Molcajete

    In clearing out the shelving and drawers, to prepare for the work to be done on the kitchen cabinetry, my sister Yvette and I came across this...

    The molcajete (mortar and pestle) once belonging to our grandmother on our father's side. It is probably a century or so old. We wondered whether to continue to hold onto it or not, when I thought to see if the familia Sanchez mostly living in Southern California would like the simple stone instrument passed down to them. 

    I asked our cousin Ruth Gonzalez nee Sanchez, and she was thrilled to have  the heirloom. Grandmother's molcajete is now safely in Ruth's possession. Thank you UPS.

Mining a Theme or Rather Milking a Joke…

It just so happens that my cousin Peter J. Aguilar is also celebrating a big life event on his birthday today!

Here's a First!

 My first time sighting the Southern Cross!

As guests of our cousin Peter PJ Aguilar and Lee Paige, my sisters and I were invited to spend a splendiferous time in Puerto Vallarta. One of my vacation objectives was to sight the Southern Cross (Crux) which is not visible from the Bay Area. Finally, on the fourth and fifth evening, the marine layer thinned, making that possible.

Here is the constellation first seen in a wideshot, then in a close-up. A star map courtesy of Stellarium follows. In each image, due south is directly beneath Crux.

 

Not only is Alpha Centauri visible to the lower left of Crux, but in the top photo, the great globular cluster, Omega Centauri is also just faintly discernible to those who know where to look.

 

A wide view of the south-southeast from Villa La Estancia, Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit, Mexico.

 

 

A close-up of Rigel Kentaurus (Alpha Centauri), Hadar, Epsilon Centauri, and Crux (the Southern Cross).

 

 

Courtesy of Stellarium

 

 

Puerto Vallarta! (May 11~18, 2024)

 

Puerto Vallarta! Actually, Nuevo Vallarta, where my cousin, Peter J Aguilar and his partner Lee Paige, invited my sisters and I to spend a week at their getaway residence. Whee!

Villa La Estancia's beach front.

L-R: Lee Paige, Georgene Randall, Peter J. Aguilar, Yvette Klemm, and me.

Lee Paige and Peter J. Aguilar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Herbert Cano November 23, 1947 ~ April 2, 2024

 A dark cloud has descended our Sanchez clan as word of the sudden passing of our first cousin Herbert Cano reaches us from his loving wife.

 Via Facebook

 

Nohemi Sanchez Marquez (backdated)

 

From my Facebook page:

My gentle cousin, Nohemi Marquez, has today joined her late brother Tali Sanchez, for whom she cared, these many years. 

Nohemi, whose married name incidentally, is identical to my long departed mom’s maiden name, was a loving soul. May she rest in peace.

Addendum: Here below is the Facebook graphic which Nohemi’s church posted.

Neftali Sanchez: My Cousin (backdated)

 

From my Facebook page:

Today it is with profound sadness, I announce the passing of my first cousin Neftali Sanchez (1934~2023) a truly remarkable man. Wounded during the Korean conflict, having lost to a booby trap both forearms and sight, he nevertheless went on to accomplish so much with his life. Indomitable and undaunted Tali seemed. 

Indeed, since my earliest childhood, the day Tali, sixty five years ago, first came into my awareness until now, he has proven an indelible benchmark and inspiration. 

Now no longer with us, the collective heart of my immediate family cries out.

Dearest Tali, how beloved you were.

(Photo by his niece, Raquel Gonzalez-Ortega)

(Poem by me)

Paige, Pelosi, and Peter

 C
   

Just a nod to my cousin, PJ Aguilar. Here he is at a local fundraiser with his beau, Lee Paige, and the current Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.