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We have spent the last 5 days in Heaven.

Commonly referred to as Los Altos.

It feels like what I think of as Heaven; fresh air, sunshine, family, and friends.

There was a birthday party for Gabi, who just turned 5 years old; how time flies when you get older.

There was a festival in town, for reasons unknown to me at this typing.

We revisited a town called Ixhuacán de los Reyes, about an hour’s drive from the house, that we visited a year, or so ago. It remains as breathtakingly beautiful as it was the first time. It is higher up in the mountains than Los Altos, and is usually foggy. It is foggy because one is up in the clouds.

We can only walk a short ways before having to stop for air; deep breathing at its finest. The results of any climbing done around there is well worth the difficulties in being there. Believe me.

After walking part way up the mountain, we came to an area that is considered “blessed” by the Virgin Mary, where the water runoff from the mountain is gathered for blessings, in any containers available. Many use their hands, cups, bowls, anything they can find to gather the water right there, to bestow a blessing on those within the family. It really is quite beautiful.

Then, down again we went.

On the way home, a sister of Maria’s, Jesús’ mom, was seen. We stopped at her house, met her family, talked for a bit, then started back home. The photos below show the vista they get to appreciate from their home.

It was a wonderful day, much needed in our time of self isolation.

Things are going to be a bit different upon our return, however. Liz and I are going to start a campaign of weight loss and exercise. It is her fault I gained so much weight during her pregnancy, don’t ya know 🙂 (I didn’t want her to be heavy all by herself.) So, now, we are going to start walking around the park during the day. They have a new/used stroller she can use to carry Brandon, and I have

Sneakers. Not much else to recommend me, but they should get me out there, get me walking again.

Plus, we are teaching each other the languages we need to communicate.

I am going to close now; I smell breakfast downstairs, and my stomach is growling. Coffee first, then, whatever that is that smells so good.

Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Post script: please don’t let your guard down just yet. There are other viruses everywhere, mutating, just waiting for someone to not wash their hands, and put them to their mouth. Stay vigilant; not crazed, just aware. There will always be viruses. Hopefully we have learned a bit more about said critters.

Post post script: I didn’t make it to the wonderful smelling breakfast but, after about a minute of deliberation this afternoon, Jesús has decided we can stay another night. Well, if we must. 😂😂😂😂

Nights, as well, come to that.

This is the Spring rainy season; just the start really. It has been raining, at some point, during the past 5 days, and nights. Thunder, lightening. Love it. But, you already know that.

So, you also know this in one of my two favorite times of the year. In the next few weeks, we will be off to Los Altos for a few days. As it is also raining there, it will be quite easy for me to get to the front door, stand under the overhang of the roof, and watch the rain come over the mountain tops.

The house where we stay is part way up one of the lower mountains in the area, which is, however, still quite a bit larger than just a hill. We can see all the way across the valley from the sidewalk out front. When the rain comes over the top of the mountain, it is in front of the house, across the street. I will see if I can find a photo. I am only able to find a photo looking across the valley. Here it is.

No can do. Of the thousands of photos on my phone, I couldn’t find a single one of the storm clouds coming over the mountain top. You will have to imagine it until the next time we travel there. Shouldn’t be too much longer. There is usually at least one storm while we are there.

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

She has to return home tomorrow.

Whenever we talk about it she starts crying. She has gotten to know us in the 3 weeks she’s been here. Liz is going to miss her profoundly as she has been spending all of those days, into the night, as her side.

It is so pleasant to watch them together, laughing, talking, bathing little Brandon. We will surely miss her, too, when she leaves. All too soon the 3 weeks has come and gone. Too soon.

She goes back to Los Altos, but we will see her again in the near future. Once little Brandon is big enough to travel, we will all take a much needed few days in Los Altos, and get away from the city. Get away to a bit of Heaven on Earth.

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

Since I got the smaller bottles for storing, and enjoying our Kombucha, it has been a pleasure, not only to watch the fermentation happening, but drinking directly from the bottles.

They are 8oz. bottles, half the size per bottle than the others I used, but a world of difference in every other way. They are easier, and faster to fill; they have screw-on lids; they fit well in the fridge without rearranging everything else within.

Here they all sit, on the counter, pored into their little storage containers, fermenting our their little CO2’s. You can see the bubbles at the top of each bottle. As the “mother” batch is newer, made 2 weeks ago, this batch will be infinitely better than the last one. Plus, the pineapple is freshly cut, just before bottling these, that you see.

We drank all of the last batch, but the “mother” was so old, it was souring. Yuck. Now that it is Springtime, I am hopeful that we will drink this more regularly, more often. I am not sure if there is any kind of “limit” to the amount of Kombucha one can drink in a day, or not, but I have drunk 3 8oz bottles without any difficulty, other than the fact of the sourness. I just added a half package of Splenda to each bottle, and Bob’s your uncle.

I am quite certain I will try to venture out, again, into other flavor combinations, but when you find one that everyone likes, why mess with success?!

I will keep you apprised of Kombucha fermenting, etc., as we go along. As always, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Yay. Drunken chickens. What more can one ask?

Well, for starters, you might ask what exactly is Pollo Borracho? And, I would tell you that

It is a stew, of sorts, made with some lovely, fresh vegetables, chicken, (go figure,) and, a beer. I saw a new favorite home cook, last night on YT. Her name is Araceli, and she cooks for her family, over an open flame. She doesn’t own a stove, or an oven; they are both made from cement, and are out doors. How amazing is that? Her channel is called Comida Mexican Araceli. Watch a few of her videos, and see how creative someone can be with the basics.

This is what both of our stews looked like while simmering. Yay!

The rest of the prep went into getting vegetables ready for the molcajete (pronounced mole-ca-HEH-teh); a mortar and pestle of sorts, commonly used to make salsas. I put 6 Roma tomatoes, 5 onion skins, a jalapeño, and a serrano chile on a round, flat comal, or griddle, on high heat, to burn the outer skins to make the sauce. After all were burned to my liking, I ground them all in my molcajete, with a bit of large grain salt to help with the grinding. The salt is the size of the salt used on thick steaks before grilling.

Now, for the Cliff Notes version: I browned 8 chicken thighs, (our favorite,) in the big olla above, while prepping the rest of the food necessary. I cut up into big chunks 300g. bacon, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces 3 large white potatoes, about 200g green beans, and, 5 carrots. Side note: the large carrots down here, I believe, taste as sweet as the baby carrots up North. I have always detested the taste of carrots up North. Lucky me.

Let me say, here and now, that using a molcajete is one of the hardest things I have done, thus far, in the kitchen. It takes more time than one would expect, and, uses muscles unused to such stress and strain. I am always exhausted after I make a sauce in the molcajete. I understand why “modern” women buy blenders, mixers, food processors, etc. The woman from whose video this recipe comes, also uses a metate, to do a lot of her grinding.

I would like to see if I could get used to using such equipment, and rely less on modern conveniences. I won’t know until I try. They are grossly expensive, FYI. The ones available “online” are about $60-$150. I need to find someone who no longer uses theirs. Harder to do down here than up North. Not many people advertise in the newspaper.

To finish this post, the smaller, covered cazuela, casserole dish, below, is going upstairs, to Jesús, Liz, Gabi, and Alicia. I hope they enjoy it. We sure did.

Well, folks. I am plum tuckered out for today. Going to close as I always do. Please, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

It’s finished. It’s done.

The washing machine is back to its beautiful “new” state; the dryer as well. Let me show you.

The hoses came today, as Ivan said they would. They went on so easily, it was a fun project to finish. (Mom always said I never finished projects once started. Too bad she can’t see the many things I have finished over time.)

With the dryer hose fixed, as well, any of the lint not getting picked up in the filter, will be caught in the water reservoir on top of the dryer. Only drawback, it gets really humid for the first hour of the dryer running. After that, it is less so, and can open the door between the laundry area and the kitchen.

So, that job finished, on to Pollo Borracho, drunken chicken stew.

Until next we meet, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Thanks for asking.

I have been cleaning. Yup. You read that correctly; cleaning. Down, and dirty type, spring type, deep cleaning.

Now, I’m done.

I have been filled with an exuberant amount of energy these past few days, so, instead of sitting, for hours, in front of my laptop, mindlessly surfing the proverbial web, I started

Wait. You’d better be sitting down when you continue reading; it may make some a bit faint.

I started sweeping, and mopping the floors, in all three bedrooms, bathrooms, living room, kitchen, and laundry areas. Three days running.

Yesterday, I pulled out the dryer, then the washer, and cleaned behind them both; repaired the aluminum tubing for the dryer vent, (it was torn, and crimped); and, broke the hose to the cold water supply for the washing machine. Oops! It was a busy afternoon. 😉

Fortunately, Liz had come down with a bit of dinner that her mom, Alicia, had made. I needed another set of hands; working hands. She jumped in, and helped me with the hoses, and, got Ivan’s attention, requesting that he quickly order another pair of hoses for the washer. (They are going to be here today.)

In my defense, with regards to breaking the water hose on the washing machine, the connection from the hose to the spigot, was not done properly, and I was simply trying to “fix” it. The “guys” had cranked them on the spigot, but they were not on the correct threads; they were crooked. I tried to make them rethread, and, snap, one piece actually broke off on the hot water hose connector, and the cold water hose was just “not right”. I ended up pretty much mangling that one.

No worries. Everything is nice, and clean behind, and beneath both machines; good for another two years, I suspect. Plus, I finished washing clothes the day before, so I can sit back, relax, and wait patiently for the hoses to arrive.

We have lots happening today, so I won’t keep you any longer. While we are waiting for groceries to be delivered, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Holy Week.

Not much doing this week; most people are off work for the remainder of the week. As we. Haven’t been to church in an eon, it is hard to keep up with what’s what.

We have groceries being delivered in an hour, so that will be the excitement of the week for us. Dividing them up, putting them away, contemplating the usage of each item. It just doesn’t get more exciting than that.

The weather is quite lovely though. Just the right temperature today. It is not yet into the rainy season, but it’s coming.

The plants that have survived, in spite of me, are all doing well. The bromeliad has two offshoots now, not just the one.

Really, not much to tell you today. I am going to close my eyes until the phone rings, for us to go down and get the groceries.

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

No longer.

I bought new pillows for us about two months ago, the shredded foam that you can adjust to your liking. I’ve not had another night of my legs jumping since then.

As it turns out, I need a fairly firm, full pillow; I’ve been using one just the opposite for years.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that I haven’t had any dizzy spells for quit some time. I am not going to believe in jinxes so I am not going to worry about it. I’m just enjoying the freedom of it.

While I am enjoying life, and hope you are too, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

I use an online app, naturally, to play puzzles; the kind like you would put on a card table.

However, I have added 100 photos of my own, more or less, so I can do the puzzles I want to do.

It was simple, actually. On the app, there is tab to Create Puzzles; you can take a photo, add a photo from FB, or add a photo of your own. So, I did. 100 of them, as I said.

While most were taken, at various times, while watching various shows on YouTube, taking place in Europe, there are also, quite a few, that are black and white. Here are a few photos that are now puzzles.

Just a few examples of the different types of photos I have made into the puzzles that will keep me occupied for some time to come. There are only 95 others.

While I am doing the puzzles, you stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Post script: (below,) finished this one, yesterday, in 3 hours, 42 minutes. Had to get out my trusty magnifying glass!!! 😉