Archive | August, 2025

Come In – But I Don’t Have Pants On

31 Aug

We were looking for a house sitter and found a friend. Whenever we leave our home in Mexico, we must find a house sitter, someone to care for the dogs and manage the house. Michelle was recommended after she had visited Bacalar last year. We found a real treasure.

Wannabe influencer.

We have had mixed results with previous house sitters. Walking out the door and handing the keys to the house and car to a virtual stranger is not without anxiety and consequences. We have been lucky and any damage over the last twelve years has been repairable.

Michelle added fun to anything she touched.

On several occasions we have found folks who have continued to be friends and returned to hang out on the lake and play with the dogs. But none like Michelle.

This crazy woman fit right into our quirky lives and we will miss her. We became “sisters” and Lisa’s mom became Mom to another daughter. Even the dogs have a new “Auntie Michelle.” She left on Friday with a promise to return. The house already feels empty.

Lisa’s Aunt Linda is also visiting.

Thank you Michelle for coming into our lives and being someone to talk to, a swimming companion, a dish washer, a sous chef and friend to Lisa’s mom. You have added laughter and companionship that we didn’t know we needed.

DOS TORTAS

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This Week In Bacalar

24 Aug

I started back to physical therapy this week after six weeks of traveling and minimal exercise. The immediate goal is to walk without a limp and be able to step into my shorts one leg at a time. I’m coming up on a year since my accident and it’s time to kick the healing process into high gear.

Bathroom mirror selfie.

My physical therapist told me that in order to build muscle and improve balance, I need to work out HARD with weights and it’s going to hurt.

Multnomah Falls, Columbia River Gorge

He isn’t wrong. I hurt from my hair to my toes and I’m not even back at the gym yet. We hauled exercise equipment down from the States to Mexico and it’s been put to good use.

Our friends from Austin. This was my first outing after the accident. I was in a wheelchair.

I can now walk stairs, stepping one leg after the other, rather than relying on my uninjured side to do the heavy lifting. Hurray for small improvements, especially considering I only began walking with a cane the end of January. Thanks for all your encouragement and support. Little things make a difference.

DOS TORTAS

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Return To The Jungle

17 Aug

As we wended our way back to our little jungle paradise, Lisa and I were both supremely happy to be back in Mexico. The US is exhausting and insane. We can deal with our broken mini-split air conditioner and the assortment of challenges that show up daily in Mexico, better than the drama going on in Texas, Washington DC, Alaska and every corner of the country.

This week I went to a Tuesday-night sketching group that has been resurrected in Bacalar. It was so much fun. I’ve been watching portrait drawing on YouTube and itching to be challenged.

All sketches done with my non-dominant (left) hand. Timed 3 -15 min

When I travel, I like to carry an art journal. Sketching in the park, and a quick drawing of Lisa’s 90 year old Aunt Edna (who follows my blog) are lovely ways to remember a trip. I also like to doodle, in the airport, on a bus or wherever I get bored with scrolling.

Doodles are great for relaxation.
Aunt Edna lives outside of Portland

Try it.

DOS TORTAS

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I Guess We Still Got It Going On

10 Aug

Whenever we travel, my caffeine addicted wife has to find out where she can get her morning fix. Many hotels have those cute little coffee makers in the room but our basic digs in Portland did not.

Our coffee haunt in Portlandia.

So every morning she got up early to tootle across the street only to return with two fist fulls of large coffees for our morning pick-me-up. On our last morning, my lovely announced upon her return, “I think the barista was hitting on me,” That got my attention and of course I wanted all the deets.

The use of a tried and true pickup line gave it away. “Are you here alone?” We had a good laugh, noting that the wedding ring and two cups of coffee was not a deterrent. I have seen both men and women flirt and/or hit on her over the years. Mostly she is pretty oblivious to how hot she is, having been happily coupled for thirty years.

When we first moved onto our property.
She hasn’t aged a bit.

In Austin a few days later we were meeting our niece for dinner. Lisa dropped me off in front of the restaurant and went to park the car. I sat at a tiny table next to two young men, MUCH younger than me. One of them struck up a conversation telling me that he liked my “look”. I didn’t realize that I had a look, but my orange, tiger patterned cane must be the newest fashion statement.

If you are an Instagramer you would know that the latest trend on social media is age disparate couples both homo and hetero. Some have 20-30 years between them. Lisa and I have twelve. Now I don’t really think the guy was hitting on me, but who knows. Maybe I also still have somethin going 😂 on.

DOS TORTAS

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A Few Of My Favorite Things

3 Aug

Sometimes I don’t notice a pattern until it hits me in the head or kicks me in the butt. The pattern I saw during our recent visit to Portland, in the US Pacific Northwest was neither of those things, but a pleasant aha.

Flowers galore.

I like farmer’s markets! My favorite was in Amsterdam which was made all the better by the surprise of it. It was huge, blocks and blocks of vendors, happy people, delicious fragrances and flowers. There is nothing like a beautiful day to people watch. And we found it in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Cuypt Market (stock photo)
A talented community group.

Portland did not disappoint. The day was stellar with music in the air, dogs to meet and food to sample. I love talking to the farmers who present their wares a bit anxiously, hoping to sell out. It makes paying ten dollars for a bag of granola almost worth it.

Freshly picked and organic.

In Amsterdam we pigged out on apple pie. In Portland it was blueberry scones. As our travels continue, we landed this week in Austin where it is currently 100 degrees (38). I’m not sure whose idea it was to go to Texas in August but I don’t think we’ll be hitting up any markets this weekend.

Portlanders are so artistic
I guess we’re going to hell.
Mobile art.

Farmer’s markets are such a sensory experience. Whether Amsterdam, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Northern California or Portland, Oregon, you will find me wandering and taking in the tastes and smells, tapping my toes to the music and appreciating local charm, just one of my favorite things.

DOS TORTAS

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