Saludos Amigos!

Sombreros off to our Mexican friends who celebrate Cinco de Mayo today. On 5 May 1862 the poorly equipped army of General Ignacio Zaragoza, outnumbered almost 2 to 1, defeated invading French forces at the battle of Puebla. The victory created a great surge of national unity that lives on in the collective memory, although the French subsequently prevailed with Louis Napoleon installing Maximilian of Hapsburg as emperor.

Finally, in 1867, president Benito Juarez regained power.

While the Fifth of May is not their Independence Day (16 September is) it's a good excuse for parties. Mexican culture is celebrated around the country, with pride of place in the city of Puebla. Ironically, it is said the biggest Cinco de Mayo celebration is in Los Angeles, USA.

Doesn't that margarita blend nicely with my blog?

Technical Challenges

Now that I finally figured out how to show labels in the sidebar, I need to go back and be more precise about labels for each post. This format does not allow me a third column. At least, not that I’ve discovered. This technology stuff is soooo painful when the right brain fights with the left brain. At any rate, I’ve managed to learn self-control when my internet service is interrupted or non-existent. Four whole days, sympatico!! Mastering the transfer of photos from a digital camera into my computer took many repetitions to sink in. Even then, I’m sure I have duplicate photo sets hiding in my hard drive from prior nervous attempts. Cropping a photo needs perfecting, and maybe learning what dpi means, among other things, duh. I'm working on how to make the URLs active links.


Getting a scanner and making it work will be another molehill out of which I can make a mountain. Tough work, this blogging.


Entirely gratuitous camel photo from my collection. In the United Arab Emirates, camel racing is a national sport and really, an industry. Trainers start working with 2-year-old camels to determine their abilities.

Photo credit: www.camelphotos.com/racing_camels.html#.