Pic-of-the-Month for October 2024

Hola Amigos!

We have been home here in Baja for almost a month now, and it has been a HOT month!  Phew!  It is finally cooling down (high today was mid-80's and lows in the low 70's) and we are appreciating that a lot.  We have gotten a lot of things done since we got here.  Ben has a lot of the garden planted with tomatoes and squash and cucumbers, and he recently planted some sweet corn.  We have helped many of the local restaurants by going to check out their menus and food.  We are eating well!  The dogs are adjusting, and we finally have them cured of their Giardia that they each came home with from the breeders!  Thank goodness!

The trip down was good.  We left earlier than originally planned, because our travel mates couldn't leave yet due to some truck issues.  Also, we felt like we needed to get the dogs HOME to deal with them and their illnesses.  Their Giardia episode resulted in diarrhea, for both dogs....often!  Ugh!  They traveled during the day like champs.  Settled right down and didn't fight each other too much, and Gus would warn us when WE NEED TO STOP FOR A POTTY BREAK!  

The hotels at night were another story.  They weren't potty trained yet, so we had pee pads, a little wire pen to contain them, paper towels, wet wipes; you name it, we had the stuff to clean up after them!  And they christened every floor around.  Any rugs?  We picked them up!  We shortened up our planned stops near the end to just get home, although we spent two nights in San Quintin at Hotel Jardines (tile floors in Mexican hotels are wonderful!)   We visited a very nice winery in the little town just north of San Quintin... and bought a nice supply of Baja wine for our wine cellar.  

We were stopped about 15 miles north of Loreto by a long, long line of traffic due to a traffic accident, but noticed various people and cars leaving after having little discussions among each other.  So, we got brave and pulled out to pass the stopped traffic.  I asked a man "que pasa?"  He said "you're 4x4, you could take the arroyo and bypass the accident."  So, off we went!  We took the first arroyo exit available (have no clue if it was the right one or not!?!) and bypassed everything.

 

 It was a beautiful drive, and we had another vehicle following us.  We stopped and talked, and let him know we didn't know what we were doing or where we were going!  Hopefully, to Loreto!  I was using Google Maps, and he had an app with a much more detailed map so we compared maps often. 

We eventually got to a nice housing development north of Loreto.... and a locked gate!  So, being polite, we asked around to see if someone had a key.  No key, but a nice worker did give us a hack saw blade!!  Instead of trying to saw through the lock, Ben and our new friend Brian dismantled the fence on the unlocked (hinge) end, and we drove through, then re-assembled the fence!  Then continued on about 4 more miles to Loreto!  Phew!  

We cleaned house (thank you Dalia and Isabel), cleaned out our new fridge, had an AC guy in to clean our 2 air conditioners (which needed it badly!), picked up rugs that the pups might pee on (all of them, mostly!)and settled right in.  The AC guy was great.  He had a pressure washer to clean the unit, and an apron to go around it with a hose attached which went out the window!  Very little water in the casa.  He did such a great job on our bedroom unit, I told Ben to hire him for our upstairs unit, too, and he came and did that one a few days later. 

I've been walking, and reached my miles goal for October, and am above goal for this point in the year.  I recently started taking the dogs for a walk (one at a time, thank you very much).  They are on leashes, and go every which way, and try their hardest to sample every cow pie or burro dropping that they see (and there are a lot).  On the beach Gus will try for fish bones, crabs, lots of icky dead stuff!  They do not like the water, so stay plenty far away from it.  Gus has also learned where to stop for treats when we go through Vista del Mar!  They learn so fast!! 

We are entertaining (very low key!) our first visitors of the year.  My sister Shelley has returned to visit with her husband David.  They enjoyed horse-back rides this morning, and a pedicure and massage yesterday.  We are taking them to La Paz to show them around there, and meet up with cousins Tom & Karan, who finally have arrived here in Baja California Sur after a week long hiatus in Palm Springs getting a new transmission in his 2018 4x4 truck!  (They were the ones we were going to travel with, leaving Oregon Oct 1. Maybe next year!!) 

We were able to watch all the World Series games, and even some of the University of Oregon games (Go DUCKS!) FYI, my teams are winning!!  ;-)  This is the only time of year I wish we had a TV and access to sports. 

I've created a 2024 October album with more scenery and events.  All the pretty pictures are there!   

Good news!  We get to see son Ryan for Thanksgiving for a week, and daughter Rebecca and her family for Christmas for a week!  We are so happy to be able to have them here for that time.  Just wish granddaughter Olivia could come, too. 

Other than those times, our guest rooms are available.  Please consider coming down to see us.  We'd love to have you.  And you could walk the dogs with me!!  

BTW, we had one batch of Trick or Treaters, and I didn't get a picture, and now it's time to go to dinner!  Chinese tonight!  Yum! 

Hasta la proxima vez!

Tus amigos en Baja,

Harriet, Ben, Gus and Pancho 

PS.  Pancho is the nickname for Fransisco (Frankie), so that's what we've been calling him, just in case you're confused.  Of course, his dog tag and embedded chip say "Frankie", but oh well! 

Pitahaya cactus bloom

 

 

!

 

Pic-of-the-Month for Summer 2024

 Hello Friends,

Yesterday was the first day of Autumn, and you know what that means!?  We are busy packing up and getting ready to head south, like any sensible retired person would do!  We have had a busy, but not too busy summer and are anxious to get back home.

The big news this summer is that Ben got his wishes granted, and now has two (count 'em....TWO) new Dachshund puppies.  Gus is the typical Black and Tan like we've had in the past, and Frankie is what we hope will be a Silkie.  He's a cross between long hair and wire haired dachshunds.  The coat is very soft, and right now, he's smaller than Gus, so usually loses the fights!  They are both adorable, but Ben is finding out that it is a LOT of work.  These are his pups, and he is doing the majority of the maintenance, including vet visits.  I have taken Gus for several short walks, and he may be trained to go with me on my beach walks in a month or so.  Here you go... a new era of Purkey pups, Gus and Frankie!

 

We kept pretty busy this summer with maintenance tasks.  Our trailer is now 16 years old, and always needs repairs or improvements  of some kind of the other (including two new tires tomorrow).  Ben is great at taking care of fixing things.  It is a very well built trailer and is holding up well.  We have added a new "feature" this year to keep clever Gus out of our bed, which folds out on top of the sofa.  It works, but is not real convenient for us old folks, climbing in and out over that board!  Hopefully, we won't need them next summer. 

We spent time in the Willamette Valley visiting friends and relatives, mostly in July and early August, when we picked up Gus.  I found some nice ripe blackberries, and I also canned peaches for the first time in over 20 years.  They will be going home to Baja with us, and I'm looking forward to having those as breakfast fruit.  Yum!  I did the canning while we were house/dog sitting for our friends the Sackingers, who were on an Alaska cruise.  Gus got trained very well by their full size Poodle, Sandy! 

We enjoyed Sackinger's garden produce while there, too, including boundless zucchini, blueberries, green beans and tomatoes.  

In late August, we went camping with the Telecks at Crooked River near Prineville.  While there, I spotted a wild Mountain Goat on the cliffs across the river from our campsite.  What a sight!  He was very big and healthy looking, and spent a lot of time roaming back and forth across the face of the cliff, and then down for a quick drink at the river, then up again.  I was thankful for my "good" camera, because my phone's zoom just didn't cut it!

Here's the view from our campsite with my phone camera at maximum zoom.  Do you see him?? 

Dinner at Diamond Hotel included Tomato Pie! 

In early September, we did our annual camping trip with the Sackingers near Frenchglen and the Steens Mountains.  It is a beautiful area, and we took day trips to various places, including to the top of the Steens, the Riddle Brothers ranch (which is now a museum), Hart Mountain (which had a serious fire this summer and campgrounds are closed until next spring...first time we haven't camped there in many years), and Fields, Oregon.  We had two dinners out; one at the Diamond Hotel, and one at the Frenchglen Hotel.  Both very good, but we gave more points to the dinner at Diamond Hotel.  Worth the effort to go over and do it if you can manage it! 

After the Steens camping trip, we headed north to the Pendleton Roundup, which is always a treat.  As usual, we parked our trailer at my niece Anne's house.  Gus really enjoyed her big yard (it was a little scary the first day with that BIG DOG, but the next day he was doing fine!)  We met up with cousins Tom and Karan Malpass and watched the parade together, and did lunch and dinners, too.  Lots of fun.  

After the Roundup, we headed back to Bend, where we are packing up and trying to get organized for the trip back south.  We are also getting some last minute things done, like flu shots, vet visits, and truck and trailer maintenance.  We will go to Fort Rock on Friday and spend a couple days putting the trailer to bed.... and visiting with Mel and Katie.  Oh yeah, and we got another puppy!  

I must admit, there are a few advantages to having two dogs.  Frankie slept a whole lot better than Gus did from the first night here.  And, there are disadvantages.  This guy is not close to being potty trained.  Rugs are picked up, mop is out!! He does pretty well riding in the truck, at least for several hours at a time.  We'll see how he does (or maybe how we do!) on the long ride home!  

We plan to leave Fort Rock October 1, and be home by October 6.  I'll probably post a daily progress report on Facebook if you want to follow along.  Time for another appointment now!!

Albums of our summer adventures are here:  

   July 2024

   August 2024 

   September 2024 

We have several guests already signed up to come visit us in Baja this season.  Don't wait too long to add your name to the list!   

Until the next post,

Your amigos from Baja

Harriet, Ben, Gus (Gustavo) and Frankie (Francisco)

Pic--of-the-Month for June 2024

 Hello Friends,

Ben and I are in Central Oregon, after leaving our home in Baja June 14th.  We had a fairly quick trip back, and even skipped a few of our favorite places, and planned stops.  All went well, in spite of the long sections of potholes in many areas in Baja.  The scenery, as always was beautiful.  I even got Ben to stop to let me take a picture of this view.

 

Camping beach on Bahia Concepcion

They usually take better care of the roads, but it was a major election year in Mexico (they elected their first woman president, Claudia Sheinbaum, of Jewish heritage!)  When it is an election year, the party in power stops spending money on things like road improvements, etc., and waits to see what the newly elected officials will do.  (Not sure what happens to the money they should have been spending on maintenance!!).  

Blue Flax, Fort Rock in the distance.

Anyhow, we got to Fort Rock (pictured above) on June 19, with plans to stop at Lakeview Oregon DMV to renew our driver's licenses.  Of course, it was the first time in history that DMV was closed for Juneteenth!  Oh well, we got it done the next day in La Pine, the only day of the week they were open.  Got there early and waited outside an hour, but it was good as we were #7 and 8.  All legal, now!  (No, I didn't drive in the US while my license was expired, but I did drive in our little town in Baja, very carefully!)  

We were happy to spend time with Katie and Mel, and Mel's son Guy in their home at Fort Rock.  We store our trailer there for the winter, and we took our time getting everything organized, and Ben fixed a few things on it.  I did a few morning walks in the area, where the roads are straight, and the views are endless!  There is lots of sage brush and some very pretty wild flowers blooming right now, and the first alfalfa cutting is happening now. 

Our first priority now is to get the truck repaired.  In spite of traveling 100's of miles on Baja's pot holey roads, we experienced the "death wobble" with it 3 times on rough sections of Hwy 31 here in Oregon between Fort Rock and La Pine.  That is a scary experience, let me tell you!  Shake, rattle and roll.  Fortunately, Ben was able to control the truck and traffic was minimal, and we got it into the Sister's Les Schwab tire store yesterday for them to check over completely.  They found a few parts that needed replacing, so they're ordering parts and it will be repaired on Monday.  

We don't have too many plans yet, other than some doctor appointments and visiting friends, and a reservation at Cowboy Dinner Tree near Silver Lake for Ben's birthday on July 12!  The medical appointments seem to be spaced out over several weeks, so we'll be here in the Bend/Sisters area for a while during that time.  We hope to get over to the west side of the state next week after the truck is fixed and back again later in the summer.  We'll see!  We will not be making our annual trip to Eagle Point to visit our friend Pat Curry, because we sadly learned that she died of complications of Leukemia on June 17.  Her 85th birthday would have been yesterday, June 26. We met her and her husband Ken when we moved to Baja in 2000, and have been friends since.

Our first forest fire of the season happened the other day, and is still ongoing.  It's just to the east of La Pine, right on the edge of the town. Today it is up to over 3600 acres.  We saw the smoke from Fort Rock on Tuesday evening after it started (supposedly in or near a homeless camp), and the strong winds spread it quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

There is a June 2024 photo album, and most of the pictures have captions.  

Until the next time we have something worth writing about...

Your friends,

Harriet & Ben

Pic-of-the-Month for May 2024

 Hola Amigos,

It is the end of May, and the weather has already been getting plenty warm!  Its in the high 80's or 90's most days for high temps, and night time temps only get down to mid 70's, so the AC has been in use for at least part of every night.  The humidity is also getting up there, which is the hard part for those of us raised in Oregon, where it's plenty wet, but not hot and humid!  (According to my Dad's old gauge, the humidity is 75% right now, and the temp is 88).  We may just sneak out of here a bit early, even though I just read an article about high temps in Oregon in the next several weeks!  

I can tell you about a critter we see in our garden who appreciates this warm weather... it's a good sized Black Spiny Tailed Iguana who hangs out on the wall between our place and the neighbors, near our veranda where we have most meals.  I had to get out my "good" camera to get this picture of him.  We've had fun watching him.  I often see him on the back side of the house near my clothesline (still on the other casa or the wall).  He has another iggy pal who isn't as big, but they seem to get along ok.  He's probably 2' in length, counting the tail.

We have also enjoyed the bird watching this time of year, when the quail couples start bringing out their fluffy little babies.  We count about 4 couples, and one poor single guy who cant seem to find a mate.  Only one of the pairs has a batch of babies.  There were 7, and now there are 4.  Still waiting for the others to show up with new hatchlings any day now!  I also used my "good" camera for these pictures, but they don't hold quite as still as the iguana!!  

Ben, as usual, has been working on multiple projects.  He finished the cabinet repair in our bedroom closet, and had enough left over material (and a drawer base) to build some drawers for the bedrooms upstairs.  One for upstairs is almost done.  That project took a lot of time and effort!   He has been shutting down the garden little by little.  I cut down my bean row the other day, and he pulled them out this morning.  He also pulled all the remaining beets, which did very well this year.  He spends a lot of time repairing our 20 year old irrigation lines, which seem to spout  new holes with regularity!  I guess it doesn't help that we're on the newer city water line, which has very high pressure (and they don't really regulate it...no gauges!!) 

We've been hoping that the Jeep would be finished "any day now", but alas, the parts the mechanic ordered didn't work, so Ben is going to go get the Jeep and put it in summer storage (towing it home) and get the parts when we're in the US this summer.  Man, this has been a long process.  We sure didn't get to use the Jeep much this year.  Seems like it spent it's season in La Paz, at various mechanics!!  Next year!  

I finished my latest quilt top, which we're going to use in our Oregon trailer.  It looks very Mexican, with it's red and green and lots of hot chili pepper print fabric.  It has been a fun one to do, and since it's for me, doesn't have to be "perfect".  I've made up most of the layout, except for the "Spinning Star" blocks.  We'll take it to Oregon and send it to my friends June and John in Brownsville to finish it; backing, batting, and long-arm quilting.  She is even willing to sew on the binding!!  What a deal!  

Anyhow, that's 4 quilt tops I've put together this spring. 
I think that's a record for me!  And, I still have a ton of fabric remaining, so need to keep putting more together.   

This is the Spinning Star block.  I like it.  Fairly simple, with a twist! 

We have our "house closing for the summer" list out, and need to get started on it.  We will have house sitters again, and we'll have a bit of time to train them on the care of our casa over the summer, and what to do in case of hurricane.  They'll be here in a few weeks.  In the meantime, we're enjoying our time here, in spite of the heat.  (Thank goodness for AC when we need it).  It will be very different for us traveling without a dog or two.  Kind of luxurious, actually!  Ben is threatening to get a new dachshund pup this summer, so I guess I'd better enjoy the dog-less-ness while I can!  

I have been walking as regular.  There aren't many people on the beach, but I saw an interesting one the other day.  The man was beach fishing, but also running a drone.  The drone landed just as I got to his spot.  He told me he used the drone to take his fishing line out because he couldn't cast it that far!  Crazy, but clever!  

This is a photo of the man hooking up his line to his drone again.  

 

If you want to see us this summer in Oregon (July - September), let us know, and we'll see if we can schedule you in.  One of our first priorities is getting doctor visits out of the way.  Hopefully that won't take too long.  

I have created an album for 2024-May with a bunch more pictures.  

We'd love to hear from you!  

Hasta la proxima vez,

Tus amigos en Baja

Harriet & Ben

 

Pic-of-the-Month for April 2024

 Hola Amigos!

It's the end of a warm, sunny April, so I'm sitting down at my PC to let you know all the exciting things we did this month.  

Let's see.... we gardened, we made pies, we cooked and canned tomatoes and green beans, we cleaned up a major termite mess in our bedroom closet, and Ben built a new, bigger cabinet, so my fabric stash totes will fit better.  We had a new net for a palapa upstairs, and while they were here, we had the palapa guys tear down our little old one on the south side of the bedrooms and rebuild it. Didn't take them but a day to do this one.

In the garden, Ben continued to harvest tomatoes, so I've been using about 3 pounds of them each time I make a batch of Huevo Ranchero  salsa.  Ben experimented with some recipes a couple years ago, and he came up with a really good one.  It makes over 1.5 quarts, and is nice to keep in the fridge.  (Let me know if you want a copy of his recipe in anticipation of your summer tomatoes!)  We've also got enough green beans, in spite of the cow damage, to can a couple of canners full, and they are still producing fairly well.  Unfortunately, I'm not real happy with the beans, as most of them are flat, not nice and round like normal Blue Lake green beans. They seem to taste ok, but they tend to also have strings on them.  Oh, well.  At least I have something in the pantry for next year!  

At the beginning of this month, I pointed out to Ben that the termite damage in my shoe drawer was awful, and things were starting to fall apart.  So, he rebuilt that cabinet, and then rebuilt the drawer cabinet next to it that holds most of my clothes.  He also had to re-do several drawer fronts.  Then the big cabinet next to the window had to go.  It was also fairly well eaten after 22 years.  After he had the old one out, I did some calculating, and asked if he could make it wider than the original so I could fit my fabric stash totes in it.  He agreed, and is in the process right now of trying to squeeze it in there!  It's going to be very nice!  He was fortunate that he found the melamine and oak to do the rebuilding down here, as his supply was low!  And...during this process, he noticed a shelf support in his shop had fallen.  It, too, was termite riddled, as well as the old wood from his 1928 Woody that he'd saved.  That wood is now fuel for our camp fires in the evenings!  

 

While Ben has been doing wood work, I made another baby quilt, and I've also started on a bigger one for me.  I got the baby quilt done, which had a time-line. It's another very colorful one which will probably keep the baby awake... sorry about that, parents! 

The one for me is not a rush, so I've been averaging about 2 squares a day.  (Four squares so far!!)  Poco a poco!  Again, I'm using fabric I've had for a long time.  It's been very convenient having the totes stacked around the bedroom (my sewing room!)  I've found all kinds of treasures!  What is surprising, that after making 3 baby quilts, my supply doesn't seem to have gone down at all.  And when we cleaned out the closet, I found even more treasures hidden here and there. What I seem to be running out of is decent thread to sew all these seams!  

Never one to be out of home improvement projects, Ben decided it was time to put a sealer on our roof top.  It's flat, and when it rains, the drains are not built quite low enough to get all the water off.  So, while he ran the pressure washer this morning, I swept like crazy trying to push gallons of water out those stinkin' little holes.  Ugh!  Anyhow, when we don't sweep it when it rains, water will sit on the roof, and we have a few places that it has leaked.  We will pay Martin, an excellent painter, to fix the cracks and put on the sealer.  

We were able to spend a little vacation in La Paz and Centenario this last week.  I had a dermatology appointment and a dentist appointment on Tuesday, then we stayed in our favorite La Paz Hotel, Catedral, and had a lovely dinner out.  The next day, we did a bit of shopping, and headed over to Centenario to spend a couple days with our cousins Tom & Karan, who have a new home there.  We ate very well on this little trip, and set our diets back a bit.  Tom and Karan are becoming La Paz experts and know where to go to eat!  We really enjoyed Friday night at a restaurant in Centenario called KM14 (because....it's at kilometer marker 14!)  Excellent steaks and salad and potatoes and veggies.  We will be back! In fact, we have to go back to La Paz this next Friday to get the stitches out from my dermatology appointment last week, so we'll spend the night again.  (Not with T & K, as they've left for Oregon).  Also, one of these days, Ben's Jeep is going to be completed with all the repairs it has gone through.  We keep hoping!  

I'm still walking, although my walking companion Jill left town...something about a granddaughter's wedding she had to go to.  I'm still ahead of my goals, and have managed to get up to the Flag Monument more than once a month.  Now that it's getting warmer, it's time to keep an eye out for Rattlesnakes, so I've been doing more beach walking.  And look who went walking with me when we were in La Paz!  Wow!!  This is a rare picture!   

Our April 2024 album is here for even more photos.  

We are looking forward to May.  It's my favorite month down here.  Not too hot, not windy, and the days get longer.  (Mexico doesn't do Daylight time anymore, so we don't have to change our clocks when we drive north to Oregon in the summer!)  Also, the garden is winding down, so Ben will have less to do.  Maybe we can take a ride in that newly completed Jeep???  We can dream! 

We hope you are all well and enjoying your spring season.  (I guess Central Oregon had some snow yesterday!  Crazy!)  We will be here enjoying Baja until late June, when we will meander up to Oregon.  We'd love to see you when we get there (between doctor appointments and other obligations!)  Keep in touch!

Hasta la proxima vez!

Tus amigos en Baja,

Harriet & Ben 

Pic-of-the-Month for March 2024

 Hola, Amigos,

It's the end of another month, and there are things to share with you.  It has been an eventful March.

With tears in our eyes, we made the hard decision to put Zoey down this month.  She was blind, deaf, incontinent, and always hungry and thirsty (due to Cushings disease).  So, I took her for her normal walk one morning, then we took her to the local vet and he put her down for us.  We were there with her to the end.  It is pretty strange around here to not have a dog to greet us (Actually, lately, we'd been hunting the house for her to see if she was still alive!  She slept so soundly and was so deaf she never heard us come in!)  We miss her a lot, and Ben has been hunting for a replacement, although I'm trying to hold out.  The picture below is one of my favorite of Zoey (left) and Sam, when they were both much younger.  Handsome dachshunds, for sure!  I made an album of Zoey's Life pictures if you're interested. 

We had company at the beginning of the month; our niece Chrys Purkey and her two boys, Devon (14) and Jack (5) came for 5 days.  They were great.  Jack loved the dirt and sand right outside our back door, and the beach was fantastic!  He talked non-stop, and it was fun getting to know him better.  Devon loved the beach, too, and got to use our snorkel gear at every opportunity!  They did a bunch of hiking; shopping and eating around town, hiking home from town, or just exploring.  They were great with Zoey (Devon had known her a long time), and she got lots of petting in her last week. I think I heard the boys talking about a return visit! 

Our garden is doing well and producing like crazy.  We've been making a lot of tomato sauces, and Huevos Ranchero salsa, among others, but I still have a bunch waiting for me to do something with them!  We are also sharing with friends and neighbors.

The poor green beans are another story....again!  A cow got in during the middle of the night and ate most of the leaves on the green bean row, all the blooming roses (which were looking very lovely), and of course, the Hibiscus.  They left my Zinnias alone, and the Geraniums and Petunias.  Ben figured it had done a diagonal jump across the cattle guard, so he has added fencing to stop that trick.  Pic to the left shows the new fence post and barbed wire (that was from the old fence between us and neighbors...nice to have that available to use!) 

Ben got the police involved, but if you don't know what cow did it, and don't have a picture of it's brand or ear-tag, there's nothing they can do.  The police men did say they'd be happy to rope it for us and tie it to one of our trees next time one got in!  That's something I'd like to see!  

I am getting beans, and might have enough to do a canner full soon.  For some reason, the cow eats the leaves, but not the beans or blossoms, thank goodness! 

The Zinnia crop did quite well this year.  Very colorful!  I just need to keep dead-heading them to keep them blooming a bit longer.  

Ben has been very busy with multiple projects.  He's always busy in his garden, and keeps planting new seeds to replace cucumbers, radishes, and lettuce. He's also spent a lot of effort trying to cow-proof our yard, including fixing the neighbors rickety, non-cow proof fence in one area.  (More uses for the used barbed wire!)  Right now he's rebuilding some of our wardrobe drawers that have been termite riddled for a long time, and are falling apart!  He's enjoying getting into wood working again, and is taking advantage of his pretty new chop saw that our friends Jill and Rudy brought down with them.  The old one broke when he was cutting some very stubborn mesquite wood from our yard into firewood.  He'd had that old one for over 35 years, maybe more.  

 

The wall is done.  We didn't have to do much at all but supply the sealer and paint.  The two ladies who painted it did a fine job (Metty and her daughter Betty!)  

I've been working on a quilting project for a month or so.  I looked for a simple pattern because I made two quilts!  (Twins!!).  I used a lot of scraps, but still have plenty left to make more!  In fact, I know  one I used was for Rebecca when David was born, coming on 15 years ago!  I think that one is finally all used up.  These two are definitely "colorful"!  Hope they don't keep the babies awake!  I'll have them quilted and finished by my friend June Macauley in Oregon.  She and her husband do such great work, and I found out that she loves to hand sew the binding, too!  God bless her!  That's not one of my favorite parts of the process, so I'm always willing to let her do it! The convenient thing about all this, is that June and husband John live very near us here in Baja, so I'll be giving them to her to take up to Oregon when they go in May.  Perfect plan!  Now, maybe I should get to work on another quilt....??? 

I have a walking companion for a few weeks, since my friend Jill recently arrived in town.  We're a great pair out there with our walking sticks, trying to keep our feet dry!  I have managed to meet my goals so far this year, in spite of being sick several times.  (Of course, goals are adjustable!)

 View below is what I enjoy daily on my walks. 

 

Ben and I wish you all a Blessed Easter.  Remember that He is Risen! 

Hasta el proxima mes,

Tus amigos en Baja,

Harriet and Ben (and the memory of Zoey)

PS.  Here's the photo album for March 2024.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

Pic-of-the-Month for February 2024

 Hola Amigos,

Another month is coming to an end, so it's time to let you know what we did and share a few pictures with you.   

We had visitors!  Our friends George and Carolyn Sackinger came from Salem, Oregon, for a return visit, and George's brother Paul joined us from Texas.  We had a great time showing them around, taking them to favorite restaurants and showing them the sites.  One trip we took was out to El Cardonal, with a stop at Hotel Punta Pescadero for a snack and a cold drink.  The view from there is amazing!  This is looking south towards Los Barriles and our casa. 

This is the view to the south from the outdoor bar.  Not bad, huh?  After our refreshments, we stopped at the beach in the above picture.  We can usually find some pretty nice shells there.  I also like the rocks just off shore, and on the edge of the beach.  There are some interesting formations there.  It's a great place to snorkel (which we didn't do!)

 

Mardi Gras is a big thing in Mexico, and one night, La Playa Restaurant featured a group from Tijuana who sang and danced.  It was a very high-energy, entertaining show.  They also dressed up in sparkly outfits, high boots, and short shorts!!  There is a video of them in the February 2024 album in action.  There was no break between songs...they just kept going and going!

We took our guests for a ride in the 1928 Woody to breakfast, played quite a few games of Mexican Train, watched the Super Bowl at our neighbors and had a darn good time with them! 

Shortly after the Sackingers left, Ben's brother Dan and his wife Laura arrived in Cabo San Lucas for a luxury tropical vacation.  We went down to see them one day to show them around a bit and have lunch.  We generally avoid Cabo San Lucas like the plague, but we will do special things for friends and relatives!!  We had a nice time catching up with them, and explaining how things work in Mexico! (You always have to ask for your bill at a restaurant... "la cuenta, por favor" or you will sit there forever waiting.  They want to make you relaxed and happy to be there.  Maybe you'll order something else!)   They said next time, they'd come visit us.  We're not holding our breath, but they might just show up one year! 

This picture is on the edge of the Marina in Cabo.  Dan's entertainment for the next day was to climb that hill behind his head.  Not far up, but something this 80+ year old former mountain climber could do easily.

Here on our rancho, Ben's garden is growing great, as are my green beans, which are just starting to blossom.  No more cows have gotten in, so that's a plus!  We are enjoying radishes, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro.  The squash are getting ripe, the roses have started re-blooming after the cow invasion, and things are looking pretty good.  

Our neighbors Brian and Hope just started another project, and are building a wall on our mutual property line.  That will give them some privacy in their yard (especially since Ben has been severely pruning the trees and bushes on the fence line!  So there is a lot of activity going on here for the next few weeks.  The workers are fast, so I expect it to be done quickly. 

This photo was the end of day progress yesterday.  They dig down deep to put in the foundation, use lots of rebar, and whip out those concrete block walls in quick order.  The rebar on top of this short wall is to strengthen the wall.  That will be about ground level, then they'll build about an 8' wall on that.  There will still be an opening between our two lots with a gate.  It will be different, after that being an open space for so long, but I'm sure we'll get used to it quickly!  

I read some sad news yesterday.  Rosa Maria Ruiz Van Wormer (Cha Cha), owner of Palmas de Cortez Resort here in Los Barriles died yesterday.  She and her husband built and ran that resort, Hotel Playa del Sol and Hotel Punta Colorada (which is now closed) starting in the 1960's.  Her husband Bobby died in 2010, and she and her sons have continued running the resorts.  Two of her sons, Eddie and Carlos (Chaky - or Chucky as we say), are our  neighbors, Chucky right next door, and Eddie around the corner.  We bought our property here in Baja from the Van Wormers in 2002, and have known them since we started vacationing down here in 1985.  It's the end of an era with her passing.  Rest in Peace, Cha Cha.

And, someone else had a birthday!  Zoey is now 13 years old, and we're pretty amazed she's still with us.  She continues to want to go for a (very short and very slow) walk with me in the mornings, and rarely misses it.  She is mostly blind, pretty deaf, sleeps most of the day until her internal clock says it's time to eat (5am, 12 noon and 3pm, which I try to make 4pm or later).  Not sure how she's made it this long with her weak rear end and Cushing's Disease, but she is hanging in there.  

Ben is hoping to sell his boat this spring.  He has spent a lot of time cleaning it up, then going through the garage and finding all the bits and pieces that go with it.  He recently moved it so that it's very visible from the street, and hopefully we can sell it quickly.  

We have more company coming this Sunday.  Our niece Chrys and her two boys will be here for 5 days.  We're looking forward to seeing them!

That's about it from this little corner of the continent.  Hope to hear from any of you who'd like to let us know how you're doing!  And you're always welcome to come visit, since we have 2 guest rooms with amazing views.  

Hasta la proxima vez,

Tus amigos en Baja,

Harriet, Ben & Zoey

PS.  Don't forget to check out the February 2024 album!