Sunday, July 12, 2020

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico - 1955!

It is astounding to see this photo and to become aware of how much this village has grown in sixty-five years!  Truly a small village at the time.

I saved this photo to write a blog on the 18th of June.  Finally, today I feel like writing again. Somehow all the joy of writing has not been around much lately.

I've noticed a change in attitude and energy in the last few days with a desire to garden more, cook more and to move around more.........good news for me.  Hope you are experiencing this feeling  as well.  Being energetic has always been part of the joy of my life.  Maybe I have been trying to compensate for the fact that there is not so much to do so I have taken it really, really easy.  Who knows?  Least of all me.

The sounds of the egrets clacking and squawking in the eucalyptus trees across the cobbled stone road from my house are a welcome sound.  The new fledglings are trying to get their bearings.  I presume that is what all the noise is about.........

It has been so quiet around here that I welcome nature's sounds!  Yesterday while sitting here reading there was a loud boom and the music that I listen to constantly stopped.  I was reading, so I continued.  The silence was absolutely like having a clear spring of water flowing around.  Quiet, solitude.  Lovely.  Three hours later, the music returned.  A blown transformer had been replaced.

Cooking has been sporadic.  I got a wild hair and made banana bread on Friday because the bananas were getting too ripe then yesterday I made a large pot of spaghetti sauce with meat balls.  Enough for many, many meals!  So today I will not have to cook but just heat up the spaghetti and meat balls along with a small salad and very small flan for dessert. 

Gardening has shown the most results.  The gardens are abloom not only from the rains that come almost every evening, but also more attention to the flowers now that everything is blooming.  It is a glorious sight.  I will photograph the various gardens this week and share the photos with you in the next post. 

I learned something astounding this week.  Maybe many of you already know but in all the years of gardening it is something new to me.  About two years ago while at a Garden Club meeting at the home of a member who had amazing orchid gardens, the gardener said he stuffed banana peels in the beds to cause the flowers to bloom.  At the time it seemed strange to me, but I always remembered
that.  Then the other day I read that if you take the peels, put them in water for a few days and then pour that water on your flowers, that you will have greater blooming.  So, the experiment has begun.
I put three peels in a pitcher of water and this morning I poured that water on the clivias by the front door.  We'll see what happens.  They are not blooming at present and have no buds. 

In the same article about the banana peels, it said coffee grounds are good as well as egg shells.  The bananas provide potassium, the coffee grounds provide another needed ingredient and the egg shells provide calcium.  Hence, if one were to use all three there would be no need for Miracle Gro anymore.  Who knew?  I knew about coffee but not the reason.  Stay tuned.

Reading has been somewhat sporadic.  I ordered Bolton's book and slogged through the first 18% of it before I gave up.  Most of it was self aggrandizement of himself with a nugget here or there.  I have moved onto Little Fires Everywhere.  We'll see if it captures my interest while I wait for Mary Trump's book to arrive later this week.  ALWAYS have something ready to read.

Netflix continues to peak my interest.  Documentaries are always a delight for me.  Lately one on Sinatra, another on Robert Kennedy and Quincy Jones were fascinating. These documentaries come with film footage from the era.  It is astounding to see things that were occurring back then  Then lately I have been hooked on watching episodes of Feed Phil.  Not so much because of the food, but because of the places he travels to that are so interesting.  Marrakesh was spectacular as well as the segment on Copenhagen.  The segment on Chicago and Buenos Aires was delightful too.  He's a quirky guy and makes me laugh, which is a good thing. It sure is nice to watch things that don't have commercials.

Never did I think I would complain about CBS  Sunday Morning since I've been watching it since Charles Kuralt hosted it.  However, the amount of commercials far outnumber the interesting segments much to my dismay.  Yes, I will continue to watch just for those nuggets of inspiration that are on there from time to time.

That's about it from my casa to yours.  Hope this missive finds you discovering ways of inspiration, grace and joy to continue the journey to safety, sanity and life in this alternate Universe that we are now living in. 

Thanks to all of you who send me private emails and to this amazing couple in Canada who send me colorful greeting cards and messages on a regular basis.  I'm astounded and grateful for each of you.


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

This from you next door neighbor - it seems as though we are on the same page. We have been watching the documentaries; being jazz fans we so enjoyed Quincy Jones, Sinatra and even watched Dolly Parton (not into country western) but it turned into being quite interesting. I made chocolate chip cookies (Oscar ate our bananas). But haven't done the gardening thing. I did purchase (through Amazon.com.mx) a book on Ghiradelli Chocolate and plan on trying my hand at truffles. Oh, and am waiting for Mary Trump's book also.

Loved your blog -Roberta

Mr. Bill said...

Greetings from East Tennessee. So enjoy your thoughts on blog. Looking forward to our upcoming visit in January!!

Unknown said...

Good to hear from you again. WeVe missed you. We have moved into our new house in Labradores and are spending a lot of time gardening. Did you know you can watch Sunday Morning stories on Youttube sans commercials?
Take care,
Bill and Debbie Stuart


Babs said...

Roberta, I think it is humorous that since we can't physically get together, that we are keeping track of each other via blog! Keep me posted on the truffle experiment.
DO let me know when you think you might be able to come over for coffee. We can sit in the garden and enjoy all the blooms. Thanks for writing.........

Babs said...

Well, East Tennessee, I don't know who you are but DO let me know
when you come in January. I might not be here then as it is our
coldest month and I try to be at the beach that month. Otherwise,
I would love to meet you.

Babs said...

Hi Bill and Debbie! Wow, your new house is finished and you are already moved in?
Amazing. I guess it has been a while since we have seen each other. Congrats on the move.

No, I didn't know I could watch CBS Sunday Morning on You Tube. THAT would mean I don't have to get up so early on Sunday! Wow. I might forget my routine of the last decades of CBS Sunday Morning.......we'll see.

Hope to see ya'll again when this COVID is all over. When you come to La Comer, if you still do, you are five minutes away. I enjoy our conversations and your company so much.......Take care and stay safe

Gilda Valdez Carbonaro said...

Thanks goodness for Netflix, Barbara. We're still in Florence and don't have a garden here, but we have Netflix and watch movies every night. Also, the urge to cook during the Pandemic was tremendous, and I have the weight gain to prove it. I even finished a cookbook I had started several years ago. Hope to finally see you over a cup of coffee when we are back.

Babs said...

Gilda, so so nice to hear from you. When do you think you will be heading back to SMA? Any time soon?
I'm so thrilled for you to have finished your cookbook. I'm sure it is wonderful.
If interested, on Netflix, there is a show called Feed Phil or something like that.
He is kinda dorky but the filming is lovely and I have seen so many places that I
will never get to like Copenhagen and Bangkok. To me it is more of a travel show then a food show. Although he does eat a lot!
Take care. I so so hope we end up having that cup of coffee in 2021, if not before.
Say safe.
Barbara

alcuban said...

I didn't even buy the John Bolton book. Quite frankly, I'm just waiting for Nov. 3 to put an end to all this political back-and-forth. Same for Trump's niece's book. However, I just started reading "Make Russia Great Again," a humorous take on the current political situation. So far it's really funny.

Did you know that if you don't like a Kindle book you have a week or ten days to return it for a full refund. It takes some doing, but it's worth it if you end up with a book that's a dud.

Stay safe!

al

Babs said...

Hi Al - You were wise not to get the Bolton book. Junk. But I didn't have the leeway to return it because the deadline was past, unfortunately.

The Mary Trump book is readable so I'll continue it for a while. Have lots more to read once I finish that.

Thanks for commenting. Your new book sounds like a good choice.

Gilda Valdez Carbonaro said...

Barbara,
I have actually enjoyed watching Feed Phil. He's done one session in Florence where he meets some of the local food people that I know.
Glad to know you're taking good care of yourself.
Gilda

Babs said...

Gilda! I have so enjoyed Feed Phil. It was one of my favorite series that I have seen. I'll go back, if I can and relook at the Florence segment!

I have just finished watching a series called Heaven's Garden made in South Korea with subtitles. It is sweet, unique and interesting. It was about 30 episodes. I like Asian foreign films because they develop their characters and there is usually no violence.

Hope yo are taking good care of yourself as well. Let me know when you get back to SMA!