SIMPLE PLEASURES

Today was a busy day.  We actually had to set the alarm.  It went off at 6:15 a.m., to a local Mexican radio station.  We hit the snooze button once and got up just as the church bells were ringing.

We started our day with a friend, Eli, picking us up at 8:10 a.m., so he could show us how to get to the school where he delivers food every Tuesday from Feed the Hungry.  We will be substituting for him in a couple of weeks.  First we went to the new location for Feed the Hungry.  They moved into this new building at the end of April.  It was really well organized.  We drove into the big warehouse, opened the back of Eli's SUV and a couple of volunteers loaded the crates and bags of food.  We were introduced to one of the volunteers.  When he heard that we would be the substitute driver, he gave us a great map of the community, La Campana.  Campana means bell.  Eli told us at one time there was a big bell in the community.

So off we went.  It was a beautiful drive.  This time of the year, the country side is lush green.  Eli said he has had this route for about two years.  We got to the school around 8:45 a.m.  The children were in class.  There was one little boy (not sure of his age) who came up to the SUV when we opened the trunk and he immediately started to help us unload the food.  When we were done, he continued his walk on up the street.  We wondered why he wasn't in school.  We wondered where he was going? 

We headed back to San Miguel.  Every Tuesday is the Tianguis (open-air market).  Eli asked if we minded if he stopped to the Tianguis to pick up a few items.  We were thrilled (actually Sam was thrilled).  Eli wanted to get some roses for his wife and some carrots.  He makes carrot juice for her every morning.  He paid 30 pesos for a dozen roses ($2.56) and 10 pesos for a big bag of carrots.  Sam saw some Flor de Calabazas (zucchini squash flowers) and purchased a bunch for 7 pesos.  They are very popular this time of the year.  She had a recipe that she wanted to try.  As we were walking back to the SUV, Sam saw a guy sitting on the back of a pickup truck selling ears of corn.  We walked over and were going to buy two ears.  In Sam's best Spanish, she asked the guy if it was sweet corn and he said yes.  Sam pulled back the husk and noticed it wasn't yellow.  He said it was "red corn".  Sam politely thanked him and passed on the purchase.  As we were walking away, he gave us two ears for free and asked us to try them.  WOW...something for free!

Eli dropped us back to our home.  We checked a few emails and were off to do some more local shopping.  Sam needed to get the rest of her ingrediants for dinner.  We went to a local vegetable tienda, stopped at another tienda and bought some fresh fruit and cheese.  Inside that tienda, Sam spotted some corn and asked if it was sweet corn.  The lady said yes.  Sam pulled back the husk and sure enough it was yellow sweet corn.  We were both delighted.  We were still looking for some fresh squeezed orange juice.  Sam suggested that we walk to another neighborhood where we used to rent.  The little fruit and vegetable stand would always have fresh juice for the school children.  So we headed that way.  But first we had to make a couple more stops.  Sam needed some frijoles and Bob wanted to go to Don Pedro's (the local hardware store).

By the time we got home, we were hungry and needed to rest our feet.  We had lunch and hit the pavement to walk into town to get our mail.  We stopped at a local art gallery on our way home as we still need some artwork.  When we got home we both took a rest. 

Sam started prepping for dinner.  She decided to make Quesadillas de Flor de Calabaza, Guacamole, Salsa, and Refried Beans.  Also, she decided we would have a taste test with the different types of corn.  Dinner was simple but tasty.  As to the corn taste test...the yellow sweet corn won hands down.  The red corn was tougher...one may call it field corn.  Sam won't be seeking the guy in the back of the pickup truck next Tuesday at the Tianguis.

So, all in all, we had a very nice day with a lot of exercise.