Breaking a Record

Regular readers of my blog knew that I post something almost every day... occasionally if I have a backlog of things to write about, I will post twice a day.  It is my habit to get up early and start the day by writing an entry, or publishing something that I had written the night before.

When I began this blog in 2013, it was entitled "Travels of a Retired Teacher". My goal was to keep friends informed of what I was doing when I traveled.  I also viewed it as a travel diary for myself.  I wrote a modest 57 posts that year, however I did not start writing until October. In the following year the number of entries had jumped to 269.  Ironically, it wasn't until 2020, the year of the pandemic, that I published more than one post per day.  Even though I wasn't able to do any traveling that year, I guess I didn't have anything better to do than write on my blog.

I noticed that my entry this morning was #425 for the year.  That beat my previous record of 424 in 2022.  We still have more than a week to go in 2024, and I have quite a few more holiday activities on which to report.  If my schedule permits I may be double-posting a number of times in the remaining days of the year.  It remains to be seen whether or not I will be able to break the record that I have set this year.   

Plant Update

Earlier this year I bought an orchid.  It was the first time I had ever tried to grow one, and I wondered whether it would reflower after the blooms had faded.  The plant seems to be doing well.  It has sent out new roots and sprouted a new leaf, but there was been no sign of a new flower stalk.

However, a few days I saw something new.  Something was sprouting above one of the leaves.  Is it possible that a flower stalk was emerging?

I sent the photo to a couple of friends who grow orchids, and, unfortunately, both of them said the growth was probably just another root.  I also noticed that another leaf is emerging from the core of the plant.  So, even though it has yet to bloom, it seems to be healthy.

Last Christmas, I bought a poinsettia.  After it was done blooming, I cut it back and repotted it.  It has grown back larger than before.  

The other day, as I was watering the plant I noticed something almost hidden amongst the foliage.

Some bright red leaves (they aren't flower petals but modified leaves known as bracts) had appeared just in time for Christmas!  After careful inspection, I found some more red leaves.  It's not a showy display of red, but I actually succeeded in having a poinsettia bloom again.

The Christmas Fair

Earlier in the week I wrote about the preparations for the Christmas fair on the Zócalo.  On Thursday I went back to see what it looks like.  Although Alejandro and I are going downtown later today, I wanted to check the fair out on a weekday when it would be less crowded and easier to take photos.

The event is actually called a "Verbena Navideña".  A "verbena" in Spanish is a street party or festival held to celebrate a holy day.  This year's "verbena" is very similar to last year's.

The same as last year, there are three Christmas trees formed with live poinsettias.  More than 7000 plants were used to create the trees.

A large piñata with a Nativity scene in the center

A giant Holy Family with a very oversized Baby Jesus

There are numerous stands selling food and drink.

Many of them (but not the pizza) are traditional for this time of year.

For example "ponche" is a typical Christmas punch, and "romeritos y bacalao" is a common holiday dish.  "Bacalao" is cod fish and "romeritos" are a kind of green plant that tastes similar to spinach or Swiss chard.

Hanging over the south side of the Zócalo are two hundred piñatas.

Another feature from last year is a handicrafts market housed in a large tent.

There is a variety of handicrafts for sale.

Large examples of embroidery work done by the women of the Otomí tribe.

Decorative items woven from palm fronds

Beautiful hand-embroidered clothing

An entire table is filled with clay figures of jaguars from the town of Amatenango del Valle in the state of Chiapas. (No, I did not buy any for my collection... at least not yet.)

In front of the Cathedral is a stage for musical performances.  While I was wandering around there was a group playing jazz and another group playing tropical music.

In an upcoming post, I will have some pictures of the fair and the Christmas lights at night.

 

All Wrapped Up

As you can see from the photo, I have all my Christmas packages wrapped and ready to give to Alejandro's family on Christmas Eve.

In Mexico, the traditional day for giving gifts is January 6th, when the Three Kings deliver presents.  However, as gringo traditions such as Christmas trees and Santa Claus and the general commercialization of the holiday, made their way south of the border, gift-giving on Christmas became common for many families here.  Often, they are opened after returning from midnight mass on Christmas Eve.  However, Alejandro's father is not likely to stay awake until midnight, so we will probably open gifts after our Christmas Eve dinner.

I told you about my quest for gift boxes in an earlier post.  Well, after buying still MORE presents at the street market last weekend, I had to buy more boxes.  I also needed to buy ribbons and bows.  After buying the boxes, I was planning on dropping them off at the apartment, and then making another trip to a different part of town to buy the ribbons and bows at a fabric store called "Parisina".  However, as I was walking back to the Metrobus, I passed a craft store called "Fantasías Miguel".   My readers from the Cleveland area, may remember a chain of arts and crafts stores that we used to have called "Pat Catans".  This is similar but MUCH bigger.  I went inside and asked if they had ribbons and bows.  The employee told me they were upstairs.  There I found two long aisles with nothing but ribbons sorted by colors, and another aisle with bows.

I returned to the apartment with my supplies, and over the next two days, I finished the wrapping of the gifts.  Now, I just hope that they all fit into Alejandro's car!

A Different Place for Breakfast

On the weekends Alejandro and I usually go to a nearby branch a Toks, a restaurant chain that, unlike the Sanborns or VIPS, has not gone downhill since the pandemic.  The breakfasts are good, and the waitresses all know us.  However, I was in the mood to go somewhere different, so last Saturday, I suggested that we go to a place even closer to the apartment, a tea house called "Te Cuento".  The name is a place on words.  It means "I Tell You", but if one were speaking mangled Spanish, it could mean "Tea Story".  The restaurant is located in a charming older house, probably one of those that were built in the 1940s before the neighborhood was dominated by apartment buildings.

I had been there by myself once before for breakfast and I thought it was quite good.  Since then, it seems that they have expanded the menu.  Alejandro ordered a maple bacon breakfast sandwich, and I had a "croque madame", the French version of a toasted ham and cheese sandwich with a fried egg on top.

Our breakfasts were exceptionally tasty.  Since it is bills itself as a tea house, and they have a wide variety of teas, we both ordered tea instead of coffee.  I had a pot of Rooibos, a very nice herbal tea.  (They also have coffee for those who require a morning cup of joe.)

They are open until 10 PM and also serve light lunches and dinners.  Although Toks will remain our usual breakfast place, we will definitely return to "Te Cuento"... maybe even for dinner sometime.

Baby in the Bread

 When I go downtown to Mexico City's  "Centro Histórico" I often stop at a branch of "La Parroquia de Veracruz", a chain of a well known cafés.  As the name implies, the original is in the Gulf port city of Veracruz.  The food there is nothing special, but, even though I am not a big coffee drinker, I like their "café lechero", coffee served with steamed milk.  Besides, its location, just a couple blocks from the Zócalo, makes it a convenient spot for a restroom break.  That was the case last week when I was downtown.

"Café lechero" is the coffee specialty for which they are most famous, but as I entered I saw a sign advertising "café de olla" along with "Rosca de Reyes".

"Café de olla" (literally "pot coffee") is brewed in an earthenware pot with cinnamon and "piloncillo", a kind of Mexican brown sugar.  It is traditionally served in a clay mug.  I generally take a ton of sugar (or sugar substitute) in my coffee, but I usually don't have to add sugar to "café de olla".  "Rosca de Reyes" (Ring of the Kings) is a sweet bread that is served on January 6th, the Day of the Magi Kings.  In the past I have described how a little figure representing the Baby Jesus is baked in the bread.  Whoever gets the Baby Jesus in their slice is supposed to make tamales for everyone on February 2nd, the Feast Day of Candelaria.

I went inside and decided to order a slice of "Rosca" and a "café de olla".

The "Rosca" is decorated with candied fruit and "ate", a sweet made from fruit pulp and sugar.  Frankly, the bread was very dry, but the coffee was good.  The waitress was fun.  When she served me the "Rosca", she said that if I had the figure in my slice, I would have to bring tamales.  I said, "But that's not until February 2nd."  She responded, "You'll have plenty of time to make the tamales."

Well, as it turned out, I had the Baby Jesus in my slice.

I guess I should start looking up recipes for tamales.  😉

Preparing the Plaza

Last week I went downtown and checked out the Christmas preparations on the Zócalo once again.

The Christmas lights were all up, including the decorations that they were putting in place the previous week over 20 de Noviembre Avenue where is ends at the plaza.

Workers were busy setting up structures on the Zócalo.

I asked a policeman if they were going to have a Christmas fair similar to what they had last year.  He said yes, and that it would be open to the public beginning on December 17th (today).

From what I observed, it looked as if the fair was going to be identical to last year's.  There was a stage for musical events in front of the Cathedral.  The metal framework for large Christmas trees had been erected.  Last year the trees were been covered in live poinsettia plants.  I supposed they will do the same this year.

There were metal archways that were strung with lights.

To one side was a large tent.  Last year they had a tent with a large handicrafts market.  Perhaps they will do the same again this year.

Since then, I have been checking the webcam of the Zócalo on the internet.  I had my doubts as to whether or not everything would be ready by today.  Looking at the webcam this morning, perhaps they will be ready to open the Christmas fair by this evening.