Month: December 2021

We woke up, the other day, much lighter of heart, and spirit.

It was an actual physical feeling of having more room in my chest to breathe, the ability to feel a sense of joy. It had been several weeks that I had the feeling of my chest, filling to capacity, with doom, and gloom; then, it seemed to fill even more. Last week, it finally exploded.

I wondered if the feeling would ever go away. It did. It is gone.

It has been replaced by a sensation of calm, healing love, and joy.

We have adopted the most incredible family here; not replacing our families up North; able to fill the incredible void our moving caused. They are far more expressive with their love, for example, as emotions seem to come more easily here.

Good for us, for sure. We have needed the love, and support the Garcia’s have given us. They are the most wonderful family we could have chosen; they chose us as well. We could not ask for more.

They were with us through the entire time of Juan’s passing, even afterwards; far more important, in our estimation. They were able to help us when we had no idea what to do after he passed. Where to go; who to call, etc. The whole of the Garcia/Galicia families took us up, and helped us figure out everything. We cannot thank them enough.

We will try, however.

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Post script: our Christmas table as it is, for now. The other tablecloth has not arrived yet.

It has been a difficult week; obviously.

Today, however, we are filled with joy; and the wonderful feeling of life.

We had been “in the dumps”, so to speak, all week, after the death of my father in law, Juan. He lived a blessed, joyful, though, sometimes difficult life for ninety three and one half years. He was in intractable pain, would no longer eat, then, could no longer say more than a few words to us. He passed, while sleeping, the night of the tenth of December. He is pain free.

We are not going to put up the tree this year; it is too late now anyway. Plus, our hearts are not in it. We are going to put up a few strands of lights I think; tomorrow, maybe. We shall see.

We have no earthly idea where our ornaments are anyway. Here in the apartment, upstairs in the storage unit? Heaven only knows. They are not divulging the whereabouts.

I did order a couple of festive table runners, and a holiday tablecloth, or two, so those should be here within the week. That might brighten the place up a bit.

In the meantime, please, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

This past weekend, December 12th, was the pilgrimage of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe throughout México.

Because of said pilgrimage, it added a bit more than one hour to our travel time. The highway was stop, and wait, traffic the entire time. It was vert slow going but it was quite spectacular to behold.

I have no idea how many cities and states were represented; there were hundreds, possibly thousands, of trucks and cars, all brightly adorned with statues and different religious icons, flowers, banners.

Alongside the highway, safely guarded by trucks and cars, were the runners; they ran in relays, each running a prescribed distance, carrying a lit torch. Most runners were about a quarter kilometer apart, though some were more than several kilometers apart.

It was all done by noon on Sunday, after a Saturday night of celebration and another whole night of what sounded like a war zone. What I found out on Saturday night was that the noise was made by smallish explosives, bound in newspaper and mounted on long sticks. The sticks were thrown several feet away, and exploded on impact. The noise, explosions, sometimes shook the house. No sleep, but a resounding display of religious faith. Quite a sight. Quite beautiful.

Several making a pilgrimage to the local cemetery went by the window this morning, so I took a short video. Here are a few photos of the participants.

The sadness of our recent loss is easing; the recent memories are starting to dim, never to be forgotten, however. El esta en paz.

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

I am going to make this quick: my father in law passed away the other night.

We have followed the promises we made to him, so we, too, are at peace. We know he is with his Yola, and no longer in pain.

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

You may be interested to know that our remodeling adventure is coming to an end.

We have ordered what we believe to be the last pieces of furniture to be made, which will, in theory, be delivered sometime before the holidays. If not, then, after the holidays. All the same to us. Done is done.

Meanwhile, we have some neighbors, upstairs, two floors above us, that have just begun their remodeling. The construction noise, from eight thirty in the morning until six in the evening, is incredible. I hope our remodeling did not sound this loud.

That said, Ivan has been shuffling the contents of totes back and forth, from this tote, to that tote, only to be put into another tote altogether. He has, magically, made a much more livable space for us to ….. wait for it….. live in.

Our biggest problem with that is trying to remember where everything is, or was, or might be. Jesús has taken at least a dozen totes, large, and small, up to our storage space on the roof. We have only, more or less, a dozen more to empty, or, rearrange, and we will be tote-free. Everyone should be tote-free. They are useful things, but take up so much livable space, and look terrible. It should tell you something that we have gotten used to the “look”; I am calling it “hardware chic”. 😉

Conversely, it is so quiet here, after construction stops, without Lizbeth, and Gabi; you could hear a pin drop. (If I was lackadaisical about such things; but I am not). I will be right back. Do not go anywhere.

Sorry for the interruption; I heard knocking, which I thought was the front door. But NO! It was the construction workers upstairs. The funnier thing was that two other apartment dwellers, on this floor, opened their doors as well. Now that was funny. (It has been a difficult two weeks. One laughs at whatever one can find about which to laugh.)

I will end with a simple note: I would like you to understand that Juan’s health is continuing to decline. He will not be leaving us physically, but will do so spiritually, sooner than I expected. I am not going to keep updating you, as I had hoped to do, but will let you know when he leaves us. These were his wishes, and we swore to him that we would respect them. We have.

You, however, need to stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

If you want to be inspired to eat, or, better yet, cook Mexican food, watch MasterChef México, any year.

Actually, the first episode started in 2015, which I, of course, only started watching a few weeks ago. LOVE IT!!!

I cannot tell you how much it has inspired me to educate myself in cooking foods, mostly regional dishes; ingredients of which I have never heard, much less seen.

There are so many different types of food here that I have never seen in the US; huauzontle, for example. It is a brassica, I believe, similar to broccoli, but grown on a long stalk, or stem. I have no idea what it tastes like, and, as I cannot find it, yet, in any grocery store, it will remain a mystery until I do.

In the series, however, several episodes show contestants cooking with it, and it seems to be enjoyed by the three judges, as a treat. As I said, I cannot find it anywhere. How is a person supposed to learn how to cook with something if it is not available?

Until I find it, and cook with it, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

We had the opportunity to get out of the apartment for twenty four hours, so,

we took it.

Ana, sister of Jesús, came over, and spent the night, the other night, so we could take Lizbeth, and Gabi, to Los Altos. We were gone, as I said, only twenty four hours, but had a chance to rest, breathe fresh air, walk outside, and do absolutely nothing but enjoy the sun.

We will be back by mid afternoon, and will start in again, caring for Juan; that is perfectly fine with me. I was able to do the things I needed to do to recharge my self, and I am ready to persevere.

I have to say, though, that it is very cold in LA, this time of year, and, it has been promised to get even colder in the next few weeks. Remember, there is no central heat, no space heaters, no electric blankets, nothing. The walls, ceilings, and floors are all concrete, and, they all hold onto the cold just like they do in CDMX. Taking a shower, here, is out of the question right now. (We shower before coming here.)

Another person, close to us, has contracted CoVid, but is recovering nicely. This person has not had to go to the hospital, to be given respiratory assistance. This person has used their natural immunity to overcome this, and, should, now, be completely immune to other variants. Natural immunity; God’s way of healing you.

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.m

We are all still here; still trying to adjust.

It takes time to add another person to one’s life; especially one that is in need of continuous care. Not that it is inconvenient, or uncomfortable; it is an obligation, and a privilege.

Unfortunately, for me, it is also a lot of physical work. An obligation is just that, however; an obligation we took on several years ago.

Another unfortunate thing, for us, is that we are watching my father in law, Juan, going into a continual decline. I try to keep his mind occupied, with shows on the computer, or, try to get him to sit up on the side of his bed, or, perhaps, to walk down the six feet long hallway, but, alas, he wants to do none of the above.

He does not even want to eat anymore. When I ask him if he is hungry, he always answers that he is not. So, I have to cajole him into eating anything. I truly thought we could bring him out of this tailspin as easily as we had before, but, not so. This time, I am afraid, he is winning.

He can, occasionally, get up to the bathroom, but cannot sit, or stand, for any length of time. He will not walk more than to the bathroom, and back, so flexing those painful back muscles is almost impossible.

I encourage him to drink a smoothie that I make him daily, that has a fresh banana, protein powder, chia seeds, psyllium husk, milk, and water; just to keep some fiber in him so he can more easily move his bowels. There are days when he will not even take more than a swallow or two. He will eat a bit of papaya, but only if I badger him.

Mostly, though, he sleeps. He sleeps most of the day, and, I assume, quite a bit of the night.

Good days, bad days. There have been more of the latter lately; I want more of the former. We cannot all have our way.

Please, keep Juan in your prayers. We continue to do what we can, and will do so until there is no more to be done.

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Today is another day, full of promise, without expectations.

I, however, am spent. Not even coffee helps. I need to feel the sun for a bit. I need to breathe fresh air. I need to walk outside, just for a few minutes. I, I, I.

How sad it is to read the above paragraph. I am not normally so morose, but today seems to be my day of being so. Poor me.

I took on the obligation of caring for another person, and I will see it fulfilled. Most days, however, I just wish I was ten years younger, so I would have more energy. Taking care of someone else requires full time participation. I certainly did not realize this five years ago. I do now. I will endeavor. I will persevere. I will continue to do my best.

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones. Omicron is just getting started. Do not let it finish you.