Dave got up just before 8:00am and I got up a little later. We heard someone calling from downstairs so Dave went out to see who it was and it was our guard Nasario. He gave us a container, crackers and cevichi. That was a surprise and very nice. He apparently gave some to everyone here. He had some for Smiley and John and he didn’t know they had left already. We can enjoy that tonight as a snack.
While we had our coffee I sat in my chair as usual and watched out the sliding glass door and watched the bay. Dave was checking email and whatever else he looks at. Pretty soon I saw a spout from a whale. I told Dave there was a whale out there so we both got our binoculars and watched. I don’t know if there was more than one, but the one we saw was a Fin Back and he was big!!! Yea!!!! We are starting to get sea life in the bay now. Dave said there are hundreds of dolphins on the other side of the islands just outside the bay and we are hoping they work their way into the bay so we can watch them. This and summer are a fun time to watch for whales, dolphins and Whale Sharks.
Phil and Creela, one of our neighbors, went out in their boat this morning to see if they could catch some fish. We have been listening to the fishermen out there reporting. The fish are biting but you have to stay in one spot long enough for them to get to you. Dave says Phil is impatient and if he doesn’t get something within 5 minutes or so he moves on to another spot. When they went out last time, Phil moved from a spot to another one and one of the gringos fishing went to where he was just a while ago and caught a yellow tail. I hope they can catch something today.
The wind has picked up a little and there are a few white caps on the bay. It’s nice to have the breeze.
I washed out a shirt of Dave’s that had some stains on it. I am hoping they will come out. Then I met Kathy and Tom, another neighbor, walking over to Mary’s house and earlier found out that Kathy was going over to get a gourd and start working on it. I asked Mary if I could come too and she said yes. Tom stopped to talk to Dave and Kathy and I went over to Mary’s. We looked through some gourd books, and Kathy picked a gourd she liked and then started the process of cleaning it. I am checking it all out so in case I want to take up gourd art, I will know what to do. Kathy had to soak the gourd in bleach water for about 30 minutes and then Kathy took a scouring round and scrubbed all the mold and skin off. Then she is taking it home to sand it and bring it back tomorrow to gut it and clean the inside. I will enjoy watching the process. So I will be over at Mary’s tomorrow afternoon watching Kathy. Kathy has made gourd art before so she knows the process. I’m just along for the viewing. There is a lot of money involved with that craft. After visiting and watching Kathy, I mentioned I was going home to have lunch. Kathy and Tom left also and we walked back to my place and then they went on to their place not far away.
After lunch I proofed my May blog and have transferred pictures from the camera to where I keep all my photos. Then started journaling for June. I can’t believe it is June already.
Phil and Creela just got back from fishing so Dave went over to see how they did. He also needed to pick up his water bottle he left with Phil the other day.
I sewed the two sides of the purse together this morning and I took the 3 I have made with me when I went to Mary’s so I could show her and the hats I make. She liked them.
Wednesday, June 2.
We had an interesting visitor last night before going to bed. I was closing the sliding glass door and curtains when something caught my eye on the ceiling. It was a big spider. The biggest one I have seen here so far. It was tan in color with long legs. Dave and I were trying to figure out how to get him down and Dave came up with the idea of spraying him with the bug spray we have. So Dave got the spray and sprayed toward the spider and he did not like that at all. He moved and then rode down his web to the floor where I proceeded to try and stomp on him. Dave didn’t have shoes on and since I had my flip flops on I was the one that got to chase the spider. Each time I tried to step on him I missed. That was because he was under the dining room table and I didn’t have a clear shot at him. Finally I got Dave’s shoe and walloped it. Whew!!!! I was curious about what it looked like so I got my magnifying glass and a pair of tweezers and picked the spider up and laid him on a pad on the table. He was a little hairy and I set him up so I could look at his face. He had black fangs and beady little black eyes. Dave didn’t want any part of the looking so he went back to his chair to watch T.V. As I was looking the spider fell over and I jumped!!!! I let out a little yell and Dave asked what the matter was. Then I started laughing as the spider is dead and I jumped when it flopped over. I think Dave; well I know Dave thinks I’ve lost a few marbles. Hehheh!!! When I was finished looking at the spider I threw him away and finished closing the blinds and got ready for bed.
I went to bed and Dave stayed up to watch a movie. The only thing is I was up too because there is no separation between our bed and the living room so I hear everything. I finally asked him to turn down the T.V. and then after midnight Dave came to bed.
Thursday, June 3.
I posted the May blog last night. Not many pictures so it didn’t take long. Happy reading.
This afternoon I was going to go over and watch Kathy clean her gourd, but Mary canceled. She wasn’t feeling well. So my afternoon got opened up. I made my bed, stretched, put a full container of coffee grounds and egg shells in the garden patch I am working and turned over the soil. The soil is much better now and workable. I have one more container full to do and then that garden spot will be ready for planting.
Dave went over to Larry’s to drill out part of a water pump we had on the boat that needed parts replaced and cleaned up. While he was gone Kathy came by and we chatted for a little while. She went home and I checked email. Dave came home, we had lunch and he is now at his computer and I am typing this. Then I will work on my cross stitch.
I finished the last purse I was working on. It actually turned out cute. I think the next thing I make is a kid’s hat with a little tuff on top. I am working on projects for November. I want to have a variety of things like hats, scarves, dish clothes, hand towels with the crochet hanger for the kitchen and maybe a couple other things I haven’t discovered yet. Its fun and I can use my imagination.
Today the gals are getting together to play train over at Creela’s house. Since it is just two houses from ours I said I would go over for lunch and visit when they take their break. Dave and Phil are going fishing because Phil doesn’t want to be there with all those women. So after I exercised, read a little of my book, did some crocheting, I gathered my lunch and walked over there. There were 10 gals. When I showed up it was a good time for them to break for lunch and I talked to a couple of the gals. Then when they went back to playing I walked home.
I changed my clothes and started cross stitching. Then I decided I was going to walk the air strip. I got my shoes on and my hat and looked out the window and saw that the guys are back from fishing. So I waited until Dave got home to see if he caught a fish because I usually help him with the cleaning. Sure enough, he caught a medium size yellow tail. We took it to the beach, cleaned it then brought the fillets to the house where I washed them off and put them in the freezer. Then I went for my walk. It was a warm walk and I worked up a little sweat. That was at 4:00pm, can you imagine how it would have been if I had gone earlier? When I returned from my walk I got some water and went outside to sit in the cool breeze. Dave came out and joined me. After sitting for a bit, I went in to prepare dinner. I had marinated some steaks earlier so while Dave got the BBQ ready I cooked some sliced potatoes and green beans. When the steaks were done we ate. After dinner I sat outside and had a cigar and enjoyed watching the sun go down behind the mountain. After that I came in and we watched T.V. for the night.
Friday, June 4.
There are a lot of people talking on the radio today. There is a party for Baja Gal, Mary Crawfort, this afternoon, but we aren’t going as I had already invited Tom, Kathy, and Joanne over to play Mexican train and have Tom give us pointers of places to explore around here that they know of. No one knew about the party until yesterday and since it was last minute, probably not a lot of people will go as they have other plans. Oh well. It is Mary’s 60th.
I went in to town this morning and bought some groceries. My big trip of the day!!
Well off to do some cross stitching.
Not much going on. Same as usual.
Saturday, June 5.
We had a visit from Creela this morning. She said she came over to complain about all the noise last night. She was kidding. She said she could tell everyone was having a great time. She invited me to play train on Friday at Maryann’s and I told her I would come and try it but only for half a day. It is different than the way the cruisers play but it should be fun. I won’t be at the serious table though. They have two tables, one for the hard core gals and one for people like me who like to play for fun. So we shall see how it goes. We visited for a while and then she went home and I proceeded to answer email and clean up.
I received a call from Lois asking if I would like to come over to her place and watch ‘So You Say You Can Dance’. I told her that would be fun. She said Creela was coming too so I called Creela to see if she was riding her quad and she was. I told her I would take the truck. Around 12:30pm Creela called and said she was leaving so I told her I would see her at Lois’. We watched the program for a couple hours. It was interesting. This is just the try outs to see who goes to Vegas. Once they have the best ones chosen then the real talent begins. When it was over I left and came back home. I did a little cross stitching and later in the afternoon, Dave and I sat outside on the deck in the cool breeze. There is sun on the deck until about 4-4:30pm then it is nice to sit out there if it isn’t too windy. Then we had dinner and watched T.V.
Sunday, June 6.
Dave left to go fishing with Phil this morning around 6:30am. Hope they catch some fish.
I got up when I was ready then had my coffee, breakfast, and checked email. I washed out clothes and hung them, swept the floor, vacuumed the rugs, shook the throw rugs, washed the floor and then I was done.
I washed last night’s dishes, exercised, rinsed off 2 chaise lounges and when they were dry brought them up to the deck on the house. It will be nice to sit out there and watch the stars. Last night with no moon the sky was awesome.
So that was my morning. My plan for the afternoon is to cross stitch. Then tonight I have to plant a couple salt pines I have started from cuttings. They grow really well and fast. I have roots formed so now I just put them in sand and let nature do the rest.
I see the guys are back. Hope they have fish. If so I will be helping Dave clean them and feed the seagulls.
We have been witnessing the influx of pelicans to the Bay. They must know fish are on the way. We asked Phil about that, since he is a Marine Biologist, and he said sometimes there are hundreds out on the Bay in the summer. The Bay is coming alive!!!!
No plans for tonight. I’m hoping I can BBQ some fish for dinner. It is a beautiful day with a nice steady breeze. We are seeing more boats arriving to the Bay. Next month we should see some of our cruising friends. That will be fun.
Monday, June 7.
Happy Birthday to my eldest sister.
So what am I doing today? Hmmmm! It was pretty warm today as the temperature was in the 90’s. It is suppose to cool down a little toward the end of the week. For us that would be 80’s. Our neighbors Mary and George are attempting to clean out their storage shed. They are starting to feel good after being sick for almost a week and a half. I went over to offer any help they need but they said they weren’t sure at this time what they were going to do. There was so much stuff in there it was mind boggling to them. They thanked me though and I told them to take it easy and went home. The humidity is up so I am now starting to sweat a little. I am amazed though of how much nicer the humid days are here as opposed to Mazatlan.
Dave and I didn’t do much today. I worked on crafts and Dave did his thing. Later in the afternoon we sat on the deck until the wind died and the bugs were bugging us. Then it was T.V. and bed.
Tuesday, June 8.
We are enjoying the nice breeze as it is refreshing. It is still humid and warm. Dave went and got water today and I am supposed to go to Lois’ to watch ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ with a couple other gals. I was going to ride with Joanne but she is leaving at 10:30am because Kathy rides with Joann and Kathy needs to help Lois with something having to do with Face Book. I told Joann that I would just meet them at Lois’ as Dave was on his way back from getting water and I was helping him when he got home. Dave got home, we pumped the water into the pila and then Dave moved the truck to the carport and we got the water tank out of the back of the truck and stowed it until the next time. We actually got finished before 10:30am but I had decided to drive the truck and return the pump and hoses back to Larry so I waited until about 20 minutes to 11:00 then Dave helped me load the pump and hoses in the back of the truck and off I went.
We had lunch and watched the show. It was a long one as Lois had been taping the shows and we wanted to get caught up to where they will be performing in Vegas. It was about 3 hours that we were there. We will meet again sometime next week to watch Wednesday and Thursday night taping.
When I got home Dave and I shared our afternoon. I went out on the deck to sit and read, as if I didn’t have enough sitting time today, and Dave played his sub game. Then the same routine of dinner and T.V.
The nights are warm and the sky is very beautiful with no moon and lots of stars.
Wednesday, June 9.
I made potato salad this morning so we can have it with our hamburgers tonight.
This afternoon I went into town to get milk and a couple other things. I was told that Wednesdays are milk delivery day, in the afternoon and they were right. I am glad I didn’t go this morning. It looked like all the stores were getting their cold items delivered this afternoon. I also picked up some mangos for Lois and Creela, and some garlic. When someone is going into town and the other gals need something, they shop for that person. It is a system that is nice because no one likes to drive that rocky road to town too much. The only thing I couldn’t find was sour cream so Lois said she would pick me up some tomorrow when she was in town.
I sold one of my crochet purses to Lois. My whimsical one. She will give it to her daughter as a birthday gift. Lois made a suggestion about making smaller draw string purses or bags for the gals that play Train so they will have something to carry their wickie and quarters in. O.K.! If you are thinking what Dave and I did about wickie, ----- you are in good company!!!! Instead of a train piece, they bring something small from home and play that and call it a wickie. So I went home and started making a small bag and see how it goes. Then I will take it to Train on Friday and show them and see if it is something they would buy. I sold my purse for $20.00 or 260 pesos and I am going to sell the bags for $15 or 195 pesos. The exchange rate is still close to 13% which is good. So I may make a little money for a change. Ha!!
After stopping at Lois’ to deliver a mango and the purse, I drove to Creela and Phil’s house and found Dave there talking to Phil. I delivered garlic and a mango to Creela and then they invited us to stay and have a beer. I wasn’t going to pass that up as I was hot from being in the car and I was thinking I was going to go home and have one. This way I don’t have to wait until I get home. HA!! After visiting a little with them, I drove back home and left Dave behind as he and Phil were in a conversation and Creela was giving painting lessons to a Mexican lady that had just arrived. When I got home I put my groceries away and started making a train bag. I stopped that and went outside to read for a bit and take advantage of the breeze as it was warm inside the house. Dave had come back home by now. I came back inside and made us a cocktail and Dave was involved with his sub game and I with my crocheting that we didn’t get the BBQ started until almost 7:00pm. We are usually eating by at least 6:30pm. Oh well. Dave prepared the BBQ while I made the patties. Dinner was good and very filling. After dinner we watched T.V. and went to bed around 11:00pm or so.
Thursday, June 10.
I have kept the bamboo room closed up for a couple days and when I went in this morning is was warm. So both sliding glass doors and window are open to let some fresh air in. I dug up a tomato plant that sprung up at the back of the house and planted it in a mayonnaise jar. So far it is doing alright; however, I won’t get any tomatoes I don’t think. It is just fun to grow something.
I finished crocheting and putting a strap on the train bag and now just need to add a couple shells and I will be done. I took the shells I wanted to use down to the laundry/art room and painted them with clean nail polish so the colors stand out better. When they dry I will put them on the bag. I am going to start another bag so I will have a semi plain one and a more colorful one to show. I am working with scrap yarn and unfortunately don’t have bright colors. I can add stuff to spruce it up though like the one I will make today. Here is a picture of the train bags. This is the front and back of one of them.
When I finished the two I took my bags over to Creela’s to see what she thought and she said I might want to make a smaller one because most of the gals just carry their wickie and coins in whatever they have. So I took her advice and went home and made a small one. This one is mine.
I will take them with me tomorrow when I play train to see what the gals think.
Friday, June 11.
I left the house at 9:00am and picked Kathy up and took off for Lois’ house to play train. I am playing for half a day only. Yes!!!! I finally broke down and said I would play. Half a day isn’t bad.
Each week the game is at a different house and today it is at Maryann’s. There were 11of us gals; 4 at the non serious table and 7 at the serious one. The gals at the serious table don’t do much joking and they are serious, so I have been told. Although it didn’t sound too serious today. There was more whooping and hollering coming from their table than ours. The way they play train is not as exciting, as the one Dave and I play, but it is fun non-the-less. We play with quarters and the lowest score at the end gets the pot of quarters. Guess who didn’t win. I only have 3 quarters left for playing so I will have to owe money. Oh well. Story of my life. Ha!!
I showed the bags to the gals and they said they should be big enough to carry a large calculator. So I will start on another bag that will be a little bigger than the sizes I have now. We broke for lunch and visited with everyone and when they went back to play again, I came home. Since I spent the whole day yesterday crocheting, I am working on the cross stitch today. Tomorrow I am going to Lois’ to watch ‘So You Think You Can Dance’.
Dave is doing something in the garage while I am upstairs doing my thing. Pretty exciting stuff eh?!
Not much happened the rest of the day.
Saturday, June 12.
Joann offered to take Creela, Kathy and myself in her jeep to Lois’ to watch the dance program. We were doing really well on time then another gal named Ruth, showed up to use Lois’ computer so she could check her email, and when she was finished doing that she stayed and talked and talked with us for almost an hour. Then we went back to the show. So needless to say we were at Lois’ for 3 hours. Ugh!!!
While I was gone Dave watched the U.S. play England in Soccer at the World Cup. It was a tied score of 1-1. From what Dave told me the U.S. was lucky they got the goal as the goalie wasn’t on top of his game. That’s good!!!! Both my sons and 2 of our grandsons play soccer so it is a big deal for us.
After sitting for so long, I had to take a walk, so when the sun was lower in the sky, I walked on the beach. It felt good to walk and the wind was blowing so it was cool. When I got back I watered my plants then came inside. I started on another crochet bag, thinking of making squares and sewing them together, but with the colors I have I just didn’t like that idea. So I will do something different.
Sunday, June 13.
Didn’t have much planned for today. Dave went down and raked up the dead branches he pulled out the other day, and took them to the burn barrel. I burned the paper stuff from the house then Dave added to that with his branches.
I washed out clothes and hung them to dry. I didn’t have room on the clothes line for all my stuff so I brought up a few things and clipped them to a chair on the deck. Needless to say the wind came up and I had a couple items fly off the deck and land in the dirt. I just shook them off as they weren’t muddy or anything so I didn’t have to wash them again. I was working on my journal when we got a call from Kathy asking if we wanted some squid. We said sure. So we walked over and Tom had a huge Humbolt squid he cut up and Creela and Phil were over there too getting some. It was really cool as they had the head, beak and tentacles there to inspect. Since Phil is a Marine Biologist he explained how they change colors. It was awesome. We only took one slab of meat as Dave is thinking of leaving maybe in another week for the states. I have to use up what is in the freezer. I have a good recipe for calamari so we can have it one night for dinner next week.
Dave is watching the race while I am typing this and when I get finished I am going to cross stitch. Nothing too strenuous ya know!!!!
Well Dave finally decided after we talked a little that we are leaving no later than Wednesday, the 23rd. We will be gone a month. Yahoo!!!! We will have time to see all our loved ones and those we missed the last time we were home. I am looking forward to going. Now we have to get things squared away here.
I will have to see if Joanne has room in her freezer and refrigerator for what I have left in mine. There won’t be any other neighbors around as most of them are leaving between now and July 15. Joann will be here until the 28th or 29th. I could ask Maryann too as she will be staying the summer. I would hate to have to get rid of everything. We shall see.
Monday, June 14.
Dave went fishing with Phil this morning. They had to leave around 6:00am as the tide was going out and if it was any later Phil wouldn’t be able to get his boat out.
I spent the morning emailing family that we were coming home. Then I sent an email to Joann asking about using her freezer and refrigerator. She said she had plenty of room and she would also look after Lois’ and my plants. Lois will be leaving before we get back and I told her I would watch her plants until she came back in October. So that was nice of Joann to watch our plants. I will have to get her a nice white wine as a thank you. So now I don’t have to worry about food.
After emailing I did some exercises and started laying out clothes to pack. I hate waiting until the last minute. I have to plan and this way I will have less to do.
Mary came over and we discussed paying Nasario this summer and she also gave me some fish and clam juice. She and George leave for the states on June 29th to return for a couple days early September and leave again for the Pacific side until the end of October. Pretty much for the month of August and September we will have no neighbors.
Dave got home around 3:30pm and I watched them deliver fish to the neighbors. Dave said they caught small ones, but we had a bag full so we will have plenty of fish to eat.
I took pictures of two lizards in my yard. They were fun to watch. They didn’t like me being too close and one had his battle gear up. Hopefully you can see it in the pictures.
Dave shared his day with me and me with him. He was tired. We sat outside on the deck as it was cooler than in the house and we saw a whale shark feeding. At least I think that was what it was doing. We saw its fin, and then the tail, head and fin again come out of the water before he disappeared. Smiley’s grandkids spotted a turtle which was exciting. Fun! Fun! When the little breeze we had died and the bugs came out, we went inside. We read for a while and then watched T.V.
Tuesday, June 15.
It is going to be a warm day today. There was a breeze from the west and now it is from the north. Much more wind today than yesterday which is nice.
For whatever reason, I am really tired today so my energy level is down.
We were listening to a couple conversations on the radio and I found out that train will not be at Creelas’ house as planned. I guess someone came up with the idea of going to Guiermos for breakfast and then stay and play train. I finally got an email about the breakfast. The gals are getting together to welcome Mary Crawford into her 60th year!!! So they are having a breakfast birthday party and then those who want to stay and play train can. I will go to the breakfast to wish Mary a Happy Birthday as she was the one who brought my meds down with her returning from the states. If they play train before noon, I will stay and play at least one game.
It has been warm today but a wonderful breeze has been blowing. The house is a little warm, but it isn’t too bad for sleeping. We are leaving the sky lights and some of the windows open at night to catch any breeze that happens to come up as long as it isn’t a huge one.
Smiley and her granddaughter, Maddie, came over to deliver items we asked smiley for while she and John were in the states. We chatted for a few minutes. Maddie is 11 and a delight. She has a brother who is turning 9 next month and his name is Eian. I’m not sure if he spells it with an E or I, but we told Maddie we have a grandson named Eian as well. When they left Maddie was driving grandma on the quad to deliver more items to other neighbors.
I started cross stitching and Dave did his thing.
While we were watching T.V. after dinner, we heard a seal, coyotes, and a whale blow. How exciting!! Dave heard the whale a couple more times. It is so awesome!!!
Wednesday, June 16.
After I got up and had my coffee, I sat and read a little, as I am trying to finish the book, Cold Mountain, so I can give it back to Lois on Friday when I go to breakfast. Then I stripped the bed, put dirty towels and the sheets in the laundry bag then gathered that and the empty water bottle and set them near the sliding glass door so I won’t forget them when I leave for town. I am dropping off the laundry, filling the water bottle and getting a couple of grocery items needed.
There was no wind this morning until around 8:30am. Thank goodness. It is still going to be a warm day though. When I left in the jeep for town, the temperature outside was 80 degrees. It probably won’t get much hotter than that. I guess in town they had west winds most of the night and it was howling there this morning. We had nothing. We are in a good place I think. We like it anyway.
After getting done what I had to in town, I headed home. When I arrived, I parked the jeep in the garage this time instead of leaving it out and doing it later. Unloaded the groceries and took them upstairs. I found a few seeds from the Bird of Paradise plant on the cement so I picked them up. The pods are popping and so I will be collecting those seeds to plant at a later date. I don’t think my salt pines are going to make it. They are looking a little sad. I will have to try planting some more cuttings when I get back and I can care for them.
While I was in town, Creela came over and told Dave what we could bring to dinner tomorrow night. Of course I didn’t bring the VHF radio, so he couldn’t tell me to pick up some bolillo bread. Those are bread rolls. She wants us to make garlic bread. I did, however, pick up a package of 4 and when I called her to see if that was enough she said it was.
I read some of the book this afternoon, caught up the journal, went over to pay Smiley for the items she got for us and then Dave and I had lunch. Dave needed to take a battery over to Joann’s house, so he called Smiley to see if Eian wanted to ride the quad over and pick the battery up then deliver it to Joann while Dave walked over there. Of course Eian was happy to do that as it gave him something to do. His sister Maddie showed him where our house was and when he got here he turned off the quad. Dave placed the battery in Eian’s basket on his quad. Dave headed over to Joann’s and when Eian tried to start his quad it wouldn’t start. Maddie and I tried to figure out what was wrong, but I ended up having to call Dave back so he could trouble shoot for us. When Dave came back, he was trying to figure out the problem, and during this time Maddie went home to get Gramy. Gramy got it going and told Eian that he stopped the bike without it in neutral so it got stuck in gear. She rocked the quad and jumped up and down on it and was able to get it engaged so it would start. So all was well. Maddie took Gramy back home, Eian went off to find Joann’s house, and once Maddie dropped Gramy home, she left to catch up with Eian and Dave. Smiley said that just before Dave called, Eian was getting a little bored and wanted to wake his mother and he and Gramy were having a conversation when Dave called. Defused the situation!!!!
Apparently the battery isn’t any good. It was one Larry had here and didn’t maintain and Dave tried to bring it back to life. So he is over at Joann’s now retrieving the battery. Unfortunately Dave couldn’t get a hold of Smiley on the radio to see if Eian wanted to come get the battery from Joann’s. So Dave is going to have to carry it back home.
I packed vitamins and laid out our medications so I don’t have that to do and most of them are being packed. I really hope we leave on Monday. I told Dave I will be ready so it just depends if he will be. Can you tell I am excited!!!!
Dave was able to get a hold of Smiley and have Eian and Maddie come pick up the battery and bring it back to our house while Dave walked home. Then he took the battery out of the basket on Eian’s quad and thanked them both for their help and said goodbye. Off they went as happy campers.
The rest of the afternoon and evening was devoted to whatever we felt like doing
Thursday, June 17.
It was cooler today and not much of a breeze so I didn’t do much. I worked on my cross stitch. Dave started a new book so he is reading.
Around 4:30pm I watered my plants and then went upstairs to make garlic bread to take over to Creela’s. After I broiled the bread and wrapped it, Dave and I got ready to go. We had a lovely dinner and visit with Phil and Creela and Joann, as she was invited too. Before it got dark, we walked home then watched T.V. We are leaving the windows open tonight to hopefully get a little breeze in the house. It is warming up. If it gets too hot we can sleep outside. A lot of the locals and gringos do that.
Tomorrow I will go to the breakfast birthday party then go to the dump, get gas then pick up my laundry. Busy morning.
Friday, June 18.
I got up and dressed, got the garbage ready to go. Kathy called and said she would like to ride in with me so I wouldn’t have to go alone, which was really nice of her. So I picked her up at 8:30am and off we went to town. We were the second to arrive and we wished Mary Crawford a happy birthday. We sat down and started talking to the gals that were there and ordered coffee. Then watched as the rest of the gals arrived. It was fun to visit with the gals I don’t see very often. We had breakfast then it was after 11:00am so I decided I wasn’t going to play train. Lois asked if she could ride with me and I told her sure but I had some errands, so she decided to stay and watch the girls play train while I ran errands and then I would pick her up on my way home. She had a bag of garbage so I took that with me to the dump. I left and my first stop was the dump. Then gas, then to Xitlali’s to get a couple items, and then I went back to Guiermos’ to get Lois. She was talking with Herman, he is the old prospector we met last summer, so I pulled up a chair and gave Herman a big hug and sat down and talked with him. I met his friend Pablo, and after visiting for a little bit, Lois and I left. The gals were playing serious Train behind me, and they said I was too noisy!!!! Aha!!!! I told them I was glad I could make their day!!! Of course they were kidding, and if they weren’t—too bad!! Lois and I left and went across the street to a shop that recently opened. They have some wonderful things there that will be fun to get for the house later on. Lois and I had a great visit on the way to her house, and then I dropped her home and I will see her again on Sunday to watch, “So You Think You Can Dance”. Then I am having Creela, Phil, Tom, Kathy, and Joann come over to play Cruisers Train. How fun will THAT be!!!! I will also let Joann know what plants to water and all that too. I’m looking forward to it.
I will be all ready to leave on Monday if Dave is. Saturday will be my cleaning day and Sunday is just to take care of food and turn off the refrigerator. Otherwise if we leave Tuesday, I will wait and do the food and defrost the refrigerator and freezer on Monday. So no worries!!!
Saturday, June 19.
Dave got a call from Phil last night inviting him to go fishing in the morning. So Dave got up around 6:00am and made coffee, had a bowl of cereal, got his water and something to munch and said ‘later’.
The day for me was cleaning, doing laundry, packing some more things and checking email and sending email cards for Father’s Day.
Dave got home around 3:00pm and had three fish. Two white fish and one bass. He also had a wonderful but sad fish story. We kept the bass and while Dave was cleaning it I took the other fish to our guard, Nasario. He was very happy.
Are you ready for this fish story? While he and Phil were fishing, they caught some small ones and then Dave hooked a big fish. It was a very large yellowtail. He was reeling the fish in all of a sudden the line stopped and went straight down. Dave had a struggle on his hands. As it turned out a sea lion caught the yellowtail and ate it and ended up with Dave’s lure in his mouth. He had to cut the line but he lost his lure to the sea lion. Bummer. And the big yellowtail got eaten by the sea lion and Dave lost a lure.
We will see what the gals say when they come over tomorrow to play train tomorrow night. We will see if the size is a good one.
I am pretty much packed and Dave has finally said we are leaving on Monday morning!!
Dave started the BBQ with Mexican briquettes and it is taking a long time to cook potatoes. Ugh!!! Sure do miss the Kingford ones. We’ll have to bring a bag back with us from the States.
It has been humid today. I took a shower but need another one!! Oh well. I am hoping to take a walk on the beach tonight. I’ve been walking on the air strip after dinner when the sun is down behind the mountain and it is cooler. If we have dinner at a decent time I will walk the beach that is!! Here is to a warm evening so far without a breeze. But wait----a breeze is picking up as I type!!! Yahoo!!
By the time we ate dinner I decided I wasn’t going for a walk. Instead Dave and I had a glass of wine and went out on the deck and smoked a cigar and enjoyed the little breeze we got. The house is warm and we ended up turning on the fan above our chairs to cool us down a little then we turned them off. We watched T.V. then went to bed.
Sunday, June 20.
Happy Father’s Day to all you Dad’s out there. Hope you have a great day!!
I washed out what few items I had and hung them to dry. I exercised, made the filling for deviled eggs, and got out a hunk of calamari as Dave is going to cut off the real thick membrane that is on it so we can fry it up in olive oil and garlic.
I burned the burnables, and Dave squished the cans this morning. I made a sandwich and then went over to Joann’s to get a ride to Lois’ to watch the dancing program. Creela usually rides her quad to Joann’s and then rides with her. We waited for her but she didn’t show so we went on without her. She and Phil were having battery problems this morning. When we got to Lois’ Creela came a few minutes after that. There were six of us gals there to watch the show. When we were finished, we went home and Joann came over so I could show her what plants to water and tell her about the water pump. We turn it off when we leave. So she will maintain my plants. She went home and I gathered all my refrigerator and freezer items and bagged them then took the plant I am babysitting and put all that stuff in the truck and delivered it to Joann’s house.
As it turns out no one can make it to play train tonight. So that frees us up so Dave can pack and I can make sure I have everything together. I told the gals we will all get together when they come down again.
So tonight I will water my outside plants, close all the windows in the trailer and then tomorrow morning just throw our stuff in the jeep and we are off. Yay!!!!!
Monday, June 21.
We started out on our road trip at 5:30am and made it to Ensenada around 1:00am. We ran into a little fog on the way but for the most part the weather was nice. It is definitely a lot cooler here in Ensenada. We checked into the hotel we stayed in the last time we were here then set off to see if Jay and Bonita were still at Baja Naval. We walked to Baja Naval and checked with Roger to see if Moon Angel was in the yard. It was and it was directly outside the office. We went over to the boat and knocked on the hull and then asked permission to come aboard. Benita came out and she was so surprised to see us, she started coming down the ladder but then realized what she was doing and went back up and said come aboard. So that is what we did. Jay was out shopping at the fish market so we visited with Bonita and when he got back he could hardly believe his eyes to see us sitting on their settee. We had a very nice visit and we answered questions about our house, and basically caught up with all that has happened to them and us. We are meeting them for dinner at 6:30pm at the restaurant that is downstairs to the hotel where we are staying. It will be fun to talk with them some more. We are leaving in the morning for my sister’s house in Ukiah, California for a couple days.
Bonita kept saying to us that she couldn’t believe we were there in Ensenada. She and Jay were so tickled to see us. It was really good to see them after all this time. Moon Angel is getting repaired and all will be well after the work is done. Then they will head up to San Francisco area and spend their time there and going back home for a visit. Come spring they will be off to Hawaii again and hopefully make it this time with no problems. They are such neat people and we hope to always be in contact with them. After we sat and visited for a while after dinner, we said goodbye. But I couldn’t let them leave without getting a picture of us together. So here it is.
Tuesday, June 22.
We started on the road at 7:00am. I was navigator and flunked the first course as I directed him to a wrong turn from the boarder. But we ended up crossing the border with no problems at all. Oh! I forgot to mention that when we were coming to Tecate, we had to stop for a Military inspection. Dave said that was new. It didn’t take long and then we were on the road again. The drive was a nice one as we went through wine country. It wasn’t as pretty as Napa or our wine country, but it was nice to see the green fields.
Once across the border we made good time until we got near Los Angeles. We ran into traffic which slowed us down tremendously. So needless to say we ended up spending the night in a place called Buttonwillow. It is about 100 miles from the L.A. area. We will head out tomorrow morning and be in Ukiah, in the afternoon, where my sister lives. It will be so good to see her and my brother-in-law again. So far the weather has been good. It was really cool in Ensenada but it is hot here in Buttonwillow. I suspect the weather will continue to be nice until we get to the Bay Area. Then it will be cold. Hopefully it will be warm in Ukiah. So far we are having a good trip. A lot of long hours in the car, but of course that is to be expected. We are staying at the Econo Lodge Buttonwillow, and had dinner at Denney’s. After we got back to the motel, I took a walk to loosen up my back. I also did some exercises. My right knee has been giving me some trouble so I am going to have it checked when I see the doctor on July 2nd. I really don’t like aging. Of course no one does. Oh well. That is life!!! Better than the alternative.
Right now we are watching the World Cup and relaxing. Dave is kind of napping. He drove a long way today. I took a little nap earlier so we should be well rested by tomorrow. Here is to another good day on the road tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 23.
We left the hotel around 7:00am and headed to Ukiah. We drove for a while and then stopped for breakfast. After breakfast we got on the road again. We saw a lot of cattle and what really surprised us was seeing a man on a quad herding the cattle. The quad was strange to see, but I bet it is pretty effective as the quad makes noise and the cattle would move just to get away from it. What is herding coming to?
We made it to my sister’s house around 2:00pm. We had a very nice visit and my sister and I tried to catch up on 2 years of our lives. It was really good to see her and her husband Hig. After visiting for a while, they took us to dinner. After we came back to the house, we went out on the front deck and sat and talked and had some wine. Then it was time to come inside and my sister had picked up a DVD titled, “It’s Complicated” with Meryl Streep and Alex Baldwin. It was a good movie. After watching it we all went to bed as it was 1:00am. Dave and I should sleep well tonight.
Thursday, June 24.
After getting up and having breakfast, I exercised and showed my sister the crocheted items I had made. Then we went to the guest bedroom where Dave and I were sleeping and my sister and I went through a couple of bins that were filled with yarn and other craft items. We had a fun time and I got all kinds of yarn. Yahoo!!!! Since there was more yarn than I felt comfortable carrying in the jeep, and I knew Dave would have a fit if I filled the back of the jeep with yarn---I decided I would mail it to Larry and Lois’ place in San Diego. So I went through the yarn and picked out the colors I wanted to take with me and the rest I put in plastic containers and asked Hig if he would drive me to the UPS store so I could mail it. Before we did that, I helped Dave wash the jeep. It really looks great. It actually looks better than it did when we bought it!!! Then Hig took me to the UPS store.
The guy packed up the yarn for me and it was on its way. We will either pick it up from Larry and Lois on our way back to the house, or wait until someone can bring it down with them when they come back to Mexico. Larry and Lois will be leaving their Mexico house on July 15 for their house in San Diego.
That evening, my niece and her family came over and also another nieces’ daughter came over with her kids and her youngest baby girl, Addison. She is cute.
It was so good to see them all and get to visit with them. When they all left it was quiet again and my sis and I continued to visit. We have to leave in the morning so it was hard for her to have to say goodnight as she didn’t want the visit to end. At least I got to spend a couple days with her which was really nice. We did manage to catch up!!
Friday, June 25.
We left my sisters’ around 8:00am and headed north for Oregon. We had a good trip and it was uneventful. We stopped for lunch and then went as far as Roseburg before stopping for the night. We are staying at the Holiday Inn with a nice room overlooking the Rogue River. It was warm which felt good as we had gone through fog earlier. When we left Ukiah, California, it was sunny and promised to be a warm day. But the coast is usually cool and most of the time foggy so we weren’t expecting it to be warm.
We went to Denny’s for dinner across the street from the hotel and now are settling down for the night. We will grab breakfast in the morning and then head for Bremerton. If all goes right, we should be there around 2:00pm. Ron and Noreen are having a family picnic starting at 2:00pm so we are invited. We both are looking forward to our visit with everyone.
Another long day on the road and then we will get to rest and have fun.
Saturday, June 26.
We arrived in Bremerton this afternoon and Ron was in the Yacht Club preparing for a family reunion. We said hi and then we went down to the deli to say hi to the gals and ended up seeing some of our friends and talked with them a while. J.T. had a crew on board Lavengro which is among the Tall Ship group, on the break water so we went down to see him.
Noreen was walking up from the boat and I met her and we hugged. The rest of the afternoon we spent at the Yacht Club enjoying visiting with Ron, Noreen and Ron’s family. After everyone left, we cleaned up and Dave and I brought our suit cases down to the boat and went back to get the dogs and Ron. Ron, Dave and the pugs rode in the dinghy while Noreen and I walked to the boat. Carolyn and J.T. came over to visit and it was fun. After they left we sat and watched some T.V. and visited some more. We finally went to bed around 1:00am.
Sunday, June 27.
We all slept in and got up around 9:00am or later. We moved slow and actually had breakfast around 12:30pm. Ron took Dave and me to their condo which is very nice. It will be a nice reprieve from the boat. Ron and Noreen invited Connie and Larry over for dinner. They were the couple that came down to San Jose Del Cabo last December, to our Vacation club, with Ron and Noreen and we joined them. We had such a good time. We had a great visit. Carolyn and Lisa, one of the gals that has a boat here in Brownsville and also works part time at the deli, came to visit. When everyone left we relaxed and watch some T.V. and then went to bed. Noreen has to go to work in the morning. Yuck!
Monday, June 28.
After getting up and having breakfast, I took the jeep and did some shopping. I went to Walmart, Value Village, and then the music store to get a set of guitar strings. I had fun looking and shopping and getting Dave some shorts, me too, and some other things we need at the house.
Dave and Ron did some running around too getting some things done. When I came back to the boat I checked email and am catching up on the journal.
Dave has been searching the internet for generators. He found one that will work great and sent an email to the party that is selling it. Haven’t heard anything yet.
Noreen will be home soon so Ron is taking garbage up and then will pick her up from the ferry.
The sun is shining today and it is warm. Last night it sprinkled a little bit, but the sun did peek through the clouds for a little while. I guess we are supposed to get more sprinkles tonight, but at least it won’t pour. I can handle that.
Here is to a fun evening visiting with Noreen and Ron.
Tuesday, June 29.
It is cloudy today, you know----typical Washington weather until after the 4th of July. Ron fixed us breakfast and afterwards I borrowed his car to go to their condo to wash clothes. While I waited for the close to get clean and dry, I did some cross stitching. I needed to fill up Ron’s Jetta and figured it took diesel, but I wanted to check to make sure. I had no phone and Ron and Noreen don’t have a phone in the condo so I went to the neighbor across the hall from them to use their phone but no one was home. I went upstairs where they have a neighbor named Sandy but she wasn’t home either. Thank goodness Dave had some quarters in his jeans pocket because that is what I used to call Dave. Once the clothes were done I left and went to a pay phone----yes—you read that correctly. They still have some pay phones around. I called Dave and asked him about diesel and where Ron likes to fill up. Then I was off. I stopped at Value Village and bought a pair of hiking boots, then went to Fred Meyer and got a few items then the gas station and I was home. I did tell Dave I was stopping at Fred Meyer, but somehow he forgot to mention it to Ron and Ron thought I wasn’t going to come back. I met him in the Brownsville Marina parking lot and joked about me not coming back and he said “matter of fact he wondered”. But all is well. I felt bad because that was his only means of transportation because Noreen had the other car. So I apologized then blamed Dave for not telling him where I was going. It all worked out.
When Noreen got home from work she went to the deli and we met her up there. It is taco Tuesday so we are having tacos with them and Connie and Larry. It is always fun. After dinner we came back to the boat and relaxed.
Wednesday, June 30.
Tomorrow is the first of July already. Time really flies. After getting up this morning I went to the doctor’s office to get blood drawn for them to check my cholesterol. Tomorrow morning I have a check up so I wanted to be able for him to have the results by the time I talked to him. I always try to get a visit with the doctor whenever I come to Washington. After getting my blood drawn I came back to the boat and emailed, washed dishes, exercised and now am catching up the journal. Ron and Dave went food shopping for this weekend so it is just me and the pugs, Callie and Jack. It was raining when I woke up this morning but it has stopped for now. Just a sprinkle or two here and there. It is suppose to be nice weather on Monday. Of course-----it is the 5th of July. It always happens that way. But summer will finally arrive here and it will be in the 80’s toward the end of next week. It is cool here but I will take the break because when we get back to the Baja it will be close to 100 degrees. I will have water time everyday when I get back!!!! Wahoo!!
The deli gals, Kim and Cheryl are coming down for a visit with me around 2:00pm so I can show them pictures of the house and all. It will be fun to be able to visit with them without them having to worry about customers.
We will be heading for Liberty Bay Friday afternoon, spend the night and all day on the 3rd , then go to Bainbridge Island, and watch the 4th fireworks in Eagle Harbor then come back on Monday. My eldest son is coming to visit on Monday afternoon so it will be really nice to see him. Can’t wait.
