Grateful Friday

Today.. right now.. I give thanks for a snowy Friday eve and a cozy night at home. 

I've been keeping a gratitude journal and here are some things that have made me feel thankful recently.

Lily made a delicious caprese pasta bake for dinner.

Ted made it home from Cali safely and only a bit delayed because of a snow day.

A little pain...a little gain. HIT workouts.

Back into Tom River and Candace is reading it too.

A walk and talk with my cousins.

A girl's movie night in my bed with Lils and Hazel.

 

 An excellent bill of progress for Judy who is recovering like a champ and my dad for taking good care of her.

Ted's Chick Fil A copy cats at my request.

Being able to stock the kids up for back to school. Groceries are crazy expensive and I do not take for granted that we can afford what we need.

The start of spring semester. Ted's last.

 A day off to get vacay ready. Nails, pack and fill the frig for Steph.

Steph for taking good care of Gus and Hazel and Casa Wags while we are away, and for sending us updates and pix.

Sunset on La Ropa shortly after arriving in Mexico.

 

So many fun times in Mexico with Pete and Sue.

 

A private pool in a lush oasis.

 

 

The birds of Mexico.

 

The warm and welcoming people of Mexico. 

Tacos de Oaxaca's.

 Morning barefoot beach walks.

Fresh grilled mahi mahi.

 

A day to ease back into things at the end of vacation.

The smell of spring.

 National Pizza day lunch date at Ballestreri's with my guy.

 

Mike's bbq ribs in the middle of winter.

My favorite chair.

Chocolate cherry custard on Valentine's Day.

Gus's early morning nose kisses and elbow nibbles.

A big pot of classic chili to welcome family and friends on a cold Friday night.

A day date with the fam and then a chill night at home with the kids.

 This is Us with Sister Hazel after work.

Feeling like writing again.

A golden bouquet delivered to Meryl on her golden birthday.

 

Noise

I woke up this morning feeling bedraggled and not because I'm up several times with coughing attacks. Those have ceased.  If I had a smart watch, I could look up my sleep stats, but I don't need Apple to tell me I've had a shitty night's sleep. You see I've been playing Mahjong online kinda like a fiend. Now when I close my eyes at night, I play in my head. Let me tell you this is no Queen's Gambit...there's no fame or fortune in the morning light.

In the shower today I closed my eyes and saw those tiles again and I just knew it was time to put an end to this gaming obsession. It's a colossal waste of time.  It's a way to keep my thoughts and feelings at bay and I want to think and feel. It's noise. Obviously it contributes to my monkey mind and is quite possibly rewiring my brain. That's terrifying. The last thing I need is a shorter attention span.

That sent me down the rabbit hole on noise. It's not just sound. It's distraction. It's picking up our phones umpteen times a day, it's ear buds plugging our ears while we shop or walk or drive or sleep, it's the tv on 24/7, it's that little voice that tricks us into thinking we need constant stimulus. 

I'm trying to remember when I became so weary of silence. I used to covet the quiet and seek out corners to be alone.

I also used to read read articles from beginning to end. Now I'm lucky if I get through the first paragraph before I flip off to something new. I'm still reading the book I started in Mexico. I'm still reading it because I haven't read a single page since I've been home. I cannot tell you how many times in the last few months I've started watching a movie or show only to realize I'd already seen it. I'd seen it weeks ago not years, and paid so little attention that I could watch it again with bated breath.

This is not multi-tasking. It's inattention. We know everything so we know nothing. Information comes at us faster than we can possibly process it. There is little time for reflective thought, assimilation or synthesis. 

Today's youth who get phones earlier and earlier are a social experiment.  I won't be surprised if they are more restless and unhappy and less confident and creative. I think they'll be more depression and ADD.

This is just one of the things that scares me about the future of the human race and is also largely responsible for my dependency on white noise.

A crutch I am giving up today.

 

weekending

Here I am at the end of February, the shortest fastest month of the year, realizing I haven't been here at all. Life has been happening, mostly good and happy, and I've just been taking it all in. After the holidays, we had a full house for a good part of January. Then days after we got our students settled for spring semester, we left for a week in Mexico. I came home and got sick. Not debilitating stay in bed sick, but zapped just showing up for the bare necessities under the weather. And after ailing for two weeks, I'm pretty sure I now have a slight case of the blues.

A weekend with Ted and Meryl was a mood booster. They came home Friday night to recover from Mardis Gras the weekend before and do lots of laundry. They left well-rested and well-fed Sunday eve with bags of leftovers. In the 48 hours they were here, I made a huge pot of welcome home chili, we headed to Kohler for a hike on one of the coldest days of the winter thus far followed by lunch at the cozy cottage at River Wildlife (Ted ate elk), had wine flights at the Blind Horse and then naps back at Casa Wags. Before we left, I fired up a crock of buffalo chicken because when they are home, I feed them. We noshed, sang Meryl Happy Birthday - her golden is Thursday - ate Grandma Rose's Banana Cake with Buttercream frosting and played a girl dominated, entertaining few games of Quiplash. It was a good day. Sunday too: lots of hanging around with Gus, Hazel and Harry Potter.

Monday came too soon and too sunny. This quasi winter is not for me. The kind of seasonal disorder I suffer from is lack of winter. It's true. I stepped out this morning to temps and smells that remind me of May. I don't like sub-zero, but I also am not keen on skipping a whole season.

Today I came home with the intention of taking a walk on this 50 degree afternoon. I ended up watching an episode of This is Us with my girl, Hazel. I'm finally finishing this beloved show, but I don't think it's doing much for my mood. It's a whole lot. A lot of heavy, angst and tears, but how I love those Pearson's. I envy their presence and emotional intelligence. I don't have the number of intentional conversations in a year that they have in one episode.

But I'm thinking maybe I should. 

 

 

Mexico 2024

We're home sweet home after a great trip to Zihua, which never disappoints. In fact, there isn't a single thing I'd change about our week in mostly sunny, always lovely paradise. As I'm writing, we are under a tornado warning. A tornado warning in February! It was above 50 degrees today. The air smelled of spring this morning, but I know winter is just taking a break.

I always think that the sign of a good vacation is that feeling of being ready to come home. I suppose it can also be the sign of a disastrous trip as in Lord get me out of here. I assure you that was not the case. I decompressed and left feeling restored. The sun and the sea are magic elixirs. So are the special people who call Zihua home. They are welcoming and warm. We made many new friends, and after visiting here for 30 years, it feels like a home away from home.

We stayed in a beautiful condo further from town and closer to the beach. The best part was the terrace which was an outdoor room with quite a view. It was quiet, except for the chakalakas for a short time in the morning. They sound like squeaky machinery or murder. We usually had the pool to ourselves and were a quick and somewhat tenuous down hill walk to the beach, but the uphill walk back was worse, yet totally worth it.

Our first stop after checking in and changing was the beach. We stayed until sunset because watching the sea swallow the sun never gets old. And then we made sure to bear witness several more times during our stay. We made it to Jungle Pizza just before close. When you're only going to eat one meal a day, pizza fits the bill even in Mexico, and the pies are wood fired and delicious. We retired to the terrace with a dreamy view of the city and the full moon rising for a night cap(s) and planning the week. And by that I mean shushing out our want to dos all the while knowing our days would unfold organically. The namesake green light of Casa Rayo Verde was spotted over the bay not to be seen for the rest of the trip.

Sunday was a pool day for the chicas and a Baracruda day for the guys for some futbol americano. We joined them for the second play off game and then we walked down the street to our favorite, Tacos Oaxacas. It's where the locals eat so it's authentic, delicious and cheap. It's also busy. Sunday night is family night in Zihua. so the streets are bustling with diners, vendors, performers and it's such a happy place. A walk along the malecon is quite entertaining.

Monday is the first cloudy day I've ever experienced in my 30 years of travel to Mexico. I don't complain and I still lather up before hitting the beach because it's still hot and this gringo is allergic to the sun. We get chairs at La Pirata with Angel for the day. There are more sand pipers running in the sand and pelicans dive bombing for fish than sun bathers on La Ropa. We walk to Los Arcos, take a salty dip or two and have crispy taquitos and cold beers for lunch. After the 300 stair climb back to Punta Marina, a dip in the cold pool is refreshing. We walk into #304 and are welcomed by the scent of Olga's home cooking. Dinner will be ready at 7 o'clock. The homemade tortillas, pico and guac would have been enough for me, but Olga also made torritos, Pollo Barbacoa, Carne Fajitas, rice and beans. She also set the table on the terrace, lit candles, served us and cleaned up. A game of Wizard was dessert. I won. The question game was next. Sue is real, determined and respectable. Pedro is loyal, incredible, solid. Miguel is smart, loyal and amazing. I am loving, kind, authentic. Eventually Sue and I call it a night because the guys are dueling Trumps all night. 

On Tuesday we read, swim and nap by the pool. We make it to Coconuts for the last 30 minutes of hora de feliz and our first margaritas of this trip. They are muy fuerte and so so good. So is our second dinner of the week at Tacos Oaxaca. We get our table, our perro and the guys go down the street to buy a bottle of wine. Tacos Oaxacas is not the kind of establishment that serves vino, but Moy brings us a bucket of ice to keep it cold without us even asking. It is true that we could probably happily eat here every day of the week.

Beach walks are first thing Wednesday. Pete, our earliest riser, spots a crocodile not far from shore on La Ropa. When Mike and I head down for a pass on la playa, the croc is still the main topic of interest and there are only a few fools people in the water. It's a good day to steer clear of the beach. Good thing we have plans to go to open Mike at Miguel's in el centro. It's a cool little joint on the second floor jam packed with day drinking ex pats, lots of retired guitar playing guys and a bohemian Costa Rican violin playing Lothario. There are a million and one stories here with this cast of characters, and I love it. We hit the mercado before dark and everyone finds what we are looking for. In fact, the exact earrings I was dreaming of, I found. I almost bought a much more expensive not quite right pair at a local jeweler, but thankfully I waited. We celebrate our shopping success at Coconuts for happy hour. Yes, there is a pattern here and we are creatures of habit. Sue takes us over the canal to one of our favorite streets for what is my best dinner of the trip at Zihua Bay. The street is lit with twinkle lights and lined with musicians, dogs, cats, dancers. We run into friends we made earlier in the day and people from our flight. I share my divine and fresh from the sea grilled shrimp with a gato blanco, but I do not give her any of the tequila coffee concoction the waiter brings us for dessert.

Thursday I wake with the realization that the week that seemed so long, is getting short. I have no regrets just a determination to eke out all the goodness I can. We hit the pool and then head to the beach for sunset and happy hour. As we approach at 6:41, the sun is on the decline. This is a ritual sight that never ever gets old. We walk down the beach in the gloaming and take it all in: the pelicans heading out, the lovers dancing on the beach, the lights slowly appearing in Z, the boats ferrying people from Las Gatas. Dinner is at Patsy's. With my feet in the sand and a view of the sea, I know my mahi mahi is fresh. I eat it all. 

On Friday we go to Adelita's for breakfast. Eggs Benedict with poblano sauce is no joke. Fresh mango is not too funny either. Our last day is a beach day and we park ourselves at La Perla. La playa is busy and happening today. No crocodiles, only a sea snake and some man o wars. I swim, but my head is on a swivel. We head to Patsy's for sunset happy hour and stay for our last supper. Coconut shrimp I will dream of. A dreamy night walk on the beach and up the hill precludes a swim back home under the stars.

 And that folks...is a wrap.