The Chickens are Back...

I went to the super today to pick up a few things and, lo and behold, the chickens are back. Finally! Whole frozen chickens were finally available in the grocery store. I only bought one since I was on my motorcycle and had a few other things to get. But that bird is now resting in my fridge, thawing his frozen self. I took the Ronco™ Showtime Rotisserie & BBQ (another shameless plug, but what the heck) back to Sandi's house last night, so I think this chicken will end up roasted in the oven along with some carrots, potatoes, onions, pataste, etc. It might make for a nice Sunday dinner.

Oh, my theory about higher prices seems to be correct. The chickens were about 3 Lempiras per pound (15¢) more expensive than before the holidays. The prices of rice and beans have steadily crept up, too. In fact, LOTS of prices are increasing quickly. Cat food is up 20 Lps a bag. That's just over a one dollar increase.

After I got back from the super, I left my moto up front, outside the gate, telling the guard that I would be right back after I put my groceries away. He told me that the moto seat would get hot very quickly and I told him that I really would be right back. He was probably thinking that I was planning to 'be back soon' Honduran style. That could be anywhere from 30 or 40 minutes to a couple of hours. No, I was back in less than five and the seat wasn't too bad.

From there I had decided to go have some pupusas for lunch. It's been way too long since I had some. Well, actually, I took Adán out for pupusas right before I headed to the States, so I guess it hasn't really been that long. I went to the pupusa place on the boulevard, the same place I went with Adán. In fact, I sat at the same table. I wasn't being sentimental, just practical. From there I had a clear view of my motorcycle on the street. Before my lunch arrived, a man and his young son walked in and ordered. I ended up talking with them for a few minutes. The little boy, Antony, was three years old. It always feels good to get out and stretch my 'Spanish wings'.

After lunch, it was off to the ferretería (the hardware store). I was on the search for some garden pots and soil. I'm starting an herb garden. Nothing major. While in the States I bought seeds for sweet basil, Italian parsley, rosemary, oregano, and chives. Add to that some basile de Genoa, from seeds given to me by my friend, Cathy, when I was in NJ for my reunion. She told me that the seeds were four generations old, passed on in her family. Very cool. I'm going to keep both varieties of basil separate so that they don't cross pollinate.

I bought the pots and saw that the ferretería has a large bag of potting soil. I'll get back there with a car or truck before I need to transplant my herbs. I'm starting them inside, using peat pellets that I also bought while stateside.

Actually, already tonight, I've planted both varieties of basil and decided to update my blog before finishing up with the rest of the seeds.

Well, I guess now that my blog is updated and you know that whole chickens are once again available in the store, I should probably get back to planting.

Where's the Chicken?...

OK, this is kind of strange. No, make that very strange. Whole chickens have disappeared from the grocery stores here in Comayagua. After I returned last week, I went to the grocery store fully intending to buy a few whole chickens to roast in the Ronco™ Showtime Rotisserie & BBQ. Shameless plug, I know. But, hey, it's my blog.

Anyway, there were NO whole chickens at Del Corral, my 'usual' grocery store. Nada. Zip. None. They also only had just a little bit of frozen chicken parts. Very strange.

So I thought, "Well, maybe there's been a run on chickens. Some big party or something." I knew that wasn't the case but didn't dwell on it too much. I just went over to the meat counter and got a few thighs and legs to throw in the crock pot.

A few days later I was back at the grocery. Same thing. No whole chickens and very few packages of parts. Hmmm, now this really is a bit odd. Then I started thinking that maybe all the birds dropping out of the sky has had an effect on chickens here. Maybe.

Of course, it could also be some sort of organized way to constrain the supply and thus drive up prices when the chickens suddenly reappear. Time will tell.

I'll bet that when you go to the grocery store in the States none of you ever wonder if there will actually be any chickens to buy. Just another thing to let me know that I'm "not in Kansas any more."

Definitely Home...

Well, let's see, I've been back home for less than 4 full days and already have been super busy.

Trify and Erica picked me up at the airport and it was so good to see them. It was also so good to be back in the warmth. Yeah, the heat in San Pedro might have been a bit extreme, but it sure felt good to me. The last few days here in Comayagua have been much cooler.

On our way back to Comayagua, we stopped at the row of fruit stands that are a fairly regular stop for us. Trify wanted a coconut, and Erica & I also thought it was a good idea. The coconuts weren't as cold as we would have liked, but they were quite tasty anyway. We all quickly finished the coconut water and the girl at the stand hacked our coconuts open so that we could eat the coconut meat.

Back at Enlaces, I quickly unpacked one suitcase. The other still sits on my bedroom floor, with one or two items being emptied from it each day. I think I really need to pick up the pace on the unpacking.

Since getting back, my days have been filled with fighting viruses on our computers and also adding memory to them. I have all but two computers upgraded with memory. The virus battle continues, but it's coming along. One computer seems to be giving me particular fits, though. Ugh! Maybe I'd have more success tilting at windmills?

I'm really hoping to get down to the post office today. It's been a while. Heck, I haven't even gotten my motorcycle out of the bodega yet. I had planned to take it out this week and just ride around in the area, but sometimes our plans have to be laid aside.

So far this morning, I've been spending time on the internet looking for car parts. No, not for me, Silly. I have no car here. I'm looking for car parts for Hermes and Rolando. I'm pretty sure we've got the right one for Rolando, but the ones that Hermes needs are proving to be a bit more difficult. He has pictures of them, and their Spanish names, but I still can't find them. It's proving to be a bit frustrating because I'm normally pretty good at ferreting things out on the interwebs.

My English classes for the adults will start on Monday. I'm going to teach three different classes and will be teaching Monday thru Friday. So far, everyone seems quite excited for the classes to start. Let's see if they're still excited when they have homework or a test.