San Pancho Vida

You Talkin' To Me?

How are your holidays going so far? All's well here. I had a little spare time--like ten minutes--so I decided to gather up a few guest writers to give us some words of wisdom to begin 2012. Apparently, they all have a different idea of what kind of advice to give to begin a brand new year, but each of them seems to have a valid point, in my opinion. 

We'll start with Mark Twain's comment on New Year's Day:

Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions.  Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.

Thank you, Mr. Clemens.

Next we'll hear from poet Edgar Guest who has a much different take.

A happy New Year! Grant that I
May bring no tear to any eye
When this New Year in time shall end
Let it be said I've played the friend,
Have lived and loved and labored here,
And made of it a happy year.

Very pretty and filled with good advice, don't you think? I'm going to remember that one for sure in the new year, about which writer Charles Lamb says:

New Year's Day is every man's birthday.

Which gets one thinking about life, change, and growth. Several of our guests have something to say about that.

You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.

That was Buckminster Fuller, who knows about such things.

Eleanor Roosevelt said

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

I like this one from Ralph Waldo Emerson, too.

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.

And this one from Michelangelo.

I am still learning.

That reminds me of a great sign I saw one time behind the bar at the Pastime Tavern in Ritzville, Washington:

It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.

Ain't it the truth?

                                                    ❈

Seems like a lot of our advisors this week want to talk about time, which I guess is a good topic for the beginning of a year, huh? Out with the old and in with the new, and all that?

Albert Einstein, not surprisingly, has some wise things to say about time:

When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity.

And, The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.

Similar, really, to what good old Abe Lincoln had to say.

The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.

Here's what Benjamin Franklin says in Poor Richard's Almanac:

Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of.

T.S. Eliot has the opposite opinion.

Time you enjoyed wasting is not wasted time.

Which reminds me of this one by George Carlin.

When someone is impatient and says, "I haven't got all day," I always wonder, How can that be? How can you not have all day?

                                                    ☺

Bertand Russell says

To realize the unimportance of time is the gate to wisdom.

Maybe...but one of my favorite contemporary philosophers, Steven Wright, replies

I went to a restaurant that serves "breakfast at any time". So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.

(Yeah, I know. He always cracks me up, too...)

Now let's have some general wise thoughts to ponder as we celebrate the stroke of midnight, New Year's Eve:

When  you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy. That's from the poet Rumi.

There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is having lots to do and not doing it. Andrew Jackson said that.

Here's Katherine Hepburn:

If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun.

What would a new year be without a few wise words from the great Dr. Seuss?

If you never did, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.

W.C. Fields offers this idea:

Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake.

And what about A.A. Milne? I like this one for obvious reasons.

Be sure to put the knocker fairly low on your door in case a very small friend drops by.

But here, I think, is the best advice for Twenty Twelve from Ellen DeGeneres. I say we all do it and just see what the heck happens!

Just go up to somebody on the street and say "You're it!" and then run away.

Happy New Year, my friends!

Tag! You're it!

 

A Christmas Letter

I learned a new phrase in Spanish class recently: el segundo aire, which translates literally as “the second air”.

El segundo aire refers to the second phase of life. After the serious raising of the kids, after the main career, after most acquisitions and constant responsibilities. It is the time of life when we have a chance to take a breath of different air, to start anew. In Spanish, as in English, the word “air” is used metaphorically, too. Cambiar de aires, a change of scene. A mi aire, in my own way.

These concepts all captivated me, as you might imagine, and I soon realized I would write you a Christmas letter about my segundo aire, and yours.

Many of you who kindly visit this blog are cherished old friends with whom I have shared the long phase of our lives that is ending now, or rather that is sequeing into something else.

Some of you started out as internet acquaintances, coming together over mutual interests through the magic of cyberspace, then landing for real in one anothers’ lives to become dear and steadfast personal friends.

Others of you have become friends over the last two years through this blog, with your email responses and comments, or with looking me up when you are in San Pancho.

And many of you are those good friends who I’ve met right here in San Pancho or in other parts of Mexico; people who, like me, decided to embark on a new adventure and chose this place in which to design it.

Each and every one of you is a treasured part of this phase of my life, my segundo aire. I want you know to how very happy I am, immersed in my new surroundings, with a new house, new ideas, new projects, new friends, new love...living in el aire mas puro, the freshest of air.

You know how sometimes you think you already know something, and then, through further experience and learning, you discover you know it in a new way, unequivocally? I used to believe I knew this: that life is of our own making, that we can choose how to live it through our own thoughts and responses. I still believe this, but I believe it differently now.

Now I know in every cell of my being that we can create in the universe just as we create on a sheet of paper or with a lump of clay. I know for sure now that it all starts with imagination...then, that intention with attention results in manifestation. Every day, miracles manifest in my life. Small miracles, huge miracles. I choose to call them miracles, but I know that they depend essentially on my own imagining, plus intention, attention, attitude and gratitude. What goes around comes around. We get back what we give out.

This Christmas, I will get to touch my son, to stay up way late talking with him, if only for a few days. I will get to spend time with my now ex-husband Dick in a different way, as pals who have realized we are going in very different directions now but who have agreed keep our friendship intact. I will get to be with my brother Greg, whose life has blossomed recently in miraculous ways. I will get to enjoy my mother, delightfully still with us at age 96, who is coming back to San Pancho for the second time, to spend another holiday together.

I will be surrounded by good people and lit by sunshine. I’m not cooking: there are too many inviting places to eat, including my brother’s brand new restaurant. On Christmas Eve, we will join friends for an easy evening of finger food and games and conversation. On Christmas day, we will have brunch on the beach at a big table, feet in the sand, with other friends whose families are visiting. Not everyone I love will be right here, but we will be present in each others’ hearts and thoughts and most certainly on the phone.

For me, this first Christmas in Mexico will be a different take on the holiday, with many long-standing traditions left behind in some ways, to be reinvented here in this new air, as so many things are.

                                        The Christmas Tree

                       Abracadabra, the Christmas Candelabra

 

(I've been playing a lot, to tell the truth.)

And you? How goes your segundo aire? If you have a chance during this busy time of year, will you send me a few lines in a blog comment or an email note and let me know?

We're sneaking up on another brand new year, with another brand new opportunity to imagine how we want it to be. What could be more fun than that?

I wish you the gift of love this season.

¡Feliz Navidad, mis queridos amigos!

xo

Candice

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.                                    Paul McCartney & John Lennon 1969

Santa Claus is comin' to town. John Frederick Coots & Haven Gillespie 1934

The Hoisting of The Pig

There's only one word to describe the opening of The Blue Pig, and that's WOOHOO!! Greg's Grand Opening was last Thursday and the place was full!

Needless to say, the weeks leading up to the opening were madly busy, and those last few days totally insane. On Wednesday afternoon, I sprayed a final coat of varnish on the giant blue pig, made of papier maché by Indira and her crew at entreamigos, painted and glittered by yours truly...

and in the nick of time, up she went!

Her name is Delilah. She told me while I was tickling her pork belly with a paintbrush.

Delilah wasn't the only thing finished in the nick of time. Pam was busy day and night painting the main sign, finishing menus, picking up t-shirts and writing flyers for opening weekend, which she also posted around several nearby towns. We'd both had lots of interested questions that week, from people passing her house as she painted and from people passing the restaurant where I worked on Delilah in the front lobby. Many of whom showed up for the grand opening, by the way!

As for Greg...you can just imagine. Cooking up his famous barbecue sauces, buying ingredients, ordering ribs, finishing the room, mixing batches of potato salad and carrot slaw, advising on the menu, picking up kegs of Negra Modelo and Modelo Especial, zooming back and forth from San Pancho to Vallarta and Bucerias and La Peñita, trying to sleep a few hours now and then.

Bill, his bilingual aide-de-camp, was on the phone constantly with orders and calls to vendors, stove fixers, waiters and everyone else in Mexico. Bill's son, Beau, was running errands and helping out all over the place, fetching the produce guy in his truck, bringing water to the painters and spiffing up the entry.

But it all came together. By Saturday, when the band Deep River came to play, the place was humming...and pretty soon, the joint was a'rockin'!

Platters of fallin' off the bone pork ribs, pulled pork, and moist chicken flew out of the kitchen. Behind the bar, Daniel poured draft beers and mixed drinks. The waiters, all local, slipped among the tables serving up barbecue and libations. And the band rocked out.

They announced a song dedicated to Greg and Pam, who had first heard them in Bucerias some time ago and knew they had to be a part of the Pig. The song was a blues shuffle, maybe the best kind of song in the world to dance to. Greg came out of the kitchen, Pam from behind stacks of orders and receipts, and out they went to the dance floor.

It was Dream Come True night, and that's a fact.

I joined them after a bit and we danced it out. All the elation, all the love for each other and appreciation for the work done, all the thrill of seeing this beautiful vision of Greg's become reality. Woohoo!!

(It's amazing what can happen in five months, which is how long Greg has been in San Pancho.)

When the song ended, Greg went back to the kitchen to plate up piles of his delicious concoctions, cooked with passion...

...which plates invariably come back to the dish washer (yay, Nico!) looking like this:

Busy busy busy. A learning curve, certainly. How much food to buy? How much staff to employ? What best way to do this or accomplish that?

Greg already had a platter for two or three to share called The Big Pig, but after a night or two, he added an even bigger one. It's called Delilah's Delight, of course.

It's no coincidence that the motto above the front door reads Come La Vida Como Puerco, which means "eat life like a pig".

The whole thing's kind of a kick, don't you think?

 And the band played on.

The Blue Pig is open every day but Wednesday from 3 to 10 p.m. Live music featuring Deep River is Saturday from 4 to 7. 

Looks like my brother hit a home run.

The Blue Pig has a Facebook page, of course:

The Blue Pig on Facebook

And here's a link to San Pancho Life and another article on The Blue Pig:

The Blue Pig on San Pancho Life

Come on up, why dontcha? Delilah'd be pleased to make your acquaintance...and your tummy won't regret it, I promise you that.

                                          ♥    ♥    ♥  

 

Christmas Present

I've treated you before to stories about entreamigos, our all-purpose community learning and teaching and arts center here in San Pancho. I was there last week waiting to go into Spanish class (Intermediate 2, which may be a stretch...) when I heard someone call my name. 

I looked up to see Nicole Swedlow, the all-purpose dynamo who heads entreamigos with the help of a fabulous staff of smart, friendly and talented local residents. 

"Uh-oh", I said to Tom, my fellow student, who is more than tall enough to hide behind. "Is it too late to hide?" It was, but that was just fine. Nicole told me that one of the 5th grade classes at the public school would be without a teacher tomorrow, and she'd agreed to have them come to the center for a Christmas art class. Unfortunately, her whole staff was in Guadalajara at the big book fair buying books for the library, and she had no one to lead the class. Until she spotted me. 

I agreed on the spot, knowing the art bodega contained construction paper, glitter, glue, scissors, and all the other paraphenalia necessary for a good messy art project. The next day, I arrived with my own pair of helpers, Sheri and Suzanne who were here from Colorado and are always ready for anything. 

We set up out in the big tree-shaded patio at the excellent giant art table, and soon our students arrived.

My idea was a simple one I'd taught before: Christmas luminarias suitable for presents and decoration. I did a quick demo and the kids went right to work.

I had brought along a few rolls of transparent cellophane in bright red and green and one with candy canes on it. Being constitutionally unable to abandon such potentially valuable supplies, I'd schlepped them with me from the States, and they were crucial for the project, as we'd use them to make our stained glass windows in the luminaria churches and houses.

What a swell mess, huh?

Nicole stopped by to see how we were doing. She's the one back there with the big smile. 

After an hour and a half or so of diligent creativity, during which one of the boys found a packet of foil butterflies in the bottom of the glitter box which soon became a very popular decoration for all, we had some finished products.

It didn't take long for the kids to discover other uses for their luminaria.

I heard from friends later who had seen the students walking home carrying or wearing their Christmas projects, which put a smile on my face for sure.

Entreamigos offers so many great services and opportunities to our entire community, including a real recycling center, classes, a bilingual library, a computer lab, a gift shop featuring things made at the center, and the Recicla Shop where donated used clothing and other goods are sold. The paid staff of entreamigos numbers more than twenty, and many people here volunteer yearlong in every imaginable capacity.

Next Thursday, Dec. 15, from 4 to 8 p.m., they are hosting a Holiday Gift Market featuring more than 25 local artists and artisans. Their own gift shop will be open, too, and there will be music, food and a raffle.

Maria at the Recicla Shop reminded me that lots of parents and children were coming in to the shop to buy Christmas gifts and presents for their teachers, and that she'd sure appreciate the donation of vases and art and household items, which seem to be popular gift choices.

There are countless other ways to help, even from afar. Please take a moment to check the links below. You might get an idea or an inspiration to brighten this Christmas season for yourself and someone else, too.

5 Cool (and easy) Ways to Support entreamigos!

All About entreamigos

P.S. We used a lot of glitter, glitter glue, pipe cleaners, markers, butterflies, etc. etc., during that project and others. So if you have space in the corner of your suitcase next time you come to San Pancho...

                                           ✐       ✄       ✍

Rebels & Angels: Faces of a Fiesta

Good grief -- here it is December already! How did that happen? Hope you had a satisfying Thanksgiving with family and/or friends. I certainly did and have the tummy to prove it.

Busy day today as I write this on Thursday, December 1. Just back from an early morning Vallarta run with Greg who is opening The Blue Pig (softly, grand opening next Thursday) tonight! I'm off to Spanish class in a few minutes, after which I'll stop by the restaurant and pitch in on whatever last-minute errands are needed.

Fortunately, I have some photos for you from last week's trip to Ajijic. I was there for Día de la Revolución and took these pictures in the street in front of Travis and Allen's house. Also caught the procession beginning the patron saint's week, so will show you a few of those too.

Have a great week! See you next Friday.

xo

C

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The procession for San Andres...

 

 

 

 

and Daniela, my favorite rebel angel of all.

                                            ♥    ♥    ♥