March 23, 2018 · 7:00 am

It’s my Birthday Today

Today is the oldest you've ever been and the youngest you'll ever be again.

Today’s my birthday.  I’m 45. Since I plan on living well into my 80’s like my grandmothers, or well into my 90’s like my great-grandmothers, I’m middle aged now. So what have I accomplished?

I am a mother of an increasingly independent teen.  There will less and less for me to do in the mothering department–that is until the grandchildren arrive, which doesn’t look like it will be anytime soon.  I am proud of my son. He’s quite an accomplishment.

Although I have a chronic disease, I feel much better this year than I have in years past.  I think it has a lot to do with being able to cut my working hours from 55+ to 26 per week.  I’m sure it will continue to be a struggle as I age more, but I’ll let each day take care of itself. Accepting I can do no more, that’s an accomplishment.

Today is the oldest you've ever been and the youngest you'll ever be again. (1)

I am delighted with the way our home and lives have evolved this past year.  Although construction should be finally done shortly, refining our daily activities will be ongoing. Designing and implementing this life we have in Mexico is definitely an accomplishment.

I’ve also managed to convert sections of my blog to e-book format.  I did this mostly with my mom in mind.  She has hours of sitting for dialysis each week and rereading our Mexican adventures might help her pass the time. With my limited computer competence, this is yet another accomplishment.

I thought I would be embarrassed about my age.  Then again, I’ve outlived people I grew up with.  I’ve outlived people I considered friends.  I’ve outlived family members.  So there is no need for me to be embarrassed but rather grateful that disease, accident, or unfortunate incident haven’t ended this grand life I enjoy yet. Surviving to middle-age, yep that’s an accomplishment.

I am not rich nor famous nor probably ever will be.  I hold no important office, have not done incredible feats.  As far as accomplishments go, mine are humble indeed.  That’s ok. I’m content with these.  

So in celebration of my birthday, I’d like to give you a gift.  For the next few days, Wascally Wabbits and Zombie Babies is free at Amazon and A to Z Reasons Why La Yacata is the Place to be in Any Disaster is discounted. I hope you enjoy them!

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March 19, 2018 · 7:00 am

2018 A to Z Blogging Challenge Theme Reveal

Believe it or not, it’s time for the A to Z Blogging Challenge again. If you remember, last year I focused on Disaster Survival in Mexico. It took me months to write those posts which are now available in ebook and paperback format on Amazon and will be on sale on Friday!

This year, I will be partnering with my blogging sisters from SOTBS Bloggers for the challenge. What that means is I won’t be writing 26 posts. Whew! Right now I’m planning on 9 or 10 depending on what I can get done between now and April 1. I’ve got a number of other projects going at the moment, which will be blogged about in due course.

Our group theme is MEXICO. Duh! There’ll be a little be of everything in the mix. Stay tuned!

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March 15, 2018 · 7:00 am

A bit of remodeling–The Laundry Room

laundry area

The former second-floor laundry area, complete with hand pump connected to the ajibe (dry well).

Even though I now have a washer at the little house in Sunflower Valley, we opted to keep our laundry room in La Yacata with some improvements, that is.  I never minded hand washing and having a wash area is a good thing in the event of a variety of end of the world scenarios.  I wouldn’t want my family to be dirty and ragged now, would I?

We picked up a larger lavadera (washboard) when we picked up the toilet and sink.  I wanted one where the water from the hand pump would be on one side instead of the barrica (barrel) so that’s what we got.  

It was heavy and cumbersome to take upstairs.  The base that held the former washboard had to be altered to accommodate the new one.  My husband wanted to have it flush against the wall which required removing part of the washboard.  As we no longer had our power inverter to run the power tools, he tried using a hammer and chisel on it.  Well, it cracked.  After looking at it for about 10 minutes, he decided the only thing to do was to take it to the little house in Sunflower Valley, which has electricity and finish the job.

That meant carting it back downstairs, loading it onto the truck, driving to Sunflower Valley and using the power tool to cut that stubborn piece off.  Then we had to bring it back, haul it up the stairs again and reposition the monster.  A little bit of jiggling and a little more hammer and chiseling and it fell perfectly into position.

I also wanted a backsplash because I do tend to throw the suds around when I wash.  So using the leftover of tile, that’s what my husband did. He also painted a stripe.  He really likes painting stripes.  One time, I remember coming home from work in Virginia and found he had painted a green stripe all around the living room.  When I asked him why he had done that, he said he was bored.  This time I at least got to pick the color of the stripe.

The last bit was installing the double-sided mirror in the space that used to be a window.  The whole concept just seemed confusing to my son, but the end result is more light reflected back into both the laundry room and the main room.

Installation
Installation

 

 

Laundry room side
Laundry room slide

Other room reflection

The laundry room isn’t quite finished.  The handpump will be moved downstairs to get water directly from the dry well. We still need to get a faucet and tinaco (water storage container) and then figure out how to get water to the second-floor roof.  But that’s a project for another day.

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