It was about six minutes to midnight, and fifteen of us stood around the dinner table. Every single person picked up his or her phone (because there was no clock in the dining room!) and waited for the countdown. Outside was quiet in this Mexican neighborhood, with only an occasional pop from fireworks far away.… Read More Eating grapes etc.
I tried to find out why baptisms are such a big deal in Mexico and found out that it is all because of tradition! It is not only the child’s entrance into the faith community but is also an opportunity to celebrate the family—in other words, it is an excuse for a fiesta! (party!) Because… Read More A Mexican baptism and fiesta
In yesterday’s one day visit to Guanajuato, here are the numbers: 5. The types of vehicles I rode in: private car, taxi, 15-passenger van, city bus, and private luxury bus. 10. Number of places I visited. This included 5 churches, 4 organs, a state theatre, a mountain top statue, a horror museum, an abandoned gold… Read More One LONG day in Guanajuato
Of all people I am the last person who should write a restaurant review. Oh, it is true that I have eaten the most delicious and diverse food in some of the world’s top restaurants—most notably Wagyu beef in Tokyo, croissants in Paris, Belgian waffles in Brussels, paella in Barcelona and goulash in Budapest. And… Read More Sushi … in Mexico?
I’m spending Christmas and New Year’s in Querétaro, Mexico and many people have asked me, where is Querétaro, anyway?— so I thought I’d show you a map. You can see in the map that it is not far from Mexico City, about 115 miles. It is home to my daughter-in-law’s parents. What I have discovered is… Read More Mexican family traditions
I left Honolulu about 12:30 pm on Tuesday and was happy to see that I was upgraded to first class. However, I didn’t get to enjoy too much of it, because right out of the gate, we encountered so much turbulence that I was sure that we were to crash. In fact, the seat belt… Read More A Mexican Christmas
Here’s my last-minute “to do” list before I leave today for Mexico to spend the Christmas and New Year’s holidays in Querétaro—this is where my daughter-in-law’s family lives and where my grandson, Andrés, will be baptized on December 30th. I am looking forward to taking in as much of the Mexican culture and Christmas traditions… Read More ¡Feliz Navidad! Voy a ir a México
In the last four days, I have attended three concerts and gotten my chance to be an audience member. I used to remember Carl Crosier saying that as performers it was our job to make it Christmas for everyone else—now I’ve had my chance to hear someone else’s hard work. On Sunday, I was at the… Read More ‘Tis the season, part 2
I was telling someone recently that in the “old days,” my husband and I could count on one hand the number of nights we were home during the month of December. In fact, sometimes two whole weeks went by when we were out every single night, with either a concert, a rehearsal, a service or… Read More ‘Tis the season
Karen Sender shared this article from the Oakland Tribune about our colleague and friend, John Renke, bringing Blue Christmas to Oakland. We surely do miss John! Blue Christmas aims to soothe those hurting during the holidays John Renke, Pastoral Associate for Divine Workshop & Operations for the Oakland Diocese, stands inside Oakland’s Cathedral of Christ the… Read More People send me news …