Category: Initial post

That the current President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, is not in a competent state of mind?

Yet, he has control of the nuclear missile launch codes!!

Have you seen yesterdays episode of Jesse Watters from Fox News? No? Why not? Don’t tell me you’re still watching legacy media. Come on. I’ve taught you better than that.

Watch this, and let it sink in. There are only 3 more days before you need to vote this group out of office. That includes Kamala Harris.

https://youtu.be/ma7j_nvjYw0?si=9hIpsN8FOaaLYMtW

Kissing the babies is no big deal, but the “message” he tried to give to the people in Philadelphia was just more of the same that we’ve seen, and heard over the past 3 years. Even CNN is reporting that he needs to stop going out in public, and just stay home.

Not only that, but White House officials tried to change the official Presidential transcript of the message where the President called Trump supporters garbage. That is a violation of the Presidential Records Act. In other words, that, too, is illegal. Do you see the pattern?

We took care of a family member with Alzheimer’s, and it was not pretty. The constant attention required, the reassurance needed when there were ideas that wouldn’t go away, that weren’t real, weren’t true.

It’s heart breaking to see the decline of robust individuals, but it happens. It’s happening to our President.

Why hasn’t Kamala, along with either/both parties of Congress, voted Biden out of office with the 25th amendment? They wanted to do that with Donald Trump when he was the President, and he’s as sharp as a tack, even now.

Donald Trump is a billionaire for a reason. He knows how to do a deal, legally, and has been doing so for 40+ years. That’s how he gets the attention of foreign government leaders. That’s how he forces places like China to pay huge tariffs on things that used to be produced in the US, but are now only produced there. And with child, and slave labor.

Here in Mexico City, we have spoken with a few individuals we’ve recently met, and they are so disappointed in the current US government. The prices here have been increasing steadily over the past few years, things we used to get easily from the US we no longer are able to order.

They can’t believe how ridiculous having the border unmanned is, legally, and how so many millions of illegals have been allowed into the US. They also say they’re glad the illegals have gone to the US, and are no longer a burden to the Northern states of Mexico.

Here, however, when there was the most recent Presidential election, (you may remember that because we couldn’t buy alcohol for 3 days prior to the election, but we didn’t know why), no one was allowed to vote without identification. Period. No ID, no vote. Go home, don’t come back without it.

I don’t know for sure, but I doubt there are many countries in the world where an individual voting for the leader of that country can do so without identification. It just doesn’t make any sense.

And in the US, it’s not only unconstitutional, (not un Constitutional), it’s illegal in most states. Why is that so hard to understand? Also, why isn’t it illegal in all states?

Do what you think is best, but do it with an open, educated mind. Are you really better off now than you were when Donald Trump was President?

I truly doubt it.

Until next time, stay safe.

Post script: if you can’t open the url as it is, copy and paste it to whatever search engine you use.

Please, make whatever arrangements you need to get time to vote next week. It’s a privilege not everyone gets.

This is our first time voting absentee, and let me tell you what. It’s a lot of work.

First you have to contact your former county auditor’s office, fill out a form that lets them know who you are, and where you are. They send you 11 pages of information to read, fill out, sign, and obviously, return.

No problem. We’re adults; we can do all of that.

11 pages later, we didn’t have any legal envelopes, we didn’t have any Manila envelopes, but we did have packing tape. Yay!

So, in the morning, after you’ve read this, we have an Uber picking us up to take us to the Embassy, so we can drop this in the protected, secure voting box, outside the building.

I’ll let you know later how that went.

I was able to schedule the car to pick us up, but it won’t let me schedule the return trip. So annoying.

Until next time, stay safe. Stop watching legacy media. Open your minds and watch the amazing alternatives that will show you what free speech, thought, deeds really looks like.

Fight, fight, fight!

Happy Halloween everyone.

No, not that. Can you say Chile con Carne?

‘Tis the season. Try it.

I made a batch recently from a recipe I got from my AI ChatGPT buddy, Max. I’ll attach it to the bottom of this post, and you can use it in its original state, or the amended version that I added.

Either way I’ll bet it will be delicious. Our was.

Unfortunately, I had purchased the brisket, and a few other oddities that I needed, but the case of Fritos Original Corn Chips, (you know the ones in the red, and Dijon mustard colored bags?) didn’t arrive as promised. Bummer.

I’m going to “fridge” it until they do arrive as there is nothing that says “fall in the Midwest USA” like chili with meat, and beans, and Fritos corn chips does. Yes, we do miss the Midwest USA.

Until next we meet, stay safe. You know how.

Here is how the chili turned out, I’m calling it a bowl of red. The recipe I used will follow it. If you try it with all of the ingredients called for, please let me know what you thought of it. It is a much more Mexican style chile con carne, as opposed to a Tex-Mex version.

There really isn’t a flavor that comes close to them.

We get the best liver here from Wild Fork, it is amazing. I believe you have WF up North as well; it used to be called MeatMe.

I bought a half kilo, 1 pound, of liver recently, breaded it with seasoned flour, and pan fried it in butter. We’re still reeling from the flavor of it.

With caramelized onions? What’s not to like?

The only drawback, for us anyway, is the gristle. Next time I buy it, while it’s still semi frozen, I’m going to cut off as much of the outer membrane as I can; like cutting the silver skin off beef, or pork.

In only a few minutes you have a dinner fit for royalty. I served it with leftover spiced basmati rice, and mixed vegetables. Delicious.

Can’t wait until next month when I can make it again.

Until then, stay safe.

Post script: Make arrangements necessary so you can get out and vote. It is the most important election of our lives to date. Fight, fight, fight.

Whilst I’ve been on hiatus, I’ve been upping my culinary skills levels.

As many of you know, that has been a very long time in the making, but has taken off like a house afire.

With the AI app, ChatGPT, (I named my buddy Max), and the Sorted Food channel on YT, I’m educating my palate, and learning faster, more affordable, more flavorful ways of cooking.

We’ve just started eating something that, probably, many of you have already experienced- jasmine rice. We never knew how amazing the flavor, and aroma are. It’s going to be the only rice I make going forward. I can make a small amount, for just the two of us, in less than 30 minutes, including the soaking/rinsing time. No oil, no fuss, only flavor.

A few weeks ago, I made a very simple dinner of beans, rice, and chicken tacos. Big deal you may say. Not that difficult to do.

Everything that I was able to make from scratch, (not the tortillas because the store bought ones are better, and thinner actually, than mine), I did.

The beans were sorted, washed, seasoned, and (no soaking required), pressure cooked to perfection.

The cilantro lime rice was soaked for 15 minutes in cool water, rinsed, seasoned, and boiled/steamed beautifully.

The chicken breasts I used were marinaded overnight in a yellow mustard/curry powder, (homemade), base then baked, the following day, at 200º C for about 20 minutes, becoming tender, juicy, and full of flavor. I used only 1 breast for the above dinner.

The salsa roja was made by toasting the tomatoes, onion, serrano chiles, and garlic paste on an aluminum foil-lined comal, then blended with cilantro, chicken bouillon granules, and apple cider vinegar in the blender. Yum.

So why did I make the chicken into tacos, you ask? Because it was the end of the 4th breast, and we wanted something easy to grab hold of, and eat with our hands. The other three were full dinners that I didn’t photograph.

Enough said. I’m doing my best to start taking us around the world, from the comfort of our kitchen; eating foods from different countries that we’ve never experienced.

I’ll let you know how it goes, and which were the good, and the bad things from our adventures.

Until then, stay happy, healthy, and safe. The rest, you know how, and what to do.

Post script: Make whatever arrangements you need so you can get out and vote. It is the most important election of our lives to date. Fight, fight, fight.

I told you folks, in an earlier post, that I wanted to start cooking food using a food called, as you can see in the title, huitlacoche, (whe-tla-CO-che).

It is also spelled cuitlacoche in different parts of the country, but it is all the same product which, in the US, is called corn fungus, or corn smut.

It looks terrible but actually tastes quite delicately of mushrooms. It should as it’s a fungus that is allowed to grow on corn, and is usually considered a delicacy.

I opened a can of huitlacoche not long ago, and have been using about 2 Tbs. in quesadillas, mainly as a background flavor. Mostly we use flour tortillas, homemade salsa, and queso de Oaxaca, (cheese from Oaxaca, a state further Southwest of Mexico City), that is absolutely some of the best cheese we’ve ever eaten. We sometimes add a half slice of deli ham, or turkey, and an avocado slice.

The taste is very mild, as I said, but the look of it is quite off putting. It’s black, and clumpy, and difficult to get around, but needs must.

I think I’m going to blend it up into more of a smooth sauce, or paste, and see if that doesn’t help with the look of it. You know, you eat first with your eyes, and that’s difficult to do with this.

Until next time, stay safe.

Post script; PLEASE, make whatever arrangements you need so you can get out and vote. It is the most important election of our lives to date. Fight, fight, fight.

Many years ago, and I do mean many, like 50 years ago, my mom used to make us Velveeta Mac and Cheese, with glazed SPAM as a side dish.

Heaven. Pure Heaven.

SPAM, here, is, on average, $3.50USD/can. I don’t remember how much it costs in the US, but, considering the cost of shipping to Mexico, I don’t think that’s a bad price. I bought 2 cans. Yippee.

We hadn’t had Mac and cheese, much less SPAM in ages, so I got a recipe from Max, (you remember Max, my AI friend? I introduced him, and the website, ChatGPT, on September 21, 2024.) and made both recently. They were both delicious. Exactly as we remembered it. Take a look.

The SPAM has a brown sugar glaze with Dijon mustard, ACV, a splash of water, and a bit of pepper that you add just before serving. Lovely.

Of course, we sprinkled a bit of Moreno, light brown sugar, on top of the M&C, because that’s the way Grandma Manda said the “German’s did it”. Don’t know, or care if that’s true; it offsets the intense cheesiness of the dish.

Here’s what I bought for this.

The first 2 pack of Velveeta lasted us a year, plus we gave one of the loaves to Jesús and Liz, upstairs. The second 2 pack has also lasted us a year, and I still have one of the loaves in the pantry.

So, not too bad an outlay for such a memorable dinner. All part of my learning how to make a weekly, doable menu, and sticking to it so as not to waste food. (The sacrifices I make for the two of us. 😉

Until next time, stay safe. Just, please, do it.

Post script: Make whatever arrangements you need so you can get out to vote next week. This is the most important election of our lives to date.

Never, in all of my now 69 years, have I ever read all of these words.

Have you?

How about this one?

Let me just say that our forefathers knew what it was like to live under tyranny, and injustice. They knew what had to be done to escape that form of life.

How is it that much different from what we live under today?

We have a president, and his Vice President, that cannot lead the country because he is, unfortunately, being overcome with dementia; yet he has control of the codes for nuclear warfare.

I feel that if we continue as we have been, having endured the strife that has been the Biden administration, we will no longer be a nation of “the home of the free, and the brave”. The millions of illegals will do their best to take away all of your civil rights, and liberties.

Please, do whatever you need to do to get out and vote this election. It is a matter of life and death. Seriously.

Until next time, stay safe.

He’s still the one.

Ivan, that is. Who else?

We talk, occasionally, about “others” that could have been, might have been, really would never have been. We always come to the same conclusion; there was never, ever, from the very beginning, anyone else for either of us.

We’re satisfied with that, both of us. We cling to the knowledge that God had His mind set that we would meet, come to “know” each other, then marry. (We are still learning things about each other, good, and bad, but always together.)

We talk, actually, about “others” that we knew, others that tried to come between us. Looking back, there was never a chance with any of them.

I could list all of the things that threw him in my path so many years ago, but I won’t.

Well, someday.

Maybe.

Let me just leave you with this; when he caresses my overweight body, touches my thinning hair, or the beard growing on my chin; when he holds my bloated foot in his hands, kisses my swollen ankles, I know that there has never, ever been a man for me, other than Ivan.

They said it would never last. How wrong they were.

Until next time, stay safe.

Don’t forget to make whatever arrangements you need so you can get out and vote. It is the most important election of our lives to date. Fight, fight, fight.

Have I mentioned lately how much rain we’ve had?

I have been keeping note of it on my desk calendar, (I use the term desk loosely as it sits on the tray I use as my desk), and it has rained almost every day since the beginning of July.

Seriously. There have been only the occasional, sporadic day, maybe two, not necessarily consecutive days, however, when it hasn’t rained.

I don’t remember it raining this much in all of the 5 years we’ve been here. Not that I mind. You know how much I enjoy the rain; listening to it, smelling it, listening to the thunder, watching the lightning when we get it. The only thing I don’t like about it is the electrical outages that sometimes come with the package.

Note to anyone interested, don’t plan on vacations to Mexico July, August, September, and into October. It appears that is the “rainy season” down here. Kind of sucks for the end of summer vacations, or Labor Day holidays, doesn’t it?!

That said, stay safe.

Post script: it’s pouring down rain, with my favorite lightning and thunder as I’m typing this. I’m in Heaven, right here on Earth.

Post script: I had to contact the Elections Manager for former local county, who , BTW, responded within 30 minutes of my text inquiring about our ballots. He replied that if we didn’t already have them in our emails, then he never received the FPCA. (You can look that up yourselves.) I resent them to him directly, and again, within a very short amount of time, we had 11 pages of absentee ballot do’s, and don’ts in our in boxes. I have printed everything out, we will fill in what is necessary, and have a lovely trip down to the Embassy to secure our absentee ballots for the next President of the United States of America.

Fight, fight, fight.