Lunch at Boca de Pascuales, Mexico

Lunch at Las Hamacas in Boca de Pascuales

    My husband and I enjoyed such a nice lunch at the beach yesterday. The beach is just barely a ten minute drive from town of Tecoman, Mexico. I love the baked fish, topped with sauteed almost fried garlic, rice and salad. There is potato salad also on the plate but it is not one of my favorites. The drink is agua de coco, coconut water. I love it! Very refreshing.

    The restaurant, Las Hamacas (which means "the hamocks") is a very large restaurant on the beach. All open-air, of course. We love going there and have been for nearly fifteen years. It is located on the second best surfing beach in Mexico. Surfers from all over the world come to surf there... and many of them come to be filmed. We love it when we can catch them surfing.

    More tomorrow!

All set for a week in Tecoman, Mexico

All set for a week in a hotel room in Tecoman

This may not look so interesting to you, but if you travel with your husband on a business trip to a smallish town in Mexico, these may be a few things that you will need:

1. Servitoalla - paper towels
2. Quaker Instant Cereal de Avena Fortificado - instant oatmeal
3. Great Value Crema en polvo - Yes, you may recognize the Wal-Mart's answer to Coffee Mate
4. Platanos - bananas
5. Equate Quita Esmalte con Lavolina - nail polish remover because I will be so bored in this hotel room, I will have time to do my nails!
6. Equate Gel Antibaterial - because even people in Mexico don't want the flu
7. Marias Gamesa - my favorite plain vanilla cookie... that is great with coffee
8. Folgers Coffee Packets - for the desperate coffee drinkers
9. Heating element for a single cup of coffee because I just cannot handle Mexican coffee.. the only thing I could never adapt to.
10. Plastic spoon, bowls and glasses
11. Dawn for washing those coffee cups

    So, see... that's all it takes. Most of these items were purchased at Bodega, which is owned by Wal-Mart.

    And, yes... my trusty computer. Notice one of my favorite blogs White Spray Paint on the screen? So what more do I need????

Carmen in her clown costume - 2007

    The reason why I am here in Tecoman is to give my almost six year old granddaughter and almost two year old grandson a Halloween party. This will be the fourth Halloween party we have hosted. It includes seven of Carmen and David's cousins in Mexico, plus their closest friends... and parents.

    My husband is here for the party, of course, but he is also here on business. For my readers who have not read my earliest blog entries, we farm here in Mexico and lived here for three years to get this new reorganized company "reorganized".

    If you are interested in life in a working town in Mexico, very different from the towns and politics you read about in the papers and see on the news, stick with me. I will show you something a little different.

Mexico!

Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico

    This picture was taken a couple of years ago, but hopefully we will get a chance to make it over to Manzanillo while we are here in Tecoman, Mexico this week.

    We have just arrived here in Tecoman. My husband and I flew from Reynosa, Mexico (across the border and near McAllen, Texas) to Mexico City, then Guadalajara and then drove from there to Tecoman.

    If you keep tabs on my blog for the next few days I will do my best to show you a little of the town where we lived for three years. It is no resort, believe me, but it is a progressive town and there is plenty of work for everyone.

    We are off to Bodega, a large grocery store that is owned by Wal-Mart. I do not shop at Wal-Mart much in the States, however, while living here in Tecoman, I was thrilled to have Bodega close by. "Bodega" means shed in Spanish. But this store is certainly much more than a shed. I'll try to take a few pictures.

For Today

FOR TODAY...October 26th
Outside my window... I see a day that is full of promise!
I am thinking... What a busy week this will be. We will fly to Mexico early tomorrow morning and return on Monday.
I am thankful for... My wonderful son, his wife and their two children we will be visiting.
I am wearing... Ooops! Still in my gown.
I am remembering... What a wonderful and special time I had with my aunt, my brothers and their families.
I am going... I need to get packed and shop for last minute items for the grandchildren's Halloween party I am giving for them and their friends in Mexico.
I am reading...I will take my At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon with me to Mexico. Her writing just sets my world straight and declutters my soul.
I am hoping... I will be able to be a good mother, mother-in-law and "abuela" while I am in Mexico.
On my mind... I am feeling so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and family!
From the learning rooms... The various blogs I visit show me what people (like me?) are able to accomplish. It gives me confidence that with some practice, I too can have a home that I will be happy and comfortable with.
Noticing that... I need to tend to my family more.
Pondering these words... 'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence... ‘The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'

From the kitchen... Not much as we will be out of town this week.
Around the house... I need to call the man who will put in our granite countertops and backsplash. I still have to pick out a sink and backsplash TODAY!
One of my favorite things... A good visit with a friend.
From my picture journal...

Sweet Carmen - my granddaughter in Mexico

To read other Daybook entries, go to the following link. http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

A Visit to Rochelle

    In the 1930's these buildings were part of the bustling community of Rochelle, Texas. A grocery store and pharmacy were two of the thriving businesses that were visited by residents of this small settlement located near Brady, known as the Heart of Texas. This past Saturday, several of our family members got together to seek out the tiny town where my father lived for a brief time and considered Rochelle some of the best and most memorable years of his life. Fortunately, we had some of his memoirs with us to refer to, adding to the awe we felt as we toured the area. Some of our family had taken trips with our father back to Rochelle just to "check on things". I had not been one of those who had made this trip, but had gotten a peek of the area just when passing through on other trips.

    We found the building above and tried to figure out why it looked so different. My aunt was just sure this was the building we were looking for. It matched the old picture we had in many ways, but the picture we had did not have a two-story building. We were totally baffled. It was time for a lunch break, so off we went to Brady since Rochelle had no restaurant in sight. (Chicken fried steak was enjoyed by all!!)

Upon our return we found a man mowing around the building. We decided to quiz him. Fortunate of us he was the owner of the building! The building we were looking for had been torn down, but the building we were looking at had just been down the street from it. We had already dubbed the structure the mystery building, but now the mystery had been solved.

    It was fun to go inside of the existing building though. Tin ceilings! I thought about Rochelle residents coming in an out. There had probably been screen doors that slammed when a customer came in do conduct business.

I thought I could hear people greeting each other and visiting, talking about the weather, the economy and as much local news as possible. I wondered how they would have been dressed, what their purchases would have been... and what were the women cooking for supper. Day to day living during that period of time has been an real interest of mine.
 

    Of course, a visit to the cemetery was in order. As noted by our hair and clothes it was a very windy day, but the temperature was perfect! My niece, Kensey Lee, and I stand at the head of my great-grandmother's headstone. Her name had been Eula Lee. Kensey was named after me, Karen Lee, however, she had not known that the name Lee in our family had actually come from my father's maternal grandmother.

   The day had turned out to be more than I think any of us had counted on. Walking the streets of our father and ancestors is a way of "re-grounding" ourselves and helping us to remember that we come from good stock, as they say in our "neck of the woods". It was truly a blessing to spend the weekend with our loved ones and remembering a truly amazing man... my "Indiana Jones".

  

My Indiana Jones

Calvin Clay Boykin, Jr.

October 23, 2008 was a bitter-sweet day for me. My father left us for his next big adventure... and to join my mother who passed away just four months earlier.

My father was my "Indiana Jones". He was a man of adventure and a man with the best will to do right. He was a fine Christian, not in word so much, but in action. He traveled the world, most of the time with my mother. They were married to adventure and did their part in uniting mankind for the good of peace and understanding. A young soldier in World War II, he served bravely and later became a historian for as many of the men he had served with and admired. He was an author of many articles and books, he helped many to understand what war was about and how war most of time defined a person's character.

He was a devoted and loving husband, father, son, brother and friend to many. Even the postman shed tears upon learning of my father's passing.

It is hard to write more about my father. He would be so embarrassed. Just know that 365 days ago this world lost one of the finest men God placed on this earth.

My father told his doctor as he received a report of bad news from him, "I've lived a good life, had a good wife, had a good family, done more than I ever thought I would... and then some." My father was forever saying, "Just keep putting one foot in front of the other."

I'm doing just as you taught me, Daddy. I love you.