¡Buenos días a todos from the Old Pueblo! It is 7:30 am and 68F (20C) with an expected high of 91F (33C) with partly sunny skies. It is June and I am hoping for a healthy monsoon season.
I want to let all my WikiTree friends, colleagues and family know that I am thinking of all of you in Canada, the northeastern states (e.g., New York) and along the Eastern seaboard who are experiencing the effects of those horrendous wildfires. PLEASE be sure to wear N-95 masks and try to stay indoors. The last thing anyone needs is exposure to the particulate from those fires, especially if you have lung, or other respiratory complaints, sensitivity to chemicals and so forth. Now is the perfect opportunity to add to your CC7, beef up profiles, source, integrate and connect. You are in my healing intentions.
It was wonderful to spend last week with my colleagues in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico! They truly are the family of my heart! I had wonderful meals with friends, went to El Centro (a large downtown park where families gather) and enjoyed people watching. There is a family that makes my favorite drink in all the world. “Cebadinas” is made from Jamaica (hibiscus), tamarind, and a grain used in brewing. It is bright red and has the consistency of water. Before drinking, a teaspoon (or so) of baking soda is added to make it fizz and then I guzzle it down like the pig that I am. Breakfast was always fresh squeezed orange juice, and the most delicious fresh fruit (cantaloupe, watermelon, pineapple), a scrambled egg with chopped fresh tomato and avocado, and a small bolillo. Dinner, due to my gut problems was invariably sopa de pollo (chicken soup LOADED with fresh veggies). Dr. Marquez and Karla took me to the historic Hotel Leon, which I had never been to. The décor was right out of the Art Deco era and gorgeous. The food and service were outstanding. Tuesday evening my colleague Luxana and I met for research and paper writing discussions and kept an eye on the football game (oh…soccer) in the hotel sports bar. Leon beat the Los Angeles Football Club, and we celebrated with lattes (sorry LA WikiTreers).
The students in this semester’s diabetes educator program were a large and academically diverse group – nurses, physicians, nutritionists, exercise physiologists. I have gone back to demonstrating Healing Touch, an energy-based modality specific to nursing, as well as the Guided Imagery technique. The students really enjoy these. The one thing I forgot was a bag of licorice. It is uncommon in Mexico, and the flavor is difficult to describe. During the complementary and holistic practices lecture, I spent a fair amount of time on herb and drug interactions. Licorice is one of the herbs that can interact with prescription drugs, and I like the students to experience the ‘flavor,’ since they are not familiar with it.
The flights to and from Leon were not great. My Tucson to Dallas flight was delayed 2 hours (no good reason). The flight from Dallas to Leon was delayed 1 hour. On my return, the flight to Dallas was delayed 45 minutes and we had to wait on the tarmac at Dallas another ½ hour because the other flight was still at our gate! Then it was a rush to go through customs, get luggage, drop luggage for the connecting flight, go through security and head for the D to C concourse. My Tucson flight was to board in 11 minutes when I got to my connecting gate. Naturally, that flight was delayed because the crew had not arrived from Panama City, Florida. I will never understand why American made Dallas their hub when Phoenix Sky Harbor would have been a much better choice.
I had un/expected work to take care of earlier this week. I got a request to re-review a paper dealing with sleep and toxic exposures, which I agreed to do. I also got a request to review a new submission on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, which I declined because that is not an area of skill for me. I had a zoom meeting with the friend/colleague about the book chapter we are working on related to multiple chemical sensitivity and environmental/occupational exposures. Because of all this, I have not had much time to work on WikiTree, although I did add some of my daughter’s relatives over the past two days. This weekend, I will focus on updating and adding to the Baldwins of Buckinghamshire. I took on the Baldwin Name Study prior to leaving for Mexico. Instead of making demands on Sandy Patak (so she could focus on The Sentinels of Andersonville), I redid the One Name Site. It still needs some ‘sprucing up’ though.
Pip, I wish you and your wife could have joined me in Mexico. We would have had a blast. Thank you as always for being the Weekend Chat Leader! I wish all my WikiTree friends and family a great second weekend of June 2023! I missed all of you last week and thought of you during my return travel and travails from Mexico to Tucson. Again, to all of you in and near Canada, stay safe and protect yourselves from the smoke and particulate as best possible.
