Herbal Academy, one of my favorite online class providers, is having a back to school sale from August 18 to September 13. All courses are up to 35% off and up to $400 off programs. YIPPEE!
If you’ve got a hankering for some traditional wisdom combined with science-based facts when it comes to herbal remedies, then Herbal Academy is the place for you. Plus, you don’t need to leave the house. Those of us still in self-imposed quarantine while we wait out the pandemic love being able to learn from home!
I’ve highlighted a few of the courses I’ve taken in the past in previous posts. You can read my thoughts on:
And if you are interested in pursuing herbalism for personal or professional reasons, well, all the path packages are on sale too. Why not use the extra time you have to learn something both fascination and practical?
Once you start down the path towards using herbs to maintain you and your loved ones health, you’ll never look at plants the same again! I speak from experience!
One of the projects that interrupted the tejas was the roof for the animal area. Quarantine was as good as time as any to work on this. My husband is a pro at creating a roof, so in short order, the tarimas (wooden frames) were up and the roofing crew was called.
The colladores (roofing crew) were the same group that did my sister-in-law’s roof. They arrived early enough and made short work of the job. My son was the gofer–an extra bucket of sand, some more gravel, a new bucket for the guy who broke his, all of that was under his jurisdiction.
Although I made several forays outside to check on the progress, I stopped after a bit. Every time I went outside, the men were wearing fewer clothing items. In fact, before all was said and done, two of the crew had taken a shower with the hose. Not something I really needed to see.
A lunch of carnitas and beer (and a drag on the ever present mota) was provided about ¾ of the way through. Eventually, everyone packed up and scattered.
Lady had to be housed on the patio temporarily because there just wasn’t room for her with the beams holding the roof up. Twenty-two days later, the wood came down and the animals had a permanent roof. Lady moved back into her stall and the only one that doesn’t seem to appreciate the new roof is Jolina, who even at several months pregnant, still insisted on jumping out of the pen and sleeping near (or bothering) Terry.
The topic of COVID-19 has me a bit overwhelmed. So I’ve been avoiding it, well, like the plague. However, to try and unravel the current situation in Guanajuato, I thought I’d take up the gauntlet today.
Unless you’ve been sheltering under the proverbial bushel basket, you should know Mexico has moved up in the death race. Mexico now has the third-highest death rate from Covid-19, right after Brazil and the U.S.
To celebrate this grand event, the state of Guanajuato has moved into orange. This means, places like movie theaters, churches, and gyms can reopen, with precautions, of course. The church has disinfecting mist spray entrances, requires face masks, and is limiting occupancy to 125 people to allow for social distancing. The gyms are taking temperatures at the front door.
These reopenings are going full steam ahead despite the Pan American Health Organization predicting a new peak in new cases in August. In fact, July 31 saw a new high of 8,458 cases that was topped August 1 with 9,556 cases. The accumulated case tally in Mexico is the sixth-highest in the world.
Mexico City, of course, has the most active cases, followed by Mexico State. Guanajuato is in the third position, followed by Veracruz, Coahuila, San Luis Potosí, and Nuevo León tied for fourth. As if these statistics weren’t alarming enough, it’s important to take into consideration that these numbers are completely inaccurate. There is no widespread testing taking place, so it’s really anyone’s guess on the true count.
More or less SEP’s plan for back to school
Mexico made the decision a few days ago to not return to classes. Instead, school will be available online, on the television, and through radio broadcasts. As prudent as this seems, there are some economic repercussions. On the 15th of this month, teacher contracts expire. If they will not be teaching for the foreseeable future, will they get paid? Then there are the small businesses that earn their pesos providing school uniforms and school supplies. What will happen to their livelihood? The future seems bleak for these sectors.
Moroleon, you survived looting, flooding, the devaluation of the peso in 1995, Chinese clothing imports and you will make it through the pandemic.
Coronavirus aside, Guanajuato has also been declared a safer area with the capture of Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel leader “El Marro” this week. Apparently it took all of 15 minutes to make the arrest. Personally, I have some doubts about the whole situation. Perhaps El Marro felt it was safer in police custody for the moment. The cartel-related violence in our town hasn’t diminished with his arrest, that’s for sure. Last week a man was killed at the barbershop, another in the market, and a third in a moto-repair shop.
So how is this affecting our daily lives? More of the same really. We dash to town as early as possible and pick up our supplies, then hunker down in La Yacata for the rest of the day. More and more groups have also been gathering in our little corner of the world, since gatherings are still prohibited in town. In fact, this weekend, there were so many people sitting around on buckets, that my son felt the need to put on his mask to bring the horses in from the pasture.
Fortunately, we have plenty to do to keep us busy. I am still writing and teaching to make ends meet. My son continues with his online prepa courses. Our animals entertain us when they can. Plus we have plenty of good movies to watch and unlimited books via kindle. Overall, we are in a much better position than those that tried to avoid the plague in the middle ages. Wouldn’t you agree?
Surviving Mexico 