Last Four Days Without Maggie

—Blogpost written by Bob 

In this blogpost, we continue our 6-month winter excursion in Mexico.  We arrived by car on October 15 in San Miguel de Allende, traveling from near Annapolis, Maryland where we live on our sailboat.  This blogpost described my last four days without Maggie (she was in the U.S.) in early January 2022 in San Miguel de Allende.  (At the end of January we will be moving to Bucerias near Puerto Vallarta, on the coast, for our last two months in Mexico.)

Saturday, January 8

In the morning after feeding the cats and having a light breakfast myself, our cats joined me in bed for an early morning nap.  Lola slept up near my face while Kali groomed herself near my feet.  (Since day one, Lola has been very close to me!)

Kali's morning grooming routine.

I decided to leave the apartment today and go out for lunch.  I got a very tasty club sandwich at the Food Factory—the cost was 175 Mexican pesos (a little less than $10 US).  The Food Factory mainly serviced gringos which is why it was more expensive than most nearby (Mexican) restaurants.  However, my mood today was for a “familiar” meal—not Mexican.

Flan for dessert.

A pretty woman on a bench in
front of a mural at Fabrica
de Aurora.

My daily companion,
camera and lens.

Many times since being here I wished that I had brought a good pair of sneakers (and a sweatshirt, down vest, etc.) along with me.  Perhaps the reason I didn’t was because my sneakers didn’t fit that well.  (One of the first things I plan to do at home is to buy a pair of good-fitting sneakers—I’ve been shopping online for them but I won’t buy them from here.)

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I checked in at the Aurora office of  La Conexion while I was out and about since I was expecting two packages from the U.S.: (1) a used GPS unit for our car purchased on eBay and (2) a stand for my iPad purchased on Amazon.  They had already closed for the day (Saturday) at 1 PM.  Again today, I was back at the apartment by 3 PM.

Sunday, January 9

Today was a lazy day of sorts--I DID get out of the apartment around mid-day!  I drove to La Comer (the supermarket, but I still forgot cat food and a pizza cutter!) and then I went out to lunch at Pizza Guy.

When I sat down for lunch today at Pizza Guy, the waitress automatically brought me a Coca-cola light.  I didn’t even realize how habitual I have become (at least in my eating habits).  The proprietor greeted me at the door and asked about Maggie’s (COVID) improvement.  (I’m going to miss this restaurant!)

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Maggie has been gone (back in the U.S.) now for two weeks--today, I was really feeling lonely.  I played some of my favorite songs on my iPad. 

 

K.D. Lang singing
Hallelujah

I have four all-time favorite songs:  (1) "Hallelujah", composed by Leonard Cohen--the version sung by K.D. Lang, (2) "Love of my Life", composed by Queen--the cover by Martina Lynn, (3) "All I Ask of You", from Phantom of the Opera, and (4) Rainbow Connection. music and lyrics by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher--the version sung by Sarah McLachlan.

Monday, January 10

The day started out for me at 8 AM.  After feeding "los gatos", I washed the dirty dishes that were in the sink from yesterday.  The maid comes today.  (We're going to miss having a maid!)  Again today, I have no agenda.  I've been keeping up with my grocery list and will be driving to La Comer again tomorrow.  (We need cat food again and I have a few other items on my grocery list.)

Sweet and tangy oatmeal
for breakfast

I decided to make oatmeal for a late (9:30 AM) breakfast this morning  I followed a recipe I found on line but then made my own adjustments.  I used 1/2 milk and 1/2 water for the liquid and then I added about a half teaspoon of (Mexican) vanilla, two packets of Splenda, cinnamon, and dried cranberries.  I cooked it for 15 minutes (three times the time called for in the recipe) on low heat, stirring frequently.  (The Splenda provided the "sweet" and the dried cranberries made it "tangy.")

Kali was in an extremely loving
mood this morning.

Kali was in one of her loving moods this morning as she sat on the desk beside me and my laptop.  She walked all over my laptop keyboard and nudged me (not so casually) for attention.  What she lacked in pretty markings, she certainly made up for in personality.  (She is the most affectionate cat I have ever been around.)

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I felt a sort of nervousness today, anticipating Maggie's return tomorrow--it was a good nervousness.  (She is expected to return tomorrow night about 9 PM.)

Tuesday, January 11

In the morning, I drove to La Comer (the supermarket).  Traffic was very light, probably because of the Tuesday Market in progress.  I got back to the apartment at about 12:30 and then walked to La Aurora (El Grandpa & Son) for lunch.

The atmosphere surrounding my lunch.  I
looked onto the dining area of the
Food Factory (next door) while I
ate lunch at El Grandpa & Son.

Between lunch (a cheese steak) and dessert (a brownie with ice cream), I enjoyed the moment—the sounds, and the cool breeze amidst the warm afternoon sun. 

My dessert consisted of a brownie freshly
cooked in a little cast iron pan with
melting vanilla ice cream on top!

My goal for the day (a trip to La Comer) had already been accomplished and all I had to do was wait patiently for Maggie to arrive in the late evening.  For some reason I was still nervous—it was more like anxiety than nervousness.

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I received a text message from Maggie that her flight had safely landed in Mexico City—only a 3.5-hour bus ride ahead of her, after a several hour wait in the bus terminal.  (The bus service in Mexico is great!  It is a luxury service—not how you tyically think about bus service in the U.S.  The cost of the bus trip was only $25 USD.)

Sweeteners on the table
at the restaurant.

From the restaurant, I leisurely walked home and fed “los gatos” right away—they have been getting a half-meal in the afternoon.  They were waiting for me at the door.  It was about 2:30 PM, well before my habitual 3 PM return time.  

Kali and Lola waiting for me just
inside the front door. (I didn't
have the f-stop high enough
for this image since Kali
was out of focus.)

I cleaned up our apartment a bit, showered and shaved, washed the dirty dishes in the sink, and made the bed before I sat with my laptop and worked on this blogpost.  (At this point, I had 6 hours to wait for Maggie's return...)

Maggie finally arrived home at 9:30 P.M.!!!

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