Beautiful experience today.  We went up a narrow dirt road overgrown with greenery; trees, bushes, wisps and stalks and leaves, to the little cemetery for our small town of Playa Ventura. Others had been walking up, their arms filled with flowers so we had them jump in the truck and up the hill we went.

The town was there, caring for their loved ones; putting fresh flowers of beautiful colors everywhere, pulling weeds and picking up nature's debris. Guitars and an accordion played, songs were sung. They came today for El Dia de Muertos, not scary or even sad, but a celebration of their loved ones. People took care of their family plots, then came together in one area for a special mass. They sang and prayed, the padre spoke of love, it was such a gift to be able to be a part of it.

After the mass there was food. I have come to know that every celebration here is Mexico has food! I am very grateful to have been there to share their day, our townspeople are beautiful, loving and kind. My neighbors....

I wrote this in facebook a little while ago, so decided to copy it here. I can also add that it rained very lightly, sprinkling just for a little while. It sprinkled later when we took Sam for a small walk on the beach. My poor Sam. We took him to another vet today; but this was Chela's brother. I felt much better about him, he took Sam's temperature, listened to his heart and his lungs, asked alot of questions. He said it was not a big infection- that if it was he would have a temp, and he did not. But he said it could be a secondary infection, I guess low grade infection (?). So he gave him two antibiotics, in shot form. One he has to take for 4 days and the other for 5 days, in shot form. Everardo will give him the shots, and if he is too nervous to do it, then we'll take him back to the vet to get the shots. His cough sounds awful. He's kinda tired too. It seems like he coughs more at nite when the air is a little cooler. 

I'm going to bed after this and Poppi is gonna stay out here in the living room with Sam. Then after he goes to bed, if Sam coughs, I'll get up. Last nite that's what I did. I heard him cough and he was sleeping outside- so I brought him in and I layed on the couch and kept my hand on his back. I don't know if being sick scares him, it scares us. I hope hope hope that tomorrow he starts to show improvement; I know we have to let the medicine do it's thing. He stayed home while we went to the Day of the Dead thing; we were gone less than 2 hours. I want my Sammy to be ok. Poppi is worried about him too. He loves Sam like he's our kid. Our friends here laugh at us and say Sam has a better life than they do...maybe he does. We see our pets differently- I almost said in the US, but maybe it's different by economic status. I mean, the people who live here are trying to feed and clothe and make a home for themselves and their kids. A dog is going to eat after their children. But I'll say this- everybody around here likes Sam and they call out to him when he goes by.

Kids like to throw sticks in the ocean for him, and say his name to call him over. Once he jumped in Chela's pool. oops- we got him right out, I don;t think they were too happy, but they were'nt mad at us or anything and Chela loves Sam. Like Everardo she feeds Sam tortillas.

The ocean was different today. Calmer, and the tide is way way out. I think the season may really be changing. The air is cooler, this will be the 3rd nite in a row that we probly won't use the fan in the bedroom to sleep, that we'll cover ourselves with the sheet. Nice and cool. The only thing is I think the cooler air makes Sam cough, but he's not sleeping outside anymore until he gets better. Gume said the ocean would do this, be calm and you could walk way out there to get to the waves. That's how it was today. Me and Sam just waded though, I didn't want him to get too tired, and he did get out on his own- usually he's in as long as we are. But he was happy to wade and walk along the shore. The sky wasn't blue tho' it was kinda gray all day, and we had those sprinkles. 

If you read this, pls send a little good karma Sam's way ok? I love my baby boy Sam. And my daughters, if you read this, don't worry, he's gonna be fine. Well one of them will read this, the other one probly not, but I'll try to call them both tomorrow. The skype calling from my laptop to their cell phones is soooo cheap- so thanx Telmex for being so crappy that we were forced to try something else! Ok my turn to sleep.... 

 

 

 

No electricity all day! Hmmmm it's Nov 1, so wonder what's coming up for month 6? Well we took a drive cause we wanted to take Sam to another vet since we agreed we didn't like the guy yesterday. BUt when we got there, of course, the guy wasn't there. But we did get his cell phone number so we can call him in the morning and meet him there. His assistant was there though and we showed him the medicine we gave Sam yesterday. He said it won't hurt him and he gave him the second injection for us, but he said the medicine was basically for drying up liquid/mucus and we should probly see the vet. He also said people who went to the vet we visited in Copala usually then came to Marquelia. Don't know if that was true or he was just dissing the other guy...

Anyway on the way there we went to the little town of Salinas. We always pass the sign for it on the way to Marquelia, so we drove down there. A smaller quieter town than Playa Ventura. We tried to stop for sopes, but they no longer served food as a resturant, only make and sell tortillas...but really I just wanted to see the little town. They don't have access to the beach so they don't get too many people coming thru. Then we came back out to the main road and took the next side road which was to Playa Azul. That road looks like it's going to be paved; at least most of the way out to the beach, then we drove along the beach and came to a small resort/resturant. I think it's a place I saw when I was here last Feb with Cathy, but then there were no people. There were just a few, and we're thinking of going back out there this weekend, without Sam so we can enjoy a leisurely meal while watching the waves; it's a really pretty spot, and south of Playa Venura.

So after Sam's doctor visit we went to get eggs and cheese and cantaloupe, and Everardo bought some tamales wrapped in banana leaves, but they were too spicy for me so I had to wait until we got home. We also got the length of plastic pipe he needs to complete a restoration project in the backyard, then hit Super Precio last for american cheese and ice cream. Goofy place- the little standing freezer with the ice cream has a sliding glass top and is right against the front window of the store, and the sun blazes in all day. So the freezer was packed to the brim with the little cartons of ice cream, which I've been waiting for ...and it was all mushy...but I really wanted it so I figured ok we drive straight home and I put it in the freezer for tonite. ha ha!! Joke was on me- we got home and the electricity was out.Well I put it in the fridge anyway cause at least it was cold in there.

The electricity finally came on a while ago. Ha ha we only waited about an hour and then had some nice soupy ice cream...

Everardo went fishing early this morning, and brought home some more oysters, but he is determined to get some lobsters. He made some kind of metal stick with a hook on the end which he's gonna use to get them. Since I know nothing about it, I said.."good honey, I can hardly wait to eat lobster that YOU catch!" Hopefully I will have a positive report on that score tomorrow!

Yipppeeee it did NOT rain last nite or at any time today...so far...still about 3 hours of light to go ha ha. Had to take poor Sam to the vet today; for the last 2 days he's had this kind of hacking cough, not constantly but it doesn't sound good. I would have sworn it was something caught in his throat, like a chicken bone or something- I do not give him chicken bones. I don't like to give him any bones but I know he gets them from other people, but not chicken bones. Anyway the vet said no- probly a cough from what amounts to a doggy cold, from the change in the weather.......hmmmm but he said if there was something in his throat he could feel it,- massage in a way that Sam would have reacted and he didn't, so the vet gave him a shot, and gave us a shot to give him tomorrow. And and and- this visit, including the 2 shots, was about $12.50 (150 pesos)!! Gotta love that. The vet in Petaluma was $100 to walk in, and shots...ouch! But the vet someone turned us onto in Cotati, whom I really really liked was only about $40 to walk in I think....we found him right before we left.

Anyway Everardo got the kid who's dad is working on the house next door that's being built, to work for us for a couple of days while he has no school. He's moving the paver bricks in the back yard across the yard to be around the pizza oven and it's looking really good so far. Then if he is still available, we'll have him help paint the rest of the outside. Then we have the inside of the upstairs, the kitchen and the bathroom/shower next to the kitchen- the only place we're using blue, but the tiles on the walls are blue, so blue it is.

I basically did zero today, since the vet said Sam has to stay out of the water for a few days the beach is out, and ha ha I don't do alot besides walk on the beach, climb the rocks on the beach, play in the surf on the beach....so I finished the book I was reading. Unfortunately the ending was as depressing as the rest of the book, which was pretty long, and left me unsatisfied. Gotta start another one. Makes me wonder what's up with the author to write something soooo depressing, and have it simply trail off in the end, with no hope. Bitch. And I liked the title, and wondered how it would tie together at the end, Pooh. It's like reading Jodi Piccoult, oh my god I read several before i realized they are all like that- disturbing as hell, staying with me for days....Yuck!

I think we're still gonna try to talk to the Commisario today, we have some paperwork we need to file for the house in order to get it ready for sale. Monday we were in Acapulco and yesterday- well yesterday it rained so we couldn't talk to him. Nothing gets done here on the phone. It's all in person. So you have to hope stores or offices are open. And there's no logic to when they will be open or closed, with the possible exception of Sunday when most stuff is closed, and sometimes Monday morning....

But we did just eat the first oysters Everardo caught today. Do you call it caught for oysters? He brught them home and almost killed himself trying to get them open- ok not almost killed, but he required sanitozing and band aids on his hand and his leg from the sharp knife he used to get the oysters open. I took pictures of everything and then we ate them...yummy. I think he was pretty proud of himself, or at least happy to have gone and done it. He said we'll eat lobster caught by him before we leave this place too! All the guys who go fishing now stop by with a honk and/or a yell to see if he wants to go, it's nice to see him get excited and take off. I want him to have some fun, because he works his ass off around here, and sometimes I feel bad about it. This was not supposed to be a "project house", but that's what it's been. The damn rain hanging on for so many months has caused us more problems than just the mud coming down the driveway (ha ha I said "just" when it's a huge pain in the butt); but the ground is saturated and so now when it rains we flood outside right away. He's fixed the roof, the windows upstairs and downstairs, door locks on the wood doors, aluminum shower door repair, kitchen roof, painting and now irrigation...oh built the outside oven, and repaired the fencing in places, oh and digging constantly in the front to make additional parking between the new road (if it ever gets finished) and our front fence. Now he's replacing plastic pipes for house runoff in the back, too.
He's been working so hard and I've been complaining about my own stuff...I suddenly realized how much he's doing. yesterday in the pouring rain when we had to drive to Marquelia to a piece of pipe and try to get the pump repaired which quit working in the rain...he said- oh god let's just go....
What a good guy I'm married to......

AARRGGHH!! It's raining! Again!! This time in the day time! It started as a lightening storm last nite; I think I got up and let Sam in sometimes after 3am...I don't think it was raining then, not even thunder close by, but around 6am it was raining. Sometimes I can't hear it cause the ocean is very loud. You don't notice after a while and when we were in Morelia, laying in bed late at nite, we marveled at quiet. Ha ha then the sirens started...and the traffic sounds began to blend in....

If it rains 2 more days we will be in month 6 of rain. Did I mention I am SO not crazy about rain. And yeah yeah I keep saying it's ok cause it rains at nite, but if you forget the stuff you put on the line, it's soaking wet in the morning. If you forget to roll up the windows on the truck, which were down cause it's hot outside and a moving vehicle creates a breeze, if I leave the towel I use for a pillow in the hammock- cause it never rains down, always at an angle. And the mud just sucks. And at this point I am not sure they will ever finish paving the road! And it's a mess going out to Casa Piedras! On Sunday when we were at the fiesta, our gate was shut but not tight and Sam squeezed thru- Everardo thinks just to find us, and I think partly cause of the fireworks, which he hates. He begs to come in the house whenever fireworks start going off. And around here, they go with any occasion, birth, death, fiestas, funerals...

Anyway he probly would have gone down to Chela's, where Everardo was at the time and I was further down the road at the fiesta. But that would mean going towards the fireworks, so Sam chose the opposite direction, out towards Casa Peidras, and to the last place Poppi had him out there for fishing. Apprently he got out there, walked around the beach checking everybody out, and not finding either of us, walked across the road and layed down in front of these people's place where they were sitting around. The woamn told us later they all recognized him and she said to let him stay, that if we didn't show up, they bring him back this way. He wouldn't have come back anytime soon cause the fireworks went off all day and nite. Anywa I walked back to the house to get my cream for my little rash, and go to the bathroom; not alot was happening at the fiesta except food preparation so I kinda made up the diversion...I got home and Sam wasn't here. I called and looked around the house, upstairs and on the beach. Then I thought of he must be with Poppi at Chela's. Chelas was at the fiesta but Gume was home with Everardo, and his kids were working the resturant.

But he wasn't there and so we took the truck and started driving, when we past Gencho he said he saw Sam walking out the road to Casa Piedras, so we kept on. The road was a mess, a car wouldn't be able to make it. Nothing has been paved yet, but the tractors have been digging up stuff and heavy trucks going thru; there were big ruts and mushy mud- we had to go really slow and I was worried about Sam. But we got out there and he was laying in the shade like I said in front of a house across the street from the beach. They told us how he walked all over the place sniffing, and then settled with them! Poor baby Sam! We brought him home and left him in the house for the rest of the party. Everardo came back down here and fed & walked him for a few minutes, then put him back in the house. he doesn't like the fireworks or the thunder. Big tough softie!

The road isn't quite finished in front of us because for some reason they left the pipes they needed to fortify the arroyo with under the road, for last...Don't know why. So it's almost done now, and then they'll put the sidewalk in from there to our place and then we shouldn't have a river of mud anymore when it rains. (cause this rainy season that supposed to be from June to Sept...oh maybe Oct...oh...may never be done) They also promised to finish our driveway for us which will be very cool, but we'll see. This is Mexico- if it's not in your hand...you don't have it. And if they don't, that's ok, we go back to our plan of finishing it and it will just cost a little more.

So of course the worker didn't show up today since it's almost 1pm and still raining. The tv went out earlier when it was raining hard, but it's back. I have my book and don't need the hammock, we also have internet- keep fingers crossed- but it's a lazy kind of boring day. I know Everardo is itching to get to work on his projects,so hopefully the rain will go away after today? tried to watch Spanish news for the weather and could see on the screen a storm over this part of Mexico, but the weather lady was talking about the storm in the US ha ha. Not laughing at the storm in the US; Sandy- I know it's a terrible storm and making a real mess of things across numerous states. My heart goes out to everyone. But the ha ha was for our local news station not reporting our storm.

So I have been online for awhile this morning, reading email, looking at facebook, the AA online site, and the uerto Penasco forum. I only found this forum a few days ago; before this Ionly found this travel forum and it wasn't very interesting. But I like this new one. I joined and made a couple of comments and got some positive replies. I read this one post about the Sonora desert, and it seems like a cool place to explore. The post went on to say that some museum in Amsterdam has a Sonora desert room and also plants from the area. 

There are also alot of activities up there including benefit type activities to help the town itself. I'm getting alot if info and becoming more encouraged about what we might find up there. Everytime I say hey honey- they have such and such up there...he says- yeah I know- I keep telling you that you'll like it...Someone wrote to me yesterday and said you have alot of choices there. You can remain on the local side of town. Neighborhoods and families, just living their small town lives. There are quiet strips of beach and popular people filled beaches. There are tiny restaurants & stores much like here in Playa Ventura, or if we want a loud nite life we can go over to the resort side, hotels and beaches, shows and events. I like that we can choose. I like that they have grocery stores ha ha, cell service, electricity. So we shall see what we shall see. We have no idea if anyone will want to buy this place. It's really nice, and if we can, we'll probly put up a sign in Dec, during "the season".

Oh and it only rains 2 inches a year there- I hope it's all in one day! I am so sick of the rain!! It's a very different climate, the desert there vs the tropics here. I'm reading that the days are warm and nites cool, ok sounds good, We certainly have a lot of trouble sleeping here in the heat, although I will say it's not that hot today, or even last nite. This morning I still went out to my boulder to talk to the universe. It was only raining lightly when I went out there but it did work itself up into a pretty steady downpour. I got soaked, but since it's not cold, it's really ok. There were so many crabs out on the rocks and I love to watch them, especially the ones who carry their little houses on their backs.

Ok well now probly time for a nap...

The fiesta was great! Saint Judas Tadeo, I think is the saint for the town. There was singing early, then food preparation for hours (not me, just observing ha ha), then more church, then FOOD, then the music started and dancing. Then a HUGE cake, then more dancing. Funny was that only the women were dancing; the men were all on the peripherals, kinda like a high school dance ha ha. But the women danced like maniacs, me included! I think that sometimes these fiestas are an outlet for the women, the time for them to let their hair down, to let it all hang out! In this tiny town at least, the women work hard all day every day. They are either taking care of a husband, several kids and a business like a small store or restaurant, or they are having several children at a young age themselves, so setting themselves up to be in the first group. There is no grocery store or gas station here, no coffee shop and certainly no laundromat- although some people have these interesting washing machines that you have to interact with- adding water, etc. But laundry gets down in tubs or the arroyos, or closer to Marquelia in the big river. Food is grown and or caught, and always prepared by women. I've always said about this place- people fish today to eat today. It's a simple life, but not an easy life. I think this fiesta was a great time for them to kick back and enjoy themselves.

Of course they were working to put it together the nite before and early in the morning yesterday and cooking everything in these huge pots on the side of the church. But finally it was all ready. Kids served, they just kept coming out with disposable plates of food. And the beer! Dios mio! It also just kept coming out and coming out, long after all the food had been consumed and all thru the dancing and laughing and singing. The beer was free and I don't drink, so I had to walk across the street and buy water ha ha. They were these small bottles of Corona. Same shape, just smaller. And these guys just kept bring out cases of them, they'd drop a box in front of a group of chairs and pop the tops off all of them and go back for more. The group I was sitting with just downed them faster than water. They were also sucking down turtle eggs with hot sauce (for me-yuck), and everyone was having a good time. I didn't understand most of the conversations but I can for sure understand laughing and hugging and smiles and egging each other on to dance and "shake it"!!

There was so much dancing and sweating you hardly had to go to the bathroom cause it was all coming out thru your pores. I danced and danced an danced. But I tell you, the ladies were dancing out all their aggressions, bumping and grinding, old and young women! There were a few old ladies out there shaking like I couldn't believe, and they dance into you...dirty dancing for sure. We did not stay until the end; in fact I had been there since about 1pm and dancing probly since maybe 4pm, maybe sooner, but I went and found Everardo about 7:30, exhausted from dancing, and really, some of them were so drunk ha ha, when these 2 ladies fell I thought, ok I'm good. The way everybody was banging into each other dancing I actually surprised nobody fell before that. At this point most of the older women were watching and maybe the middle aged and younger women were out there whooping it up. I must have slept for 10 hours ha ha. I'm waiting to hear later this week what everyone thought of the fiesta, since we were gone all day we didn't hear anything yet. But everybody was wonderful to me, and people I don't know were all dancing with me once they saw I was into having a good time! I slow danced with an old lady who was a little tipsy and laughed thru the whole thing!

Then we got up this morning and went up to Acapulco to get paint to finish the house painting job and get dog food for Sam. We also found the fixtures we need for the bathroom, so let the final stage of the fix up and beautify our home. Ha ha in time to put it up for sale probly.

Found a cool website with people chatting about Puerto Penasco and today was the first time I made any comments and I got replies already! So it will be good to be able to ask some questions to more than just the one guy I've been asking.

I think this weekend coming up there will be a Day of the Dead celebration, which I think is mostly about eating (yipee), but it might be during the week cause the date is Nov 1. Then later at the end of this month is "The fair", it's a weekend thing too, with jugglers and things, not sure what else, but sounds like fun. Hasn't rained for a couple of nites, yippee so no more mud on our patio, but every time I think it's over, it rains again...

I think Everardo hired a guy to start tomorrow helping me to finish the backyard laying the bricks around the pizza oven and probly for painting too, so I think he will have a busy week. Luckily I just started a new book, so hammock here I come!