Livingthedreamwithdiana.com

Cottage cheese. Do you think much about it? Do you think much of the percentage of fat? Or, how many calories per spoonful?

For the past two day, I thought Ivan was telling me that the cottage cheese we bought at Superama, a pint, maybe, was not to his liking. (We have been buying huge containers at Costco that were one percent fat, small curd, while, this one, from Superama, was, as we just found out tonight, a four percent large curd cheese).

I cannot tell you the last time we ate anything but what I have already described. I must tell you that the taste, and the mouth feel alone, were amazing. Incredible, actually.

I thought he wanted me to not buy the large container of CC from Costco, and buy the small one from Superama. Duh! That is exactly what he was trying to tell me.

Message received.

I stole a spoonful of the large curd, (which I originally thought was spoiled), and could not believe my tongue. It was splendid.

Will we buy it agin? Absolutely!!! Until then, however, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

We have noticed, lately, more, and more QR codes available to the public to scan for menus. This is one of the codes we have been able to scan recently.

And this is what happens when you scan it.

Many places have also started being able to use the QR codes to place an order, bring it to the restaurant, place the order, and have it delivered to your table. Or, even better, to your home.

Then there is Uber eats. All of these little guys on motorcycles, delivering food to your home.

Conversely, there are hundreds of businesses that have closed, or are closing. This guy, however, is an exception. His business is thriving, just across the street from the café whose menu is above. His menu has decreased but he is still doing a brisk business. Good for him. Enrique assures us his food is delicious, and, more importantly, safe to eat.

After we finish here, at the BMW dealership, begging for financing, we are going to drive back North, towards our condo, for tortas. The restaurant, in particular, has a 9.2 rating. Cannot wait to try a torta. Have not had one in years.

Until we get there and eat, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Cover your mouth, wash your hands, and protect your loved ones.

Well, here she is, in all her glory. Our (possibly) newest acquisition. She is a 2018 BMW 340i M Sport with just over fourteen thousand miles. Cannot wait to finalize the paperwork and take her home.

I hope all goes well. The dealer has made it sound like it will, however, this is our first major purchase, after the condo. And that took some doing, let me tell you.

Here, at the dealership, we hit a tiny bump in communication, go figure. Evidently, the dealer informs our bank of all the details of the vehicle, we fill out the application for credit, give that to the dealer, and they take that to the bank. Then, the dealer will inform us of the results.

We just took a test drive. That had to be one of the most comfortable rides, in the back seat, as we have ever had. Enrique drove, with the dealer, Francisco by name, while Ivan, and I, rode in the back seat. I am glad we did because we now know how comfortable it is to ride back there.

Oh. My. Gosh!

This afternoon, Ivan and I “grilled” fajitas on our stove top, on our Lodge griddle. It is eleven at night, and, when I walk into the kitchen, all I can smell, from mid hallway, truth be told, is beef. Grilled beef fajitas.

There is very little in this world that comes even remotely close to being my favorite fill in the blank. Beef, grilled, outdoors, and, now, obviously, indoors, tops the list. You know those stupid questions, or, questionnaires, you get on FB, “If you were on an island, and could only eat one thing for the rest of your life- what would it be?” Grilled beef. Fajitas, steak, fajitas, steak. I care not. I am a carnivor, and, have always been so.

Sixty plus years ago, my great grandmother, on my fathers side, fell, and broke her arm. She came to stay with us for a short while, I do not remember any of the particulars as I was a child, maybe four years old. But, I remember her being placed on the open sofa bed, in the living room, where we lived, in Port Byron, Illinois.

When she felt like eating, which she did not do a lot, she would let me help feed her. I do not remember that I was any good at it, but I loved this tiny, wrinkled little women who I hardly knew, with all my heart. I have only two or three distinct memories of her, and this is one of them.

Fast forward to the mid nineteen sixties. My parents grilled steaks in the fireplace at our home, in Moline, Illinois, every so often, and, believe me, they were, to my young palate, incredible. My grandmother, Amanda, dad’s mother, lived with us for many years, and she usually asked for the fat off of everyone’s steaks. I did not understand this but she, eventually, told us that her mother always asked for everyone’s fat.

Ever since then, I have also acquired the taste for beef fat, and frequently, without much fuss, try to acquire the fat off of anyone’s plate.

We are driving down the main street, just outside our neighborhood, and I continue to be amazed at the foliage here.

There is a boulevard separating each direction of traffic, full of flowering shrubs, plants, trees, and grasses. Pine trees, palm trees, ficus, you name it.

Within the boulevards, there are spaces, at different intervals, that allow the traffic to return in the opposite direction. It is such a nice way of having to travel what would otherwise be ugly, boring streets.

Not to be forgotten, the main streets, here, are so long, there has to be areas of regress. The main streets are not like those up North, where you can turn into any street you want. Here, there are three and four lanes of traffic, in each direction, so there is a whole extra, “feeder” road, on either side, that is specific to turning to streets “on that side”. It would be impossible to drive here without the extra lane for frequent turns.

I have noticed that these boulevards are everywhere. I have seen them the entire time we have been here, but it did not register until this morning. I get chauffeured around all of the time so things look differently from the back seat.

Until we return from shopping, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, protect your loved ones.

Happy birthday to me! I am sixty five years old today, and, make no mistake- I am enjoying every minute of every day!

We have nothing planned for today, but, since it falls on a Tuesday this year, I am hoping we can just do a little drive around the city, enjoy whatever the weather has in store, as well as the cool, springlike fresh air. I really do not care if it rains, or is sunny, I am just happy to still be alive.

I will let you know, in another post, what we got up to today. Until then, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, protect your loved ones.

Post script: We are going back to the dealership today to finalize the purchase of the car. We cannot wait. It does not have the luxuries that the other one has, but we do not care. What a birthday present!! I figure, one is sixty five years old only once. Right? Happy birthday to me.

I just finished doing something I wish I had done years ago. Let me show you what I mean.

As soon as I finished, I actually turned this paper over, and, guess what? There were the instructions. Hah! We don’t need no stinking instructions!

All I did was place the gas flames ignition spike in between two of the already cut sections, lined up the hole in the center of the liner with the larger gas port, where the gas comes out, and replaced the silver, and black caps. Y ya. Listo. (And there. Ready).

Of course, as I finished the first burner, I checked to make sure the gas would ignite, and it did. Then I knew I did not have to cut around silver caps, like it shows in the instructions, and, therefore, will have even less cleanup than if I had cut around the caps. That would almost defeat the purpose, in my book anyway. So, when they get dirty, all you have to do is wipe them off, or rinse them in the sink, and replace them on the stove.

So, job well done. I think this is going to say me oodles of time doing one of my least favorite jobs- cleaning the stove top. In fact, I wish I had done this when I got them three days ago. Last night I cooked some NY strips on the cast iron griddle, and there was splatter everywhere. It took about fifteen minutes to get all of the grease off the stove. Who cares, really! The steaks were great. BTW- they come in different colors, (the protecting sheets, not the steaks) though I cannot remember which ones. Probably black, white, and silver. Check it out. I ordered them from Amazon, of course, and they only took a few days to arrive. Well worth the few dollars they cost.

You know, by now, that I will be waiting to hear how you like them. Until then, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, protect your loved ones.

Have you seen the movie, “The Green Book” yet? Be very careful, because it is probably considered a “racist” movie in the States, at present.

This is a movie with Viggo Mortensen, and, Mahershala Ali, in the starring roles. It takes both men from NYC to the Deep South, in the sixties. MA is a black concert pianist, who actually has a Doctorate in Music, and VM, who is a bouncer in a NY nightclub, the Copacabana.

The Dr. hires VM to drive him to his concerts, throughout the Midwest, and then, on to the concerts in the South, all for a huge amount of money, in this time frame.

The movie goes through all of the horrible things that happened to the Blacks of that era- discrimination, segregation, humiliation. VM sees this, lives, for a few months, with the Dr. and, ultimately, it changes both of their lives, and the lives of those around them.

If you have not had the opportunity, find it, take it. I hope it opens your eyes, as it did mine. It is a wonderful movie, so watch it, and, let me know what you think.

Until you watch the movie, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Cover your mouth, wash your hands, protect your loved ones.

You may be happy to know that I am, currently, not drinking tequila, and, have not for several nights now. I feel great.

My ability to speak, and understand Spanish increases exponentially when I do not muddy my mind with alcohol. I know it sounds like a news flash, but I hope someone out there is learning from my mistakes.

I have lost, easily, five, or more, kilos from, mostly, bloat, and water retention so that is a plus. I am not wearing my wrap today, and have no back pain. I no longer appear thirteen months pregnant, with twins, either. Win, win.

My prosthetic tooth is not in yet, so I can only chew on the right side of my mouth. That, too, helps with the overeating as well. Another win, win.

When I was drinking, nightly, I forgot that I normally chewed my food on the left side of my mouth. This was because I had a tooth from Hell on the right side, that was fixed just before we moved. It was a long time getting fixed. (I do not like giving up control of the pain in my mouth to just anyone). That said:

Until my tooth comes in, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Cover your mouth, wash your hands, and protect your loved ones.

I just sent an email to the administrator of the condo committee, María Lourdes, “Lulu” is her nickname, asking if it would be acceptable to use the condo email chain, to ask if anyone would like to buy my homemade liquid laundry detergent. She just wrote back that she thought “it would be a good option to help the planet”, that she would relay this to the committee, and get back with me tomorrow.

If this is okayed by the committee, who will, going forward, be known as “them”, or “they”, I am going to ask fifty pesos for four liters, or, two and a half dollars per gallon. I am pretty sure everyone, here, will be able to afford that. I do not recall charging much more than that of my working coworkers, in years past.

I am so excited. I told Lulu that I am not interested in making a profit, just trying to get a good, ecological product to the people in the condo- many of whom have not been working since December. Plus, they do not have to leave the condo to buy it. Win, win I say.

Until I hear back from them, Lula, as well, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Cover your mouth, wash your hands, and protect your loved ones.

Post script: I just got an “excelente” from one of the inmates, by name, Claudia. She lives directly above us, and is so similar to us, in so many ways.

And, so it begins. 😉