Tio Freddy

By: Gabriela Yareliz

When I was a child, I loved a Sabbath lunch at my Uncle (tio) Freddy’s house. His house was a magical and mysterious one. Each room had a theme and color scheme. The blue room with the lamps with beaded fringe was my favorite. The red bathroom was my favorite one. There were many floors, twists and turns and a beautiful pond outside. I would investigate the baskets of potpourri and tiny pretty soaps. I touched every velvet cushion and bead in that house on the ground floor, mesmerized. He was just as sparkly as his decor. To me, his house fit his larger-than-life personality.

I could wander the house quietly and play, using my imagination. He was never annoyed by it. Even after I tinkered with his treadmill once. I put it to a speed I couldn’t handle and was flying off the pad, scuffed shoes and all, holding onto the bars for dear life. He still was unbothered. He found me amusing. I could always tell he adored my mom, and I benefitted from that adoration by extension.

When we would arrive for lunch, his house smelled like garlic bread. He and his wife often had lasagna or some sort of pasta and garlic bread. The bread was my favorite as a tiny carboloader.

My favorite thing about Tio Freddy’s house was the stories. His stories were so good. Often, I would eavesdrop, and the stories were so enthralling I would stop mid-play, taking a break and just sitting against the wall on the floor on the other side of the wall from the adults, quietly listening.

He was a great conversationalist and storyteller. He was lively, so funny and warm. He would invite guests that were just as interesting to join us for lunch.

Tio Freddy passed away. I did what most of us do. I let that sink in, distracted myself a bit, but mentally, I kept coming back to him. His house of mysteries, his unique style, his funny and unique laugh, his joy, his stories. I thought about how, on my mom’s side, I think we all met Jesus through him. Jesus found him first, and changed his life. God used his golden heart to reach out to the entire family.

He embodied adventure, joy, exuberance and kindness— always.

I’ll always carry the memories of Sabbath lunches at his house, and how that house and everything about him dripped with imagination, color and laughter. I know he made my imagination soar. No one told a story like him. I didn’t understand it all as a nosy eight year old, but I just knew what magic sounded like. Tio is so interesting, I thought. I just knew it.

One of his chapters has come to a close, but I know Jesus will bring him home. And in heaven, his house will be the one on the block that everyone will want to go to. He’ll tell interesting stories for eternity, and his lamps will hang glowing with beaded fringe. I just know it.

This Week’s Favorites 07.18.26

Hellloooo my summer chickadees,

What a week it has been. Here in NYC, we endured the heat wave, legionnaires in the water supply (bless you, UES), The Odyssey premiere (bless you, traffic of the UWS), Canadian wildfire smoke (is the fire punishment for the Canadians killing all those Emus? Kidding— but also not), and life being life. And here we are. We made it.

Ron Swanson was a mood.

Also, can I just say that Parks and Rec is HILARIOUS. Not as great as St. Denis Medical, but a wonderful show to watch while we wait for St. Denis Season 3. I am still debating on whether The Five-Star Weekend with Jen Garner is worth it or if it will ruin the book. Garner in the ads already annoys me— is this a sign?!

My mornings consist of me fighting with the Hume Health Pod, strength training and sweating so much I can’t see anymore. We have reached that point in summer where I shower multiple times a day.

Something I am learning is we sometimes feel incapable of certain things— we opt for low-impact and soft movements thinking we can’t or shouldn’t jump, we can’t/shouldn’t do the explosive step-ups, that somehow, we are better off without it and our hormones are healthier if we take it slow and controlled. I just want to go on record to say that as a Pilates addict for more than a decade— all of that is a lie. I wish I had been doing what I started doing this spring a decade ago. That’s your PSA. Don’t let hormones, chronic pain or conditions keep you going at a pace that ages you at a cellular level. F-that.

I read The Courage to Choose Yourself, and while there are some suspect concepts in it, there were also parts that touched me deeply. I gave it 5/5 stars ⭐️. Mimi Ikonn should be proud of her book. I am now halfway through The Anti-Burnout Book and after will be Nantucket Second Chances because I love a Pamela Kelley Nantucket book in summer. (Let’s be honest, I read Nantucket books year round. How have I not been there yet?)

Country Living Magazine is doing its fair in Rhinebeck, NY in October, and not gonna lie— I want to go.

I sent some handwritten postcards and decided I miss snail mail. We are bringing it back. As a kid who moved every ten seconds, I sent hundreds, if not thousands of letters between the ages of eight and fourteen— then, emails took over unless you were at camp. God, I miss camping.

In the middle of Odyssey nostalgia, the smoke haze, Nantucket dreaming and my explosive HIIT sessions— these were some of the things that made me smile and/or think:

LOL to Kelly Oxford^.

“Sometimes the life lesson is that the peach was delicious.” Garance Dore (Sometimes, things are just simple. Why do we complicate everything?)

“We have to consciously study how to be tender with each other until it becomes a habit.” Audre Lorde

“Faith isn’t certainty about tomorrow; it’s intimacy with the present. It’s letting love finish what effort began. It’s remembering that even when I can’t hold everything, I’m always held.” Mimi Ikonn

“The unknown isn’t against us. It’s where life meets us.” Mimi Ikonn

Forever the Olsen triplet.

“This is the richest life.

Not a life free from heartbreak.

Not one where every prayer gets answered the way we’d write it.

But a life so full of love that even the hardest days feel like miracles.” Dr. Edie Wadsworth

“In the restrictive age of Ozempic, Ina preaches the gospel of abundance.”
KJP sweaters.
Paige is marriedddddd. Dairy Girl Summerrrrrr. 🥛

This podcast episode was excellent and divine timing. I am now tuning into Ben Azadi’s podcast. So much good info and scientific studies.

Dr. Ewoma has all the tips and tricks:

I love Chef Khanna’s energy:

This message inspired me:

Lastly, Michelle Branch announced her tour. Guys. I am so excited to see this woman play her hits live. Her music takes me back to windows open and wind-in-my-hair Charleston days (with that particular Charleston marsh smell that hangs thick over the water). Pretending to be her in the church gym. It was her, Jaci Velasquez, Vanessa Carlton and JLo. Now, Branch is baccckkkkk. So in honor of her Everywhere and Back Tour— the song of the week goes to her.

Song of the week EVERYWHERE:

My Summer with Homer

Spotted on a stroll.

By: Gabriela Yareliz

It was the summer before 9th grade. I was a volunteer, with my grandmother who was visiting us for the summer, at the vacation Bible school my brothers were attending in the neighborhood.

One of the books on my summer reading list was The Odyssey. You could find me reading it outside in the sweltering heat; on the floor of the large activity room that was always freezing (they must have kept that AC at 64F and the mics at full volume); in the kitchen while sitting in one of the old wooden chairs— and every time I opened it, it sucked me into its world and chaos.

Even more than Odysseus’ adventures, I remember how the epic made me feel. When I walked past the premiere location all week, it took me back to that hot summer before ninth grade and the journey back home.

There was a tiny green frog that used to follow us around and sneak into the space between the mirror and the shell of the side mirror in the car. Named him Odysseus. He was a cutie and adventurer (also stalker, living on the edge feeling the wind in his non-existent hair).

All this to say, Homer’s story is unforgettable, and I can’t wait to see this movie.

Parrots Everywhere

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I know someone who has zero engagement with life. They just take what you say or information you drop and parrot it to the next person to appear competent. These types of people were definitely the kids who cheated off of other kids in school.

This person kept name dropping books. They couldn’t explain much about them in depth, but they knew something about them (but I was suspicious as to how). The truth is this person doesn’t know much about anything in depth, so it struck me as odd. They have the attention span of a squirrel. It was odd until the day they revealed they attend a book club. And then, it all became crystal clear— every time they would name drop the latest NYT bestseller, they would give a pre-fabricated tidbit that was being parroted from some soul in the book club who actually read the book. It is so on-brand for this person.

Sigh.

The moral of the story— don’t be a parrot. Don’t parrot people actually doing the work or people who know nothing but speak in word salads. Be the person who actually knows the information. Be the one who actually reads the book. And stay away from the parrots. They can be such energy vampires. God help them.

The Fence

“There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say…a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, ‘I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.’ To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: ‘If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.’” G.K. Chesterton

This Week’s Favorites 07.11.26

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I eventually made it home from Nashville. I took a flight from hell with little-to-no AC again (JetBlue), trapped in a seat with parents who had zero control over their children. (And these were not babies— we understand babies). The mom kept shrieking next to me, “MOMMY IS DOING HER BESTTTTT!” I assume that was a message for the entire small plane of people who just wanted to jump out of the emergency exit.

Meanwhile, her little boy kept kicking her in the face. A Hispanic mother would never allow this. This kid would have been getting his ass kicked in the airplane bathroom after the first half attempt to defy. But this white lady with artsy tattoos was melting under pressure. I was about to slap her and tell her to get it together.

Me the entire flight.

Appreciate everyone who read the Nashville chronicles and for the funny side messages and comments. I really do hope more people check out Nashville Adventures.

I am almost done with Change of Plans by Sarah Dessen, and it is great. So much better than her last release. I am forever a fan. She can truly do no wrong.

These were some additional favorites from the week:

As I prepare to do some Nashville barn intermediates with Tracy Anderson, I loved this joint interview with her and her mom.

These interviews were insightful and hilarious:

One of Theo’s best and funniest interviews EVER.
Two Louisiana gentlemen.

“Freedom is responsibility with a sexier name.” Seth Godin

“Public virtue cannot exist in a nation without private virtue, and public virtue is the only foundation of republics.” John Adams

“But one of America’s most underrated freedoms isn’t the freedom to succeed, it’s the freedom to fail.” Mary Holland Nader

“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” Benjamin Franklin

“Repotting means accepting that the way is forward, not back. It means realizing that we won’t again fit into our old shells. But that’s not failure. That’s living.” Heather Cochran

Via Kenzie Burke.

“To love well, women must unlearn the belief that suffering is proof of devotion.” Bell Hooks

“I didn’t talk badly about you.

I talked about what you did to me.

If that makes you look bad, that’s between you and your behavior.

Because telling the truth about my experience isn’t bitterness. It’s clarity. And I’m not responsible for protecting someone’s image when they had no problem damaging my peace.

Sometimes the truth only sounds harsh because someone benefited from the silence.” Miley Cyrus

Via Kenzie Burke.

Song of the week (in honor of the great Bonnie Tyler):

It’s the song we all like to belt out in the car when driving alone on country roads. Just me?