Pic-of-the-Month for Summer 2023

 Hello, Friends!

Remember us?  We're your snowbird Baja friends who are in Oregon for a few more weeks!  We have been so busy coming and going here and there, that we didn't take the time to send out an update.  Now, at the end of our summer here in Oregon, we are going to be sitting in the same place for a couple weeks (Bend), so I thought I'd catch you up on our busy summer.  

June - We arrived in Fort Rock, Oregon (where our trailer is stored) on June 22.  After a few days there getting things organized, we headed to Harrisburg to deal with my brother Rich's RV.  It was a BIG job getting everything cleaned out, and cleaning the rig, then hauling stuff to St. Vincent and Goodwill.  I advertised it on Facebook, Craig's List, and parked it out front and put a sign on it!  It did sell after not too long for a decent price.  Phew!  During this time, I also delivered my latest quilt to my friends who run a quilting shop (finishing the quilts), so that I could display it in the Sister's Quilt Show at my friend Janet's shop in Sisters.  Friend June did a great job on it, as usual, in my limited time frame.  

June photos, which include our trip north, are located at June 2023. 

 

July -  After getting the RV cleaned up, we headed to Salem and our friends the Sackingers, who have a place to park our trailer.  It was time for some relaxing and visiting friends in the area.  We spent a few days there, then returned over the mountains to Bend, as we had our annual doctor appointments scheduled.   We didn't let the dust settle when we headed back to Fort Rock to go on a little camping / fishing trip with Katie and Mel to Deadhorse Lake, west of Paisley.  They had caught their limit there a little while before, and were sure there were more fish to be caught...and they were right!  We went out in Mel's drift boat, and got a nice bunch of Rainbow Trout that first afternoon.  The next day we caught a bunch more, so the guys had their work cut out for them filleting all that fish and packing it for the freezer.  Delicious!

Ben had another medical appointment in Bend, and then we went back over to the the farm at Harrisburg to welcome our daughter Rebecca and our 3 grand-kids.  We also held a Memorial Service and potluck for brother Rich that Sunday, and had a nice turn out of friends and family.  Rebecca is working remotely full time now as an architect, so she had signed the kids up for summer activities in Eugene.  Ben and I were the bus service, taking them and picking them up for 5 days!  They did have fun....mostly! Especially when they could use the family swimming pool!  They are becoming good little swimmers.  It was great spending time with them, hiking, picking blackberries and making desserts, and playing games.  They are growing up so quickly! We hauled them and their ton of luggage to the Portland airport on July 31.  (Good thing we have a big pickup!) Pictures are here for July 2023. 

August - Now it was time to head to southern Oregon!  Our old Salem neighbors had just moved to Grants Pass, and they had space for our trailer, so we found them and spent several days touring around the area.They took us to an Animal Rescue place near there that had some very interesting birds and animals.  We also visited a winery or two in the area and enjoyed some tastings.  We went on from there to Eagle Point to visit our friend Pat and her pup Button.  As usual, it was a very relaxing time.  We camped again this year at an RV park in Shady Cove, right on the Rogue River.  Beautiful!  We went to most of our favorite shopping places; Harry & David, Rogue Creamery, and a vineyard.  We ate well!!  When that visit was done, we drove from Shady Cove to Crooked River RV Park northwest of Terrebonne to meet our friends the Telecks.  We did a bit of touring around the area, and took them to see the Balancing Rocks near Lake Billy Chinook.  Amazing place! 

After that fun trip, we went back to home base (Ken & Bea's home near Sisters), and parked the trailer.  The next trip was without our summer suitcase (the trailer)!  We drove to Cathlamet, Washington to visit friends Debi and Sandy.  They live on a slough on a large island in the Columbia River.  Fun!  They have a boat dock, a boat and know how to show you a good time on the river!  Hwy 409 ends at a ferry terminal on the south end to take you to Westport, Oregon.  We used that to get to our next destination in Astoria, Oregon.

Our Baja neighbors, Brian and Hope, are in Astoria this summer as Hope is working for the hospital there.  We spent a couple days with them exploring Astoria, riding the trolley, shopping, and eating well (always!) and visiting.  We then went to Ilwaco, Washington, just across the Astoria Bridge, to visit friends Ray and Karen Hunt.  Karen did a great job of showing us around the Long Beach area.  We took a nice hike through the forest and onto the beach one day, and another day we did a boardwalk hike.  She took us to an ice cream shop.  I ordered a single scoop in a waffle cone.  He must have put at least a pint of ice cream in there!  Whoa!  I got to play some music with Ray...we've played together for a lot of years in Baja, so that was very enjoyable.  

We left there and headed back to Bend via the Oregon coast and Salem, since I had an appointment with my dermatologist scheduled to remove a Basel cell cancer from my cheek. 

Next destination: Fort Rock, again, to help Mel with the deck project they were doing.

September - We hung out at Fort Rock, helping with projects and running to town (Bend) for various doctor appointments.  My eye doctor says my cataracts are ready to remove...I told him next summer!  

We left Fort Rock and headed for a couple of our favorite places to camp in Oregon.  First stop was Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge at the Hot Springs campground.  We got our usual camping spot, but they've changed it up a bit this year.  It was a lovely, quiet time.  We were surprised there weren't more campers there (especially hunters this time of year).  We took a tour one day, and saw only 3 antelope!  The next day on the way out, we saw many, many more in large groups. 

 Next stop was the Steens Mountains RV park near Frenchglen, where we met up with the Telecks again, and a few days later the Sackingers joined us.  We drove up to the top of the Steens and oohed and aahed over the gorgeous gorges.  One of the neat things we saw near the top was two stock trucks full of sheep, and they were in the process of unloading them to pasture up there in the meadows.  Based on how many sheep would fit in one of those trucks, we were guessing 700 to 800 sheep!  We also toured the Round Barn, and I found a neat new wide brim hat at the Museum/gift shop there. 

From the Steens, we continued north up Highway 395 to the Pendleton Roundup!  "Let 'er buck!"  The Sackingers joined us for that adventure for one day.  Our nephew Mike had gotten us some box seat tickets, and for the first time since 2008, we were at ground level in some pretty cool box seats.  The next day, we used cousin Tom's tickets in the North Grandstand, right above the chutes.  Let me tell you, those bulls are HUGE!  Wow.  All in all, it was another great Round Up, and we'll be back.

Now we're back in Bend for just over a week, getting ready to head south with cousins Tom & Karan on October 4.  I had one more Mohs surgery, this time on my nose tip.  Lucky me, I get to wear a bandage for three weeks.  Right now, I kind of look like a clown, what with the extra padding.  You'll have to dig deep in my picture albums to find that picture!

Pics are here for September 2023.  I've tried to caption most of the pics in the albums.  Just click on the i in the circle.

I'll be posting pictures of our travels south in Facebook if you want to follow along.  And if we didn't see you this summer, come see us in Baja!  

Your Baja amigos,

Harriet, Ben & Zoey

Pic-of-the-Month for May 2023

 Hola Amigos!

This will probably be our last letter sent from Baja this spring.  We are heading north in 3 weeks, in mid-June.  We are going just a bit earlier this year because we have some of my brother Rich's things to take care of, and sooner is better than later!  For your information, we will have a Memorial Service for him Sunday, July 23 at Tom & Karan Malpass house, which is near the West Point Cemetery where his remains will be. 

This May, there was another car show put on by our friend Hector Manuel, so we participated with the 1929 Ford Model A Pickup.  For those of you who don't know about this vehicle, Ben bought it in 1960 when he was 13 years old!  He wanted a go-cart, and his Dad suggested an old car, and this is what he got.  I must say, though, that it looks WAY better now than it did in 1960!!  

Here's Ben in 1960 with his "new to him" $75 pickup!

He   says the color was "dirty black".  The fenders were in very rough shape, but it ran.  He learned how to drive it on their farm near Bend, including the double clutching, and drove it to high school after they moved to Eugene.  This thing followed us around for years;  we brought it down to Baja in our cargo trailer in parts!  When he was retired, he finally had time and money to restore it and put it all together.  We've been showing it in car shows and driving it in parades ever since.  This unassuming little farm truck has carted a lot of queens and princesses around Los Barriles!  (Cousin Tom got to drive it last November in the Revolution Day parade November 20!)

 
Another story that is ending on a good note has to do with our 2011 Ford pickup.  While he was driving to La Paz in late October, towing the 1930 Roadster to be painted and repaired for a minor scratch, Ben hit an animal with the front right corner.  It was low to the ground, and he's pretty sure it was a large pig running into the road.  (Any animal is possible to be in the road in Baja, believe me!)  The truck was still drivable, and there was really no place to pull over and check it out where he hit the animal, so he continued on to La Paz and Edgar Majalca's body shop. They did pull the bumper out a bit so it wouldn't rub on the tire when turning, but that was it.  In early November, he notified our insurance company.  An adjuster came out, filled out forms and said he needed to get an estimate from their body shop in La Paz, Danny's.  At that time, Ben stated that he wanted Majalca's Body shop to do the work, as they've done fantastic work on our Roadster, the Jeep, and polished both of the other A's.  Well, long story short, the insurance company's head guy in La Paz (for all of Baja Sur) was just about as unresponsive, uncooperative and unhelpful as anyone we've ever tried to work with.  He always insisted that we needed to pay $500 deductible.  He insisted on ordering the parts, Ben insisted on genuine Ford parts.  It took months before Ben and his translater Magali, and Edgar Majalca could sit down and talk with Gabriel, the head guy at HDI.  He finally agreed to order the parts, Ben agreed that  Edgar would inspect the parts and install them. The parts all came (according the Gabriel).  Edgar inspected them (Ford?  check!) and took things apart to install everything, and got a lot done when they realized that the main grill was NOT included in the parts!!!  They had to take everything back apart and install the old stuff!  (At least the bumper was installed with no problems).  Gabriel kept insisting on the $500 deductible being paid, Ben kept insisting that his parts be all installed before he paid.  Oh, and Gabriel wanted the old parts BEFORE the new parts were installed!  What???  The pickup was drivable, and needed, so that made no sense at all.  Emails went back and forth between our insurance broker in San Diego, HDI, Ben.  He has a huge file of stuff.  Finally, just a few days ago, after Ben had complained of additional costs of travel and hotel in La Paz and Edgar's shop having to do things twice because the grill wasn't with the original parts, the higher ups in the Insurance company agreed to waive the $500 deductible.  (Ben had it in his wallet all the time.... he just wasn't going to part with it any time soon!)  So, that job is on the agenda for next week.  Just another trip to La Paz!  Phew!  Life in Mexico isn't always easy.  Sorry for the long story, but that took from October through end of May, so a lot of time was involved.  Ben could write a book!!  

We have just started to eat some of our corn.  I had a nice piece for dinner last night, along with a nice big tomato, and it was a lovely dinner!  We probably won't be able to eat most of it that is ripe now, but will most likely freeze some for next year.  

Ben had great advice from cousin Tom Malpass, who grew acres and acres of corn in the Willamette Valley for quite a few years.  The best hint....lots and lots of nitrogen.  So Ben had a special applicator installed on our water line to feed the proper amounts of nitrogen to the corn.  It seemed to work just fine.

The tomatoes are still producing.  And we've got to start thinking about putting the garden to bed since we've only got two weeks before we leave!  We've used almost all of our canning jars, and the freezers are also full, so I hope we can keep the freezers cold this summer while we're gone.

We do have a house sitter.  The man who did it for us last summer wasn't able to come back (he had to go back to work in Canada!  Yikes!) We offered the job to a fellow who has been down here several years and is an avid pickle ball player, originally from Chicago.  We think it will work out well for all.  He does love our house, so no problem there.  We just need to train him on shutter application and generator operation.  

It's pretty dry here now, so we have started giving the cows and burros some water.  If the bucket is dry, the burros will let us know.  HE HAW HAW HAW!!!  I added another bucket today, because the cows were getting selfish.  

Yes, it's dry, and it's starting to get warm.  Daytime temps are in the 80's, lows are in the high 70's!  There's not much variation this time of year.  I'm still walking, and my friend Jill is back for a while, so she walks with me.  So far, I've reached my monthly goals for the year.  I'm currently at 351 miles walked to date.  The challenge will be to keep it up while we are traveling.   

Our neighbor Brian had guests who went fishing several days, and that was when they were catching Tuna.  Well, none of them wanted the fish, so we ended up with all of it!  Wow.  Another thing to fill our freezer!  

Cinco de Mayo!  It's a bigger celebration in the US than in Mexico, generally, but the local restaurants here do put on a great show.  At La Playa there was a Mariachi band and local dancers, mostly young kids to teenagers.  They were great!  We were very impressed with the show.  I took a lot of pictures, and posted them in a special album.  Cinco de Mayo 2023 Especially check out about the 9th video of 3 chicas and 2 guys, who are dancing with machetes.  They are also joined by a younger boy later in the dance with his knives.  Cool! 

My regular May album is here.... May 2023. 

 
Like I said, this is probably the last post until we get to Oregon and something interesting happens there.  Maybe Ben will write something.  Maybe not!  Anyhow, if you'd like to see us this summer, drop us a note and let us know.  We hope to get around the state of Oregon, especially if you want to see us.  

We will be leaving here on June 17th (that's the plan anyhow), and if you're on Facebook, I usually post daily pictures the scenery and our adventures on the trip.

See you in Oregon! 

Until the next time,

Harriet, Ben & Zoey

Pic-of-the-Month for April 2023

Hola Amigos,

Another month almost gone!  They sure do slip by quickly, don't they?!  We had some busy, fun times this month, so we hope you enjoy sharing some good times with us.

We have a new baby burro in the barrio (neighborhood), and they are hanging around here most of the time.  The other day, Mama and baby followed me home from my daily walk, and I called Ben to ask him to bring them out some water.  Mama drank 3 buckets full!  Since then, our neighbors, Brian and Hope, have been giving her water, too.  That baby is SO cute!  You can see the video I took of them following me in my April 2023 photo album. 

You will see several garden produce photos in our April album, too.  Ben's tomato crop has been fantastic, and it is finally winding down a bit, although our cherry tomatoes are still producing like crazy.  We eat those like candy!  We pop them in our mouths and enjoy the burst of flavor.  Yum!  The big tomatoes have been used to make a very delicious salsa for use with Huevos Rancheros.  Ben has a real keeper of a recipe with this one!  I've also canned tomato sauce, so I'm hoping I can use those jars of sauce in his recipe.  The beans are done; we've canned more beans this year than in many years past.  We quit canning them when we ran out of jars!!  Ben is still waiting for more beets to mature.  He's done one batch of pickled beets (not my favorite!), and will probably do at least one more.  We also like them oven roasted...they're quite good that way (if you like beets!!)  The corn is just about ready to tassle, so we hope to have some delicious corn cobs by late May. 

A fun thing that we weren't involved in personally, is that Rebecca's family got to go to Hong Kong to visit Ryan's family!  They haven't seen each other since 2017, so it was a long over due gathering.  They had a grand time touring Hong Kong, eating, hiking, swimming, taking all kinds of transportation around the city, eating, visiting galleries and museums, and eating some more!  It did our hearts good to see them all together and having a good time.  This is the first time Rebecca's family got to meet Charlotte and Olivia, and vice versa.  So it was very special for everyone.

This photo is from their last night in Hong Kong, enjoying a light show that is put on every night to music!  

 Here's another pic of everyone on a bus or a tram or no... I think maybe a double decker bus!!!  Anyhow, they had a grand time together.  Right now, Rebecca and Tim and family are in Thailand having a fantastic vacation there.  (See the album!!)  

 

 

 

 

 This time of year is when people start migrating north, and town is already a lot quieter.  Our friends Mel and Katie have gone (later than usual for them), and my cousins Tom and Karan are leaving tomorrow.  They have really enjoyed their time here in Baja, and came to visit us often to go to church and enjoy the simple life here in Buena Vista!  They are building a new house in Centenario, a suburb of La Paz.  Hopefully, they'll be here even longer next year!  Tom and Karan like to go on walks with me when they visit, and Tom and I did manage to get up to the Flag Monument at least once! (You can see the monument reflected in Tom's sunglasses!)  

Oh, and Easter week (Santa Semana) was a typical Mexican holiday on the beach. People come and set up tent cities and enjoy time with family, parties, music, fishing, etc., during the week before Easter Sunday.  There were probably thousands of people camped on the beach in a 10 mile stretch near our neighborhood, and from Los Barriles to south of Spa Buena Vista.  It is good to see so many people enjoying themselves.  The picture below is of the beach where I normally walk, and there were even more tents set up a few days later!

 

 

The Lack Family (https://www.thelackfamily.com/ )has been here in Los Barriles area since early March, and their last concert on April 21 was also a fund raiser for Feeding the Hungry, the program that Ben and I and others run here in the community.  We had donation jars set up at the entrances, and people were generous.  We also had a 50/50 raffle, and we made enough with the donations and proceeds from the raffle sales to help support almost 2 families for a year.  We give the families 4 vouchers a month from the local grocery store, each voucher is worth $300 pesos (exchange rate right now is about 18 pesos to $1US.)  Anyhow, we were successful, everyone enjoyed the music, the food was great, and we'll do it again!  

 Our Nopal cactus is starting to bloom.  The yellow blossoms are amazingly bright!  

FYI, we will be here through May, and plan to leave mid-June.  If you get an urge to come down and visit, let us know!  We have two lovely guest rooms to share with you!  Otherwise, see you later; maybe in Oregon this summer.  BTW, May is my favorite month here.  Weather is warm, the wind isn't blowing, the water is getting warmer, and it's less crowded in town.  Can't find anything wrong with that! 

 

Hasta la proxima vez,

Tus amigos de Baja,

Harriet, Ben & Zoey

Pic-of-the-Month for March 2023

 Hola Amigos,

Rich Malpass, a few years ago...

This month started out tough for me (Harriet).  I shared with you in last month's letter about my brother Rich being very sick.  With circumstances being what they were, and him getting worse, I traveled up to Junction City, Oregon Tuesday February 28 to be with him and help him out.  I saw him Wednesday morning, after he had been to the hospital again on Monday.  He was on oxygen, and had been assigned Hospice care, thank goodness.  Every day I was there, one or more Hospice people arrived to check him over and help him.  While they were there, I managed to get appointments with Veterans Affairs to talk about assisted living, buy him a burial plot, talk with the local mortuary, talk with neighbors who offered to help in any way, and meet with two men who had been helping him a lot in my absence, Donn D and John S.  I was able, with the help of some prayer warriors, to get an awful lot done in the time I had with him.  I found which bank he had directed his Veterans' benefit so he didn't have to worry about that, found many important papers in his "hidden" brief case, including his military dismissal papers.  Every appearance of Hospice people confirmed that he only had hours to live. Thankfully, they showed me how to administer his medications to help him be more comfortable, and he passed away peacefully Friday evening March 3.  Our sister Shelley flew in from Montana later that evening, so she didn't get to say goodbye to him, but it sure was nice to have her there to help me.  

Shelley and I spent the three days she was there cleaning out his RV, and moving his car out of the RV park where he'd been living.  We also went through 6 grocery bags full of old mail and receipts and miscellaneous papers, and got it down to one neat stack, unhooked all his computer gear and peripherals and packed it up, cleaned out the fridge and freezer and pantry and donated much of the unopened food items.  We froze two bank accounts, re-routed his mail, and talked with the mortuary.  We asked for a rush on the Death Certificates, since I hoped to leave on the 11th.  Shelley left early Tuesday morning, and that afternoon, I was able with the help of a very nice neighbor of Rich's, to get his motor home started (a new battery helped) and moved to storage.  I was able to contact the correct people at Veterans and get his Disability benefits stopped (yes, the same ones I'd just "found" for him again!)  And believe it or not, I was able to get the Death Certificates on Thursday afternoon.  I scanned them for my computer files, and they have been very helpful since then!  I'm planning on having a Memorial Service for Rich in July when we are back in Oregon.

While in Oregon, I was graciously offered the use of my cousins Tom & Karan's nice Ford pickup to get around (heated steering wheel and seats were wonderful in that weather!!), and a place to stay and to be picked up and dropped off at the airport (Ben's brother Dan and his wife Laura).  It was a crazy busy time, and the weather was unusually cold for that time of year (at least it seemed like it to my Baja bones), but I was able to get around with no problems.  I was well fed, had a comfortable bed, and had packed almost enough warm clothing!! (I did have to buy a pair of jeans and some warmer socks at Goodwill!)  

I got back to Baja Sur on the afternoon of the 11th, greeted friends and relatives at my casa, and went to a Lack Family concert that night at our favorite beach restaurant, La Playa!  I was exhausted but so happy to be back home.  And the music was wonderful. 

 While I was gone, Ben did a bang up job of keeping the beans picked, as well as tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, and whatever else needed harvesting.  He even canned two canners full of green beans after I sent him the instructions!  First time he's ever done that!!  

We have now done 4 canners full, and our normal shelf is full and overflowing, and we have beans still blooming!!  We've also got a ton of tomatoes with which Ben has been making a delicious salsa (used for Huevos Rancheros), and I canned some tomato sauce.  We've given some away and are trying to keep up; it's a real challenge, but a nice one!

We really enjoyed the times we got to spend with our friends Tony and Janet, who were staying down here at a friend's home for a couple months.  They've just recently left and are almost home to Oregon, waiting for some clear mountain passes.  We didn't get to do any boating, like we talked about with them, but maybe next time!  Janet, who owns GypsyWind Clothing in Sisters, Oregon, sold some clothing down here that was very popular with all the ladies!  (Yes, I managed to find a few new things, too!)  

Our drinks are Jamaica, a very popular (non-alcoholic) drink, Hibiscus flower tea. 

We've also been having fun with cousins Tom and Karan, who come to visit us regularly from La Paz, Centenario area, where they're building a new home.  And of course, Katie and Mel are still here; longer than normal for them, but we're taking advantage of them being here!  (Still having fun and eating good food!)  And, we have some company coming for a few days this next week from Oregon.   

I got behind on my walking while I was in Oregon, so I've been trying to catch up.  I'm pretty sure I'll manage to get my 60 miles in before month end next week, but it will be close! 

We have a new partial wall (from the road to the north about 40 feet) and Ben got it painted.  Our neighbors' new home is a-m-o-s-t done; they are waiting for a few doors and some cabinets and granite counter tops.  It is looking very, very nice. 

Photos for the month are in March 2023 album.  

We hope you are all well, and that spring is about to spring wherever you are.  We are not on Daylight time in Mexico, and not going on it, so we are now the same time as Pacific Daylight time.  

Sitting here with the door open, sun shining, and thinking about dinner.....

Tus amigos de Baja,

Harriet, Ben & Zoey

Pic-of-the-Month for February 2023

 Hola Amigos,

Happy February everyone!  That includes greetings for Valentine's Day, President's Day, Flag Day and Constitution Day (here in Mexico), my brother Rich's birthday, grandson David's birthday, Rebecca (our daughter) and Tim's 15th wedding anniversary, Super Bowl and Zoey's 12th birthday.  It's been a busy month!  Flag Day was today here in Mexico, and I actually caught the huge Mexican flag up on the flag pole, evidently just as they were taking it down.  They have a celebration at the Flag Monument here in Buena Vista every year, and as I took my walk this morning said to myself, "I have to look up on my calendar and see what day Flag Day is, so I can get a picture of the flag."  Well, when I was coming home from a trip into Los Barriles later in the morning, there it was, blowing in the breeze!  I hurried on south to the entrance to Rancho Buena Vista, and got a few shots of it.  By the time I turned the pickup truck around, they were already lowering it.  Sure wish they'd keep it up there all the time!  

This has been a "stay at home and get things done" kind of month.  No special trips, other than Vet visits for Zoey and to the tax office in Santiago for us to pay our annual property taxes.  This year, we paid about $143 US for the lot with our house on it, and $870 for the lot next door with no buildings.  Yes, that's correct.  You pay less taxes when you have a house on your lot, because then you're a family contributing to society.  Our tax payment includes free garbage service by our house 2 days a week all year long.  We got the tax payment done early enough that we had time for breakfast at Palomar Restaurant in Santiago before we had to go pick Zoey up after her blood tests at the Vet's office.  It's always fun to go there, and the food was very good.  (Palomar for the food, not the Vet's office!) 

I've been working on a project for my friend Janet, who has a clothing store in Sisters, Oregon (Gypsy Winds).  When I helped her at her store during the Sisters Quilt Show last year, she saw a lady with a quilt square sewed on her top, and got the idea that that would sell really well, then turned to me and said "would you like to make quilt squares for me?"  Well...long story short, I did.  I have a few more to do, and there is a possibility of more in the works down the road.  She decided she'd like a butterfly motif, so I bought a template, then figured out I needed some fusible webbing, and these turned out to be different than any quilt squares I've ever made!  Here's a sample of some I've done of the 10" squares.  (I did the flower in the corner, which is regular cut and piece and sew, before I got the fusible webbing). 

So far, this is the only "quilting" project I've don't for a while.  And I might just make myself a small blanket with this theme.  I only have 2 packages of the fusible webbing, so I'm somewhat limited.

I've also done a much better job this month with my walking goal.  I've already reached this month's goal, so I'm adding to the yearly total and this will make up for the months in the summer when I don't always get out there.  This is a task that I enjoy doing (most of the time), and you can't beat the scenery!  I'm currently at almost 120 miles.

Ben has been making his occasional trips to La Paz.  He took our '56 Willy's Jeep up there a while ago to get the brakes re-done.  They needed a lot of work, as someone told him "You've got more engine power than brake power!"  Hopefully, that will be done soon.  He's also going to meet with our car insurance provider, who is being a lot sticky about paying out for parts to repair our pickup truck front bumper, where Ben hit a BIG PIG (he thinks) on one of his earlier trips to La Paz.  Fortunately, he's done his homework, and he will have a good Spanish translator with him who is a real go-getter.  

The garden is doing amazingly well this year.  We don't know if its the TLC that Ben gives it, or the good dirt and cow manure, or the cooler temps, but we have tomatoes coming on nicely, I've picked my first handful of green beans, we are giving away lettuce because we can't eat it as fast as it ripens.  We've been enjoying radishes, spinach, cilantro, squash, beets, cucmbers, beans, and he'll soon plant our first crop of corn.  Thank goodness, the cows have not returned to our garden since last month.  

There's at least one very interesting project going on in Los Barriles.  There has been much land moving / clearing going on the property on the street into town, just past the barrels.  However, there are two huge boulders sitting there, waiting to roll down and crush some unwary person.  They've been hovering up there on the dirt ledge since October, I believe.  Today as I drove by, I couldn't believe my eyes.  There were two men drilling holes in one of the boulders and driving rebar in it (and one jefe watching), supposedly to break off pieces a bit at a time??  Anyhow, you wouldn't catch me standing on top of that thing, not where it's perched!  Yikes!  We've all been waiting for it to roll down the hill, across the street, and into Chapitos Mercado (grocery store) for months now!  I imagine there are betting pools around town on when this thing is going to fall!  Hopefully, no one will be injured in the downsizing of this thing.

I found out that my brother Rich has been ill with Pneumonia, and that his lung cancer has returned (he had radiation and chemo last summer).  Fortunately for him, an old Junction City classmate of mine, Donn D, has been helping him by taking him to VA appointments, getting him food, and trying to straighten out his VA paperwork, and supporting him in any way he can.  Another man, retired military Chaplin John S, has also been visiting and helping him.  I may need to make a trip up to Oregon in the near future, but right now, I think these men have it under control.  Please remember Rich in your prayers, and if you're close by, I can give you his address and phone number.  He can always use some easy to fix food items, or maybe someone to get his propane water heater fixed.

Here in Baja, we're looking forward to more garden goodies, good times visiting friends, and enjoying the warmer weather, which will be coming any day now, we hope!  It has been noticeably cooler and windier here this winter.  Our little heater has been running a LOT!  Today is a nice sunny day, but the temp is only 71F.  

Look in our February 2023 album for more pictures of our activities.

Hasta el proximo mes,

Tus amigos de Baja,

Harriet, Ben & Zoey