Today is Saturday, 2 days after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was great. The turkey was great, the stuffing was great, the mashed potatoes and gray was great. Since I did not have Thanksgiving last year, I thought I was justified eating 2 full plates of food ha ha. Here it is 2 days later and I'm still kinda full. I mean I'm still eating, but I'm just not super hungry. I ate and ate and ate. There was no way I was gonna be able to eat dessert, but they were so nice and let me make a plate with a slice of everything to bring home. That was about 3pm, and about 8pm I split it all with Everardo. Yum. Well except maybe for the banna pudding stuff...it looked liked vanilla pudding with what I thought was vanilla wafers in it. Nope those were little brown pieces of banana. I mean I like banana, but not when I'm expecting something else. Know what I mean? But the pumpkin pie was amazing, and then there were 2 kinds of apple something, like apple crisp and apple crumb cake or something like that. Then cheesecake, too. So we had a little sampler plate....and it was goooood. We did a long beach walk inbetween dinner and dessert...

So the next day, Friday I went back to that little church outbuilding while Everardo went to Ensenada to find his friend to talk about the logisitcs of him selling stuff over there. He ended up not seeing him, but he did go see the old woman who had so proudly shown us her house, the day before we had to go back to Penasco on our first trip. She had been so proud of her magnificent place, and we were excited to see it, even though we looked at other places as we waited. Our plan atthat point was to rent from her for at least 6 months.....anyway that place was a hellhole! Trashed, cracked, broken, oh and with no stove, fridge or hot water heater...yeah I held back the tears in that one. Anyway, she thought it was a wonderful opportunity, so Everardo dropped in her store (she was a friend of Everardo's friend), and thanked her for her time, but said we decided to live outside the city. So that was nice.

 Ok so the reason I went back was that they were filling Christmas food baskets for the people who are struggling. I had seen in the local newsletter that people were doing this at the fire station, and they were doing the same thing at the church...and were going to feed us. I thought....oooh Thanksgiving leftovers, I might as well do it there. I had already planned to go help at the other place, so...Anyway it was a nice morning, they had set up a little assembly line- I had the corn flour- and they passed the boxes around the table. The table was in the middle of the room and there were shelves behind us with the food on them; white flour, corn flour, sugar, tunafish, dried soup, oil, beans, rice, the milk in the little box, and at the end, little knit hats. They told me that both places were making the same boxes, and then Senor Pablov was going to pick them all up and take them up into the hills around here and distribute them. Wow- this Pablov guy, I just keep on hearing so many good things about them. Well here's hoping we move to one of his camps.

It was a good feeling to get to be a part of that. I wanted to do something to say thank you for having us, but it ended up being another gift for me. Funny how that works.

I got to talk to my brother and my younger sister (and most of her kids) on the phone Thanksgiving, and to my other sister today. She and I talked for about an hour (thank you magic jack). She and her husband and their puppy dog are back in Key West Florida on their little boat for the winter- true snowbirds, right? It turns out that they, and my brother and his wife and us all moved right around the same time (actually my sister and I left on the same day). My brother moved to a town called Spring, Texas, and when I was talking to Drewy she told me she had a friend from there...yep small world. We went to Ensenada this morning after I talked to Karen on the phone and had enchiladas in the same little place as last week, and then went to the AA meeting where someone got a 35 year chip- wow. Then it was off to good old Wallmart for a few items- can't always go to Costco because I don't want the one million pack for everything...But I went to the frozen foods looking for frozen macaroni and cheese dinners, and- so sad- they don't carry frozen food like that. The most they have is frozen pizza. Really- good for them, just sad for me. They have so many other foods I've not had too much of over the past year and a half. No beach walk today, so tomorrow we'll do a long one. But we didn't get home until 3:30, then wanted to collapse for a little while, then doggys ate...then it was dark..man it's dark at 5pm. But I think after Dec 22 it will start getting lighter right? Like a minute a day ha ha.

Puerto Penasco didn't have daylight savings time, and Playa Ventura did, but we were only there June thru November...wait this is November, but I swear it was never dark at 5pm. Maybe it has to do with how far south it is. Mexico is a huge country. I think people don't realize how big it is, I mean people think of Mexico as hot, and the beach. But Mexico has sooo many terrains; tropics, deserts, mountains, and what do we call this area? To me it's "normal" ha ha. It's very much like California, not in the mountains, and California basically has mountains, coastal, and then the desert down the middle to Los Angeles. We always lived within about a half hour or less of the coast. And almost all of my life just north of San Francisco. So, fog in the mornings, warm days, cool nights. And it seems to be what it is here. Of course we've just been here a month, but we visited for a week in Sept and Oct; it was hotter, but not that humid hot of Penasco or Playa Ventura. The tropics are amazing. It's so green, and the iguanas, parrots, the vines, the fresh cheeses. But there seems to be fresh cheeses all over Mexico. Banana trees, and coconuts that we picked in our own yard, the water inside was so sweet. Lots of cows too as I remember. Skinny cows, skinny horses, and really skinny chickens ha ha. I'll always remember the tarantula fighting the chicken- and the chicken won. And the scorpions- they were small but I heard that the small ones were more poisonous. Luckily we never had a mishap with a scorpion but one night Rosa had to rush Moncie to the doctor cause she got stung. We saw one in our sink the very first day we were there, then one was in some laundry I had left on the floor, and then one was outside fighting with the little puppy from next door. He was barking at the scorpion and it was waving it's tail around, I was mesmerized and then Everardo squashed it.

When we got to Penasco I remember being told that they scorpions were really big there, and those and tics were everywhere. I don't know if the dirt outside our house had been treated at some point with some kind of poison, but Sam hardly got any tics, and everyone else would tell me their dogs got them constantly. We never had a scorpion either, not in the entire year, but I always wore shoes in the house at nite, and never put my hand into places I couldn't see. When we went to Morelia, Michocan it was up in the mountains. Mexico City is very high elevation. You know that's probably why I always felt like shit when I was there. I never thought about it until just now; but the few times I was there, I was either drinking and had horrible hangovers, or ate something that made me sick or at least feel crappy. And I didn't drink all that much. But now I realize I get sick from high elevation...I can't stand Colorado Springs, Colorado! Ok so I just opened another window and it says the highest elevation in Mexico City is 7300 feet and Colorado Springs is 7200! Funny, I thought I started getting sick at closer to 10,000 feet- ha ha I am so ignorant sometimes. Ok so anyway, Morelia is not as high, only about 6300 feet, but I still got short of breath more quickly than normal.

Anyway Morelia is a huge city, but very pretty. Much colder that the state of Guerrero of course, and when we visited in Sept (2012), it was the first time I had worn long pants or a jacket since we came to Mexico. The mountains in Mexico are so beautiful. We came to Mexico down thru Chihuahua and the mountains there were so pretty as well. Then traveling from Guerrero up north to Sonora we went thru mountains, then flat agricultural lands- I think that was Sinaloa. Lots and lots of agriculture in Mexico; alot right here in Baja, asparagus fields, lettuce, onions, etc.Mexico has 31 states and I think I've been in about 10, I'll look at the map and do a count. But Mexico just has so many side, so many charcters, so many foods, customs, traditions. I really came down unprepared...well except for the whole being married to a Mexican part ha ha! But the adventure has been so amazing and wonderful. Even the hard stuff, because when you come out the other end, well you're just...more. I mean, every experience enhances you, so you become "more".

Ok, well I hope that we like here, long term. So far so good. I recognize the climate, the weather, and of course I have googled it and believe I know what to expect. A cold ocean is fine with me, it's also what I'm used to. I like living outside the city, but close- 20 minutes- so we can get things if we need or want to. Ha ha probably no more milk from a bucket- well maybe- I guess maybe what I'll do is not guess, not project, just see what comes next. I do like feeling that my kids may be more apt to visit here, I really want them to come because I think they'll really like it more than Penasco. I already know for sure that I like it better. Drewy wants to see Playa Ventura and I really want to take her down there at some point. My ex, their dad is thinking about taking his wife down there for a vacation, to experience it, and I think she'll like it. Maybe the kids could go with them...but it's an expensive ticket. I was thinking maybe when Drewy had a long vacation available, and we were living in a better camp so not worried about our stuff, and maybe have house/dog sitters because we will have gotten to know some people pretty well, to drive. We know we can do it in 3 days, and it is a pretty drive, and it would be a cool experience, also for me it would be a second time and I think I'd see more, be aware of more. I was thinking I should tell my ex they should look at driving to here, then flying because I saw a ticket from Tijuana to Acapulco for $200, and from San Francisco it's about $750....but I guess they'd have to figure out the gas to drive here...and maybe, just maybe I should stay out of their business ha ha. We're all friends, we have the kids in common, so it's important. And also my ex is a nice guy, we just didn't fit anymore, and I know I'm the one who changed...getting sober can do that. At 5 years sobriety I was not the same person, it is too bad, but I think we are both happier now, and happy for each other. His wife is really nice and I think they're really happy, and so I'm happy for them. Actually Everardo and Rana haven't met in person yet because she was in the Middle East before we left, so they've only chatted on Skype. But we're all adults....anyway enough of that, I just want my kids to come visit us in this new place. And honestly some of it is my ego because this place, this house (yeah the one we're not staying in after 6 months ha ha) is so much nicer than the Penasco house And who knows what's next!!

We have so much to explore here in Baja, and the future's lookin' pretty bright. Gonna get the Christmas stuff out in the next couple of days... I don't have too much but will probably just decorate upstairs since it's mostly where we live; maybe a couple of things in the kitchen.

Oh yeah I forgot to say, I'm trying to dance to the zumba music and don't remember most of the steps. But my instructor from Penasco is on facebook and I told her I needed a video of her class ha ha!! But now they're talking about making it for me!! Yippee....Of course getting to me will be the next interesting opportunity. ok Viva!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving...in the US

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and well, YIPPEE I get to have turkey and all the fixin's; I like to put my stuffing and mashed potatoes and turkey (I like the dark meat so love the leg) in a pile, add gravy and mush it all together, oh and with a buttered roll. I love those white square rolls you can buy in a huge bag- oh and I love the dutch crunch rolls! They were a staple at our Thanksgiving dinners growing up. My grandma G always brought them. My dad's mom. She was a shorty. And she was strong and independent. We had a nice grandma and a mean grandma- although actually they were both nice, she was just the one who didn't let us get away with murder ha ha. Anyway she brought the rolls. For years I looked for them and usually found them, I kinda don't remember when we stopped having them.

Tomorrow's dinner is a potluck which is always fun. Our friend Mike who invited us says there will be around 50+ people there, and that there's always enough food to stuff everyone and bring home leftovers! Did I say yipee?? Love the leftovers! The day after Thanksgiving is the best eating day! Using those rolls to make mashed potato stuffing turkey mini sandwiches, oh and add the gravy!  Last year we were still in Playa Ventura so nobody was celebrating Thanksgiving- it's just too far away. And of course- it's not a Mexican holiday. I thought about turkey and pined for pumpkin pie but it was not to be. We left Playa Ventura and traveled north to Penasco on Nov 30, so Thanksgiving had passed. Deb and Rick actually invited us for this year, but we were already leaving. On Sunday I made a reservation at a restaurant down the road who is serving Thanksgiving dinner, but then on Monday Mike showed up with a little invitation, which we gratefully accepted. We will meet some more local people and that's nice, and Thanksgiving is one of those holidays where it's nice to be in a group. Many many years ago I went to a restaurant with just one other person for Thanksgiving (yes a date) and I thought I'd enjoy it more; it was in some well known fancy restaurant in San Francisco and we stayed in a nice hotel, but it was not that great. Another year, when Drew was about 4 I think, after having turkey at my mom's, I went down to the alano club in San Rafael and served dinner to the local homeless people- now that felt good. I read that on Friday people here will be filling Christmas gift boxes next to the fire station and are inviting anyone to come down and help, so I think I'll try to do that, too.

We went over to Maneadero late this morning after I got to talk to Drewy for about an hour- gotta love love love magic jack, because Everardo has been fighting the flu for days. Today he conceded going to the doctor was a good idea and so we went. To see the doctor is 35 pesos (about $2.80USD) and 20 pesos ($1.60) to get an injection. The medicine for him was about 28 pesos- basically a penicillin (antibiotic) shot. I was starting to get a sore throat and chest, so she gave me some pills to take for 3 days for congestion along with my own shot to stop my runny nose and eyes ....so all in all we spent about $20. Not too bad eh? Everardo started feeling better right away and by late this afternoon was perfect. My pills are every 12 hours and since we got home a little past noon, I didn't want to take them until tonite..so we'll see. The truth is I sorta exaggerated my symptoms because I didn't want to wait until I was good and sick to do anything about it, and there was a pretty good chance in my mind I get at least as sick as Poppi since I'm kissing him, we often share water bottles, etc...And he almost never gets sick..I think I got sick right after we hit Playa Ventura, then again in Penasco, so it seems to be my way ha ha. Maybe I nipped this one in the bud.

Sam loved the beach this afternoon cause we went around 3:30 instead of closer to 4:30 like we have the past few days. It gets dark so early! And it cools off as well so we don't want Sam in the water- the problem is the only thing Sam wants is to BE IN the water! He is one happy dog. And he plays nice with Hazel, too. In fact they sometimes wear each other out playing. It's good, and pretty funny to watch because Hazel barks and turns circles and Sam lifts a paw to try and hold her down. He's such a good dog. And he takes watching the house very seriously; he knows it's his job. He's sacked out right now on the floor next to the couch, and Hazel is snuggled in a blanket next to Everardo on the couch, but when she gets bigger it will be no more furniture for Hazel. They still have to sleep outside until she gets housebroken, and she's coming along but I don't think she can make it all nite. Usually Everardo takes them out about 11pm, they lay on Sam's bed together and then Poppi puts the big blanket on them. Sam will stay under that blanket all nite, and Hazel is good at burrowing in next to him. Of course if someone drives up or other noises Sam is up and patrolling, in fact last nite I went down there about 11:45 and recovered him, and as I said, this place is pretty quiet so usually he's wrapped up for the nite. Once Hazel can hold it all nite they can both sleep inside, I like to have Sam sleeping near me. Poor guy, stuck sleeping outside cause of his new baby sister.

Luckily it doesn't get too cold, and if it does in the next couple of months then we'll figure out something else, but for now, it's working. Sam had a great swim today, going in over and over, and I can see he's a little stiff, ha ha he and I will both be happy when we move to a one story house!

I hope all my American family and friends have a nice Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow. I know Drewy and Rex and my soon to be granddaughter, and her half brother are all going to my ex's and that some other family is coming as well so it will be a houseful. My younger daughter Halla lives with her dad and his wife; I haven't spoken to her but in our house friends of the kids were always welcome on Thanksgiving, so I know they will all have a good time. It's nice to have a good relationship with ex's because we share kids, and who knows,  maybe next year we'll all be together. These days there are so many "blended" families...I mean it's too bad so many people get divorced, but if we can be good to each other, remember that at some point we liked each other ha ha, then we can all gain. I mean kids, even adult kids, can always use as much love as we all can give them. Everardo talked with his cousin/sister Anna tonite and then I chatted with her for a few minutes. They are also in northern Ca, and planning to come visit us in a couple, maybe 3 weeks. Yippee again. Hmmm maybe there's some way Drewy could come with them...well if she'd be comfortable driving down with them...oooh maybe even Elena- no she has school. Well and Drewy is in this (f'ing) holding pattern waiting to get her externship. Boston Reed has sucked at this part, it's been about 2 months and she found the externship location herself. Now this one might not come thru and she'll be depending on them, and they haven't done shit for her. Oh one thing- they did fire the counselor who was supposed to be finding her a placement- apparently he was dropping the ball with other students as well, maybe all the students from her class is what she's starting to hear. But she is determined and it will work out. I want to end this on a high note, so let's see...turkey legs, mashed potatoes, peas, stuffing, gravy gravy gravy..pumpkin pie, whipped cream, ice cream....yummmmmm

Shortest job in history! When I went in this morning, I was let go. I'm disappointed but ok, I mean I only worked there 2 days. What happened was that she spent the weekend re-evaluating how she is going to move forward with this new venture. She thought this new computer program, which is really an application with alot of input required as well as constant updating, AFTER you decide how you want to utilize it. She hired me because once this new system starts getting her all these new leads, she'll need someone to field calls, to update status's, to weed thru her email, to input data. She is looking for an assistant, not a partner. So she is taking a step back, and going in a different direction and believes her need for an assitant is a couple of months out. She also said her plan is to call me back. She showed me another website used for attracting virtual assistants and within a couple of hours of placing her ad, she got 7 responses. And they were from around the world; India, Bangladesh and other 3rd world locations where they would accept $2, 3, 4 or 5 dollars an hour. Now this is for a different job function than she wanted for me. She has decided to build the infrastructure and then as it begins to come together, as her pipeline begins to fill, then she'll need an assistant. Ha ha now the pressure is back on Poppi for a job! Ok just kidding, but I was not looking; I just happen to see her posting and decided to answer.

She is a very nice woman. She kept apologizing to me and hugged me at the end. She said she plans to call me back, and I hope that's true, but if not, that's ok, too. She said she like me and she thinks I'm fun...ha ha I hadn't even gotten started with my terrible jokes. One funny thing- this morning Everardo and I were talking and I said I'd worn long sleeves both days I worked and at my interview...I thought I'd let her love me before she saw my tattoos. He said- who cares! And I almost wore a 3/4 sleeve sweater, but it was kinda cold and my hair was wet, so I wore a long sleeve flannel over my shirt. I wonder, if I had worn the 3/4 sleeve and then was let go, would I wonder if it was the tattoos? Naaaa. When I got laid off from Teltronics after a year I went over and over it, trying to figure out why it was me- even though a bunch of people were laid off, and my job had basically been created for me...same thing when I did the contract job at this other place for 3 months, and I wanted to apply for a perm position in Engineering; an engineer I knew encourage me to apply, but when I went to HR she wouldn't even let me apply; she told me senior staff didn't like me. I still has 3 days to go on my contract, but I was so surprised, I went back to my desk, then tried to see my boss who I knew liked me...he wasn't around, so I wrote him a nice note, copied HR and left. I made myself nuts trying to figure it out. Well my boss got fired 3 days later, and the best I can figure out is because he hired me and they hated him....ah well. Anyway I do make an impression ha ha! People usually either really like me or really dislike me. Although I would say that as I get older (wait I'm always 29), that I try to be a little more middle of the road..sometimes I'm better at it than others ha ha. It's like as I like me better, I don't have to make you wrong, or convince you of anything about me.

The weekend was beautiful here!  On Saturday we took the doggys to the beach early cause we wanted to go to Ensenada to find the English speaking meeting they have on the wknd and we found it. I ended up chatting this woman who's husband was in a wet suit and standing on a paddle board out in the water. They own a place in the camp next door and come down one wknd a month and then for a couple weeks on vacation every year with plans to retire here in a few years. I pointed out to the point and asked if she knew what all those ships were doing; I thought maybe they had to wait their turn to go into the port at Ensenada. But only a few were boats, they were tuna boats, And the big rings we had seen when driving along the cliffs are tuna rings. The things I saw that I thought were like freight cars and assumed they were on a barge, were actually these things they lower around the tuna rings to keep the seals away and they go down about 50 feet. She told me 2 Japanese companies and 1 Mexican company have the rights out there to fish for the tuna. Getting the tuna to the table in a restaurant in Japan is less than 24 hours! So I guess they keep them alive in those rings and the "harvest" them. I see some googling for info in my near future ha ha. Apparently this place and only one other in the world (yes- the WORLD) is where they do this. It has to do with the cold current...I mean I'm sure tuna is fished for elsewhere but these 2 places are THE places where they can do it at this level. Pretty interesting, right? Makes my mouth water for some sushi...tuna, yellowtail, salmon...mmmm. Anyway while I was chatting Poppi tired out Sam & Hazel so we could take off for Ensenada.

 We went to Ensenada and found the place. Not too many street signs in Ensenada, and directions are always about landmarks...this was find Carl's Jr on the main street (Reforma) and then go behind it. It was pretty far, but we spotted it, and went up to the next light so we could swing behind it. We found it pretty easily, it was upstairs in a long cement building. Not alot of people, but alot of good sobreity, so a good meeting, glad we came. So,  downstairs from it was a little hole in the wall restaurant and I'm telling you- THE BEST enchiladas I EVER had! Now I don't like them picoso (spicy) so she left it out of mine except for a tiny bit. I chose chicken but could have had pork or carne asada. That's one thing- I'm glad we're so close to Ensenada for all the little places to eat, the trucks, corner stands....here the food is expensive, and many of the eaterys are not run or even staffed by Mexicans. This is an American enclave. You could probably deal with just English speakers if you wanted to. We went to this restaurant the other nite and the food was pretty crappy- I think I wrote about it already, so I'll just return to my point about eating in Ensenada. It's nice that it's close, but doesn't really spill over into here. I think driving it's less than 20 minutes to get to Reforma, and that's where Costco and Wallmart are, a big movie theater; alot of consumer businesses. Sort of runs along the top or the back, of the city. At the bottom, or the front is the waterfront, the hotels and touristy stuff. We can see it in the distance from here. This coast line kind of does a half cirlce inward, so we are at the south end and can see Ensenada almost at the north end. I keep forgetting I want to look up the name of this bay we're on. We found a great taco place the first time we came over to house hunt, and now we have this new place. Everardo had a soup and he really liked it. It had veggies and meat in it, it was clear I think, and he loves it. And that 18-20 minute drive will drop to below 15 once the road construction is completed.
When you drop down out of Ensenada- and I say that cause as you leave, the road goes down a big sloping hill, you go straight for a while and then come to a big Y. If you go to the right you go out towards us, and then past us, maybe 10 minutes driving is the Bufadora and the road ends there. So you don't get traffic near us that isn't out here for a reason. If you take the left fork, you go thru Maneadero and continue south thru Baja. The Bufadora is a huge blow hole, and kinda cool, ok very cool. You kind of get mesmerized watching the water flow in and out. You park and then walk thru a mini malecon packed with booths on both sides, and then come down to a viewing spot. I guess it's a pretty big tourist attraction, hence the road construction. We haven't done any exploring in Maneadero yet; but I suspect we'll find good food, and less expensive there as well since it's a Mexican community. Right next next to that Y, is an open air market on the weekends, on Sundays for sure and I think on Saturdays.

On Sunday there was this bike ride (maybe it was a race) from Ensenada to the Bufadora, probably an hour and a half each way (guess). There were about 300 riders and it was cool to see them going by. There was a pit stop for water here in Punta Banda, and they were taking donations of foodstuffs for a senior's home in Ensenada. So we donated some toilet paper, toothpaste and some cans of tuna...stuff we had in the house.
So we went to the open air market after that and bought fresh veggies and fruit for the week. The veggies are really really cheap, but I guess that's to be expected since this is an agricultural area. We eat there as well. A little taqueria on the back row with head tacos..really good; we've been to this market twice and that little place was packed both times. In the late afternoon we went to the beach and took a long walk, longer than usual and really enjoyed it. Yeah, walking on the beach every day is hard work, but somebody's gotta do it right? ha ha.

Tomorrow Mike is supposed to come and he and Everardo will fix the roof, and the front gate which has also crapped out. It's a wide metal gate with both sides swinging out and where one side connects to the wall by bolts thru a piece of wood, has come off. For me it's a cumbersome gate, and I look forward to not having it- I mean when we find another place to live. On Sunday afternoon we took a drive (before the beach) with the dogs and looked in a couple of other camps and saw some cute places. I think the Pablov family owns at least 2 other one besides La Joya and so far I continue to hear good things about them and their campos......

Oh, one more things. So I went to zumba this morning at 8; didn't mind paying since I had a job ah aha. But- it was terrible!! One 2 people besides me altho' they said usually it's about 10. The instructor was awful. Not like dancing at all. No booty shakin', no dancing, no excitement. I guess it was an ok aerobics class, but not even a very good one of those. I was thinking during it about writing this tonite ha ha, not realizing I'd be jobless in a few minutes. But job or no job that was not a class I'll return to.There's a free exercise class I heard about that I'll try tomorrow, but so bummed about the zumba. Maybe I can find out about the free one in Ensenada...maybe if the time works out I won't mind driving...oh but every day? Hmm ah well, I have the music so...never know what comes next, right?

Mexico fun fact:
The North Atlantic Free Trade Association (NAFTA) was created in 1994 to encourage trade among the United States, Canada, and Mexico. But NAFTA has largely failed to lift Mexico out of poverty due to Mexico's repeated economic crises, a weak public education system, government corruption, and Mexico's inability to enforce the rule of law.