Livingthedreamwithdiana.com

Wow. Another Saturday. Go figure.

I am bored to tears this morning. The most exciting thing that has happened, thus far this morning, was that Jesús, and his nephew Hector, brought a couple of packages to the door. (Jesús is our man Friday. He does cleaning, and maintenance, sometimes security, here in the building. A real Jack of all trades, and priceless).

I ordered a pair of Clogs from Amazon.com.mx a couple of days ago, and they arrived today. I am so fortunate to be able to wear little boy sizes, because it makes quite a big difference in price. Women’s shoes are so much more expensive, it is crazy.

Other than that, not much happening here. I am going to watch something on Prime Video, or Netflix now. Probably should do some laundry, too. Not really sure, though, if I can fit it into this busy day. I will try.

Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Cover your mouth, and wash your hands. Protect yourselves and your loved ones.

We just experienced our first earthquake, this morning.

The electricity went off at about the same time, as we noticed things swaying back and forth.

For me, I was in the kitchen, making breakfast, when all of a sudden the chimes, hanging in the laundry area, just off the kitchen, began swaying, at 180º, chiming as if there was a major storm coming.

I staggered over to the window, expecting a hard breeze, but there was nothing. I staggered back to the stove, but, as I was moving, I felt like I was tipsy, or, a sailor, trying to gain my sea legs. I was so nauseated, I felt like I would vomit. Trying to stand there, at the stove, I got so dizzy as the room was moving, back and forth. It was amazing– scary, but amazing.

About two, maybe three minutes later, while the chimes were just starting to slow down, Ivan came into the kitchen, and told me that that had been an earthquake. Wow. That was enough for me. I am completely satisfied that I have experienced a quake, so we can, now, move on with our lives. Ok, let us move on with our lives. Please.

Actually, we cannot. The garage doors, on the first floor, are electric, so we are here until the electricity comes back on. Besides, Ivan said we may, possibly, have a second shock within the hour. Yippee. Cannot wait for that one.

Until that happens, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect yourselves.

Post script: there was no aftershock, that we were aware of, and we did get power restored after about forty five minutes, or so. No damage was done to the condo, that we know of, and only one person was injured, unbeknownst to us.

Today, I am going to start making my liquid laundry soap, thanks to my amazing sister in law, Mayra.

M sent me all of the ingredients I needed, without the $156 price tag!!! She has not told me, but I am hoping these items did not cost her more then $30 or $40, total.

Ivan and I had been drinking a lot of Kirkland’s 100% Cranberry juice lately, and, as a result, there were several empties on the floor, in the kitchen. When he came in to empty the garbage bags, I asked him about the bottles. “Aren’t you going to make laundry soap soon? Don’t you need those to give your soap away?” Well, duh!!

Of course I did, I do, and I am so glad he remembered that I need them to use for the laundry soap. With the people at work, that I used to make soap for, they would refill a large bottle whenever they needed more soap. That way, I did not have to cover the expense of a container, only the soap products.

The products that I use, then, and now, comes to pennies per load. Actually, for a top loader, I used 1/4 cup of the soap, and for a front loader, 1/8 cup. All of this turned out to be less than $.02 per load. Check out what you are spending per load on your wash day.

Until you check in again, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, protect your family.

I told you that I would list the vegetables we used in our latest veg soup. Well, here they are, and, they were all in our kitchen, or fridge, waiting to be used up, so they did not go bad. (I hate it when we buy vegetables, and they rot in the fridge. Disgusting. Especially in this time of crisis).

Here we go. We used the following vegetables, to fill two eight quart stock pots, for soup.

5 small zucchini (here, they are no more than 4” long)

1/2 onion, sliced

5 carrots, 1/2” sliced

10 small celery stalks, 1/2” sliced

1 chayote, peeled, seed removed, and 1/2” sliced

1/2 each, small head, green, and purple, sliced thin, or shedded

3 cups nopales, cactus paddles, cleaned, cut into 1/4” strips and cooked

1 head cauliflower, florets cut small

1 purple eggplant, peeled, and cut into bite sized pieces

1 chile poblano, burned, skinned, deseeded, cut into 1” pieces

1 small package cremini mushrooms, cleaned, cut into quarters

4 Roma tomatoes, cut into 1/2 x 1/2” pieces.

1 container fresh spinach, stems removed.

12 cups water

4 Tbs. Knorr chicken bouillon

1 – 2 tsp. Turmeric, to taste

1 – 2 tsp. Tarragon, to taste

1 Tbs. tomato paste, to taste.

This does not take all that long to cook, so, taste frequently, and adjust seasonings to your taste. Serve with your side of choice- tortilla chips, slice of bread, rice.

Let me know if you try this, but until then, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, protect those you love.

I have come to realize that I have not spoken much about the wonderful neighbors we had, while living in Iowa. Let me rectify that right now.

Duke, Alissa, Cady, Jack, and Lacey- the absolute best neighbors anyone, in their right minds, could have ever asked for. We have never, before, or since, had such wonderful people that we could rely on, like this family. They are the family we chose.

In the summer, the kids would mow our yard, front and back, for only about a half million dollars each week. JK.

That we grew vegetables, by the truck load, many of you will remember. The kids would come over, and help us harvest, and eat them, so very little went to waste. Jack, and Lacey, especially, would come over, and eat the grape tomatoes right off the vines, not getting very many home, when all was said, and, done.

I had the chance, once, to stop Lacey, for a moment, and, try to pass along some of my “garden knowledge” to her, so, hopefullly, she would relay it to her family, if the time ever came. Evan Jack gave me some time, to do the same with him. I told them both to make sure to plant basil in between each tomato plant, to keep the bugs off the tomatoes. Another thing, to put a small cup of beer, semi submerged in the garden soil, if they noticed slugs on the veg. I explained that this would lure the slugs to the beer, and drown them, all without chemicals.

I must say, I never used chemicals in my gardens, never. I always looked to get rid of garden “pests” organically. I gave most of my produce away, because I could never put a price tag on what I was doing. I used all of our “waste” as compost, and fed the gardens from that. I am very proud of the vegetables I was able to produce, and miss doing that to this day.

Did I talk too much to the kids? Do they remember anything I tried to teach them? I have no idea. I can only hope they did. Gardening is such an underrated hobby that it hurts me to think that, someday, it may be obsolete. Remember this, it is the only way to know what is actually in your food.

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

Have I mentioned the eucalyptus trees that we have down here? They are in such an abundance that you would not believe it unless you saw them with your own eyes.

We just walked over to Enrique’s condo, to take him some soup, and salsa that we made. On the way home, the wind was picking up, (tut, tut, it looks like rain *see note), and we could smell the eucalyptus all around us, so fragrant.

Since I am so darned overweight at the moment, and my back is straining to hold up my pendulous belly, (even with my new wrap), I asked YKW to slow down a bit, to take some of the pressure off my back. Of course, he did, so we got to enjoy the smells a little bit longer. 😉

I do apologize for not posting something everyday, but I cannot, in good conscience, post blah, blah, blah. I will not do it. Those times, when I feel I need to keep you in our loop, you will find that info here. I do not want you to turn away because it is blah, blah, blah.

I have been keeping up with some of the things going on with my family, as well as my former coconspiritors, coworkers, and, amigas. Some of you people are certifiable, some of you, well, most of you are not.

Me, I am beyond redemption. But, as I am not longer accountable to any of you, only YKW, well, he loves me even as a gordona. (That is an orca to you. Normally, I consider myself a gordita, but I am waaayyy past gordita). 😉

Tomorrow, we are going to start eating our multi-vegetable soup, in hopes of dropping some weight over the next few weeks. I will, of course, let you know how that is going, rest assured. I will even post all of the vegetables we used in the soup, just in case any of you want to clean out your fridge, and are blessed with two eight quart stock pots worth of veg from your fridge.

As always, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect those you love.

* Note: Winnie the Pooh!! Also, YKW, is you know who. Come on people!!!

Somewhere, in the condo, or condos surrounding us, there is quite the party going on. And, as part of said party, there is one little “ankle biter” that is trying to tell everyone to SHUT UP!

To no avail, however. No one, but the rest of us old fogeys, who, at twelve thirty, might be trying to get to sleep!!! We can hear him, frantically barking. Fortunately, it is far enough away that, when we shut the bedroom window, we probably, well, hopefully, will no longer hear it.

It is not like you can call 911, and report this kind of thing. That sort of call is best left for threats on ones life, not a barking dog.

Needless to say, now, several days later, we did get some sleep, though, not much.

Since we have been quarantined, we go to bed about midnight, sleep until about three am., get up, watch something on our computers for an hour or so, go back to bed, sleep for a few hours, and get up, again, about ten thirty, for the day. It is going to take us weeks to get back into a routine, that does not include being on the computer at all hours of the night.

Until then, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, and cover your mouth. Protect your families.

What is a person to do when they have no internet?

Interesting, how dependent Ivan, and I, are on the internet. Everything we do is on line nowadays. We watch videos on YouTube, play puzzles, write blog posts, pay bills. (Evidently the cable bill slipped past me, however. That is what happens to me when I am bored out of my mind). We will just have to watch, what? Come on. You know what. GOT. 😉 Actually, we ended up watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Animated. Really good.

Not that forgetting is something new for me. I have become increasingly forgetful as I age. Annoying, to say the least. I am always reminded that this is natural with aging, and I would rather get older than not. So be it.

I was going to start knitting my shawl again, as I just found it the other day, but decided I had better wait until we are able to get out and about regularly. There is something about being able to go outside that spurs the imagination. When I knit for awhile, and then stop for awhile, I tend to lose my place in the pattern. Then I end up ripping back all of my hard work. Best left for another day.

As always, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, and cover your mouth.

Post script: Happy sixty seventh birthday to my brother, Eric, who happens to be in Abu Dabi, helping others with the CoVid19 virus pandemic. I hope you are safe, and healthy.

I SHAVED MY FACE TODAY!!!

I really cannot tell you how smooth my face feels. IT IS INCREDIBLE!! I have no recollection of my face ever being this smooth. Ever!

My astringent goes on so smoothly, as does my moisturizer. I have not worn makeup for quite some time as we really only go to the grocery stores. And who, there, cares if I have makeup on or not?

I did have some reddened skin for about twenty four hours, but, again, who cared? I certainly did not. To have all of that peach fuzz gone was remarkable. Something I never thought would happen.

I will tell you, these blades are made by Shick, and are called derma- something. They are tiny blades, about two centimeters long, on a plastic handle, with a protective cap. Mine cost about ten dollars for three, but, I believe they are about three dollar, and, change in the US.

Ten minutes, and the deed was done. I thought it would be more difficult, but, it was not. I thought it might hurt, but, it did not. Actually, I had many thoughts, but none of them came true.

It was simple, clean, efficient. My face feels amazing!!! And, even after a few days, I am still happy with what I have done.

Will I continue to shave every week? You can bet your next paycheck on it.

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

It is torrential, this rain Wow. We have not had a storm like this since last spring. And that is saying something.

Some of the rain this past fall was hellacious, but we were not here, at home. We were at Juan’s house. Unfortunately, here, we have to close all of the windows, except in our bedroom as the rain will be absorbed by the blanket covering the window.

The air is fresh, and cool, and smells wonderful. The lightening is intermittent, and the the thunder cracking, and loud. If you have read any of my post you will know that I LOVE THUNDERSTORMS.

I appreciate that not everyone is of the same mind, and I accept their seeming inadequacies. 😉 Listening to the thunder, seeing the lightening, feeling the rain on your face….. priceless. Primal.

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, stay home.