Wilson the Castway

Does this remind you of anyone you know?

How about Wilson the basketball companion of Tom Hanks in the movie Castway?

He is a bit sturdier than he was in Castway but he still has a friendly face.

I found Wilson had "washed up" on shore in Port Aransas the first morning I went to the beach. Wilson had some rough nights in the wind, rain and tides but he had friends. Everyday I'd see someone putting him back together and taking a picture of him. One morning I talked with him and put his valentine back in place. I asked him if Tom Hanks was a nice guy. He waved his hand and kept on smiling. I wonder if he is still there.

Happy 2015

That is me! December 30th is my birthday. I have been on the Party Circuit since Christmas but after welcoming the New Year last night, it is time to move on. A lot of wonderful things happened in 2014 but I am so excited about what is already on the calendar for this year.

First of all I'll still be working on my project in Port Aransas. Since last Spring so many things have happened that are more than just a coincidence or serendipity. I've met some very helpful people and doors have opened. One exciting thing that happened just this week is that I found out that a group of very creative photographers are meeting in Port Aransas at the same time I was planning to be there. I'll be joining them and I am sure it will be like a massive shot of creative energy. I have many things to follow up on and photographs to take but this project is bringing me great joy.

I've signed up for the San Miguel Writer's Conference. I've heard nothing but wonderful things from people who have gone and the schedule for this years conference includes amazing speakers and workshops. I can certainly use some help writing an introduction for the Port Aransas book but I'll also take some of the workshops about publishing. I'm hoping that some of the writing talent and creative energy of the people attending will rub off on me.

I am going to Sicily along with five other photographers. Great photography opportunities and great food.  And all of this is in the first half of 2015.

I also have some fitness goals that I will work on this year. Yes, I feel great but at my age I have to work on it so that I can do the things I want to do. I'm very optimistic about 2015. I think it is going to be a great year.

I wish all my readers robust health and many adventures in 2015.  

Volkswagen in Mexico

Before four Volkswagen Beetles arrived in Mexico in 1954 for an exhibition featuring German industry, Mexicans mostly owned big imported American cars that carried big price tags. The small and less expensive Beetles caused quite a stir in the Mexico City exhibition and by 1961 a few hundred Volkswagens a year were being assembled in Mexico from kits shipped in from Germany.

In 1967 Volkswagen opened an auto plant in Puebla and started cranking out the little cars. After Germany cancelled production of the Beetle in Europe in 1978, Mexico exported the car to a number of European countries.

When we started coming to Mexico in the 80's there were a lot of Beetles on the street. Let me correct that because there was not anywhere near the density of cars on the street as we have now but the Beetle was a high percentage of them. Mexico City's taxis were mostly Beetles or as the Mexicans lovingly call them Vochos.

But all good things come to an end. Production of the Mexican Vocho ceased in 2003. But that doesn't mean they are gone. There is a Vocho that lives on the street behind me and it is still a working car.

I think this Vocho that I photographed was a 1993-1995 model because of the shape of the vents on the rear "hood." I'm sure some of you car guys can identify the exact model and year. How do you guys do that?

At any rate, this particular Beetle has seen better days and since it survived San Miguel's cobblestone streets for almost 20 years, it explains why Mexicans loved them.

Blue Toes

What's with the Blue Toes? Well.....they are a symbol and everytime I look at them I giggle.

I stopped in Esteto Clinica today to get a pedicure. Maria Ofelia greeted me and while I was choosing the nail color for my toes, she told me she had just gotten in the latest color. She got it from behind her desk and showed me the bottle. Robin's egg blue!

"Oh no, Maria. I don't like those weird colors that the girls are wearing."

I picked out a lovely summery, pinky-coral for my toes and then I sat down for my pedicure. While the young woman was working on my toes, I was thinking that I always choose a color that is somewhere from a coral-red to a coral-pink. Those are good colors for me. I thought about all the greens, blues, turquoises, lavendars and even purples that I have seen the teenage girls wearing. I thought it looked a little odd but you know kids like to be different.

Mm....I'd even seen some of those colors on my daughters-in-law and their friends. Well, styles change.

I sat there thinking. I wondered why I thought that only corals and reds were the right colors for toenails. The thought came to mind that a lot of my behavior is governed by restrictions or limits or styles from the past. I've got myself boxed in and closed off from new ideas and adventures just because I let those restrictions or limits keep me from examing why I do the same things over and over again.

Okay, this has to stop. I felt a big grin spread over my face.

"Maria, I've changed my mind. I want to use that new color you showed me."

"See, Senora. It is muy bonita. You will like it."

So, everytime I look at my robin's egg blue toes, I am reminded that I want to be open to new possibilities in the future.

Small World Houston

I'm in Houston, a city of over six million people. What are the chances I would end up in a medical waiting room with three other women and one of them would also have a house in Guanajuato, Mexico. Small chance! But add the improbability that we would both count Phyllis who also has a home in San Miguel as a best friend.  I'm sure that a statistician could figure the probability but whatever the number is I'd still be amazed.

The two of us were so shocked, we asked one of the other people in the waiting room to take a picture of us.

Ha! I thought these kind of things only happened in San Miguel de Allende.