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Monthly Archives: February 2022

Thru Ellen’s Lens: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

10 Thursday Feb 2022

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Agnacio Allende House, Dolores Hildago, El Centro, El Jardin, Guanajato, Heritage Sites, Jimmy Ray Chapel & Gallery, Monumento Al Pipila, Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, San Miguel, San Miguel de Allende, San Miguel de Viejo

For not the first time in the last two years, the pandemic interrupted our overseas travel. On deck for January ’22 was a winter train trip (and Northern Lights photography) across northwest Russia to the Scandinavian Arctic. (We know. We know. It’s crazy to do a winter train trip in that part of the world.)

So we pivoted to a warmer January trip…to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico (SMA) where we had been four years earlier with cousins and other friends. We quickly rented a house for two weeks in the El Centro area of this World Heritage site, invited some friends to join us for parts of the two weeks, and gladly escaped the winter weather in DC.

We found SMA every bit as delightful as we remembered. And although we knew we were taking a heath risk to do this trip, we found – to our delight and relief – that everyone was fully-masked all the time, that workers stood outside of the famous markets to squirt your hands with sanitizer, and that everyone took the health precautions far more seriously than what we have experienced in any of our US travels.

After settling into a lovely house a few blocks from El Jardin, the major square in the city, we embarked on our exploration of SMA. Ellen had planned one major activity for each day – a walking tour of the city, a driving and walking tour of the murals in Barrios of SMA, a trip to small towns outside of SMA, a visit to the Jimmy Ray Chapel & Gallery, another day trip to the town of Dolores Hidalgo, a full day trip to the town of Guanajuato (also a World Heritage site), cooking lessons, including a trip to a local market with a wonderful chef (David Jahnke) and a lot of time for just wandering the streets of SMA.

The daily temps were in the mid 70s and the evenings were in the 50s. In addition to the planned activities, Ellen focused on photography, so to speak, spent some time in the local shops, and did a bit of sunbathing. Richard hung out on the fourth floor rooftop balcony, reading (and occasionally sleeping) and did purchase a used sombrero to add to his hat collection from near and far lands.

Of course, we ate at a number of restaurants, some with wonderful rooftop views of the city, some with courtyards, and some with just a few tables. There are so many truly enticing places to choose to eat, the main trouble was deciding which ones to try. (Everyone we talked to and every travel guide or internet site seemed to have a different list of the best places to eat.) Our most memorable meals were with the teaching chef and leisurely lunches or dinners with long time friends.

While Ellen doesn’t think that cities, or street photography, is her thing, you’ll find some lovely photos of all we saw: the cities, churches, the small towns we visited, and their intriguing windows and doors; the intriguing colors and intricacies of the market displays; the people who live in this town doing every day things: and generally the slightly seedy-old-world quality of San Miguel that still exists today. We both found the nighttime in the city magical, and Ellen was able to capture some of that as well.

San Miguel de Allende is indeed and continues to be a precious, small gem.

What you see below are 11 photos from a 59 photo slide show that Ellen has put together after culling from the more than 800 photos she took.

San Miguel de Allende Calle El Centro

San Miguel Street Scene at Night

Overlooking the City of Guanajuato from the Hilltop Monumento Al Pipila

Window at a (former) Convent in SMA Church

Impromptu Dancers in El Jardin, SMA

Colors and Door in SMA

Antíguo Templo de Cruz del Palmar
Colorful Walls in the City of Dolores Hildago
Inside Ignacio Allende House, SMA
Relox Street, Walking Each Day to El Jardin
Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel at Dusk

To see more photos, use this link to Ellen’s slide show: San Miguel de Allende, January 2022.

For the best viewing, click on the little arrow at the top right of the first page of the link to start the slide show.

See all the photos in the largest size possible (use a laptop or desktop computer if you have access to either). They are much sharper, and the larger format presents them in much more detail than the ones above, or if you only look at the opening page of the slide show.

PS.1 – For restaurant recommendations, see the Comment section of this post.

PS.2 – For Ellen’s list of other recommendations – shopping, art, touring, send me an email (Samesty84@gmail.com).

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“I Used to Be a Human Being” – Andrew Sullivan

06 Sunday Feb 2022

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, Escapes and Pleasures, Family and Friends

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Addiction, Andrew Sullivan, Facebook, Instagram, Living-in-the Web, New York Magazine, Smart Phones, The WEb, Twitter, Withdrawal

I recently came across a lengthy article by Andrew Sullivan I had read more than five years ago about being “a very early adopter of what we might now call living-in-the-web.”

See: I Use to Be a Human Being, by Andrew Sullivan, Sept. 19, 2016. New York Magazine. (If you are unable to open and read it, please let me know. I can paste it into an email.)

Upon my initial reading, it led to, though was not the total reason for, my withdrawal from Facebook. Now, upon rereading it five years later, it is leading to my withdrawal from Instagram and Twitter.

Sullivan nailed many of the factors in the addictive nature and power of the Web, Smart Phones, and similar devices and activities. Now, five years later, there is even more evidence of the negative impacts of what this is doing to us as individuals and as a society.

I am not withdrawing totally from that world (mainly the prime social media platforms). I will continue to use it for some connections and communications with others (i.e., MillersTime, The Family Foundation, Inc., email) and to keep in touch with many of my areas of interest – news, sports, weather, travel, etc. I hope, however, that I can significantly reduce the time I am involved with the iPhone and the time I spend on the Web.

Like many addictions, this one is powerful and perhaps more intense than any of us realize.

My hope is that I can get more control over it, spend less time with it, and when doing so, use it for its best attributes

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A Reader’s Suggestion & “The Beauty of What Remains”

04 Friday Feb 2022

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, Family and Friends

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Ageing, Atul Gawande, Being Mortal, Death & Dying, Grief and Pain, Joan Chittister, Joy and Comfort, Loss, Steve Leder, The Beauty of What Remains, The Gift of Years

A contributor to the 2021 MillersTime Favorite Reads recently wrote me with the following thought and idea:

Here’s a thought (more work for you): what about a corner on MillersTime like “staff picks” at Politics & Prose where we can post during the year, between the twice yearly list, when we want to share a book of exceptional interest? 

I love that idea.

I like not waiting until midyear or the end of the year, often by which time it is easy to forget something I read much earlier in the year that was “of exceptional interest.”

So this is what I’ve decided, thanks to FH’s suggestion:

Whenever you finish a book that fits into the category of “exceptional interest,” please consider sending me (Samesty84@gmail.com) the title, the author, a description of what you just read, and why that book was particularly special for you.

Whenever I have three or four submissions, contributions, I will post what I have received. I foresee possibly doing this once a month if there are sufficient submissions.

And feel free to contribute to this new portion of MillersTime as frequently as you want with something you want to share with others

In light of that, I write below about a book I just finished that was a favorite read from 2021 from CL and for me fits into this category of “exceptional interest.”

The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift by Steve Leder

It’s only the beginning of February, and I have what will undoubtedly be one of my favorites for 2022.

Leder’s book is one that I will reread as I do with two others that have similarities to this one. (The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully by Joan Chittister and Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande.)

This book is about aging, death and dying, loss and grief, and pain.

It is also a book about joy and comfort.

Leder has been a rabbi for more than 30 years at Wilshire Temple in Los Angeles and literally has sat by more than a thousand death beds and officiated at many of the ensuing funerals.

Yet it took the death and loss of his own father before Leder was able to write this book and to understand that what he thought he knew about loss and grief was in fact INcorrect.

He takes us on a journey through loss and grief that is inspiring and comforting, filled with wisdom of the ages but also his own journey of learning to face these issues and find the beauty of what remains.

The Beauty of What Remains is a small book, 288 pages that can be read in just a few hours, but it contains a great deal of understanding, many insights, and so much wisdom that it is a gem, uplifting, hopeful, and even practical.

It is an exceptional book that I am thankful for CL suggesting it and am delighted to recommend it — whether or not you have experienced a recent death or a loss, are facing an impending death or loss. or are just thinking about your own or someone else’s ageing and end of life issues.

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