tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89436919088589718182024-03-13T05:23:50.266-06:00Reservations for OneA journal about the Third Chapter, my life as a widow. Cooking-for-one, Entertaining, Travel, Grief, Family, Friends, Ageing, Photography, Living in San Miguel de Allende, GTO, Mexico and Living in the time of the CoronavirusBillie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.comBlogger195125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-51664528529978010022020-05-24T08:45:00.000-05:002020-05-24T08:45:20.520-05:00Testing a Concept<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sometimes you see something that really catches your artist eye. While in Mexico City I saw some artist books made by <a href="http://www.patricialagarde.com/">Patricia LaGarde</a>, a Mexican photographer. One in particular fascinated me. It was a structured book with cuts and folds within the pages. I liked the way the cuts and folds changed the feeling of the book. When I returned home I started cutting up copy paper and printing small images and folding the paper and images and then I let them sit on my work table for a week or so until another idea came to mind and another round of calculating sizes, cutting and pasting and looking would ensue but always looking for how the light worked with the new version.<br />
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While working on it, I realized that I wanted a book that could sit on a book-shelf lined up with other books or it could sit opened up as you see it here, a three-dimensional object sitting on a mantel or table. I am really liking the way the light reflects off of the folded pages and also through the light tunnel made by the projecting images. I like the way the shadows change on each side of the folded image. This concept is kind of a cross between an accordion book and a pop-up book. Unfortunately it is missing the covers. The book board is cut but the bookcloth I ordered did not arrive before I left Mexico. The concept works and maybe it will be the beginning of more variations.<br />
<br />Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-11478428688868731142020-05-12T20:07:00.000-05:002020-05-12T20:07:58.018-05:00Creole or Cajun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Quarantine cooking is challenging. Thank goodness I have had experience cooking in San Miguel before we had grocery stores like La Comer or Soriana. It wasn't unusual to change up a recipe because we couldn't find the ingredients or sometimes dinner party menus were made as you walked through a market and saw what was available. You learn to substitute and improvise.</div>
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One day last week I was digging through the freezer and found one frozen chicken thigh. I could maybe make a little pot of chicken vegetable soup. Then I remembered that I had bought a small package of smoked sausage and that reminded me that I had frozen some okra because too much came in a package when I made okra and tomatoes about three weeks ago. I had the holy trinity, green pepper, onion, and celery. Now things were starting to get interesting. This was adding up to something Creole or Cajun. But what is the difference between the two?</div>
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Good ole Google found some good references including <a href="https://www.thespruceeats.com/creole-vs-cajun-cooking-3052287">The Spruce Eats</a>. Both Creole and Cajun can include roux but the Creole will be made with butter and flour while the Cajun will be made with lard or oil and flour. Creole dishes, even if a gumbo, will have a tomato base and is soupier. The Cajun gumbo usually has a dark roux base and is more like a stew. </div>
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I didn't want to take the time to make a roux so I decided to use my ingredients along with some tomatoes and make soup and I would pour it over rice. When I put the pot on the stove for making rice, the thought ran through my mind that I would have two pots to wash after dinner. Mmm... Why not just throw some rice in my no-name creole recipe and I would only have one pot to wash. It turned out to be a pretty tasty dinner.</div>
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BTW, I looked up whether I should capitalize Creole and Cajun. It was a little muddled from different sources but <a href="http://people.loyno.edu/~kchopin/Creoles.htm">I like the one</a> that said "In some contexts, Creole is used as an adjective, and in some, it is a noun. (We capitalize it in New Orleans, however, so that is how you will encounter it here.)" I'm going with the New Orleans crowd. </div>
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Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-22825845657732460832020-05-02T15:00:00.000-05:002020-05-02T15:05:04.625-05:00The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men Often Go Awry <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It is the merry month of May. I had great plans for May. I had signed up for a photography tour In Oaxaca with <a href="https://glasstire.com/2018/02/04/gary-goldbergs-finding-the-universe-in-oaxaca/">Gary Goldberg</a>. It has been 26 years since I've been there on another photographic tour with <a href="https://www.geoffwinningham.com/court-house">Geoff Winningham</a>. This year the tour included visits with Mexican photographers and artists, time to photograph but also we were going to stay at <a href="http://www.casa-colonial.com/">Casa Colonial</a> which is where I had stayed 26 years ago. I loved Casa Colonial, a huge garden, comfortable rooms, delicious meals, and filled with wonderful Mexican art. </div>
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I was planning to go a few days early and stay a few days after the workshop. Unfortunately, the Pandemic changed those plans but I was thinking about the trip this morning so I opened the Oaxaca folder that had some scans of the black and white film I shot with my Pentax medium format camera. </div>
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Digital Photography has brought many changes to the way most photographers work so looking at the scan of a film negative was shocking. Film had grain! And to print the negative you had to go into the darkroom, mix chemicals and spend hours on one image making test strips and multiple prints until you were finally satisfied with the resulting print. Then you had to spend a few more hours washing and treating the print for archivability. If you were able to finish two prints in one day, you had accomplished something. </div>
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Looking at these negatives brings back some wonderful memories but I don't want to go back to the darkroom although I do want to go back to Oaxaca. </div>
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This image was made just outside the village of Tlacochohuaya where we had stopped on the side of the road to look out across this wide valley with magnificent clouds hanging in the sky. </div>
<br />Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-34301010409386649142020-04-30T16:44:00.000-05:002020-04-30T16:49:19.540-05:00A Crab Feast<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Lucky me! My son Mike, brought me a 16-ounce container of crab meat. He knows how much I love crab. I've been known to sit at the table picking and eating crab and drinking a bit of wine for hours. I could be by myself but it is even better if I am sitting with some other people just picking, eating, drinking, and talking. A crab feast was something Ned and I loved to do when we could find nice fat gulf coast crabs. Although I've seen crabs in markets in San Miguel, they weren't lively. I did not buy them. Now that I have crab, I wanted to savor it so I spread it out over three dinners.<br />
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The first night was a salad with crispy, icy-cold hearts of romaine lettuce with Cesar dressing topped with crabmeat. The second night I made a cream of corn and roasted poblano soup topped with crab meat. I had to improvise on the soup. Back in San Miguel, I have a recipe from a cooking class that Ned had gone to. I looked online but none of the recipes seemed exactly right so I took a bit of this one and a bit of that one. It was good but it wasn't as wonderful as Ned's recipe.<br />
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For the last bit of my crab, I wanted to replicate the sauce that Goode Company Seafood uses in one of my favorite things on their menu, the Campechana Extra shrimp and crab cocktail. No recipe but that did not stop me. I roasted tomato, green pepper, and onion and then I chopped it up in the blender. Added some catsup, lime juice, jalapeno, salt and pepper, and a little tabasco. It was too thick so the recipe needs some more tweeking. The crab meat was tossed with the sauce and topped with fresh avocado. </div>
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I cleaned my plate. All. Three. Nights. </div>
<br />Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-73361458462704477692020-04-29T14:18:00.000-05:002020-04-29T20:27:14.981-05:00Statistics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yes, I know this isn't a very good iPhone shot of a television screen but it will serve as an illustration for my frustration with the "statistics" that the news channels keep posting about the pandemic. They like to post total numbers. I'd be more interested in what is the percentage of the population who have been diagnosed with the Coronavirus. The USA number is alarming as compared to Spain, Italy, France, and Germany. On the other hand, when you look at the percentage of the population that have had the disease, we still have the second-highest percentage but it is a more relative number in how we rank with other countries. </div>
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<li>USA 328.2 million - 3%</li>
<li>Spain 46.8 million - 4.9%</li>
<li>Italy 60.36 million - 1.9%</li>
<li>France 66.99 million - 2.4%</li>
<li>Germany 83.02 million - 1.9%</li>
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I'm still alarmed. Why doesn't the USA have the lowest percentage? We are more transparent? We have tested more of our population? Are we comparing apples to oranges due to testing procedures in these countries? </div>
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<br />Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-67998405850644895452020-04-28T18:38:00.000-05:002020-04-28T18:38:56.556-05:00Walking and Thinking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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About four or five mornings a week I go for a walk between 6:45 to 7:00 AM. If that seems early to you, remember this is hot, humid Houston. So far, the early morning hours are still cool or at least cooler than it will be from 9:00 AM through the rest of the day. West University Place where I walk has big oaks shading the sidewalks but there are a few magnolia trees scattered through the area. The other morning I was walking and thinking when this lovely scent stopped me. It was a magnolia tree that was just beginning to bloom right beside the sidewalk. Most of the buds and opening flowers were too high to photograph except for this one. I stood there for a few minutes breathing deeply and fighting the urge to reach up and pluck this flower and take it back to the apartment to enjoy the scent and the delicate beauty. I've made photographs of magnolia blossoms and I've seen many photographs made by others, yet I never get tired of seeing them.<br />
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But back to the subject of this post; walking and thinking. I was thinking about how major world events affected me all my life and I was wondering how this pandemic would affect my grandsons for the rest of their lives.<br />
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I was born to a mother and father who were children during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. I've saved Christmas wrapping paper and bows, jars, old clothes, never hired anyone to do anything unless it was absolutely necessary, knew how to cook cheap cuts of meat and how to extend meals, fretted about mortgages and car payments, packed food to eat along the way when we traveled, seldom ate at restaurants and, well, you get the idea. Of course over the years some of these penny-pinching ways disappeared but I still see that Great Depression influence in my life.<br />
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I was almost five years old when the United States entered World War II. I remember my Mom and Dad with chairs pulled up to the radio and knew that something had happened although I did understand what war was. But it was a terrible thing and we had to have black curtains on our windows at night while my Dad sat close to the radio to listen to the news. My parents had brothers who went to war. The passenger train from Houston to Dallas which we rode every summer was crowded and people got up to give their seats to tall, skinny, tired soldiers. There was quiet talk among the adults about the Pacific, about Europe, about England. At five or six years old I didn't have a concept of geography but I knew they were far away. After the war, the brothers came home and while the adults sat listening to their stories, I would slip into the room and sit back against the wall on the floor to hear what they were saying. I think that WW2 was the beginning of my love of history and travel and probably politics as well although I did not recognize the political side of history at that time.<br />
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When I think about the Pandemic and my grandsons, I wonder how the economy will affect their lives. How difficult will it be to find jobs? Find the job they have hoped for? I've wondered how long colleges will stay closed and for my baseball playing grandson, when will his college baseball team be able to play again. He has worked to be a pitcher since before he was old enough to play T-ball. And what about my drummer grandson. When will venues open for live music? And what about the fun factor of being in high school and in college, parties, dates, sports and then of starting a career. The fun factor is important in a young person's life. Will it return soon? I hope so but I truly believe that this pandemic will affect the way they see the world for the rest of their lives.<br />
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What about you? Do you think that a world event affected the way you have lived your life? If you have grandchildren, how do you think it will affect their future?<br />
<br />Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-90873702412048576662020-04-13T16:21:00.001-05:002020-04-13T16:23:48.766-05:00Nesting in Houston<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One morning recently on my morning walk I found this plant on the sidewalk where it had fallen from a big old oak tree. I've seen it before both here in Houston and in San Miguel. I looked through pages and pages of tree parasite images but never saw it although I think it is a common one like mistletoe. I love the color and look of this plant. It reminds me of bird nests. So I picked it up and brought it home. Now it is sitting on the counter between the kitchen sink and the dining room.<br />
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I didn't really need a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment but that was what was available when I needed a place. It is roomy, with lots of storage, light and close to grocery and drug stores. My furniture is rented except for the dining room table and chairs. which belonged to my mother. Seeing it all day helps to ground me since I am surrounded by so much that is temporary. </div>
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The bedroom is really big with two large walk-in closets but minimal furniture.</div>
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The kitchen is well arranged and with adequate storage but I hate the flat-top electric stove. I've cooked on electric stoves for many years but I don't like this one at all.</div>
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So now you have seen my temporary nest. If I have to hunker down in Houston, this is a comfortable place.</div>
Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-19613028446937235972020-04-09T16:05:00.000-05:002020-04-09T16:05:33.705-05:00Wearing a Mask<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I left San Miguel four weeks ago and I never thought I would be wearing a mask four weeks later but a lot of things have happened in those four weeks that are beyond anything I could have imagined. Looking back, how naive I was.<br />
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I understood that the coronavirus was going to affect many people and that medical systems would be stressed but I thought that the United States could handle the virus better than Mexico. So I could go to Houston, get an apartment for six months. The complex where Ned and I had lived for two years was next door to an HEB, Krogers and Walgreens were across the street. When I arrived I was renting a car for a week to gather up what I needed for an apartment and then I wouldn't need a car. I could walk and if I wanted to go somewhere too far to walk, I'd get an Uber. Within about one day after arriving in Houston it dawned on me that "staying in place," or isolation, or quarantine, or whatever you want to call it was happening NOW. There was no time to settle-in. There was no time to see most of my family. So, I look forward to talking with them and long to hug them.<br />
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Services like Instacart, Curbside pickup, Whole Foods, Krogers, and HEB delivery all sound great but the demand is so huge that the delivery times are out about 10 days and they are so overloaded that the 20 items you ordered may be down to 10 items available when they are delivered. Although if I walk to the grocery store I can find the things I ordered except for cleaning supplies, toilet paper and paper towels. Toilet paper can sometimes be found but I have not seen paper towels since the day after I arrived. Thank God, there is no shortage of food.<br />
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Naive? Yes! A few months in Houston. The emergency would be over. I'd go home but everyday brings more knowledge about this disease. To get it fully under control, we need a vaccine and that is probably 18 months down the road.<br />
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Although this is a rather stylish one that a friend brought to me, I hope that wearing a mask doesn't become the new normal.<br />
<br />Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-85884709077105229742020-04-01T15:06:00.000-06:002020-04-01T15:06:48.217-06:00Refugio en el Norte - Day 15<br />
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It is hard to believe that I’ve been in this apartment as of today for 15 days. I’ve settled in and developed little routines with breakfast and at my desk, just making myself a home in Houston. One of the things that I do every morning is go walking. Across the street from the apartment complex is a lovely, tree-shaded neighborhood called West University Place. It’s mailing address is Houston but it is actually a small city within Houston. When I go out at 7 AM, it is just before sunrise. The air is cool and so far the humidity has not set in for Houston. I lived here for years and I know that before long I will be peeling off sweaty clothes as soon as I return from my early morning walk. But it is lovely now.</div>
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This morning I passed several houses where a gardener had mulched flower beds yesterday and the smell of the mulch was pungent and earthy. The squirrels were already out looking for breakfast and they would jump to a tree trunk and peek at me from the other side to see if I was going to keep walking. Some houses had sprinkler systems that were busy spitting water on the lawn and flower beds so sometimes I felt the a light mist on my face. There were a lot of red-breasted robins on the lawns looking for the early-bird worms. One big blue jay must have had a nest somewhere close by because he spouted warning chirps at me. Of course, I knew it wasn’t were he had flown up into the tree because jays are smart and they try to distract you from finding their nest. </div>
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Everything seems so normal at 7 AM. How could that be when we are bracing for, but hoping against, overloading our medical system and losing too many of our citizens.</div>
<br />Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-91413627639136685092020-03-27T18:38:00.002-06:002020-03-27T18:38:58.860-06:00Isolation Isn’t the Same as Boredom I promised you a report on my banking adventure. It did not turn out to be much of an adventure. I was expecting to have someone run out of the bank to shout through a bullhorn that I could not walk-thru the drive-thru but that didn’t happen. There were cars in the two lanes of the drive-thru as I walked up. One pulled away and I stepped into the lane. They asked what I wanted and I told them. They send out a withdrawal slip, I filled it out and sent it back with ID, ATM card and the list of the dollar dominations that I wanted. While they were counting the money, one man came to the window and told me to watch out for cars. The only car was the one in the other lane but I said I would be careful. They sent out my withdrawal in an envelope with my receipt. I walked back to the apartment.<br />
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Some of you may be wondering what I do every day all alone in isolation. Today is kind of typical.<br />
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I was up at 6:30 and by 7:00 AM I was out the door to walk. I’ve found that I need to leave by 7:00 or I start to encounter too many other people out for walks. For the most part if we are approaching each other on a side walk one of us moves out into the street except for joggers. They barrel straight ahead like they own the road. You just know they are not going to move over, so I do. My walks are about 2.5 miles but they are a good pace with no stops and I’m feeling stronger so I plan to kick it up to 3 miles everyday.<br />
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When I return to the apartment it is breakfast time and I’m a breakfast eater. With breakfast I scan emails and the NYT’s and then the work begins. Today, I spent time trying to trace down a package that said it was delivered yesterday but wasn’t. After some defective work I found Mr. Baker of the USPS and he told me that the regular delivery person was off yesterday and the substitute didn’t know what to do with the packages since they could not be left in the office of the apartment complex so he marked them delivered but the regular person was back today and he thought I’d have my package today.<br />
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Next came signing on to the Kroger app and trying to order some items. I was really excited when the first thing I saw was Clorox wipes. Check YES but the limit is one. Okay, I’ll be glad to get one. By the time I was ready to check out, the Clorox wipes were no longer available. And that seems to happen regularly with the Curbside and delivery apps I’ve tried. I checked back on other grocery apps and none of them had Clorox wipes are any of the cleaning supplies that are effective against the virus.<br />
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Next, the Bosu I ordered was delivered. Yea! But my Yea! didn’t last long. The little hand pump was a cheap piece of crap. I doubt that I could ever blow up the Bosu with it but I tried valiantly for a long time because I want to use it. So, now I’m trying to figure out if I know someone who will bring me a real pump or if I should order a pump on Amazon.<br />
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Downstairs and out to the mailbox. No package delivery yet. Back upstairs and disinfect door, keys and hands.<br />
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I bought an inexpensive laptop from B&H but I don’t like it for working with my images. Actually I hate it. I won’t go into the long story but after some lengthy discussions with B&H that included about how long I had been their customer and how I had to flee my home in Mexico because of the virus and here I was in Houston unable to work on my images. Oh, woe is me. I’ve made a terrible expensive mistake. What I wanted was to return this computer and buy a Mac Laptop which isn’t a wise financial decision but what the hell. They finally relented. Sunday morning I’ll order the Mac laptop but that meant that I then had to spend time comparing models and deciding which one I would order.<br />
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Next was downloading the app for the apartment complex and setting up to pay the rent on line. That went fairly well after a phone call to the complex.<br />
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Downstairs and out to the mailbox. Yea, the package was there. Back upstairs and disinfect door, keys and hands.<br />
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During the day there were a few phone calls with family and friends and an occasional session at the TV to see what is happening.<br />
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By this time it is 4:30 and I haven’t eaten since breakfast so I cooked dinner. Another day of isolation has passed.<br />
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<br />Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-42540815159472751222020-03-24T11:18:00.000-06:002020-03-24T11:18:34.647-06:00BankingLife isn’t easy in Houston. In fact, trying to stay in isolation is proving difficult, more so each day. Not the time I spend in my apartment but the part that keeps me connected with the outside world is difficult.<br />
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I need cash. Unfortunately, I find myself with large bills when what I need is small bills so that I can tip the person who delivers groceries or other door-to-door services that are available.<br />
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I’m not renting a car while I’m here, at least not yet. Using the iPhone, I looked for close by locations for my bank. Yea! One is just seven-tenths of a mile from the apartment. That isn’t a difficult walk for someone who has been walking the streets of San Miguel.<br />
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A lot of “essential” businesses have changed hours so I called to see if that location was still open 9:00 - 5:00. No, their hours are 9:30 - 4:00 but I’d have to use the ATM because the banking lobby isn’t open or I could use the drive-thru. I said that I would walk through the drive-thru because I needed smaller bills that the ATM distributed and I didn’t have a car. The banker told me that no one is allowed to walk thru the drive-thru. What? I explained that we are in the a pandemic and rules should be adjusted for this time. We discussed my problem. He finally said that I could try it if I wanted to but it was dangerous. I wanted to say, “being 83 is dangerous in this pandemic and I don’t think walking through a bank’s drive-thru is any more dangerous.” But, I didn’t say it.<br />
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So, tomorrow I’ll walk to the bank at 9:30 and walk thru the drive-thru. I’ll let you know if I live through that and if I get the cash that I want.<br />
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I have another story, a long one, about trying to enter the cyber world since I moved into the apartment, but that is for another day.Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-5717906485336726242020-03-22T17:49:00.000-06:002020-03-22T21:21:44.342-06:00Refugio en el Norte - Day 5<br />
I am not sure of how to start this post. It has been a long time since I wrote anything for this blog but I feel the need to write and I have the time so I’ll see how it goes. I am writing from an apartment in Houston which right now is my refuge from a dangerous world because of Covid-19. Hence, the term, Refugio en el Norte, which is a play on the name of the street I live on in San Miguel de Allende.<br />
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A planned trip to Texas to visit family, go to FotoFest, and SXSW became more than a 10 day trip because of my concern about being in Mexico alone should I become ill with Covid-19. When I had to put my sweet Carly who had been going downhill for about nine months, to sleep two days before I was scheduled to leave, I made the decision that when I arrived in Houston I would stay in Houston until I could figure out what I needed to do.<br />
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Ned and I liked the apartment we rented in Houston 10 years ago while he was sick so the first thing I did after getting the rental car was head to that complex. It is next door to an HEB/Pharmacy and across the street from a Kroger and Walgreen drug store. Also, close to a number of restaurants that I could walk to. Of course, now that the restaurants have been closed except for takeout, that doesn’t count for much. I rented one that was immediately available and took possession of the keys last Tuesday. Wednesday the furniture I rented was delivered and I moved in. I’ll be writing from my Refuge in the North. What I’ll write about I’m not sure but I do feel I need to write. It may be too personal for some or boring as hell for others but that is okay if you decide not to read it at all.<br />
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PS: I wanted to send a photograph of the sala of my apartment but for some reason something has changed since the last time I wrote on the blog. I can’t figure it out tonight but I’ll work on it tomorrow. Busy day tomorrow. LOL<br />
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Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-73052468761562388802019-02-04T15:43:00.002-06:002019-02-04T15:49:17.373-06:00Rockport is not Port Aransas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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While working on my book <i>Common Tide; Port Aransas, Texas</i>, I had a list of things from the Mercer Logs that I wanted to photograph and I was having trouble finding some of those things on today's Mustang Island. Things like gardens, chickens, cattle, horses, and pigs. So I thought that I could spread out my search to the mainland just across the bay from Port Aransas. Contact with county Farm Bureaus gave me the names of some farmers and that is how I found <a href="https://fourstringfarm.com/">Four String Farm</a>, an organic farm in Rockport, Texas, owned by Justin and Kayla Butts.<br />
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I made some photographs that I really liked on the farm of chickens and pigs and the garden and I thought I could slip them into the book but when I started putting the book together I could not include them. The book is about Port Aransas and Mustang Island and Rockport is not on the island. How could I explain a connection to a reader if they asked who has pigs like this or where did you find these chickens?<br />
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As much as the questions that I might be asked, the image above told me I could not use the images from Four String Farm. The landscape is different. I have not seen any area of the island that has vegetation like this image. It would not be true to the Mercer Logs from 1866 to 1877. But, I do like this image; the way the light filters through the canopy and you can see back into the tangle of the trees.Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-9324766200147916972019-01-28T17:16:00.000-06:002019-01-28T17:22:18.356-06:00Playing with Textures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I don't make New Year's Resolutions. I make to-do lists. Since it is almost the end of January, I pulled out my list to see how I'm doing. Oh my, I'm afraid my list for 2019 is rather ambitious. But the good thing was that I have started on one of the items, learn how to use textures in Photoshop. By that, I meant more than just learn how to add a texture layer to an image. That is the easy part. What I want to do is learn how to manipulate an added texture or textures to enhance an image. And I want to find out if the use of textures "feels" like it belongs in my tool kit. The feeling part is something I'm really not sure about.Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-3437887832712690092019-01-22T12:58:00.000-06:002019-01-22T13:02:32.091-06:00ROMA - More Like a Poem than a Movie<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fp_i7cnOgbQ" width="480"></iframe><br />
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When the Academy Award Nominations were announced today, my favorite film for 2018, <i>Roma</i>, garnered 10 nominations. Actually, Roma may be one of those films that will stick with me for a long time and becomes a yardstick for other films.<br />
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<a href="https://mexiconewsdaily.com/opinion/roma-a-standout-netflix-original/">Natalia Green</a> in her article in Mexico News Daily writes, "More like a poem than a movie -- in the Hollywood sense at least -- <i>Roma </i>is not for those who crave plot, elaborate dialogue or choreographed action sequences. Shot almost in docudrama style, its subject matter is daily life in all its mundaneness."<br />
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Not everyone I know who has seen <i>Roma</i> likes the movie but they have not put it aside. They are still talking about it and trying to understand why the director did this or included that. I loved the film and I've already watched it twice and plan to watch it again. I think it is a beautiful film shot in 1970s black and white format with the wide-angle camera moving through the house and the streets taking in life as it is occurring around the main characters. The way it captured the chaos of the street was as if one were actually walking in a Mexico City street. It was masterful the way the scenes were choreographed to also include symbolism of the current events in the 1970s.<br />
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Having been in Colonia Roma in Mexico City a number of times, I feel like I know the street where the house is located. The street sounds of bands, car motors, the whistle of the knife sharpener as well as the sound of mops being rung out and dishes clinking in the kitchen are substitutes for a musical soundtrack. The cars getting in and out of the portico was a mundane event for the family but are hysterical for the viewer. There isn't a lot of dialogue but the acting is superb.<br />
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Have you seen <i>Roma? </i>What did you think? What was your favorite scene?Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-16078767509669837162019-01-19T16:31:00.001-06:002019-01-19T16:31:13.915-06:00A Memory from Cuba<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Five years ago, I went to Cuba with a group of photographers. My friend Jim Quinn was part of that group and this week he sent me this picture he had taken of me and it brought back some wonderful memories.<br />
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We were staying in a Casa Particular in Old Havana. The breakfasts in the casa were wonderful so one day we asked them if they could also make dinner. The very accommodating hosts said they could. We had a great dinner. So good, in fact, that we asked them to do it again.<br />
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By this time my sweet tooth was wanting a bite of a dessert. I had seen bananas with the street vendors, there was an ice cream store on our street, Cuba has rum so I asked if our host had brown sugar and butter. She did although I'm not too sure about the origin of the "butter". And she agreed to let me make a dessert for dinner.<br />
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As soon as I turned on the gas stove I realized why meals took so long to prepare. You could not get a high flame. Maybe it was more than a simmer but not by a whole lot. Nevertheless, I cooked the butter, bananas and brown sugar, then added the rum. There was no flambe to this mixture but I cooked it down a bit and put it over the ice cream that was melting quickly in the heat. It wasn't officially Bananas Foster but it was quite tasty.<br />
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Everyone enjoyed it and the host wrote down the recipe. I have a feeling that since then she has served it to her guests from time to time.Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-76657949715192103502019-01-17T09:58:00.000-06:002019-01-20T12:13:56.060-06:00What I Learned in 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, here it is, the book that you have heard about many times over the last eight years.<br />
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<b>COMMON TIDE</b></div>
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Port Aransas, Texas</div>
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<i>Photographs Inspired by the Mercer Logs 1866 to 1877</i></div>
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Billie Mercer</div>
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It is a large book, 12 by 12, 166 pages. Perfect bound with a linen cover and printed dust jacket. </div>
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How did it come to be? It started as an idea of things to do while Ned was going through treatment for cancer. I wanted to keep him busy with fun things. Ned's family were the first settlers on the northern end of Mustang Island in about 1855 and that settlement eventually became known as Port Aransas. We had vacationed there many times when our boys were young, so we loved the island. I told Ned that I wanted to work on a photography book about the island and use the logs or daily diaries that his family had written as a guide in making those photographs. Ned was always willing to go anywhere with me when I pulled out my camera so, April 2011, was the first trip. The trips continued even after Ned passed away. In fact, making this book became more important to me.</div>
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Starting in early 2015, I uploaded to Blurb different versions of the book, even had some of them printed as a proof. I wasn't satisfied with any of them. At the same time, I was looking for other publishers, graphic designers, getting estimates, and learning more and more about self-publishing. I was looking for the perfect book and I was looking for approval. Needless to say, I became discouraged and dropped the project for months.<br />
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<i>Fears about artmaking fall into two families: fears about yourself, and fears about your reception by others. In a general, fears about yourself prevent you from doing your best work, while fears about your reception by others prevent you from doing your own work.</i></blockquote>
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In January 2018, I wrote out what I really wanted, a book for my family. I put aside all my concerns about the cost or marketing the book; or what a designer or publisher might want. </div>
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Everything I had done earlier was dumped and I started over. I learned more about Adobe InDesign and fonts. Almost every day, I spent time on the book and in late October I uploaded the book to get a proof print. My sons received copies of the book for Christmas. I have to tell you that I'm pleased that I pushed this big project though but now I am excited about the responses I've gotten from photographers and book people. Who knows what might happen in 2019. Maybe it will get published for a wider audience. </div>
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What I learned in 2018, and should have already known, is follow my heart and my vision. Just do it!</div>
Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-45570641438728482702019-01-14T15:05:00.000-06:002019-01-20T12:11:48.180-06:00Helllooo.....Anybody Still Out There?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I can't believe it has been 28 months since I wrote a blog entry. I just seemed to run out of steam for the blog while I worked on other projects. But, for some reason, I'm feeling the urge to write again.<br />
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One of the big things that has happened is that I completed a book I have worked on since 2010. In order to do that I spent a lot of 2017 learning Adobe InDesign. I still am a beginner but I learned some on my own and then I hired Mary Meade to help me pull my ideas together with the master page feature of InDesign. Then 2018 was the year of the book. There is a lot to tell about that experience but I'll save that for other blog entries.<br />
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I've done some travel over the last 28 months, two times to Italy and once to London and the Cotswolds, Port Aransas a bunch of times, Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas, Austin, Memphis to see a grandson graduate from Rhodes College and maybe another place or two that I'm not remembering.<br />
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I had my 80th birthday and I've survived another couple of years. Just can't believe how fast time is passing.<br />
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Using the blog, I'm going to try to fill you in on what has happened as well as writing about current events. So, who among my blog readers is still out there?Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-39195582162158940862016-09-14T18:31:00.000-05:002016-09-14T18:31:38.647-05:00Photographs in the Yucatan, 1946 and the 1990's <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week I stopped at Banamex on Canal and looked at the current photography exhibition, <a href="https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=es&u=http://fomentoculturalbanamex.org/cartelera-interior/exposicion-armando-salas-portugal-cronica-de-un-viaje-a-yucatan-1946/&usg=ALkJrhgT38LEFlkHy1Ui8G1A1Lm0yFAieA">Armando Salas Portugal, Chronicle of a Trip to the Yucatan, 1946</a>. The photographs stopped me in my tracks because I spent so much time in the Yucatan during the 1990's while I was photographing the 16th century churches spread across the peninsula. Some of Armando's images showed the thatched roof houses and churches that I, too, photographed. Not a lot happened between 1946 and 1993 except that doors were put back on the churches, fences were repaired and painted and the road was paved. I say paved in a most general sense. At least they were no longer sand and dirt but they still had pot holes and lots of topes. Our car moved at a slow place. </div>
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The church above is in Hoctun where we met people who had tiendas around the square. We returned many times and I took photographs back to the people we met the first time. </div>
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The image below is of a family in another little village. Actually I doubt that it could even be called a village. They lived in the small settlement of a ruined hacienda. The last time Ned and I went to the Yucatan in 2008, we tried and tried to find their house but a new road had been cut through the area and I'm afraid that it wiped out the little settlement. </div>
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I walked out of Banamex wanting to go back to the Yucatan and follow the maps in the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Maya-Missions-Exploring-Colonial-Churches/dp/B002JN83PA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473894365&sr=1-1&keywords=Maya+Missions+Exploring+the+Spanish+Colonial+Churches+of+Yucatan">guidebook</a> that I used while I was working on the 16th Century photography project. What has happened to the old two-lane road that connected many of these churches now that everyone travels the toll road between Cancun and Merida? What do the churches look like today? Could I find some of the people that we met back in the 1990's? Could I find a driver? How long would it take? </div>
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Mmmm.....can you tell that a seed has been planted?</div>
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Back to <a href="http://www.adn-galeria.com/designers/armando-salas-portugal">Armando Salas Portugal</a> and his trip in the Yucatan in 1946. This exhibition covers much more of the Yucatan than just the churches. It covers the beaches, Mayan sites just being uncovered, villages and people. Although I don't think that these are vintage prints, they are beautiful prints and definitely worth a stop in Banamex. </div>
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<br />Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-23402954337689906202016-09-12T19:39:00.000-05:002016-09-12T19:39:18.605-05:00Protest Age-ismA couple of things have happened recently which make me think that because of my "maturity" I'm being treated differently and I don't like it!<br />
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First of all, I'm going overseas to a workshop. The workshop requires that participants have International Travel Insurance. So, I went on line to buy it and I found out that in another three months when I am 80 it becomes almost impossible to buy it and if you can buy it, it is very limited in the total coverage offered. I know some people in their 80's may not be in good health but what about those of us who are still on the move? <sigh> I guess I'll figure out what to do when the situation comes up after my birthday. <br />
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One of my credit cards furnishes my credit score periodically. Today I got a notice that I could go on line and get mine. I've done it before and it stays about the same all of the time. But this time it had dropped 50 points. Whoa! What happened? I'll tell you what happened. My credit score dropped because I do not have a mortgage, car payment or some kind of loan so that how I pay that type of debt can be evaluated. Credit card payments are evaluated separately. Can you believe that? Because I don't have debt I'm less credit worthy. I would think that a lot of mature, retired people do not have a mortgage or a car payment. Does that make us less credit worthy than younger people who have credit card debts, two car payments, college loans and a mortgage?<br />
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Have any things like this happened to you? Who wants to join my protest movement?<br />
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Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-461565765565954442016-09-04T20:09:00.000-05:002016-09-04T20:09:10.386-05:00Mercado de las Orquideas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What a weekend! It has been the San Miguel Mercado de las Orquideas which was sponsored by the San Miguel Orchid Lovers. The Orchid Lovers are a group of people in San Miguel who DO love orchids and want to share their love of orchids with other people in San Miguel. It was just one year ago when my friend Mary invited me to join them at their annual dinner. I had grown or maybe I should say I maintained some Phalaenopsis in the past but really didn't know much about orchids. And growing orchids here is complicated by the low humidity. Some orchids require more humidity than others but it is somewhere in the 30-70% range. Some need cooler weather and others warmer. My beginner list was for orchids that looked like they had a fighting change in SMA. I joined the group and I've learned a lot but I think raising orchids could be a life long learning process even if you are starting at a much younger age than I.<br />
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This past Friday night was the 2016 dinner and Saturday morning the expo opened with 24 vendors. I wish you could have seen the venue. It is a wide space, kind of a wide alley and both sides were lines with gorgeous, gorgeous orchids. People came, both Mexicans and gringos, and I think all of the vendors did well. At least when I went back this afternoon, the tables still had orchids but they were spaced out a bit. <br />
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I had my list of "Beginner" orchids so I thought I knew what I was looking for but I have to tell you that it was so, so easy to be seduced by orchids that were not on the list. I think I did pretty well although I did not stick strictly to the list.<br />
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I wanted a cattleya because I didn't have one and they are so beautiful. I have heard that they are harder to grow than Palaenopsis ( you know the one you always see in the grocery store) so I thought I would start with just one. <br />
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The tag on this orchid is Lysudamuloa (Lys) Red Jewel. I think it might be some kind of cross between Lycaste and something. I liked the flowers and I like the leaves that are large, long and kind of soft. </div>
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As you can see I have a lot to learn. </div>
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I already have several Paphiopedilum or slipper orchids but I could not resist this one with its variegated leaves. It's tag calls it a Paphio Coloralum. Can't wait for the bloom to open.<br />
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If you saw this in the jungle, would you think it was an orchid? It is a Bulbophyllum, Lion King x Annandalei. It wasn't on my list but it was the only one I saw in the whole show so I had to have it. <br />
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Somehow this orchid got to my house without a tag. It is a big plant, about 2.5feet tall and just about as wide and it was heavy. I carried it home from out past the instituto along with a heavy bag with a pot and potting medium. I don't know if the plant had a tag or if it was lost but it is a Cymbidium of some type. Another orchid lover told me that they had Cymbidiums in a pot and it sat outside all year long. There are two other shoots on it with blooms so it should be spectacular for a while yet. <br />
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It has been a great weekend but my purse is much lighter than it was on Saturday morning.Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-9092828423672066302016-08-14T20:09:00.000-05:002016-08-15T08:41:24.549-05:00Muy Contento<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've have spent this Sunday gardening. First it was on the patio working on my orchids and taking care of the new plants in the beds. And while I was working on what was there I was thinking about what next. How are the plants doing and if they don't adapt what I might try next. What I might buy at the San Miguel Orchid show. Under the tree, what I might plant that needs some shade but really good drainage.<br />
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Next I went up to the terrace carrying the box of plants and succulents that Ed brought me. Last year I bought a wrought iron baker's rack from and Karen and Jim planning to use it to plant succulents but I didn't have the right soil or pots for succulents so it was just a kind of messy place to put leftover pots and plants. Now it was refitted with the right pots and the right soil and I had a few succulents so I started filling the pots with the them.<br />
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Then I sat down in a chair on the terrace and relaxed. I could hear a lot of fireworks. Too many fireworks for Carly. She stayed with me on the terrace for a bit but then she went downstairs to the studio to her bed. She does not like the big boomers and these were big boomers and they seemed fairly close by. I don't know what the occasion was today but I could also hear drum and bugles and a Mexican band playing for the Dancers. <br />
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There was a hummingbird attacking the blooming firecracker plant. A big lime hanging from the lime tree, A huge, beautiful yellow hibiscus bloom. A cool breeze. A blue sky with fluffy white clouds. The sounds of Mexico. And so the time flew by with me just sitting in the chair looking and listening and thinking about what an amazing life I am living. I have so many blessings everyday.<br />
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It is hard from me to write about what I was feeling but I'm sure you have felt moments like this also. I was in a bubble of contentment and peace and thankfulness. No amount of money could have made this day any better.<br />
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Muy ContentoBillie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-46667033713477505472016-08-01T21:59:00.000-05:002016-08-01T22:00:28.668-05:00Weekend Getaway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Me: <span class="thread-snippet" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1470099715109_3573">I'd like to go see this <a href="https://www.ubs.com/microsites/annie-leibovitz/en/exhibition.html">Annie Leibovitz exhibition</a></span> in Mexico City. You interested?</div>
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My Friends: You bet. Let's go!</div>
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And so 12 days later we were in <a href="http://www.smallhotelsmexico.com/mexico-city/casa-gonzalez/">Casa Gonzalez</a> which is just a couple of blocks from the US Embassy and the Paseo de la Reforma in the heart of Mexico City. It had been about 25 years since I had stayed in the Casa Gonzalez guest house so it was such a treat to go back and see how it had changed. There are more rooms, wifi, better, much better mattresses, more gardens and outdoor tables and chairs but still the same charm and intimacy. The breakfast is fabulous although now you pay for it separately, the cost is quite reasonable. In fact the cost per night is more than 25 years ago but still unbelievable reasonable.</div>
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We dumped our luggage and went off to find something to eat but finding something to eat in the area around Casa Gonzalez is not difficult. There must be at least three restaurants in every block. Everything from a taco stand to an elegant restaurant. </div>
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In addition to the Annie Leibovitz exhibition we had made reservations for the <a href="http://www.jessicalangchoreographer.com/news/announcements.php">Jessica Lang Dance</a> Performance at Palacio de Bellas Artes on Friday night. We had great seats in about the third row center. The production was beautiful and the performance was amazing. Lithe, beautiful bodies that seemed to hang in the air or carry another person across the stage as if they were light as a feather. </div>
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Saturday morning we walked across the Reforma and into the Colonia Juarez to the building housing Leibovitz's exhibition, <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/07/arts/annie-leibovitz-women-new-portraits/">Women: New Portraits.</a> The exhibition wasn't hung on the wall but was more of an installation on big banks of LCD screens showing one portrait at a time. This reminded me of a recent talk with a Gallery Owner who told me that she expected to see more and more photographs shown as an installation. Hard for me to believe because I still want to see a print but maybe that is just my age showing. </div>
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A nice comida and then back to Casa Gonzalez just before the afternoon rain. </div>
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I always want to try new restaurants and this time we headed out in the rain and back across Reforma to Havre 77 that has been open for about six months. The food was delicious and we got to talk to the chef-in-charge Gerado Ramos who previously worked here in San Miguel. </div>
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The next morning after another wonderful breakfast we were in the van and headed back to San Miguel. It seems like I always leave Mexico City before I'm ready to leave. So I'll go back again soon, even if only for a quick weekend getaway. </div>
<br />Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-67382836782408866852016-06-25T15:52:00.000-05:002016-06-25T15:52:52.677-05:00The Universe Is Speaking To ME!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EPYqbDP39vI/V27jBR-xN-I/AAAAAAAAEPg/VO01sznszNYh7kVSheIDVDGunKX48iiCQCLcB/s1600/Sicily%2Bcountryside-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EPYqbDP39vI/V27jBR-xN-I/AAAAAAAAEPg/VO01sznszNYh7kVSheIDVDGunKX48iiCQCLcB/s400/Sicily%2Bcountryside-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I had three of the weirdest things happen this week within about 36 hours. I wrote an inquiry about a workshop last March. I knew a couple of people who had gone to the workshop last year and it really sounded interesting to me. I didn't hear back and actually I was busy and I forgot about it. This week I received a reply from them and my inquiry was attached but it didn't show a date in March. Instead it indicated that they had received the inquiry on June 18th. I have no idea where it has been. I guess floating somewhere in cyberspace. <br />
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Okay, so that is one of the three things. The second one was that I happened to hear that Keith Carter was in SMA and I contacted him and I had lunch with him and some of his friends. Keith will be one of the instructors at the workshop. I've always wanted to take a workshop with him but it has never worked out. <br />
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And the third one is that I had been thinking about maybe taking a photography workshop but one with more of a retreat atmosphere so I'd been looking on line the day before I received the reply from the workshop to see if anything interested me. Nothing did. They all seemed too structured. Too much travel from place to place. I wanted something that gave me time to stay put in one place and dig deeper. Something that gave me time to work with images that I made. Something that gave me time to play with some ideas and techniques. Something more hands on.<br />
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The workshop is <a href="http://alchemy-studio.net/?page_id=190">Spirit into Matter</a>. The whole workshop takes place in a small village near Florence, Italy in a renovated Villa. The instructors are <a href="http://www.keithcarterphotographs.com/">Keith Carter</a>, <a href="http://www.katebreakey.com/">Kate Breakey</a> and <a href="http://www.cloverleafstudio.com/">Jace Graf</a>--all people whose work I know and admire. The other thing that some people might not like but I love the idea is that participants are assigned some times to help out in the kitchen. I hear the meals are made with local produce and that they are fabulous. So in addition to photography I'll get to enjoy a "cooking lesson" or two. <br /><br />When the Universe speaks to me, I listen. I'm going!<br />
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The photograph was taken in Italy when I was in Sicily in 2015.Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943691908858971818.post-3817577719843971502016-06-18T21:57:00.000-05:002016-06-25T15:53:28.712-05:00Father's DayI wanted to post some pictures of my sons and their boys so I started looking at old photographs. It took a long time because looking took me on a trip down Memory Lane. <br />
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This picture is from July, 2003 when Mike and his family came to visit us in San Miguel. It was a giggling wrestling match on the couch. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pCRilXlyRAo/V2YGx-ubIAI/AAAAAAAAEPQ/287VVr2Zw2si6O2QyJ5F4dSMcsKGA02GQCLcB/s1600/Doug-boys%2B20060617-4267.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pCRilXlyRAo/V2YGx-ubIAI/AAAAAAAAEPQ/287VVr2Zw2si6O2QyJ5F4dSMcsKGA02GQCLcB/s400/Doug-boys%2B20060617-4267.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is Doug and his boys and it was made on June 17, 2006, ten years ago. June 17th is Doug's birthday and the picture was made in the morning. <br />
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Good Fathers. Wonderful Grandsons. I'm a lucky woman. <br />
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Happy Father's Day to Mike and Doug.Billie Mercerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826454938577230499noreply@blogger.com2