The Occasional Nomads

I am really not feeling the Fourth of July this year, and not just because we’re outside of the U.S. I feel like the person on Twitter who said that this year it feels like we’re celebrating someone’s birthday while they’re in hospice. The last two weeks of Supreme Court decisions have felt almost personal as they ran roughshod over previously settled decisions, ones several of these justices swore under oath they had no intention of overriding, with the majority’s logic flipping from decision to decision (we have to do this because of history but no, history can’t be a factor with this one), etc. The more I continue to learn as well about what happened on January 6, 2021, has also been deeply unsettling. I have no idea what’s going to happen in the coming months and years, but I feel great despair about the direction our country is going and how we are already losing freedoms many fought and died for, and that we have been blessed with for so many years.

On a brighter note, we rented an apartment in Nashville and will move in the second week of August! Our daughter-in-law sent us a link early in the week indicating the available apartments at hers and our primary location choice, and we noticed that one of the one-bedroom units was not only in our price range but available for occupancy the day after we arrived in Nashville! So, we applied online, were accepted a few days later, and will now only have to stay in a hotel one night before moving in. Our idea is to unload our boxes from Massachusetts into the apartment on move-in day in the morning, then head to Costco and buy a mattress and a few other supplies so we can sleep there that night. The next day we’ll start unpacking the boxes and do some grocery and supply shopping, and then the day after that we’ll drive to Memphis and pick up our IKEA furniture and start getting that set up (Brett weirdly enjoys assembling IKEA stuff). Fingers crossed everything goes as planned, but our arrival week is going to be crazy (our DIL will also be moving into her apartment the same week). We only hope buying a car will go smoothly once we get there. We got our financing approved this past week, but so far we’ve either been quoted prices w-a-y over the MSRP or the car(s) we’re interested in are “in transit” or sold before we can complete anything and we’ve been told there could be anywhere from a 90- to 120-day wait for the next batch of cars to arrive. Sigh. We may end up buying a car when we’re in Massachusetts and bringing it down with us to Tennessee as Nashville dealers have all been a complete bust but we hope we don’t have to do that.

Some of our IKEA furniture choices.

I can’t honestly say I’ve been miserable since we arrived in SMA in May, but whether it’s been the altitude, the heat, the dry air, a lack of sleep (it can be very noisy around here during the night), occasional vertigo, or the current constant noise throughout the day (neighbors have been having their rooftop patio renovated the past three weeks and it’s been constant sawing and tile cutting going on the entire day, every day, starting at 8:00 a.m.), I just never have had my usual energy and feeling of well-being. I think I may also be/have been suffering from allergies caused by one or more of the plants in our compound. I felt bad enough one day last week (run down, sore throat, cough, and sinuses) that I took a Covid test but it came back negative so who knows what’s going on?

This morning I am thinking about:

• What we accomplished: 1) Getting our apartment lined up in Nashville was the big accomplishment this past week. The one we’ve rented is the same square footage as the crazy-landlord house we lived in on Kaua’i, but costs so much less each month, actually a full $1000 less a month than what he’s currently charging for rent, and the apartment comes with a washer and dryer and a dishwasher (can you guess what I’m excited about?). 2) Getting our car financing set up this past week was easy, and it’s great that whenever we finally find a car we’ll be ready to go.

• Looking forward to next week: I am looking forward to feeling better and hopefully getting a handle on what’s been bothering me – that’s my focus now. We didn’t do the San Miguel de Allende historical tour this past week so maybe that will happen this week.

• The ways we saved: 1) We spent very little on food this week, around $75 for fruit at the frutería – mangoes, cantaloupe, peaches, plums, figs, and raspberries – and a few items from City Market following our brunch on Friday. It will all get us through the next couple of weeks except for maybe one or two more stop at the frutería. 3) We will be paying more initially but but decided we will save overall by buying a car versus leasing. We currently don’t know what we’ll be doing when we leave Nashville, and felt it would overall be better financially to own a newer car at that point rather than having to start over after finishing up a lease. The car payment will be higher than the lease payment would have been, but we plan to pay off the loan in two years. It’s sort of weird to think this is probably the last car we’ll ever buy. 4) Our son and daughter-in-law booked and paid for our hotel room in Nashville as a small treat for us – we appreciate the savings!

• Good things that happened: 1) The kennel sent a video of our puppy this past week and Kai looks healthy, happy, and fluffy, and we love how his little tail never stops wagging. We are very excited about meeting him in August! He will be almost six months old at that point, and the kennel is going to take care of having him neutered before we pick him up. One of our first tasks once he’s back in Nashville will be to get him groomed as he’s going to be very shaggy at that point! 2) Brett and I enjoyed a tasty lunch date at Raices on Wednesday afternoon. I had the Amor Amarillo (“love yellow”): chicken, beans, and cheese inside a fresh, handmade tortilla with yellow mole sauce. A pepper leaf was grilled to the outside of the tortilla to add extra flavor – yum! I should have ordered two of them, it was so good. Brett had the enchiladas verdes I had the first time we ate there and we both repeated our previous tea and lemonade drinks. We’re already planning our next visit. 3) We also had a delicious brunch on Friday at Turk Mediterranean Street Food, another nearby restaurant. I had a beef and lamb wrap and Brett had a falafel wrap, and he got a second wrap for free because unknown to us it was “Falafel Friday” (we brought it home and shared it for dinner). We had a lovely, long chat with the owner (originally from the U.S.) while we were there and he helped us think in a different and more positive way about possibly living in San Miguel de Allende in the future. The BIG (and fun) surprise though was during our conversation the owner and I figured out we grew up about three blocks from each other! Seriously! Talk about a small world. 4) The emergency J6 hearing on Tuesday was very compelling. 5) Our daughter-in-law was sworn in this past week as an official Consul for the nation of Japan. She will receive her diplomatic passport later this month to begin her position in Nashville. We’re so proud of her!

We enjoyed some good eating last week at Raices and TURK. The culinary scene in SMA is one thing I can’t complain about – so much creative, delicious food at affordable prices. The beautiful mosaic was part of the floor at TURK.

I am going to take a few weeks away from the blog again, although I will continue to post on the Occasional Nomads Instagram page and keep up my reading list. It feels a bit like we are now marking time in San Miguel de Allende with our focus more on getting to Nashville and getting settled there for the next two years. I also feel like the direction of the blog needs to change and adapt a bit and want to think about that for a while as well, with the focus of the blog less about travel, travel, travel, and more about creating an alternative (retirement) lifestyle and making it work. Although we plan to continue traveling while we’re in Nashville (visiting Mammoth Caves & Great Smoky Mountains National Parks – with some misgivings as visitors are now allowed to bring loaded guns into National Parks – and a couple of Civil War battlefields; touring Washington, D.C. with our granddaughter and DIL; visiting Asheville, N.C.; and doing a big family reunion at Walt Disney World in 2023) Brett and I will mostly be enjoying our time with family in Nashville and setting up where we’ll be going and what we’ll be doing next. I’d like the blog to focus more about that and keep track of our steps as it will be one of the most significant changes we’ll make in our lives.

Although I might not be feeling the holiday spirit this year, I hope others are and I wish all a happy Fourth of July, and a fun but thoughtful time with family and friends. I’ll be back in a few weeks.

This has personally been a nothing burger of a week for us. We decided to mostly stay home this week to help my back heal, and I am happy to say it is much, much better; in fact, I’ve gone to bed most evenings forgetting it’s even been bothering me. I got reminded of it almost every morning though and it usually took a couple of hours to work out the kinks, but yesterday I awoke without any pain at all – yeah! Reducing our activity and all seemed to have made things better, and hopefully my back issues will soon be nothing but a distant memory.

Some of the things we’ve bought the past few weeks: Small (18″) mirrors with tinwork frames; Dia de Los Muertos themed t-shirts; authentic Talavera pottery mugs; and colorful shopping bags. Everything but the mugs are gifts for someone in our family, and nothing cost over $15.

We went out last Wednesday afternoon to do some shopping and try to find some specific things we want to take back with us to the U.S. as gifts. We shopped with a list and found what we were looking for but also found two other items at prices we couldn’t resist. We bought three t-shirts, two for the Meiling’s and YaYu’s partners and one for our grandson, two small mirrors framed with tin work (the unplanned items, but they were just $12.50 each) and a small hand-carved and painted wooden heart with wings. Some of the things we’ve bought since we’ve been here will be put away for Christmas, but many are gifts for family members or fun things for the grandkids. We’ve bought a few things for ourselves too since we’ve been here: my embroidered dress, blouse, and straw hat; two authentic Talavera pottery coffee mugs; a small piece of original art; the bean pot; and Brett gave me a silver ring. Shopping here has sort of been like dining out – so many things are beautifully made and very affordable and it takes a lot of effort not to buy them. The only thing I still have my eyes on is a pair of silver earrings in the window of the silversmith down the street. We have no idea how much they cost though, and if they turn out to be more than we want to pay they won’t be purchased. We’re otherwise winding down the shopping now because Brett’s afraid buying anything more will mean we may have to purchase an additional suitcase! For now though, everything we’ve gotten will go into the bags we came with (I will carry the bean pot onto the plane).

This morning I am thinking about:

• Things we accomplished this past week: 1) Other than finishing up our gift shopping, going to brunch on Friday, and doing our food shopping afterwards I don’t think we accomplished much of anything. 2) We both finished books and downloaded new ones from the library. I’ve read 27 books so far this year and I’m happy with that!

• What we’re looking forward to next week: 1) We’re looking forward to having our neighbor Jenny over for dinner this evening. We’re serving lamb burgers! 2) We’re going to have lunch at Raices mid-week and we’re both excited about that. I want to try their yellow mole. 3) We may try to take a two and a half hour walking tour of San Miguel de Allende one morning, depending on the weather. We’re hoping after being here for a month we’ll get more out of it and have a better understanding of much of what we’ve only been admiring up until now. 3) Other than brunch on Friday, everything else will be spontaneous (rain is predicted for several days, so somewhat difficult to plan ahead of time).

• The ways we saved: 1) We didn’t do anything special this week to save other than make an effort to eat all the leftovers in our refrigerator to make sure nothing had to be thrown out before we shopped. 2) We did all our shopping with purpose (and a list) and did not go crazy. We once again stayed under budget with both our food and souvenir shopping. We have put a higher than usual amount into savings since we arrived here

• Good things that happened: 1) The weather has been delightfully cool this past week, perfect for walking and sleeping at night. It has been a pleasure to go out versus the chore it was when it was hot. It’s still very, very dry though. 2) The frutería down the street had peaches, figs, and mangoes available this past week at ridiculously low prices, and we enjoyed figs with our cheese and crackers this past week and I had peaches on my cereal – yum! The mangoes here are so, so sweet. I didn’t really care all that much for the mango variety available in Hawaii (and they were ridiculously expensive as well), but can’t get enough of the ones available here. 3) The pain in my back is gone! The vertigo remains but is not as bad as it was.

After the Supreme Court decisions handed down this past week, all I can say is that the United States that Brett and I knew, served, and trusted is over. Miranda rights are gone. Women’s autonomy has been crushed, and unfettered gun ownership appears to be the greatest right of all. Privacy rights are on the line, with hints (threats?) that contraception, marriage rights, and others will be reexamined in the future. Only Loving v. Virginia seems to be off the table for some reason, interesting because it was decided on the same legal reasoning as Roe v. Wade. Some may be happy about last week’s decisions, but as a country I’m afraid we’re never going to back to some of the freedoms and protections we have enjoyed and to what we thought was normal. Tomorrow’s expected decision is the scary one for me though, the Court’s ruling involving the EPA. Their decision will decide whether the EPA, an executive agency, can issue and enforce an environmental rule that they haven’t yet made or issued; the Court will be ruling on a hypothetical rule that the EPA might issue in the future. This is no longer “calling balls and strikes” or adjudicating a previous case ruling, but ruling on something that hasn’t happened yet and is therefore being done for purely political reasons. That we’ve come to this should scare all Americans because the ramification are enormous.

Sorry to end on such a low note, but that’s the sort of week it’s been. I’m not sure next week is going to be any better, but we still have the power and right to organize and vote (even though that’s sadly being threatened in places as well). In the meantime, I still hope good things happed for everyone in their lives and that more will be coming your way in this next week.

Some of this past week’s color from our walks through the city. The purple house is my new favorite!

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! This holiday always sort of throws me because I always forget it’s the third Sunday of June versus the second one, like Mother’s Day. Anyway, I knew it was coming up this month so Googled to make sure I got it right. Brett and I are heading out shortly for brunch at Mario’s Mariscos (shrimp), a nearby seafood restaurant we’ve heard nothing but good things about since we’ve been here. It’s a little spendier than some other restaurants we’ve been to, but worth it to spoil Brett a bit on his day.

A week ago I was beginning to wonder if there was something seriously going wrong with my health. I was sluggish and sleepy, and occasionally would have a round of vertigo. Breathing had become difficult at times too. I tested negative for COVID, but Brett and I began to wonder if I should perhaps see a doctor. Then Monday afternoon a big noisy thunderstorm rolled through bringing with it loads of lightening, thunder, rain, and hail. The storm cleaned out the air and also brought along cooler temperatures that have happily hung around . . . and I have felt fine ever since! I’m sleeping more soundly at night, apparently catching up this past week on all the sleep I wasn’t getting while it was so hot. The air is clean and I’m breathing easier again as well (I grew up in Los Angeles County in the 50s and 60s when the smog was at its worst and my lungs were permanently affected; air pollution anywhere can make breathing difficult for me now). Unfortunately, the vertigo is still with me, although not as bad as it was. We’ve been following the weather in Nashville and noted that temperatures this past week have been near 100 degrees with very high humidity – not looking forward to that!

Of course, once one health problem gets solved it seems another pops up. Somehow this past week I strained my back. I have no idea what I did but it has hurt like the dickens and laid me up for a couple of days. It’s one of those parts of your body you don’t think about until it gets hurt and then discover it’s needed to do everything: walking, standing, sitting, turning over in bed, getting out of bed, coughing, etc. I have been giving my back as much rest as possible and it is getting better although it’s still annoying (and painful at times). I learned something new to add to my Need It But Don’t Have It Because We’re Traveling file though: how to make a homemade heating pad out of a dishtowel (fold and microwave for 40 seconds; repeat as necessary). Getting old is not for sissies.

• What we accomplished this past week: 1) We’ve purposefully enjoyed what’s mostly been a very relaxing week including a couple of full days relaxing in the apartment (because my back hurt so much). 2) I booked our August return flight tickets to Boston, departing from the nearby city of Querétaro versus traveling all the way back to Mexico City. WenYu and her partner will pick us up at the Boston airport so we don’t have to rent a car there. 3) I also reserved our hotel stays (two nights) for our road trip from Boston to Nashville, but still have to choose a hotel in Nashville for our arrival there. 4) We watched the January 6 hearings via streaming each day they were available. 5) I finished a book I didn’t enjoy very much , one that almost became an effort to read (unusual because it was a mystery). I finished it just in time for two books I’ve been waiting for to come off of hold from the library!

• What we’re looking forward to next week: 1) We again have no big plans for the coming week other than going out for brunch on Friday and making our weekly trips to the supermarket and the frutería down the street. We may go out to lunch one day, and we’d like to go looking for more fountains, but no decision has been made yet about which part of the city to visit. 2) The J6 hearings so far have been gripping television and well as shocking at times but we’re looking forward to learning more this coming week.

• The ways we saved: 1) I don’t think we did anything special or out of the ordinary this past week to save but still stayed within our weekly budget. Our daily spending average has already dropped by over 30% compared to May and keeps going down. 2) Besides choosing hotels for our Boston to Nashville trip that came in under our budget, both hotels offer free breakfasts, and one hotel has an evening cocktail & snack buffet which can substitute for dinner. We used the senior discount at both hotels and received an additional discount by signing up for the hotel chains’ rewards programs.

• Good things that happened: 1) Our lovely neighbor Jenny brought us a couple of plants for our balcony this past week. It looks much fresher and greener now and has become a favorite place for Brett to sit and read. 2) The weather has cooled off, and has stayed cloudy, breezier, and cooler, making a real difference in how both of us feel. 3) I found and bought a beautiful hand-embroidered shirt at a small stall in the Mercado Artesanias, where the woman running the stall did the embroidery (by hand). I can’t remember feeling so good or happy about a clothing purchase. 4) Meiling let us know she will be coming up to WenYu’s place while we’re there for another mini-reunion – we’re so excited to get to see her again!

Although they’re charming and add to the character of San Miguel de Allende, I’m finding the cobblestone streets to be frankly problematic at times, and I think they may be one of the things that have contributed to my back problems. In some places where we walked this past week the road has been nothing but uneven rocks stuck in the ground and we’ve had to walk very, very carefully not to trip and fall – there’s no way to maintain a natural gait – and I feel I may have twisted and turned in ways that gradually strained my back. Unfortunately, one of the worst of these streets is right outside our apartment complex so anytime we go out we have to deal with rock walking. Thankfully there are sidewalks through much of the city, but we often have to cross or walk in the street and over these exceptionally rocky streets from time to time. I keep telling myself they’re worth it though, especially when they take me to places and views like these:

We’ve now been in San Miguel de Allende for a month – the time has flown by. We still have seven weeks left in our stay though, and we known there’s still much to see and discover here. Each week though has been a gift, and we continue to look forward to the beauty, knowledge, and surprises that will continue to come our way during the rest of our stay.

It mostly was another hot, hot week, but we had something going on every single day – I’m grateful for the opportunity to have a full day of rest today so we can catch our breath. Here’s how our week unfolded:

• Monday: We did our food shopping this day, walking down to La Comer with a stop at the La Sabina organic store for a loaf of their wonderful banana bread (one of our favorite desserts). I’m not quite sure how we missed it earlier, but this past week we discovered a well-stocked Asian foods section at La Comer. We bought several items we enjoy and have missed, with only sesame oil being out of stock. I also filled my statin prescription at La Comer’s pharmacy. I was prepared for low prices compared to the U.S. (I was more shocked by the U.S. price) but what surprised me the most was the pharmacist just picking up a box of the pills off the shelf and handing it to me versus having to turn in a prescription and then wait or come back later to pick it up – Lipitor and other statins are over-the-counter drugs here. I also received a 20% discount on the prescription because we had spent enough on groceries at the store.

We saw and did a lot on Tuesday!

• Tuesday: We took a morning trip to Centro to visit the toy museum, La Esquina, with our next door neighbor, Jenny. The museum was an absolute delight, with four floors containing an amazing and eye-popping collection of Mexican folk toys. The imagination, design, construction, detail, artistry, color – everything – about the toys was fascinating and jaw-dropping in many cases. Besides the museum visit, the three of us also stopped on the way to shop at a small, wonderful little store filled with traditional Mexican folk crafts. I bought a longed-for embroidered dress and we also picked up some gifts for the grandkids. We also made a stop for hot chocolate and churros before going to the museum. After the museum visit Brett went to take a closer look at another building he was interested in, and Jenny and I headed in the opposite direction to visit a small but mighty downtown supermarket (it sold everything) tucked into a very small space. She and I also ogled quinceañera gowns, and visited a couple of fabric stores before heading for home.

• Wednesday: We met with the Senior Nomads for lunch at Luna de Queso (“Cheese Moon”). The food was delicious, and Brett and I were glad we ate before shopping because we would have probably bought twice as much from the extremely well-stocked deli & market attached to the restaurant. The conversation during lunch was stimulating and fun, and one of the best things we’ll remember from our time in San Miguel is that we were able to connect with Michael & Debbie.

• Thursday: One of our neighbors in the complex, Blake, is an artist, and we had planned to go to the opening day of a show of her paintings in the early afternoon, along with Jenny. However, Jenny showed up at our door in the morning to let us know she had been exposed to COVID and was exhibiting several symptoms and felt she shouldn’t go to the opening (she later tested negative though as did both of us). I decided to stay home as well as my lack of sleep for several days had caught up with me and I felt too exhausted (and woozy) to be good company for anyone, let along go anywhere or do anything. Brett felt he should still help Blake for a few hours and he also wanted to check out the Guadalupe neighborhood where the show was being held so he headed over to the gallery with her. I slept deeply for over three hours while he was gone and woke up to a cool breeze and rain coming in through the bedroom window – yes!

Said to be the “hippest” in SMA, the Guadalupe neighborhood is filled with street art – Brett snapped these examples while he was there on Thursday.

• Friday: We headed out for Centro a little before noon for our weekly brunch date, and enjoyed a delicious meal at Lavanda. It was worth the wait! After brunch we did some window shopping in Centro; stopped and viewed the Parroquia for a moment or two; purchased a gift for one of our daughters and another for our grandson at the Mexican folk craft store; and finally stopped in at the Bonanza Market for some laundry detergent, fabric softener, and coffee before taking a taxi home. It was hot again by the time we got to our apartment so we stayed inside the rest of the day.

• Saturday: We slept in yesterday morning, and our only outing for the day was a walk down the hill to the fruteria for produce.

A small reason I’ve been tiring so quickly whenever we go out is because a KN-95 mask seems to restrict the amount of oxygen I get (and need), especially when walking around. I switched back to a cloth mask and have been having a much easier time of it and not wearing out so quickly. The heat and the dryness are still somewhat problematic though so last Thursday’s rain and cooler temperatures were much appreciated. We keep hearing the temperature is going to drop now that May is over, but so far that hasn’t happened.

I also didn’t get much sleep most of the week, beginning with loud firecrackers (palomas) being set off at the beginning of the week. After they stopped though I still found myself unable to fall asleep for who knows what reason. Last weekend a child living in one of the houses just outside of our complex was killed, and the fireworks were apparently being set off to honor him. Palomas are incredibly loud, and were being set off all day and all night (like from midnight to 2:00 a.m.) making it impossible to sleep. I have no idea why the sleeplessness continued though but I slept well last night so hopefully this unpleasantness is finished.

This morning I’m thinking about:

• What we accomplished this past week: Everything on our list – it was a busy, fun week!

• What we’re looking forward to next week: 1) Cooler weather and some rain (hopefully). 2) More discovery. 3) Other than Friday brunch, a more spontaneous schedule.

• The ways we saved: 1) We cancelled our British Airways flight to England this past week and will be receiving a full refund! They had cancelled and changed our original flight so a refund was one of our options and we took it! 2) I’ll be able to file with our insurance for a reimbursement of the difference between what I paid for my prescription here versus what I would have paid in the U.S. with insurance. I’m grateful that the cost was so affordable here, and that it was so easy get the prescription refilled. 3) We received an email this week from our dentist on Kaua’i that they owe me a refund. This is the third dentist in a row who has had to issue us a refund! 4) My student loan consolidation was completed this past week and my old servicer paid in full – I am so happy to be done with them! I once again have a U.S. Department of Education owned loan, so I now fall under the CARES act and do not have a payment due until early October nor am I accruing any interest until then. I have created a plan to pay off the loan within the next five years. 5) In spite of our shopping and eating out this week we still did not go over our budget (which I find amazing). 6) I think I paid less than half again for my embroidered dress this past week as I did for an embroidered Mexican blouse 40 years ago.

• Good things that happened: 1) Lunch with the Senior Nomads was lots of fun and we learned of yet another fabulous restaurant not far from our apartment as well as a great little market. I found sesame oil there! 2) I was thrilled to find an embroidered Mexican dress at such a great price. I had a similar, much beloved blouse when Brett and I were first dating, but it was stolen out of a dryer at a laundromat and I’ve wanted another for over 40 years. 3) On our walk over to downtown on Tuesday we were able to see a tree near Benito Juarez park filled with Great Egrets – apparently the area is a rookery for these birds. We saw several walking around – they are huge! 4) Jenny made a sour orange tart using some of the Seville oranges from the courtyard and brought us a couple of pieces on Monday evening – so good! She is also adding pockets to my dress this coming week.

Our eating schedule has, as the expression goes, gone to hell in a hand basket since we’ve been here. Brett and I typically eat a light breakfast, but if we have a brunch or lunch out we usually don’t feel like eating the entire rest of the day. Even hot chocolate and churros at around noon last Tuesday kept us feeling full the entire rest of the day. Menu planning and food tracking has flown right out the window as well as I don’t know from day to day how we’ll feel or even if we’ll feel like eating. Some evenings, even though I’ve planned a meal, all we end up wanting is a little bit of cheese, a few crackers, and some fruit. We still choose healthy foods, eat a good variety of fruits and vegetables, limit our sweets, walk every day, and don’t appear to be gaining weight, but I’m seriously hoping that within the next couple of weeks we’ll be able to get back to a somewhat more normal eating routine.

We’re looking forward to a less hectic week coming up, and a chance to literally and figuratively catch our breath. Last week was a very good one but it was tiring and we’re glad to be through it. Here’s to another great week coming up, another of accomplishments, savings, and good things happening!