Monthly Archives: April 2020

#QuidateEnCasa: In Oaxaca, Stay Home Order Cancels Good Friday

Stay Safe at Home. Today, on Good Friday, I immediately think of the 1964 Simon & Garfunkel song, The Sounds of Silence, knowing that the traditional Semana Santa celebrations in Oaxaca and my town, Teotitlan del Valle, have been cancelled. For religion to be cancelled in Mexico, this is a very serious time!

On April 8, the Oaxaca Public Health Service (on Twitter: @SSO_GobOax) reported 37 positive cases of COVID-19, one death, and that 17 people who were diagnosed recuperated. These numbers are probably misleading since testing is not in place, just as the numbers are inaccurate in the USA, too. Reporting from remote villages is spotty at best. Comments on the Twitter feed note that numbers do not specify particular Oaxaca regions, like the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, for example. People are questioning.

The over-arching message is #STAYHOME.

Altar to spring greens and new life, Semana Santa — Easter

Oaxaca celebrates Good Friday in silence. This is usually a big day, one of the biggest on the annual religious festival calendar. A traditional day of processing through the streets to re-enactment the Stations of the Cross journey of Jesus to Mount Calvary along the Via Dolorosa — the Way of Pain.

A European-style procession brought by the Conquistadores

In Teotitlan del Valle, the community radio station broadcasts in both Spanish and Zapotec, the indigenous language of the village. It is the first language for most. Everyone is urged to stay home. All public celebrations related to Easter here have been canceled, starting with Lunes Santo (Holy Monday) and the church is closed. I replied to @TeotitlanDValle on Twitter that this was very good news, indeed.

We never heard of Social Distancing — Sana Distancia — when I took these photos

I have family and dear friends here. I want them to be safe.

Today, the church in Barrio Jalatlaco, from Winn Kalmon

My friend Shannon published a post today, Silent Good Friday, with her collection of past photos of the celebration in the city. You might enjoy seeing these.

There will be no onlookers in 2020 — the Age of COVID-19

In these days, silence is a good thing.

Stay healthy, everyone.

Watching the procession

Cutting Comedy: Passover Greetings from Jared and Ivanka (Not Really)

This is Norma speaking: Tonight is the first night of Passover. We will all be praying, regardless of our beliefs, for liberation from this on-going affliction we call coronavirus. A dear friend in Philadelphia (I know her from Oaxaca) writes comedy. She doesn’t publish it, except to send her pieces out periodically to friends and family. I am swooning in admiration for her cutting wit and genius. This is all her original material. She needs to be hired by Saturday Night Live. Meanwhile, I received her permission to post — anonymously. She doesn’t want to receive hate mail. You can send hate mail to me.

Passover Greetings from Jared and Ivanka

As you may know the Jewish Holiday of Passover begins today, April 8, at sundown. As a public service I am pleased to turn this newsletter over to the best, most fabulous, amazingly Jewish Jew, Jared Kushner! Jared will explain to us the meaning of Passover and the seder plate, as he, Ivanka and 25 members of their family gather, at the home of top Jew and white nationalist, Stephen Miller. 

Great to see you all, especially without those unattractive masks! As Dad would say, you women look like COWS in those masks! Anyway, Passover is a time for family, for gathering around a table and expressing gratitude for our freedom, which is a luxury not afforded to many people around the world, such as those children in holding pens at the border, forcibly separated from their parents and exposed to a pandemic. 

The story of how the Jews became free from slavery in the land of Egypt is told during the seder, a ritual service and ceremonial dinner. One of our customs is to open our door and set out a cup of wine for the prophet Elijah who arrives to announce the coming of the Messiah and to encourage the Jewish people to do what’s right and to STEER CLEAR OF FALSE GODS.!!!!!!!!!! This year Elijah will be coming from Sweden or Norway; prophets from sh—h— countries will not be welcomed in or given wine. This year is also special because we are waging war on an insidious enemy! As Churchill said during World War ll: “ We will fight them on the beaches, on the landing grounds, in the fields; in the streets and in the hills—and we shall never surrender!” Yes—we will be fighting the CDC, the environmentalists, the free press, and every  adult in the room!!! We will fight them in the Supreme court, in the halls of the Senate, on the golf courses and in NATO if we have to——and we shall never surrender!!

Traditionally, the youngest child asks the 4 questions, that inquire “why is this night different from all other nights?” If you don’t mind, I will just skip ahead to the answers on this one. The main answer is that this night IS NOT DIFFERENT FOR ME!!!!! As the Senior, most Senior grand poobah, Little Prince, special, most special, best special, more than special, special advisor to the TROLL-IN-CHIEF, I am conducting BUSINESS AS USUAL!!!!!!! That includes:

*first and foremost, continuing to file eviction and debt collection lawsuits at my properties!

* bringing peace to the Middle East (any day now. I’m personal friends with Mohammed bin Salman and schmooze with  him all the time on WHAT’S APP)!

 *studying for my on-line medical degree (I already know everything there is to know about the coronavirus, I just don’t have that piece of paper!!)

*checking to make sure that Dad is still #1 on Facebook!!!

 *making sure that the supply of masks, gowns and other protective gear needed for a pandemic are SAFELY STORED UNDER LOCK AND KEY in “our” Federal stockpile

 *getting a federal coronavirus response website up and running in time for effective prevention and the saving of thousands of lives

 * submitting Dad’s name  and paperwork for the Nobel prize

 * scouring the country to recruit more entitled whitebread misogynistic, fratboy candidates for future Supreme Court positions! Lots of meeting with Mitch McConnell on this one!!

 * trying to get Mary Barra, the CEO of GM to make ventilators. I think she can do the job because she is not as bad looking as Carly Fiorina. 

 * working to expand the recent voter suppression efforts in Wisconsin to other states!

* teaming up with Stephen Miller on a new print and online newspaper, “FAKE JEWS”!!!!!

WHEW!!!!!

So, back to Passover. In the Bible, plagues were rained down on Egypt for not releasing the Jews from slavery: stuff like locusts, boils, blood. In modern lingo these plagues are climate change scientists; Nancy Pelosi; the free press; Socialists– who are receiving food stamps, Medicaid, subsidized housing, or federal unemployment extensions; LGBTQ people; unattractive women; the English language; empathy; compassion; and common sense. We will fight them on the beaches, etc. etc. The worst plague was the smiting of the firstborn son in every household. The Jews were spared because they knew in advance to put an X on their doors so the Angel of Death would Pass Over their homes. Except for the Jews, all the other firstborn sons were slain!!!!!!!!!!!!! In modern times, the first born son would, of course be Andrew Cuomo!!!!!!!!!! Enough said, if you get my point!!!!!!!!

So now i will walk you through the meaning of foods on the seder plate. They are all symbols meant to remind us that the Jews went from slavery to freedom.

* SHANK BONE  symbol of the special sacrifice made by the Jews on the eve of the exodus from Egypt. In modern terms, this commemorates the special sacrifice made by Dad to close Mar-A-Lago and also for sharing some rolls of toilet paper with close members of the White House staff

*HARD BOILED EGG represents the continuing cycle of life and the  will to survive of the Jewish people. This  is so appropriate for my wife who has the will to survive the temporary closing of her handbag and jewelry manufacturing factories in China. Hard boiled eggs also reference her DD breast implants. 

*BITTER HERBS remind us of the bitterness of slavery. In modern times, this refers to the bitterness of the crybaby governors who are not nice to Dad!

 *VEGETABLE, usually parsley, that is dipped in salt water to symbolize he tears of slavery, as well as spring and the spirit of hope and faith in the future.  We don’t have parsley, so i just shredded the money we would  pay our cook, our nanny, our driver and our cleaning people who would normally be coming in to work but now they aren’t. Shredded bills really look like parsley!! yay!

SWEET PASTE/HAROSET  usually made with apples, walnuts and red wine,  it represents what Jewish slaves used to make bricks and mortar for their overlords; it also stands for the sweetness of freedom. In modern times this stands for the bricks, mortar and  gold leaf of the Trump Hotels; it also stands for the sweetness of freedom still enjoyed by the all the maids who work there who have not yet been detained or deported by ICE!!

And finally, some of you may want to know why we eat matzah on Passover. Well, when the Jews had to flee Egypt, they had to take off in a hurry, before they had time for their bread to rise. So today we eat matzah, which is unleavened bread, and is also called the bread of affliction. And Ivanka and i know from affliction. We had to cancel a pre-paid ski vacation because of the impeachment trial!!!

At the end of the service it’s traditional to say: Next year in Jerusalem!!!

Signing off with love, the most special of all the special advisors who have ever been  and will ever be special, Jared and Ivanka

Ivanka at “take your daughter to work day!!”  Soooo proud!!

“BEING SOMEONE’S DAUGHTER ACTUALLY ISN’T A CAREER QUALIFICATION”    Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez

Shop Mexico Distraction Sale

I just discovered Instacart. It’s an App. I create the shopping list. Someone else goes to the store. I stay safe inside. I pay with my credit card. The shopper delivers the goods to my doorstep within hours after ordering. No more bare cupboard. It’s a miracle. And, I’m still safe and healthy, isolated, and needing a distraction.

So, I made some beautiful black clay pottery beaded necklaces this week. The beads are hand-rolled, individually formed in San Bartolo Coyotepec, Oaxaca. The artist, Adelina Pedro Martinez, is from a famous family that works in traditional high-temperature pit firing, fueled by wood. I have four necklaces to sell, listed below.

In addition, I brought with me filigree and amber earrings, a finely embroidered blouse, and an assortment of other lovely pieces made in Oaxaca and Chiapas.

Thankfully, the USPS is operational, so I can package these up and get them to you within a reasonable time from my sequestered place in Southern California. I’ll ship USPS Priority Mail.

How to Buy: Send an email to norma.schafer@icloud.com and tell me the item number, price, your name, mailing address. I will send you an invoice to purchase with a PayPal link. The total cost will be the item price plus $12 USD mailing cost.

#1, Oaxaca Finest Filigree Sterling Silver + Onyx Earrings, 2-1/2″L x 1-1/2″W, $285
#2, Graduated Black Clay Pearls with Hand-Carved Bauble, 22″ long, $145
#2 Detail, carved and incised bauble, sterling silver toggle clasp

A note about the black clay pearls: Each pearl ball is formed by hand. The stringing hole is made by hand while soft with a stick. When leather-hard, they are polished with a stone. Then they are baked in a wood-fired pit oven. Each pearl, therefore, has blemishes and irregularities, which make it an unique object of handmade beauty. If you are looking for perfection, these are not for you!

#3, Black Clay Pearls, 20″ long, sterling silver toggle clasp, $125
SOLD. #4, Coins (copper, base metal, Mexico and India) with Black Clay Pearls, 19″ long, $145
#5 Heart and Black Clay Pearls, 23″ long, w/3 unpolished accent pearls, $135
#6 Chenalho, Chiapas, densely embroidered fine cotton blouse, 23-1/2″L x 23-1/2″W, $85
#6 Bodice detail, precise, dense embroidery, soft cotton cloth
#7 Chiapas amber earrings, 2″L x 1-1/2″W, light as a feather, $85
#8 Chunky Chiapas Rare Green Amber Expansion Bracelet, $75
#9, Finest Quality Chiapas Golden Amber Necklace, 22″ long, $145
#10 Good Quality Chiapas Amber Necklace, 20″ Long, $85
#11 Pendant (top), 2-1/2″x1-1/2″, $72, and SOLD #12 Earrings, 2-1/4″x1-1/4″, $105

#11 and #12 are handcrafted in Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico by an outstanding craftsman who hand-cuts gemstones and inlays them on shell. These include onyx, mother-of-pearl, coral, turquoise and sterling silver. Selling for less than what I paid for them.

#13 Pendant Earrings, inlaid gemstones and shell, 2-1/2″L x 3/4″ W, $125
#14 Handwoven, indigo-dyed wool bag, lined, Chiapas, 10×14″ w/46″ long strap, $55
#15, Handwoven, wild marigold dyed wool bag, lined, Chiapas, 10×14″ w/46″ strap, $55
SOLD. #16 Multi PomPom Cluster, Chiapas, 7-1/2″ long, 1-1/2″ dia. $15
SOLD. #17, Peach PomPom Cluster, 14″ long, 1-1/2″ diameter, $25
SOLD. #18 (L) Magenta and SOLD #19 (R) Red, Pom Pom Cluster, 7-1/2″ Long, 1″ dia. $15 each
SOLD. #20 (L) Lavender Heart and SOLD. #21 (R) Blue Heart, 3×3″ — $10 each
SOLD. #22, finest woven bag, Tenejapa, Chiapas, 9″W x 9-1/2″ L, 44″ strap, $75
SOLD. coin purse w/zipper, Top L. #23, Top R. #24, 3-1/4×5, $15, SOLD. Bottom, #25, 5×8, $25
Zinacantan Drawstring Bags, Handwoven, #26 L, 7-3/4×6-1/4, $30, SOLD. #27 Sm, 4×4, $15
#28 and #29 SOLD. Top: 3-3/4×5-1/4″ w/zipper, $15, #30 Bottom, 3-1/4×4, $10

Shelter at Home Report from Kristy Swift, Sydney, Australia

This is a Oaxaca to Australia report on the pandemic. It is touching all corners of the earth. I met Kristy Swift almost three years ago, when she first came with us on a Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC Chiapas Textile Study Tour. She came back in 2020 to go on the Oaxaca Coast Textile Study Tour. I now consider her a friend and textile comadre! Here is what she says.

***

Good to hear from you Norma.  Stay safe and well.

Here is a report from Sydney, Australia.  I guess I am in the heartland of corona virus here. We have the highest numbers of anywhere in Australia and its because we imported it all from foreign travelers and bloody cruise ships.  I wanted our borders closed in February — the government only did that in the last 3 weeks.

I found out that a neighbour who recently returned from NY has it (now recovered), and it looks like one of my friends has it (although she won’t get tested). 

Kristy with maker of this indigo huipil, San Juan Colorado

We have been in isolation for 3 weeks now.  We are allowed only out to the shops, medical appointments, essential services, and for a quick walk.  We are not allowed to be in contact with more than 1 person at any time. And obviously it is all social distancing.  90% of Australians are complying.  Luckily, nobody can buy guns here in Australia – so phew!

I wear a mask, gloves, glasses when I go out to the shops.  My husband here works for the biggest grocery company in the country and things are starting to calm down as they introduced limits a few weeks back, plus a system for the elderly and disabled to access groceries and have them delivered.  This eases the public concerns.

Supply is not a problem — it is that people went crazy with hoarding.  Now, we are in isolation and since the government has told us to stay home, things have settled a bit in the shops — hope this continues.  Although ‘essential’ items are scarce (truth be told, I know what to do with flour, sugar etc – but a lot of people – ie younger generation are not skilled in that department, so I wonder, what is the point of buying flour, especially the Gluten Free flour that I use!).  Green food is easy to get a hold of here because people are more interested in dry stuff/tins/pasta/rice.

Kristy with caracol purpura and coyuchi huipil, Pinotepa de Don Luis

I am currently homeschooling my children.  OMG.  This is the least likely position I can see myself in.  My son has ADHD, so it is challenging, but I am rising to this challenge.  I am trying to do my other work, my textile stuff- and app work, on the weekend for a few hours.  I have photographed all the great stuff I purchased in Mexico and getting it ready for sale to post on my website. 

The sun is shining out of my window.  I am grateful for that, along with so many things in my life. In fact, a practice I recommend is writing down everyday the things you are grateful for.  It shifts energy.  

This was a month of celebrations for us.  Three of us in our house all share birthdays in the one week – starting with mine.  Three friends of mine walked by my house – all spaced apart and sang Happy Birthday.  My husband cooked dinner.  Yay!  And we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary at the beginning of the month at the top restaurant in Sydney looking across the harbour/opera house – a risky dinner (a table of Italians beside us), but I knew at the time this would be The Last Hurrah!  I am pretty sure that when we are released (government is telling us 6 months or more) that we will not recognise the landscape and that restaurant, along with 1000s of others, will no longer exist. 

Well, that was a long comment wasn’t it.  I enjoy reading your reports enormously (a bit jealous, I am now short on time to write), but grateful for everything else.  Health and well-being the foremost.

Just remember, you are a warrior woman, Norma.  You have this, it is a piece of cake.  See yourself and direct your energy everyday claiming you have a strong, healthy immune system, that you are love, joy, wellbeing, free and powerful.  

Much love to you and your family

You are in the right place there Norma and I am happy you are not in NC or in Oaxaca.  Family is the most important thing.

Love, Kristy

***

Quarantine in Huntington Beach, California–COVID-19 Report

Saturday, April 4, 2020–I’ve been here for over three weeks. Jacob and I have been in quarantine since Sunday, March 29. We will be free on Sunday, April 12. That is, if we continue to show no coronavirus symptoms. So far, so good. How and why?

This virus is spreading like wildfire. Much closer than six degrees of separation. More like, one or two degrees of separation. Let’s just say that someone close to us may have been exposed. May have is the operative word here. The one who may have been the transmitter showed suspected symptoms but fully recovered after a three-day series of antibiotics. Is it coronavirus? Who knows? They weren’t going to waste a test on the 12-year old without him presenting with severe respiratory breathing difficulties.

Wetlands walk, temporary mask. Others making a wide berth around me.

Meanwhile, we aren’t taking any chances, so we are in isolation, me and Jacob, the someone close to us, and the other someones close to this person.

Let’s go back to What does free on Sunday, April 12 mean? Just in time for Easter? Despite misguided national direction, not science, services for the masses inside a church are just not going to happen. Just in time for Passover? Not around a Seder table in real time, for sure.

Paid 5x retail to get one. Kinsa. Our daily morning temps read normal.

I have begged my son to be let out to make a quick sweep through Ralph’s supermarket or CVS Pharmacy, just for the social connection [before we went into quarantine]. No, mom, he said. I am obedient. And, I know how to grouse. Please note: This is not a bird.

For now, my interaction is virtual. Likely yours is, too. I’m visiting with: Ralph’s. Amazon. INDIO for incense. MINNA for home goods. Office Depot. eBay. QVC. The Sock Maker by Melanie Koenig. Face masks from Hikawa Studio LLC. Hi, how are you doing today?

Cozy hand-knit socks from The Sock Maker, Melanie Koenig

I need FOOD. The delivery of FOOD to the front door. Perishables (like steak and cottage cheese and almond yogurt and lettuce. Yes, God, please, something green.) A book: Bless Me, Ultima. A Leonard Baskin Haggadah (we will use rice crackers for matzo, salsa for charoset). A microwave oven to replace the one I broke on Day Four with fastest delivery from QVC. A printer for mailing labels. Fitbit batteries. Jewelry making supplies (stay tuned).

And, of course, to improve the aesthetic of a bachelor pad, cozy sofa pillows and a faux wicker side table for the deck (ordered with bachelor review and agreement, lest his mother take over).

Bailey Hikawa making a face mask

On-line, I’m making donations to restaurant workers’ relief funds, immigrant hunger programs, and Chiapas human rights.

My North Carolina girlfriends are having a standing weekly cocktail hour. In the age of social distancing, we are learning a new form of relationship, five of us on-screen, each a minuscule square, drink in hand, each taking a turn at the wheel, so to speak. (I’m rationing my mezcal.)

Sometimes, it feels like we need a moderator! It’s never like that in real life. But this is real time, if not real life. The rules of social engagement are changing. We are learning how to navigate a virtual world that is pioneering. En masse, we yearn for burgers together at Alley 26 and ramen at Dashi.

Content to be with Great White Egrets

What are we learning from this?

For me, being on-screen with friends and family is a privilege, a luxury, because we have access to technology. But, it does not substitute for human, face-to-face interaction, a hug or a kiss, the comfort of being close.

What do you think? How are you coping with isolation and distancing? How will this change us?

Back to, What does free on Sunday, April 12 mean? We are practicing the ritual of isolation. I am getting used to it now. Not much will change. Jacob will return to seeing his girlfriend. I may buy a plane ticket soon to get to North Carolina in mid-May — if, the virus outbreak there has flattened like it has here in California because of early social distancing and face covering mandates. Thank you, Governor Newsom!

One can only hope!

California coast wetlands trail. Distant horizon.