Wednesday

Today is one of those days when I especially love and appreciate being here in Mexico; San Carlos in particular. I am a U.S. citizen and I love my country and always will. However, after being saturated with reactions to the health care town hall meetings throughout the U.S. yesterday, it was especially nice to be here where I can take myself away from the chaos and misinformation. My friend, Chrissy said that people are losing their minds over this and she's right. My son, Tommy thinks that the extremes on both the left and right have gone overboard and he is right. I'm hoping that "we" in the middle of both sides can have a voice. It was hard to hear people yelling unreasonable and uninformed opinions on the news shows. The Mexican people don't understand the politics in the U.S. They are confused by our society. Great health care does exist here as well as not so great. I have observed that no matter what happens here in Mexico, people still love life and for the most part they make the best of what they have. It also warms my heart to see how families here treat each other. Family is everything here and there's a lot of laughter even in the face of extreme poverty

We had a wonderful storm last night and lots of rain, thunder and lightning. It was a treat and this morning it was a little cooler. The mountain across the bay gets greener each time it rains. Bruce and I also went and signed our land trust this morning which brings us closer to construction of our house. This particular transaction can take a long time so we feel some relief in getting it done. These signings are always kind of formal, like all legal transactions in Mexico. You always go into a conference room, sit down, exchange pleasantries and sign, sign, sign. Then Bruce went home and I got a pedicure...now I know it sounds like I'm a real princess obsessed with my hair, nails and toes, but honestly the spa gave me a free pedicure because I wrote a recommendation for them on our local internet bulletin board and, well, I have had a couple of things done to my hair and nails. Let's face it, it's cheap enough here to do things that I almost never did in the U.S. I always have a good time at Chocolate' (the spa) too. The women who work there are really fun and they have great stories. They are also listeners and I find that really refreshing. In spite of our cultures, we all have a lot in common. There are many things that are the same everywhere just because we are women. We all have the same stories.

To top off the day, the shrimp guy stopped by with the most beautiful shrimp ever; one kilo for $100 pesos. That solves the dinner problem. The last couple of days I haven't really been inspired and cooked because I felt I needed to. I think the shrimp acquisition has given me a lift. Senor Camaron said he "might" come by tomorrow with lobster. I have never cooked lobster. We'll see (if he shows up and how I cook it).