They delivered the elliptical before noon!! Actually close to 11:30am, when we were just finishing a nice breakfast. Everardo ate liver and onions and eggs, I skipped the liver, and put some cheddar & jack cheese in one of the fresh hot tortillas ad scooped egg into it. I had gone to an AA meeting at 9:30 so that's why we were eating late. It was down on the malecon, upstairs from this place called the Candy Cake; they have an open patio where you can sit and see the ocean. It is beautiful but it was freezing!! Luckily I had my jacket and a hat! I went to it last week and it was not cold at all, so it's hit and miss in December I guess. They have a couple of locations for this store, and they have all kinds of cakes, and coffee. You can buy a whole cake to take home and they also have some single pieces. There's one over on this side of town where we got the little oreo cake I had for my birthday. Ha ha that seems like forever ago. We haven't even been here a month but it feels like we've been here a long time.

I'm so happy that we are going to be able to get the bathroom issue resolved- cause we both want to live here. It's been cold i the morning and at nite, and altho' warm, shirt sleeves warm during the day; I think only 1 or 2 days have been hot since we've been in this house- so the smell has not been an issue since Everardo fixed it...and he has an idea about the final fix. But we are going call someone for an estimate, and then decide whether he can do it, and which way he wants to fix it. But he is confident he can take care of it, and I have learned to trust that confidence. Our house is starting to feel homey. I'm glad I put up Christmas decorations and that we got  a tree. I am however, ready to take them down ha ha, and will probly start tomorrow. It takes awhile to put the manager scene away. But like I said, I'm glad I put it up. It had me thinking about the kids when we would put it up, and them pointing out their favorite pieces. Ad when I was a kid, my mom would put it up herself; we had an upright piano, very tall, and she set it up on top. We would stand on the piano bench and look at it. They started that set in 1945 right after they got married. The pieces are clay, painted with so much detail. They collected pieces over the years...which one of my kids does it get passed down to? How the hell did I get it passed to me??? Well maybe they can share it...hopefully not a decision to be made for a long long time! It has all these different figures; farm animals, a guy with a bear, the thief with the knife on his side, the guy with the sheep, the 3 kings, a guy with a bundle of sticks, women in shawls, kids, chickens, sheep, horses, anyway it's very cool.

After I put it all away we can really settle in since we have decided we want to stay here. We are not even going to go take that second look at the place Nikko showed us. We really like the location, and the layout of the house itself. And now we have an "exercise room".....I put my Abbey Road blanket on one wall, it's the album cover with the Beatles walking across the street, Paul with no shoes because it was during the time when they were saying 'Paul's dead', and my purple shawl over the window...hmmm I like to listen to 70's rock and roll while I'm exercising soo maybe I should shoot for a 70's theme in that room...the one thing we will have to think about is if we want to paint on our own dime. Maybe just this living room and the kitchen..well and the hallway that connects the two. I think I could live with that... but do we spend the money?? I think that question can wait for now.

Ok so the story of the elliptical today- it got delivered, but like I said, we just finished eating so I did not jump on to start me routine. Poppi went to a meeting, and I talked on Skye with Drewy and Rex for about an hour. Very cool cause I got to see their new house! It is so beautiful. I love her taste, too. Simple elegant lines, nice. Not cluttered or gaudy. And Danica's room is really cute actually she shares it with the baby of the roommate, but I think baby sleeps with mama right now. BUt it has a kid bed and a crib, and butterflies on the walls. They did a walking tour with skype so I got to see the whole house, ha ha except Cory's room (roommate) cause it's not done. They moved in there when we were moving in here. It's a big house with a huge backyard, they did great choosing this place, oh and it's 4 bedrooms so the one they are designating as a den, that's my room when I go up to visit! I comented it looked like a mix of 2 of the houses we lived in while Drewy was growing up and she shouted to Rex, because she has said the same thing. I'm so happy they are happy. That's all we want for our children, for them to be healthy and happy. So then I walked her around our little house and yard so now we know where each of us is when we talk. Actually the skype worked great on her IPhone, and hopefully it was free for her- it was free for me from my laptop. (hmmm have to google that).  So- after that we took Sam to the beach.

The beach was sunny but the breeze was cold. We saw a dead stingray and I guess I didn't now what they looked like or had a picture in my mind of a really big one, you know the kind with the wide fins like wings? This was a tiny thing. And I've been reading that here they are pretty common when the water's warm- which is when I'd want to go in- so you need to walk with a kind of shuffle, shuffling so they know you are coming and you don't step on them- cause the sting is very very painful. Great right? Everardo says I should wear water shoes in the water here, so that would be ok, altho walking by shuffling works well. Anyway I took a picture of it and Sam sniffed it real good. There were quite a few people on the beach, not alot, but groups. And people trying to sell them stuff, necklaces, sunglasses, these really cute little planes made from aluminum cans. Poppi was very interested in those; the guy let me take a picture and he asked him a bunch of questions cause he's gonna try making them- they are probly good sellers. There was a guy in the water with a jet ski enticing people to come out, but I didn't see anyone do it. Also a banana boat went by but gave up right away. Horses on the beach, and I saw people paying for that the whole time we were out there, maybe an hour and a half...Alot of people come down for the holiday between Christmas and New Year's; I hardly saw anyone out there last week, so it's after Christmas. I was also reading that the border has been really busy this week with travelers coming down- ha ha we saw people in Sam's club buying instant soups and sandwich makings!

We drove around looking for this gym Everardo heard about yesterday, but it's only open Mon-Fri, not sure what's going on with him not making a decision. I know one part is he doesn't want to pay 350 pesos a month, about $28, because it was cheaper when he was here before- but that was 6-8years ago and things change. Not sure if that's the only thing, but he'll work it out so I am content to drive around and look cause I'm getting more familiar with the streets, where things are, how to get home, etc. He really is looking for good weights; otherwise he is a jogger and rides his bike so doesn't need alot of aerobic machines, just weights. Anyway driving around is good so when it fills up around here I'll know all the side streets. After that came home for a little computer time and a little reading- no don't have the hammock up yet, but soon. Sitting outside in the sun reading is nice when there's no breeze, otherwise the couch is pretty comfy, like today when I read and then drifted off into a small nap. Yeah- naps goooood.

So- about 6:30 pm finally got my water and my music, tshirt and shorts and headed for my elliptical. Took my phone and set it to 30 min, even though for my first workout I was planning only 15-20 min...then 3 minutes into it- one pedal and leg fell of the machine! I guess it was noisy cause Everardo came out as I was heading in to see him. Well that's what we get for in-store assembly, right? So he messed with it, took off the other side, looked at the manual, put it back together and realized the bad side was missing  washers- guess we need them. While he was doing that I started thinking about the whole 70's thing. The room is so cold and ugly- it's that weird afterthought 3rd bedroom that can be accessed off the front porch or thru a long weird hallway behind the dining room. But- it looks better already and the ideas are a comin' to me. Like I said, it feels different, good, now that we have decided this is where we want to be. Hopefully for as long as we live in Puerto Penasco. Which at this moment we think is about a year and a half to two years. Then back to Petaluma. However our minds are subject to change at any minute ha ha.

So tomorrow we'll g to a hardware store (Fetterria) and get the 2 washers, no point in going back to Sam's cause I'm sure they only have the hardware associated with each piece of equipment. In the box was a sheet showing each piece of hardware and the qty, so we know exactly what they're supposed to look like. There's actually another piece of exercise equipment in that room, this thing you sit on and pull back with your arms and your legs are out in front of you. I think it's mainly for arms but we saw a commercial on tv that showed it being for legs and stomach...blah blah blah, maybe after I get into a routine I'll give it a shot...cause my tummy has grown into quite a gut with all this lovely hot chocolate...truth is I'm hopin' the elliptical helps with it. I had this bench for doing sit ups I liked cause it had this U shaped bar you pushed...anyway it got stolen from the Playa Venutra house when we had just been there a couple of weeks. It was in the yard and Sam was sleeping in the house, after that he slept outside except for when it rained. The patio was covered but poor baby is afraid of the lightening and thunder...me too.

So it's December 29th, maybe one more month of cold weather, maybe less than a month since we hear by end of Jan it starts to warm up....short cold season, cause we hit Puerto Penasco Dec 3rd and we were wearing shorts and tshirts for about a week before it started to cool off. But still during the day is a light sweater or sweatshirt only, and with any movement you warm up and simply tie it around your waist. Ok time to snuggle in, watch a little tv....have a snack....

OK, a giant bowl of ice cream followed by hot chocolate make for a tummy ache in the middle of the nite! Today I am pretty tired; slept crappy due to stomach ache. But it was a nice day anyway. My new sponsee came over for a chat and some step work, then 2 other ladies came over about an hour and a half after Pam. One now lives up in Tuscon (or Phoenix) and the other is becoming a friend here. She took us out to lunch at a little place I hadn't been and I had chicken enchiladas and they were yummy...and filling! Anyway the reason Anda came was I had asked her to take me to Sam's club cause she has a membership, and I heard there was a gold's Gym brand elliptical there. I have been online, and to the second hand stores and all the street flea markets and haven't found one I liked. Actually I like the one I left in Playa Ventura...

We added up how much we spent in cuotas (tolls) and gas coming up from Playa Ventura to Puerto Penasco and decided that Everardo's trip down there will either be by bus or plane, and I'm not sure when I'm going back, so we may trade the elliptical for pay to the guy who's watching the house for us- he really liked it when he saw it. The elliptical and the books I left were the only things I really want; and if he takes the bus he can bring books- if he flys he can ship them. So I'll give it up. But because of my foot problem, the elliptical works best for me. I can also ride my bike, but I know myself and I only want to ride my bike for pleasure.

So Anda said sure and came by a little after noon. She had a friend with her, Donna who is visiting for a week and used to live here. Sam's Club is basically Costco, and is wned by Wallmart. I didn't know this cause I never thought about Sam's Club before; we have a Costco card but don't like Costco in Mexico- their stuff is way more expensive here- and poor-er quality which I also think is bad...what do we send the "seconds" down here?..so anyway I don't shop in Mexico Costco. Well there isn't one here anyway, and I may come to think the same about Sam's Club. We walked around and the prices didn't look that great- except the chicken seemed like a good price, and they had cheddar cheese...only one type, one size- but ...ok. We ended up buying a membership card- it was $32 for both of us for a year. And we eat ALOT of chicken ha ha.

So we bought the elliptical and they are going to assemble it and deliver it tomorrow for free. Yipee, I am so so so so ready to get into an exercise routine. I think I'm happier about this than a car.

Oh and Everardo has- oops had these snow pants, like for skiing; they are almost like overalls. Anyway we for sure didn't need them in Playa Ventura ha ha and don't really need them here- it's not that cold...so he too them down to the docks this morning and traded them for 12 pounds of fresh shrimp!! What a deal eh? He's eating some beautiful cerviche right now, and later I will be eating them sauteed in garlic and butter...yeah pretty nice deal. And some fisherman is happy for the pants when they go out all nite on the boat.
You know there some construction guys working down the road, building what looks like an OXXO. (711). It's going up fast, and after how slowly I saw things getting built in Guerrero I commented on it. Poppi says oh they hire crews from somewhere else wh come in a do one project, then they move them to another place (town or state) to do the next project. So the workers are not even from here. I had said before- hey maybe you can get on with that construction crew since he has a construction background. But he said no- these guys are one crew who get paid really well and travel around Mexico working. The thought behind it is; if they hire locals, there's not alot of work and so they work slow to drag it out. They'd have to hire new crews every lace they go, weed out poor performers, etc. This way they know their crew, they pay them really well, and they just move them around. They pay thir room and board wherever they go Now I do not understand who "they" are; do companies contract or bid for jobs? Is it gov't run? (like the gas stations...no choices only Pemex)..so I don't know, I kinda get info about things in bits and pieces from people and then different pieces start to fit together ha ha...this includes info from Everardo! He doesn't always know either, but hears things, and we go from there.
He has mostly lived in the US for the past 30 plus years, with short stints here, I don't think as long as a year at any one time. He has lived up and down the Pacific coast, actually rode the freight trains and stayed different places and then moved on. But he was in Gilroy just south of San Francisco for about 16 years from a teenager until late 20's or early 30's, then became the vagabond. Trains, hitch hiking, walking, Calif, Oregon & Washington. When we met he had lived in my town previously, and had returned, been there about a year before we met. He laughs and says he knew me before I knew him; he first saw me when I was bald...going thru chemo...and he said, but you always had this posse of women around you. We became friends a few months later. Then some time after that when we both out of relationships; we went out for a coffee, and then....

So he came and met us at Sam's Club to take a look at the elliptical before we spent almost $400 on it. We have been laughing at ourselves; we keep making a budget and then blowing right thru it. But to retrieve the elliptical in Playa Ventura would be way more than $400, and we will sell that one (hopefully) to our caretaker...so we bought it....with the cheese of course ha ha. It would be nice for that house to sell down there, and when it starts getting busy down here in 3 months Poppi may find some work at the beach...but for now we are just playing it by ear...so tomorrow I start workin' off the ice cream and hot chocolate eh??

It's cold outside and we're drinking hot choclate. This is special occasion chocolate, hmm maybe I shared this the other day- but Poppi remembers his grandmother making him hot choclate with this chocolate, and he does it just so. It's sooo chocolatey! But it tastes like love cause of the way he makes it and talks about it as he does it. I love this man, he is so tender in these little ways that never fail to touch my heart.

Well I am excited cause the landlady just sent me an email from Phoenix, and she said to go ahead and get a estimate for fixing the bathroom!! Yipee!! We kinda thought she was gonna try to brush it off, but she answered me tonite and I sent her an email about it only last nite, well it was a reply to an email from her. She still has not sent back the contract or made any comment about my changes and/or additions. Not sure what's up with that but I am happy not to have to sign it. But the real good news here, is that if we can fix the bathroom, then we want to live here! We like the location, the little yard for Sam, the layout of the house- for the most part anyway- ha ha that weird hallway along the back of the house to the third bedroom..but I digress. I don't care about that part, and can be storage if we want or need it. Sam and I took a walk today; I brought my walking stick in case any dogs tried to attack him, but no dogs came that close. We only walked for 20 minutes, stayed on our road, it crosses a couple ofpaved roads beofre it ends by a paved road that has the flea market stalls.

Those stalls are packed on the weekends, but some are open during the week. We only walked past, then hit the end and walked back. Sam chased the ball a little bit, but mostly wanted to smell everything. I want to do it alot, so people get used to seeing me, seeing us. I'll probly start walking the other direction as well; I think it goes much further- my only concern is aggressive dogs. However ha ha, in Playa Ventura- no dog was aggressive towards Sam as soon as they got close. And hopefully it will be the same here, but I know people have pitbulls...so me, Sam, and my walking stick will carefully check out our neighborhood. That walking stick was my Dad's. He gave it to me before he died. He died young, at age 59, from an aggressive fast cancer.  (hmmm all of a sudden aggressive is my favorite word?) We were all in shock, it was 1980, I was only 24. BUt cancer research has come a long way since 1980. I hope for me, that having breast cancer in 2009 was my cancer experience. my only cancer experience. (insert little prayer here ha ha) (ok not ha ha)
Anyway this walking stick is very special to me. It's gone on all my camping trips and been near the front door of every house I've lived in. So now I need it again; to walk with me and Sam.

So again I say yipee! I want this to be our place for the next couple of years...or at least year and a half if we decide 2 years is enough o Mexico. We do want to be near my daughters.... of course if we're gonna stay we're going to have to decide if we want to paint on our own nickel. She won't pay for paint, maybe I can get her to pay half....but it sure would help this place..even just a couple of rooms; this living room and the kitchen I would be happy. Ha ha how quickly I jump into the future.
Well- that would be me! viva Mexico!!

Went to extremes today. Did not buy a car. Did not buy an elliptical. But we went to check out this place called CEDO- which stands for something about conservation of both the desert and Gulf of California. They have lectures in Spanish & English on Tuesdays and Saturdays, about the tide pools, the ocean, the desert, etc. They have tours and activities, and I think I'll start with the lectures and see what happens. They had a tour scheduled for tomorrow (Friday), to take a boat to an island and do some snorkeling- actually that's why we decided to check the place out today. But it's cancelled due to the guide is sick, & not too many people signed up- ya think? The water is cold! Anyway, it costs $100 per person- so we would have passed regardless. Hopefully by the time the weather gets better we will know how or where or with who to go snorkeling. But the lectures are free, and I'm sure some of the other tours, like thru the tide pools, or the walk thu the volcanic area in the desert here.
The place was very cool; they had a skeleton of a fin whale out front.

Anyway- this place is at the beginning of a neighborhood called Las Conchas. It's a ways out of town. This is where the "other half" lives. The 1% - ya know? House after house...ok McMansion after McMansion ....huge houses on the beach or tall enough to see over the house on the beach. I saw thru a window a winding staircase in one- made me think of my daughter Drew; who always wanted to live in a house with "twisty" stairs. And at one point we did! She loved that house. That house was almost 4000 sq feet- and these houses were bigger! (yeah- to have a 4000 sq foot house n Calif- the PG&E is $500 per month and that was in 2000) So these houses! And there were SO many of them. Some had tiles on the  outside, some had statues (yeah you can money and ZERO class or taste), but some were really nice. We drove all thru the area, and it was big, it went on forever. Not too many of them had cars out front or looked like there was anybody there. And there were no stores. So you would have to drive back into town to go shopping. Not even an OXXO or a Circle K. (Mexico 711)...None of those little stores that are on every corner.

On the way back we turned and went thru another area, a little closer to town. It was the poor area. I don't know if was part of San Rafael or not, that's the area where the people live who came up here to work from other parts of Mexico and Central America, and when the economy tanked, they were left out in the cold. Literally. That's the place I am planning to go out to with Anda & Rich - my new friends who work out there- anyway not sure if that's where we were or not. Anyway to go from ridiculous rich to the humbling poor....the houses in some cases were barely houses;made maybe of cardboard. Made the houses I saw made from railroad cars look pretty good. Some were cement blocks; seems like there's alot of cement blocks around. One kinda funny thing was, there were these tiny shacks, part cement block and part cardboard...with Sky satellites on the roof! And people had water, too, at least some cause I saw laundry hanging. Not sure how they get it, from the truck- but nobody had the tanks on the roof...the roofs wouldn't hold, in some cases not wide enough...and I heard in San Rafael no water no electricity. The fact is- it was hard. But you know what? WE saw kids playing in the street. We saw people walking and talking, hanging up laundry, sitting around bullshitting in a group. So as always, people find their way. Always hits me hard. And reminds me of how grateful I need to be. The small crap I complain about. I am for sure going with Anda and Rich as soon as they get back from Arizona. I kow I am not interested in building churches- that bugs the shit out of me- Mexico doesn't need Americans coming down to build churches!! They need houses, medical care for their kids, education, they need help- but not saving- ya know?

So it was interesting, and sad, and humbling, and...hopeful. I kow in this place I can find a way a way to be of service....oh- and I got a sponsee! Very exciting to have a woman ask me to help her work thru the 12 steps of AA. I am enjoying the meetings. I asked a guy who lives here yesterday if the English speaking meetings get bigger during the season (April-Oct). He said yep! Actually we had more people during this week and probly next cause people vacation down here over the holiday. I liked it, and it was good to hear that people find their way to us when they're down here. Working with someone is always good, enhances my program, when I go back over the steps with someone new, I always get something out of it. So again-  yipee.

Maybe we'll look for a car tomorrow. For today- I am good. Grateful for a home, a wonderful husband, and a cute doggy.


 

So it was raining on Christmas in Petaluma, Calif, where we're from and my kids are, and it was pouring in Playa Ventura on Christmas Eve, where we just moved from. We talked to my bff Chela on Christmas morning and she told us there was lightning and thunder and that the sea was very angry. I would have been sooooo pissed off if we had been there ha ha. She said exactly that- that her amiga woud have been muy muy enojada!!I mean it just rained and rained down there. Everyone kept saying how December was the nicest month- not too hot to sleep, the water so calm, and shallow way out, that you could walk so far out to the waves. Once we decided to move up here, at first we wanted to stay until Jan 1, to experience "the season", all the people, the weather, the ocean. WRONG! We have also been chatting with others down there and they're saying not too many people either, so bad weather, angry sea, not too many tourists, so so so glad to be missing it.    

Of course this is not good news for the area. As I know I've written in earlier posts; Playa Ventura basically makes their nut for the year during these 2 weeks and a week at Easter (Semana Santa). The rest of the year they struggle, this is a very poor community in one of the poorest states in Mexico. At Christmas time the tourists pour in, coming in huge buses, filling up all the little hotels and bungalows and camping on the beach. They stay and eat and drink for 2 weeks, and the people of Playa Ventura work hard to earn the dinero they make during this time. The rest of the year people come once in a while, or just for the weekend....So to hear not too many people are coming this year is sad...maybe they're all arriving today- the day after Christmas and staying until after New Years. I hope so,

After lazing around the house all the yesterday, we ventured out today. I went to a morning AA meeting in English...later we went to look at the car we saw over the weekend- for me, but it was not to be. It was just to beat up for the price. In USD we offered $800, and he wouldn't go below $1200. The windshield wipers didn't work, it was kinda shaky when we drove it, the oil was like mud, and it still needed to be imported....so we passed. These guys buy cars at auctions in the US and bring them across the border to sell. He tried to tell us he paid $1000 for it, but you know he probly paid $500. The title was Indiana altho' he said he picked it up in Mexicali...anyway we passed.

Then we drove by the dock but nobody was selling their catch, and we tried to drop by and see Everardo's friend Nico, who has a sliver store on the Malecon (boardwalk)- we want to see that first house one more time on the inside. And Everardo really wants to talk to the owner hmself; he thinks maybe he can get the rent down to $200USD from $250... and talk to the guy about repairs, etc. I can't really remember what the house looked like inside cause as soon as we walked in I screamed no- inside my head of course. It was dirty, and the fridge was open and yucky inside. I remember a big living room and that's almost it. I was so disappointed that it wasn't one of the three houses on the next street that we waited in front of ha ha. The fence was so close to the front of the house and it looked shabby from outside. Now that I've been here awhile, it doesn't seem that bad ha ha. I appreciate those gated wrought iron fences, and this place had a huge side yard and back yard....it keeps getting down to, will she or won't she pay to fix the bathroom pipes, and will the fix include eliminate the smell on a hot day? (not just now)...

Anyway I guess people came down here for the Christmas holiday cause the malecon was had lots of people walking along the shops and the resturants had people in them. If Nico was there he was busy with customers, so we walked past and then walked along the extension where there are benches and a statue of a guy with a giant shrimp...sort of an open area- all cement-and some kids were riding their razor scooters and lots of people were taking pictures of each other with the ocean behind them. The water was pretty and the big pelicans were fishing, no dolphins but pretty to watch anyway. So we didn't get to talk to Nico...so we went over to the shopping center nearby that constrcution stalled on some time ago, but there's a movie theater there, and it's open. We took an escalator up and checked it out. They have movies that are sub titled and movies that are dubbed. None that we want to see particularly, so we bought some popcorn and took off. We went back to the department store, Coppel and looked at the elliptical I was considering, but it's just to cheapy and too short. I just don't stretch my legs out striaght when it turns, so I let it go. Man! No car and no elliptical...batting zero.

Well it was a nice day out and about- oh wait- I skipped the burro longo! We stopped at a hole in the wall on one of the unpaved streets to have a burro longo, we split it in fact. They are a huge burrito, they cost 40 pesos...ut a half is more than enough for one. There are so manny different kinds of tacos and burritos! But it sure is fun trying them all! Lot of people here from alot of different parts of Mexico, and everybody has their type of food...yep sounds good to me!

Merry Christmas everyone! Woke up and talked to my daughter Drew who just arrived at her Dad's with Rex & Danica in tow so I let them go to celebrate since poor Drewy has to work today. I'll call my other daughter a little later after they have their Christmas...We had a nice breakfast, beans and cheese and eggs and tortillas, and a banana for me and tomato and onions for Poppi....it's sunny outside and there are intermittent firecrackers going off again. So Sam wants to stay inside instead of laying in a sunny spot...and Everardo is taking a nap too.

Yesterday I got to hold a 6 day old baby when we dropped by Anna's the first time. We walked in and we saw him, so tiny...born on the 18th, somebody handed him to me and I kept him until we left. Not that long, maybe a half hour, and he was starting to get squirmy like food time....so I gave him back ha ha. He was so calm; I think maybe because the house is so busy, so many kids and adults there all the time. Doors slamming, yelling..and this tiny baby didn't blink an eye. He just looked at me, yawned sometimes, but mostly just looked at me calmly. You know, I think because he was just born, I mean 6 days could be counted in hours practically, I think he understood English and Spanish. I told him he was a Christmas miracle and how next year he'd be running around with all these kids. I talked to him about the tree and his grandma (Anna) and I know he understood me.I gues when you have so many kids, it just gets normal to have yet another one around. And man- there are alot of kids around that house- I don't understand where they all sleep ha ha. Everywhere I've been in Mexico there are alot of kids....hmmm so many comment come to mind, but it Christmas....

I chatted last nite & this morning with a few friends and family on FB, sent some emails to friends I have been shitty at keeping up with. I was reading about Christmas in Mexico, and basically read what Ihave seen and heard here, that people wither open presents on Christmas Eve at midnite or wait until Jan 4th, but everybody has a fiesta Christmas Eve! It does seem quiet outside except for the occasional firecracker, and it was noisy until about 1am. We fell asleep on the couch until about 2am, partly to keep Sam company since he sleeps on the small carpet we have in front of the couch, and if the fireworks had continued he would have slept next to the bed on the cold tile. Right now, of course, he sleeps next to his sleeping poppa...

I think we're going down to the dock to buy some fresh fish and shrimp for our dinner. I am surprised that they go out fishing on Christmas, but Everardo says they do....hmmm we'll see. Tomorrow the plan is to see about that little car for me...yipee...but I am so selfish- I want my new elliptical too! We didn't really do presents this year, I barely decorated- at the last minute I got into it, and our gifts are kinda a gym membership for him and the elliptical for me....so...I want it!! Next year we will be more ready for it and hopefully have a little something to open. You know, we kinda have everything we need, each other, Sam, our bikes, laptops haha..I don't know, I mean these days a book is a good gift for me. I was talking to Drew on the phone this morning and she was saying it was so hard to figure out a present for Rex cause they don't need anything...ha ha I said yeah I know! It's kind of like if you find a little something, maybe by accident, something that I would think- ooh I think my sweetheart would like that. Anyway this year it would have been hard..I mean not natural altho' I was thinking about it...and if I had seen something....OK anyway I love walking on the dock, and right now plan to kick back and read the book I just started yesterday...oh- the nutty landlord gave me a book, too. It's called Women in the Bible...hmmmm well for not at least it's a good paper weight ha ha. Actually I might even read it, couldn't hurt to have a little knowledge....well we'll see how it's written...so now it's off to my nice murder mystery.

It's Christmas Eve, about 11:30 so almost Christmas. There are fireworks going off like crazy, and it may be all nite, we'll see. In Mexico some have the tradtion of a party on Christmas Eve- maybe all nite, then a quiet day on Christmas, and presents are not until Jan 4- when the 3 kings came to give Jesus presents. That's how Everardo grew up. Our friend here, Anna, is having a family party tonite, to which we were invited, with fireworks and music and food (pozoli, tamales, menudo, cakes and cupcakes) much laughter and fun, then at midnite the kids open their presents. Then the party goes on, maybe all nite, then sleep and lay around tomorow for Christmas day. A friend I used to work with does this with his family in Calif. Well our friend Anna, who is probly same age as me, has alot of family! I counted about 15 younger kids who were her grandchildren, and then there were at least 5 or 6 adults or at least older teens who were also her grandchildren. So 4 or 5 kids, all those grandchildren, girlfriends & boyfriends; it was a pretty big group. They had a huge tent outside behnd the house with a big cookstove and a fire on the ground. It was fun to watch them all greet each other and take tons of silly pictures. In fact one photo that was all women I was called into, so I ran to the end of the line of women and smiled for the camera- I think we had to yell "whiskey!"

We left about 10:30; it was nice for her to invite us, but it was a family thing and we didn't want her to worry about us, me not speaking to much Spanish, and anyway she shouldn't be entertaining guests- it was her family. So we took off, we would have before the presents anyway, and also I saw a few cases of beer and a few bottles of other stuff coming in so they were wure to be getting rowdy-er soon ha ha.

Earlier in the evening, at 6pm, we went to an English speaking meeting that was very small but glad we went. I had actually given directions to it, to some vacationers so thought we should show up- ha ha but they didn't altho' I believe we'll see them Wednesday. Then we dropped in on the Spanish speaking meeting for a guy who was getting a cake for his year. During that meeting I stayed outside before going in to call both my daughters; I caught them at their dad's house where they had finished a nice Christmas Eve dinner so it was good to talk to each of them, which I plan to do again tomorrow. I had arranged with our renters, who are our close friends, to pick up our gifts for both girls and I told them today they could go see Boyce & Kay tomorrow afternoon to get them. I won't give any other details here cause at least one of my daughters reads this blog so I don't want to spoil the surprise...and B&K know what I mean...Drewy, my oldest, sent me a fb msg and told me she avoids my street cause it makes her sad, and boy that got caught in my throat. She wants to send her boyfriend to pick up her present cause she misses me so much she doesn't want to walk up to my door and have someone else give her the gift.......ok deep breath.......yeah I miss her so much, too.

Well we are listening to Christmas music on tv while I write this, but it will be Christmas in 10 minutes and I want to be sitting close to my honey...so I will close this with: Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good nite. :)

Yesterday we got a Christmas tree. It's a fake one, short, maybe 3 or 4 feet. We put it on one of the blue bins, so it's a tiny bit taller than me. We decorated it last nite, and today I fixed up our stockings- well mine; his was ok...mine just was never the same after Sam chewed it when he was a puppy. But this afternoon I repaired it, put new stuff on it. They both look so cut, no they look great. So of course I took a picture and put it on FB ha ha. But  anyway now it feels like Christmas in here.

At the posada the other nite they gave us Pozoli. I forgot to say that. I guess it's the party food, cause Everardo got us invited to a posada with another group, and they served pozoli, too. It's nice and hot, with meat (beef), and some kind of bean I think; and you get a dish with limes, lettuce, chiles, or peppers, so you can add stuff to it. I remember at something in Playa Ventura, pozoli is what everyone was serving. It's funny, the last few days I've been craving churros, and apprently they only make/sell them at nite. It's kinda like a lot of the taco trucks and hot dog stands; they only open at nite- sucks cause I want them in the daytime- and with a cup of coffee. Hot dog stands- isn't that weird? There are alot of hot dog stands here and they all do very well! We've only tried one and didn't like too much, but we'll try another. I actually heard someone talking about a sushi place, so there's another one here somewhere...that will be my new mission, to find it....And keep your fingers crossed that it's good. I mean the fish is so fresh, pls pls let the place be run by someone who knows something about sushi. We did find a Chinese food place and it's run, or at least the cook, is Chinese. It was pretty good and very close to our house.

So things stay interesting. This place is a 24/7 flea market- you can find anything if you're patient. NOt sure if I already mentioned that a guy offered Everardo a house at a flea market ha ha. Well we may have found me a car. We're gonna talk to the guy tomorrow, if he's not gone to Mexicali to pick up another car. These guys buy cars in the states cheap and sell them here. This little fiat is a 94 and the title is Indiana- and it says for export only. There's a place here that will do the importation to make it a Mexican car, so we are going to check out all the paperwork and make sure it's "do-able" and maybe we'll get this little car. It's a stick which I like, and small but does have a backseat so Sam can be my company. He loves going for a ride! Actually he loves going anywhere we go, he just wants to be with us...We also spent the wknd looking for a gym and may have settled on one. This is for Poppi only- the places that have classes, well none of them are going on right now, and I want to do Zumba and the fact is I like my elliptical and singing at the top of my lungs; and that's best at home ha ha. So after looking at some used stuff- and only one was actually what I wanted, and talking on a local forum about one I really liked but it's a 4 hour each way trip to Green Valley Arizona for $95...might as well spend $120 and get the new one we looked at. Yes, kinda cheapy, but it's probly staying here when we move back to the states, or even to another town in Mexico. It doesn't have to do much, so hopefully cheap will not be an issue ha ha.

Oh! The most important thing we bought is a space heater yesterday! This cement house is sooo cold at nite, and cool during the day. Don't need a jacket outside, but need a sweater inside ha ha. It's a gas heater; you put a little propane tank on the back of it and wow- what a difference. Just taking the chill off made so much difference. I keep reading how the only cold months are Dec and Jan, how it's true! Not like the rainy season in Playa Ventura...oh it's only July & Aug...ah ok and June....oh and Sept...and oh part of Oct....I mean at least it was warm even when it rained but we were so sick of it! It was really only a problem the first month when it rained in our bedroom, and under the window sills....Well it rained here one day pretty hard and nothing leaked...so...anyway the heater is nice. We used it last nite in the living room and then on low in the bedroom/bathroom and even today it was just not as cold in here...so warm and Christmasy, yep I feel like hot chocolate again!!

So the house, this house, we are still not completely sure we want to stay here; we still have a problem with the bathroom/shower, not in our bedroom, the one in the hallway. Somehow the trap is wrong or not there so when you flush the toilet the pipe goes thru the shower- it needs to be different- Everardo understands it and can fix it, but doesn't want to do it for free- why should he? The sewer smell comes up thru the shower. So he fixed it somewhat but it needs the correct fix. We went and talked to the guy who used to live here and gave him a telephone bill that came to him, and asked him about the bathroom. He said the smell gets bad when it gets hot. That she knows about it (she-the landlord). She agreed we needed to change the top of the drain; it was actually broken in the middle, but she never copped to any other problem. She does not want to pay for anything. So Everardo's going to talk to her and tell her that he'll fix it, but for a month's rent.

That's the problem with this place- that she does not want to spend a penny. Today was hot in the middle of the day and there was no smell in the house, but I smelled it outside. Just in one spot, but I'm sure I smelled it. So it has to be fixed. The house wasn't painted or fixed in any way. And that's a weird thing too, she emailed me a contract that had some issues, well it was obviously copied from another contract so had bad dates, dollars, etc. I emailed back and told her, and she said she was having trouble with her laptop so would I fix it. I said sure, and made the changes. I also added a list at the end of the condition of the house because some of the wording expressed talked about the condition of the house and the furishings and I couldn't sign it that way. Actually the first lease I was asked to sign was the first day- but I read it and it was an agreement between a real estate agent and a landlord, I pointed that out and didn't want to sign it. I suggested I sign something for 24 hours, the rent & the security deposit so she and I would both be comfortable cause we moved in that day. Then she never brought me another one until 2 weeks later, the morning she left. I walked over there to get the key she was gonna leave with me for her place, and she had a contract for me to sign....it was in Spanish, so I declined to sign. I told her I thought we were developing a nice relationship, but this was business, and I would be a fool to sign something I couldn't read. So she said ok, she would email me one. So that's where that's at. The thing is, I thought I was really clear about wanting month to month but the contract (s) have been for 6 months. We decided at first, well ok cause we hope to be here longer than that- of course that was before we knew about the bathroom problem- so I'm glad it's taken so long to get this contract thing together. And so far, well not signed. I changed it and sent it to her, she said she'd send it back after she opened it. That was about 5 days ago. I think maybe she thinks I changed it and we signed it....but we didn't. Wanted her to review it first.

The first house we saw when we got here suddenly doesn't seem that bad (hmmm). I want to see it again. It had a huge yard and that's a plus for Sam. He's ok here, and I like this place, alot, but the whole bathroom thing....I don't even mind about there being no heat- hey we got hot water and that's a HUGE plus ha ha. Altho I think most people here have hot water. Anyway it was so messy, so dirty I hadn't wanted to even look at it, so I'm not sure what I think of it. If cleaning is all it needs....and of course Everardo wants to negotiate the rent which I think was $250 USD, and I'm up for that! So- we'll see. I think we will at least stay here thru Jan, it won't get too hot, and maybe, just maybe she will foot the bill to fix the bathroom and then we can stay. But of course there's always the issue of people staying in her house- altho I bet that will only be vacationers from Arizona, cause anyone who looks before they come will not rent it for her outrageous price...$3000 pesos. One of the bathrooms doesn't even work and there's no oven (been there done that), just a hot plate - well it looks kinda like a camping stove....anyway we'll see. Weekenders really is no problem for us. So see- interesting eh? ok time for ice cream..

Dragonfly in Mexico has more than one name. In Playa Ventura, Guerrero we call them chambuleke, in Puerto Penasco, Sonora we call the libelula. Everardo says when he was a kid, in Micoacan, they called them cabello de diablo (devil's horse...eeewww). Yesterday I was getting my nails done and the woman (ok girl she was 20...with a 4 yr old and a hubby in jail), anyway she said she liked my libelulas. I probly won't go back there because the woman who was in charge told me when I paid...h it's 200 pesos when I asked why she didn't give me enough change. I wanted to give the girl 50 pesos for a tip. She was really nice and did a good job- BUT the day before yesterday I stopped in there and asked how much for acrylics with color. Apparently that's how they call them; french, acrylics, acrylics with color, and you can get them with just the tips being acrylic Way too much info for me! I had stopped in at the place right around the corner from the house and it was 200 pesos. Only 150 for french. So I decided to shop around cause it was 150 in Playa Ventura and 180 in Copala- and I liked the way they did it in Copala so I went there. Actually after doing y nails the first week we were in Playa Ventura, I didn't do them again until almost right before we left- so 3 times total, and about the same for pedicures- when you don't wear shoes, nail polish comes off quick. Yeah it's winter here, but the rainy season is in the summer (where I read it can be 122 degrees...) Anyway I wear shoes here, and socks too. But- winter for just Dec and Jan...think I can handle that ha ha.

Anyway- the day before yesterday they told me 150 for acrylics- and that was after a discussion in Spanish too quick for me to follow but I did hear "french" and "acrylics"....So when she said 200 yesterday, I said no, yesterday you said 150. I pointed to the woman who told me 150mand said she told me. She also speaks English. So the mgr kept saying (in Spanish) sorry for confusion but it's 200.I found her to be full of shit. She shoulda charged me 150 cause then I'd probly still come back, but now, no way. Might as well walk around the corner for the same price.

Did I say I looked at a motorcycle? More like a scooter I think- the ones with the wide area to put your feet?? They're automatic so no need for feet to change gears or even brake...And cheaper than what we will probly pay for a car...only $1200! Probly spend $2000 at least on a car...but we'll see. 
We called on a car yesterday but it was $3000, way too much. We're also looking for an elliptical for me and a gym for Poppi. We may have found both. Went thru looking for used ellipticals and the best deals are in Arizon, both places a four hour drive each way...but at this dept store Coppel there's a cheapy one for about $120, and since it's yet anoher thing we will not take back to the states with us, and I do still hold out a tiny hope that we'll retrieve the one in Playa Ventura....I think I'm gonna go with the Coppel one. of course we will hot the wknd flea markets this wknd for a final look so won;t buy until next week- Oh! So it's my Christmas present! As will be the gym for Everardo. Actually we're gonna look at what this place has in the way of classes and equipment...we drove around and looked at gyms, found all but one that must have closed, and he chose a place called X Sport. They have the weight machines he's looking for but he didn't look too closely at what I might want to use and they probly don't have Zumba, which I really want to take...we found a place I'm going to try for $3 a class or $28 for a month and all classes- they also have yoga, pilates, not sure what else but no equipment. So it's another..we'll see, cause Poppi isn't feeling too good today so he's asleep on the couch right now. He has a cold, which is not a huge surprise since it's so cold in here! It's warmer outside during the day, and I'm sure by the end of Jan we will be happy that it stays cool in here...but it's so cold in here at nite. Maybe we should think about a little space heater....ha ha from sweating all the time to shivering part of the time.....

We took Sam to the beach this morning and then went on the gym hunt. The tide was on it's way out so only a few tide poles were visable. It was cool, not too cold o the beach but I had a sweater on, and of course nobody but Sam in the water ha ha. BUt it's funny- a cold beach that youjust walk on is familar to me...I come from Northern Calif where the beaches are beaitiful but cold, so I don't mind. And I know in a few months they will be warm and swimable, so It's all good.

Last nite we went to a Posada, probly where Poppi finally got so cold he is now sick. It was inside, but a weird inside with a top that the walls did not come all the way up to. It was fun, music and food, kids running all over the place. Pinata and presents for the kids- earlier in the week we had to bring 2 gifts and last nite we saw one of them get opened and the kid's face was priceless- he loved it and that made it worth frezzing our asses off! There was a game of musical chairs that the kids loved out in the center of the room, and they had so much fun it was played over and over. Ha ha when I asked what I should wear, should I get dressed up, Poppi said sure, let everyone see my beautiful wife (ooohhh). So I anxt'ed over a few things, choosing a long dressy black skirt cause I have no nylons ha ha and this long kind of Asian looking cover, orange and a red top...and off we went. Ha ha we got there early and I was sent to blow up balloons and as people came in I noticed that I was the ONLY person NOT wearing levis- man or woman. So after the balloons were all blown up and sped home and changed. It was only 2 blocks from the house so it was easy. I was already cold and the house was nice....Anyway and hour later, much warmer in levis and a warm jacket, I knocked over my coffee and the top of my jeans, my right thigh caught all of it. Everardo jumped up and said let's go and you can change. So we headed out...for me, again, and I asked him why he came and he said he was just SO cold. So I changed and we went back (ha ha outfit 3), but it was jeans again. We lasted about another hour, but it looked like there wasn't going to be any dancing for the adults, or if there was it was at least 2 or 3 hours away...and so we came home...it was after 9...yeah yeah us oldies but we went at 4...anyway I could not shake my chill even after sitting under my nice warm comforter, and finally took a long hot hot hot shower. That helped. We watched a couple of movies and went to bed a little after midnite....

oooh- hot chocolate sounds nice right now...see it's getting gray outside and it's cold in here. I just started a book that's pretty good and I'm gonna curl up in my comforter...it matches the one Poppi is sleeping under on the other end of the couch. This is a very long couch; the kind that has a piece at one end that actually is not attached, and goes out the other way so it's like an "L" He's sleeping there, and my end has a foot stool made of the same stuff so I can create the same effect. Our laptops are in the middle. But at nite I move the computers so I can snuggle up to his side...Sam is also conked out rght now; he ran up and down the beach and is wiped out- again. he's a happy dog that Sam...

Ok it's Tuesday morning and I don't think I wrote since Friday. It was a pretty quiet weekend, a little strange since our landlord moved to Phoenix ha ha. She was gone Sunday morning a little after 10am. I sure hope she paid the water bill she said she would take care of because it was 2 months in arrears. When Everardo chatted with the guy who lived here before us, the guy said she paid the water....She also left her electricity and cable tv on. She said for the cable, when she doesn't pay they will just turn it off...so I guess we'll see. She also said her cousin was coming over to take the bunk beds from her daughter's room, and put the twin bed from our weird 3rd bedroom (which we intend to use for storage) into her place. That 3rd bedroom has it's own entrance off our patio right out side the kitchen. We can also get there by going to the back end of the dining room thru a door and a hallway. It's just so seperate from the rest of the house I kind of don't consider it really....

So the cousin didn't show or maybe he came while we were at the beach with Sam. I mean we didn't sit home all day waiting for this guy. I sent her an email last nite and let her know he didn't come and maybe she should give him our phone number so we can arrange it but haven't heard back. She did this very helter skelter (no no mass killing ha ha); left so much stuff, including NOT cleaning out that 3rd bedroom like she promised so we have to move all the stuff to this storage room at the other end of the house. (not part of the house). She asked me to show this woman Norma how to use the washing machine on Wednesday when she comes, but didn't mention to me that she has no water hose connected to the machine- Everardo told me she just puts water in there...what? So...at the beginning and then again to rinse? Once or twice? You know that bugs me. This woman NOrma is also going to take the food she left in the fridge, and some clothes I think. Then when (if) anyone rents, she will come back and clean...ok I'm still stuck on this whole washing machine thing! Yes she took $50 off the rent for us to "monitor" the place, but she just left it all so haphazard. Like I said we'll see when the bills come. Of course I really only care about the water bill, if it comes with those months due, we'll just take it out of the rent. But she is so cheap! Our house is badly and I mean BADLY in need of inside paint and other maintenance...and we never signed a contract. That's fine with me I guess...The first one she gave me to sign was a contract between a broker and a landlord which I pointed out. So she was going to get the correct one, then nothing until Saturday morning as she's leaving, and it was in Spanish, so I refused to sign t. I told her I appreciated our good relationship but it would be irresponsible of me- to me- to sign something I couldnt read. It looked sort of dog eared, like she just found it stuffed in some file. Anyway she was fine with that, and says she'll email me an agreement in English which I can sign and fax or email back to her. 

So kind of weird right? Oh well. So Sunday we went down to the beach and walked for almost 3 hours! Sam ran the whole time and was so stiff Sunday nite and limp yesterday. ha ha me too...which started the conversation of my beloved elliptical...but the walk. Puerto Penasco has a very different beach than Playa Ventura. Of course one obvious thing is that Playa Ventura is "open water", it's the open ocean sending waves onto the beach, here the waves are smaller, and it's a gulf, maybe like a big long bay? It is the Pacific ocean but it comes up between mainland Mexico and Baja Calif. It's pretty wide; I mean I can't see the other side or anything.And the boats that are here are very big, and the fish, oh the fish, so many fish. While we were walking a school (a pod- I looked it up), of dolphins came by, at least 10! They were coming up out of the water- and I swear one of the winked at me- just like last time ha ha. The tide pools had little shells and tiny fish, and when Poppi turned over rocks tiny crabs scurried for cover. It was very cool. Sam ran and ran in and out of the water. Everardo kept getting way ahead of me cause I was looking at and for everything! Then these pelicans flew by- they were huge! A different type than in Guerrero; these pelicans were so big, so thick and wide. They really looked like they could have a beak filled with fish- like a big scoop. I took alot of photos with my phone (camera is messed up, shopping for a new one).

And there were also these very tall herons. Beautiful and graceful. And of course so many seagulls ha ha- having a get together on the beach. It was a nice day. We walked far down the beach, by the condos and then hotels. We had a few people come up trying to sell us stuff; it's pretty slow for that right now. The beach was almost empty, but Everardo says when the tide is out, and early in the morning, even during "the season" when Puerto Penasco is packed, the beach is pretty empty. Let's hope ha ha. While I was walking alone, with Poppi and Sam way ahead of me, I found the serenity I discovered out on my rock in Playa Ventura. I talked out loud to the universe, I saw the beauty in everything around me, and I was happy, content inside. I realize I can find that serentiy wherever I am now that I discovered it. Alone on the beach is the easiest place for me, but I can always find it. Ha ha I guess alone on the beach is good cause I like to talk out loud. It keeps me focused somehow. Cause I can be thinking, praying in my head, and at the same time making a grocery list, I just have trouble keeping that focus when it's only in my head, my pea brain doesn't like to pay attention. I keep saying I'm going to practice mediatation which helps with that, but so far...nothin'

I do have some really good CD's I bought from the place I started practicing meditation n Petaluma before we left. I just need to open the package! Well maybe here I will in this little yard. I have my buddha sitting here, I'm so glad Poppi made room for him! Ah vamos a ver...

Our neighbor across the street has these birds who sing and squawk all day, I think I already wrote about the guys selling parrots...they are kinda on the list, but not right this minute. I can see tons of birds outside on the wire, I think they are fat pigeons ha ha. Everardo is trying to get his Sonora drivers license so we can change the license plates. It turns out that in Mexico you have to get new plates every year in Jan (not sure if it's simply a registration or totally new plates). So everybody does it in Jan, not a year from when you first get the car. But we need Sonora plates, and it's complicated- you need a Sonora driver's lic. To get that you need an address here, but a rental agreement does not satisfy that requirement. (we don't have one anyway), so a utility bill works but we don't have that either for a month. So we went to the bank yesterday to change our address, and the lady is helping us out with a "provisional" document cause it takes a month there too to get your first statement! So she said come back tomorrow (today) at 9am to get the document. And to get the license you have to get a physical. No driving test since he has a license from Guerrero, just a physical, but in Guerrero all we did was pay $250 pesos each and were given licenses! So to take one step forward you have to take about 16 steps sideways ha ha. Oh and in the bank I was pissed cause the young woman helping us was texting while she was working on our account in the computer. Everardo wanted me to let it go cause she was doing us a favor- but I say- yeah and if she screws up our account in some way while she's in there but only paying half ass attention? Don't text while you are also typing in my bank account!!So he's out trying to take care of as much of that as he can so that hopefully we have lic plates by Jan 2.
It always bugs me when people do something for you, but it's not right- so yes, thank you, but it needs to be right. It's like this damn cable box from Sky TV! It still thinks it's in Guerrero so the tv says it's an hour ahead, and so is the programming. Irritates the shit out of me. i know it's a small thing, petty even, but it should be right. Add to that the clock on the tv is military time so at 8pm it says it's 19:00, except that it's an hour ahead...so what the f**k time is it???? Oh, 7pm...I want it fixed. I mean the Sky people tell you to take the box when you move, so they must -ok somebody must- know how to reset the box....poor Everardo, I will bug him about this until it gets fixed- this is one of those things that fluency is needed for- in person I could probly get my point across, but on the phone- no way...so again...vamos a ver
ha ha

I'd like to say that I slept all day yesterday because I had so much fun all nite at the Virgin of Guadalupe celebration. Not. We missed it by 24 hours, exactly. Apparently the midnite mass starts on the morning of the day, not the end of the day. So the huge fiesta we heard going on with the streets blocked off was the party! We went down there about 11pm and there was food and some music, but it was winding down, the mass had been at 10pm. Everardo asked a lady and she told us the big celebration was the nite before. ooops- well ok there's always next year. We see processions every day, and the local parks have lights and Christmas displays, and lots of houses have Christmas trees in their windows.  

All morning this morning I have been trying to get my bedroom organized, namely my personal stuff, make up, jewerly, lotions, etc. I don't even wear makeup but...ya never know. However, the news has been on for the last 3 hours in the next room and I have to say here that my heart is broken for the families of the kids hurt/killed in this Conn school. And for all the kids, who survived but will forever be affected, changed by this horrible tragedy. I can't imagine what all the parents are going thru. My babies who are 19 & 27 will always be my babies. ok an now my anger..WHAT THE FUCK?? An elementary school? The shooter had connections? again...what the fuck? These are children...little children. I cannot, I do not, understand how something like this happens. And i'm not talking about the school or how the guy walked in there, I am talking about him. WTF! And how does nobody know anything's wrong? Ok ok enough from me on this.

Ok I'm back. The house is sooo close to being done. Pictures up on the shelves hubby made for me. Not all on the walls yet, though. And 2 wall candidates have broken glass that I want to get repaired as soon as possible; I know how it goes, they get put aside and....well. One is my painting of the 3 girls on bicycles- I probly already said this, but I bought it at a consignment store for $5 when Drewy was 1. It went center stage in our tiny living room in the apartment she and I had when we first left the sperm bank (my pet name for the jackass I was married to; probly enough said) It has been with me for 26 years, I always think of myself as the one in the middle- the 2 on the outsides have dark hair, but she is a blonde like me. She looks happy and carefree, ready to take on the world. I needed that back then, and need to be reminded of it now and again. The other is one of those frames where I put a bunch of family pictures in a frame; it;s rectangular, and I've had it hanging in my bedroom for about 6 years, and I want it too. Well maybe this wknd since the clutter is starting to disapate...but I must say this place feel like home.

In a way, more than the Playa Ventura house. I had all my stuff up, and it did feel like home. But never,...well I think "cozy" is the word. I guess because it's always hot, so you never really "curl up", except of course in the hammock...but no snuggling in bed or on the couch- it's too hot to be too close. I'm sure given time I would have assimilated to the heat, maybe. But I never really liked my bedroom. We were planning on moving out a wall, even three feet would have worked. Cause our bed was only an inch from the wall on three sides, so you had to crawl in and out at the end of the bed. Now we both have room on our own side of the bed, for putting on shoes, ease of getting up at 4am to pee, even making the bed- which I detested every single morning. So if we moved out the wall if would have been perfect; we were thinking of making it a big picture window cause that wall faced the sea. It would have been relatively inexpensive and looked great. That's one thing about that area, maybe all of Mexico I don't know, but Guerrero construction is really cheap. So it would have been a good idea. I'm just glad we didn't jump into it; we looked at a few things, like changing the window frames to wood, changing the doors, but luckily we decided to wait for everything until we lived there thru all the seasons...ha! Good decision since we were bleeding money down there on things we HAD to do vs "good ideas".

Have to say, I love putting on socks! I love putting on lotion! I haven't taken the Autan out of the plastic bag I put it in! Yipee. I like pajamas, and blankets. So this morning early, before I started the bedroom task, while I was having coffee, I googled the temperatures here. December is the coldest month of the year, and it's in the 60's. Not bad I say. And although it rained last nite, there is zero rain in the forecast until next summer! You know, 60's is cold, but totally bearable with levis, socks, and sweatshirt or jacket. Ha ha last nite I was wearing my sweatshirt that says "Do it sober" and we went to a Spanish meeting and I noticed nobody said anything about my cool sweatshirt...hmmmm did I say Spanish meeting? Big DUH! for me...these guys speak zero English so I'm sure they don't read it ha ha. AA is for anonymous, bt about others, I can "out" myself, and I don't care who knows I'm an alcoholic,, AA saved my life and helped me to be a much better person. I love being present for all the things that happen in my life..ha ha I'm sure my kids appreciate it! But I digress (as usual). So anyway the website I found for the temps showed 60's for Dec, then low 70's for Jan, mid/high 70's for Feb, then 80's in March. I didn't look any farther but I am happy. I realized living in Guerrero that saying hot all the time was good- was a mistake- for me. I like it to be cold sometimes, you know, the whole socks thing? And 60's is definitely cold enough for me. Then I read that the rainy season is July August and the average rainfall is 2 inches...(I think I need to re-check that one). I did see though, that it said not commonly, but can happen is 122 degrees in the summer!! 122 degrees???? Ok that might call for a small vacation ha ha.

Well Everardo finally hit a wall and after breakfast, and a little work outside, he came in and turned on his computer, and then said to me, why do I feel like sleeping? I said baby you have been in high gear for 2 weeks getting us settled, helping our neighbor/landlord, finding old friends, unpacking all the boxes you just packed up and drove for 3 days 12+ hours a day....you do get to take a break! So he has been snoring on the couch for about 3 hours. I'm glad. he works hard. He takes care of us. This place does make me feel less isolated and I'm not afraid to drive or go take care of business, but he still takes on alot. So sleep baby- all day if you want...I love you!

Ok time to take Sam for a walk. It's too cold for the hammock yet, but next month.....yeah we gotta a place for it...

I'm so happy...I have internet! I am not sitting next to the open door trying to connect to my neighbors internet- I am actually sitting on the couch and the door is closed. Well the neighbor who is also our landlord...and our real estate person ha ha, told us today she is going to try to leave (move) for Phoneix this weekend! She sold her car and so she's ready to go. She wasn't able to rent her little place out so her plan is to offer it for wknds or longer vacation. She asked us to help out by monitoring the people, and keeping the property nice- which we would have done anyway since this is our home. So we said yes and she lowered our rent. Yipee. So this is going to be all ours. We are both so happy. The yard is all ours! I empited more boxes today- having the extra shelves really helps, altho basically I empited boxes onto shelves and it still has to be arranged. The big thing is that the clothes are done! In drawers or hung up; and a few things are in bins, sweats and stuff.

So today is the Day of Virgin of Guadalupe and I think we're going to a mass at midnite, then there are other things, like singing to her? It has a name but I forget what it was. I really like hearing all the church bells. I missed that in Playa Ventura, the church had only a traveling priest and I only heard the church bells for a funeral. Here I think I will hear them on Sundays like in Sam Miguel Allende where it seems like I heard them all day. I know I heard some this past Sunday but I wasn't paying attention- they were ringing and I had it in the back of my mind.

I did not get out the Christmas decorations yet. But it feels close. I saw on Facebook a picture of my daughter's house, really just the stairs with Christmas lights winding around the banister, and at the first landing was a little table with a Santa Claus painted onto a gourd. I reconized it and started to get that Christmasy feeling...so yeah, maybe tomorrow.

Oh and we just finished eating these huge shrimps, I swear they taste like lobster. We went down to the boats and bought them off a guy so they were soooooo fresh. A purely simple meal; shrimp sauteed in garlic and onions and butter. ha ha and we ate Ritz cracker with them. It may have been the best meal I ever had.....ok well at least rivals the lobster we ate in Playa Ventura that was caught while Everardo was with the guys fishing. I took photos right before we ate, and after writing this post I'll put the pics on my Facebook.

It's cold in here. It's cold in the house when it's warm outside and so as nite approaches, it gets really cold in here. But yesterday we bought really soft snuggly comforters, one for each of us. Light brown on one side and they look like sheepskin on the other. Really soft and purrrrfect for being cozy on the couch, for internet, a good book, or just plain old watchin' tv. I think when the weather starts to change and be hot, I will love the coolness of this house. I find I'm comfy in sweat pants and tshirt, or pajama pants & a sweat shirt. Yeah, brings me back to my thoughts about redefining paradise ha ha. I think paradise is where I feel good at any given moment. Kinda like home is where the heart is. I do know that I won't ever say again I want to live somewhere that's never cold...ha ha cause it was always always hot hot hot. Sweaty push you down into the ground hot. I went to sleep and woke up sweaty, sometimes putting on anything I had to pull over my head or had elastic (or my bra) was such a drag, I sweat even more. And forget long pants or socks. you know what? I like socks, my feet like socks and shoes. Unfortunately for me a get that plantar fascitis so I need to wear shoes with arch support. All my tennis shoes have an insert, and I also wear Dansko's that are already made that way. But in Playa Ventura I only wore flipflops, and finally, after a few months I started to get it again. It can take a YEAR to get rid of it. But I started wearing the brace I bought to stretch the muscle and tennis shoes when I could. But it's just so hot, I mostly wore slip flops.

I also LOVE shoes, so now i have them all lined up in my closet ha ha after 6 months of sitting in a suitcase. But I also loved Playa Ventura. I loved the beach, my house sitting on the beach. Laying in the hammock and reading my book. Walking down to chat with my amiga. Walking to the store on the corner and getting an ice cream. The sound of the ocean. I could watch the ocean for literally hours on end. The pelicans, other birds, the iguanas sunning themselves on the rocks near me. The sun. The wonderful sun.....

Oh I saw a guy selling little parrots on the side of the road today. Then I saw his partner on the other side of the street. I'd love to have a little parrot. The people across the street have 2 birds who sign and make noise all day- I like it very much. We had talked about before we came to Mexico but it was never the right time. It's not the right time now, but, when we went back out together we saw them again so Everardo pulled over to talk about the price. We want to get one, but maybe in a few weeks, we need to be a little more settled. And we want to build a big cage, a really big cage, like a chicken coop for it. Ha ha and teach it to say "Sam- get the cat, get the cat!" That will drive Sam nuts ha ha. I heard or read once if you get one bird you can get very personal with it, but if you get more than one, they will only have interest in each other, I'll try to google it....

Well Poppi is napping on the couch and I should too cause going out at midnite it late for me--very late!  Yeah that's another thing- it's safe to go out at nite here! Last nite we went to the Spanish meeting which starts at 8pm and we drove across town and I said- wow there's life at nite! Stores and resturants were open and people had Christmas decorations lit up in their yards. Not too say there wasn't activity in the neighboring towns at nite in Guerrero; it just wasn't always safe to drive to them after dark, and we didn't know which were the safe nites, so after a while we just didn't go anywhere after dark unless it was in walking distance ha ha. People keep being surprised that we lived in Guerrero, close to Acapulco, and I'm talking about Mexicans. I keep saying we were fine, we were safe, but a guy the other day said, no- maybe you were fine, but you were not safe. You look very normal and family like, so you would have probly always been fine, but you were not safe. hmmmm, well we talked about it and Everardo agreed with the guy, I mean after all like I just wrote above, we didn't go anywhere at nite. And right before we left someone got kidnapped. Not in Playa Ventura, but close by. We drove up to Acapulco alot for things and were usually just in shopping areas; but we went much more than anybody else who lived around us. Well anyway we were fine. We never saw anything bad or scary or illegal.One time only we saw the federales with their ski masks on going into a building but we looked away like everybody else....So maybe this is better- like I said we can go out at nite ha ha!! Ok nap time...

It's getting kinda Christmasy around here. People are putting up decorations and at nite their houses are all lit up. Not all the houses by any means, but here and there. It's nice. I have unpacked so much stuff, and Everardo built a couple of shelves today, and then we bought a brand new dresser on the side of the road for the equivalent of about $46 USD, that I might, just might, put up some decorations here in the house.

Yeah him making those shelves helps alot! I can't keep unpacking with no place toput stuff and I have alot of knicky knacks. Actually one bookshelf he built this morning was supposed to be for my clothes, and I bought a couple of plasic boxes for the top shelf for underwear and socks, but then we spotted the dresser on the way home from Chinese food, after dark. But we got home and it actually goes with the room. So the chinese food sucked- big time. The red stuff they give you with the appetizer, kinda sweet, on the won tons, or whatever crispy thing they give you, or eggrolls. Anyway it was red...ha ha it was ketchup. I'm guessing there's a better Chinese food place here in Pto Penasco, but we'll have to look for it. We were driving home for the store after getting more hangers for clothes, a couple of comforters for watching tv and the middle of the nite when it is really cold, the aforementioned plastic boxes, some super glue fot a couple of items that had a bumpy ride up here from Playa Ventura, and some candy for a pinanta for a posada tomorrow nite, ....and we drove a couple of new roads just for grins and to have a  look, when we spotted a Chines food place. So we said what the hell, lets give it a try, laughing because after o on the way home from there- and HEY! I just realized we didn't get fortune cookies!- anyway we saw some furniture on the sidewalk, so we slowed down.

Now furniture on the sidewalk is not a novel site. This town is king of the garage sales & flea markets. People just hang clothes on their gates & fences, put stuff in their driveways and the sidewalks every day, all the time. And you can literally find anything. Not sure if I already said this, but a guy offered Everardo a house for sale at a flea market! $40K I think it was...We bought a fridge the other day from the sidewalk, but actually ended up geting it from a woman who wanted the sidewalk guy to buy it, a couch from a second hand store along with a toaster, and now a dresser. The thing is, wood os more expensive up here than down in Guerrero, and it's much drier, not as good. He spit a couple of pices today that made them unusable. So we spent less on the dresser than we did on the wood, and I wanted more shelves built. He did build a tall one and a shorter long one with the wood he had, so both of those will hold knick knacks and photos...It's nice to have a truck, we just pulled up, had a conversation with the guy, and threw the dresser in the back. Poof done.

So yesterday was my birthday. We ate the octopus for lunch, Poppi made a kind of cerviche at first, then changed it up to a soup. I was not nuts about it. Too rubbery. I think maybe cut in strips and dipped in egg and cracker crumbs and fried? Not sure, gotta google it for next time. Later we went out to get me a birthday cake and ice cream- ooh the ice cream I fogot, gotta get a bowl right now. Ok back, so we went out and decided to try the sushi place. Ha ha sounds wonderful? And oh yeah the Sky tv guy came and yipee we have tv...ha ha of course small issue. The cable box thinks we are still in Guerrero so the time is an hour ahead. That would be fine- so what right? But the shows are also on an hour early, kinda weird. We called this morning, and wow- yes wow- 2 guys actually showed up at our house!! But they were stymied- they had no idea why it was doing that...same as both people on the phone we talked to. But they decided it was because the box hadn't been "actualized", and said they initiate that process as soon as they got back to the office. ha ha ha ha so in 3 or 4 days when it isn't fixed we'll call again. Maybe they'll just switch out the box, or maybe someone who works there will actually know what to do cause it's not new- when you change locations you take the box with you...

Ok so we sent to sushi...it was horrible terrible ok laughable. It came out on these huge hamburger patty size blobs of rice, with the thinnest piece of salmon you ever saw. And somehow the server said, si, si, si,si, si,.....but only the first and last si were actual acknowledged. Cause I ordered 2 orders of about 5 things, and then a roll.  We got 2 pieces of sushi, salmon and maybe halibut, and the roll. As it turns out, that was fine since the huge rice patties would have stacked up and we would have gone home hungry. We went home hungry but not broke...We stopped at a place called Candy Cake and looked for a birthday cake, but the truth is Everardo doesn't really like cake and if we bought a regular cake, I would eat the whole thing in a couple of days....so I got a tiny oreo cookie cake, and some chocolate and vanilla ice cream.  I love to have any flavor, and vanilla on the bottom so that;s what I finish with. I got tons of birthday wishes on facebook and talked with both my daughters. My brother and sister both wrote nice emails that I haven't replied to yet, so it was a nice day all around.

So lastly I'll tell about the huge Christmas thing going on down the street at the big church. Lots of fireworks and music, the street is blocked off and I suspect there's lots of food and I know there's dancing. The big celebration is tomorrow, the 12th, for the Virgin of Guadalupe so we'll probly go down there. I'm happy to say that Sam was not freaking out from the fireworks booming and that's a good thing, he must be finally getting used to it and understand it won't hurt him. In Playa Ventura he really got scared, poor baby. But he and I went for a small walk tonite and they were going off really loudly and he was fine. Our road is a nice wide road, and not busy at all; I'm starting to explore a little, and am actually recognizing routes. Ha ha yippee cause in a couple of months when this town starts filling up I'll be able to use all the side streets.....

Ok now I am current! Today was nice. Went to a meeting at 9am and it was a guy's 13 year sobriety birthday so there was cake....mmmm chocolate cake with whip cream and a cup of coffee. I was in my own fantasy and missed much of what was said ha ha. On the way home stopped for a taco breakfast at one of the many many stands. Some are only open at nite from like 6-8pm, some only in the morning like this one. He said see these people, they're regulars, and when I said well we could become regulars, I like this place...he said we have lots of places to check out and see which ones we want for our "regular" places...anyway I really like this place- the tacos were so good, and he had some kind of thing in a bowl with tortillas on the side- I kinda thought it tasted the same as mine...

Then in the afternoon, after some unpacking, it's getting down there, but until Everardo is able to make the 3 bookcases, our clothes are kinda stuffed everywhere. I want 2 bookcases for our bedroom and we'll put our clothes on the shevles, and I'll use small plastic boxes on the top shelf for socks and underwear. It's crazy to but dressers when we won't take them back to the states in a couple of years or whenever we decide to go. And here it's ok that they sit in the air, not like Playa Ventura ha ha where literally everything has to be covered up all the time or it will be rusty or rotted or just grimy from the salt. The bookcases he built in Playa Ventura were great; I used them for books, but I had one in the bedroom for all the bathroom stuff...Anyway he's very good at building things but I do NOT want him being the project guy again, except on stuff he chooses to do. So he's going to try to get wood tomorrow, but we also have to wait for the Sky tv guy and hopefully get to Telmex for internet, so vamos a ver.

Yeah we waited all day Friday and all day Saturday for the Sky tv guy, and after saying on Sat he'd be herein the morning, then 1pm then 4pm, we left a liitke after 5pm cause we had this dinner thing, and the guy called at 6:30...and wanted to meet us...and it was already dark..Poppi said no way so we begin again tomorrow..and we don't want to go to Telmex and miss him, so we have to do one thing at a time. We're still using the neighbor's internet with her permission but we need to get our own this week.

So the dinner...well not sure what I was thinking, but it was a disappointment to say the least. ha ha yeah what WAS I thinking. We get there and it says something like weekend ministries. These people are renovating this old abandoned hotel, and I thought it was for housing for the poor... well it's for people to come down from the states- mostly Arizona I think and do community service for a weekend. It costs like $39 to stay all weekend including food. You have church-y stuff, then out to do your service. And this is where- for me- I had a problem with it. Their "service" was building churches! HA! Churches? I don't think Mexico, and Pto Penasco in particular need anymore churches. There are people who need shelter, need food, need fresh water. So I was kind of uncomfortable. I mean I guess the weekenders had/have good intentions, but to me, misguided. I did hear about the kids getting involved in learning craft making and there are these craft fairs for tourists every couple of weeks and they can make some pretty good money. But, the kids were learning this stiff while their parents were...building churches..and maybe there's pieces I don't see or understand, altho' I totally understand somebody is making some serious money and it's not poor Mexican....get my drift? But like I said maybe I'm missing something. We went as guests of this couple I really like and I like their enthusiasm and commitment to the community. The guy, Richard was telling us about bringing water out to this area that is nicknamed "the invasion" or something like that. (in fact hearing about this, bringing fresh water out to this place is why I was interested i the first place but apprently that's either not connected to this or- well I'm just not sure). So this area (invasion) is a place that is inhabited by all these workers from other states like Chiappas, Michocan, Durango, etc, who came up for all the jobs building hotel, condos, etc. There was tons of work. Then the US economy tanked, and so did Puerto Penasco's. These people were suddenly out of work, and nothing to go home to, so they simply stayed. I'm hearing this area has no water and no electricity (and I had the arrogance to complain I have to wait a few days for internet and tv- just a little humbling eh?), anyway Richard was hauling fresh water out there and then something about giving kids a ride to school- THIS is what I was interested in, but I remain unclear of who he was involved with during this and I plan to ask him. I'd like to contribute my time/help in my community and I think here there is a lot of need and a lot of opportunity....so we'll see.

So.....after we ate, we left, we did not stay for the Christian music program or anything else. BUt it was an experience, and although I am not interested in joining anything with that group, I did hear a few things that I am interested in so again, vamos a ver...

There are so many building here that are unfinished, in all stages; some almost done, some barley started. Tons of places for rent and/or sale, both commercial and residential. And I hear different things about whether it's starting to recover, to pick up, so it will be interesting going forward. I guess I'm happy we got here while it's quiet, well relatively quiet ha ha, lots of Christmasy stuff going on, streets blocked every day with one march or parade or another. There's a big church down the road that has been very busy and in a couple of day (Dec 12 ) is the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which apparently is a huge festival, so we may wander down that way for that one.

Ok we finished off today taking Sam to the beach to run around. It was low tide again and so you can walk on these rocks, or maybe it's coral, and there's tide pools all around, pretty cool, and the water is shallow way out. There were thousands of birds all diving down in this one spot so there must of been a huge school of fish, and there weren't any waves, It's not open ocean so the water sort of laps in...You could see the birds grabbing fish! Then some boats came thru, a fishing boat and the a sail boat just as the sun was setting. I am very happy to report that there are very beautiful sunsets here just like in Playa Ventura where the sunsets would take my breath away...every single day! So Poppi bought some octopus from an old man on the beach and we brought them home live...gonna have a feast. We posted pics of them on facebook; I need to figure out how to add pictures to this blog! Now the evening is cool, we'll sleep with a blanket (very nice after 6 months of sweating all nite and tossing and turning). It's nice to roll over and snuggle with Poppin in my sleep or barely awake, I miised that when it was so hot all nite every nite. I am sleeping so much better just in the last week.

I loved Playa Ventura, but again, it should have stayed a vacation spot. It's like if you love chocolate cake with chocolate frosting...if you eat the whole cake, it's just not that great!! I feel like I have found myself again, I know it's lots of things...being in a bigger place, hearing English at least a little bit, not sweating ALL the time, getting to go to AA, ha ha not being afraid to drive here...not feeling isolated...
So time will tell. I really like this house even though it is falling apart ha ha, but not our job to fix it since we are only renters...I like the layout, I like the kitchen in the house, not across the patio when I want a snack in my pjs ha ha. Oh and I like that we can go out at nite! In Playa Ventura once the sun goes down you need to be home' well you can go to your neighbors, but not to the store which is in the next town, or to a meeting. Here it's safe. I heard there's some guy (low profile cartel type) who has laid down the law, leave tourists, visitors and the general public alone or deal with him. hmmm sounds good to me...Of course in Guerrero all the killings and stuff was happening between the bad guys, and if police got killed it was usually (maybe always?) because they were in bed with the bad guys. Unfortunately there are alot of corrupt police, both federales and state police. But I do know there were also some kidnappings...and also some vigilantes who chopped off the heads of some kidnappers right near where we lived, so the bottom line was we were careful and stayed home at nite. And I not sure if up here it's safe to travel at nite between cities, out on the highways, but Pto Penasco is big enough that whatever we need should be right here...like ice cream...I am craving ice cream...

Ok now for the last day, day 3 and then I will be back in the present. Day 3 we left Sinaloa and hit Sonora within an hour. When we first left the hotel it was so foggy Everardo couldn't even see anything. We tried to follow a car in front of us and then decided to pull over at the gas station we knew was coming up and wait it out......and then it lifted!! Then it was a smooth ride, But man it took all day! We came into Puerto Penasco after dark.

In Sonara the checkpoints started. Funny I thought it would have been Sinaloa, but no- it's Sonora. We were waved thru 6 and then I had to show my green card once and Everardo didn't have to show anything. Then we started hitting the military checkpoints, and we had to drive the truck thru an xray machine. I sat outside with Sam and watched. Another family drove up and had to exit their car and it was searched and the occupants had to walk thru an xray like at the airport. Funny, they forgot about me, and I was holding my purse and a bag....and I just walked up to the truck after and we drove away. All the soldiers were looking at Sam who was only interested in what Poppi was doing ha ha. The reason we had to drive thru the xray was because of the trailer. It was piled high with a tarp wrapped around it. Thank goodness we didn't have to unpack it! It's fine with us if they search; we have nothing to hide and it seems like if you are polite and cheerful with these guys, who are only doing their jobs, they are nice right back at ya.

Sonara is one huge desert. No veges growing, but they have grapes! Miles and miles and miles of grapes! We also saw olives, oranges, and asparagus growing. But it was a pretty uneventful day with the exception of the checkpoint. Like I said we just kept getting waved thru, except for a couple of the military stops. It was a really long day, I was getting anxious, excited and nervous about what I'd think of Puerto Penasco. Ha ha as it turned out I didn't think anything cause we came after dark, about 7:30 I think, so it was almost 12 hours. We had stopped to eat and let Sam get a little exercise cause he was such a good boy for 3 days, but he was getting stiff and a little limpy so we took it a little easier.

We went into the first motel we saw, and they again were fine with Sam sleeping in the room; they just didn't want hom to sleep on the bed. Ha ha he's as big as a person so we didn't want him on the bed either. Anyway we brought his bed in from the truck and he was fine. So this is a short post, but now I think I've gone full cycle cause I know I started posting with "first day in Puerto Penasco"...

Ok so tomorrow I'll tell about the shindig we're going to tonite....

Trip from Playa Ventura Guerrero to Puerto Penasco, Sonora, day 2 of 3. We went thru Jalisco, Nayarit, and Sinaloa, I need to look at the map to see how many states I've been thru now, with the trip down, and other visits. Well Jalisco and Nayarit, like Michocan have lots of jobs and so nicer cars, nicer roads, pretty towns. I just noticed I can never spell Michocan the same way twice and even when I correct it I'm not sure I'm write. Sorry Michocan...

Guadalajara is huge. It was very early in the morning so most of it was even before commute traffic altho' we did get stuck at the end. We were driving thru on the highway and we still were in the downtown area for more than half an hour. I got to google it and see how many people. It's another place I'd like to visit. The lady who is our neighbor, we're sharing a yard, well she's also our landlord for a couple of more weeks, but se moved here from Guadalajara and she was saying how she took her kids and moved to this small town. Ha ha after Playa Ventura, for me, this town is big! But really, I think I'm starting to understand how some of the streets work- ha ha and I mean SOME cause I'm still totally unclear about all of it. I did however navigate alone to the store yesterday that was back down by our motel. Ok I had a striaght line for the most part. Out to the corner of this street, left and up 10 blocks, then right onto the main drag....ooops this is supposed to be about the trip- gotta finish so I can write about whatever is tumbling around in my peabrain at the second I think it...

One cool thing that happened was we were running low on gas, and at a toll booth Everardo asked how far to the next station. Well it was pretty far, so the toll booth people, they sold us 100 pesos of gas! So again, and area in better financial shape. This is highway 15 (I think) and it goes from lower than where we caught it in Michocan all the way up to Mexicali/Tiajuana. Nice highway, usually more than one lane in each direction, mostly divided road. In these 3 states (Jalisco, Nayarit, & Sinaloa), they have emergency phones all along the highway, for things like breakdowns or running out of gas. And if you call them, the people from the toll booths come out to help you, and can sell you some gas to get you to the next gas station. I found this very cool.

They also have cool road signs that I think I also saw in Sonora, that say things like Drive with care, your family is waiting, or don't drive when you're tired, or secure your belt, save your life...all in Spanish of course. There was one other really good like the one about your family is waiting but I can't remember it right now...So I love the toll roads but hate the tolls! We spent almost as much in tolls as gas...ouch!

So, Sinaloa is an agriculture state (no I'm not talking about drugs). Corn, peppers, potatoes, sugar cane, cucumbers, tomatoes, mangos to name a few...When Everardo was living in Micocan as a teen he came up to Sinaloa to work in the fields. He said if anyone was unemployed, it was because they did ot want to work. There were jobs for everyone in Sinaloa, and for anyone who came from another state. But the drug trade took all the local workers and so now all the people who work in the fields are from other states.

He pointed out the mountains in the distance. I think he said they were connected to the range in Durango, and somewhere in there is an area called "Espinaso de Diablo" Spine of the Devil. It 800 curves in the moutains and where drug trafficking happens. Lots of people trying to migrate north (from any southern beginning) go undetected there cause the federales don't go there; it's just too dangerous. Anyway it was interesting to learn that Sinaloa has so much more to offer than what we hear about it being famous for the drug cartels. It's a very beautiful state and everyone we talked to was very nice. And there were hundreds of miles of crops growing along the roads.

So we made it within an hour of Sonora and stopped for the nite. Found another hotel along the highway and ended up chatting with a guy who travels back and forth across the border bringing things both ways, used items mostly. He said he started with just bringing things to/from family and friends and it's grown into a small business. He asked to buy us dinner, we think cause he just wanted the complany, somone to talk to; he'd been on the road for a week or maybe two, and he'd also had a couple of drinks already ha ha...so we said sure and there was a resturant in the hotel so we met him there an hour later. Our room had a shower from heaven, I tried to soak in all the hot water, and Poppi tried to, too. It was a really pretty room and very comfortable, and no biting creatures ha ha.
Anyway we ate and chatted and traded emails, but later when we were alone we discovered we both thought something didn't ring true about the guy. I don't know what, but something was a little off. As it turns out he did try to talk to Everardo about getting into his business, so hmmm wonder what he's really importing/exporting, since we actually talked about who gets stopped at the border and on the road by federales and state police and how we looked so normal with our little trailer and our doggy in the back of the truck, tongue hangin' out and tail waggin'....hmmmm is all I can say. But Everardo dodn't bite so...yes the conversation was in both English and Spanish, he was bilingual and currently living in San Jose, California, and I could follow some of the conversation when it was in Spanish. But we left him and went to bed so we could get up early and make our final destination the next day.