Looking forward

Mexico changed me and continues to change me, even though sometimes the changes are not even with Mexico or the Mexican people. The meditation groups I just joined-I think most of the people in both meditation groups are expats- Americans or Canadians, but I know there's a woman from Chile, and another from Holland. There's another woman who I think travels extensively, and has been to India several times and other places; it's funny, she caught me in the hall and after chit chatting for a few minutes she told me she thinks that I am interesting! And she wants to get to know ME! ha ha I was thinking the same of her....so I went to meditation looking for one thing but am also finding other things....I also think my friend Jan is very interesting and she is also married to a Mexican and we have found a couple of things to laugh about with our heads together.

Something happened today that also has me back to thinking about how I can contribute to the community in a positive way. At the grocery store there were at least 20 kids standing around the bakery counter, young kids, maybe 7 to 12 years old...maybe some younger and some older than that, but not much older. They were all with this one guy, I thought he seemed like a priest maybe even though he was not wearing "priest clothes" ha ha. The kids were jostling each other and laughing...then I saw them all again in the checkout lanes and people were smiling at them, and I saw the guy counting them- aha! keep track...and I realized he was counting in English....and that got me thinking. When we got outside he was herding them into a little micro bus and I asked Everardo if he thought they were from around here, and that I saw/heard the guy counting them in English. Poppi said yeah they're probly from here; that there's community centers or places where people are helping kids- that sometimes it's for kids that the parents are addicts and have gone to a rehab, sometimes it's for kids who's families are trying to feed their kids and are struggling. I want to get involved. I don't know how exactly, but I was looking when I first got here and couldn't find anything, but we've been over here awhile now..I think this is month 10, and maybe it's time to open up my eyes again. Even if it's one day a week...So I don't know how I'm gonna find these places....worst case is going back to the store and asking, or going back to the store next Sunday afternoon...but helping a kid? Everardo is working 5 days a week and always on the weekend- his days off are not even in a row (Mon & Thur)...I think I can donate some time. I think it's time to try again to get involved.

Yes I'll be gone for 10 days in Sept- so what. And then we'll be gone 2 or 3 weeks, after I get back, but these kids are not going anywhere, maybe I can find out where one or more of these places are, and talk to somebody...yeah. Good! New plan. Find a new way to be of service. Wish me luck readers- I am a part of this life, of this world, of people. I cannot affect or change so many terrible horrible things I see going on all over the world. I cannot bear to watch the news anymore. But right here, in front of me, where I breathe, are people living in such poverty...are struggling families, are kids who...well you know what I mean. I used to love this slogan "Think globally act locally". Writing here always helps me put my thoughts in order. I write a bunch of crap, and then something positive comes up sometimes. I want to help-, maybe helping with school work, maybe washing dishes, maybe teaching English, maybe playing games, maybe telling stories...I believe it's ok that this minute I don't know how or what-but- Yes wish me luck please, I want to help.
Well my foot is almost better. I assume my toe is broken, but what do you do with a broken toe? Tape it to the next toe? So I wrapped it and kept it elevated whenever I sat down. Exercising was interesting but not impossible. The weights were fine, but dancing?? ha ha I was like a chubby awkward stork on th beach, hopping around on one foot, or staying still and flapping my wings all over the place. But I did it. By Monday my toes were black and blue as well as half my foot....but I think the bruising is the path to healing. But like I said I kept up with my exercise program. I found I can keep my heart rate up with alot of arm swinging almost standing in place.

However I do realize that I have to modify, revise, as I go. So when I have the morning meditation group every other Wed morning, I am going to take the day off from exercising, and make it up on Saturday. It's a full workout day, meaning weights & dance so I don't want to just skip it, but this is the second time I did the workout in the afternoon and ended up feeling like shit after, so afternoons are out for the full monty. I have become...old? arrgghh ok maybe not old, but at least set in my ways, and having my protein shake at 4pm, then not wanting dinner, and being fatigued at 7pm...then wide awake at 11pm ha ha. Not workin' for me..... My full workout ends up being about 3 hours...so... because I want to go to meditation as well, I just have to revise. ok

Well that leads into something else. My new friend Jan had me over because I am borrowing her extra Kindle for a few days since my book for the afternoon meditation hadn't come in yet and for this Wed I need to have read a portion of it. When I was there she showed me her new toy- a Wii Fit. I've never used a Wii before but seen them of course. Jan wants to start exercising but is a little older than me, and needs to start slow, so she's been coming over to take a walk on the beach on a few afternoons. We usually walk about an hour and a half, but "leisurely", stopping to pick up perfect sand dollars, or to make a point about something. Watching my silly dogs romp in the surf. I bring their ball and so they jump around us excitedly- as if we don't play ball at the beach every single day (ha ha) and they chase every one like it might somehow get away. Anyway she shows her Wii and it looked pretty fun so I gave it a try with a couple of programs....a balance thing where a penguin is on an iceberg gobbling fish ha ha, also a step routine, and it also got my heart rate going. Her plan is to do it every day but invited me as well- so I thought....oh! How about on Wed afternoons after the morning meditation- which she also goes to-....so that would be every other week for me, and she liked that idea, and I can see her progress and she can keep walking with me. Aha love it when things work out right??

Well I just used my blog to figure out a new workout sch..adding something new on alternating Wednesdays and making up the weights...

So I started the book "Essential Spirituality" and I think maybe I am going to love it. This is for the afternoon meditation group that alternates Weds as well. It's a much bigger group and more structured. The plan is to read an agreed portion of the text, on our own "do" the associated exercised, and then share our experience at group. There is an opening and closing meditation, with the discussion in the middle. I read into the first section with the first "exercises". It was about identifying your cravings- and not my craving for ice cream, rather things like, for example, anger- how am I addicted to it? Well if it's my first solution to things/events in front of me, then what is the pay off, or what am I afraid of, or what do I think I'm not getting that I deserve? But you can also crave or be addicted to...work, alcohol, sex, food, other emotions...fear....Not positive I totally get the concept, but I plan to re read the section before the meeting and am very interested in hearing what other people have to say. Then the exercises help you to investigate your feelings and then make a plan to change your habits.....I mean one example was as simple as if you are always late and you want to change, to commit to being on time, then make the commitment, have no exceptions, keep a journal, create a new habit- so see I don't really understand....but I want to. I mean I understand addiction- I'm an alcoholic with 13 years in recovery, so I know about commitment, changing my life, my habits, how I look at things. In fact AA invited me to find a spiritual path and that has brought me to here, now, to this minute. And my new health/fitness commitment to myself- I have just started month 5, and I am keeping a journal about both my progress and how I feel about it. So maybe I understand more than I know, just need to hear it another way. Anyway I'm excited for this new journey as well.

Ha! I start out writing one thing and then jump around. And yet I feel more settled. One thing though, I am so excited to see in my stats that I get views from people in Turkey and even Iraq...as well as lots of other countries I know I have said that before...Germany, China, Russia..all over the place. I wish so much people would comment. Maybe you will only say what a lame blog ha ha. Most of the page views are from the U.S and Mexico- but what do those people think? I know this is just my online diary and in the beginning it was about this new country I moved to, but now I have settled in one spot and so mostly write about day to day stuff (altho I do have 2 trips coming up). So I still wish I knew what people think....you can comment....I would love it- and if it's all negative comments, well another opportunity for me to work on acceptance ha ha. I do not have tons of people reading this, if I was trying to make money I would have already starved to death ha ha.I just checked- less than 500 looks at my blog in the past month...ah well. But I get to write how I feel and what I'm up to, and like I said I sometimes figure out stuff here....like deciding I want to try again to get involved in the community - maybe I gave up to easy before....anyway, as always....Viva!

Interesting weather...& what's comin'

We have had thunder and lightening storms the last 2 days. Weird. I tried to google it and see if it is indeed weird for the area since I haven't been here in summer, but I couldn't find anything. Well I did find an article saying northern Baja usually mirrors southern Calif....San Diego/LA. And I know raining in summer is not normal for those areas....

Sam our big lab is scared of thunder just like fireworks so has been staying close, but today is only muggy. That brings me to the next thing  that this weekend has been about is I am kinda stuck because Friday morning I smashed my foot into a door jam and probly broke my toe. I still worked out Friday but luckily I don't on weekends. So I've either sat in a chair with my leg up or limped around all weekend. Sooo boring. So boring in fact that I took a photo of my toes all bruised and actually put it on facebook ha ha!!

It's really black & blue now, but actually feeling better and tomorrow I am back at my normal workout regime. Friday was August 1 so I am starting month 5 and happy with myself that I am on target and on my path. Exercise wise I have stayed true....it's funny how I don't want to exercise but I have NEVER been sorry after I finished. I'm sure it's that whole releasing of endorphins thing because I always always feel better after I workout. Sometimes exhausted and done for the day, but mentally always better. Almost every morning I think when I wake up, I'm gonna skip it for today, but I have learned to simply get up and have my coffee. Actually when I get up, I get out of bed, then turn around and make my bed first thing. Then brush my teeth...then whatever is next. Usually stumble out to the kitchen for my coffee, and in this tiny place it's not too many steps ha ha.

When I was a kid we had to make our beds every morning, except the day the sheets got changed and then we had to strip it. When I first moved out I didn't always make it, and in the awful years...with who I refer to as the "sperm bank" we never never made the bed. As soon as I left that terrible relationship I became obsessed with making my bed every morning, and to this day...30 years later, I make it as soon as I pop out of it. Anyway back to my exercise routine. So I don't argue with myself when I first wake up...I just have the "nope not gonna exercise today" and go about my stuff and then sit with my coffee. Every time...every single time I decide to do my workout.

 This month I really want to stick close on my new eating lifestyle as well. I thought I was doing good, and the truth is my shape and weight are changing. Slowly, I am not crash dieting or doing a heavy duty weights or cardio workout- I don't want to hate it or dread it. With the weights I'm doing some arm stuff and a couple of leg things, and trying for more reps and not too much weight. I don't want big muscles or something that will turn to big blobs of fat if I stop for a few weeks. What I want is for the weights to help my cardio. There's something that you burn off with weights that makes the cardio more effective. I forget what it is, but I do the weights first. I researched the hell out of it, reading opinions on both sides and sided with weights first- it made sense to me. My cardio has become total dance. I set my phone to time 25 minutes and I go twice. I just like to know when I am on the flip side. I don't usually end up right in front our beach path, so the extra 10 minutes to make up an hour usually gets danced ha ha. I dance 5 days a week and do weights 3 times a week. My ipod is a cross of 70's rock & roll and Mexican zumba music. So I have some steps I learned in zumba class, and actually for about 4 songs (20 min) I have worked out routines, and then there's 2 other songs that one is all arms and the other is all leg kicks.

The rest, I just dance how I feel...I like to twirl and jump....ok probly won't do any jumping for a few more days. A lot of the time my eyes are closed. But when they are open, I see my dogs running in and out of the surf. I see silly birds, sometimes I see dolphins.....I see the where the sky meets the ocean out past the mouth of the bay, I see the sharp peak of the mountain that guards the left side mouth of the bay; sometimes with swirling wisps of fog around it, sometimes just fluffy little clouds, and sometimes it's just crystal clear. But all that- believe you me! Makes dancing at the edge of the water easy every morning, makes it breath taking, makes it alive! So Monday thru Friday I am rejuvenated with my dancing. And the weights are not that hard, and don't take that long. Sam and Hazel always walk down to that falling down abandoned house; Sam waits outside because like me he hates stairs, but Hazel runs up and down them and checks on me every few minutes. On the 2 minute walk back to our place Sam gets very happy because he knows the beach dance is next. I don't bring the ball because then the whole thing becomes about them and the darn ball. So they find their own things to play with, Hazel eggs Sam into chasing her into the water so we all have a good time- every time. People walk by and either I don't see them or we wave at each other. A few jog, others walk their dogs, who all socialize with each other....yeah exercising here is nice.

So next month I'm going for 10 days to see my sister in New York. I think it's upstate NY, right near the Albany airport...so is that considered upstate? I've only ever been to Queens & Manhattan I think, and for sure never out in the country. They have a farmhouse in a tiny town next to another town not alot bigger...sounds perfect. They have a couple of acres so I will have room to dance. It won't be like when I went to see my daughters where it just seemed I was so busy...well it's where I came here from, so doctors appts, friends, etc. Here it will just be them, and they have always been really health conscious. Years ago, when my daughters were little and we lived by my mom, both my sister and her husband and my brother and his family would stay with us when they came "home". My sister and the Bear (her hubby) would bring their own food for breakfasts, lunches & snacks but usually have what we were eating for dinner. We always thought they were nuts. But really- they were the healthy ones! They brought oatmeal, nuts, seeds, berries, ate yogurts non fat milk, etc. Bananas and apples...Yeah the way I eat now. Back then we either ate cereal like frosted flakes ha ha or eggs and bacon....and sandwiches (lunch meat) for lunch. They had much better eating habits than us. But now that's how I eat, and talking to my kids- they both eat much better than back then as well. More natural foods, more fruits and veges, more organic..... Anyway my plan is to stick with my new eating plan which I bet will be easily done at their place and do my workout as well.

That means that this month- August I need to stay true. I did a true month in April, then May I went up to northern Calif, and did my best, but hardly any exercise. June I was sick for over a week- too sick to exercise. July I was true to exercise but gave myself a break when I went to the AA convention and made bad food choices....ha ha so easy with that first bite of a giant homemade chocolate chip cookie... Sept I travel and then we may travel in Oct as well. Not sure if it will be Oct or Nov, yet, but we are going back to Playa Ventura, to Michocan, hopefully to Oaxaca, and who knows where else..and we may be gone 2.5 weeks and as long as a month. It's funny the month long trip sounds so cool except for leaving Sam & Hazel for that long. And really, it's Sam. Hazel is a baby, turning 1 year old in Sept, so she will not worry like Sam will. Once I left him for 3 weeks, had a house/dog sitter and he was fine...I missed him terribly though. And we will have a a house/dog sitter here as well. I don't want someone coming by every day to feed and walk them, I want someone to live here with them. Our friend was just in the hospital since Monday and he got home today (Sunday). It was quite sudden, and we went every day and got his dog Iggy and brought him over to our house. Iggy was fine at home alone. I believe he's stayed home in this manner before. But our dogs are our children...yeah I'm so happy that Everardo feels the same way about them as I do....Anyway we have someone who is happy to do it, and she knows them and already spoils them when she see them, so I'm ok with it.....well pretty much...ha ha.

So I make plans and life goes on. I made a monthly daily lifestyle plan for a year. What I have to remember is I am changing my lifestyle....so that means I live my life...just from a bit of a different perspective...a small shift. The shift is ultimately for my health...as in I don't want to ever have cancer again, as in I want to see my children live their beautiful lives, as in I want to see my grandchildren, whoever that family may be...I only have Danica (5yrs) so far, but will Drew & Rex have other children? Will Halla? Will Elena? Where will we live 10 years from now? Mexico? Calif? Somewhere else?   

A short story about the hammock...

Did I already say I love my new hammock? Yeah pretty sure I did. It's wide, and if you lay right down the center, the sides can fold up over you. Everardo put hooks in the beam on the porch and you hang low, close to the ground, but not too close because it makes it hard to get out.

Just like how it was down in Playa Ventura. I know when we were down there I must have written that sleeping in the hammock is the best. That I loved my naps. That it's long enough and wide enough, and slack enough to let you twist and turn, to sleep all curled up or stretched out completely. That the sound of the ocean, the slightest of breezes, a gentle rock can lull you off to sleep in minutes...sometimes feels like seconds.

It was the same in Puerto Penasco except for missing the sound of the ocean, and there was almost never a breeze. But here in Baja, in my new hammock it was the same. Last nite I noticed it and today....today there was the smallest of breezes, and the after rain smell that we had alot of in Playa Ventura since the rainy season is all summer (of course it stayed unbearably hot/humid even in the rain), but I lay there today, my eyes closed, rocking ever so slowly, the sound of the ocean...I wiggled around just a little and whispered "ahhhh". My eyes were closed and for a moment, just a couple of moments, I thought, "where am I?" I felt like I was in Playa Ventura. I listened to the ocean and thought of my friend Chela who lived down the road, that maybe I would walk down there in a little while. Hmmm should I walk along the road or along the beach? I knew Sam was somewhere near by and always ready to go down to gume and Chela's place- she always had a tidbit for him. I thought of that "jeugo de pepina" she would make for me. It was sooo refreshing! Cucumber, icy water. a little bit of sugar. Hmmmm. If I walk down the road, even that short way I'll be sweating and be even wetter than I am now. If I walk down the beach I will surely jump in right as I get to there place, and Sam will have gone in and out, chasing a stick or a branch, just in that 5 minute walk. Still, I think the beach is the best walk.

But do I want to open my eyes yet? Do I want to move from this most comfortable place? Mmmmm, maybe a little longer. I can feel the paperback book I brought into the hammock with me sitting on my chest. I know the water in the water bottle on the ground below me is already warm, even though I filled it with ice water just a minute ago. I lathered myself with my precious Autan (mosquito oil) before I climbed in- ok let's face it, I put it on when I wake up, after swimming, after a shower, and I am still covered in bites. With my eyes still closed and floating at the edge of asleep and awake, I think about how I have only a few, 2 or 3 bites right now...hmmm, I can take a liesurely nap, Everardo won't be here for hours...where is he? Is he out fishing with Gencho? Is he going for lobster with Romero? Now that would be nice......

I floated a little longer and then I slowly opened my eyes. My book is on my chest. It's not quite as hot as it should be....the ocean is not quite as loud as it should be....ahhh I am here, in Baja. We are on a bay, not the Pacific with waves crashing against the rocks. It is not so hot that I never cared we had no hot water. In fact the breeze on my sweat is actually cooling me off a little. Yeah that's not Guererro...that's Baja. I walked on the beach for a couple of hours earlier with my friend Jan and the dogs (of course), came home, chatted with my younger daughter on the phone about this new woman she met and is kinda falling for....and then I took my book and my water bottle out to my new hammock and climbed in. Sam plunked himself right down below me, content to take a snooze. Hazel hadn't really experienced the hammock much since I was fussing with it the couple of times I tried to make the old one work with the gaping holes and deteriorated tears in it. So as I settled in she was very interested, poking her head and I could tell, thinking of hopping in- but I told her no and she was happy to cuddle up with Sam. I did read for awhile, and every so often give myself a little push to swing me, to rock me....

Not sure when I let go of the book, when the ocean sounds were what I began to hear, when my mind began to wander, when I started to play the "where am I" game. So I am here, right where I should be, but happy to know I can revisit another place, easily, with a gentle rock, a slight breeze, and the sound of the ocean.....nice....viva

Wedding on the beach and a new hammock!!

This morning I went out to throw the ball for Sam & Hazel for half an hour before I left since I was going to Ensenada to the noon meeting, and even without going to the store it ends up being at least 3 hours. I took our buddy Tim, who did need to go to the store, and leaving at 11am I didn't get home until about 2:30. Anyway when I looked down the beach I saw all these white tents being set up and with some white ribbon or sashes I guess, I believe it was for a wedding. Second wedding this summer here on our strip of beach. The last one was more at a house with the beach as a backdrop, but this one seemed to be totally set up on the beach.

When I got back this afternoon and looked down the beach I saw alot of people sitting at tables, and milling about. In front of our house we had a pretty thick red tide, but down in front of them it seems like it was very light. I'm happy for that; this morning it was pretty red down there, but I think it moved more our way. I took a nice little nap after that, close to an hour and then got up to putter around, acting very Saturday-ish...ha ha the only reason Saturday is different from week days is I don't exercise on the the weekend. A little fruit and cheese, and back outside to sit and enjoy the fresh air. When Everardo came home, he showed up with a GREAT surprise. A new hammock!! Yippee!

My first hammock was rainbow colors and I got it down in Playa Ventura. Our friends Chela and Gume who had the restaurant I hung our at had hammocks around the patio and after eating a nap in the hammock was heaven. The next time the guy came around who sold hammocks Gume pointed him towards our place. They are huge and you can get so comfy in them, in fact they became my favorite way to sleep! I napped in mine almost every day down there in Guerrero because it was so hot at nite, and you had to keep the sheet on you to avoid being devoured by bugs (even with bug juice on), that I was always tired in the day time. Tropical heat 24/7 just takes you down. I fell in love with the wind, any small breeze made a big difference because I was always soaking wet, and a breeze could cool me off, & even just a bit was gratefully indulged. We had two hammocks, but Everardo didn't nap in them as much as me, he could do it outside or inside and sleep away.

Unfortunately hanging so close to the beach and in the heat wore thru the hammock...well maybe it was then the change to the heat in Penasco, where we were not near the water and where it hung it got searchingly hot.....but after we got here to Baja, and the hamock went up....it simply tore. Ah I remember now that the puppy next door..Brownie-who we almost brought with us, had reached up and chewed a little hole in the hammock, but when we got here it just sort of rotted away. I could still lay in it, sort of on one side...but it was not as comfortable and rotted away a little more every time I got in it....and has been unusable for a couple of months. But today! Today Poppi brought me home a new hammock! This one is blue and black- he actually apologized for not finding one with purple in it...(love dat guy)...and he put it up....and it's purrrrfect! I'am a so happy! I grabbed a pillow and a new book and jumped in. On top of that he made torta for dinner.

Tortas is my most favorite dinner since coming to Mexico. Yes I love everything; carnitas, chicken and beans, pork & beans, chicken and beans....yeah we eat alot of beans...and of course the fish. Well and I love the fresh lobster as well, but really we can't eat lobster every week. Torta we usually have once a week. It's the thinnest sliced meat I've ever seen. He frys it, and puts on bosillos (like a french roll) with cheese. That's it- so simple and yet oh oh oh so good. Sometimes he adds more, like onions, tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms, etc- but I like it best just meat and cheese and I notice he's been doing the same thing for himself lately. So a perfect end to a nice lazy Saturday.

Ok so back to the wedding festivities. Just a little while ago he went out with the dogs and told me to come out and look. They were sending up these candle balloons....well I'm not sure they're balloons, maybe candles and bags? Not sure how it's done but I've seen it before. But these were so beautiful. And they have music but are the perfect distance from us because when we're outside we can hear the beat of the base, but that's it and nothing once we came back inside. They have that color light machine so the whole area is lighted up different colors and seems to change with the music. There's some kids closer to us on the beach and they are playing volleyball in the dark with flashlights around the sides and I could hear them laughing. Hmmmm ok now they are lighting off fireworks...the loud banging kind, the kind Sam hates, so he is pacing. But it's only a little after 9pm, so hopefully they will run out soon. Fireworks are very popular here.

The weather seems to hang around the 70's (F), sometimes getting hot for a little while in the afternoon and people have been swimming wherever it's not red tide. Tim, who has been here around 4 years says this is how it is. I like it cooler in the morning for my morning dance-exercise; I danced in the afternoon this past Wednesday and forgot my baseball hat...and I thought I had sunstroke! ha ha

The only downside about today is that this afternoon I reached up to my neck to scratch a mosquito bite I got- usually they come out at nite- and a little while later noticed it was really itchy and took my chain I always wear off so it wouldn't aggravate it- and looked in the mirror...and it was twice as big....and I had another on my chin. Now, a few hours later the one on my chin goes from right under my lip to my chin, so about an inch long and kinda fat, and the one on my neck also about an inch long and almost as wide. Hmmmm. I think it's gotta be spider bites. Not fair really since I try never to kill spiders (out of fear of retaliation ha ha) but I did kill a tick yesterday that was walking up my leg. I knock it off and hit it with my shoe...which did nothing, so I got a spoon and flat side down I heard it crack when I squished it....gross right? Do you think ticks talk to spiders? Did I get revenge bit? Ha ha ha ha Actually I don't think so because I think I got bit while I was in Ensenada or at least on the way back...oh so the guilty sucker is probly still in the truck....hmmm

So another beautiful afternoon and evening in Baja......- oh and if I wake up and my bites are cover my whole face and neck....well I'll probly hit the clinic....keep ya all posted! Viva!

Trip to Tijuana....and more

Last Monday, July 14 I was down on the beach dancing for an hour like I do every Mon-Fri morning. It started out as a walking thing, but with my Ipod on and the zumba music I brought with me from Penasco...it has become a dance hour. At first I would sorta dance walk my way far down the beach, well for half an hour one way and then back, now sometimes I don't go more than a couple of houses worth of distance, unless there's a red tide. Even though I know the red tide won't hurt the dogs, sometimes it stinks, or there's just so much crap in the water...so I look up & down the beach to see at which end the red stops, and head that way. A few times it seems to have covered the entire length, or at least as far as I can see, so I'm stuck, and on those days, doggys get hosed off when we get home. It's funny, they run and jump into the surf and into the estuary, but get out the hose and they both try to slink away.  Hazel I have to hold onto as I spray her off, Sam knows to stay still.

I heard last year the red tide was there all summer, the whole length of the beach, so I guess we're lucky that this year it comes and goes, and even when it's here, it's almost always short so I can get past it, dance my heart out while Hazel & Sam go swimming.

Ok, so last Monday I was almost done dancing, and had made my way back almost to our path, and Everardo came down. He waited until I stopped, then asked if I wanted to shoot up to Tijuana to see Anna, his cousin. Hmmm uh, sure I said. It's about 2.5 hours from our place, and one of those hours is getting to & thru Ensenada. So I got ready as quick as I could, sucked down my protein shake as fast as I could and we were off. We called our neighbor Tim and asked him to feed the dogs when he came by like he did every afternoon. Everardo said we were going to spend the nite but get up at 6am and come back so he could go to work at the Bufadora in the morning- ok with me cause I can sleep really good in the car ha ha (and he always wants to drive). Anna is his cousin but I think I have written about these cousins before- they are more like sisters to him. Orphaned at age 6, he spent his childhood with these 5 girls who were close to his age (his brother Pablo is close to his age, but his sister and older brother were older). Anna is a crazy nut (in a good way) and her husband loves her so much he indulges her anything, so they often drive down to Tijuana from just below San Francisco for the weekend to eat and shop, then back in time to go to work on Monday.

I remember when Everardo told me a story about when he was about 7 or 8 yrs old and with Anna or Becky outside hunting with a bb gun (I think) and shooting squirrels. He was telling me because we have these scrawny squirrels around here who I swear are playing chicken running across the road in front of cars..So I said how horrible to be killing little squirrels...and he said "we were eating them because we were hungry!" I forget sometimes how he grew up, I mean eating squirrels as a little kid? I need to go hug him right now. So you see he is so close with them as well as Pablo and Nieves his sister, who both still live down in Michocan, and we will visit in a few months when we do our road trip.

I haven't been to Tijuana, except when I walked across the border when I came back from northern Calif and Poppi picked me up- I was sick and fell asleep almost the minute I got into the car- so last time I was in Tijuana was about 30+ years ago. I flew to all my Mexico destinations over the years and Penasco is near the Arizona border so just never went. Not sure what I expected, but I had a nice time, a great time! I did not see one American the whole time. Well it was only Monday afternoon and evening and then Tuesday until early afternoon. Yeah we didn't leave at 6am. Anna and Carlos were staying in a really nice hotel and got us the room next to theirs. We were sort of near the big arch, and behind the hotel was a huge white building where it looked like live shows; maybe plays or concerts took place. Oh and there was also this massively big church with a huge clock tower....

They took us to this place for dinner where there was this live music, and it was 10 guys and a singer- but 9 or the 10 were playing horns and one drummer. One had a tuba, trumpets, all kinds of horns, and they play a song chosen by a patron and you would tip them. IT WAS SO LOUD! They loved it and although I had a good time, I ripped up my paper napkin and stuffed little paper balls in my ears or my drums would have been burst for sure- we were right up in front! It was a seafood place, and I had crab burritos and they were fantastic! Both of them had a whole fish, and Everardo had some kind of fish soup- he always orders a soup full of something. Then they pushed around this cart with alcohol on it, and they had this huge glass decanter of some special kind of tequila, and it had a rattlesnake in it! What?? The guy held up the snake for me to see, but we all passed ha ha. After dinner, and yes I was deaf, we walked along the street and into these little squares with nite markets  and had an ice cream cone.

I forgot to say that when we got up there it was raining! In July! I was wearing shorts, a tank top and flip flops, Poppi levis and a tshirt, but luckily we both brought something else; me a long sleeved farmer plaid shirt and he a sweater....and when we first got there it poured until sometime during dinner because we went outside and it had stopped- so we walked for awhile. My Spanish was better than I thought and I was able to follow alot of the conversations; Carlos speaks English, but not great and was much more comfortable in Spanish, and everyone around us was speaking Spanish- did I say I never saw any English speakers the whole time? The next morning we checked out and put our stuff in their room. Oh I forgot to say, Anna had 4 days off so they were there after the weekend. So Tuesday morning we put oir stuff in their room and went out and walked in a different direction for about 45 min or so and ended up in another square, near that church, and found an inside alley of eateries- all yelling to us to eat there! It was crazy! So we picked one and had breakfast...beans and eggs for me...menudo for you know who...and then we took a taxi to a place called Mercado Hildago. It was a big square around a parking lot lined with booths and vendors selling everything from cheeses to pinatas to kitchen accessories to pottery to every kind of food you can think of. Anna bought some of everything!! She shopped for her sisters, her mom, her dad, her kids, her grandson...pretty soon Carlos and Everardo were both carrying lots of bags ha ha. We bought a wedge of cheese from Guerrero, a dry tart cheese-really good. And I also got this thing- I forget the name in English or Spanish, but it's a stone bowl and you use it to crush up things like nuts. This one had 4 little legs so it sits up and a little pig  head carved in the side so I like it- and I've been wanting one to crush almonds to add them to my protein shakes. Anna says you have to crush uncooked rice in it a few times to "seal it" so I don't get rocks in my food.

We walked and talked and laughed and hugged and had such a nice time. Then Tuesday afternoon we drove back home and they stayed another nite in Tijuana before heading home. They both work so hard! She's been at the same job for something like 23 years and has NEVER taken a vacation- this 4 days was only 2 days off work and the other was the weekend! They told me they have a timeshare, the kind where you can go almost anywhere in the world, 4 weeks a year- and they've NEVER gone!! I went crazy over that...telling her she was nuts that no job or no money is worth never taking time off, and she must have known that at some point....(and they can afford it)....and he said he's trying to get her to change...they are both in their late 40's and their kids are grown....so??? Anyway I told them as soon as we sell our house in Guerrero I want to have Everardo choose a place he'd like to see and we want to go- with them! I told Anna all the places in the world I've been to and some of the stuff I've seen, and things I'd like to see. But I know Poppi has only been in Mexico and the U.S., so I want him to choose. The 3 of them (Anna, Carlos & my husband) all talked like something in the future in that way when you are just dreaming....and I kept insisting....Now that I know I am gonna keep on them about going somewhere...for themselves! And yeah, when we sell that damn beach house, and we will because it is a wonderful place, I do want to spend a little on a trip somewhere, I was already thinking that- but if we had a free place to stay....yeah even better, right?

The rest of the week was uneventful, Eveardo working and me working out ha ha. Oh I did make it to the meditation group and enjoyed it very much. That was the afternoon group and I believe I'll stick with that one, the morning group not sure, gonna go back tomorrow morning and try it once more. The afternoon group has a meditation, then discusses a spiritual book they are all reading, then a closing meditation and I came at the right time because they're starting a new book, "Essential Spirituality" in the next  week or 2, so I ordered it. Then on the weekend there was a mini AA convention with a group from the San Diego who came down and camped down the road. There were meetings and a potluck and I spent most of my weekend with them- it was a nice change.

Yesterday, Monday again...we went to Ensenada to immigration to check on my permanent residency papers since I never got the email and the website status never changed from "in process". I was worried they wanted some other "I" dotted or "T" crossed but when we got there the papers were ready and all I needed to do was pay and get fingerprinted. Well ha ha we were not prepared for such efficiency and so had to drive all the way back home, and transfer some money to our Mexican account to pay for it, then go to the bank to pay, then bring the receipt back to immigration. Yeah so weird- you don't give payments to government institutions, you pay at the bank and then present receipts. The bank, for the first time since we got to Baja, was packed...a ton of people in line and we didn't know what was going on, but needed to get back to immigration before 1pm....well we made it, but then had to return to the bank afterwords because it turned out the transfer hadn't arrived and Everardo had done this complicated thing between our 2 Mexico accounts. And! You can't give the bank the paperwork from the institution and have them wire the money. You have to withdraw the cash, get it in your hand, and then hand it back to the banker to wire! Oh and the banker cannot tell you your bank balance, you have to go to the atm and look it up. So over complicated. Anyway when we went back we found out why it was so busy. It was all students paying for their next semester at college. Another gov't institution so you don't pay for school at the school, you pay at the bank! The gov't keeps a tight fist around their money, right? So our transfer was there by then, and it's all good. When we go down south we'll close that second account, but for now we have to keep a certain balance in it...in the end, as always, it took all day ha ha. We also did a little grocery shopping which is cheaper in Ensenada than here, especially dog food...

The good news for me is, immigration says come back in 2 weeks and they will have my card. When it is in my hand I will celebrate. Because like I say: in Mexico, if you don't have it in your hand, you don't have anything. But once I get my permanent residence card, it's good forever.

Well the weather is beautiful, I did my full workout today after skipping yesterday and look forward to whatever's next. Viva

BUT NOT TODAY!

Just a short post tonite. But it was such a beautiful ocean today that I need to share it! The red tide was gone from in front of our place. It was however way down at the furthest south back of the bay...I could see the red crests - well I could see they were not white- without the binoculars...really I simply happy that it was gone from our place today after having it for at least 4 or 5 days. Now yesterday it only went about 5 houses up- across from our gym house...so it took less than 2 minutes to dance up there to exercise and let the dogs go in swimming at the same time. And the day before not alot further than that. But man.....for those 2 days it stunk! It stunk like dead fish and algae. I mean there's no dead fish, the red tide doesn't affect the fish, but I think it just clogs the water. I've never seen dolphins or seals swim in it, but they do swim just beyond it.

That's the weird thing; it's close to shore and comes up on the shore, and this red sort of fuzzy looking gross red fade to pink gunk is left on the beach when the tide goes out. Hmmm lovely summer thoughts, eh? It's this red algae..and there's these bulbs and when they pop this red stream of liquid comes out. Yeah gross. BUT NOT TODAY!! It does not even stretch back as far as the wave break, you know where they first start forming...it's in a little closer than that. I will be happy when it's gone, which I hear different things, like Sept or Oct...it has something to do with water temp, and apparently the last couple of years that hasn't been alot of rain or cold, and the water is warmer longer....BUT NOT TODAY!

I got up lazy this morning, knowing I didn't have to exercise or really do anything at all. Everardo left before 9am to go out to the Bufadora, so I drank coffee and watched tv. I finished my book. I sent a couple of emails. I talked to my daughter for more than an hour (gotta love magic jack for those free calls), I practiced Spanish for an hour. Oh wait, Spanish was after the beach. I took Sam & Hazel down to the water about noon to throw the ball and give them a good workout so I could come back and be lazy again in the afternoon. I didn't come back inside until about 2pm. I spent a few minutes chatting with a neighbor- who I don't care for- but Tim & Iggy had shown up on the beach and iggy joined the ball playing, so when we walked back up, the neighbor guy saw Tim and came to talk. He and I talk if he has walked over for something like seeing Tim, but we normally just do a little hand wave when we see each other. He is a jackass...and I just don't need one more jackass in my life. Not today.

So I came in and worked on Spanish for an hour, and then made myself a perfect lunch. Saltine crackers, some with sharp cheddar (Tillamok) on them, and some with fresh (mushy) goat cheese. A big fistful of almonds and a cut up sour green apple. And a hard boiled egg with salt. Funny that's the only food I put salt on- hard boiled eggs. I love putting different tastes together...I like putting almonds and apple in my mouth at the same time, or apple and cheddar cheese. But the goat cheese was very strong and really on tasted perfect with the saltine cracker. I wrote a little bit by hand in my other journal, the one I'm doing for my exercise and eating change. Making it my habit. I am on schedule with my goals and almost halfway thru month 4. I may share more details about it when I am closer to a year, but it's too new right now I am writing to affirm for myself. My feelings about it, reminding myself of things. Then I got back on my laptop and went to facebook, looked at my kid's pages....ha ha some of it is not really for my consumption and I refrain from commenting- even when I have an opinion. A perfect lazy day.

I saw a pelican this afternoon; they haven't been around- I guess they follow the fish? I miss them because they are so beautiful to watch. We also have a couple of egrets of live in a huge tree on the other side of us, (towards the estuary)...well not sure if they live there, but I believe they have a nest there; they are always bringing little sticks to that tree. But the pelicans remain my favorite. The water was warm according to m friend Tim, I only went in ankle deep while throwing the ball for the doggies; there were some people down the beach playing a game of what looked like baseball. Funny because I am used to seeing people play soccer (yeah I heard a newscaster say only the Americans call it soccer- the name is football) and playing volleyball, but this was the first time I saw a baseball game. There were a few people up the beach near the game and a couple of guys standing in the surf fishing. Although we started with a gray foggy morning, it had burned off by afternoon and the sky was so blue, with stringy wispy white clouds here and there.

Tim heard "they" are catching yellow fin tuna and he wants Everardo to go fishing with him in his boat on Monday. Poppi is gonna have to get a fishing license to fish from a boat- it's strictly enforced and they take your boat! Tim just gave Everardo a spear gun and the "Hawaiian sling" thing and Everado is very happy about that! 

The guy I don't care for was talking about problems with the tuna rings and the companies that run them. Tim commented they were not sustainable and I chipped in with- but I thought they grow the tunas in those rings so they are not wiping them out...Well the answer to that was- yes..BUT...and I never considered this: They are using all the available bait, the food all the rest of the fish eat- to feed the tuna in these rings. Oh-I've seen the fishing boats that cross the bay and back, side to side, at nite. Well they have huge nets and are scooping up all the small bait fish, then they take them to this place north of Ensenada and freeze them into these huge blocks. The the blocks are taken out as needed to this boat that is always sitting next to the rings, the blocks broken into chunks and dropped into the rings. Oh again. There are about 5 rings at the southern side of the mouth of this bay, and I found out there are 30 more a little south of us, I guess maybe in little bays or inlets(?) because it seems like the ocean itself would be too choppy but I don't know. And there are more both north and south. These companies go unchecked and over the past few years they have gone from- for example one of them has gone from about an $8 million a year to an $80 million a year enterprise, and growing. They have done this in other areas (3rd world so little or no restrictions) and they deplete the bait fish, then sport fishing and commercial fishing gets wiped out as well. Then they simply pack up and move to another place, another coast line and start again. Sad isn't it? Now I have written this very vaguely because I although I read a little bit about it, a lot of this is stuff I've only heard word of mouth- even though it rings true to me. I will google it more, and if I am way off base, I'll write that, but I suspect I am not wrong about this. Oh and all the tuna being harvested here currently, gets shipped immediately to Japan.

Hmmm more commentary than I planned tonite. When I started I was just thinking about what a beautiful day it was. How much I love Mexico, and how the lessons I get here are not what I expected at all. I become more and more content with this simple life. And the days when I can really let go of expectations are the best. I cannot control ANYTHING. Only my attitude. Some days that's hard to hang onto- I get overwhelmed with how awful people can be to each other. Kidnapped girls in Nigeria, who fade from our minds, Palestine and the ongoing genocide of these people and how the United States condones it. Harsh words? YES! Because we give Israel billions of dollars yes BILLIONS every year and support them. Why? ha ha oil of course and a foothold in the middle east. It's not that simple you say? YES IT IS. In 1948 when the United Nations decided to "give" the Jewish people their own country...yeah fine- except they gave them houses people already lived in! My ex inlaws were thrown out of their house with their clothes on their backs and walked across the bridge to Jordan. Ok ok I will not go on about this right here. But what is happening today is not new news and it is always so sad that so many Americans choose to be so ignorant. Fox news! ha ha ha ha. But these were only 2 areas in crisis....slave trade in China, Korea....wars in the Congo and other African countries....yeah sometimes it overwhelms me......which is why I am trying to get back into meditation.

Yes, meditation and physical exercise both relieve me. Sitting and looking at the ocean and talking to the universe does the same thing. For mediation right now I am only listening to cds, I've been listening to one as I go to sleep and it's helping me to get to sleep much faster. I get all sleepy, go to bed, and then my mind clicks on and I struggle getting to sleep. With this guided meditation I fall asleep much quicker. This coming Wednesday hopefully I'll get to the bigger meditation group I think I want to join..I think there's discussion then mediation. I heard the guy does Buddhist so I'm looking forward to it. And I always feel great body and mind after my dancing. I might even dance tomorrow even thought I keep saying no dancing on the weekend because my knees get sore.

But for today. No red tide. No regrets. Our doggys are both fast asleep on the rug in front of me. Poppi just gave me half of a golden delicious apple (sweeter than the other) and a few almonds. The full moon is supposed to be huge tonite- the moon is it's closest to the earth, but it's foggy out so not sure we'll see it....that's ok. I can hear the ocean and the window are open, the sea breeze smells salty, that's all, no red tide, it might be back tomorrow. BUT NOT TODAY!

Tuna, aceite, aceituna....and what I thought that meant...

As it turns out, "tuna" is the cactus pear- the fruit on a cactus. I knew "aceite" was oil, and did not know that "aceituna" was olives. I often see roadside stands in this area that say "tuna" and "aceituna"..never having stopped I thought they sold tuna (tunafish in English), and tuna in oil.....As it turn out they are selling cactus pears and olives! ha ha I know words with the same spelling are not always the same word, yet  I never even thought about it, but I did wonder why they didn't sell tuna packaged in water ha ha.

It's like when I was asking for "jamon" instead of "jabon" for my bathroom in a house I stayed in when I was in San Miguel Allende. Ha ha the man's face when I asked for ham for my shower!! And it's funny, I am always hesitant to ask where the soup is in the grocery store- it happened today, because "sopa" sounds like soap....and in my pea brain I think of jamon & jabon, and so usually just look up and down every aisle to find soup rather than ask where it is...

So this evening a woman and her daughter and another friend showed up here to talk about the daughter- her name is Estefanie- teaching me Spanish. I had asked the woman, who works in the camp getting houses ready for the short term rentals, if she knew of anyone teaching or taking Sapnish lessons and she told me about her daughter- but that was over a month ago and did not expect to hear anything else about it. In fact I was with my friend Meena when we were taking care of Bob the Sea Lion, we saw this woman (Fanny) and her friend walking on the beach, and that's how this all started. Ok so....Meena and I are interested in taking conversational Spanish, and I think my friend Jan is also interested. The price is right (muy barato = cheap) since none of us can afford much, just the schedule to be worked out. Estefanie said start in Sept, but she has to figure out a schedule because she first said 7 to 9 AM! Ha ha that does not work for me and I know not for Meena either....but Estefanie has school in the evening, and I think maybe she also has a job...but I was not clear on that point. I think she might have felt a little overwhelmed, like maybe her mom pushed her into the whole thing....She is only 20 years old and is currently teaching 2 Korean kids Spanish via Skype (these kids are in Chicago & here for vacations), and then in Sept she starts teaching another woman somewhere in this area..so she has to figure out what works for her. When I started to sense that maybe she felt pressured, I tried to tell her in Spanish that it was ok if she's too busy. All 3 of them were saying that my Spanish was really good, but I explained it was understanding what was being said to me that was my struggle....it's so fast, there are so many words for one thing, different words for the same thing depending on where you are in Mexico and we all laughed about that.

I would like very much to be in a class setting and speaking Spanish in a group; I think it will boost my confidence for speaking. I started Rosetta Stone about a year ago but dropped if after about 7 or 8 months...but just restarted it and am about to finish it. I don't like it very much but I have this thing about finishing things. Like books ha ha. I would slog thru a book even if I hated it because I felt driven to finish it. I have finally in the last couple of years started to modify that behavior a little bit...I scan and skip thru to close to the end and then finish.....My problem with Rosetta Stone is twofold; the first is mechanics: when I speak, half the the time it beeps me (you know- says wrong!) when I pronouce something, even if it's perfect. It always beeps me when I say "gracias" or "si", the easy stuff, or "registra"...makes me crazy. Before I quit the program it mad me so mad, and so learning became a big drag, I was always pissed off. The other parts I always did very well with; usually 100% and always above 90%. (oh and I skipped most of the writing lessons).  So the second issue is that Rosetta Stone does all the teaching with pictures, so you can always figure out the right answer..and that's not helping me. I think subconsciously I always looked at the pictures and didn't have to understand exactly what was being said- maybe that's why comprehension remains my problem, since most other people I talk to say they can understand but not talk....So I quit doing it.

I found Duolingo a few months ago and started that and I really like it- I think I wrote that here before when I first discovered it. No pictures, but it does show you the translation in English after you complete something, and you can always click on any word to get the translation, which helps alot, since Rosetta Stone does not, and I might go thru a whole lesson not sure of some part of it. Ok well a couple of weeks ago I was looking at the icon on my desktop for Rosetta Stone and decided to finish it. I did get alot out of it, but I will be glad to say I finished it. (yeah that's just a personal thing)

Ok weather report for northern Baja. We are still having the red tide here in our bay, and right in front of our place- yuck. But in the morning I walk down the beach a ways, and it ends & then Sam & Hazel can run in. And it doesn't stretch the entire length of the beach in either direction, so I'm hopeful it is not here every single day...although it has been every day since the stingray incident. And this morning it stunk! Like dead fish, and the sand right next to the water has this gunky red stuff on it. I heard it was here all last summer. Ah well, the price of paradise, right? The early morning is cool, but still tshirt weather and I wear shorts and tanks every day. The evening cools off so sleeping is ok, too. SOOOO different than my last 2 summers and I am very happy about that. Many mornings have summer fog, and tonite it also got foggy, but not over us. Out at the mouth of the bay, and then off to the south along the mountain ridge that goes across from the ocean back inland. It is really such a pretty place. The weather has not gotten really hot or really cold since we arrived in November. We did have one hot spell for about 8-10 days and we did have a couple of rainy days, but even those were not really cold.

Everardo has been making enough to pay for our gas and our food for the last month and wow what a difference to not worry so much all the time. As always I feel like life is pretty darn good.
Viva