Monday 30th October 2017...a day trip!!!

I drove Gracie and two of her friends to the small town of Santa Rosa about 90 minutes away from here some scenes along the way....

 It was a beautiful drive through the mountains...

 The town itself...

 The main reason for coming here was to buy mescal!!!!!..Jane knows of a house in the country where there is a still, boot leg type operation and you bring empty wine bottles pass them over the fence and they come back in a couple of minutes with your bottles filled with what I am told is really good quality mescal...only in Mexico!!!

We stopped in town for a very nice lunch then on the way back stopped in the bigger town of Delores Hildalgo which is know for it's pottery and we went into this huge factory where the theme was Catrina items...just amazing pottery....

 To think that every piece had to be hand painted by these folks...

 No blog complete with out animal photos....

It was a great day out!!!

Tonight I had 3 students in class and we talked all about Halloween and the traditions, a great class!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!!

Saturday 28th October 2017.....another week gone!!!

Had a great time at tennis this morning beautiful weather, great friends and even the occasional good shot!!!

So when was the last time Malc(my brother) and I watched a soccer game together??

A few years ago but we remedied that this afternoon.....

I watched this live game on my lovely large TV, the cup is there to show how big the TV is.....the game is live from Hull and Malc and his two sons and Grandson were at the game....I looked for  them in the crowd but not did see any sightings ...

Pretty cool me here sitting in my lovely casita in San Miguel watching along with him at the game.....the only sad thing his team did not win the game...

I know it is different in other countries but at 2 am we have to put the clocks back that means darker earlier in the evenings!!!!   Fall is around the corner.

This next week is going to be busy and fun.....It is the start of the Day of Dead celebrations in Mexico there are so much fun so stay tuned!!!

My friend Sara is coming to San Miguel next week to do her usual 4 month house sit and I e mailed her and asked her to bring me some poppies for the Remembrance celebrations next month to share with my students...Sara got them today and sent me this photo of the sellers!!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!!

Friday 27th October 2017...bits and bobs!!!!!

This day in 1919 by Dad was born and he has been gone over 11 years now…he made a huge impact in my life and was a constant supporter of all my career moves and an influence in my sporting life…thanks Dad love you. Here he is with his great grand son Tom!!!(who is now 12 years old)!!!

Also yesterday was birthday day for my tennis partner of 7 years Carolyn, Happy Birthday!!!

Also Ashley was 18 years old yesterday too.......she is doing well in her second year at Pepperdine University, Happy Birthday girl!!!

These were taken 4 years ago at a tournament I attended in Palm Springs!!!

I love this phot she had just lost in the final and she is talking with her coach!!!

A good day doing chores this morning and then off to the gym and a hike through Los Frailes and home in time to watch my favorite boyhood soccer team, Sheffield Untied, The Blades, playing live and then won with a goal in the last 5 minutes....

The days are lovely and sunny and warm but the mornings fairly cool when I walked to tennis yesterday morning my hands were cold...I guess that is what you get when you live at 6500 feet...

Have a a great safe and happy weekend!!!

PS.... The meaning of bits and bobs...from the web...

I believe the original version of this idiom is "bits and bobs". It means the same as "odds and ends", which means "bits and pieces, remnants, leftovers". A "bit" was a coin (three-penny bit) and a "bob" was a shilling or twelve pence. Wiktionary has a page for bits and bobs as well

Yashi Kochi!!!!

Tuesday 24th October 2017.....a family Birthday and a new addition!!!!

Happy Birthday to Mark my Nephew not sure what the number is but I do know he enjoys every minute with his family!!!!

A new addition to my clan...mini blackie!!!!!

It is a Samsung Galaxy Grand prime.....not top of the line but it suits my purpose and now learning all the features......

Took these two shots with the camera on the phone....

From my living room window!!

Good tennis this morning and now going to settle in and see if I can find a game on my 43 inch TV...life is not bad!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!

Monday 23rd October 2017......Monday again????

Where do the weeks go??

Today was an easy today relaxed this morning and just puttered!!!

putter1

[puht-er] 

 

• Examples
• Word Origin

See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

1.

to busy or occupy oneself in a leisurely, casual, or ineffective manner:

to putter in the garden.

2.

to move or go in a specified manner with ineffective action or littleenergy or purpose:

to putter about the house on a rainy day.

3.

to move or go slowly or aimlessly; loiter.

noun

4.

puttering or ineffective action; dawdling.

Verb phrases

5.

putter away, to spend or fill in a random, inconsequential, orunproductive way; fritter away; waste:

We puttered the morning away.

.

This afternoon walked to the gym and did my workout and walked home.....three hours it was all good.....

Tonight went to class and thanked them for coming last week to the story telling evening...we had a great class their homework was "they are the teacher for 5 minutes"   they are very bright and had some good laughs........

Just some things to think about....

1. Question everything.
2. A happy wife, is a happy life.
3. Take responsibility for your life up to this point.
4. Believe in your ability to change your circumstances.
5. Trust your first instinct.
6. Want the good things in life, but don’t need the good things.
7. Don’t buy until you have the money in your account.
8. Never regret what has happened in the past, you can’t change it.
9. Always put your family first.
10. Don’t gossip.
11. If you haven’t used it in 6 months, give it to charity.
12. Make your peace with death when you are still healthy.
13. Believe in your own higher power, nobody else’s.
14. Practice the art of listening.
15. Help others without expecting anything in return.
16. Help yourself first, that way you have more capacity to help others.
17. Don’t get married under pressure.
18. Work for someone as a means to work for yourself.
19. Stay in touch with your family and friends.
20. Get angry with life when you feel the need, life can soak it up just fine.
21. Don’t compare your life to others, you are on a different path altogether.
22. Never settle for second best.
23. Prepare in advance for your own confidence.
24. Don’t give your power away by letting others dictate how you feel.
25. Stop trying to read everyone’s mind, it can’t be done.
26. Hug as much as you can.
27. Believe in the power of serendipity.
28. Get some sunshine every day.
29. Don’t spend half your life in bed, grab the life outside your head.
30. Study nature, it’s a gift waiting to be discovered.
31. Say ‘I Love You’ from the heart.
32. Cut down on your TV time.
33. Love your partner with everything you have, but don’t depend on them for anything.
34. Know your values in life and start living by them.
35. Learn to argue your point.
36. Always admit to your mistakes in life and look to rectify them.
37. Give everyone one chance.
38. Don’t tell everyone all your problems all the time, you just become a pain.
39. Never kill a spider.
40. Don’t be confined by rules, break them every once in a while.

Yashi Kochi!!!!

Saturday 21 st october 2017...a different kind of a day!!

This morning I went to offer my services at a book event for local kids...they had a children's author from Mexico city come to town she had already donated her book to all the local kids and was here to talk and sign..this is huge for the ids maybe the first book they have ever owned....

Scenes from outside whilst waiting for all the kids to arrive....

Inside the theater...

Took a short hike to another cross this afternoon

With great views of the local Pressa!!

Then this evening I went to this presentation..it was very interesting a lot of it over my head but very informative!!!

The End of Cancer, i3 - talk

Saturday, October 21, 5pm La Casona, Salida a Celaya 77 $250 or $14usd The End of Cancer, i3 - talk By Robert Lerner Can we be witnessing the beginning of the end of cancer? Not “the end” as in eradicating it completely from the planet as we’ve done with small pox and have nearly done with polio, because cancer is not an enemy from without, but rather an enemy from within, rooted in our very biology. But “the end” as in drastically minimizing its impact on our lives—through early diagnosis, less invasive therapies and vaccines. That’s right, vaccines, like the ones you got as a child against measles, mumps, whooping cough and polio. If Dr. Nora Disis gets her way, soon you may be administered a vaccine that may protect you against certain common cancers, as an adult—kind of like adult vaccines against shingles—for dodging cancer’s bullet entirely. i3: Ideas that Inform and Inspire is pleased to announce a presentation by Dr. Nora Disis on Saturday. October 21 at 5:00 PM at La Casona conference center on Salida Celaya (across from Luna de Quesa). Tickets are available online at i3SMA.org. or at the door. Admission: $250 pesos or $14 usd. Dr. Disis is the Associate Dean for Translational Health Sciences in the University of Washington School of Medicine, Professor of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Pathology and Obstetrics and Gynecology at UW, and a Member of the FHCRC. She is the Director of both the UW Institute of Translational Health Science and the UW Medicine Cancer Vaccine Institute. She is also the editor of JAMA Oncology. Her special interest is in immunology and immunotherapy of ovarian and breast cancers. Her research involves investigating common molecular signatures among related cancers that can be targeted by T-cells of our body’s own immune system, that in turn trigger a cascade of immunodefenses that stop cancer in its tracks. These vaccines are already available to people who have fought off cancer and been given a diagnosis of “no evidence of disease,” a diagnosis that inevitably comes with the warning that metastases are not uncommon, and recommendation that the patient undergo preventative therapies ranging from hormone therapy to chemotherapy. Now there’s another option: a vaccine, soon to be available as a preventative vaccine for a healthy adult population. Cancer touches us all—directly or through the life of a loved one. Come learn about the latest in detection and treatment, from one of the World’s Best! Yashi Kochi!!!!!

Friday 20th October 2017...a magical mystery tour and a story!!!

One of my tennis buddies, Steve, told me of a hike he took with a group on Sunday and showed me photos and I knew I wanted to go......Steve gave me directions but warned me it was way out in the boonies......

So this morning I packed up and off I went .....it was about a 35 minutes drive and once off the main highway on to gravel roads.....a pretty view on the way

 Then into a remote village...

 After asking for directions a couple of times I found a place to park and headed into the hills.


WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT???

See his bell??

 I tracked my route on my phone and with some luck came to my destination a small Pressa...quite lovely!!!

 Steve had told me that behind this Pressa was a hike into the canyons and rock pools but there were two choices of ways to go and this is the first one I took...it was fun walking on the dam walls...

 With good views looking back..

 After hiking just over a mile I realized this was not right so I turned around and came back and went the other way...

 after going over this bridge I headed into the slot canyon and after a few minutes came to these pools...

 You cannot tell but there a is a small waterfall coming through these rocks..

 I really enjoy taking reflections...

 So picture this..

Here I am sat on the rock below with that view....the sound of the waterfall, a sandwich, a lovely hot day and I recite my story for the event tonight....

 After lunch went a little further into the canyon...

 On the way back to Little Bluey...

I hiked 6 miles and it was such a great tonic to be out in the country with my thoughts.....

Tonight I went to the big theater where this event was taking place...

The theater was almost full and I was the 9th story on the calendar the first after the break.....I really know the story and think I did another good job of performing obviously my accent adds to the story....I received a good round of applause and lots of congratulations afterwards..it was a challenge but fun to perform.....

Yashi Kochi!!!

Wednesday 18th October 2017......a good day!!!

Just a quick post to tell you I won 125 pesos at poker this afternoon, always fun to be with the boys for fun and sometimes a few pesos....

Tonight was my time on stage at the story telling festival...it was held in a local restaurant and the committee underestimated the number of people who attended they had to turn people away......Gracie came to support me and thrilled to tell you that 4 of my students also came I was so happy to see them there...

Ten people performed and I was on stage last....some of the stories were really good and some not so....

Without sounding egotistical I think I nailed my story and received a good round of applause...I do not get nervous and just told me story........

Afterwards I was informed by the committee that I had been one of the two selected to tell my story at the big event on Friday evening..this surprised and pleased me........

Wish you all a great evening!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!!

Tuesday 17th October 2017 ..a trip down memory lane!!!

So what were you doing 6 years ago today???

Me??

This is my post 17th October 2011!!!!

I stayed up a little late last night watching a movie and so slept in till almost 9am!!!!
This has been a really good place to park very quiet and safe and close to everything.
I decided after a few days of big cities and lots of sight seeing to have a short drive day find an RV park and mellow for the day which is exactly what I did!!
I am now in the State of

in the beautiful town of

This is mountain country and this is the start of the Sky line Trail which turns into the Blue Ridge Parkway which goes almost 500 miles into the State of Tennessee and is rated as one of the top scenic byways in America!!
I found a Passport America campground and it cost me 21 dollars…..I have never been in such a big park

Over 450 spaces and ball courts, pools everything it is like a time share resort but most things are closed now but still lots of RV’s here!!!

I arrived around 11am so I get my monies worth…. first on the agenda was laundry….nice machines so all I have now are clean clothes!!

I knew I was going to cook so before I left this morning bought some pork and chicken and potatoes, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts carrots and turnips and spent a good two hours cooking!!  So now have about 7 frozen dinners prepared!!

It was time for route planning and a nap!!

Cleaned up the kitchen and went for a long walk down through the park and by the river!!



Did not feel like a big supper so I had yogurt and then rice pudding!!!
Had a long hot shower and now have decided on a route!!
I was thinking of heading to the coast but too far out of the way so going to take the skyway all the way down to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.

Time for tea and a movie!!

Yashi Kochi!!