northern Calif living

OK- this is what it looks like when I'm exercising in my backyard. It's been raining almost every day since we got here on Dec 30, but we've had a few days, here and there with clear skies. On this morning I had to stop exercising to take a picture of the rainbow. I don't want to post any pics of inside the house yet because it needs paint! I always like bright colors; always shades of purple and green, and not sure what else, maybe some brick red or ornage the color of cantaloupe. Right outside the back sliding glass door we have a cement patio, maybe 5 feet wide that goes along the back of the house. Not all the way but long enough for me to do my zumba workout. It also has a cover- the roof overhangs the patio portion so I can dance even if it's raining. This is the back left corner of the yard, but we're at the back end of a court so our yard is really big, sorta goes with the curve of the street so we have really big side yards. I'll take more pictures when the rains are gone and the trees grow leaves. There's also raised beds on the right side, and Everardo has already planted 2 trees- one peach and one green apple.

These 2 photos are where I walk Sam. Just a couple of blocks over and the houses stop. We're at the north end of town, there's these huge fields of grapes with open grassy fields around them. Sam is in heaven sniffing around and splashing in all the mud puddles. It's a nice place for me to walk because we're alone out there and I can talk out loud with nobody to hear me. That's how I pray, how I talk to the universe. I need to do it out loud, otherwise if I'm praying inside my head, other thoughts barge in....I'm asking the universe for guidance and at the same time remembering I need to get milk, or pay the electric bill! But if I talk out loud I can focus on just one thing. So I love walking out there. I used to sit out on the rocks overlooking the ocean when we first got to Mexico, talking to the universe and finding my way. Then in Baja I sat out in my universe chair and talked, both at the beach and then in our last place- there I could sit out in front of the house and talk, it was far enough from the neighbors. Here I'm not sure. We're in a neighborhood with a fenced back yard, and yes I can sit on the bench we have on the front porch- and probably will. But Sam loves walking out there, so it's kind of a win win.
The second photo I took while walking out there with Sam. It was a cold day, but not raining that afternoon, and I was so surprised to see snow so close up there on the mountain. So pretty isn't it?
But boy it's been cooooolllddd! Very rainy "El Nino". It's really helping with the drought in Calif so I can't complain. And it's raining in Baja, too. I saw on facebook muddy water rushing down the streets.

It's so green here. I do love it. And Everardo found these trails last week that are amazing! It's like the redwoods, well I guess it is the redwoods but I think most of the trees are pine, and another type with more whitish bark. He runs the trail and I walk it- it takes me a little over an hour. In fact the first time it was an hour and a half but I was stopping to look, to oooh and ahhh, and take photos. The second day I did it in an hour and 9 minutes, and today it was an hour and 4 minutes. I do some short jogs in some places, but I can already feel my sciatic nerve starting to bother me, so no more jogging. I get this pain right above my right butt, and if I keep it up soon the pain will go down the back of my leg. That happened to me years ago, and that's why I do the elliptical and zumba- not running.

So my new health plan is to do zumba 3 days a week and the hike at least 2 days a week and maybe one weekend say as well. That walk is like meditating.....I'm falling in love with it. It's starting to feel exactly right to be here. Everardo walked the trail with me the first 2 times and today he ran it, but then started back the other way and met me, so walked part of it with me. Did I say how much I love him? The trail is really multiple trails, and they shoot off of each other. Someone told me you can walk across the back of the town in the hills! I only want to walk for an hour ha ha, so Everardo and I picked a trail that pushes him and pushes me. The first half an hour it goes up, then sort of dips and turns, then flattens out, then down some, then up again. Finally with weaves back down. The views are breath taking. I'm also back to counting calories and choosing smart calories like veges and fruit, peanut butter of course and my protein shake when I finish my workout.

So the routine I created in Mexico is working here just fine. I always review and revise and I love adding the hike. Actually I had been planning to add the hiking in Baja at our last place since it was on a hillside and I heard there were trails, but then we left, so I started it here. The only difference I guess with the trials are that the dog has to be on his leash. Not in the vineyards, but on the hiking trials. It's funny- while we were gone they stopped giving out plastic bags in the grocery stores, which is what we used for dog poop bags....so now I'm using 2 or 3 bags to buy veges to get them ha ha. When we see a dog run or park they many times have a supply of poop bags so I stuff my pockets with them. Also at the store if you want a paper bag you have to pay $.10 cents. I asked why and have gotten a few different answers, but the one I could buy was that they want you to bring your own bags- which we have at least started bringing in the car- but we never remember to bring into the store! It was super weird at Christmas time when we were buying gifts and they ring it all up and then just hand you the tag. Remember when you buy a bunch of stuff and places like Sears or Wallmart have those gigantic plastic bags? Yeah no more, just juggle all that stuff out to your car. I wonder if more stuff is getting shoplifted?

OK well here's some photos of the new hiking place: (viva)

I've been gone a long time. And now I'm back. However I'm not in Mexico. I'm in northern Calif in a town almost as small as the tiny town we left in Mexico. It's been a long time since I wrote anything here and so much has happened. Should I change the name of my blog to and now for northern Calif?

Well we've actually been in Calif since Oct, but it was kinda chaotic, living in someone else's house while trying to sell our house and buy another one up north. I read the last post and we were thinking about leaving. Well, I told Everardo I missed Drew so much and he said- "lets go". It kinda happened whirl wind fast- ha ha like every time we make a decision to move.

So this is going to be a short post. Just to get me back into it. It's different here; different than Mexico. Funny, different than Calif before we left- I guess because I look at things differently now. Oh man being able to lean down and get a drink of water out of the kitchen faucet! Not needing to carry toilet paper in my purse- except I still do. How expensive everything is. How trafficky! How I can read all the labels on the food in the store. How the frozen food section is miles long in EVERY store ha ha! How my eating habits have changed- I don't want frozen food. How green everything is. Yes there's green in Mexico- Nayarit is the most beautiful place I've ever seen; Guerrero was so green and lush and the mountains of Michoacan! But where we lived in Sonora- a desert! And Baja was pretty much of a desert as well. So all the shades of green are so wonderful! And we're so close to the redwoods.

So next post I'll write about our new house- which I love! So open and cozy. The vineyards down the street and the awesome hiking trails just a couple of blocks in the other direction. ......

 

Day to day...Mexico and back again??

Living on the hillside instead of the beach is sooo different! It's more Mexico- ha ha that sounds funny because this is Mexico...but the beach, much like in Puerto Penasco is mostly populated  by Americans. And over here, Canadians as well. Over here, our neighbors are Mexicans; so most days I hear Mexican music playing nearby or down the road, there always dogs running by, people riding horses, lots of kids. The people on the corner seem to have a couple of businesses. They take in laundry and always have lines and lines of clothes drying, and they also make flour tortillas for sale.

Everardo kinda found that out by accident, so he bought some and now he's been eating flour tortillas. I have a feeling it will be both; cause he likes the corn tortillas he gets in Maneadero, in fact we always have corn...but these days I don't eat too many tortillas so either kind is fine with me.

So there's a bunch of kids living there, maybe 5, maybe more. They get up about 5 am I think and make tortillas, and when I go out to exercise they're working on laundry. They told Everardo the little ones like to watch me dance...he told them to come over and exercise with me ha ha. I did make a CD of my songs to make a 55 minute routine and could play it on my laptop, but so far I just use my huge headphones and dance to my own songs playing in my head...loud. But it works. Friday was an "official weigh day" and now I've lost 74 pounds. So that's in a year and a half. I think 6 more pounds would be good, then a new concept- maintaining! Ha ha Can I do that? I still have work to do....chubby tummy and that fat that hangs down from the upper arms...takes weights and it looks better but I keep re-hurting my shoulder so it goes slowly.

Anyway I was thinking about all those kids...and they look happy. Now- down the road the other way, we walk with Sam, who can't walk too far anymore. He has arthritis in his front leg, and a bad hip in his back leg on the same side. The vet says he thinks the arthritis is bad because he always pulls himself up with his front legs. He slipped and fell after we moved here- well I think he slipped or skidded in the dirt, but maybe he stepped in a gopher hole..whatever it was his "elbow" swelled up and he was really hurting. Now he takes a pill every day to reduce inflamation, and although he's a little gimpy limpy, he seems happy and not in pain. But- he doesn't want to walk too far. I really want to walk the loop (or the square). To get to our house we come up a dirt road from the main Bufadora road and then take the first left. If we keep going past our house and a few more lots, there's a road up to the right, then I believe it crosses (right turn again) and then hits the road we come up on from the main road. But Sam just won't walk that far....he gets to a point and just stops ha ha. Yeah he stops and looks at us. I'm going to have to drive the car in that circle. With Sam in the back seat and his head hanging out the window.

So- right where that first turn is, close to where stubborn Sam stops, 3 young dogs will run up from what I thought was an empty building. It's unfinished for sure...just some walls and no glass in any of the windows. Well I got closer and saw a couple of little kids playing, very small like 3 or 4 yrs old. Wow then I saw a bunch of kids...like more than 10! Today we walked that way with Sam and I pointed out how many kids were playing around those unfinished walls and Everardo said several families lived there. As we got closer I could see a couple of little tents, and some low laundry lines put up. What will happen when it rains? I guess there's a roof over some of it, but no windows. So many people really have hard lives here.

I was thinking this morning about how many adults walk or ride bicycles here. Not for exercise but every day. I watched an old man standing on the corner wearing a long sleeved white shirt and a hat selling plastic bags of carmel corn. This man was old, 70's for sure. He should be home, reading the Sunday paper or playing with his grandchildren. I see so many senior citizens working, and in very menial jobs, selling things on the street, running food stands; it's really just a hard life.

I saw this cartoon on Facebook the other day that made me laugh out loud and say "right?" So it was this huge sloppy kind of fat guy riding one of those sitting scooters like they have in the grocery store. He's saying immigrants are what's ruining the country (the United States). But all around him you see a guy painting a house, a gardener mowing the lawn, a carpenter nailing something...and theyre all Mexicans! ha ha right? People here are so creative! They can find ways to make anything, to fix anything..and to sell everything. I always say- everything is Mexico is possible....but you have to wait...and you have to pay!

The manana thing. Ha ha again. I now understand that manana does not mean tomorrow...well it might, but it also might mean the day after that, or next week, or next year...or never. It just means not right now!(I don't have the little accent mark to put on the word- sorry)

I went to San Diego a couple of weeks ago for the day with 2 friends. I was noticing how everywhere I went there was a bathroom opportunity! I had a roll of toilet paper in my purse, which I have been carrying for the past 3 and a half years, but I didn't need it once! Here I always have to think about bathrooms- the little building where we have AA meetings here- we call it the coop (for chicken coop), and the only bathroom is an outhouse nearby that I went into once, and then went behind a tree to pee. But luckily that time I was there with just one other woman, because it wasn't a very big tree ha ha! And the office where I taught English- which is also the office I can work in if we have no internet here in the house also has no bathroom, and i have peed behind the building, hoping nobody would drive by. Now on Saturdays we go together to the noon English speaking AA meeting in Ensenda, and it has a tiny bathroom- but I don't like it- so I go across the street to the Carl's Jr. In fact I believe the Carl's Jr has the cleanest bathroom in Ensenada! Before the meeting we always stop at this food stand that is mariscos. I always have a shrimp & avacado tostada and Everardo always has the cerviche tostada. And of course there's no bathroom there! Ha ha once we get to the meeting, I run into Carl's Jr and he goes to another food truck and has a couple of tacos!

Our life is simple here, sweet. I think I like this spot we've landed in better than any other in Mexico..and we've lived in 5 different houses. One down below Acapulco, one in Sonora, and then 3 here. One for just 3 months, then the trailer for a year and a half and we've been here 2 months already.But the truth is, after going to northern Ca in Aug, I just miss Drew so much! And they have Danica full time now (Rex's 6 yr old). I got to go school shopping with her- she started first grade while I was there. They also have Rex's 14 yr old son living with them now. And I was Grandma Terry. When we went to Yosemite, I sat in the back with the kids. I watched my daughter and her fiance be the grownups, chatting in front seat, engaging the kids, everyone laughing...I was so....well I was a part of it! (Even tho part of the time I felt like I was outside myself watching it). I want to be part of it. I had a lot a family this year. Spending a month with my big sister, and reuniting with my little sister. I don't want to be far away.

I think Everardo misses his aunt and uncle as well. He told me a while back that he's come to realize that his realy family is his aunt & uncle and cousins- those 5 sisters are his sisters more than his cousins. We went to visit his brother and sister in Michocan twice, and that was great. He spent time with his nieces and nephews. But he is closer to the family up in Gilroy. So we are thinking about going back. It's funny, I read my blog from last year at this time, and I wrote that Poppi was dreaming that we went back and we talked about it, but decided to stay. I think maybe this time, we'll go.

Checking out her new school

 First day of school ! Ready to go to school with Dad!

 School shopping! Look at all that cool stuff!

  My daughter and I in Yosemite

 Her beautiful family

 By the way only I swam across the river and dove off the rock! (But Rex and Christian did swim as well)

The Golden Gate Bridge picture was when I was on my way back from visiting Everardo's family. I love that bridge, I always feel like I'm home.


So maybe we'll go home sometime soon. Funny, we finally a place I love, I sit in it, I sit contented out front looking across at the estuary, at the ocean, or off to the side to see the mountains...or the buildings of Ensenada....and now I'm ready to go home. Everardo and I talked and he said- we've had an awesome adventure. You got to live your dream, I got to find out things about myself. And now we're ready to move on. To go back. Not to the same house- ha ha we can't afford to live in the house we own. We need the rental income! I'm thinking I wouldn't mind working part time like I do now. In fact I might even be able to keep this job, she's just need someone to do the airport runs I do now. But I could still do all the paperwork on my laptop, talk to customers, manage reservations. But I was looking at Craigslist and there are part time jobs. Probably not high paying, but I don't need much since we'll have the rent. And if we move a little more north, maybe Ukiah, we could definitely afford a place. It's an hour north of Santa Rosa where Drewy lives so we'd only be an hour away. Seems like a plan. I mean I'd love to live in Santa Rosa but we'd have to be pretty lucky to find something livable in our price range...which is soooo low ha ha. So there's lots to think about. Hmmm will I still write this blog? Will I have to change the name? To what? Mexico and back? Well that's enough for now. Lots to think about it. Viva

A little bit about my mom after all...

August flew by. We are settled in here, well it still feels new to me- probably because I was gone for 2 weeks in August. I went up to Santa Rosa to see my daughters. I say daughters but I only really saw one of them. I stayed with Drewy and her family for the whole time and it was wonderful. They have become an instant family in a way; their 6 year old is with them full time now, and his 14 yr old son has just come to love with them. Wow- 14 and 6...they have their hands full. But with rules, chores, bedtimes and family time I know they can make it work.

We all went to Yosemite to spread my mom's ashes. She died in 2011 but nobody ever got around to taking her ashes up there, so this summer it finally got done. I took a stack of pictures of her with me and we all looked at them and I told them stories about her. Drew talked about making Christmas cookies with her when she was small. And looking for lizards in the open space behind her mobile home park. And splashing in puddles. When it rained my mom would take Drew out to jump in puddles. I love when I hear her talk about it. Grandma was not always the nicest grandma...she would tell us to go home after about an hour of visiting her. When she came to live with us- well it only lasted about 3 months and she and I were both unhappy with it. She was a little harsh with the kids; with Halla, who was only about 5 at the time. She was also isolated; at the time we lived on 2 acres and not really close to anything- she was no longer driving and so was dependent on us for everything. For my independent mom- it just wasn't gonna work. My dad died when she was only 58, and she lived another 30 years- she went to South America, New Zealand, all over the place, on her own and with friends. She was smart and strong. Ha ha my hero. So anyway she moved to an assisted living place with her own apartment and was really happy there.

One of the pictures I had was her as a little girl in Yosemite at Camp Curry. The ranger identified it by the tent cabins and so we went there for lunch. Actually once we started up the mountains towards the entrance I started tossing out handfuls of her;  I thought she must have loved the trip as she got closer...but ha ha the first throw came back in my face! And you know what? Those ashes are not fine lke cigarette ashes or fireplace ashes, much thicker...well never mind. I got better at it after that. We dropped scoops of her in so many beautiful places. In the afternoon I we stopped along the road and went swimming in the Tuolomne River, and I took the end of the bag into the rive and let it go under the water, then she could travel thru the whole park. None of the waterfalls had any water at this time of year of course, but the views were so magnificent! I was the only one who had been there before so it was really fun watching everyone else ooh and awwwe at every corner. It was a nice day.

Actually in the car I had so many reflective thoughts. I was in the back on one side sharing the seat with the kids, and Drew & Rex up front. I saw how life moves on, that the baton had been passed to the next generation. I wondered when I got so old ha ha. The parents were in the front seat and the kids and Grandma (me) in the back. I talked to my mom in my head; I told her all about Drew and her family, what we were doing- how they were all betting who would see a bear first!

I think I can add the pictures I brought with me to this post, so you can see my mommy. She started going to Yosemite as a kid, and my grandpa wrote stories about it. I think my brother has them, and in fact I think he wrote some of his own and is planning to share them with me and my sisters.

When he and my older sister were kids they went to Yosemite camping like my mom did when she was a child, and actually I went at least a couple of times but I was pretty small and don't really remember much- I do remember being really small and that a bear was walking behind us and my mom and dad saying just walk- never run from a bear. I think that was in Yosemite. I think after we moved to northern Calif we started going camping in other places- I was 6 years old when we moved up there, so yeah I don't remember a lot...or all my camping trips back then kinda ran together.

We camped all over northern California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, and one year we went to Wyoming and Montana. Every summer we went for 2 weeks- such a cool way to spend summers. One place we went to is called Jedediah Smith State Park Redwoods; it's just below the Oregon border in Calif, on the way to Grant's Pass. I loved it, and it became a place I took my kids growing up. I hope that they will do the same with their kids. I took Everardo there on a camping trip after we had been dating a couple of months...it was after summer so we didn't swim in the river, but we the summer bridge was still up and we went across and into the path in the woods. It's such a special place for me.
That path in the woods is the place I see in my meditations; I have one guided meditation that talks about a path on the woods and I can see it perfectly. We camped all the way up to Washington to see my brother in Tacoma, and then his daughter in Asland, Oregon....I learned that from my mom and dad, to camp, to embrace nature. Drew is going camping this weekend- it's the Labor Day 3 day weekend, and when we talked on the phone on her lunch break she was shopping for camping dinner foods.

Well this post was going to catch me up, but as always I got off topic and it became a post about my mom. She died on Sept 10, 2011. (9-10-11) We were with her. She had a long good life. She had tons of memories of her own adventures and those of all us kids. I talk to her all the time. I see her in the full moon, and ...in penguins ha ha. At the end she was in good spirits, but at tines was kinda transmitting from a planet far far away- know what I mean? And she called me over to tell me she didn't like how "they" (I don't know who "they" were), she didn't like how they were treating the penguins. It was just so funny- almost as funny as when I walked into her room and she had the tv remote up to her ear and yelled at me "this damn phone doesn't work"! Ha ha . Well in her time she saw phones be big clunky things, dial phones, then portable, then cell phones. She saw tv be invented, we had black and white and had to walk across the room to change the channel! Ha! My kids would die from that! In fact my first remote control came from a tv I bought from her- it was also my first tv in the bedroom tv. She was born in 1924- think of all the changes she saw! Last year I got a penguin tattooed on my arm; under it, it says Elly, and above it is the words "Oh well" which she said all the time in the last few years. Everardo says Oh well all the time. He got to know her and at first she didn't want to know him or like him because she loved my ex husband. But after she got to know him she couldn't help herself ha ha. And my ex husband came to her bedside just before she left us- she was so happy to see him, it was nice. She saw she could love both of them.

Ok so here's some pictures of her. I'll have to catch you up on everything else later. Viva

A little about the new place...

Thought I'd say a little about the new house we're renting. I know i already said it's on the side of a hill, a mountain really, although I have not been up the road past our house. We are the first cross strett coming up- you can go to the right or the left, we are left then 2nd house on the right. I'd been up here before, but turning right because my friend Jan lives up that way, as does my other new friend Rowan. Actually Jan is Rowan's mom. But I've known her over a year, and Rowan just a few months but we seem to be becoming good friends- I like that. I'm not really to close to anybody here except for a few people from AA , and with the exception of my friend Dave from Ensenada I don't socialize with any of them. Dave goes to San Diego alot and I go sometimes; when I need natural peanut butter or horseradish or some other thing I can't get down here.

I've walked down the road were on a ways and then turned right to see where it goes up, and we think it cuts back across so we could probably walk a full circle but gotta check out how many dogs, and how many mean dogs are on that route before we make it a dog walk. But the main road seems to go pretty far up the mountain side. I'm sure we'll be checking it out before too long. Today makes day one of week 4 of being here. Went by fast didn't it? And yet it feels very natural, very right.

So the house is a Mexican style house in the sense that it's a finished house surrounded by an unfinished house. Our finished part is 2 bedrooms, a wide open kitchen, and a living room. It may be close to the same size as the trailer, maybe a bit bigger since we had barley any kitchen, and in this living room the tv is not basically at the end of the couch...the room is longer. However, the bedroom is right off the living room and the other one is off the kitchen, so there's no hallway like we had in the trailer, and there's only one bathroom, and it's in our bedroom. But the floors are tile. yipee After the trailer floor, that 1/8 of an inch thick stuff that comes on a roll I guess. It was coming up in places and there was plywood underneath. In fact there were places we didn't walk for fear it would fall thru. Actually in the spare bedroom when we had 2 twin beds in there, one time Everardo was lying down on one of them and I came and climbed on top of him....and the floor gave way! Boy did I feel like a cow ha ha!! It was just one corner of the floor, and Everardo fixed it, with plywood, but it was just sort of sad to live in a rickety old trailer. The beautiful colors we painted it, our things on shelves and tables, our paitings on the walls helped me to overlook it, and I always told myself that out dogs run free and we're on the beach.....

The dogs basically run free here as well. Our yard is so huge they have tons of room. We never close the gate so they could go down the road if they wanted to I guess....but they don't. So if you were facing the house you would see on the left side a big room being added, walls and and opening for a big bay window. Cement floor. Wood and cement, no drywall. I think I'll make it a work out room when the rainy season comes. I have the elliptical and the sit up thing, and I could dance in there- it's plenty big enough, maybe between 20 & 30 foot square...Everardo is making noises about fixing the bicycles again (yes again they've both been broken for about 2 years.) But the road we're on actually goes all the way to Maneadero- we drove it in the truck and it's a pretty bumpy ride...dirt of course with ruts and dips and lumps....but a bike could do it better. OK behind the house is an attached garage area....much bigger than the "exercise room" (like how I named it already?). The garage can be accessed thru the second bedroom, so you walk from the garage thru that room to the kitchen. We have the trailer (the one we pulled behind us from northern California and all over Mexico) filled with stuff we had in the shed at the beach and it barely takes up any room We also have the washer and dryer. Everardo already put me up a really nice clothes line out back- we almost never use the dryer.
Oh and for the washing machine- we are using the gray water to water the plants out front. He put a barrel next to the washer so it empties there and then attached hoses that lead thru the exercise room out to the front yard. So we're using that water. He's already started a few plants, he brought some peppers with him and started new tomato plants, and when he constructs his big garden we'll use the laundry water.
OK so above us is an entire second story the width and length of the house. But it's wood and cement only. I heard that the previous tenants built at least one room and a bathroom up there, windows, sheet rock- finished rooms, but tore it all out when they left. Yeah not a happy ending for them. Also apparently they had their dogs up there and were not taken very good care of because there was a flea infestation when we got here. First day we set off bug bombs. Next day walking around the perimeter with something for fleas. Finally a week later we had an exterminator come and do the outside and the upstairs.
Then came the mouse traps; we caught about 5 or 6 and then I guess the rest left for safer pastures. Everardo found 2 dead scorpions, but hopefully they're also gone, but I have gone back to wearing shoes or flip flops all the time, and not putting my hands places I can't see, checking shoes I haven't worn in a while.
The kitchen sink, when I first turned it on, on one side the water went straight down into the bottom of the cabinet. The hot is the cold and the cold is the hot. That's ok once I figured it out. It also seems that the previous tenants put broken pieces of sheet rock in the kitchen pipes. Everardo had to dig out the pipes outside the kitchen and luckily the sheet rock clumps didn't make it to far. The gas leaked and the water heater leaked. He found these things out one at a time. The shower had no pressure and no hot water, but there was hot water in the kitchen....The shower drain was clogged. My husband is amazing. One by one he tackled each problem and just worked them thru.

The walls are cement so I can't just pound nails and hang pictures...Or shelves in the bathroom, or a long scarf to make a door for the bathroom.....so I need him for everything. Oh and did I say he finished painting every room in the house. It looks awesome. The bedroom has a deep purple wall, 2 light purple walls and one green wall to match the bathroom on the same wall. Today he made me a standing shelf for the bathroom to go with the 2 he put up on the wall. I probably could drill the holes to hang stuff, but he prefers to do it. I direct. We make a good team. It's 90% done, maybe 85%...but really wall hangings for both bedrooms and the bathroom and we're done, Plus the stuff that's still in boxes in the extra bedroom. Which is not much, just a few things, and I need to not call it the extra bedroom- there's no bed in it. Oh yeah and no closets here ha ha. So we went to Home Depot in Ensenada and go one of those wall closets- you know shelves and places to hang, made of that white painted wire...then in the spare room is just a very long pole for hanging with a shelf along the top. So Everardo's clothes are in the spare room- there's a dresser in there and one came with the house in our bedroom (long and low with a huge mirror and impossible to move ha ha). Also a bookcase in the spare room and another end table type table for putting photos, trinkets.

Ok so that's what the house looks like. Oh- the kitchen is the same light green as the bathroom- light but shiny, and the cabinets are deep purple...yeah need a photo here but I don't think I have one...wait I have something with a little of the painting done while we were still moving in. You can see the green in the kitchen but the cabinets were not painted yet. Also the orange of the living room and that round thing is NOT on the wall right there in the walkway ha ha:

Ok this is enough for tonite. I will get myself caught up. Viva!

Plans coming up...

I'm going up to northern California in a week and a half to stay with my daughter for 2 weeks. I really want the trip to be about her and her family; her fiance, her soon to be daughter who is 6 years old and a complete crack up, and their dog Cookie. 2 weeks go by soooo fast. And it's already filling up. The day after I arrive I have all 3 doctor appointments I need to make. Mammogram which I'm not worried about. I'm healthier than I have probably ever been and I am NEVER getting breast cancer or any other kind of cancer again. Pap smear which I'm also pretty much not worried about. 2 years ago I had some polups removed (yeah gross I know) I didn't even know I had them and they're gone, but better to have a check up. I am not going to tell them I went to a dr here for an exam about 6-8 months ago and they said I was all clear- I did it because I was surprised last year that the dr didn't want to check me a year later- I don't know- maybe they just come once?? Then the third appt is just my regular doctor who probly wants to see me since he hasn't in about 5 years or more. I go to the doctor once a year when I go up there to visit. Yeah so the whole health care system sorta sucks for me since I don't use it, but I'm afraid if I drop coverage and then in a few years move back to the states I won't get coverage or it will be super expensive because I had cancer....so I pay. Ha ha I have Covered Calif and they are so.......................inept....inefficient.....maybe overworked or understaffed....but they have had my social security number wrong for almost 2 years now. They said it was my mistake- but they input my intial signup apllication over the phone...maybe they typed it in wrong??? I mean I've had that number since I was a kid...so who made the mistake? I didn't even care but trying to get it corrected has been HELL and I'm actually not sure if it's fixed.

My tax return was rejected because the number submitted by Cov Cal was wrong and that's how I knew they never fixed it. In fact they said they didn't have the fax I sent them back in Dec- following their instructions for fixing it. Even though it went thru, to the number they specified. They couldn't fix it over the phone. Ok I sent the fax. 5 months later they hadn't fixed it. I had a fit. Then I had to fill out a different form asking them to resend my IRS form....I asked why should I expect that form to be processed, and was told- oh we're going to give you a different fax number and because it's for the government we HAVE to process it. Ha ha I laughed- oh so you're telling me you didn't HAVE to process my first request? Silence. I also faxed the IRS with a copy of my original fax to Cov Ca asking them to correct my SS#....this almost didn't happen either- poor H&R Block who did my seemingly EASY taxes mere refaxed the same forms that were rejected and I had to yell at them over the phone to convince them to send the fax I had hand delivered to them by my trusty renter. My taxes were processed but I still don't know if Cov Ca corrected their system.

Ok anyway I need to be prepared when I go to keep up my exercise program. I did it when I went to Florida and NY in May, and although I didn't do that great with food, I exercised at least every other day and my weight had stayed the same when I got home and weighed myself. And that was for a month- so I know I can do it for 2 weeks. Actually I was trying tonite to make a playlist of my songs to put them on a CD so we can play it on my daughter's stereo with speakers so she can do it with me. But I just found out that my new (used) laptop does not have working headphone jacks- so I was playing the music right next to hubby who is reading a book and I know it was pretty distracting. So tomorrow when we get back from an airport run to Ensenada I'll try it then.

So 3 times this week I didn't count my calories, but I know I stayed within my range. In fact today I was surprised because I was here alone for a few hours without much to do and felt myself obsessing over snacking. Potato chips- which I never eat except when we have torta for dinner which is less than once a month and we split a bag of chip. The torta is carne asada lomo (really thin beef, not marinated and flash fried in the pan). Avacado and cheese, all on a bollio which is like a soft french roll) And a handful of potato chips on the side. But the bag last time was bigger than the small bag you put in your lunch bag, but smaller than the kind you keep in your cupboard...maybe they "super-sized" it- anyway I suddenly remembered that half empty bag was in the microwave (which we also hardly use). I thought they would be stale and I'd throw them away...but nope- nice and crispy. So- I ate them. Luckily we don't have alot of "bad foods" around the house so my other snacks were mostly those little ginger cookies from Trader Joes- 10 calories a cookie and I can only eat 3 at a time or the ginger hurts my tummy, and an extra spoonful of peanut butter....a handful of almonds...Anyway- after dinner (2 pcs of chicken no skin, steamed asparagus and 24 almonds) I knew I needed to make a count or that would be 3 days of winging it. 2 days is my self imposed limit. So I went thru everything I ate today...wrote it all down, looked at calories...and wow- I was still under my limit! Well right at the limit. 1200 calories. So I really am changing. And luckily our house is filled with green apples and bananas and cantalope...string cheese...natural peanut butter. So when I get crazy...I can still not completely blow it. Because I'll tell you what- if we had a thing of ice cream in the freezer- I woulda ate it! But we didn't and the craving passes. When I can remember that I'm ok.

I'll be at my daughter's house and none of them have any issues with their weight. Drewy is slim and beautiful, and works out regularly- I'm so impressed by that. The gym, hiking, running. I don't know Rex does, but he's a big guy- but with no extra weight, and my granddaughter of course is a busy little bee. Now I know they eat healthy, but they also have (well last year anyway) lots of goodies that they can eat just one of that I could go to town on and eat my way thru 2 weeks! Last year they had a bunch of boxes of girl scout cookies which I avoided for a few days and then attacked. I think I hid an empty box or 2 in the garbage can....But I'm thinking if I write about it here, I can keep myself disciplined. Because the fact is, now when I spend a day eating crap- I feel crappy. Physically I mean- that my body says yuck! (Yeah and my head gets all mad at myself, then guilt shame blah blah blah). But one thing about Mexico, there's not as much processed food- well for example not as many frozen foods- forzen dinners or breakfasts or desserts. Lots of frozen pizza, but not alot of other frozen food and I was the queen of frozen dinners- Stoffers mac & cheese- oh and pot pies! Here I pretty much eat what I call clear food. Fresh veges steamed. Boiled chicken, steamed shrimp, I mean those are my main dinner foods. Fresh fuit for snacks. I do get my natural peanut butter in the states. Last time I was there I bought about 4 huge jars of Adam's Natural Peanut Butter- love that stuff. I do snack on string cheese- is that processed? So- when I get up there I'm going grocery shopping first thing for my own snacks- so at least my stuff will be in front of me. If I exercise in the mornings I'll start with my protein shakes and when I exercise it always makes my moods positive, so I tend to make better choices better decisions.

So for this week I'm going to be very true to my program. Exercise every morning, count my calories and record my food. It only takes a minute because I'm so used to doing it. Maybe I'll even lose a pound or two before I go and then I'll be over 70 pounds of weight loss. I know I feel better and I'm excited for my daughter to see me and we're planning to hit the gym together; her membership lets her bring someone for free. I hope I see my other daughter alot while I'm there as well, but trying not to have any expectations around it.

Other things I want to do up there....get a new tattoo that says Forgiveness, and maybe some more flowers. Have coffee with a couple of friends. Visit a woman I used to meet at the dog park who's in her 80's, have lunch with my friends who are my renters....see it's filling up...more about that later.

Ok last thing for tonite, maybe I can write more about it tomorrow nite- we're going to Yosemite to spread my mom's ashes. Going over a weekend; it's about a 4 hour drive and we'll spend the nite. I don't know how it will feel. It's been 4 years since she died, and I have a small jar decorated with sand and shells with a tiny bit of her ashes. I know it's not her, but it reminds me of her every time I see it, which is every day. It keeps her close in my heart and my mind. She wanted this so as a ritual we'll do it. I wish Halla would come with us, but I'm guessing she won't. That's ok, too. She's 22 and full of her own self, finding her own way. My Drewy is turning 30 this week and was 22 once, selfish and self centered, but has come to be a family girl, and yearns for closeness of family. She kinda doesn't have it outside her little family- meaning Halla is never around and she doesn't see her dad and his wife very much and I know that hurts her. But I guess I'm hurting her too- look how far away I am. But she and I talk on the phone every couple of days and it's always for at least a half an hour if not an hour. We talk about everything. Anyway more about this later. Viva

Here's a couple of silly pics from Key West Florida with me and my sisters:

So many changes in my life!!

So I know it's been a month since I posted and it was about a month before the last one. So much has happened and I guess I've just been talking about it and not writing. I do actually have a couple of other places I write. Privately. I have a food/exercise journal that I try to write at least a couple of lines in twice a week. Maybe I should make the same commitment here. Even if it's just a couple of sentences...then I could catch up. I also make notes abut how I'm feeling as part of my meditation group and whatever book we're discussing. Right now it's a book called Mindfulness and it's pretty far over my head ha ha! It's written for someone who is very knowledgeable about Buddhism and I am trying to understand the basics!

Ok anyway- we moved. Still in Mexico and still in Baja. In fact just a few miles away but no longer on the beach. Now we are on a hillside with a stunning view of the estuary and the beach shoreline beyond. Views of the mountains; at nite we sit outside and look at the starts and the far of lights of Maneadero and further, Ensenada. As it turns out it was the best thing that could have happened- we love it here. But the way it started....We got EVICTED!! From a trailer! Yeah later that day when I could laugh just a little I said- we ARE trailer trash...moved into a trailer and got evicted! ha ha ha ha...WEll it wasn't too funny when it was happening.I just erased a big long story I tried to write about how it happened but it was just too ridiculous. So I'll just say they wanted to rent our place for alot more money than we were paying. It was much easier to tell us to get out that to argue with us trying to raise our rent. Anyway the law says you can only raise the rent 10% per year and they want about triple what we were paying. So this horrid woman starting telling us how we couldn't use our laundry room anymore and Everardo called her a thief. She started screaming at him and a couple of hours later we were evicted. It was totally illegal, but we found a new place within 1 hour. One hour! So it was meant to be. We still went to the court and they confirmed it was not legal to kick us out- but because we were so happy with where we landed- we left anyway. Who wants to be in a place with so much negative energy? Other people who live there are having struggles with the owners as well,  and how lucky were we to land in such a good place. This is a house, not a trailer and it's $100 a month cheaper!! We are no longer on the beach, but we were for 2 of the 3 years we've lived in Mexico, so this is ok. And the camps along the beach are all Americans and Canadians- no Mexican people live there...they're just the workers. Here, we live in a Mexican neighborhood. We have a huge yard, we must be on 3/4 of an acre. Lots of running room for the dogs and space for me to dance every morning.

It's funny I wondered about the serenity I found on the beach- could I take it with me? I was just thinking about it, and talking about it in my AA meeting a couple of weeks before we moved. Ha ha guess what? I still have it. I love what I came to find there on that beach. It's the place my spirituality continued to grow...like the way it was down in Playa Ventura. I danced on that beach and I talked to the universe over that ocean, out to that point, into the sky. I developed my work out, I changed my eating habits. The truth is- the other day I hit 70 pounds lost! It's been since April 1, 2014, so 16 months of zumba dancing 5 mornings a week, with steps I made up, with my ipod in my ears, dancing by myself, not stopping when people walked by...I learned how to eat better, for the first 9 months by cutting back and cutting out, then I started counting calories and writing down what I ate. And yeah I lost 70 pounds! Pretty bitchin' eh? Yeah I'm pretty proud of myself. No I'm not size 2, or even 6 or 8. I'm 10 or 12...so I could probly lose more. I don't know if I will....but I'm going to try. I'm 8 pounds away from my weight when I was 30....and I'm 58. Ha ha and in a lot better shape than I was at 30!
Wow I got off the track there. But I guess that's what I do. In this new place I can still talk to the universe. And really we can drive to the beach in under 10 minutes. Ok so here's some pics before we left the beach. On the 4th of July we went swimming, for me it was the first time this year. I love the beach but not nuts about swimming in the bay unless it's really hot outside. And it was hot that day. Then we came in laughing and took a shower together (oooh) and later Everardo made a big fire on the beach and we went down and watched fireworks with the neighbors- it was nice. I'm glad we did it since we didn't know we were leaving soon ha ha. We left on July 15th. The a couple of days later we walked over in the estuary and Sam and Hazel went swimming so I'll put some pictures here. Not sure I've really put any pics of us...the dogs yes of course...

Well this last one is hubby one morning after an early morning walk with the dogs.

So I came back from the east coast in early June. Life kinda went back to normal, although I was now exploring my spirituality more after meeting my sister's friend who helped us all so much to go thru the process of losing my brother in law. Everardo showed up one day with a new universe chair for me- more comfy than the plastic beach chair, and leaned back. I started using it to meditate while overlooking the water. I had to wear a straw hat over my face ha ha. Now I have that chair here and I plunk down in it after dancing in the morning. If it's not foggy I can still see the point, the mountain top of the Bufadora (blow hole) that I watched while dancing on the beach. We sit outside a nite here- we never did that much at the beach...it was just different. This is so much better.
When sit at nite here, usually 9 or 10 pm, we hear crickets competing for center stage across the yard, dogs barking, faint Mexican music coming from down the road in one direction or the other, low voices in Spanish form a nearby house...it just feels like Mexico again. Oh and we have chickens next door- these crazy roosters crow at 3 am, 4 am....they get quiet about 6am....I am waiting for the day I don't hear them anymore. It's getting better. We were getting up before 6am the first week we were here, and now it's really back to around 7am...Ok here's the pics of Sam & Hazel swimming...

So yes now we need to start some memories from this new place. And the place the dogs are swimming- we can see it from here and drive there in about 5 minutes so that will continue for them. I have just a couple of photos of this new place so let's see...

These are pictures are all out of our kitchen and living room windows. Wide open spaces and views. We have so much land Everardo will make the biggest garden ever! Oh and he wants chickens! And I guess that's what we'll do. I do love eggs! And soon enough they won't keep me awake ha ha! When I was a kid there were chickens behind us, so I know I'll get used to it soon. It's really quite beautiful here.
Something wonderful happened when this thing started. Total assholes treated us badly and evicted us so they could rent out our place for more money. At first I was mad, in shock, then kinda devestated- where would we go? Oh and they gave us 24 hours! But that was also not legal and we could have taken the rest of the month but we did it in about 3 days. But, right when it happened- oh and police were there, too, I was scared. (Later the same cop was ordered by his boss to be on our side and get our deposit back and 2 weeks rent- so now we have a cop-friend to call if anything ever happens). So we left our place and headed for Ensenada to go to the court- but on the way I saw the door open of the place where I taught English and we pulled over and went in. The guy there is a friend, well his girlfriend is my friend, and I knew they had just moved in together, so we thought maybe he had an empty house we could stay in for a few days while we looked for something. This guy dropped what he was doing- he called his girlfriend, and we all met at this empty house- not his former house but a place he is managing for the owner.  I didn't know it was empty- but it was this place. So in under and hour from when this nightmare started, it was becoming a good dream! These 2 people simply put their days, their lives on hold, and helped us. No questions asked. It was amazing. Humbling. So awesome to know people like this.
We thanked them so much and then continued on to the court, where we were given relief and help...but also decided we didn't want to fight for the trailer, we didn't want to be there. We still filed a complaint against them that was very detailed in case anything ever happened, but then we went back to the new place. Everardo then hired a guy a couple of houses down to help him and they brought the bed, and the fridge, the couch, the tvs. We stayed here the first nite. The trailer was over.

The next morning my friend Rowan, the girlfriend of the guy who brought us to this house, she showed up with another friend, Mimi, and a guy who helps them out, Martin, oh and some bananas and cold drinks...and we went to the trailer and they simply packed us up! We didn't even have very many boxes or plastic bins; they just brought armloads of things out to their cars, and then we brought them here and unloaded them. I was in a daze...I mostly stood around. Ha ha I couldn't find anything for days...ok some stuff I still can't find ha ha. Except for once when a moving company moved me when I transferred with a job, I had always packed up my own home to move. These women were like busy bees, buzzing thru our place, talking, sharing, laughing, stopping to hug me...it was AMAZING!...Oh and then my boss- she took care of my work for 2 days. She offered advance pay if we needed appliances or anything...I came to find out that the people we have around us are so....I have to use the word again...amazing. I'm not sure I would have realized how wonderful they all are. Honestly I'm used to being someone who reaches out and helps when someone ELSE is in crisis...not used to it being me. I'm so grateful. I know this is our path. It was meant to be and somehow we didn't see it- so the universe gave us a kick in the butt and pushed us out onto the new path! I know we could have fought it. I know we would have been justified in anger. Revenge....but you know what? For what? We didn't want to go back. We were so LUCKY how this happened. What if Everardo hadn't yelled at her and we got into a rent increase struggle in a month and this house would not have been available? It was just meant to be.

At first we both tried to understand what we did to deserve this bad thing happening to us- but by the end of the first day we talked and realized it wasn't our bad karma- it was someone else's bad energy and we were just caught up in the wave of it- but our own positive energy guided us to this better place. So it's been a couple of weeks, and Everardo has painted the whole inside of the house. All my favorite colors; cantaloupe orange, greens, and 2 shades of purple, one deep and one lighter. He has fixed pipes and plumbing, moved everything everywhere I wanted it...and has started on the yard. Some of his vegetables made it over here- peppers, and other stuff we encourage our old neighbors to take. He's starting new tomatoes and a friend today at the noon AA meeting in Ensenada says she's bringing him cucumber seeds and that it's not too late to start them. The ground is not salty over here and everything should flourish.

Last Sunday morning 4 women came over and we sage-ed the house. Blessed it with a beautiful ceremony to the 4 directions, to the sun and the moon and the earth and the water. When the woman was saying all these things I started crying. We burned the sage in every room and then walked around outside.

So we are settling in. I want to try to recommit to this blog. Maybe change it up a little. Maybe write a little more about my weight loss journey. I didn't before because I didn't know if I could do it- but I did. I made up my own program and then stuck to it. I want to write more about what's around me. Watching people, lifestyles, cultures, and about my job. Of course it's seasonal, so in October I think it will dwindle...but we'll see. AS it turned out I have been super busy with it and it's a big part of the reason I haven't written. Organizing and keeping track pf people, rooms, boats, dates, money..ha ha and a bunch of old retired fishermen...ha ha what a trip it's been.

Ok I think this is enough...for now. Viva!