bugeyeland Weigold

I read a lot of books, but never remember to record them. Too bad, this is obviously too much for me. (One of the best I read was AWAY, by Amy Bloom.)

I have actually made some progress. I went to Mexico again in Jan/Feb, 2008. This time I stayed in one place long enough to take 5 weeks of classes. One of my classmates and I then took a week to travel by bus into Mixteca country. It was exciting to be sometimes the only gringas in town! I really think my Spanish has improved! The value in studying in Mexico is not just the classes…it’s all the use you make of the language outside of class.

Well…too late. I thought it over…which was more important, my privacy or the means to travel when I wanted? (Couldn’t afford both) It came down to the latter.

Now there is a house over there, and to their credit, a big new horse barn. BUT, it seems this endevor has soured for my new neighbors…she doesn’t want to live there. (NOW she decides?) So it’s up for sale again.

That’s ok…I’ve spent time in Mexico, Greece and France since…I can live with this!

I kept forgetting to record the museums I visited. hmmm, there was the Menno-hof in Shipshewana, The little side museum at Armargosa, the Getty in LA, the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne…not nine, but maybe I’ll do better next year!

will I or won’t I? Make up your mind!!

just about the time you think you’re getting it pretty well along comes a letter that takes macro translating! I wrote to a friend in Oaxaca to see if she was ok, what with all the problems they’re having down there. Got this great, sad, hard-to-translate email back. It is terrible what that city and it’s people are going through…and I hear almost nothing about it on the news! why?

...for instance, in June a Norwegian friend that I met in Mexico came to visit. She said she’d never even heard of a weiner roast! So we had one. I live in the country, so no problem. Invited friends and relatives. It was a beautiful evening. Not sure how she actually liked it…it’s a little problematic, roasting your own hot dog on a stick and putting it all together. but just my kind of thing.

sigh...guess it just isn’t going to happen!

I kind of waffled on this…”should I use almost all my money to buy this place, then not be able to travel…just sit here in my privacy?” I decided “no” and now it’s sold. A house (double-wide) went up quickly, and later, a horse barn!! They’ll have horses…lots of them. Fun. They haven’t moved in yet and I haven’t met them, but I expect them to be friendly…maybe I’ll not only be able to go over and watch the horses, but even get some manure for my gardens! woo hoo!

even heard of Ann Coulter until after I’d chosen my name and do not want to be associated with her in any way. As far as I can tell, you CAN’T change your name on 43 things…just cancel out your whole account. oh I hate to do that, too. any suggestions?

I still want to do this. Tho I’ll have to admit I’m not doing so well with it! hmmm…I’ve read more books, but what were they?
The Greatest Generation, by Tom Brokaw…wonderful. (I read the sequel to it a couple of years ago.)
Up the Sandbox, by Anne Richardson Roiphe So-so.
Maybe (Maybe Not), by Robert Fulghum. I got a lot of laughs from his essay on tools!
And right now, Fodors ‘05 Mexico
and 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, by Patricia Schultz. This one I find is more an index of expensive hotels. (She SAYS they are ‘moderate’ but we do not agree on that!)

Friends and family…so good. The food is fun, but really beside the point.

I’m going to Mexico again soon and that means I’ll be able to work on this goal! I plan to go to Spanish language schools whenever I am in one place long enough (a week). I realize I’ll never be fluent…what was I thinking?!...but just a little better, please!

...with help from a friend. She asked if she could go to Mexico with me, so when I took her up on it I pretty well decided where I’d go, huh? This year will be different tho, both because I’ll be traveling with a companion and because we’ll wing it. First stop: Mexico City. From there we’ll make our way to the mountains of Michoacan where we can climb to see the monarch butterflies that winter there by the thousands. After that, who knows?

and we had a good time somewhere else.

Ok, that’s done…now to get the furniture, etc, back in there! (and a new carpet maybe?)

The ceiling is lovely, the room has a fresh coat of paint…now I think it needs new carpeting. hmmm… these things can snow-ball, can’t they? Feels good to have this much done!

Well, we started planning way to late to do this, go to Chicago. The internet wasn’t helpful in finding a hotel located where we wanted to be. Expensive too! So we changed our minds…decided to go to a little fun place instead, Shipshewana, Indiana. Chicago can wait. After all this is just a trip to see how we like traveling together. And we think we’re a match!

This is the book chosen by the book discussion group. I read most of it and gave up. Couldn’t stay interested. I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it to the next meeting so it won’t matter anyway. I’ll get another A. Shreve book!

Another winner.