The Canexican ......as she works in Canada and lives in Mexico: Do you remember when....

I am going to try to explain to you what an evening on my patio in my hammock is like, just as it is hard to explain the word "magical" it is hard to explain the peacefulness of a hot tropical evening, but here goes; it is magical, not in the scary black magic like voodoo like magic but in the unexplainable magic way.

Do you remember when you were a kid how hot it got sometimes in the summer? It doesn't seem to get that hot anymore, or maybe it's because most people have air conditioners now, or because our homes are built differently as well, I'm not sure what it is but it just doesn't get that hot anymore....except here, it's still that hot, even when it's not overly hot....got that? Remember laying in bed thinking it was so hot but you weren't hot, you laid above the cool cotton sheets and watched the curtains move in the breeze. It's that kind of a warm feeling that is in the air here, hot but not...got that, do you remember that? That feeling doesn't exist anymore at home. I think it's because the sheets aren't cotton anymore and the curtains don't move anymore. I'm thinking the curtains don't move because they are usually not made of cotton, cotton that has been washed over and over and over again making it light as silk and just as soft and thinner than paper, the slightest breeze moved them. Most people have blinds now, and usually the window is closed (because they have air condition) or the curtains are made of some heavy fancy expensive fabric and I've even seen little weights sewn into the bottom seams to prevent them from moving....well the curtain here still move, and the sir is still hot...but not. So picture this if you could;

On a hot (but not) evening all windows and all doors on my street are open, most windows have no glass or screens, curtains can fly like sails, we live side by side and back to back, not much privacy (privacy? whats that?) It's after 6 pm and almost everyone is outside either on their front decks, or in their front or back yards, under their palapas, some of us are sprawled out in hammocks, some are lazing on plastic furniture, sometimes there is a bed full of kids under a palapa or under a makeshift roof, babies are being rocked in rocking chairs, young girls are huddled together on a front step giggling at a cell phone, men are leaning up against trees, moms are stirring pots on open fires, kids are sitting on the ground watching a television that sits on plastic table in the driveway. In the distance the tide is rolling in and out, mesmerizing us all so that we barely hear the roosters, a horse neighing 2 doors down, the sewing machine next door humming away, a cowboy whistling a tune to anyone that will listen, someone is practicing playing the trumpet up the hill, a fire is crackling in the yard behind me, a baby cries somewhere, a motorbike drives by, it's rider is chatting on a cell phone, a gecko clicks his checks above me somewhere, a kid peddles by on a bike with a bag of tomatoes swinging from the handle bars, he is barefoot, and the crickets, always continuous like the waves. So much going on but yet it's peaceful and quiet, the peace and quiet survives through the neighborhood noise. Once I am in bed the curtains move and I smile, it's a dream and I am 6 years old in my bed and I have no worries or cares, what does a 6 year old worry about? Not a lot, but I am not 6....thank goodness, I am in Mexico and here, the crickets are alive and well, the curtains still move and moms can still sent their kids to the store..barefoot....and coke is still made with sugar and hot chocolate is still made with milk and we still use pretty Pyrex dishes.......Remember these, everyone had these, what happened to them, I blame Tupperware.
Check out this site to look up your old Pyrex dishes, http://www.pyrexlove.com/vintage-pyrex-pattern-guide/ There were so many beautiful patterns. This bowl is from the Spring Blossom collection # 401 and was manufactured in the 1970s. Would love to know if you have some vintage Pyrex dishes. Do any of the patterns bring back memories. I am heading off to the Juarez Market tomorrow, maybe I'll score some Pyrex....or some cotton curtains.
I stick my tongue out at you Tupperware, can't believe I bought into you during my youth...foolish youth.