Pic-of-the-Week for January 30, 2018

Hola Amigos,

It is past time for another edition of Pic-of-the-Week, and I have no excuse, really, for being late.  

Our BIG 50th Anniversary Celebration was held last Saturday the 27th, and it was a great success!  We were expecting about 85 people at the "final" count, but then several called and excused themselves, one or two forgot (we are getting older and more .... forgetful!), and some couldn't get there due to schedule changes.  We ended up with about 75 guests, and a beautifully decorated venue, thanks to Evelyn and the La Playa waiters, waitresses, bartenders and chefs.  Evelyn decorated with gold tableclothes, bouquets, balloons, lights, and a special table for us.  One of the best things about last week is that our daughter Rebecca came join us from the Middle East!  It took her several days to get here, but she was able to spend Thursday noon through Sunday noon with us.  Ryan couldn't get away from Shanghai at this time, but we expect him here in April or May, and he's spending the summer in Baja. 

Another great surprise for our guests is that we were able to get our favorite guitarist Miguel de Hoyos to perform for our party!  People asked "how did you get Miguel to come?"  I told them, "advance planning, asking nicely, begging...., and have Rebecca and Ryan willing to pay his fee!"  

As you can see, he even dressed up for the occasion!  His music was wonderful, as usual and a great addition to the party.  

Then there were the cakes!  We were going to have two, a tres leches and a carrot cake, enough for 80 people.  Then we kept getting more people saying they were coming, so I had our friend Perla order a small chocolate cake in addition.  They were wonderfully baked and decorated by a local baker here in town, and delicious.  (And we have a big chunk left over in one of our refrigerators!) 

I have added a bunch more pictures of our party and a few videos as well in our January 2018 album, so please check them out.  (There are also other January pictures in that album)

The weekend before our anniversary, we invited some friends and our favorite Mexican chef, Rossy Amarillas (with husband Hector Manuel) to learn how to make Chiles en Nogada.  That was a fun and delicious experience.  It is a long process; it takes about 3.5 to 4 hours to complete them.  Basically, it is chili rellenos with a meat/fruit mixture, covered in a walnut cream sauce with pomegranate seeds sprinkled on top.  

Of course, now we're all spoiled for how chili rellenos should taste!  

 The meat filling was ground pork and beef, apples, pears, peaches, fried "platanos machos", raisins, a tomato sauce, biznagas (acitron picado) (look it up!), and various spices.  The white cream sauce was cream cheese, milk, walnuts (she used pecans because they are more readily available here, and less expensive than the walnuts), all blended finely in a blender.  

Here, Hector Manuel is chopping up the biznaga.  

Ben has been busy working on his Model A.  He is still holding out hope that we'll be able to take it to Reno with us this summer for the National Model A Ford Club of America meet in late June.  Ever the optimist, I guess!  He has been working hard to keep Caliman, our paint and body man, with his nose to the grindstone.  Just getting him to answer his phone when Ben calls him to ask a question would be a plus!!  We hope to see the fenders and running boards within a week, and then we can take the body for him to work on.  

I have been walking every morning regularly with my dogs, and it was a treat to have Rebecca to walk with for several days when she was here.  I've taken advantage of a few different routes so I'm not on the soft beach sand all the time, and have found some beautiful scenery and plants, and great views as I hike south and west uphill of our casa. Not sure why I didn't try that direction sooner...creature of habit, I guess.  Anyhow, I'm trying to get regular exercise to help lower my blood pressure.  That, and a new medication that the doctor prescribed seems to be helping. 

We are getting very close to the time when our new property purchase can be closed (hopefully next week sometime).  We've run into a few bumps in the road, but our attorney is on top of everything.  We have also found out that our property taxes on that piece will be higher until we build a building with one bedroom and one bathroom!  Not just a garage; that doesn't qualify to lower your tax rate.  Rebecca kindly sat down and sketched up some ideas for us, but we have no money with which to build, so I guess we'll just be paying higher taxes for a while!  

I have taken advantage of a few feet of that piece of property, and tilled up a spot for a corn patch.  Cousin Tom brought me some "genuine Oregon Farmer corn seed", and he was willing to go to a nearby ranch with us and shovel 5 bags of cow manure to add to our soil, so we are hopeful that we will have a beautiful corn crop sometime this spring. (Tom has been coaching us on fertilizers to use....lots of nitrogen for corn!)   First crop is planted, and I think I saw one sprouting this morning.  The beans, lettuce, squash, onions and spinach are doing well.  

OK.... I think I'm pretty much caught up.  If I don't stop writing I'll never get this out!  I'm still floating from our wonderful party this weekend!  

Hasta la proxima semana,
Tus  amigos viejos 
Harriet & Ben, Sam & Zoey