Pic-of-the-_Month for January 2022

 Hola Amigos,

Good grief!  The month is over today, and I haven't got the POTM done yet!  You were probably wondering if I was finally going to give it up in 2022, or was sick or something.  None of the above.  As long as you read these (and send us an occasional note back!) they will continue to be posted.   :-)  

I'm sorry to start out with some sad news, but our lifelong friend Ellis Seifert passed away January 21 from stage 4 cancer.  He fought long and hard, and was able to spend his last days here in the place he loved, and introduced to Ben in 1985.  He was my neighbor growing up on Coburg-Harrisburg Road, and our neighbor here in Baja since 2000.  He will be missed.  (If you'd like to send condolences to Marsha, check with me for her email).  

The good news is that we have continued to stay healthy.  People all around us are getting sick, but we've tried to keep a low profile, and have avoided Covid-19 so far.  (We're really glad we were able to get our booster shots last month!)  For instance, we celebrated our 54th wedding anniversary out at Campo Crabb at Los Frailes, way out in the boonies, with Katie and Mel.  She ordered a dinner for us from Sandra, who lives at the ranch up the arroyo.  She and her husband Ivan delivered Chili rellenos, rice and beans, and homemade tortillas!  Ben served a lovely bottle of Oregon wine (Tannat from Troon Vineyards near Medford).  It was all delicious and very much appreciated. 

Sandra and Ivan delivering dinner.

Speaking of Covid-19, we are still helping families who contract the disease here in the local area by giving the vouchers from the local grocery store worth $50.  When they are off work, there is no sick leave, or government assistance.  No work, no pay.  The $50 is greatly appreciated, and can go a long way.  Since July we have helped over 200 families, and the month of January has been very busy since so many are getting sick after the Christmas holidays.  Our friend Dalia has been a huge help contacting the families and getting all the information we need to get the vouchers out to them (she speaks Spanish and English).  Ben then creates a file of every family so we can better track them, and sends that information on to our friend Gordon Blackie, who packages the vouchers and labels them, and delivers them to the distribution point, a local business.  The family then sends a friend (who is not sick) to pick up the vouchers and the groceries.  It has been working quite well.  If you're interested in helping with this project, you can get a US tax deduction by giving through leaders2give.org  Click on "Donate Today", then select "Feeding the Hungry" from the drop down list.  Every dollar helps!  Thanks for listening.

Ben is still working on the trailer house remodel, but it is getting very close to done.  Mel helped him out a bunch, and it was great to have him here for that project!  The floor is amazing.  It looks really pretty, and very easy to care for.  And we don't feel like we'll fall through at any time!!  Ben also built lift up wooden cutting boards for each end of the very short counter space.  That addition has been extremely useful!  Now he's putting a shelf in the cupboard above the sink which will enable me to store my dishes better.  

We harvested the first corn crop.  The cobs were not picture worthy, but the little things were delicious!  Ben is taking a bug sample from the next crop to an agriculture store in La Paz today and he hopes they can get him a good, safe (for us) spray to kill those critters that are invading.  The rest of the garden is doing well.  My green beans are up and ready to be strung.  The beets are looking healthy and starting to form globes.  The lettuce and radishes are bountiful and delicious.  

I am continuing to walk, although not to the Flag Monument.  I'm getting in my miles anyhow, just taking different routes.  I decided to set goals for myself.  The goal for the year is 600 miles, and I've surpassed January's goal of 50 miles by doing 65.6. No, Zoey hasn't gone that far.  We do a short loop of .6 to .7 of a mile whenever we walk, then I drop her off at the house, and continue on. I've started going down through Vista del Mar below us to check out our new neighbor's construction project.  It's pretty amazing.  He won't block our view, but he's building way up there in what looks to me like a pretty precarious position. In the picture below, what looks like the roof, is actually the floor, which will be held up by the pillars and the wall.  Yikes.  Did I tell you we've been having earthquakes in the area lately?  Some quite close, and around 4.0.  I think he'll feel the earth move in this house!  (I haven't felt one yet, but guests did feel one upstairs in our house).  

We have been enjoying getting to know our new neighbors, Brian and Hope.  We recently went to Brian's retirement party.  He retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel after 34 years.  (He is the same age as Ben was when he retired from ODOT after 34 years!)  They are very generous and thoughtful, like to get together at the drop of a hat, and even took us out to dinner for an early Anniversary celebration.  Brian created a WhatsApp group for us called "Vecino Perfecto" (Perfect Neighbor)! Hahaha!  We've been spending lots of evenings visiting either around their firepit or ours.  So, we had to build a "Caracol" (pass way with no gate) through the fence for easy access.  We're looking forward to many more times visiting with them and helping each other as neighbors.  It's pretty convenient, too, that Hope is a Nurse Practitioner!  Currently they are living in a cute little container home on their property while they figure out how to build their permanent home.  

So, until sometime in February, salutations from us in Baja, and we hope to hear from you!  Stay healthy out there!  

More cool photos (including some cute grandkids) are located in our January 2022 album.  

Hasta la proxima vez,

Tus amigos de Baja,

Harriet, Ben & Zoey

  

Pic-of-the-Month for December 21, 2021

 Hola amigos!

Merry Christmas to all of you.  

We hope that your Christmas is joyful and that you can celebrate with us the reason for the season...Jesus Christ' birth.  

We do plan on a Christmas dinner here at our house with friends and neighbors.  There will be 10 of us.  Yesterday, Ben and I were planning on going into Cabo San Lucas and Costco to get the Christmas Ham, but alas, there were none.  So Ben will be smoking another turkey.  

Before we left, I had read that Covid-19 booster shots were available for those of us 60 and over in Miraflores (where we got our original 2), La Ribera and Santiago.  We left early and got in line.  Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as nicely organized as the first times we went.  People seemed to line up willy-nilly; but we eventually got in line, and managed to get our Astra Zeneca booster.  So far, no bad side effects, other than Ben being a bit sore and achy this morning.  We are very happy to be able to get the boosters in a timely manner, what with the new strain out and about.  

We went to visit Mel & Katie again at Los Frailes.  Ben and Mel went fishing several times, and were successful again.  They caught an African Pompano this time, and it is a gorgeous fish.  Even after being caught 3 or 4 hours previous to the picture taking, it was very colorful.  Almost as colorful as my shirt!  

Ben and I rode with our neighbors Brian and Hope in a "Rock and Roll Fun Ride" for a benefit for Feeding the Hungry.  We had to guess names of artists based on pictures, or lines of music to name the band, etc.  I was pretty hopeless...I listened to the music, but I sure didn't have all that stuff memorized like many of them did!  Good thing for us that Hope knew her 60's and 70's Rock and Roll, even though she's a lot younger than us.  Check out the December 2021 album for pics of that ride.  

The BIG project this month is replacing the floor in our little camp trailer.  It had quite a few very soft spots, so after our Los Frailes trip, Ben started ripping up the linoleum.  Underneath that was 3/16" plywood (very moldy & rotten in places), then 1 1/2" foam, and a very thin plywood under that.  He found the lightweight aluminum cross beams were few and far between!  He came up with a 2x4 cross beam structure to lay in there instead, with 1/8" plywood underneath that, and styrofoam and plywood in the gaps, all covered with a 5/8" sheet of plywood.  All pieces are glued and screwed together.  In the picture above you can see the styrofoam in some holes, others with the plywood filler.  He added the final plywood on top of all this.  They also added some aluminum brackets to hold up the floor by attaching them to the walls with a stiffener behind.  He did just this area by the entry door so far, and will attack the other end by the dinette next.  We'll be ready to go camping again in the not too distant future!  And we won't be falling through the floor!  

Other than that, the garden is growing, Zoey and I are still taking our walks, and I got to play the piano at the Community Saturday Market for our little musical group that sang Christmas songs.  It was a rather windy day, so I had a bit of trouble keeping the music from blowing, but it went pretty well.  I'm on the right, with my hat on backwards to protect my neck from the sun!  

OK!  We wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a Happy, healthy New Year of 2022.  

Hasta la proxima mes,

Harriet, Ben & Zoey

PS.  Again, pictures are located in December 2021 album.

Pic-of-the-Month for November 2021

 Hola Amigos,

Here it is, the end of another month coming up.  I guess, since it's a nice rainy day here in Baja, instead of going for a walk, I'll sit at my computer and write you a letter!  

But first, this lovely sunrise at Frailes Bay....

We hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving celebration with family and friends this year.  We are all struggling with the "new normal" and hugs and having big groups getting together, but we pray that your times with family and friends were happy and healthy occasions!  We had 8 of us here at our casa for Thanksgiving, including my niece Angie and nephew-in-law Mark whom we haven't seen in years.  We also invited our NEW neighbors, Brian and Hope, who are supposed to be moving into their new container home today (on a rainy day, of course!)  

We have accomplished quite a few things this month.  Ben, of course, tops this list of things done!  He changed the transmission in the 1930 Roadster.  He and I got it out, and thankfully, he hired our friend Chuyito to help him get the "new" one back in.  It now shifts perfectly, and maybe someday, I'll even drive it!  

We had two new gates installed to make our courtyard more secure.  Also, they'll be nice for keeping dogs in or out!  We chose a Quail pattern that is really whimsical.  Always know that you are welcome when you come to visit us (no locks on the gates...yet!!)  We are just going to let the finish rust, and eventually paint it with a wood stain.  

The garden continues to grow, some areas with fits and starts....and stops.  Ben tested some of our soil and decided it needed a certain chemical (phosporus?  phosphate??) and added it at what he thought was the correct strength.  Oops.  He killed everything he put it on...lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers.  So, we are on the second (and in some cases third) replanting.  Good thing we have lots of seeds.  The corn is almost waist high, and he's talking about putting the bird netting over the garden soon.  He is also ready to plant his second crop of corn.  We have some nice squash plants, too.  I'm seeing some buds forming on a few.  In the photo below, you can see the corn and two rows of beets.  

We had a new gate put in to more easily access the new west side lot.  We didn't do it, but hired a Mexican fellow who did a really nice job on it.  We even used it when we got back from our camping trip and it made maneuvering around with the camp trailer much easier.  Our existing cattle guard it to the left.  Old opening was to the right by the concrete pole.  New opening is angled across the corner and gives a much better way into the lot.  

 Ben built a beautiful cutting board for our new little trailer since it has NO counter space (Well...maybe 4 inches between the stove top and sink!)  It fits nicely over either of the sinks.  He is also in the process of building some swing up wooden counters on both ends.  He can't finish it until our friend Ruby comes with the piano hinges next week!  

We took the trailer out for a "test" run to spend a few days with our friends Mel and Katie at Los Frailes.  The trailer did very well, and the propane function of the fridge even started working!  Woohoo!  It was quite comfortable, although we have developed quite a list of things to do to improve it.  Poco a poco!  With this trip, we also realized there were a few things we forgot to pack, so we are rectifying those faults, too!  (Fly swatter, spices, serving bowls!)  

Ben and Mel went fishing two days, and came back with quite a haul the first day, and a nice dorado the next day.  Yes, we ate well, and the weather was just about perfect.

Just about to the day that we had been back for a month, I finally got the gumption to hike up to the Flag Monument.  For some reason, it's not as easy as it used to be!!  (Not that I'm getting older or anything... and doesn't it look far away in that pic to the right?)  Anyhow, I made it that day, and haven't made it back since!  Some other day(s), I will!  Zoey is nowhere near able to do that hike anymore.  I have trouble getting her around a .6 mile loop near our house, but she's still always anxious to go.  She just goes slower, and slower, and slower, and has to sniff every little thing!  Oh well...at least she's still moving.  

 

 Our night blooming cactus decided to bless us with about 8 blooms.  Of course, to enjoy them, you have to get up in the middle of the night, or very early in the morning to see them in full bloom.  by 6am, they are starting to close up again.  I got a fairly good shot when I let Zoey out one morning at about 5am.  

I guess that shot was worth getting up early!  

I have created a November 2021 album with a bunch more pictures if you'd like to check them out.  As usual, if there are captions, you'll see them if you click on the "i" .  

Hasta la proxima vez,

Tus amigos en Baja,

Harriet, Ben and Zoey  

Pic-of-the-Month for October 31, 2021

 Hola Amigos,

We have been back home since October 10, and are getting "in the groove".  We had a good, uneventful trip back here, and are very happy to be here to enjoy our comfortable bed and big kitchen!  And Ben is appreciating all his nice tools as he works on repairing things that have broken over the summer!  

We dealt with a lot of smoke from forest fires on the way down, and have been enjoying the extremely clear and clean air down here.  A bit hot and humid when we first arrived, but it is starting to cool down nicely, with highs in the low 80's.  Today, October 31st, is the first day of Standard time in our part of Mexico.  We're not sure if we'll get Trick or Treaters tonight.  COVID is still an issue in Baja, but it is getting much better.  Evidently, the state is GREEN, so you are allowed to do gatherings, but people are still very conscious of wearing masks when out and about.  

We arrived to a very green Baja, since Hurricane Olaf went through in September, and Hurricane Pamela skirted by in early October, shortly after we arrived.  All rain is very welcome here.  The livestock are fat and happy, including our local "wild" burros!

I had a bad experience one Sunday morning at breakfast two weeks ago, when a dishonest man stole my wallet out of my purse.  I didn't even realize it was missing until I got home and about an hour later, got a fraud alert on one of my credit cards.  I went to look for it in my wallet, and the wallet was gone.  I went back to the restaurant, and they didn't know anything.  Fortunately, they have a good security camera system in the area, and on Monday, the owner sent me a video of the man stealing my wallet.  I made a police report, canceled all my cards, and ordered new replacements, including my driver's license, Medicare card, and I gathered all the information I needed for my Mexican Permanent Resident card.  This morning, we got a telephone call from a local Mexican lady, and her mother had found my wallet (minus all money and credit cards, but with all the very important ID) about 5 miles from our casa.  Wow!!  Was I ever happy and grateful.  She received a generous reward from us!  A friend is flying in tomorrow who is bringing my replacement debit and credit cards, and an "extra" driver's license (which is always nice to have!!)  Other than losing about $3000 pesos cash (about $150 US), I am good to go!  

Ben has been very busy fixing things that broke.  We had a water leak on our front veranda, and he was planning on breaking up the tiles there and digging down to repair that line.  He was finally convinced, after we saw an existing line that was visible, to just bypass that line, and two faucets next to the house (that we didn't use anyhow).  The pipe on the right in this picture now has a valve so we can shut off the water to the faucets on the corners of the veranda, and a new one he added out of this picture.  He completely cut off the line with the leak.  Here, he is relaying the pavers.  

He's also had issues with getting our little Honda Tiller to run like it should.  After much tinkering and repairing with spare parts, he thinks its in pretty good shape.  He has already started corn in our garden, and squash and cucumbers and tomatoes, as well as radishes, lettuce, carrots and cilantro.  I told him after living in Mexico for over 20 years, he's almost "official" Mexican the way he can fix things with available bits and pieces!  

We have taken a ride in the '30 Roadster and got many appreciative looks and waves.  We've also taken the '56 Jeep for a couple rides, and it seems to be running well (after Ben remembered the special plug that it needs to start!)  We are trying to get the new little camp trailer in shape for a trip sometime soon, but we're having issues with the propane power for the fridge.  It works with electricity, but not propane.  😕 Hoping to have "expert" help soon.  

So far, we've stayed pretty close to home; no trips to La Paz or San Jose, although we are planning an exciting trip to Costco this next week in Cabo San Lucas!  At least I don't have to go to Immigration like I was going to have to until my cards were returned.  

Zoey and I have been walking, but not going very far yet as the weather has still been pretty warm.  We're working up to it!!  I have seen some pretty wildflowers and some gorgeous sunrises.  You can check out the photos in the October 2021 photo album.  

Pitahaya cactus blooms above, I think the one to the right is Tree Cotton.  

This is the year of New Neighbors.  We will have new ones on the east AND the west.  The music is loud and constant for the work crew on the east.  I told Ben we're going to have to get them to coordinate their music selections when the crew starts on the west, or we'll get a bit of overkill!  I might have to set up my own speakers and play the music of my choice!  

I'm going to be short and sweet this time!  The photos tell the story of all I missed telling you about.  Enjoy!  Again, you can check out the photos in the October 2021 photo album.  

Hasta la proxima vez,

Harriet, Ben & Zoey

Pic-of-the-Month for August and September 2021

 Hello Friends,

Have you been wondering what we've been up to this summer?  Probably not, but I'm going to share with you anyhow, since if you don't follow me on Facebook, you haven't heard much since late July.  

Here it is nearing the end of September, and we are getting ready to head south, like all good snowbirds do!  Especially since we had a really nice rainstorm, and snow in the mountains this weekend.  This is the view from the "Purkey Ranch" where we spend a lot of our summers.  Last week, the Three Sisters had NO snow on them.  This covering is the result of rain and snow Friday through Sunday.  And no smoke!  The rain may have put out some of the fires, or at least helped a lot!  The temperature here this morning was 26F!  BRRRR!!!

Now I just have to remember what we've done this summer!  Thankfully, I have a few photos to help me! 

First major camping trip: Hart Mountain

We joined George and Carolyn Sackinger, and their grandson JJ for our annual trip to Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge.  Of course, we had to start out the trip with a visit to Cowboy Dinner Tree near Silver Lake.  It's always an adventure in eating when we go there; and eating and eating and eating.  The steaks we had lasted several weeks (in the freezer) for lots of meals.

The cat in the picture above ended up sitting right next to me at dinner time, waiting for a little sample.  (Fat chance, Kitty Cat.  I don't feed animals from my table!) 

We went on to Hart Mountain the next day, and set up in our "favorite" camp site.   They'd even mowed the grass for us!  

The wildflowers were blooming nicely, and there were lots of butterflies around.  The hot springs felt wonderful, as always.  See our July 2021 album for more photos of wildflowers, a blown out tire on our truck, and other sights along the way, including a cattle drive!

2nd Camping Trip: We went west for our next camping trip with Mel and Katie into the Willamette Forest near Clear Lake.  Mel spent many years working in that area, and knows it well, including where the huckleberries grow.  We spent 3 days picking huckleberries, several hours a day, and ended up with a nice supply to bring south!  We've also eaten quite a few already.  They make a nice addition to the peach pies I've been baking!  

Pictures of that trip, with many more wildflowers, and a Huckleberry Hound, are in the August 2020 album.

3rd Trip for Family and Friends:  Since we were "half way" there, we continued west to Salem and spent a couple weeks there and in Eugene visiting with friends and family.  We got to celebrate Ben's brother Greg's birthday with him and his family and Dan and Laura and visited my brother Rich.  Tom and Karan had fixed a nice new trailer spot for us next to his new pumphouse, with electrical and water hook-ups.  Only problem with this visit is that the corn wasn't quite ripe yet, but Tom still gave us a few ears that he had hunted around for!  And yes, it was delicious!

Pretty nice camping spot there!  

Fourth Camping Trip:  We went by ourselves to explore Central and Eastern Oregon.  We camped at Clyde Holliday State park near Mt. Vernon, which is a lovely place.  We took several drives up into the mountains from our camp spot and saw some beautiful country.  

On the way back to Bend, via Hwy 395, Burns and Hwy 20, we stopped at Glass Butte so Ben could get in some Obsidian Rock Hounding.  He found some nice pieces, and has been cutting some with brother Ken's rock saw.  Who knows, they might end up being a pretty piece of jewelry?!

Unfortunately, it ended up being very smokey there, as it was in the Bend area due to forest fires further west.  We had at least a week of very unhealthy smoke conditions. 

Fifth Camping Trip:

We decided to not attend the Pendleton Roundup this year, even though we had tickets that had rolled over from 2020.  But we also decided we wanted to go visit my niece Anne and her hubby Mike in Athena, and other friends in Walla Walla.  So, we went there the week before the Roundup, and had a great time. (Thanks to great-nephew Quinn, we also sold our 2020 tickets for the price on the ticket!!)   Our friends Dick and Julie invited us up on Saturday, when there was a CAR SHOW in town!  First one we've been to in several years, and it was a lot of fun.  We saw some great cars there, and were kind of sorry we couldn't display a few of ours!  See 2021-September album for some cool cars.

Anne and Mike have a new puppy, a NewfyDoodle!  His name is Samson, but he looks nothing like our old Sam!  I think he looks more like the Muppet Animal!!  Especially when he shakes that big head of his! He is huge, but  he and Zoey got along just fine, after the first day of across the fence introductions.  The only pet Zoey didn't get along with was their cat Horatio, who is the real boss of the place!  We managed to get Zoey to keep her distance from the cat, with a lot of effort. 

We left Athena on Monday, and met up with the Sackingers at Cottonwood Canyon State Park on Hwy 206, between Wasco and Condon.  What a beautiful place on the John Day River.  The river was quite low, but the scenery was great, and the hiking was great too;  mostly on one level along the river.

From here, we returned to Clyde Holliday State Park to spend a couple nights.  We explored around the area, including Thomas Condon Paleontology Center and the Cant Ranch.  Both very interesting places.  I didn't realize that most of the ranchers in the early 1900's raised sheep, not cattle.  Pictured below is Sheep Rock.  Maybe it looks like a sheep?  Or maybe because there were always sheep on it?  This was the view from the back of the ranch house.

The ranch house was closed due to COVID-19, but we could see what a beautiful place it was.  We explored the grounds and saw some typical farm implements (including a large sheep shearing section of the barn) and the original orchard (where we could pick and eat any fruit we'd like without climbing the trees).  More pictures of both places are in the 2021-September album.

So, we're back at the Purkey Ranch for the duration of our time here, getting things bought and packed and final doctor appointments.  We hope to leave October 4, and join up with friends Jill and Rudy in El Cajon on the 6th, cross the border and join up with Mel and Katie in Tecate.  Vamos!  Let's go!  Another adventure is in store!  

Zoey has had an interesting summer, with numerous vet visits early on.  She had a problem with her upper back (near her neck) and would scream (literally) whenever we picked her up to put her in our out of the trailer or truck.  She was on prednisone, muscle relaxant, and pain pills for 3 or 4 weeks.  She started doing better when we did our Willamette Forest camping trip (maybe the huckleberries did it?)  Anyhow, she's still wobbly, and always will be, but at least she's off all meds (she did like that cheese I wrapped her pills in!)  

By the way, Ben has been busy all summer with the Feeding the Hungry COVID-19 program in Baja.  So far, 80 families who have been affected by COVID in the area have been helped with food vouchers from the local grocery store in Los Barriles.  There are probably more out there, but they are hard to communicate with since the hurricane, and many don't have phones.  Ben keeps track of all the questionnaires, the various families, their problems, and approves the issuance of vouchers.  Dalia, who speaks Spanish and English, interviews all the people via telephone and lets Ben know about them.  Gordon, a friend who lives year round in LB, puts a voucher package together of 4 vouchers (worth about $50) and delivers them to a place where a representative for the family (without COVID) picks them up.  It's a well greased system, and is working well.  The good news is that several families we've checked back with say "we're fine, give the vouchers to someone who needs them worse than us".  We're hoping the number of cases is receding at this point...time will tell.  

Thanks for making it through this epic story of our summer adventures.  I promise you won't hear from us until October sometime, but we will always respond to your correspondence to us.  

Until the next time I get ambitious!

Your Snowbird amigos,

Harriet, Ben and Zoey

 

Pic-of-the-Month For July 22, 2021

 Hello Friends,

Ben, Zoey and I are in Oregon.  We are finally getting some cooler nighttime temperatures.  It has been unusually hot for Oregon this summer.  Drought, forest fires, and smoke seems to be the normal Oregon summer, unfortunately.  Right now it is clear here in the Bend area, but the biggest forest fire in the US is south of us near Bly, the Bootleg Fire.  It is bigger than the state of Rhode Island!  That area is where Ben hunted deer years ago with good friend Warren Ausland.  It's very sad that the gorgeous area is burned.  

We took our first little camping trip, after completing various doctor appointments, to a favorite camping spot on the Crooked River.  It was very quiet and peaceful, and there was no cell service or WIFI, so our quiet time was uninterrupted!  

 

 Even Zoey is visiting the doctor... again, we're not sure what she did, but she cries in pain every time we lift her in or out of the trailer house or the pickup (she cannot jump at all due to her injury 5 years ago).  She even starts crying before we pick her up, because she knows it's going to hurt.  The Vet we've seen has her on various meds, but we're not seeing much improvement, so we took her for her 3rd visit Friday afternoon.  We are headed out for a week-long camping trip starting on Sunday, so we hope she starts feeling better soon.  She can walk, but doesn't go far, and the Vet recommended kennel rest.  Since she doesn't have a kennel, she gets trailer house rest!   This picture of her is from the other day when this young boy asked if he could pet her.  They got along very well.  She got lots of petting, he got lots of kisses!  Anyhow, we're trying to be very careful with her, and hope she does well on our wilderness camping trip in her come-along kennel (the trailer house!) 

Speaking of trailer house... we found a small used trailer to tow down to Baja with us to use on camping trips down there!  It's single axle, has AC, a toilet and shower, microwave, a good sized refrigerator, a queen sized tent bed (advertised to sleep 8!!), and even a smart TV.  There is some "fixing up" to do, but it should work really well for where we'd like to go in Baja.  Today we bought some items we need for it, and I have cleaned out some excess things from our Oregon trailer to put in it; kitchen towels, extra utensils, coffee mugs, etc.  Also, I'm excited that I'll have a nice sized RV refrigerator to bring things down to Baja, like Tillamook cheese and salted butter!!  Maybe even frozen Marion berries!  Yum!  

In the meantime, while sitting in Ben's brother's driveway in our trailer, Ben has been very busy on a Baja project (That's why I'm writing this for July).   Just in the last 48 hours, 36 people have died as a result of COVID-19 in Baja California Sur (BCS), the highest death rate so far there during the pandemic.  We were told by Adam Greenburg, who heads up a non-profit for Baja projects called Leaders2Give, that people with COVID-19 needed help, and could the organization that Ben and I head up, called "Feeding the Hungry" assist people who were sick and out of work due to COVID-19?  Ben spent many hours figuring out how to get it done by our team in BCS while he was here in Oregon.  He came up with advertising, and a questionnaire for two Spanish/English speaking ladies to complete while interviewing likely candidates via phone who needed help.  We have another assistant in Baja who handles the funds and the vouchers or "coupons" we supply, each worth about $12.50 US.  Each family who qualifies receives 4 vouchers, or $50 worth for groceries, medicine, or whatever they need most.  Right now, Ben is reviewing applicant family #28, with more coming in daily.  Adam is doing most of the fund raising for us.  Here is a post Adam made the other day on "Everything Los Barriles" in Facebook.  If you would like to make a small contribution, we and the Mexican community would appreciate it very much! (FYI, his comment about "dozens of applications was a bit high at the moment, but they did 11 yesterday!)

"Friends: The Feeding the Hungry Program for Los Barriles residents struggling with Covid is receiving dozens of applications every day. Unless donations ramp up its simply unsustainable. Please consider making tax deductible donation to Leaders2Give.org today by selecting Feeding the Hungry from the giving menu and help our community stay strong. Thank you !"

If you'd like more information about Feeding the Hungry, check out this blog: Feeding the Hungry

We have managed to have some fun times since we got here. Friends from Walla Walla visited with us on their way through Sisters. Julie and Dick also got to go to our friend Katie's Garden Art show early in the day, and bought a beautiful piece of art. We attended the show later that night to help as we could. She had some amazing art displayed and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!

Tony and Janet bought a nice painting, too.

Ben had a birthday party with his "twin" Janet (who is two years younger), and I have gone shopping in Fabric stores and clothing stores and thrift stores...and also my friend Janet's store, Gypsy Wind. I helped her on the day of the Sister's Quilt show, which was held this year after being cancelled last year. She rewarded me with some very pretty clothing from her shop.

After our mini camping trip on the Crooked River, Ben backed our trailer into my cousin John's RV spot by his house in Prineville, and we spent Sunday visiting with him and Allyson.  We completely missed them last year, so it was great to connect again.  

Ben went hiking one day with his brother Ken, and nephew and niece Bryan and Beth.  They hiked into Steelhead Falls on the Deschutes River.  (I had another medical appointment that day, so did my hiking in the fabric store afterwards!)

I finished my quilt that I intended to use in our trailer, and decided it really wouldn't work well in here (it's also been way too warm at nights to use it!)  I certainly didn't want to leave it in the trailer over the winter (possibility of mice!) so I re-homed it as a wedding gift to our niece Beth.  She loves it, and I'm sure she'll enjoy using it very much.  (We couldn't hold it upright, so sideways is what you get!)  

 

We planned on going to the Willamette Valley (Eugene and Salem areas) in early August, but we've been delayed a bit due to more  doctor appointments for Ben, and a camping request from friends.  We will get there!  Honest!  We'll try to spend time there in September, too, although we do plan on going to the Pendleton Roundup in mid-September.  So many people to see and things to do, so little time!  

I've created a July 2021 photo album with a few more pictures; hopefully, most of them have a caption to explain them.  Enjoy!

Hope to see you later this summer!

Your Baja friends in Oregon,

Harriet, Ben & Zoey