Who are we beyond…?

Holiday:

Celebration of Life Day is a time to celebrate the kids in our lives - our children, grandchildren, and nieces/nephews! In order to commemorate this day, consider getting together with the kids in your life to read a book, do a puzzle, create a craft project, bake or cook something together, pop some popcorn and watch one of your favorite movies from childhood, or go on an outing/adventure! For more info and ideas click here!

Update on Jaguey:

Nobody, and I mean nobody, does bureaucracy like the nation of Perú. On the one hand this can be a very good thing, as transitions need to happen, nothing is rushed. On the other hand, when you’re working to change your constancia de posesión (certificate of possession) into a título de propiedad (a property title), it can be a rather involved process needfully facilitated by a lawyer and a surveyor. So we recently spent two days with a lawyer and an engineer/surveyor measuring and plotting GPS points to create certified property plans/diagrams. These can then be used to determine which of two possible pathways to title registration that we will need to take.

The engineer Samuel with his surveyor gear set up.

The lawyer John with Papá Miguel helping Samuel to take measurements around the parcels.

A Garmin GPS unit that Samuel had me use to measure the four corners or edge points of the different parcels for more precise plans.

Inspiration:

I found a note to myself as I’m writing this (actually January 20, 2026) on good questions worth contemplating. The first question at the top is:

Who are we beyond our jobs, our anxieties, our conditioning?

In my last post I mentioned a bit about some recent medical/physical issues I’ve been confronting and also my struggle with the general politicking and division I’m seeing (online in particular). I’m wondering if we really are breaking into two disparate societies in the U.S. or if there is still hope for us to reunite as a single nation with common values and goals. I think this question may get to the core of it…who are we beyond our jobs, beyond our fears and anxieties, beyond how we were raised and what we were conditioned to believe. What do we as individuals — not according to party affiliation nor racial nor ethnic affiliation — as beings capable of critical, logical thought, what do we believe? I think it’s important to consider what one believes and the why of what one believes. And then, and only then, to consider taking action based on those beliefs. I’m struggling with how to explore this concept through visual art, so you guys will have to bear with me as I clumsily explore these topics.

In the studio:

I haven’t had much time to paint since my last blog, so I don’t have new images of the gladiola painting to share. I HAVE been somewhat creative with baking and making this trip, so I hope you’ll enjoy some of these photos of kitchen creations.

Garlic knots - this is the second batch that I’ve made here. I made one batch for Dayana and Kike’s engagement party.

I prefer homemade flour tortillas to the ones you can buy at the supermarket in Camaná, so I made some and actually managed to get them to inflate on my griddle!

Taco glamour shots :oP

In what ways are you finding your creative groove? I’d love to know!