Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Pic-of-the-Week for November 24, 2015

Hola Amigos

It has been another two weeks, so time for another update from Casa Purkey here in Baja California Sur.  It has been a rather slow two weeks, in spite of a major holiday here in Mexico, and our first company of the season!  We have been taking it slow as we tried to recover from our cold and bronchitis, and we're almost there! At least the meds are about gone... 

Our first company was our niece Chrys and her friends Gary and Albert.  Albert was kind of a last minute addition, as they decided they'd like him to come along and be their interpreter, should they need one, as he speaks fluent Spanish (he also really wanted to go fishing with them!)  Ryan took a day when it was windy here at the beach and showed them around some of his favorite places in the mountains, including the waterfalls and hot springs and Palomar Restaurant in Santiago.  They really enjoyed that expedition!  They left our place for Cabo San Lucas on Thursday, and went fishing out of there on Friday, and caught a really nice Dorado.  Hopefully, they were able to get it frozen and home to Central Oregon with them.  



As a result of my struggle with bronchitis, I haven't been getting the dogs out for a walk on the beach very often, but when we do go, they are EXCITED about it!  Just check out Zoey on our walk the other day....


The weather has been quite windy for November, but at least the kite boarders and wind surfers are happy!  (They love this stuff!)  There are fewer fishing boats in the water as the resorts and other boat owners are preparing for the really windy months of December, January and February.  And believe it or not, there is a tropical storm on the horizon that is expected to head this way.  That is REALLY late in the season for a storm.  Here's an image of the storm path from this morning.  Here's a link if you want to watch as the storm progresses: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/?epac  Just click on the red storm labeled "Sandra", and it will come up with a page similar to the one below.
  
[Image of 5-day forecast and coastal areas under a warning or a watch]





















Of course, Ben was planning to go to a car show in La Paz this next weekend!  We will definitely be watching this weather to see how much rain is involved in this storm.  

November 20 is Revolution Day in Mexico, and a major holiday.  We again took part in the parade with our Model A's, and Ryan again had the honor of having a couple princesses in the back of the pickup.  I was a bit concerned about that dress getting caught in the wheel, but it evidently did OK.  (Probably got very dirty, though!)


Ben took his position at the very end of the parade (just before the ambulance!) It was slow...and he actually coasted down most of the street with the motor off until we got to the T intersection at the entrance to Hotel Palmas de Cortez.  As usual with parades with marchers, there was a lot of time sitting and waiting to move!  The advantage of being at the end of the parade is that I got some nice pictures of everyone as they went by us!  You can see a bunch of pictures in our November Picasa Album, but here is a taste for you...




And here we are at the end of the parade.  This group of high school kids marched well...when they were able to march!  The parade had schools from all over the area.

We have been enticing more birds to our garden, and they are learning to get into the screened off bird feeder.  We even had a Cardinal in there the other day, so were pleased to see that!  And the White Wing Doves (who are greedy pigs) can't get in there.  They will sit on top and all around, but have to resort to eating the seed we spread on the ground.  



We have also been seeing a lot more Hummingbirds this year compared to last year.  It is good to see they are back and enjoying our feeders.  

And yes, we have flowers and garden plants growing!  This is a Plumeria that is getting way too big.  


And this is my zucchini squash and cucumbers, that are doing quite well so far.  No fruit yet, but soon, I hope!  

Hasta la proxima vez,
Tus amigos en Baja,
Harriet, Ben, Ryan, Sam & Zoey

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Pic-of-the-Week for Nobember 11, 2015

Hola Amigos,

Can you believe that is has been OVER 2 weeks since I wrote a Pic-of-the-Week?  Did you miss us?  Well, we have our excuses.  Last week, Ben caught a horrible cold / cough...sounded like he was dying most of the time.  He went to the doctor on Friday and got some meds, and spent a lot of time in bed.  Me?  I was OK until Saturday, when I started coughing, and by Monday, I was pretty miserable.  I, too, went to the local clinic's Dr. Toledo, and he said I have bronchitis!  Ugh!  I am on meds as well, and have high hopes that I'll be getting rid of this crud quickly, since we have guests coming on Sunday!!  In the meantime, we've slowed down our projects and are spending a lot of time laying around!  

We had a beautiful full moon, super moon, blood moon, and I found a tripod and got a few good shots of it as it came up through the clouds.




Ben has managed to "almost" finish the bedroom door project.  The door latches and fits in the hole...he just needs to fill in some gaps with concrete.  The door fit so nice in the frame when it was on saw horses in the shop, but did it fit the same standing up in this opening????  No way!  So, Ben had to shave the  door a bit to get it to fit properly.  His Great-grandfather's woodworking tools came in handy!!  



We've celebrated Halloween with the local kids (they LOVE Halloween and all the candy that goes with it!)  I didn't have too many trick-of-treaters, so we're still working on the candy....slowly!!  This was our first pair of kids.  The little girl was a sweetheart!  

We have been eating very well, thank you very much, since we go to El Barrilito as often as possible!  (Not much when we've been sick!)  Francisco knows how to keep us happy!  



The dogs and I have been walking the beach (when I feel well) as often as possible.  Some days the water is so calm.....


And other days, the breakers are crashing like we're on the Pacific side!  Those are the days that Zoey walks way on the back side of the beach away from the water.  Of course, she does that most days anyhow.  She does NOT like the ocean or water.  

Last week, before we both got sick, we spent Monday and Tuesday in La Paz.  Since my oldest sister Alice died of colon cancer at age 62 in 2004, I've been trying to get regular colonoscopy exams, and I found it is much cheaper to do in Mexico, and just as professional.  I have had three done by Dr. Chiapa now, and she is very good at what she does.  I had the procedure done on Tuesday at Fidepaz Hospital, and she only found two tiny polyps this time, so I was very encouraged.  The last two times she has found 10 each time, with more that she left for later.  Ugh!  I was pleasantly surprised that she found only two this time. It is also a decent price for the procedure, about $500 US.  Ben managed to get some La Paz errands done, and did some good eating.  I, of course, managed to gulp down my liquid medications and eat a liquid diet for two days!  Sigh.... next La Paz trip I will visit more restaurants!

You never know when some of the cactus will be blooming, but I noticed a Pitahaya near our house that was setting out buds last week.  I caught a picture with our casa in the background.  I couldn't decide if this bloom was past its prime or if it was going to open some more...oh well...still pretty!  Just watch out for the "espinas"!  




We usually buy a coffee can full of Pitahaya fruit from sidewalk vendors in the little town of El Triunfo (on the way to and from La Paz) and I make a delicious jam / syrup out of them.  Ryan just picked some more cactus fruit from a Nopal (flat leaf) cactus in our yard, and he was going to juice them.  Not sure how that tasted, but he does like his juicer!  

Oh, and amidst all this coming and going, the white pickup truck refused to start, and our newest refrigerator quit working.  We had the pickup batteries tested, and one is bad, so we need to get some new ones.  In the meantime, the truck is working on one battery.  The fridge quit Friday evening, when I noticed it making more noise that usual, and noticed that the meat in it was thawing....not good!!  Since Ben was feeling punk on Saturday, I went into Los Barriles to Armando's hardware, chose a fridge and paid for it, and asked them to deliver.  They were there within 1/2 hour, and Ryan hauled out the old fridge and switched the door hinges for me while we were waiting the required hour before plugging it in.  Not my first choice for style, but you take what you can get on short notice!  We took the other one into a repairman in Los Barriles, and it is now fixed, too.  We think we'll sell the oldest fridge which is least energy efficient, although it has the most space.   (Can't have enough fridges when you live in Baja!!)  



Hasta la proxima vez,
Tus amigos en Baja,
Harriet, Ben, Ryan, Sam & Zoey

PS.  I have started a November 2015 Picasa album, but not much in it yet.