Spring in Bahia

April Fool’s Day!!!
Today was a Train day. I won 2 games and had a low score. I only play half a day and then another gal who plays Hand and Foot in the morning, takes my place at the Train table in the afternoon. Well we missed winning the pot of quarters by 7 points!!! That was amazing!! It was a lucky day for me.  I was able to hitch a ride with another gal who only played half day and she took me to her house and then I walked home from there. Nice exercise.

We left on the 4th for Santa Rosalia. The weather was nice and when we got there a little warm breeze was blowing. Tomorrow we scrub the boat, check things out and pay moorage and Arturo for washing the boat, top and bottom. He actually did a great job this time.

We scrubbed the boat and power washed it. Even with Arturo washing the boat, the birds drop their stuff between washings so when we get there we have to scrub to get the dark spots off. After that little job was done, I walked to town and got some groceries, money, and came back to the boat. I will need to go into town again either tomorrow or Thursday to get a few more items as I had my backpack full and two bags to carry. While I was gone Dave took the opportunity to do a scan on my computer. He was done when I returned. Today was an absolute perfect weather day. It was warm but not hot, and just a little breeze. WONDERFULL!!!

I managed to post February and March blogs, and make some signs for my craft items. A pretty successful day in my book!

While I was in town I bought 2 large steaks, specially cut, and we will have them along with potato salad I brought with us for dinner. We have been eating out every time we come to the boat and this time we thought it would be good to save some money. I brought a casserole with me which we had for dinner last night and then tonight just bought steaks. Every little bit helps. The barometer is falling which means the weather won’t be as good tomorrow, but as long as it is sunny, no worries. I have to wash the travasak (it is like a sleeping bag with sheets that are attached by velcro to the top and bottom of the inside). That way you don’t always have to wash the whole thing, just the sheets. But sooner or later, the whole thing needs washing. I can’t put it in the dryer so I wash it in the wash machine and then dry it on the boat. Hopefully it will be warm enough and not too windy.

It is almost 7:00pm and we are on cormorant bird watch. Those buggers like to settle in while the sun is up, and if we are vigilant, and keep them off the spreaders and mast, they won’t land after dark. So we watch and when they come, we swirl the halyard so it flies wild and hopefully hits them and they fly away. Even if it doesn’t hit them, it scares them away. HA!!! Dave already got rid of one. Now it is my turn. I like that job!!

On my last trip into town, I got a small tarp so we can put it across the deck just in front of the windshield and behind the mast since that is the area that gets hit hard from the bird crap. We tied it down low so it won’t blow up and flutter a lot. It worked as we had some breeze and it stayed put. This way we will only have to scrub the tarp instead of the boat. We’ll see how it works.

Dave walked with me along the breakwater. As we walked we saw a lot of small red crabs and a sailboat come in. The weather was nice for walking and when we finished with the breakwater, we stopped at a hardware store to look at all the neat stuff they had for sale in a small room off the main store. It had things like candles, pictures, small appliances, vases, and more. It was fun to look. Then we went back to the boat.

The jeep is loaded and we are heading out in the morning, going back to Bahia.

As we were driving down our rocky road toward the house, we passed our neighbors, Phil and Creela. Hoorah!!! Phil is Dave’s fishing partner, and Creela is fun to have around. They will stay until the heat gets to Creela. We are budding up during the Art/Craft show so that should be fun.

Our neighbors Mary, George, Smiley, and John took off this morning, Monday, April 11, for Loreto for the week. At 6 this morning I went over and got their dog Alaura and brought her and her bed over, fed her and am just letting her do her thing. She spends most of her time at John and Smiley’s, even when Mary and George are home. So when she gets hungry she will be here to eat. I took her for a walk this morning and will again tonight before it gets dark. Because of her age they walk her twice a day so she will get exercise and limber up.

We actually had rain on Saturday early in the morning. It rained off and on throughout the day which was really good because we haven’t had any real rain since August of last year. The windows I can’t reach to clean are rinsed now and I can at least see out of them again. We ended up having to run the generator for a few minutes to charge up the batteries before the evening. We did get some solar power, just not enough to charge the batteries for the night.

Played Train on the 14th and then the next day Creela and I drove to the Museum to set up our tables for the Art and Craft Show. It starts Saturday, 16th and ends May 1. This is a good time to have it because a lot of the Mexican people in the next couple weeks will be on vacation and a few come to Bahia. We have quite a few Artisans this time and so there was a lot of confusion as to where tables would fit and where to place people. The social room, adjacent to the Museum, is a small room so it doesn’t take long before it gets crowded. It took a couple hours to get everyone situated and set up and then we all left and went our separate ways for lunch. Here are some pictures of the arts and crafts on display. Pretty good for a small place like Bahia, eh?!!













The opening of the show was a huge success. We had a lot of people come out to look. Of course it helps when you have goodies set up on a table just before you walk into the room. HA!!! The guys I think only come for that reason. They munch while their wives and girlfriends shop. Not a bad deal. I made $24.00 that day which is pretty darn good. The last show I didn’t make anything on the first day so I’m off to a good start. People liked my bowl and beverage covers
along with the rock and shell creations. You just never know what is going to interest people. The kids like my rock and shells which is nice. There is always something for everyone. The room was bustling with people until after the door prize drawings at noon, then for the rest of the afternoon we may have gotten 4 people before closing.

I don’t work the show again until Tuesday, April 19, and then again on Easter. Opening day is always the busiest, and then it gets slow after that. There is suppose to be 3 people on the floor everyday and there are 3 people per group so the groups split the days so none of us have to be there every day.

Today, Sunday the 17th, we were invited to Creela and Phil’s place for lunch. Creela went out at low tide this morning and got some clams and invited us and Joanne over for lunch. She made Manhattan Clam Chowder. I don’t usually like it, but she did an excellent job and it really tasted good. We visited for a few minutes after we ate and then we said goodbye. Dave and I went home and Dave read for the rest of the afternoon, but after I read for a bit I got tired so I took a nap. Ms. Alaura got me up at 3:45am so I was a bit tired. She didn’t do anything; she just wanted to be outside. Since it is dark at that time I have to walk her on a leash to make sure the coyotes don’t get any ideas. Alaura is old and doesn’t get around as well as she use to and coyotes know when there is a weak animal around. Luckily Ms. Alaura goes home tomorrow. No more dog sitting.

Alaura is back home again and everything is normal at the Jones’ house again. We had a couple days of really low tides so one of those days Dave and I went out and got a bucket full of clams and steamed, cleaned and chopped them up for when we get ready for clam chowder. As it gets closer to Easter, we see more and more people on the beach clamming and also in town. Good Friday, Joanne, Mary Ann and myself went into town to get some groceries and go to the opening of a new art gallery. There was a parade down the main street in town with children playing the part of Jesus and his followers, carrying the cross before the crucifixion. They were on their way to the church. The art gallery was absolutely beautiful, but the prices are very unrealistic for Bahia de los Angeles. Hopefully she will be able to sell a few things. If word gets out she may have some art buyers from other places come and buy. You never know. Here are some pictures.














The owner, Lucy, is in the flowered pink dress. It was a very happy day for her. The priest came and did a blessing and then a ribbon was cut.
















































I found another turtle on the beach, unfortunately it was dead. It looked as though she was trying to lay eggs and the coyotes must have gotten her. She was really big and heavy!! The vultures were having lunch when I came upon it. The turtles that come back to this beach are the ones that were born here. They always return to their birth place.

One night we went to an opening for a new Italian/Pizza restaurant in town. The owner is Italian and he made 3 dishes for us to choose from. Dave and I chose a type of lasagna. He also had fresh French bread too. It was delicious. His pizzas are good also. I hope he is a big success. The Mexican people in town like his pizzas. The restaurant is also a place where you can go and get expresso, lattes, and regular coffee. It might be fun to go there to get a latte in the winter. He has French bread for sale every other day, which will be nice to get a loaf now and then.

On April 29, I was working at the art show and it was about 20 minutes away from closing when an earthquake hit. It was somewhere between 5.0 and 5.5 on the riechter scale and the epa center was just a few miles from our house, so it was close. I had been sitting in a chair doing some crocheting when I moved in my chair side to side. The chair stayed put it was just me that moved. I waited to see if it was going to do it again, but it didn’t. I figured it was probably a good idea to move outside, so all of us gals went outside away from the building. There were two ladies that were sitting on a cement ledge attached to the Museum reading and knitting when they felt the wall move. Scared them!!! It wasn’t very long, but it was a roller. We decided that was enough of excitement for us so we closed up shop and went home. Dave said the upstairs of the house shook but nothing came off walls or shelves. At first he said it was hard to determine if it was an earthquake or the wind because when the wind gets high in gusts our upstairs shakes. The wind was blowing pretty well by that time. It was a west wind which was hot!!! Our house was like a hot house. The house was still pretty warm when we went to bed but we left the skylights and windows open. Just after I got into bed around 11:00pm, and Dave was turning off the T.V. we had an aftershock. The house shook and I was wondering if it was going to go on and get worse or settle down. Fortunately it settled down, but it unnerved us a little. We haven’t had any more since then thank goodness.

Tomorrow, April 30, is the last day of the Art and Craft show. There was a decision to be closed on May 1, even though they advertised it to be open. I didn’t think that was good to do, but they didn’t ask what I thought. We pack everything up tomorrow,have a meeting then go to lunch to celebrate. I made $70 this time. I was really happy about that. The ladies are not sure if they want to do a pre-Christmas show in November, so we decided to wait until August or September to take a poll to see who is interested.

Spring is on the way.

Tuesday - Sunday, March 1-6.
Happy March! We are getting closer to spring!

Today, the 2nd is our grandson E.J.’s birthday and he is 14!!!! Two more years and he’ll be taking driver’s Ed. Wow!!! Today Dave and I worked outside. We are priming the wood railing and trim on the guest house. The weather is perfect for doing that. It reminds us of a summer day in Seattle. As I was painting the railing, I stepped back and turned and my right knee gave out. I didn’t know if I had dislocated it or what. I tried to straighten it but it really hurt to do that. I could bend it though which I thought was a good sign. So I was really careful about walking and continued to finish priming. When I was done, I went upstairs and put ice on my knee and took some ibuprofen. It felt better but I didn’t trust my knee not to give out on me so I put a spandex knee brace on it. After Dave was finished, we walked away from the guest house and looked at it and liked the lighter color. Actually Larry had some light pink paint left over from his other house so that is what we used as primer. I think the Ivory color we will put over the pink is going to look nice. We were done for the day. When we finished it was about 3:00pm. If it is nice again tomorrow I’d like to start painting with the Ivory color.

Our ex-daughter-in-law, Teri, E.J.’s mom, has her birthday today. Hope it is a good one for her. I was going to play train today, but decided to stay home and paint instead. It is windy so we won’t be painting the Ivory color since the front of the guest house faces east and gets the brunt of the wind. So instead, Dave sanded the wood behind the guest house and trailer and then we primed it. I had to go into town to pick up my laundry, so I took the water pump back to Larry, then went to Diane’s where the gals were playing train, to say hello. They break for lunch at noon, so I got there just a few minutes before they broke for lunch. After visiting with them, I left and picked up my laundry then went home.

I forgot to tell you about our water mishap. Dave got water last week, right? Well I went out on Tuesday to turn the solar panel when I heard water running. I couldn’t think where water would be running, so when I finished with the solar panel, I walked to the pila and found water on the ground in front of it. It was an ‘aw shit’ moment!! I picked up the sight glass that fell over and stopped the water from coming out. What happened was the valve to the sight glass hadn’t been closed and when the sight glass fell over, it leaked a lot of water. About 300 gallons worth!!! Ouch!! We had duck taped the sight glass to the plastic tank which is our pila, but the tape got baked and lost its hold, and with the weight of the tube, it fell over. So I turned the valve closed and re-taped the tube to the pila, in three different locations. Then I had the unpleasant job of telling Dave what happened. He had actually left the valve open the last time he was checking the level of water. Oops!! He was working on a puzzle in the guest house, and when I told him what had happened, he came out and looked at the damage. The ground was so saturated when you stepped on it you sunk down. Dave got one foot covered in mud. But all was taken care of. This means he has to go back into town and get more water. Bummer!!

Wednesday, Dave went to Larry’s to pick up the water pump so he could get water on Thursday. That evening, we went to Mary Ann’s house for dinner and Larry and Lois were there too. We had roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, a salad and dessert. It was a good meal and we had fun visiting.

Dave left this morning, Thursday, to get water and around 9:15am he was back. I helped him pump the water into the tank and that was that. Now we are full again.

The wind was blowing Friday and Saturday so we couldn’t paint. Sunday looks like it might be good calm weather. We shall see.

Sure enough, Sunday morning was a beauty. A little breeze came up in the afternoon, but we were able to get the whole front of the guest house painted in the Ivory color. It looks nice. I think we should put another coat on it, but Dave says no. What is on it now will protect it for at least a year.

Dave had another talk with Larry about the house, and Larry wants us to pay for lease and insurance AND on top of that RENT!! He wants to be able to pay off the loan on his San Diego home without any money coming from his pocket. Soooo. That puts us in a really tight situation. We don’t know when the boat will sell, and we tried to tell him we would pay for all the repairs to the house along with the lease and insurance. But he didn’t like that because he wants extra money in his pocket. So now we won’t be able to work on the house anymore. If something breaks or needs tending to, Larry is going to have to deal with it. We know he doesn’t want to do anything with the house, but we won’t have any extra money for that kind of stuff. So we figure we will probably be in the house another year, and if the boat doesn’t sell by then we will be moving back aboard and probably down to La Paz. Not what we want to do, but we will not be able to buy the house without selling the boat. So it is what it is and we will just take it one month at a time. We hate to think about losing the house because it is in the perfect setting, but what can you do. Money doesn’t solve all your problems but it helps!! So we will just have to wait and see what happens. We were going to paint the guest house but after April, when we renew the lease, we won’t be able to fork out the money for paint. Not our problem. We also found more termites so Dave got a replacement board from Larry to try and fix the problem. We really don’t know how bad it is yet because Dave hasn’t taken the old wood and frame off. That will happen when we get back from Santa Rosalia. It would be nice if we could sell our Vacation plan in San Jose del Cabo, but even that isn’t doing anything!!! Times are hard for everyone.

When we had finished painting the trim and railings of the guest house, we were pooped. We put everything away and it was about 3:00pm. I still needed to wash the rollers and pan, water plants, finish packing and get things ready for our trip to Santa Rosalia tomorrow. I did all that and all I wanted to do was sit down and rest. But still couldn’t as I needed to take a shower and burn our paper trash before it got dark. After my shower, the sun had set so I needed to turn the solar panel to the position we leave it in while we are gone and burn. I grabbed the keys, the burn bag and headed down stairs. I was going to unlock the garage to get the handheld radio that Dave left there, but figured I would do that after burning. So I dumped the bag in the burn barrel and lit the bag and stood for a minute to watch the fire. Then I walked to the garage and noticed I didn’t have the keys with me. Where were they? I went upstairs and looked and they weren’t there, I looked in the electrical room, not there. Then it hit me-------Oh NO!!! Yep! You guessed it. I had dropped them in with the bag without realizing it and now they were on fire. I waited for the fire to die down and I took a PVC pipe and stirred the aches. I couldn’t find them. I finally went back upstairs and told Dave I thought I dropped the keys in the burn barrel. He came down with me and stirred the aches and found them. There had been a plastic key fob that said ‘No Worries’ on the ring and that melted and covered the keys. What a mess. I couldn’t believe I did that-----and Dave couldn’t either. I guess I was so rummy, I hadn’t noticed I dropped the keys. Boy do I have a mess to clean up. I took the cooled keys upstairs and poured vinegar in a cup and soaked the keys.

Monday – Sunday, March 7-13.
We are in Santa Rosalia for the week. The wind was howling in Bahia as we drove through and then up in the mountains, but when we arrived in Santa Rosalia, it was calm and warm. Really nice. Arturo was cleaning the bottom of the boat when we arrived. We went ahead and opened the boat then went back to the jeep to bring down our stuff. After Arturo finished his job and unhooked the hose and electrical cord, we hooked up our water and electrical. Dave later inspected the deck and it looked terrible. It was back to being all spotted up again from the bird crap. Not good!!! Arturo hasn’t been doing his job very well. The birds are back in force and Arturo has been doing many jobs and hasn’t been devoting time to washing our boat 2 times a month. So Dave is going to have to talk to him about it. If he can’t keep the boat clean, then we will have to find someone else. We can have Arturo clean the bottom once a month. The problem is Arturo is doing many jobs and so it is hard for him to keep his commitment to our boat. We understand he needs to make money, but right now is a crucial time for keeping the boat clean. It is the season people are looking for boats. There is another guy in the marina that has been hired to wash a couple of the other cruising boats, so we can always get him to replace Arturo. So we will see.

This morning was devoted to scrubbing the boat on our hands and knees. I scrubbed with a little bit of Oxy Clean and it took some of the bird crap off. Dave wondered earlier if baking soda would work better so I thought I would try it. It does work better believe it or not. We had to scrub the areas affected twice, but it sure looks much better. We will need to do it again tomorrow, but for now a lot of it was taken off with the baking soda and pressure washer. After we finished the deck, I pressure washed the cockpit. Now things are clean again.

There are boats coming in left and right. There were 5 boats, not including us, and later yesterday afternoon 3 more arrived. Then this afternoon, Tuesday, another boat just came in. People that have been cruising south are working their way north to San Carlos to put their boats on the hard for the summer. So lots of activity. We were able to see our friends Steve and Kathy on s/v Lilly. The last time we saw them was 2 years ago in Escondido, Mexico, just south of Santa Rosalia. When they leave here, they will return to Escondido, then in another month or so start heading up the coast for Washington again. That is where they started. We met them for the first time in Newport, Oregon when we were held there for 2 weeks due to weather. Nice people. They have their family in the Seattle area and want to cruise the San Juan’s and all around the sound. They had told us they don’t do heat well so they had been leaving their boat in Escondido, Mexico, for the summer while they flew home for the summer. It is always interesting to hear the plans of our cruising friends.

It was windy last night, but we didn’t rock and roll too much because of 2 motor boats blocking the wind. It is blowing about 20 knots today. We finished the deck just in time because with the wind blowing that much, it just blows the water everywhere but where you want it.

Today is Mardi gras but there isn’t anything going on in Santa Rosalia. No extravagance of a weeklong celebration like there is in Mazatlan or Ensenada. Pretty quiet.

The town is preparing to open the mine again, north of town. They will be extracting copper. They are also building a dock for the ships to come in and take the copper away. There seems to be more people in town because of the jobs it is creating. That is good for business.

The wind started blowing early this morning so I don’t think we will be doing any scrubbing today on the deck. Actually the deck looks sooo much better. If we need to do more scrubbing I will do some tomorrow when the wind has calmed down. It is suppose to get lighter this afternoon and then be calm for the rest of the week. That will be nice. So on my agenda today was to check the water level in the bow thruster battery under our bed and then walk to town to do some shopping for food items. I ended up having to add a little water to the battery and then I was done. I turned the switch on so it could charge up overnight and I pushed the mattress back into place. Then I changed my clothes and headed to town. I filled my backpack and carried 3 bags of groceries back to the boat. Thursday, tomorrow I will go back to town and get fruits and vegetables. Then we leave on Friday to go back to the house.

When I returned to the boat from my shopping spree, I made us lunch and helped Dave with mooring lines. One of our lines broke and the marina found the extra lines we had on the boat and retied the boat. So Dave spent the day making new lines and putting chain on the dock cleats so there won’t be any more chaffing to the lines. When he was done with my help, I took off to walk the breakwater, but once I got to the point of entry, the gate was locked. It was too windy so they closed it to the public. Maybe I can walk it tomorrow since there isn’t suppose to be a lot of wind. I was disappointed, but walked to the little store just past the marina and got a small carton of milk and a bag of ice and returned to the boat. The rest of the afternoon I read and did a little crocheting of the glass covers I am making to keep bugs out of our drinks. I’m going to sell them at the art show in April.

I did get to walk the breakwater as the wind had calmed down. It is quite a walk. I would say at least 2 miles if not more. I felt good when I finished. There was a gentle breeze so I didn't get real hot.

I managed to get the keys all clean. I had to do some scrapping, but at least they will work now.

Monday - Sunday, March 14-20.
My eldest son, Ernie, turned 36 today, the 15th. He was able to go to the Sounders Soccer game in Seattle, but unfortunately they lost. Oh well. It’s fun watching though.

Not much going on but the normal. Getting water for the pila, my playing Train on Fridays, and I actually learned a new card game called ‘Hand & Foot’. It was fun. Some of the ladies prefer to play that instead of Train, so we have a table for Hand & Foot, and another for Train. A lot of the people who come down for the Spring, are arriving so I get to meet new people each week I play.

Our neighbors Smiley and John are adding a second story to their house and it will become their bedroom. I guess they talked about it for years and finally decided to do it. They had a lot of termites in the roof and one of their side walls so they had to replace all of that before adding the top floor. They almost have all the beams up for the roof and then they will start to cover it. It is neat to watch the process.

The boat hasn’t sold but we did get an offer on it. Unfortunately it won’t help us. They want to trade boat for land. That just isn’t going to help us. So nothing serious yet. Dave and I are kind of bummed about the whole situation because we have been in the house for a year and it is to the point something has to give. We had a talk with Lois and Larry and because of their finances with their new home, and the one in San Diego and some other things, they are tight on money and have to sell the house. They are listing it again and they told us they have a couple who are interested in looking at it in April. None of us know if they are serious about buying, but if they are then we will be moving back on the boat. Dave and I are naturally bummed about it all, but if we don’t get the house, maybe it is for the better. God only knows and it is always an adventure with Him. Like they say---when one door closes another one opens and I know it will be exactly what we want. It has been fun being here and we have enjoyed the view, beach, and quiet. But maybe it is time to move on and find something else. We can stay in the house, paying rent until it sells. We are getting tired of having to keep the boat clean and running and haven’t been able to take it out because every time we go to the boat the wind is blowing to where it makes it difficult to get in and out of the slip. Plus we just don’t like bouncing around on the waves any more. Right now is a hard time for us, and we are very frustrated in not knowing how much longer we will be able to live like this. I am praying the boat will sell before summer, otherwise it is another summer we have to do hurricane watch. But it is what it is and only God knows what will happen so we have to hang in there and just wait.

Monday-Sunday March 21-27.
Larry is getting rid of the palm fronds from the guest house roof. He said since they have to re-advertise the house, he wants to have a metal roof up. That way the guest house will be insured. Homes with palm fronds are a fire hazard so no insurance company will insure. Jose, a Mexican man who has done a lot of work for Larry, came over and took all the fronds off the roof in two days. Now it is necked! HA!! The metal roof should be delivered in the next day or two and then Larry will put it on. Here is a picture of the necked roof.




Well, my youngest son, Jon, just turned 34 today, the 25th. Wow!!! They sure are getting old!!!!

The metal roof was delivered Saturday late afternoon. Larry said he will either be here to put it on, on Monday or Tuesday.

Monday – Thursday March 28-31.
Dave just left to get water and shortly after that Larry showed up to put the roof on. Then his wife, Lois came over to take pictures of the necked roof and visit with a neighbor. THEN, a friend of Larry’s, Dennis, came over to help him with the roof. It is pretty noisy around here with sawing and hammering at the neighbors, and sawing and screwing the metal sheets on the roof. Yeesh!!!! The roof is going up fast though and they should be done in the early afternoon. Dave just returned with the water so I helped him pump it into the pila, and now Dave is doing what he can to help the guys. I’m just staying out of the way. One bad thing about the metal roof is when the sun gets to the west side of the house, it will shine on it and it will be blinding until the roof dulls. Well we will just have to see how it goes. Here is a picture of the guys putting the metal sheets on. It will be nice not to have all that sand from the fronds blowing around every time the wind blows.








An update on my knee---it is much better to where I don’t have to wear the knee brace. I have tested it walking for a couple miles and it has done very well. Yahoo!!!

Dave took the wood trim down above the door of the bamboo and bathroom in the breeze way and found it and the paneling to be eaten away by termites. So he cut the panel sheet he got from Larry to the sizes he needed and put them up and then we went to our ‘Home Depot’ to get boards for the trim. All repairs have been made and the trim has been painted. Looks good. What a mess though. With the white trim around the bathroom door, it really makes the door look tiny. Well it is, really. It is only a 20” door. Didn’t notice it when the trim and house were dark colored. The neighbors like the white color. It makes everything look so much better. I don’t know if Dave is going to get paint to paint the guest house. He did mention he might so the whole job would be done. All the wood needs to be protected from the elements. It wouldn’t be a big job to paint because we don’t have a bunch of corners and such to go around. We plan on going back to Ensenada in May, so we will see how the money situation is.

Dave attached the site glass to the cement wall next to the pila so we won’t have it blow over again. Remember we lost 300 gallons of water just after he filled it?!!! He also made a wood cover to go over the faucet and lines so the horses and cows won’t destroy them when they come looking for water in August. If there is any hint of water they have been known to kick in weak pilas or anything else that has water in it. So we have to make sure they can’t get to any of our water source. There was leftover green paint from when Larry and Lois painted the trim on the house, when they were living in it, so I painted the box with that. I put a couple coats on it and it looks good.

We are seeing a lot of stingrays close to the shore by the house. It’s mating season.

The other night we were burning some of the termite wood when we heard a whale blow close to shore. It was so awesome!! It blew a couple more times and then dove and went away. The night was warm and there wasn’t a moon so the stars were bright. Just a beautiful evening. We are trying to burn up all the termite wood we tore down before the snakes start to think the piles could be home.

My glass and bowl covers I made are all done and I have been priced. Now I just need to make some small signs. I hope I make money this time. This is a much larger show than we had in November. There are a lot of gringos and Mexican’s alike who come down during Spring Break. The show starts April 16 and goes thru May 1. Well wish me luck. Here are my covers.

The Weather is Beautiful---wish you were here.

Tuesday - Sunday, February 1&6.
We finished raking the gravel from the paths into the rock lined areas and Dave is still trying to get all the wood from the stairs he tore down, cut up for the fire pit. He has just a little more to go. The whale bone we got from Rafael is in one of the rock enclosed areas. It looks good but will look better with some cactus planted. However, I don’t want to get to wild in planting cactus until we know we can build our new house. No sense planting a bunch of plants just to move them again. The rocks are no big deal as they can be used anywhere in the yard, front or back and it won’t be hard to move them. Unfortunately the bougainvillea I dug up and replanted isn’t doing well at all. I am afraid I killed it. I’m not giving up on it just yet. I keep watering it in hopes it will come back. They don’t like to be messed with, but of course I found that out after I dug it up. Oh well. I will eventually get another one, but for now don’t have a spot to put it. Don’t you wish you had such dilemmas? HA!!! If that is all you had to worry about----life would be grand right?! I know, I know-----shut up!!!

You know the cardón we planted in our yard? Well Wednesday I went down to get my clean clothes off the line when I looked out toward it and saw an osprey sitting on top of it. He was big and so awesome!! I wanted to get a picture but thought if I moved it might fly away. I turned and went back upstairs, got my camera and came back and he was still there. So I took some pictures. Here are 3.





We have learned the calls of Osprey, Seagulls (of course), Turns (like small seagulls but more obnoxious), Ravens, and Mourning Doves. Spring is just around the corner because we are seeing more of the little birds and Hummingbirds coming around. Plus the weather is warming up.

Monday – Sunday, February 7-13.
The water pump has broken at the main watering hole in town. There are two. One is in town where a lot of the locals get their water and the other, where we get our water, plus some of the locals, is just before you get on our road to come to the house. Dave took the truck in to get water on Tuesday. He wasn’t back yet when I left to go to town with Joanne and Mary Ann. We did pass him on the road and he said they ran out of water so he didn’t get any. He will have to try again tomorrow. Bummer!! He waited a long time for nothing. That is how it goes sometimes. The gals and I went on and did our grocery shopping and snooping in a couple shops, then came home later in the afternoon.

Dave managed to get a ½ tank of water this morning, Wednesday. They were limiting the water giving out only half a tank. No worries. At least ½ a tank is better than nothing at all. He will try to get some more in a couple days.

As it turned out, there was a local Mexican who came by the house asking if we needed water and Dave told him we did, so we got our water tank filled a little higher. Now he doesn’t have to go into town for a while.

I haven’t been doing much outside due to me torking my back and irritating the sciatic nerve. I had trouble walking, bending over and lifting so I gave it a rest and did a lot of stretching which helped a lot. Dave has moved some rocks to finish outlining an area and mostly has been working on making a new fire pit. The old one had rocks that were crumbling and it was a small pit, so he made it larger and moved it over toward the center where we can get more people around it. He did a good job. We had some pretty good size rocks in the load we got, so that was nice to have them to line the pit with. We are still trying to burn up the bad wood before summer.

We found out this weekend that the water pump in town has been fixed so now things will get back to normal again. People were waiting 3 hours in line to get their tanks filled. Reminds me of when we had to wait in line for gasoline in the States. Remember those days?

Monday - Sunday, February 14-20.
We left this morning for Ensenada. It was cold. The weather is supposed to be fairly decent in Ensenada but we packed for cold just the same. It is a long trip but once we get there it is nice to relax. Dave does all the driving and I try to stay awake which doesn’t happen often. It is nice to see how the desert changes from our last trip in December. Some cacti are blooming and the Cirios trees are green. Some of the desert plants are coming to life. On this trip I spotted a cactus I hadn’t seen before because it was a light green due to it getting moisture. It’s a cool plant and wouldn’t mind having one in my yard. Can’t dig them up though because it is illegal and I don’t have anywhere to hide it!!

Once we arrived in Ensenada, we stopped at the ATM and got some money. We are limited to a certain amount we can withdraw in one day so we spread it out. We are making a short trip, as usual, just to shop and then go back home. After stopping at the ATM we went to the Hotel, Santo Tomas. We like to stay there as it is inexpensive, clean and right downtown. After checking in we walked across the street to Baja Naval Marina to say hi to Roger and ask him a couple questions. They took good care of us and our boat when we stopped there on our way down the coast to Mexico, so we always like to stop in to say hi if we can. The last time we were there, he was on vacation so we missed him. During our conversation the boat came up and Dave told Roger we are trying to sell it. He told us there is a couple at the marina that just lost their boat in a storm coming down the coast and is looking for a boat. Dave just happened to read about this couple before we drove to Ensenada. They lost their boat December 28th of last year and still want to cruise so they are looking for a boat in Mexico. We showed Roger the web site where our boat is advertised and gave him Dave’s email address and mentioned that if he talks to the couple, have them contact us if they are interested. So he said he would. The couple wasn’t there that day so we didn’t get to meet them or talk about the boat, but hopefully they will at least look at the web site. Roger is also going to print out the ad and post it in the office for others to see. He said there are people coming in all the time asking if there are any boats for sale. So who knows? Something may come of this. Dave really doesn’t want to sail the boat up the coast to Seattle. So we are hoping we can sell it before he has to make that decision to do it in April or May. That was one of the things we were talking to Roger about that if we did bring the boat back up, we would stop and have them paint the bottom for us. So we needed a price list. So we shall see. At least another person or persons will know the boat is for sale. So keep your prayers and fingers crossed for us Dave doesn’t have to make that journey. Dave and I walked to our Mexican vehicle insurance office, but our agent wasn’t there. The lady in the office said he would be in Manaña. So we left and came back to the hotel and relaxed. Oh yeah. Happy Valentine’s Day. Dave and I had dinner in the restaurant at our hotel and it was delicious. The weather was pleasant and sunny so that was nice. It rained the last time we were here.

Today, the 15th, is our oldest granson’s birthday. Ethan is 16. It is also our daughter-in-laws’.

Dave called the insurance office and they said our agent wasn’t in yet but was expected soon and then he would be in all day. So we thought we would get our shopping out of the way first and then go see him this afternoon, Tuesday. We went to Home Depot first, got paint for the cement around the pila, and paint for the wood that is around the bamboo guest house. We looked around at other stuff just biding time until we could go to Walmart and be able to purchase booze. You can’t buy alcohol before 10:00am. When we left Home Depot it was a little past 10:00am. Next we went to Walmart where I started shopping and Dave walked over to the ATM machine. I also had a list of things to buy for Mary Ann, Joanne and Lois. I followed my list and got almost everything on it. Mary Ann wanted some cool whip but unfortunately they didn’t have it at Walmart. Once shopping was done there we went to Costco and finished getting the bulk items. We returned to the hotel and put a bunch of free ice, in the ice chest and would check it in the morning, draining it and adding more if need be before heading home. Dave called the insurance office again and asked for Tona, the agent and found out he had left for the day. What a bummer. We needed to pay and talk to him about the insurance but now I guess we will have to email him and work out a way to get him a check because we need to go home tomorrow. Dave was pretty bummed about that. He shot him an email but we never heard back from him. We repacked the jeep so everything fit snuggly and was secured and went back to our room to chill. We weren’t very hungry when dinner time came along so we ended up eating at McDonald’s up the street. It was either that or have pizza and have leftovers for breakfast on our way home. We decided to have a Mc D sandwich and tomorrow we would get an egg McMuffin sandwich before heading out of town. We went back to our room and watched T.V. and checked email, still haven’t heard from our agent, then went to bed.

We got up a little after 6:00am, got packed and loaded the jeep and checked out. We got some more ice to add to the chest and drained the water out of it. We were set to go. Before all that, we did walk to Mc Donald’s to have breakfast so that should hold us until we get home.

The ride home was o.k. It had rained over night and was still misting when we left Ensenada. The further south we get the better the weather will be. San Diego is having a series of storms coming in and Ensenada is in for more rain. Thank goodness we are going home today. We arrived home around 2:00pm, unloaded and I decided I would put the majority of the stuff away tomorrow. I was tired and just didn’t feel like doing much. We had grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner, watched T.V. then went to bed.

What a difference a day makes and a good night sleep. I was ready to dig in and start cleaning up the mess from yesterday. Once that was done, I had time to read. I want to finish the book I am reading about an Autistic boy. I want to be able to pass it on to another lady when I go to train tomorrow.

I did finish the book so now I can pass it on. I walked to Mary Ann’s house for train this morning, Friday, and had a nice time talking with the ladies and playing. Then after lunch I walked home. I only stayed half a day this time. Last week I got stuck playing the whole day and it is just too long for me. When I returned home, Dave had put the primer paint on the pila and it looks nice. When that dries and the wind stops he will put the final coat of paint on it. It will be an ivory color. When Noreen comes down to visit again, we are going to have her paint a desert mural on the pila wall. That will look soooo cool. We will have to measure it and send the measurements to her so she can draw it all out at home and bring it down with her to paint.

We found out that John and Sandy Eltrich, are going to be here, Wednesday the 23rd. Their daughter Angie had a baby boy and so they got some quality time with him. Sandy and John are heading back to their boat in La Paz and since they will be passing by our area, thought they would stop and visit. That will be nice. It is always good to see them. So now I need to get busy and clean. Oh yay!!!

I was going to vacuum the house this morning to get the sand up from our last wind storm, but guess what? We are having another one. It doesn’t do any good to try and clean it up until after the wind has stopped. So instead I cleaned the bathroom adjacent to the bamboo room and the trailer. Tomorrow I hope to vacuum the bathroom floor, bamboo room and trailer. I will need to get the mattress and sheets from Mary Ann again so John and Sandy will have a comfortable bed to sleep on. Dave took the puzzle Mary Ann gave him after she finished it, down to the bamboo room and has been working on it most of the day. Once he starts he stays with it. I laid down for a while since I was really tired. Didn’t sleep but did rest. The wind is still whipping out of the south with some strong gusts. Because of the weather in San Diego, we are getting wind and clouds here. It is warm though so no complaints. I managed to get the January blog at least on my blog site today. Now I will have to put the pictures in and then post it. I will try to do that in the next couple days. I am behind. I hadn’t even started the February blog until today. Been busy or Dave has been on my computer playing his war game. No worries. It gets done eventually.

Monday - Sunday, February 21-27.
Today is President’s Day. Happy day off for those of you who get it as a holiday.

Wednesday, John and Sandy came to visit. They could only spend the night, but we had a wonderful visit with them. They are anxious to get back to their boat. It has been 3 long months in the states. We caught up on news, walked the beach, had cocktails, dinner, played a game of train, cruiser style, had dessert chatted a little more then they retired for the night. We did too shortly thereafter.

Thursday morning was sunny and warm and John and Sandy were so happy to be back in warm weather again. I fixed breakfast and after saying goodbye, left for Santa Rosalia. They are working their way to La Paz slowly. Actually by Friday they will be in La Paz. It was nice they came to stay with us.

Friday, Dave went into town and got water. I walked to Mary Ann’s house to help load some things she has for the yard sale tomorrow. Then we went to the area where the sale is taking place and set up. I was home by 2:00pm and was able to help Dave with the last bit of water to be siphoned from the tank in the truck. After that I helped clean up and that was our exciting day. Tomorrow we need to be at the yard sale at 7:30am as it will open at 8 and close at 11.

Dave and I got up around 6:30am, got dressed, made coffee then headed for the sale. There already were Mexican families lined up waiting to get it. We told the gate keeper we were there to work the yard sale so he let us in and closed the gate behind us. I didn’t have much to sell, just about 5 tops and 2 pairs of sandals. I managed to sell a couple things and Mary Ann sold a lot of here stuff which was really good. As the morning was getting on and the people were slowing down coming in, we were able to browse. I found a couple treasures so that was cool. Just a little before 11, Mary Ann and I packed up and left. There weren’t as many people this year as last year. Money just isn’t flowing in the town like it was this time last year. It was a good sale anyway and a lot of the gringos got rid of most of their stuff.

Mary Ann drove back to her house where we unloaded what was left over from the sale, and then she drove me home. It was a fun morning. The rest of the day was spent reading and I managed to take a little nap. The wind was blowing pretty well when I came home and Dave said it had just started. Thank goodness we didn’t have any wind where we were. There were people in the yard sale that said the wind was howling at the north end of town. That system that is hitting San Diego is moving our way. So the wind blew hard all afternoon and also early evening then it quit. We were planning on sleeping in the trailer again if it had kept up. So when we went to bed it was calm.

Well the calm didn’t last all night. We were awakened by howling wind and the screens and windows rattling at 2:30-3:00am. We laid there for a while then decided it wasn’t going to let up for a while so we grabbed our pillows and went to the trailer. We were able to sleep. Dave woke first and figured it was well past 8:00am, but to his surprise it was only 7:00am. We had to get up because the propane guy is suppose to come today and Dave needed to bleed one of our tanks down and I usually watch for the truck. We hadn’t heard anything announcement it was in town so Dave called our neighbor Mary and she said it was over in Rincon. So we would hear when it left there heading back this way. Well the guys that live over there in Rincon forgot to alert us the truck had left Rincon and before I knew it the truck was behind our house going to Mary’s. Luckily they were watching and saw him coming. So we got our bottle filled and announced to the people south of us the truck was on its way. The clouds have thinned. Oh yeah. We got some sprinkles this morning but really not enough to do much but dirty the windows and solar panel. Now it is sunny and the wind did calm down and it was nice, but it is blowing again, this time from the north. I was able to wash the solar panels while Dave went to take the water pump back to Larry, and I washed a couple items of clothing, stripped and changed the bed, gathered the dirty sheets and clothes to take into town on Tuesday to be laundered. Dave was able to get another puzzle from Mary Ann so he is down in the bamboo room working on it. This afternoon is a reading one for me.

Monday February 28.
The weather is getting warmer which is nice, that is when the north wind doesn’t blow. We are starting a new month and more birds are showing up singing or squawking to each other. I’m sure they are starting to search out places to build nests. The doves are already calling early in the morning with their monotone, never changing call. It can wear on your nerves. During the day they are flying around and then when the evening comes they are back again talking before they disappear for the night. I truly understand now why some people hunt and kill doves!!!! Actually they are good eating!!

Dave started sanding the wood trim on the outside of the quest house and the railing above the deck. We got some very light pink paint from Larry to use as a primer so that is what we will treat the wood with before putting the Ivory color on it as a finish. Thursday, the 3rd we spent all day painting the front and south side of the guest house. Actually the light pink doesn’t look bad, but the ivory color is going to look really nice. Tomorrow we hope to maybe start with the ivory color. The weather was absolutely perfect today for painting. Only a small breeze and it was warm but not hot. The best weather ever so far this year.

I ended up torking my knee this morning somehow. All I did was step back from what I was painting and my knee gave out. I didn’t fall but I couldn’t straighten my leg all the way. I could bend my knee and it didn’t hurt but when I straightened it, ouch!!! I had to stop painting for awhile to elevate and ice my knee and take some ibuprophen. I had a spandex knee brace so I put that on and I was fine. Weird!!! My back got out of alignment also so I had to try and pop it back into place. So I was uncomfortable in the afternoon, and then I iced my knee again that evening.

The wind is supposed to blow today so no painting with the final color on the guest house. Instead Dave sanded the wood beams and posts on the west side of the guest house and then I came behind him putting the primer coat on. When Dave finished sanding and wiping, he started painting too. I had to quit just before 11:30am so I could get the water pump into the back of the truck so I could take it back to Larry, and I also have to go into town and pick up my laundry. I cleaned up and put my roller to soak and left for Larry’s house. Today is a train playing day, but I skipped it so we could paint. I did stop by on my way into town to say hi to the gals and chat for a few minutes. Then I went to town, bought milk and got my laundry and headed back home. When I got home Dave had used up all the pink paint and pretty much had all we wanted to paint done. Tomorrow is supposed to be windy so we probably won’t do any major painting. I think I would like to take a brush and paint around the posts and places where the roller wouldn’t fit. Then all we will have to do is roll on the ivory color. With both of us painting it doesn’t take much time at all. The job isn’t as overwhelming either. I put laundry away, had lunch and started the Janet Evanovich book series. Everyone here passes books around and I have read a lot of her books, just not in order. So I thought it would be fun to read them in order. We have lots of reading material now!!! I finished a book titled ‘Gringo’s in Paradise’. It was an interesting book. We are familiar with the town they were having a house built in. Dave is in the guest house putting a puzzle together. I thought this was a great time to catch up the blog because when he comes up he will want to play his game on my computer.

My knee is feeling better; however, when I am walking or working around the house I wear the brace. I know I have arthritis in that knee, but it also feels like the tendons were stretched. So I will be wearing the brace just so as not to damage it any more. When Dave and I come to Washington to visit, I will have my knee looked at again. The last time I was home I had an x-ray taken and all looked good, just normal wear and tear. So don’t know what this is!!!

Monday we are going to Santa Rosalia to check on the boat, pay moorage and make sure all systems run well. I need to do a little cleaning as well.

Another Year Living the Dream

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Or better yet, Feliz Años Nuevo!!

The wind has started to calm down a little but it is still cold due to it blowing from the north. We are definitely acclimated to climate in Mexico because we are COLD!!! HA!!

Mary, our neighbor, called us this morning to wish us a Happy New Year which was nice. Not much is planned for the day. I read most of the morning and then worked on my cross stitch project. Dave didn’t do much either. We did watch some football in the spirit of New Years Day. The wind is still blowing and it is too cold to be outside so my plan to take down the lights on the deck will have to wait for another day. I would have to go to the garage downstairs and get the ladder then fight the wind coming up the stairs with the ladder and I just didn’t want to do that. The wind is suppose to start tapering off each day so tomorrow, hopefully will be better. We also need to get all the deck furniture off the deck and move it to the breezeway between the trailer and bamboo room.

We did manage to get a little reprieve from the wind for a while this morning so we took that opportunity to take the deck furniture down to the breezeway and take the ‘ornaments’ out of the bush. I even managed a walk on the beach to gather more shells until the wind picked up and sand was blowing around. We have so much sand in the house from it getting in through the cracks that when I clean, I will need to vacuum everything!! Usually I sweep then run over the floor with my swiffer broom, but this job calls for more desperate measures!

I started back on my exercise routine again since I am not working out in the yard. It actually felt good. I don’t believe in making New Years resolutions as they normally get broken, but I figured it was a good time to get in shape. Before I started moving and lifting rocks and digging and all that kind of stuff, I exercised with my 5 lb weights every other day and stretched. I stopped when I started doing all the outside work as I worked every part of my body!!!

It’s Sunday, and Dave was downstairs in the garage creating a rack for his fishing poles while I washed some clothes and hung them on the line. I folded the inflatable mattress we borrowed for Ron and Noreen to sleep on and made the sofa bed back into a couch. I gathered all the sheets, towels, and heavy clothes so as to take them into town tomorrow and drop them off at Yolanda’s.

I spent some time putting some rock and shell creatures together in the art room and then came upstairs to get warm and have something to eat. Dave had finished as much as he could do with his fishing pole holder. He needs smaller nails. After that he went to the bathroom next to the bamboo room, and started messing with the tile floor. He wants to start laying the new tile soon. Well so much for our exciting day.

Monday – Sunday, January 3-9.
I drove into town and dropped off the laundry, had Sammy check the air in the tires and add some and then came back home. Didn’t do much today. It is cold outside so we want to stay inside where it is warm. I finished the “IKE” book that took so long for me to get through. It was interesting and I enjoyed it. Now I am starting to read Herman Hill’s book again titled ‘Baja Treasures’. I read it once when I first got it so it has been a while. Now that I have been living here a while, I will enjoy reading it that much more.

Dave has read all the books I was able to get for him from neighbors, so maybe when we go back to Santa Rosalia he can get more.

It has been cloudy, cold and windy. We have resorted to drinking cappuccino with a touch of Kahlua. Not every night though! It tastes so good and warms the soul.

Tuesday it was so nice I had to take a walk. I had wanted to walk to the furthest estuary so that is what I did. There was a little breeze and I’m glad I took a lightweight jacket as it got a little chilly. Wow!!! What a beautiful sight when I got there. There were some cranes on the shoreline waiting for food to come by. But to look out across the estuary was just fantastic. I will have to go back and take a picture. I didn’t bring my camera this time. I was gone for 2 hours so it was quite a walk. I walked on the beach and did manage to collect some more shells. The only thing I got from walking that far in tennis shoes were a couple blisters. I was surprised the next day I wasn’t sore.

A couple named Lynn and Tom Mitchell, came down for about a week to enjoy their stay in Bahia, and then go back to the U.S. They are in a hiking club and they asked if we wanted to hike with them and a few other people on Friday. I told them I would like to but I would have to see how my blisters were doing. They are planning on hiking Pulpo Arroyo which isn’t far from our house. I love exploring so I would hate to miss it.

Wednesday, there was a Mexican Train game at the home of Dottie. She comes down and stays for a couple weeks then goes home and sometimes comes back in the spring or fall. There were 6 of us and Dottie fed us lunch which was nice. We played until lunch time and after we were finished with lunch and chatting, we all went home. While we were there, I asked about the hike and was told it was on Thursday instead of Friday. We meet at Lynn and Tom’s place and then carpool to the spot we park and walk from. After I got home I put my hiking boots on and walked around in them for a while and it didn’t bother my blisters so I am going tomorrow. Dave wants to go too. Hiking is something he enjoys as well. Dave had been checking the weather and I noticed the sky was getting darker and wondered if it was going to rain. He said the rain storm was moving up the Baja and it looked like we would get rained on. So we didn’t know if we would be able to hike tomorrow or not. The morning will tell.

The storm went around us so we didn’t get any rain. So the hike is on. We rode in the back of Mary and George’s truck to Lynn and Tom’s place, and they and their two dogs, Murphy and Maggie, piled in the back of Mary and George’s truck with us. We drove about a mile or so up the road and turned off and parked. Another couple named Theresa and Jason followed us in their truck and parked behind us. We had a group photo taken and then we were off up the arroyo.


It was a gradual climb up the arroyo maneuvering around rocks and sticker bushes. It was a beautiful day for a hike. There were some clouds in the sky but it was sunny. The temperature was great for hiking. We are headed to the base of what they call Mike’s Mountain. Here are some pictures of the group.




























Saturday - Sunday, January 1&2.
I was up with Tom in the front, and Davey was back with the rest of the group chit chatting all the way!! We got to where there were suppose to be railroad tracks that brought the ore down in cars from the mountain, but they have long since been covered over with soil and rock. There are a few mines that were worked for gold. There is still a lot of gold in the hills and mountains of Bahia, but now it is illegal to prospect and mine for it. We were half way to the top of the arroyo when we stopped to rest and have some water. Then we continued on. Lynn and Tom’s male dog, Murphy is a good hiking dog and since they had traveled that route many times before with him he led the way. Maggie was just trying to keep up. They are great dogs. We finally made it to the end of the arroyo, well as far as we could go because there had been a landslide and many huge boulders were blocking the rest of the way up the mountain. We stopped to rest and have something to eat, stretch, explore the area and take pictures.







Then when everyone had caught their breath and was ready to head back, we walked down the arroyo to the cars. What a wonderful hike. I was able to get a sample of a couple plants and a small Barrel Cactus. I can’t wait to get them home so I can plant them. We said goodbye to Theresa and Jason, and then the rest of us piled in Mary and George’s truck. Poor Maggie was pooped and Murphy was glad to be going home. We dropped Lynn and Tom at their place and we said goodbye and then went to Mary and George’s place. We thanked them for the ride and Mary said maybe one of these days soon her and I can walk up Red Mountain. I told her I would like that. That one is more of an incline hike. We walked back home and Dave went upstairs while I planted my plants. We were tired, but it felt good to get out and enjoy the fresh air.

It’s Friday and today is cleaning day. I vacuumed and cleaned the bathroom, then dusted. Monday we are going to Santa Rosalia so I want the house to be clean for our return.

Tonight Mary and George are hosting a neighborhood potluck and bon fire at their house. Lynn and Tom, Joanne, and we are going to be there. I baked Au Gratin Potatoes, Mary made soup, Lynn made salad, and Joanne made a carrot cake. Everything was delicious and we had a nice visit. After dinner we gathered around the fire and enjoyed its warmth and glowing embers. Lynn and Tom are leaving on Sunday, so they will be packing up tomorrow. They will return in April. All the people we have met down here from the States are really nice. It’s great to get to know them.

Today was another cleaning day as I need to wipe down the blinds. I managed to get 5 blinds cleaned and the other 3 will have to wait until tomorrow. The blinds in the kitchen were really dirty. Once those were cleaned the rest went pretty fast. All that is left now are the last 3 blinds and wiping down the counter tops in the kitchen. That is tomorrow’s project.

Dave and I watched the Seahawks play in the first game of the playoffs and to our surprise they WON!!!! Wow!! It was a good game. We thought during the second half they were going to blow it because they were missing the ball or dropping it, but they held on to win. That is so terrific. Hopefully they will be able to win the next one.

Everything is clean now so I won’t have to clean for a while after getting back from Santa Rosalia. We need to pay moorage and renew our FM3’s. We plan on being there for a week. If it takes longer to get our FM3’s we’ll just go home and come back when they are ready. We will know more on Monday or Tuesday.

Monday - Sunday, January 10-16.
We had a nice drive down to Santa Rosalia. It is a little warmer here but not by much. As usual we hooked up the water and electricity, then toted all the stuff from the jeep to the boat. The boat was really dirty and Carlos said that Arturo had been sick but he would be washing it today. There was a cold breeze and I guess it is suppose to stay windy for a few days. Arturo washed the boat and it really looks nice now. The birds are back so they are making their messes again. Darn!!! We walked to town and visited the bank, had our pictures taken for the FM3 and stopped at the immigration office to see how much it is to renew. It is 1,294 pesos per each FM3 or $106 per FM3. It’s the same as last year. That isn’t bad. We went back to the boat for a while and then went to dinner at our favorite rotisserie chicken restaurant. Yum!!! After dinner we returned to the boat and relaxed. It got so cold in the boat we had to turn on the heat!!! Ahhhhh. It felt good!! We got on our computers and around 10-10:30pm went to bed.

We didn’t run the heat all night so I got cold. I will need to throw on another blanket tonight! The wind is blowing and it is cold. Carlos is typing letters for both of us to add to our paperwork for our FM3’s. When he was finished we walked to the immigration office and gave it to the gentleman that helped us last year. He is a friend of Carlos. He remembered us too which was nice. We handed him the paperwork already filled out. He looked through it, got the bill to take to the bank to pay for the FM3’s, and left for the bank. We didn’t have to wait long to see the teller and we paid for the FM3’s and took the receipt back to the immigration office. We signed a couple papers and were handed one to bring back with us when we pick up our FM3 cards. We asked when it would be ready and he said Monday. Then he said maybe Friday. So we will go back on Friday to see if they are done. Then we can leave and go back to the house on Saturday.

I brought laundry with us to take advantage of the washers and dryers here, so I got the laundry done. After the laundry, I needed to take a walk so I walked to the hardware store north of town. I have wanted to go there each time we have come to the boat, but for one reason or the other never did. So today is the day. They had some interesting things and a lot of materials for construction. It is just another source we can utilize when we can’t find some things in town. It was a good walk for me as I had to loosen up my back. With hiking on Thursday and sitting for 5 hours yesterday in the car, I was stiff and sore. The wind had picked up half way to the hardware store and it was blowing dirt around. It wasn’t too bad walking back to the marina. When I got back to the boat I told Dave some of the things they had at the store and did some stretching then I went out in the cockpit and read for a while. I came back down stairs and watched a DVD on my computer. One Dave wasn’t interested in seeing. ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ with Jim Carry.

We ate dinner at a new restaurant. It was really good and we knew the waiter from another restaurant we frequent each time we come to Santa Rosalia. He worked at the other restaurant for a year and when this one opened he started working here. After dinner we walked to the convenient store just up the street from the marina and got some milk. I was there this morning but what milk they had was out dated. I was glad to see they got a shipment in. Once back on the boat we sat and relaxed. Dave and I were both on our computers for a while and then we read before going to bed. Dave hit the jackpot for books this time. The marina had a lot of books by authors he likes.

Today, Wednesday, I rinsed the cockpit out, washed my chair and ottoman pads and then walked to town to buy some groceries. The wind hadn’t started blowing yet so I took advantage of the calm to get my stuff done. When I got back to the boat the wind was hooting. It is blowing harder today than yesterday. It is suppose to continue to blow for another day or two.

Friday around 11:00am we went to the immigration office and found out that our FM3’s were done. We were then further processed with finger prints and signatures and then we were done and they laminated our cards and we left. It was pretty painless and now we can leave tomorrow morning. After we left the office we walked to town and got some more money to last us for a couple months until we either go to Ensenada or back to Santa Rosalia again. I think I mentioned before that there are no banks or ATM’s in Bahia. So you have to plan ahead for food and gas money. I got some fresh bread rolls and a couple other items and then went to the boat. I packed, washed clothes so we would have all clean stuff when we got home, and started packing up the jeep. It makes it so much easier to have most of the stuff packed the night before.

Barb and Alan invited us to go to dinner with them and Alice, Bill, and Jim. All cruisers. We went and had the famous bacon wrapped hot dog. Dave and I had that last night, but it is cheap and very good. After we had hot dogs, we went across the street and had ice cream. It’s funny how we can get almost any flavor in town now, being it winter, and in summer there is a small selection!!! I wonder why?!! Heehee! It was a nice night as the wind had calmed down a bit and it wasn’t as cold. We walked back to our boats and said good night. We wished the cruisers well in case we didn’t see them in the morning. As it did turn out we did see them all in the morning and was able to say goodbye again and wish them a safe journey.

We are home again and glad for that. I was soooo looking forward to sleeping in our big bed. The one on the boat is suppose to be a queen size, but because of its shape doesn’t seem like it is and Dave and I barely have room to turn over. It’s nice to be close, but we both have gotten use to the room. Ha! We were told that the wind blew here too while we were gone, but today seems to be a nice one. It was good to be back!

Sunday was a kick back day so very little was done. Dave and I spent the day reading and doing odds and ends.

Monday - Sunday, January 17-23.
Today is Martin Luther King Day. When there is a holiday like that I always think of the grandkids being out of school, having a play day.

Not much went on this week. Dave went to town and got water. Joanne and I walked a couple days on the airstrip behind us. We are trying to walk since the weather is cool. On Thursday, Mary rode with Joanne in her jeep and we followed her in the truck to search out a couple dead cardons (cactus) Mary found the other day. Mary rides her quad and searches out new paths and finds neat stuff. It will be nice when we can do that also. Joanne and I are both looking for a nice cardon to plant in the garden for decoration. As we followed Mary and Joanne, the path was getting narrower and it’s a good thing we don’t worry about the truck getting scratched!!! There were a lot of sticker bushes along the path and we did have to go by them. I am glad when they stopped as we weren’t sure we could go much further, as the path was narrow and the truck is wide. A really nice cardon was lying on its side already cleaned (rough bark taken off) and the tips were cut off to make it look smooth and clean. Mary and Joanne were standing next to it and I thought it was for Joanne but they said “no” it was mine. Wow!!! What a find!! So Dave backed the truck up to the cardon and all of us lifted it up and laid it in the truck bed and pushed it all the way in. It fit perfectly!!! We could even close the back. We didn’t have room for another cardon, but I told Joanne that we can come back sometime and get one for her. I guess she saw some that would work for her as we were driving home. Joanne, Mary and I dug up small cactus’ to add to our garden, and there were some animal bones lying on the ground as we were heading back to the road, that Joanne got for her granddaughter when she comes to visit. It was a successful morning. We pulled the cardon out of the truck and laid it on the ground. Dave parked the truck and came back with the wheel barrow. He lifted one end of the cardon while I pushed the wheel barrow under it, then he let it down into the wheel barrow and went to the other end and lifted it up, holding the other end while I was pushing the wheel barrow toward the spot we want to bury it.

Friday, Dave sat on the deck with his coffee this morning and all was well until the bees started to show up. It was almost disastrous as when he took a sip, he had gotten a bee with it. He immediately spit the coffee out on the deck and the bee with it. Luckily he didn’t get stung!!! Then after spitting out the coffee it was like a siren to the other bees, there was liquid there. After trying to kill them with the fly swatter, he resorted to insect spray. That did the trick!! It’s getting that time of year again when the insects are coming out. Bummer!! Joanne gave me a ride to Diane’s house where 6 other ladies played train for half a day. We had a good time and a nice visit. The wind came up strong while I was there so there won’t be any digging a hole to bury the cardon today. I would be eating sand the whole time. When I got home I did some cross stitching and read.

The Seattle Boat Show started today. I am hoping we might get someone interested in buying our boat. Our good friend Tori at Signature Yachts said she was going to advertise it on the Hunter Home page and also at the Boat Show.

This morning, Saturday, we awoke to a beautiful day. Of course the sun was shining but there was just a hint of a breeze and it was warm. Oooh la la!!! Dave had walked to the beach and I sat on the deck with my coffee. I was lucky as no bees came buzzing by. Today is a perfect day to dig the hole. When Dave returned from the beach, he saw George take off on his quad to go down to the boat ramp to clear some rocks since it was low tide. Dave got his gloves and walked to the boat ramp as he told George yesterday he would help him. So while Dave was gone, I dug the hole. Yesterday, Dave had cleared the spot where we wanted to bury it so all one of us had to do was start digging. When Dave returned he saw the hole and I told him he should get something to eat first before he started to help. So he did and we both decided I needed to dig a little deeper to make sure the cardon will be buried enough to withstand the high winds we get from the north. As it turned out it was too deep. When we placed the cardon in the hole, I felt something drop on my foot. I looked down and thought it was a big spider. I squealed and started shaking my foot to get it off. I took my sandle off thinking it went inside. Then I saw what it actually was. It was a small scorpion. It fell out of the cardon and landed on my foot and bounced off onto the sand. After all that excitement we decided we needed to lift the cardon up a bit so Dave added some dirt under the trunk and it raised it enough to where we were satisfied. Then we filled in the hole, burying the scorpion and stomped down the dirt as we finished. It looks nice. It isn’t so tall that it will obstruct our view when we get around to building our house. Dave and I discussed making some more paths that go to and around the cardon, so he came inside when we were done and sketched it. It will look really nice when we get finished. We will need to get a couple loads of rocks to line the paths, and probably more after that to help keep our sand bank from receding. There is enough work outside to keep us busy for the next few months. All work stops when it gets hot though. Next month we will start painting under the eaves of the house and the electrical room as it is peeling off. When we go back to Ensenada, we will get some paint to redo the wood trim outside the bamboo room. Lois and Larry never repainted it and now it is in dire need of protection. So there are lots of projects. We don’t mind. It keeps us busy.

We had a wonderful fire last night as we need to burn all the termite infested wood we tore down. There was a gentle breeze and it was warm. The stars were shining bright and we could see many of them as the moon hadn’t come up yet. When we got down to the last little bit, I went back inside to read until Dave was finished tending to the fire. He came up and we watched T.V. then went to bed.

We were spoiled yesterday with the nice weather because today it is blustery again from the north. Not an outside day. South of us you can see the haze from the sand blowing everywhere. I had thought about taking a hike today, but when the wind came up I knew that wasn’t a good idea. So instead, I baked a cake, made a bean soup and finally caught up on the blog. Dave spent the morning just messing around pounding nails from boards and cutting them to burn size. It’s a day to be indoors and enjoy the view of the waves rushing to shore. It’s time to either read or do some cross stitching.

Monday - Monday, January 24-31.
Dave has started scraping off the old paint from under the eaves of the electrical room in preparation for painting. I went into town this morning taking my neighbor Joanne and Mary Ann with me. We did our shopping, dumped garbage, refilled water jugs, had lunch, stopped at 2 more stores and came home. We had a very busy morning. By the time I got home it was about 2:00pm. I put the groceries away and then sat and read for a while.

I have been trying to get Mary Ann walking as she needs to lose weight and I talked to her about walking 2 times a week. So today is the first day of our walking. Joanne was going to join us but she had Dave over messing with the boat engine. Dave was going to start it today, but unfortunately there is something else wrong with it and it wouldn’t start. Joanne said she is done with the boat and George will get the motor to fix and use on one of his boats, and the boat will go to Nasario’s nephew. So she needed to stick around the house. So I drove over to Mary Ann’s and we walked. Unfortunately we stopped to talk to a couple of her neighbors so we had a long respite between the walk starting out. But we got to the last house on our walk and turned around and headed back. This time we were able to walk the whole way back to Mary Ann’s house without visiting. When I walk it is for exercise and I don’t like stopping until I am done, but Mary Ann is just starting out walking again and she hasn’t seen her neighbor’s for a long time so it was good for her. I need to chill and take it on her terms. I can always walk on my own at the pace I like. No worries. When I returned home I did some cross stitching.

Friday was a Train game and a birthday luncheon for Lois, our landlord. I had a nice visit with the ladies and it was fun. When I returned home Dave had already painted under the eaves on the south and most of the west side of the electrical room plus the door. He was just finishing up when I came home. I told him I would help tomorrow if he needed it. While I was at the party, Rafael dumped 2 loads of rocks in our yard. He had come by the house looking for work so we asked him for 2 loads of rocks. He said he had a big whale bone in his yard that he didn’t want and he would give it to us so we could add it to our collection. How nice!! So I am either painting or moving rocks or both tomorrow.

It is a beautiful day and perfect for painting. Dave needs to finish scraping the eaves on the north side of the electrical room, while I start to paint in the crevices and corners with a brush as the roller can’t get that close. So my job was to do that and after Dave finished scrapping he would come after me and paint the rest of the wood with the roller. With both of us working it didn’t take a long time so we were done before lunch time. My last job was to paint the trim on the window to the north and then when it is dry and closed, Dave would paint the rest. I cleaned up my brush and container and came inside to make lunch. Dave was finishing up with his painting and then cleaned up. Now that job is complete. After lunch I went out in the front yard and started moving rocks to line the paths we outlined. I only lined one of the areas as I was tired and my back was starting to hurt. It was time to quit and relax. We got a lot accomplished today and it always feels good.

I was going to go into town yesterday, Saturday, to drop off laundry and get a couple of grocery items, but I wanted to help Dave and get my rocks positioned. So instead I went in today, Sunday. I had heard a couple stores got some fresh vegetables in so I wanted to get there before it all got picked over. I learned that the best time to go is later in the afternoon. Joanne and Mary Ann went in around 5:00pm and found all kinds of fresh vegetables. So I will need to do that next time. I managed to get the items on my list and they did get fresh milk in so that was good.

When I returned home and had all the groceries put away, I read for a while then did some cross stitching. I am almost at the end. The next step is to back stitch around the areas to outline it.

It is the last day of January. It’s been a good month. It started out cold but now is starting to warm up a little. Every time we get a north wind it is cold. We haven’t had any rain at all yet, where last year just before we moved in it rained hard and the ground took 3 months to dry out completely in some spots. It is hard to believe we have been in the house for a year now. We are still loving every minute of it.