Moving Day

Hello everyone!

Yesterday, we made a special trip out of town. Our dear family friend is getting married, and he needed our help getting his home ready for his fiancee to move in! She can't move in right away because her lease is not up and she would incur a stiff charge if she were to break it now, but he wanted to set up a room for her so she would have a place to stay when she came over.

Our friend lives in Green Valley, which is a suburb of Tucson, AZ. I'd seen the town on maps many times, but I'd never been there. I never had much of a reason to go because the town is largely a retiree community. When our friend called us to ask for help, I immediately said yes. I wasn't sure how much I'd be able to help since I'd have the baby in tow, but I went along for the ride as much as anything. Also, since his fiancee would be there, I knew she'd be happy to see the baby and play with her for a bit.

Green Valley pecan orchard

The trip there was relatively uneventful. I never knew exactly what lay south of the Desert Diamond Casino on the Nogales Highway prior to yesterday, but there we were, cruising south past the casino and the local missile plant Raytheon. There was also a Thai Buddhist temple perched on a hill among a smattering of trailer parks, mom-n-pop businesses and semi-rural scrubland. From there, the scene morphed into pecan orchards as far as the eye could see. I knew that southern Arizona had quite a few pecan orchards as there was one I used to pass between Marana and Eloy when traveling up to Phoenix with my brother during our college days. As we wound our way through the orchards and into suburban consumerama, I marveled at how large they were, but also how much water these trees required. I thought Arizona was too dry to sustain large-scale agriculture like this. Guess not.

Once a major thoroughfare, Nogales Highway has seen better days

We would have arrived at our friend's home sooner, were it not for a poorly labeled sign for the frontage road pointing to the highway entrance instead of the actual road. Naturally, we followed it only to realize we were going south on the highway. After cursing a blue streak, my husband and I got off at the next exit and pulled into a nearby Safeway. My husband needed to use their WiFi, and cool his temper for a bit. After a few minutes in there with his computer, we had a better map and could actually navigate our way back to our friend's home. Since suburbs are never aligned on the grid pattern the way cities are, we had to go back on the highway and get off at the previous exit. We finally made it to our friend's home just before noon.

Playing with a drink coaster, just like mommy did at that age too

While my husband helped our friend move some furniture around the house, the baby and I kept his fiancee entertained. She was delighted to play and sing French nursery rhymes to the baby, but I didn't enjoy her company as much as usual. I unfortunately caught the baby's cold so not only did my sinuses feel like they were full of concrete, but I dealt with waves of nausea and being lightheaded on and off all afternoon. We had pizza for lunch, but later on after I got home, the nausea finally won. I suspect the slightly-undercooked pizza had something to do with it, but my husband ate it and he was fine! As usual, a good night's sleep did wonders for me and I felt much better today.

Despite my poor health that day, I did manage to enjoy the trip. I got to see our friend's home for the first time and expand my local geography a bit. I expect this won't be the last time we visit them. Our friend's fiancee was planning a birthday get-together for us because our friend and my hubby both share June birthdays (on different days, though). She hasn't set a date yet, but she'd call and let us know when she did. I'm eagerly anticipating this get together.

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Good Friday

A blessed Good Friday to you all, dear readers!

Despite our best efforts, my family and I were unable to go to Good Friday Mass since our bout of the norovirus still has us feeling a little off. Successfully, we were able to go to Stations of the Cross at our other Carmelite church. This is always an event we look forward to because the procession goes around the property and its very involving.

I got many pix of the procession, though not at all the stations. It was quite lovely to do this little procession on one of the holiest days of the year.

The altar of repose, where the Eucharist is placed to symbolize Jesus' burial

First station, led by our homeboy padre (in red stole) and two guest Carmelite brothers from the seminary in California

Carrying the cross

Our padre invites the men in the crowd to join in carrying the cross

My hubby is at the front of the cross, barely visible from this shot

Second station, hubby (in headband) holding up the cross

Third station. The man in suspenders is a visiting priest from the UK, though he's in plainclothes today.

Our padre invites the women to carry the cross. I'm at the end in the white shirt and black-and-white hat.

Me helping to hold up the cross at the Fourth station

Our homeboy padre leads the kids in carrying the cross

The youth/young adult group carry the cross

Eleventh station. We sang the Salve Regina at this station since our padre had been leading us in a Rosary in addition to the traditional prayers and this was the end of the Rosary

Thirteenth station. Almost done

Hubby helps carry the cross inside to the Fourteenth and final station.

As an added bonus, we got to show our homeboy padre our cholomobile. He was pleased to see it since a vehicle of that vintage would have been a common sight in his childhood. He gave us a blessing and we went on our way. It would have been nice to stay for Mass, but we were totally beat. That being said, it was nice that the Mass was gonna be in the evening, unlike the absurd morning hours which were set for the Stations and Mass at the Latin Mass church. If we had been in better health, we definitely would have stayed for the Mass.

After we got home and ate fish for dinner, hubby and I put the baby to sleep and watched "The Passion of the Christ". This is an annual tradition of ours that began on Easter weekend in 2012, before we were married and were still in the friendship stage of our relationship. This movie is also tied to our relationship because it was after we finished watching this movie that I asked my then-friend now husband why he'd never been married and he responded that he'd prayed for a wife but she never came. It was then that a voice, completely unprovoked, came into my head which asked "what if I'm meant to be your wife?" That question would be answered over the course of the next few months, but it was the beginning of my first real relationship and my liberation from my family.

Have a blessed Good Friday and Easter weekend.

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Palm Sunday

Happy Palm Sunday, dear readers!

Today marks the start of Holy Week, a week of intense prayer, fasting and abstinence as a means of preparation for Easter. On this day, we commemorate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem where He was greeting with palms and shouts of joy. His fellow Jews thought He was going to liberate them from the Romans and upon realizing that was not what Jesus was about, they had Him executed a few later on Good Friday. It's quite bipolar when you think about it, how quickly He went from being celebrated to crucified. It really gives an insight into the mindset of humanity post-Original Sin, as Canon Bill phrased it during his sermon today.

Daddy and the baby, looking cute for church

As is customary, we got palm leaves and went on a procession around the church. It was nice to be able to witness our faith being displayed for all to see.

Follow the priest and altarboys!

Canon Bill (in red) and the altar boys leading the procession

The choir

Kids with palms

Home stretch towards the front

Follow the leader

This part is where the priest and the choir recreate a dialog between the Roman guards and Joseph of Aramathea to seal the tomb where Jesus is laid

Back inside. Notice how the statues are shrouded. This is done during Holy Week as for devotions and the statues are then unveiled during the Easter Vigil Mass.

Canon Bill reads the Gospel.

This was also the first day we got to drive our cholomobile to our Latin Mass church and show it off to our friends and fans there. There was another debut too-we finally upgraded the baby's car seat from the baby carrier to a proper forward-facing car seat. We knew the time had come when the baby's feet started hanging over the edge of the carrier and it was getting harder to buckle her in. Since the carrier has been retired, she now gets to ride sitting up and facing forward in the stroller like a big girl.

In Arizona, primo parking is wherever there is shade. Our cholomobile is in primo parking under the palo verde tree

Cruising in style like a big kid

Unfortunately, the baby became very fussy during Mass so we had to go up to the kiddie ghetto. It was just as well that we did, because my husband spotted an ex-associate of his tailing along at the end of the procession and going up into the kiddie ghetto was the most convenient way to get away from her. This is not the first time this woman, or another crazy person from my husband's past showed up at our Latin Mass church, likely to spy on him. The University draws alot of people like them to the area, but I also think of the Parable of the Two Churches. Where God is present, the devils swarm like flies because He is there.

After Mass, we joined our longtime family friend at a nearby Waffle House for brunch. This may be the last brunch we all have together because a serious issue that had previously been quietly simmering in the background with our relationship is beginning to become more and more prominent. My husband is doing a novena to the Holy Spirit to discern how to proceed with this matter, but it will have to be confronted soon. For now, however, we wait and pray.

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St. Patrick's Day

Hello again, dear readers!

Owing to my husband's Irish heritage, something which he is proud of, today we celebrated St. Patrick's Day. This day is also special to my husband because this is his saint's day (he took the name Patrick for his Confirmation in honor of his heritage and the San Patricio Battalion in Mexico).

All dressed in green

I'd planned to do my makeup with green eyeshadow, something I don't normally wear because I'm not a big fan of the color green, but I had to forgo that because the baby woke up at the crack of dawn and JUST WOULD NOT GO BACK TO SLEEP! So, I pulled out whatever green clothes I could find in my closet (an olive-green Marines tshirt and camo pants) and called it good enough. Fortunately, the baby had a shirt with shamrocks on it and a white bow to match. Her hair is long enough now to start wearing clips.

Full view of the baby's shirt. It says "Daddy's Little Shamrock"

After going to the clinic, Mass, and running a few errands, we got home and I began tonight's dinner of traditional corned beef and cabbage. Unfortunately, we're too broke to afford the Guinness that would have gone great with this meal right now, so that will have to wait. This is the first time we've ever had corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day because I traditionally went vegetarian during Lent. This year was the exception because I'm exempt from fasting due to being a nursing mother.

Work in progress. It smells delicious.

Unfortunately, the biggest pot we have was too small to fit everything I wanted in it. I got the corned beef roast in, but I could only fit in half the head of cabbage because I also added some red potatoes and kale. It's still cooking now, but it will be good once finished.

After the baby goes to sleep, I may do a henna tattoo for St. Patrick's Day. I'll do one for both myself and my husband because he has an aversion to body art, even temporary body art in places that can't be seen. I have something in mind with a four-leaf clover with trinity Celtic knots in the leaves as well as some deer in honor of a legend associated with St. Patrick, but I'm not sure how this will turn out. This will have to undergo some revisions before I get a final idea.

An idea. This is from a local St. Patrick's Day parade committee. Pic found here

One thing I was glad to see was that this past weekend, the city of Tucson held their annual St. Patrick's Day parade. It may surprise you to learn that this largely Mexican city was founded in 1775 by an Irishman who served in the Spanish military named Hugh O'Conor. Yes, my adopted home city is about as old as the continental United States and while its name is a hispanicized version of a Native Tohono-O'odham word, it has an Irishman to thank for its formal existence despite the area being inhabited by various Native groups over the millenia.

And that was how I spent my St. Patrick's Day holiday.

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The Taquero

Greetings!

Here's something to make your mouth water:

Support your local establishments. This torta (top) and taco plate were from a nearby taqueria

http://www.buzzfeed.com/norbertobriceno/tacos-tacos-tacooooos?utm_term=.hbqm7pNNR

In English, a "taquero" is someone who makes tacos. They can be found in food trucks or taco stands and are renowned for whipping up delicious down-home food. Here in Arizona, taqueros and their ventures are dime a dozen. Their tacos are a great fill for cheap (often less than $1!).

My time here in Arizona has spoiled me. Why should I patronize chains like Taco Bell and Chipotle when there are places nearby where I can get REAL Mexican food? That right there is an incentive to keep me here in Arizona for the foreseeable future. I've become accustomed to spice and would hate to move someplace where what passes for Mexican food is bland and corporatized.

Enjoy the article, and thank your local taqueros for the delicious work they do.

The Stairs

Happy Monday!

My husband had a long and busy day today. What was he doing?

He was building stairs to the front door!

Work in progress

This project was something that needed doing, but hadn't been completed due to lack of funds for material and time. After my relatives visited us two weeks ago, the material issue was solved when my mom bought all sorts of lumber, hardware, and tools for my husband for the honey-dos around the home. My grandma's complaints about how "wobbly" the stairs were, plus a letter from the sleazy park management to all the tenants telling people to cover their trailer hitches and put handrails on steps with more than three risers or else the insurance company would refuse to renew coverage on the place, gave new urgency to this project.

Unlike the hack-job steps that were present when we first moved into this trailer, the previous stairs to our trailer were not poorly made. My husband takes pride in his work so that even temporary (re: mostly long-term) fixes are done well. Were they a bit loose? Kind of, as it was a small step-stool he made and then drilled into the soffet below the front door.

Starting at 10AM, my husband put his new tools and lumber to use. Thank goodness it's FINALLY starting to cool down a bit here in Arizona, so he wasn't toiling in the blazing heat and sun. The clouds helped, though there were a few quick splurts of showers that buzzed through which delayed progress a bit but not by much. As he worked, my husband had me walk up and down the stairs to check distances. He'd planned for two steps, but after I had to stretch to avoid falling into the gap between what was supposed to be the top step and the threshold of the door, he put in a top step. It meant now that a handrail would have to be added, but they were now much safer.

We can make a ramp out of this if needed

All done! Kitties must inspect the final result and approve of it!

By about 4PM, the stairs were finished. They looked beautiful as he'd carefully measured and cut the wood, and the steps themselves were flat enough for a board to be laid on top of them for a ramp if need be. The new stairs are much more sturdy and stable, all up to code for any nosy insurance agent who inspects it.

My husband being a meowl

I'm so proud of my husband. The fact that he can build/fix things is one big reason why I married him. That is a rare skill to find in someone nowadays.

Goodnight and sweet dreams, everyone!

Special Delivery

Today, the delivery driver arrived with a package from my mom. I'd been alerted to this a few weeks ago when my mom emailed me letting me know that my grandmother had purchased some goodies for the baby and was going to mail them to me.

So when the box finally arrived, I was anxious to see what was inside.

-

I tried to lay everything as flat as I could. Not easy when you're holding a baby in one arm!

Prebaka (Serbian for "great-grandmother") was generous! These are mostly toddler size (the romper, the purple dress, and the Disney jammies), whereas the two-piece sets in the back are 9 and 18 month sizes, respectively. The bib and bows were the best part. I'm gonna have one stylish kid!

Aside from the goodies, the only other thing in the package was a copy of jury summons that arrived for me at my family's home. Apparently, the State of Illinois hasn't gotten the memo that I've moved to Arizona and have not lived in Illinois since 2012. Oops! Fortunately, I don't think this will be much of an issue and can be resolved with a simple phone call sometime before the end of the week (the summons date isn't until the end of September, so I have plenty of time).

Hope you all had a good day. Stay blessed!

A Day at the Swap Meet

This past Saturday, we decided to finally take a trip we'd been planning to do for a while, but hadn't been able to accomplish (mostly due to weather, but other stuff played a part too). It was time to introduce our baby to a Tucson classic, the Tanque Verde Swap Meet.

From the large koi pond near the entrance

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, a swap meet basically is a giant open-air yard sale where people bring stuff to sell for cheap. Another name for a swap meet is "flea market", perhaps a more familiar term. Anyone can do it, and all that's needed to reserve a spot is a $15.00 sellers permit which is purchased at the entrance.

Sign high up reads "Yard sale with us! $15", while the stands in the foreground sell kettle corn and Sonora dogs

After parking not in the zoo of a lot, but across the street in the industrial park, we made our way to the entrance. It was a busy Saturday, with plenty of families enjoying the evening.

I made the mistake of parking in the parking lot the first time I drove here. Never again...

Play area for kids near the entrance

Our first stop was to a discount book seller. My hubby insisted on going in there not only because he is a bibliophile, but he is on a never-ending quest to find a Douay-Rheims Catholic bible in hard copy. He insists on getting one that's NOT Challonaire or Haydock annotated, but the original without any "protestant" translations (and he uses a line from the Gospel of Matthew as his litmus test). It bugs me when he does that because my husband HAS a Douay-Rheims bible in soft copy, and for someone who hates paper (most of his literature is in PDF form anyway), this is one paper book he wants to acquire at all cost.

While we've purchased bibles from this particular vendor in the past, she did not have his elusive bible. Much to my delight, however, were the Little Golden Books she had available for sale. As a child, I had many of these books, with their distinctive gold spines and memorable characters. I no longer have the books of my youth, but I remembered some of the titles, so I was able to buy a bunch of them for the baby. My hubby also had a number of Little Golden Books when he was a kid too, and he encouraged me to buy as many as I could. Though she's a bit young now, there will be no shortage of books for our child to read.

So help us God, there is no reason why our child should become illiterate

After the book vendor, we just walked around, seeing what people had for sale. Since I had the baby stroller, I couldn't go into the displays to see the wares more closely due to the stroller being bulky.

Funny signs for sale

Most of the stuff was just junk, but occasionally something interesting caught my eye. I was tickled to death to see how much counterfeit makeup was on sale. I've been wanting the Naked eyeshadow palettes for some time and the ones being sold at the swap meet were significantly cheaper than buying them directly from Urban Decay website. They were some pretty good knockoffs too; if I didn't spend so much time on beauty and makeup blogs, I might not have known that Urban Decay was putting out palettes like Naked 5 and 6 with the US Capitol building emblazoned on it (hint: THOSE WERE FAKE!!). There were also some pretty dubious MAC eyeshadow palettes too. As much as I love makeup (eyeshadow in particular) and cheap prices, there are some things I'd rather buy through reputable channels than risk something grisly happening cuz I bought a knockoff.

There are a few established vendors at the Tanque Verde Swap Meet. They're largely Mexican establishments selling everything from jewelry to leather goods and shoes, to religious items, clothes, toys, and cell phones. Some, mostly owned by whites or in a few cases, Blacks, sell weapons (mostly knives) and incense or knick-knacks. An Indian family owned a large stretch of lots that sold clothes, carpets, bedding, and toys. Meeting that particular family proved to be quite fortuidous, as the first time I went to the Swap Meet was while I was in college, and I was wearing a sari I'd just purchased from a costume shop. One of the proprietors of that stretch of shops, seeing my outfit, told me where I could find a top for the sari when I mentioned that I was looking for one. He also gave good deals on Catholic-themed clothing featuring saints and Lady Guadalupe t-shirts. I wear the Lady Guadalupe t-shirts he sold me to church every Sunday.

As for the big highlight of the night, it had to have been when my husband encountered a "Good Ol' Boy" selling Confederate memorabilia. Since that one cracker in South Carolina shot up a Black church in May, Confederate flags have been all but banned. The toothless vendor emphasized how hard it was to get Confederate memorabilia nowadays, but happily sold a flag and "Forget Hell" license plate to my husband. Being a born-and-bred Southerner, Confederate memorabilia is something my hubby wanted to have as a reminder of home.

Whenever we go to the Swap Meet, I always try and get an elote. An elote is a type of Mexican street food that is made with corn, mayonnaise, sea salt, lime juice, and topped with dried cheese. Elotes can be served as an intact corn-on-the-cob, or as a coctel (in a cup). It's fine on its own, but I always add a hearty dollup of chamoy (a multipurpose Mexican hot sauce that goes with fruit as well as other dishes) and some chili flakes to give it some flavor.

Elote. It's like a corn soup

As I enjoyed my elote treat, we sat at some picnic tables and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the Swap Meet.

The "supermoon"

Finally, it was time to go home. The baby enjoyed the sights and sounds of the Swap Meet too, but she was worn out by the trip.

The playground

Saying bye-bye to the fishies in the koi pond

Exit sign