Why Shopping At The Beach Is A GREAT Thing......

I started collecting Talavera (painted mexican pottery) several years ago.  I love it!
It is bright and cheery and it just makes you feel like having a party.
My first pieces of Talavera were purchased in the city that actually makes the pottery....Puebla.
The Farmer had the unfortunate experience of being assulted and shot in Mexico City,
and we ended up staying there for a couple of weeks while he healed.  The day before
we were to leave, some friends offered to take us to Puebla to see the beautiful pottery,
and so The Farmer's Mother and I took them up on their offer.  She also purchased several
pieces of the Talavera, which we have used for many dinners.

We enjoyed our little shopping trip....everyone came home with  "treat" or two.

Interesting artwork found along the shopping path....

It really was quite fun to look at!

Fish Tacos and Mangos....

We have had so much going on around our house, during the last week, I didn't have the chance

to finish our beach pictures....so here we go!

The Boy did a little fishing while at the beach....and then he kindly treated us

to some of the best fish tacos we have ever eaten!  After tasting the fish taco himself...The Boy

announced..."Hey, I think I should have a cooking show!..These are GOOD!"

And yes they were!  Although I am not so sure about the cooking show;)

For me....the most impressive part of the Fish Tacos was that The Boy cleaned

the kitchen of our condo after he was done cooking....Wow!  Now that isn't something you

see too often....and he did a wonderful job.

Mangos became the treat of choice each afternoon on the beach.  The mango vendor would walk

down the beach with a cart, hauling a load of mangos in an ice chest.  He also was equipped with

a shaker full of chile powder and a bottle of Chamoy.  He made a lovely little sculpture

out of each mango....it looked like a flower on a stick.

Next he would sprinkle it heavily with chile powder and then pour the Chamoy over

the mango.  It made for a big mess....but was loved by all who ate them.

The Rooster enjoyed himself a mango...or two....or three....I think we actually lost

track of the number he ate.

While in our condo late one afternoon...my phone rang....it was The Farmer, who was out

on the beach.  He asked me to come to the balcony so I could see a "suprise" that he had

made for me.  And this is what I saw! It was a lovely "suprise."

Off to the side stood all of the children....I am pretty sure they helped him carve out his

message.....I do like that Farmer.....he is a great guy!

Beach Fun

We had a wonderful trip! But really....we were at the beach, could anything else have happened? Lots of "cousin fun" beautiful sunsets, great walks on the beach searching for the latest treasure, and great reading by the ocean and the pool. It was relaxing and restful. We had a few fun adventures too! Like Jellyfish...need I say more? Everyone was stung, mulitple times but after the 10th sting, we just went back to body surfing or whatever the given activity was at the moment. Really...it didn't slow us down too much.
This (above) was another adventure. Aunt Shauna made the grave mistake of suggesting that she would boil any crabs that the boys could catch....what was she thinking???....hehe...... 25 crabs and a few hours later we were not sure what to do. So the boys packed them all up in a bucket of sand and put them on our deck for the night. We woke up during the night to 25 crabs scratching on the windows looking for a way back to the beach. The next morning all were released when the boys decided that there really wasn't enough meat on the crabs to go to all the work of peeling them. Anyway....I was happy that they were released, but it was a funny experience.
The girls spent every waking moment playing in the sand, and searching for the ultimate sea shell. They had such a great time together, it is fun to have cousins so close in age. If they weren't in the pool together they were out on the beach "creating" in the sand.