Pic-of-the-Week for January 31, 2019

Hola Amigos,

My calendar reminder said I was supposed to do this on Tuesday, but hey!  I'm retired and really don't have a schedule.  Did you miss us?

Last Sunday was our 51st wedding Anniversary; we didn't have a BIG party like last year, but it seems like we celebrated for three whole days!  On Saturday, we went to San Jose del Cabo and stayed at our favorite hotel there, The Tropicana.  We were joined by our friends Mel & Katie, and Tom and Karan (my cousins from Oregon).  Saturday was also Karan's birthday.  We went out that night to Jasmine Restaurant and had delicious food, and enjoyed their dancers.  Wow!  So many colorful outfits, and talented dancing!  We loved it!  The restaurant also gave us gifts (nice wine glasses) and provided a bottle of tequila with our picture on it.  😍😏  And desert!

 On Sunday, we came home and prepared for 11 of us for dinner; our friends Hector Manuel & Rosy were bringing Chilis en Nogales for dinner!  Another delicious meal (sorry, I didn't get pictures of it.)  Thank you, Rosy, for all your hard work, and Hector Manuel, for delivering them all the way from La Paz!  

On Monday night, we went to Rancho Buena Vista and joined the party put on by Mark Walters and his band, Skeleton Key.  Mark is part owner in Rancho BV, and a good friend of ours.  He has also been very ill this past summer with diverticulitis so it was very good to see him up and about, and playing the music he loves.  That's him on his guitar back there.  And by the way, a very nice dinner was served, too!  

Ben's auto projects are continuing.  We got the Jeep back from the auto electrician yesterday, and the wiring is beautiful.  Only problem is it still won't start (does that sound familiar?)!!   Ben is trying to figure out why it doesn't get any spark.  We did try to start it while still at the electricians, and pointed out that the fuel pump (which is rather noisy) wasn't working, so he got that going.  Poco a poco!!  

The Model A Roadster is coming together.  Ben got the doors put on, and that was a major effort (more time underneath the body adjusting things and shimming so the doors fit.)  He has started to work on putting the folding convertible top together, and he says the instructions are very difficult to understand.  He wants me to read them, too, so both of us don't understand what we're doing!  Sigh....  I think this is the most difficult one we've worked on yet, but it should be a ton of fun to drive around.  

One of the more exciting things that happened here (and we had perfectly clear  weather for it) was the full eclipse of the Super Blood Wolf Moon on January 20.  I got some amazing photos of it, but then, I took over 200 photos, so chances were pretty good that I'd get something decent!  I created a whole photo album of the best photos, but here is one at the full eclipse.  Super Blood Wolf Moon album is here.  Notice the star (or maybe it's a planet) off to the left of the moon.

Zoey and I are continuing to walk 6 days a week, and 2 to 3 of those days include a hike up to the Flag Monument.  Zoey is amazing, and is willing to go as far as needed, panting all the way (she refuses to drink water until we get home).  She is very good at staying right next to me (without a leash) when we're crossing the road, or when traffic is passing us on any of the dirt roads we hike.  She's also friendly with all the dogs we meet hiking with their people.  That was 3.34 miles round trip this morning.  And when we come home, Zoey spends much of her day hunting lizards in our wood piles!  Don't bother stacking up the wood, she just noses it apart in her hunt for critters.  

And Sam, our other dog?  He'll go on hikes maybe twice a month, if I adjust them a bit so we don't gain too much elevation, and while Zoey hunts, he naps!  

Our granddaughter had her 5th birthday, and her Mom made another beautiful birthday cake.  

She was born in Chicago 5 years ago, and I went up there to help out at that time.  I remember extremely cold weather the entire time I was there.  It was not quite as frigid as it is currently, but cold enough for someone who is used to sunshine and temps in the 70's in January and February, and no wardrobe for that kind of weather.  

For an example of "cost of Mexican life", we paid our property taxes last week.  The piece with the house, with Ben's old man 50% discount, was about $210 US.  We also paid the taxes for the first time on our neighboring lot, and got a 20% discount for paying early.  It was $9500  pesos, or just under $500 US.  Yes, believe it or not, a bare lot is more expensive, but it will be cheaper taxes after we build a structure on it with at least a bathroom and bedroom.  Too bad that won't be for a while!  (Anyone want to invest in a Baja vacation home??)  😉 

Well, January is another memory, and we're ready to start February.  If any of you are in the need to get out of the cold weather, drop us a line.  We have only a few guests planning on coming, so make your reservations soon!

January 2019 album has a few more pics.  

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

  

Pic-of-the-Week for January 15, 2019

Hola Amigos,

This is the first edition for 2019, so Happy New Year from Casa Purkey, seen  from the Flag Monument a few days ago.  

This photo makes it look like its set right down in the middle of the tropical desert we have here, but it's not, really.  Just close!  And yes, I did finally hike with gimpy Zoey up to the top of the Flag Monument.  We both made it, and according to my iPhone pedometer, it was 2.8 miles round trip from my house to Rancho Buena Vista, and up to the monument and back home.  Since Zoey couldn't walk at all several years ago, she is doing fantastic.  I've found that she doesn't mind walking on the beach as long as she is far away from the water, but she will only take it for so long, then she's ready to turn around and zoom back home!  Hiking up the road to the monument didn't bother her at all!  

Below is the view to the north and Los Barriles from the monument.  

To the left is the track of my walk this morning, from our casa to Rancho Buena Vista and back.  Not fast, not far, but Zoey and I are out there getting our hearts pumping!  I'm going to have to do the Monument hike again to see if the Runkeeper app agrees with the distance my iPhone said.

Ben is making fantastic progress (finally!) on both the Jeep and the '30 Roadster.  

We got the Roadster running the other day, and it is sounding very good.  (Not a simple task...see description of getting a Model A to run below). 

 He had some help from our friend Mel two days getting the rumble seat lid to fit properly, and after much shaving of some rubber bumpers and various adjustments, it fits nicely.  A few days ago, since it's now running very well, we put the engine hood on.  It will need a minor adjustment by the body shop to fit perfectly, but it's close! (You can see where the curve of the hood doesn't fit tight by the radiator). Ben took the windshield frame and a pattern into La Paz last week to have the windshield glass cut and fit into the frame.  He also took the light bar (holds the headlights, and attaches on the front fenders) into the body shop, and they are painting it for him.  (The replacement part he bought didn't hold the headlights correctly...they were pointing up, and there was no way to adjust them.)  He's going into La Paz tomorrow to pick up those parts. 

Today, the Jeep is at the welders getting some sheet metal welded on to close up the holes previous owners cut in it for the tail lights.  Original lights just bolt on the outside.  After the welder is done, Ben is towing it over to the auto-electrician to have the wiring done.  At that point (hope, hope, hope!), it will be drive-able.  Not done, but drive-able!  Ben has made a beautiful wooden dashboard to cover up the ugly, full of holes one that was in there.  He was having an awful time trying to get a smooth finish on it, so he took it to the body shop in La Paz.  They polished it to a beautiful finish!  Now, if we can keep it looking nice and un-scratched.   He ordered new gauges for it, built a new glove box, and has the gauges installed and ready to take to the electrician.  (Good thing you can't see the back...it is really ugly!)  

Most of these tasks don't sound like much, but every one is a time consuming effort!  For example, Ben decided to put the license plate on the Jeep the other day.  Holes were in the bumper at the correct place so the license would fit perfectly.  Ben was going to crawl underneath, and I'd hold the license and put in the bolts, and he'd put on the nuts.  He got under there, and couldn't see the bolts... so he said "I'll have to take off the bumper to put this license plate on it.  Then he looked, and the trailer hitch was welded to the bumper!  Argh! Get out a cutter and cut that weld off, then unbolt the bumper, put on the license plate, then re-attach the bumper.  That 10 minute job took about an hour or more!  

Here's an example of time consuming tasks for the Roadster.  Ben wanted to try starting it, but he wanted to turn it around so the exhaust was pointed outside the garage door.  First, we had to pull the Jeep out of the way by hooking it up to one of our other trucks.  Then, we got in pushing positions, and pushed and steered the Roadster out of the garage.  When we got out and were ready to turn the steering wheel the other way to back it up (three-point turn?), Ben was turning and turning and turning the steering wheel, and the wheels weren't turning!!!  Oh no!  We managed to get it back in the garage, and Ben tried to find out what was wrong in the steering unit.  He was taking it all apart (sorry, I don't know the names of the bits and pieces), and discovered when he took off the steering wheel, it was missing a Woodruff key.  Aha!  He contacted our friend Robin who had access to those keys, and he came over a few days later to install it (of course Ben was gone that day...) and he said "Ben told me the wrong size".  So, after several more days, he was back with the correct size, and they installed it, and Ben re-connected all the steering parts.  Finally, we could then steer the car out the garage and back in so it was headed in the opposite direction.  (Don't forget, we had to move the Jeep again!)  Of course, the car didn't start on the first, or second or third try, or that first day!  The battery seemed to be very weak, and the re-built engine was stiff!  Ben switched batteries, (Model A batteries are 6-volt, by the way).  He called our friend Mike in Bend who rebuilt the engine for advice.   He tried a 12 volt battery, which helped turn the engine over much faster.  When we finally had a strong battery, and the gas line switch in the correct position, it finally started.  That was about a 1+ week task, just to start the engine!!  But it is purring now!  You can see a video of the engine running and Ben making a few minor adjustments to it in our 2019 January album.

We are just hoping when these cars are both put together and running, Ben will have some space in his shop.  This is what it looks like now!

Just a few washers and bolts, various car parts, screw drivers and wrenches and instruction books laying around!  He seems to know where most of this stuff is, though!  

We have been having some good times with cousins Tom and Karan from Oregon.  They usually spend the month of January here, staying at a nearby house they rent for the duration.  They've been coming for several years now, so know their way around, and last year for the first time, drove down from Oregon.  They picked up some hitchhiking young girls (20-ish) yesterday and hauled them all the way to Cabo Pulmo!  We've played lots of Mexican Train, gone to music concerts together, eaten out often, sat around our fire pit and told stories.  Tom went to La Paz with Ben last week when Ben needed to leave his new pickup in the body shop for minor repairs (rust from some Canadian winters before we bought it).  Tom let Ben drive Tom's truck around La Paz for their other errands that day, so that worked great.  

One of our other projects is clearing the new property next door.  We have an abundance of burning materials for our fire pit.  And we have found some desirable trees and cactus underneath all that brush!  Forty years or so ago, they used to make adobe blocks right here.  There are still stacks of them, crumpled and broken, under a layer of dirt and leaves. 

The garden is doing well.  I have planted my next crop of sweet corn and Blue Lake pole beans.  Neither are up yet, but we had a wonderful soaking rain yesterday, so I'm expecting things to pop up soon.  I've got some very healthy looking cucumber plants, tomatoes, lettuce and radishes and cilantro.  We planted some sunflower seeds for the birds' benefit, so we'll see how those do!  

Like our sweet granddaughter, we send you our love, and hope that you are healthy and enjoying this new year.

Don't forget, more photos are in our 2019_January photo album.



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