Dear October

 Dear October,
You round and orange month
you are beautiful,
though you look different in the Yucatan.

I don't see your vibrant changing leaves
but the morning light arrives a bit later now.
The air does not feel crisp and cool
but the heat has begun to slightly wane.

Halloween appears in the stores
(and so does Christmas?!)

There is
fall foliage
cozy sweaters
and pumpkins in my mind.
But there are pink bougainvillea petals
and yellow blooms in my view. ~ a.a. 10/1/16

 

Green Enchiladas

It's Friday evening and while chopping an onion and mincing some garlic, I heard the horn of the guy who rides a bike with a cart selling 'pan Francoise' and other breads every evening. It's convenient if you need a fresh roll for dinner, we usually get two rolls for seven pesos! A light rain is still falling.

I chop zucchini, a small chili poblano, and tomatoes to add to the saute pan. More than ever now I loosely follow recipes adding items I prefer or have on hand, and personalize them. Tonight I am adding pinto beans, mushrooms, and frozen spinach because I don't have fresh. It's quiet and the sun has started setting earlier, as autumn has just begun.

Living here in the Yucatan, I miss the actual attributes of autumn like cooler weather and crisper air, everything pumpkin, chunky sweaters and boots, fall foliage.  So far I only notice the daylight changing.

Next I prepare a baking dish with some olive oil, and make a sauce combining two small cans of green salsa with plain yogurt. I don't actually roll and fill the tortillas into enchiladas, no, I layer it like a casserole. Corn tortillas, saute mixture, beans and mushrooms, a little sauce, and repeat. On the top layer of tortillas, I pour the remaining majority of the sauce on top and add a little bit of cheese, and cilantro. Then it goes in the oven (at 350 f) to bake for 20-25 minutes. I am serving this with a side of rice tonight. (I am happy to report, the result was very good.)

Frida

As you probably know, Frida Kahlo was born, and lived in Mexico City, but I see lots of Frida here in Mérida. We recently had desayuno at the the restaurant Las Platos Rotos de Frida/La Casa de Frida restaurant. I love the bright colors, and there are lots of Frida pictures and mementos.

I have taken pictures of places around Mérida that have Frida painted on walls or Frida items..... She is a fascinating artist and really became known after her death. According to Wikipedia - It was not until the end of the 1970s and the early 1980s, with the beginning of Neomexicanismo, that she became well-known to the public.

Below are more pictures I have taken of my 'Frida sightings around Mérida':

Dolores Alba hotel in Centro

Dolores Alba hotel

Dolores Alba hotel

Dolores Alba hotel

Bistro Cultural patio Frida, and my friend Mario

Frida items

I will post again as I discover more Frida sightings around the city.









 “The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration.” ~ Frida Kahlo

You Only Live Twice

Isla Mujeres (and the beautiful Caribbean water) was a perfect place to spend my birthday. It's strange to me, celebrating 50! First, I never knew if I'd make it to 50 (I had some reckless years). I never thought I'd still be trying to figure out what I want to 'do'. (In reality, I already do the things I love most and it's just figuring out what to pursue for income-generating work.) I don't feel 50, whatever that means anyway.

After breakfast on my birthday, I walked over to the Yoga Tree House and took a class with instructor Greg, and met Sarah, from North Carolina, who was there celebrating her 40th birthday the same day! What are the chances?

George rented a scooter and we rode around the island and stopped at the sculpture park/Ixchel.

The beaches are beautiful and the water was warm.

  

We had a nice dinner at the Oceanus restaurant where we dined at a table on the actual sand. We brought a piece of tiramisu back to the hotel to share later. Yum!

Back on the ferry to Cancun, and head home to Merida on the 4+ hour bus ride. I won't tell you my actual wish, but my intention is to spend more of my days present and aware, whatever I am doing. (Thanks yoga and breath and prayer and gratitude for being great tools!)

Here's to another trip around the sun. Salud!

After all, "You Only Live Twice."

Short and Sweet

Radish Heart

I wanted to share this website that has some interesting programs to listen to. 
http://www.onbeing.org/


Getting ready to go turn the big 5-0 at a little get-away on Isla Mujeres. Did you know Star Trek turns 50 too? It first premiered September 8, 1966. I saw the episode "City on the Edge of Forever" with my husband (when I was 40) and was hooked on the original series ever since! I never knew it had such brilliant writing/stories. I guess I am a late-bloomer-trekker :)


Check this out:

Chocolate-Avocado-Pudding Deliciousness

I tried another pudding recipe and this one is really good (my favorite so far). The avocado makes it super creamy, but not very sweet, but whipped topping fixes that :)

 

Chocolate Avocado Pudding (source link)

 Ingredients:

• 3 large avocados, ripe and soft
• ¼ cup raw cocoa powder
• 3-6 tablespoons coconut milk (or whatever you have, I used rice milk and added a little more to get it to blend)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons raw, unfiltered, local honey
• I also added one banana

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend on high for 1 minute or until smooth. (It's very thick, that's why I added a little more milk)
2. Spoon into individual serving cups and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

  I add whipped topping and viola!

There are flies on the windscreen...

Partial lyrics from Depeche Mode "Fly on the Windscreen"

"Death is everywhere
The more I look
The more I see
The more I feel
A sense of urgency ..."

Death is sobering. Today I learned a younger cousin of mine died, unexpectedly. Earlier this year my oldest cousin died. (I have a large extended family with many first, second, and third cousins). We sadly lost two friends here in Merida this year. There was a beautiful and brave, young woman Jill Conley who fought cancer. I was following her story and she lost her battle this year. People die all the time, along with the famous ones like David Bowie, and Prince.

We feel the pain of losing someone. (The closer the relation, the harder and longer to grieve and cope understandably.) But we also remember what is truly important to us. How does this affect or change our behavior? It's so easy to get caught up in the daily dramas, or what I sometimes call nonsense, and does much of it really even matter? Maybe sometimes, but not usually.

Life is hard, and also beautiful.

What matters is to let people know how much they are loved, and their importance to you. To try and do the good we can each day. Whether it's an acknowledging smile to a stranger in passing, holding our tongue when the words might start an unnecessary conflict, to pray for others, to help when asked, or maybe greater actions with greater resources, and to also be kind to ourselves. We are usually doing the best we can, right? Sometimes it takes the right perspective, and choosing to make the effort because we never really know when our time will be up.

Once I heard a sermon on the love passage in the Bible  (1COR 13:4-8)
The suggestion was to substitute 'love' for the name Jesus, which I believe that He was all those qualities. Then try substituting 'love' with your name and see how you pan out..... well, Andrea can be patient, kind, etc. but not all the time, nope, not this perfectly-imperfect human being. But it's a good direction to aim toward.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. (NIV version) - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+13:4-8 

In the end, how would we want to be remembered?