(It’s July 2023 and I’m backdating a post for each month that I have not blogged, so scroll down to get the other three posts I did yesterday.)

(Post 239 of 263)

The most significant thing to note about this month is that on May 5th, 2023, WHO officially declared the end of the pandemic, exactly 1150 days after the world shut down. For me, it was a year too soon (sorry!), as I’ve got that itch to get going again, but am not in a good place to do so. But it has definitely had me thinking about what my post-pandemic, house payments becoming manageable, high income life is going to look like. I feel like I entered the pandemic still a young woman and emerged middle aged, realising that the adventures and concessions of youth are behind me and that when I venture back into the world, it will be with the expectations of doing so with adult responsibilities and the spectre of retirement and aging ahead of me.

May was an absolutely insane work month, even by the standards of the last couple of years. I earned six weeks of income in three weeks. I was only able to keep up the pace because I stuck to my Pilates routine, made an effort at meal planning, and have a wonderful cleaning fairy who comes twice a week now to do all the daily cleaning, change sheets (such a luxury), and perform other small household tasks like fold and put away laundry. Our society’s standards were built at a time when one person in the household made money for the entire household while someone else kept things running smoothly, so the criticisms I get sometimes that I should be able to do everything alone or that I’m lazy for not being able to do so are as hilarious as they are outrageous. Having that help on the little things helps me stay on top of the big things.

A highlight in May was returning to the Van Gogh exhibit as my Pilates partner got free tickets to the full VIP experience. This included my first experience with virtual reality, which was incredible. I was sat on a stool and felt like I was moving through a fully realised three-dimensional world. I would love something like that for my home gym. Can you imagine a simulation like that combined with a treadmill? There aren’t really any places to go for long walks in nature around Mérida, plus the heat and sun can be dangerous, so the virtual option sounds great.

After Van Gogh, we had giant beers and dinner at La Negrita cantina. I had to bow out after the music started as it was much too loud and I need to protect my hearing.

May is when I decided to change direction regarding finishing the kitchen. The case is ongoing so I don’t think it’s a good idea to talk too much about it right now, but let’s just say that I did a lot of sleuthing in these first few months of 2023 and built an iron-clad case for myself, including locating parties who tried to disappear and as well as witnesses. I was hoping to actually finish work in the kitchen in June, but it’s still at a standstill in July. I did spend some time in May organising the fridge and freezer, decluttering, making usable the under counter space where the garrafones used to lived, but, frankly, the kitchen is a bit of a nightmare for lack of meaningful storage space and I really hope to get this nonsense sorted out by the end of the year.

Found a picture of the final touch of the bathroom update! This tile was the closest match we could find. If you saw the other patches in that room, you’d be as satisified as I am! Don’t mind the dirty sink — we hadn’t cleaned up yet. I thought a black sink would be a nightmare to keep looking nice, but between a wipedown every time I use it, which I do with a white sink as well, and my cleaning fairy, it always looks great. 🙂

My gardener/maintenance guy is now coming twice a month when he can, which is fantastic as he spends one day on maintenance and cleaning and the other on gardening. Now that the property is finally cleaned up from all the kitchen mess, having him here twice a month really makes a difference. I was looking for him one day and found him literally in one of my cedars, which inspired a joke by a friend that I had to turn into a meme!