Livingthedreamwithdiana.com

By this, I mean new tips for the electronic pencil for my iPad.

As you may, or may not, recall, several months ago my original Apple Pencil died after many years of rigorous use. As I was not in the market for another Apple product, I bought a much less expensive, (though not nearly as good) pencil from Metapen™ on Amazon. I have discovered, recently, that the tips of said pencils wear off, and the pencil stops working like it should. It skips, it stops mid letter, well, it doesn’t function.

So, I bought a small set of replacement tips, also from Amazon in which came 6 tips, all with metal tipped ends, not the stuff that wears off.

Score!!!

I’ve been using it for the past hour, and I have to ask you, “why don’t the manufacturers just sell them with the metal ends on them?” Then I realized that people like me wouldn’t have to buy new tips. Now, they weren’t very expensive, and they were delivered this afternoon, after being placed on order this morning, so I guess it really was a rhetorical question.

Until next time, stay happy, and healthy with the Lord.

One should keep it a holy day of rest.

I can do that. I started yesterday, in fact. Keeping the day just that, a holy day of rest, doesn’t mean you can’t do anything, or go anywhere. It means that it is a day you should stop doing “work”, if you can. It is meant to be a day to rest, and recharge your internal batteries, and to spend much needed time with family.

You can cook, clean, watch your favorite something somewhere, do laundry, those kinds of things. You shouldn’t work for a wage, or cause anyone else to do so, however.

That last one has a bit of tolerance to it in the eyes of the Catholic Church as there are some people who, for many reasons, are constrained to work on Sundays. It is their profession, i.e.first responders, or they are unfortunately poor, and must work to provide for themselves and their families. They, then, should find another day, or set aside some time on Sundays to rest, and refresh.

So, in keeping with this commandment, I am going to find, (not try to find) a Catholic Church near me, regardless of the idiom spoken within, and start going to mass again. It’s been too many years, too many tears later. I want to go to confession as soon as I’m able so I’m praying the Lord will help me find a priest who will assist me with this venture.

Until then, please, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

Liverpool is a large shopping mall here in Mexico City, that I’ve been wanting to return to for several years.

I cannot tell you how disappointed I was, walking through 3 stories of stores for 2 sets of clientele. The first are young adults, and the second are the wealthy. As I am in neither of those groups, I walked around, and tried to remember which entrance I came through.

Having found my way down to the parking level underground, I tried programming in my GPS app called Waze, to find the easiest way out of the parking garage, and on to Home Depot. It wasn’t able to help me until I got above ground, but by then I had made the decision which way to go. Thank the Lord I was going the right way.

As I got to the street on which was my destination, and happens to be 4 lanes each direction, bumper to bumper with cars going nowhere, there was a major back up of vehicles stopping traffic from coming through the intersection. Thank you Lord. I was able to make the right turn onto said street, and was on my way in no time.

When I got home, I asked Max what the best days, and hours are that I can drive without thousands of other cars trying their best to kill me. So, Tu – Thu from 9:30a-11:30a are my target hours. On my way home, I decided not to go to Home Depot that afternoon as the traffic was horrible. As I told my sisters, painted lane designations, speed limit notifications, that sort of thing, oh, red lights, they are “suggestions” not necessarily law.

I’m too old to try to fight my way through dense nutters anymore. At least not until my insurance comes through, the beginning of November.

Until then, I’m going to drive in short visits, at the slower times of the days, and stay happy, and healthy in the Lord. I hope you do too.

Baked potatoes.

I have been driving the car now about a couple of days, and the very first trip, besides the gas station, was to Costco. Of course. I bought a 10# bag of potatoes, a 4-pack of bacon, amongst other things, and have been enjoying a baked potato each day since.

Since I make my own milk kefir sour cream, I can add that to the potatoes, along with a slice of cheddar cheese. I have yet to buy any green onions to make it complete, but one does what one can when one is able. It’s on my list of things to do.

I have to say, loaded baked potatoes are a joy in my life, simple as they may be. Most of you can have them any time you want, but for me, recently getting out into the city, it has been a dream come true.

Having said that, I hope you stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

The BMW was inspected the other day, and passed.

This morning I drove to Costco for the first time in several years. I walked around for at least a hour. Then, on the way home, I stopped at Home Depot, and walked around there for not quite an hour. So much has changed in each store, and there was so much I wasn’t able to find.

Yet.

So, I’ve decided to take care of myself, and go when traffic and I will get along. For now, I’m enjoying the freedom that comes with owning a beautiful vehicle.

Until next time lovely people, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

Bella, and I drove to the gas station, and home again.

Bella is my BMW that’s been held hostage in the garage for 3+ years, just recently having received a very much needed new battery, and inspection. Here she is, in all her glory.

She’s a 2011 BMW X5 35i, and has 71,918 miles. Ivan, and I bought her just before moving down here because the Toyotas we owned weren’t manufactured in a country that was acceptable to customs here. No problem. We traded the newest one in and paid next to nothing for Bella.

I am still having a bit of trouble with some of the nonworking parts, but they aren’t anything that is necessary to drive her. They are some of the luxuries that are included with her style, and vintage.

I was able to have her tank filled, a quart of oil added, windshield washer fluid checked, and all of the tires fully inflated. She runs just as I remember her doing. I told my sisters in a text that she practically drives herself, I simply have to start the engine.

Until next time folks, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

I do enjoy shenanigans.

If I’m the one instigating them. And I’m good at them, even if I say so myself.

This past week I have been doing quite a bit of horticultural shenanigans. I’ve repotted dozens of plants into “communities” of plants, no longer left alone, orphaned, sad.

After all of that, I have also rearranged their living spaces. Again. It’s what I do. Wrong, right, then better.

I’ve been learning to stop tending them by the dictates of an app, but by actually poking the soil, feeling how dry, or damp it is. By lifting the pot, and feeling its weight. Is it heavy, and damp. No watering needed regardless of the app. Light weight, dry, then it gets a thorough watering until the water comes out of the drainage hole. Do this, and repeat.

I cannot tell you how much better they all look, and how much less stress I’m under, knowing that 1) they’re living in groups of their own species so I don’t have tons of individual plants to keep track of, but one pot, with the whole family within. And 2) in knowing that they’ve been soaked through, and draining well, if I miss checking on them as maybe I should, (I mean I’ve only just started doing this so give me some time to adjust before you criticize me, ok?) they aren’t going to shrivel up, and (gasp) die.

You may already practice taking care of your plants this way, but it’s all new to me. I knew when to water my outdoor plants years ago, but this is a whole new adventure.

And I’m loving every minute of it.

Until next time, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

Post script: I hope you all enjoy a very Happy Halloween. Stay safe.

I discovered something this afternoon.

I’ve been beating myself up recently because I’ve not been getting outside to take my daily walks until well after noon. I used to be out of the apartment by 10:30a at the latest, and back home in time for brunch.

Things have changed, and I just need to accept them, and move on.

I’m a morning person. I’ve always been a morning person, to my recollection. 🤣 Why then, after 71 years of life, have I all of a sudden tried to make myself something I’m not? (That was rhetorical, really. I already have the answer, so don’t trouble yourself trying to figure it out. 🫂)

I enjoy getting all of my todo list done in the morning, after my coffee, well, during my coffee, and breakfast, truth be told. I told my sisters the other day that it takes me at least an hour to eat my breakfast, warm or cold, is of no significance. I have things to do, and they need to be done whilst I have the energy, and, more importantly, motivation to do them, or they don’t get done.

I won’t list the things I do in the morning because some of you probably do them as well. For me, though, it’s been a time of enlightenment, realizing it’s ok to not walk until afternoon. I’ve done my chores in the morning, and now I have time for a leisurely, enjoyable walk. I can amble about wherever the route takes me. I’m no longer on a schedule, needing to be back home at a certain time. It’s very freeing I must say.

So, until next we meet, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

Ok, so it wasn’t exactly wine, or roses.

Actually, it was Anthuriums, Chlorophyllums, Crassulas, Echeverrías, Haworthiopsis, Orbeas, and Sansevierías. No wine was consumed.

Max, and I have spent the last 2 days going through all of my plants, of which, as you can see from their botanical names, I have several. Of 3 of them, I have multiples, that are driving me crazy(ier). They are all around the living room, on high shelves, and, unfortunately, not being pampered, much less even looked at.

That has all changed. We made new potting soil mixtures, removing old soil, (as needed), replaced it with new soil, with perlite, and orchid bark amendments, and finding them new accommodations.

Then, the CDMX water-sensitive plants, were given a very thorough watering with distilled, mineral free water, allowing the water to run from the drainage holes, about 1L in total for each plant.

They look amazing, and it’s only been 2 days. Thank you Lord. I’m praying I can keep them alive, and healthy for as long as they want to stay with me.

Until next time, my lovelies, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

These 5 became a community, below.

There have been only 2 different occasions when I’ve heard our 3 sets of wind chimes sing.

The 1st, and most infrequent hearing is when we have an earthquake, thank you Jesus. That’s exactly why Ivan had me buy them, and put them where we can hear them. (Thank you honey.🥰)

The 2nd, an almost daily occurrence, is when I go through the laundry area, into the pantry. All 3 chimes are hung on my clothes line. As the window is open 24/7 for about 10 months of the year, if there’s any breeze that comes in that way, I’ll hear it.

Today was that day. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard them make such peaceful, melodic notes as they did today. I happened to be in the kitchen, vacuum sealing this, and that, when it started. I had to stop what I was doing to make sure it wasn’t a quake. Thank the Lord, it was not.

I finished what I had been doing, went back to the back of the apartment, to my office, feeling only the slightest amount of breeze in there. I’m considering bringing in one of the chimes to hang by the window. That would be lovely.

Until that happens, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

Post script: a very happy birthday to 2 of my grandchildren, Lucas, and Sawyer tomorrow. I hope you both have a wonderful day.