Hola Amigos!
Did you notice? I got the year correct on the title of this post. I'm at 100% so far this year!!
Happy New Year to all our friends near and far. 2017 was an OK year for us, and 2018 is looking to be even better!
I have the garden started, and my green beans are starting to sprout. The squash I planted from seeds from my Walla Walla friends' garden is producing nicely. We got another bag of "fresh" compost from our rancher friend in San Bartolo, so things should really grow well this year! I've also got to decide if I want to order a load of nice garden soil to put on an area on our new lot, and maybe plant some corn this year. Decisions, decisions! (The soil on that lot is just as bad as our old lot, of course, plus it has piles of old adobe bricks they used to make right here! With this clay soil!!)
This last weekend, Ben & I had the opportunity to visit the "family ranch" of our friend Rosi Amarillas. Her brother Alfonso Virgin lives there and runs the ranch. They were having a family reunion where all her sisters and brothers from all over Mexico got together, which was the first time since 1986. We were privileged to join them and get a taste of ranch life in Baja. The ranch is located near Los Planes, which is north of our town about 45 minutes to an hour; actually on one of the roads we take to go to La Paz. They raise cattle, grow field corn, and lease other fields to other farmers; one field grows zucchini, which is harvested by hand daily.
This is the "indoor" kitchen. Very compact. There is also an "outdoor" kitchen with a much bigger sink.
One of the calves in the calf pen.
Backside of ranch house. Can you see the little cactus growing on the palapa roof?
Large zucchini field which needs to be harvested daily.
Big old scale hanging in the living room. Used to weigh cattle.
This is Alfonso's graduation picture from Veterinarian School.
A cut-throat game of Monopoly going on with the cousins. (I read one of the "chance" cards, and told Ben he couldn't play because it was in Spanish!)
The water pond near the stock yard. Plenty of water here, since the ranch is located near an arroyo. And yes, that is rain drops you see on the edge of the pond. Here we call that about a 4" rain.
Did you notice? I got the year correct on the title of this post. I'm at 100% so far this year!!
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| The view from our roof this morning. |
Happy New Year to all our friends near and far. 2017 was an OK year for us, and 2018 is looking to be even better!
- We are celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary January 27th! You are all invited to our party here on that day at La Playa restaurant ... live guitar music by Miguel de Hoyos! Really... if you want to come celebrate with us, let us know. (The weather has been beautiful this winter; hopefully it will continue!)
- We bit the bullet and made an offer on the lot right next to us that was for sale. It was accepted, and will close early February. Now we don't need to feel guilty parking our rigs on this lot, nor for our dogs using it as their bathroom! (I do clean it up fairly regularly!!) We're not planning on doing anything with it at this point. Perhaps one of you is interested in a nice lot in Baja, next to some really nice neighbors?!
- The 1930 Model A Roadster is coming together nicely. Ben has been working on getting all the things on the frame / chassis while Caliman is doing the body work and painting the fenders and running boards. The shocks, steering column, and various other necessary bits and pieces have been installed, and we have also got the front seat and the rumble seat upholstery finished. That project definitely takes 4 hands to stretch and pull and hog-ring and nail!
- The Jeep? It too, is at Caliman's, and it should even have a gas tank by now. Will it be done for us to use this year? Who knows? We can hope!
- I think my US phone finally will ring if you try to call me. My old service, which was Republicwireless.com, just wouldn't get my phone to ring. All calls would go directly to voicemail, and that was just as irritating as all get out! I have switched to AT&T Mexico plan, and it will now ring if you try to call me at 541-854-5303. Hooray! Thanks to my Baja friend Marla who went to Eugene for Christmas. She brought back my new SIM card, plus the new debit card to replace the one that had been compromised. We owe her a dinner out! Or something!
I have the garden started, and my green beans are starting to sprout. The squash I planted from seeds from my Walla Walla friends' garden is producing nicely. We got another bag of "fresh" compost from our rancher friend in San Bartolo, so things should really grow well this year! I've also got to decide if I want to order a load of nice garden soil to put on an area on our new lot, and maybe plant some corn this year. Decisions, decisions! (The soil on that lot is just as bad as our old lot, of course, plus it has piles of old adobe bricks they used to make right here! With this clay soil!!)
This last weekend, Ben & I had the opportunity to visit the "family ranch" of our friend Rosi Amarillas. Her brother Alfonso Virgin lives there and runs the ranch. They were having a family reunion where all her sisters and brothers from all over Mexico got together, which was the first time since 1986. We were privileged to join them and get a taste of ranch life in Baja. The ranch is located near Los Planes, which is north of our town about 45 minutes to an hour; actually on one of the roads we take to go to La Paz. They raise cattle, grow field corn, and lease other fields to other farmers; one field grows zucchini, which is harvested by hand daily.
Rosi is in the purple sweater.
This is the "indoor" kitchen. Very compact. There is also an "outdoor" kitchen with a much bigger sink.
One of the calves in the calf pen.
Guys everywhere get together and talk about whatever guys talk about!
Backside of ranch house. Can you see the little cactus growing on the palapa roof?
Large zucchini field which needs to be harvested daily.
Big old scale hanging in the living room. Used to weigh cattle.
This is Alfonso's graduation picture from Veterinarian School.
A cut-throat game of Monopoly going on with the cousins. (I read one of the "chance" cards, and told Ben he couldn't play because it was in Spanish!)
The water pond near the stock yard. Plenty of water here, since the ranch is located near an arroyo. And yes, that is rain drops you see on the edge of the pond. Here we call that about a 4" rain.
We enjoyed a meal of beef, tortillas and potato salad. The beef had been cooked in a pit in the ground. Rosi's husband Hector Manuel is on the left.
We celebrated the New Year with our friends Mel & Katie Crabb, and Pat Curry. Since Katie had both hips replaced last summer, this was the first time she's been dancing for a LONG time! (Years!) We hauled her out of there a bit early, and it took her all of the next day to recuperate, but she had a ball! The food was delicious, the music was great, and a grand time was had by all!
A few more pictures are located in our January 2018 album.
Hope I didn't overwhelm you with this first of the year letter! And I mean it about coming for our anniversary. Rebecca and Ryan were going to throw us a big party, and it turns out neither of them can make it in January this year, so we decided to do our own "thing". Come if you can! Just let us know. RSVP!
Tus amigos viejos de Baja,
Harriet, Ben, Sam & Zoey
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