The "TGIF" Party at a lovely hacienda with local entertainment

Squier Jones on mandolin & Linda Adams singing

 

Martin on the guitar-Absolute Talent. His fingers

fly and he sings, too

Linda and husband, Bill

Sam Meraz offering up Tequilla

We went to see their hacienda

He wanted Ed to taste some of his 40

bottles of Tequila (see some on table below)

Ed could not drive home so Barbara did. First time

driving and dodging cycles, cars, ATVs

 

A small sampling of Tequila

One is actually named Don Eduardo

Local Artist Fernando Quiroz. We met at Sam's hacienda.

We purchased a piece of his days ago and

were looking for him. Lucky we found him

Barbara & Fernando in Sam's Man Cave

 

 

Things have been hectic the last few days.  We went to a TGIF party at someone's lovely home.  Everyone brought some snack to eat and booze to drink.  What an array of goodies.  It really was supper with all that was there.  Socialized and then next door to another lovely home to hear fantastic music.  Above is Linda, Squier and Martin.  Comments were made that we heard Willi Nelson and Emmy Lou Harris.  They were that good.  It was a total blast.  Martin serenaded us with Spanish songs that were so lovely, plus his guitar was amazing.  The talent here is great.

 

 

Saturday night we heard children sing Christmas carols in English for the gringos and then the gringos sang for the audience, but not in Spanish.  It was delightful.

 

Sunday we paid a visit to Carol and Sam where you see Ed was given lots of tequila.  Sam is very proud of his tequila collection and Ed complied with Sam's wishes to sample different brands.

While we were there Fernando, the artist stopped by and we couldn't believe it was the same person who did the piece of artwork we bid on at the silent auction for the education charity.  Ed promises to take a picture of the piece soon.  Fernando's wife makes beautiful dolls with very detailed dresses and sells them, so Carol bought one to add to her doll collection.

 

Last evening we learned of a Christmas parade around the town.  It was charming with children dressed in red outfits and riding in the back of trucks.  Really sweet.

 

That takes us to today.  Went to Yoga and who knows what's lurking outside as far as fun is concerned.  Tomorrow we have to stop at Terecita's cafe for some fabulous chocolate chip cookies that her staff makes.  As we said, food is great here.  Darn.

 

 





THE FINAL PERFORMANCE OF THE SEVEN DAY FESTIVAL

DECEMBER 9, 2012

THE PERFORMANCE WAS EVERY BIT EQUAL TO ANYTHING

PUT ON IN LAS VEGAS

 

 

 

 

PROBABLY OVER 500 PEOPLE IN THE SQUARE

 

 

 

 

OUR FRIEND FROM BISBEE, AZ MARK

WITH  MOJO

 

THE QUEEN OF THE FESTIVAL

 

NOT THE KING OF THE FESTIVAL

THE LOCAL SHOE SHINE GUY

SINGING AT THE ROTARY CHARITY

EVENT....NEEDS LESSONS & LESS WINE

 

14 YEAR OLD SINGING SENSATION

AT THE ROTARY CHARITY EVENT

 

FESTIVAL WAS HELD ADJACENT TO CHURCH

CHURCH AT NIGHT WITH MOON ABOVE

 

Last week's festival was every evening, but the dancer's were only on the first and last evening.

The other evenings had school children performing plus some mariache bands.  It was a pretty festive week.  There were fireworks first and last nights, also.



Sunday morning we went to Hacienda de los Santos for breakfast.  Mmmm good and what an exquisite setting.  The grounds are magnifico with lush vegetation and charm all around.

We went to a charity event put on by the Rotary.  Above is a picture of the of  the talented girl who has a voice that can knock your socks off.  Where is Mexico's Mexican Idol?  She would surely win.

Going to yoga weekly-great teacher and a nice group of American women and a sweet Spanish young woman.

The other day there was a silent auction benefitting education in Alamos with artwork by high school students done on wood blocks.  We got a great piece showing the plaza in Alamos with the old church plus a donated piece by a local artist which is stunning.  We will have to take a picture of it.

Time to close because we have to get ready to go to a friend's house for dinner.  Life is so hectic in this sleepy town of Alamos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Sunday evening, the Church Fiesta began with A FABULOUS dance company from
Ballet Folklorico from Navojoa,Sonora. This group of dancers,musicians and singers are
professionals.  A great evening! Ed took so many pictures.

 

 

Blurred  to show the motion of the dancers



Hola Amigos,

It's a sunny Sunday in the low 80's.  Been to the open air market and got a bag of yellow peppers (6) for 10 pesos (80 cents) plus a bag of roma tomatoes (8) for 10 pesos.  Food is cheap at the market.
There is a place in town that sells bread, rolls and you have to be there to get any at 1:00 or they are gone.  I have been trying to buy some and went there 3 different times and didn't know about the 1:00 time to buy them.  I just found out today from an American who lives in that area.  I will check it out tomorrow.

Ed got to see another guy roast coffee at his house in what looks like a blender, but it roasts coffee.  Of course, he got to try some with a scone.  I just had the scone.  The house is really darling and for sale.  I believe they are asking $125,000.  There are many other homes for sale in other neighborhoods, but they are asking $200,000 to $600,000.  Don't worry, we aren't buying one, but many Americans do.

There was an all American tour ride to see different places and learn the history in town the other day.  There were 16 of us and the Mexican driver spoke pretty good English.

An American woman had a sale of things at her lovely home.  She has some antiques and new stuff. 

Also, I went to a luncheon at my favorite restaurant/bakery and she had 2 ladies selling their wares.  They were Americans or Canadians.  They had neat painted hats, shoes and purses.  I didn't buy anything at either sale.  This Wed. is a sale of goods from Mexican ladies from another town and that should be more interesting.  I believe it will be items that they make.  Looking forward to it.

Well, tonight starts a week long festival of music that students will perform on the plaza.  I heard there were going to be fireworks, so I'll close for now.

Hasta luego

Friday, November 23rd

Sorry for not posting sooner, but I don't have a good excuse.  We are getting more acclimated each day and finding things more easily.  Since last writing we saw a great parade where the children from all the schools dressed up and performed dances.  It was quite a long parade and the younger children were the best.  Very enthisiastic, not like the teens, bored.  Some things never change.

We went, by ourselves, to Obregon, which is an hour and a half away.  They just opened a new Walmart (2 days open) so we were lucky.  Plus, drum roll, they have a Starbucks there and we were beyond thrilled.  So, the highlights in Obregon are Starbucks and Walmart.

The other night we went to a woman's house that was built in the 1600's.  She was having an art showing of a friend's paintings.  The house was amazing.  The large living area opened to a magnificent yard which she can enjoy part of the year.  It has no doors, so when the bugs are bad, which happens often and it's so hot in the summer, she is limited to enjoy it.

We met more people at her house and joined them for dinner at a local restaurant, which, of course was very good.

Yesterday, was yoga and more women showed up so it was a nice size class.

There really are lots of things to do here.  There is a gringo site listing upcoming events, etc. so it is good to check it everyday.  Sometimes, things conflict, so you have to choose.  The Americans are really involved here helping the community.

Weather is in the 80's during the day and now it is going into the 50's at night-nice sleeping weather.

Bye for now.

Now it's time for me (Barbara) to put in my 2 cents.  We have been here 2 and a half weeks and I can't believe all the things we have seen.

On Sundays we go to the outdoor market to buy vegetables, clothes and whatever is there.  It's fun to go and prices are good.

On Thursdays I have played dominos which is easy and very enjoyable.  It's a nice way for me to socialize.

Our friend, Dewey, turned 65, so Mary Jo, his wife had a party for him.  Ed's kind of party-hamburgers, key lime pie, chocolate cake, etc.  Lots of fun.

We went to a history class which talked about Alamos streets and explained the origin of the names.  The class was at Hacienda de los Santos, which is a gorgeous hotel with exquisite grounds.

We saw some Mexican Indians in detailed costumes, dancing down the street.  Ed took pictures with my iphone and hopefully, they will be put on the blog.

The food is way too good here, so my diet is going to be hard to accomplish.  Somehow, the food tastes different here and so tasty.

We went on a tour of some of the houses which we, as realtors, found really interesting.  They happened to all be for sale which many of them are, plus we understand they take years to sell.  However, there is a saying that you arrive in Alamos the first day and by the 3rd day you buy a house.  The charm takes you in, but we are not buying.  One house to fix up was enough.  Plus, here it is worse because there is usually so much more to do.

Writing about houses, I have to mention what Mary Jo and Dewey have done to their property.  They redid the house they live in and plan to make more improvements.  They built a palapa which is a structure with a thatched roof, trunks of trees to hold up part of the structure and will be putting in glass doors on the first floor because you don't always know how the weather will be in the winter.  I understand it can get cold in the evening.  The first floor has a kitchen, a bar to sit at and a table to eat at.  The second floor looks like a polynesian hotel lobby.  It is charming.  They put in a beautiful pool, firepit and will be building a garage.

Our house is charming, plus we have a yard with lots of growth.  One thing that is hard to get used to are the bugs.  I seem to get bit quite a bit.  Good to have Caladryl.

Tomorrow there will be an air show with Russian and Chinese planes,  plus a photography exhibit in the evening at the museum.

So, you can see all that is keeping us busy.  It's a different kind of life and I can see why so many Americans call Alamos home.  Many have been here for many years and own homes.

Thank God the election is over and now we can concentrate on this blog.

Last week Ed went to a gringo's home to learn how to roast coffee beans on an open fire in a cast iron skillet. His first name is Squire and has been here 8 years. Beautiful house. Coffee was a little strong but not bad. He comes from a coyboy father in Wyoming and is part Spanish.
Barbara has a full day of activities of which I am not sure what she did.

Oct.31, Barbara and I took Mojo and drove to Navojoa (about 32miles). Mojo hurt his right back leg so we went to a vet. She thinks that he injured his knee. Gave us medication. Then we went shopping for food and essentials.

Here are some pictures

We're Here!!!

And so the advernture begins! Three Amigos (Ed, Barbara and Mojo) headed for Alamos, Mexico.

You can track us at this Link when we are using our son's SPOT devce.

We are going with our friends, Mary Jo and Dewey Drake, to stay 6 months in their guest house. We are very thankful for them letting us spend time there with them. We are especially looking forward to warm weather during the winter time

We will try and update this blog once a week to give our friends and family a view into our adventure. Love you all!

Ed, Barbara, & Mojo