Sunday, April 22, 2012

Cost of Living


One of the never-ending chores...grocery shopping. A while ago, someone had asked just how much a gallon of milk costs in Mexico. I tucked that question away, knowing that would make a good topic to investigate and report on. It's also helped us to figure our budget as we truly look at what we're spending to feed this growing family of six.

Milk is sold my the liter, but when we figure the conversion we're spending $4.25/gallon. It is ultra-pasteurized and can keep on the shelf for months.

A loaf of white bread is $1.83. Yikes...we eat a lot of sandwiches! And french toast...and we don't even have teenagers yet!

Water is $1.37 for a 5 gallon jug, but we are finally filtering our own water. (A big thanks to the WMU for our walter filters!)

Juice is commonly sold by the liter. Pictured above is a carton and a can and costs $1.07.

Coca-cola is sold in 2.5 liter bottles and costs $1.22.

Corn tortillas 37 cents per pound...can't beat that! Much better than a loaf of white bread!

Eggs are often sold by 15 or 30, but would cost $1.13/dozen.

Coffee costs $3.47/lb.

Pan dulce (sweet bread) is about 30 cents a piece.

Roses are only 76 cents a dozen! Can you believe it?!?

Fuel costs $2.84/gallon. (Also sold by the liter, and we measure in kilometers. Makes figuring miles per gallon a bit difficult.)

On average, electronics cost about 30% more than in the U.S.

  • Levi in front of the pan dulce.

Ellie and Ryan love watching the tortillas come off the
conveyor belt at the tortilleria.




Although it's not a necessity, coffee from the
coffee shop...priceless!


Saturday, April 14, 2012

A trip to the Market...as told by Ellie.




I like all the different sizes of baskets..especially the really small ones.


















Chickens with heads...I really don't like the smell, so I plug my nose when we walk by the dead chickens.










These daisies are beautiful. I really like the color, but the flowers were too close to the dead meat and it didn't smell good.











I really like the color of the roses too ,but they still smelled like the first flowers...dead meat.












Pink beans! I really like the color and I want to buy some from the market.










Purple beans too! I like this color too, but I like light purple better than dark purple...so maybe we can look for light purple ones.










Peaches and calabacitas (little squash). Mommy made vegetable soup with the squash. But I want her to buy peaches!










I really like the little turtles and other animals. They are really cute and I really want a turtle for my birthday.

The Market...as told by Ryan




Chickens without heads...













Heads without chickens...













Eggs...usually sold by 15 or 30...these need to go with chicken parts Mom, because chickens give us eggs.










A barefoot lady...I wonder why she doesn't wear any shoes?











Chayote with spines...I think my cousin Jimmy would like these. (Compare the size with the tomatoes in the foreground.)











There are so many more different kinds of beans that you can't find in Idaho!











Mom bought one of these hoop things, but I really liked the balls with needles! They look COOL!











Aren't these flowers beautiful? I really wanted to take a picture of a calla lilly, because that's Mom's favorite.










Look! It's a post with a phone! How clever! You don't even have to carry a your own cell phone! (I don't think he ever saw a payphone before.)











Seafood! I love seafood! It's one of my favorite things.












A live turkey! Can we buy it Mom?

















Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Little People Fighting Little Bulls

So, it's not very PC, but we are in Mexico, afterall!

This week is the Feria, or the fair, and there are lots of fun things happening in our town. The kids are home from school, so we have lots of time to check out some of the activities. Sunday afternoon there was a parade of Queens from around town. For example, there was a queen from all of the schools and some of the pharmacies.  Ellie loved seeing all the pretty girls dressed up in their beautiful dresses...and she loved yelling, "DULCES!" (candy) And I must add that she received more candy than we need!

Another event is bullfighting. Two Sunday afternoons in a row there are professional bullfights, and we considered going but the timing is a little difficult. Then we realized that on Wednesday afternoon there were Enanitos Toreros, or Midget Bullfighters. Now that sounded like fun! So we made plans to take Ryan and Ellie and found a babysitter for the babies...unfortunately the babies got sick so plans changed a bit. Clay was still able to take the big kids though. When they got home, I asked them what they thought. Ellie's response summed it up, "It was SUPER funny!"







Check out the video link so catch a glimpse of just how "super funny" this was.
(And listen closely for little giggles of Ryan and Ellie!)


Monday, April 9, 2012

A Year in Review...

Easter is always a good time to reflect...for us it's been a great way to capture how our family has grown over the last year. We've had this tradition since Easter 2006 of taking a family photo next to the fish pond at Clay's Mom's house.
This year of course was different, which caused a bit of nostalgia...but I got over it quickly. I didn't have much choice really. There has been so much to keep me busy...but I thought I'd share a snapshot of how life has changed.

Easter 2011...we were in midst of chaos, really. Baby Matthew was only weeks away. Our house was sold. We were living in a small rental house just a stone's throw from the fish pond. We were selling most of our worldly belongings. And we were on the verge of moving our family across the country, and then out of the country.

And now, here we are in Mexico, adapting to life with four energetic little ones.  Much has changed, like how we celebrate holidays, or with whom we celebrate. But so much is the same too. For example, we still celebrate that Christ is risen. And how amazing is it that we can share that joy with fellow believers, in another country and another language! God is so good! And as long as I have my family, it doesn't matter where or how we celebrate.

So this year, Easter has looked different. And felt different. We didn't have ham. We didn't get to make the rice crispy lamb like Aunt Elsie used to make every year. (I have the mold with me...even had some rice krispies...just didn't have American marshmallows.)














Last year, it was Grandpa Gary in the hammock with Levi, suspended over beautiful green grass. This year, the grass isn't so pretty, and we only see Grandpa via Skype. But Ryan and Ellie had a blast hanging out in the hammocks. And Matthew and Levi played in the dirt!


This is our little picnic spot. It's not Idaho...but it was wonderful too!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

From the Bush to the Cup



Coffee...

an important part of our day...

and an important crop for many in this area...

Not only do we ENJOY drinking a good cup of jo but it's also a great social tool.

Who doesn't like to spend time with a friend, chatting over a yummy, smooth cup of coffee?






But, how much work does it take to get that cup of coffee?

It all starts with a berry on a bush...

The berries are picked by hand, which is a bit tedious.




The outer husk has to be removed, and then you
have the two halves.

Fortunately, there is a machine that takes off the
husk...





And then the beans are dried in the sun.


In good weather, it takes five days for the beans to dry.  They are layed out on a flat surface and then turned periodically with a wooden rake.









After the beans dry, another machine is used to take off
the next husk.


After the second husk is removed, the beans are ready to be toasted. Clay was excited to be able to do this step in our home!
But the best part...enjoying a delicious, fresh cup of coffee the next morning!

Something for you to think about as you enjoy your own cup of coffee...
The current rate for the coffee grower is 38 pesos per kilo...
which means they make $1.36/lb. for all that work.
How much do you pay for a pound of coffee?