Not much else is new....

We have just been trying to get "back to normal," though we spend so much time doing this that I sometimes wonder if "getting back to normal" is in fact part of normal life. Life is a constant cycle of partying and working towards that partying, if you ask me. After a short break from travel and from the work that must always happen after travel (luggage, car maintenance...) we are now prepping for the spring and summer fun:

We are eating healthier...

 

We have finally put away the tree and the lights and greenery from outside... Here are the last two pictures, both from the last days of the year...

We took down most of our Christmas decorations soon after Epiphany, but had yet to wrap it up by putting away those last few things, and today we finally did. It's all gone now...

But we consoled ourselves that Christmas is over by having a few rounds of family game nights. I even bought us a couple dungeon master cups from a pottery artist I found in one of my online DnD groups. Miss E is a great model! ;) And cold winter nights are great nights to start a fire and set up a (crazy long) game of DnD.

I admit I enjoy it better when Quijote or I are the dungeon master, but when the kids are in charge, we get to see new facets of their personalities. I also think it's good for them to have the experience of being in control (almost total control, but we do have to step in here and there.) Coming up with convoluted, fantastically long and wild stories has never been a problem for either of them! We have only had to step in to try and keep things sufficiently "up to code" in terms of rules. Though even then... I mean... Once, Mr E decided he was going to roll imaginary dice. He spent the entire game telling us/deciding what the dice were giving each player on all our rolls, but he did it with the correct timing and with the correct range -and let's face it- even Q has been known for messing with the outcome a few times... Jaja! So... we... just... let it be.

While it's good to know that we can still find solace in the dead of winter, I am also very much looking forward to spring and summertime. 

I think I will do a repeat of the crops that did the best -which, of course, would be the late summer crops- but will otherwise try to refocus my attention on our long-term, more lasting improvements and perennial planting. I will probably plant zucchini and okra again, but will probably wait to try other veggies another year. I am still trying to eat through my pickled goodies from last summer! This year I want to try setting up a perennial flower bed (not sure how I'll do that just yet) or buy better fruit trees for our area, and maybe grow more practical things like loofah, try to re-establish my perennial herbs, maybe even set up an irrigation system- that sort of long lasting thing.

 Still snacking on my pickled okra and peppers, with (store-bought) onion and avocado.

But speaking of other long term goals and improvements, we have had a surprisingly long list of things we would love to do with our home ever since we bought it, and one of those has finally happened! We have always tried to be as environmentally responsible as we can with our day to day living, but some of the big ticket items have had to wait until we could responsibly afford to make the changes. In Texas, we had until 2020 to qualify for a solar panel program that made it slightly less costly to install them, and last year, after a pretty crazy winter or spring storm, we lost half our roof and had to replace it (such a bummer in so many ways), so we chose to postpone. On the upside, we gave ourselves a little extra time to think, plan, and save before going for it (while still being on time to qualify for the program on its very last year) and, of course, having a new roof has given us a great starting point -a nice solid new roof that won't so easily represent a problem later on. I want to say we started the process in early December and the panels were installed just last week! I am so happy to say that even on these not so sunny winter days, they have been giving us pretty great results in terms of daily use versus the energy we consume. Q has been tracking the panels' solar power intake every day and so far, so good! We are looking forward to seeing how it works during the summertime! (And I am crossing my pragmatic fingers that it will at least pay for itself, though Quijote says there are things we should do just for the good in it.)

 

 

The placement of these panels made me realize that, obviously, my veggie garden could get better sunlight, since it is mostly on the opposite corner of our lot. Haha! While moving the garden would be too impractical, maybe we should at least plant something on that side of the house? But that will be a project to tackle another time.

My latest (still unfinished) project has been painting these chairs... I got them from a jewelry store for very little, and they were originally red, which was a great color for Christmas, but I wanted green (which, Miss E correctly pointed out, is also a great color for Christmas!). I still need to give them one last coat and wax them.

 One more process picture...

They are so pretty! Miss E has asked to keep one for her room. For once, I actually said no. Heheheh... but I do have one more chair... After I clean it and fix it, I actually plan to put that one in our room (mine and Quijote's) or give it to her for now, but/and eventually get a gorgeous clear chair for her more modern room. 

Like this one: 

https://www.bizchair.com/FH-111-APC-CLR-GG.html?&keyword=&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3Y-ABhCnARIsAKYDH7sD79vDP72_G9Oqg2YCBnyxFd67V0lcSkm10Zf6WXLR3MYyi7WuyM0aAoRbEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

or any of these 

https://brokeandbeautiful.com/2019/affordable-clear-ghost-chair/

But... she doesn't use her desk much yet- she works mostly with me, in the dinning room, so I am not in a hurry. Little bit by little bit, right?

Mr E recently got two bean chairs for his under-the-bed man-cave. So maybe it would be a good time to get her a new chair, now that I think about it... hmmm...

I'd include a picture of his room, but it is currently impossible to see under the blanket fort he and I built over the weekend. 

Most of our purchases end up being long term investment pieces, whether we invest financially or otherwise. I hope these chairs will all be around for a long time. Quijote just got back from getting some stools someone was giving away, and they are perfect for our kitchen! I'll have to come back with a proper note and picture about them. I am so proud of him for snatching those up, though! Score!

But yes. Not much going on, except for the usual goings on of life, big and small. Getting back on the horse... Trying to get our home to better reflect our values and (life)style. Very much looking forward to the warmer weather!!

Goodness!

 Well, the new year has begun, and we are home, and though many terrible things are casting a cloud over our attempts to remain optimistic, we are still trying. 

    We've endevoured to start the year with a thankful heart and a busy body. While I listened to the news, I was also praying for the people involved in that coup attempt, and I cleaned house how I could. Which is to say, of course, that I literally cleaned house. I went through our closets and cleaned out the many kid outfits that no longer fit. We had already decided we would move the kids back to separate rooms (and had to do that before Q had to go back to his regular office hours), and Christmas decorations had to be taken down... And yet, for all our activity, we have yet to finish our to-do list. Before we know it, it will be Spring, and I'll have a brand new list to tackle, so we better hurry!

    The house was a bit of a mess for a few days, and I think I might be too old for my crazy cleaning sprees because days after being done with all this, my back still hurts. Quijote did the hard work of moving the beds, so what am I complaining about? But still, I must admit, I am in pain. 

     There were piles and piles of clothes, shoes, and books and toys and art supplies to sort through... some of which are still judging me from remote corners of the house.... But at least the Christmas decor is mostly gone. We've yet to take down the greenry and outdoor lights.

 

     My worms didn't all die while I was away, and I am happy to report I have a lot of great soil for the next growing season. I also found this carrot, which I posted about on FB because I was so weirded out that something would grow in the darkness of a composting bin, and not get eaten by the worms to top it off.

    I've started to think about our year and everything we need to do around the house, including gardening, but also repairs, things that have been on the waiting list for an organization or cleanning, and so on. The children would also like to build a tree house this summer. We actually don't have a tree that can serve as support, so it will probably be more of a propped club house. Anyone want to help? I've decided to do it this year because even as we bought the playhouse and the swing set, I always knew this would be the final stage of our yard, and simply waited until they were old enough to be part of the construction process... and here we are. They have officially requested it. They want to do it. They are big kids, out of nowhere... Goodness. Time goes by so fast. I don't know how to build a tree house, but I have never been known for underestimating my abilities, even when it comes to new things. Haha! Wish me luck. Research underway, so I hope to know how to safely design this by the time warm weather decides to visit us again.

  We re-started school, and the kids are not happy. Haha. Though Miss E did still remember a whole lot of it and was able to construct difficult Nahuatl sentence-words even on our first or second day of class, after at least a couple weeks since her last lesson. I was pretty proud of her.

 ***

We also had another snow storm! This time we had beautiful, soft snow afterwards, and we decided to go sledding. We had a wonderful day out by the lake. It was pretty great. And then we came back and had cocoa and Miss E turned Boo into a Boorrito *

 *Pun courtesy of my sister S.

A Merry Christmas

We hope you had a wonderful time during these winter holidays! Our family took our very first trip since the pandemic to see my family in Houston for Christmas. We had been waiting to see how things would pan out, but we finally got an Airbnb in a rush and my parents made flight arrangements, and my husband put a must-do-tag on his secret car-buying plans (heheh!) so we could safely make the trip, and we all finally made it to Houston, where we saw each other for the first time in a whole entire year. We made tamales, pozole, Christmas cookies, carne asada and more. We went to the beautiful park near the zoo, and took walks, and rode the boats. It was a wonderful time, and I am very grateful to have seen at least some of our family this holiday season. I know the kids also enjoyed being out and about for once. They were very happy to talk to other members of their family, go places, and all that. They and all of us really really missed the cousins, though, and their mom. We did do a lot of video chatting, though, and we are so glad they had a happy time with their family. But we missed them 3 and their doggo so much.

Here are my favorite pictures!

***

And congrats to my good friends E and V!! I am so very happy for you and wish you a happy and fulfilling life together! Tons of love for you two and your beautiful, wonderful family.