The pizza oven is almost done! Too bad I never did figure out how to post photos here. Everardo, Gume and another guy worked all day yesterday and thought today would be a half day, but most of the day again. There's a small bit left and Everardo says he can do it. I thought the outer coating was going to be done by him and me, but it wasn't like patting mud, and they did it. I took alot of pictures both days and I'm posting them on Facebook.

I think we're going to have a bbq in it in the next couple of days; probably goat and maybe some chickens. Not sure if I've had goat before, but I'm certainly willing to try it. In Marqulia there's a place called Tacos de Chivo right across from the Telcel place and I know Poppi has eaten there a few times. The first time I was there but it was early in the morning and I didn't want any kind of tacos for breakfast unless they were eggs & cheese so I passed.

My foot is much better. I woke up about 4am and pulled the brace on to stretch that muscle and been wearing shoes- ok flipflops but they have a heel. Yesterday Sam and I walked up to town and around some places I hadn't been I I was fine.I delivered to Lupita a cd player, an English book with a cd in it and a Spanish English dictionary. I think her dad was helper number 3 today cause Poppi said he told him that she's very happy to have the stuff, but not sure how to use it. He told him to tell her to come and see me, which is what I told her when I gave it to her. She's 9yrs old, but one of those "wise beyond her years" kind of kid, and if she doesn't come in the next few days I'll walk back over there.

Unfortunately my little panic attacks have come back. Used to come back about once a year, but I had them early in the year, maybe Jan or Feb, then right after we got here, and again now. Sucks. They pass quickly, I can feel them coming on. Sometimes, maybe all the time when they are around I get this metal taste in my mouth. It stays all the time, not just when it's happening. I have it now. Yuck. A fear kinda rolls thru me, I almost said sweeps but it's much slower than that. During the nite is the scariest cause in the dark I'm not sure Everardo is Everardo sleeping next to me, but he has told me to grab his arm- grab him, when it starts. I swear it doesn;t last a minute. Years ago they would last 2 or 3 minutes. We had this wonderful family friend, Gray Bear, when I was trying to get sober the first time I met him and he had like 20 years sobriety. That was 1989. Then in the I didn't get sober until 2001, but he stayed friends with us all that time. I had met my now ex husband in 1991, and although he wasn't an alcoholic, he also became close with Gray Bear who helped us thru some tough times back then. Anyway I think it was about 1997 when I started getting the panic attacks and when he was up visiting us from Anaheim he taught me this mediation technique to calm myself down. And when I practiced it the attacks didn't come. In the early 2000's they came back- yeah I wasn't meditating, but I learned another thing that helped. I stopped resisting them; when they came on I just said- ok come on, I am not afraid, just come on, and they would fade quickly, maybe less than a minute. Back then I would think I could smell something familiar and I was supposed to remember something, but I couldn't define either. Now I just feel it coming and try to say..ok. Toda it happened in the hammock and Sam was next to me. I said his name and when he looked at me he looked scary- just for a split second. But it left quick. This is the first time I ever talked about it outside close family and ha ha for sure never this public. Not really even in meetings. hmmm maybe this will help...we'll see.

The weather has stayed kinda gray, blue sky then gray and hot hot hot. And the water is so high that I am hesitant to take Sam to the beach as much. I thought September was supposed to be the end of the rainy season- maybe it goes out with a bang ha ha.

Sam loves that little arroyo though so if I take him down there he looks for sticks and runs thru the water and I can sit on a rock and watch the water...talk about therapy, the ocean is amazing. Well he's outside barking and it may be the bread lady so I guess I'll go check it out.

Ok I'm back home in Mexico! Actually I've been home since Tuesday afternoon; Everardo picked me up on Monday nite at the airport in Acapulco and we stayed at the Holiday Inn so we could shop Tues morning, and then come home. Airports are always "fun", I say in quotes cause everybody has an adventure when going thru airports, connecting flights changing terminals, etc. I had been told by the Immigration Office in Acapulco to only use my residency card while in Mexico and use my passport in the US. Ha ha wrong. I needed my passport to get out of DF to Houston. Then coming back I got in the wrong line off the plane; I got in the Mexicans line and should have gotten in the foreigners line- I showed the lady my residency card and she pointed at the other line, which had grown by about 200 people while I talked to her ha ha. Then I had the small pice of the form- the depart piece instead of the larger piece for arrival- ha ha when I got it in DF on the way out; the lady said - DON'T LOSE this or you won't get back into Mexico. So instead of putting it with my tickets and passport, I put it in my wallet for safekeeping. And...promptlt forgot sbout it. I told the woman at the counter- no this is the piece she told me not to lose! And she said- fill this out! Over there! But at least she let me back to her counter after I filled it out and not the back of the line!

The Tuesday we went to Home Depot and Costco. If I didn't say it before- Costco in Mexico is a HUGE RIPOFF!! So expensive and the packaging is smaller. We will NEVER go there again. We went for dog food, peanut butter and steaks- I know for sure we can get the first 2 at Wallmart and they may have meat- but it was so expensive. No wonder it's almost empty. Man I thought this after the first time but decided to try it one more time. Nope! Big rip off!!

But now we're home. Yesterday a huge storm hit, winds like a hurricane and rain that was so hard it hurt when it hit your face, but only lasted maybe an hour and a half. We went down to the beach and it was exhilarating- the wind and the waves were so loud and the water crashing onto the beach- and it was bathtub warm! So we went in and paddle around in those little pools in front of the rocks, but the water started coming over pretty hard and I backed up and backed up.

So the phone and internet was down until today, but the tv stayed on. I decided to pick a novela and try to stick with it until I can understand it. I don;t know what they're talking about and I'm not asking Poppi, but I'm gonna try to stick with it. I thought about it this wknd in Houston, and I need to watch more tv in Spanish, even just to get used to the rolling sounds of the language. I also bought a CD to listen to with level 2 & 3 Spanish so we'll see how that goes.

I walked down the road last nite before dark and bought a juice from Ono and chatted with her and her daugter a bit, and said I want to try to chat with them every day for practice and they said of course. ha ha I missed today- I hurt my foot, it's called something like Planta Flaceitis, and I had it before.It's a pain in the heel, my left heel; it something about the muscle that comes down your leg and meets something in the heel, a nerve maybe? Anyway like I said I had it a few years ago, and there's nothing to be done except treat the symptoms. There is a surgery but the doctor told me then Ijust have a new set of problems, so I passed on that. I wore a "boot" for awhile that cushions your foot and also stretches out that muscle. I also had a brace I bought online and luckily I still have it.  The thing is I was told no more going barefoot and I need to wear a shoe with a heel. I have inserts for my tennis shoes and any other covered shoes, but for flip flops, well I just have to wear the ones with a heel. I put the brace on for a couple of hours this morning and then pretty much stayed off my foot all day- yes folks I laid in the hammock and read most of the afternoon- it was niiiiicceeee....

Yeah I haven't been wearing shoes as much as I should, and never on the beach. The thing is I think it's ok on the beach, but around the house and yard and street I need to wear at least the flip flops.  Then I had the great idea to go upstairs and open the suitcase with all the shoes I have never worn here, and get my Danskos. They're especially for this problem, and very comfy. I of course, being totally vain tried to think of how they'd look with my shorts- but ha ha the jokes on me. Almost 4 months of no shoes in the heat- ha ha ha ha I couldn't get those shoes on my fat feet! I think I need a size or maybe 2 sizes bigger!

I went to a women's AA meeting tonite- very cool. I still barely understand anything that's said , but it was nice to be with just women. I went to a couple of meetings in Houston and they were awesome, but now I'm back in my town and I it felt good. Apparently when ever there's more than just a couple of women, they break off and hold a meeting in the back room.

Everardo tried to fix the water so I can figure out how to rinse the clothes I wash. Washing is fine, but at this point I take the clothes into the shower to rinse them. He bought a couple of new faucets and was struggling with the very rusted faucets trying to get them off. I think he was halfway sucessful, so by next week when I want to do laundry again it should be good. He also bought bricks and today cement was delivered, and tomorrow he and Gume and I think another guy, Romero are going to build a pizza oven in the back. It can't go right next to the kitchen, that's where the gas is, but down the stairs is good. They're gonna do all the bricks, and then the rest is cement and mud; and Poppi says he and I can do that part together.

I'm going home to my Mexico tomorrow! Yipee. Houston is very busy. I didn't really see any sites; special places in Houston- the only thing I would like to see is in downtown Houston apparently there is a city under the streets, air conditioned and full of stores. But my goal here was to pick up my new credit cards, and shop for a few things we agreed we needed. And I got almost everything we wanted; I didn't get the battery charger, but we think we can get it in Acapulco Tuesday before we head back to Playa Ventura. But the stuff we needed had my suitcase overflowing even tho' I came up here with it almost empty ha ha. Packages of tshirts for Poppi, his new boots, the underwater light, little spear heads for his underwater spear gun, protein powder, some more kid dictionaries, a level 3 Spanish cd set & cd player for me, I also got some needed personal items..anyway my suitcase was gonna be over 50 lbs, so I bought a carry on size case- but I'm going to check it. I think because I'm a United member the second bag is free on int'l flights; anyway that's what it seems like the website said- but I wonder is they make is vague just so they can decided on the fly...I have to change terminals in Mexico City and I don't want to drag too much stuff, just my laptop and purse.

 My layover there is pretty short, less than 2 hours and if I have to go thru immigration it can get close...not exactly sure which line I'll go thru since now I'm a resident. I had been told only show Mexican resident card in Mexico and US passport in the US, but in Mexico City they said I needed to show my passport to fly, so like I said, not sure which line- I'll figure it out- But I am flying on Monday, not Sunday cause in Feb I went with Cathy and arrived in DF on Sunday morning and there must have been 1000 people in line in front of us and we had an hour before our connection. Cathy speaking Spanish got us into the line the crew went thru or we would have not make our connection. So at least I know that trick if I need it but I heard Sunday is the busiest day- anyway I'll figure it out.

I went to a couple of AA meetings in English and they were awesome! I'm really happy I went. ha ha It will be awhile before I go to another one, but I have the website for chat and meetings, friends from the program back in Petaluma, and free phone calls to the US from our home phone. So I'm good; just another reason to get fluent as quick as I can ha ha.

It was wonderful to spend time with family. I get to know my brother more every time and see him, and Sandi- I feel so close to her. We talked about our kids, jobs, life in general- nice to just sit and talk. They were so great to drive me around for all my shopping and stuff. Last nite she made macaroni and cheese for her son's birthday dinner and I cracked up cause that was always my birthday dinner growing up. He's an adult; home on his first leave from the navy. I worried at first I was intruding- but it was all good. I hope they take a vacation and visit us soon.

It was funny to hear then talking about their jobs; they are both college professors, and she is the head of the English Dept and so is also an administrator. Ha ha I found out business is business, what she was bitching about was just like me in my jobs, and what I hear my daughter Drewy bitch about hers!

So I'm already to go, maybe I'm more assimilated in Mexico than I thought cause I really REALLY miss it. I miss my hubby, my doggy, and the sound of the ocean. The sunset that knocks me out every single day. The simplicity of Mexico. This place is nice, but so so so busy. So much traffic, everybody in such a hurry. I want to go back to where I don't need to know what day it is or what time it is. I miss my hammock. It's pretty warm here; I forgot to bring a jacket and I borrowed a long sleeved flannel shirt from Sandi- for inside! They have the ac on all the time and it's cold. The stores are cold, it's cold in the car. So I take the shirt off when I'm actually outside, or in my bedroom cause I closed the vent to keep the ac out ha ha.

There's alot of Spanish speakers here in Houston and I found myself listening to them, yep, I want to go home. Tomorrow will be a long day; I get into Acapulco at 8pm, and Poppi will be there to pick me up. We'll stay overnite in a hotel and then shop at Costco in the morning before we drive home. It's just not a great idea to make that drive at nite if we don't have to. Probaly would be fine, but we need the Costco run anyway, so a nite in a nice hotel, just him and me, a nice breakfast, a little shopping and then home sweet home.