Tag Archives: rain

Dec18

First Washington Now Winnipeg

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First Washington Now Winnipeg

This morning I wandered down to the tianguis on my street. It was a tad chilly, a mere 60 degrees. But the sun was shining brightly. And I’ve gotten used to seeing Mexicans wearing ski jackets and scarves in this weather. Lots of hats and gloves too. Me? A short-sleeve top instead of a tank top.

Washington was hit with a second atmospheric river. Once again the wind toppled trees and downed power lines. Lots of evacuations on the west side. And now there are blizzard and heavy snowfall warnings out across the state.

Winnipeg is completely shut down today as a massive blizzard attacked the city and the surrounding areas. Glad I’m not there either, although I do recall blizzards in the past when I braved those Winnipeg winters in my younger days. The good thing about a Winnipeg blizzard is that it blows in and blows out fairly quickly. While it does cripple the city, plows are usually able to clean things up fast. And the highways are not destroyed as is the case in Washington.

Highway 2 west of Leavenworth is closed. That is huge! Not only is this the most direct route to Seattle, it is also one of two main mountain passes between Leavenworth and Seattle. Landslides, mudslides and flooding have taken their toll. A fifty mile stretch of highway no longer exists. Barring any more inclement weather, it is predicted that repairs will be complete and the highway passable hopefully by the end of February.

The only other option is Blewett-Snoqualmie, a more scenic but less direct route also notorious for harsh winter weather. Delays are already all too common and now it will definitely take much longer to travel to Seattle with the increased traffic on this route.

I’m thankful that I’m here in Mexico, although I admit I do occasionally dream of a white Christmas.

Oct14

Countdown Continues

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Countdown Continues

A week from today at this time I’ll be somewhere up in the air between Seattle and Los Angeles. The days between now and then are full. Actually, all my days are full. I wonder where I ever found the time to raise kids, work and volunteer before I retired.

This morning I went to Soul Sisters at church. No Zoom for this Bible Study so it will be by snail mail email. I told everyone they get their goodbye hugs at church this Sunday.

I spent two hours organizing and backing up the pics on my laptop. Then I downloaded more from my phone and backed those up. I really need to do this more regularly. Then it won’t be such a tedious undertaking.

Tomorrow morning is my last writers group meeting until next year. This group has been a great source of support and encouragement. Once again, no Zoom. But we can email files to each other and keep in touch by phone. I will miss our lunches together after the meetings. This is an opportunity to converse and get to know each other better other than just by our writing styles.

On Thursday it will be my last small group for a while. We share a meal together before delving into a Bible Study. And the fellowship after is most enjoyable. It’s always a late night and I am quite content to sleep in on Friday morning.

I’m not sure what’s happening on Friday. Joanne and I haven’t decided yet. All I know at this point is that it won’t involve volunteering lol. When Joanne asked me what I want to do I told her I want to go to Cashmere and never leave. If only that truly were a possibility!

I had an interesting email from the Canadian Embassy in Mexico. A warning about flooding and landslides in central Mexico. Hmmm. I decided not to fly in on the coast because of the current hurricane activity. Hopefully Guadalajara stays high and dry.

We’ve actually had some rain here in East Wenatchee. And there is snow up in the mountains. So I know it is time for me to leave. The temperatures have dropped and I’ve been layering and bundling up. I have plans for the weekend so I hope it doesn’t get too cold.

“Procrastination is the thief of time.” Charles Dickens.

I better get back to sorting through documents.

Aug24

Today I Took A Day Off

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Today I Took A Day Off

Today I took a day off from the world, a much needed break. I turned the ringer off on my cellphone. I ignored texts and voicemails. I didn’t read my newsfeed or check my emails. I lay in bed sipping coffee and watching a movie in the morning.

Then I took out my gel pens, sharpies and paints. I lost myself in a fantasy world of color. It was so peaceful and calming. It was so relaxing. And I wonder why I don’t do it more often.

I listened to music. Classical. Rock. Folk. Country.

Next on the agenda was writing. My characters have been speaking volumes lately. I’ve done a lot more than merely editing. I lost myself in their world, in their life.

And now I’m sitting here with my window open listening to the rain. It started off as a soft patter and is now a deluge pounding down on the roof.

But I know I have to return to reality. I need to check my texts, voicemails and emails. I need to read my newsfeed.

My day off is over.

Jun17

Monday Morning Musing

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Monday Morning Musing

I kept four thousand of the photos I scanned. I’ll wait until I’m back in Mexico over the winter to organize them better. There are way too many files that need to be put in a better order. But they’ll do for the time being.

If you’re on Facebook, you’ll have seen some of the photos I’ve put up of two institutions that are absolute musts when I return to Winnipeg. VJ’s for gut bombs and BDI for ice cream. I’m not a fan of Jeannie’s cakes so I’ve passed on that one.

Another place I visit when I come back is the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery. This is where my amazing friends come in. “Karen, what do you want to do today?” My reply is “Please take me to the cemetery.” Strange request? Not really. They know me. And every time I go back to the cemetery I wonder if it’s the last time I’ll get there.

I moved out of the rental and am staying with Rita for a few days. Time to veg before I start up with airports and flights. I felt my blood pressure drop ten points when I got here and cuddled with Cooper and Leo. Cooper is a fifty pound dog who thinks he’s a lap dog. Leo is a cat who also likes to cuddle and purrs happily.

The weather has sort of turned around. We went one almost whole day without any rain. Yours truly slept through a really wicked storm the other night. I can’t believe all the rain Winnipeg has had. More than six weeks of rain at some point every single day!

Duo, I hope you aren’t too sad although the emails indicate otherwise. I really do need to get back into Spanish on Duolingo. I am doing some texting to friends but I need to start talking and working on my grammar again.

My WIP has also been neglected, other than some minor editing. Those photos took up a lot more time than I had expected. I’ve been here almost seven weeks and am looking forward to returning to Washington soon. Just a few more loose ends to tie up.

Four students plan to arrive late to their final exam so they can take it the next day

By the time they arrive the exam is almost over, so they head over to the professor to ask if they can take it the next day. They tell him they tried their best to come on time, but their tire blew out and it took too long to replace it.

The professor tells them, “Don’t worry about it. You can take it today and, since there’s almost no time left, you only have to answer one question. If you get it right, I’ll give you an A on the test.” The students, thinking this is even better than they thought, excitedly take their seats and look at the question:

Which tire blew out?

Have a great Monday!

May28

Way Too Many

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Way Too Many

For the past month I have been scanning photos. I’ve come to the conclusion that there are way too many. Why on earth did we take so many pictures? Why are there so many albums? The albums have been sitting in waterproof bins in my son’s basement for fourteen years. Has anyone even looked at them? This is 2024. Digital is the way to go.

In roughly the past ten years, I’ve had four surgeries in three different countries, sought asylum in two foreign countries during Covid and have moved from city to city in foreign countries. But none of this has been as stressful and gut-wrenching as going through these photo albums. I hope this doesn’t sound too crass but so many people in these photos are now divorced or dead.

I think I need a new project. But first I need to finish this one so I can get back to East Wenatchee. I need some normalcy in my life again. But I think I still have to wait a while for that to happen. My new ETA to the USA is now mid-June. End of May was unrealistic.

Caution to my readers. If you ever decide to do what I’m doing, you better hope that you’re in a place where it rains every single day so you don’t mind being holed up in a room with a computer and a scanner for hours on end. So far that’s been my experience this May in Winnipeg. Rain, rain and more rain.

But I’m strong and I can do this.

May16

Can’t Count That High

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Can’t Count That High

I’ve officially been in Winnipeg for two weeks as of today, and it’s still raining. Thunder boomer going on at the moment. Glad I brought a rain jacket. Didn’t need it in Mexico or Washington but I sure need it here. And I don’t feel too badly about holing up in my room with the computer and scanning photos. I’ve stopped counting and can’t believe how many loose photos I’ve found in addition to albums.

I spent most of today in sunny San Diego and in Waikiki. The odd Winnipeg pic showed up. But I’m going out for dinner shortly with Laura and will don my rain jacket. We’re off to Sorrentos for my favorite salad and some pizza. It will be dry inside the restaurant.

Things I’ve noticed in the pics. We dressed up on birthdays and anniversaries. No jeans. No yoga pants. For some reason we always made two or three copies of every photo. I gave up taking pics out of frames to scan. Too time consuming. And I found a lot of framed pics. We had a regular rogues’ gallery in our family room on Dunbar so way too many framed photos. My cell phone takes better pics than my ex’s expensive camera with all the zoom and different lenses. And it’s so much easier to use. We took way too many pics of some things and not enough of others. And we should have been more diligent about writing dates on photos!

I hope to finish the first of four bins on the weekend. And I have a sinking suspicion that there are more than four bins and that some bins are still hiding at Kyle’s house.

Break time is over.

Apr13

It’s Raining It’s Snowing

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It’s Raining It’s Snowing

Yesterday was April 12th. With April Fool’s Day weather. It was also a Tuesday which means I commute to Leavenworth from East Wenatchee to teach a fitness class. I usually hop on Link, but not yesterday. The rain had turned to snow. Will I ever get rid of this ski jacket? Do I really need to dig out my Sorrells?

Driving along Eastmont, the town of Wenatchee below us had totally disappeared from view, as had the mountains beyond. Visibility improved as we made our way along Highway 2 towards Leavenworth.

I must admit the mountains look very pretty with all the freshly fallen snow. But the snow didn’t stay up on the mountains. Instead it graced the town itself.

I snapped these pics after the fitness class.

The snow had finally stopped and didn’t resume again until late afternoon. On the drive back to East Wenatchee, we noticed a drastic change once we got out of Leavenworth. Instead of snow on the ground, everything was green again. And the sun even began to peek through.

Elsewhere in the USA the weather ranged from vicious tornados to blizzards. My friends back in Manitoba were also bracing for severe winter storms.

Did we skip spring, summer and fall and head directly back to winter?

It’s now 9 am Wednesday, today, just before I post this. The snow is still coming down in East Wenatchee. I know the mountains are out there somewhere.

Sep21

Things To Ponder

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Things To Ponder

The sheep reelected the wolf again in 🇨🇦. The decision in the 🇺🇸 was to keep the land borders closed. Here in 🇲🇽 the entire country has been declared green or yellow on the stoplight.

Please take the time to check out the link. A very moving service was held at Spirit of America in Cashmere, Washington on September 11th. I usually attend in person but this year I was already back in Mexico.

We have been getting these incredible thunder boomers at night. After being up in Washington rampant with wildfires and drought, the rainy season here is most welcome. Iracema and I went out for dinner in the pouring rain. By the time we finished eating, the rain had stopped and off we went for a walk in the park.

Talking to friends in Canada this week, it appears that flights to Mexico are still chaotic. Canceled, rescheduled and extremely expensive. I’m so glad I decided to fly down from the USA. Great connections and reasonable fares. Alaska Airlines is the best!

INM is starting to crack down on people with expired tourist visas. They are checking regularly in bus stations and stories are circulating of people being held in detention and/or deported. Original documentation is required and a photo on a phone is not sufficient.

I have finally taken out my gel pens and started coloring again. Now if only King could fix the glitch with Jelly Queen on Candy Crush Friends…..

Aug4

Maybe I’ll Paint Today

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Maybe I’ll Paint Today

I’ve been running around a lot in the past few days so I thought I’d just take a day and stay at home. It’s a much needed day of catching up on emails, phone calls and even laundry. But as I sit here sipping my coffee I’m seriously considering getting out my acrylics and playing with colors.

I spoke to Juan in Mexico last night and my family are all on the mend. Thank you everyone for your messages and prayers. Your thoughtfulness is very comforting.

Wildfires are burning like crazy everywhere. The smoke was so thick in Wenatchee the other day that we couldn’t even see the mountains.

I recall a time when we would all don masks when the smoke got bad. Not this year!!!

I finally did it. The heat got to me and when I was at the hair stylist’s yesterday I told her the short bob I’ve been wearing was just too long. So off came the hair.

    We had an incredible storm last night. It finally rained. It didn’t last long but people were concerned that lightning may have sparked more fires. The wind was pretty wicked too. But it sure didn’t phase these guys who sat placidly out on the lawn.

    Oh oh. Canadian Border Patrol are threatening to strike later this week. Will they?

    Happy Wednesday!

    Jun8

    Facebook Memories

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    Facebook Memories

    Thank you Facebook for not only reminding me of my friends’ birthdays but also of reminding me of the different places where I have lived.

    Apparently four years ago today I was at The Saloon in Mazatlan with friends doing this.

    Today I’m in Aguascalientes sipping coffee instead of doing Jell-O shots.

    Five years ago today I was still teaching and this was my classroom at Hotel Torres in Mazatlan. Most of my students were working in housekeeping or security at the hotel.

    Today I’m retired and not teaching. Now I sip my coffee rather than gulp it.

    But I’m really feeling nostalgic/homesick now. I spoke to my friend Debbie earlier today. She was shopping at Walmart in Wenatchee when I called, one of my favorite places. Then I found this pic from last summer in Cashmere.

    I would certainly welcome some of that Washington rain today. 90s and sunny here in Aguascalientes. It’s been quite a while since we’ve had any rain.

    Thanks for the memories Facebook!