Mexico City – Diana Fountain near El Ángel de la Independencia (Photo credit: Anirudh Koul)

Some people want to see different parts of the world.   But traveling is costly.   Sometimes we just pay the bills and stay home.

But we can walk around nearby and see and hear things.  Today Michelle and I walked around the neighborhood.  

We heard a few city sounds like the train when it made a loud clanging halt on the tracks and like a lady opening the door to get out of her late-model SUV.

We talked about ways to save money.

“What do you do with those slivers of soap that are left?” I asked.  “I have slivers of white, pink and green. What would happen if I put them in the microwave?” 

“When it gets down to the little,” (wonderful phrase!) Michelle said, there are many ways to make do.  She said her mother takes slivers of soap and puts them in water until they’re liquified, then puts that liquid into empty liquid hand soap containers.  The substance isn’t just right but it works.

Before we got back home we took phone pictures of an old beige building with a black wrought iron balcony that reminded me of Mexico.  Those elegant simple arid but inviting intriguing mysterious places with balconies I’ve seen in pictures of Mexico. 

A heart can ache not being on a balcony in Mexico.  It can hurt not to look out at the night while a soft breeze and an acoustic guitar lull me faraway.  Maybe someday.

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http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/may97/k7618-15i.jpg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For four days I craved apples.  Rarely have I wanted fresh fruit so much.  As often happens, deprivation increased desire.  Tart but sweet apples and juicy seedless grapes, red or white, filled my mind but not my stomach.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, I suddenly remembered the Mexican market right around the corner.

Inside the store, appealing energizing Mexican music played in the background while I spotted bright yellow Golden Delicious apples and also leathery-looking avocados that have that smooth buttery taste.

Before I went to the register to pay for two apples and one avocado I walked through the aisles of La Cabana,  Spanish for “hut,” a simple one-story shelter.  La Cabana’s Cleveland, Tennessee address is 325 Central Avenue NE.  The phone number is 423-614-3269.

All kinds of Mexican foods like tortillas and frijoles sat on the shelves and in the back I found a lime drink called Jarrito.

At the front of the store I saw Bimbo bread.  The word bimbo has negative meaning in some cases but if you’d like, go to http://www.bimbobakeriesusa.com for positive news about Bimbo.

Bread and other bakery items made and distributed by Bimbo include the brands many of us know like Boboli, Entenmann’s and Sara Lee.  But Bimbo also offers brands like Tia Rosa, the number one tortilla in Mexico.

Bimbo’s mission is to “nourish and delight.”  Besides feeding stomachs, Bimbo feeds souls by contributing to service and charitable organizations like Feeding America; the March of Dimes; Junior Achievement; the Special Olympics and more.

All this because of apples.  Fresh fruits and fresh vegetables nourish us, along with good bread.

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