Pic-of-the-Week for November 20, 2012

Hola Amigos,

Wow!  It's already 11:30am as I'm starting this!  Good thing I warned you this would be late this week.  Not only did we have a parade, but when we got home, Zoey decided to eat a bee, and she didn't come out on the good side of that deal!  I had to run her into the Vet, whose office is about 15 minutes south of here at Las Cuevas.  Zoey got a couple shots, and is now resting peacefully at my feet under the desk.  I hope she learns to leave bugs alone after this.  She's looking more like a Rottweiler this morning! (Fat face!)

The parade was fun!  It always chaotic first thing when we get there, with floats (which should be in the front) arriving at various times, kids arriving at any time and a queen and some princesses who never did arrive!  We had one princess this year, and she selected to ride in the back of the pickup (which Harriet was driving), so Ben ended up for the first time with no "royalty" in his vehicle!  (He did pick up some hitch-hikers about 1/2 way through the parade, and they had a ball!

In spite of the shortage or royalty, we had a good time, and I had no trouble driving the pickup in the parade.  Most of it was coasting or stopped and waiting anyhow!  The problem I have is driving at speed; double clutching when changing gears (up or down), going over topes (speed bumps) and getting it in the right gear afterwards, and not grinding the gears!!!!  Argh!  Need a bit more practice, me thinks!  Hopefully, Ben will be willing to let me do that more often than 2 days before the parade!

Ryan was our official photographer, and he took a bunch of photos which are posted in our November Picasa Album.  Take a look... there are some really cute kids here.  By the way, this parade is commemorating Revolution Day here in Mexico.  "November 20th is Revolution Day in Mexico. The day commemorates the beginning of the Mexican revolution that ran from 1910 to 1920. The revolution was begun by the arm struggle against dictator/president José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori called for by Francisco Madero."  This revolution went on for 10 years.  Now, it's a great time to celebrate and have a parade!!  

Last weekend we visited with a Bend grade school/ Jr. High friend of Ben's, who has been coming down to Baja for 20 years; specifically to a place called Las Frailes.  It is about 1.5 hours south of our house.  The road is paved within about 15 miles of Las Frailes, and that last bit is typical Baja off-road; narrow, sandy, dusty and rutted!  Katy and her husband Mel, who are from Sisters, Oregon, pull their 5th wheel trailer there to an arroyo every year and set up camp.  This year they have solar panels on top of their trailer and storage batteries, and it is working very well for them.  It was fun for Ben & Katy to get re-acquainted!
 

The neighbors invited us over to their 5th wheel for happy hour (a couple also from Sisters, Oregon).  They were all a bit jealous of us having a "real" house, but are very happy with their rent-free trailer life in an arroyo!  

And a rescue story with a twist:  We had been seeing a herd of 5 or 6 cows being followed by a dog in our neighborhood.  She was obviously the herd dog, raised to watch the cows.  Unfortunately for the dog, she had a too-tight rope around her neck, and she was too shy to let anyone get close enough to remove it from her.  Some new neighbors, who are in the process of building a house near us, took it upon themselves to help her, and lured her into a dog kennel using hot dogs.  They caught her, took her to the vet (where she spend 4 days) and had the rope removed.  It was an ugly process, and she had to have stitches around her entire neck.  Her new owner said she wouldn't have lasted much longer with the rope as it was, what with maggots and fleas and other awful things working on her neck.  Now, she is doing just great.  I met them on the beach the other day walking Chicha (short for salchicha, or hot dog).  She is a sweet dog, and very, very fortunate these people rescued her.

We have a busy week ahead.  Ben is going to smoke another turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner, and that process starts today (brining for 24 hours).  Ben's brother Greg is coming on Friday, and this next weekend we're taking the Woody to La Paz for another parade and car show.  Phew!  Sure is a good thing we're retired! 

Hasta la proxima semana,
Tus amigos de Baja,
Harriet, Ben, Ryan, Sam & Zoey "fat cheeks"