Back to Mexico; Back to Packing

I returned, this week, from a one-week visit with my family in Philadelphia.  My dad is turning 91 this year and has been having some health issues, so it seemed like a good time to spend some time with him.  He has been a great influence on my life, teaching me to think clearly, and demonstrating with his wisdom and kindness, how to live a good life.  We were able to enjoy some good conversations and memories. 

I stayed with him and my step mother, Joy, in their Bryn Mawr home.  I also got to spend some time with my brother, Fred, and his wife Heidi, in Malvern, and attend a service at their West Chester Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.  One evening, I prepared a lasagna dinner (with two batches: vegetarian and meat) and Joy’s daughter, Beth, and her husband, Brian, brought a flat screen large TV to try out to see if my dad might enjoy it more.  He did, and they stayed for dinner, along with their 27 year-old daughter Melissa.  Everyone enjoyed the lasagna.  Thanks to cooperation from Joy, Fred and Heidi, I was able to maintain my vegetarian diet for the entire week.  Here are some photos from the visit.  I only have a few because I left the camera for Pixie to use so I had to borrow Heidi’s cool camera for these.  Here is me with my dad and my brother, Fred. 

Here are Fred and his wife, Heidi:

Here are our niece and nephew, Nora and Alex:

We are moving to our new house in just two weeks.  Pixie went back to visit the house while I was gone and verified that we have everything we need to live there, but very little extra storage space, so, once again, we have to do a major downsizing.  I actually don’t mind it; it’s liberating to live with just the few things we really treasure, but it is a job which we intend to start next week.  Fortunately, we have a friend here, Julie, who arrived with very little, and we can leave some stuff here in our rental now.  But the next couple of weeks will be busy.

Here, at last, are some photos of the new house:    

You can see from the photos that the house is well furnished and that the garden and pool areas are attractive.  This gate, which opens with a garage door opener, allows us to park inside the compound.  So it’s safe and secure.  The neighborhood is called Villa Nova and it has its own water purification system, and it is reasonably quiet.  We are anxious to be there, but we have lots of packing and disposing of extra things before we move.  It will be good to get moved once and for all!