Buenaaas! Hooo...Jorge! The call came from the street. Jorge laid down his spoon and rolled tortilla and went out through the sheet rippling in the doorway. His wife and three daughters followed him out, wondering who could be calling in the middle of the afternoon. "Hey, old friend, how's it going?" "Jorge, what's going on?…
Let’s Travel! Campeche, Campeche
Is this post cheating? maybe. I'm not doing much writing. Instead, it's an invitation for you to pack those bags and travel to one of the most iconic cities in the southeast of Mexico. Walled and fortressed against pirate attack by the Spanish, Campeche was a hexagonal shaped, compact colonial city founded in the 16th…
News Updates are Boring
But people, sometimes they're the only way to just get the info out there. So, the second week of February we were in Oaxaca. I wrote about that here. The week or so after we got back, I began having bimonthly get-togethers with the sisters. We meet and eat cake and exchange burdens and ask…
My Noisy Neighbors
I'm here in my Mayan granny rocking chair, enjoying the eye candy that is a tropical backyard. I'm also staring unashamedly at my very noisy neighbors. They don't seem to mind. There are four of them, sitting in a row on a swaying maculí branch having brazenly decided our trees are a nice place to…
The Beach
This post was written last week with the intention of posting within a few days. Then Russia invaded Ukraine and it just felt wrong to plough ahead like everything was okay. This world is not okay and as the years go by, I find myself more and more disenchanted with this side of eternity. May…
in Him is light
Every year I have this weird block when it comes to my first post. Like maybe I’m supposed to be coming up with some great inspiring saga to set us all aglow with renewed spiritual fervor. But I have no fantastic stories, no slideshow worthy presentation. So maybe it’s better to just give you what…
Starry Reflection
The oval window is restrictive. Annoyingly so. I crane my neck this way and that, trying to get a better view and mainly just succeed in hitting my forehead against the glass which is surprisingly closer than I thought, even though I’ve flown on probably hundreds of airplanes. I hope the individual behind me is…
That Feeling of Smallness
Thursday night I was getting ready for bed when David came in from several visits. “Penelope!!” he whispered lest he rouse little miss G from her light slumber. I heard his excitement but could little guess what the next words would be. “Doña I.... was saved last night during meeting.” “What?!” I replied, incredulous and…
The One Room School House
and a few other points of Interest from the Alves Home Gone are the days of my coveted slow farmhouse breakfast. I distractedly shovel some cheerios and blueberries toward the teething baby who throws most of them to the floor while banging her tray for more. My mind is on Spanish adjectives and math facts…
Hi I’m 30, plus Life Update
My desk is a mess. It's covered in cut out foam letters and stencils and scraps. There's a stack of books and an even huger one behind me. File folders and spreadsheets. Leaning against the wall is a newly framed Rand McNally Map of the World, Classic Edition. I'm wondering how this is all going…
penelope alves 