An Even Earlier Finish

My readers already know that every year I paint a picture that I use for my Christmas card.  I usually do the painting in the summer.  I take it to a local printer who makes the cards.  I get them made out before I leave on my October / November trip to Mexico, and when I return around Thanksgiving, the cards are ready to send out.

This year I started working on the painting even earlier than usual.  You see, I was wondering how I was going to send out Christmas cards if I am going to permanently move to Mexico sometime in 2023.  The postal service in Mexico is horrendous and makes the U.S. postal service, even at its very worst, look like "Speedy González".  My friend Gayle came up with a solution, at least for this year.  She told me to do my painting early, get the cards printed, make out the cards, and put stamps on them.  Then, before I make my final move, give them to her, and she would put them in the mail around Thanksgiving.

Yesterday I completed the painting.  Of course, the subject of the painting is always a secret.  Usually it is based on a photo that I have taken on my travels.  I will say, however, that the subject this year is something different.

As it turns out, I think I have found a solution for the mail problem in Mexico.  I found a private company that provides mail delivery, and I think that they offer service in both directions.  For this year, however, I will do as Gayle suggested.

Dolls from Mexico

You may recall that I have been regularly sending Mexican dolls to Amy, the daughter of a former teaching colleague of mine.  When she was little, I would always bring back dolls from my travels for her.  Here is a photo taken decades ago.  Amy is sitting on my lap and holding a toy "guanaco" (a South American animal similar to a llama) which I bought for her on a trip to Peru and Ecuador.

 

Now that Amy has two daughters of her own, I have resumed the tradition, and I am sending dolls to a second generation.  Last week I took two dolls to the UPS store to be boxed and shipped to their home in Maryland.

I purchased the one to the right a few trips ago at a handicraft fair in Mexico City.  (I might have even posted a photo of it on the blog at that time.)  It was handmade by a lady from the state of Michoacán.

The one to the left was bought on my latest trip to Mexico City.  I was in the district of Xochimilco on the city's far south side.  As I walked down the street, I passed a barber shop that had a bunch of crocheted dolls on display in the window.  I went inside.  No one was getting their hair cut, but there were more dolls for sale, and a woman sitting and crocheting another one.  There was a wide variety, from cartoon characters to dolls in traditional Mexico attire.  Her work is superb, and the next time I am in Xochimilco I will look for that barber shop again.

Last night Amy sent me an email to let me know that the package arrived, and that today her daughters will open their present.

More Spring Flowers

When I returned from Mexico at the beginning of March, the daffodils in my back yard had already begun to sprout.  They are now in full bloom.

Easter's on its Way

Most years my April trip to Mexico coincides with Easter, and we have an Easter egg hunt for Alejandro's nephew Ezra.  Ezra is now approaching adolescence, and I wasn't sure if he would think it too childish.  However, he has always enjoyed the egg hunt in the past, and Alejandro said to go ahead and bring the plastic eggs, the basket and the candy.  At one of our local supermarkets, I have always found unique Easter baskets.  The baskets this year were cute, but rather small.  They wouldn't hold that many eggs, so I bought two.  I also bought a pair of bunny ears.  If Ezra doesn't want to wear them, I will.

Alejandro said not to bring so much candy, so I only bought one bag of wrapped mini-chocolate bars.  I will put chocolates in half the eggs.  In the other half I will put foreign coins that I have accumulated through the years on my travels.  Some of them are Mexican coins that are now out of circulation.

So, once again, in Alejandro's house we will celebrate Easter in a "gringo" fashion!

Lonely Blossoms

I used to have a lot of crocus planted in my flower beds.  They were a cheerful sign of early spring.  However, most of them have been eaten by critters (probably squirrels or chipmunks).  Now, only a few scattered bulbs have survived.  I noticed these blossoms a few days ago.

 

More from the Tudors

Here are some more items from the exhibit on the Tudors at the Cleveland Museum of Art...

Henry VIII had a collection of around 2500 tapestries in his various palaces.  This one is part of a series of ten which tells the Biblical story of David and Bathsheba.

A terracotta bust of John Fisher, the Bishop of Rochester.  He was beheaded by Henry VIII for criticizing the King's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and his marriage to Anne Boleyn.

Field armor of the 3rd Earl of Cumberland.  Among its engraved decorations are back-to-back E's, the symbol of Elizabeth I.

 

The image of Queen Elizabeth on a jeweled portrait locket made of enameled gold encrusted with diamonds and rubies.

  

A miniature portrait of Sir Thomas More, who was beheaded by Henry VIII for not supporting the King's divorce and break from the Catholic Church.

There are no undisputed portraits of Henry VIII's ill-fated second wife Anne Boleyn.  However, this sketch by Hans Holbein the Younger might be of her.

Henry VIII's only son, Edward, ascended the throne upon Henry's death.  Edward VI was only nine years old when he became King, but he died at the age of fifteen. 

A portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger of Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII.  Jane gave the King the son that he had longed for, but, within days after the childbirth, she died at the age of 28.

Hercule-Francois, the Duke of Alencon, was involved for over a decade in marriage negotiations with Elizabeth I and sent her this portrait of himself.  Needless to say, the negotiations never led to marriage.

In this portrait Queen Elizabeth is holding a sieve.  It is an allusion to a Roman legend of a woman who proved her virginity by carrying water in a sieve.

"The Triumph of Hercules" is another tapestry from Henry VIII's vast collection.

This is a portrait of the first Moroccan ambassador to the English court.  In 1600 the sultan of Morocco tried to form an alliance with Elizabeth against Spain.  The ambassador's six month stay in London created a fascination with North Africa... one result being Shakespeare's drama "Othello".

An engraved sardonyx cameo portraying Queen Elizabeth.

This portrait, although painted late in her reign, shows Elizabeth as a young woman of almost mythological powers.  She holds a rainbow.  The serpent on her sleeve is a symbol of wisdom.  Her cloak is decorated with eyes and ears, implying that she was all-seeing and all-hearing.

This excellent exhibit is at the Cleveland Museum of Art through May14th.

Happy Birthday, Benito

 

(image taken from the internet)

Today is a national holiday in Mexico... the birthday of Mexico's most revered President, Benito Juárez.  (His birthday is actually on March 21st, but, as in the United States, many holidays are observed on a Monday so as to create a three-day weekend.)  

There are no big parades or celebrations on this day.  It might be compared to our Presidents' Day.  Government offices, banks and schools and some businesses are closed, but for most people it is just another day.  

Without really planning it, I guess I am going to be celebrating Juárez's birthday.  I am going to visit my friends Nancy and Fred today, and we always go out for lunch at a nearby Mexican restaurant.