We’ll stay at home today. There is a nationwide “paro”, or work stoppage, for all commercial transportation. No taxis or buses will run. The gas stations are probably blockaded as well, to discourage personal vehicles from being on the road. You can use your personal vehicle, though there is risk being drug from your car and beaten senseless, so wise folks only go out for emergencies. We, of course, stocked up at the grocery...

I remember, as a child, the delight and excitement we would have when, on those hot summer days, we would hear the jingle of the Ice Cream truck as it played it’s tinny, hokey, children’s tunes at top volume. That particular sound could draw groups of kids that would make the Pied Piper twist in envy! We KNEW what that sound meant! And we wanted what that sound promised… yummy ice cream and cool popsicles! I guess some things...

There are so many things that are different when living in another place than you’re used to… city, state, COUNTRY! One of the things that is different here is the trash collection. They don’t pick it up for you. You have to hand each bag UP to the trash guy, and if you have a lot, then you’re doing a lot of work. They don’t take boxes. So, you’d think that soon you would be overrun with boxes, right? Not at...

Yesterday was my oldest child’s birthday. She’s had a few of them. One might say that she’s “over all that”. She’s 20-something, about to graduate from College, supports herself… so she probably didn’t notice. But I did. We all miss her so much! So what did we do? We had a party FOR her! As I mentioned yesterday, we got Lorien a cake! Not just ANY cake… we got her a “6-layer fruit and...

[Quick definitions (transcendent) --adjective:   beyond and outside the ordinary range of human experience or understanding] Today, after our trip to La Cancha to get the kitchen glass cabinet door fixed, we stopped to get a cake for our daughter’s (Lorien’s) birthday today. [Happy B'day sweetie!] As we sat at the sidewalk table, waiting for our taxi, a young boy came by begging for money. That he wanted money was obvious by...