JUST ANOTHER DAY

I slept in a little today. I was really tired I didn’t even hear the morning church bells. Sam also tells me that a car’s alarm was blaring last night and I didn’t stir. She went on that I was snoring quite loudly last night. I didn’t hear that either. Unlike Sam I was well rested this morning. I looked out the window and saw another beautiful blue clear sky. The forecast called for seventy-five degrees with no humidity.


The main event for today was Sam getting her hair cut and styled. She goes to a little place on Calle Jesus which is very close to the town square. Angelica, Sam’s hair stylist, estimated the whole treatment to last one and a half hours. This meant I was free to wonder around town as long as I completed Sam’s to-do list.

My first stop was a brief visit to the town square. From there, I went to a store called Bonanza to buy coffee, creamer and balsamic vinegar. Then I went to Juan’s cafe to see about the cost of purchasing a couple of language learning discs for Spanish and French. This was followed by a visit to Border Crossings to discuss the procedures and costs of package shipments to and from the United States. Finally, I returned to the town square to burn a little time, about thirty minutes, and then I was off to meet up with Sam.

Having sufficiently raved about her new look I was easily able to convince her to go to my favorite sandwich shop called, Torta Mundo. We split a sandwich of roasted pork, melted cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado, onion, etc. The pork is oven baked fresh ham which is then thinly sliced. No smoking or curing is involved. I love them and would like to eat at least one per week. We don’t even have to order any more. We just sit down a beautiful sandwich appears at our table.

We returned to the town square and took a seat in the shade. Within minutes of eating lunch we began to plot dinner. Should we go out or dine in? We have been eating out at least four or five times a week for a month. So, we decided to cook at home and to have salmon. We ventured to La Cava, a nice family- owned delicatessen, and requested some salmon. There was a whole filet available about the size of Sam. After some discussion we decided that it was too big so I requested that two pieces be cut from the center of the large filet. This idea met with resistance which means I was told “no” and that I must also take the end cut. After a little back and forth that lasted less than thirty seconds the owner was cutting two of the nicest center cuts from the filet and was quite happy to do so. We really love La Cava and the family that operates it and have for four winters.

With such nice fish we were now off to the wine store to buy some Chardonnay. This took us back through the town square where we ran into our good friends Don and Bea. Unfortunately, Don had fallen down the stairs last week and was quite bruised. But nothing was broken and he seemed quite chipper as he relayed his ambulance ride to the general hospital and the care he had received. The Red Cross ambulance ride was free and the emergency room service including an exam and two X-rays cost a total of 25 pesos. That’s about $2.00. That’s no typo, it was $2.00.

While Don recounted this story an elderly Mexican woman approached us with some embroidered cloth. She was standing next to me. We conversed in Spanish and I asked if the stitching was handmade and she said, “yes”, but not by her as she showed me that she was missing a hand and what remained of her arm. I let her know that we don’t have a home in San Miguel and couldn’t use the item although it was very pretty. She said, “maybe your mother would like to have it”. I told her my mom had died a year ago and my father was also deceased. She told me that both her parents were dead. She went on to say she was sorry to hear about my parents but that they are waiting for us. I said, “I believe so”. That being said she wished me a good day and moved on.

We then walked with Bea to a mail center so she could retrieve her mail. We walked her back to the park to meet back up with Don. Minutes later we were in the wine store buying the Chardonnay and then walking home.

We just finished the salmon, rice, sliced tomatoes and a glass of Chardonnay. It was all very tasty and a good way to end just another regular day in San Miguel de Allende.

HOP TO IT. I'M HUNGRY!

This is the dry season in San Miguel de Allende. Brush fires are everywhere and so is the dust. The crops are dry or nonexistent. The cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens are thirsty and in need of sustenance. So are we.

But, there’s a bright side. Rabbits are everywhere and I mean everywhere. Apparently, they thrive in dry conditions when their predators are too tired and thirsty to chase them.

From our patio we see playful rabbits hopping over each other and scurrying to and fro. The chicken hawks love it and swoop in periodically returning to their lofty space with dinner for the family.

Local families join the hawks in pursuit of a meal. Private ownership of guns is prohibited in Mexico so the families use their dogs to scare up prey and slingshots to kill the rabbits. All this visible from our patio. But, a good view doesn’t put food on the table. And we don’t have a dog. What to do?

Mezquite trees grow everywhere here. They grow slow, last forever and their wood is extremely hard. The trees are protected by the Mexican government. Even if you build a home you can’t cut down the trees. You can’t cut them down but you can pick up fallen branches and maybe, just maybe, quickly cut a branch that’s suitable for a slingshot.

So I made a slick looking model from a mesquite branch and a large old rubber band I brought with me to bind some files and off to the field I went. Not having a dog I followed the other guys’ dog and hoped for the best. Three or four shots later I still hadn’t even hit or even annoyed a rabbit but a couple of dogs knew me by name.

I was lucky and an old guy named Gustavo took pity on me. He said he would give me a rabbit if I would just stop shooting is favorite dog with my slingshot. He called his dog Perrito I called him Wounded. Sounded fair to me so off to the hunt we went. Perrito (aka Wounded) limped along but soon scarred up a herd of rabbits. Gustavo, not one to lightly follow the law, shot several rabbits at once with his shotgun. He told me that in Mexico laws are considered strong suggestions rather than mandatory. That being said he tossed me a rabbit and began running to his truck with the rest of his kill. Wounded was close by and quickly jumped into the old pickup.

A little slow but not stupid, I too took off running with my rabbit. Safely on my patio I skinned and gutted the beast. It was disgusting particularly because I didn’t have the appropriate tools and had never done this before. But, hunger is a good teacher and soon I was done.

Soon after, we had the BBQ going and rice and vegetables cooking. We cooked rice with garlic, onion, carrots (that was in honor of the rabbit) and chayote. Chayote looks like a green potatoe. Yes, it was prepared Dan Quayle style.

Thankfully, we had both white and red wine on hand. Yes, rabbit looks like and tastes like chicken. Nevertheless, I preferred red wine and Sam preferred white.

Dishes done we retreated to our computers so I could report all this to our faithful blog followers while Sam stayed in touch with family and friends on Facebook.