MY DAUGHTER IS GETTING MARRIED!!! I am so happy, so excited, so encouraged, so pleased, so comforted, I know he's the right guy for her. It's funny- Everardo said that Rex is good for her, that he is calm, he's solid, and her? Well she's just like me! Ha ha Wacky, sometimes insecure, strong and confident, fights for the underdog, never backs down, ok crazy, and a strong, grounded, calm man is a good partner for her. A safe place to land. Someone to listen and let you get it all out, and then give you a hug. I know what I'm talking about, especially of she is me. I am also married to that man. He's wonderful, my safe place. And it's very cool that he's also in recovery, cause he understands....everything. Boy I hope she's not as whacked out in her pea brain as me... I was an insecure disaster area for sooo many years. No she's a smart cookie that girl. And she found herself a good man. I like him so much. I have been hoping for quite some time that they would follow this path. Sounds like the wedding will be in about a year. Her and her little sister can have fun planning the wedding, and I know I'll be included in some of it, even if it's just to hear how it's going, what's she's thinking of, who and where, oh boy oh boy, my baby's getting married. I am just so pleased.

Well we finished the painting today. And I sent an email to the landlord telling her how much we spent on the paint and the brushes & rollers, and included some photos- it looks fantastic by the way. I know I know I gotta figure out how to add photos on this site, I always think of it when I'm writing and promptly forget when I finish...Usually she writes back to me pretty quick, but maybe the expense of the paint, added to the expense she asked me to carry over from Jan, maybe it gave her pause, in my opinion, better to rip the band aid off, I should just pay almost nothing for Feb, then it wouldn't look so bad to her...ah well. So the house looks amazing- did I say that already? It feels like we live here, like it's our home. It feels warm and comfy...and the colors are wild, bright, alive. Green, red, melon, purple- it's perfect.

Now if would just warm up around here! It's cold and it's killing some of my joints. I cannot make a tight fist, all my knuckles hurt. And on my right hand, my middle finger, when I'm sleeping it gets stuck in the curled up position.It makes this "thunk" when it opens, I have to move it with my other hand, or else Poppi massages my hand until it opens. It's from the pills I take as anti cancer medication. I have to take it until Nov of 2014. Well my joints only hurt in the cold, and hopefully it will get warmer soon. My joints never hurt in Playa Ventura, well my knees a little when it was raining non stop. So I'll say that was a good thing about being down there. I keep looking at the 10 day forecast here. But one thing for sure- it's a much colder, rainier winter than they ever have around here. It's not supposed to rain around here during the winter, it's supposed to rain in summer. In fact it's only supposed to rain less than 2 inches a year here- well I'm here to tell ya it's already rained 2 inches.

Teaching English out at the center is great- I'm actually teaching adults. They want to learn, I'm even getting the same people more than once in a row. It's so freaking cool! Doing sentences, making phrases, the excitement on their faces, and when they don't understand, I am actually able to find a way to explain it so they can understand. I'm totally making it up as I go, but it's working! I am so so so grateful to be able to do this. Thank you God. It really feels like I'm helping. I almost want to erase all of this part cause if I talk about it, does it lose it's goodness? I am just so amazed, and it's so cool during this class, it's just been a couple, but they like it, and...they STUDY at home! I actually emailed my brother cause I couldn't figure out how to explain "do" and "does", like 'what does she need to take on her vacation'- in Spanish when you ask what she needs, you just says que necesita? Like what you need. Well I haven't heard from him yet, but I googled and googled and I think I might know what to say, partly know and partly, well it just is- ha ha. One guy, Ruben, he actually knows a little English, which is much more than the other 3, and he asked me what's the significance of "does", so I gotta come up with something. He is very jolly, asks alot of questions, and also tries to help the others, so he is very good for the class and for me. I felt like I was walking on a cloud yesterday when I left there.

Oh yeah, yesterday was Valentine's Day, and Poppi brought me roses out to the center. I made me a cut out heart with a silly poem for him. Then I had a great day out there, then later we went down to the malecon where they had a local radio station and live music, giving couple certificates for dinner at local restaurants, then the music started and a little dancing, but it was cold so we went home before it really started getting going. Then I got the call from my Drewy, my baby's gettin' married. Hell of a day eh? Tomorrow is the international iron chef competition down at the Shrimp Park, so that should be fun. Life is beautiful.

Guess I wasn't done. Ok I couldn't take a nap cause I had a cup of coffee while writing the first post this afternoon, and couldn't read cause I'm too tired. Ha. But been thinking (uh oh) more about the whole cheaper medicine thing, and no politics this time, but I realized I said well I could always live in Yuma and cross for my meds. DUH WHAT? The only reason we'd move back to the states would be, to be closer to our kids, so Yuma?? I think not! Mexico or San Francisco- that's it. I think I'd be happy to stay here, but again my girls, and now his girl, too. Maybe the kids would move here....

So tomorrow nite I'm going to this dinner for a group called "Uncommon Women on Common Ground". All I kow about them is what I saw on their FB page, something about women in this community getting together to talk about what they are doing and/or ideas about things that could get started in this community...something like that..They meet once a month with a dinner, and it's hosted by someone or some group. It's only 2 hours long, which seems kinda short to me, especially if at least one hour is dinner since you will be just talking to table mates...hmmm I don't know ha ha maybe 2 hours is a good thing. I'm interested to see what people around here are into, and I like that it's a women only thing...well ok what I like is the name- and I hope it lives up to the name. If I like it, there will be one more thing to be a part of around here, and I'm kinda liking it around here.

I am really looking forward to taking Spanish classes! I feel like I'm on the edge of understanding so much! So I guess I know alot of words, but that's so different from conversations. Today I read this highway sign that said "Mantenga limpiar la carratera" (Keep the highway clean), so I wanted to know if the word keep was used the same for...keep your hands to yourself, keep your money, keep your eyes peeled, keep the book in the desk....well your husband can't be your teacher. At first when I tried to say all that in Spanish he said yes, you can use it all those ways. Then said...well- it's a different word for keep your money, oh and a different word for keep your hands....- so is it all those things or only good for a messy highway? Arrgghh Spanish is hard...yeah I know I need an open mind, like sometimes keep is about maintenance, sometimes it's about holding something, or about ...hell I don't know. It's kinda like I tried to teach this thing to this teenager Jessica; that sometimes Spanish has 2 words where we have 1 (like "la" and "el" English has "the) and sometimes Spanish has 1 word and English has 2 words (like "porque" in Spanish is both "why" and "because" in English). And then there is slang- "que onda"? is what's happening? like "que pasa", but it's slang.

You know living here makes me really consider so much around me. I think the biggest lesson has been patience, and I think I'm actually developing some. Not rushing is a nice concept, and of course acceptance ties right in with patience. Then acceptance around the poverty I see, and I know it's not just Mexico of course, but it's where I am right now. And how different people deal with their lives; accepting their lot, trying to improve, angry and taking whatever they can get- actually I think it's the way people act in all walks of life, all the time, just for some reason - I guess because so much is new to me, including the language, I'm seeing it. I almost said- seeing it so clearly, but I don't mean clearly like I understand, just seeing symptoms clearly. The 3 boys I had last Thursday for English, I was trying to do sentences; they are about 8 or 9, and I asked where they wanted to go on a trip. One said New York, one said Las Vegas, and one said United States, but when I asked why they all wanted to go to the US, one changed his answer to Chiappas. I asked if he'd been there before and he said no. So The kid from NY said he wanted to go there because it is so beautiful, and big. Las Vegas was because of family and casinos. If I have then tomorrow I'm going to try asking them what they want to take on their vacations...but I probly won't have them, maybe on of them and then other kids ha ha. Oh by the way the fruit worked pretty good, for about 20 min (which is good). They said "I have one banana" and "I have one banana and one red apple" They ate the strawberries pretty fast, and it sort of started to dissolve, so that's when I changed it to taking a trip. And I am learning more Spanish from them every time I go. But this reminds me that I wanted to make a list of verbs for Jessica (hope I see her tomorrow), so that's it for now.

New adventure! Ha ha the hypocritical people of Arizona! These are the one who are so against immigration, who ride out in their trucks to catch undocumented people sneaking into the US, I mean these people are nuts! But ha ha guess what!!?? They all go to Algodonis for medicine, and doctor appts. I just went to this place in Baja (still Mexico), this town called Algodonis. It is a border town, into Arizona- I think at Yuma. This is the funniest place- and I mean funny strange not funny ha ha (well maybe a little ha ha). This place has literally hundreds of dentist, eye doctor & regular doctor offices! I started taking pictures when we first got there, but in 5 minutes had over 20 dentist offices, and then laughing I gave up. We didn't get there until after 5pm, so it was dark an hour later, but it was amazing! Eye doctor eye doctor eye doctor...I mean the offices are next to each other, the same thing with the dentists and MD's. This morning there were guys in front of the dentist offices offering a free screening...come on in! This is hilarious! And in between all these medical offices are stalls selling souvenirs...everything you can think of, I guess like all tourist areas, silver, ceramics, clothes, toys, things made of wood, metal sculptures, everything.

There's about 5500 people there, and of course alot of that must be kids..anyway one fun fact about the place is below (I googled it)
Los Algodones is the northernmost town in Mexico, and at its northeastern tip is the northernmost point in Mexico. Another interesting geographical distinction is that if someone were to travel in any of the four cardinal directions from anywhere in Algodones (due north, due east, due south, or due west), they would cross a U.S. border.

Now here's the reason I say hypocrites: The popularity of both inexpensive prescriptions and medical care catering to Canadian and US senior citizens have prompted a virtual explosion of pharmacies and dental offices which have largely displaced a great deal of the open-air shops and restaurants immediately across the border and have effectively shifted the town's focus from tourism to medicine. 

 Well we were only there last nite and earlier today (it's about 3 1/2 hours from here), but what I saw was license plate after license plate from Arizona, but I did see 2 from Calif. and none from Canada. We didn't see too many people on the street last nite; after we found Everardo's friend, a hotel and a bite to eat it was about 7pm, and the streets were deserted. Actually I asked a couple I saw on the patio of our hotel about places to grab some snacky food about 8pm, and they said- everything is all closed up in town! ha ha ha that's so funny cause everywhere else in Mexico, 8pm is when things start moving and shaking...but this morning what I saw was seniors! Lots of seniors! Walking on all the streets where the medical offices and curios were. Well there's only a couple or three streets with all that stuff and the rest is residential. And Everardo said everybody makes money there! NOt the vendors who sell the best- meaning salesmanship, or the best stuff- everybody. He saw at least 8 people he knew from when he worked there about 8 years ago, around the time he also lived here in Puerto Penasco. We talked to a guy selling silver, a lady selling leather goods, another with picture frames (beautiful and I want to go back there), one with ceramics and one with the metal stuff, including the scorpians- he said that guy taught him how to make them.

Anyway there were so many seniors out walking thru the area and this was about 8am. We went into a pharmacy- and get this!! They had- and this was on the shelf! Arimidex! $40USD for 28 pills and with a little talking I'm sure a little cheaper! This is the medicine I take for post breast cancer! Right now I pay a little over $400US per MONTH and never go to the doctor, but I need that prescription so I keep the coverage. I see my oncologist once a year, second year in a row, and pay almost $5K per year, and I still have a copy for the pills....so $140 per year for that too- oh so that just putsme over $5K. YOu know when people complain about undocumented Mexicans straining the health care system...hmmm now I gotta think- cause they ain't coming for health care!!! It's next to nothing down here. I paid $1800 for my last root canal in Calif, here I was quoted $200US- and that was down in Guerrero, I didn't ask in Algodonis ha ha. Yeah I know- that's not the reason they come, but still they get the medical care...but you know what? What the FUCK?? What is going on with health care in the US. I know it's not a new conversation, not a new issue. BUt again? What the FUCK? Why can Mexico offer medicine so cheap? Doctor visits so cheap???? Maybe cause it IS CHEAP??? What is the matter with us in the US? As always I have to think it's about greed and power. Why can the insurance companies charge so much? The pharmaceutical companies? The freaking doctors?? Yes the change has to be monumental, but it has to change!! Teachers don't make shit (at least below college levels and I am only not commenting about that cause I don't know), but doctors? Ha ha and don't even get me started on Sports players- but that's for another time.

So what will I do? About my medical coverage and medicine? Hmmm I'm not sure. I know what's going on in the US is wrong, but I am afraid for my own health...you know- the big C. Cancer...I am clear, had a lumpectomy in 2009, chemo and radiation, but my doctor wants me to take Arimidex until Nov of 2014. Yep I can do that, and get the pills here and let go of my insurance. The problem I see is, if I let it go, I'll never get coverage if/when I go back. That's why I never changed companies since I had cancer. I have Kaiser, and I like my doctor, but shit- $400 a month for nothing? If it comes back and I'm here, ok I will deal with it here in Mexico- they have excellent health care. But if we move back, then what do I do? Oh wait I know- move to Yuma so I can cross to Algodonis and get affordable health care. So for now, I will just let it bounce around in my pea brain. I have a mammogram appt coming up for late April, my once a year visit, maybe I'll decide after that. Then I will be 3 years clear..or 4 if I was diagnosed in May 2009? My treatment wasn't over until Nov of 2009, so not sure how to count it.

Ok- so the day trip was fun and turned into an overnite. We were lazing about yesterday (Sunday) and late morning I said hey let's go for a ride. Poppi (which apparently should be spelled Pappi in Spanish so I'll try to change) so Pappi said wanna drive out to see Santa Clara? Sure. So we take Sam and the car since better gas mileage, and proceed to drive an hour in the wrong dorection!! Towards Caborca..ooops, so an hour back and then head the right way. Well on the way he asks if we should go all the way to San Luis and I say sure again, and we end up 45 min past San Luis Rio Colorado in Algodonis, where Pappi finds his old friend who helped him get into rehab 8 years ago when he had a raging drug problem (5 years before he met me). So we find him and get to go to a Spanish speaking AA meeting literally next door to our very cute hotel. We had amazing quesadillas at a roadstand (basically how we eat out these days)  Now when you ask for a quesadilla with meat- is it just a big taco? Anyway they were to die for. Then this morning after walking around finding his old friends, we drove back thru San Luis Rio Colorado to Santa Clara. In both Algodonis & San Luis he showed places he lived, places he stayed before crossing the border. I asked about "the fence", which he said is not really a deterrent for anyone ha ha. We saw where the fence stops because it's an Indian Resrvation, we saw border guys down in these ravines that I assume used to be rivers- not sure why not anymore....Then in Santa Clara we ate the best head tacos. I know I know sounds yucky but they are the very best tacos. It's the same kind Everardo's cousins sell in Morelia. We got home in early afternoon, and just kicked back. Probly (I hope) gonna have eggs for dinner.

On Saturday nite Everardo got to chat with Eleana again and they must have talked for over 2 hours. He is very happy and I for him. He's letting her set the pace and I think that's smart. I looked into a Spanish class, and funny, there's a level 2 (not sure if that's me but I'm not a beginner), but thislevel 2 class has 2 other students- Karen and Mark- from the center ha ha!! So much for a little distance, but I really want to take the class- I need to do what I planned, get into a class here and get me closer to fluency. Everardo is all for it, even tho' it more money going out....when I talked to the guy he said either $5 or $6 an hour, but when he put me on the phone with the teacher, she said $8...and that this particular class, the students want 3 times a week- but I agree- 3 times a week is good..so $24 a week I guess I'll be spending...I hope Poppi- oops Pappi gets some work soon....he's talking to a couple of guys that have said he can work with them, but I think it's about a month away...Then also a friend Mike, seems to be some kind of big shot around here, and thinks he can help him get a construction job in a couple of months cause a huge project is about to start. But I want him to do what he really wants to do, and I think it might be selling trinkets to the tourists, and he thinks he can do pretty good. And he can always change his mind. This is supposed to be fun- and he was the lucky recipient in Playa Ventura of all the chores with the project house from hell, so what the HELL. I know I haven't made the best finiacial decisions...or I wouldn't be worrying about money, but now I want us both to be happy. So...we will just have to see how it goes. Maybe maybe maybe the Playa Ventura house will sell...

Hmmm time for a little reading and possibly a nap before dinner...