What I Purchased in the USA- A Visual Representation

The number one question I was asked in Maryland- What Do You Do All Day?

Hola Amigo

We have returned to our home in Mexico with happy hearts, very full suitcases and we are both 5 pounds heavier.

I spent the following 2 days upon our return snoozing hard. Like, I took 2 naps yesterday, hard. And I still went to bed at a decent hour and slept the whole night through.

Just for the fun of it, I am going to share what I purchased in the US to bring back with me. I’m sure most of these things are available here, I am just not familiar enough with my surroundings yet to find them. So, it is just easier to buy in the US and return with them.

I knew that clothing was going to be a huge part of my purchases so I packed the bare minimum inside a small suitcase and put it inside of a large suitcase on my way there.

If you have been here for a while, you know that the majority of my clothing is deep in a storage unit and when we decided to were moving to Mexico, I packed like we were going on a beach vacation. Only short and t-shirts and a couple of dresses.

Once we landed in Utah for 3 months, big decisions were made to just move to Guanajuato (scratch the beach) and I had to buy winter clothes immediately to survive those 3 months.

So, I own beach and winter attire (not ideal).

My goal was to get cotton and linen clothing that will protect me from the strong sun which is what I should have packed in the first place! Are you taking notes?

I really don’t like sketching from real life though when I go back later and look at sketches in which I did—- I really appreciate the memory.

I procrastinated this project for the majority of the day, but hey, got a lot of reading done!

(I am taking on this sketching from real life seriously as I signed up for a class from an instructor in San Miguel De Allende next month.)

The main reason I don’t enjoy it because I feel this need for my sketches to look like the item and I don’t feel free. That has got to change. Frankly, this is my sketchbook and I shouldn’t care if it looks stellar or not. I can look at it and see my language immediately though I would tell you that it is still too tight for my 10 out 10 stars.

But the Adidas shoes and makeup palette are the cutest.

And then all these goodies made it fun to unpack - an activity I typically despise.

Did I go overboard?

Maybe— this doesn’t even include the boring stuff like cellophane art wrappers and junk mail envelopes for future collage projects.

What Do You Do All Day?

This cracks me up, but I was asked no less than 4 times, what do you do all day? You can tell that I don’t hang out with the retired crowd (though I am not retired, Keith certainly is).

Here is the answer.

I get up around 7ish and spend way too long messing around on social media while drinking coffee. If I was awesome, I would add yoga into my morning hours but I am not there yet.

I spend my mornings reading and sometimes journaling or collecting ideas for my future projects.

Sometime around 11ish (okay, noon), I am ready to start writing, so I move over to my sunroom and put some words down. I am gearing up to writing on Substack more than once a week and try to collect as many drafts as possible.

Keith and I typically try to eat an early dinner so I will prep our meal.

Then in the afternoon I head up to the studio where I will stay until it is dark doing a myriad of things. The studio is where all my art supplies are located along with 2 dog beds (the dogs are always with me.)

Once it is dark, I head back to the house and try and convince Keith to watch a show a with me (we like completely different things when it comes to TV entertainment) though I only win about half the time (any show recommendations that are great for a ‘retired’ couple?)

And frankly, I am in bed by sometimes 8:30 but typically by 9pm (OMG- I am 50 going on 90).

This is a typical day in which we don’t leave the house.

BUT, we have some new goals that involve making friends. We have moved a dozen times in our marriage and are very used to making new friends. But this move we have been much slower at going about it.

• Get out 2x a week to hang with the locals via language exchange, happy hour meet ups, art shows, etc.

• Join and support the English Library activities (readings and film screenings)

• Attend the theater at least once a month (this supports the locals and the University of Guanajuato).

• Once a quarter, take an official tour to get to know more about the culture and history (think cooking class). Last month I did an art tour with my artist friend, Maurico.

The end of each day, I typically feel accomplished and satisfied. I beat myself up a tiny bit for my morning routine, but is it worth it? Probably not. I will start doing yoga when I feel good and ready!

And that my amigo is all for now…unless my coffee runs out, in which case, send help.

PS. I am going to do some reviews of my art supplies on my IG stories this week. And then when I am done, will update my favorite art supply list.

PPS. I am creating a collage series for my paid subs that I am so excited about! It is called Junk Drawer Botanicals. Stay tuned for the first installation later this week.

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