Pic-of-the-Week for March 18th, 2014

Hola Amigos!

We have had a great week...it is always fun when we have guests.  Oh, the places you'll go and the things you'll see!  Well, we've mostly seen them before, but it is fun seeing them through the eyes of a new guest!  Our niece Chrys took a quick break from work; she came on Thursday and is leaving today, but she knew how to take advantage of her short time.  I showed her the way to the beach on Thursday, and she's been down there several times a day since!  She has taken serious walks; once all the way to Rancho Leonero and back (about 6 or 7 miles total).  It is rather rare seeing someone walking the beach in some of that area, since it is rather remote!  Several people going by on ATV's checked with her to make sure she was OK!  She spotted Flat Top butte on her hike and said to herself she'd like to climb up that hill, so Ben took her yesterday.  Here's the view from there, showing where she had hiked on Sunday!

Rancho Leonero is in the extreme right in the photo above.
 

And....our house is there at the extreme left of the bay.  Just a bit of a hike!  

She also got out in our kayak and had a fun time doing that before it got too windy.  She tried it again yesterday, but said the big swells were a bit disconcerting!  We had a very windy day on Sunday; kind of a last hurrah for winter winds!  At least the sail boarders were happy!  And on her walk this morning, she said the water was perfect for kayaking... she just couldn't haul it down to the water by herself.  :-(

Also in town this week is our friend Sharon from Canada.  We never know who will show up in town, or when, but it is always a pleasant surprise when old friends arrive!  We had her over for dinner so we could catch up on all the things going on in her life in the wilderness of Ontario!  She house and dog sat for us once when our old dog Max was still kicking, and we took a trip somewhere or the other...

Speaking of our house, I showed Chrys where we used to live in Vista del Mar, and it has changed a bit!  The owners had the place torn down so it will probably be easier to sell.  Hard to imagine our little casita here now!  But yes, we lived in that little dirt patch!  

Ryan is still in San Diego doing a remodel project for a friend.  He says it is going well, and he is enjoying time with his friend.  

OK.... I've got to get ready to take Chrys to the airport.  Our dogs have really appreciated having her here because she took over Ryan's dog petting duties.  They'll hate to see her leave!  Ben is off on another trip to La Paz this morning.   Hope you all had a great St. Patrick's day, if you are Irish or if you celebrate it!  It was also an official Mexican holiday yesterday; Benito Juarez day.  He served as President of Mexico for 5 terms in the 1800's.  (That's your Mexican history lesson for the day!)

More photos are posted in our March 2014 Picasa album.  You can check out my quilt progress and garden progress!  

Hasta la proxima semana,
Tus amigos de Baja,
Harriet, Ben, Sam & Zoey


 

Pic-of-the-Week for March 11

Hola Amigos!

It has been a lovely week... the weather is thinking seriously of forgetting about all that winter wind and just settling down to some nice calm spring-like days.  "Thinking" about it means that we still have windy days now and then, and some clouds, but we've really had a wonderful stretch of nice weather.  

Just look at this view from La Palapa restaurant in Cabo Pulmo, where we went on Saturday to visit with friends Katie and Mel.  (Yes, that is someone wading in the water).  That is CALM water! 

Katie and Ben attended grade school together in Bend, lo, many years ago, and he discovered last year that she has been coming down to Baja for years, spending her time in the "wilderness" at Los Frailes.  This was our "good-bye" get together, as they left Sunday to return to Oregon.  We don't get together very often, since it is a one hour drive over some serious wash-board roads from our house to Cabo Pulmo.

On our drive to Cabo Pulmo, we passed a truck hauling a trailer which was stopped beside the road.  The trailer was hauling a small float plane, and they were tying it down a bit more securely.  The wings were loaded on top of the pickup.  

We asked Mel and Katie if they had seen this plane, and they said that they had.  These fellows were filming giant Manta Rays at Cabo Pulmo.  They'd fly over them, then the camera man, who was also a diver, would jump into the water and continue filming under water!  Unfortunately, they had a little accident and the plane is a bit "skee-jawed" and is in need of repair.  After our hour long lunch and visit, we saw them just a bit further down the road, again tying the plane down! (It is a very bumpy road!)  

Ben wants you to know a little more about our favorite chef in town, Francisco (or Pancho) from El Barrilito.  #1  He is a fantastic chef, and makes the most delicious scallop appetizers we've ever had.  #2  He is a bullfighter!!!  No kidding.  He took a week off (his wife Nancy wouldn't let him do it for 2 weeks) to go to mainland Mexico (Jalisco, I think) and do some bull fighting.  Well, he doesn't have a cape or swords, like a normal matador.  He does Portuguese Bullfighting, which includes a team of men (forcados) who goad the bull (no capes, no swords, just a silly green hat on the first guy).  These 8 to 10 men surround the bull's head, doing a procedure called a pega de cara or "face catch" and grab his tail, and basically subdue the bull (he can't see, so doesn't move...too much).  Pancho showed us some pictures, and said that he was the first guy and wears the silly green hat!  Good grief!  Here is a LONG video of a Portuguese bull fight.  The forcados are about 16 minutes into it.  It takes two attempts, and then there is the fellow who hangs on to the tail!  He is muy bravo!!!   
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQh8A4ez_Rc    Or, here is a much shorter video with just the "Forcados" portion of the bull fight.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRzPPThS_M0  and here is another: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW56Yr6iZVo (this one is 7 minutes and somewhat violent, but has multiple attempts of Forcados doing a pega de cara!)   Does this look like fun, or what???

The interesting part about Pancho doing this fun thing is that he has terrible eyesight!  He says his team points him in the right direction, and he can "kind of" see the bull!!!  Yikes!  We were very happy that he was home, safe and sound.  He said he had a few nasty bruises, and was a bit sore.  I told him I hoped he was paid sufficiently for his troubles, and he said it's all volunteer!!!  Oh my!  No wonder Nancy wouldn't let him spend another week doing this!  Here's the latest scallop appetizer he prepared:  Scallops stuffed with shrimp, with cilantro sauce and hot chili sauce.  Yummmmm....  We just ask him for a scallop appetizer....it is something different, and delicious, every time we visit!  

And then Ben thought I needed the delicious flan at the end of the meal.  I agreed!

On the home front, my green beans are producing (yea!) and the papaya tree will be producing for some time yet!  We get about one a week off of this tree.  And a banana tree has finally started blooming!  We won't see those bananas until the end of summer.  If we're lucky, they might be producing in October. 

I take Sam and Zoey for walks on the beach several times a week, and they love it.  Hard to believe that Sam could barely walk when we got back here in October.  He loves his beach walks, as does Zoey.  

Ryan has been painting our casa, and it is looking very nice.  He is going to go visit and help a friend in San Diego for a while, so we will continue to have more than two colors for our house until he gets back to finish the job.  We'll keep people guessing about our color scheme in the mean time!

I spotted some wildflowers blooming on our beach walk, and couldn't resist taking a photo.  I don't know what they are, but I like them!  Hope you do, too. 

I have posted some more photos in the March 2014 Picasa album.  I might even have captions on most of the photos by the time you take a peek.  

We have company coming on Thursday... a niece from Oregon who has a brand new passport that needs a stamp in it!  We're looking forward to her visit.  

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

Pic-of-the-Week for March 4, 2014

Hola Amigos,

We have had a quiet week at home...no guests right now, so we have some time to get some chores taken care of around here.  Ryan has been painting our outside walls; over the years we seem to have accumulated a number of colors on our two tone house.  Paint fades, of course, but there is also the fact that the paint store can never seem to exactly match colors!  Anyhow, it is looking much better as Ryan goes around the casa with his paint roller and cans of paint. 

Another chore that got done yesterday was to hire someone to spray for mosquitoes.  This has been a terrible mosquito year, and I wish we would have known about this guy a while ago!  He comes out of La Paz a couple times a month, and it was a bit windy for spraying yesterday, but we had it done anyway.  He drove his truck right through our neighboring lot and sprayed our "jungle" in the front of the casa (towards the beach).  If you need your mosquitoes sprayed, you now have all the information you need there on his truck! 

Our weather has been great for February and early March.  There are fewer windy days than normal, and the temps are higher than normal.  We may be in for a HOT summer here!  Good thing we'll be in the Pacific Northwest!    We're leaving here at the end of May this year, so I've determined that there is not time to plant my corn crop and have it mature in time for us!  Phooey!  That wasn't very good planning on my part.  At least my green bean crop is doing well.  Ben took good care of the watering while I was gone, and we should have some beans to pick in a few days.  

We are very thankful for friends here in our community.  We were invited to Ray and Karen's for biscuits and sausage gravy breakfast last week!  What a treat.  Ray has been experimenting with his recipe faithfully for years, and it is a challenge here;  you can find ground pork, but not "sausage spiced" ground pork.  We have another friend who supplies the spices, and you have to experiment to determine how much spice to add to your pork.  Anyhow, Ray has it down very well, and we were the benefactors of his hard work.

Karen sets a beautiful table on their "mountain view front door" deck. 

And if you stay long enough, you can also sit in the shade of their "ocean view deck" and  have another cup of coffee.  

That's about all the excitement for this week.  We're looking forward to visiting friends who are spending the winter just over those hills in the distance in the photo above (at Los Frailes) this week for lunch before they head back to Oregon.  I've started a March Picasa Album.  Someone told me that my link took her to Google Plus, and that she had to sign up for Google Plus to make it work (which she didn't want to do).  I'm hoping that's not how it works for everyone.  Here is the direct link to our March 2014 album.  
https://picasaweb.google.com/105471094228418480553/201403March# 

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

Pic-of-the-Week for February 25, 2014

Hola, Amigos,

Yes!  I am back in warm, sunny Baja, Mexico!  Hooray.  Yes, I did have to leave behind some really sweet kids, but I've had my annual quota of below freezing weather, thank you very much!  I'm sure that eventually, Eleanor will have as sweet a smile as her brothers.  She's doing pretty good for just 3 weeks old in this photo! 

 I had an uneventful flight home (thank goodness, since I woke that morning with an upset stomach!  That's no way to fly, especially in a window seat!)  Since I have my permanent immigrant card, I was able to go through the Mexican line at Immigration instead of standing in a long line with all the tourists, and my luggage came fairly quickly.  I had my Mexican cell phone, so I called Ben, and he was promptly to the curb to pick me up.  That worked very well!  Then, we needed to spend about 5 more hours in town while waiting for Ben's brother Greg and his wife Cherlenne to arrive at the airport from Eugene later that afternoon.  We visited the San Jose Marina, ate at a hotel restaurant there (outdoors, of course) and then parked in a shady spot and took naps!  

The next day, after getting a few necessary things done here at home, we took off for whale watching with Greg and Cherlenne and friends Sandy and Debi at Puerto San Carlos on Magdalena Bay on the Pacific side of Baja.  It is about a 4 hour trip from here, past La Paz and on northwest to Mag Bay.  We found that our guide Crispin had invited us for dinner at another hotel; he fixed Margaritas, Swordfish steaks, rice and salad.  Oh...and then he gave us steamed clams to eat as well!  What a meal!  

  
One thing about these whale watching trips, at least with Crispin... we eat way more than usual....and all seafood.  

 Here are Greg and Cherlenne ready to go whale watching the next morning.  (No they aren't going to an Oregon Duck football game!)  

I couldn't resist taking this photo of Sandy and Debi in Crispin's panga...the water was so calm, and the reflections were amazing. 

 And we saw whales.  This time, none came up to the boat, but we were able to get fairly close to several of them, including a Mama and her baby.    We also went to a beach and picked up a few shells and hiked through very soft sand (footsteps were 6" and more deep!)

 While we were beach combing, Crispin and Juan (our other guide) were back at the boats cleaning clams we'd bought off a boat earlier in the day, and making hor d'oeuvres for us of fresh clam ceviche in the half shell!  Add a little lime juice and hot salsa... perfect! 

Then, that night at dinner, Crispin fixed us lobster that we'd bought earlier in the day!  Ay ay ay!!!  We were stuffed (I didn't bother to tell you about the boiled shrimp at lunchtime!!) 

 
I've probably gone overboard on the food pictures this time, but maybe this will help convince some of you who are sitting on the fence to come visit us after all.  We DO eat well here!  ;-) 

Yesterday, Ben, Greg and Cherlenne went fishing with amigo Harold; it was a gorgeous day, and they did spot a few marlin, but there was no catching done.  Nice boat ride, though!  Yesterday was Mexican Flag Day, and there was a ceremony up at the flag monument near our house.  That is the one day of the year when they fly a flag up there.  Wish they'd do it more often!  This shot was taken from our carport balcony.

 
More photos are posted in our February 2014 Picasa Album.  I even have comments on most of them now.  Sorry if I led you astray with the album link last week.  One of the features trying to build this with a Kindle and an on-screen keyboard, I guess! 

Hasta la proxima semana,
Tus amigos en Baja,
Harriet, Ben, Ryan, Sam and Zoey

Pic-of-the-Week for February 18, 2014

Hola Amigos,

I am sitting here in Rebecca's living room, typing one-handed because I am snuggling a sweet little baby girl.  We are also watching the snow come down on Monday afternoon.  We should get 3 to 6 inches today (Monday).  Tomorrow will be the first day above freezing since I've been here.  And on Wednesday, I head back to 80+ degree Baja.  I will probably faint from the heat!!  I will miss this little sweetheart and her brothers, though.

Rebecca had knee surgery last Friday for a torn meniscus, so she is appreciating having me here to fetch things for her, including a baby, once in a while!!  She is doing OK, but still hasn't been able to manage stairs yet.  Soon, we hope!  In the meantime, she is camping out in the living room, since the bedrooms are upstairs!  Tim  finished up a major paper for his Master's degree on Friday, and he is a great help with the boys and in the kitchen.  AND.... he changes dirty diapers!!  He bundled them up and took them out to play in the snow, and that is a major process...but the boys had fun sledding on the hill in their front yard.

I

While they were outside, Rebecca and Eleanor rested on the sofa,and this is also becoming Eleanor's favorite place to nap, too, as you can see!

I am enjoying time with David and Aaron, too.  They are very busy guys... I am amazed at David's reading skills for a boy who just turned 4, he can read just about anything.  Aaron loves to have books read to him, especially "The Little Engine That Could".  I bought the book for them since it was his Mommy's favorite book when she was his age.  I think Aaron's goal is to have it read to him as many times as his Mom had it read to her!  He almost has every word memorized, and if you stop reading, he will happily fill in the blanks!  We have made cookies and done some other fun things

In Baja, Ben has been trying to arrange a whale watching trip, but it hasn't' t happened yet, due to wind and/or busy schedules.  Ben's brother Greg and his wife Cherlenne will be coming the same day I get back from Chicago.  It will be good to share some warm weather with them!  Cherlenne is missing the tropical fruit she used to eat in the Philippines.  We hope to supply her with enough to keep her happy for a while!  Ben did take a couple pics this week... one of our orchids is blooming again!  I guess my fertilizer regimen paid off!

It looks like Ben has visits Costco, too, because I saw some other blooms, and although ours were sending out bloom stalks, nothing would be ready in just two weeks.  I'm happy!

There are some more photos in our February 2014 Picasa album.

Next week, I promise more "warm" pics, although I've had some pretty warm hugs while I've been here!  :-)

Your amigos in Chicago and Buena Vista...
Harriet, Ben, Ryan, Sam and Zoey (whose 3rd birthday was the 17th)

Pic-of-the-Week for February 11,2014

Hola Amigos,

Did you know that it has not been above freezing since I got here a week ago?  And the extended forecast show that maybe by next Monday the daytime high might be above freezing?  I know many of you were in the same boat  (or sled) last week, and don't feel a bit sorry for me... so I guess I had better not cry any more, but I sure will be happy to get back to temps above 70 during the day!!!  Of course, the benefits of being here are those great moments with the grandkids.  Granted, there are a few trying moments (with toddlers aged 2 and 4!), but we'll probably all survive my visit!!  I get to hold Eleanor and had to take a photo of her the other day when she was in my lap, and the sun was shining on her little head.  What do you think of this hair?

This grandma thinks it is pretty special!

I'm pretty good at multi-tasking.... crocheting a baby blanket (keeping the baby warm with it) and holding the baby in my lap!

Aaron and David are both very intelligent (and good looking) boys, and they certainly keep their parents busy with all their questions and requests and busyness.  David can spend hours playing with any kind of ABC's, and Aaron likes to watch train videos and read books (with help, of course).  This was a quiet moment when they were watching a video down in the basement.

And here, David was using his Mom's camera to take photo of the baby, then me!

And here, Aaron is using the sofa as a mountain to climb!

Of course, everything is being done indoors, since the outside temps are extremely low, especially on the clear, sunny days.  The older neighbor kids don't seem to mind, and usually are out for at least 1/2 hour in the afternoons playing in the snow.  I even saw a teenage  boy  wearing only jeans and a t-shirt shoveling snow the other day!  Good grief!  As I write this as 9:30, the temp is 4 degrees F.

We have made a few trips out and about, one morning over to Tim's parent's home so I could  use Dorthy's sewing machine to work on Eleanor's quilt (sewed on the binding).  Now I am finishing it by hand.  I'll be sure to take a photo of the final results, preferably with Eleanor lying on it!   We all went to church on Sunday morning, and Eleanor was dedicated to the Lord.

Then we went out to breakfast with Tim's folks, his Uncle, and his brother and sister-in-law.  Aaron appreciated his hot chocolate, thank you very much!

I had a special treat on Monday.  I connected with a friend from years and years ago thanks to Facebook (and a mutual friend).  She happens to live in the same town as my daughter, just a few blocks away!  We spent the morning talking and doing some major catching up. She is almost related to me, because my cousin John used to be her uncle when he was married to her Aunt Grace!   When she came over to Rebecca's house to pick me up, several ladies were cleaning the house.  One of the ladies, an African refugee, recognized her voice and called out to her!  The lady had lived with her (she has housed over 60 refugees in her home) and they were very surprised to see each other in a "strangers" home!  Small world!  I did a project while I was at her house....snow dying!  Yikes!  Yes, you use snow on top of your fabric, and sprinkle the dye on it.  I will wash it out tomorrow and see how it turns out.  (It was about 10 degrees when I was out there doing this project!  Thank goodness it didn't take too long).

She is really taller than me by quite a bit, but I'm standing on a step!  Anyhow, we had a good time together.

I have put a whole bunch of photos in my February 2014 album.  I might even put a few captions on eventually!  Lots of SNOW pictures, and KID pictures.  If Ben has taken any photos this week, I'd be surprised!

Until next week, your friend in frigid Illinois, and your warm friends in Baja,
Harriet, Ben, Ryan, Sam  Zoey

Pic-of-the-Week for February 4, 2014

Hola Angola.

I (Harriet) arrived in snowy Chicago on Monday; a day early due to a big snow storm that is supposed to come in here today.  I left Ben and Ryan ( and the dogs)  at home in balmy Baja.  I did not bring my computer; only my Kindle, so I am a bit hampered in downloading photos. And I am counting on Ben to send this out.

From here, life in a household with two toddlers and an infant is "normal" chaos!  I did enjoy reading a Dr Suess book (twice) to the boys this morning, and since it is a favorite of Aaron's I imagine I will be reading it a lot more times!  Looking forward to shopping in some US stores while I am here, and bringing back all the goodies we have been accumulating here. Below is a photo I took with my Kindle out their front window.  Already lots of snow and more coming.

Ben and I are happy to report that we got our permanent Immigrant cards last Friday!  That means a few more privileges (free govt health insurance) and the end of a yearly process.  It was nice they came just before my trip!

Our agave plant is just finishing blooming...it has been fun to watch!

Today's letter is short...I am still learning to type on my Kindle and correcting spell check assumptions!  Can't use any shortcuts here!

I have started a February 2014 picasa album.  It does have some sweet photos of baby Eleanor that Rebecca took last week.

Short letter this week!  Maybe next week I will use a computer to do this!

Harriet in Chicgo, and Ben, Ryan, Sam and Zoey in Baja