Tag Archives: gratitude

Hoping For A Hurricane?

2 Jun

I have been sitting on my arse all week wilted and without motivation. If a hurricane would bring rain and perhaps cooler temperatures, I’d be willing to risk it.

2024 Predicted Hurricanes

I’ve been modeling my activity level after the dogs. They don’t seem a bit guilty to be lying around all day.

The breeze off the laguna continues to be smoky due to annual burning, irritating lungs, stinging eyes and causing fits of coughing. I occupy my time with my latest audiobook.

The book is set in India. If there were a competition for stifling heat India wins hands down. Living in a hot, humid, tropical environment does add a touch of realism to the story.

This weekend is Mexico’s presidential election. Mexico is poised to elect its first presidenta. As everywhere, people run under the banner of CHANGE. So far I’ve seen lots of promises and little action. It’s a big job no matter who gets it.

I’m grateful for electricity which keeps the refrigerator cold, internet going and ceiling fans whirring. We only use air conditioning at night which is a privilege that many in Bacalar do not have.

Stella loves the sun.

So do your best to stay cool, warm or dry depending on where you live. We are making plans to escape for awhile, but that’s news for another day.

DOS TORTAS

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Even My Teeth Are Getting Old

26 May

I have made my life’s work studying health with a Master’s Degree in Health Education. Even before college, my bedside table was stacked with books on nutrition and exercise. I know to get enough sleep (however much that is), move my body and eat my veggies. This week I was blindsided by a health challenge that I wasn’t expecting, TEETH!

My mother had beautiful teeth. Unfortunately I didn’t inherit that trait.

I recall as a child walking solo to dentist appointments. Yikes. As an adult, I’ve probably spent a fortune on cleanings, fillings, extractions, root canals, and two bridges. I also had impacted wisdom teeth removed in college. Sadly I am not a candidate for implants.

Broken root.

I use the best electric toothbrush and floss twice daily. So the X-ray that revealed a broken root came as a shock and unexpected expense.

Our fancy new toothbrushes. I love them.
Old teeth, young hot dentist.

There’s so much no one has told us about aging. Many people are having knees and hips replaced. I’m having teeth. Call me naive but I never considered that fillings, caps, bridges etc. had a shelf life! Consider yourself forewarned. Take care of your teeth.

DOS TORTAS

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How On Earth Are We Doing It?

30 Mar

If you’ve been following our unscripted, spontaneous European adventure, you’ll know it’s been a whirlwind. One of our followers asked a bunch of questions. How did we do it? I’ll do my best to answer.

Breakfast extraordinaire Munich

First off, my wife is the queen of travel planning. She enjoys it and we’ve traveled enough together to know each other well. We are adventurous by nature. She does her best planning and then we are happy with however things turn out.

1) We are not extravagant. Hotels are a place to sleep. They were however much more expensive in Europe than we expected. We booked budget hotels close to the city center to use public transportation and/or walked to various sights.

Paris train station.

Clean, safe and basic is our motto. We’ve averaged about $200 US or so a night which is more than we’ve ever spent sleeping. We have had to modify our travels due to aging bodies and disabilities. We walk when we can, take hop-on-hop-off buses to get the lay of the land and boat rides when they’re available. We also take tours which mostly work well and are not expensive.

Hop-on bus ride in Paris to the Arc de Triumph and Eiffel Tower
Tour to Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria

2) We tried to eat one meal a day, usually lunch, at a nice restaurant. (Our Paris and Munich hotels included a great breakfast.

Avocado bowl in Amsterdam

We looked for little grocery stores and purchased pre-made meals for dinner and fruit and granola for breakfast and snacking.

There were great grocery stores everywhere.

We hardly drank alcohol so that’s a big savings. Also there’s no suitcase room for souvenirs. No Olympics t-shirts were bought in Paris.

A “Free” church in Paris

3) As to whether we just “put it all on plastic,” the answer is yes and no. We had money budgeted for a water softening system for our house. I guess soft water will have to wait. The credit card will get paid when we get home.

Salzburg

Next week’s blog will be from home in Bacalar. We are currently in Salzburg Austria. There are no words for how much fun we’ve had. Until next week,

DOS TORTAS

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If It’s Tuesday This Must Be Paris

22 Mar

Some of my favorite things about London in no particular order:

Westminster Abby- a mish mash of statues, burial sites, alters, choirs and a royal throne. Lots of history, burials, weddings and a coronation or two. I loved walking around its many nooks and crannies but after awhile it all blurred together. The US has nothing to compare and I was awed on our first day in London. Or maybe it was jetlag.

Coronation throne.

The London Eye – a really cool big ferris wheel. So fun.

The hop-on hop-off bus which kept us dry the one day it rained. We hopped off and walked around Harrods department store. Too much glitz for our budget.

The day trip to Bath and Stonehenge was certainly worth it.

Some big ass druid rocks.
Love stained glass. Bath Abby was lovely.
Roman baths.

Amsterdam:

The Albert Cuyp outdoor market. The sun, food, flowers and energy. A great accidental find.

Residents hoist furniture outside because stairs are so narrow for top floor dwellers.

The Matthew Wong exhibition at the Van Gogh museum. This Chinese-Canadian artist moved me to tears. Such an expressive painter.

Video does not begin to showcase his work.

We really enjoyed riding on the canals and walking the city.

Lisa wants one.

I write today from Paris where the good weather is holding. Today the Louvre! What a whirlwind trip this has been!

DOS TORTAS

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When You Forget Your Own Birthday

22 Feb

We have some lovely large trees in front of our house where it snuggles in at the edge of the laguna. Walking on our dock, under them is a religious experience. However our cathedral needs to be canopied. There are many dead and twisting branches that need trimming and shaping to give the trees lift. Imagine my delight at finding a professional arborist in Bacalar!

I met with Ramon towards the end of the week. We gazed upward, pointed and made plans for him and his crew to work on Sunday. They would trim and shape, but here’s the kicker, we had to do the cleanup. No problemo. I was willing to lug branches up our hill. Ha!

Then Lisa reminded me that Sunday was my birthday. I had completely forgotten. Completely!

My dear friend Juan surprised me with this lovely cake Friday evening at our expat meet-up.
My best friend from Austin’s child and partner. Rose, Dio, Lisa, me.

We’ve had guests for the week and been quite busy showing them about; birding, snorkeling, pyramids, art class, eating and shopping have kept us busy. In that light I guess it could be easy to forget.

Early morning bird watching.

DOS TORTAS

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Medical Care Mexico

13 Jan

In 2018 my mother-in-law fell coming down our stairs and broke her right wrist. This week she broke her left.

2018 fall required pins and surgery.

Alice lives near us and when she called this week in obvious distress, Lisa was at her door in less than a minute. As near as we can figure, she stood up quickly and blacked out. She hit her arm against the couch and dislocated her wrist and broke a bone.

Alice’s little house on our property.

The hospital is about a forty minute drive. We called our doctor Oscar to give him a heads up and Lisa and Alice left for the emergency room about nine pm. The amazing thing is that they were home and Alice was in her bed by two o’clock! Yes, you heard me right, five hours including the drive.

Oscar notified the emergency room staff and they were waiting. A team wheeled her into x-ray, they then knocked her out, and set the bone. She has a cast and an appointment to return. The nurses, technicians and traumatologist were loving, gentle and efficient. My friend in Texas pays steeply for “concierge” medicine. Here in Mexico it’s business as usual.

Bet you wish he were your doctor? Smart and gorgeous.

Let me make one thing clear, our doctor and care is at a private hospital. Lisa, Alice and I have excellent health insurance in the states that we rarely use. We pay totally out of pocket in Mexico. The bill you ask?

About $1200 US, which includes medication and follow up visits.

A bit drugged but behaving herself.

We feel very blessed. Now if we can just get all three of us well at the same time.

DOS TORTAS

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No New Year Resolutions Here

30 Dec

There was a time when I attempted to make New Year’s resolutions. What could be more inviting than a clean slate, and a chance to start new? I’m pretty disciplined and used the wall calendar to note progress. But let’s face it, if it were something that I really wanted to do, I’d already be doing it!

I then found something that worked much better for me. The process not only encouraged gratitude but pride and confidence. And it’s easy!

2023 was a colorful year to say the least.

In a journal or on a simple piece of paper, write 2023. Now over the next few days write down all that you accomplished this past year. Nothing is too small or seemingly inconsequential. Just write it down.

When that is completed, Write on another sheet, 2024. Now note all the things you’d like to accomplish in the upcoming year. Nothing is too fanciful. You can write personal or work accomplishments, trips, or any task you’d like to tackle. Put them all down with little thought or mental argument.

Put the journal away someplace where you’ll find it next year. It could be in with your Christmas decorations or at the back of your daily calendar. There is no need to come up with a game plan, strategy or any additional tactics, of course unless you want to. While it may sound a bit woo-woo, you have planted seeds and set an intention with absolutely no pressure. Voila!

Dreams, desires, goals.

My personal experience has always amazed me. When I review the previous year, I am amazed to find how many of the things on the list I have accomplished. I rarely remember what I even wrote down!

I find it helpful to take stock of my life in a positive no-pressure way. The lists also become a walk down memory lane and are a fun history. Let me know if you give it a try and we’ll check back next year to see how it went.

Wait for it.

DOS TORTAS

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From Bacalar To Alaska

17 Sep

When people come to visit us in the jungle of southern Mexico I admit to being less than understanding with their inability to deal with the heat. Winter is the best time to visit Bacalar. Sometimes one even needs a light jacket or shawl! It’s really not that bad. Ha!

Now Alaska is the exact opposite, even in the late summer. Lisa’s cousin walks around the house in a t-shirt while I look like a homeless person wearing all the layers I brought with me.

The view from our bedroom window the evening we arrived.
Denali (highest peak in North America) on the right
made an appearance after a few days.
First time seeing a glacier.
The sky is magical. Cook Inlet is on the horizon.
A rugged environment for an old gold mind.
The art museum in Anchorage was amazing.

What an wild and wonderful place is Alaska. I can’t imagine living here. I guess like Bacalar, it takes acclimation. We will be home Monday after almost six weeks traveling. I miss my dogs.

DOS TORTAS

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Vacation Detour

3 Sep

We left Northern California for Seattle, Washington on Monday. We were on to cooler climes and a visit with friends before heading to Vancouver Canada.

My daughter and twin granddaughters.

Unfortunately things took an unexpected detour.

Lisa got sick and ended up in the hospital. A nasty UTI (urinary tract infection) which traveled to her kidneys, has her with an IV pumping antibiotics into her arm until Tuesday. So much for Vancouver. At this point we’re grateful she’s alive and healing. She was one sick puppy.

Near my hotel is an art museum with Chihuly glass.
Native artists and subject matter.
Powerful images from native artists.

It’s been a crazy week. We literally opened google maps and went to the nearest hospital. We lucked out. The doctors and staff have been amazing. We are so very grateful.

DOS TORTAS

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A Day To Celebrate Gratitude

27 Nov

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.

DOS TORTAS

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