So Close

So far it has been an interesting month. First our grandson, E.J., who is in tech school in the Air Force, turned 19 on the 2nd. So far he is doing well.

I had a dentist appointment in Guerrero Negro on the 2nd and we made a day of it. I am having a mouth guard made for my teeth since I grind them at night, and I found out he can get it done all in one day. We had our gate guard Tito and his wife Brenda come with us as they needed to go to the bank also. We took off at 6:30am and went to the bank for us first, and then I went to the dentist while Dave took Tito to his sister’s house so he could get the ATM card to get money. When they were done I met them outside and told Dave we needed to come back around 2:00pm to pick up the mouth guard. So we went to the hardware store and stopped at a clothing store so Brenda could pick up a couple things. While Brenda was shopping and I was snooping, Dave went across the street to talk to the guy we bought the washing machine motor from. We found out it is a 3 speed and we don’t know if it will work in our machine. He said it should work so then we went to lunch and after that it was time to return to the dentist office. The mouth guard was ready and I had already paid so now we could head home. It was fun having Tito and Brenda with us. We are trying to understand each other and sometimes it is a hoot!!!! We got home around 3:00pm.

I have been coughing a lot lately and always have a tickle in my throat so I started taking Emergen-C again and some sinus medicine. I think it is just post nasal drip but people are still sick here so the colds and coughs are still around. I have started to be concerned a little due that the cough wasn’t going away and I was waking up coughing in the middle of the night. I was going to stop at the clinic when I went into town on Saturday but that never happened.

There is a man who is interested in the boat. He didn’t want to see it until he was back from a Whale Tour trip in March. The broker and he had been emailing back and forth asking and answering questions. He flew from San Diego into Tijuana and then came down to La Paz to look at the boat. He liked it so with further discussion between him and the broker he made an offer. It was a really low offer so we countered and agreed on a price. The price for the boat is at $155,000.00 and the guy couldn’t pay any more than $142,000.00. So now we just have to wait for the guy to sign the papers and send them back to our broker. A few days went by and we never heard anything so we figured he didn’t sign the papers. In the meantime a man from Puerto Vallarta walked into the office asking about boats and our broker said he had a sailboat to show him. So they went down to our boat and he liked it so much he made an offer of $150,000.00 on the spot. We said “let’s do it” and that afternoon we had papers sent to us to sign and return, which we did. The guy wanted to come down for a sea trial on Friday which meant we would have to leave the next day to get there on Thursday so we could check out the boat and work the sails and make sure there weren’t any snaffoos. So I started packing and the next morning we were headed for Loreto. In the meantime the broker called the other guy to tell him the boat was off the market for now and this guy went linear!!!! He said he had sent the signed papers but what happened was he had someone else send it and the office was closed and they wouldn’t be in again until Monday but it went to the brokers spam folder. Well to tell you the truth we are so happy we don’t have to deal with this guy. We think we know him and all the cruisers said he was an asshole and this is very true. He was so mad he told our broker that if they were in the states he would sue them and he would bad mouth to everyone what dishonest people La Paz Yachts were and all that nonsense. With his offer he had a list of things he wanted met which seemed a little over the top. I truly believe it was meant to work like it is!!! The guy that seems to be buying the boat lives in Puerto Vallarta and is an Aussie named Robbie and comes highly recommended by the big La Paz Yacht/Mazatlan boss who runs both places. Apparently Robbie buys boats from all over and then turns around and sells them either into charter programs or something else. I really don’t care just as long as we sell it. Ha!

We arrived in La Paz on Thursday and started going over things on the boat. Our broker came down to talk with us and he ended up helping us raise the main sail. It got stuck. We took it down and worked with it for about an hour or so and then finally got it free so we could raise it up the mast. It worked and it looks good. So we know that the headsail and mainsail are good. In the meantime the broker got a call from Robbie saying he was on his way to La Paz when his friends’ car broke down. So he won’t make it for sea trials until Monday. Well it just gives us time to figure out what is wrong with the forward head and fix it. So things are looking up and we will find out on Monday whether the boat is sold or not. I have a good feeling about all this!!!!! Yay!!

Dave has been working on the head and changed out the seals and it is still losing water and won’t pressure up. He is at a loss at what the problem is. Our broker had some extra seals on board his boat for his vacu-flush head so we switched out ours and put his in and it still wasn’t fixing the problem. Water was running out this time. Dave being at a loss, decided to put the old seals back in and rework and tighten everything up and it holds water now but the pump doesn’t shut off on its own. We think a new pressure switch needs to be put in. But we can’t do anything about it now. The head still works we just have to manually shut it off after water gets in the bowl. Oh well.

Dave walked up the dock to the broker’s boat to ask him about the vacu-flush and he took his rum and coke with him and I stayed behind getting dinner ready. Well after a while I had to go get him. When I arrived at their boat with drink in hand they invited me aboard. We had a great visit and then I told Dave we needed to get home. So we went back to our boat for dinner.

Here it is Saturday and so I needed to do laundry. I had clothes and sheets from the house I brought down so I did 2 loads of wash. Dave had gone through the clothes he had on the boat and found about 4 shirts that don’t fit him anymore (too big) so I said maybe Tom could wear them or he would know who to give them to. So we walked up the dock and wrapped on the boat and Tom sticks his head up and says he is changing the oil in his engine and almost through so we told him about the shirts and he said he couldn’t wear them but he would find someone who could. So we were invited to come back for happy hour at about 3:30pm. You know it is Happy Hour at 5:00 o’clock somewhere!!!!! So we gave him time to finish his job and then joined him but get this-----he started without us!!!! We laughed. We had a nice visit with Tom but his wife was in town playing cards and then was going out to dinner with some friends and Tom was to join them. I had 2 margaritas and wasn’t going to have another one when I thought----heck----why not!!!!! Well I found out why not!!! Let’s just say I am a lightweight and should know better!!!! Tom had to leave so we went back to our boat and BBQ’d pork chops. Dave had more to drink than he should have too so we were moving a little slow. I had planned on having wine with dinner but that didn’t happen!!!! We drank lots of water and were fine by the time we went to bed so all was well.

Sunday the marina café wasn’t open so we didn’t have any coffee. We didn’t want to go anywhere so we skipped coffee. No big deal but we both like our coffee in the morning. We didn’t want to bring a bunch of stuff to the boat knowing we had to get more of our stuff off. I suggested getting instant coffee but that wasn’t happening!!!! So last night I called Sue (Tom’s wife) and asked if we could bum some coffee from them in the morning and she said sure. They both had to leave at 9:00am but we told them that wasn’t a problem.

We showed up at their boat at about 8:00am and the hatches were closed and we thought they had already left. So I knocked and Sue answered and invited us down and we had perfect timing as the coffee was almost done. She is such a hoot and we really hit it off. I will have to keep in touch with her when I leave. We sat and talked and listened to the morning net and then it was time to leave. So we went back to our boat and Tom was going into the office to get all the paperwork for the sale of the boat done so we could sign and have it notarized later that morning. We are supposed to have the prospective buyer come for a sea trial sometime today. We got the word from Tom to come to the office and he would have all the papers so we could go to the notary. Once at the office we waited a little for Tom to get off the phone and he said he tried to call Robbie but no answer so he thought it meant he was on his way. So off we went to the notary. We signed all the papers; gave them our passports, got the papers stamped. Then had to wait for another person to go through the paperwork and make copies and all that then the papers were put in a folder, our passports returned, paid our fee and were out of there. Pretty painless. So now we wait. Tom tried calling Robbie again and still no answer so we aren’t sure what this means. Dave and I went back to the boat and are just hanging out. I did get tired of waiting so I went to the store to get something for dinner then came back and still no word from the prospective buyer. Hmmm!!! Well we have done our part and we need to get back to the house so if nothing happens today we may just get packed tomorrow and head for Loreto Wednesday.

Tonight we have been invited to Tom and Sue’s boat for happy hour and I will bring munchies to help absorb the alcohol!!!! So there ya go. We will see what tonight and tomorrow brings and if we hear from Robbie or not. Maybe he decided to forego the sea trials as he has to be back in Puerto Vallarta soon. Time will tell.

It is Tuesday and Tom still can’t get a hold of Robbie so we have no idea what is going on. The biggest thing is there is no money in the Escrow account to say that Robbie has done his part for the boat. Tom is going to get a hold of Ray, the owner, because he and Robbie are really good friends, and see what the story is. We will wait until tomorrow and if nothing is going on we will head home. No sense wasting time here.

Tonight we, Tom and Sue are going to a BBQ place in down town La Paz. Big Joe’s. We are looking forward to that. We had coffee at Sue and Tom’s boat and listened to him do the morning net. Then it was time to leave and get some things done. Today is cleaning day for me and we just filled the forward water tank as we were running out of water. We usually hook up the hose to the dock water instead of using the water in the water tanks onboard, but that water has been sitting for a while so we decided it was good to drain the tanks and get fresh water put back in. But for now we filled the forward tank so we have water to wash dishes and clean and flush the heads. We don’t drink it. That is the only tank we fill with dock water, the rest we either fill with fresh bottled water or make water away from the marina and fill them. As we don’t know what is happening with the boat we aren’t going to do anything else with water. The new owner can do that.

We have been trying to get a hold of our friends, John and Sandy that live here and use to live in the same marina in Brownsville we did, but so far no luck. They are busy people.

Well good news on what is going on with the new buyer. Dave talked with Tom this morning and Robbie had sent him a text message saying he had an emergency out of the country but should be back within 48 hours. So we should hear more of whether Robbie is going to send the money and still wants a sea trial, tonight at dinner.
So we are still waiting and will see what the next day holds. Yay!!

Well so much for finding out more about the buyer. Nothing more has been said. So we wait and see what tomorrow brings.

When we got up this morning it was a lot cooler inside and outside the boat than it has since we have been here. It felt good. Well Marco, the man that owns and operates the marina café didn’t show up this morning so we decided to go down to La Paz yachts and have coffee at Club Cuceros. Dave wanted to talk to Tom about what to do about this whole situation. We had to wait until he was done serving coffee and then we went to the office. Tom called the head guy in Mazatlan to see if he has heard anything and he hadn’t. Well the 48 hours is up tomorrow so we will stick around for another day and see what happens. It is just strange. After we were finished at La Paz yachts Dave and I walked part of the malecon to see if we could find a cigar store our boat neighbor told us about. Well we never found it. Apparently it isn’t there anymore. There is only one place that sells cigars and it is up town in a wine store. We decided we didn’t want to go so on the way back to the truck we stopped at the ice cream store and treated ourselves to ice cream in a cup. Yum!!!! It was a nice day for a walk on the shady side of the street!!!! It actually wasn’t really hot but since we are closer to the equator the sun is more intense so it makes a big difference. I didn’t bring my hat so it was necessary to stay shaded. No word from the buyer so we went back to the boat and then I took off in the truck and went to Sam’s club and then Walmart. I had to get some vitamins as I left all of them at the house. We didn’t expect to be here this long. We will probably have happy hour on Tom and Sue’s boat after they get home and then decide what we are doing for dinner.

While I was at Sam’s and Walmart, Dave stayed on the boat and changed out a couple o-rings on the forward head but he said it didn’t make any difference. He tried. We will have to order the part. The head works like I said before, just the pressure switch doesn’t shut off. Dave will have to look up the part and see what it costs to replace it.

Well we have not seen the buyer, and the last time the broker had anything from him said he was heading back from wherever he was and be here within 48 hours. It is now Friday and the 48 hours are up so we are leaving tomorrow to go back home. Yesterday our broker got an email about our boat but to be fair to the current guy said that if nothing has happened with our boat by then, Monday they will open the sale back up. So there is still a chance to sell the boat before the end of May.

Today, March 15, my oldest son, Ernie celebrated his 41st birthday today!!!!! Yay!!!

Since Easter week is approaching quickly, we need to get out of La Paz and back home before everyone gets on the road. So Saturday morning we went down to Sue and Tom’s boat and had coffee and said our goodbyes. We headed back to our boat and packed everything up, paid the bill for the electricity and water and headed out of town. We figured there would be a lot of cars on the road heading north, but no-----we saw a lot of cars heading south. So we were in good shape. We arrived at Angra hotel and they already had a room for us on the top floor. Dave made the reservation last night. We ate dinner at our favorite place down the street from the hotel then came back to the room and watched t.v. and checked emails. It is an early morning tomorrow as we have 7 hours of travel time to get home.

We got up, had breakfast, packed up and headed for home. We arrived at the house mid afternoon and only unpacked what we needed for the night. The rest we will get in the morning. I took a frozen bean dish out of the freezer thinking it would defrost quick enough we could have that for dinner. Well come 6 o’clock, it was still frozen so I made grilled cheese sandwiches instead. Tomorrow we will have the bean dish.

We were tired today and weren’t moving very fast. All that road travel takes a lot out of you. We slowly unloaded the truck but didn’t get everything. There isn’t a big need to get it all done in one day. We took it easy in the afternoon and read some and just chilled.

Today I played Mexican Train dominoes and lost!!! Oh well. But then I won at cards yesterday so that was good.

Today the 25th, my youngest son, Jonathan is celebrating his birthday!!!! He is 39!! Another Yay!!!!

I was checking emails when I got a message from our grandson, E.J., who is in the Air Force. He wanted to call and talk to us. So we hooked up the magic jack and were able to call him and he told us he got his new assigned station duty. He is going to go to the base in New Jersey first part of August. He sounded excited and we are excited for him. He will definitely get his share of hot and cold seasons there. There will be lots of snow in the winter. It will be fun for him as there is so much history back east. It was great to hear his voice and he sounds happy. He will call the rest of the family tonight when they get home from work. I know his Uncle Jon will be thrilled to get a phone call from his nephew on his birthday!!!!

Well we are having wonderful weather. Not too much wind today and no clouds in the sky.

A lot of the Mexican people have vacation this week, and have been known to camp at the south end of the bay here. We haven’t seen a lot of campers this year but the other night, our neighbor was trying to call our gate guard and couldn’t hail him so she called us. Her husband was playing poker and she was alone and a man walked up to her house drunk, saying his car was stuck in the sand. So Dave and I walked over to her house and met the man and found out he was with his father-in-law and they were trying to leave after drinking lots of beer and got really stuck in the sand. Dave got a shovel from George as he had just gotten home and we went down to try and help get the guys out. The father-in-law was so drunk he had a hard time walking straight but he was a happy guy!!! His son-in-law and Dave did the digging for a long time and then the father-in-law helped. Dave got into the truck and put it in reverse with the other two guys at the front trying to push it back but nothing worked. I walked back to my neighbors and she and I went to the gate guard to explain the situation and ask him to call someone in town to help pull them out. Mary went back to her house and I walked back to where the guys were and told Dave they may have to spend the night as Tito, the gate guard, couldn’t get anyone to answer. Dave kept trying to dig, but it was no use. Then Tito showed up and helped but also couldn’t get it to where the truck would back out of there. So the son-in-law and father-in-law had to spend the night and Tito would try to get help in the morning. As we walked back to the house we thanked Tito for his help and by this time it was almost 11:00pm. We all went back to our houses and went to bed. In the distance we could hear the horn beep a couple times, as the guys were trying to find a comfortable spot in the truck. Heheheh!!

Next morning Tito and George went out to help pull the guys out of the sand and all was good. It was kind of funny that the father-in-law kept telling Dave and us what a good man he was for helping and he was offering us beer, which we refused, but they both were really nice guys!!! They had traveled down from Tijuana.

Then again this afternoon, my neighbor called to talk to Dave but he was down talking to Tito, and she said there was another car stuck in the same place the other one was the other night. There was a huge hole left by the other car and you would have thought no one would have parked there. Well---------duh???? So Tito and Dave went down there and pulled them free. This time it was a family with small children. Go figure!!!

Well tomorrow is Saturday and my regular day to go to town for groceries. Oh yay!!! A bumpy ride into town and back again.

Well still no word on the supposedly buyer for the boat. The broker is going to call around to see if anyone has seen him. He lives with his wife in Puerto Vallarta. So we are back to square one again.

The weather has been wonderful. Sunny with a breeze and actually the breeze is a little chilly since it is coming from the north, but we aren’t complaining.

A bunch of us gals got together to play train and usually I win at least one game but today I didn’t win a single game. Oh well. The gal that was hosting the train game asked me if I would make a couple trophies for the end of their golf tournament. I said sue. She said she would trade me with the one wine glass I asked her to paint for me, since I broke one, and she said she would throw in another painted wine glass for the work. So it is a deal. I had a hard time sleeping that night as my head was full of thoughts in what to create.

The next morning I went to the art room and started putting more feathers on a bird I made a long time ago and a hat. I liked it. Then I made a fish and Rainy wanted it gaudy so I made it so. I really like it. She had called me that evening asking if she could stop by on her way home from working the museum and I said yes. So about 2:00pm she showed up and I had started working on a turtle just to give her another critter to consider for a trophy but when she saw the bird she loved it and then the fish too!!!! So I just need to secure the fish a little more and it will be ready to go. Here is a picture of the two.



I am almost finished with the large turtle. It will be in the show in November. I have been making a few small turtles to take up to Washington this summer to hopefully sell other than jewelry. Here are three of them. The rest will be in the next blog.



March has finally come to an end. Next month new adventures await!!!!

Time Marches On

This month is starting out good. Dave and I are healthy and one of our major project is done. The painting of the house!!!

In last month’s blog I had mentioned I was making magnet angels out of shells and using glitter foam for the wings. I also made bees out of shells and the stinger is a porcupine quill. So here is what I have done so far. I am having fun creating the angels and I think I like these better than the cork ones I made. It’s all good.




I am experimenting with wire and sea glass and I want to make some sea glass and driftwood mobiles but I have to finish up with the angels and bees then I can move on to something else. I did create 2 turtles out of rock and shells. Those are really time consuming but fun.



I made a new jelly fish mobile for our grandson, David who is 5. I made him one a couple years ago but when mom and dad got divorced it got tossed so I made another one for his room at dad’s house. I think it turned out better but of course I am bias.



I have a lot of ideas but I have other things I am doing like the counted cross stitch of a dragon and wizard I started about 3 years ago for Dave. I get interrupted by projects for our newborn grandsons and then making things for the art show and whatnot that I have to spread my time between my crafting and doing other things. What a life eh????? Wow!!! If you only had those problems huh?! I enjoy being creative and can spend hours putting things together. I am going to try and practice wrapping stones and sea glass in wire. I can’t wait see what comes out of my playing!!!! Stay tuned!!!

I am hoping to take my sewing machine and some craft items up with us to Washington State so I can create up there this summer.

Now that the house is painted we are going to start on making the stairs better. Right now they are steep and everyone that visits us hates them. It’s not bad going up them but coming down------not so good!!!!!! Soooo we got 3 bags of cement, some sand and a pick-up truck load of conterra rock. It is a pretty rock and very strong. A lot of people have built walks, houses and other things out of them. Our gate guard (who helped us paint) went and got the sand and the rock. When we go to La Paz in a few days to visit the boat he will add to the rock and cement platform and stairs at the bottom of the steep wood stairs while we are gone. Here are pictures of what the stairs look like now and the platform.



These Mexican people are so amazing to me. They don’t have all the modern tools like Americans do so a lot of what they do, they do by hand. I am talking about getting the rock. They go out into the desert by the mountains in certain areas and break off the chunks of rock, load into the back of their pickup truck and then bring it to the destination. After it is off loaded, they start to shape the rocks by using a hatchet to chip off the edges and form the shape they need. It is very time consuming and a lot of manual labor. When we drive to La Paz we see road crew using machetes to cut the weeds along the edges of the highway instead of using machinery like we do in the states. They are beginning to use some weed eaters but not in many places. It is just amazing and they spend hours doing that. My back hurts just to watch them or even think about it.

The night before we were leaving to head south to La Paz we took the wood stairs down. Dave wished he had taken the steps out first before trying to take them down but we didn’t and it made it very difficult. The stairs were wedged in between the upper wood support at the top of the stairs and the cement rock fixture at the bottom. We ended up breaking a 2x12 so we will need to replace that. Our gate guard helped because we couldn’t do it without another man’s strength. When the steps were down, Dave took out some of the stairs so we could move it out of the way of Tito when he starts working on the cement and rock platform and stairs. We had a ladder to climb up and down just for the night and next day when we left for La Paz. The cement and rock job should be finished when we return from La Paz. I’m excited to see it. Then Dave will rebuild the stairs so they are shorter and less steep.

Well like I said----we took off on the 9th to head for Guerrero Negro which is 2-1/2 hours from our house. I had a dentist appointment to get my teeth cleaned and we decided we would stay the night. Now we wish we had gone to at least San Ignacio but next time we will know. I got my teeth cleaned with a noon appointment then we went to the ATM at the bank and stopped at a place that sells appliances and parts, on the way to the hotel. We had heard that the place was good and reputable and he had motors for washing machines for sale. Dave said it would be cheaper to get a motor then to buy a used machine. They cost about $50 dollars or 700 pesos. So on our way home from La Paz we will stop and buy a motor. Then Dave will have another project to do!!!! But if it solves our washing machine problem-------GREAT!!!! The next morning we had breakfast and then headed for Loreto for the night. We have good friends that have a house there and they were there this time. We couldn’t stay with them as Kristi’s mother and sister are flying in the same day we arrive, but once we got a room at our favorite hotel, we went and saw them. She was painting and Robert was just getting ready to leave and go to the hardware store when we arrived. We talked for a short time and then let them get back to work. As it turned out, her mother and sister changed plans and would arrive the next day. But we got together at a newly opened restaurant there in Loreto, named ‘Mi Loreto’ and we had the best dinner and time!!!! It was great and after dinner, Kristi and Robert were on their way to a meeting and we walked back to the hotel. It was a perfect evening for walking and dining outside.

The next morning we got up had breakfast, checked out, and were on our way to La Paz. It takes about 4 hours from Loreto so an easy trip. The weather was warm and beautiful and there wasn’t a ripple on the water which was unusual as it has been windy everywhere, everyday. Once we arrived in La Paz we had to go to the broker’s office to get the key for the boat. They had to replace the lock so they had the keys. We got to the boat but the keys wouldn’t work. They gave us the wrong keys so the broker had to come down to the marina (because they couldn’t find the correct keys) and he had to cut the lock. There is a full story here, but I won’t bore you with the details. Anyway we had a good laugh so now we are going to buy a combination lock so no keys have to be made or lost!!!! Waalaa!!!

We finally got into our boat and started opening the hatches as it was stuffy and warm below. Then we had a little snafu with the power station on the dock. A man that is moored across the dock from us was using our power station. The reason for that was he didn’t have a 50 amp electrical cord so the marina said they could plug into the one we use. Oops!!! We went to the office and got it all straightened out to where we do have a splitter electrical cord which allows us to plug into a 50 amp receptacle. So problem solved and everyone is happy. We didn’t do much on the boat as it was late but we did manage to go to the store and get dinner and water and a couple other things but I forgot to get coke for our rum. Oh bother!!!!! I didn’t want to go back to the store so I went walking the dock to see if anyone had a spare coke I could buy. Well no one had one but I was walking back to the boat and our neighbor Kiki was walking toward me from her boat and I asked her if she had some coke and she said no but we could ask the captain of a 50 foot fishing boat. So I was introduced to the captain, as her and her husband is friends with him. All he had was an opened coke bottle with enough coke in it for 2 drinks. I told him that was perfect and I offered to pay him and he said no. He said he would pick us up a couple bottles and bring them to us later. So off I went and Dave and I had our Rum and coke cocktail. We saw the captain pass our boat in his boat as he was taking someone out for a ride. The Captain’s name is Carlos. When he returned I figured he wouldn’t remember and I wasn’t worried about it. I was walking up to use the facilities at the marina when Carlos was walking toward me with a bag and in it the 2 cokes he said he would get was in it. I thanked him and told him that was sweet of him to do that and I appreciated it a lot. He didn’t want any money for them and so we shook hands and said goodnight. It is always a pleasure to meet such Mexican people. So now we have enough coke for a couple nights of cocktails!!! Yay!!!

There is a cross fit gym right across from where we Moor our boat and they were having classes up until about 10:30 last night. We went to bed around 11:00 and all was well until about midnight when someone’s car alarm went off and no one was doing anything about it. Thank goodness for ear plugs. Dave and I put some in our ears and all was well again.

It was a beautiful morning with sunshine and warm temperatures and with a slight breeze to keep cool. Dave and I went up to the marina café and had breakfast and then came back to the boat and started working on it. We had a boat brush on the boat but discovered it was broken. The guy that washes the boat broke it so now we don’t have a brush. We borrowed one from our neighbor and Dave scrubbed the top deck. Then it was my turn to clean. I rinsed the screens, bimini along with the solar panels and then the cockpit. It took a couple hours. Dave had been down below and he came up and stepped outside and slipped on the wet deck in the cockpit. He was in bare feet and just lost his footing and fell hitting his right side of his lower back hard against a step. He is a hurting unit tonight. We iced it a couple times and he is taking an inflammatory to help reduce the swelling and now he has my magnet belt on to keep that area warm so he doesn’t get stiff. We had a heating pad onboard but I must have taken it home so the magnet pad was the only warmth he has. I know he is going to be sore and stiff for a couple days. He says as long as he is walking he is fine but when he stops and tries to sit and get up again it really hurts. We will keep an eye on it and see what tomorrow brings. Bummer.

The boat looks good and it is clean and we were able to sit in the cockpit and enjoy our cocktail tonight. We had a visitor, a man that is working on another boat, helping the people get ready to sail to the Marquises (Pacific Islands). He came down to have a drink and visit as he is leaving tomorrow. He is from Australia and has his boat in Spain where he charters it. He has sailed all over the world. It was fun to talk to him and he really likes our boat but can’t afford it. When he left, Dave and I had dinner and now we are relaxing until it is time to go to bed. There are no Cross Fit classes tonight so it is quiet!!!

Tomorrow is laundry day and going to Home Depot for parts and maybe even Sam’s Club to get some food items. We will start heading back to Bahia on Tuesday.

It was a busy day today. Happy Valentine’s Day!!!! The marina café wasn’t open. We heard there was a swap meet at one of the marinas in La Paz so we decided to head that way and take a look. We didn’t find anything we couldn’t live without. When we left there we went and had breakfast near the marina. Service was slow but there were a lot of people out for breakfast. We had a good meal and relaxed. Then it was time to do some running around. We went to a grocery store to look at prices of booze and we are finding that the rum and gin we like, which is less expensive was nowhere to be found. That’s a bummer as we won’t buy the real expensive stuff. Guess we will have to give up drinking!!!! Ha!!! Where there is a will there is a way!! We have other stores to go too to check it out so who knows. Then it was off to Home Depot and we spent most of the early afternoon there looking for parts Dave needs to put our stairs back up with. He found most of the parts except one. It is a metal piece that holds a 2x4 in place to a fascia board. I can’t explain it but they are used in construction. We looked and looked for them and then asked a clerk and he even thought they had some but they didn’t. Oh well. We may find what we need maybe tomorrow. After the running around we came back to the boat and I did laundry. It seemed to take forever!!! While I waited I went upstairs to the pool and sat on the side and put my feet in. At first the water was really cold but once I got use to it, it felt good. By the time I finished with the laundry it was about 5:00pm. I was ready to sit down and relax and have a cocktail with Dave in the cockpit. After that I went down stairs and started preparing the Valentine dinner I was making for Dave. We are having steak, red potatoes cut up with lots of garlic and stir fried in butter. I didn’t have any olive oil on board. Then I sautéed crimi mushrooms while Dave was BBQing the steaks. It turned out to be a very nice dinner with red wine to boot!!! It was a busy day but turned out great!
The marina café wasn’t open again this morning and neither one of us wanted to go anywhere for breakfast and coffee so we went without coffee and had a breakfast bar. I had a lot of things to accomplish today so I got an early start. I stripped the sheets off the bed, put clean ones on, cleaned both heads; checked the water in the batteries with Dave’s help. I needed his steady hand in pouring the water in the batteries. Not to say my hand shakes or anything, he is just better at it!!! Vacuumed and then I was done with my chores. Well all except laundry. I need to do one more load. Dave and I went down to the broker’s office to give them money for the guy that is going to be washing our boat topside and to another man who is diving and cleaning the bottom of the boat. Then we left and started a hunt for a construction parts place. We stopped at one but they didn’t have the metal strips we needed so we went one more place and they did have a couple different kinds so Dave bought 3. Then it was off to the pharmacy then Home Depot.

I was going to get paint to start painting the bathroom at the house, but decided against it. We had an incident before we left for La Paz where more money was taken out of Dave’s retirement check that wasn’t expected and it was going to hurt us big time if we couldn’t take care of the problem. Well after a couple days calling about our Health Insurance plan, Dave was able to talk to someone and explain that we had no idea the plan was changing and now that it is past enrollment time, were we going to be stuck with that amount coming out of the check until November??? As it turns out the gentleman was very accommodating and said other people complained about the same thing. There wasn’t much information put out about our plan changing. So we are suppose to get that money refunded next month and the insurance plan we are going with will be much cheaper but just the same as the old one we had. The new plan just covers Dave and me, not family. So that is good and we breathed a lot better. So now we hope it happens. There is always something going on. There is always time to get the paint later.

The boat broker had told us there was a guy from San Diego who was interested in the boat. He and the broker had been e-mailing back and forth and talking on the phone. He didn’t want to pursue the boat until he returned from a whale tour in March. Well like all the other times when people said they were interested in the boat ---it never came to be so we aren’t holding our breath. Apparently the guy is interested enough to ask a bunch of questions and even talk to the Hunter people about the boat. He and his wife have sailed to faraway places so they know what it is all about. So we will just wait and see what happens. At least interest is picking up!!!!

It is time to leave La Paz and head home. We went up to the Marina Café, had breakfast and our boat neighbors Kiki and Craig joined us. We had a nice visit and then we had to take care of our bill for electricity and water and then head out. Once all that was taken care of and the boat was secured we left. Oh yeah. We didn’t get a combination lock as they were too big for what we needed so we got another lock that had 2 keys. We gave one to the boat broker. I hope they don’t lose this one!!!!! Ha!! So everything is locked and secured. We arrived in Loreto mid afternoon and got a room at our favorite hotel. They are like family to us!!! They are always happy to see us and we them!!

We had a restful night and then got up early the next morning, had breakfast and headed for Guerrero Negro where we are going to see if we can get a motor for the washing machine.

We got a motor so we will take it home and see if it works. We arrived in Bahia mid afternoon and didn’t hurry to unload everything from the truck as we still have a ladder to climb. We got what we needed for the night and we will get the rest of the stuff tomorrow. I ended up tying a rope to the overnight bags and some other things and hauled them up to the deck as I didn’t want Dave to hurt his back further in the process. Oh boy!!!! Our neighbors had fun watching the evolution. They invited us to dinner for soup and salad. That was really nice because I had no idea what we were going to eat. We had a nice visit with George and Mary and then we came back home and relaxed for the night. Tomorrow Dave will start working on the stairs.

Well it has been a working day today getting the stairs together and raised. Tito, our guard wasn’t around so he couldn’t help but Dave and I managed just fine. All I can say it is a good thing part of my exercise program is working with weights as they have made a big difference in my strength!!!! Dave and I got the 2, 2x12 boards in place. He was at the bottom where the new cement platform and stairs are and I was upstairs on the deck helping lift the board with a rope attached to it for leverage. It was a lot of back breaking work but we were successful. Now all Dave has to do is get the steps in. That is tomorrow’s project.

Thank goodness we didn’t have a lot of wind when we were lifting and placing the 2x12’s yesterday. Dave has worked with making things and replacing wood items and such but when it comes to putting in stairs he draws a blank. Our friend Ray said he would help but he is in the states so we really don’t have expert help. Thank goodness our neighbor George was available to help. So once George got Dave started in the right direction, the rest was up to him and me. I had no idea how much planning and measuring, making sure everything is level it takes to do stairs. Not as easy as it looks. So it took us a couple days to get them in but now they are finished and they are wonderful. We ended up taking about 5 steps out of the original staircase. Now that the steps are complete it is time to put the railing up. We are going to try and use the existing wood but some of it is really warped so we will have to buy a few new pieces. The next house we have will not have stairs!!!! What a pain in the royal patooti!!!! But they are done and they look and feel marvelous!!!! Finally that project is done. So now the house is looking good. Next project on the list is to replace the deck. We will do that when we can afford it. So projects never end here. But that is part of owning a house or anything for that matter.

I have been getting beach walks in and finding a few treasures here and there. I also have been working on my crafts. I want to take some of them up with me when we go to Washington this summer to possibly sell them like I did last year. It helps me replenish my craft needs.

It is the 24th and it is our grandson, Brody’s 8th birthday!!!! On the 15th our oldest grandson, Ethan turned 21!!! Congrats Ethan. His mom, Kristen had a birthday too on the 24th. So happy birthday everyone!!!

Here is a picture of my 'Don't Worry Be Hoppy' frog I made and is in a Bahia friends garden!

The New Year Brings Frustration

We made it to another year----Yay! We had a fun New Year’s Eve with our neighbors, Tom and Lynn around their bon fire. New Year’s morning they invited us and our guard and his wife to join them in their traditional breakfast of Lox and bagels. I made pumpkin bread muffins to share. Lynn and Tom and our guards don’t drink alcohol but to our surprise, Tom and Lynn brought a bottle of champagne for Dave and I while the rest had sparkling champagne. This is a nice way to ring in the New Year and it is so thoughtful and kind of Tom and Lynn to share their tradition with us.

I am still coughing and my sinus’ are clogged. I have been taking medication I brought from the states which has helped but it isn’t clearing up the congestion in my chest. I went into town to get some groceries on my normal Saturday run to town and hemmed and hawed whether to stop at the clinic to be checked out. I decided while I was in town I would so I went in and told him what was going on (he spoke good English and understood) and he listened to my chest and then gave me a couple medications, one for the congestion in my chest and the other to clear the sinus’. He wrote out the instructions for the medication and that was that. I gave him some money and he didn’t want to take it but they are allowed to take donations. I figured it would cost me much more if I had to buy the medication at the pharmacy. The clinic visit and medication is free. Most of the people in this little fishing village can’t afford medication or see the doctor so they have young doctors that have learned in the states to come here and rotate out each month. It is their hands on training. For really serious stuff they have you go to another town with a hospital.

Our grandson, Jonathan Jr. turned 3 today, the 6th. How fast they grow!!!!

Christopher, the son of our dear friend, Ruth, that died a couple years ago from cancer, is down here working on the house his mom left him. He brought a friend to help put a new roof on the house, well half of it and get some electrical work done. There is a lot that needs to be fixed and replaced so Christopher is doing it when he has the time. I am so glad he likes it here and wants to fix the house so he can live in it later. He reminds me so much of my oldest son, Ernie. We invited him and his friend over for dinner a couple of times and it was good to visit with them. He could only be here for a week as he needs to get back to his job in San Diego. He said he will be coming down again in February.

Our grandson E.J. had been in the Air Force boot camp since November and he is graduation on the 8th. Dave and I wanted to go so bad but no matter how much we looked at our finances we just couldn’t swing it with air fare and hotel plus meals. Well it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I was sick so we wouldn’t have been able to go anyway. We were sad we couldn’t be there but Brooke and Ernie posted pictures of the graduation and it was really cool. E.J. was honored with carrying the guide on (squadron flag) which is a big deal. He looks so good in his uniform. It was important to have his dad and brothers there and they got to spend some quality time with him. His mother came to the graduation which was nice.



It has been really windy at times but when the weather is nice Lynn and I walk the beach in the afternoon. Lynn and Tom will be leaving soon so now that I am over my flu/cold bug, our neighbor Mary, Lynn and I went on an arroyo hike nearby. We hiked about 2.7 miles and then came back. It was a nice day and it wasn’t windy. Here are some pictures. There are lots of arroyos to hike and I plan on trying to hike some of them as long as there aren’t huge boulders to get around. You never know what you will find. It was good to get out and get some exercise!!



With the wind we had some grey skies but when the sun came out this is what we saw. Beautiful!!!

I’ve been going through all our stuff to see what I want to get rid of for the yard sale in March. I have a few things together so we should be able to make a little money. I love these sales as I can always find something interesting. Well some of the time. Last year I didn’t buy a thing.

We finished painting the house. The pictures of the house in the last blog were only partially finished. We have finished all the painting on the house and electrical room so all is good and we really like the color as it blends in with the scenery. Here is the finished product.


All of us that were here in our community helped our gate guards wife celebrate her birthday. She was very pleased and moved that we would do that for her. We played a game of broche ball and had some appetizers and then she opened her presents and then we had cake. It was a fun time and they are such good people. We like having them as guards!!!

Tom and Lynn are leaving soon so we had them over for dinner. It is kind of a tradition for someone to have a dinner for them when they arrive and then again the night before they have to leave. This way they don’t have any clean-up to do and they can relax. They are involved with the whale tours so they won’t be back until April.

We had the Baja 200 race on the road behind our house. Dave walked out to the road to view the cars which would be a while, but he would find someone to talk to while he waited. I had chores to do like defrost the refrigerator and freezer, vacuum, and laundry. When those things were done I walked to the road and waited for the trucks to come by. I met up with some friends and visited with them and saw a few of the cars, then walked back to the house. I had had enough dust for one day. I tried to find Dave but he was in the other direction I looked. So I found out later when he got home. Ha!! As I was walking back to the house I came upon a dead and fallen cordon. It is a nice one and since it is on the property we live on we can take it and not get in trouble. But it was too heavy so I will have to come back with Dave and the truck and get it. I want to put it in the back yard. That is where we drive up to the house. If the cordon was on another person’s property, I would have to pay a Mexican to get it for me. But I lucked out. It is against the law here to dig up plants or even haul away dead cordon. If caught they can take your vehicle and you pay a large fee and maybe even spend time in jail. Everyone uses the dead cactus as yard art.

Oh yeah----the washing machine we got from a friend broke. It worked great for about 3 or 4 times then the motor died. Well that is what Dave thinks as he took it all apart and couldn’t find anything wrong with it. The agitator doesn’t rotate back and forth and it doesn’t spin dry the clothes. Matter of fact it doesn’t drain the water out either!!!!! We had to suction the water out of the machine and that was a lot of fun!!!!! NOT!! When all that was done I went back to the boat method with a bucket and plunger which actually works really well. A little detergent, water, add clothes, plunger the clothes for a few minutes, ring the clothes out and put them in another bucket, get fresh water and rinse the clothes again with the plunger then ring out and hang to dry!!!! Easy peasy!!!! Ha!!

I have played Mexican Train (dominoes) and a card game with the ladies. There aren’t that many gals down here yet to have too many games.

It has been really windy and one night it blew about 40-50 knots. The windows and screens rattled and it was cold!!!! We had to go and rescue a couple buckets that blew away and I even went to the trailer and made the beds just in case it got to wild in the house to sleep. As it turned out we slept in the house and the wind was still howling in the morning.

We had some very sad news this week. The people that we bought the house from came down in October and stayed until just before Thanksgiving and went back to their house in San Diego. They were packing up and ready to head back down to Bahia when she got a check-up. She had breast cancer and was treated last year and went through the chemo and radiation and was given a clean bill of health. That was this fall. They said she was cancer free. So her hair grew back which was grey now, and she felt good and looked good. Well she had a check-up this month and they found more cancer and it had metastasized and has gone into the bone and her brain and possibly her lungs. It was such a shock when we heard about it!!! I still can’t believe it. She felt good all through her treatments and I thought it was a miracle because no one I have known that has had cancer ever felt good during treatment. And now this!!! So needless to say she has undergone radiation treatments to shrink the tumors in the brain and now is taking medication to hopefully work on the rest of the cancer in her body. The outcome does not look good but this woman is remarkable. She is trying to keep positive and she has told us she has had a good life and she will enjoy whatever time she has left. I feel so blessed to have her as my friend and she is truly a wonderful woman. She is loved by many. I feel sorry for her, her husband and their daughter. I am praying that she will not live in pain and when it is her time she will go in peace. But mostly I pray she will have a few more months, year, to be with us. This goes to show us all how fragile life really is!!!! One minute you are healthy and then boom!!! So I hope you all take each day and live it to the fullest and cherish your families and friends!!! Life really is short!!!

I have been creating things in my art room. I have made one turtle from rock and shells and now I am making magnet angels out of shells and glitter foam for the wings. When I have enough of them made I will take pictures and share in next month blog. I also made some magnet bees. They turned out cute. Well until next month-----be happy,live your life well and thank the Lord for everyday.

The Shortest Blog Ever

Not much going on this month. It is pretty quiet here. Most of the American people have left for the states to spend the holidays with family and friends. We have been getting some pretty cold days and nights lately due to the north winds. We have had a few cloudy days and just a sprinkle of rain but most of the time it is sunny and warm when not in the wind.

We started painting the house and had to stop a couple of times due to weather like wind. But we were able to get most of the house painted and it looks really good. Instead of it sticking out like a sore thumb being white, it now blends in with the desert surroundings. Our gate guard helped us paint so it made the job a little easier as we put him on the scaffolding to do the high parts. Heheh!!! We still have the garage door and the art room and side garage door to paint, but for the most part the house is done. Dave was sanding the garage door when a piece of the sander broke so he had to order a new part and wait for it to get here before doing anymore. Here are some pictures so far.

I have been reading a lot and have gotten back to the dragon cross stitch I was working on for Dave. He is happy about that. Now that I have a visor I can wear that has a magnifier in it, it is easier for me to work on it. I can see!!!

I just didn’t have a lot of Christmas spirit this year. We were hoping to make it to our grandson, E.J.’s Air Force boot camp graduation in January, but because we had to spend money on getting the bottom painted on the boat in November, we didn’t have any to spare to spend on travel and places to stay. Bummer. I did manage to put some lights up and a small spiral tree, but that was all. It was just Dave and I--- no one else. Some years are like that!! I hope everyone had a wonderful and Blessed Christmas.

Well this I think is the shortest blog I have ever written. Just a very quiet month. It has turned cold though with the north winds blowing so the flannel sheets are on the bed along with a blanket!!

I went into town to pick up a couple of items I needed for new years day, came back and while watching TV that evening my throat started to tickle. So I took an Emergen-C drink before going to bed. Next morning I had a lot of congestion in my chest but other than that I felt o.k. I kept drinking the Emergen-C morning and night in hopes I could ward off the bugs. Everyone in town was sick and of course I got it. So from the 29th until New Years Eve I was coughing and hacking but still able to join in the festivities of a bonfire New Year’s Eve at our neighbors place. The moon was full and there was just a little breeze but it was cold as you can tell from the pictures. When it gets down to 60 and below it is time to bring out the gloves, hats, warm coats and clothes. There were only 4 of us at the bonfire. Lynn and Tom with their dogs Murphy and Maggie and Dave and I. We thought the gate guard, Tito and his wife Brenda would join us but they didn’t. We made it to midnight and then scurried home and to bed!!!! A fun way to spend the evening with friends and a warm fire!!!!

Dave took a picture of Tom taking a picture of him!!!! They are fun people and we love it when they come down to live here for a month or so. They hail from San Diego.


See you next year!!!!

Frustrating Month

Today is the first of November and Dave has caught us dinner. He caught a halibut from shore. We made sure the seagulls didn’t get any part of this one. Hahahaha! We didn’t eat it tonight as I had already planned on making BLT’s but we will have some of it tomorrow night.

It is full moon time in Bahia and I couldn’t resist taking pictures.


Well it looks like the full moon brings out all kinds of critters. Dave was in the garage and walked out to see a large spider on the driveway. He called me, as he knows how interested I am in looking at them and finding out what they are, so I came and took a look and took pictures. Then I searched the web to see what it was. Dave thought it was a Tarantula but it wasn’t really hairy like one. Well it turned out it was a Tarantula but a baby. Dave took him out a ways from the house so he could venture on. Here are a couple pictures.


Remember me talking about my friend Creela and her husband Phil who had a stroke last month? Well he has improved drastically and has been moved out of the place he was in and put in one of the best places for rehab. The Sharp facility in San Deigo. The day he arrived they assessed him A.S.A.P. to see what he could do on his own and what he needed help with. They had him walking up small portions of steps and now he can get out of bed, get into his wheel chair and walk with assistance. He has trouble still with bathroom business but they are allowing him to stay until the 13th so they can have him be able to take care of himself for the most part. I am sure they will have someone come to the house to help so Creela won’t have to worry about that but she is thrilled Phil is progressing like he is. He is talking better but will still need some speech therapy but we are thrilled he is doing so well. They are planning on coming to Bahia next year in the spring.

We are leaving for La Paz on Thursday the 5th. We need to get the boat back in the water. If all goes well we should be back to the house on Wednesday the 11th. I have a Craft and Art show coming up on the 22nd so I need to be back to make the announcements over the VHF radio to entice people to come and look and hopefully buy Christmas gifts.

We left this morning early for Loreto but made a stop in Guerrero Negro to get some money. We arrived in Loreto around 3:00pm and got checked in. I was so tired I had a hard time staying awake. I think my allergies are acting up again and that makes me sleepy. After getting settled in our room and checking emails, it was time for dinner so we walked up the street to our favorite place and had a Super Burro. It was delicious. Then we headed back to the hotel; stopping in a small store to check prices of rum and other things. We didn’t buy anything as we were just comparing prices. We left there and went back to our room to watch TV then went to bed. The next morning we had breakfast then headed for La Paz. The weather is in the 80’s so it isn’t too hot. We checked in at our favorite B&B in La Paz, named Casa Buena, to stay there until the boat gets in the water. Once we were assigned our room and settled in, we took off for Fonatur Marina where our boat is on the hard. When we got there we parked and walked to the boat and found the bottom had been pressure washed but not sanded and painted. Hmmmm!!!! The bottom was supposed to be already painted so we could splash the boat soon after we got to La Paz. Well guess again. So now we have to talk to the people in the office and in the yard to find out just what happened. We found out that Kenny, the guy who took the little boat we had that came with the house, had been fired from the boat yard at Fonatur. He paid us 3,000 pesos and took the boat back with him to La Paz and then he was going to sand and paint the bottom of the boat and wash it to work off the rest of what he owed us. Well he pressure washed the bottom; however, he and his boss had an argument and Kenny got fired. So now we have a problem. Then there was another snafu and that was when Kenny was still working at Fonatur, he had bought the bottom paint to paint the bottom of our boat and the broker from La Paz yachts showed our boat to a couple and they seemed to really like it so the broker thought it was going to sell. So the broker spoke with Kenny and made it sound like the boat was sold so Kenny stopped work and sold the paint. Then the boat didn’t sell as the people changed their minds and then Kenny was fired and our boat sat through the summer with no bottom paint. So we arrive and find no paint on the bottom and the boat is filthy dirty. We were very unhappy. So now we have to talk to the marina personnel to see what we can do about the situation and have to find Kenny to find out what he is going to do to rectify the situation for payment for the little boat we were selling him. We found Kenny and Dave and he talked and Kenny said he would try to get the paint and would try to get Fonatur to allow him to do the work on the boat. Well neither happened. Comex, the paint store here in La Paz, doesn’t carry bottom paint anymore and the only color they had left was red. Ugh!!!! Then the owner of the Comex store, whom is friends with Kenny, said he couldn’t get the paint without Kenny paying up front, which he couldn’t do. So that plan went out the window. So there was no negotiating with the Marina for him to work. So now what????? We went back to the marina and talked with Carlos, the head guy that owns the work spot in the yard who fired Kenny. He and one of his workers, Hugo(oogo), hunted for paint and got us the best price they could. So what is happening now is the boat has been moved to the work area, they will sand the bottom and apply the epoxy and when that dries put a coat of paint and let it dry for 8 hours. They were able to find blue bottom paint which I am happy about because the red would not have looked good. Anyway---so we had to pay for the paint and the work out of our pocket and now have to figure out a way for Kenny to save face but pay us for the work. Kenny is now having some healthy issues due to his liver which is causing swelling in his joints and he can barely walk and certainly can’t do boat work right now. So Dave spoke to Kenny just this morning, the 12th to try and have him figure out a way to pay us back for our costs. We said we will be back down here on the boat in February and we can see how he is doing and if he has a job to where he can pay us. If worse comes to worse, he will have to sell the boat in order for him to pay us for our boat expenses. So we will see what happens in February. We still hold the title on the little boat so it isn’t Kenny’s yet and won’t be if he can’t pay us. So things haven’t work out so smoothly this trip. We are working with the Marina to get a boat out of the slip we were promised which was the one we were in before we got hauled out in May. The guy who has his sailboat in that slip knew we were coming back and said he would move. But then he up and left to go to the states. Now the marina has a problem with moving the boat as he agreed to be out of that slip by now. We have tried to get another slip but they are telling us the slips are too big, 60 feet, for our boat and Dave brought to their attention that there are boats shorter than 60 feet in those slips. Mexico has some strange ideas on things. So we talked with one of the Mexican workers and explained our dilemma and he said he would talk to the head lady in the office and see what could be done. Soooooo!!! We wait. The boat is to be finished this afternoon and we should be back in the water tomorrow morning, the 13th. Then we can get the headsail up and wash the boat so it will be presentable to show. So that is my story and I am sticking with it!!!! So now instead of being back in Bahia on Wednesday it will be Monday the 16th. It has been very frustrating and depressing as we were not anticipating spending a bunch of money. Well hopefully in the end we will be reimbursed and things will be good. So we still remain strapped for money, but we have made it work before we will again. God is with us and I know things will work out. I will never give up thinking positive thoughts. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. We will see that light soon!!!!

We splashed the boat this morning and all went well. She started right up without a hitch and ran smoothly to our new slip.

We ended up staying in the B&B for 7 days which also cost us a bunch, but that is the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. We were able to move our boat to the other end of the marina where we had been originally and I think I like that spot better. It is behind the marina building, which is tall and it blocks a lot of the north wind. So we won’t get too much bouncing around there as it is away from the entrance to the marina. So we are happy about that. The man who had his boat in the slip, we were promised, couldn’t be contacted and in the end it worked out better for us. After we were in our new slip, the next day that man and his wife came in. He didn’t even have a marina key to get into the gate so he surely didn’t make any arrangements with the marina before leaving. Sometimes I get so upset with gringos as sometimes they can be selfish and rude when they cruise to Mexico. They think everything should be done their way and don’t remember, or want to, they are in another country and things are handled differently and on a different time line. This isn’t the first time I have been upset with cruising gringos, but I have to say there are just a few of those kind of cruisers where most cruisers are respectful of the people here in Mexico and remember gringo rules don’t apply. I wanted so much to say something to that man, but I didn’t as it wouldn’t have done any good. It was obvious he didn’t care about anyone else.
We spent the rest of the time on the boat cleaning her and getting the head sail up. It had been windy so we didn’t think we would be able to get it up but one morning it was very calm so we did it and all is well again. The boat is back to her beautiful self. Just before we started to wash the deck and cockpit, we were up having breakfast at the marina café when our yacht broker showed up with a couple people from the B&B. We had been talking to them about the boat so they came down to look. It is just the man who is interested with living aboard a boat here but he can’t make up his mind whether he wants a sailboat or power boat. But at least he looked. When we finished breakfast we went right to work. What a job cleaning her up. After sitting in the yard all summer and 3 months in the fall, she was really dirty. We cleaned her up as best we could and at least made her look show able again. We made a contract with Hugo to wash our boat 2 times a month and we would pay him in February. We also contacted a diver clean the bottom once a month. So more money is being handed out to the broker, to have on hand, so when the diver does the cleaning for Dec, January, he comes to the broker’s office to get paid.

Now we can go home. We decided to leave on Monday as we have to pay our bill at the marina and the office isn’t open on Sunday. We don’t have to leave real early as it is only 4 hours to Loreto from La Paz.

The 13th was Creela’s birthday and one of our grandsons, David. David is 5 now. How he is growing. Creela got a great birthday gift and that was to have Phil come home from the care center. She was ecstatic!!! He still has a long road of therapy ahead but they both will be a lot happier and Phil will be more willing to get better since being home. So we are thrilled for them.

We got home on the 16th and the next day our grandson E.J. left for Air Force boot camp. We are so proud of him.

Saturday, the 21st was set up day for the Arts and Craft Show opening tomorrow and running through the 30th. I make the announcements on the VHF radio to hopefully gain attention to the show and have people come out and buy Christmas, or any occasion gifts. Opening day was good, however we didn’t have as many show up this year as there was last year. It happens like that though. The rest of the week was slow and people trickled in now and then. We had closed the show for Thanksgiving so I didn’t work on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, so I could make my apple and pumpkin pies and get the bird prepared and the giblets cooked. Dave and I had a quiet Thanksgiving and it was nice. The turkey was a gift from a friend who had come down from San Diego. That was so sweet of him. His mother was a good friend of ours before she died of cancer.

All of the artists didn’t do too badly. I made about $50.00 after paying an entry fee and giving 10% of my earnings to the Museo, as it was their facility we used. It wasn’t bad. $10.00 went toward the luncheon at the end. Sunday, the 30th came and the show was only open for ½ day and we only had one person come in so we decided to start tearing down. We got done early as lunch wasn’t scheduled until 1:00 o’clock. So we hung around for a while and talked, had a meeting then I left to get a few things at the grocery store and met everyone at the restaurant for a margarita. Then after visiting, we had lunch. After lunch we left and went our separate ways. The Mexican ladies (3) had lunch with us too. They usually have a couple tables with handmade jewelry and other things for sale. It is nice to have them there. Here is a picture of all of us artists outside the Museo with our gift to Carolina, the director of the Museo. A new garbage can!!!!

Now I can get back to my regular routine!!!! Ha!!!! I don’t even know what that is!!!! Each day I get up I decide what needs to be done. I always have cleaning to do but I only do that once a week. I’ve been doing a lot of reading which I really like, and also taking walks on the beach and sometimes finding treasures I can use for crafts. There isn’t going to be a Spring show, which I am glad about because it will give me more time to create new things for the November show next year. I have to change it up a bit.

The grandson that is in the Air Force boot camp posted a picture on Facebook and that made my day.



He looks so grown up!!!! It was funny because in the picture he is smiling and Dave said he wasn’t supposed to be. Ha! It is boot camp after all!!!! Well a lot has changed in the world of the military and it was nice to see his smile. His graduation is the 8th of January and we don’t know if we will be able to go. With what happened with the boat and having to pay for the paint and all, it depleted our bank account drastically, so even though we really want to be there at the graduation, I don’t know if we can afford to do it. That makes me really sad!!!! But things like that happen. I am praying there will be a way, so I don’t have to disappoint him, but that is life. We still have a while before we have to make a final decision and then I will write him and let him know. Bummer.

We got some very sad news from our friend Creela. Her youngest daughter, who had just turned 50 and had been battling with alcohol for years, died a few days before Thanksgiving. She was living with her sister in Oregon, and Creela thought she was doing alright, but knew the drinking was still going on when she got a call from the hospital saying Tina had died. They tried saving her but there was too much damage to the pancreas. Wow!!!! Creela has had a really rough time of it lately and now this. So arrangements had to be made to bring the body back to San Diego for services and burial. It makes me realize that the problems I am having with the boat and money is hardly anything compared to a mother losing her daughter so young. Life is so short and a lot of times we don’t embrace it. I hope and pray that all who read this will thank the Lord for everyday they have on this earth and rejoice in our life, families and friends as it could come to an end abruptly. I am very, very thankful for my husband, family and friends who have enriched my life and also for being healthy. When I am sad, discouraged and depressed, I have to stop and think that it isn’t all about me!!!! There are plenty of people hurting one way or another and a lot of their problems are far worse than mine. It brings things into perspective! Enjoy every day as if it were your last and rid yourself of anger, fear, resentfulness, jealousy, envy, and hate. Smile a lot as a smile can change not only your attitude, but someone else. Try it-----it works!!!!

Home Again In Bahia de Los Angeles

It is October 1st and we said goodbye to Creela as she was on her way to see Phil and we were on our way to the border. We crossed the border early in the morning and didn’t have to stop at all at the border which was strange. We thought because we had a truck we would have to go into secondary and be searched but they just waved us through. That was a relief because we had batteries and internet equipment which they usually want to see receipts for the purchases. The only problem we had after crossing the border was trying to get to the main highway as a lot of the side streets were blocked due to construction. We managed to get onto the main road and traveled to Ensenada. We stopped at Costco, had lunch and bought a couple things then left and headed further south to San Quintin to see my friend Penny. It has been 6 months since her husband died and she is still having a hard time. It was good to see her and she seems to be doing better but still struggling. The landlord told her he is going to advertise the house again to try and get it sold so Penny will need to live somewhere else. She has been thinking about moving back to the states, preferably Oregon. Her family is there and that is where she met Murray. She has a lot of friends up there too that can help her so that is a good thing. I figure about January she will be back in the States. It was good to see her and visit. We talked a lot about Murray and his dreams, which was the house, but it isn’t her dream and we told her that was o.k. not to make it her dream. They enjoyed the house together and now she needs to move on if she wants. She has given away most of Murray’s tools and she still is holding on to his clothes. She said she is getting closer to getting rid of them but it isn’t time yet. When she can finally get rid of his clothes, then she will be ready to move on. She is still helping with the grandpa’s and keeping busy that way, but it is hard for her in that big house by herself and her two cats. We just stayed overnight and the next morning gave huge hugs and kisses and told her to come see us now she has a car. As we were driving home, I remembered the tools Dave had picked out from Murray’s things were left behind. We had traveled too far to turn around and go back so we called Penny and told her she will have to take a road trip and come see us and bring the tools. Ha!!!! She said she would load them in the car and when she got back from Oregon she would come see us. So there ya go.

We got home on the 2nd and surprisingly there were only about 3 dead cockroaches in the house and the place was as how we left it. No leaks or anything. It is good to be home and away from riding in the car for hours. By the way----the cortisone shot has worked wonders. I am in no pain and just feel stiff from all the sitting. Now and then I do still have some tingling and a little numbness in my right leg but it is subsiding. When I called the pain center to report on how I was doing the nurse said the pain goes away first then the tingling then numbness. So that is good news. Thank goodness.

Since we had to wait for the refrigerator and freezer to get cold, Dave and I had sandwiches for dinner last night then this morning I drove into town and got gas in the truck and bought groceries. The weather hasn’t cooled down at all yet. It is hot and humid. Usually about mid October the light switch (as we call it down here) flips and it gets cooler. After I got back from town I put the groceries away and vacuum sealed the meat and then I had no more energy. The road is still bumpy with a lot of washboards so I can’t drive too fast in the old rust bucket truck or my head will hit the ceiling!!!! It could just fall apart on me too!!!! Ha! Plus it doesn’t do my back any good either.

We have taken our Vermox Plus medicine to help the good bacteria stay in our intestines. Since a cruiser friend told us about it we have been taking it every six months and it works like a charm.

We couldn’t believe that the propane truck was in our area because they aren’t on a regular schedule to come here. We got a tank filled so that was good.

When our friends, Libby and Pete got back down here she called me on the radio to see if we still wanted her washing machine. We said yes and wanted to know how much she wanted for it. They told us a 6 pack of beer. SOLD!!!! The next time I went to town I got the beer and then we went over to their house to pick up the washer. Now it is ours and we have to clean out the sand from inside and see if it still runs. She couldn’t use it because it took too much water as they only have a small storage water tank. We have a bigger tank and we usually get water about every 9 days. We cleaned up the washer and ran it and it did great. We only put it through the rinse and spin cycle. Dave was checking out what we had to do to get it into the art room and he found out Larry took the faucet that went on the pipe where the washer hooks up to. So we searched for one and couldn’t find one in town so we said we would pick one up when we went to La Paz next month. Dave went over to see our neighbor, Joanne for something and came back with a faucet. So we will replace it for her after getting back from La Paz. We got the washing machine into the art room and got it in place. Then the day for using it came. I had a small load so I put the laundry detergent in and then the clothes, went and turned the generator on, came back and opened the water faucet and it was leaking. So Dave had to do some work on it to get it not to leak. Then we turned on the washing machine and it worked. For now the rinse water comes out through the back wall of the art room and drains into a bucket. Both of us have to be there when the machine goes into the rinse cycle as the buckets fill up with the soapy water pretty quick. We dump the water on plants and it takes about 3 bucket loads of water for a small load. When we go to La Paz we are going to look for some kind of a hose to hook up to the drain pipe so we don’t have to dump the buckets of water each time I do laundry. It will just drain into the arroyo and the plants. The hose will be one we can roll up when we are finished with it so we don’t have to dig a trench and put it in it. We may have to order one online and have it delivered to the address we have our mail delivered to in the States. It was so nice to have really clean clothes. They smell fresh! I won’t have to soak my clothes overnight; rinse them the next morning and wring the water out of them by hand. So much nicer and easier and the clothes dry so much faster too!!!

I am back playing Mexican train with the ladies. It was nice to see everyone after being away for the summer. Most of these people will be going back to the States for the holidays so they won’t be here that long.

Had to go into town today for groceries. I use to go in every Saturday but since the vegetable truck is in town on Fridays I changed my day. They have some really nice produce and it is cheap so I like to get it from them and then do the rest of my shopping after that. Well there was a glitch in my morning routine this morning going to town. I was going to stop and see a friend before I went shopping but I ran out of gas on the way to town. Dave had to bring the 3 gals of gasoline we had at the house and put it in the trucks gas tank. Then we couldn’t get it started so we were thinking it was something else like the carburetor. Well eventually it started and Dave followed me to the gas station and I filled up almost all the way. I was 6 gals short. Our pesos are getting low so I didn’t want to put more than 500 pesos in the truck. Once Dave knew I had gas he left me and went back home and I went on my merry way. We are going to La Paz on the 5th or 6th of November and wanted to make our money stretch. As it turns out we will have to go to the nearest town which is 2-1/2 hours one way to get pesos from the ATM. We almost made it.

Today is the 27th and it is my youngest sons wedding anniversary. It’s been 3 years. Time does fly and they have 2 beautiful boys.

We have good friends across the bay from us who spend the winter in Rome and summer here. They are leaving soon so they wanted to have a dinner party and they invited us to come. They always cook a 3 course meal and we have such a good time. We will miss them but they will return in April. We got home from the party around 11:30pm.

The next morning I had a hangover and I had to attend a meeting in town about the Crafts and Art show coming up soon. Needless to say I wasn’t feeling all that great. Thank goodness I don’t do that a lot. The Crafts and Art show will be held from the 22nd to the 30th and closed on Thanksgiving. I still have things left over from previous shows that I want to sell. Hope they will. The only thing new I am making are angels and ornaments for the Christmas tree.

This morning after I had my coffee and something to eat, I took a short walk on the beach and came back to do laundry. It wasn’t supposed to be windy until tomorrow but it came early. I had planned to burn this morning but that didn’t happen. I got the washer ready and Dave turned on our big generator and the water started flowing into the machine------then it stopped. We had to turn off the water pump and the faucet to the machine and look at the filter in the hose. It was clogged so once that was cleaned out the washer worked again. Everything was going well but the biggest problem was the wind. It was blowing so hard from all directions I had to chase the buckets and then had to have Dave come help so he could dump the bucket when it filled with water while I put the other bucket underneath the drain hose. I made a note to self------don’t do laundry when it is really windy. It didn’t take long for the clothes to dry that is for sure but as windy as it was the sand was blowing everywhere. We had gusts up to 35 miles an hour and ended up having to close most of our windows due to the flying sand. I was able to get the wash dried in record time and saved it from the sand storm. It is still hot here and the north winds are supposed to be coming so it should cool us down a bit. The wind blew off and on all night and we had to get up and close some windows due to the gusts. At least it didn’t blow as hard last night as it did this morning and early afternoon!!!! Now the wind is quiet with a few bursts of wind now and again but much nicer. I am afraid to open all our windows as it could start up again. We are supposed to get more winds tomorrow like we had today and I get to go into town to do shopping!!! Oh well.

Tomorrow is the 30th and I have to bake Daves’ birthday cake as we are going to a Halloween party on Saturday evening but are driving to Guerro Negro to get money that morning so the cake has to be done a day early.

Saturday morning came and Dave and I got up at 6:00am to get ready for our drive to Guerro Negro as it is an hour ahead time wise so have to plan it just right to be home by 2:00pm so we can get ready for the party. As Dave and I were sitting drinking coffee, Dave said------“I don’t want to go today.” I asked him if we really had to go as I wasn’t going to be buying any more groceries until we get back from La Paz and we didn’t have to worry about gas in the truck or propane until we got back so why go????? Well he thought about it and decided we didn’t have to so problem solved!!!!! I got some more coffee and we had a relaxing day!! After all it was his Birthday and should have an easy day of it. I fixed him some pancakes with bacon for breakfast and he went down to the bamboo room to continue putting together a jigsaw puzzle together and I did some crafts. The party was at 4:30pm and Dave didn’t know what he was going to be but I dressed in our old tie die Burke Bay Sailing Association t-shirts with ragged shorts and a band around my head to be a hippie. Dave decided he would also wear his shirt the same as mine and he would go as a beach bum. All he did was put a straw hat on his head and whala!!!

I cut up some jamacia, which is a very refreshing vegetable, and sprinkled lime juice and Mexican seasoning and that was it. The cake I made for Dave and the party was a Chocolate cake with strawberry jam in it. When it baked most of the jam went to the top of the cake (bundt) and so when I got it out of the pan it looked like blood and guts. Haaa! So that is what I told the people at the party. I cut about 4 pieces of the cake to save for Dave and myself later and arranged the rest of the slices in a circle. There was plenty to go around. The party was fun and there was so much food, I couldn’t even try a lot of the dishes. We came home around 9:00pm and watched a little TV then went to bed. So Davey had a good day and birthday!!!