ROAD BLOG AHEAD

It’s been awhile since I posted, I know. Too long to try and give any details here of all that has happened in the past 3 weeks.

We’re back in the U.S. now, in the Bay Area - Montara, California, a small town on the coast between Pacifica and Half Moon Bay. Lena’s cousin/sister Diana lives here with her husband Bruce and two college-age sons. They are absolutely wonderful people - they are really the best family anyone could wish for and we’re so much enjoying having all this time with them. Well, with 3 of them - the oldest son, Jeb, left for grad school in London right before we returned. He is an incredible young man - brilliant, interesting and interested in things, passionate, a feminist and political radical. He’s studying philosophy and politics in London and is being grieved by his friends because, for the past 4 years, he’s always enthusiastically played the title role in the local production of the Rocky Horror Picture Show (it fits his own penchants.) We (and his parents who are also old hippies) are incredibly proud of him. That said, the other part of me is happy he left because that left a bedroom available for Lena and I to use (and sometimes Nyondo) while we’re in town. It’s tight because there’s a built-in bed in here and just enough room for us to set up the inflatable bed in the free floor space. The good part is that the built-in gives us a sitting area as well as a bed for Nyondo to use when she comes down a few days a week so we can all be together. She’ll be here tonight and tomorrow we’re all heading over to Alameda to try to make some sense out of the piles of our stuff stored in Allison’s garage.

That is mostly why we’re here: to try and dispose of or find storage for, our worldly goods and pack up a couple of bags suitable for dragging around the world with us. Also, to try and earn a bit of a living. Lena is working at SAGE 2 1/2 days a week and LOVES being back in that groove again. It’s so good for her! I love how enthused and optimistic she becomes when she’s working at something she loves. I hope there is some way she can continue to do this while on the road - she’ll take needles, etc. with her as she did to Mexico and I’m sure patients will turn up as they did there, but SAGE is one of those situations that just suits her so well. It’s the hardest thing for her to leave, much harder than leaving stuff behind.

I’ve got clients coming out of the woodwork more or less. Lena and I are sharing Michelle’s chiropractic office on Sundays to see people in the East Bay. I have the flex to use a local cafe when she’s got patients and last week mostly did that but, this week, I’ve got the office most of the day. I’m stacked with people from 11 a.m. to about 6:30 pm without breaks, so I’m gonna be toast by evening, but I’m happy about it. I’ve also got phone readings, another good thing since I can take them on the road with me. I’ve further got a bunch of astrology chart work to do for a couple of women I know up in Sacramento. I’ve run the preliminaries and this is going to be FUN! They are really interesting people with compatible charts. There’s more astrology work, but it’s more straightforward and less interesting. Plus I have at least one Soul Retrieval scheduled for when I’m up in Vancouver mid-November and possibly more and several around this area. So I’m keeping busy.

The big bummer is that I’m seriously allergic to Diana’s house. They have 13 cats (well, 3 of them are our that they took in) several of whom I am extremely allergic to (the longhaired type sets me off) plus a LOT of dust and central heating (necessary in this cold damp place) that blows it all up into the air. My asthma is worse than it’s been in several years which is pretty bad. So I keep the window open in the bedroom, cover the heating register, Lena dusted well in here and I just spend as much time as I can out of the house. Going through stuff is also dusty work and I think I’ll be wearing a dust mask for a lot of tomorrow! I was afraid for a bit that the asthma was back full-force, but other symptoms indicate I’ve also got a cold which is exacerbating the whole respiratory thing. I’m actually relieved that some portion of this is viral because it means it will subside in a few days or so! I’ll still be on inhalers and hunting fresh air, but I’m sure I’ll feel better than I do right now.

Also, coming back from Mexico and all the exercise and swimming there, we both feel bloated and yucky, so we’ve gone back on low carb induction this past week. I’d really like to get back to where I was in the spring of ‘04 when I was feeling very fit, bicycling daily and had much less strain on my knees. Now some of the joint stuff is better already. I’m pretty sure that’s a side benefit of induction: no wheat. I just don’t eat any wheat products at all. I am pretty sure that’s one of the major contributors to the joint inflammmation. Which is a real drag because my weakness is baked goods, whether savory or sweet. I can have low carb chocolate once I’m past induction, but there is no real good substitute for a slab of fresh bread with cheese or peanut butter on it! Ah well. I’d rather bend in the right places than eat a doughnut!

The sheer volume of STUFF still to be gotten rid of properly is staggering! We brought most of the things that were stashed in Ellen’s garage over to Diana’s garage and have been going through it a category at a time. One of the marvelous things is that Diana’s school has a HUGE rummage sale in January, so all those useful but unneeded things that ended up being packed in among the rescued items can be donated to that. Just knowing that there’s a reasonable place for it to go (rather than a dumpster) makes it easier to say “no, I don’t need this” to stuff I like. The single biggest issue is the fiber stash - yarn and spinning wool and tools. It’s a bulky hobby and I have a wall of bins. They’ve gotta go, but I just don’t know what is the best thing to do with them! I’m going to post to my various fiber lists soon that there will be stuff available and hope someone wants to take a lot of it off my hands for me!

Every Tuesday there is a covered market that gets set up in the vacant lots behind Plaza Conde de Real. It ends up being about 3/3 blocks square and is really intended for the locals not the gringos (sort of the local farmer’s market/flea market.) We need to bring gifts to people who have helped out as well as to the kids so I figured it was a good place to go to find little things for that. It turned up rainy this morning so a covered market (the covers being plastic tarps tied to poles, but good enough) was just the thing. In the past we’ve gone there for things like bulk beans, rice, fruit and produce that the organic farm doesn’t grow, but I’ve had a chance to look at the kind of things there and though it was a good place to shop for a few gifts since it’s much much cheaper for the same goods than the “artisan’s market” designed primarily for the touristas downtown or the very fine and fancy specialty shops. Anyway, I can’t afford nor do I have room to pack giant copper star lanterns or stone metates. So bought mostly textile things and a handful of the ubiquitous woven plastic shopping bags that everyone carries around here - only these have very cool or funny pictures silk screened onto them. Everrything from pictures from San Miguel to images from those cards (can’t remember the names) that are similar to tarot card images. I bought a small lot of them and got a good discount and therefore will use them as “wrapping” for other gifts. Various of the people we need to bring remembrances for are reading this blog so I won’t list the gifts I got at the mercado and, later, at the textile and metal shops at the plaza, but I was very satisfied! I think one more trip to the downtown market and I’ll have everything I need. Textiles and small metal or leather goods are light enough and pack well enough to make good gifts.

One thing I really noticed is how comfortable I am in Spanish now. Other than to translate for Lena, I didn’t use a single word of English the entire day - I ordered, asked questions, exchanged jokes and pleasantries, haggled over prices etc. etc. entirely in Spanish. My verb tenses have improved a tiny bit, but they still are pretty bad, still I’m feeloing confident enough to work around them. The best moment came when I had just done haggling with some guy over the tote bags and a few other things and then turned to Lena and explained what I’d decided. As I was settling up with the vendor, he said to me, in Spanish, “you known, your Spanish is good, much better than my English. And your accent is excellent - you sound like a Mexican.” I was very flattered. This is about the third time someone has commented that my pronounciation makes me easier to understand. I’ve always thought that vocabulary was only part of communication - accent really matters too and this seems to be proving me right. I STILL need to study my verbs though!

There was another funny moment or two around food today. We eat the street food (Jacqueline, who was born here, though she lived as an adult in Texas, is absolutely astounded - she was raised aristocrat Mexican and told never, ever to eat from street vendors. Most of the gringos get told this. We’re constantly surpringing people by saying we eat whatever we feel like it and it has killed us yet.) Anyway, we tend to grazeour way thru the food stalls, nibbling this or that. Now Lena loves innards - she’s a tube eater . So, early on today we grabbed a couple of mini tacos of chorizo. Quite good. THen, before we left, we stopped for more. I grabbed a sopa, similar to Salvadorean pupusas - a thick, stuffed cornmeal patty grilled. These had chopped carnitas in them and then were slit on one side after grilling and stuffed with beans and fried nopale cactus (yum - and very very good for one.) I wandered over and sat down next to Lena who’d gotten an order of tacos (they’re tiny here) al pastor. Then she looked at the woman next to her and had me ask what was on her plate as it looked tasty. The old lady mumbled something awful so her daughter stepped in and told me what it was. Turned out to be a stewed mixture of brains and chopped chitterlings. So Lena goes “ooooooo, I want that!” So I wave the old guy who runs the stall over and tell him I want and order of cabeza and (oops, lost the other word) and he looks at me and repeats what I said. Yeah, I tell him. That. He goes back to the grill, stands there awhile, comes back over to me and says, “Did you really say you wanted an order of cabeza and _____?” Yes, I say emphatically. He asks, “Do you know what that is?” (we get this in Chinatown sometimes when ordering something that usually no white person even knows exists and they can’t believe we’re gonna eat it.) and I nod, point to my head and say, “Si, cabeza and ______” So he sends a girl over to ask the same questions, maybe thinking we didn’t understand him. By now we’re laughing. I tell her the same thing and then the old woman’s daughter steps in and says (in Spahish) “Yes, they really want that. Really!” She’s laughing too watching this. I point to the old lady’s plate and say (in Spanish) I want and order of the same thing that lady is eating. It looks delicious!” So FINALLY we get our plate of the stuff and everyone stands around to watch as Lena and I put condiments on our brain tacos and stuff ‘em in our mouths. And they WERE delicious and we ate every bit LOL!

So then Lena goes off for something while I go over to the guy selling carnitas by the pound. It’s the busiest of the meat stalls which is usually a good sign of quality known by the people who buy locally. Now the carnitas sold here are the entire pig more or less. At least the meat, the ribs, the organs and the skin. They give at least a bit of each, depending on what’s wanted. Often it’s chopped up fine so people can take it home and use it as is for tacos, etc. So my turn comes and the vendor smiles at this big blonde gringa and I say, “Me gustaria un medio kilo con mucho piel. Pero, no corte mas fina, por favor.” That is, a half kilo with plenty of the skin, but don’t chop it fine.” He blinks and grins and cuts some chunks of pork, throws ‘em on the scale. Takes some of the pigskin and puts a chunk with the meat, looks at me. “Mas,” I say firmly. More skin (Lena’s favorite part.) some tubes, some riblets and a chunk of liver, watching me out of the corner of his eye, until the scale weighs in at half a kilo and I look at the mix and say “Perfecto, gracias.” His grin gets bigger and he nods, takes the sack off the scale and stops, grins again, says “I like you. I’m throwing in this gratis,” and tosses in a huge chunk of the prime meat, free. I am noticing that there is definitely positive response to being a gringa who shops like a local and isn’t afraid of the food LOL!!!

Also got some of the local brown sugar and nut fudge confection that is sold in huge blocks around here. It’s addictive, along with the coconut and molasses mounds and the goat milk caramel. I just can’t believe that people live here for years and are afraid to eat except at specifically American restaurants. Might as well stay in Texas!

Came home, traded funny stories with Jacqueline about Mexican customs and then Lena did a very intense acupuncture treatment on me. I swear, I passed out cold afterwards (it was about 7 pm) and didn’t wake up again until 10:30! So now I’m up late trying to get a few things done before going back to bed. We’re talking about going into town tomorrow to look for a few last gift things. I also have to pick up my glasses at the optomitrist if they’re ready. Hope so since the SUV goes into the shop for a tune up/overhaul on Thursday so it’s pristine for Tom’s return next weekend. Supposedly I get it back the same day, but this is Mexico so I’m not counting on it. And I HAVE to pick up my glasses by the weekend, I am NOT waiting for Monday, the day before we leave. Little last minute things. Oh and Lena has a last dental visit Saturday to take out stitches and check the implant screw. So we need those wheels back.

Did I mention I’m blonde? We did match the sun streaks in most of my hair with a handful of streaks at the roots which were still darker. Lena got it exactly the color of the sunbleached parts and, lo and behold, I really do look like a blonde! It’s kind of shocking, a bright pale amber color, maybe brighter than I expected when seen next to my face. Well, I can always use a drabber if it gets to be too much. Definitely a “look”, but it goes with coppery accessories really well and my new glasses are a dark bronzey-copper color which should coordinate. Ah, vanity at age 50 is dangerous!

Esther, the woman we met at the organic farm, came over yesterday afternoon and it was quickly apparent that we were “meant” to be friends. We spoke the same language - and I don’t mean either English or Spanish. In fact, I joked that she speaks 3 languages: British English, American English and Spanish and she was amazed that I got the distinction so clearly, that they really are two languages with a lot of word origins in common but different vernacular and emphasis. Within a short time over tea, we were talking about those things of the intuition and perception, things that have no specific names or terms in our language - where you gesture, shrug and say, “you know, there are just no words for it, but…” and the other person nods in perfect understanding of what was implied but notable to be said. Our view of the world and what’s going on matches very well. My guess is that she’s probably not a dyke (though a strong suggestion that she considers herself bi and recognized Lena and I as a couple without any overt signals or statements.)

Her initial interest was in Buddhism, which came up when she realized we were living in Tom’s house who she knew by reputation as “That Buddhist Guy” who bought the old balnario. Her background is a mixture of Zen and Vipassana, both of which are excellent ground for understanding the type of meditation Lena teaches. This is one of those really serendipitous connections and one which we will continue. Too many synchronicities to our meeting and our ideas to call it coincidence.

She’s lived here for 7 years and has just bought a bit of land near the lake, intending to build a home that’s pretty much self-sustaining and off the grid. She moved here from London after a short stint in the Bay Area. Is a photographer for a local archeological excavation as well as some other odd bits and pieces and has that tendency to fall into opportunities and people. She knows the regional herbalist who serves as an ethnobotanist on the dig she works on and Lena is chomping at the bit to come back and meet this guy who can tromp around and casually name and tell the properties and preparations for all the traditional and local plants. In fact, Esther calls him “a plant”. Which made us laugh because Lena is the only other person I’ve ever known to refer to someone in that way (another herbalist.)For all 3 of us there was a sense of recognition when we saw each other. Then, the second time we encountered each other at the farm, it seemed important to exchange phone numbers and get together. She’s coming back next week before we leave, partly to socialize and bring her “killer” chocolate cake and partly to get more meditation teachings from Lena.

Other than that, we’re still trying to get Lena recovered from her tooth implant. She’s been pretty spaced out for a couple of days and sleeping a lot. Hopefully she’ll wake up before we have to get ready to go home! I know that, last week, after my various oral surgeries, I did the same - slept an awful lot. Even though the dentist makes it not at all painful, there is stil trauma, especially when they cut or drill into the bone, which both of us had some of!

This week there is supposed to be a lot of work going on on the house before Tom returns in a few weeks (we’re just going to miss each other, oh well…) Painting, repairs, heater installations, etc. to make it all perfect for him (and his elderly mother who will visit) Bustle, bustle and hassle, but oh well, we had a lovely time for 3 months. I packed up the things in my study tonight. Partly because they’re going to paint it some time this week, but mostly because I’m inclined to start consolidating. Not buying any more groceries except a few perishables such as milk and essential veggies. We’ll just use up what we already bought and probably leave a ton of stuff for Tom. We’re hoping to leave one suitcase full of clothing we won’t need any longer or won’t want on our travels stuck at the back of one of the many, many closets. I know I’ve got like a sundress, a few tank tops, a straw hat, a spare swimsuit and a pair of sandals that don’t need to come home with me and might as well stay here as they’ll be useful on return trips. From the look of the closets, everyone who has visited has done something like this LOL!

This week we MUST buy gifts for people for when we return. The grandkids for example and the person who has looked after my truck, the cousins where we’ll be staying, etc. etc. It will be hard to know how to pack until that’s done and I see how much space there is. We also inherited a whole stack of books from a neighbor who bought a piece of property next to hers which had a shed full of books she needs to get out of there. I’m trying to read as many as possible so I don’t have to try to pack them. Funny - one was a book that was at the top of my list to buy - and in hardcover no less. “Fall Down On Your Knees” It’s one Silva recommended I read prior to reading the author’s second book (which Silva left for me.) And here Katalina, next door, offers me a pristine new edition. I guess I’m “supposed” to read that eh? Plus a bunch of sci fi and mysteries by authors I really like - those are the ones I’m reading fast in order not to have to carry them. Figures we’d discover this bounty the last few weeks when we can’t possibly read them all - or carry them all home with us. Well, Tom’s library will increase significantly as the result of our visit! His taste runs more to philosophy, cooking and local lore than to mysteries or literature, but surely some of his visitors will appreciate a handful of fun reading books on hand. I know I’m always happy to raid people’s libraries when I’m traveling.

I spent a long time on chat with a bunch of friends from the LD forum last night. Silva is definitely planning my 50th birthday party up in Vancouver and, from the little hints, it’s gonna be a doozy. I’m really excited about it. We’re inviting all sorts of girls from all over - we’ll see who makes it. Wish Toshi could make it, but she’ll have left Van by the time I’m up there - I can’t remember if she’ll be in SF or is off to be with her partner in Japan. Zibelline was talking about flying in from Montreal for it and that would be really fun - I like her a lot. We’ll see who else turns up from where.

Today’s agenda is a thorough acupuncture treatment. I’m having a LOT of joint pain - all my fibro symptoms have flared up this past week, probably secondary to the trauma of the dental work. I’m walking like an old lady. The trigger point treatments Lena has developed for fibro have done wonders for the upper body pain, but not for the hip/knee/heel pain for some reason, so we’re going to do some systemic work to open up the center and see if that helps. Then she’s gonna streak my hair - or more precisely, my roots. In the 3 months we’ve been here, my hair has really gotten bleached by the sun - some of it is blond, like when I was much younger, mostly those places that were already casually streaked in the past. But the roots have grown out and weren’t streaked so we’re going to do that to try and make it all match up nicely. It’s surprising to look in the mirror and see myself tanned and blonde! Even my legs have color for the first time in about 30 years! Now if only I were leaner. I would think that swimming for hours every day doing laps would have had an effect on that, but I read in a physiology of sports paper that swimming doesn’t cause weight reduction, just a shift in muscle mass and strength because the effect of being immersed in water tends to trigger the body’s tendency to retain a fat layer. I am definitely stronger and more muscular, but about the same size I was when I arrived. Now, if I can use that increased strength to bicycle when I get back, I may be able to burn off the fat and retain the muscle. I’d sure like to turn 50 looking better than I have since I was 30 and, in a way, I think I will, but there’s still a ways to go.

We lost the baby mouse. He’d been doing fine for a day or so and then, inexplicably, began having trouble some time in the middle of the night. Seemed okay for a bit and then, about six a.m. he died. Feeling very sad - it’s easy to get attached to any little baby critter that one tries to save.

At the same time, I’ve just received the startling news that my daughter is pregnant with her second baby (the first is 15 months old.)Not what any of us would consider optimum timing right now, but she wanted 2 eventually and, well, here it is. So she’s happy, we’re stunned (but not unhappy, only concerned for her well-being) and it’ll all work out somehow. Gotta say that the kid’s got funny karma: her moms are here in Mexico and leaving for Asia before her due date in the spring while her dad and his boyfriend are currently living in France for an indeterminate amount of time.

It’s been more dental madness all week (we go back today which will make the 5th day in a single week for dental work) so, between the mouth, the mouse and the baby news, I’m pretty much in a state of perpetual shock. I’ve had about 6 hours sleep in the last 72 and way too many pain meds, so if I’m not making more sense, forgive me, I’m sure I’ll eventually get back to the state of crazed serenity that passes for “normal” in my life. I DID manage to get my new glasses ordered yesterday. Fancy things with detachable sunglass lenses, but absolutely gorgeous and, at $230 US, about half of what I’d expect to pay in the States for something similar with the spring temples, separate sunshades and antireflective coating, so I’m satisfied if a bit broker than before.