On Gratitude Journals

December 8, 2005 | Filed Under Argentina | No Comments

The Spiritual Law of Gratitude states that what you are grateful for increases.
That’s what my friend Richard says. It sounds good to me!
Long before research showed that keeping a gratitude journal can promote lasting benefits right away, even for depressed folks, I started jotting down each night the things for which I was grateful. At least three per day. And if it’s been a challenging day, four or five!
Right now I’ll just share four from this evening alone:
1. the songful joy of picking my own strawberries on our farm, alone at dusk, sans the usual glorious sunset but with a soft fuzzy gray blanket slowly covering the sky. . . and me with a basket of luscious scarlet fruit.2. stopping at the farm gate, entranced by troupes of fireflies dancing in the newly planted trees by the roadside after night fell. . . teeny tiny […]

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Strawberries and Cream!!!! All You Can Eat!

December 7, 2005 | Filed Under Argentina | No Comments

Finally, all the strawberries I ever wanted!
And then some.
Forget that trip to Wimbledon for strawberries and cream! This June Roberto planted one hectare (2.5 acres) of teeny tiny strawberry plants as a pilot project to replace boring and increasingly less profitable soy fields.
Blessed by the warm sun here, nestled in rows of fertile earth scientifically fertilized and irrigated, we have been reaping a harvest that shot up to 500 kilograms (that’s 1,200 pounds) per day just a week ago. Nearly two tons this season!
Imagine how many strawberry shortcakes you can make with that! And strawberry preserves, strawberry liqueurs, strawberry sorbet, strawberry lemonade. . . the list is endless for these versatile, luscious fruits! Later we’ll move into blueberries and raspberries, if all goes well.
We’ve named our venture “Berryland,” an unintended but felicitous hybrid of “Disneyland” and “Knott’s Berry Farm,” both in Orange County, California, where I grew up! “Berry” […]

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Things Fall Apart: No Whining Allowed!

December 2, 2005 | Filed Under Argentina | No Comments

Something is always breaking or falling apart here.
Hardly a day goes by that the plumbing or roof doesn’t spring a leak, or an electric appliance break, or a chair or dish develop a crack. My 2004 VW Bora has its third windshield and, as of yesterday 7 p.m., needs body work where a typically imprudent driver sideswiped me trying to race past everyone on the quiet main street of a tiny pueblo.
Sigh. Just replacing and repairing stuff takes hours every week.
Setting aside two afternoons a week to beg plumbers to come and to run into town to deliver or pick up items from repair shops was never on my agenda in the U.S. It is here.
If I wanted to be permanently unhappy, I could grumble all week about the quality of manufacturing, of cheaper imported goods, and of poorer maintenance and repairs here in Argentina.
But whining isn’t fun or functional, […]

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