Holiday Happenings

Holiday Happenings

Mexico is a Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious country with a town called San Miguel de Allende. It's just like London during 1837! There are horse drawn wagons, cathedrals, cobblestone roads, building built out of white walls painted colors with call, with wooden crossbeams and tile roofs, dark alleys, parks, palaces, taverns, etc. The head of all the cathedrals is the Paroquia. All the churches have a statue with Jesus and the Christians. San Miguel has four parks. For my outings, I go to the the largest park of the village: Parque Juarez (a Spanish term for "the Park of Juarez). Beside it is a hotel called Rosewood with a wide green lawn and a couple swimming pool for the Summer. They even have a jacuzzi there as well. On summer vacations, we go to plenty of pools. Dad once took me to Rosewood, and I had fun, but not as much as in Xote, for they have a full blown water park with slides. There's also the Balnarios in Escondido, a series of pools that we used to visit. In the center of the city, beside the Paroquia, is a smaller park. It has a gazebo that is decorated with Jesus and his parents in Bethlehem for the annual Christmas Holidays. Next the mercado (market) is another park with a large statue of a soldier riding on a horse. The soldier is San Miguel himself, for it is old town with crumbling buildings. Pigeons and sparrows come and go, but they are especially attracted to bird seeds. In the town square, they put up an enormous Christmas Tree. There are men selling balloons of all shapes, sizes and colors. They are made the kind of rubber that parade balloons are made of, not latex. Some of them are on stroller weals. Marching through the town are the majestic mojigangas. Perhaps you don't know what mojigangas are. Mojigangas are tall, large costumes with masks where people hide inside, walking around inside the huge costume. There have been many mojigangas of all sorts of characters, including La Muerte. They usually pass a shop where people hand carved wooden action and pain them all colors of the rainbow. Their are lots of restaurants in San Miguel, including Rincon de Don Tomas, La Faldera, La Posadita, Vista Real, Posada Corazon, Mi Casa at Instituto de Allende (The Institute of Allende). The ones in color are my top three favorite restaurants. There's also a Warner Bros. restaurant called La Fragua that has an ice cream shop with a swing called Gelato. It's the best spot to get ice cream! At me casa, Gil Gutierez, a famous guitar musician like my dad. Plus, he's also my uncle. He has a small house at his ranch where we are invited to parties. I am absolutely tempted to build a campfire at his ranch. 

For Christmas, I received about 20 presents. Here's the list

• A harp and harmonica (from Grandma Pillo)
• Animal erasers (from Grandma Pillo)
• A ladybug notebook (from Grandma Pillo)
• Rainbow pens (from Grandma Pillo)
• A Baymax action figure from Big Hero 6 (in San Diego)
• 2 identical penguins of Madagascar (inside a McDonalds Happy Meal from a mall called La Luciernaga (The Firefly), a place that I sometimes go for my outings. It has video games and a movie theater. I like movies and I like playing billiards at the games.)
• 3 Lucha Libre cards to stick on my refrigerator door (from Gil Gutierrez)
• A purple octopus puppet (from Santa Claus)
• A green sponge with a green, purple tailed fish (from Grandma Pillo)
• A suit of armor that I named Sir Justice the Noble (from Santa Claus)
• A sword and shield that I bought at a toy shop on one of my outings with my latest sitter, Brenda.
• Four action figures of the dragons (including Toothless) from How to Train Your Dragon (from Santa Claus)
• A How to Train Your Dragon coloring book (from Santa Claus)
• A Spider Man notepad (from Santa)
• Spider Man headphones (from Santa)
• Pirate weapons (at the mercado with my cousins and their mom, Adriana)
• A How to Train Your Dragon pencil bag (from another mercado)
• A How to Train Your Dragon 2 book (from the book fair, along with the Book of Life)
• A glittering cutout of Santa and another sparkling cutout of church bells (from the other mercado)
• A devil's trident and devil's mask that kind of made me look like Darth Maul, my favorite character from Star Wars (also from the other market
• Three wooden toys of 3 Disney characters: Pinocchio, Geppeto and Dusty from Planes and Planes: Fire and Rescue, my favorite movie (from Santa Claus)
• Disney themed bags where my presents go (from Santa, but one of them was from a third mercado)
• A novel of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (from Santa Claus)
• Cutout models of Big Ben and the Empire State Building (from Santa Claus)
• A lego set of Cars 2, featuring Finn McMissile, Professor Zundapp and a military ship that went perfectly with the Big Ben model (from a store that sold toys and movies called Blockbuster)
• A Disney-Pixar activity book (also from Blockbuster)
• A puzzle of Santa Claus from himself
• A world map puzzle (from Santa Claus)
• A book of making shadow puppets using your hands in French (from Grandma Pillo)
• A book of magic in Spanish (from Grandma Pillo)
• A Harry Potter kit with a wand that came with funky glasses, based on Harry's glasses, though they kind of looked like Luna Lovegood's weird glasses (from Santa Claus)

Those are all my presents, while dad got a book of Tarzan from Pillo and she got cooking supplies from Santa.

Christmas-New Year Holiday

Our Family's Santa Collection

Random Thoughts

Roald Dahl's Wacky World

Harry Potter Seven Seals

Harry Potter Movies. During Vacation I read the book The Chamber of Secrets

I Love the Tri-Wizard Cup

Same House/Different Movie

Wondrous Week

Map of Narnia-I really like these books

Welcome 2015

Book of Life Creators

Dad with Book of Life Creators Jorge Gutierrez and Sandra Equihua in San Miguel

Drawing of Chakal I made for Jorge and Sandra

LOOK! They signed my book! Thank you both.

Thanks for the letter from the both of you! Why should I play from the heart? I’d rather be a bullfighter, so always fight from the heart instead of playing from the heart.

Sincerely, Santiago: Friend of George Gutierrez and your wife, Sandra

P.S. Hurting the bull is wrong, so make sure not to kill it.

P.P.S. Also wear the badge of everlasting life so you don’t get injured either.

P.P.P.S. A bull just destroyed Manolo’s new guitar too! HA! HA! HA!

P.P.P.P.S. Manolo just grew his own mustache just like Joaquin, and Maria doesn’t care.

P.P.P.P.P.S. Chakal and his bandits burned down the bridge shaped like the guitar neck of their town.

P.P.P.P.P.P.S. Just like Joaquin, Manolo likes giving out rings (as well as roses)

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. I thought my dad created the drawings in the book at first.

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. The s at the end of all of these P.S.s is for my first initial.

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. Don’t forget Taco Tuesday comes this week.

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.p.S. There are 100 more P.S.s That could take about the same amount of pages, but this is enough P.S.s.

Walking around San Miguel

Dad's new book

My dad paints books in the basement when we are in Mexico. He says the colors are better.

Lovely Christmas Decorated Luigi (Luigi is the car itself, not the man driving it)

Happy Holidays and Merry "Ho! Ho! Ho!"s

Christmas Coat and Collar

Festive Fur

(Virgin) Mary Christmas

Falling into Christmas

Pegasus Pounding Surf in San Diego

Leaf Angel in Los Gatos at Thanksgiving

Pinecone Picture

Tree Trimming

Lords a Leaping

Moustache Madness

The Battle of Lexington and Concord and the Olive Branch Petition: Cause and Effect

The Battle of Lexington

In the same way that Luke Skywalker from Star Wars was a rebel leader, Samuel Adams and John Hancock led the American Revolution. The British army marched to Boston to capture them, plus to destroy the weapons and ammunition of the Colonists.

Cause: Paul Revere and a couple colonists rode ahead on steeds to warn the local militia about the British army.

Effect: Sam Adams and John Hancock escaped and the local militia had time to hide their weapons and ammo.

The Battle of Lexington wasn't a very big fight, but still it's important, because it's sparked the Revolutionary War. The leader of the colonists was Captain John Parker. When the British arrived in Lexington led my Major John Pitcairn, their were only eighty militiamen in the town. Neither side expected to fight, but a gunshot when off by accident and the British attacked. Most of the colonists were injured of worse, killed, while the British troops won victory. A few colonists fled on foot or horseback.

The Battle of Concord

When the Americans fled Lexington, the British marched to Concord. They met little resistance while searching the city for weapons and ammo. Little did they know the Americans were hiding in the outskirts of town. Watching the British from the other the side of the North Bridge, they waited as more American militia showed up. Once the American force grew stronger, they crossed the North Bridge back to Concord. Eventually, they defeated the British.

Cause: By being brave and not giving up, the Americans were clever, and their forces grew as they waited patiently across the North Bridge.

Effect: The Americans defeated the British and became more confident. The British Commander, Colonel Francis Smith realized the American resistance was growing, and retreated. As they began the long march back to Boston, American forces grew and began to attack and harass the British. 174 British soldiers were wounded and 73 died. In comparison, the Americans had lost 49 men and 41 were wounded. Around 15,000 American militiamen surrounded the city of Boston the day after the two battles happened.

Olive Branch Petition

Thomas Jefferson drafted the first Olive Branch Petition, but John Dickinson worried it might offend King George III. As a result, Dickinson decided to reject independence, and stated the colonies wanted to discuss trade and tax regulations with Great Britain. He asked the King for the same trade laws and taxes as people who lived in England, or none at all. When the Philadelphian delegates learned King George the third would not accept their Petition, they began writing the Declaration of Independence instead, leading them to the Revolutionary War. King George believed the colonists were rebels that formed an illegal congress.

Cause: King George III's rejection of the Olive Branch Petition

Effect: The Revolutionary War

Cause: The Battles of Lexington and Concord

Effect: Signaled the start of the American Revolution

British Retreat from Concord

Battle of Lexington and Concord

Here is what the Olive Branch Petition said
"We beg leave further to assure your Majesty that notwithstanding the sufferings of your loyal colonists during the course of the present controversy, our breasts retain too tender a regard for the kingdom from which we derive our origin to request such a reconciliation as might in any manner be inconsistent with her dignity or welfare. These, related as we are to her, honor and duty, as well as inclination induce us to support and advance; and the apprehensions that now oppress our hearts with unspeakable grief, being once removed, your Majesty will find your faithful subjects on this continent ready and willing at all times, as they ever have been with their lives and fortunes to assure and maintain the rights and interests of your Majesty and of our Mother Country." 

The King threw away the petition but it is important to American Independence. The colonists realized they had to give the King whatever he wanted-just the way he did or break free. Petitions are still important in the U.S.

Magnificent Mojigangas in Mexico

Straw Stag

Perfectly Pointy Piñata

Magnificent Majestic Mojigangas

Trimming the Tree

Calaca Mojiganga

Larger than Life

Skittle Star

Twinkle, twinkle Skittle Star

Wondrous Weird Christmas Trees

The history of Christmas trees is something you might find fascinating. The custom of the Christmas tree started in Germany, but can be traced to the 16th century when Christians brought decorated Christmas trees into their homes. Trees were traditionally decorated with edible treats, such as apples and nuts. In the 18th century, it was lit by candles, until electricity was invented. After Queen Victoria married her German cousin, Prince Albert, she asked him to set up a tree in her Windsor Castle. The illustrated London news published to the picture below on it's cover. In less then ten more years, it became extremely popular for wealthy families. I found some wondrous weird Christmas trees, to share with readers of my blog.

Queen Victoria and Alberts tree

Giant, Gargantuan Godzilla Tree