Pic-of-the-Month for October 2026 and half of November!

Hola Amigos!

We are back home in Baja, and have been here since October 30.  Hallelujah!  We made it down with no issues (other than the normal stuff like narrow curvy roads, crazy drivers, construction areas, torrential rain storms and washed out areas).  We are very thankful to be back.  The weather has still been plenty warm, and it has cooled down a bit in November, which is one of the best weather months down here.  

We left Oregon when we expected to on October 24th, in spite of some doctors concerns.  Ben's surgery on the 14th went quite well, he spent 2 nights in the hospital because his heart developed A-Fib, so they tried to get that under control before they let him loose.  He was good, and didn't drive for 7 days, and didn't lift over 10 pounds (mas o menos!)  We had managed to get the truck loaded before his surgery, other than our daily suitcases and a few other items.  So for most of our trip, I loaded and unloaded everything, lifted dogs in and out, and made sure Ben behaved himself.   

As we say now, we came back to the "expected" things to fix and take care of, and plenty of "unexpected" things that keep popping up!!  

There were a LOT of weeds in our yard, plus a lot of dead plants.  We had some water issues this summer, mostly; lack of water!  Ben was anxious to get his garden seeds started, and they are coming up like gang busters now.  He tried to get one of his enclosed garden areas cleaned out, but was quickly losing steam!  I happened to see our neighbor's gardener, Martin, working next door, and asked him if he'd like more work.  He agreed, and man oh man!  He gets things done!  One of the first things he did was clean out both of the fenced garden areas (Ben was very pleasantly surprised!) Then he dug out dead roses (lack of water) and cleaned up that area.  He'll be back tomorrow and regularly from now on, maybe every other Friday for 4 hours. We are happy!

Getting the new fridge ready to fit in that door to the left.

We had to get a new fridge, because a power surge took out our old fridge in the laundry room.  We called a business in San Jose where our latest one was purchased, which we like a lot, and ordered one almost identical.  It was delivered and installed last Saturday.  They had to take the doors off to get it into our garage/shop/laundry room, but it worked, finally! 

We brought down our new duel fuel range (propane top, electric oven), called our favorite plumber/electrician Carlitos, and he was over the next day to install it.  Woohoo!  It works great, although I'm still getting adjusted to it.  

Ben had to trim our butcher block top a bit to get it to fit!   

 I started walking daily again after we got down here, and the other day I was wondering what I had done to get the right side of my back hurting!  I finally figured out it was two determined little dogs pulling on their leashes!  Dang, that hurt!  So, I'm being more careful now and it is feeling much better.  I'm walking with my friend Jill, and we both like slow, shortish walks, although I'm getting her to go a bit further some days!  I promised her I'd call for someone to come pick her up if she falls!!  

We noticed that the tides are quite high all the time we walk (mornings).  I don't remember seeing it consistently this high ever before.  My favorite rocks are generally under water!   You can see in the picture below taken in front of Rancho Buena Vista, that there isn't much beach left in front of the Round Bar!  

 

The exciting thing happening in our neighborhood tomorrow is that the Baja 1000 Off Road Race will be coming through town!  They are starting in San Jose del Cabo very early Friday morning (1AM??) , and will be coming through here starting about 3AM.  Oh boy!  It is nice and quiet here today, but I'm expecting things will be rocking and rolling tomorrow!  The race makes a loop and ends in San Jose as well in about 30 hours.  Should be interesting!  We are located south east of La Paz where the red line is next to the Sea of Cortez.  We have had various racers checking out the course here this last several weeks.  We had lunch next to a table of them at Mariscos Chovy.  (They know where to order their seafood!) 

 This one has met a few puddles!  Notice the satellite dish on the right roof line.  

 Anyhow, we are home, Ben has garden started, and I've started walking again, as I sloughed off pretty badly this last summer.  We are also enjoying occasional siestas as needed, and eating at our favorite restaurants.  Life is good!  No bad days.

We hope all is well with you, and we are waiting to hear from you!

Oh, Ben will be flying up to Oregon for a few days Saturday Nov 14 - Nov 17 for an echocardiogram and some consultations.  Me and the dogs are staying home keeping his new plants wet!  

Here's October 2026 photo album, with some November photos, too.   

Hasta la proxima vez,

Tus amigos en Baja,

Harriet, Ben, Gus and Pancho