The house is finished

[Bullfrog]

@Bullfrog maybe things will get better between the U.S and Mexico w/Trump in office and perhaps we can work together to brighten the future of many Mexican people there also. One can hope!

In an international survey of 43 nations to measure their happiness on a scale of one to ten Mexico had the highest overall score.

http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-happy-43-countries-are-2014-10

Mexico, a country plagued with crime and corruption, had the overall highest score in the survey, measuring in at 79% satisfaction in life. Mexico's response represents a shift in what The Economist called a "fraying link between happiness and income."

I practiced an ancient Yaqui religion of Mexico for years, they used psychotropic plants to raise their awareness. One of the beliefs is "If you reduce your wants to nothing, the smallest thing is truly a gift."

So overall, even though they are extremely poor, they are happy. They accept their lot in life and embrace life and celebrate. You might be shocked at the poverty if you came to my community but this life is all that they know. The horse is the family vehicle, it is used daily to bring home cane for sugar and coffee beans, a teen here nervously asks his dad to borrow the horse for a date just as a teen asks to borrow the car in America.

Houses made of bamboo with a dirt floor are common here.

All of these kids live in this house.

 

[DrCase]

Beautiful place , Bullfrog

 

[Bullfrog]

Thanks DrCase, I found another picture that shows the entire house but it is on my laptop, I will post it this evening.

 

[j.w]

The old saying is true...........Money can't buy happiness but it is also true that a lot of Mexicans are coming across the border here cuz they need money to help their families survive because of a gov't that can't or won't help them. All those that want to come to improve their lives and families are good people but some others come for reasons that are not so good as I'm sure we all have heard. All that come should come here legally. We and our forefathers all made this world the way it is and we live w/the results. It is too bad there is not all good in everyone so that we could travel and share w/o war and walls but evil enters in and destroys that dream for the good. What we do now is try to protect ourselves and our families from the evil. We can only hope to make things better but it will never be perfect as this isn't Heaven.

 

[addy1]

Beautiful job on the house, it looks wonderful!

 

[Bullfrog]

Beautiful job on the house, it looks wonderful!

Thank you, here is the complete view, we love it , it is so quiet. All you hear are birds and an occasional train whistle in the distance which Gloria loves to hear for some reason. Even when I am away from her as I am now when I hear a train I think of her.

As you can see we have two fireplaces, one in the living room and one in the bedroom. It never gets really cold here but according to Gloria, anything above 78 is "Terrible hot" and anything below 64 is "Terrible cold"

I just like the ambiance of a nice wood fire popping nearby in the room. We can feel it from the sofa which is nice. Maybe as I get older the fire will get better. As Two Bears said on "Dancing with Wolves",

"At my age, there is nothing better than a good fire."

This was Christmas last year.

 

[Bullfrog]

The old saying is true...........Money can't buy happiness but it is also true that a lot of Mexicans are coming across the border here cuz they need money to help their families survive because of a gov't that can't or won't help them. All those that want to come to improve their lives and families are good people but some others come for reasons that are not so good as I'm sure we all have heard. All that come should come here legally. We and our forefathers all made this world the way it is and we live w/the results. It is too bad there is not all good in everyone so that we could travel and share w/o war and walls but evil enters in and destroys that dream for the good. What we do now is try to protect ourselves and our families from the evil. We can only hope to make things better but it will never be perfect as this isn't Heaven.

Mexico just standardized the minimum wage nationally to 77 pesos per day, that is $4.13 cents a day, imagine that. A kilo of their bread, tortillas costs 10 pesos, this will feed four to five people as a bread per day. Most of my neighbors eat maybe twice a day and that consists of beans and tortillas cooked on a wood fire to save money on propane.

A hot shower is a fantasy.

They do not celebrate Christmas with gifts, they simply can't afford it. They see the commercials of children opening numerous gifts on Christmas morning and riding new bicycles, big ribbons on a BMW for the wife, they know what they are missing, they just accept it, that they will never have this.

My wife asked our neighbors if they celebrated Christmas and the grandmother said, "If we have food, like maybe a chicken, we celebrate. If we don't have food, we don't"

There is no tree and there are no presents.

No wonder they all want to cross the border and come here to make money for their family.

The mission to grow and distribute corn did not work, perhaps soon there will be a goat for Christmas.

 

[j.w]

@Bullfrog that is sad for us to read cuz we have everything here. Even the poorest of poorest here have it so much better than most there. It is their tight family w/all that love that keeps them happy in Mexico. That's one thing here we have lost. Lots of families here the kids grow up and go away and never hardly see their family's. In crossing the border I cannot blame those that want the best for their families. It is that lower number of some bad people among the good that create all the problems w/the border. We need to keep our borders safe from the bad ones. The good people can apply legally. It is the only way we have of keeping things safe here. Someday I pray things will be better for the good people of Mexico. We might have a chance w/a new president w/some new moves. If we get the chance to find out only time will tell. If not we will stay on the same road we are on and that is a shame.
Love your house you built and the fireplace is wonderful!