Livingthedreamwithdiana.com

The other day Ivan asked me if I knew why barns were, generally, painted red.

Of course, I had to say that I didn’t, because who knows stuff like that? Certainly not I.

Do you?

Ivan told me the farmers painted their barns with the blood of livestock from their farm. Ok. Right! Uh huh. Sure.

Turns out, he is right. As usual.

I Googled it, and came up with a couple of different answers.

In turns out that wealthy farmers painted their barns with red paint mixed with linseed oil, and the blood of a recently slaughtered animal, which changed the color from bright red to a darker, burnt red.

Initially, however, barns were painted with a protective varnish, usually containing linseed oil, lime, or iron oxide, which, when drying in the sun, changed the color to the red ochre seen today.

Continuing on this theme, barns painted black, usually only in the Southern states, retain heat, and usually contain tobacco. The heat helps the tobacco dry faster, causing less waste from mold, and mildew growth. Nowadays, however, farmers growing tobacco use fans, and other means to keep their tobacco dry.

Now that you know all of that, please, stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves. It ain’t over yet.

Well, I moved the furniture the other afternoon, just as I said I was going to.

Everything went 45º clockwise, and here is the result.

It took about two hours to finish because I had to vacuum a dozen times, maybe more, and then mop the entire floor. Nothing is under the bed at present, and I would love to keep it that way. It is expensive storage real estate so I don’t know how successful that will be. Or how practical. (Who does this? Vacuuming, and mopping? Not me, not often.)

Both of the walls will soon be given a bit of a boost with some of the art we have bought over our years together, and some we’ve been given. I can’t wait to see how it all looks. Of course, I’ll show you, too.

Yes, I took down the wind chimes. They’ll probably go in the other bedroom.

As our lives go, though, shortly after we took the chimes down, we all went outside for an earthquake alarm!!!!

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

I did more hard work Saturday, than I have done in an entire year.

Seriously!!! We want to move our bed 45º, from West facing to South facing. Not Feng shui so we’ll see what happens.

In order to do that, however, the entire contents of the space underneath said bed needed to be removed, moved elsewhere, and cleaned. Ugh!

Ivan started out helping me, then, as if by a miracle, he wandered away, to another room, and I didn’t see him until I was done cleaning. Funny how that happens.

I should have, but didn’t, take a photo of all of the stuff underneath, but didn’t, because I didn’t want to lose my momentum. It was too depressing.

Now, however, there is nothing under the bed, except a dust bunny warren. That, too, is going; as soon I regain some energy. I’m beat.

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

My SSA checks for March, and April have been deposited!

Just so you understand, that was Tuesday that we went to the Embassy, and today, well, yesterday when you read this, (Friday), both months checks are in our account. I guess the government here can, and does move quickly for some things.

This happened once before, a couple of years ago, but I remembered that it didn’t take long for everything to be straightened out. Thank the Lord.

Next year, and probably every year going forward, we’ll just take the form to the Embassy when it arrives. Have a little drive around the city. 😉

Now I can get back to paying off those pesky cards, and, hopefully, by mid autumn, we will be out from under the debt.

We’ll talk again, soon. Until then, stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves.

We can’t live with them, and we can’t live without them.

Not just yet, anyway.

At the moment, however, I can’t even get on two of the websites to make any changes, or look at charges made.

Why not, you ask?

The websites want to send me a one time code number to use to verify “me”, but can’t send the message to the phone number here in CDMX!!!!!

I have called both companies, and neither is able to help me. They won’t send a code number to an email address, which I can kind of understand, but I don’t ever receive a number using our cell phone numbers here. (I should have kept a US cell phone number. Double duh!

Not sure how to handle this at the moment. Will let you know what comes of it.

Until then, stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves. Don’t let your guard down just yet.

The rainy season has started; two days ago.

Tonight, however, there was a lightning strike incredibly close to the condo. The thunder, and lightning happened simultaneously, seemingly, just outside our bedroom window.

We both jumped about an inch off our chairs. We waited for the electricity to go off, but have been let off the hook this time.

We can hear the thunder rolling off into the distance, without any rain, at the moment. Spring has arrived.

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

PS: about the copy of my passport for the other day. I took my pretty red, clear, plastic portfolio with me, that has all of my information regarding my residency in it, and there it was- the copy of my licensures. I didn’t need it anyway. Yay.

We arrived “downtown”, somewhat close to the Embassy, with 18 minutes to spare.

Unfortunately, the taxi driver let us out about 6 blocks too soon. Great. Now we needed to haul arse.

We did.

My back will never be the same, however. I’m too fat to walk slowly much less in a hurry.

We got to the Embassy, and there were 2 people ahead of us asking about passports.

REALLY ROLLO?

READ THE SIGNS WENCHES. THEY’RE ALL AROUND YOU. YOU NEED TO LOOK IT UP ONLINE. I NEED TO GET INSIDE. MOVE IT.

Please?!?! 😚

I got to the window, and the girl behind the glass started to stand up as if going on a break. I put my paper, informing her of my appointment, through the window slot, and she kindly sat back down. I told her all I needed to do was give my form, and I showed her, to someone in the SSA department, nothing else. She said, if I wanted, she would deliver it herself in about 5 minutes.

I almost cried.

She asked me to write my phone number on the form, gave me her pen, I did that, and away we went.

Needless to say, we thanked her profusely, then went to find a taxi home.

Did I mention that the taxi rides cost us $280 pesos each direction? That’s $14 each way. Mind you it’s about 10 miles each direction but about 30-50 minutes, depending on the time of day.

We did it. We were both so much more relaxed we just smiled at each other.

Thanks for following along with us, and remaining patient as we live our lives, hoping to do something worth being written about. 😂

Until something else exciting happens, stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves.

We actually got up at 7am, slammed a RedBull, and are sitting at the taxi stand, waiting for the first available taxi to take us to my favorite go-to place.

Yup, you guessed it- the US Embassy.

I forgot to make a copy of my passport. Damn it! Hopefully one of the kiosks on the streets outside it have a photocopy stall that’s open. It’s an hour drive, at this hour so maybe someone will be open.

I’ll let you know how it goes when I’m done.

It’s 8:15am., and we’re on our way.

Until I can get back to you, stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves.

I haven’t posted anything this week, and I am sorry about that.

Last week, my left upper eyebrow met with Ivan’s right elbow, as we were cooking together in our very tiny kitchen. Needless to say, I have had a rather colorful left upper eyelid since then.

I am fine; nothing to be concerned about. The eyelid was swollen, black, and blue for the entire week, because, unbeknownst to me, it started to swell shortly after I was hit. Not long after that it hurt like, well, quite a bit.

Was it intentional? Absolutely not.

We tried to do the dance of sous chefs, in a kitchen the size of most peoples first floor powder room.

Our kitchen, if you haven’t already seen it, is about 8’ x 5’. That’s without anything like counters, appliances, a sink, etc. So, with all of those things in play, we have about a 5’ x 3’ space in which to cook.

He went high, I went low, and we met in the middle. Here’s the consequence.

He caught me on the left upper, outer eyebrow; you can see where it is swollen, and the damage was done.

A few days after that, it progressed to this.

So, for several days now, I have been putting cold compresses on it but nothing has changed really. It hurts, and, it is still ugly.

If we are both in the kitchen together again, I will step back, let him do his thing, and will take over after he is done. Not interested in a repeat performance.

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

Watch those elbows.

I have been reading, lately, that the Midwest, where we lived the bulk of our lives, is being inundated with snow. Possibly getting over a foot of snow this evening.

It appears California is getting it as well; more than 6 feet of snow in the Northern part of the state in less than a couple of days.

Loved looking at it, hated shoveling, and driving in it. No snow here folks, in case you were looking to move somewhere without snow. 😉

On another “front”, my SS payments have been temporarily suspended due entirely to my slovenliness.

There is an official government-driven form that has to be signed, “in ink” it says on the instructions, and returned to Pennsylvania each year. It lets them know if my status here in Mexico has changed in any way; divorced, moved, deceased, you get the idea.

I received the first letter a few months back, scanned it to my SIL, who sent it on to PA. However, unbeknownst to me, it has to be the original document, not a copy. It was not accepted.

I received the second notice mid February, but didn’t return it either. The instructions said to sign, and date it, then mail it back to the US Embassy here in CDMX.

Not in this lifetime. I have never mailed anything here in Mexico, and am not going to start by mailing this form. The form I received stated it was sent in October!!!! No way.

I called the emergency number provided on the Embassy website, during which I was told I could get in touch with the SSA if I gave them my phone number. I did that, and the gentleman sent me a text with the FBU, Federal Benefits USA, info so I could communicate with the department directly.

I texted them, they replied that I, indeed, need to mail it to them. I replied to them that I preferred to bring it directly to them, and hand it to someone in the department, and was that possible. They replied that it is absolutely possible, to come between 8am-10am Mon-Fri, print this message, and bring it with me, and Bob’s your uncle.

I have printed the message, signed the form, and if we can scrape up enough cash for a taxi, will head down there tomorrow,or Monday.

Have I mentioned before how much I dislike going to the Embassy? It’s nothing like they show in the movies.

Stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves. Drive carefully with the hazardous conditions, and be careful shoveling the snow. Hire the kid down the block.

Post script: I have been under such a mountain of stress, having 2/3 of our income suspended due to my negligence, that I didn’t realize, until just now, that I have a small group of cold sores on the outside left corner of my bottom lip. Sure wish I could find my Abreva. They really hurt.