Random Thursday Thoughts

Arturo left early this morning to meet with an artist in Cuernavaca - a beautiful town/city about two hours from here.  It is called the town of the "eternal Spring".  It should only take one hour to get there, but with Mexico City traffic he will be lucky to make it in two.  So the dogs and I have the house to ourselves, something I really enjoy every once in awhile.  I like to be alone and work on aprons, read, write, take the dogs for walks, and most importantly, not have to cook!  Here is an apron I just finished:

I don't have the dress form here in Mexico so it's hard to see what it really looks like.

Half of our house and garden are still under construction/remodeling.  When we first started building this house, 30 years ago, we only had enough money to build a small kitchen, one other room and a bathroom.  Our first two daughters were born in Mexico City and spent the first years of their lives in those rooms.  We had a large backyard and patio too where they could play.  We were cramped but it's strange how I didn't really mind.  In a funny way, we were cozy and had what we needed.  I won't be a hypocrite and say that I want to go back to living in just two rooms, but at the time it was okay.  But now we are 30 years older and have decided that the house needs major remodeling (through the years we built on and currently have two stories, dining room, living room and two bedrooms).  We are extending the living room - photos soon to come - and want to build a third bedroom upstairs and another bathroom.  Kitchen needs a makeover too.  And Arturo has been really working on the garden.

In the meantime, this is where I have my little office:

And I have set up my sewing machine in the dining room:

Maybe one day I will learn to take better photos!  We can only hope.

Memorial Day

Silently, one by one, in the infinite
meadows of heaven, Blossomed the
lovely stars, the forget-me-nots
of the angels.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We mustn't remember those who gave their lives for our country only on Memorial Day.  They, and their families, deserve to be thought of and remembered everyday.  As well as all who have served and are serving.

Citlali and Poukie

I want to introduce the cast of characters who live with us here in Mexico - Citlali and Poukie.  Since our daughters are adults living on their own, the only ones who agreed to accompany us to Mexico were our dogs.  They may disagree with the "agreed" part but they seem to be adjusting well to their homeland.  They are Xolozcuintls and both were born in Mexico.  They also are known as the "Mexican Hairless" breed as they have very little hair - mostly it is on their heads and feet.

 The above is Poukie.

And this is Citlali.

They love the sun, food, walks and our bed.  They hate the cold and rain.  Both are extremely spoiled (my fault mostly but they do gather around Arturo when he eats for a reason).  Poukie also loves to bark and tries to attack every dog he meets - no matter what the size of the other dog.  This makes Citlali quite nervous as they are always walked together and she has no desire to be eaten by a dog who is 10 times her size.

You will see quite a bit of Citlali and Poukie.

Happy Birthday Arturo!

To my one and only love - Happy 57th Birthday Arturo!  (Arturo, my husband, is the one on the far right.  I'm next to him and then comes Josefina, my mother-in-law and Alfonso, my brother-in-law).  I couldn't find a recent picture of Arturo because he absolutely hates to have his picture taken and after 30 years of marriage, I have exactly three photos of him smiling.  I may be exaggerating a bit but not much.

But apart from the well known fact that he is not photogenic, he is many other things - a man who loves his family, who is witty, funny, clever, loves animals and the environment, and promotes the arts (he has an art gallery and wants to open a museum in Mexico - more on that later).  Arturo can design a house and have it built to his specifications without ever having formally studied architecture.  He can fix anything just by spending some time thinking about the problem.  His mind never stops working.   And importantly for me, he always supports me in whatever crazy idea I come up with - like leaving my job as an attorney!

I love you mi vida and I hope we share many more birthdays together!

Welcome to my blog!

I've been wanting to start a blog for a long time but always came up with some excuse to postpone it. Well, no more excuses!  I'm Naomi and I'm the mother of three daughters aged 29, 28 and 23.  I've been married for 30 years, am a maker of aprons, an aspiring writer and an attorney who is not really practicing at this time.  I left my job as an attorney in Chicago a few months ago and my husband and I (and our two Mexican hairless dogs) moved to Mexico City - his birthplace.  Two of our daughters live in Chicago and the oldest is in Denver but soon will be moving to Boston.

I have an apron shop on etsy.com called CherryPieAprons.  This blog will include some of my apron making adventures, but it will focus more on life in general including making a brand new life in Mexico City.  Mexico is a beautiful, enchanting country.  It has its problems but the positive outweighs the negative.

The blog will also focus on things I love:  mysteries, animals, creating things, travelling, cooking, other sellers on etsy, and of course my family.

There are so many fascinating blogs out there!  My goal is to make mine one of those over time.  Join me on that quest!