Proprioceptors

Yoga with Robert on the roof of the Ana Ruth's hotel began at 10 a.m. sharp.

 Balance was the focus for the session because the 8 participants are all retired seniors who need all the help they can get remaining upright.  Not only did they learn about the 4 main core muscles that are important for balance but today they were introduced to the proprioceptors.  The exteroceptors are organs on the outside of the body such as the ears and eyes that assist a person with where they are in time and space.  The interoceptors are the strands in the body related to the tendons, skin, and muscles that tell a person "where they are in time and space" from the inside out.  We tried to do some of the balance exercises with our eyes closed in order to use the interoceptors.

This was the lesson plan for the hour ...

We reviewed The Golden 8 Energy Balancing Exercises from Qi Gong.  We also reviewed the basic Sciatica Exercises - leg bends/cow/cat

The Big 5 were introduced …  squat/lunge/press/pushup/bridge

Some new stretches, particularly The Owl, was done - turning head to left, right, up, and down while squeezing your traps

We finished off with The Problem Solver - 8 positions using the 6 middle digits … Heaven/Thunder/Rain/Mountain/Earth/Wind/Fire/Lake

Oh, and a piece of carrot cake from the La Cruz Sunday market.

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We walked the beach with Betty after lunch scouring the sand for blue ceramic tiles so that we can create the ocean on our ceramic table top that we are working on.  We first came upon Trigger.  With no owner in sight, this horse stands in one spot the whole day allowing tourists to take his picture or pet him.  He never moves and is not tied up.

Then we met the man carrying fresh donuts on his head.

Finally Robert stopped to pile rocks on top of one another to test his proprioceptors.

We didn't find any blue tiles today - maybe next time.

Once we got back into our tree house on the roof, we started working on our table.

 Here is a picture of it so far... Can you see the pelican and the frigate bird?

Later near 4 p.m., Sue, Robert and Betty walked way down the beach about 3 miles to feed the coatimundi.  Betty hadn't experienced them yet, so it was a must.  They returned to their hotel to make supper and this little fellow was there to help them ... http://youtu.be/-O0Nzh3wwJ8

Bylaw No. 171-13

The day began as usual with a beautiful, warm walk in the early morning sun on the beach with Robert and Susan.  They are looking for blue ceramic tiles for the table they are making.

They walked a long way and met another Canadian from Aurora Ontario.  His name was Eric and he was explaining how he had been coming to Bucerias for many years. Eric liked the Mexican small town feel, and the friendly people.

Betty and Kathy came for a mid morning tea.  They solved all the problems of the world.  i.e. city bylaws

Apparently in Cambridge Ontario, where Robert and Sue live, it is against the law to let your pet off your property unless it is leashed.  Yesterday, Exene, Susan and Robert's new 6 month old tabby, escaped out the back door when their son, Dave, was checking the weather.  Exene was gone over night and didn't return today.  Once Robert and Susan were notified in Mexico that their cat had escaped, and that the weather was getting colder by the minute, they notified the Cambridge Human Society.  It wasn't long before everyone was contacted and the Humane Society had rescued the cat.  It would cost the Fox family $100 to get Exene back because it was in violation of By-law No. 171-13 to have her running loose in the neighbourhood.  A neighbour must have reported Exene to the Humane Society.

Exene is now home and safe inside.  Dave, Susan, and Robert are all happy.

Click here to see how happy Exene is...  http://youtu.be/qLFOuF7D1FQ

The rain storm started around 5 p.m. here in Mexico.

 The waves were wild and everyone ran for cover as the thunder and lightning approached.  Rob and Sue found an interesting gaff hook on the beach.

 Some fisherman will be looking for it in the morning.

Betty came around dark to eat with Sue and Robert on the roof.  She brought her famous homemade chicken dinner.  There was a lot of lip smacking going on at the table.

The temperature cooled down around 8 p.m. and the humidity was gone.  The lights went out early because tomorrow at 10 a.m. is yoga class #2 with Robert on the roof.

The Party

Today, we are having a pool party at the Hickey's house.  Jack will be happy because he can share his swimming skills with all the people.  He is only 4 and 1/2 but I think he will be swimming the "front crawl" within a few weeks.

We are taking dessert to the party so we bought fresh strawberries from the strawberry man, and we made some oatmeal cookies too!  Even though we live on the roof about 5 stories up from the street, we do have the biggest stove in the building.  We like to bake a lot of our food rather than fry it because we know frying food isn't healthy.  Since we live outside, it doesn't matter how hot the oven gets because the breezes cool things off quickly.

Not only does the parrot tree keep us cool, we are surrounded by many tropical plants. Here are a few of our favourites ... (These plants grow naturally here in Mexico because it is a tropical climate.  However, the photos were taken on our rooftop tree house,  and the plants are in pots.)

1.  Bromeliad - It is a member of the pineapple family and the water is collected inside the leaf cones.  That is how it drinks.  It is attached to the tree branches so it doesn't use roots to find water.

2.  Agave - These plants are not cacti.  They are related to the Aloe plant and have many uses.  There are four major parts of the agave that are edible: the flowers, the leaves, the stalks or basal rosettes, and the sap (in Spanish: aguamiel, meaning "honey water").  Tequila is made from the blue agave.  This plant is growing a flower.  Can you find the bud?  Once it blooms, I will post the picture again.

3.  Palm tree - This tropical tree is one of the most popular trees in the world.  There are many different kinds.  They are unbranched and can grow very tall.  They are used for many things such as clothing, shelters, and food.  The oil from the palm is not good for your heart, so when you read labels on your food, beware of the palm oil in it.

We walked again this morning down our favourite path and stopped to feed the coatimundi.  We discovered that they prefer fruit over vegetables.  Robert also stopped to watch the red ants (hormiga),  who work very hard feeding their queen.

Ants are not termites, but we have lots of both here in Mexico, and they both live on the roof with us.

The party started at 5 p.m.  All the adults sat around and talked about life back home in Alberta and Ontario, and Jack and Robert went swimming.  It was a beautiful warm night.

House pets

Kathy and Bill are having a party at their place tomorrow evening so a group of us foodoholics took a trip this morning down the coastal highway to Sam's Club.  There are several "mega" stores along the highway between Bucerias and Puerto Vallarta such as Walmart, Costco, and Sam's.  We only go to these "scarey" examples of our consumer society, when we are desperate.  Today was one of those days.  Sue and I needed parmesan cheese and that isn't too easily found in Bucerias.

The afternoon was much more relaxing.  Sue and I stayed in our tree house, reading, cooking, and working on the many tropical plants.  That's when the hummingbird appeared.  He loved the giant coleus plant and continued to return for more nectar.
Check him out right here ...  http://youtu.be/lDcCLUdrZK8

I am also working on a painting of the biggest parota tree in Bucerias.  It must be hundreds of years old and it stand beside our 5 storey hotel reaching high above us. We love the shade it provides and the animals that live in it.  Stay tuned for photos of the yellow crowned night heron that roost in it.    The painting should be done in a couple of weeks, but here is the beginning of it ...

Another interesting house pet was the appearance of the iguana who lives in our clay roof.  Sue fed him some mango and he loved it.  He had a body a foot long and a tail about 8 more inches.  These iguanas are excellent climbers, and prefer a rocky habitat with plenty of crevices to hide in, rocks to bask on, and nearby trees to climb, and of course, our ceiling.  He hides in the clay tiles where it's safe and comes out in the hottest part of the day.  The iguana at our Casa Ana Ruth's hotel has been known to visit the rooftop tenants in search of fruits and veggies.  They are herbivores and diurnal.

The day ended with a visit from the Hickey family and fireworks on the beach.

Puede usted ir mãs despacio? (Could you drive more slowly?)

     What is with the bus drivers here in Mexico?  They must be trying out for the Indianapolis 500.  In the past 2 days, we have been with 3 different drivers, and in each case, my knuckles were white as I exited the bus.  I would like to suggest that the Mexican Transit System paint their buses 3 different colours....blue, yellow and white....blue for regular speed, meaning that the driver goes the speed limit,  yellow, for somewhat fast when it is safe to do so,  and white if you have a death wish! The Mexicans, who ride the buses, and who seem to invariably fall asleep in transit,  must trust the drivers implicitly, but many gringos (myself included), would at least have a choice as to their preferred speed!
       Now that I have gotten that off my chest, let me tell you what happened today.
Our quick- paced walk this morning was highlighted by an interesting experience in front of the hotel complexes a few miles south of our treehouse.

Watch the video to see who we met -   http://youtu.be/iuJ21em95g0

        I have asked the folks here at the Ana Ruth's hotel, to save fruit and vegetable scraps for this colony of coatimundi, that hangs around the forested area across from the hotels.  They have already become dependent on the kindness of some dedicated animal lovers, who make sure that they get nourishment.  They are smart critters, and when I tell them that "that's all I have today", they run back into the forest.

See video here for proof -  http://youtu.be/pKJ2GwDhuQQ

      Robert, Betty and I (Sue) spent the afternoon in San Pancho, a smaller community on the ocean, north of Bucerias a few miles.   We enjoyed mango smoothies, clam chowder and guacamole at an open air restaurant on the beach.

                                           

 We also visited the world famous community centre 'Entre Amigos' where education and the environment take centre stage in the daily lives of 'San Panchians'.  The brains behind its creation is 'Nicole', who received an award from the Dali Llama last February...well deserved Nicole!

1.                                                                         
2. The "EntreAmigos" thrift store was closed but maybe Betty and Sue will donate to the education fund below.

      We arrived back in Bucerias in time for 'happy hour' on our roof top palapa, where the hotel guests engage in interesting discussions and watch the sun go down.
     The day ended with a mahi-mahi dinner at one of our favourite restaurants 'Los Pericos' located at street level in our building.

     

     

Nada Hoy

Nada Hoy!

Sunrise over the Sierras

Blueberries with ducks on deck

A question is asked ...

What will you buy today?

Tomatoes potatoes and cukes

A musical instrument maybe

Olive cranberry bread

A Sophie doll with style

The winning carrot cake!

check this guys clothes ... http://youtu.be/c8_Vt5Mj5E8

(and that all happened in the morning)

The Gracie Story aka Lily to the Rescue

     Once upon a time there was a family of three - Nanna, Pops, and Jack.  They had a very fat Pug dog named Gracie.  Every week day morning at 8:45 a.m., Nanna and Pops delivered Jack to the local school.  Jack was 4 and 1/2.  On the Friday before this Sunday and Saturday, Pops and Nanna left the gate open just a sliver, for just a second, while their cargo, Jack, was loaded into the vehicle.  Gracie, being overweight, magically passed out the gate and wandered off up the street.  Pops and Nanna and Jack didn't notice and went about their morning.  

     When Nanna and Pops returned home for lunch, they noticed Gracie was missing.  Panic set in and the neighbourhood search began.  They checked with all the neighbours.  Of course, every neighbour owned a dog and they hadn't seen a Pug, but they were willing to help.  The local vet had no idea, since he already had his own Pug.  The weight lifters, in the gym behind Gracie's house, hadn't seen her either.  They were focused on their own fat to really care.  

     It was almost time to pick up Jack from school and still no Gracie.  What would they do next?  You guessed it.  They prayed, even though they weren't Jewish.  Within seconds, out of nowhere came a knock on their gate.  It was Lily, the lady who lived two doors down.  As the gate swung open wide, there stood Lily holding a very fat and very happy Pug.  

     "Gracie!" yelled Nanna.  

     "Gracie!" yelled Pops.

     Lily had found Gracie a couple of blocks away trying to cross the busy Mexican highway. 

 Remember me!

Bucerias Betty

Betty invited us for dinner.  

We spent the day hanging out in Bucerias Centro shopping for ingredients to make key lime pie and pecan cake.  Our life here mainly centers around food.  If we aren't eating, we are shopping for food.  Once in awhile, one of us gets a stomach bug, but mainly, we just pack on the calories.  Thank heavens for all the walks in the early morning, otherwise we would all be obese.  Today we shopped at the Bucerias bulk barn, 2 grocery stores in Centro, and we checked out the Italian restaurant up the street that is suppose to be wonderful.  We didn't eat there.  We just read the menu.



 We did stop briefly on the street to cuddle and photograph a Pug puppy.

Betty hobbled around in her kitchen all afternoon,  Sue slept on the couch, and I (Rob) began my painting of the largest parrot tree in Bucerias.

Dinner was served at 6 p.m. sharp.  Betty's table was set with real cloth placements and serviettes.  By the way, Betty's apartment is very quaint even though the fridge is a little rusty.  She lives right below Sue and Rob.  

There was one wine glass on the table and all the food was hot and scrumptious!  Even though there was a party above us and below us, a warm breeze came through the open windows, and we enjoyed life in the slow lane once again.

Check out Bucerias Betty's table ...  http://youtu.be/38U37kgtC5I

We had time to check out the sunset on the beach once again, and it was redder than red.

Tomorrow, we are off to the famous La Cruz gringo market just a few miles around the bay.  We've been there before, and it reminds us of the St. Jacob's market in Waterloo Region.  It is pretty sophisticated with all the artisans, organic foods, and live entertainers, situated at the marina too.  We only buy one thing at this market --- the best carrot cake ever!  Check a few entries back in this blog,for the carrot cake recipe.