Hola Amigos!
Happy new decade! Here we are, almost 1/2 way through January already. At least I didn't wait until the very end of the month to get this letter out!
Our daughter Rebecca's family came to visit us for a week, and they returned to the cold Chicago area yesterday so the kids could get back in school. It is cold there (Rebecca sent me a picture of snow on the ground, but she said it's melting and the temp was a "balmy" 35!) It was typical January weather here last week. Coolish (for us) and windy. Temps were in the 70's and several days the wind was really whipping, but we found some fun things to do. Unfortunately, I had a nasty cold, so wasn't good for too much, but we did get some Christmas cookies made, and some Mexican Train games played. I also got to play some piano duets with David, which was a lot of fun. He is progressing very nicely with his piano playing. We kept our Christmas tree up until they left, and there were gifts under there for them (really cool Lego sets), so they were happy.
Here, the kids are watching the kite boarders on a very windy day. They also managed to drink down a delicious Mango smoothy!
I made sugar cookies, and Rebecca brought down her decorations. Yum! The kids were great at putting on LOTS of frosting AND decorations! I must admit that I enjoy eating Christmas cookies, too!
It was very nice having them all here and seeing how they are growing and what they are doing.
Before they got here, we took another Jeep adventure with friends Sandy and Debi and Ed and Marla. We decided to go the our favorite hot springs, but when we got there, there were more cars than we've EVER seen there. Of course, it was a Saturday, so many people who normally work were there enjoying the day. We didn't even get out of our rigs, but just headed back down the hill (the pool is not THAT big!) Again, Ben had some problems with the engine / carburetor. Ugh. So, we cut that trip shorter than we would have liked and headed on home.
On Monday, our friend Chuyito tore the carburetor completely apart, cleaned and rebuilt it. Ben has decided he will never go back to the mechanic who put the "new, rebuilt carburetor" in for him!! Chuyito said it was filthy; there was even a palm seed in it! We are very grateful for Chuyito's help, now and in the past. By the way, Chuyito has Ben's old 1973 Ford 4x4 pickup, and absolutely loves it. I asked him how it was running, and he smiled and said "like a Cadillac!" He has a stereo system in it with USB and bluetooth and 2 speakers in each door, and had some great music (70's and 80's US Rock!) going while he was working!
We have some guests coming soon, and it looks like February will be pretty busy.
Ben's painting slowed to a halt while the kids were here, but he's made great progress so far, and we are getting used to the brightness of that yellow. He just needs another gallon to finish the work in our bathroom. We have a fellow coming this week who will repair the drainage problem on the upstairs bathroom roof. It got pretty wet in there during the heavy rains we had last fall. Ben also claims he's going to start seriously pruning our Mesquite tree any day now. The bad thing about that tree is that it is full of thorns, so any way you do it, it's a bloody job! Ouch! He does have a brand new chain saw to use to help him, though.
I've got myself a new quilting project. I've never made Rebecca a quilt, so I offered her one I had made previously that she really liked. However, it wasn't the best size for her, so I will make a new one to the size and colors she requested. I've got to start digging through my stash to see what I can find! Thankfully, she requested a twin sized quilt, so I should be able to get it done by this summer.
The garden is growing, and the bugs are arriving. I've got an infestation of some bugs on my cucumbers, so I need to be more proactive to try and get rid of them. And I need to plant my pole beans very soon since my stash of canned beans is getting down there. Corn is coming up, and we've been enjoying radishes, lettuce, spinach and cilantro. I even planted some flower seeds this year, and am anxious for them to grow a bit more and start blooming.
I have started a 2020 January album with a few more pictures. Enjoy!
Hasta la proxima vez!
Tus amigos de Baja
Harriet, Ben, Sam & Zoey
Happy new decade! Here we are, almost 1/2 way through January already. At least I didn't wait until the very end of the month to get this letter out!
Our daughter Rebecca's family came to visit us for a week, and they returned to the cold Chicago area yesterday so the kids could get back in school. It is cold there (Rebecca sent me a picture of snow on the ground, but she said it's melting and the temp was a "balmy" 35!) It was typical January weather here last week. Coolish (for us) and windy. Temps were in the 70's and several days the wind was really whipping, but we found some fun things to do. Unfortunately, I had a nasty cold, so wasn't good for too much, but we did get some Christmas cookies made, and some Mexican Train games played. I also got to play some piano duets with David, which was a lot of fun. He is progressing very nicely with his piano playing. We kept our Christmas tree up until they left, and there were gifts under there for them (really cool Lego sets), so they were happy.
Here, the kids are watching the kite boarders on a very windy day. They also managed to drink down a delicious Mango smoothy!
Before they got here, we took another Jeep adventure with friends Sandy and Debi and Ed and Marla. We decided to go the our favorite hot springs, but when we got there, there were more cars than we've EVER seen there. Of course, it was a Saturday, so many people who normally work were there enjoying the day. We didn't even get out of our rigs, but just headed back down the hill (the pool is not THAT big!) Again, Ben had some problems with the engine / carburetor. Ugh. So, we cut that trip shorter than we would have liked and headed on home.
On Monday, our friend Chuyito tore the carburetor completely apart, cleaned and rebuilt it. Ben has decided he will never go back to the mechanic who put the "new, rebuilt carburetor" in for him!! Chuyito said it was filthy; there was even a palm seed in it! We are very grateful for Chuyito's help, now and in the past. By the way, Chuyito has Ben's old 1973 Ford 4x4 pickup, and absolutely loves it. I asked him how it was running, and he smiled and said "like a Cadillac!" He has a stereo system in it with USB and bluetooth and 2 speakers in each door, and had some great music (70's and 80's US Rock!) going while he was working!
We have some guests coming soon, and it looks like February will be pretty busy.
Ben's painting slowed to a halt while the kids were here, but he's made great progress so far, and we are getting used to the brightness of that yellow. He just needs another gallon to finish the work in our bathroom. We have a fellow coming this week who will repair the drainage problem on the upstairs bathroom roof. It got pretty wet in there during the heavy rains we had last fall. Ben also claims he's going to start seriously pruning our Mesquite tree any day now. The bad thing about that tree is that it is full of thorns, so any way you do it, it's a bloody job! Ouch! He does have a brand new chain saw to use to help him, though.
I've got myself a new quilting project. I've never made Rebecca a quilt, so I offered her one I had made previously that she really liked. However, it wasn't the best size for her, so I will make a new one to the size and colors she requested. I've got to start digging through my stash to see what I can find! Thankfully, she requested a twin sized quilt, so I should be able to get it done by this summer.
The garden is growing, and the bugs are arriving. I've got an infestation of some bugs on my cucumbers, so I need to be more proactive to try and get rid of them. And I need to plant my pole beans very soon since my stash of canned beans is getting down there. Corn is coming up, and we've been enjoying radishes, lettuce, spinach and cilantro. I even planted some flower seeds this year, and am anxious for them to grow a bit more and start blooming.
I have started a 2020 January album with a few more pictures. Enjoy!
Hasta la proxima vez!
Tus amigos de Baja
Harriet, Ben, Sam & Zoey
