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Gijon Grocery Games

by Jeni Martinez | Apr 18, 2021 | Family, Food, Language, Relationships, Retirement, Spain, Travel, Yoga

Fresh from the Mercado del Sur I’ve never loved grocery shopping but since moving to Gijon, every market trip feels like a competitive episode of Guy’s Grocery Games from Food Network. You know the game show where Guy Fieri gives contestants a list of...

It’s a Small World… (and other musings from an American in Spain)

by Jeni Martinez | Mar 27, 2021 | Family, Kindness, Language, Peace, Relationships, Spain, Travel, Yoga

Spring in the Cimadevilla neighborhood of Gijon This week in my Spanish language class, my teacher Cristina flashed a photo on the overhead projector of my neighborhood Cimadevilla because of it’s historic significance. Because our class is small, conversational...

Sweeping Changes: A day in the life of an American in Gijon

by Jeni Martinez | Mar 22, 2021 | Downsizing, Family, Food, Language, Letting Go, Peace, Relationships, Retirement, Spain, Travel, Yoga

View from my writing desk Yesterday was cleaning day in our apartment. It was too early to run the vacuum cleaner and risk waking the neighbors below us, so I grabbed the broom and started to sweep. The repetitive movement of the broom bristles made a soft swishing...

What Is Really Essential?

by Jeni Martinez | Feb 13, 2021 | Caregiver/daughter, Dogs, Downsizing, Family, Letting Go, Marriage, Relationships, Retirement, Spain, Travel, Yoga

In February 2018, Rocky and I decided to put our house up for sale and start the downsizing process so we could eventually move out of the country. At that point, we were not sure if we would end up in Ecuador or Spain but knew we wanted to travel more and become...

The Jerk

by Jeni Martinez | Jan 7, 2021 | Dogs, Downsizing, Family, Letting Go, Politics, Retirement, Spain, Travel

Given the current political climate, you probably assumed this blog was about President You-Know-Who when you read the title. In actuality, it is about letting go. While, I’m definitely ready to let go of the current administration, and welcome in the new,...

In His Name

by Jeni Martinez | Jun 7, 2020 | Bigotry, Family, Kindness, Life and Death, Peace, Politics, Racism, Religion

“He died for our sins.” In spite of being raised as a minister’s daughter, I could not fathom what that statement really meant. It never felt relevant to my life. Until now. George Floyd died for our sins. He died for our sins of racism, bigotry, and...
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