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Category Archives: Personal
50th Wedding Anniversary in Branson, MO
Showboat Branson Belle
Cabin in the Woods
Silver Dollar City
WonderWorks
Performance of “Jesus” at the Sight and Sound Theater
Dolly Parton Stampede
The Calm after the Storm
In Oklahoma this week we have been having crazy weather with extreme thunderstorms including hail and heavy winds along with hours and hours of tornado watches and warnings. Here are some “after” pictures as we head into some sunny days and unseasonably high temperatures
My favorite shades of my favorite color!
Rains made a pond in a low spot in our backyard bringing in the ducks from a bigger pond to search for earthworms.
Whooshing sounds brought us out into our backyard. Not uncommon in NM, but I hadn’t seen any in OK.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
This week, as the holiday weeks in the U.S. come to an end, I will be putting away my Christmas decorations. May 2022 be a year of blessings, peace, and good health for you and those you love and pray for. Happy New Year!
Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop–home and business in a van
Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop
by Rebecca Raisin
Personal Note: Fall is bringing glorious temps in my area along with some hints of winter to come. Days are too short and dark is uncomfortably extended. It’s the perfect time to mix up my stringent standards of reading books, excepting book club tomes, in the order in which they were published. It’s also a good time to again acknowledge that I am fearfully behind in my reading queue, but I am gradually catching up, mainly because I am requesting about half the number of Advanced Reader Copies that I did when I lived in Mexico. What does my sudden free-spiritedness have to do with this review?
I just finished reading Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop, a fun romance and the first in a series that focuses on some nomadic souls. I’m going to jump into the next one tomorrow, soon to be followed by the third, which has a Christmas theme—perfect!
My Review: It’s Rosie’s birthday and she just turned 32. Her husband Callum has a surprise for her, but it is not a pleasant one. As the sous chef at a famous London restaurant, she works long hours, has almost total independence in creative decisions, but gets no credit for her contributions to the restaurant’s fame.
Can she be successful personally and financially as a Van Lifer, someone who lives out of a van, travelling with no schedule, following fairs and special events or his or her personal whim? Does she have what it takes to strike out on her own, preparing and selling special teas and comfort food in her tiny kitchen at these events? Can she recover from Callum’s betrayal and find love with either sensitive Ollie whom she met on the Internet or with hunky nomadic Max who draws her outside her cocoon of contentment with adventures?
I obviously enjoyed this book. Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop has romantic themes, but it also addresses the serious events that the main characters have experienced that make them the way they are. Rosie is a really nice person and all through the book I wanted only the best for her, although life doesn’t always work out that way. Rosie is a planner with OCD tendencies. She has not had much time for friendships so interacting with romance book loving, free-spirited, kind hearted Aria is a challenge. I can’t forget to mention Poppy, Rosie’s fuchsia pink van; Poppy is as important to Rosie and to the plot as any flesh and bones character! The next book in the series will focus on Aria and her Travelling Bookshop; I’m hoping for a very bookish romance with some adventure and fun thrown in as Rosie and Aria continue their Van Life travels.
I would like to extend my thanks to Edelweiss and to HarperCollins for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: 1. #1 in The Travelling Shops Series 2. When I posted my review on Amazon on 12/6/2021, the Kindle version of this book was on sale for $.99.
Publication: February 16, 2021—Harper Collins
Memorable Lines:
“The right person is out there, you just have to take the leap and find him. But first you need to figure out what makes you happy, and then have it in spades.”
“Anomaly is just another word for extraordinary, and who wants to be ordinary, anyway? To me you’re a shining light in a crowd of beige.”
And now I see with such life-altering clarity, that all those material things did the exact opposite of fulfilling me, they held me back, kept me in debt, kept me working to maintain a lifestyle that didn’t satisfy me at all.
Happy 4th of July!
Whether you call it Old Glory, the Stars and Stripes, or the Red, White, and Blue, our flag represents the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence, our founding document, was signed on July 4, 1776.
Here are some patriotic displays I saw this week walking around a subdivision in Oklahoma.
Memorial Day
Memorial Day in the United States is observed on the last Monday in May and honors those in the U.S. military who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our protection and freedom. In my mind it also honors the families who have lost their loved ones to that cause. Their lives will never be the same.
As I walked around our home in the mountains this weekend, I saw inspiring red, white, and blues in nature and am sharing them in honor of those heroes. Some of the reds have an orangish glow on the camera and the blues tend more toward purple, but we’ll use our imaginations and call it creative license.
I MISSED YOU!
Dear Virtual Friends and Book Lovers,
I have been absent for months during a huge transitional time in my life. For years we had traveled back and forth between the temperate mountains of Mexico and a cabin in the colder mountains of the Southwest. About two years ago, we pulled the plug on Mexico and bought a home in the Four Corners area, a mere two and a half hour trip between houses. The plan worked perfectly as we loved our home, our church, our friends, and our new town. Unfortunately, the state governor destroyed the economy of our town along with the rest of the state and the spirit of the people during one of the worst state lockdown regimes in the U.S. Our response has been the selling of our home, moving our goods into storage, and exploring states that value freedom and individual rights as found in the U.S. constitution. We have retreated to our cabin, made an offer on a house, and are going through the next steps.
For anyone exploring the current status of the real estate market in the U.S., you will realize what a miracle it is that we were able to get this far in purchasing a new home. In many areas, homes are selling within 24 hours of being listed and for above the asking price. My sense is that God held this particular home for a few days for us. I rely on God to guide me, and therefore my prayers are that He will not allow the deal to go to completion if it is not the right home or location. I know things will get complicated again for me personally, but right now I am enjoying a cup of tea as I watch a gentle rain outside my windows. Through God’s grace I survived a bear encounter (not attack!) yesterday while walking my dogs. Last night I worked through all my emails executing mass deletes regarding posts by fellow bloggers. I hated doing that just as I have hated not being able to keep up with your blogs. I have not accomplished much reading during this crazy time, but I have been writing reviews as I finish books and will hopefully post them in the coming days and weeks.
Happy Spring! I look forward to reading your posts and interacting as we discuss books and life!
Desde mi cabaña en las montañas hasta tu casa, ¡Feliz primavera!
Life Without My Digital Tools
I recently underwent a medical procedure that was followed up with 48 hours of no sunshine and no light from electronics. No laptop. No tablet. No smartphone. I am not addicted to social media, but all of these “no’s” translated into no email, no Internet searches, no Facebook or Instagram, no translator, no digital books, no blogging, and no Bible app with multiple versions. Those 48 hours were an eye opener into how dependent I am on my devices, and how much of my day can be spent using them. Fortunately, although I was encased in a bedroom with darkening window coverings, I was able to use incandescent lighting. I could read print books and compose blog posts in my trusty spiral notebook. For those old school tools, I am very thankful!
Where Have I Been? U.S.A. Bound!
Over the last few months, I have been implementing a huge change in my life. For the last six years, my husband and I have been living in México most of each year. We initially moved to Ajijic, Jalisco, where the climate is close to ideal. Unfortunately, it was like living in Little America, rather than México, with so many expatriates from Canada and the United States. After two years, we took the plunge and moved to the mountains of Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. We spent four years there in a quiet, rural, gated community, learned a little Spanish, and enjoyed the culture and the kind people we encountered.
Ajijic, Jalisco, México–our “yard” was a tropical garden
Our house in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, México
We are now in a different season of our lives. A four day trip with two dogs in tow, twice a year, has become increasingly difficult physically and more stressful. If you are following the news, you know that the trek is also fraught with dangers from cartel activity and random acts of violence. Mexican drivers are generally untrained and adhere to their own set of rules. My husband and I are both licensed to drive ALL vehicles in Mexico including semi-tractor trailers, merely because we paid a fee. A bribe was not involved. On our last trip north, we witnessed the aftermath of several different accidents involving multiple trucks. It was sadly clear that some drivers would not be retuning to their families—ever. Road hazards include often unmarked and unexpected speed bumps called topes on the highway, drivers converting a two-way, two-lane road into a three and a half lane road according to custom, and small herds grazing unfettered. Due to these dangers, as well as the increased potential for criminal activities, the general recommendation is to not drive at night.
So now, we anticipate winters in Farmington, New Mexico, and summers in Chama, New Mexico. To travel between houses we have a two and one-half hour drive rather than four days. We can enjoy either house whenever we choose, dependent only on snow conditions. We are already getting involved in local activities that in México we would not have participated in due to language limitations. Great shopping is available seven minutes away rather than one hour. We feel free to drive to restaurants and civic events at night.
Farmington, NM
Chama, New Mexico
Chama in the summer
We enjoyed our time in México and the everyday challenges of living in a different culture and communicating in a different language. We will miss friends we made in Ajijic and Pátzcuaro. It was not easy to arrange the movement of some possessions and decide what to leave behind. We also wanted to return with some mementos of México to decorate our new home.
I don’t know what the future holds for us. Perhaps more community and church involvement, excursions in the Four Corners area to explore ancient Native American cultures, motorcycle trips from our two home bases, time to explore our hobbies and, after life settles down a little for us and for some of the countries we would like to visit, maybe some trips abroad. Argentina has terrific Italian food!
The border
I did a happy dance and a cheer as I crossed the international border and felt the immediate relief of having survived the journey and the elation of being home again. It was an oddly different feeling from returning to the U.S. for a few months as in the past. “Welcome home,” the border seemed to say: home, sweet home.
To my fellow bloggers:
I was more or less (más o menos) without Internet for a month during this transition. Internet was installed for us about a week ago. I have over 600 emails to deal with, and I have only rarely been able to post on my blog. Even my reading has slowed way down. Please forgive my absence, and be patient as I try to establish a new normal at the same time that I review books I have already committed to. I am looking forward to reading your posts and reviews again. I will still occasionally write posts about my experiences in México and my views on education.
As a bellwether for my productivity in the immediate future, I should note that I started writing this post a week ago. Much to my frustration, life has not settled down yet as we still have purchases to make, installations to schedule, and so many decisions to make. I must declare, however, that all of this is easier in my home language, and I am enjoying that change.
Trip North of the Border
Bienvenido a Casa!
Welcome Home!
This little lady and about 20 more greeted us on our arrival at our cabin in Northern New Mexico last week.
We have returned a little early due to some events north and south of the border. It is not the pretty scene of midwinter with everything covered in a white snowy dress. The display is piles of dirty snow, some ponds where there were none, and muddy areas with deer prints. Although it is not pretty, it is a welcome relief from the drought of recent years. As soon as the temps rise, we should see a lot of green as the trees and grass spring to life.
But backtracking a little, we had four long days of travel with 2 dogs in tow to get from the middle of Mexico to Northern New Mexico. We spent 3 hours inching along in our manual transmission pickup at the border crossing into the U.S. Here are a few pictures of the Plaza de las Culturas (Plaza of Cultures) as you exit Mexico at Tres Piedras to cross over into Eagle Pass. We have crossed there before, but I hadn’t really noticed the replicas of ancient temples, because in the past we had zipped right past them.
One highlight of the trip for me was the small Texas town of Eldorado. On our trips from New Mexico to east Texas, we have fun finding the doughnut shops as we pass through little towns. We don’t eat at all of them, but Eden, for example, has delicious fresh doughnuts. On this trip, the doughnut shop in Eldorado appeared to be closed. As my husband turned around to tell me the bad news, a sheriff’s vehicle pulled in. We had a friendly conversation, and he shared that the doughnut shop was now part of the liquor store in town. He not only gave us directions, but when I pulled out to go there, I found he was at the stop light waiting for us and gave us an escort! As in many small towns, for purposes of survival, the shop (called A’s) was not only a doughnut and liquor store but also a short order grill and convenience store with some of the nicest owners you would want to meet. Texas friendliness at its best!
As we were leaving town, we pulled over for GPS adjustments and I hopped out and snapped some gorgeous
Bluebonnets!
As my lack of inactivity on my own blog and those I follow demonstrates, the last few weeks have been hectic–preparing for the trip, making the journey, and transitioning into life in the U.S. again. I am so far behind, that I will probably alleviate the stress of unread blogs by deleting most of my email notices. My apologies. The good news is that, perhaps, due to a new tower and Internet provider in my rural area, I may actually have a good connection this summer. I am currently using a loaner device and it is fabulous. Under past “normal” conditions, I would be unable to make this blog post. If my actual connection is only half of what I am currently getting, I will still be happy. I find I have less time in the U.S. for reading and reviewing as I have a different lifestyle here, but the future looks bright!
education pathways 