More Liana

I think this statement is confusing and misleading. It sounds like a nit-pick, but it's really incorrect. Most Social Security payments to retirees living in Mexico are made to their USA bank accounts, not to a Mexican account. At one time I received Social Security to my USA bank; now I receive that benefit to my Mexican bank. Two different things altogether. The number of American retirees who receive Social Security payments abroad would be better stated as, "The number of American retirees living abroad who receive Social Security payments..." etc.

I have received nothing. I used Get My Payment and, prior to the announced cutoff date, followed their instructions to the letter. I still get the message "Payment Status Not Available". I have written to my senator without response. I don't know what to do next. $1200USD may not be much to some of you, but it is a lot to me and I am eligible for the payment.

Mexican breweries are scheduled to resume production as of June 1, 2020. https://www.infobae.com/america/mexico/2020/05/17/industria-cervecera-mexicana-ya-tiene-fecha-para-regresar-a-la-produccion-de-las-bebidas-alcoholicas/

The most common name in Spanish for these masks is "cubrebocas". Mouth covers. Many people don't "get it" that the nose also needs to be covered.

I use my Bancomer debit card OR my BBVA Wallet. Both work fine.

The link broke after I posted the first plumbago photo.

I have used medicines from Farmacia Similares in various towns and cities--Ajijic, Guadalajara, Morelia, Pátzcuaro, Mexico City, etc--for nearly 20 years. In the beginning, I studied the ingredients listed on each medicine's box to make sure that they were the same as on their corresponding brand-name medicines. I have never seen that the ingredients on brand-name medicines that have been prescribed for me are different from those listed on the boxes of generics from Farmacia Similares. I have been 100% satisfied in all of my dealings with them and in all that time, I haven't purchased meds from any other pharmacy. I ALWAYS take advantage of Monday's 25% discount--this past Monday, I bought 2 boxes of a medicine I regularly take and the discount from the regular low price was 64.50 pesos. In addition, for any minor ailment I have (I am susceptible to earaches, for example), I see the on-site doctor at any of the Farmacias Similares. For an earache, the doctor prescribes what I need, I pay the 40 peso fee, and buy my medicine right there. Dr. Victor González, the founder of Farmacia Similares, has done a tremendous service for all of us who live here. Inexpensive, reliable medicines are a boon. I am grateful for his making my life better.

In my post above, I posted a photo of hydrangea (it's still there in the post) and another of plumbago. The plumbago photo has disappeared. Here's another of plumbago. The flowers are very different from hydrangea and the leaves are nothing like hydrangea--and plumbago is a vine, while hydrangea can grow to be a large bush.

It's a hydrangea, known in Spanish as hortensia. Look at the shape and pointed edges of the leaves, and look at the individual flowers which will continue to open to form balls of flowers. This is the time of year when hydrangea macrofilla is in bud and in bloom. I just took the picture (the pink and blue flowers, green leaves) in my patio. Cape leadwort (aka plumbago) is a different plant. Look at the leaves, they are nothing like the leaves of the hydrangea.

This is great news for those of us who have our SS direct deposited to a bank in Mexico, Ginger. I also have my SS monthly benefit deposited to Bancomer, but have yet to see the deposit of the stimulus benefit.

If Soriana has both light and dark brown sugar--the kinds normally used in the USA and Canada--I'm impressed. I've never seen either in any Mexican supermarket or municipal market. If you find them, could you take a picture of both packages? I'd like to see what you've found--so I know what to look for should I go to Soriana. Thanks!

In case anyone wondered, "brisket" in Spanish is "pecho". It's a big cut of meat; you want either the point or the flat but probably not the whole pecho.. Point cut corned beef are rounder and they generally have more marbling or fat. This is the reason why a lot of people find them to be more flavorful, tender and more juicy. Flat cut corned beef (also called round cut), on the other hand, are leaner and easier to slice, so it looks better for presentation.

Do any of you remember Sharon Scherner and Sheila de la Fuente, her wife? They lived in Ajijic and then in Chapala from about 1998 until 2002, when they returned to the States. Sheila passed away in Eugene, Oregon on April 20, 2020. She is survived by her wife, Sharon, and their daughter, Tara Scherner de la Fuente. In the photo below, Sheila is seated. Her obituary: https://musgroves.com/tribute/details/187977/Sheila-de-la-Fuente/obituary.html#tribute-start

In Morelia I normally buy Bachoco large white-shell eggs at Walmart in the 12 or 18 egg box, today's price is 29 pesos for 12. Lately I've been impressed by the size: enormous! And the yolks are deep golden yellow. I've also purchased white-shell eggs by the kilo at the municipal market nearest me: small to very small, and more expensive than at Walmart. Yolks are pale yellow. I've also purchased organic free-range pinkish-brown-shell eggs by the kilo at the same market: even smaller and even more expensive. Yolks are even paler yellow.

That 80/20 Walmart ground beef used to be wonderful; like you, I purchased it and praised it for years. About 6 months ago (or more) I stopped buying 80/20 ground beef from Walmart for exactly the reasons you described. It was (and continues to be, from your description) disgusting--about a half step up from "pink slime". I started buying 90/10, and it was equally gross. I have bitched and moaned to in-store management and to on-line customer service, but to no avail. I have no idea what the heck they're selling, but it is NOT ground beef. <shudder> I still occasionally buy ground beef from Walmart, but only the Sonora or the Angus. It's far too expensive, but at least up until now it is actual ground beef that one might want to eat.