May 31, 2025

05/31/2025

"Mother Earth, 
Enlighten what's dark in me,
strengthen what's broken 
in me, heal what's sick in me, 
and lastly, revive whatever 
peace and love has died in me." 
CrystalLoversTribe

I bow to the beauty of these
sweet, lovely words! They 
bring both promise and  
comfort. 

Methinks, we'd all do well
to focus more on the positive. 
I know, I tend to get bogged 
down in the daily minutiae 
of negativity.

-got to pay the bills today
-better get the mail out
-dishes need to be washed

Maybe not particularly
negative, but neither is 
the list of fun things to 
do. Best to do less fun
quickly in order to find
joy in the fun elsewhere.

Food for thought . . .
Happy! Happy!!

May 30, 2025

05/30/2025

"How rare and beautiful 
it is to even exist."
~Cottage Whimsy

I have always loved life, 
even in the bad times. 

Those god awful times I
tried to end my life, weren't
about me not loving life. It
was about SAD, the illness
I suffer every winter.

Now, I am ever so grateful
I'm still here . . . even on the
difficult days!

I celebrate my children, all
seven of them . . . their fams
their lives and our shared
moments.

I celebrate our friends. I so
value that they come to me
as I really don't go out any
more.

I celebrate we have a home 
to live in and food to eat. 
Alas, so many people don't.

I celebrate life . . . no matter
what!

May 29, 2025

05/29/2025

"Are we alive-ing today or
surviving today? Your call."
~Donna Ashworth

Such a fab question to begin
each day!

I fear we get so busy with 
our existence, we forget to 
live.

Actually, if one thinks about
it, busy can be enhanced a
tad to make it more palatable. 

-music whilst doing dishes
-two cooking instead of one
-dancing with the vacuum

Alas, I usually just hurry
through chores so I can go
do what I want. I know the
Dali Lama would not approve!

Still, let's each do our daily 
live rather than exist, no 
matter how we define it . . .

May 28, 2025

05/28/2025

"I want to think 
again of dangerous 
and noble things.
I want to be light 
and frolicsome. 
I want to be
improbable beautiful 
and afraid of nothing.
As though I had wings.
~ Mary Oliver

So love me some Mary Oliver;
I read her every single day!

I find her very aware and some
how she reduces the negatives
of daily life and inspires to the
bigger and better in simple
terms.

Seems I'm constantly trying to
grow, fix things, make better.
I get the impression from Mary
Oliver it might just be time to
enjoy what time I have left
and stop all the fussing! Prob
wouldn't matter anyway!

I am so going to enjoy this
rainy day . . . reading a good
book, sipping my a.m. coffee,
maybe even being naughty
in the afternoon!

Salud . . .

 - - -

Mary Jane Oliver was a
prolific American poet and
prose writer who won the
Pulitzer Prize and National
Book Award. Her work is
inspired by nature, often
reflecting healing, acceptance
and spiritual awakening.
1935 - 2019

May 27, 2025

05/27/2025

"I have three eyes, two
to look, and one to see."
~Bellamor

Love this much needed
reminder! We're so used 
to looking that we forget 
to see.

So, what is the third eye?

"The third eye is not a literal
physical eye, but represents
an ability to perceive beyond
ordinary sight, intuition, and
insight. It is associated with 
spiritual awakening, enlighten-
ment, and the ability to access 
higher consciousness." 
Wikipedia

Alas, too often we're so busy
we don't even think of our
spirituality, much less pay
attention to it. I thought I'd 
have time once retired. Right!

Occurs to me that spirituality
should be the home in which
we live our lives. In it, we
would see with our third eye.
We would live rather than
exist. There would be that
consciousness we seek.

Much food for thought . . .

May 26, 2025

05/26/2025

My heart is sooooo full . . .

My children celebrated my
Mother's Day yesterday. 
I've never seen the like!

My son-in-law began
cooking for the day when
he got home from work on
Thursday.

Coming in yesterday with
hoards of food, again he
cooked for several hours.
Presentation, for starters,
was simply stunning. Just
made my mouth water.

But, ohhhhh the flavors!!!
Vegetable filled enchiladas,
unbelievable! And the chili
he made from scratch. Add
two additional chili salsas
that I would sell my soul
for and you have food for
the gods!

I ate calmly, enjoying each
and every bite. Of course,
I had to have seconds. We 
were all wowed, make no
mistake!

Oh how I adore my kids!
And my son-in-law is the
best chef  E V E R !!!

May 25, 2025

05/25/2025

Sooooo excited . . .

Today we're celebrating May!

~May 1st - May Day
~May 5 - Cinco de Mayo
     mom's and Linda's b-days
~May 6 - Linda's 2nd b-day
~May 10 - Día de las Madres,
     cumpleaños de César
~May 11 - Mother's Day
~May 15 - Día del Maestro
~May 16 - cumple de Don Luis
~May 17 - cumple de Doña Clemen
~May 26 - Memorial Day

Just thrilled the kids are going
to be here. Love that César is
doing the cooking.

And May, is a most wondrous
month!


May 24, 2025

05/24/2025

"Keep some room in your
heart for the unimaginable."
~Mary Oliver

My parents used to say about
me that I had my life planned
from the cradle to the grave.

I was only a little gal, but I 
enjoyed planning. Not sure
they ever quite got that.

Cradle to the grave or not, 
so glad I was crazy enough 
to spend 20 years in Mexico. 
I loved it so!

Love that these last years of
my life will be spent in this
tiny cabin. Here, I find I'm
enjoying my old age, fam
and friends who come to
visit, margs under our fave
tree and reading my fun
mysteries.

Perhaps it's because my fam
is here this weekend, but I'm
feeling such a grand sense of
contentment.

Blessed be . . .

May 23, 2025

05/23/2025

"Cheers to all the rebels out
there who care way too much
about art and truth and magic
to fall in line with the mundane
task of fitting in." Defiant Crone

Methinks, I may be one of the
luckies gals in the universe as
I was reared by my sweetheart
of a day, the most amazing
eccentric I've ever known!

I've been told my whole life 
by fam and friends that I too 
am an eccentric. I rather love 
that as I'm my father's daughter. 
Still, I'd like someone to tell me 
just how they know I'm thus.

Is it wearing naught but black
for 15 years? Does it have to 
do with never having tasted a
morsel of meat? Perhaps, a
translator and lifeguard for my
little bro?

Who knows?! But most of all,
I deeply and dearly love the
amazing people who have come
my way for the past 75 years!

Blessed be . . .

May 22, 2025

05/22/2025

My heart hurts today . . . 
not sure why.

Methinks might just have
something to do with night
mares. Oh how I hate them!

Can't help but wonder what's
the point?!

~Is it about learning something?
~Remembering an incident? 
~Perhaps, a warning?

Oh what I would give to leave
the nightmares behind. I said
before that I hated them. There
really needs to be a stronger
word!

So, since they won't go away,
I try to learn something from 
them. Look beyond the obvious.
is there a hidden meaning? Is
there a warning?

Nigh onto about a hundred years
old and can't figure anything out
just yet.

Feel free to offer suggestions!

May 21, 2025

05/21/2025

"Don't leave anything for later.
Later, the coffee gets cold.
Later, you lose interest.
Later, the day turns into night.
Later, people grow up.
Later, people grow old.
Later, life goes by.
Later, you regret not doing some-
thing when you had the chance.
~WWS

Good reminder! And, we all
need it!

Alas, we are all living life as 
fast as we can. There is ever
so much to accomplish and
so little time.

I've come to believe that if
we can schedule our lives
down to the last minute,
then we should be able to
schedule some living in
there!

Obviously, living means
different things to different
people. For moi . . .

~take a drive
~eat out
~send cards
~call home
~watch a fun flick

Matters not that I'm retired.
'Tis sooooo easy to get
bogged down in those nasty
little lists of what's to be
accomplished!

May 20, 2025

05/20/2025

"She didn't want a big life.
She wanted a beautiful one;
a life made of Sunday pan-
cakes, wildflower walks, and
slow evenings under string
lights. @twopawsfarmhouse

Alas . . .

I find myself surrendering 
to the anxiety and fear of 
the times in which we live.

Rather makes me appreciate
the patent reminders we're
given; life is an incredible
gift.

Indeed I cherish the gifts 
I've been given; my family, 
friends, evenings by the fire, 
good books to read and even
stimulating conversation.

'Tis rather like looking up at
the stars, finding peace, and
forgetting all about that
depressing newscast . . .

Sooooo must find that peace!

May 19, 2025

05/19/2025

"Earth laughs in flowers."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Just read this and it brought
out a big smile in me!

How I love Mother Earth!
I know she can be pretty
harsh sometimes. I see her
cruel storms and it occurs
to me she is one angry
element.

She must look at our piles
of trash, trash that could be
handled much differently,
and thinks to herself . . .
"Will they ever learn?"

She gifts us mountains,
streams, wild flowers and
grasses. We gift her acres
of plastic water bottles, a
trash island in the sea and
bits and pieces of garbage
all along our highways.

She brings us flowers . . .
let's try harder on our end
of things!

May 18, 2025

05/18/2025

Sooooo love that we all get
another day, every single day
of our lives!

Waking this early a.m. I saw
light at the end of the tunnel,
as it were.

Funny, it's supposed to snow
today and I'm feeling pretty
good. The last couple of days,
bright and sunny, and yet, I've 
been completely inundated 
with the sorrow of SAD.

Loving me today! I will enjoy 
each minute of it. Summer is 
only a month away after all!

Yayyyyy!!!

May 17, 2025

05/17/2025

"You are not the darkness 
you endured. You're the light
that refused to surrender."
~John Mark Green 

Thought SAD was behind me.
Alas, got hit pretty hard these
last couple of days. Part of me
didn't think I'd make it.

The wonderful thing is I am
surrounded by people who
love me and that truly matters.
Then, I happened upon the
above words.

They're like a promise. May
take to reading them every
day, memorizing them and
repeating them!

Still, I can hardly wait for the
long, warmer days up ahead.
Rather wish we could have
two summers rather than just
one!

May 16, 2025

05/16/2025

Hoy es el cumple del padre
de mis hijos . . .

Pienso en él a menudo, pero
aún más en días especiales.
Fue una persona gigantesca.

Deportista sin igual en ambos
fútbol y tenis. Francamente,
un placer en simplemente
observarle. 

Como maestro, fue el mejor
que jamás tuve. Siempre fue
me mentor e ídolo en el salón.
Le doy crédito por los años
felices para mí en la enseñanza.

Y mis hijos . . . el regalo más 
grande que jamás tuve. Todos 
los días, agradezco la belleza 
de ellos en nuestras vidas.

Obviamente él, como todos
nosotros, tuvo sus detalles.
En ninguna manera eso quita
el gran hombre que fue.

Siempre recordaré la bendición
que fue en tantas vidas.

May 15, 2025

05/15/2025, Día del Maestro

Sooooo love me el quince
de Mayo! Día del Maestro . . .

National Teacher's Day and
trust me, teachers are truly
honored in Mexico.

Many a way to celebrate . . .
parades, parties, presents,
speeches. All good!

My fave, classes as usual 
and as each different group 
of students filled the room, 
'twas my turn to tell them
just how much they meant
to me. You could hear the
silence in the room and then,
a delayed applause.

Oh how I loved my students!

One of the things I enjoy 'bout
being nigh onto a hundred . . .
the joy of looking back on
fond memories. Naught wrong
with that!

Sooooo, happy Teacher's Day
albeit here in US or in Mexico,
retired or working. Long live
those sweet memories . . .

May 14, 2025

05/14/2025

"Oh, what a beautiful morning.
Oh, what a beautiful day.
I've got a beautiful feeling
Everything's going my way."
~Hammerstein and Rodgers

I woke this early morn with a
light heart and a sense of peace.

Methinks my SAD time is now
at an end. I feel like dancing . . .
it's been a long, long winter.

I honor those who have helped
me through . . . my guy, our
friends and kids. Wouldn't have
made it without them!

 - - -

Seasonal Affective Disorder,
SAD, is a subtype of depression
that occurs at the same time
each year, typically in the fall
and winter. ~Al Overview

May 13, 2025

05/13/2025

Pondering faith of late . . .

Seems to me that we live on
faith and we don't even really
think about it!

-When I go to bed, I have faith
I'll wake up in the morning.
-No matter what I eat, I have
faith it won't make me ill.
-Getting in the car, I have faith
we'll return home accident free.

See? Faith abounds in our lives.
For some, faith is a religious
concept. Obviously, it is. But,
that would only be a small part.

I'm not particularly enamored 
with using faith as a joke . . .

-I have faith I will one day win
the lotto, but I never buy a ticket!
-Faith will get me through even
though I never lift a hand.

Indeed, faith is a sacred word.
Note I didn't say religious. 
Faith should ever and always 
be treated with great respect. 

I'm seeing I need to do some 
thinking about all of this . . .

May 12, 2025

05/12/2025

Memories dancing through my
mind of late . . .

Have no intention of just living
in the past; still, 'tis important
to remember!

   -My baby girl tottering over 
to me and asking if I'm sad . . .
   -Giving out condoms on
Friday afternoons at school
with the school nurse . . .
   -My son painting my portrait . . .
   -Looking at cards from Joyce
having just lost her . . .
   -A ride in a hot air balloon 
with my son . . .
   -Eating Esther's most fab 
deviled eggs . . .
   -FACs with our neighborhood
besties . . .

I could spend hours walking 
down Memory Lane, make no 
mistake. Still, I find recalling 
these moments gives me both 
perspective and courage. That 
whole, been there; done that
turns into doing it!!!

And not to forget, still making
memories every day of my life!

May 11, 2025

05/11/2025, Mother's Day

I always think of today as US
Mother's Day . . . as opposed
to yesterday, Mexican Mother's 
Day!

Methinks, I'm the lucky one!
I celebrate el diez de Mayo
with my Mexican children and
Mother's Day with my US kids.
I do so adore them one an all!

I find it interesting that el diez 
de Mayo is always May ten and
the US Mother's Day is always
the second Sunday of May. 
Such fun!

Motherhood is surely the greatest
gift of all time! My own adopted
daughters here in the US, are
mothers as well!

Oh, how I love them . . .

 - - -

Dedicated to . . .

   Katherine Lockley 
   Emily Lockley
   Sarah Kaufholtz
   Anna Zimmermann

May 10, 2025

05/10/2025, Día de las Madres

Hoy es el Día de las Madres
en mi querido y bello México.

Tanto recuerdo a las madres
con quienes dábamos a luz y
criamos a nuestros hijos.

Hay madres fenomenales
en todo en mundo. Muy sin
embargo, no hay nadie como
las madres mexicanas. 

Los nenes crecen amamantados 
y luego con comidas fabulosas 
hechas a diario. Juegan afuera,
van a la escuela uniformados
y cenan sentados en la mesa
con su familia.

Hay abrazos, besitos, historias,
y disciplina. Supongo que así
ha de ser en muchos países.
Pero, después de haber visto a
las madres mexicanas por 20
años, creo que ganen el primer
lugar.

Cómo extraño a mi bello México
y las lindas madres que ahí conocí.
Las deseo feliz día de las madres
y que sepan que las recuerdo con
mucho cariño.

Y Lindita, esto va para ti también!
Has sido una gran madre y ahora
abue!!!

 - - -

Dedicados a . .  .

   Linda de Campos
   Christina de Carpintero
   Martha de Covarrubias
   Ángeles de Ferreira

May 9, 2025

05/09/2025

"It is a serious thing just
to be alive on this fresh
morning in this broken
world." ~Mary Oliver

A truth if there ever was
one!!!

Suffering from Seasonal
Affective Disorder, SAD,
I recall when many a time
I wished for death.

But now, in my elder years
and having learned how to
deal with those ghastly 
winter months, Mary Oliver
rings true to me.

I'm nigh onto a 100 years 
old, and we're living in very
difficult political times. Still,
when I awake to yet another
day, I am grateful beyond
measure!

Look to Mother Nature, look
to family, love and friendship.
Look to that odd moment of
joy in dark times. And, naught
wrong with looking back to
fave memories.'Tis important 
to honor these things! 

Leave the news, the papers,
the comments if they upset
you. They're just a small part
of this one and glorious life.

Let's live!

May 8, 2025

05/08/2025

"When wind speaks through
the trees, it is not the breeze
you hear - it is the old ones
reminding us: slow down,
listen, and remember who 
you are." ~Kanipawit Maskwa

Alas, methinks we all live at
such a hurried pace, we don't
even notice Mother Nature.

Not even sure, "slow down,
listen and remember" are 
even part of our repertoire.

We live at such a pace I fear
we don't spend much time
thinking. Actually, I can't 
help but wonder if part of
all this speeding 'round is so
we don't have to think too
much. 

I do know, I'm guilty of this
whole hurry, hurry, hurry
world we live in! It's almost
as if we're afraid to slow 
down. We might learn some-
thing we'd rather not know.

We keep telling ourselves
we'll slow down when we
retire; so not happening!

Need to learn a lesson here!

May 7, 2025

05/07/2025

Alas . . .

May 2015 marked the day
of my new computer. It
died on Cinco de Mayo.

Trip to Boulder. Waited 
for such a long time. Only
to be told my old computer
was out of date, no chances,
no hope!

Had to buy a new one. That
took yet another hour. Been
two days not and not even
the Universe could figure 
out how to get into it!

I'm hoping for a miracle 
to show up to help me get
into it.

Soooo . . .

Here I am, incomunicado,
data ignorant, and broke.

Here's hoping for a miracle!

05/06/2025

So fun! I may be one in a
million that has a daughter
with two birthdays!

As stated before, I had
promised my mother a girl
on her birthday with her
name.

The docs were in on it, of
course. I went into the
clinic in the afternoon. Alas,
I delivered her at midnight
rather than the afternoon.

My baby girl came into this
world by halves. Her head
and arms arrived at 12:00
p.m. and her torso and feet
at 12:05 a.m.

Here I am, rather dying of
pain, and the doc is chuckling
his head off.

When I had her in my arms,
he explained to me about
the two dates. And indeed,
he promptly signed two
birth certificates. We have
them to this day.

Most probably, the one
registered in Mexico is the
latter. Still, she will ever
be known as my girl with
two birthdays.

Sooooo, happy! Happy!!
all over again. Enjoy your
day most thoroughly.

Adoring you from afar,
mom

05/05/2025

Today we celebrate two of
the most amazing women
I've ever known . . .

My mother, matriarch of
our family, was born on
this auspicious date . . .
Cinco de Mayo.

So, mother that she was,
she asked me for a very
special birthday gift. Her
dream was for me to have
a baby girl on her birthday.
And, she was to be given
her name as well.

We consulted an agency
that specialized in controlled
births. It was actually quite
interesting as well as amazing.

Methinks 'twas quite wondrous
to be able to make her dream
come true. And, my baby girl
has been a git to me her entire
life.

One of the things I've been
able to ascertain is my girl
is the true matriarch of this
family. Fate skipped a
generation and bestowed
the title and responsibility
to her.

We consult her, listen to her
advice and respect her for
the amazing woman that
she truly is.

Hats off to this woman and
all she brings to our family.

Happy birthday baby girl!

We all love you and me most
of all.

May 4, 2025

05/04/2025

"Never apologize for being too
much. Too passionate, too strange,
too curious. Because no, you're
not normal. And that's a blessing."
Ancient Pagan Roots

I find myself rather identifying
with this quote as there is naught
normal 'bout moi!!!

Been told many a time that I'm a
too-y! All things too much! I like
to think that I've brought joy to
many . . . either glad they're not
like me or they get a kick out of
me. Ha!

Alas, I've tried many a time to go
normal. No luck there. When I'm
least thinking about it, I get all ld
and that's the end of that.

So, here's to all the too-s in your
lives. Think of me too often, come
to visit and stay too long. We'll
drink too many brewskies and
wonder why all the way home.

Hey, bring on the too-s!!!

May 3, 2025

05/03/2025

"When you resist the mess,
you restrict the magic."
@Sacredancestry

Saw this bit of wisdom this
early morn . . . Methinks I
should have it tattooed on my
bod and read it every day!

I simply despair with mess!!!
I'm thinking my guy should
clean up his mess and then
out of the corner of my eye,
I see my own!

Obviously, there's all kinds 
of messes, not just physical.
Sometimes it's my mind, and
others my body.

Wonder if it's too late to change?
Can one grow up just a tad more
at 70 something?! I keep hearing
that ole adage, "Can't teach an old
dog new tricks." or some such!

Every morn I make a stab at self
improvement, but by afternoon
I seem to have forgotten all about
them.

Hopeless?! ~!@#$%^&*()_+

May 2, 2025

05/02/2025

"We carry inside us the 
wonders we see outside us."
~Rumi

I so recognize this truth!
Everyday, every single day,
I see wonders around me!

The melting snow, those first
dandelions, a humming bird
or two, a letter in the mail box.

I fear sometimes that I'm not
paying attention and I'll miss
something. And no, I don't
want to miss anything!

Every night, a very noisy 
hotrod goes by. Wakes me up 
every time. Used to bother me,
but not any more. It reminds
me that I'm alive, that I can
hear and that somebody is
having fun out there!

Methinks I'm at the point 
where I actually look for
those wonders that might
escape my attention.

Bring 'em on . . . I'm watching!

May 1, 2025

05/01/2025 - May Day

Sooooo love me the month 
of May . . .

Starting with today . . .

May Day for one and all,
Beltane celebrated by the
Pagan community, and
Día del Trabajo in Mexico.

Next comes Cinco de Mayo,
my mother's and daughter's
birthday. Also celebrating
battles and places.

May 10 is Mother's Day in
Mexico; we'll be celebrating
May 11 here in US this year.

The 15th is Día del Maestro,
Teacher's Day, in Mexico.
Yayyyyy us!

The 26th is Memorial Day.
In Mexico, we used to say
that May was a waste for
teachers, but the students
loved it!

Happy May to one and all.
Special Beltane wishes to
my sisters. 

Enjoy . . .