A new month!!! How about that!!
I got up and started opening the blinds to let the light in. The third blind I opened there was a pop and the whole left side of the blind dislodged from the top. Wonderful!!! Another thing that needs to be replaced. So I emailed Dave and gave him the news. He said he would go shopping for one. I gave him the measurements and then I had to go as I was expecting Lois to show up at the house at 9:00am so we could visit a lady who makes leather dragons and then we were going to do some shopping. Mostly groceries but there is a cute shop that has all kinds of craft stuff in it which I am looking forward to visiting. So I poured a cup of coffee, sat down and read a little of the book I started last night titled, ‘Deception Point’ by Dan Brown. So far a good read. As it was getting closer to 9:00am I had to go down and move the solar panel back to face the sun. I didn’t do it last night because it was too dark. Once I did that I went back upstairs and got ready to leave. I got a call from Lois saying that the oil light is on in her Ford Explorer and she doesn’t know where the oil is and she shouldn’t drive it so she said we were postponing until Wednesday. I told her I understood and it was o.k. Larry takes care of the vehicles so Lois didn’t know where he keeps any of the car stuff, plus there was another thing she wasn’t sure about so she didn’t want to chance driving it. She would have Larry take care of it when he got home from fishing. So I had the whole day to do what I wanted. I went online and emailed Dave to let him know I wasn’t going anywhere today so I would be home to answer emails if need be. Then I ate breakfast and sat and read for a little bit then decided I would go for a walk. It was breezy but not real windy so I got my heavy duty plastic pipe and closed and locked the door to the house and took off. I walked a long way. From our house we can see a flat area that looks like white sand and we thought it might be another runway. When I got there it was land covered by a thin layer of salt. It wasn’t really any place you would want to land a plane. I can see now where the people that live in the Rencon and La Mona area have a hard time traveling the road when it rains. In spots it was still very damp and slippery. I saw where even the horses slid a little. The land is flat with a few scrub but mostly just barren. I decided I had walked enough so I headed back the way I came. I saw a jack rabbit dart away not far from me. As I got closer to where our housing section was I saw a plant that was small. I had noticed it other places and it grows quite large but there are no thorns on it and I like the foliage. So I decided to dig it up and plant it in my yard. So I did when I got back to the house. Luckily no one saw me pull it up. It had shallow roots and after I planted it I gave it a tiny bit of water. Hopefully it will live and grow to a beautiful plant. After that I turned the solar panel as I had been gone for about an hour and a half. I went upstairs and fixed a salad for lunch and after eating it I went down to the bamboo room and opened the roll up bamboo shades to let light in and then I opened the door to the trailer to let some air in. I came back to the house and went to the computer to see if there were any new emails, which there wasn’t, then searched for a music station to listen to. It took me a while to find a station that plays soft rock but when I did I listened to it all afternoon while I cross stitched. It was a relaxing day and I enjoyed my walk. When the sun got behind the mountain to where the light wasn’t as good for cross stitching, I put it away and had a cocktail. I sat and read a little and then got an email from Dave asking what engine was in the Chevy truck. He was leaving to go visit with Gary and Laurie so he said he would email me later. So I went down to the garage to see if the manual was there and it wasn’t but I found it in the truck so he must have put it back. Anyway, I found the answer and emailed the information to him. He is going to get an alternator for it tomorrow, hopefully. He went shopping for blinds and ended up getting 5. That leaves 3 windows we will have to get blinds for later. They are pretty inexpensive. So there will be projects to do when he gets home. One is to put the new faucet in the bathroom so the water pump doesn’t keep blurping because of it losing pressure, and the other is to finish painting and the next project is to get the blinds replaced. Oh fun!!! Hey---what else would we do???? Then we will be taking a road trip to Santa Rosalia for a couple days or so and get the boat cleaned and more stuff moved off that we now know we want to bring to the house. So there is always something to do!!!
After dinner I sat and listened to music and read my book then came to the computer to type this and probably play some games. Then it will be back to reading my book or chatting with Dave when he returns from visiting with Gary and Laurie. Sounds like he will probably be leaving on Wednesday really early to come home.
Lois called back late this afternoon and said she wanted to go do our thing tomorrow so she could have Wednesday to get some things done. She is working on decorating gourds for the art show this month and her and Larry are going to Mulege this weekend so she wants to get a bunch of stuff accomplished before Saturday. I told her it was fine by me which really works into my plans too as I was going to beat a rug and clean the house. You know---the rug I beat last month to get the sand and dirt out of it? There is still some more in it so I will have to just keep doing that and vacuuming it until there is less sand and dirt to sweep up underneath it.
Tuesday, March 2.
I have a grandson who is 13 today which is my eldest sons’ first son. How exciting for my grandson but not so for his parents. Hehe!!
Looking out my dining room window I saw a man on top of where a gal named Smiley lives and figured that was John her husband. I had my coffee and then went over to introduce myself. Lois is supposed to pick me up between 9-9:30am so we can go to town. After I had my coffee, I walked over to Smiley and John’s house and called hello to let them know I was outside their home. John came out from the garage/workshop area and I introduced myself and told him I had met Smiley last summer when we came to look at Lois and Larry’s place. So we stood and talked for a little bit and then Smiley came out and she remembered me so we talked some more. They are only staying until Friday because they have to get home so John can get back to work. They brought an older couple, where the man had surgery a few months ago, back to their home in La Mona where he can recuperate. They actually live year round here but when he had serious health issues, Smiley and John drove them to the states to get medical care. Smiley and John will be back down next month and will be staying maybe through December. So anyway---as I was talking to John and Smiley, Lois drove up. Lois hadn’t seen them since the last year so they had some catching up to do. I excused myself and fed Mary’s birds (she calls them here birds, but they are wild) and then walked back to the house to get my stuff together. It was going on 10:00am so I decided I had better start walking back over to John and Smiley’s place. I got my drinking water bottle to refill in town, my grocery list, backpack and I was ready to go. I locked the door and walked over to where Lois’ car was parked and put the bottle inside. Then I went over and stood near Lois and listened in on their conversation about the trials and tribulations of taking care of and putting up with a guy like Sanford who was a cantankerous old codger!!!! He is the one that had surgery and is back in his home now recuperating. They were glad to have him back in his home again. Lois took the hint that we should be leaving and we said goodbye and drove off. Smiley had brought down some things for Lois so she needed to stop at her house and drop them off. The old couple had been recuperating in Lois and Larry’s house in San Diego with Smiley taking care of him until he was strong enough to travel. So Lois had to unload mail and boxes of stuff they ordered and the like. Then we were off to town. We got to the dragon ladies home and no one was there. Lois hadn’t told Terry we were coming. It looked like everything was locked up tight which made Lois think Terry and her husband went on a bike ride somewhere. Lois is the informant in town. She knows what everyone is doing. We were disappointed, but I really wanted Dave to be with me when we looked at Terry’s leather dragons. So since I know where she lives, Dave and I can go there sometime. We left Terry’s house and went to Davids’ cop-op store and we both got a few grocery items. Then she went to the gas station to fill up then we went to Dos Piños, another store, then to Isla to get my drinking water bottle filled, then to the yellow store for the last items I needed. We stopped at a shop across from the yellow store which had some clothes and lots of gift stuff. It was neat. I just looked. Neither one of us bought anything. Then we went around the corner to another shop which is more like a stationary/craft store. It had all kinds of things. Wrapping and tissue paper, bric brac, beads, yarn, etc. It was fun looking through everything. Again we didn’t buy anything we just looked. We left and headed for home. When we got to my house she helped me unload my groceries and I thanked her for the ride and break away from the house. Then she left and carted the groceries and all upstairs and put them away. The rest of the day was doing cross stitch and reading. Mary and George are due home tomorrow.
The sun went down and I ate dinner then read my book. Dave said he was leaving at 5:00am tomorrow to head home. He is going to be one tired puppy when he gets here!!
Wednesday, March 3.
I got up and opened the blinds and started heating the water to make coffee. I sat down and read a little bit then after coffee had breakfast and started working. I took the bigger rug outside and flung it over the deck rail and started to beat the sand and dirt out of it. The nice thing was there wasn’t as much sand and dirt this time as there was last time. I left it hang while I went back inside and swept the floor and mopped. When it was dry I brought the rug back inside; laid it down and repositioned the furniture back on it. Then I vacuumed the rug and the one under the dining room table. That one is a pretty multi-color braid rug. When I was finished with that I dusted. Then I was done for the day. I wanted to do some cross stitching. It is coming along pretty well. I ended up having to tear out a section as my count was off and I am glad I did because it looks better. I set up the computer to play music and I cross stitched until the sun went down behind the mountain. It was a beautiful day.
After I had finished working I looked over to Mary and George’s house and saw their truck. It was around 1:00pm. They must have just arrived. So I got their house key and the envelope that had Nasarios’ pay along with the March contract in it, over to them. I welcomed them home and then left as they were anxious to visit with their neighbors Smiley and John.
I cross stitched and then after dinner, I sat and read and waited to hear from Dave which I did. He had made it to Redding. He was tired so we didn’t talk long. He hopes to be in San Diego tomorrow night. I wished him a safe trip and said goodbye.
Thursday, March 4.
I woke to a hazy sky. I wasn’t sure if we would have full sunshine or not, but at least we were getting enough solar power so far. I washed out a few items and hung them to dry. I figured even with the hazy day, they would still dry. The days are getting warmer but we always get a breeze which keeps it cool.
I opened up the bamboo room to get some fresh air in there and I also opened the trailer. I walked back to the house and had discovered where house finches were building a nest. I wondered why they were always singing and showing up on the deck. Well they were building a nest in the leg of the plastic picnic table. I had to pull everything out and try to find a way to discourage them from building their nest there. We would want to move the table out further on the deck when it got warmer and if they had eggs in the nest they would be abandoned. Well with watching and making noises I kept them from getting under the table. Well so I thought. I couldn’t be on guard all the time and when they showed up again with material for building, I watched and sure enough they found a way to get by my blockage. I again pulled out the material and made it a little harder for them to fit under there. So I watched and they tried to get in but couldn’t. Then they disappeared. I heard them and saw them from time to time over by the guest house. So I took a walk down there and went under a covered area that extends from the guest house, looked up and saw a nest being built on a rafter. I was pleased they chose to build away from the main house. They should be alright there and no one will bother them. So I don’t have to worry about it anymore.
Mary showed up this morning with a bottle of wine and some strawberries. That was nice. I knew I was getting a bottle of wine as payment for feeding ‘her’ birds and keeping an eye on the house but the strawberries were a wonderful surprise. I’ll try to save some for Dave but I don’t know-----it might be hard. If they start to spoil I will definitely have to eat them!!! Heheh!! Then she invited me to dinner at her house. Alan and Barb and Smiley and John were also going to be there. So I said that would be fun and asked if I could bring something. She couldn’t think of anything. Well after she left I didn’t want to show up empty handed so I called her and said I would bring an appetizer of rolled tortillas with a spread made from cream cheese, canned salmon and chopped capers. I cross stitched most of the afternoon, and then around 3:00pm I started making the spread and fixed the tortillas, cut them into bite size pieces, put them in a dish and covered them with saran wrap and put them in the refrigerator. I got dressed and went back to cross stitching until it was time to go. Around 4:55pm I gathered the appetizer, flashlight, and keys, locked the door and headed over to Mary’s. I turned the porch light on, but would need the flashlight between Mary’s house and mine after dark. Even though it is a short distance to walk, there is one section that is dark. No worries.
I saw that Lois had shown up at Smiley’s and so I knew they would be late. As I was turning the solar panel back to the morning position, I saw Barb and Alan going to Mary’s. I waved then started over. I got to Mary’s as Barb and Alan were getting out of their truck and we went upstairs, got invited in, sat down and started talking. Later Smiley and John came in and we talked some more then it was time for the guys to leave with the halibut to cook it outside. They were frying it. Us gals stayed inside and talked and Smiley, Barb and Mary planned a birthday party for another Mary that lives in La Mona. She is the one who was so nice in bringing down my meds when she was in San Diego last summer. She will be 60. That is cool. Baja Gal, which is her call sign on the radio, knows about the party so it isn’t a surprise, but she isn’t allowed to help do anything. The gals will take care of everything for her. Well the guys were finally done frying the halibut and we were ready to eat. We had halibut tacos which were really good. Along with it we had strawberry margaritas, beans, and rice. It was all very good. It was a wonderful evening and we all toasted Dave. I’m still not sure why, but the guys I guess were being funny because Dave was away from home and they were here with the women (wives). By this time the guys had had a few drinks. It was fun. Just before 8 John said they should go as they were getting up early in the morning so they could leave at 5:00am. They were driving back to San Diego to their home. So we all said goodbye and gathered our stuff and gave hugs and left. When I returned home I turned off the porch light and closed the blinds and then sat down and started reading. About 8:30pm I got a ding on the computer to let me know Dave was contacting me via chat. So we chatted for a little bit and then knowing he was tired and had to get up early in the morning I said goodnight. He was in north L.A. He wanted to be over the board by 10:00am so he could miss all the traffic. He is hoping to get a green light. Me too!! He is going to stop in Ensenada and then will be home tomorrow sometime. It is about a 7-9 hour drive from Ensenada.
I asked Mary if I could hitch a ride to the garage sale Saturday and she said sure if I didn’t mind riding in the back of the pickup truck. I told her no problem. She suggested I bring a chair to sit in like a beach chair.
Once Dave and I were signed out of chat I went back to reading my book then went to bed.
Friday, March 5.
The morning was bright and sunny. I really didn’t have much planned for the day. I read my book, took a break from that to turn the solar panel and open the sliding glass doors in the bamboo room and the windows in the trailer. Then I walked around the yard checking on my plants. There is a sticker bush type that is outside in the front of the guest house and it looked like it was dead but I noticed new leaves. So I decided to cut it back so it will have a chance to grow. Then I went over to the plant I brought back from my walk the other day and unfortunately it was withering. I got some water and put just a little around it and also watered the cropped plant by the guest house which is blooming now and doing well.
Then I got the shovel and made my rounds in the yard picking up and tossing dog doo in the arroyo. Haha!!! You thought I was going to say something else huh?! When I was done doing all that I went back into the house and started to cross stitch. I brought up the soft rock radio online and listened as I worked.
Smiley and John left really early. I think it was before 5:00am. I heard them drive away.
Mary called me on the VHF radio and asked if I could come over for a few minutes. I said sure. There are some things you don’t want to talk about on the radio as people listen in. So I went over there and she had a dish pan filled with meat from a freezer. She asked me if I wanted it and I said sure!!! Don’t have to go shopping for a while. There was a whole chicken, hot dogs, chicken breasts, pork loin roast, a small piece of salmon and some sauce she had in a plastic bag. So I was pleased. Mary said she got an email from Creela, her neighbor that is on the other side of Smiley and John, and asked Mary to take everything out of the freezer as she didn’t know when she would be down and if something happened where there was no power, she was afraid it all would thaw and then be a terrible smelly mess. So Mary took care of it. She left the refrigerator on as there wasn’t anything that would spoil in there. I thanked her and she said not to worry about returning the pan real soon, but it did belong to Creela so she needed it back. I went home and put it all in my freezer. Now the freezer is full and we have some variety for meals. Yahoo!!
As usual I cross stitched all afternoon, and then I went down to the trailer and got a beach chair to put on the deck outside the guest house so I could have that to sit on in the back of Mary and Georges’ truck. Then I closed all windows and doors, rolled down the shades and locked up. The sun was behind the mountain now so it was time to turn the solar panel so it will face the morning sun and lock the electrical room. Then it was back upstairs to read and have a cocktail. As I was reading I heard a ding from the computer and I thought it was Dave but it turned out to be my eldest son, Ernie. So we had a nice chat. After 7:00pm he said he had to go and eat dinner and I told him I had to also. So we signed off. I had dinner and then read. I was up until 11:30pm but never heard from Dave. So I don’t know where he stayed for the night. I am assuming he was across the border already. He will be home tomorrow. I am glad. It will be nice to have the ole guy----oops---I mean Dave home again!!!!
I finished the book I was reading and went to bed. I will start a new book tomorrow titled ‘King of the Moon’. It is a story that takes place in the Aqua Verde area of Baja California. We have been there in our boat. They made a movie from the book apparently as Mary said she watched it the other night on HBO. Well it is off to bed. I better set the alarm so I am sure to be ready to go by 7:00am. That is when Mary and George are leaving.
Saturday, March 6.
The alarm went off at 5:00am and it was still dark out. I thought I had set it for 6:00am. Oh well. I went back to sleep and got up at 6:10am, got dressed and sat down and started reading the new book until it was time to walk over to Mary and Georges’. I gathered my fanny pack, which I use as a purse, and locked the door, got the chair and walked over. George was putting a couple of chairs in the back of the truck and I started to put my chair in there and he told me he was riding in the back. I told him it was fine for me to do that but he insisted. Mary drove and I sat in the passenger seat while George sat in his chair in the back of the truck. I told them I felt bad. Mary said George was the one that came up with the idea. Well I enjoyed the ride. When I got up this morning there were dark clouds to the north, south and east. The west was fairly clear. George had checked the weather and he said it is suppose to be nice all day today and then rain late tonight and tomorrow. Could have fooled me. I took my sun glasses but not a hat because I didn’t think it would be that sunny. It was a little chilly too. When we got to where people were going to set up for the garage sale, Mary found a place to park and then we off loaded a table and she had a few things set out to sell. Then I wandered around and looked as people were setting up their tables. There wasn’t anything I saw yet that I needed or couldn’t live without. So I just waited. There were a couple more people who showed up and set up and I looked at their stuff but still there was nothing that interested me. Since I rode with Mary and George and the garage sale was too far to walk back to the house, I was stuck there until it was over. It opened at 8:00am and hardly anyone was there. I expected there would be people lined up like at home, just waiting for the doors to open. Well around 8:30-9:00am, Mexican families started showing up and buying, buying, buying. It was fun to watch. There was a red volkswagen bug that had been converted into a dune buggie and the guys were almost drooling over it. Howie was asking 4500 pesos and no one wanted to come up with the money. So it didn’t sell. I ended up sitting with some of the gringos that were there selling, and talked with them. Pretty soon everything was sold or given away and it was over. It was around 10:00am when we packed up and left. I told George I was sitting in the back and he said no he was. Then he said the magic words which I couldn’t argue with. He wanted to be king and sit on his throne with his staff (fishing rod) in hand. So I told him I saw his method of madness and it was so he could be king and keep me from being queen of the truck bed. Haha!!! So he road all the way home in the back of the truck holding his fishing rod and enjoying every minute of the bouncing. It was funny. I had them drop me at the end of my driveway and I thanked them for the ride and said goodbye. I turned the solar panel to face the sun and went upstairs to the house, unlocked the door and went inside. I had fun even though I was disappointed I didn’t get anything I was looking for. I was looking for bedding and a lamp.
It was around 11:00am when I walked through the door and I checked to see if I had any emails and I didn’t so I put music on and started cross stitching. I was really tired so I decided I would lay down for a little bit. I figured if Dave left early in the morning he should get to the house around 1:00pm. I was just about ready to doze off when I heard a car. I jumped up and looked out the window but couldn’t see the jeep but knew it was Dave. I opened the sliding glass door and walked outside and saw him pull up. I went down and gave him a big hug and kiss and he started telling me about his trip and the stuff he bought and all that. He was a tired guy. We unloaded the jeep and I carried most of the stuff upstairs that was going up there and then helped guide Dave as he backed the jeep into the garage. Then we went upstairs and I fixed us lunch while he unpacked. After lunch he proceeded to figure out how to hook up the speakers, CD and DVD/VHS units and then to the T.V. that Marty back home had sold us. It took him a while to figure it all out. He was able to fit everything under the cabinet that the T.V. sits on. He took the back off the cabinet so he could make everything fit, and then realized when he went to move the cabinet, the back was the support of it. So he ended up putting the back back on. Then he had to take the doors off the front of the cabinet so the units could fit on the shelf. He finally figured everything out and it looks good. The sound is surround sound and it is really neat. This system was what was in Marty’s house. Since he isn’t living in the house anymore and will be renting it, he didn’t know what to do with the stereo, T.V, system. Well along came Davey and it was sold!!!!! It will be nice to play our CDs. Now all we need are our CD’s which are on the boat. That is one of the items we are bringing back to the house. When he finished with that project he took down the broken blind and replaced it with a new one. Then it was time for him to just relax. So I told him we would do more tomorrow. By this time it was cocktail time. All the while he was working on the stereo system, I cross stitched. There wasn’t anything I could do until he needed me to help him with putting the back on the cabinet.
We had our cocktail and talked some then it was time for me to clean shrimp and start dinner. We are having Shrimp Creole.
We ate dinner, and then after I was done with the dishes, we retired to the living room and Dave asked if I wanted to watch a movie. I said sure so we watched the first one of the Star Trek series. It was great with the surround sound. Thank you Marty and Inez for your unit!!! After the movie was over it was bed time.
Sunday, March 7.
We got up at 9:00am. We both woke up early, but neither one of us wanted to get up yet. So we slept in. Dave was really tired. He said it was nice he didn’t have to get up early and hit the road. After our coffee and shooing birds away from the table again, Dave took the new bathroom faucet out of the box and started that wonderful little project of taking the old leaky one out and putting the new one in. Well like most things, it wasn’t an easy job. The space he had to work in was small and he had a hard time getting leverage. Gee---where have we done THIS before? The drawers that were in there were hard to get out, but Dave finally was able to get the top one out which gave him a little more room. Unfortunately, Larry didn’t know what he was doing when he put in the faucet and used the wrong kind of stuff on the fittings and all. But Dave was able to get the old one out and clean off the silicone that had been put at the base of the faucet. Then he proceeded to install the new one. It wasn’t easy but he did it. I had turned off the water pump so he wouldn’t have water everywhere and when he was done I turned it back on. There was a little bit of a leak but then it stopped. So far there have been no leaks and the faucet doesn’t drip anymore. BUT----it didn’t take care of the blurp from the water pump. Somehow there is a leak somewhere. Dave went down stairs and over to where the water pump is and looked at all the piping to check for leaks and went into the bathroom off the bamboo room and looked at that faucet. He said that was a jerry rigged job if he ever saw one. He couldn’t find a leak anywhere so what we suspect is that somewhere in the pipe, leading from the water pump to the house, underground, it is leaking. Larry said he never could find a leak either. So until that is found, the water pump will always blurp. Oh well. Could be worse.
When Dave was done he went over to Mary and Georges’ house to see if he could borrow a CD to see if he could get the stereo working. When he got back he put in one of the CDs of a Big Band Fever CD set. As he was working with that I had been cross stitching and then decided I wanted to put up a new blind. The blind on the window next to the bed has been broken to where we couldn’t get it to go up or down. So I popped the old one out and put the new one in and only asked Dave to eye each side of the blind so I made sure it was centered on the window. He got the stereo working and we listened to the big band sound the rest of the afternoon. Dave spent the rest of the afternoon on his computer while I cross stitched. About 4:30pm I had fixed Dave and I a rum and coke and he sat down and started reading a book I got from Lois, Dan Browns’ ‘The Last Symbol’ and I went back to cross stitching until the light was gone. When that happened I put my stuff away and started to prepare dinner. After dinner and dishes, Dave retired to the living room to read and I had to catch up the journal for the blog. I was 3 days behind. Then Dave put his book down and came out to the kitchen and stood in front of the refrigerator looking at it and the counter near it. I asked if he was looking for wine and he said yes. I told him it was in the cabinet to the right of the refrigerator and he got out the box wine he bought and poured it in a carafe and put it in the refrigerator. When it gets chilled we will have some. It is chillable red wine. He went to his computer and sat at the desk and started programming the phone that is hooked up to Magic Jack. That is where you can hook the phone into the computer while connected to the internet and make phone calls just like you would on a regular phone. Then he started playing his sub game. He has an old one on his computer and I have a newer version on mine. So that is our exciting evening!!! Can you stand the excitement?!! Now I am off to read until bedtime.
Monday, March 8.
We were up at 8:00am and it was a beautiful sunny day. There was a little breeze so it was nice. The house finches are still trying to build a nest in the picnic table we have. I will have to do something about it.
Dave went over to see George and return his CD set and give him a set of paint brushes and a couple small sponge paint rollers to pay him back for letting us use part of his supply. Dave talked to George about what kind of insurance he has on his vehicles as we need to do something about the jeep. When he got back, he went to the computer to send an email to the agent we have. The response was we need to insure the jeep in the states and also have a driver’s license insurance to where you are insured no matter what vehicle you drive. So we are going to take care of that. We can’t go to Santa Rosalia until we have paper work stating we have insurance. Not so much for going to Santa Rosalia, but when we come back we have to cross state line and they want to see papers on your vehicle. So hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for that.
After Dave finished sending the email, he went downstairs to start the truck. We figured out the switch that Larry put on to save battery juice. The switch actually had 3 different positions. Dave had me get in the truck and turn the key so instruments registered so we could find out what position the switch was in when the battery was engaged. We found it and Dave was able to start the truck. After that he took out the old alternator and put in the new one. While he did that I washed out clothes and hung them to dry. Then I got a new blind set and thought I would install it while Dave was working on the truck. I got the old one down and when I went to put the new one up it wouldn’t snap into place. I noticed that they had only put two brackets in to hold the blinds and the end caps were not in and that is why it fit and the new one didn’t. So I stopped what I was doing and went down and asked Dave whether I should move the brackets in a little so the new blind would fit with the end caps in, and he said to wait because there should be a center piece to hole it in the middle and he would need to do some measuring and drilling of new holes. So I stood and watched him put the new alternator in and helped get him the tools he needed that he didn’t have right there in front of him. Now the truck runs. The next thing he has to do is put a new ignition switch in. That is going to be a little more work. I don’t think he is going to tackle that until we get water and groceries. We are thinking of seeing if we can borrow Larry’s water tank and pump and get water tomorrow and maybe take the laundry to Yolanda and drop that off then get water. Then I will go in on Wednesday and get groceries and pick up the laundry. That is the plan anyway.
After Dave was finished with the truck and put all his tools away, I fixed brunch and after that Dave put the blind up. It took him a little bit to put it in but it is done now. Then he was on his computer most of the afternoon checking out insurance prices and then he came to the dining room table and filled out our taxes. He was doing them by hand and then would enter the information into Turbo Tax on the computer. So while he did the taxes, I cross stitched. He said the online was more involved than by doing it by hand. But at least this way we don’t have to worry about mailing anything. So after a few trials and tribulations in filling out the information, he got it done. Then he had trouble with the printer. As we found out, it was plugged into a different operating system so the printer didn’t know what to do. When we found out the problem he was able to print out the paperwork and all is well. I fixed us a cocktail and then started preparing dinner. We are having mashed yams with halibut and salad.
We had a nice dinner and Dave went to his computer to send an email and do whatever else he needed to while I did dishes. I think he will end up reading as I will too after I finish here.
My jobs today were to wash and dry clothes, turn the solar panel when needed, burn our paper stuff, and walk around the yard looking for dog poop to clean up. I make the rounds everyday and I think it is helping to cut down on the scent. There are only 2 dogs here right now, but more are on the way as more people come down. Oh well. It is just part of being in the neighborhood.
The house finches are desperately looking for a place to build a nest and they want to build one in the leg of the table but it can’t happen so I decided to turn the table over where the under part is exposed to the elements. They came back and didn’t like that so they left. FINALLY!!! It didn’t have the protection for them as when it was upright.
The trailer is starting to smell less musty now since I have been opening the windows everyday to air it out.
Dave and I talked about replacing the sofa sleeper with a double bed in the bamboo room. The sofa is pretty well shot and would not be safe or comfortable to sleep on. But we have to ask Larry and Lois if we can get rid of it because it is theirs and we don’t own the house yet. So we will see what they say. There is one of the gals here that wants to sell a double or queen bed with all the bedding. So I need to find out who that is because there wasn’t one of those at the garage sale. Then we also have to ask if we can get rid of the brown recliner that is still in our living room. We want to get one or two more of the bamboo chairs we like so well. Mary is trying to get George to let her sell one of theirs, but he doesn’t want to yet. Then another gal showed me one of her chairs and said that if she were to get rid of any that would be the one. She isn’t ready to let go of it yet. So there are options. We will just see. It is so hard right now because I want to fix the house up and put stuff Dave and I like in it, but don’t know if we will be staying there. We haven’t heard any news of anyone interested in the boat. Dave sent Shelley an email just to check in and see how things are going. I really hope it sells this summer. Well I know----patience!!!!!
Well it is time to go read my book. But wait!!!! I think I will play a couple of computer games first. THEN I’ll read.
Tuesday, March 9.
I didn’t last long when I started reading last night. The book is interesting but it doesn’t hold my attention like the last couple of books. So when I start to nod off I go to bed.
Well as usual, Dave finished the book he started a day or two ago. He said it was good. I am looking forward to reading it after I get done with the one I am reading now.
It was so nice this morning, Dave went out on the deck and sat for a while drinking his coffee. Then he started the truck and ran it a little. He noticed yesterday that the passenger side headlight was hanging out. There is a frame that is missing that keeps it in place. So Dave is going to unhook the light and take it off so we don’t lose or break it. Then he noticed the windshield wipers didn’t work and they were working before he left to go to Seattle. He said the fuse was taken out and never replaced. That was when Larry had the truck to try and find out what was draining the battery. He forgot to put it back in. Dave noticed the fuse was cracked so he replaced it with a new one. Now the windshield wipers work again. Not that we really need them, but you never know.
We were going to get water today, but Dave decided not to. He asked me when I wanted to go to Santa Rosalia and I said any time. We got our car insurance via email so Dave printed it out so we will have one in the jeep and the truck.
I was going to go into town tomorrow and buy some groceries, but we thought maybe we would go to Santa Rosalia on Thursday. Then I realized Mary and I are going to Maryann’s house to see what she is selling. She wasn’t back in time from San Diego to sell her things at the garage sale. We decided we would go to Santa Rosalia on Friday so I still need to get a couple things at the store, but will do more shopping when I get back.
I did some stretching and then decided to go for a walk. Dave was on the computer waiting to hear from the insurance guy and checking emails and other stuff. So I told him I was going for a walk and would be back later.
I walked on the airstrip, which is now closed, and continued walking toward the west. I saw an abandoned ranch. It must be the one that Lois talked about. The family that lived there had horses and cows and when they left they let the animals go free. I saw several plots of land that have been sectioned off with barbwire fencing. I decided it was time to come back so I headed back to the airstrip and ended up back home. I watered the 3 plants I have in our yard and then I went upstairs. Dave had already had lunch so I fixed myself a peanut butter sandwich and sat down and ate it.
After lunch I cross stitched for most of the afternoon while Dave was trying to get all the insurance stuff taken care of. Then it was cocktail time and I went out on the deck and sat and enjoyed the view. The wind had quit blowing so it was pleasant. When I got back from my walk the wind had picked up and lasted until around 5:00pm. Just when you think it is going to calm down, you go outside and then it picks up again. There was a little breeze as the sun was going down and it cooled off so I came inside to start dinner. After dinner Dave and I watched a movie titled, ‘The Full Monty’. We had never seen it before and we had a good laugh. Now Dave is looking at star charts and I am typing this. The wind has died down completely now and it is quiet. Well here is to a quiet and relaxing night.
Wednesday, March 10.
Today was spent mostly in the truck and jeep. We left the house to go to town to get a few groceries and to fax a email confirmation to the auto insurance man. Half way to town Dave remembered he forgot the papers to fax. Well we were in the truck and we weren’t going to turn around and go back. The front tires on the truck are shot, meaning the steel belts are showing and we have no idea how long they will last and the less we have to drive it on the rocks the better. So we went ahead and got groceries and gas and stopped at the last store just before you make a left to get on the dirt road to go to the house. As I was in the store buying a couple of things, Dave walked across the street to ask about tires for the truck. The man was going to Ensenada in the next day or two and he said he would check and see what he could find. He also asked if he could find a rim for the headlight. So when we return from Santa Rosalia we may have a tire or two and a rim. When we were finished in town we headed out on the dirt road and stopped at the ‘Home Depot’. Dave and I saw some junker trucks sitting in the yard so we stopped to check and see if they had a rim for the headlight. The one that was on our truck must have come loose and fell off. Anyway, Dave asked the man if we could get a rim off one of the trucks and he said yes. So Dave proceeded to check it out. He said the rim would fit so he asked for a screw driver from the man and went back to the truck to take the headlight out and get the rim. I waited in the truck. When Dave got the rim he brought it back to the truck to see if it would fit, it didn’t seem to, and the man said that maybe one tab could be taken off and soldered and then it would fit. So Dave decided to keep it and see what he could do. He asked him how much he wanted for it and the man said for Dave to choose. So Dave gave him 20 pesos. The owner was happy. Dave got in the truck and we bounced our way home. After getting home I took the groceries upstairs and Dave parked the truck. He wanted to go back into town to fax the paperwork for the insurance but didn’t want to drive the truck. He suggested we could take the jeep and I told him sure and I would go with him as I wanted to see how it did on the dirt road. I fixed us some lunch and after we are we were ready to go. I got the paperwork, locked the door and we were off again. The jeep rides pretty well as I figured it would. You still bounce around but not as much as you do in the truck. We can go a little faster in the jeep too which is nice. We finally got to town and got the paperwork faxed and then we stopped at the Guillermo store to see how much gin was. We looked around and I got a couple cans of chicken, Dave got a bottle of gin since the price was good, and a big bottle of citrus juice. We thought it might be good with rum. We’ll have to try it tonight. After we paid and left the store we headed for home. We stopped at Larry and Lois’ house to let them know we were going to be leaving on Friday to go to Santa Rosalia and be back on Monday or Tuesday. I stayed in the jeep while Dave talked to Larry. Lois was somewhere else. They had just gotten back from an overnighter on the coast to watch whales. When Dave was finished talking, and you know THAT can take a while, heheh!!! We left and came home. Dave parked the jeep back in the garage and that was that. It was about 3:00pm, so we had left around 9:30am or so and came back just before noon, had lunch and then we were off again. It was a pretty drive as everything is green now and cactus and other plants are either in bloom or getting ready to. The desert is beautiful when it is green.
Dave sent an email to the insurance guy to let him know we faxed the paperwork and asked if he got it. It took a while for him to get back to us. In the meantime I went online and checked email and also ordered a gift for my eldest sons’ birthday coming up on Monday. Wow!!! He is going to be 35. Time sure does fly. I got an email from my youngest son today saying my boys were getting old. Ha!! My youngest will turn 33 on the 25th of this month. March is a big birthday month for us. After I finished with shopping and emails, I cross stitched for a little bit then started dinner. We ate dinner around 6:00pm and afterwards when dishes were done, Dave and I went out on the deck to enjoy the nice evening and have a cigar. It is getting warmer and it feels good. So we didn’t do a lot today. Tomorrow I will be getting things together for our trip to Santa Rosalia. We plan on washing the boat and working on the stainless steel, plus I need to vacuum and mop the floor. It will seem a little strange probably at first to be on the boat again and stay on it, but I am looking forward to it. I am also taking my laundry to do there. Saves me from having to take it to town and then have to go back into town the next day to get it.
We tried the rum with the citrus juice and it wasn’t bad, but regular orange juice tastes better. They didn’t have any at the store and the manager said it was like orange juice so we bought it.
Thursday, March 11.
We stayed home today. Today the only thing I have to do is get things ready for our trip to Santa Rosalia tomorrow.
I was going to burn this morning but I waited too long and the wind came up. It was blowing pretty well. At 10:20am Mary came over and I drove us in the jeep to Maryann’s house. She took us into her garage and downstairs area and the only thing I found that I could use is a floor lamp to put next to the computer table. It cost me all of $5.00. What a deal. When we were done in the garage, Maryann invited us upstairs to the main house. It is a big house and needs a lot of work. She needs a new roof, new flooring because the tile that her husband put in are coming loose. Apparently he was a carpenter but built the house cheaply and they were only down here for a year when he died. So now she is faced with a house that is literally falling apart. Once the roof is replaced she plans on painting the outside and then she will paint all the rooms inside, painting each room a different color. She is trying to get the house fixed but it is going to take a lot of time and money. Apparently she doesn’t have a lot of money. It is a lot of house for one person to maintain. But she wants to keep living down here. When we were done visiting I took Mary back home with her treasure of a wine rack she is going to use as a bird feeder. Then I came home. I parked the jeep outside the garage as I was nervous about having to back it into the garage. Dave said he would do it later so I said o.k. and proceeded to clean the lamp and get it so we can use it. Hopefully Dave will be able to see the keyboard now. Once the lamp was clean and in place next to the computer table, I made lunch. After lunch Dave continued on the computer doing his thing and I got things together for tomorrow so I would have everything packed and ready to load in the truck. I already loaded a couple plastic totes and a cooler in the jeep. The totes are for the stuff we are bringing back with us and the cooler is to put ice in it to keep milk and coke and whatever cold so we don’t have to turn on the refrigerator on the boat. With all that done I sat down and did some cross stitching. Needing a break, I got the key to the jeep and told Dave I was going to try and back it into the garage. He said he would do it and I told him I wanted to at least try. So he asked if I needed any guidance and I said probably, and chuckled. I have to help him when he backs it into the garage. Well I did it. I did get a little too close to the rock steps that go up to the house which is on the driver’s side. It looked like I had room, and before I could back up anymore Dave yelled----STOP!!! If I had kept going I would have scraped the jeep. Ouch!!! Thank goodness he was there. When I pulled forward and then started backing up, Dave helped guide me in and I made it without incidence. I was pretty proud of myself. It is a hard garage to get into. I came back upstairs and did some more cross stitch. Pretty soon it was time for dinner so I fixed that and we sat down and enjoyed it and then it was computer time for Dave and dishes for me, then I caught up the journal. It is a 5 hour drive to Santa Rosalia so we should be there around 12 or 1:00pm depending on what time we leave in the morning. We will probably be on the road by 8:00am. I am hoping to get my blood work done while we are there so I can see if the statin is working.
Well here’s to a good night rest.
Friday, March 12.
We left the house around 8:30am and headed for Santa Rosalia. It was an uneventful ride and a long 5 hours but we arrived at the marina around 2:30pm. We went to the office to say hello and let them know we would be on the boat until Monday or Tuesday. I was going to have my blood work done, but this weekend is a holiday weekend for everyone so the stores will close early and the lab isn’t open on Saturdays or Sundays, and probably won’t be open Monday so I will wait and do it when we come back in a month. We walked down to the boat and couldn’t believe our eyes. It was covered in bird crap. Carlos said it was much better than a day or two ago. Arturo washed it. We are definitely going to have a lot of work to do tomorrow. We walked back to the jeep and unloaded our stuff and brought it down to the boat. The batteries were good and everything seems to be working fine. After we got our stuff on the boat we walked over to the little store across from the marina and bought some ice, tonic water, and bread. We went back to the boat and just chilled for the rest of the afternoon. We hooked up our computers and checked email and Dave is following sports and news.
We were on bird alert when the sun started to set. There are some cormorants that love to land on the spreaders and the mast head and if you don’t shoo them away they stay all night and crap on your boat. So we ended up chasing a couple away. When it was dark and we knew the birds weren’t going to come around and perch, we walked into town to get some money and dinner. We ended up at the chicken restaurant. There were some missionaries there and we talked with them. They are here to help with the orphanage. They are here for a couple of weeks and then go home and back to the seminary to finish their studies. It was nice talking to them. After dinner we walked back to the boat and just relaxed knowing we would be working our butts off tomorrow. We finally went to bed around 10:00-10:30pm.
Saturday, March 13.
Dave was up at 7:30am and I stayed in bed until 8:00am. Dave made coffee, poured himself a cup and went outside. I got up, got dressed, poured my coffee and sat inside. Dave started getting the hose hooked up and tried to find the nozzle and boat soap. He finally found the nozzle but no regular boat soap. We have soap and wax mixture but we don’t want to use that right now. That would be after we scrub the stains off. He started hosing down the boat trying to get the big chunks off. I had finished my coffee and went outside to help. I brought with me a bottle of awesome cleaner and Dave tried some of that but it wasn’t taking the brown spots off. Not good!!! If we don’t get them off we can kiss selling the boat goodbye. No one wants a stained boat. So we tried some dish soap I had that has Oxy plus in it. That helped a little. Dave scrubbed and I scrubbed. We had to keep going over and over the same area to get it clean. We finally got the starboard side white and the middle section just below the middle of the windshield and above the solar panel for the start battery. Dave was able to get the port side of the dodger clean, and I tried to get it clean on my side but wasn’t as successful. I’ll have to work on it tomorrow. Half of the windshield cover is clean, but I want to take it off and lay it on the dock and scrub all of it. I started to scrub on the port side where Dave was working. He had asked Carlos at the marina if they had a pressure washer and they did. So Dave was doing something with the cord that goes to the pressure washer while I scrubbed the top port deck and not having much luck. The bird crap had been baked on so much it is going to be more work getting it off than it was on the starboard side. When Dave got the pressure washer working he washed the bow and the areas that were covered. Unfortunately the water pressure wasn’t enough to really do a great job, but at least we got some of the stuff off. We will have to scrub the boat tomorrow and then use the pressure washer where needed. We finally called it quits around 3:30-4:00pm and put the pressure washer away along with the brushes and hose. Then we went downstairs on the boat and I turned on the hot water heater to heat water for a shower and then I checked email. Dave went on his computer and he actually fell asleep for a few minutes, sitting up. Then he got up and went and lay down and took a nap. I took my shower and got dressed for dinner as we were going to town to get something to eat. I fixed us a gin and tonic and Dave took a shower. We had our drinks and waited for the birds to come. There was one that landed and we got rid of it. We waited a little bit longer and then decided we would walk into town and get dinner and also see if we could find a tarp to put over the middle part of the boat to keep the bird crap off the deck.
When we got into town we went to one of the hardware stores and they didn’t have any tarps. So we walked over to the hot dog stand, the one that sells the bacon wrapped hot dogs, and ordered a couple. After we had finished our dinner we walked up the street to the bank and got some money to take back to B. of L.A. and then went to the other hardware store. They didn’t have any tarps either. I guess we will just have to bring one back with us the next time. We will ask Carlos if he knows of a place in town that sells them. As we walked back through town, Dave asked if I wanted some ice cream. Of course!!!! When we got our ice cream we walked back to the marina and onto the boat. I got a cigar and went outside and smoked it. The wind had died and it was really nice. I watched pelicans dive for fish and we did have a visitor on our spreader and got rid of it right away!!!! Dave got a cigar too and joined me outside and we walked the dock. Then when we were finished we came back down stairs and settled down for a relaxing evening. Both of us will be taking ibuprophen tonight!!!! I washed the dishes I had in the sink and emptied the coffee grounds from the French press. I checked email again and had one. Then I had to catch up the journal as I didn’t write yesterday. We are listening to music and just relaxing and will soon be off to bed to rest up for another boat scrubbing day. Oh we can hardly wait!!!!!
Sunday, March 14.
After morning coffee and breakfast, we were back at scrubbing. The port side stains are not coming up and we keep scrubbing. Dave and I both worked on the same area for quite a while. I was getting discouraged but kept on scrubbing. It did start coming up. Dave washed the gray area on the port side and it looks much better. We had to scrub that a couple of times too. We finally got the port side of the boat washed and it looks so much better. I rewashed the port side of the dodger and then I scrubbed the port side of the windshield cover. I was going to take it off and put it on the dock to scrub it, but unfortunately the wind was blowing too hard. So I just washed it in place. I washed the windows and even had to scrape off the bird crap off them. Dave was trying to figure out why the pressure washer wasn’t working at full speed because it was hardly touching those stains. We figured it had to be the water pressure and maybe even the motor. I guess Dave said they had jerry rigged it somehow to get it to work. Well it helped a little but didn’t do what we had hoped it would. Therefore, we went back to scrubbing. While Dave was working on the pressure washer, I rinsed the mainsail that sticks out a little way from the mast. Then I rinsed around the rolled up dinghy and got all kinds of fish entrails off the boat. I’m telling you the boat had been covered!!! Dave scrubbed the starboard side of the dodger for me and he couldn’t get some of the spots off so I scrubbed and got the rest. Dave scrubbed the gray area of the starboard side so now the boat is totally clean and looks like our boat again. It was still early in the afternoon, so I rinsed out the cockpit because as the birds flew over, they crapped through the mesh screen. It wasn’t as bad as the outside, but it still needed to be hosed down. Whew!!!! We are done for the day. It is going on 4:00pm so it is time to quit. I don’t think we will scrub tomorrow.
While we were working on the boat our friend Marty, the one we met in La Paz, came back with the people she is crewing for, from whale watching. We were very happy to see her. She invited us to their boat for cocktails at 5:30pm so we could catch up.
After we got cleaned up from working all day, we dressed for dinner as we were going from their boat straight to dinner. We went over to Celtic Son, and sat with John, the owner and captain, his crew member Diane and her 4 year old daughter, Leah, and of course Marty. They stopped here at Santa Rosalia from San Felipe and working their way south to La Paz. They have 2 more weeks before they have to be in La Paz so they are taking their time. Diane made guacamole, so we had that and some wine and talked about destinations from here south for stopping overnight. It was getting late so we invited them to come with us to dinner, but Diane, John and Leah stayed on the boat and had dinner while Marty came with us. We walked to the chicken restaurant and Marty shared some things about crewing with these people. It was fun visiting with her. After dinner we walked back to the marina and said goodnight.
Dave and I played games on our computer and then we went to bed.
Monday, March 15.
Today is my eldest sons’ birthday. He is 35. Wow!!! How time flies eh?
No scrubbing today!! I think we are just going to let it alone. Arturo will wash it twice a month and that should help a lot. We had just asked Carlos if Arturo could wash the boat just before we got down here so before that the bird crap was being baked on the deck. So now that it is clean it shouldn’t be so bad the next time we come down which will be next month. At least I hope it turns out that way. I sure don’t want to scrub that much ever again. Today is a holiday and the Governor is coming to town so most of the stores are closed and there isn’t anyone working at the marina. We want to talk to Arturo before we leave so he understands what we want him to do with the cleaning of the boat. We also want him to dive the boat and clean it once a month. It’s going to have to be that way until we can sell the boat. Since Arturo wasn’t working today we decided we would see him tomorrow and leave to go back to the house on Wednesday. That is good because now I can do some grocery shopping tomorrow.
I washed the dishes that were in the sink and then walked to the jeep to get the 2 tote boxes and bring them down to the boat so I could load them up with the stuff I want to take back to the house. So I did just that when I got back to the boat. I had also stopped and got a couple of tokens to do a load of laundry later on. After the totes were loaded, I took them to the jeep and put them in the back seat. Then I made one more trip but this time it was just empty plastic containers that I stored things in on the boat. I can use them in the house. I made a list of the little bit of food I have on the boat so I will know what is there, and then I got out the stuff to clean the stainless steel. The stern stainless hadn’t been done for a long while and I didn’t get a chance to do it before we moved to the house, so I decided today was the day. I did the back and then under the bimini. I will need to do under the dodger tomorrow as it is getting late and I still have laundry to do. I put everything away and gathered the clothes and soap along with my book and went up and did laundry. Dave was so tired he lay down and took a nap. While the clothes were in the dryer, Dave came to the laundry room to say hi and told me he needed to repack the back seat. The totes needed to be turned on the seat. So he went and did that and I went back to reading my book and waiting for the clothes. When the clothes were dry and folded, I took them back to the boat and put them away. I checked email and searched the internet for a birthday gift for my youngest son whose birthday is in 10 days. I didn’t find anything yet but will continue to search until I do. I shut down the computer and got cleaned up and ready for dinner. We did the bird watch thing until sunset and then walked to town. We got to the restaurant and ordered lemonada and they brought us some chips and salsa. As we were eating, Leah came through the door and came up to me and said hi. I looked up and saw her mom, Diane, John, and Marty. We asked them to join us and we had a nice time talking about faraway places and Dave shared his experiences and stories of when he traveled the Pacific Islands. After we had our stomachs filled, we paid the bill and left. We walked back to our boats and said goodnight. They are leaving on their boat to head south on Wednesday. The wind should be dying down by then. It blew about 20-25 knots today. Yesterday was about the same maybe a little more and salt water sprayed the boat. Yeah!!! After we spent the whole day cleaning. That’s alright. We will rinse it down tomorrow.
Tomorrow is shopping day, finish the stainless steel in the cockpit and got our stuff together for our trip home. We will probably have dinner with Diane, Marty, John, and Leah tomorrow night before we go our separate ways.
Well it is time for a glass of wine, relax and then beddy bye time.
Tuesday, March 16.
Today is the day we start to get things together since we are leaving tomorrow morning early.
First thing that was on my list was finishing the stainless steel in the cockpit. Dave woke up with a bad earache and we had no eye dropper or his ear medicine on the boat. I took that to the house. I guess he got water in his ear when he took a shower and it didn’t come out. He is really susceptible to what they call swimmers ear. So he went on line to see what he could do and he found that a home remedy for earaches is 3 parts vinegar and 1 part rubbing alcohol. We had both on board. So he made the solution and poured some on a cotton ball and dripped it in his ear. Then he took an ibuprohen. I was going to town shortly so I was going to stop at a pharmacy and see if I could get him some ear drops.
When I had finished with the stainless steel and put everything away, I came down below and started searching for a birthday gift for my youngest son. I think I know what I’m going to get him but I want to look some more before I actually decide. Dave needed to get some water for the batteries so we walked over to the store across from the marina. He wasn’t feeling good at all. I asked if he was hungry and he said sharply---NO!!! O.K.! So when we got back to the boat I fixed myself some lunch and then told Marty I was leaving to go shopping around 12:30pm. I left Dave alone and let him do what he needed to do. He ran the engine, checked the water level in the batteries, and they only needed a little bit of water. After I left to go shopping he will run the generator, and back flush the watermaker. This is so we know everything is in working order. When 12:30pm rolled around and went to Celtic Sons and asked if they were ready to go. Marty was and Diane had gone up to get their clean clothes to bring them back on the boat. I had to stop at the rest room so I said I would meet them up there. On the way I passed Diane heading back to her boat with the clean clothes. Marty was first to arrive at the meeting point so we talked with Dave a little bit as he had gone to the rest room too. Then Diane, John and Leah came along and we said goodbye to Dave as we went off to town. We stopped at the bakery and pharmacy where I got drops for Dave, then Marty and I went to do our food shopping and Diane, John, and Leah went their own way. When Marty and I were finished shopping we walked back to the boat and put our food away, then we walked over to the little store across from the marina so I could get ice and a beer, and Marty could get a couple six packs and a single cold beer for her so when we got back to my boat we would sit, relax and have our beer.
We got to my boat and we went down below and Dave said he had just finished doing his chores with the boat and everything worked fine. Marty and I drank our beer and listened to music and the three of us had a nice visit. Then she said goodbye and gathered her beer and went to Celtic Sons since Diane, John, and Leah had just returned from town. They are coming over at 5:30pm so we can have some wine and they can see the boat. Marty has been aboard before but Diane and John haven’t. Around 5:30ish, they came over and we sat around, talked, listened to music and then it was time to go to dinner.
We decided we were having the Santa Rosalia bacon wrapped hot dog. They hadn’t had them yet so we wanted them to experience the famous hot dog. They loved them. They are leaving in the morning in their boat for Chivato, where there is nothing but large shells on the beach. So they are heading south to La Paz and we are heading north to B. of L.A. After our hot dogs we went to the bank and then to the ice cream store. We sat outside and ate our ice cream and then walked back to our boats. We said our goodbyes and I went down below and got a cigar and came back outside and smoked it. There was a little breeze but it was warm and very nice out. Before I went outside, I put more drops in Dave’s ear and he took another ibuprophen. When I was finished with the cigar I came back down below and took a shower then relaxed.
Dave is having more pain in his ear now than he did before. I sure hope he will be fine tomorrow. I’m hoping it is a sign that the medicine is working. He put a warm wash cloth on his ear. I feel for him. I grew up with ear aches and I know how much they hurt. I wish I could do more for him. Hopefully he will be much better in the morning.
Wednesday, March 17.
Dave was up and down all night. I woke up every time he got out of bed. He definitely wasn’t feeling well. We both finally got into a good sleep when the alarm went off. We got up and gathered our things and I started taking things to the jeep. Dave said his ear was swollen shut and he couldn’t hear very well out of it. And it hurt a lot. I asked him if he wanted to see the doctor and he said that would delay us another day in getting back to the house. Which meant, no. He wondered if the pharmacy was open and I told him I didn’t know what their hours were. We packed the car, put the hose and the electrical cord away, on the boat and locked the boat, then Dave and I walked to the pharmacy and it was open. We asked if they had a different ear drop because the one I bought yesterday didn’t seem to help. The lady got a different one and it had cortisone in it which helps with swelling, so we asked her how many drops at a time and how many times a day. She told us 3 drops 3 times a day. That was what we were doing with the other drops but it just didn’t seem like it was helping him. After we left the pharmacy with the ear drops, we walked back to the marina, went to the office to say goodbye to Carlos and Ivon, but no one was there. I put drops in Daves’ ear before we left so it could start working then got in the jeep and left. It was a beautiful day and it was going to be a warm one. We had planned on the way down to Santa Rosalia to stop in Guerrero Negro on the way home, but I figured Dave wouldn’t be up to that which I was right. I didn’t care. I want to go when he feels like exploring and seeing what the town has to offer. So we kept driving. Dave drove all the way while I ended up nodding off in the passenger seat. He asked me why I was so tired. He thought I slept all night. I told him I was awake as much as he was, knowing all the times he got up. We had brought our CD’s with us so we were able to listen to music instead of a really quite ride home.
When we got back to Bahia de Los Angeles, we filled the jeep gas tank and then we went to Miguels to buy some vegetables. We left there and the next stop was to the yellow store to get milk. Well he didn’t have the plastic cartons on the 2%, just whole milk, so I bought tetra box milk. That will get us through until the next time we are in town.
We bounced and bumped on the rocky dirt road to the house. When we arrived at the house we unloaded the jeep and carried the stuff upstairs. I put some things away but didn’t feel like putting everything away today. Dave and I had something to eat and I put more drops in his ear. He went to his computer and sent an email and I was putting things away in the kitchen. When I came around the corner of the kitchen and living room I saw that Dave had lain down on the bed. So I sat and read for a while. I could see Dave was in a lot of pain as he lay there. He eventually got a wet wash cloth, heated it in the microwave then put it on his ear. I remember the last time he had an earache, when the medicine was starting to work, it seemed he was in the most pain. I hope that tomorrow he will be much better and the swelling is down. I’m hoping we both get a good rest tonight. It will be nice to be in the king bed again where we can both stretch out.
Dave couldn’t have anything hard to chew because it hurt, so I fixed some leftover spaghetti that I had frozen before we left for Santa Rosalia, and told him he can just slide it down. He won’t have to chew much. He made it through dinner and he said he would like to go to bed but then he would be up at 4:00am and didn’t want to do that. So he is at the computer right how reading sports, news and playing games. We should have T.V. pretty soon so we can watch the news. We aren’t doing much tonight and we both will be going to be earlier than normal.
With our busy day, I had totally forgotten it was St. Patrick’s Day. So I hope everyone had a great day and some green beer to go with it.
Thursday, March 18.
Apparently Dave was up a couple of times during the night but the only time I heard him was at 5:00am so I guess I slept well. He said that he used the ear wash he had from when he was diving to see if that would help. He quit using the drops. He said every time the drops went in his ear it would burn and hurt worse than when he didn’t use the drops. So he is just taking ibuprofen. He remembered from before when he had this problem, he couldn’t use the drops and had to take an antibiotic. I told him I wished he had remembered that while we were still in Santa Rosalia. He isn’t going to use the drops today and see what happens. He went on line to see what he could find out about ear infections. Apparently he got a virus and basically it has to run its course like a cold. He had been stuffed up and was taking Sudafed while we were in Santa Rosalia. I am really glad I brought it. You can’t get Sudafed down here. He took the last of it but without it, it could have been worse. So we just wait. If it gets worse we can always make the drive to Guerrero Negro, which is about 2-1/2 hours away, to get medicine.
Neither one of us really felt like doing anything today. I read for a long time this morning as I had coffee. Dave went down to the garage and was putt sing around then came back up and was on his computer. The book I am reading titled, ‘King of The Moon’ by Gene Kira, started out kind of slow but as I read on it became very interesting and is hard to put down. It is written about the Mexican pangueros that lived in the Baja California, Sea of Cortez side. I only have about 5 more chapters to go. I guess they made a movie from the book. It showed down here on HBO but we didn’t get to see it because we don’t have the T.V. connection yet.
After we had lunch, Dave put some CDs in the disc player and we listened to music. It was sooo nice to be able to listen to good quality music instead of from the computer. I read most of the afternoon and then I did just a little cross stitching. Dave said his ear still hurt, but not like it did last night and this morning. All he took was ibuprohen. So this is a very good thing. At 4:00pm I got some rum and cokes and glasses and went over to where Mary and George are fixing up their guest house. We told them it was 5:00 o’clock somewhere and it was time for a break. Mary was actually back at her house working on a gourd for the art show in another week. I went over to their house and got her and we had our drinks on the deck of their guest house. After we talked a bit it was time to say goodbye and go fix dinner. When we got back to our house, I asked Dave to take the glasses and tray, as I was going to close the windows in the trailer and lock up the guest house. Then I turned the solar panel so it would face the morning sun, checked all doors to make sure they were locked and then joined Dave upstairs. I started chopping garlic and onion and mixed it with the hamburger, then added mushrooms and cooked that until the meat was brown. Then I cooked the noodles, mixed cream of mushroom soup and sour cream together and poured it on the meat mixture and cooked that through. Then the noodles were done and they were drained and added to the meat mixture and whalla!!!! Dinner. After dinner I did the dishes while Dave played solitaire on his computer. His ear was starting to hurt and the shooting pains were back. The ibuprofen had worn off. So he took another one and is still waiting for it to kick in. I got a cigar and went outside to smoke it as it was really nice and warm. The wind comes up every once in a while, but so far it is pleasant. We see a lot of shrimp boats out among the islands. The Mexican people don’t understand that it isn’t good to fish every night for weeks at a time. They don’t think they are raping the sea but that is exactly what they are doing. They have done it before and it took a long time for the fish to come back. Unfortunately in small towns and villages here, fishing is what they do to make money. So it is sad.
While I was outside I saw a bat flying around. Before we left for Santa Rosalia, we were outside smoking our cigars and we saw this big thing flying around. We thought it might just be a large moth. They get quite big down here. But tonight, I noticed it was actually a bat. Good!!! It is eating the insects!!! I finished my cigar and came inside. Dave is sitting in his chair with his eyes closed hoping and praying the ibuprofen kicks in soon. He is having stabbing pains every once in a while. Poor guy!! And of course I am here typing this.
I did do some work today. I unloaded the totes we had full of things from the boat. I put my clothes away and the clean clothes and rearranged the bathroom closet. Pretty much everything has been stored and cleaned up. It is nice to be back in the house. I love it!
Dave wants to get water tomorrow so he asked me to call Lois and Larry because it hurts if he talks too much!!! Gee!!!! I told him I was sorry----and laughed!! I called Lois and she said we could come by and get the tank and pump any time after 8:00am. We get to bounce around on the road tomorrow. It won’t be too bad with the tank full coming back.
The weather is wonderful. Not too windy, and it is warm. We are happy!!!
Here is to Dave feeling much better tomorrow!! And another beautiful day in paradise!
Friday, March 19.
Dave slept all night which was good for him but not so good for me. He snored all night!!! I nudged him a couple times to no avail. Oh well. At least he was able to sleep. This morning his ear still hurt but not as bad. So I’m hoping the swelling is going down and the infection is clearing up. He put a mixture of vinegar and rubbing alcohol in his ear before he went to bed last night and then just took ibuprofen today.
We took the truck to Larry’s and got the water tank and then went to town to get water. We waited our turn and when we pulled up to get water the well was dry. So we have to come back tomorrow. It needs all day and night to refill from the stream. So that was a wasted trip. I’m staying home tomorrow while he goes to get water. There isn’t anything I do except keep him company. He will probably want to go first thing in the morning before too many people get there. Oh well---there are days like that. We drove back home and called Larry on the VHF to ask if we could keep the tank and get water tomorrow and he said it wasn’t a problem. We will have to go earlier in the week as they do have a tendency to run out toward the weekend. When we got home, I turned the solar panel, opened the windows in the bamboo room and the trailer, and then unlocked the garage. Dave went over to Mary and George’s house to let them know that the town has changed their clocks to daylight savings time. It was so confusing trying to figure out on line when we were suppose to change and everything we read said not until the 4th of April. Well for some reason the town decided to change their clocks this weekend so we are now an hour later than we were. No worries. It stays lighter longer which is nice. Dave came home and changed our clock and then he sat down and started reading ‘King of The Moon’. I started some cross stitch. My back was hurting a little so I did some stretching and then fixed us some lunch. After lunch I went back to cross stitching and Dave, reading. I was tired so I took a nap. Dave read all afternoon and finished the book before dinner. He enjoyed it as I did.
When I got up from my nap I did some cross stitching. Around 6:30-7:00pm I heated up the leftover stroganoff and we ate dinner.
After dinner Dave read the news and sports and then played his sub game. I washed dishes and started looking through my cookbooks to find a recipe for shrimp. We still have the large shrimp in the freezer so we need to eat them. After that I went over to the sliding glass door and opened the door a little to let some cool air in. Then I walked over to the other sliding glass door to lock it and I heard a noise. I looked out and there was Alaura, Mary and George’s dog. She came to visit since they aren’t home. I think she wanted water, but I am trying not to get her use to coming over for that. I went out and talked to her and petted her and then told her I had to go. I went inside, closed the sliding glass door and locked it and went to the bathroom. When I came out she was gone. Then I started updating the journal.
Not much going on right now. We are waiting for Dave to feel better so we can finish painting the trim on the house. There is plenty of time.
Saturday, March 20.
Dave was on his way to get water this morning at 7:00am. I stayed in bed and got up just before 8:00am. It was nice to relax and have my coffee. I took the opportunity to plug my computer into the internet so I could check email. I had 12!!! I had just finished with answering and reading email when I heard the truck. I went down to greet Dave and help with the water. I could tell he got water because it had spilled a little over the top of the tank. We pumped the water from the tank to the pila and then Dave parked the truck. He wants to caulk above the window on the north side of the house where it leaked when it rained hard just after we moved in, and paint the wood strip just under the roof line. When he is done with that he will return the tank and the ladder back to Larry. Well by the time Dave got the ladder out the wind picked up. Sometimes the wind is really strong and Dave didn’t want to be on the ladder if it was going to blow. We never know how strong the wind will blow or the gusts. So he is putting it off until the morning. It won’t take long to paint so he should be able to get it all done within an hour and a half.
I washed clothes and hung them, and then I opened the trailer windows and the sliding glass doors in the bamboo room. I watered the few plants that are in the yard and went upstairs and made the bed. We are having shrimp for dinner tonight so I took the block of shrimp encased in ice, down to the cement and threw it down about 4 times to break them up. Then I went back to the kitchen and pulled some out for dinner and sealed two bags of what was left over. The shrimp guy should be here tomorrow so I want to eat this so we can get more. The two sealed bags were in the freezer and left the third one to set in water to thaw for cleaning later.
I did more cross stitching and Dave was at the computer and then he would go down to the garage, and then pretty soon I see him out the window on the north side of the house, on the ladder. The wind didn’t pick up like it did yesterday so he took the opportunity to caulk the wood above the window. So now he just has the painting to do tomorrow on the one side board on the house itself.
He came inside and put 5 CDs in and we listened to music all afternoon while I cross stitched and he did his thing on the computer.
About 4:00pm I decided I needed to stretch my legs so I went for a walk. I didn’t go too far and I didn’t find any cactus in bloom near us. I have seen them in bloom from the road on the way to town, but haven’t seen any here yet.
I have a plant by the trailer that is getting ready to bloom. There are several buds on it. It will be nice to see that. You can tell that the dry season is coming as the plants that were once nice and green are turning yellow and brown. It was pretty while it lasted.
When I got back from my walk I did a little more cross stitching then it was time to put the potatoes in the oven so we can have baked potatoes with our shrimp. I went back to my cross stitch and when the potatoes were done, I put all my stuff away and started to prepare the rest of the meal.
We are actually eating dinner while it is still light outside. That is nice. The days are longer and it is good!!
Dave is in the process of trying to figure out how to tear down the lookout on the side of the guest house. It is unsafe to go up and the floor is no good any more. So he pulled the electrical wire that is attached to the light in the roof of the lookout, and was able to disable that so when he does his tearing down, there won’t be any live wires.
After I did dishes I went outside with a glass of wine and enjoyed the view. It is really nice outside. A little breeze and you can see the shrimp boats moving way out from here. They look like diamonds sparkling with their lights lit.
Dave called Ron and Noreen to wish Noreen a happy birthday. They were at Ocean Shores. We had music playing in the background and Noreen wanted to know where we were. We told her at home and she thought we were in a bar. HA!!! Well we were sort of. We had a drink in hand and listening to music. Does that count?!
Dave’s ear is still swollen, but it doesn’t hurt like it did. Right now he isn’t taking anything for it except ibuprofen when it hurts. I don’t know if that is good or bad. It doesn’t hurt to touch it like it did yesterday and the day before so I guess it is getting better. We shall see.
Sunday, March 21.
Dave was up a couple times last night. At 1:00am he had me put the alcohol and vinegar solution in his ear. Then at 3:00am he took ibuprofen. His ear was hurting before he went to bed so he used the heating pad and laid on it with his bad ear down. He fell asleep and after I got ready for bed I asked if he was going to go to bed and he said “yes”. So I crawled into bed and Dave got up and got ready for bed. The swelling hasn’t gone down and he says his ear is pretty much painless during the day it is just at night when it really bothers him. I told him that if it keeps up he will need to see if we can get some Amoxicillin. We might go into town tomorrow to see if they have any at the clinic. If not we will have to make a trip to Guerrero Negro.
While Dave and I sat and had our coffee, we saw the pangueros come and start pulling nets. They must have put them out yesterday and left them overnight. As we watched them Dave saw they were pulling something big and putting it in the boat. He said it was either a halibut or a sting ray. We both got our field glasses and watched them take something out of their net. I recognized it as a Ray. It was very large. They will probably use them for scallops or Machaca, which is dried fish or can be beef too. The rays were as wide as a man’s outstretched arms. Dave said there must have been about 12 in the boat. Almost every day we watch as the pangueros come and fish for bait fish or whatever else.
The skies are hazy today and there is no wind at the present time, but it is suppose to blow this afternoon. The weather report said it was suppose to blow from the west. Dave is hoping the wind will hold off until he can paint the board that is under the eave of the north side of the house. He got the ladders out and started setting everything up. I had planned on taking a walk on the beach since the tide was out to see if I could collect some different shells, but never went because Dave needed to have someone there as he was going to be on the ladder. He climbed up one ladder to the top of the laundry room and then positioned the other ladder. I went into the garage and started to stir the paint and then I poured some into the paint pan and got the roller and took it to him. I had to climb the one ladder to get on the laundry room roof to help him each time he needed a refill on the roller. It actually didn’t take too long and he finished just before the wind started picking up. It was coming from the north instead of the west. He took the big ladder, the one that he used on top of the laundry room, and took it up to the deck of the house to paint one of the beams that needed white paint. I had poured a little too much paint so he was trying to use up as much as he could. When that job was done, he took the big ladder down, folded it and put it aside as it belongs to Larry. We have to take the water tank and ladder back to him later. Then Dave went inside as the wind was making his ear hurt. I put the pan and roller to soak and then turned the solar panel. I went into the house and put on my sandals as I had flip flops on. I did that and came down to the garage, grabbed my gloves and a shovel and went out to dig up the rocks that were buried in the drive way to the house. I am going to use those rocks to line the driveway. I removed quite a few big rocks and then I had to stop. My back was telling me it was time to quit. I took the shovel back to the garage and took off my gloves and placed them on the work bench, closed the garage door and went upstairs. Dave was at the computer. I walked to the kitchen and pulled down a recipe book because I wanted an idea of how to go about stuffing halibut with salmon. I had a small piece of salmon which was mushy when I thawed it, so I am going to mix that with butter and some seasoning and stuff the halibut. After I figured out what I was going to do, I went to the dining room table and started cross stitching. A little after 12:00pm we ate lunch and I went back to my cross stitch and Dave to his computer. We called Larry to see if he was going to be home this afternoon and he said he was getting ready to leave but should be back around 2:00 or 3:00pm. Shortly after lunch, Dave disappeared and I wondered if he was lying down, and sure enough I heard him snore so I got my answer. I continued to cross stitch. When 2:30pm rolled around Dave said he needed to get the ladder and tank back to Larry. I really didn’t want to go, so I called Larry to see if he was home and he was. So I didn’t have to go with Dave to help him unload the truck. When Dave left I hooked up my computer and read emails and then I was done. I will be glad when we have a router so I can be online when I want to without having to share with Dave. It’s that think you know about not sharing well with others!!!!!! Ha!
When Dave returned from Larry’s he came inside, got my computer so he could play his newer sub game. I continued to cross stitch. It is coming along really well and it relaxes me when I don’t lose count that is. Ha!!
When 5:00pm rolled around I started preparing dinner. It actually turned out pretty good. After dinner I went out and had a cigar while it was still light, and then came inside and did dishes. I freshened up and Dave went outside to have his cigar. He called me out on the deck and asked me to look in the field glasses at the water. He said to just keep watching, which I did, and then I understood what he was talking about. You could see the phosphorescence on the water caused by the fish swimming. It was cool! Our neighbors dog, Alaura, came to visit. She always does when her mom and dad are gone. Then she saw them coming home and she left in a heartbeat to greet them. She is a sweetie. She talks to you too when she wants some water or food. It is funny.
The wind never did come out of the west like the forecast predicted and it is pretty much all died down now. It is nice. Dave had his coat on and I was wearing a summer dress. He was cold and I was warm. Go figure!!! I imagine that has a lot to do with him not feeling well. I sure hope he can get it cleared up.
Monday, March 22.
Dave slept all night and he didn’t snore either which was really good for me. His ear is still swollen but it doesn’t hurt as bad as it did. He said it is more of an annoyance now. I got a couple of medical books we brought from the boat and one of them suggested irrigating the ear canal with vinegar and alcohol. So he did that. Then we will see what happens.
There was a panguero in front of our house pulling up a net and Dave was watching with his field glasses to see what they had and unfortunately they had caught a couple of seals. Dave had said that if they couldn’t untangle them they would have to kill them. Of course I didn’t want that to happen so I waited for him to give me a report. He said they finally cut the net to let them go. I was glad to hear that. They can fix their net without any trouble so I was glad they didn’t have to kill the seals. I guess one of them was pretty happy he was loose because he was calling and was on his back with his fins out of the water just relaxing. It is funny to see them do that. After the pangueros pulled in the rest of the net, they took off.
I was going to wash out clothes this morning but the skies were a little cloudy with filtered sunshine so I decided I would wait until tomorrow. As it turned out, the clouds went away but by this time I had other things I wanted to do. Dave was on the deck outside the dining room and he asked what he needed to do today. He thought for a few minutes and then said---“nothing”!!! That is the beauty of being retired. So he went over to his computer and was reading the news and keeping up with sports. Since there was no wind this morning it was perfect burning weather. I gathered all the paper waste, put my hat on and took the burnable stuff down to the garage, set it down and started to tear up some cardboard boxes left over from when Larry brought the Star Band equipment. I got the clicker bicker to light the fire and loaded up the wheelbarrow with everything including the shovel. I went to the burn barrel and dumped all the stuff in it and lit it and put the grid back on the top of the barrel so no burning material flies out. After watching it for a few minutes to make sure everything was burning good, I turned the solar panel to face the sun then took the wheelbarrow and shovel to the driveway to dig more rocks. I dug quite a few big rocks and put them in the wheelbarrow and took them to where I wanted to place them which are around the edges that turn toward the driveway, heading toward it from the road. Here’s a picture so you can see what I am talking about.
I finished the one side and now I am working on the other. Everyone here uses rocks to outline their driveways and put around their gardens. It is just the thing to do to make it your own. That is what I am doing-----making it my own. I tried smoothing out some of the holes I made yesterday in the driveway, but decided I would have to get the rake and do that, but maybe later. I had dug up enough rocks and I was pretty hot so I decided that was all I was going to do for now. I put the wheelbarrow and shovel back and went upstairs to cool off and had some water. It felt good to be doing some physical labor. I sat down and drank my water and read a little out of my book. I am reading Dan Brown’s ‘The Last Symbol’. It is really good.
Dave in the meantime was looking on a map to see how far it was from here to Ensenada. One of the maps we have has the mileage but you can’t tell where it starts from and where it stops. So he looked up in the AAA travel guide book and that wasn’t any help either. He ended up going down to the jeep and getting the map he had in there out. And that did give him the information he needed. We are going to be going to Ensenada here soon as we need to buy bulk items and restock. I think Dave wanted to go this weekend but I told him I wanted to go to the art show that starts Saturday at the Museum. He said there wouldn’t be anything left to look at as it would probably already be spoken for, but I told him I wanted to go none-the-less. The show goes for 2 weeks, but the first two days all the good stuff will be out and will go quickly. Besides I think it would be better to go during the week as opposed to a weekend. We’ll figure it out.
When I had cooled down I made us some lunch and did some cross stitching. Then I got the bug to go outside again and this time use the rake and shovel to try and fill in the holes and then smooth them over. A little breeze was coming up so it wouldn’t be as hot now. I got the wheelbarrow out along with the shovel and the rake and took everything back to the holes. I dug up some dirt that was off away from the driveway and put it in the wheelbarrow and then started to shovel the dirt into the holes then smooth them out. I think they will be o.k. Dave asked if I was having fun and I told him “yes”!!!! I had finished filling the holes and was heading back toward the house to put everything away and Dave asked me to bring the wheelbarrow over to where he was going. He had a big rock that was very heavy that he wanted to move it from that spot and put it along where the soil is starting to collapse. He did the hard part of lifting the rock and then I wheeled it down to past the house and guest house to the edge of the yard. I dumped the rock, accidently in the bushes, but was able to roll it out and over the bank. We are going to build a wall to keep the soil from eroding. It is going to take a lot more big rocks, but there isn’t a shortage here. I told Dave I would help him by smoothing out the ground below where the soil is eroding and then dig more rocks and we can go from there. I was going to do that tomorrow, but I have to go into town to get some milk, drinking water, and a few groceries. Maybe I can do a little when I get back. I am going to have to take the jeep in to town and save the tires on the truck for when we need water for the pila. Dave tried to get the lug nuts off the wheel of the truck with no luck. I think he may have to take it to a mechanic in town and see if they can take them off and then change out the tire. Larry had another tire that fits the truck rim, it is just a little smaller than the 16 inch tire that is on there now. It is in much better shape than the old one.
We are keeping our hot water heater off and only turning it on when we want to take a shower. Well it is soooo hard to light and I asked Dave to show me one more time how he lights it. He tried and tried and had a real hard time. Then after about 15 minutes it finally took and we had flame and heating of hot water. It just takes patience. So the water is being heated so I can take a shower. The water heater uses a lot of propane so that is why we keep it off until we need it. After I put everything away, I went upstairs and within 10 minutes the water was hot so I took a shower. Dave had come upstairs and was back at his computer and when I was done with a shower he took one, careful not to get water in his ear.
While I am in town tomorrow I will stop at the clinic to see if they have any amoxicillin. It is 3:30pm and I went back to cross stitching. Dave took my computer down to the bamboo room to play his sub game without having to wear headphones. The noises of the game bothers the heck out of me. The high shrill of the whistle onboard a submarine and them saying “DIVE, DIVE, DIVE” all the time over and over. It gets on my nerves. So now he has a place he can go and have it as loud as he wants while I sit quietly doing my cross stitch. Have I told you I really like this place????? Dave was looking on line yesterday on the Baja news and saw there was a house for sale. The ad said it was just south of town and it showed some pictures. It comes fully furnished and also comes with a quad, and a couple boats. Forget the house! Dave had his eye on the boats and quad!!!! The bad part is it is two stories and we want to have a house that doesn’t have a lot of stairs, if any, and if it is just south of town, I know people who live in that area and they have told us that when the wind blows from the north, they have the wonderful aroma of fish coming from the fish packing building. Oh yea!!!! The other thing is they are asking $149,000 for it. Besides I like where we are because we don’t have neighbors right next door to us like it is close to town. The road going to and coming from town sucks, but I guess that is the price you pay to be out away from a bunch of people. It’s fun to look and you just never know.
Around 5:00pm I fixed us a cocktail and I delivered one to Dave. I went back to cross stitching and he to his sub game.
I got a call from Mary, my neighbor, saying there were horses in our yard and I should keep an eye on them in case they are looking for water. Our pila does leak a little and Mary knows that so she wanted me to know that if they smell water they will destroy whatever to get to it. So I thanked her and went to the window. There were 2 white and 1 brown horse. I have seen prints of horses but never saw them come around until today. They went between the pila and the house. I went to the bedroom window and lifted the blinds a little and that must have spooked the brown horse because he galloped away and the others followed. They just kept walking down the road toward the guard trailer and Blanco, the guards’ dog, chased the horses away down to the beach. So now I have proof there are horses. There are also cows too, but have only seen their pies!! You know----cow pies?! Anyway, it was neat to see the horses but it doesn’t sound like we want them hanging around. They sure were skinny. You could see their rib cage. Poor things! There isn’t much food or water out there in the desert for them.
After that little excitement it was time to make dinner. When it was almost ready I went down and told Dave it would be ready soon. He closed the windows in the trailer, and the sliding glass doors in the bamboo room. Dave washed one of the sliding glass doors to the bamboo room today. He couldn’t stand looking through a bunch of dirt anymore. It isn’t totally clean yet, but it is a lot better than it was. When he locked up the guest house he came upstairs and we had dinner. After dinner I did dishes and Dave went to his computer. So another quiet night. Not much else going on. I will be reading more of my book tonight before I go to bed.
Tuesday, March 23.
When I went to bed last night Dave was playing his sub game. Shortly after he got in bed the wind picked up and blew a lot. At one point Dave asked me if this was the type of wind I had when he was gone and I told him yes but it was constant for several hours. At least this one would let up a little and then a big blast would come through. We finally got out of bed around 2:45am and looked out the windows to make sure things weren’t flying like the solar panels. It was hard to see outside as it was cloudy. We saw some lightning once in a while and the storm seemed to be moving south. Even if there was something blowing around outside, we wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it because the wind was so strong. At least the chairs on the deck stayed put!! We went back to bed and then we were up again at 3:30am. Dave kept hearing a clunk and we couldn’t figure out what it was, until we finally figured it was the ball on top of the old electrical shed that when the wind blows, the air hits the slits in the ball that make it turn. It was spinning pretty good I’ll say. After that we went back to bed and just laid there until the wind finally died down enough for us to sleep.
Dave was up at 8:00am and I wasn’t far behind him. I need to go into town this morning and want to go early so I can get vegetables and all before it gets picked over. Dave had coffee but I didn’t as it is hard when you are going down a bumpy road after having a full cup. You may not have to go when you leave, but you can bet you’ll have to half way to town. So I just don’t have anything to drink until I get back.
I gathered my egg carton, grocery list and my fanny pack and of course money and went down to the garage and got in the jeep and drove away. My first stop was at Isla to get drinking water, then I went to Miguels, then David’s, then Dos Piños, then Diaz, then the yellow store, Xiltali, pronounced siltally. I did stop at the clinic to see if they had amoxicillin but they didn’t so I asked at the yellow store and they had a box of pills, 500mg that I needed, but the unfortunate thing was the box had been opened and pills had been distributed so instead of 12 pills there was only 4. I noticed there was a liquid form of amoxicillin on the shelf but it was for 250mg. One of the ladies must have understood what I was trying to say and she went over behind the counter and found another box of 500mg. It too was in liquid form. Well that was all they had so I got it. It was only 142 pesos which is cheaper than I thought it would be. I left the yellow store and headed home. After I got home I unloaded the jeep and Dave came down to help carry up the groceries and water. I went upstairs and put the groceries away and Dave was trying to find out how to take the medicine as it was a powder. He went on the internet to get help but that wasn’t successful. So we figured you put the powder in the spoon provided up to the mark for 500mg then put that in a glass and add a little water. So that is what he did. He is supposed to take it 3 times a day. Of course after he took it and was sitting back at the dining room table playing his sub game, he told me it didn’t help as his ear isn’t better. Ha!! Very funny! He was pulling my leg. I am hoping this will help him. We were both tired today after not getting a lot of sleep last night, so we basically didn’t do anything for the rest of the day. I parked the jeep back in the garage, and then I came upstairs, had something to eat and read some of my book. Around noon I told Dave I was going to take a nap. He played his game while I slept and I heard him go down and turn the solar panels. He fixed the truck driver side window again as it fell down in the door the last trip to town. I didn’t hear him do that so I must have fallen asleep. I heard him come upstairs though so I had been asleep for an hour and a half. I got up and started to cross stitch while Dave was at his computer. After a while he said it was his turn so he took a nap. He slept until almost 5:00pm. He is still tired, but I told him he hasn’t been sleeping so I’m not surprised.
The wind picked up a little more this afternoon and I heard a noise and looked out the window and saw a day sail catamaran shooting across from our beach to the other side near La Mona. There was a dinghy with them and there was some hoopin and hollerin going on. The people or person on the cat was getting wet from the waves. The wind settled down a little bit. After Dave got up from his nap, and had been up for a while, I fixed us a gin and tonic. As I was cutting the lime, I looked out the kitchen window and saw horses. This time there was one white, 2 brown, 1 dark brown and a young horse coming along the road just past our driveway. I watched them and they just kept going. I tried to Hail Mary to warn her they were coming but she wasn’t near her VHF radio. Once they passed her place the horses went past the other houses and stopped right outside of our landlords’ property. I think the white horse belongs to her, or use to until she set it free. Mary came out of her house and was almost running toward their garage. She got on her quad and went down the beach to get the horses further away from the houses. They just slowly walked away and headed for the other side of the bay. I guess if I had seen what damage they cause I might have been more concerned.
The wind has picked up quite a bit now and we can see grey clouds forming north. It is suppose to be nice tomorrow. I sure hope so. The wind isn’t blowing as hard as last night, but it is about 20 knots and in this house it sounds like more. Same as when we are in the boat. Always sounds more than what it is. I hope we aren’t in for another windy night. It looks like the white caps are subsiding a little. Usually around 6 the wind dies down but not tonight. Hmmm. We’ll just have to see. One of our skylights whistles when the wind hits it a certain way. Oh yea!!!
Dinner is over and the dishes are done so now I am going to read until I get sleepy then go to bed. The wind is still blowing but not as hard as earlier. I hope it stays quiet so we can sleep.
Wednesday, March 24.
We slept all night and woke to a beautiful morning. Blue skies and no wind. I can finally do laundry. Dave said his ear is feeling a little better. We only have enough medicine for 4 days so we will probably have to go to Guerrero Negro soon as he is supposed to take the medicine for 10 days. We haven’t been there yet so that might be fun.
Dave went down to the garage and found some tires that are just a little smaller than the ones on the front of the truck. He is thinking of taking them in to have them replace the old worn out tires with the smaller ones. Anything is better than what is on there right now.
I read my book for awhile this morning while Dave waited for the satellite to kick in so he could access the internet and check the bank statement. We were supposed to get our income tax return by the 23rd, but yesterday when Dave checked the IRS they changed the date from the 23rd to April 4. That was a bummer as we were hoping to use that money for provisioning. We have to wait a little longer now.
I washed out some clothes and hung them to dry on the clothes line outside the bamboo room.
When I came back to the house I made myself breakfast and then went down to the garage and pulled out the wheelbarrow, shovel and rake and started to dig rocks for the wall we are building to keep the soil from eroding more. I found 4 large rocks and called for Dave to help me as I couldn’t lift them. So he came down and we worked on getting the large rocks over to the wall and putting them in place. Dave started to get some rocks off the beach as we have a ton of them. Then we decided it was time for a break. Dave said he was done and I said I would come back and get some really small rocks and medium size ones for filling in, this afternoon after I had rested. So I took the wheelbarrow, shovel and rake back to the house and parked them under the stairs and then I went upstairs to rest. I made Dave some Gatorade and me some zuko juice. That is like cool aid but with vitamins in it. I sat down and did some reading and Dave was doing his thing. Ha!! I can’t remember what he was doing at this particular time. I think he was in the electrical room, but can’t be sure. All I know I was tired and wanted to rest and read my book.
When Dave got upstairs he got his drink and went to the computer. It was after noon so I fixed us lunch and after that I read a little more than went back outside to do more rock finding. I was only out there for a little bit when Dave came out. I told him I thought he was done for the day. I don’t remember what his comment was, but obviously he wanted to build some more of the wall. I gathered lots of small rocks and then I found a huge rock and called Dave over to see if he could lift it. He couldn’t so I tipped the wheelbarrow over on its side and Dave rolled the rock into it and we set the wheelbarrow upright again and I hauled it to the wall. Dave noticed when we moved the rock that there was a step buried under a lot of sand. Apparently when the water rushed down from the mountains and came down the arroyo by the house, it covered the last step. So Dave uncovered some of it. However, something else will have to be done because it will get covered again in the next big rain. First things first though. Back to the wall. When I dumped the small rocks above the wall, I stood around as Dave placed rocks where he thought they would best fit and then I handed him smaller rocks to fill in and then the really small rocks. He got more big rocks from the beach.
I joined him and started getting rocks too. We couldn’t get them too heavy as we hand carried them from the beach to the wall. Pretty soon the wall was looking pretty good. We have just a little more to go on the side where the waves will push the most on the rocks and then we will start on the other side of the pipe. Yeah there is a salt water pipe that Larry put in to use for a saltwater flush for the toilets but decided he didn’t want to continue using it so it sat. Well it was buried at one point in a sand dune which has now been washed away. So you see this pipe sticking up out of the ground with a ring of cement around it and a gap from under the cement to the ground below. So that is what we need to fill in and build back up again. Here is a picture to better explain. 
Anyway, we made several trips back and forth from the beach to the rock wall and visa versa. Finally I had to quit as my back was getting tired and hurting a little. I quit lifting rocks but Dave got about 3 or 4 more before he called it quits. Or so I thought. I put the wheelbarrow, shovel and rake back in the garage and Dave walked up to the house and went around the north side and disappeared. I figured he was going to the electrical room to see what the inverter was registering. I went upstairs and opened a beer and sat in my chair and enjoyed it and read. Then I started cross stitching and there was no Dave. I wondered where he was but figured he was just messing around doing something. Pretty soon, here he comes. I asked where he had been and he said he was rearranging the rocks on the wall so they fit better and are tighter. That way if they are tight fitting the surf won’t carry them away. I had no idea he was doing that. As far as I knew he was done. Well----see how much I know??? He said I worked him too hard and now he hurt all over. I told him he should have quit when he said he was going to. But I understand when you are thinking of something and it needs to be done, you just do it. He was a pooped guy. He was soooo pooped and didn’t have any energy, that when he fixed his medicine and went to get water out of the drinking water tank, he dropped the cup. Now we have one less day of medicine. He wasn’t real happy that he did it, but that is the way it goes. I cleaned up the mess and he fixed another solution and this time was successful. Then he came over to the dining room table to play his sub game while I sat next to him cross stitching. Around 4:30pm I took a quick shower and came back out to the kitchen and fixed us a rum and coke. I did some more cross stitching and Dave continued with his game. I decided I had had enough of the cross stitch and went back to my book. Around 6:00pm Dave was still playing his game and I know how involved he gets with it so I decided not to disturb him so I went down and turned the solar panel to face the sun in the morning, then closed the trailer windows and the doors in the bamboo room and locked everything up for the night. I usually do this anyway. I don’t mind as it gets me moving after sitting for a while.
When I got back inside I started heating up dinner leftover from last night and fixing salad. Dave had finished his game and went to his chair and just sat and relaxed. Then it was dinner time. As we ate we watched the sun glow on the mountains across the bay. I can see an outline of Scooby doo’s head and paw, a scotty dog, which Mary pointed out to me, and a raven. Can you find Scooby doo and scotty too?
She told me about the raven and there is suppose to be a buffalo or something like that which I haven’t seen yet. I’ll keep looking though. It is like looking at the sky filled with clouds and seeing images in them.
After dinner the same thing—dishes, journal and reading. There was a nice breeze this afternoon and now it is calm. I can hear the waves breaking on the beach. That is such a nice relaxing sound. Dave is playing his solitaire game where he is trying to break some sort of record for winning games. Anyway—it relaxes him and he likes doing it so why not!!!! I usually like to play spider solitaire and Majong tile game. Tomorrow is another rock day. Wooohooo!!! Hey---can’t say we aren’t trying to fix up this place and yard. There is plenty to do.
Thursday, March 25.
Today is my youngest son’s birthday. He is 33. Time flies. I sent him an email wishing him a happy birthday so he knows I haven’t forgotten him. Yeah---like that’s going to happen!!
Today was another rock digging day. I found some large heavy rocks for Dave and then I got some medium sized ones. The wall is coming along but there is still more to build. We worked on that all morning and then we were getting tired and hot, so we took a break. Dave was looking at the bird feeder in the yard off the guest house and saw that the roof was missing. It had been blown off. He was trying to find some suitable wood to make another roof. I went upstairs and got some water for the both of us and then I fixed lunch as it was 12:30pm. After lunch I had lost all get up and go so I was pretty much done for the afternoon. Dave went back down to the garage and found some wood and cut a couple of pieces for the bird feeder roof. I came down to see what he was doing and he said we needed to get some really small nails. I told him there were nails in the part that was still there and he said I could pull them out and we might be able to use them again. So I pulled them out, but we couldn’t use them as they were all rusted and the tips of the nails were gone. So much for that. We will have to get some small nails and I think Dave is going to have to redo some of the bird feeder because the materials the person used weren’t that great and the weather made the thin pieces of wood so thin they are falling apart. I’m sure Dave will fix it so we can use it. It is cute and it was made for Lois, the owner of the house, which she left behind.
Dave took another look at the rock wall and is trying to figure out his next move. Then we both went back in the house and I cross stitched and Dave ended up playing his sub game. I guess the game is like going out on orders and you have to do all kinds of things before you can come back to port. Sometimes he makes it back to port and other times he doesn’t. Finally around 4:30pm I made us a cocktail and then when I was done I decided to go back out and try to get some rocks off the beach since it was low tide. I asked Dave how many he wanted and what size, and he ended up coming with me. He found a couple of rocks without barnacles or baby oysters on them, but I wasn’t having the same luck. I finally found one and took that up to the wall. So we were able to get 3 rocks. Well that is better than none at all. Tomorrow I will be looking for big rocks to dig up. Dave was walking on the beach and seeing if he could find clams. He told me he got a clam and I told him I wasn’t collecting clams tonight. We are waiting until the sand bar gets dry which should be in a day or two and then we will go clamming. I walked out to the water’s edge and saw a different type of seaweed. It looked like someone’s brain. Interesting!! I turned up some rocks and watched the tiny crabs scatter. That was fun. Dave and I saw tons of snail shells. It was just fun to explore. After that we gave up looking for more rocks and called it a day. We went back to the house and Dave closed the garage door and locked it and I went up to the house. I fixed us another gin and tonic as I had to use up the tonic water because it didn’t have a twist cap. Good excuse eh?! I sat in my chair and looked out the window and Dave went back to playing his game.
I fixed dinner, cleaned up and then got cleaned up while Dave continued with his game. The game goes on for hours. After that I went on Dave’s computer to check my email. Then I started searching the internet for house plans. I’m still looking so I know what I want in the house we build. It is a fun thing for me and I get to dream a little.
Today there was a little breeze and it was warm but nice. We met one of our neighbors that arrived a couple weeks ago. They were saying that it gets hot here and one time it was over 100. So they don’t stay past June or July. A lot of the people that are coming down usually take off for the coast or back home around July or so when it is suppose to be the warmest here. We will find out how hot it gets this summer. Last summer it got hot a couple of times, but that was when we didn’t have any wind. But most of the time a breeze picks up around noon and blows all afternoon and then dies around 5-6:00pm. We shall see.
Well that is it for our exciting day playing in the dirt and sand!!
Friday, March 26.
Guess what we did today???? Give up?? We moved rocks! Dave told me to find big rocks so that is what I have been digging up. Unfortunately I can’t lift them so he has to. Well he wanted some more today so I went out to the arroyo on the north side of the house and found 3 big ones. I couldn’t move them. Dave in the meantime went to Georges’ for something. He came back a little later with a pipe. It was for trying to get the lug nuts off the wheel of the front tire of the truck. He laid the pipe down and came over to where I told him I had three rocks for him. He said I have been finding too heavy of rocks. I told him he needed to be careful what he asked for then. He said big rocks---I found them!! Well the three I thought were rocks ended up being pieces of cement washed down from somewhere. We don’t want to use them in the wall as they will eventually crumble and upset the equilibrium of the wall. So I gathered some not so big rocks. Then I went over to the other arroyo on the south side of the house and found more rocks. I dug up 2 large ones and Dave said we might need them later but for now he wanted medium size rocks. There are lots of small rocks and I can use those to line the curve going from the end of our driveway to the road. Dave worked really hard today putting his back into arranging the rocks. The wall is getting taller and we should be done with it before too long. I think we are going to take a break from building the wall for a couple days as it is suppose to be really windy tomorrow and Sunday. Besides I am going to an art show at the museum tomorrow morning. I want to see all the talent that is here in B. of L.A. They hold it every year at this time for 2 weeks. I hope they do well this year. 10% of what the artists make goes to the upkeep of the museum and new displays.
I got rocks for Dave when he needed them, and then I stood around watching him strategically place them so they wouldn’t rock or move. He loves to put puzzles together this is like a puzzle and he is good at it. I handed him rocks as he needed them but mostly just watched. We finally got all the rocks I had collected in place and then it was quitting time. It was 12:30pm and time for lunch. I had gone upstairs to make sure the closest sliding glass door to the outside stairs was closed because, the wind picked up. The last time the wind picked up and I had the sliding glass door open on the bedroom side of the house, a frame got blown off the shelf along with one of my pretty sea urchins and they got broken. Oh well. But fortunately the door was closed and all was well. That was how I knew what time it was.
I retrieved the shovel and Dave brought the wheelbarrow back to the house. We came in side and I fixed lunch. We sat down and Dave said he thought he would just stay there all afternoon. I knew the feeling. After I finished my lunch I read a little more of my book. It is sooo interesting!! Dave was looking at weather, sports, and news and checking emails. Then he played a little solitaire and then turned everything off and just sat looking out the window. By now the wind was really whipping and white caps had formed on the Sea. We were going to be inside for the duration of the afternoon. I cross stitched and when Dave was ready he got up from his chair at the computer desk and came to the dining room table where I was cross stitching and sat down and started to play his sub game. Around 3:30pm I took a cold shower, as we couldn’t get the water heater lit due to the wind, and then I came out to the kitchen and washed my hair using some warm water I heated on the stove as a rinse. Hey----you do what ya gotta do!! I felt better now and probably smell a lot better too!
I had to figure out what we were going to have for dinner. But wait!!!! It is time for a rum and coke. I was cross stitching and then I stopped and was starring out the window and Dave asked me what I was thinking and I told him I was trying to think of something to fix for dinner. I told him I had French bread to use up and he suggested a sandwich. So I said maybe a chicken salad sandwich? He said sure!!! So I toasted the bread halves and made the chicken salad and waalaa, we had dinner. Simple but filling.
We did out ritual of turning the solar panel and locking the electrical room and then I went to the trailer and bamboo room to close it up, Dave was trying to get the lug nuts off the truck wheel. Guess what? They didn’t budge. So now what? Dave will have to come up with something. Dave then gave up and walked over to the bamboo room as I told him there looked like remnants of a hive. I asked him if it had been there before and he said no, but it was old and it probably got blown down from the wind today. But he has been hearing some buzzing around the guest house and he can’t find out where it is coming from. Tonight there was a large bumble bee, or it looked like one, buzzing around the deck of the house and then the front of the guest house. He got a flashlight to look under the steps of the guest house but still couldn’t see anything. Hmmm. That isn’t really good when you can hear buzzing and can’t see where it is coming from. I hope we can find out soon and ward off any nests.
The wind has calmed down to a breeze now and the white caps have gone away. It will be a quiet night.
Saturday, March 27.
Today was the long awaited Art Show at the Museum. Dave and I left before 9:00am and drove the jeep to town. When we got there we stopped at the tire place and asked if we could bring the truck in sometime and have them change out the front tires. They said sure—any day in the morning. So Dave will do that next week. Then we went to the Museum. It was set up really nice and everyone had nice displays. There were three people who had gourd art which was beautiful. I bought one of Mary’s and now rests on one of my shelves for all to see. There were knitted hats, purses, scarves, socks, and a lot of paintings, jewelry, handmade shirts, unique wind chimes and more. It was really nice. In addition to the gourd, I bought a tiny gourd that had a turtle on it made by Lois, and a bracelet made by the Huichol Indians. Dave bought a shirt that has large fish on it which is bright and beautiful. It really looks good on him. The shirts were made by a man and he did a fantastic job. You’ve seen those shirts advertised in the magazines that have the woody station wagon on them and surf boards, and others that have palm trees, fish, etc. Well that is the type of shirt Dave bought. Actually a couple of the men were wearing this man’s hand made shirts. It was cool. There were quite a few people at the opening which was really nice. I don’t know if I will sell anything next year, as I don’t know if we will be living here. I can make my crochet purses and learn how to make friendship bracelets. Right now I want to get the cross stitch done before I start another project. We stayed at the museum until 12:00pm when they had door prize drawings. We didn’t win anything but it was fun. During the show we saw the lady that makes leather pictures of dragons and asked if we could come by sometime and take a look. She said today would be good if we wanted to come around 1:00pm. We weren’t sure we wanted to be in town that long, but we said we would think about it. Her and her husband are leaving to go back to Canada and live there for 6 months and then come back down to their house here for the other 6 months. She is packing up all her dragon art and taking it with her. It doesn’t sell down here unfortunately. Just before she left, she told us she was leaving and if we wanted to come by in a half hour we were more than welcome. So I mentioned it to Dave and he said that was good. So we told her we would see her later. We left the museum and headed for her house which is at the opposite end of town from where we go to go home. They live north of town. When we got to her place she greeted us and she introduced us to her husband and we went into their home. As we talked she unwrapped her pictures and displayed them for us. They are beautiful, but we couldn’t afford to buy anything right now. She is asking $400-$500 for them. They are worth it as there is a lot of work involved plus a good chunk of leather. We have her card with her email address, and she takes orders so we might be able to order one and have her make it and then bring it back with her. We’ll see how it goes. We talked a little more and then we said goodbye. They are leaving the 7th of April and will be back in the fall. After we left their house we came back into town and stopped at the grocery store and got some wine, milk and mouthwash. Nice combination eh? Then we came home. We got drinking water too earlier as we were going to the Dragon Ladies home. Her name is Terry.
After we got home we had lunch and then Dave asked me what I had planned for the afternoon and I told him nothing. I was going to work on my cross stitch. Dave got out some CDs and put them in the disc changer and we listened to music all afternoon while I cross stitched and he played his sub game. How exciting IS our life!!!!! Oh yeah, we will be buying another bamboo chair we like so well. One of the gals told me at the garage sale that if she was to sell it she would let me know. So she did today. $40 or 400 pescos. We told her when we come into town we will stop at her place on the way home, pick up the chair and pay her. I am thinking of putting the recliner that is in the living room area down into the laundry/art room. Dave mentioned we could put it in the garage, but I told him I may want to go down there and sit and do something. So I think that is where it will go until we can find another home for it after we get the house. It still belongs to Lois and Larry.
So we didn’t do much this afternoon and we aren’t doing much this evening either. We have finished dinner and when I get done with this I will finish the book I was reading called, ‘Lost Symbol’. Then I can start another book. I have so many I want to read.
Tomorrow I think we will burn in the morning before the wind comes up, as it is suppose to be really windy tomorrow. And depending on whether I am energetic, I will dig more rocks to finish lining the other side of our driveway.
Sunday, March 28.
The wind picked up around 5:00am and the first thing I thought of was no burning today and probably no rock work.
When we got up at 8:00am there were already white caps on the bay. But it didn’t seem to be blowing as hard as it was yesterday. But definitely no burning! I had my coffee and started reading a new book titled ‘The Silent Passage’ by Gail Sheehy. She writes about menopause. My sister had told me about this book a long time ago, before Dave and I left for cruising, but I never read it until I saw it at the Marina in Santa Rosalia and figured it would be good to read. It’s a small book so it probably won’t take me long to read it. It is pretty interesting and for the gals that read this blog, even if you have already gone through the ‘Change’ it would be good to read and mostly if you haven’t. It is very informative. Anyway---read it if you can.
Dave checked the weather this morning and news. And then we had breakfast. I had a pot of beans soaking on the stove all night so guess what we are having for dinner? I soaked them in onion and lots of garlic. When I drain them I will add celery, tomatoes, seasoning and bacon. It only takes an hour for them to cook, so I won’t be draining them until this afternoon.
In the meantime, I went outside to dig more rocks. It really wasn’t that windy and actually it kept it cool for me. The only thing is I had to remember to be behind the rock when I pulled it up because the wind was blowing from the north and sand flew everywhere. I still got a little sandy, but it was alright. I finished both sides of the drive coming toward the house and it looks pretty good. I wasn’t ready to go inside yet so I decided to play. I had dug some rocks and they were left over so I started to balance rocks on top of each other. I created 4 of those sculptures and added some added effects like branches and stuff. Here are the pictures.
I call them the keepers of the drive. Dave really thinks I have lost it, but I told him I was being creative and everyone that passes by will know that the entrance to our drive is different than anyone else’s. I am looking for individuality!! When I was finished I gather the shovel and wheelbarrow and on the way to the garage, I turned the solar panel. When the wheelbarrow was safely parked in the garage, I came out and closed the door. We keep it closed to keep the bugs and birds out as well as to not advertise what we have in there for prying eyes. I went upstairs, warmed up the leftover from dinner last night. After I ate I sat down at the dining room table and started to draw the dragon that is our centerpiece. Well the head turned out o.k. but after that I didn’t do so well. I think I took on a hard subject. So I put that down and started cross stitching. Dave came over and started to play his sub game. He didn’t want to go play in the wind as it had really picked up by the time I came inside. It was even getting a bit much for me. So since he doesn’t have any books to read and he already was online looking at news and weather and whatever else earlier, he figured he would play his sub game. I was a little restless and couldn’t sit as long doing the cross stitch so I got up and started to prepare the beans. I drained them then rinsed and drained them again and then cut up some bacon and added that and tomatoes and celery then set it on the stove to cook. After it had cooked for a while I taste tested it and it needed more spices so I added that and let it simmer for a while longer then turned it off to let it set and thicken up a bit. I then sat in my chair and read for a while. My back was hurting just a little so I took an ibuprofen and went back to reading. I really didn’t have the interest to cross stitch anymore. After reading for an hour or so, I decided to get my camera and go take pictures. I came back inside and fiddled around in the kitchen with the beans and then fixed Dave and me a cocktail and I went back to reading my book and Dave was still playing his sub game. When I was finished with my cocktail I went to the kitchen and got serious about dinner. I opened a package of garlic flavored biscuits and made the dough and dropped tablespoon, or a little larger size, on the cookie sheet and put them in the oven. When they were done I took them out and let them cool. I had taken some of the beans out of the pot and smashed them to make the broth a little thicker then let it sit. Then I dished up the beans in a couple of bowls and took them to the table and took the biscuits too. Then I washed dishes to allow everything to cool off. When I was done, we ate. It turned out pretty good. I love beans and they are good for you. They do fill you up too.
After dinner I went for a walk on the beach as the tide was way out. I saw three Mexican people walking on the sand flats looking for clams. It didn’t look as though they were finding many. I think the tide has to be out further. I had fun walking and looking at what the water left behind. Not many shells but I did see a half a crab with the pinchers and decided for one of our garden displays I would do something on the theme of Davey Jone’s Locker. As I see things I will gather them. I was going to get the crab, but I was afraid it would stink and draw flies. We have enough of them we don’t need any more.
As I was walking back to the house, Dave was on the deck and said the tide is suppose to be really out far and most of the sand bar should be exposed around 7 in the morning. We want to gather up some clams so on Tuesday morning I think that is what we will do. I want to look to see if I can find any interesting shells and maybe big ones. I don’t mean clam shells, but other neat ones.
Well that is all the excitement I could handle for the evening. Dave is at his computer and I am typing this soon to sit in my chair and read and have a glass of wine. I may even go outside and have a cigar since the wind has died down, before I pick my book up again. So many things------
Monday, March 29.
Dave and I saw a van come by the house and head south and park at our landlords house. I called Mary to see if she was aware of someone being there and then I noticed George walking over there to see who it was and all that. Come to find out it was Carolina (the lady who is the director of the museum) with her family. They were going to the beach to get some clams. She had her grandchildren visiting.
When Dave got up he was opening the blinds like he normally does before making coffee and he heard voices. I was still in bed as it was 7:30am. I was awake just not wanting to get up yet. He was telling me that George was answering their questions about whether the house was still for sale and they were walking around the house and by the guest house. Apparently they had talked to Larry about it last year. When I heard, “was the house still for sale” I got a twinge in my gut!! I wanted to shout-----NO it’s not!!! I got up, got dressed and looked out the window. By this time the couple was walking back to the main road. They didn’t come through the gate. It was just strange that they crossed over the barbwire fence that had come down part way so you could step over it, and walked across the air field which is now closed, to the road. They must have parked and walked over this way. Dave went out to talk to George and it was so funny------because when George was talking about them he called them Gecko trash!!!! Apparently George saw them walking around all the houses around 7:00am and he was pissed. He thought that was really inconsiderate and rude to walk through people’s property looking at the houses. They had no idea if people were living there or not. Anyway George told him what they were doing and that was that. George also said there will be a lot of people down here for the week before Easter, where Easter is like the Fourth of July by home. Then we saw the van drive up and wondered about that until George checked it out.
After Carolina and family finished on the beach they left. Then we saw another couple walking on the beach with their two dogs running everywhere. After that we didn’t see any more people. Well with that fun out of the way----we decided it was time to work on the rock retaining wall. My job was to find the rocks and Dave’s was to help me if they were too heavy and to put them in place. We started doing this around 9:30am or so and finished just before 2:00pm. The wall is just about done. We need some smaller rocks to fill in, but the big ones are in place. While Dave was putting the rocks in the correct places so they would stay put, I dug up some plants that were in the way of the driveway, and moved them to fill a void along the south side of the driveway. I noticed where water had run down in the arroyo and some had crossed over the driveway to the other side. I figured since we didn’t need the plants on the one side of the driveway, I could move them and plant them so their roots will take hold and hopefully keep the soil from washing away. Dave moved a heavy rock and uncovered a medium size scorpion. I hadn’t seen one that big before. All the ones I have been uncovering are little. So it was interesting to look at it. They sure are nasty looking!!! After I had moved the plants, I went down to the wall to see if I could help Dave. I was able to get him a few more rocks and watched as he placed them strategically. We had been working quite awhile and were getting a little hungry so we decided we would finish with the rocks we had and then stop for lunch. Of course Dave and I said we would not be coming back to do more rocks after lunch. We had had enough for today. So we gathered up the rake and shovel and wheeled them in the wheelbarrow to the garage and called it a day. I made lunch and neither Dave or I wanted or could move after that. I did some reading and Dave was at his computer.
After a while, Dave got up from the computer and went to the kitchen to work on starter for sourdough bread. And for me? I was so tired I took a nap. Dave played his sub game and when I got up from my nap, he went out and started the water heater so we could both take a hot shower. When the water was hot enough, which only takes about 10 minutes, I took a shower and then Dave did. It felt good to get the sand and dirt off.
Then it was dinner time and afterward I went out on the deck and had a cigar and watched the moon come up. I took some pictures to share.
It was cooling down and a breeze came up and was a little chilly so I came inside. Dave was out smoking a cigar too, but his are bigger and longer than the ones I smoke so I was done before him. I started reading a new book titled, ‘Murder in The House’ by Margaret Truman.
Around 10:00pm I went to bed. I was still tired. Dave had a few aches and pains and his wrist was hurting him so he put some of my analgesic cream on it this afternoon and then before he went to bed. We have abused our bodies with this wall, but it is almost done. The sad part is we have another section to do which is about 2 feet from the one we are finishing.
We also have to finish restructuring the wall along the arroyo by the south side of the house as a lot of the rocks either got buried by sand, or the fast moving water from the mountains washed the rocks away.
So there is plenty to do. We still have to paint a board white on the south side of the house and then paint the trim on the house. It’s a lot of work, but we are proud to be making it a functional place again. If we have to give up the house, at least we have made it better, I think, and maybe more saleable. Who knows! It’s good to be busy and I enjoy the physical exercise.
Tuesday, March 30.
The tide is getting lower and tomorrow it will be at its lowest so we are going to dig clams tomorrow morning. There was no one on the beach this morning which surprised us. We figured there would be lots of people digging clams since we have people that come here just for the week before Easter. That’s o.k. as it leaves more for us.
Dave has the tires in the truck that he will be switching with the worn steel belted. He didn’t want to go into town today, but had no choice. We have to get the old tires in the front off and replacements on. The replacements aren’t steel belted, but they will do for now. Dave took off for town around 9 or so. He asked if I was sure I didn’t want to go into town with him, and I told him yes. He wanted company. You know----misery loves company?
While he went and did the tire thing, I cleaned the house. I dusted the blinds and window sills, the fan blades and of course pictures and the like, then I swept under the area rug this time instead of taking it outside and beating it. Little by little fewer sand is being collected. I swept the floor; mopped the kitchen floor and the bathroom. I hadn’t quite finished when Dave returned. I still had to sweep around the bed and computer table. I thought I heard the truck so I looked out the window and sure enough it was Dave coming back. He had a large black water tank in the bed of the truck. I thought he stopped by Larry’s to borrow his. Dave did say we needed to get water this week. When he parked the truck I noticed the other tires were on so I asked him how it went and he said that Sammy had trouble getting the old ones off, but did it and after that it didn’t take much time. He was also going to stop at the store to pick up some milk and cereal but he said they were out of both. There are a lot of people in town right now for this big celebration on Sunday, so the stores are getting emptied. We’ll have to go back to town and go to a couple of the other stores to see if they have what we need. Everyone goes to the yellow store, so I’m not surprised they would be busy. Dave had stopped at the ‘Home Depot’ on the way home and bought the black water tank. So now we have one. All we need now is a pump. We will still have to borrow Larry’s for the time being. He made his and Georges’ out of old pressure washer motors.
We had lunch and then I continued to sweep. Dave said he was going to be nice to me and take my computer to the bamboo room and play his sub game so he will be out of my hair. I told him good!!! So he did that and I finished sweeping and then changed the sheets on the bed. I turned on the stereo CD player and figured out how to make it work. Dave has worked it a couple of times but I hadn’t yet so it was a good time to figure it out. Now I can listen to some of MY music like Celine Dion, and Shania Twain. Then I sat down and cross stitched. Pretty soon I saw Dave walk on the beach and then he was back again. He went to the truck and unwrapped the water tank and got the fittings from inside. I missed my photo op as he had his head and shoulders inside the tank trying to get the fittings out. It looked so funny but by the time I got my camera out he was done. Oh well. Then he asked me to bring him some wet paper towels so he could get the sand out of it. Apparently, while it was still at the ‘Home Depot’, the wind blew the top off and some sand got inside. It doesn’t matter because the water we get is used for showers, washing clothes and cooking not drinking. When the lid blew off the tank it broke in a couple of places. There was not another one, so Dave took it anyway and then he super glued it this afternoon and put it back on the tank. Tomorrow he will put the fittings on and it should be ready for us to take to town soon.
After that he brought my computer up and went to tend to his sourdough starter. You are supposed to pour out some and add more flour and water. You do that for a couple of days until it starts to bubble and smell like yeast. Then you put it in a glass jar and store it in the refrigerator and it is ready to use when you want to make bread. Dave is the bread maker in the family, but I haven’t given up. I haven’t had much, or should I say any success in making bread. But I will learn. It can’t be that hard. So I am watching Dave and he will teach me.
I did quite a bit of cross stitching this afternoon and now it is dinner time. I had made a big pot of beans a couple days ago and we are still eating them. I gave some to Mary and George since I didn’t have room in my freezer to freeze any. We are hoping to have clams tomorrow.
Today was a really nice day with a gentle breeze. I walked around the yard and checked on my rock sculptures; one had a stone blow off so I put it back on and added another rock on top of that.
It does get quiet at night. We are waiting for the moon to rise over the mountains across the bay. I think each night it gets later in coming up. It was a productive day today and a good one. We got some things accomplished and managed to relax too. Not bad!!!!
Wednesday, March 31.
We have some clouds rolling in. According to the weather report San Diego is to get rain and we usually get clouds down here when that happens. Sometimes we get a little rain too. For the most part it was partly cloudy so we still had enough sun to work the solar panels. There was a little wind this afternoon which surprised us as we thought we would be getting a lot of wind due to what was happening up north. That was fine with us.
Dave and I went clamming this morning. We found a few and it was fun searching for them. Then my back started to cramp up and I was done. We have enough to make something with them. We are going to soak them overnight and figure out what we are doing with them tomorrow. The rest of the day we didn’t do much.
I dug up a couple of ice plants and planted them in pots. Hopefully they will continue to grow. They are really pretty as you can see here.
For some reason Dave and I am really tired with no energy. We hadn’t eaten breakfast before we went to gather clams so I’m sure that was part of it. When we came inside after getting cleaned up, I made coffee and breakfast. I don’t cook breakfast very often so it was a treat for Dave. I had a little more energy after breakfast so I cleaned the shower, sink and toilet. Exciting huh?! It had to be done and instead of putting it off another day I figured I might as well get er done!! After that I spent the afternoon cross stitching. Dave was on his computer and then he was walking around looking out the window and I’m sure he was thinking of what he wanted to do. He worked with his sourdough starter and then came to the dining room table and played his sub game. He was sent on another mission. He is so funny when he starts to tell me about his orders. So that is how we spent the rest of the day. Basically doing nothing. Dave took a break from his game and went to Larry’s to see if he had a fitting that would fit the water tank. He was gone for about an hour. I continued to cross stitch. When he got back we had a gin and tonic and then I tried a new recipe that called for squid. Since we have about 2 pounds in the freezer, I figured we needed to eat it. So I made a marinade and soaked the squid in that while I chopped onion, garlic, green pepper and then I sautéed them until tender, then I made rice and when the rice was cooked I poured the squid and marinade into the skillet that had the onion, garlic, and bell pepper in and added some mushrooms. Once the squid was cooked I served it on rice. It was good. After dinner it was so peaceful outside and the sun was going down behind the mountain, I decided to wait on doing the dishes and go outside and enjoy my wine and a cigar. It was absolutely beautiful with just a hint of breeze. Very peaceful. Dave went back to playing his sub game and I told him it was really nice outside and he better hurry before the wind came up. He didn’t come and then finally just before he came out I could see the wind line and then I felt the wind come from the south. I told him it was too late as the wind was picking up. It came up quick with some strong gusts. I finished my cigar and went inside as it was getting cool. As we listened to the wind howl we wondered how long it was going to blow. I figured all night but I was surprised as it started dying down before I went to bed. I washed dishes and then sat and read, then went to bed. Dave finished his mission I guess and then came to bed.
