Tag Archives: USA

May27

Memorial Day

Posted on by
Standard
Memorial Day

In the USA, Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May in remembrance of those who lost their lives while in the U.S. Military. Quite frankly, I expected people to swarm the cemeteries but that just doesn’t seem to be the case. Most people don’t work and it’s a popular day for barbecues and parades. I decided that it’s time to learn more about the history of Memorial Day.

The first public ceremony held to honor soldiers killed in battle was back in 431 B.C. This took place in Greece after the Peloponnesian War.

One of the first Memorial Day events held in the USA was back in 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War was over and newly freed slaves had good reason to celebrate.

The original name was Decoration Day as soldiers’ graves were decorated with American flags and flowers. Those honored were soldiers who lost their lives in World War I.

Union General John A. Logan called for May 30, 1868 to be an official day of remembrance. It didn’t signify the date of any particular battle but was to honor those who died in all wars.

In 1950 Congress passed a resolution asking the President to issue a proclamation that Americans should observe Memorial Day as a day for prayer of permanent peace.

In 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May and provided a three day weekend for federal employees. However it did not become an official federal holiday until 1971.

In 2000 President Bill Clinton signed the National Moment of Remembrance Act. At 3 pm on Memorial Day Americans were asked to observe a moment of silence.

Flags are displayed at half-staff until noon. The flag is then raised to full-staff.

Another tradition is that the President place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a site honoring all who died fighting for their country. The President also delivers a speech.

That’s today’s American History lesson.

Have A Great Sunday!

Mar12

The Times They Are A-Changin’

Posted on by
Standard
The Times They Are A-Changin’

It’s almost thirteen years ago since I arrived in Culiacan. Back then I made a point of proudly telling people I was Canadian. A year later I moved to Guadalajara. Still proud to be a Canadian. I didn’t want to be mistaken for an American. But it’s 2023 now and I stopped bragging that I was a Canadian long ago. Here in Aguascalientes I call myself a gringa and my neighbors know I live in the USA when I’m not in Mexico.

When Covid was declared a pandemic back in March of 2020, I sought asylum here in Mexico. I was given another six month tourist visa. In September 2020 I got as far as Leavenworth, Washington. USCIS said as long as I flew in I could come although I am not an American citizen. That was also the earliest I could obtain travel health insurance during the pandemic that would cover me for Covid.

In March of 2021 it was decision time. Return to Mexico? Hot summer weather coming up and no vaccines available. My 180 was almost up. I wasn’t keen on returning to Canada to quarantine. And I also had nowhere to live there either. The CDC came to my rescue and issued a Level 4 Do Not Travel To Canada Advisory. Once again I successfully sought asylum in a foreign country during the pandemic.

Here we are in 2023. I watch what is going on in Canada with Trudeau and the Liberals. I watch a country falling apart at the seams. Of course, that all began when Justin Trudeau’s father first took office back in the 60s. He has merely taken over where his father left off. Trudeau makes Trump look like an angel.

What is going on now in Canada scares me. I believe it’s every bit as dangerous as Covid. And I wonder what my chances are of once again seeking asylum in the USA. Awfully tempting to try. Define “refugee.” Lots of connotations there.

Where does chocolate milk come from? A dairy cacao! Thank you Alexa.

Have a great Sunday!

Feb12

Sunday Sunday

Posted on by
Standard
Sunday Sunday

I’ve actually been trying to catch up on phone calls lately and have been hearing all about the frigid temperatures in Canada and all the snow in Washington state. I was on zoom the other night with a group in Winnipeg and every week they beg me to send them the sunshine and the warmth that I have here in Mexico. Were it only that simple! Of course I blew them away when I told them I still sip herbal tea at night despite the warm temperatures.

Covid is still very much around here in Mexico. I have friends in Puerto Vallarta who have been stricken once again with this dreaded flu bug. Thankfully it’s not nearly as bad as their first experience. We need to keep them in our prayers. They have to travel internationally in a couple of weeks so hopefully all will be well by then.

I discovered a new bakery around the corner from where I live. Actually it’s not a new bakery. It’s just new to me. It’s open from 6:30 am to 2 pm. Seeing as I don’t really do mornings this winter, I’m seldom wandering down that street when they’re open. However, the other day by some miracle I had actually eaten breakfast before noon and found myself walking by the bakery at about 1:45. Delicious pastries with pineapple fillings and bolillos fresh out of the oven! No. I’m not setting an alarm in my phone to wake me early. But I do hope I’ll pass by there at least once or twice before I head back to Washington next month.

So now an object was shot down over Alaska this week. And apparently the balloon that the Americans shot down had meandered over Canada first. Interesting that Trudeau did ask the Americans to take down a second object hovering over the Yukon. As if China hasn’t caused enough chaos with Covid. I wonder what’s next.

I was talking with one of my friends the other day about tamales. He had just returned from Cuba and told me that tamales down there were pretty scant due to the food shortages. I think he was drooling when I told him about all the different fillings we have here in Mexico. The rajas and cheese are one of my favorites with chicken running a close second. Occasionally I get the ones wrapped in banana leaves too.

Have a great Sunday!

Feb8

The World

Posted on by
Standard
The World

A devastating earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria earlier this week. A Chinese spy blimp was shot down off the east coast in the USA a couple of days ago. 123 confirmed tornadoes touched down in the USA in January of this year. Rain and snow are in the forecast for the west coast in Canada that will result in avalanche alerts and treacherous mountain passes. Quite a world we’re living in today.

Here in Aguascalientes the sun is shining brightly and another high of eighty degrees is in the forecast. It’s peaceful, tranquil. If I didn’t read the news online I wouldn’t know about any of the aforementioned. Today I was also reading about Trudeau’s latest take on healthcare in Canada and the funding he has proposed. Interesting. Too bad it’s too little too late.

I’ve been researching computers and videogames that date back to the 90s and early 2000s. I may be writing fiction and can make up the story, but other things have to be accurate although no statistics are required. Those were the olden days……..before iPhones, iPads and Uber. How did we ever survive? My grandsons here in Mexico were playing on iPads when they were toddlers. I had puzzles, board games and magic slates at that age. I wonder what’s coming next. When they grow older and think of the olden days I wonder what will be on their minds.

I was out for lunch last week with friends and somehow we got on the topic of interpreting dreams. I remember taking a course in that decades ago. It brought back a lot of crazy memories, especially when we were talking about the significance of colors. I must admit I’ve had some pretty strange dreams since we had that conversation. But no, I don’t intend to analyze them. I’m actually hoping that maybe they’ll disappear instead.

It’s Humpday and I’m rambling. So I’ll stop.

Have A Wonderful Wednesday!

Feb1

Here Comes February 2nd

Posted on by
Standard
Here Comes February 2nd

Who here remembers the sitcom Room 222? I recall watching it around 1970ish. Teaching has sure changed since back then. Of course the whole world has changed.

So the other day I went on an old sitcom binge. Unfortunately all were in English. But it was fun! Different Strokes, Facts of Life, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Three’s Company and a few more.

February 2nd is coming up. Groundhog Day up in the north. Here in Mexico it’s Dia de la Candelaria. Back on King’s Day when we had the Rosca, small plastic figures of the baby Jesus were hidden in the bread. Legend is that whoever finds them brings the tamales on February 2nd. Carole, if you’re reading this, are you bringing them to a party in Toronto?

I had a great time at Costco earlier in the week. My friends in Washington tease me when I tell them I have a membership solely to be able to buy Cheddar cheese. The stores near me have a variety of Mexican cheese but Costco is the only place with the Cheddar.

It’s getting hot again. 80s this week. Looking at the pics my friends post of snow cools me off though. I don’t miss the snow.

I start a new class online tomorrow. It will probably be the last one this winter. Once I get back to Washington fitness classes and training will occupy much of my time. And of course I’m looking forward to seeing all my friends too.

My characters are still talking to me so I’m still focused on my writing. I finally have my timeline all straightened out and that was a rather tedious task.

Constitution Day is coming up this weekend. It’s always interesting keeping up with holidays in three different countries, especially when they don’t always coincide. My province in Canada has Louis Riel day later in the month while the USA celebrates Washington’s birthday. They’re all good excuses for a long weekend.

Happy Humpday!

Nov9

Miercoles

Posted on by
Standard
Miercoles

The movies have now gone from murdering cheerleaders to selling babies. Tell me again why I watch them late at night and then sleep fitfully. But my goal is to watch five movies in Spanish a week in order to hopefully improve my comprehension of the language.

Thank you to my computer guru Laura for once again coming to the rescue. Like I’m not having problems enough adjusting to Windows 11, my taskbar disappeared last night. Of course she instantly found a link and solved my problem. While I love technology it also scares me. But my WIP is safely backed up every night onto not one but two external hard drives.

The weather here is still hot. Many of my friends back in the USA and in Canada are now dealing with that fluffy white stuff and plummeting temperatures. So I won’t complain too loudly that I’m not walking as much as I’d like to right now.

Apparently I can no longer call myself a nomad. I was talking to a friend and he remarked that I’ve gotten into a familiar pattern of dividing my time between Aguascalientes and the upper valley in Washington. And as Christina and Danny often remind me, I now have my forever home in East Wenatchee.

Two events are coming up in Mexico this month. Revolution Day is an official government holiday on November 20th. But the big one is Buen Fin, the Mexican equivalent of Black Friday in the USA. It goes from November 18th-21st.

My Uber awaits and I’m off to Ags Ladies to meet up with my friends. Today is lunch rather than breakfast.

Happy Humpday!

Jun8

Let’s Go

Posted on by
Standard
Let’s Go

Ok. I’ve been in areas and experienced tornados, hurricanes,thunderstorms and blizzards. I’ve seen hail the size of golf balls and have been caught up in flash flooding. But on Sunday I added mud slides to the list. From sunshine to rain to flooding to mud slides in a matter of minutes. Power outages affecting traffic lights and even shutting down Walmart and the movie theaters. Wenatchee was a mess!

Yesterday I was in Ellensburg. It was a gorgeous, hot and sunny day. The drive over Blewett from Leavenworth was beautiful. I never tire of driving through the mountains in Washington. The scenery is spectacular.

When I write I always have music on in the background. The latest added to my playlist is some Marianas Trench from about ten years ago. Don’t ask me why but Celebrity Status has always been one of my faves by this Canadian rock band.

The other day we went exploring at a Coastal store. My friend is an avid equestrian and showed me all kinds of saddles, chaps and other paraphernalia associated with horses. My favorite area was all the cute baby chicks in cages. Coastal also has clothing, kayaks, wood burning stoves,cowboy boots, toys, feed, outdoor furniture and so much more.

I’ve started researching my travel to Canada. Winnipeg is not the easiest city to get to from East Wenatchee. By the way, East Wenatchee and Wenatchee are two completely different cities. The former is where I live and is in Douglas County. The latter is in Chelan County.

Back to travel. Shuttle to SeaTac and two flights or an Amtrak out if Wenatchee and hope someone wants to pick me up in Grand Forks and drive me across the border. Like I told Lise the other day, maybe I should just fly there on my broom! LOL!

May29

Another Tragedy

Posted on by
Standard
Another Tragedy

A week ago at this time, millions of us in the world had never even heard of Uvalde, Texas. Now we can’t get it out of our heads. The sad part is that the focus should be on the senseless killing of innocent children and teachers, of the injured including the shooter’s own grandmother. Instead it has become a political gong show about who is to blame. This makes the tragedy even worse.

Accounts detailing the shooter’s biography are chilling. A victim of bullying. A history of violence. A son of a drug addict. And most disturbing that he legally purchased two rifles prior to the shooting and posted photos on his Instagram account.

My kids attended a private elementary school back in the 80s in Canada. The school had a security system and the doors were always locked. Here we are decades later and Robb Elementary had a door left propped open. With the track record here in the USA regarding school shootings, a door propped open during school hours? Absolutely reprehensible!

The mother instinct is a strong one. How dare they handcuff a woman who in desperation was trying to protect her children! Other angry parents begged for the Kevlar vests that the police had because law enforcement merely sat back and didn’t do anything. Perhaps more mothers are needed on the police forces.

My heart goes out to the families of the victims. I can only imagine how helpless they felt while the shooting was going on and how horrific the grieving is now that it’s over. We need to pray not only for these families, but for all of America, a country in crisis.

People First NOT Politics First.

Apr24

All About Me

Posted on by
Standard

I’ve written hundreds of blogs posts but have never done an “All About Me” post. I’m not sure just why I haven’t, but a friend called me on it the other day. So here goes.

I go by a variety of different names depending on which country I’m in or which website I’m on. I prefer to just stick to “Karen.” Here in Washington my friends have me in their contacts as “Karen Mexico” or “Karen Canada.”

I was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and lived there all my life until 2010. My son still lives there. My daughter and my four year old granddaughter live in Canada as well, in Kelowna, B.C.

In 2010 I went to Culiacan, Mexico to teach English. A family there adopted me and I am now abuelita to four nietos ranging in age from three to twelve years old.

After a year in Culiacan, I taught briefly in Irapuato before settling down in Guadalajara for four years. I called Mazatlan home for just over three years and then decided to explore more of central Mexico. After three months in San Ciro de Acosta I discovered Aguascalientes, which has been my Mexican home six months of the year since 2019.

In 2016 a friend I met in Mazatlan invited me to come visit him in Leavenworth, Washington. My two week visit turned into four months when the snow chased me back to Mexico. And that was when I turned into a snowbird, spending the other six months of the year in Washington state.

While there, I’ve lived mainly in Leavenworth with short stints in other towns. This year I’m living in East Wenatchee with my friends Christina and Danny, who tell me that this is now my “forever home.”

As far as teaching goes, I officially retired in 2016, although I had worked extremely very part-time since 2012. Occasionally I selectively take on private students, but have not taught at all since Covid arrived.

This is my sixth year as a volunteer in the SAIL program in Leavenworth where I teach fitness classes to seniors that geared towards fall prevention. Both church ministry and volunteering at the senior center ground to a halt during Covid and are just now starting up again.

I enjoy traveling both in Mexico and the USA. Last summer I took an Amtrak along the coast from Seattle to L.A. I loved it and can’t wait to plan another train trip.

I’m taking a break from Duolingo but I have my gel pens, pastels and water colors to amuse me. And I have been doing a lot of writing lately. Fiction is a new genre for me which I am enjoying immensely.

I am especially blessed to have family and a wide circle of friends in three countries. The time always fly by all too quickly before I find myself once again packing a suitcase. My days are filled with adventure and making memories.

Other trivia……I’m a Gemini, my favorite color is green, I’m a chocoholic as well as a coffeeholic and I love country music.

All About Me

Mar27

La Vida

Posted on by
Standard
La Vida

It happened again on Wednesday. Another bomb scare in Leavenworth. There was one last year too. The downtown area was closed off. Highway 2 through town was closed off. Thankfully no bomb was found on either occasion.

I live in Mexico six months of the year. My friends up north tell me I’m crazy to live there because it’s dangerous. Well, I’m up north and it’s just as peligroso up here.

One of my Canadian friends suggested it was time I move back to Canada. Not on the radar. I read the headlines in The Winnipeg Free Press, my hometown newspaper. Lots of crime there too.

Our world was going crazy long before Covid and the situation in Ukraine. Technology makes it far too easy to build bombs or create other weapons. Technology is also to blame for the increase in school shootings. Canada, you’re not far behind the USA when it comes to those either. Technology is also responsible for providing accessibility to all types of criminal activity and even providing inspiration to criminals.

Face it, people. Nowhere is safe. So we may as well get out there and enjoy life wherever we happen to live. Maybe I take it to the extreme because I travel a lot. At least I’m living life to the fullest.

Have an amazing week out there! You only live once!