Hell’s Half Acre

Yesterday I went on a date with my husband.  I NEVER call him “my husband” but it was simply too delicious to write.  He was stomach-virus addled for much of his birthday so we arranged with the kids to take an afternoon off and go to his favorite fish taco place.  The fish wasn’t the best (IMO) but the camarones (shwimp) were wonderful and fresh.  This restaurant (La Floresta) is on the carretera (highway) and has very little parking out front so I initially began to park in the enormous (and empty) refraccionaria next door, wondering why no-one else did so.  La Floresta is always so hard to park at - they have just a handful of places out front and to get out you back up into highway lanes.  Today they had a “viene-viene” guy helping people park and when we sat to eat I noticed a HUGE dirt lot out back!  I really enjoyed the people watching, especially when I realized that I had not left Paa-Mul all month, but for one shopping excursion with Ellen.  I REALLY need to get out more.

I have been slaving over curriculum choices the past week and have completely forgotten my studies.  On the plus side, I have Math, Language Arts, Literature, History, Geography, Fine Art, Latin and Science figured out.  Well, not the Latin.  I still don’t know exactly what I’ll get for that.  Jesse and I will be doing Latin together and I’m trying to find something not dry and engaging.  Latin Prep looks good but I still need to look at others.  Now I just need to find a mule with empty suitcases to bring all this crap down to us. 

“Our” turtle nests are beginning to hatch and we caught one the other day on the beach.  A Meridano happened along with his family and informed us that after all the little tortugitas left the nest we would need to dig down and get the stragglers.  Jamie ran back to get my camera (and the boys) and as our new friend dug up a turtle he would hand it to someone, we’d make sure they walked on the sand for quite a bit to the water and then the kids couldn’t help themselves but hold them in the water to make sure they got out as far as possible.  We’ve seen the laying and now we’ve seen the hatching.  The dissapointment is knowing that most of those little greenbacks won’t make it very far in life.  Luckily, the boys were awake (at 6pm) because they have decidedly swapped day for night and night for day, going to bed between 3 and 6am and getting up between 2 and 5pm.  I was getting irritated with their schedule as it really limits me (I don’t want to wake them with my noise) but I’m willing to wait and see how it goes.

We are still making plans to head to the US for fall - leaving early September we think, but due to budget and US fuel costs, we’ll probably only visit in Texas and New Mexico before turning tail and heading back to PaaMul.  I don’t know why I even bother to write a budget when I know we’re going to completely blow it by buying our combined weight in STUFF when we hit the US.  Jesse has been saving his money and has his eye on an X-Box and i don’t even want to THINK about what jamie has planned.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I personally, have my own list.

I can’t remember the last time I listened to Prarie Home Companion; it comes on at prime mosquito hour and I’m thinking we’ll just have to set up the Sirius and receiver in the recamera so we can listen in peace.  On Sundays, the re-broadcast is at prime sleeping hour for my nightowls, so that isn’t a good time either.  Ellen is BEYOND pissed if she wakes and I’m not around because she likes to slowly wake while I plow through another of the Oz books.  We finished “The Road to Oz” last night and began “The Emerald City of Oz” and the Nome King is VERY angry.  I found a lovely quote from the first chapter that I’m going to use as copywork this week, “An unsuspected enemy is doubly dangerous.”

Gee.  It sure seemed like there was more news that was fit to print, but maybe it wasn’t, afterall. 

Oh, maybe 83 kilos.  I never get the chance to weigh myself until after breakfast, and that has been 83.5 for the past couple days, so I’m thinking that first thing in the morning I’m probably 83.  I’m pretty convincing sometimes.

UPDATE: Jamie, the girls and I are in the recamera, looking out on the hot steamy backyard and listening to Garrison Keilor. I actually got chills hearing the intro. It has been FAR too long. Either NPR or Sirius has changed the two NPR channel schedules and we can listen as long as we get out of bed before 1pm.