Our Grocery Store

This is a post I have wanted to do for a long, long time. What with all the hubbub recently about the outrageous increase in food prices, I thought now would be a good time. This pictures were all taken last November, thus the cheaper prices.

It is hard to get pictures in Super Express. If the guards catch you, they make you stop or leave the store. I guess they are afraid that you might be doing price comparisons for their competitors. Which is ridiculous because there is no competitor of any significance on the island. By the way, in my travels around Mexico, I have come to believe that the word SUPER when used with a grocery story, actually means tiny.

Once through the door, you immediately run head long into the produce department. I was lucky. I was there the day they had just restocked fruits and vegetables. It is not uncommon to go to buy a tomato and find them all rotten....or nonexistent. One can never depend on finding what you are looking for on any given day. I think it is a testament to my camera and my ability to use it that everything looks so good. Trust me, it isn't this inviting in real life.

I am constantly hearing tourists run around the store asking, "Where's the milk?!" Well, the answer is simple. Right here.

Milk is highly pasteurized here and sold in boxes. Refrigerate after opening. We have as many types as the folks NOB. Just not in the refrigerator section.

More produce.

They were having a special on fantasy squash the day I was there.

Eggs are not only sold in the traditional cartons, but like this also.

You can grab one of those plastic bags and buy just as many as you need. One or five. Doesn't matter. That is one thing I really like about Mexico. It is possible to buy just one of anything.

Butter, some prepackaged cheeses and the ubiquitous hot dog. The name of the favorite brand of hot dog here is FUD. It is not pronounced like Elmer's last name, but rather sounds like the English word FOOD. Trust me again. They are anything but food.

The whole top row here is devoted almost entirely to chili peppers. All kinds and degrees of hotness. We love our peppers here.

Again, choose the type and size onion you want and go.

Our store also has a bakery and deli counter. These are some of the richly decorated cakes that they put out. Look good, don't they? Slather some lard frosting on a hamburger bun and you'll know what they taste like.

They also sell doughnuts, hamburger buns in disguise again, and these muffins. A friend of mine calls them cupmuffins. They are kind of a cross between a cupcake and a muffin. Not too bad but don't expect a burst of flavor.

Cheeses from the deli counter. Sliced to order. We do have a fairly good selection. Especially if you like manchego.

A look behind the deli counter. There is a great selection of hams. And that is it. No salami, no other kind of meat at all.

It is possible to buy freshly ground hamburger, pork and chicken. I usually get my ground meats here instead of buying the prepackaged ones. Of course, it takes a long time to get your order because any local who comes up to the counter will just shout out their order. And of course the butcher stops what he is doing and grabs the 23 chicken legs that they want.

Prepackaged chicken. A friend once mentioned to me that she thought the chicken here was more flavorful than NOB. I don't know why that should be, but she is right.

On the opposite side of the store from the produce, is more dairy. Yogurt, Jello Cups, that sort of thing.

Beans and sugar. This is usually where the sale items are put.

We also have a small frozen section. Vegetables, pizza, french fries. Some bags of fruit.

And ice cream. Maybe.

Snacks. Almost everyone of them is flavored with hot chili powder OR salt and lime. Lime is on everything.

There is a small selection of canned goods. Nothing exotic, just the staples.

And a nice selection of liquors and wines. Note that you can probably get the same thing up a block at Covey's or at the Naval Store, enter behind the base just past La Lomita restaurant, far cheaper.

A fine selection of beers.

A lot of space is devoted to this brand. I don't buy beer here but I enjoy seeing my brand on display.

The day I was there, they also featured these gaily decorated bottles on an end cap. I thought it was a fancy fruit juice.

Until I looked closer. Fruit flavored wine beverage. I wonder how many of them they sold?

Most laundry detergents here are sold in bags. There are some that come in plastic bottles, but it is far cheaper to buy the powder in bags. Except it doesn't always dissolve in the machine and coats your clothing with white powder.

Fabuloso. What can I say. Possibly the best cleaning product ever made.

And finally we come to the thing that we have been dreading since we entered the store. The checkout lanes. Where they never have change. Where people constantly cut in line. Where people put their goods on the conveyor belt to hold their place while they shop some more. Where they make the clerk back items off the list until they have enough money with them to buy the remainder. I have learned to just take a deep breath and plunge through it. I don't need my blood pressure shooting up again.

So there you have. I hope I have conveyed to you a sense of grocery shopping here and why I hate it.

Ahhhhhhhh!

The Quiz Answers Revealed

Here we go!

1. The songs were:
My Dad and She Can't Find Her Keys, performed by Paul Peterson in the role of Jeff Stone.
Johnny Angel, performed by Shelley Fabares in the role of daughter, Mary Stone.


2. The Beverly Hillbillies. The song was written by bluegrass performers, Flatt and Scruggs, who also made several guest appearances on the show.


3. In the 1960's, he wrote the theme song for the very popular show, Peter Gunn. In the next decade, the 1970's, he took on another form of detective show, the theme from Charlie's Angels.


4. The group was The Doors and the song was their mega-hit, Light My Fire. Mr Sullivan objected to their using the word "higher" in the lyrics. Although they agreed to change it, during the live telecast they left it in. This infuriated the powerful Mr Sullivan and he refused to ever have them on his show again.

Pineapple Made Easy

A good friend of mine recently received a gadget that she just raves about. She is so enamored of it, that she picked one up for me while visiting NOB. I finally got a chance to try it out and thought I would pass along the results to you. Just in case any of you have heard of it and wondered if it really works.

The gadget in question is a pineapple slicer. Easy, peasy slices while leaving the core in one piece. Which then can be used to make yourself one of those exotic type cocktails as you marvel at how much work you saved yourself.

Start with a ripe pineapple.






This is the gadget. It is designed to be pushed into the pineapple and twisted, much like a corkscrew in a wine bottle.





But first you have the cut the top off of the pineapple! This is an important step.





Next line up the gizmo on top of the pineapple and firmly push the little teeth into the meat of the pineapple.






Learn from me. Put the pineapple in the sink while twisting down the gizmo. You are going to generate a lot of juice and a lot of mess.







There is no way to know if you are at the true bottom of the pineapple or not. Unless, of course, you drill right through it. Which you don't want to do because then you will have lost your receptacle for that exotic drink!

When you think you are there, stop screwing around and lift it out. Supposedly pulling all these uniformly cut slices with it. Kind of like a spiral cut ham.






I personally do not like the heart of the pineapple and this gizmo solves that problem nicely. It comes out all in one piece. Kind of like a plug you see geologists taking out of the ice on Discovery.

I must admit, even though I was pleased with my exotic drink receptacle, I was not pleased with the quality and amount of pineapple slices.

Although I appreciate the gift, I doubt that I will ever use it again. I guess I'm old fashioned. I like skinning the pineapple and slicing my own. I find that much more gratifying.

By the way, this is the post that inspired the quiz. The song from Annette Funicello, Pineapple Princess, kept running through my mind as I was using this gizmo. If you don't know who Annette Funicello is, ask your Dad. I'm sure he had a crush on her just like I did.

Something Fun

While putting together one of my posts for later this week, I got to thinking about television shows and music. Specifically TV shows from the 1960's. So I've put together a little quiz for you. At first I thought that you would have had to have been there, but with most of these shows in syndication, chances are most of you are familiar with them.

So here's a little quiz for you. See how many you know without having to resort to Google!



1. The Donna Reed Show introduced us to three Top 40 hits, each one sung by one or more of the TV children. Name the songs.


2. Almost everybody can sing that little diddy about a man named Jed. The poor mountaineer that barely kept his family fed. What was the name of the TV show and who wrote the theme song?


3. Henry Mancini was one of the most prolific composers of the 60's. You may recognize Moon River, Days of Wine and Roses and The Pink Panther Theme as his works. He also used his talent to write the theme songs for two very popular TV shows. Coincidentally, both shows dealt with detectives. Name the two shows.


4. On September 17, 1967, one of America's most popular bands appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. Although they were scheduled to perform on six more shows, Mr Sullivan abrubtly cancelled their contract after just one performance because they refused to change one word in their popular song. Who was the group and what was the song?


Ok, I'll be monitoring your answers in the Comments section but not saying anything. The answers will be revealed on Thursday. Have fun!

Quick Updates

Things are quiet on the home front again. Yes, the seven puppies have now moved on.

We returned them to Alison at Isla Animals last Wednesday. It is up to her now to decide what their little fates will be. I do know that one of the little males (the one we considered keeping, actually) has already found a new home.

Having the puppies here was like riding on a roller coaster. First we wanted to keep one. Then not. Which one? Back and forth. We finally decided that a puppy is just something that we do not need in our lives again. Dog, maybe. Puppy, no.

Yes, it was very hard to see them go. I miss picking them up. I miss kissing them and getting little puppy kisses in return. I miss teaching them. I miss watching them each develop their own little personality. I don't miss the noise. I don't miss the mess.

Would I foster another litter of puppies if the chance arises? Maybe. I'm not sure on that one. It is a hard thing to do and then not to have any say as to their final homes is rough.

But Mama Dog, whom we call Doxy, is still with us. Worming her way ever further into my heart with each passing day. She always was a smart, loving dog right from the start. Now that the puppies are gone, her personality is really starting to shine and express itself. I am enjoying the crap out of having her around. And I don't really mind that I have to walk her. It gets me out of the house! We still haven't made the final decision about her. We have some time. We are keeping her until she can be spayed and then heals. I'll let you know!


On the computer front, we were very lucky. One of our friends here on the island had a brand new laptop that had been purchased for somebody else. That person decided that they didn't want it so he was stuck with it. We were more than happy to buy it from him and be back in business so fast.

I do want to publicly thank all of you who came forward with offers to help. I knew I could count on my readers. You are a fantastic group of people!

Painting A New Picture

I am not a fan of the current town square. I don't even make an attempt at hiding my disgust for its' ugly, non-user friendly configuration.

That said, recently somebody or some organization has been busy trying to spruce it up a bit. I have never been around to see who is actually doing the painting. It may be school children. It may be a local artist. It may be volunteers. I just have no idea.

But I do know that I like the attempt to put on a prettier face to the square. Various walls and pillars have now been painted. See if you don't agree that, even that slightly amateur in appearance, the paintings to have an appeal.

Needing A Huge Favor

As sometimes happens, one of our laptops has bit the dust. Don't ask. It's just disgusting how quickly laptops deteriote here with the salt.

We could buy a new one in Cancun but it would have a Spanish operating system and I just could not deal with that.

So, I need a favor. Is somebody coming to Isla, Cancun or Playa del Carmen within the next few weeks that would be willing to mule a new laptop down to me? I would order it online to be sent to your house.

If you can do this, please send me an email at islagringo@yahoo.com and we can swap details.

Here's hoping!

Run, Puppy! Run!

The puppies will be 6 weeks old tomorrow. They are really developing their own little personalities. Each one is a Devil and an Angel in the same package!

Staying On The Ground

I am, or was, definately a thrill ride kind of guy. No ride that I wouldn't try at least once. So I am not sure what happened at the Fair.

There were lots of rides to choose from. Up in the air and twist your guts out kind of things. Just my cup of tea. There was even a Tilt-a-Whirl, my favorite way to almost throw up in Mexico. But my butt didn't get to meet any of them.

Maybe because nobody in the party wanted to ride with me. Maybe because I am just that much older and wiser now. No, that can't be it! At any rate, the rides impressed me so much that I only have two pictures to share with you. Maybe next time.








Tomorrow it is back to the island, or at least things closer to home.

And Then There Were Things

Isn't this great material?! It shows various scenes and heroes of Mexico's Revolution and fight for Independence. I can see it as a party tablecloth. Maybe even curtains.





But I never expected to see it used like this! They made a colonial ball gown out of it. Patriotism, I suppose.





I don't even know how many great exhibition halls there are. A lot. All of them are as big as this one. And I am only showing you half of the inside in this picture.





Every possible thing you could want, or didn't even know you wanted, can be found here. Mexican things, of course. Things that would appeal to the typical Mexican shopper or housewife.

Table upon table full of that poured acrylic stuff made into kitchen magnets.





A few galvanized buckets.






Plastic anything and everything.

Blankets and towels, oh my! This was the section dedicated to Disney characters. Princesses are very big business down here.

What? Even more plastic?

Giant coffee cups. Or maybe they are bed pans?

Shiny aluminum pots. The kind that are guaranteed to burn the contents because they are so thin. But popular all the same. And cheap. Each set has 7 pots and various utensils included for a mere 350 pesos. $30 bucks to the peso challenged.

Need some new dinnerware? If you can't find something you like here, you just ain't looking. I bought some new bowls for the cabana. They match those cups in the baskets at the bottom of the picture.

Knives, forks, spoons. Of every description and quality.

Glass stir sticks. I was really tempted to buy an assortement of these as a present for my friend, Tico, at his bar. But he features mostly beer and Micheladas so probably wouldn't have much use for them. I wish now that I had bought some. Just because.

There are even things to hang on your wall. If you are so inclined.

Some even offer a welcoming greeting.

But my absolute, hands down, no ifs, and or buts, favorite thing were these shot glasses. There were three different sizes available. I don't want to shock you too badly so I am only showing you the small size.

Maybe I bought a bunch of these for friends. Maybe I didn't. I'm not saying!