Roof Tops and Patios

A Sunday afternoon BBQ to thank our friends in Mexico for their hospitality

& help when we moved here, has turned into a monthly gathering. The August gathering was quite a success! Honey once again "Q"ed up some outstanding chicken & beef, the side dishes were great (Doug got the best side dish prize for his potato salad) and Ana topped it all off with delicious coconut pie. The kids got their hot dogs and we remembered the tortilla's.

Seems most places we have lived we have established this type of event. In

Maryland, it was the "Battle of the BBQ's" starring the neighborhood menfolk who enjoyed the challenge of trying to out do each other. In Singapore they were called "Under the House Parties" as we lived in a British Bungalow on concrete pillars that left a wonderful patio underneath suitable for this. In Guam they were Cabana Parties at Polaris Point (a recreation area), in Florida they were Tiki Hut Parties and in Mississippi the menu was expanded well beyond BBQ type food to include Shrimp & Crab boils and mostly took place at our neighbors house.

Once we hosted a gathering in Mississippi and I got the bright idea that I would put "Gumbo" on the menu. Well I am a southern girl but I wasn't a Gulf Coast native. I knew that because I would often hear people say, "You ain't from around here are ya?" But they said it in the most loving way, ...... kind of like

the old saying, "If you are gonna criticize someone it's ok, as long as what you say, is followed by, God bless their heart or God love em"   It's a southern thing. ANYWAY, so I, not being the sharpest knife in the draw, go to the store and Lord have mercy, my prayers have been answered. They sell gumbo already made in the frozen food section!!! So I buy it, bring it home, thaw it and put it in the crockpot. Yeah I know, that is some serious "faking it". But it smelled great and I was sure it would be a crowd pleaser. Our invited guests arrive and when its time to start the buffet line someone asked me, "where's the rice?". Rice?, you're supposed to serve rice with it? And with the most loving look they say , "You ain't from around here are ya?" We gladly accepted invitations to the neighbors outdoor events and I learned a whole lot about Gulf Coast Cooking (not that I do much cooking in any geographical location)!!

Here in Mexico, there is a distinct cuisine but our BBQ's, boast the backyard

American BBQ menu. Some form of dead animal goes on the grill and the side dishes include Baked Beans, Potato &/or Macaroni Salad, Deviled Eggs, a dessert and of course BEER. At the first BBQ someone asked, "Do you have any tortillas?" My reply, "Lo siento, no tengo" (I'm sorry I don't have). This last one someone said, "I thought about bringing beans & rice". And even though I remembered the tortillas I could still hear that echo in my head, "You ain't from around here are ya?"  But don't worry, nobody left hungry and a good time was had by all.

We had 10 adults and 4 young people attend the BBQ. The boys were happy watching TV & our friend Rosa's teenage daughter was happy updating facebook on her phone. Thank goodness for her though, otherwise there would not have been any pictures. She saw the camera on the kitchen counter and captured the event with a few photos. Now, you know how it goes in a lot of cases, the guys end up in one room & the gals in another. I had set up the dining room with plenty of seating because although the back patio is a great place, until it gets screened in, the flies will

drive you CRAZY, but because the cooler of beer was there, well that's where they guys hung out (God bless em for putting up with those flies). On the other hand I think the gals showed the most common sense. We went up to the roof top patio where shade was plentiful and the breeze was heavenly. So next time I am hoping for one of two things, either the back patio gets screened in or we have it up on the rooftop patio. The only thing we would need if we held it on the roof top are safety spotters on the stairs when everyone departs OR maybe, us gals will just keep it to ourselves- LOL!!

Meeting New Friends and Savoring the Old

I wrote in an earlier blog about leading a host of lives within one life. Being a military wife meant I could put to good use my chameleon skills. Honey would

come home & say, "Guess what? We're moving to, ..............". This meant it was time to meet new friends and enjoy the adventure of a new place and that is exactly how I viewed it. The kids on the other hand went through a lot more turmoil and adjustment, but they never had trouble making new friends. Well, there was that one time I got tired of their moaning & groaning and kicked them out of the house telling them to return when they had met a new friend and had their mothers name & phone number. CPS would probably lock me up if I did that today, but back then it was a different world, sad to say.

Our move to Belize meant leaving our good friends in Mississippi (not to mention all our family & friends from previous lives in the states), but I can still smell the bayou & imagine sitting on the Grafe's back porch or upper deck sipping some delicious beverage, watching nature unfold in the afternoon. I can

still feel the excitement of having all our kids arrive (as a surprise to me) for my 50th birthday. Of course no one will forget our daughters wedding taking place during one of the worst electrical storms & monsoon rains in the history of Moss Point. Note: for those of you not in the know, it was suppose to be a backyard wedding & reception, but that's a story for another day, but the overall success of a potential disaster was due to the love & help of GREAT FRIENDS!!!

In Belize it was easy to make friends There is a fairly large expat community there and being the "new kids on the block" opened the doors to making many good friends. A central hub for this is the Purple Toucan that host the "Friendship Luncheon". Belize (or Central America) is not for everyone, so some stay, some leave and some enjoy many years but later return to their homeland. Circles of friends change too (in high school we called these "clicks"), but when you are older you just call them circles of friends because these circles have different interests and what you don't find in one circle you can find in another circle. I was never part of a click in high school, I tended to socialize with many different ones at different times. That has not changed. I enjoy the friendship of many people for many different reasons or activities and I try hard to not burn bridges. I learned a long time ago to not say, "We'll never see these people again", because inevitably we do. In Belize I have met people that I either crossed paths with in previous places or should have, because we were in the same places at the same time but didn't meet. It's fun to discover how small the world gets the more we travel.

Now we live in Mexico although not far over the border from where we lived in Belize. Which makes it really nice because along with meeting new friends here,

we still see our friends in Belize. Either they come over for shopping & fun or visa versa. It's not uncommon to get an email that says, "Hey are you gonna be around on such in such a day. Want to meet up for lunch?" Works out great, they can store their cold goods from the store in my fridge while we go to lunch. So much gratitude we owe to those who also offer, "Hey would you like me to bring one or two of your boxes that are stored at Colleens?" By the time we finally receive our license to import our household goods, it won't take but a pickup truck.

While visiting this area before we moved here we made friends with several of the owners of restaurants on the waterfront (many of which are related to each other). We re-kindled friendships with a couple folks that had lived in Belize before Mexico. Then when we rented our house, the sister-in-law to the owner became a good friend and very helpful finding what we needed once we moved in. So far all these friends are spanish speaking so I get lots of practice with the language. Then we met a couple (husband is American, wife Mexican), who have become good friends. BBQ buddies he & CT are. And our latest introduction has been to a couple who we are still getting to know but seem delightful. They raise chickens, ducks, & pigs, he is a carpenter, & she is a massage therapist. Both of the last 2 couples are bi-lingual, so now I have lots of help learning Spanish.

I was looking for a good quote for this blog entry and found this:
“People come, people go – they’ll drift in and out of your life, almost like characters in a favorite book. When you finally close the cover, the characters have told their story and you start up again with another book, complete with new characters and adventures. Then you find yourself focusing on the new ones, not the ones from the past.”
― Nicholas Sparks, The Rescue 
 NOTE: I agree with the first part, but not the last. I believe that the best old friends are like a great novel, enjoying it once is great, but being able to pick it up again and enjoy it time & time again is FANTASTIC!! 

"I have been very fortunate to have friends that I may not see or talk to for long periods of time and when we have the good fortune to see or speak with one another,  its as if it was only yesterday." - Catherine Thomas, Aug 2013