Livingthedreamwithdiana.com

We are going to start the process of making out our will. This should prove interesting.

We are going to the attorney’s office today, to drop off our information papers so we can get an appointment. If something happens to Ivan, God forbid, and we do not have a will, everything we have will go to the government, and I will be left homeless.

That prospect does not interest me in the slightest. If I go first, no big deal; everything, here, is in Ivan’s name, so he will be set. Right now, I am not even on the bank account, therefore, I have no access to our millions. (Hahaha. I needed a bit of levity. Sorry if you did not.)

The next thing we have to figure out is how to renew my membership, and the permanency of my residency here, in Mexico. After talking with our friends, it seems that I may just need to pay the fee for five more years, and receive my updated residency card. That would be lovely, not to mention a miracle!!!

Until then, I am taking the very best care of my husband.

Enjoy all of your Black Friday sales, even though they are just items that did not sell during the previous years. They are still “on sale”.

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

Ivan has been working like a man possessed.

Most of the “things” we have collected over the years belong to him, therefore, he has been working, quite faithfully, to sort out all of the things we need to keep, things we can give to others, and things to discard. He has made a huge dent in the number of totes we have left to go through. Thank you honey.

The discard pile is quite a bit smaller than the other piles, I must say. That is ok. Much of what we have, and needed up North, we no longer need down here; that does not mean that others can not find uses for them.

Wool coats, mittens, hats, scarves, etc., we no longer need here. Two, or three, dozen pairs of underwear, socks, t-shirts, and, in my case, sports bras. Let us not forget to mention sets of bedding. Wow. I did not realize we had so many sets of sheets, duvets, and comforters.

We do; we did. We have gone through all of these things, and have several totes that, in time, will go to Los Altos, for storage, and then for use. We have all of those “things” because I was not interested in going up and down two flights of stairs, every week, to do laundry. I did not care for our laundry room, so I went there as infrequently as possible. Hence all of the aforementioned “things”.

Here, however, the laundry area is one of the nicest places in the apartment; full of indirect light, and fresh air, plants, and is twenty steps from the bedrooms. Lovely.

Things are going to change around here. I will keep you updated as they do, but they have yet to start unfolding.

While we all wait for that, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Happy Thanksgiving to those reading this in the US. Enjoy your families, and a day from work.

I just repotted our three orchids, for the first time.

Wow. That was fairly unnerving, I must tell you. I do not actually have any orchid potting mix, but made do with the sphagnum moss that was drowning them, some coconut coir that I just got, and a bit of succulent soil mix. Hopefully it was more traumatic for me than them. We shall see.

Something else I discovered during said episode; the roots of two of the three had grown all around each other, some being six and seven inches long. Amazing, considering they were all in their two inch orchid cages. How they managed to grow at all is a mystery. Now, they have room to grow, as I have repotted them into three inch cages. I read that you should repot into the next size larger cage, so that is what I have done.

As I have run out of three and four inch ceramic pots in which to put the ugly cages, I got my little brûlée torch out, and put four quarter-sized holes into four inch plastic pots. Ugly, but functional. One does not want the little roots to stay wet for too long, or they will rot. Not good practice.

While I wait to see if this was successful, please, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

It has to be the ginger that is ruining my Kombucha batches.

Whenever I get a wild hair, deciding to put some healthy ginger in a batch of Kombucha, invariably there is no second fermentation that takes place. No effervescence, no natural carbonation, just flat, full of ginger tasting liquid. It does not taste good.

As I am not a real ginger fan, I do believe this lesson has been learned. I do not care how healthy it is, I am no longer going to put it in my second ferments. Do not even ask me; I will not use it. Yuck.

I now have thirteen more bottles of this mess to drink, and hope I can stomach them, as I really hate throwing “good” things out. Only time will tell. However, I find it hard to believe I can possibly drink close to two more gallons of this. Ewww.

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

But do NOT put ginger in your kombucha.

Many times, I have noticed the different smells of a place.

Sitting here, at the table in the living room, it is eleven thirty in the morning, on a Wednesday. The smell coming through the open windows has caught me unawares.

It is cool, and has a scent that I have come to enjoy immensely. I cannot describe it very well, but it very refreshing. There is no smell of toxins, smog, gasoline, laundry softener, or anything noxious. As I eluded, it is fresh, and clean smelling. It is a smell I, somehow, associate with my childhood.

For several years, we grew up in a very small town on the Mississippi River. The air there, too, was sweet, and clean smelling. Here, however, we are no where near either a small town, or a river. Hmmm. I am at a loss as to understand from where, exactly, the smell originates. But, neither do I care.

I am just going to enjoy it; while it lasts.

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

Our Plectranthus Barbatus is going to bloom, for the first time, in another week, or so. It is a first.

It does not appear, today, that it will be as full a bloom as when we bought it, but there are new buds, waiting to open.

It is a delicate shade of purple when blooming. Maybe, by the time I need to post this, I can take another photo of it in bloom.

Most of the plants we have left are green, non-blooming plants. Right now, besides this one, the only color is coming from the lilies, the red and the white Flamingo lilies. That is ok with me- for now. As soon as I can find more Primroses, I will snatch those up, and keep them going as long as possible. They are so pretty. The violets are so small, still, they have no blooms coming. Maybe next year. I can wait.

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

Yesterday was Revolution Day, here. Vacation!!

Of course we went to LA, for two days.

You really cannot imagine how relaxing it is there, until you get there. When you get out of the car, it hits you; fresh, clean air, bright warm sunshine, and, as important, peaceful quiet.

It is soul soothing, time away from the smog, and big city noise. The noise here is continuous, almost 24/7. I do not think most people here even realize how they are constantly bombarded with it. Horns, cars, buses, trucks, the mobile vendors, selling food, or collecting sellable items; all in constant motion. All making a cacophony of noise.

Not in Los Altos. The occasional truck goes down the street, or the infrequent motorcycle. One of the loudest things, we notice, are children playing, and laughing. A welcome sound that.

It is very similar to where we used to live, in Iowa. The setting was idyllic, near a creek, with children growing up next door. There was the interstate about fifty feet to our West, but we became so desensitized to its noise, we really no longer noticed it was there.

This, however, is a huge city; awake twenty four hours of every day. In our suburb, however, the noise is a bit less, probably because of all of the trees in the park.

Within the condo, itself, however, dogs bark with nearly intolerable frequency. And let me not forget to mention a toddler that cries every day, off and on, for about two hours. I swear the child needs a nap. Ugh.

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

Frequently I talk about Los Altos, about how quaint it is, and how familiar it is becoming. Here is just a peek at its beauty.

This photo was taken along the road that goes up to Lizbeths parents home. Next time we go back, I will take another photo, without the cables, and a bit more majesty. This one was hastily taken. Additionally, however, you may be interested to know that the puffs of clouds, in the back, above that mountain, is actually a semi active volcano. It burps out smoke for awhile, then it stops, for awhile. Gorgeous.

While we were there, we took a drive into Perote, and bought a fruit cup. WOW! A beautiful, plastic cup, full to overflowing with freshly cut fruit; all sprinkled with a not-too-spicy chile powder. Here; this is what I am talking about.

Here is what is (was) in the cup: oranges, cucumbers, jicama, cantelope, papaya, coconut, watermelon, and pineapple. This cup was full to the line above the cup top (in the photo) before I got started on it. Then, I remembered that I needed to take the photo. Well, I could not put the eaten fruit back, so this it what you get to see. It was ambrosial.

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

The fair returned, last month, to celebrate the harvest season.

We missed the one at the beginning of the growing season; we did not go to this one, either. Gabi went with Liz’s parents. (Better them than us.) Not that we do not enjoy a country fair, we do. It is just too darned cold once the sun goes down.

That was just the beginning of October. Cannot wait to know how cold the rest of the winter season becomes. Yikes.

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

Post script: at the time of my typing this, it is eleven degrees Celsius here.

Again.

I have spent several hours, over the last forty eight, repotting most of the newest plants- again.

Most of the beautiful, tiny little succulents have drowned, and are gone. The few that are left, the medium sized ones, while still alive, are all looking a bit ……. unhappy.

I have taken the few succulents that were left in the pretty terracotta looking bowl, (I will have to find something else to put in that. Cacti, maybe. Hmmm.) and planted them, individually, in real terracotta pots. They need to be watered from the bottom up; set in an aluminum tray with water for fifteen minutes, then removed.

Evidently, they prefer to be watered from the bottom, not the top. Soak the roots, then let the whole thing dry out before doing this again. I do not remember reading that bit of information when I was researching them. Damn.

I also divided, and repotted the three small Birds Nest Snake plants that were growing in the same, small pot. Now, they each have a pot to

Live in!!! (That was funny. Admit it.)

I also have a Monstera Deliciosa, (Swiss Cheese plant), and a Schefflera, (umbrella plant) thriving, finally. Why, you ask? Because they are growing in water, so I cannot drown them. Yay!!!

I do believe that is all of this morning; I have loads of laundry that require my immediate assistance. For whatever reason, they cannot take are of themselves- go figure!

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