It’s been a lovely visit with friends and family in Austin, Texas. Here are some photos from the week.
My great nephew Dart. He should be named Tank.Such a good boy when he’s sleeping. Austin Public LibraryAn architectural marvel. Great place to people watch.The Sistene Chapel Experience Bringing Michaelangelo to Austin.Lots of looking up.Austin’s new to me skyline. Nothing like Tex-Mex.My eldest son.Viewing Salvador Dali prints with my niece.
We will return to our regularly scheduled program next week.
I am visiting the States and staying with dear friends Isa and Laird in Austin. When they say “welcome home” they mean it.
Isa and I shared a tiny office at the Health Department many years ago. People told me to be “careful.” She’s difficult and hard to get along with. I found out later that they were telling her the same thing about me.
Yet we hit it off fabulously. We once closed the office door in the afternoon and danced to Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie and laughed until we cried. It is still our song.
I did the Heimlich Maneuver on her one day when she was choking on a carrot. She tells everyone that I saved her life.
I can’t count how many times we’ve stayed at their home. Lisa stayed for months after neck surgery. She helped Isa prepare for their exploratory trip to Costa Rica before Covid.
I was here to hold Isa’s hand while she cried over Laird’s early-onset alzheimers diagnosis.
They have visited us in Mexico, stayed in our home and sat naked on the dock in the sun.
I love being in their home, surrounded by pictures of their grandchildren. They don’t fuss. I am always welcome. Laird’s bearhug is the same although I don’t always know if he knows who I am.
Family
I am truly blessed to have these people in my life. They are our family, no strings attached, which is the best kind to have.
Our granddaughters’ sixth birthday party was one of the most fun events I’ve been to in a long time. My daughter was in her element. I swear she should create parties for a living.
Nana’s calligraphy.
Covid caused a postponement from the original date, but for a “thrown together” shindig it was amazing.
Under the sea.Rainbow celebration.Party organizer kicks back.How the adults get by.
Taken by one of the guests.
A yard made for a party.
Gone are the days of homemade cakes and a small gathering of a few besties. The weather was perfect and a good time was had by all.
While “unpacking” from Hurricane Beryl we’ve simultaneously been packing for a jaunt to the US and Canada.
This year we celebrated the milestones of Lisa’s sixtieth and her mother’s eightieth birthdays. We have been trying for months to plan a trip that would get us out of the tropical heat and not break the bank.
Alice’s 80th birthday party.
Our house sitter arrives Monday to watch the dogs and manage the house. Lisa and Alice are off to Southern California for a mini family reunion while I head North to visit daughter and family. We meet up in Vancouver for a quick tour before catching a cruise to Alaska.
The twins turned six this week!
When traveling with a frail eighty year old, a moving hotel sounds doable. Escaping the steamy jungle of Southern Mexico for the land of glaciers and whale watching sounds divine.
I may be offline for a while. Remember to stay out of the heat, hydrate and be kind.
Lisa and I are visiting the East Coast of the US to gather with family to remember my brother’s daughter. The service was very moving with many friends and family members sharing stories.
I learned a lot about my niece. She was a good friend to so many.
My daughter with one of my niece’s cancer survivor friends.
Raegan’s positive attitude throughout her long ordeal was always positive and inspired many.
She loved all animals.
The evening of our family dinner had an empty chair at the end of the table. Her presence has been felt all weekend.
Off to visit our daughter and family in Northern California. Taking a bit of a break from blogging for awhile.
Grandkids starting their first day of school. How they’ve grown!A day hanging out with my daughter. Eat, pray, get a pedicure!The town square in Healdsburg and some art museums.Only in California.Some random kids enjoying the freezing Pacific Ocean Luna and Stella enjoying time with our house sitters.
We leave Monday for Seattle, Washington. Lisa is already freezing. 😆
My first favorite activity to celebrate the US holiday of Thanksgiving is watching the New York Macy’s Day Parade. I remember as a child, sitting with my dad, who loved parades. Every year we said we’d go and never did. At my brother’s house, the TV is so large you can see the performers’ nose hairs.
Turkey day tradition.Santa closes the show.
A newer tradition that I enjoy is the Westminster dog show. I caught the end in time to watch Winston the Frenchy win best of show.
Miss my puppers.
Of course the day would not be complete without stories of Thanksgiving’s past. The family memories that we are making and passing down are what it’s all about. “Remember the time…”
We saw a dolphin off the back of my brother’s boat. Lisa got the money shot.Walking the neighborhood.What it’s all about. Family and food.
Oaxaca is my favorite city in Mexico. I have spent hours walking the narrow streets, people watching, haunting the galleries and museums, praying in the cathedral and sketching the water fountains and gardens. The ancienttraditions can be seen in the parades and fiestas that fill the calendar. Especiallyimportant is the Day of The Dead. The venerable are brought to life as in the Disney rendition COCO, a sweet story of a young boy trying to bridge the gap betweenold and new, life and death.
This year has brought to my alter of memoriesmy dear friend Suze, artist Fili and now a most unexpected guest Leslie Jordan. What a shocker! I guess none of us knows when our time is up.
Enjoy this 2017 blog from Casa Colibrí (House of the Hummingbird) on Day of the Day events in Oaxaca.
When Día de Muertos approaches, the panaderías (bakeries) work overtime to fill their shelves and counters with Pan de Muertos — an egg based bread, sometimes elaborately decorated, but always with a cabecita (also known as a muñeca), a little painted flour dough head, at the top.
The most intricately decorated bread comes from Mitla. For a few years, Mitla held a Pan de Muertos fair and competition, with prizes for decoration. Alas, because their bread is in such demand, the feria was halted two years ago as the bakers put a priority on attending to their customers needs — this is their livelihood, after all!
However, the small pueblo, Villa Díaz Ordaz picked up the slack and last year began holding a Festival del Pan de Muertos. The village is off the beaten path and the festival hasn’t yet drawn much in the way of tourism, but it’s a…
Time spent in the US has sometimes been surreal. I want to click my ruby slippers three times and be home in my jungle house in Bacalar, Mexico. Dang, I left my ruby slippers home!
1999 commitment ceremony before we could legally marry.
While visiting the States I have needed to address some health issues. There is more technology available and I have good health insurance so why not. The trouble is, the outcomes have been a bit disconcerting.
2012/2021 (one new granddaughter)
High cholesterol– This is nothing new. I have had the same results in the past. I hunker down with my diet but then don’t follow up to see if what I’m doing is working. In Mexico there isn’t an annual exam per say. I have had my head in the sand.
High triglycerides– Sugar is my Achilles heal. At home I eat almost none. In the US I get sucked in to the SAD (Standard American Diet). Too much nibbling, too much sugar, too much food.
Pre-Diabetic– This diagnosis really threw me. With a Masters in Health Education I have always prided myself in eating well and exercising. Truth be told, I haven’t been understanding how my aging body, well, ages. I have been lazy and am paying the price.
View from the kitchen window.
My answer came from a friend who recommended an online application to keep me accountable. In just a few days I have learned that I am not exercising as much as I think I am, I am not eating as well as I think I am and I need help.
My seventieth birthday is in February and I am using it as both a goal and a marker. The doctor in Austin gave me little assistance other than take this pill and eat less carbs and red meat. As much as I hate to document everything, research shows that it works. Simply keeping a food journal reduces weight and most of us can use to loose a few. If you’re interested in knowing more about the application, leave your email in the comments.
As my time to return to Mexico from Austin, Texas looms on the horizon, I have such mixed emotions. I wish I could be in two places at once, which always happens when I have to leave my dear wife. My departure requires her to be more independent, fixing her own meals, arranging transportation and most of all, finding support that is not me. All of it while juggling medication and healing from major surgery. She’s a trooper, I’m the one who’s nervous.
How I’ve been passing the time in Austin.
I do get the bennies of returning home to the jungle of Southern Mexico, seeing the dogs, returning to daily swims and sleeping in our bed. There is also much to be done. We have been navigating a lot from the US, including my mother-in-law’s care and clogged toilet. Daily messages from our workers, house sitter and MIL do not make for peace and quiet.
Home sweet Bacalar.
This week we will celebrate the US holiday of Thanksgiving. It will be a lovely visit with family and a delicious meal round a large table. A day devoted to gratitude while gazing on the faces of those we love is a good thing. We haven’t been in Austin for Thanksgiving since 2012.
February 2012 My 60 birthday.
Whether you’re in the US or somewhere else on the planet, take a whole day to devote to being grateful. I find that listing things I’m grateful for and WHY helps me to connect more to my heart.
Blogging has afforded me the opportunity to write, connect and hear from followers around the world. I appreciate each of you. So Happy Thanksgiving and catch my socially distanced hug.
the adventures of dos tortas 
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