The sad countdown has begun. In 10 days, I will be flying back home to Nashville. Time really does seem to go by faster with age. It feels like I just got here a couple of weeks ago. I’m back from my last bike ride to the farmer’s market. I’m happy to say that the bike and I are friends now; not so close that I want to go bike shopping when I get home. But I don’t dread the rides like I did last year. Tim flies in on Friday night. We will spend my last 5 days here together. He is doing well, by the way. He still has some pain when he coughs or sneezes, and riding in the car is uncomfortable at times. 

In a Chelem Facebook group, I’ve heard some horror stories of snowbirds not being allowed to stay in Mexico for as long as they’d planned; sometimes, they’re only given a two-week stay. We own property in Mexico and I don’t like having to ask for a visa every winter. So, I decided to apply for temporary residency. I’ve had someone here assisting me for the last few weeks who knows the process and the hoops to jump through. Then we sat at the immigration office in Progreso for 6 hours on Friday. I’m thrilled to say that my application was approved and I am now a Mexican resident! Right now, it’s a 4-year residency. But at the end of that 4 years, I can apply for a permanent one. 

Garden planning is going full tilt. I’m up until almost midnight every night filling in spreadsheets with plant heights and colors, seed germination methods for every single thing I plan to grow, dates to start them, how many bulbs like dahlias and gladiolas I have to plant, where to put those and the 300+ plants that begin shipping in March, etc. I started using spreadsheets last year and now I’m wondering why I’ve never used them before. Since then, I’ve collected a lot of information, and this year I’ve been adding more details to what I previously thought was a pretty thorough analysis. My hope is that next year, I won’t have to work quite as hard or spend as much time searching for relevant information because I’ll already have it logged. I’m just now beginning to plot my garden. It took me two days, but I’ve finished the layout for my dahlia beds. I only have 19 beds left to design! EEK!

I don’t know if I’ll have a blog post next week with Tim here. If not, I can say that this sabbatical has been better than the last. The weather has been phenomenal! We’ve only lost power 3-4 times, and each time, the generator has kicked on immediately.  With Telmex and Starlink, WiFi has been quite reliable. I’ve made a few connections/Facebook friends. As usual, it will be hard to leave. But there are many wonderful things waiting for me back home. I’m so grateful for this time alone to get centered and creative, and the opportunity to give my brain the sunshine it so desperately needs. Hasta luego!