Flour Mites

Might that be a mite?  Sure turned out to be. I had them in a nearly new bag of flour six months ago so this time I put the flour in sealable plastic containers. Didn't do any good so I just threw out two bags. I wanted to know how they showed up and from a lot of reading I find they are in the flour when you buy it. I guess that means use it fast but I haven't tried baking for a few months. Another article suggests freezing it for a few days after you buy it. Just went through my rice, beans, seeds and nuts but they look to be ok.

How Did They Get Into My Kitchen?

Both flour mites and weevils will have come into your kitchen through your flour or wheat products. A few bugs can lay many eggs, and if your products are being stored for a long time, these eggs can hatch and cause an infestation. Other factors, such as heat, can increase the reproduction rate of the pests, making the problem much worse.

Prevention

To prevent the problem reoccurring, store your products in clean airtight containers. You can even try some simple home remedies such as freezing the produce for a few days to kill any bugs present and prevent the eggs from hatching or adding a few bay leaves into your wheat products, which will act as a deterrent for the pests.

Nahima's Kitchen

It's got everything

A stove, fridge, sink and coffee maker

Nahima with Linda's doll present

There is nothing religious or sacred about Christmas for me. It's just vacation time and time to make some kids happy with a few presents, especially the younger ones. We went into town yesterday for a number of things including a trip to the Mirador and that is where Nahima is standing. Lorena had put the kitchen on "lay-away" and they snuck it into the back of my car so Nahima wouldn't see and then hid it in my bodega. I had a vague idea what it was so bought a large package of kitchen utensils. 

Linda brought the hippy doll down from Canada and a pair of long pants. Nahima wants to sleep in them. Yare got a colored pencil set and some clothes .... and Euriel got a Hotrod magazine.

Gonna have about 15 people over tomorrow for carne asada and shrimp and I think we have most everything, but I need to pick up friends tomorrow so will get what we forgot.

Gimme a new kitchen faucet

I don't remember the time table involved but the old faucet was something else Shoe left behind. I decided to use it but bought a new one at Home Depot somewhere along the line. The old one never gave me any trouble so the new one sat on a shelf in the bodega for over a year. The Mr. Clean in me took a closer look the other day and it was looking bad. Partly due to the old faucet is plated - not solid, partly due to the hard water and due to the base gasket not fitting well. I was concerned about the sink and not just the faucet or the look.

After cleaning the cob webs so I could see the cold water nut under the sink was a breeze.  The hot water nut took about an hour to get off and there wasn't much left when I was through.   My neighbor might have powered it off by hand but I'm not that strong any more. So with a sharp scraper and a plastic "steel wool" the sink cleaned up nicely.   New handles are nicer and the faucet is a little higher .... and it's clean.  Nothing the matter with the old one and neighbors may want it.  They say theirs leaks.   We'll see.

The original

Underneath and broken fasten nut

Almost like new

New faucet

Fotos of the Digs

A couple other bloggers have been posting fotos of their houses and suggesting we do the same. Well why not. Don't know if it reveals much about that blogger unless it's how organized they are or if they cleaned up just for the fotos which I did not.   I took some fotos of the bedrooms and "living" but I need to figure out low light and this camera without a flash.

First is the kitchen which some may have seen on my house building blog Kitchen Cabinets.  I said those cabinets would keep things off the counter but it doesn't seem to work that way here. I plan to build shelves under the counters and hang colorful curtains in front but the logistics of  how to do it has escaped me.  I'm definitely not going to have custom cabinets built. Could also use a larger fridge - some day!

The other is the bodega which happens to be full of my Canadian neighbors stuff.   Their house was broken into while they are up north and neighbors and I filled a pickup and bought it over here after we found the broken door lock.   Also kiddie pool, lots of lumber, beach toys ... and all the stuff I've accumulated from construction and maintenance. Also a favorite hiding place for my dog when the fireworks are going off.

Surprising what you can get done in this heat

Looking at each day I don't think I get much done but looking back at the last two weeks ... actually quite a bit. Just like today, my battery died for the second time and this time it was fatal. After working in the sun with the help of neighbors we decided it was dead. What are you going to do on a Sunday in our area ... so after a jump I drove to Cihuatlan and Bodega Aurrera. They had the battery I needed so I changed it in the parking lot SUN. While I was there I noticed they had the matrimonial (double) sized mattresses they were not supposed to have for two more weeks ... I got one.

Then my Canadian neighbors arrived for their six month stay and welcoming them back took the rest of the afternoon.

Yesterday I finished painting the kitchen. Only white primer but that's the way it will stay for quite awhile. That is the last of the house painting for awhile. I also delivered my unwanted agave plants to a fellow in Barra de Navidad. I just don't have room for very many spiny plants.

Friday morning I flagged down a gas tank truck to fill my new stationary tank on the roof. Spent the rest of the afternoon getting my stove and hot water heater working. It was a combination of figuring out if valves were open or closed, all the stove parts had to be installed for the burners to work .... and gas was surprisingly slow coming thru the pipes.

The week before I had a plumber make the connections to the water heater, the stove and install the first bathroom. I also bought all the identical fixtures for the second bathroom.

The heat makes me feel like not working ... but somehow things get done. It may be because I have no real deadline and time means less when you are retired ... and in Mexico

Kitchen is painted

First bedroon that looks like a bedroom