Borage

Borraja: Spanish name for Borage, or Starflower.

I'm surprised of all the medicinal plats my Mom has now!
She has many plants  that I only had heard about it.
But now I seen them, have touch them and even taken a picture of them!  

One of those plant  is borage.
I only have memories about this plant.
I Remember when I was a kid and got a cold my mom would say:
"Te voy a hacer un tee de borraga, mija." (I will make a tea of borage, my daughter.)
I forgot if it worked that was a loong time ago.  :)

I did some goggling on it, and found out that it's a medicinal plant also used for
inflammation, eczema, and arthritis.
And that is edible. It can be used in salads, it will taste like cucumber. Who knew! 

I like how blue flowers look among the summer blooming plants,
that's why I have grown a plant called Balloon Flower.
I will try to find borage for my garden too. I also found out that it attracts bees and humming birds.

Pictures taken on December 2013, at El Estado de Mexico, Mexico.


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Linking to Blue Monday

Guagolota and Pipilitos

Guagolota: Spanish name for a female turkey.

Pipillito: Spanish name for a baby turkey. 

When I found out we were going to Mexico for Christmas 

I wanted to ask my family down in Mexico to buy some type of baby animal for my kids, 

they love baby animals. 

But I got all busy preparing for the trip that I forgot to ask.

 Then when we got there, among the many news my Mom told me was that, 

her guagolota was waiting for her eggs to hatch! 

I asked her when the pipillitos were going to hatch, but she had no clue. 

But  the next day we got there, I heard them chirping! 

Mom quickly came to see if the pipilitos were hatched, and they were! 

My kids were thrilled to see and hold baby turkeys! 

Five facts about turkeys.

1. Benjamin Franklin wanted to make the wild turkey, not the Bald Eagle, the national bird of the United States!
2. A female turkey lays 4 to 18 eggs.
3. Males take no role in the care of young turkeys
4. Males turkey gather in clearings to perform courtships display, they puff up their body feathers, flare their tails into a vertical fan and strut slowly while giving a characteristic gobbling call. 
5. Only males gobble. They gobble with a distinctive sound that can be heard a mile away!

Linking to Random 5 Friday and Saturday's Critters

New Year!

I finally get a chance to post something!

For the Christmas holiday we went to Mexico. It's been a long time since I had been down there! 

Too many things have  changed. It makes me happy and sad at the same time.

Just to name some of  these things, the technology and transportation are so much 

better than they were years ago. But there are some traditions that slowly are banishing away.  

I didn't see people traveling on horses any more. 

I guess we can't have it both ways.

We had the fortune to eat some very delicious foods, and a bunch of fresh fruits.

On of my favorite fruit  I eat was guayaba. I payed only 13 pesos for a kilo!! 

The above picture, is at the Tianguis. 

Tianguis happens on an appointed day of  the week in almost every town of Mexico.

 That day vendors take over the streets to sell goods, an open day market.

I also got to eat my very favorite food, mole. 

 I love mole! My Mom has cooked  it for me since I was a baby.

 It has been a long time since I've eaten it. More than 6 years! 

I know we can go to Walmart or some other store and get a jar of mole, but trust me, it will never taste as good as the one made with all these ingredients. 

                                           It's THE LITTLE THINGS that make it taste soo good.

I don't have the recipe. I only will tell you some of the ingredients my Mom puts in it: Fried tortilla,
almonds, fried cookies named Galletas Marias, onion, peanuts, 

chocolate named Chocolate Aguelita, clove, raisins, fried bread, garlic, 

and sesame seeds are some of the ingredients in mole. 

I'm very grateful for the chance of finally going to visit my Mexico after a long time ago. 

I couldn't ask for anything better to finish 2012!

Linking to Little Things Thursday

From the Antartic

Hola! It's soo cold in Nebraska! I made some tasty hamburger soup to keep kids and me warm. Cooking in the winter is the easiest, since my kids love soups, I just threw stuff in a pot and let it boil!

I decided to add some chile serrano in the soup. To make the kids dance el Jarabe Tapatio, but they ended up doing gangnam style!

A Bailar!!

La Marcha de Zacatecas

I love the way the United States Navy Band plays La Marcha de Zacatecas.
They also have other good pieces of music in here. There, they have Anchors Away, we sailors never forget Anchors Away! For me, it reminds me of boot camp, more than getting underway.

Listening to the clear sounds of La Marcha de Zacatecas played by the Navy Band, was really nice.

But the way I listened to it, back home, was very different. The way we enjoy La Marcha de Zacatecas is when it's played by a band with a tuba and big tambor (drum), in the middle of lots of dust. Yes, It has to be dusty!

Viva la musica Mexicana!

I'm home sick!