Like clockwork, wherever Gringos gather, at the beginning of the month talk turns to electricity bills. Of course, the subject is usually brought up by those of us who have the higher bills. During the Winter, most of my friends have bills in the $300MXN - $500MXN range. Ours has been consistently in the $1,100MXN - $1,200MXN range. This has troubled us off and on, especially since most of our friends have larger houses than we do. Finally, we called in an expert.

Back in Fort Worth, we bought Tasha a Giggle Ball. It's a sturdy, red, rubber ball that has one of those gravity whistles inside that makes a cute sound when you turn it over. We brought it home to her, and it was love at first sight. She kept the ball with her at all times. She loved Giggle Ball so much that it didn't get packed in a box with the rest of the dog paraphernalia. It made the trip to Mexico in the over-packed truck with us.

We have a large, empty lot between our house and the ocean. It has been wild and overgrown since we moved in. I have been known to complain about it, as it has been a source of hordes of ticks, some snakes, clouds of mosquitoes, numerous feral cats, and the crash pad of the occasional drunk. The brush has been getting taller and taller and blocking more of our ocean view. I have fantasized more than once of setting the whole thing ablaze.

I have been tinkering with the web site again. Those of you who are regular readers have probably noticed already. I am actually always making small changes to the code, trying to make things work a little better or a little faster. The average user would never notice most of the stuff I do, but this last round of changes made a visual impact, so I thought I would explain.

Here in Mexico, there is no figure in society who is more important than Mom. Without her, everything falls apart, and everyone knows it. Mother's day doesn't fall on a convenient Sunday here. It is May 10th every year. On Mother's Day, everything stops. If you haven't completed all of your shopping by 3 pm, you are out of luck. It's easier to find an open market on a Sunday.