(Five months without blogging has got to be a record for me. It’s now the start of July and I’m going to do a highlights post for each of those months to bring everyone up to speed and then get to work finishing those last 20-something posts. I’ll backdate each of these posts to the last day of their respective months.)

(Post 236 of 263)

In February, I found my “spots,” Tropico 56 and the rooftop bar, both at the Remate (at the bottom of the Paseo, near Santa Ana). I discovered these gems with my Pilates partner and we’ve since been several times, eating at Tropico and then heading to the rooftop for a nightcap.

Ceviche and mezcal cocktails at Tropico 56.

Tacos and more mezcal cocktails.

Yet more mezcal cocktails at the Remate rooftop.

Remate bar seen from in front of Café Impala.

I took a whole Tuesday off to go to Progreso with my friend. We got a table at Eladio’s and drank all day. The free botanas kept coming, starting off with boring chips and salsa and escalating to some of the best tacos I’ve had here. It was Carnaval, so nearly impossible to get to and from Progreso by bus, so we split an Uber there and a regular taxi back, which was very affordable for us. I believe the Uber was $300 with tip, so $150 each, and the taxi was $650, so $325 each (all prices in pesos, of course, because I live in Mexico!).

Everyone was dressed up as it was Carnaval. I recognised this popular TV character even if I don’t remember his name!

We couldn’t believe this bill considering we had been there for eight hours. All the food was included!

Something truly magical happened at the end of February. The author of one of my favourite books, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt, was staying Mérida and Juanita, owner of the English bookstore Between the Lines arranged an exclusive reading and book signing on a first come, first served basis. It was such a delight to meet Mr. Berendt, hear him read some of his books, and, of course, get answers to questions. MITGOGAE served as my tour guide of Savannah and to that he said “That’s what every author wants to hear.” A class act. 🙂

(Post 235 of 263)

I am at a full year of going to Pilates three times a week, very nearly without fail (I missed a few classes during the kitchen nightmare, but made up for them in other ways). That this routine has changed my life cannot be understated. It’s not just about getting into shape, which I’ll get into in a bit, but also about how it is grounding me into a routine and my neighbourhood. It’s forced me to carve out six hours a week for myself, no matter how busy work is. I’ve made friends, I shop in person more, and I’m a regular at some businesses.

That said, I’ll have to admit that the last several months haven’t be great, where I attended class but just went through the motions, resenting every effort. I struggled with the change in my schedule to three mornings a week instead of two evenings and one morning. It wasn’t the time per se, as a 9:15 class isn’t difficult. But I’ve had to discipline myself to get up at a set time three days a week no matter how poorly I slept. I’ve also had to completely overhaul my eating schedule. There’s also been the stress of the kitchen (a still ongoing nightmare) and an exceptionally erratic work schedule.

So it’s no wonder it took me as long as it did to realise there was something actually wrong with me that no amount of extra time in bed or green smoothies or saying no to dessert or pushing through a workout when I just wanted to curl up in a ball was going to cure. As it turned out, I needed an increase in my thyroid meds! I was chastised a tad for taking so long to come to that conclusion, but I think that’s just a residual behaviour from a lifetime of nearly non-existent healthcare access in Canada — I work on myself first, making sure I’m doing everything absolutely right, and then I seek medical help. Maybe that’s not necessarily a bad thing. At any rate, I’m a week into taking my increased dose and today was told that the change in me is “dramatic.”

Today’s class was the first in ages where I was on fire, tackling exercises I didn’t even dare attempt a few months ago. A huge part of advanced Pilates comes from your core strength, something I never really actively focussed on before. All that walking in Campeche while minding my posture meant that I came back with my core much stronger than when I left the week before. It was a dramatic change for such a short period of time. Since then, my ability to perform exercises that require a strong core, which also helps in balance, has grown exponentially.

The first part of last year was about fixing my bad leg, and then helping me build increased strength and flexibility. This year is all about my core and my posture, and this is real work. I’ve started doing extra core work on my days “off,” and I’m constantly thinking about my posture and trying to remember to suck in the ab muscles and shift my spine. It’s a lot, but I want to be one of those ladies who ages gracefully, and so, I’m taking full advantage of having a mentor who can help me work on such things.

I’m slowly doing more and more things that I’ve never been able to do, but today felt like I had pushed through something really hard and come out the other side triumphant. I did this. And once I got into this position, I balanced on one leg, the other one straight back. I couldn’t even get onto the shoulder plates with my feet flat the last time I tried and here I was today balancing very nearly en pointe on one leg!

Image from https://www.sportskeeda.com/health-and-fitness/pilates-reformer-how-get-started

(Post 234 of 263)

Well, I’m coming up to a week post root canal and I still cannot believe what a non-deal it was!

Yesterday morning, I had an appointment to check on the work. Everything looked good and, thankfully, they were able to cap it right then and there. I didn’t realise that that could have been a third appointment, which would have been a pain as this was already my third dentist visit in a week! The dentist is across town from me, so it’s a bit frustrating when I have micro appointments that take much less time than the trip back and forth! As it was, I got into an Uber at 9 yesterday and was walking in the door at 10:30 on the dot, with the root canal nightmare behind me!

It wasn’t until the dentist headed for my mouth with the drill that it finally hit me that he would not need to freeze me because I had no nerves left in that tooth! The drilling and polishing were uncomfortable as my tooth really felt hollow and I could feel vibrations, but there was no pain per se. It was such quick work that it was not a big deal ultimately. I was told that I could use my tooth “like normal” right then and there, no waiting for anything to set.

For dinner, I roasted some cherry tomatoes as the ultimate test, since one of those is what told me that I really could not live with the tooth pain. Dinner was a non-event, so I then did one last test, just in case, getting a celebratory Blizzard at Dairy Queen, making a point to eat it on my left side. All was good! 🙂

My next dental appointment, to check on my orthodontic work, is in a month. I’m really hoping that this is the last “regular” one for a while and that I don’t have to go back for, say, six months!

(Post 233 of 263)

I’m firmly entrenched in my three-times-a-week Pilates routine and then stopping at a coffeeshop afterwards. This coffeeshop, Ritrovo, was a badly needed addition to my neighbourhood. It’s just a titch too far from home to be super convenient, but it is on the route home from Pilates, so a huge improvement to my quality of life here. Before, my only options for coffee were Italian Coffeeshop (a very expensive and not very good chain) just north of me on Calle 60, or a bakery in Campestre with overpriced bad coffee. Ritrovo is located in Colonia Malaga at the corner of Calle 60 and Rogers Hall, a very convenient and central location.

Ritrovo means “hang out” in Italian. Why an Italian name? The coffeeshop is owned and operated by two sisters who married Italians! So you know the coffee has to be good!

I usually only get a black iced Americano, but sometimes indulge in a brownie or a garlic and cheese knot. Today, I was invited to try out some items from the new menu, all at no charge! Of course, I’ve been sharing this on all my social media.

For my main, I had a choice of French toast or molletes, beans and cheese on toast. Of course, I picked the latter. I was not expecting anything so fancy! They used a brioche bread and topped the beans and cheese with salsa verde, crema, and pico de gallo. Absolutely stunning. Pretty much a perfect breakfast for me.

In addition to my coffee, I was offered a “tisana,” an herbal tea, but theirs are complex combinations. Mine was cherry with a bunch of other yummy things in it. I drink these without sugar, so they are a guilt-free treat and what I used to get after Pilates when I went in the evenings.

And then I was offered dessert! Really, this was way too much after the molletes, but I could not refuse. I believe it was the same bread as the molletes, but in a cinnamon caramel sauce, then topped with fruits and a homemade berry sauce. The whipped cream had lime zest in it. Super indulgent, but not nearly as sweet as it looks!

If you are in Mérida and want to get away from the tourist zone, you’d do well to visit Ritrovo.

(Post 232 of 263)

My mouth thawed quickly last night and it took me a while to realise that because I kept expecting pain even though I knew the point of the procedure was to kill the nerves! Around 9PM, an hour after getting home, I felt comfortable having dinner.

I went to bed around 10PM and I need to find out what is in my regular dentist Dr. Javier’s “happy juice” because I might have felt like it did nothing for me during the procedure, it must be the reason that I had my first really good night sleep in decades! I slept through the night, unheard of for me, and actually felt rested. Wow!

There was no pain this morning from the procedure, just a little sensitivity where I was jabbed with the anesthetic. For the inlay, the surgeon was very conservative and poked me four times on both sides of the gum, so my gums were really sore the next day. Dr. Victor, the surgeon from yesterday, immediately went with the notion that I’d need extra anesthetic and loaded up the syringe such that I only needed the two jabs, meaning a lot less gum pain this morning. So I felt great this morning, really not what I expected!

In fact, I feel so great I have to keep reminding myself I have a temporary filling on that tooth and I really need to be careful what I eat until I return on Tuesday morning for a check and then hopefully a permanent filling.

Could this dental nightmare be well and truly coming to a proper close? I believe it might be!

I’m also done with my orthodontic treatment other than having to wear a retainer at night (although I get a two-week reprieve while we sort out the bad tooth).

Needless to say, a new smile has been something to celebrate. Just before my Campeche trip, I found a hair stylist to cut and colour my hair now that there are so many more products out there for women with alopecia to manage their thin hair. Tuesday, I went back to get a touchup. It’s amazing what a little hair dye and keratin fibres can do! After two decades of wigs and head scarves, it has been VERY weird these last four weeks to go out bareheaded, but also very freeing.