Home Again, Home Again!

As Victoria and I pack up the car and get ready to head South I can't help but think the first thing I am going to do when I walk in the house is look to my left and see if  Steve is sitting in his big ole Papa chair grinning that special grin.  If I do, I think I will have died and gone to heaven or maybe I will finally wake up from a really bad dream. 
 
The No Worries is clean, spiffed up and listed with a broker, all is well on that front. 

I look forward to a friend-filled year ahead! 

Sarah and Nate Get Married

Port Townsend, Washington, September 3, 2011 a beautiful day for a wedding.  This was probably the quickest wedding I've ever been to, but it was beautiful.  We ate, we drank, we danced, we met people we knew only by name.  What a great day!  These are only the pictures I took, I understand the photographer took over 1000!  Perhaps Nate and Sarah will share and I can do something with those later.

Contratulations Sarah and Nate!

Summer Travels

They say (not sure who) that time heals all wounds.  I'm not sure about that, but life definitely goes on if you want it to or not.  I've spent the last month in Sedona with Mark, Christina and my grandsons, Rylan and Keenan.  I found a photo of the three of us and thought it was time for another.  These little boys are so full of life and energy there is money to be made in bottling it! 

Keenan, Ana, Rylan 2008

Rylan, Ana, Keenan 2011

Next week, Seattle! 

What Do I Write About?

I find the easiest way to catch up on all the blogs out in blog land is to come to the "Casa Ana" blog to see who has updated their blog and then I just click away until I am caught up.  I'm sure you've all noticed that my "Casa Ana" blog sits alone and unattended.  Nothing seems right about it, the description is of two people, the parties and social functions they attend, the colors so bright and cheerful.  I've sat a few times strumming my fingers on the table trying to come up with something interesting to write, but nothing comes.  Another problem is that by adding new posts, my "Measure of a Man" moves farther and farther down until finally it will disappear and become a thing of the past and, for now, I'm just not ready for that.

So hang in there with me, I am making progress thanks to my wonderful bio-family and friend family. Thanks to David and Michael for doing chores on No Worries which I hope to get sold this fall. And, thanks to Bernd for taking on the challenge of selling No Worries for me.

Measure of a Man

In the past few years I have gone to wakes and funerals and raised my glass in a toast to family members as well as friends who have passed away. But, now, every time I raise my glass to Steve it is so very different than  all of those other times. How can I raise my glass in a toast to a man who meant so much to me and brings to mind so many memories? A toast seems so quick and inadequate. When my glass goes up, I remember in a flash everything Steve was and the wonderful things he did just like they say “your life will flash before your eyes.” By toasting Steve I feel that I am admitting that he is gone forever and that I will never see him again.

You all knew Steve and the kind, photo taking, beer and food loving, old joke telling guy that I knew. But, I knew someone you all could never know. I knew the Steve that encouraged me to do the things I never would have, a Steve that challenged me to try very different things; from eating slimy snails to rafting the Rogue River rapids and even sailing the South Pacific for two years, a Steve that eased me out of my shyness and into pitching products with a microphone strapped to my head! You never met the Steve that was embarrassed that his legs were too white to walk around La Paz with shorts on, or the Steve that was too shy to speak Spanish. I knew a Steve that was gentle and caring and would go off running for a glass of ice water when I was lying with my face to the bathroom floor tiles after a chemo treatment, the Steve that never once pawned me off on others who offered to “help”.

Surely I will run out of tears for this man that I spent 40 of the best years of my life with, the man that never refused me a hug, a whistle or a wink. Steve was the man I sat across the table from, slept, worked, played, and laughed with for practically twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. I have cried tears until I thought I couldn’t possibly cry any more but I’m sure there are many more yet to come. I need you all to tell me the stories you remember of Steve and please, please never be afraid to mention his name because you think it might make me cry. Right now the tears and funny stories, as well as the toasts are exactly what I need.

Crit took our family and friends out to sea to return part of Steve to the waters that he so loved. It was a very touching and wonderful moment when we sent both Steve and Dan off together to play with the dolphins along with some of the beautiful red Bouganvillia flower petals that Steve nurtured from our courtyard in La Paz.

Rest in Peace, Steve. I will never forget our wonderful life together.

Ana

Happy Birthday Papa!

Happy Birthday to my 89 year old Papa with hardly a wrinkle on his skin to show for it!  Your daughters love you so very much! 

Carnaval 2011!!!

We've never been to a Carnaval in New Orleans or any place else, for that matter.  We've now been to our second Carnaval in La Paz. In the past we never got to see the burning of "the bad humor" dude.  The bad humor guy stands for everything bad and we especially liked seeing him burn this year!  We enjoyed the parades, or is it the friends and parties that take place because of the parade?   We enjoyed the churros, again, or is it seeing the faces of friends who taste them for the first time? Steve especially liked that they had a Negra Modelo Chope booth this year, a very big 24 oz cup for $25.00 (pesos)!  We enjoyed some of the entertainment and were amazed that we forgot to take our earplugs, AGAIN!  But, the costumes, the general people watching and the faces of the little kids are the best.  Here is a photo recap of this year's Carnaval:

El Hombre de Mal Humor

One Of The Nicer Parade Floats

Crit Buying Churros

Steve With His Big Ole Cup of Chope



Not Enjoying This Entertainment!

The Crowds.........

In All Directions

Kids Even Hung Out In Trees So They Could See

Bill Avoiding This Gal's Eyes!

Wanted To Buy Something From These Folks, But Didn't Have The Heart To Walke Them!

The Happy Prize Goes To This Little Boy

After It's Over. All That's Left Are Tired Kids and..........

The Clean Up of Those Darned Confetti Eggs.

Playa Azul Igloos

Steve's video says it all, a great time was had by all!

Kim and Mike Visit 2011

Wow, what a whirlwind of a visit we had with Kim and Mike this year.  Kim and Mike arrived on a Sunday evening and left the following Friday!  Of course we take what we get but there were definite tears this year saying our goodbyes.  It wouldn't be a proper visit without the box of See's Chocolates which were delicious, as usual, a real treat.



There Was The Usual Eating and Drinking



Huachinango, Yum

There Was Fishing



There Was Dancing



There Was Rummi Kub

There Was A Lot of Loving



And, Sadly, Hasta Luego



Up to Date

Well, where are we?  Oh yes, we left off with our cooking class! 

Since we've been in La Paz we've had the pleasure of attending two "Dia De Los Reyes"  celebrations at Judy and Alex's house.  In a nutshell, on January 6 Judy and Alex invite people to their house, they serve wonderful Mexican hot chocolate and a delicious sweet bread called a "Rosca".  As I've mentioned before, there are little plastic babies baked into the bread (I know, doesn't sound great, all that plastic melting into the bread!) and each person in attendance cuts their very own piece of bread off.  There is a lot of laughter as the numbers of babies appear, there may be one baby or as many as five like happened this year.  The bearer or bearer's of these plastic babies have the responsibility of providing a tamale dinner for all of those in attendance, which takes place on February 2.  Here is Wikipedia's definition in case you want more information than my nutshell:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_cake



La "Rosca" and the Baby





Alex Making Us Hot Dogs Afterwards




Our Lovely Hostess, Judy




From The Left: Sharon, Donnely, Pat, Ginger, Helga, Ray and Judy




Ana and Oralia



From the left: Ginger, Ray, Alex, Nick and Judy








 

Alex's Hot Dogs Which Tasted A Whole Lot Better Than They Looked!









How to Make Chiles En Nogada

Here is a step by step lesson in how to make this delicious dish: 

First, find yourself a beautiful teacher....





Next, you will need willing students.....


Buy Chiles Poblanos, Meat (either ground pork or beef),  Apples, Pears, Peaches, Macho Bananas, onion, tomato sauce, raisins,
almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, and dried fruit. 
 

Love your chiles, then roast them......

Now you are ready to chop, chop and chop some more! 

 

 Meanwhile cook your meat  throwing in all the chopped "stuff".  Remember to salt and pepper your meat.

Now you are ready to fill your "loved", "roasted", and "peeled" chiles.

Make your Nogada sauce by blending (in a blender) 100 walnuts (be sure and count accurately!), 100 grams of goat cheese, 1 shot of port or sherry (we had niether so used mescal with Maracuya), 1/2 litre of evaporated milk.

 

Pour Nogada over chiles and decorate with pomegranite seeds and parseley.

Set a beautiful table because food always tastes better when you are surrounded by color and beauty!

Finally, lift a glass and enjoy the wonderful food and the delicious company!  Aprovecho!

 

Oralia's Visit

Christmas Party at Casa Ana 2010

And what a party it was! We had the biggest crowd ever, the most impressive dishes of all time and the beer, wine and champagne was flowing all evening!

Darrell and Sarah

Alex and Judy

Bette, Sharon, Susan and Dennis

Brian and Dot

Cam, Brian and Dot

Carla and Doug

Carol and Dennis

A full courtyard

Crit, Oralia, Rick and John

Darrell and Marv



Barb and Bill

Art and Jaye

Joanne, Liz, Bette and Ron

Kate, Nancy, Barb and Fern

Rick and Pam

Tim and Karen

Carol, Kay and Steve

Maria and Oralia

Dot, Steve and Janie

Maria, Steve, Brian Oralia and Bill

Oralia, John and Liz

Ros and George

Pam resting in the Papa chair!

Steve and I want to thank Doug and Carla, Tim, Karen and Oralia for flying to La Paz to join in the festivities and to all of our guests that made this the most memorable Christmas ever. It was great seeing all of our friends after such a long absence.   I don't know if this one can be beat, but we can try!