Hola Amigos,
One more week to Christmas, and we've been busy, busy, busy! Not getting ready for Christmas, necessarily but there are lots of other things on our plate. Oh, I did finally get our tree (read that "stick") decorated. And I bought a couple of Poinsettias. That will just about do for my decorating efforts!
Ben spent most of last week getting ready for our church's move to a new location. He spent TWO days in La Paz again last week (with a suitcase and his computer this time...and a toothbrush!) buying supplies; microphone stands, microphone holders, a large file cabinet, cleaning supplies, office supplies, paper towels and toilet paper, coffee pots, thermos pots for cool drinks, a water jug holder, cable and various cable ends for the sound system, large garbage cans. And big fluffy blankets (20 of them) for the Mexican families for whom our church is providing food. For each purchase, he needed to get a "factura", which is the legal receipt for book-keeping purposes here in Mexico. That added about 20 minutes (at least) to most purchases. He also managed to get a car cover made for his '29 Model A pickup, which involved hauling that vehicle there. When at the upholstery shop, they pointed out a low tire on his trailer, so he had to take care of that, too! Our red truck ran great, and he was able to get there and back, and all around (and around and around) La Paz in good order. He does know La Paz very well these days, if you ever need a tour guide!!!
While he was running around La Paz, I was helping at a Ladies Luncheon that several of us decided to have. We held it at Hotel Los Pescadores north of town, which has a very nice open lobby where we set up everything. The quiche and salad were delicious. The salad had pears, avocados, grapes, jicama, lettuce and onions. What a yummy combination.
I took my old piano which we'd had repaired recently and played some favorite Christmas Carols. We made mistletoe swags out of Mexican mistletoe, had a Christmas devotion, and just enjoyed visiting with each other and having fun!
We had so much fun, we're talking about doing it again next year. Here my friend Lynn on the right is showing Sharon and Carlee how to make the swag.
On Thursday, I had to run Ryan to the airport (Ben was still shopping away in La Paz). He had a 2:15 departure, so I was hoping to get him there before noon, and it's at least 45 minutes from our house to the airport, depending on traffic conditions (weather and trucks and slow drivers). Well, he didn't know I had to be back in Los Barriles by 1pm, so he was quite relaxed about leaving until I told him! "I have to be back by 1"!, I yelled upstairs. "Oh, you didn't tell me." He replied calmly. I had him drive and he made very good time!!! I made it back to my choir practice just 6 minutes late. Of course, on the way to there it rained buckets near the airport, and it sprinkled consistently all the way home. In fact, it rained most of that day, and reminded me of an Oregon type rain: steady and soaking. I'm sure my garden loved it, and we'll now be having another new crop of weeds sprouting.
Speaking of garden, I don't think I told you that I've planted some seeds over a week ago, and most things are now sprouting. I've got Blue Lake Pole green beans, lettuce, spinach, arugula, yellow squash and zucchini, and sugar peas. I haven't ever tried the peas before, so it's kind of an experiment. The package says they quit setting on peas at 76 degrees F, so hopefully they'll be ready to eat in late February or early March when it is still a bit cool. My beans are just about ready to string up to the wire, and I'm hoping for another good crop like last year's. I just love to open and serve those jars of home canned green beans, and they're just about gone!
Sunday was the first day in our local church's new location, and everyone loves it. Ben and I got there very early to set up the projector (loaned for use by Ryan) and to make the final touches to the sound system.
We had the use of a borrowed portable amp, and it didn't do a very good job, but everything else went well. We don't have a screen yet, so the light colored wall worked pretty well for the PowerPoint show of songs. Eventually, we'll have the projector hung from the ceiling, a screen so we can see it well, and a decent sound system.
In the meantime, I just used my piano's internal speakers, and Ray said the bass was nice and loud from that corner.
One last photo for you, of the "wild life" inside our house. We have geckos in here. Can't keep them out. We've decided they're OK, because they do eat bugs. However, this gecko could not possibly get this critter down, but he sure looked like he was thinking about it very seriously. He eventually gave up that night, but tonight...I don't see the moth!!!
This is definitely an example of "his eyes are bigger than his stomach"!!!
OK...I lied. I have ONE more photo for you, a historical one. This is from February 1, 2001. Ben & I and our friend Ellis stopped at the Tropic of Cancer marker south of us and Ben took a photo. Many of you have stopped here and taken a photo of this old ball. Well.... save your photos, because this ball is gone. The government has put in a pretty new sculpture there. Maybe I'll stop and take a photo of it when I go to the airport later today. By the way, those of you who know Ellis...he had a slight stroke a few weeks ago and is currently in Eugene, scheduled for surgery to clean out his left carotid artery on Wednesday. He and Marsha hope to be back here on Christmas day.
More photos are in our December 2012 Picasa album.
Hasta Navidad,
Tus amigos en Baja,
Harriet, Ben, Sam & Zoey (Ryan is still in St. Croix!)
One more week to Christmas, and we've been busy, busy, busy! Not getting ready for Christmas, necessarily but there are lots of other things on our plate. Oh, I did finally get our tree (read that "stick") decorated. And I bought a couple of Poinsettias. That will just about do for my decorating efforts!
Ben spent most of last week getting ready for our church's move to a new location. He spent TWO days in La Paz again last week (with a suitcase and his computer this time...and a toothbrush!) buying supplies; microphone stands, microphone holders, a large file cabinet, cleaning supplies, office supplies, paper towels and toilet paper, coffee pots, thermos pots for cool drinks, a water jug holder, cable and various cable ends for the sound system, large garbage cans. And big fluffy blankets (20 of them) for the Mexican families for whom our church is providing food. For each purchase, he needed to get a "factura", which is the legal receipt for book-keeping purposes here in Mexico. That added about 20 minutes (at least) to most purchases. He also managed to get a car cover made for his '29 Model A pickup, which involved hauling that vehicle there. When at the upholstery shop, they pointed out a low tire on his trailer, so he had to take care of that, too! Our red truck ran great, and he was able to get there and back, and all around (and around and around) La Paz in good order. He does know La Paz very well these days, if you ever need a tour guide!!!
While he was running around La Paz, I was helping at a Ladies Luncheon that several of us decided to have. We held it at Hotel Los Pescadores north of town, which has a very nice open lobby where we set up everything. The quiche and salad were delicious. The salad had pears, avocados, grapes, jicama, lettuce and onions. What a yummy combination.
I took my old piano which we'd had repaired recently and played some favorite Christmas Carols. We made mistletoe swags out of Mexican mistletoe, had a Christmas devotion, and just enjoyed visiting with each other and having fun!
On Thursday, I had to run Ryan to the airport (Ben was still shopping away in La Paz). He had a 2:15 departure, so I was hoping to get him there before noon, and it's at least 45 minutes from our house to the airport, depending on traffic conditions (weather and trucks and slow drivers). Well, he didn't know I had to be back in Los Barriles by 1pm, so he was quite relaxed about leaving until I told him! "I have to be back by 1"!, I yelled upstairs. "Oh, you didn't tell me." He replied calmly. I had him drive and he made very good time!!! I made it back to my choir practice just 6 minutes late. Of course, on the way to there it rained buckets near the airport, and it sprinkled consistently all the way home. In fact, it rained most of that day, and reminded me of an Oregon type rain: steady and soaking. I'm sure my garden loved it, and we'll now be having another new crop of weeds sprouting.
Speaking of garden, I don't think I told you that I've planted some seeds over a week ago, and most things are now sprouting. I've got Blue Lake Pole green beans, lettuce, spinach, arugula, yellow squash and zucchini, and sugar peas. I haven't ever tried the peas before, so it's kind of an experiment. The package says they quit setting on peas at 76 degrees F, so hopefully they'll be ready to eat in late February or early March when it is still a bit cool. My beans are just about ready to string up to the wire, and I'm hoping for another good crop like last year's. I just love to open and serve those jars of home canned green beans, and they're just about gone!
Sunday was the first day in our local church's new location, and everyone loves it. Ben and I got there very early to set up the projector (loaned for use by Ryan) and to make the final touches to the sound system.
In the meantime, I just used my piano's internal speakers, and Ray said the bass was nice and loud from that corner. One last photo for you, of the "wild life" inside our house. We have geckos in here. Can't keep them out. We've decided they're OK, because they do eat bugs. However, this gecko could not possibly get this critter down, but he sure looked like he was thinking about it very seriously. He eventually gave up that night, but tonight...I don't see the moth!!!
This is definitely an example of "his eyes are bigger than his stomach"!!!
OK...I lied. I have ONE more photo for you, a historical one. This is from February 1, 2001. Ben & I and our friend Ellis stopped at the Tropic of Cancer marker south of us and Ben took a photo. Many of you have stopped here and taken a photo of this old ball. Well.... save your photos, because this ball is gone. The government has put in a pretty new sculpture there. Maybe I'll stop and take a photo of it when I go to the airport later today. By the way, those of you who know Ellis...he had a slight stroke a few weeks ago and is currently in Eugene, scheduled for surgery to clean out his left carotid artery on Wednesday. He and Marsha hope to be back here on Christmas day.
More photos are in our December 2012 Picasa album.
Hasta Navidad,
Tus amigos en Baja,
Harriet, Ben, Sam & Zoey (Ryan is still in St. Croix!)
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