Pic-of-the-Week for December 30, 2014

Hola Amigos,

Here I am writing the final Pic-of-the-Week for 2014.  This year has certainly gone by quickly.  And here in Baja, as in other parts of the northern hemisphere, winter has begun in earnest.  The wind has been blowing like crazy (wind surfers and kite boarders are loving it), which makes the temperatures drop (wind chill, ya know?).  This morning, the low was 52.9F;  right now at 7:30 it is 55.2F. (Indoor temps are usually right at 70).  We hope it will warm up to the 70's today, which it has been doing.  In the mean time, Ben started up our trusty propane stove, and our dogs are appreciating it very much.  

Now, for those of you who are scoffing at our "high" low temps, just think about living in a typical Mexican house... non-insulated concrete block, with no source of heat except a light bulb or two and the propane cook range.  This is VERY cold for many Mexicans.  So while you will see tourists on the street in their t-shirts and shorts, most local Mexicans are bundled up in sweatshirts and long pants.  

I took the photo of the action on the water so you can get an idea of how busy it can be in from of Los Barriles on a windy winter day.  (Notice the palm trees blowing!)  At least it is usually sunny!  (I apologize for my dirty lens on my little camera.)
 

We had a lovely Christmas and I even got out the good china!  I think at last count there were 10 here for dinner (plus 2 more for dessert).  We kept getting cancellations, and then inviting others, but it worked out fine. I realized at the end of the evening that I hadn't taken pictures, except for a couple with my phone.   We did eat well...Ben cooked another turkey in the smoker and we had all the required ingredients to go with a turkey dinner; potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry relish, vegetables, fresh rolls and APPLE PIE and RUM CAKE!!  Yum!  

We (at least Ryan and I) are looking forward to the University of Oregon game vs. Florida in the Rose Bowl this Thursday.  We'll be going to our friend Ellis' home to watch, along with many of the other Duck fans in the area.  We expect the Ducks to do very well (sorry Florida fans).    






Ben finished another of "my" projects, and now he can start working on some of "his" projects.  He made this quilt rack from a picture I found on the internet, and modified it with the angled side pieces so that you could see the quilts in the back.   It is now moved into our bedroom and holding three quilts that have been in storage for quite a while.  

The front quilt was made by my mother, and each square was embroidered by her and my Grandma Malpass, who I remember always having something to embroider!  The middle quilt was made by my Grandma Cox, and is a Wedding Ring quilt.  It was probably made in the 30's or 40's, and is pretty fragile.  The one is back is the first large quilt I ever made and is the Log Cabin pattern.  Since I wasn't real careful in my seam sewing, this one has a lot of loose edges, and I have no idea how to repair it, so I'll just hang it here!  I will most likely use this to display new quilts I make, too.  Thank you Ben, for the lovely addition to our bedroom furniture (all of which he has made).  

Rebecca often messages me from her phone in the Middle East to mine here in Mexico.  And, she knows how to send instant photos that she takes with her phone (I figured out how to do it to, finally).  She sent me this one the other day of Eleanor, and I just love that smile!!  I appreciate chatting with them (also on Skype), and listening to David repeat his alphabet in English, then in Arabic!  (I told him I need a translator).  Aaron just turned 3 at the beginning of the month, and has the sweetest smile!  They do keep their Mom and Dad hoppin'!  

To keep us hopping here, the local burros show up regularly for their gumdrop treats.  They were here yesterday, braying at the gate until Ryan showed up with the goodies.  There were a couple new ones here yesterday; a black one and another dark one.  She reminded me of the black baby we had several years ago who was a cross between his mama burro and a dark horse.  She didn't know how to get in line for the gumdrops, and besides, the local burro kept kicking at her to keep her away from "HIS" treats!

I've added a few final photos to our 2014 December album.  Just think, I can start a new year's album in a few days!  

Feliz año nuevo a todos nuestros amigos!

Tus amigos de Baja,
Harriet, Ben, Ryan, Sam & Zoey 

Pic-of-the-Week for December 23, 2014

Feliz Navidad, Amigos!

It's a bright sunny day here in beautiful Baja, and I drug the crew up on the roof for our annual Christmas photo.  Ben even got in the spirit by wearing a Santa hat (he said it was a bad hair day!  Looks like I should have worn one, too!)  

You'll notice the sandals and bare feet.  It's tough living here, but we do our best!  We are all wearing shirts with sleeves these days, since the morning temp was 67.5 at the time! 

It's been another quiet week, for me at least, since I've been a bit under the weather since last Wednesday.  I had an upset stomach and a low fever, and just didn't feel like eating anything.  I did manage to get down some toast and applesauce, most days, and am feeling quite a bit better now.  The up side to this episode is that I lost some weight, so that was a nice side benefit.  We've had company over for dinner several times (Ben did the majority of the cooking), and I fixed some desserts for a pig roast that Ben & Ryan attended on Saturday as well.

In spite of my stomach issues, I made it to choir practices and a performance by our choral group (OK Chorale) at the Saturday Market this week.  I'm the pianist for the group, and played my "new" used keyboard.  The performance turned out fine; we had a lot of fun, and the folks attending appreciated our efforts.  We sang some old traditional Christmas songs like Silver Bells, White Christmas, Chestnuts Roasting, and even Feliz Navidad! 

 

We're expecting 9 guests for Christmas dinner on Thursday.  Ben is planning to smoke another turkey.  Yum!   

Christmas Eve is our church's annual Christmas Eve Candlelight service and I'll be playing the piano for that, too.  It is a beautiful service, and this is when we get to sing the Christmas Carols that have such a wonderful message!  Jesus Christ the Messiah was born to set us free from sin and death!  Hallelujah!!  Wish you could join us.  

We're missing our daughter and her family, but we get to Skype with them often so we can see each other.  The other day when I called, Eleanor heard the ringing and said "Grandma!"  Pretty good for a 10 month old!  Rebecca does send photos regularly, too, so we get to participate from afar in their special moments. They are back in the Middle East, so it takes some coordinating to get our awake times synchronized. 

I have posted more photos in our December 2014 album of events I haven't mentioned here.  

To all our friends far and near

God's Blessings this Christmas

and a Happy New Year!

⁶ For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 Isaiah 9:6

Feliz Navidad!
Tus Amigos de Baja,
Harriet, Ben, Ryan, Sam & Zoey

Pic-of-the-Week for December 16, 2014

Hola Amigos,

Whenever I sit down to start this letter, my intent is to make it short, sweet and to the point, with just a bit of fun and fluff thrown in.  How many things can happen to us in a week, after all?  (Not much, most of the time!)  I'm going to try again, but if you get bored before the end, just scroll down and enjoy the pictures.  

I woke up to a gorgeous sunrise this morning, so had to grab the camera and go upstairs to get some shots to share with you. Even the water was pink. 

Some of the best news this week.... the road grader came to town and graded our road!  This is the first time he's shown up since the hurricane, and in spite of some local attempts at filling in the ditches in the middle of the road created by all the rain, his efforts were very much appreciated!  

Ah, Mexico!  We love the fresh produce and eggs and seafood.  Where else can you bring home a carton of lovely brown eggs and find several chicken feathers still nestled around the eggs? 

 Fresh produce?  We've been growing our own bananas for quite a few years, and right now, we have just about every stage.  

There is the entire bunch ripe and ready to use (fortunately they are rather small), the bunch just blooming (those will be ripe maybe before we leave next summer),  and the bunch still hanging on the tree and not quite ripe yet.  I froze almost all of the ripe ones, and we had wonderful banana ice cream the other night.  Just take them out of the freezer, chop them up and put in a blender.  Only bananas!  Delicious!  You can add any flavor to them for variety; fresh strawberries, chocolate, Kahlua.... These are so sweet and good; much better than the ones we buy at the store.  

Hmmmm...I'm getting hungry; think I'll go grab a couple for my early morning breakfast!

Lots of Christmas activities happening.  I'll be going this morning to help wrap presents for our church's food families.  Our community choir will be singing at the public market this next Saturday, and our church choir is practicing for our Christmas Eve service next week.  I bought a smaller used Yamaha keyboard from a friend, so now I'm more "portable" with my music!  I'm also practicing with our friend Mark who sings and plays guitar.  He'll be singing a special song at church in a few weeks, and I'm looking forward to that.  

Ben is busy in his wood shop.  He finished the new light-weight cedar step stool (and it is really, really much better than the old rusty metal one that you remember with fondness  Rebecca!)  He has now started on the quilt rack that I requested.  He has also been making picture frames for all the cool old Martin Parry advertisements that he's bought.

 

The tree is decorated, and in spite of some slight hurricane damage, doesn't look too bad for an old stick!  (Especially looks good in the dark with the lights twinkling!)  

 Several more photos are in our 2014 December album. 


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

Pic-of-the-Week for December 9, 2014

Hola Amigos!

We had another "kinda" busy week.  We took an outing to our friends' Mel and Katie's camp at Los Frailes.  They treated us to fresh seared tuna, chicken enchiladas and a great view of the ocean, birds and lizards!  They brought down their camper this year instead of a 5th wheel, so they've erecteda large canopy for an outdoor kitchen and dining area, a large tent for Katie's studio where she paints, and another large tent for guests.  It is a very comfortable setup for them, in spite of no electricity or running water.  This is all dry camping, folks, at it's finest!
 

 Contemplating the view.

Mel searing the tuna.  Katie had just taken the enchiladas out of the Weber barbecue...it is a multi-purpose cooker!

Cute little bird enjoying their solar powered (keeps the water moving) bird bath.  
 
It takes an hour to get there from our casa, and it is paved about 3/4 of the way.  The dirt portion had just been graded recently, so it wasn't bad, but the last 10 miles of the pavement is pretty awful...full of potholes everywhere, and difficult to maneuver around and through.  We survived, though (or the pickup did) and got back home safe and sound. 

We never know what we'll see on our beach walks.  I usually take the road that goes by our house down to the Rancho Buena Vista arroyo, then out to the beach.  It keeps my dogs away from other barky dogs along the way.  When we went down the hill into the arroyo the other day, I noticed some "fill" material that is being exposed from some of the last rains.  What do you think?  Could we get it to work again?  Evidently someone had some issues with this printer, so instead of a boat anchor, it became road fill!

 We also saw a bird on the beach that day that appeared to be slightly injured.  He could move pretty good, but couldn't fly.  Not sure what was wrong with him...I was just doing my best to keep my "bird dogs" away from them.  Zoey wanted to chase him in the worst way, but she does listen when I say "no" or "come".  Sam is another story.  He'll keep chasing, but he's slow enough to not do any damage.  He actually listened pretty good that day.

This last Sunday there was an Art Fair that we got to attend.  I managed to find some more of my favorite glass jewelry and bought a piece to replace one I had broken (one of the hazards of glass jewelry!)  I enjoyed looking around... it is so colorful!  Lots of things I can't afford, but at least I can enjoy looking at them.

On the home front, Ben has finished another item on his "Honey-Do" list; he repaired my wooden music stand (in spite of the new one breaking on him a few times).   He found a local Mexican who could match the stain color, and you can't tell it's not the original.  Did I tell you how blessed I am to have a husband who can do stuff like this?  Now he's working on a kitchen step stool to replace our rusty one.  *Big Grins!*  

Another thing on his list is the brick sidewalk on the east side of the house.  That one will be done today!  He's getting smart in his old age, though....this one he hired done.  Lot less wear and tear on the knees that way! 

 

Our Cardon cactus got moved from near the middle of the new sidewalk over to the right about 8 feet.  That took Ben, Ryan, Rick (our contractor) and Alfredo (his worker) to move the thing.  Phew!  BIG job.

I have been busy with music; music for our Community Choir group, and music for our Church choir group.  I'm the pianist for both, and it keeps my fingers nimble (hopefully!)  It's something I really enjoy doing, and I have read that being able to read music and play a musical instrument keeps both sides of your brain in very good shape. (What was I saying?...) 



The Christmas tree is up and decorated.  I've downloaded some new Christmas music to my Ipod and found some old Christmas CDs, and we're just about in the spirit of the season!  We don't do cards or much in the way of gifts, but we love to have people over to share in some good food and fellowship, maybe even some Christmas songs!  The weather has been pleasant.  Highs in the 80's and lows in the mid 60's, with windy days fairly often now.  We still have a guest room available if you want to come experience some sunshine, great food, lovely scenery, beach walks, hot springs, (or hot tub), kayaking, wind surfing... or just some laid back relaxation.  This is the place! 

More photos are in our December 2014 Picasa album.

Hasta la proxima semana!

Tus amigos de Baja,

Harriet, Ben, Ryan, Sam & Zoey

Pic-of-the-Week for December 2, 2014

Hola Amigos,

Where did 2014 go?  Can you believe we are already into December?  Only 22 more shopping days before Christmas!!  We'll put up our tree soon; Ryan just needs to haul it downstairs, and I need to move a bit of furniture and get out the decorations.  I got smart and left the lights on it last year.  It even survived the hurricane (I think Ryan moved it indoors at the time).  

We had a great Thanksgiving celebration.  There were 12 adults and a 3-month old attending.  We had some fun playing Bocce ball before dinner...

We had plenty of turkey because Ben cooked two of them on the smoker; one Wednesday and one Thursday.  

And we had little Emmi to coo over!  She didn't eat her share of turkey, but that was OK!  

Several of the men were willing dishwashers and dryers!!  What a blessing that was! 

We have almost finished all of the five pies that we had.  I gave the rest of one away to the neighbor yesterday (the extremely rich and deliciously decadent Pecan pie), and we had Apple, Pumpkin Chiffon, Coconut Pecan German Chocolate, and Ryan made his famous Key Lime pie.  We are just about ready to freeze up the remaining turkey for later.  We've had quite a few turkey sandwiches and a nice big pot of Cream of turkey soup.  And Ben will probably want to smoke another turkey for Christmas dinner!  

 I am happy to report that my zinnias are doing well, and have started to bloom.  They have a very nice mix of bright colors, so I'm happy!  I have also used some of the arugula for salads since it is doing well.  My spinach crop isn't doing so well.  I'll probably plant some more in about a month; it doesn't seem to like the hot afternoon sun.  

Our contractor should be showing up tomorrow to finish up work on the new sidewalk on the east side of our house.  He's been on vacation a couple of weeks, so we're anxious to get that project going again.  It also involves moving a pretty good size Cardon cactus that has done very well since we planted it.  We were going to curve the bricks around to the right of it, but the way it is growing, we decided to make the sidewalk square, and move that cactus back over by that agave about 8 feet away!  I think this cactus has grown six feet and done quite well since we planted it about 8 years ago.  The rumor was that they send out branches when they're about 50 years old, but I don't think this one is near that old.


Ryan and I enjoyed watching the Oregon Duck / Oregon State Beaver game on Saturday at our friends' home.  Ben... not so much (he's a die-hard Oregon State fan).  We're looking forward to the Pac 12 Championship game this Saturday.  They're playing Arizona, who happens to be the only team that beat the Ducks this year.  GO DUCKS!!! 


I have started a 2014 December Picasa album, but it doesn't have many December photos yet!  (It is only the 2nd, after all!) We'll try to do better next week because we have some outings planned this week.  

Our daughter sent out her photos for November, so I'm going to steal one and show you our cute grand kids.  

 

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

Pic of the Week for November 25, 2014

Hola Amigos,

Guess where we were this weekend? 

Yes, we took the '28 Woody to La Paz for another car show.   This photo is from first thing in the morning, when we were just setting up.  Hundreds of people came by, and probably hundreds of photos were taken of this car while it was parked there.  We also participated in the parade through town on Saturday night.  Everyone was very pleased to see our car, and they always love it when he beeps his oogah horn.  (Except for the cute teenage who crossed the street in front of us when we were stopped one time.  She shrieked!!)  

We didn't spend all day at the show like we have in the past, because they can last until late when the organizer, Hector Manuel Amarillas, passes out all the gifts and rewards.  Ben and I were surprised when he called our name for the prize for the oldest vehicle, because we told him not to award us prizes any more.  But he did, and he gave quite a speech (in Spanish) telling about our summer adventures with this car.  In short, he told us it was an honor for them for us to bring our cars to their show.  Awwwwww.....  

And of course, Ben likes the photo ops!!  Notice our woody on the poster in the upper right of this picture.  

I just got a call this morning from Hector Manuel, and he told me that there was a picture of our car in the state newspaper, so we're even making the news!  What fun!  (He's the man in the white shirt holding the mic in the photo above).

Did you notice (of course you did!) the shoes these Quaker State girls are wearing?  They'd been standing around for several hours in those things.  I can't imagine that they are comfortable, but they sure look impressive!! 

Earlier this week, on November 20, we had both Model A's in the Revolution Day Parade in Los Barriles.  We were the only motorized vehicles this time as there were no floats this year.  Not sure why not, but a Mexican friend told us it was because the teachers and mayor were too lazy this year!  We'll say its because they're still recovering from the hurricane damages.  Anyhow, there were no little children marching, just middle school through high school marching. 

We weren't even sure we'd have royalty to ride in our pickup, but Kenia showed up.  She is the beautiful niece of our friend Dalia.  She had the prettiest dress!  It filled up the back of the pickup!

Here's the queen in the next 10 years!  She knew I wanted to take her picture, so she lagged behind her Papa just a bit and gave me a great big smile!  The little ones participated in some dancing in the public concha, so they were involved too, just not in the parade.  

We are preparing for our Thanksgiving dinner this Thursday.  Ben is brining the turkey today, and he'll be putting it in our smoker Thanksgiving Day.  We expect about 12 of us for dinner.  I'm planning pies and figuring out where to put everyone.  Since we're all adults, we can't do a kid's table, and it has been pretty windy the last several days, so I don't know if we can put anyone outside on the front veranda.  Ben might even buy another turkey to supplement our 14 pounder!  

I'll leave you with a La Paz sunset which I captured while we were driving down the Malecon during the parade.  Many more photos of the La Paz car show and the November 20 parade in Los Barriles are in our 2014 November Picasa album.  I might even get some captions on them soon!

Happy Thanksgiving to our USA friends!  Don't forget to count your blessings!

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

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

Hola Amigos,

Another stay-at-home week, at least for me.  Ben went on a successful shopping trip to La Paz one day, and Ryan has been there visiting friends since Saturday, returning via bus sometime today (he heard Ben is fixing his famous smoked pulled pork for dinner tonight!)  Ben invited our daughter Rebecca over for dinner tonight, too, and she thought is sounded wonderful (since she's in a place where they don't have pork to eat!)  Ben is busily concocting his spice rub mix while I'm writing this.  I am staying out of the way!!! Actually, he needed my help to sprinkle on the spices since his hands were all mustardy, and he needed to turn it to get the spices on both sides.

Rub all over with mustard.... sprinkle with the spice blend, and put on the smoker for an all day slow, smoky fire.  Yummy!  Ready to go on the fire!

 
 We were pleasantly surprised the other day when our friend, a contractor, showed up and said he was ready to start our next home-improvement project!  Yippee!  We are extending our brick patio from the clothesline area all the way to the veranda on the front.  Rick and his worker Alfredo managed to get the forms poured all the way from the existing patio on the south to the north side of the house in 3 days.  Now, Rick is going on vacation to Florida for two weeks, and will be back to finish up the project on December 3rd.  We even managed to keep the dogs out of the fresh concrete for each pour, although Sam tried once.  Fortunately, the concrete was fresh enough that Rick could smooth it out. The wide concrete areas are where our gargoyles spew out water on rainy days, and the bricks are so porous, we decided that the concrete would last longer.  

Notice the banana bunch next to the sidewalk?  Isn't that convenient when they get ripe, you won't even have to get your feet dirty when you pick one!

The drain line project also got finished this week, thanks to some hard work by Ryan.  That rock in the ditch was BIG, and flat on the bottom, and hard to maneuver!  With persistent shoveling and work with a pick and pry bar, he finally got it out, and rolled it (or maybe he hurled it?) over the bank!  Phew!  

Final joint hooked up and good to go!  Hooray!  This was probably a really good mosquito breeding ground! 
 

  
You know that things down here deteriorate quickly in the heat.  This time, it was the drain hose to our washing machine.  It was at least helping us keep the laundry room floor mopped, but not at our convenience!  Ben took it all apart, and managed to find a hose that would fit from the local hardware store.  He hooked it up, and it worked great.  It's a little stiffer than the original, but hey!  It works!!  Did I ever tell you how nice it is to have a husband who can fix stuff like this?  I am truly blessed!  Oh...see the curtain in the window there in the laundry?  I shortened a curtain I had kept since we moved from Eugene in 1984 (can you believe it?) and it looks great there.  It is to shade our 2nd fridge from the afternoon sunshine.  (Gotta keep the drinks cold!)

My friends Pat and Cheryl invited me to lunch last week at Bayview.  When we got there, we noticed a crowd on the beach in front, so we went down to see what all the hoopla was about.  As we got closer, we saw multiple camera people (big, TV type cameras), kids with signs, people with special T-shirts, and the local Turtle guy Noay (sp?) with a mature turtle, ready to go to the water.  She was outfitted with an antenna on her back!  Telcel, a Mexican cellular service, is sponsoring this effort to track the turtle and post it on the internet.  They're building a website and if I ever find out more about it, I'll let you know!  You may even spot me on the beach taking pictures of the turtle!!  Go Turtle! 

Some more photos are in our 2014 November Picasa album.  

I'll leave you with an arroyo sunset.

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