Livingthedreamwithdiana.com

I discovered this recently, and had to pass it along.

We have a goodly supply of the plastic Rubbermaid Brilliance collection of food storage containers. These are the ones.

We have several different sizes as well. I like them because, if I drop one, or it slips out of my hands when I’m washing it, the glass doesn’t shatter everywhere.

I’m writing about this because, one day, this December past, I discovered some gunk under the black plastic locking mechanism, and could not get it clean to save my life.

I knew I could clean it if I could get the black mechanism off the lid, but couldn’t figure out how, without breaking something.

As it happened, I had a lid that I left too close to the kettle of water I was heating on the stove top (to wash the dishes), and the edge of the lid melted. As I was attempting to pry off the mechanism from a good lid, it hit me that, just maybe, I should try removing it from the damaged lid. (I just love aha moments.) So I did just that. Here is what it looked like.

If you look closely, you can see, on the top piece, the locking mechanism, that the right side is open, while the left is closed. I took a flat headed screw driver, and pried up in the middle of the mechanism. Since I had never done this before, I had no idea what would happen.

As luck would have it, the whole thing popped off; the lid, and locking mechanism both unharmed. So, I did the same prying up of the yucky mechanism, this time with the emphasis on the right side of it, and boop, off it came. So now, I have a clean lid, and 2 new locking mechanisms to put somewhere for safe keeping.

Thought someone might find this helpful. Hope so.

Until next time, stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves.

I know that January of each new year embodies the idea of changing past foibles for new, exciting foibles in the making.

I dislike thinking about all of the foibles I have that need changing. I’m only going to give thought to a few; at a time. Ever.

Starting out, I am going to get out of the apartment, a few times a week, at least, and go for a walk. I don’t care where, I just need to get out of here. I need to see the sun, and hear bird song.

Next, we are going to find thrift stores, a second hand shops, here in the city, and get rid of all of the stuff we no longer need, or want. I am so tired of shuffling these, and those, over here, then over there. We just keep stirring the pot of “things”.

When we lived in the States, it was so easy to take things to our local Salvation Army, Goodwill stores, or as charity donations. Here, I have to search to find a few stores within a decent distance. I’m hoping for the best.

That’s enough to start the new year. It will probably take me 6 months to start either of them.

Until next time, stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves.

We’re going to do it.

Soon.

Eventually.

Seriously.

No, really.

We’re going to start decluttering, and cleaning the apartment. We need to do a few things first, kind of the “domino effect”, if you will.

We need to get control of our storage space on the roof. It’s a mess.

I believe that once we have the space for our things up there, we will see a huge decrease in the mess in our apartment.

That, and getting rid of the things we no longer use, need, or care for, will be such a relief. Less is more. We are going to adopt the ideology.

Seriously.

Until next time, stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves.

Post script: don’t hold your breath waiting for the apartment to be as we envisioned it. Just saying.

I am going to take you with me, on a journey around the park where I walk. It’s just across the street from our condo.

Mind you, as I am typing this it’s the beginning of December, and we are in the midst of another season of blooming plants. So very different from the growing cycle of the US.

As a matter of fact, last month all of the jacaranda trees were in bloom. Google jacaranda, and then look at some of the older posts I have with photos of them. They’re everywhere here, and they add an exceptional beauty to the city.

There are places in the park, however, that are clearly sparse, without any ground vegetation whatsoever. First, I’ll show you a photo of the Google map of El Parque de las Montañas. Then, I’ll follow with several photos I took a while ago, when I started walking again. (Actually, I took these on 12/06/23.) The sky was overcast so you won’t get much color punch, but you can see how I saw these amazingly beautiful plants. IN DECEMBER. (Sorry. I get a bit carried away with the vegetation here.)

As I go through this blog, and edit it, it brings such a smile to my face. Looking at the park, from your perspective, makes me want to get over there, and take more photos, or even a video of the magnificence I see when I’m there.

Would you be interested in seeing a video of the park while I’m walking through it? It takes me anywhere from 11 to 15 minutes to walk through it, depending on how often I stop to take photos, or stretch.

Until next time.

Stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves.

Post script: at some point I’ll video the walk around, post it, and if you don’t want to watch it, you are certainly not obligated to do so.

I stopped exercising a few weeks ago, when wee got sick, just before Christmas.

Wrong move.

Well, I couldn’t exercise when I was not feeling well, because it drained the little bit of strength I had.

I bumped into the edge of a counter yesterday, and had the same shot of electricity through my back that I used to have before I started with the back strengthening exercises I had been doing.

So, it’s back to the floor I go. Not sure when I’m going to restart, but restart I must. It was so nice, walking around without pain in my lower back, again proving that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.

I’ll let you know how it goes. Until then, stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves.

We did.

On the evening of the new year, we did it.

We plugged in the space heater, and have been running it, in our bedroom, ever since.

On low!!!

To have that little bit of warmth, when the temperature inside, and out, begins at 7ºC, in the morning, rising to about 20ºC by midday, is bliss.

I do enjoy being a bit chilled, as I have mentioned in the past, but cold to the bone, for days on end, well, now that I’ve had a taste of warmth, there’s no going back.

My hands are still quite cold, but the rest of me is in Heavenly warmth. Thank you DeLonghi!!

Hoping everyone had a pleasant holiday season, and you are starting the new year as you mean to go on.

We are. Trying, anyway.

Ivan is a bit better these days; his cough is not quite so liquid, and his head isn’t quite so full of snot, so, progress. Me? Well, I’m me. Enough said.

Until next time, stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves from whatever is coming.

Netflix.

While not based on actual historical events by any stretch of the imagination, it is quite the production.

Amazingly, I had just finished listening to the first 4 Bridgerton books, written by one of my favorite authors, Julia Quinn. I cannot go any further, at present, even using the VPN because the rest of the series is not available in my “region, or country”. So, what is the purpose of the VPN, if I can’t pretend to be elsewhere in the world?

I digress.

The Netflix production of Bridgerton is equally as good as the books, honestly. And the prequel, Queen Charlotte, by the reviews, is supposed to be even better. I have just started watching it, and it has brought a big smile to my heart, seeing how all of the characters, so familiar from the main books/series, have come to be, I can’t wait to continue.

Unless you flunked out of school at the age of 10, you will know that all of the “ton”, the royals of England, well Europe, generally speaking, were, for the most part, all caucasians. In the tv series, they are anything but.

Queen Charlotte, (who, in reality, was the former Princess Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Germany,) is African, as are most of her court; African, and Asian, mostly.

There are representatives of just about every race included, and the “court” have all decided, (Charlotte is there to marry her son, King George III of England. This is the King George that, historians believe, was mentally ill, though with what, no one can be sure.) that everyone will be included in the ton, and everyone will be equal. They call it the Great Experiment.

Quite a bit of the music is actually contemporary, made to sound mid 18th century. In fact, if you are able to enable subtitles, you should be told the song being played.

One true fact is that the real King George, and Queen Charlotte did, indeed, have 15 children!! They are said to have a love affair for the ages. How cool is that?

Bridgerton was well done, and, so far, it appears that Queen Charlotte is as well. Warning: remember that Netflix is explicit in some depictions of intimacy. It’s definitely not for children. Thought I’d mention that.

Watch it, read it, listen to it, enjoy it. Let me know what you think. Until next time, stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves.

Post script: enjoy Queen Charlottes wigs. Each one is bigger, and more beautiful than the next. They are phenomenal!!!! Equally beautiful, and huge in both series.

Down here, they’re life saving.

As I have said, there are very few homes that have central heating, or air conditioning here.

Ours is not one of them. So, we layer our warmth. Long sleeved shirt, thermal shirt, and for me, a cotton shawl.

Thermal pants of some sort, with fleece lined socks. A must. I also have the fleece lined neck thingy that was from the set Ivan gave me for Christmas.

The shawl goes over my head, and wraps around my upper body; it’s a long, wide shawl, pashmina I believe.

I don’t have on the mittens yet, but sitting at my computer tray, I have a thermal shirt draped over my legs, helping, slightly to ward off the cold air. It’s about 8ºC this morning, and I’m blessedly chilly.

As I have said before, it may be that cold where you are, but you have central heating. Try to remember how cold you get when the electricity goes off for a day, or so. That’s how cold it is here all day.

Funny, though. I can remember being the only one sweating here when we first moved down here. Everyone thought I was crazy.

Not any longer. I have finally acclimatized to the weather, and am just as cold as everyone else.

Layers.

If the weather is changing in your area, please drive with caution, and care for yourselves, and the others on the roads. Don’t take any silly, or unnecessary chances. Please.

Until next time, stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves.

Post script; a very happy birthday, to our BIL, Larry, a few days early. I hope each, and every one is better than the last one.

Merry Christmas everyone. Hope you are all enjoying the Christmas holiday season.

I started walking, again, outside that is, the other day.

I walked two separate times around the park, at just under 11 minutes per kilometer. Each time around is just a touch over 1 kilometer, so each round is just a bit over 11 minutes. I am trying to get in as many steps per week as I can, now that the weather is cooler. It doesn’t really matter what time of the day, or evening I walk, the temperature is moderate at worst, and cool/chilly at best. Win, win.

I had been exercising nightly for about 6 weeks without any weight loss, but with significant muscle redevelopment. That, in turn, has enabled me to walk for significantly longer lengths of time without my back muscles seizing up. Spasms still make me stop, and stretch, but I can go 3, sometimes 4 minutes at a time before having to do so. Win, win.

So, now I am going to do a few core strengthening exercises, and a daily walk, (or 2), to see if I can drop a few kilos before the holidays are in full swing.

We are, for the moment, planning to spend both Christmas, and, possibly, the New Year in Los Altos with the Garcia family. Hopefully, that will all come about by the 22nd of this month. I’ll let you know.

Until then, stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves.

Post script: we have both been under the weather for the past several days, so the above post is just a memory. I walked for about 3 days, then came down with a cold. Maybe next week. We’ll see.

As I sat down to write this post I had to laugh at myself.

We are both down, but not out, with colds. Ivan’s is, hopefully, on the mend, but mine is just starting to wind up. Lovely.

Just in time for Christmas.

I chuckle because, for the past 2 years, I have been waiting to, asking to, expecting to, at some point, be cold.

I have gotten what I have asked for.

I bought a full length flannel nightgown, thinking to wear it in Los Altos this holiday season, but we are staying here. I have the nightgown on, and had to find Ivan’s old terry cloth bathrobe to put on. Then, I put on the fleece lined hat he bought for me the other day, part of a set that includes a fleece lined “scarf”, and a pair of mittens. The scarf is really more like a wide, thick collar. It stretches to be pulled over ones head, but is snug, to keep ones neck warm.

I suspect, in the not too distant future, I’ll have the entire set on. Plus my heavy, fleece lined socks that I bought last year.

Or, I could plug in the small electric space heater.

But, that would be admitting defeat.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, and hoping all is well with you.

Until next time, stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves.