Hola, que dice?

Blogger has changed a little since I last posted, WAY back when. I see there are things I used to get to do and can no longer do....no problem.

I have a story to tell.

 Oh, first, the house is almost completed. That will be the next post, I hope. I recently lost all my photos on this new old computer that I purchased from my daughter. MISERY.

 So I have been trying to rebuild my photos and figure out how to save them from being lost ever again. But I know you want to see the house.

First, the story.

I am still taking my walk, early in the mornings and three weeks ago I went out to the arches. These are huge double arches on the highway that mark the entrance into Alamos, you've seen them before in my posts. I would show you a photo, but I  don't have one.

On  my return trip, I started talking to an older hombre I know who pushes a peddle cart. This is a 4 wheel contraption that would hold drinks, or snacks, or garafons of water, or people. His was empty and as I was walking toward him, my shoe caught a divot in the highway and I took a nose dive. He came to help me up, he's so frail I pulled him over. He fell on top of me and was just fine. I had a few scrapes, but my biggest concern was the quick swelling of the palm of my left hand, and I could not open my fingers by the time I got home.

Once home, I told Senor it was hospital time, so off we went. I discovered that my visit was free, but only this visit, no others. So, we learned free care does not exist at the general hospital in Alamos. I believe our health care is supposed to be free to residents of Alamos, but I was not going to argue.

 The Doctor jabbed and pulled my palm and thumb, and of course, made me feel much worse, and had me in an emergency bed with an inflammatory IV and a pain medication that I later learned was ibuprofen.

The X ray machine was not working, so I was told that at the blood clinic down the street there was an X ray machine and I could go there and get a free X ray, which was not free after all, but I did get it.

By the time I got back to the hospital, the doctor I had seen was gone and I was told I would have to start the entire process over again, new sign in, new doctor, new  (free) X ray and since this was my second visit, well, of course I would have to pay.

I decided to go home and suffer for 2 days before asking Senor to drive me to the Emergency Room at the San Jose Hospital in Navojoa. AND let me tell you I did suffer. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but this was awful. Remember when I fell off the curb and broke my foot? No pain comparison. I actually cried.

So the X ray at San Jose showed a fracture below my left thumb and as soon as the cast went on and it stabilized, the pain subsided.

I am not a happy camper at all.    

I had just received around 30 pounds of new sparkling glass and had a million projects running through my mind. Now I am just trying to get through each day without overusing my hand.

I can still take my walks in the morning. The San Jose doctor suggested I only walk in the daylight and that I take a cane. I conceded to the daylight business, but no way to the cane.

This morning it was 44 degrees when I left the house, in the daylight, at 6:10am, wearing my new hat. It took a year for it to arrive from China. I figure by now it should be virus free.

Okie dokie, some outdoor photo updates.

 I thought we were through building outside and one day I went out and this monstrous thing was going up, fast. You can see Senor is on the ladder and Rosario is to the left. Well, it is a combination garage and weaving space. Senor was gifted a couple of lovely 7 harness looms and he happens to be very knowledgeable regarding weaving and so I guess he will be using part of this space to learn to weave. Very cool, don't you think?

This is now the long line of bodegas in back. The ladrillos on the right are the left edge of the garage/ weaving space. The next bodega is firewood and paint, the next is Senor's tool shop and lastly and MOST important, is my shop.

See the photo below.

When I had my glass studio in the Pacific Northwest, it was a nice rustic little thing in the woods with 2 ponds right outside, very classy.

But now I have a SHOP.

It's awesome.

I don't have to sweep it everyday, well I have a broken hand, I can't sweep anyway.

But I don't have to worry about the looks of it.

My Gosh, it's a  *^#+*#* SHOP!

I LOVE IT

Gotta go feed the birds. If I don't get to them in time, they just walk right inside the sala.

Que le vaya bien!!!

Linda Lou

Some Signifigance

 BUENAS DIAS!

bajajajaja

Did you think we left town?

Believe it or not we have been right here in Alamos, still working on the casa.

YEAR ELEVEN.

Everything is going very good.

No, the casa is still not finished, but we are getting down to the last 2 rooms.

Why aren't we finished?

Why has it taken eleven years?

I think you know the answer.

Senor likes to do too much himself.

Yes, I can still put up with it.

Right now we are taking a break from the casa and building me a glass working shop.

 How about that!

It is very exciting. 

I am cutting glass on the portal now and have been there for about five years.

If you recall, before that I was in many different locations, including the yard one summer.

Each time we entertain I have to pick it all up and move it.

It is so frustrating, so when I move into the shop/studio, I can leave out all of my projects and I can be as messy as I wanna be.

Thrilling!

I know you want to see photos of the casa.

Not today!

I have a story to tell you.

 Interesting things always happen to me, well, I think they are interesting.

But this one especially has me wondering.

When I was on my walk the other morning I found half a bead.

I am surprised I even saw it.

You can see in the photo, it is very tiny, pale blue in color.

 I know why I chose to pick it up.

My father picked up all kinds of things in the streets when we four kids were growing up.

He had a name for it.

Shepherding.

We each had a big stick and we walked around the streets, and in the fields and along the railroad tracks and ditches, and we looked for stuff.

My father was a well educated man, head of the history department at a college, well loved by his students and faculty, a musician, and an artist among many other talents.

And he was a huge shepherder.

Most of our treasures ended up in our home, on shelves, or in the yard, or once, when my sister found a baby doll, in loving arms.

To this day, when I take my early morning walk I am shepherding. I no longer carry a stick and I don't actively look for things, but when something catches my eye, into a pocket it will go.

So, the blue bead went into my pocket and I continued walking.

Below are a few of the things I have found  on my walks. Starbucks stickers here in Alamos! The edge of a burned 50 peso note! A chuckie cheese token! A marble! Lots of pellet gun balls. And these are only a few of the things. I have quite a collection. This batch I keep in the German mug you can see in the photo below. My parents bought it in Berlin when they took me to get my passport.

After finding the bead, I continued walking for about half an hour more, through the arroyo, past the Alameda and the Plaza, and near the old original Black Cat Market, which was the first food mercado in Alamos many, many years ago, something in the street caught my eye. I walked over to it and picked it up. 

It was the other half of the bead.
 On the complete opposite side of town.
 It was barely visible in a crack in the concrete, but I saw it.
Or maybe it saw me. 
It matched the other half exactly.


Now what is the significance of that?

okay, gotta run, Semana Santa, whoowheee, lots of people in town and I want to go buy shrimp soup for dinner before all the tourists eat it up.
Que le vaya bien!
Linda Lou

And the Winner is....

Hola!!!

Buen dia!

We have had some good chipichipi days here in Alamos.

Those are days of little sprinkles with very little wind and no thunder or lightning.

So I did not count those as 'rain days'.

However, on July 3 we had a terrific storm with all the components:

Wind

Rain

Thunder

Lightning

There was a lot of electricity in the air

 and the person choosing the day and time that was closest to the beginning of the storm

 was P. Wells from Orange, Texas.

No one posted here through the blog with a day or time. 

Her choice was made online through Facebook.

Below is a photo of the wind chime she gets!!

It is a small umbrella with lots of rain drops!

Senor is working on the master bathroom today.

 The blue painters tape will be gone after the tiles are grouted.

Below you can see the copper sink and the pump Senor turned into the water faucet.

Working on the cupboards and drawers.

 A local woodworker is making them. 

Below Senor is staining the drawers for the bathroom.

This is my project.

 We made an aggregate patio and I have tiled parts of it.

Here's the tile below. 

It is all done, but I need to grout it and I am being lazy about this project.

It could be because it is so hot out and I just don't want to do it.

Maybe I will wait till fall.

 All the way back, right below the wall, is the little dipper pool. 

It is 6x4 feet, just big enough to put a raft in and float around a little.

It has seating inside so if you don't want to float and its super hot you can just sit down and cool off.

 It will be ready for next year's summer. 

So, that's the story of what's going on.

I know, I know, I don't write that often anymore and I don't even know if anyone still follows the blog.

People always ask........what in the heck do you do down there in Mexico?

Well, the answer is.....a lot.

I recently met someone visiting Alamos for the first time. 

She told me...........wow, it's so boring here.

I just stared at her.

There is nothing boring in my day.

 I am positive I have never been bored here.

In fact, I just need about 4 more hours in the day.

A 28 hour day would be just ideal for me, I might get everything done in that amount of time.

Okie Dokie.

Que le vaya bien.

Linda Lou

The Rain Contest is On!

THE RAIN CONTEST!!!!

To cool myself off I am thinking RAIN.

 Okay, okay, I know, not today, not tomorrow, but perhaps in about 3 weeks, which will be around June 24th, Dia de San Juan Bautista, the official beginning of the rainy season here in Sonora.

So, I am going to have the RAIN CONTEST.

I have a lot of rules this year, so listen up!

Pick a day, beginning June 24th and any day AFTER June 24th. Pick the hour, am or pm, and the minute.

If the day and time you pick are already chosen, I'll let you know and you can pick again.

I will let you know that I have your date and time.

If the rain comes exactly between 2 people's choices, the person choosing the time BEFORE the storm gets the prize.

I am the boss of the contest, so I will be deciding if the storm qualifies as the beginning of the RAINY season and not just chipichipi.

A rainstorm before June 24th does not count.

The contest is open to everyone, you don't need to live in Alamos. So share this post with your friends.

The contest will also be held on the blog, glasspondstudio.blogspot.com and on the glasspondstudio Facebook page, and my personal Facebook page, same rules.

The deadline to enter the contest is 6pm, June 14th.

There were also over 200 entries the last time I had the contest.

The prize this year will be a glass wind chime.

As soon as it comes out of the kiln I will post a photo for you!

Que le vaya bien!

Linda Lou

Tiling the Kitchen

Buenas tardes.

This is the real deal.

No kidding.

Senor is tiling the kitchen with talavera tile from Dolores Hidalgo.

The counter base is made of sulphur bricks fired in Baja, California.

A local iron worker made the hanging lamps and Senor soaked them in salt water to rust them.

The refrigerator will go in the open space on the left.

You can see a little of the floor I made of concrete and acid stain.

The cupboards are drawers that pull out and they will have an open filagre iron front.

The stove is even hooked up.

See the burner?

It works!!!

Ten years with the fake kitchen in five different locations.

Now we are getting close to having a real kitchen that can't be moved.

I know you have been waiting as long as I have for this!

Que le vaya bien!

Linda Lou

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico Photos

Hola!

Buen dia!

All is well here in Alamos.

If you thought we deserted you, well we did for awhile there.

I just did not have any writer's motivation and my camera is broken.

I absolutely cannot live without a camera.

I did not want to buy one down here, so I am going up to the states next week and will pick up my new Sony Cyber-shot with 50mm zoom lens (yeah) while I am visiting my Dad for his ninetieth birthday party!

Wooowhooo!

When I return I will show you some photos of the house.

After some ups and downs with tile orders we finally have what we want and 

Senor is busy tiling the kitchen.

It's awesome.

It's beautiful.

I love it.

I think you will be very surprised!

In the meantime since I cannot take any photos I am going to just show you some photos of this beautiful place, Alamos, which we have called home for ten years now.

These photos were taken last December, on a cold brisk morning, around dawn, my favorite time for photography.

So, just sit back and relax and hit the scroll key.

I hope you enjoy them!

Que le vaya bien!

Linda Lou

SAW FOUR

Buen dia!

Did you see the movie SAW?

I liked it. 

I think it is one of the best psychological thrillers ever made.

I even liked Saw Two, but they lost me with Saw Three.

I think that's the one where the guy fell in to a pit of hypodermic needles.

I like all kinds of movies, but no one likes to watch them with me.

I talk to the movie.

I tell the characters............do not open that door..............don't go in there.................get away from him.......she should not date him.......or I say....I KNEW that would happen, and then, the worst.......... oh, oh, oh..... or oh my gosh!

Our kids hated how I did that when they were growing up.

If Santa's sleigh was not going to get off the ground I could tell you that before he even got in the sleigh.

I would talk to comedies, westerns, anything: THE LITTLE MERMAID? I knew every time Ursula was going to try and harm Ariel and whoa! THE PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN, don't get me started. 

I could have told you every single thing that was going to happen before it happened.

Like I said no one likes to watch movies with me.

Of course since Senor and I have been in Mexico we have seen only a few movies.

We saw THE HELP which was lovely.

 I knew Hilly was going to fire Yule May before she even hired her and I told Yule May to not go to work there. 

But, did she listen?

And once while in Navojoa I went to the picture show and saw the newest STAR WARS. 

Thank goodness I was the only person in there.

I knew R2-D2 would save them, but they didn't listen to me until it was almost too late. 

Alamos used to have a Sunday movie night at the Museum 

I remember taking our kids to see a movie there and I said something and both our kids yelled.......mom! stop it!

Three years ago I bought a subscription to Mexico Netflix.

I did not watch a thing on it until I broke my foot.

First I watched a couple of movies.

Then I watched  all 6 available seasons of THE WALKING DEAD.

Do you know how many zombies that is?

 I got to where I could identify the Zombies that were killed in the previous episodes and realized they were just using a lot of them over and over again.

And no matter how good I became at identifying this Zombie recycling, I still called out to the characters to tell them they were in trouble.

The first few episodes  of The Walking Dead I watched on my tablet in the afternoon, while Senor was on the computer.

With my ear plugs in I  did not realize how much I was talking to the characters until I noticed the mean looks I was getting from Senor. 

Finally I adjusted to the show and just kept a little pillow over my mouth.

Now that the series is over I have switched back to movies.

None of them are new releases and most I have seen before, a long time ago.  

I felt so sad for the people (well, except for Karen, what a mess she was) on board the Stevens aircraft in AIRPORT 77, I cried as the plane sank to the ocean floor, but I told them I just knew Jack Lemmon would save them.

And that poor girl in THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW who got the infection in her leg.

I KNEW that was going to happen and I told her not to walk past that car with the broken piece of the bumper where she scraped her leg.

I went to the Doctor this week.

I have seen him every Tuesday now for six weeks.

He has always been very nice.

But I must have talked too much while he was removing the cast.

It was just like I was watching a movie.

Senor caught it on camera.

It's not really a movie, just still shots.

Be glad it is not a movie with audio.

And just because I KNOW someone is going to ask me, NO, that is not my other leg on the left of the photo. 

That is the Dr's arm.

And I'm not going to show you a picture of my foot post cast, especially those of you who were grossed out by the orange silk embroidered fabric shown in the last post and emailed me to find out if that was a part of my body.

You silly people!

If that were part of my body would I have even shown it?

okie dokie, that's a take.

We will hope there will never be a SAW FIVE.