Hola Amigos,
Can you believe another year has gone by so quickly? Just a few more days before it's 2020, and it seems like just a little while ago that I was working on the computer systems so things would work when we went to 2000. (Now I'm just aging myself!) We hope 2019 was good to you; we had lots of good things happen, and of course, a few bad things. But we survived to see what 2020 will bring our way as the sun rises on the New Year! (I love our sunrises here in Baja over the Sea of Cortez...can't get much prettier than that!)
One of our adventures this month was to take the Jeep on a longer than normal trip, and it worked very well. We joined our friends Debi and Sandy in their Toyota and drove south to Los Frailes to visit our friends Mel and Katie, whose camp is 4 miles up a canyon from the beach. The road was in pretty decent shape (many miles are not paved), and the "trail" up the arroyo to Katie and Mel's place had actually been graded!
We had to get a pic of all of us before we left their lovely camp and headed to lunch at Cabo Pulmo. Mel and Katie are in the middle. When we got to La Palapa restaurant for our tacos, we noticed the cutest little puppy! She was a mix between a Chihuahua and a Dachshund, we think. Anyhow, she got some snuggling from both Debi and me. She was the pup of the owner, Angeles, who sat and visited with us for quite a while. Sweet little thing! Anyhow, a few days later, after I posted a couple pictures of the pup on Facebook, Katie told me the pup was available if I knew anyone who wanted it. (Me? Debi?) Both of us said no, but our friend Dalia fell in love with her immediately, and after several attempts, finally was able to connect with the pup and now has her at her home in Los Barriles. We were able to puppy-sit the day she picked her up while she cleaned house for us. She took her to the Vet, and she does need some extra special care for a bit, but she seems to be in pretty good shape. We believe she's 2 months old.
I haven't decorated our "Charlie Brown" Baja Christmas tree for several years, but our grandkids are coming to visit in early January, so I decided we needed it up this year until they leave. Fortunately, Katie said she needed a Christmas Tree decorating fix, so I let her do it all. She loved it!
There won't be too many gifts under the tree when they come, but maybe enough to keep them happy for a while!
I'm hoping it will be warm enough for them to go swimming in a heated pool while the kids are here. Temps have been pretty low (for us!) in the 70's during the day, and 60 or lower at night. Just remember that most homes here have no heating system; we're more acclimated for warm weather, so pile the blankets on at night and snuggle with the dogs!! (Ha! The dogs are on their own at our house. They get 2 blankets a piece!)
We had a lovely Christmas Eve service at our church. I was asked by Pastor Gregg to do live music for it, so we had a nice group of Karen, Mary K, Stephi K and Craig H to sing the familiar Christmas carols, and I played the piano while Ray did the bass. It was much appreciated by everyone, since we have only had video music for almost a year. Hopefully, we'll be able to do more live music in the new year.
Both Ryan and Rebecca send us wonderful pictures of their children. Little Olivia is BIG, compared to most of the kids around her. She is 16 months, and Ryan says she's bigger than most 2 years old children. And her hair is definitely looking red. They are currently living and working in Hong Kong.
Rebecca and Tim and kids are living in Wheaton, Illinois this year, and the kids are attending public school for the first time. They are loving it, and all the activities that go with it, including singing in the school choir and their church kids' choir. David is continuing with piano lessons and making great progress. I think Aaron is doing guitar, and Eleanor did some violin earlier.
They are coming to visit in just over a week, so we're looking forward to their visit. Lucky kids get to be out of school a bit longer than normal, but I think they can catch up just fine. (I told them they can study Spanish while they're here!)
I have created a 2019 December album with several more pictures, and some cute videos.
Our expanded garden is growing nicely, and I've already harvested some radishes and spinach. The corn is coming up, and I'll plant my pole beans soon. Meanwhile, the cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, onions and cilantro continue to grow. I love my winter Baja garden!
Ben has decided we need some fresh paint in and out of our casa, and he has started in our master bathroom. We selected a pretty yellow, and it is WAY brighter than what we've had in there almost 18 years. It should help wake us up in the mornings! When he's not working on painting, he's pruning trees around the house, or working on the Jeep, or finding some other project to keep himself busy. (I just try to stay out of his way, or hold his ladder!!) 😉
We wish you blessings for the New Year, and hope to be able to see many of you in 2020! God Bless you and keep you in His hands!
Hasta el proximo año,
Tus amigos de Baja,
Harriet, Ben, Sam & Zoey
Can you believe another year has gone by so quickly? Just a few more days before it's 2020, and it seems like just a little while ago that I was working on the computer systems so things would work when we went to 2000. (Now I'm just aging myself!) We hope 2019 was good to you; we had lots of good things happen, and of course, a few bad things. But we survived to see what 2020 will bring our way as the sun rises on the New Year! (I love our sunrises here in Baja over the Sea of Cortez...can't get much prettier than that!)
One of our adventures this month was to take the Jeep on a longer than normal trip, and it worked very well. We joined our friends Debi and Sandy in their Toyota and drove south to Los Frailes to visit our friends Mel and Katie, whose camp is 4 miles up a canyon from the beach. The road was in pretty decent shape (many miles are not paved), and the "trail" up the arroyo to Katie and Mel's place had actually been graded!
We had to get a pic of all of us before we left their lovely camp and headed to lunch at Cabo Pulmo. Mel and Katie are in the middle. When we got to La Palapa restaurant for our tacos, we noticed the cutest little puppy! She was a mix between a Chihuahua and a Dachshund, we think. Anyhow, she got some snuggling from both Debi and me. She was the pup of the owner, Angeles, who sat and visited with us for quite a while. Sweet little thing! Anyhow, a few days later, after I posted a couple pictures of the pup on Facebook, Katie told me the pup was available if I knew anyone who wanted it. (Me? Debi?) Both of us said no, but our friend Dalia fell in love with her immediately, and after several attempts, finally was able to connect with the pup and now has her at her home in Los Barriles. We were able to puppy-sit the day she picked her up while she cleaned house for us. She took her to the Vet, and she does need some extra special care for a bit, but she seems to be in pretty good shape. We believe she's 2 months old. 
I haven't decorated our "Charlie Brown" Baja Christmas tree for several years, but our grandkids are coming to visit in early January, so I decided we needed it up this year until they leave. Fortunately, Katie said she needed a Christmas Tree decorating fix, so I let her do it all. She loved it!
There won't be too many gifts under the tree when they come, but maybe enough to keep them happy for a while!
I'm hoping it will be warm enough for them to go swimming in a heated pool while the kids are here. Temps have been pretty low (for us!) in the 70's during the day, and 60 or lower at night. Just remember that most homes here have no heating system; we're more acclimated for warm weather, so pile the blankets on at night and snuggle with the dogs!! (Ha! The dogs are on their own at our house. They get 2 blankets a piece!)
We had a lovely Christmas Eve service at our church. I was asked by Pastor Gregg to do live music for it, so we had a nice group of Karen, Mary K, Stephi K and Craig H to sing the familiar Christmas carols, and I played the piano while Ray did the bass. It was much appreciated by everyone, since we have only had video music for almost a year. Hopefully, we'll be able to do more live music in the new year.
Both Ryan and Rebecca send us wonderful pictures of their children. Little Olivia is BIG, compared to most of the kids around her. She is 16 months, and Ryan says she's bigger than most 2 years old children. And her hair is definitely looking red. They are currently living and working in Hong Kong. Rebecca and Tim and kids are living in Wheaton, Illinois this year, and the kids are attending public school for the first time. They are loving it, and all the activities that go with it, including singing in the school choir and their church kids' choir. David is continuing with piano lessons and making great progress. I think Aaron is doing guitar, and Eleanor did some violin earlier.
They are coming to visit in just over a week, so we're looking forward to their visit. Lucky kids get to be out of school a bit longer than normal, but I think they can catch up just fine. (I told them they can study Spanish while they're here!)
I have created a 2019 December album with several more pictures, and some cute videos.
Our expanded garden is growing nicely, and I've already harvested some radishes and spinach. The corn is coming up, and I'll plant my pole beans soon. Meanwhile, the cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, onions and cilantro continue to grow. I love my winter Baja garden!
Ben has decided we need some fresh paint in and out of our casa, and he has started in our master bathroom. We selected a pretty yellow, and it is WAY brighter than what we've had in there almost 18 years. It should help wake us up in the mornings! When he's not working on painting, he's pruning trees around the house, or working on the Jeep, or finding some other project to keep himself busy. (I just try to stay out of his way, or hold his ladder!!) 😉
We wish you blessings for the New Year, and hope to be able to see many of you in 2020! God Bless you and keep you in His hands!
Hasta el proximo año,
Tus amigos de Baja,
Harriet, Ben, Sam & Zoey
