Author: iagardener55

Happy forty fourth anniversary to my friend, my husband, my love.

Even HE thought he was going to marry someone else. Little did he know that, until he met me, his life was miserable, lackluster, and boring.

When it was time to go to our Junior year Homecoming dance, he had already asked another girl, “Candy” to go. But, as I was walking close to the center of the main hallway, called the “M”, he yelled across the hallway, “hey, Diana, do you want to go to the dance with me?” All the while he thought I would say no. To his surprise I said yes.

Wow. What was he going to do now? He had already asked the other girl, never believing for a moment I would accept. Hah! I got him!

We went to the dance, and, as they say, “the rest is history”.

That was a long time ago, in a land far, far away. But we have been working at this romance for all of these years, with lots of ups, and downs, good times and bad. But we have come through to this time in our lives where we are happy, content, but still able to explore, and share what we like, what we want, and what we can do to please each other.

It has always been, and will always be a give and take relationship. Compromise is the key. We do not take, take, take. No one is happy doing that. We give as well as take. Actually, we both give more than we take. It makes the taking that much sweeter.

Wash your hands, cover your mouths, stay happy, stay safe, stay healthy.

We got quite a little bit done today. Not the towel bars, or the knife racks, but I made my second two gallon jug of Kombucha, plus, we set up our printer/scanner. That was a lot more work then I anticipated, let me tell you.

Setting up the printer was easy peasy. The scanner, however, was not so easy. Well, not until my sister in law, you know her as Mayra, told me about the HP Smart app!!! It saved me tons of time setting up things. She was able to scan some important documents to my email, I printed them, filled in the information that was necessary, and, with her help with the app, I was able to, using my phone, scan them back to her email!!! The twenty first century is amazing, is it not??

We got out for a little while, and went to our favorite store, Costco. Stocked up on tequila, since the president keeps changing the laws regarding its sale, we decided to go big. The last ban has been in place since the beginning of May, and was supposed to go through mid-June. Today, however, we were able to stock up, so we did. Better safe, than sorry. Right? How can anyone go through this incarceration without alcohol. Do not know what that man was thinking.

Anyway, the towel bars will be tomorrow, supposedly. Plus, I have just received another shipment of bottles for my Kombucha, so that will be tomorrow, as well. We stopped and got some fresh fruit from the green grocer, and I will use that, pureed, to put in the bottles for the second fermentation. Yay!

Wash your hands, cover your mouths, stay home, stay safe.

We are actually contemplating putting up the two towel bars in the two main bathrooms, and the knife racks in the kitchen. Oh, and, there is setting up the copier, as well. I am not sure if we are going to attempt all of those things today, or pace ourselves. We have been so busy I have not had time to post anything.

Ha ha ha ha ha. That was funny. It is boring as Hell here, as I can only imagine it must be for some of you, as well. I have voted that we do one thing each day, spread things out a bit. We certainly do not want to do all of that in one day. What will we have to do the rest of the week? We cannot put anything else away until our cupboards, cabinets, and shelves arrive, and that will not be until the end of June, by the sound of it.

Two people contracted CoVid19 in the small plaza where we do some shopping, so we are unwilling to go there for awhile. An ambulance came by day before yesterday, taking someone in the condo next to us, to the hospital. We have no idea why, but it brings everything a little closer to home.

Speaking of home, one of Ivan’s siblings, back in Iowa, my favorite, has also contracted the virus, but, as of yesterday, she is three days post fever and chills, with no respiratory distress, at present. Hoping that she only gets better from here. Love you girlie girl.

So, you see folks, the virus is still going strong, therefore, we need to remain vigilant at all times. Though it is difficult for us to leave the condo, we do so only when absolutely necessary.

Recently, there has been a restriction put in place, that, due to our age, we cannot go into many of the stores down here except between the hours of 7am-9am, and only one family member at a time. Really? Who in the heck gets up at that time of day anymore? We certainly do not, that is a fact.

Well, wash your hands, stay home, learn how to cook something new, and different. Try baking your own bread. We are back to brewing kombucha, but our sourdough just does not do well at this altitude, for some reason. I have ordered a culture from here in Mexico City, and, hopefully, that will survive. I will let you know how that goes.

Best wishes to all of you. Stay safe, stay happy, stay healthy.

I am sorry that I have not been journaling out quarantine as I should have been. I have gotten bored, lazy, and drunk.

Today, however, I have gotten so much done, I cannot believe it myself.

Last week we bought a pork leg, about twenty kilos of meat, that I cooked in my usual fashion, in the Instant Pot, (onions and beer), but had not “put up” in the freezer, vacuum sealed.

Well, today, I put up six bags of pork, one of chicken broth, one of Mexican fried rice, two of frozen scallops, five milanesas, cooked, and three uncooked thin cut sirloins. (Needless to say, we need to start eating some of this stuff, because our freezer is full.)

Tonight, for dinner, we had steamed mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, and corn), raviolis, with cheese and spinach, plus, pan seared scallops. Mi amor said it was one of the best meals we have had in our quarantine experience! Yay!

Have I been watching Hell’s Kitchen? Hell yes!!! I am up to season twelve, episode five. I can cook better scallops than any of those contestants, and I have never cooked a scallop in my life. Are they to Chef Ramsay’s standards? I have no idea. Were they good? Heck yes, they were great. (I have more in the freezer, and Costco has more in their freezers).

We got some disturbing news yesterday: my sister in law, Mayra, my favorite, has contracted CoVid19. She tells me she has only fever, and teeth crunching chills. She has not seen her children, or grandchildren is several weeks, but, at this post, does not need a ventilator, or any other means of breathing apperatice. She has been such a help to us, down here, that we hope you will all say a prayer for her, and her family.

If any of you have someone that is CoVid19 positive, and want a prayer for them, please let me know, will you? As there are a few people that read this post, we will, indeed, pray for those who need it.

I would ask that you, also, keep my brother, Eric, in your prayers, as he is traveling to Abu Dhabi, with other Mayo Clinic professionals, to assist in the CoVid19 virus there. He will be there for six months, returning to his home in Arizona for one week, every three weeks. Gracias, mi hermano!

Now, back to Chef Ramsay, and those dumb season twelve contestants!!!

Is it just me or has every day become Saturday? No where to go, nothing to do. We cannot even go to Costco anymore without a mask, and only one family member at a time. So, we bought masks from the guy on the street, and went in separately. Clever, I know.

Most days, anymore, I do not even care if I get out of bed. Some days I do not get out of bed.

Does not help my sourdough starter, however. It relies on me to feed it, so, no wonder it is failing. But most days, I feel like I am failing as well.

Getting very tired of confinement. Hope this ends soon.

My first sourdough started did not continue to bubble after I fed it a third time with water that I had boiled. The first two feedings, (see prior post photo), was fed with the water that had been boiled, but left in the electric kettle for the three plus weeks were gone. It must have been full of the natural yeast in the air, which I must have killed by re-boiling the water after we got home.

Needless to say, I have started two more small batches, plus the kombucha is set, all covered up to stay warm.

Nothing much else to tell you. We are tired of not being able to do the things we normally do, as you are too, I would think.

We try to do a few things around the house here but are pretty dispirited at the moment.

The sun is shining, it is almost ninety degrees, and we do not have to go to work. It is an ok day.

Wow, really. Two days ago I started a sourdough starter from AP flour, and filtered water. Here is what it looked like after just twenty four hours.

I started with three tablespoons of King Arthur AP flour, and two and a half tablespoons filtered, (boiled) water, mixed until combined and put a lid on it. This photo was taken around eleven thirty last night, (as we are still unable to sleep a full night). When I removed the lid, it actually sputtered, as if to release the pressure inside. This has been made with just the yeast occurring in the air around us. Plus, it is so f@#$ing hot, just took off.

This morning, however, I was in bed until the afternoon with a migraine, and got up about three in the afternoon to this. Poor thing.

It is still alive, and I have fed it again, and will photo it in the morning to see if I killed it somehow. It was easy enough to start, but fragile. Kind of like me, right?

Here is my other project. Those of you that know me know that Ivan and I have drank kombucha now for three or four years, made completely at home. Flavored in the second fermentation with various combinations of fruits.

I was unable to bring my SCOBY hotel with us so I have had to purchase one online from Amazon.com.mx. It arrived today, complete with my new two gallon dispenser, and I have made the first batch, to ferment over the next two weeks. Hopefully, by then, my flip top bottles will be here, and we can begin our probiotic regimen, as we have done for so long. If you do not know kombucha, and want to try it, get yourself to a natural food store and look for the brand that is unfiltered, unpasteurized, and try a bottle. For those of you in the Quad Cities, go to Fresh Thyme, as they have all kinds of natural foods. Enjoy.

Well, we made it. We are home again, just this afternoon. We have been unable to sleep at the other house, for a variety of reasons.

The other night, I got up at four thirty, to get some Ibuprofen for my very painful back, and noticed there was light coming in under the door. When I opened it, there was my father in law, sitting on the side of his bed, going through the bedside table- obviously looking for something.

I woke Ivan, and had him go put his dad back to bed, but then neither of us could go back to sleep. That, and the mattress, which is not our twelve inch multilayered foam mattress, that we have only slept on for a few weeks, (seems like only twice). So, to be out of our element, so to speak, and now, to return to our element, is nothing short of a miracle.

PLUS- my favorite sister in law has accepted doing us a favor, and is going to Walmart this weekend to buy all of the supplies we need to make our laundry soap. I cannot wait!! I use the Duggar’s liquid soap recipe, and have for years. I absolutely love it. Anyway, Mayra, my sweet, you are the best of the best. I publicly thank you from the bottom of my heart. So will our new washing machine.

I have something to confess- I find that TV series that are about ten years old are amazing. I have recently gotten hooked on “House”, which started in 2004, I believe. I tried watching it several times in the past, but House’s demeanor put me off. Now that I have gotten the “Good Doctor” bug, watching House is a piece of cake.

I enjoy watching the thought process, especially when it comes to medicine. In season one, episode four titles “Maternity”, in the House series, it shows an epidemic taking place in that hospitals maternity ward, with six newborns becoming infected, all experiencing the same symptoms. House and his “crew” of interns spend countless hours trying to figure out the cause.

The hospital administrator comes along to help out with the swabbing of all of the different delivery rooms, the sinks, respirators, everything. One baby dies, they finally decide on the correct antibiotic treatment, the others live, but they do not find the “cause”. Not until the last two and a half minutes.

House is sitting in the lobby of the hospital, watching everyone walking around and through it. He hears someone with a hacking cough, and spots an elderly woman, a volunteer from the Gift Shop, wiping her nose, then touching the small stuffed teddy bears that will be given to the birthing mothers as a gift. It shows in animation, the bacteria that she wipes from her runny nose, how it is transferred to the teddy bears, and from the teddy bear, to the newborn. Amazing.

Last time for today- wash your hands. Wash the handle on the toilets, the door knobs, etc., that people touch, but frequently forget to clean.

Stay happy, and healthy.

Wow! We have had quite a time with my father in law for the past three days! He “misplaced”, (read hid), his wallet, again, and none of us could find it.

Mind you, when he is with just Ivan and me, we have much more control over where he puts things, because we help him. I put notes on his dresser, to place his glasses and his wallet here before going to bed, notes in the bathroom, to leave his razor, and toothbrush on the counter. I put notes all over, so he does not have to try to remember where that something is, or where it should go.

We put notes up in the kitchen, so, if by some chance, he is up before me, he can find the Splenda, the coffee mugs, and, the milk for his coffee. All of them are in Spanish, so he can read them more easily.

Yes, he is losing his short term memory, but that was to be expected. In two months, he will be ninety two years old, and still is up and running, so to speak. Well, that is not true. This coronavirus has really thrown all of our “schedules” into the dirt. We will have to all start over again. Oh well. New beginnings. He is still a fairly vibrant man. We enjoy having him with us.