the cart.

First he peels the oranges like an apple.

Then he juices them, he threw a few grapefruits into this batch for us.

For 40 pesos we can have 2 liters of pure sunshine for our breakfast. This stuff rocks my world! It is so worth getting up early and running for.

Our Halloween in Mexico

2009-11-01T18:07:00.001-07:00

Well we have to begin with the costumes of course. Emory was a perfect witch with all of those missing teeth, and acoording to Luc he was a "real" pirate because of the gold buttons on his waistcoat and the sword.

I had to make the witch cape and the pirate waistcoat by hand out of some black felt, gold buttons and ribbon. The broom, sword, wig,striped socks, hats and eye patch were purchased here and there. Everything elses came from our closets. We decided to celebrate Halloween on Friday because of various conflicts on Saturday (stake conference and the priesthood session). Because it is not the custom to trick or treat here, instead of getting treats we gave out treats. We filled some bags with candy and I made a couple of batches of cookies. I even dipped into my precious supply of brown sugar to make some peanutbutter cookies (brown sugar is hard to come by in San Cristobal). Then we got into our costumes and went to the foundation to hand out our treats. Naturally kids in costumes handing out treats were a big hit with everyone.

When Lucas got tired of being kissed and fawned over we decided it was time to go home. We saved a few peanut butter cookies for ourselves, to enjoy with milk, an eyepatch and a moustache.

I was able to find some pumpkins to carve (but they weren't cheap), so we made Jack-o-lanterns on Friday night. I didn't think that they would last in this climate if we carved them any sooner.

Bruce's is the Olmec face, Emory went traditional, Lucas was determined that his look like a crow (he drew the face himself), and I just made stars. After we lit the pumkins everyone got to tell a ghost story (Luc's was pretty funny, Bruce's was a little scary) then we went to bed.

We did have a Halloween themed dinner on Saturday (sort of). It was kind of last minute, but I made some mummy hotdogs, deviled eggs, Zuccini and spinach (I told the kids to pretend it was swamp grass or something) and cheese puffs because they were orange and it was Halloween (not a common food item in our house by the way).

I was never able to find a sugar skull the size I wanted (they only had very small ones) so I settled for this chocolate one, with rice puffs (think Nestle crunch). We are saving it for Monday. I couldn't resist buying some beautiful cempasuchil (flor de muertos) in the market, used typically to adorn the Dia de los Muertos altars.

art project

2009-10-29T09:21:00.000-06:00

We spent all day Monday downloading and installing Windows 7, miraculously it went off with out a hitch, we did have to reinstall all of our software programs though. It seems the change was for the best and happily our Windows Vista days are over, good riddance! We seriously considered switching to Linux or some other alternative operating system this time around, but didn't want to deal with all the new problems that might create intrefacing with all the other computers here in Mexico. But we are pretty sure we will be going the alternative route the next time we have to fork over the big bucks to "the man" to upgrade our operating system.

Tuesday and Wednesday it rained most of the day. It isn't as bad as snow, but it does keep us stuck indoors, so I had to find something to help pass the time. I was inspired by the masking tape letter at art projects for kids. Here is our attempt.

sorry, sometimes our point and shoot takes really grainy photos

Ours are a bit larger so we had to use packing tape. We stuck the tape to some fuzzy upholstrey first, so it wouldn't pull off any of the paper at the end. I think they turned out fantastic. We used some heavy duty poster board with a matte finish because it was cheap, and I won't be able to take these home with us. If I do it again I would probably invest in some stretched canvases and keep them forever.

our camera also gives us that annoying warping in the middle when I zoom out

Pan de Muerto and Pan de Bruce

2009-10-26T18:55:00.000-06:00

On Friday last week the kids and I took a walk to the bakery down the street and bought a couple of loaves of Pan de Muerto. It is meant to look like bones crossed on the top, so my kids call it "bone bread". Every time they see it in the stores and bakeries around town they shout "look mom its bone bread!" They are used as offerings for the dead spirits returning to visit for Dia de los Meurtos. It is sweet, this one here is coated with sugar but they can also be topped with seasame seeds.

It is very close in flavor and texture to the portuguese sweet bread we often get at home (though Bruce says it is a bit drier then portuguese sweet bread). It went very well with the blackberry and banana smoothie.

Bruce spent Wednesday, Thursday, and half of Friday at a conference on Chiapas Archaeology held in Chiapa de Corzo. Someone snapped a few photos of him during his presentation. He was exhausted and mentally drained when he got home on Friday; he spent most of the day Saturday just sleeping and lounging around the house.

By Sunday he was back to his old self, he and the kids had a lot of fun doing the dishes together and he even made his first batch of bread in Mexico.

It came out fabulous, just like it always does.

Dimples and Teeth

2009-10-23T12:01:00.000-06:00

It is odd how life's happy moments can turn bittersweet in an instant. Emory woke me at the crack of dawn, exictedly jabbering while thrusting the shiny new quarter, the toothfairy had left under her pillow, at my nose. After I congratulated her (with as much enthusiasm as I could muster at 7 am), she went back to her room to find a place to store her new treasure. I drifted back to sleep, but 20 min. later I was awoken by sobbing coming from her room. I called to her, and she wandered back into my room, tears streaming down her face. Between sobs she explained to me that losing another tooth meant that she was getting older, and getting older meant that she was closer to dying. For about a year now Emory has had an irrational anxiety about getting old and dying. Every week or so she has a dramatic panic episode, she wants to stay a kid forever. We have tried to dispell her anxiety a million different ways, the most effective way is to distract her (which is easy because she has the attention span of a 6 year old). It is hard for me to comprehend how someone so young can grasp and lament something as ephemeral as the waning of her own childhood. When I was her age it seemed to me that my childhood was limitless and neverending, and adulthood and old age were distant hazy worlds that I might or might not choose to visit. I call her anxiety irrational, because it doesn't seem logical for a six year old to worry about getting wrinkles and dying, but is it really so irrational? I am not disabled by fear and panic like my daughter when I sorrowfully take note of the new wrinkles every year, but I do feel a profound sadness and loss. They are like tick marks counting the time I have lost and can never get back. Like Emory I sometimes long to make time stand still forever. Time is stealing from all of us, even my little 6 year old. I just wish she could be blythely unaware of it like every other 6 year old. But right now Emory seems to be acutely aware of what she is losing and where she is going, and that has made me more conscious of how rapidly her chilhood is fleeing from us. For the moment she is six, and losing her baby teeth and I'm trying to savor it without thinking about the time that is slipping away. It is comforting to take her still chubby hands and inspect them for the dimples, the telltale marks of childrens hands. Yep, they're still there.

The toothfairy is coming tonight!

2009-10-22T18:46:00.000-06:00

Just updating Emory's tooth status

The big news!

2009-10-22T09:09:00.000-06:00

Well, I kind of broke this news already, but it still seems like a milagro to me. Bruce went to Telmex on Monday afternoon to purchase a dsl phoneline +modem.

Tuesday afternoon a serviceman showed up and installed our dsl phoneline+modem ("no puede ser" I was so shocked I nearly fainted). Wednesday afternoon our internet signal was turned on and voila!

I can now check my e-mail anywhere in our tiny house. I love you Telmex (and I love you Bruce! thank you).
Not as miraculous but equally important news: this tooth is going to fall out any minute now. It has been wobbly for months, but Emory is emphatic that it is really, really loose now. A timely tooth loss will be the perfect touch for her witch costume.

Stay tuned for the exciting update.

Getting by

2009-10-21T13:01:00.000-06:00

Emory can make up a new game to play for every hour of every day, Lucas is so lucky…he never gets bored with a sister like Emory. But every now and again I have to come up with something to help them pass the time. Last week we made a finger puppet theater out of some playsilks and a doorway, and wax resist Halloween paintings with crayons and black poster paint.

This weekend while on the prowl for Halloween costume accessories (a pirate sword and a green witch wig) I found some witch garland (at plasticos Don Juan of course!) it was grouped with all the papel picado buntings and banners for dia de los muertos (papel picado is a misnomer since this stuff is usually plastic nowadays). After reading Kirsten’s blog I was thinking about making some more tissue paper bat garland, like I did last year for our stairway, but this is much easier and cooler. I think I will take it home with me and use it as a pattern later to make a more permanent garland out of black felt and recycle the original plastic one.

I found the mini pumpkins and gourds in the produce section at Chedraui (our gorcery store). The Mexicans would stop and pick them up look at them curiously like they were the strangest things they had ever seen, but they were not buying any. I have been looking for some Halloween/Fall decorations that will not live on for the next million years in the land fill (because they don’t recycle here and I can’t save or reuse everything), so I bought a bunch.
The weather has begun to get colder; we have started wearing long pants and long sleeved shirts and jackets in the evening. Since houses here are not really insulated, it can be quite cool in the house, if it is 50 degrees outside it is about 55 degrees in the house. This weekend we unpacked our heater and plugged it in, happily it seems to be adequate for our small house.

Some modifications will still need to be made, like a draft blocker for that one inch gap between the floor and my kitchen door.

Bruce has been as busy as he usually is, working at the museum, writing, doing research, and ageing himself prematurely with hefty doses of Mexican bureaucracy mixed with the logistical problems of living in a 3rd world country where nothing works right or efficiently and if it does it will cost you. He will be presenting a paper at a conference in Chiapa de Corzo on Thursday, and he is a little stressed out, but he should be his normal self by the weekend.

p.s. I'm posting this from my own home, we got internet service installed today!! woot!! more on that Halloween miracle next time

Noche de las Brujas

2009-10-15T20:32:00.001-06:00

We still haven’t found any pumpkins to carve, but that is only because I have not had time to go to the central market to look for one. I did however find some cool Dia de Los Muertos fabric , I bought 5 meters (because it was so dang cheap). I don’t know what I will do with it yet, but it’s a useful souvenir (useful and souvenir don’t usually go together).

Not as useful, but equally cool was this Loteria de la Muerte (basically “Bingo” of the dead) we found at the papeleria (stationary store).

On the “trick or treat” front, it has been explained to me that children go out in costume the day before Dia de los Muertos (the 2nd), which is Dia de los Angelitos (the 1st) and they sing a short little song (think: trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat)to get treats. I need to get someone to write the words of the song down so that we can learn it. So in addition to looking for pumpkins to carve I have been looking for costumes for the kids.

On Monday we stumbled upon a little shop full of cheaply priced costumes and accessories. As soon as she saw the witch hat Emory was set on being a bruja (witch). I would have preferred something more unique but at six years old I cannot influence her costume choice the way I used to, at least a bruja is better than a princess. Lucas is still moldable, I managed to convince him he’d rather be a pirata (pirate)(also not very unique but our choices were limited to what was available). His first choice was spiderman, but I am putting off the marvel comic hero years as long as possible. We also picked up a few extra items to spice up our dress-up wardrobe as you see below.

Emory and Lucas striking serious superhero poses

So now the only things left on my list are the Calveras de Azucar (skulls made of sugar) and some pumpkins to carve.

p.s. we have only had internet for 2 hours this week so far, we are working on other solutions but they may take some time. ahhhh..... Mexico the land of manana (sorry I can't the"~" on my "n", I'll have to figure that one out)

The Things We See: God's Pharmacy

2009-10-11T19:18:00.001-06:00

Internet in the 3rd world is a drag. We returned from our brief trip to the coast to find there was no internet available in our bedroom. You may recall that we had internet signal in the bedroom all the time, and internet signal in living room for 3 hours in the early morning or the late evening. So we have been surviving on the living room signal. After two days we decided to call the neighbor, somebody else whom we did not know answered the phone and told us the neighbor had not paid her phone bill so her service was cut off. We have not been able to make any contact with her yet. It is a drag being cut off from everyone in my world back home, and the kids are not enjoying having their educational outlets evaporate.
In an effort to keep the depression away (two days of constant rain has only exacerbated my bad mood), I have been looking for another project. I'm going to call it “the things we see”. Here is the first installment:

"The Pharmacy of God"

I don’t think I want to leave a lot of commentary, the picture kind of speaks for itself. I will say however that life would be so much more colorful, if people could get away with this kind of advertising in the U.S.

Tapachula and El Soconusco

2009-10-08T16:14:00.001-06:00

On Monday morning we left for a 3 day whirlwind tour of the Pacific Coast of Chiapas, the region called the Soconusco. We stopped along the way to see a couple of archaeological sites, of course. Our first stop was Ocozocoautla (say that 10 times fast). This town, about 45 minutes from Tuxtla, has a site very similar to and contemporaneous with Chiapa de Corzo so it is of great interest to Bruce. We only had a map from the 1970’s and a general notion of its location. Since it is located on private land we had to ask around town about it. After about an hour we followed two local men in their pick up truck out to one of the private land parcels now located on the site. They offered the owner a beer and he gladly gave us a quick tour of Cerro Ombligo, a large mound located on his property. There was an old looters pit on the top, and lots of Bull-horn Acacia.

Bruce investigating the pottery in the looters pit.

It was a great opportunity to remind the kids that most of the plants in Mexico are downright nasty. I explained to the kids that Bull-horn Acacia, has a symbiotic relationship with fire ants. They live inside its hollow thorns, and in return they protect the plant from harmful bugs. Anytime something brushes up against the plant they come swarming out and promptly attack anything they come into contact with. The swarming fire ants on the leaves left quite an impression on my kids.

Today's botany lesson: don't ever touch this plant

We learned the names and addresses of several of the other land owners on the site for future visits, paid everyone a little for their time and trouble, and got back into the air conditioned truck because it was sweltering hot. We continued on down the road past another archaeological site Mirador, and then stopped in Tonala for lunch. After lunch we stopped very briefly at the archeological museum there. The small exhibit hall was closed but we were able to study some of the remarkable Olmec sculptures sitting in the yard.

"man this place is a steam bath, no wonder the Olmec where always frowning"

Dripping with sweat we happily got back into the air conditioned truck and continued down the Pan-american highway to Tapachula. We arrived at the hotel Loma Real in a tropical downpour about dusk. A nice hotel with a great restaurant and view of the volcanoes Takana and Tajumulco, excellent service, a nice pool and air conditioned rooms, but the beds were not very comfortable, and the rooms were depressingly dark and dated. It was cloudy and rainy the entire time we were in Tapachula so we didn’t get any good photos of the Volcanoes but they were still pretty spectacular. The volcanoe Takana is about 4,000 meters high, and they say it takes over 3 days to climb it because you need to adjust to the altitude change(perhaps another trip when the kids are older)

On Tuesday we spent most of the morning playing in the pool with the kids. It was so hot, and the pool felt so good. Afterwards we drove into Tapachula, and went to the Soconusco archaeological museum. The museum was packed with tourists from a cruise ship, we even met a couple from Saratoga Springs. Puerto Chiapas is a new cruise ship port about 45 min from Tapachula, and they bus the tourists in from the ship to the museum and the archaeological site Izapa. As we were leaving the museum around 2:00 it started to rain, so we ducked into the Dominoes pizza next door for lunch. There was a large group of highschool kids having a birthday party at the table next to ours. A number of them came over and started practicing their English with us, then they offered us a piece of cake (which was delicious). After we extracted the kids from the playzone (always a tricky business) we went back out into the downpour and drove to the Pacific Ocean.

at the pool at the Loma Real

it's 9 am and it is hot!

We stopped by Peurto Chiapas to see the huge cruise ships and cargo boats, and then continued down to Barra de Cahoacan. For about 20 min the rain stopped and we were able to walk down the beach and let the kids play in the water. Bruce is a bit of a beach snob, growing up in New England, but for a desert girl like me it seemed like a fairly nice beach. Chiapas is not known for its beaches, most of its coastline is mangrove swamp, but there are a few stretches of volcanic sand beaches like Barra de Cahoacan. Emory fell down in a large wave, soaking herself completely, signaling that it was time to leave. Just as we shut the truck doors it started to rain really hard, and it didn’t stop until the next morning.

Pacific Ocean meet Emory

Wednesday morning the clouds parted long enough for the kids to see the volcanoes for the first time. The kids spent another hour in the pool with Bruce, until Lucas got stung by a bee (that ended all the fun). We packed up, checked out and drove to Izapa, an archaeological site 5 min outside of Tapachula. Generally our kids are pretty good sports about being dragged to museum after museum and too many archaeological sites to count, but they were having none of it on Wednesday. To be fair, it was hot and muggy and the bugs were ruthless. Fortunately Izapa, at least the parts that are open to the public, is small and takes a very short time to see.

"yeah another archeological site, big deal! I have sweaty hair again mom."

On our way out of town we stocked up on snackfood and then drove over the Sierra Madre Mountains to Comitan. The drive was breathtaking, but after hours of narrow windy mountain roads I decided I am probably a good candidate for dramamine. We stopped and had sandwiches in Comitan around 5:30 and arrived in San Cristobal at about 8:30. It was so good to be home, and spend the night in my own, more comfortable than the hotel bed, bed.

So what's new with you?

2009-10-03T18:30:00.001-06:00

For our anniversary Bruce came home with a dozen roses, a very rare item for us since roses tend to be so expensive in the U.S. This batch set us back about 5$, which means we will have enough money left over to buy a vase to put them in (we discovered our blender leaks). We also went to dinner here (without the kids, thanks Lupita!), it was a very nice evening out.

I enrolled Emory in a drawing and painting class. I discovered that the cultural center at the ex-convento El Carmen has all sorts of free classes, ballet, belly dancing, piano, classical guitar, crafts, aerobics for Senior Citizens, and drawing and painting for children 6 and up. The best part of all of this, I think, is the old colonial convent, with a beautiful garden, where the classes are held. I get to spend an hour here 3 days a week knitting or reading to Lucas in the garden. It is also a great experience for Emory, and hopefully she will become more at ease with Spanish.

Luc is there for scale but he wouldn't look at the camera

I mentioned that I wanted to paint the table set we purchased for the kids. Well, that idea grew into another one, to create a play kitchen out of this old side table from the foundation. It needed a new coat of paint anyway, and it is the perfect size.

I have been chipping away at it for the last 2 weeks. First I had to fix the shelf on the table. Then I had to find some sandpaper, paint and brushes. I finally finished sanding and painting everything, but I was stymied in my hopes of putting a final clear coat on everything.

Can you tell what is missing from these two cans? If you can, than you did better than I did, I didn’t notice until I got ready to paint.

I ended up going with a can of varnish (smelly but effective), which is drying as I write. Now I just need to find parts to make a little play stove and sink, I still haven’t finalized my design yet. Stay tuned for the final reveal.

Emory has a new pair of hot pink polka dot shoes. Purchased for 5$ at the grocery store. She has worn them everyday this week.

Since Halloween is kind of up in the air this year, we don’t know yet if there will be any costumes or trick or treating, I decided I should at least decorate the house a little just in case. I didn’t know what would be appropriate for Dia de los Muertos, but I assumed that candy would be universal and neutral. And so I concocted a candy wreath to hang on our door. I found a Styrofoam wreath ( $1.50)a glue gun and glue sticks ($2.00) some “halloweeny” ribbon ($1.00) at the fabric store downtown. It has been about 9 years since I used a hot glue gun to make anything, but it was kind of like riding a bike (i.e. you don’t forget how). I figured that if trick or treating doesn’t work out we can eat the candy, and then I can reuse the Styrofoam wreath for some other occasion. We will still be on the lookout for pumpkins to carve.

So what's new with you?

"Love is blind and smells nothing"

2009-10-02T16:23:00.000-06:00

Those words of wisdom come from my mother-in-law Frances, and they are so true. Today is our 11th anniversary. Below is a brief inventory of the highlights:

1 “cardboard” kiss
1 mule trek into the Peten jungle
too many ticks to count
more cockroaches than ticks
2 amazed missionaries
1 $200 wedding band (such a bargin)
1 U-haul truck, and a Volvo without a transmission
3 universities in 3 states
10 archaeological field seasons in 4 Latin American countries
500+ books (and counting)
6 brutal allergy seasons
3 cars and 1 truck
2 World Series championships for the Red Sox
5 laptops, 2 desktop computers, and 4 printers
1 futon
1 charity mattress
3 hand me down sofas
1 used arm chair
1 dining room table set from Shopko
2 large black filling cabinets (25$)
1 christmas cactus that blooms every year
1 set of very dull knives
over 200 batches of homemade bread
1 Chinese landlord
2 broken toilets
10 tax refunds
5 batches of Portuguese meat stuffing
2 dozen corndogs
1 knee surgery
1 washer and dryer
3 stereos
6 pairs of eyeglasses
1 year of newspaper routes
3 hours at a hot springs with some nude bathers (won’t forget that anytime soon)
Lots of lost hair
Lots of grey hair
2 kids
1 bruised tailbone

no stretch marks (we have to be grateful for the little things)
4 pairs of running shoes
1 down comforter
1 graduation
2.5 Christmas trees
1 turkey
5 cds of piano jazz
over 2,000 loads of laundry
4 cavities
2 cans of food storage wheat (that we still haven’t used)
1 tent (that is still going strong)
2 air mattresses
2 car wrecks
1 weekend in Carmel
500+ Little Cesar’s pizzas
3 free sandwiches from Subway
4 family pictures
6 bouts of food poisoning
1 television interview
2 trips to Cape Cod
3 bad sunburns
116 haricuts (4 of them bad)

This is the oldest picutre I could find of the two of us from 2001, since we were married before anyone we knew had a digital camera, and I didn't bring any family photo albums with me you'll just have to imagine how good looking we used to be. (we look like a couple of nerds don't we)

Our weekend part II: Tonina

2009-09-27T15:37:00.000-06:00

We have been planning to go and see the archaeological site of Tonina since we got here, and on Saturday morning bolstered with a bowl of Cheerios and some Ibuprofen (I felt like I had a hangover from the long day before) we set out. I had forgotten how long and windy the road to Occosingo is, and topes are plentiful. The drive is spectacularly beautiful, but I wasn’t feeling my best so I didn’t enjoy it much. Even Emory, who is usually bullet proof, got a little carsick towards the end.

the ruins of the Ancient Maya site Tonina, surrounded by cattle ranches

We had worried that it would be unbearably hot, but we lucked out again, it was a perfect overcast day, with cool breezes and the occasional sprinkle. The ideal weather for climbing the ruins of Tonina.

on our way up to the ruins of Tonina

exploring the inner rooms of the palacio inframundo

the stone work at this site is so different from Palenque, but just as amazing

overlooking the beautiful valley surrounding the site

After exploring the ruins for most of the morning we stopped and had lunch at the ranch next to the site. The menu was simply steak or barbacoa from beef raised on the ranch, (I had the steak, Bruce had the barbacoa, the kids had quesadillas) it was excellent! The valley around Tonina and Occosingo is full of cattle ranches, most of them have great names, one of our favorites was El Lobo Gordo. We saw a lot of vaqueros, many of them no older than Noble herding cattle along the road to and from the site.

for 20 pesos this little vaquero gave Luc and Emory a ride from the site back to the entrance, his family owns the ranch and restaurant next to the site

On our drive back the rain finally let loose, it rained the rest of the day and most of the night. We were all exhausted after the long day, did I mention how much I love having hot water, what a wonderful thing a hot shower is. By the time I went to bed I was feeling pretty achey, and had the beginnings of a sore throat. Bruce has been getting over a mild cold, and I think I just got it. We stayed home on Sunday, and I slept most of the day.

Our weekend part I: Tuxtla

2009-09-27T15:12:00.000-06:00

On Friday we drove down to Tuxtla with Bruce. He has been doing some research there at the Regional Museum two days a week. The Museum is next to a botanical garden and an amusement park for little kids. While Bruce worked at the Museum I took the kids to the amusement park. We have spent a lot of time in Chiapas with one or both of our kids, and we have visited this park enough times for both of them to remember their favorite rides. Entrance to the park is free but you have to pay between 50 and 75 cents for each ride.

This slide is incredibly steep, but it looks like fun

We usually start with the little train that runs around the whole park, then the bumper cars and the mini four wheelers, the merry go round, the paddle boats, lots of playground equipment swings slides and see-saws, and last but not least the pony rides.

"Yo soy taxista" says Luc

We spent about 3 hours and 12$. We were lucky it was a cool overcast morning in Tuxtla, but even so we were still pretty sweaty by the time we returned to the Museum for lunch.

We tried some “posole” a coarsely ground corn mush mixed with chocolate and water at the comedora near the Museum. Interesting but not very satisfying, so we went to the mall to grab a bite to eat and to do some quick shopping. After lunch we went back to the museum and let the kids change into swimsuits. By now it was quite hot so they really enjoyed running through the fountains in front of the botanical garden. These are similar to the ones at the Gateway in Salt Lake, but without the music. Watching them play was like watching sheer joy in motion.

After an hour or so we cajoled them into walking with us through the beautiful botanical garden. It reminded me of all the jungles I have ever been in, mosquitos included. Afterward we met some friends for dinner at Dominoes Pizza. We were all pretty hot, bug bitten, and tired by the time we arrived there (I was developing a migrane from the heat and altitude change), but we still had a great time visiting and catching up while the kids (theirs and ours)played on the jungle gym at the restaurant. Around 9 o’clock we said goodbye and headed back up the mountain and into a spectacular rain storm. It was slow going all the way. The kids were sound asleep and I was quite sick with a splitting headache when we pulled up at the little blue house.

What my kids are loving right now

2009-09-26T21:12:00.000-06:00

Internet access (in the bedroom at least):
If the mountain won’t come to Mohamed then Mohamed will move the computer into the bedroom. For an hour a day they both get to enjoy some time playing (learning) on the computer. Lucas loves starfall .com and Emory currently prefers pbskids.org.

Watching the washing machine go through its wash and rinse cycles:
This is really only a big deal for Lucas, who has always been a serious washing machine watcher. He is fascinated that the water actually comes out the machine and swirls down the drain in the patio (something that our washing machine at home never did, he is certain of that). He runs outside to watch it every time hears the machine shift between cycles.

Here is Lucas eagerly awaiting the next rush of water from the washing machine.

Emory’s new mural:
Emory has been well stocked with paper, markers, pencils, crayons, scissors, and glue. So the art work has begun to pile up everywhere (we are up to our eyeballs in it). As I was trying to clean up some of the piles I had an idea to make a wall mural out of some of it. There was the usual large quantity of princesses in the group so with some scissors and a stick of glue…. we created a moonlit royal ball in the palace garden, complete with a pet dragon chained up in the back yard of course. Our walls are basically cinderblock and concrete, so gluing paper to the wall is not such a big deal (I would not recommend this for drywall). Almost all of the pictures came from the pile of drawings we already had, including the castle and the dragon. I just had Emory draw me a chain for the dragon, a few trees and flowers, and the moon and stars. Voila! It took about an hour and I am as pleased with the result as Emory is.

Mexican macaroni and cheese:
Macaroni and cheese, how good can that possibly be? That’s what I thought when Lucas excitedly pointed this out in the grocery store this week. But he begged me so sweetly, and promised to be so good, I decided to try it as a reward for some good behavior. It is not very much like American macaroni and cheese (not much of a surprise), and takes 3 times longer to make. Neither Emory (who has always hated macaroni and cheese, both American and Mexican) nor I liked it (I didn’t even bother making it while Bruce was around, he’s a super snob when it comes to white trash food like this). We dumped both our plates into the garbage and made some pb&j sandwiches instead. Unfortunately Lucas did, he proclaimed it his “best favorite”. I will just have to avoid the pasta isle with him until he forgets that he likes this stuff.

Going to the sports park:
The Parque Deportivo, or the sports park is the only place (since we have no yard for them to play in) my kids can really be kids, i.e. run around and be loud and silly. We bought a soccer ball (because the safety of the playground equipment is doubtful, but that is another story for another blog) and Bruce kicks it around with them. They always have a blast, and they are both laughing so hard they can hardly kick the ball let alone run.

So that leaves the running up to me, yes that is me running around the track at the sports park while Bruce and the kids play soccer.

Things I am loving right now

2009-09-22T17:51:00.001-06:00

Hot water and plenty of it!
It is hard to understand the psychological importance of hot water until you have to go without it. Everything feels cleaner with hot water even if the water isn’t technically potable.

Our little water heater has been a trooper!

Nestle’s Coconut Ice Cream!
In my opinion Nestle should get out of the cheap chocolate business and market this ice cream all over the world. Up until now we have only been able to get it at a Restaurant in Chiapa de Corzo (which makes a great Mole by the way). They serve it there in a chocolate lined coconut shell MMMmmm! We took mom and dad and Sean there last year, do you guys remember it? We have never been lucky enough to find it in the grocery store until this weekend (maybe it is only available seasonally, do coconuts have a season?). It is wicked good stuff, and now it is in my freezer!

The thing I am not loving right now is our internet famine. We are now borrowing wireless signal from two of our neighbors. The first we only get in the living room from 6 am to 10 am and from 7 pm to 10 pm (we have not been able to speak to them (and we have tried to catch them at home for over a week now) about leaving their modem on during the day, I think they are hiding from us). The second signal we get in our bedroom all the time, but it is kind of inconvenient to move the desk, the phone and everything in there, not to mention cramped. (I apologize to those of you who have tried to call us, our phone won't be 100% operational until we have a good internet connection) Oh well, I will have to console myself with a hot shower and bowl of this amazing ice cream.

Success!

2009-09-20T14:37:00.001-06:00

Two of my recent successes. First success: A batch of chocolate m&m cookies. It was harder than you might think. First we had to find a cookie sheet small enough to fit into our almost doll sized oven. It took two weeks of searching, but my diligence paid off. Next, find a chocolate cake mix. Done! But there were only three on the shelf at the grocery store (I’m thinking I should have bought all of them in case they do not restock). I have never seen Chocolate chips in Chiapas, mini m&m ‘s in the candy isle were the next best thing. Unfortunately we did not get to enjoy this particular batch. I took them to the ward talent show on Friday, where they were consumed instantly. I assured the kids that I will make another batch after our next grocery run. Until then the Oreos in the freezer will have to sustain us.

Second success: Wash and dry my own laundry without using a bucket. Once the grant money arrived this was actually accomplished very easily with the purchase of a new and very nice Whirlpool washing machine. Isn’t it ironic that I’m using a nicer washing machine than I will probably ever own in a first world country while living in a third world country? It sits outside on the back patio on top of a wooden pallet to keep it dry when it drains, we also have to cover it with a tarp every time it rains and we plug it in with an extension cord through our bedroom window. We do not have a lot of water pressure so it takes a long time to fill, a load of laundry takes over an hour to do.

First world washing machine in a third world country.

My dryer is a little more low- tech, but completely green and sustainable, as long as it doesn’t rain (which it does quite often). Also, towels and jeans come out stiff but at least they are clean.

There is exactly enough room on my two clotheslines for one load of laundry to dry, i.e. I can only do one load a day.