Beautiful murals cover walls and ceiling in this center, depicting the history of the pre-Colombian inhabitants of the area. The panel below tells about the goddess Teo-Michicihualli, one of the most important deities of those people. She seems to have had a good deal to do with the weather, wind and rain, and took care of agriculture, primarily corn. Her feet can be seen on the ceiling in the bottom picture. The town is on Lake Chapala, which has a freshwater spring and even a waterfall, and was a great source of sustenance.
It wasn’t yet the Day of the Dead, but in the lobbby of our hotel, Bill found a compatriot, (or what was left of him) looking forward to the holiday. Fortunately, Bill had brought along his Day of the Dead shirt, to blend in while walking the streets of the lovely little town of Ajijic, near Lake Chapala and about a 40-minute drive from Guadalajara, Mexico.
Recently, I took a trip to visit my sister Linda, who just turned 89, in the lovely small town of Ajijic, not far from Guadalajara. I’d never been to Mexico before, and the last time I was really fluent in Spanish was around 1958.
Bill and I flew to Denver, where we joined Linda’s daughter Jennifer and her husband Kevin. A couple of days later, we flew to Guadalajara, rented a car, and drove the rest of the way. They visit every three months or so, and use the same accommodations each time. Our lovely apartment had a full kitchen, though we didn’t use it much.
I worked to exhume my Spanish, and enjoyed telling everyone in Linda’s house that “Yo soy su hermanita, porque ella tiene ochenta y nueve años, y yo no tengo que ochenta y siete!”
“Muy joven!” they’d respond.
Here we are at La Paloma, where she lives. I’m the tall one.
Here’s where I sit every day, doing all my writing, and looking out on the world. My actual view is from slightly lower down, since I took the photo standing. From my chair, I can see less of the neighbor’s roof, a good bit of the lake, the tree canopy at the top, and a lovely cloudscape., which right now consists of small, puffy cumulus crowding in from the northwest, moving very slowly in the still air. They don’t even show up yet on my radar.
i walked this morning before the sun came up, when it was already about 76. Now it’s almost up to today’s predicted high of 90. The sun’s still bright here, but if the clouds make it a bit farther south, we’ll actually get the predicted rainshower. I don’t expect another Frogstrangler like we had yesterday, though, which dropped an inch in just over an hour. #thegirlwhotalkedtoomuch #americangoverness
I know I’ve mentioned this little stream before. I’m so grateful to the city for directing rain runoff from the tennis courts and golf course to join this tiny stream, and leaving a completely wild area (that can’t be much more than a hundred yards or so wide, if that) between it and the backyards of houses on the next block.
In this steamingly hot summer, it’s wonderful to walk past it in deep shade from a row of scrub oaks, on a nice level sidewalk where I won’t trip….Well, actually, I did trip one day. I was hugging the right side of the sidewalk because bikes often tend to come ripping past on my left, and my right foot happened to land partly off the edge. Carried forward by my long stride, I did a full-on face-plant on the concrete. Bleeding from my left eyebrow, cheek and lip, I looked around. I could see cars parked over by the tennis courts, but no people in sight.
Mentally checking my various parts, I decided, “OK then, I’ll do it myself.” Nothing hurt anywhere but the face, and I had a tissue to keep the blood from dripping. I got myself up, very awkwardly, and walked 15 minutes home. It was wonderful feedback on how strong my bones are. Nowadays, I walk in the middle of the sidewalk. The bicyclists can look out for themselves!
I’ve been offline for a bit, since I got a new computer, and haven’t moved into it completely yet. On my old computer, my Word program told me it could no longer edit and save, and that I needed a subscription to Microsoft 365. I actually have one; it comes up for renewal on August 28. I did learn that the update is beyond the capacity of the old computer, so maybe that’s why, but it seems very strange.
This post, made on the old computer, is sort of a test….to see if it will publish at all. I know I can’t copy or paste it to any of the places I usually post copies. If it does publish, then it’ll be the last done on this computer, and the next will be posted from my brand new Macbook Neo.
Here’s a photo of her giving a demonstration. It’s a bit hard to see, but this painting features a white orchid in a setting of green leaves and branches.Notice she’s not holding a brush.
She was a fingerpaint artist, and in the 1950s, the Grolier Encyclopedia used her and her work to exemplify fingerpainting as a serious art form, not just one for children. She made all her own paints, mixing powdered pigments into a base made of corn starch. It was not, unfortunately, a medium which stood up well to the passage of time. She studied art in New York City in the late 1920s.
This big hardbound notebook, 8″x12″ and an inch thick, contains my grandfather’s closely written notes from medical school in 1896. I found it in a box of old family photos that I inherited.. I also found a photo marked that year, a ‘report card’ for Histology Lab in Freshman Year, and a membership card from the YMCA, showing $3.00 as the annual dues.
I know he took a year off in 1898 to serve as a Medic in the Spanish American War, stationed in ‘Porto Rico.’ He returned to college, finished his degree, then did his residency at Brooklyn Hospital, where he met my grandmother, a Bermuda girl who was Head Operating Room Nurse there.
Years ago I donated her two nursing uniforms to the Indiana State Museum. He was from Sullivan, Indiana, and she had served as his office nurse in Terre Haute after they were married.
Ten years after their marriage, they moved to Auburndale and set up a practice. He was killed in an automobile accident there while doing his medical rounds in 1921. I also found a box containing personal items which were removed from his body; a necktie, a wallet, and a checkbook-folder.
I’ve asked the museum if they are interested in accepting all of these items as well.
but something knocked the Beware of Alligators sign askew. It’s one of the sights on my morning walk, and I always keep a lookout for them. In the Spring, I hear them grunting sometimes, and once, I’m pretty sure I saw one…. I heard a great splashing, and thought I could see something spinning in the water, the way an alligator does to drown its prey. I was as close as I wanted to be, so I’ll never know for sure. But alligators or no, it’s a lovely place to walk in the shade and relative cool of early morning! anndickinsonsargent.com. #thegirlwhotalkedtoomuch. #americangoverness
I love being able to walk daily beside this tiny cypress swamp. I’ve always loved growing up in an area that enabled me to peek into these utterly wild microcosms without having to go on safari. They’re particularly wonderful when the rising sun sends low-angled beams of light into the thickly wooded areas, glinting off the standing water around the roots of the trees. I think I’ll get out earlier next time and see if I can catch it! #thegirlwhotalkedtoomuch #americangoverness
