Jan's Blog

Our Crazy Lives!

2011-09-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been feeling a lot of stress and it comes out in various ways; some of them are inappropriate, causing people to worry about us and that's the last thing I want. I thought I would share our story so people can understand why I sometimes make a dramatic comment about my life. My high school friends will remember my sarcastic style of humor and my flair for the dramatic. I also feel things very deeply and I have a lot of empathy for people.

Bruce has ataxia. It's a neurological symptom of something, and in some cases, it doesn't matter what the cause is because there is no cure. It causes the cerebellum to shrink over time. We are fine and we are handling this with the help of friends and family. This whole thing is a process and a learning experience like no other I've ever experienced. We have incredible emotional support and I am very grateful. Sometimes I'm in awe of all of the love we receive from our friends and family. Bruce and I have always been really close. It's the old story - we were great friends before we fell in love. When we met we were both leaving abusive relationships and we helped each other regain our love of life. It was a wonderful time in both of our lives. We will celebrate our 25th anniversary next month.

The ataxia started about four years ago with subtle signs. The hardest thing for Bruce since the beginning is that he is dizzy all the time. We've been to neurologists, various specialists, ENT doctors and chiropractors. We've tried experimental medications, acupuncture and on and on. Many of these things do help a little especially things like acupuncture and other Eastern medical concepts. This is a progressive disease and now Bruce has difficulty speaking, walking and of course, there's the ever present vertigo. He's also very tired most of the time. Recently, we've seen and read a lot about Lyme disease and how, if untreated, it can look just like what Bruce has. However, it's really hard to get a doctor to even test for it. I'm currently trying to get an infectious disease doctor in Hermosillo to take this on and I think he's going to do it. Throughout this whole ordeal Bruce is still working as a designer. His mind is still sharp and he is still the fabulous man he has always been. He still comforts me when I'm at the end of my rope. That was happening a lot at the beginning of the summer, but I'm feeling a lot stronger now. Somehow I feel like I turned a corner in the last couple of weeks. I have to give credit to my friends who are always there for me, not matter what! It's amazing and I love every one of them very much. I've learned to ask for what I need; something I never did in the past.

Tomorrow I'm going to Tucson to pick up a wheelchair we ordered from Ebay, my favorite place to buy things. Medical supply store price $950.00; Ebay $150.00 - brand new, guaranteed. As a side note, the drug companies and the medical supply people should be tarred and feathered for ripping off people, especially people who need these things. Ok enough of that rant. Bruce does fine with his walker, but he loses his balance and I just feel a whole lot better knowing that he won't fall getting from point A to point B. I know that every time he has to make a little adjustment, like walker to wheelchair, it feels to him like he's giving in to the disease. I know how hard it is for him to have to do that. The wheelchair makes things a whole lot easier and reduces the stress level for both of us. He spends a lot of time and effort trying NOT to fall. I find that one of the keys to dealing successfully with this disease is to make everything as easy and simple as possible. Stress is another killer with this disease and it makes all of the symptoms worse. You can imagine the stress from building a new house. Naturally, people ask us why we decided to go ahead with it - it's simple - it was our dream home and it still is....we couldn't just stop in the middle. We do have an elevator which is a lifesaver and it makes everything accessible for Bruce. We also have a pool which is great for keeping the muscles alive and it's just plain fun. We've learned that while so many people understand and are so supportive, others give advice that doesn't help. In fact some of it hurts. I used to feel that people were being critical of me and thinking I should be doing more for Bruce or doing things a different way. Now I realize they are just trying to help and they are frustrated that nothing has worked 100 percent. Because I was already upset and frustrated, everything seemed bigger and more important than it really was. I have learned so much through this process. I've learned not to judge other people - ever - no matter what. You just can't do that unless you have literally have walked in their shoes. That old saying is so true. I've also learned that gossip really is mean spirited. There's never a reason to gossip yet some people thrive on it. Again, it comes from insecurity.

We are still hoping for improvement and at least a partial recovery. I feel very hopeful in a lot of ways. Bruce is not dying and he is not in any pain. He's very much alive and he's physically healthy in every other way. He's still smart, sweet and compassionate. We are really lucky have each other and the disease is not just Bruce's; it's mine too. It's been very hard for him to learn to cope with people who feel uncomfortable around him. He's learned not to take it personally. He's learned to accept that some people are so uncomfortable with illness that they avoid him. His only sister and her husband haven't contacted him in over two years. While it's very sad and heartbreaking for Bruce, we weren't completely surprised. They live in a very superficial world and illness is not part of their world. I have been furious with them, but Bruce has accepted it. Now, after a lot of therapy, I accept it too. The rest of our family has been incredibly supportive. We also have a group of wonderful friends here in San Carlos. We've been practicing Reiki for quite a while and have an incredible Reiki mentor. From this experience, I've stumbled on to a really positive spiritual path. I wholeheartedly believe in angels too. Some people think I'm nuts, but it really works for me and for Bruce. In many ways, Bruce's illness has forced us to take a better path in life and for that I am grateful. For years, I was struggling with my traditional Episcopalian upbringing and trying desperately to believe in all that I was taught as a child. I realize now - there's nothing wrong with the church, it was all me. I wasn't ready to believe in anything. I had to do a lot of soul searching and find a positive way to deal with this illness. I started really thinking about our marriage vows and what they mean to me. I feel like they are sacred. Dealing with an illness is very hard work, not only for the one who has the illness, but their partner. In many ways, I'm grateful that I've had the chance to show Bruce how much I really love him. I know that I will do anything to make his life easier. I will never give up hope. I will always believe in him and I won't take "no" for an answer from the medical profession. At our most recent visit to our neurologist in Hermosillo, Mexico, the doctor gave us bad news about the function of Bruce's brain stem. Then he told us to try a homeopathic powder that he uses himself. I bought some yesterday and we're giving it a try. I found it comforting and painfully honest that a neurologist that deals with life and death situations every day still has confidence in, and believes in alternative medicines. I have a lot of respect for naturopathic medicines and treatments. I love Eastern medicine and the concept that the body can cure itself.

As you can see, we both feel very positive about our lives and we're really grateful that we live in this beautiful area. It makes dealing with the not so great days a little less painful. I have to mention our dogs, Teddy and Zoey and our beloved and weird cat, Niko. They give us so much joy and they are a constant souce of comfort to both of us. To all of my beautiful friends and family, and to Bruce, thank you for being part of my life.

Going green for real

2011-02-03T15:51:00.000-08:00

We are building a "green" home in San Carlos...at least as green as we can afford. We can't afford all of the solar panels yet, but every extra dollar I have will go towards that purchase. We have a solar heater for the pool, a rainwater collection system and solar panels. The power company will give us credit for the electricity we save. They just started doing that a few years ago in Mexico. Mexico is changing, slowly but surely. We would love to be completely off the grid, but we're not quite there.

In about six weeks our house will be done. It's been nearly two years and while I've been kind of impatient lately, each time I go down to the house (two blocks away), I feel really good. I'm so excited. For years, Bruce and I have been talking about how we can be more "green", but I didn't know what I could really do to make a difference. It finally dawned on me that I can at least change to non toxic earth friendly products in our home and I can support and encourage other people who do the same. I do what I can now, but we're in Mexico and it's a country that is just starting to pay attention to the environment. I don't think there's a regulatory system here in Mexico and I've noticed over the last few years that products are getting stronger. Everything has chemicals in it and it's also the land of plastic. Most of the plastic comes from China. Plastic products from China are cheap and toxic and they are distributed all over the world, not just Mexico. That's scary.

It's also scary to think about the reality of global warming, but how can you not think about it? Last night was the coldest night most people have ever experienced in San Carlos. It was about 36 degrees and windy. We were absolutely freezing. It's unheard of. Niko and Teddy (our cat and dog) have to be pushed out the door. They don't like it at all. We have a couple of portable electric heaters and I remember laughing about that when we first moved into this house. I thought it was absurd. I mean, there is a season change here and we sometimes wear sweaters but this is just crazy. The worst part of this extreme cold snap is that a lot of Mexican families have absolutely no heat and no insulation and they are freezing. This is going to last for a couple of days. I feel a little helpless because there's not much I can do to help the families. Everyone who knows me, knows that I tend to feel guilty about things like this. I think about it all the time. Our friend Rosalia told us that her neighbor's tin roof blew off last night. The neighbor came to her house and ended up spending the night to stay warm.

About a month ago it dawned on me that we can go even greener. We can use earth friendly products in the house. It's a start. Moving into the new house is the perfect time. Seriously, if we all switched to non toxic products we really could make a difference. Now that we live in San Carlos, we have easy access to the U.S. where I can get all the natural products I need. There's no disputing the rise in disease caused by exposure to toxins in our food supply and in the household products we use. Of course, I've become a lot more sensitive to these issues since Bruce was diagnosed with ataxia. One type of ataxia is inherited and the other kinds are caused by something unknown; most likely toxins of some kind. Not enough research has been done to be certain, but common sense tells me that I am right. For years, before Bruce was a designer, he had his own construction company and he also worked on our boat constantly, painting, varnishing, fixing engine parts and on and on. When we were growing up, most of us didn't even think about it. It never even occurred to me in the 60s that I shouldn't be smoking. I loved the smell of turpentine too. Of course, I don't smoke anymore and I don't sniff turpentine. My first jolt of reality came when a neighbor in Seattle many, many years ago got throat cancer from smoking. That was the day that I stopped smoking and faced reality. I really am an optimist about life and I believe that we can make the world better for our kids and their kids and on and on. I also want world peace, but that's for a different blog. Thanks for listening. When I write down my feelings and intentions it feels like I'm really doing something.
Peace, love, and a healthy and long life! Jan

2011-01-26T15:19:00.000-08:00

Back to Blogging

2011-01-26T13:48:00.002-08:00

I have missed blogging and sharing my life. Putting words on paper is so wonderful and therapeutic. Somehow it makes my life seem more solid and meaningful. I'm inspired by my friend, Nancy, who writes a wonderful blog in Mazatlan. She is really enjoying her life with her husband, Paul, and their dogs. We worked together and were friends in our former lives in and around Seattle. Boy have our lives changed! Now we're both in paradise and I'm finally going to see her in March when I drive down to check on our house in Sayulita. The wonderful Sayulita house has been on the market for two years in a dead economy, but that's another story entirely. Feel free to buy it!

A lot of friends and family worry about us. They hear all of the bad things that are going on at the border and in Arizona. Most of us in this area of the Pacific or Sea of Cortez coast of Mexico cross the border in Nogales. There's a lot of drug activity there I guess, but we've never been affected by it. In fact, we cross the border in the downtown area and drive right through the center of town. Sometimes we stop for gas there or get lunch at Burger King. It never occurred to us to be afraid and no one has ever threatened us in any way. I hope people realize that a lot of the drug crimes involving foreigners are simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time and yes, it has been exaggerated by the press.

As for my town, San Carlos, it is a very special place. It's about five hours by car from Tucson. It's cool in the winter and hot in the summer. Spring and fall are nearly perfect. We have a large expat population here and with that, come pros and cons. We are able to get many more products from the U.S. and we enjoy Sonoran beef and the fantastic cuisine of northern Mexico. We have Sam's Club and Walmart in Guaymas which is just a few miles away. For clothes and shoe lovers, shopping is good here and since we have a kind of winter you can buy beautiful leather boots for about $200 pesos. I am currently working on my collection. Right now I'm wearing some black suede boots that were on sale for $150 pesos. I love them way more than I love my Nordstrom boots from Italy. I'd like to get some tan ones next. We have Dollar stores here with tons of odd and fun things. It used to be hard to get canned green beans in Mexico (thought we have fresh) and I found them at the dollar store. However, they were expired and canned in China so I put them back. I have to be honest, old canned goods from China do scare me. On the up side we can get the greatest Christmas lights here (from China) and they are very cheap.

We have many activities in San Carlos and most people are involved in one or two good causes. One of my friends, Kristin, has started a dog shelter and it's pretty amazing. It's not large but at this point, most homeless dogs in our town are being taken care of. Kristin is the kind of person who can't help herself. She is all heart. She gets some donations now, but for the last few years she and her husband, took care of a lot of dogs in our town using their own money. This is just one example of how things are here. San Carlos is a place where you can do whatever you want and be whomever you want to be. I have a lot of fantastic friends here and they are a big part of my happiness.

For the last couple of years, I have strengthened my spirituality and studied Reiki. I have learned to love myself more and I've learned not to judge other people. We all have our own lives and our own agendas and hopefully we can all live together in harmony. Life is not always easy and nothing is perfect. My husband of 25 years has suffered from ataxia for the past three years and he fights a battle every single day. We have limitations, but still, we are happy and we have a lot of friends here who help us in every way. Thankfully, Bruce is a happy and optimistic person and he does very well. I feel in my heart that everything is going to be ok. Still, it's not easy. We're building a house that Bruce designed and he oversees everything to do with the construction. It's really tiring for him at times because of the disease. Thankfully it's almost done. I do a lot of research on ataxia to see if anything is new and the one thing I have learned is that it's easier to live in a warm climate when you have an illness. Your immune system doesn't have to fight so hard here so it can spend more time healing your body. At least that's what I believe. Ataxia is one of those diseases that is not researched a lot. I think knowing what I do about this disease has helped me grow as a person too. Judgements about other people go right out the window. When you meet a difficult and unhappy person, there's usually a reason and it's not a bad idea to show some compassion because there's probably something difficult going on in their life. Life is not easy these days. Many, many people are battling some kind misfortune.

A friend of mine recently said she believes that we are all here to help each other and I think that's true. There is nothing better than helping someone unconditionally. In San Carlos, you can work on your spirituality, be an artist, meditate on the beach or go bowling, fishing, four wheeling or have a beer and watch the sunset (or the people). I don't want it to sound like we're all saints here, but it does come close to paradise, at least for us. We have the Sea of Cortez, the mountains and hills, the desert and all the wonderful things that go with that. We also have the benefit of the Mexican culture to help us enjoy life and live in the moment. We have wonderful food, music and festivals; too many to count. Though the cost of living in San Carlos is not as low as some places in Mexico, it's still a lot more affordable than the US. We even have good hospitals and medical care. Did I mention cable T.V? A high school friend of mine from California just wrote to me about coming down for a dental vacation. We're working on that. I have a fantastic dentist and the cost is about 1/8 of what it is in the U.S. Oh - and bring your dog. Teddy, our border collie just had his teeth cleaned for $600 pesos (about $52 USD)which includes anesthesia and recovery time. Of course, you have to do your homework, but all in all I think I'll be staying here for the rest of my life. Please come and visit in April when the house is ready....more to come. Peace and love, Jan

Goodbye Rudy - Rest In Peace My Friend

2010-08-18T17:54:00.000-07:00

For My Friend Kristin and her Best Friend Rudy -

HEAVEN'S DOGGY-DOOR
My best friend closed his eyes today, as his head was in my hand.
The Doctors said he was in pain, and it was hard for him to stand.
The thoughts that scurried through my head, as I cradled him in my arms were of his younger, puppy years,And OH...his many charms.
Today, there was no gentle nudge with an intense "I love you gaze",
Only a heart thats filled with tears, remembering our joy filled days.
But an Angel just appeared to me, and he said, "You should cry no more,GOD also loves our canine friends,HE's installed a 'doggy-door"!

--- Jan Cooper --- 1995

Lunch and Shopping In Paradise

2010-03-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

Today is an exceptionally good day. I had lunch at a new restaurant out in the north beach area. I was with two good friends, LeeAnn and Janey and time with them is always fun and positive. They are both involved in making San Carlos a better place. We sat in what felt like an open Moroccan style area with couches and low tables - kind of a private room. The owners have designed several unique areas within the restaurant. They have incredible taste and the food is fantastic.
Although business is slow in San Carlos, a lot of people are taking the time to look into the future and make the town prettier and more cohesive as a community. We already have the surrounding beauty - the mountains and the Sea of Cortez, but there's no town square and we could use a good facelift in town. San Carlos needs to take more care of their buildings and regulate the signage. We want to keep our town feeling like Mexico too and that's not easy. A lot of people come from the north and don't like to use pesos or even attempt to speak Spanish. They want it to be just like Arizona or Texas. I strongly disagree. I enjoy interacting with the Mexican people and their families. I have learned so much in the past seven years because of my time in Mexico.
As usual I've gotten off of the subject, which was about an exceptionally good day. Lunch was great and we couldn't stop talking about our ideas and things that we would like to see happen in town to make it more charming. After lunch I drove back into town and bought two pairs of sandals that I have been admiring on LeeAnn for the past three weeks....so you see it wasn't an impulse buy. Well maybe the second pair was. A store that I almost never go into has turned out to have fabulous and affordable shoes and clothing! I need some sturdy but great looking sandals for my trip to Hong Kong next week. Now I think I'm ready....almost.

I Can't Believe It

2010-03-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that I haven't blogged since November. A lot has happened and nothing has happened. Thanksgiving was fabulous with Petey and Maureen and the kids in St Louis and then Debbie and the kids in Columbia. Tommy was off in India for work and we were sad to miss him. Christmas was quiet, but nice. We had a wonderful celebration for El Cobijo and the men enjoyed themselves immensely. We shared our own Christmas with good friends, Bliss, Kris and Al. I found a recipe for "perfect" prime rib and it was fabulous. Did I mention that Sonora has some of the best beef in the world?
Bruce is still very busy with his work in Hong Kong. We're going over in a few weeks and I'm excited. I also have the added bonus of seeing Scarlett who will be turnig one. She is so adorable and quite a piece of work apparently. Her grandmothers have been busy adorning her with quite the wardrobe!
I have continued my work with El Cobijo though since they have moved back to their old building they don't need as much assistance. Luz, the head nurse has wanted to start a bazaar on Thursday mornings and hopefully make some money for incidentals.
Our house is coming along beautifully and we are hoping to be there by Christmas. My pizza oven is still happening. In fact we drove up to Tucson and picked up some fire brick last week.
Today is a truly historical day. I believe that the health care bill is going to pass. In spite of all of the controversy and so much bitterness I believe that everyone deserves health care. I don't think anyone opposing this bill has had a family member who has been ill and without good health care. Where is the spirit of humanity in all of the anti-health care advocates. I hesitate to bring it up because it is such a touchy subject, but it can't be ignored. I have not heard this much pontification by congress in a long time!
I plan to continue my blog on a frequent basis because I love to write and I love to share my life in Mexico with my readers so we will talk soon.

Thanks for El Cobijo

2009-11-19T09:55:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Family:

First of all, thank you all for your generosity and caring. We received so many donations and a lot of folks here in San Carlos, and as far away as Alamos (in southern Sonora), brought clothing and food to us. I even have a good friend in Colorado who offered to drive down with a van load of things with no hesitation whatsoever. Thanks Laura. Unfortunately, The Mexican Customs officers wouldn't let in any more used clothing but the gesture was momumental.

I just want to let you know what we have been able to do with the money we received from you. We have bought groceries for the men every week and a lot of Mexican business in Guaymas (the nearest large town) gave us big discounts. We were able to get the freshest fruits and vegetables. It's been wonderful.

The seasons change here in Sonora so it gets cool in the fall and winter. To most people it's winter now; high 70's in the day and 40's and 50's at night. It feels really cold. We were able to buy winter clothes for everyone at Woolworth's in Guaymas (yes, Woolworths is alive and well in Mexico). We also bought sweaters, scarves, gloves and jackets. We've had donations of blankets and sheets, personal items and books. With some of the money we were able to help the head nurse fix her car. It was swept away during the hurricane and floods and it's almost fixed now. The ladies who care for the men make $100 pesos per day (about $12 USD) and put their own needs on the back burner to help the men.

My group consists of me, Kristine Ladau and Bliss Cochrane; good friends of mine here in San Carlos who didn't hesitate to jump in and help. We do this all together and meet all the time to brainstorm. In two weeks the men are moving to a new building that needs a lot of work and we have a lot of donations waiting for that time; bags and boxes full of things for their new home. Currently, they are living in a ladie's retirement home run by nuns and though they are well cared for by their regular staff from Old El Cobijo, they have been asked to move elsewhere.

Probably the best gift of all is that we visit with the men and they are so interesting and wonderful. Some are in pretty good shape, some are blind and deaf. One of our favorites is Demitrius. He has lost part of both legs due to diabetes and complications but he is a character and always smiling. He loves to read. My friend, Nancy Harless (an author) sent me books in Spanish to give to him and he was thrilled. It proves that it's the little things in life that really matter, like your generosity. If I go on much longer I probably will cry. It is amazing and has opened my eyes to a lot of things in life that I didn't see clearly before. You won't see me discounting how good life is any time soon.

Anyway, this is just Chapter One. When they move it will be a new chapter and lots to do. Kristine, Bliss and I are committed to making it all work. El Cobijo also has other donors from time to time. Just last week I received four bags of clothes and a really nice electric heater from someone who had just built a new house - plus some cash. One night a man called me and asked me to meet him down at the Fruteria (the grocery store) and he handed me a wad of cash and said "I'm anonymous" and drove off. It was $3,000 pesos. Amazing. My firend in Phoenix, Chrissy, has a prayer wall that she just built and she prays for the men all the time. I think it helps.

Thank you so much for all you have done. I just wanted you to know what your money and good thoughts have done for El Cobijo. Kristine, Bliss and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Without your help this would not have been possible.

Peace and love,
Jan, Kris and Bliss

Day of the Dead and Halloween

2009-10-29T17:35:00.000-07:00

Since I've been in Mexico, I've come to appreciate Day of the Dead traditions. It's truly a celebration of life and a time set aside to spend time with loved ones that are gone. I've participated several times. This year I probably won't go to the local cemetary because I don't know anyone there but I'm thinking of setting up a small altar in our courtyard for some people that I miss and think of often. I miss my mother a lot. She would, ofcourse, be horrified if she were alive and I told her what I was going to do. She was a strict Episcopalian and I'm pretty sure she would have thought this practice to be sacrilegious which is defined as:
"when the sacrilegious offence is verbal, it is called blasphemy. "Sacrilege" originates from the Latin sacer, sacred, and legere, to steal, as in Roman times it referred to the plundering of temples and graves. By the time of Cicero, sacrilege had adopted a more expansive meaning, including verbal offences against religion and undignified treatment of sacred objects".
I think this definition is a little harsh and conservative because the practice of celebrating and remembering important people in your life appeals to me in a huge way and it's a positive and happy event. When you go to the cemetary (Pantheon) on Day of the Dead, it is filled with people talking and laughing with their dead friends and relatives. You hear music and people stop by to visit. There are photographs, candy, sometimes beer and tequila,lights and beautiful altars. It's colorful and lots of fun which is as it should be. Many times there are vendors at the entrance to the Pantheon selling candles and religious items as well as food and drink. I went a few years ago with my friend, Elvira, to visit her father and we spent three hours there laughing, crying and talking. I think it helps us deal with the pain especially when it involves a young person or an unnatural death. It's part of the culture here just as it's in the culture to place a cross or monument on a road to mark the place of a traffic fatality.

Since we live in a predominantly American/Canadian town it is really tied in with Halloween. We've heard that we'll have trick or treaters and we have candy for them. It's going to be a big night because there are also two costume parties to go to. My understanding is that Halloween is the day to remember the children and the next day is to honor adults. For me, my little altar will be a stage for reflection and a time for me to spend some time thinking and talking to my mother and some other important people that are gone. I hope to make it a personal tradition from now on. I am looking forward to it. I'm thinking my mother will forgive me for any blasphemy committed.

Blogger Action Day

2009-10-15T18:09:00.000-07:00

Am I worried about global warming? Yes, I am. I am a baby boomer and when we were growing up most people didn't give a thought to the environment. When I think about it now, I feel guilty. To be honest, I was too busy being a teenager and young adult to care; too wrapped up in my own life. Global warming and damage to our environment caused by humans was not on my radar. I'm ashamed to say that, but I just didn't have wisdom then. Now, our kids have so much information available to them that they do have wisdom. They have the ability to question practices that are bad for the environment.

I just learned last year that drinking purified water out of plastic bottles is bad. We should be using glass instead. I think that my awareness began when cigarettes came with a printed warning on the pack. I believe we are in serious trouble at this point and I get frustrated because a lot of people refuse to accept that we have to do everything we can to stop or reverse global warming. Books have even been written that support the idea that there is no such thing as global warming. I don't think anyone can dispute that there is climate change occurring; the ozone layer is in bad shape; even humans emit personal pollution which adds to the deterioration of our environment. Did you know that if you eat less red meat your personal pollution goes down? I know that sounds funny but it's true. That was news to me. If you look up "global warming" on Google you will get nearly 30,000,000 pieces of data. That's a lot. I have faith that those of us who have freedom, as we do in the United States, know that we are in serious trouble; we have done things to contribute to global warning, but we still have an opportunity to stop it, even reverse it (according to data that I have read). Typically, in the United States, we do go all out to right a wrong, but we still have a long way to go. My biggest concern is the other countries that are huge polluters. Naturally, China comes to mind first; even Hong Kong suffers from horrible pollution, but all of this is another story.

The point I want to make is this: if we all do something now, we can make a difference. I have faith that the younger generations in the United States have the information that my generation missed, and they are already taking action and so are we. We are building a home in San Carlos, Mexico right now. Bruce designed it and, together, we made a lot of "green" choices. In fact, we did everything we could afford to do. Our decision to go in that direction was reinforced when we moved to San Carlos last May. Our rental house is completely electric; no gas whatsoever. It's expensive and inconvenient, especially during the many summer storms that take the power out. We're going to try and produce over 10 kilowats of power using solar panels. That's not quite enough to be totally off the grid because of the need for air conditioning in the summer. We're also building a rain water collection system. Our calculations show that we will be able to store approximately 30,000 liters if our rainy season is normal. We will have three tinacos (cisterns) to store the water. We'll have a series of filter systems to get the water as clean and bacteria free as possible. To do all of this, we've had to cut back on other things in the house, but not drastically. Right now, solar is expensive, but it won't always be that way. One thing we're not cutting out is the pool and the heater will be solar powered. It's very cool here in the winter and I want to be able to use the pool year round. I wish we had made these choices years ago, but the important thing is that we can do it now and we are proud of the design of our new home. It makes us feel good to have a home that's not hurting the environment.

Swine Flu Vaccine

2009-10-07T14:44:00.001-07:00

I got the following information from a naturopath trained in eastern medicine that Bruce and I go to and I wanted to share what he told his patients about swine flu vaccine. We love this man and he is very smart. He has helped us in many ways.

What he says about vaccinations:

SWINE FLU – PANDEMIC
TO VACCINATE OR NOT TO VACCINATE

By Richard Smithee, M.T.O.M.
Understanding what you are dealing with is of paramount importance to you, your family, and your community. Everything you are hearing in the news is not necessarily the facts, and in fact, may be completely untrue.
First you need to understand what is meant by the term “PANDEMIC;” it simply means a disease affecting the majority of the population of a large region, or one that is epidemic at the same time in many different parts of the world[i] An “EPIDEMIC,” is a disease which becomes widespread in a particular place at a particular time.[ii] The word pandemic comes from the Greek work of Pandemos, which means “universal.” In this context obesity and diabetes are both pandemic.
Let’s take this a step further to the word “PANDEMONIUM:” a state of utter confusion and uproar. And then let’s include the word to “PANDER,” to give active encouragement (to someone or something that should not be encouraged); or to provide gratification (for someone or something that should not be gratified); someone who encourages the vices or weaknesses of another.[iii] Now let’s get down to the facts.

1. KEEPING THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE:
· 3,000 people a day worldwide die from malaria.
· 2,600 people a day in the U.S. die from preventable cardiovascular disease.[iv]
· 2,000 people a year in the U.S. die from taking aspirin.
· 38,000 children a day worldwide, die from starvation or preventable diseases.
· 40,000 people a year in the U.S. die from the common flu.
· 106,000 people a year in the U.S. die from taking prescription drugs, as prescribed.
· 2,216,000 people a year in the U.S. are hospitalized from taking prescription drugs as prescribed.[v]
· 552,000 people died in the U.S. from cancer in 2008, while 1.2 million were diagnosed with cancer.[vi]
· 75% of type II diabetics in the U.S. die from coronary events or stroke.[vii]
· In 1976 the Swine flu vaccine killed 25 in the U.S.
· 2003 the Bird flu killed 257 worldwide.
· 2004 lightning strikes and kills 1,170 people worldwide.
· 2009 the A(H1N1) Swine flu has killed 145 people worldwide through June 2009.[viii]

2. HISTORY OF FLUES AND VACCINES:
· 1918 the “Spanish flu” pandemic killed 20 million people worldwide. Today all H1N1 flu’s are descendants of the 1918 pandemic strain which mutates from year to year. This mutation process is why there is no vaccine available for this current hybrid flu strain.
· 1976 the “Swine flu” pandemic resulted in massive swine flu vaccinations leading to legal claims totaling $1.3 billion filed by thousands of victims who suffered paralysis from the vaccine. The vaccine was also blamed for 25 deaths. Several hundred people developed crippling Guillain-Barre Syndrome and healthy 20 year-olds became paraplegics after receiving the vaccine. More people died from the Swine flu vaccine than the Swine flu.
· 2003 the H5N1 “Bird flu” virus; President Bush predicted 2 million American would die as a result of the bird flu, but in fact the death toll was 257 worldwide.
· “Bird flu” fears were raised again in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Dr. Joseph Mercola wrote a New York Times bestselling book, The Bird Flu Hoax, in which he claimed a massive fraud designed to instill fear, and create wind-fall profits for various investors, politicians and the pharmaceutical industry. Bush administration officials owned massive amounts of stock in the drug companies that sold the “antiviral drugs.” “A dangerous legal loophole still exists which allows members of Congress and high-powered executive branch appointees to exploit “insider” knowledge of the financial industry in order to turn personal profit.”[ix]
· 2009: as of June 12th, 74 countries have officially reported 29,669 cases of influenza A(H1N1) and 145 deaths in the entire world from this illness. The US has had 13,217 confirmed cases, and 27 deaths. Mexico has had 108 deaths. If you want the latest numbers go to “Google Maps’ Swine Flu Tracker” or go to “World Health Organization’s Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response.”

3. DESCRIPTION OF THE SWINE FLU:
The A(H1N1) is this year’s version of the H1N1 virus.
Symptoms include;
ü coughing
ü runny nose and/or sore throat
ü fever of more than 100 F, (37c)
ü joint aches
ü lack of appetite
ü severe headache
ü vomiting and/or diarrhea
ü lethargy
This version has never been seen before in either human or animal. So - where did it come from?

4. LITTLE KNOWN FACTS ABOUT TAMIFLU AND SWINE FLU VACCINATIONS:

The following are excerpts from a newsletter by Dr. Joseph Mercola; “Critical Alert: The Swine Flu Pandemic – Fact or Fiction?” and a newsletter by Jon Barron dated 8/03/2009; “Swine Flu – Midsummer Update.”
· Tamiflu, an antiviral drug – has been approved for treatment of uncomplicated influenza “type A” and “B” in children one year of age or older. It is also approved for use in adolescents and adults 13 years or older. Tamiflu can’t prevent the flu. It only lowers the viral load. It cannot prevent the spread of the disease, and it won’t stop illnesses that resemble the flu. It works by blocking a viral enzyme that helps the influenza virus invade cells in your respiratory tract.
· 20,000,000 doses of Tamiflu were bought by the U.S. government in October 2005, at a cost of $2 billion. Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, (in the Bush administration) was the former president of Gilead Sciences the company that created Tamiflu along with Roche Pharmaceutical. Many political insiders of the Bush administration made millions in profits on this sale.[x]
· The manufacturer has confirmed that Tamiflu has a three year shelf life.
· Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has recently passed the SLEP (Shelf Life Extension Program) that allows for this drug, which expired in June 2009, to now expire in May 2011. They have also waived their standards on improperly stored Relenza and Tamiflu and deemed them safe and effective for use . . . even in infants.[xi]
· The batch of Tamiflu your doctor may be prescribing may be expired, and/or may not have been properly stored.
· Common side effects of Tamiflu: (These are very similar to the flu symptoms, you’re trying to avoid.)
ü Nausea/vomiting
ü Diarrhea
ü Headache
ü Dizziness
ü Fatigue
ü Cough
Serious side effects of Tamiflu:
ü Convulsions
ü Delirium/Delusions
ü Brain infections (which have lead to 14 deaths in children and teens)
· Tamiflu has been banned in Japan for use in children since 2007.
· Tamiflu, if taken as directed, can only reduce the duration of your influenza symptoms by 1 to 1 ½ days, according to the official data.
· Flu experts have no idea if the current “seasonal flu vaccine” would offer any protection against this new exotic Swine flu A(H1N1).
· “Swine flu vaccine” has no proven effectiveness and has a history of causing crippling neurologic disease. These vaccines are preserved by using thimerosal mercury. Mercury is a known neurotoxin![xii]
· The new “A(H1N1) Swine Flu vaccine” which is due on line in October 2009, will have had no testing in clinical trials to determine its safety and effectiveness. The public will be the guinea pigs. The Secretary of Health, Kathleen Sebelius, recently signed into law a grant of immunity for pharmaceutical companies; making them immune from lawsuits in the event of any adverse reactions to the Swine flu vaccine.[xiii] Are you feeling more confident now?

POLITICS – POWER AND PROFIT

5. WHERE DID THIS MYSTERIOUS ANIMAL/HUMAN FLU STRAIN COME FROM?
The question arises – How could a mixed animal-human mutant occur? Could it happen naturally? And who would stand to gain the most and have the ability to create such a condition?
Dr. Mercola states “The American pharmaceutical company Baxter International (remember this name) was under investigation for distributing the deadly avian flu virus to 18 different countries as part of a seasonal flu vaccine shipment.” . . . Was it “a deliberate attempt to start a pandemic? Reports say such a “mistake” would be virtually impossible under the security protocols of that virus.”
“The “H5N1 Bird Flu virus” on its own is not very airborne. However, when combined with “seasonal flu viruses,” which are more easily spread, the effect could be a potent, airborne, deadly, biological weapon. If this batch of live bird flu mixed with the seasonal flu viruses had reached the public, it could have resulted in dire consequences.”
“While it is morally unthinkable that a drug company would knowingly contaminate flu vaccines with a deadly flu virus, it is certainly not impossible.” A top scientist with the United Nations believes that Ebola, HIV/AIDS, and the current A-(H1N1) swine flu virus are all genetically-manufactured as military biological warfare agents.[xiv]
The U.S. Army criminal investigators are looking into the possibility that disease samples are missing from bio-labs at Fort Detrick – the same Army research lab from which the 2001 anthrax strain was released.
And who do you think got the government contract to make the new A(H1N1) vaccine? Well who else – Baxter International! How is your confidence level now?

WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?

UNDERSTANDING HEALTH AND DISEASE – YOUR BEST OPTION!

1. THE “GERM THEORY” vs. THE “INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT THEORY:”
Louis Pasteur, 1822 – 1895, was one of the first microbiologists, he developed the vaccines for cholera, anthrax and rabies; also the process of pasteurization. He also developed the “Germ Theory.” He viewed the body as a sterile machine that will operate properly until a foreign agent “germ” is introduced. From this theory came the concept that specific microbes produce a specific disease. In an attempt to destroy these intruders antibiotics, vaccines and other medicines are used, because, (according to the theory) no microbes, no disease. It is believed by these advocates that health is restored only if there are no germs present that might cause disease.[xv]

In contrast, Claude Bernard (1813-1878), was the founder of modern experimental physiology and one of the most famous French scientists of all time. His focus was on the “milieu interieur” (internal environment) and taught that microbes could not produce disease unless the body’s internal environment was out of balance or toxic.
The body is made up of many billions of living cells, each one a separate, tiny, living organism which needs to be individually sustained. If each individual cell receives the nutrition and oxygen it needs and has its personal waste products removed, it will be healthy. And if every cell in the body is healthy, then it follows the entire body will be healthy too. Thus, TOTAL HEALTH CAN ONLY BE ACHIEVED BY FIRST ATTENDING TO INNER HEALTH.
The purity of the internal environment therefore depends on the quality of the blood and lymph and the vigor of the circulation, the cleansing action of the lymph being as important as its nourishing action. And, in turn, the quality of the blood is dependent primarily on the efficiency of the liver and kidneys and the quality of the food and water from which the body makes new blood. The condition of perfectly balanced body chemistry is called “homeostasis”, a term coined by the physiologist Walter Cannon, MD, Sc.D, of Harvard University.
If there are any deficiencies in nutrition, if there exists any form of pollution, or if there is inadequate oxygen or poor circulation or organ malfunction, the interior environment will suffer. The most common and most serious form of degradation is toxemia caused by improper diet, which exists because of excesses and the denaturing effect of cooking and the inclusion of harmful substances such as salt, condiments, and refined sugar, etc.
Toxemia can occur, not only through improper diet but through stress, lack of fresh air, sunshine, and exercise.
Bernard’s theory was ignored for more than 50 years. Renowned microbiologist, Rene Debous said;
“Most microbial diseases are caused by organisms present in the body of a normal individual. They become the cause of disease when a disturbance arises which upsets the equilibrium of the body.”

The evidence is clear today that both Bernard and Debous were correct as evidenced by the almost universal presence of all kinds of bacteria and viruses in people who are not suffering from diseases.
Louis Pasteur, father of the Germ Theory of Disease, just before his death in 1895, said “Bernard was right, the germ is nothing, and the milieu (internal environment) is everything.”[xvi]

2. PREVENTION vs. TREATMENT (Health vs. Disease):
Based on the protocols discussed above; Prevention is the proper care of the body through diet, nutrition, exercise, sleep and stress control. Maintaining homeostasis is the basis of healthcare prevention and treatment.
It is common knowledge among doctors that poor blood conditions accompany chronic diseases. When blood tests are made the blood is assessed for various chemical elements and a count is made of the red blood cells (erythrocytes) and white blood cells (leucocytes). A closer look of the blood under a microscope, reveals the blood is polluted and the red cells and blood platelets tend to stick together (aggregate), so the blood becomes sticky (high viscosity). The blood cannot carry oxygen properly and it cannot circulate properly. This may lead to increased blood pressure, and high platelet adhesion. The conventional medical training uses drugs to regulate blood pressure which does little or nothing to address the root problem of impurity and high viscosity of the blood. This then is the disease itself, and what they think is the disease is only a symptom of disturbed homeostasis. The more the blood deteriorates, the greater the number of microbes present, which then multiply not as the cause of the illness, but as a result of it.
Although medical drugs may sometimes provide relief from disease symptoms, in the long run they cause further deterioration of the interior environment which causes additional distress, the symptoms which are referred to as “side effects”. Then additional medicine is prescribed to counter the side effects, the vicious circle is complete. It is now recognized that iatrogenic disease (disease caused by medical treatment) is a major cause of death in the United States .[xvii]
Treatment protocol is treating a specific symptom once an ailment has occurred. A perfect example would be diabetes; through proper preventive care diabetes would not occur. A treatment protocol uses drugs to lower blood glucose and/or increase insulin production. Neither of which treats the underlying problem. By being proactive you can prevent or substantially reduce your risk of disease or infirmity.

3. WESTERN MEDICINE vs. EASTERN MEDICINE:
Traditional Western Medicine: The education, training, and protocol focuses on disease and symptoms and are highly dependent on specialists for various health problems, such as, cardiologist, oncologist, neurologist, etc. The treatment protocol is to reduce or eliminate symptoms, such as pain, inflammation, lowering blood pressure, etc. and rarely is directed at prevention or resolving the underlying problems. If you have a traumatic injury or need surgery this is the best treatment protocol once you have considered all your options and have been informed, and understand, the proposed treatment protocol, and the expected results.
Traditional Oriental Medicine: The education, training and protocol focuses on natural healthcare, prevention, wellness and balance. The word holistic refers to the treatment of the whole person; body, mind, spirit, and emotions. The main focus is on prevention, staying healthy and keeping the immune system strong. The proper food selection, drinking and bathing in pure water, breathing pure air, getting adequate exercise, relaxation, love, and having a positive mental attitude.
But most importantly are self empowerment, educating yourself on personal health goals and learning the tools on how to achieve vibrant health.
If you have a health challenge it is important to do everything you can to strengthen your body and your immune system and to remove toxins from your system. Understand all of your options! Will natural healthcare be the right approach for you? Consider trying the least invasive approach first, if possible. Or consider using both eastern and western protocols together to achieve your objectives.

4. PROTECT YOURSELF BY FOLLOWING NATURAL HEALTH PRINCIPALS:
Keep you immune system in optimal working order.
(a) Water is the single most important source of health. Your body is 70% water which is used for digestion and assimilation of food, it lubricates joints, lubricates the intestines to prevent constipation, flushes waste and toxins out of the body, reduces inflammation, regulates blood volume and blood pressure, facilitates breathing. The average person should drink 1 ½ to 2 liters of pure water daily.

(b) Vitamin D-3 is important and inexpensive, vitamin D is made naturally in the body when it is exposed to sunlight. But, because so many people are now avoiding the sun we have a major Vitamin D deficiency. Take 1000 IU of vitamin D-3 two to three times a day. Get natural sunlight directly on as much of your skin as possible for 15 to 20 minutes a day, preferably before 10:00 AM or after 3:00 PM when the sun is less intense. Do not use sun block or tanning lotion.
If you have flu like symptoms take up to 50,000 IU of vitamin D-3 for three days to treat the acute infection.

(c) Vitamin C 1000 mg take one, three times a day. If you begin feeling cold or flu symptoms increase this amount to 1000 mg every hour. If you begin to have diarrhea reduce the dosage until the diarrhea stops. If vitamin C upsets your stomach, you may want to buy a “buffered” form of vitamin C.

(d) Take a potent multivitamin and mineral supplement: Good quality, high potency supplements can help strengthen and protect your body and immune system. Get on, and stay on, a healthy nutritional program.

(e) Avoid sugar, processed foods and artificial sweeteners: Sugar decreases the immune system function almost immediately. One can of soda, can suppress your immune system by 50% for up to six hours. A strong immune system is the key to fighting off viruses and other illness. Read the food labels; ketchup is almost 30% sugar, fruit juices, cereals, even so called health foods are loaded with sugar. Other names for sugar are glucose, galactose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, lactose, modified corn syrup, grape juice. Sugar spikes insulin, contributes to obesity and diabetes, disturbs your hormone balance, leaches important minerals out of your system (especially calcium), can lead to food allergies, and increases your risk of cancer. Artificial sweeteners are toxic chemicals and may cause brain injury, tumors, senility and may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.

(f) Get enough rest: If you are tired or your body is overly fatigued it will be harder to fight off the flu. Be sure to get enough quality, restful sleep.

(g) Reduce your Stress Levels: If stress becomes overwhelming, your body will be less able to fight off the flu and other illnesses. Stress weakens the immune system.

(h) Exercise: When you exercise, you increase your circulation and blood flow throughout your body. The components of your immune system are better circulated, which means your immune system has a better chance of finding an illness before it spreads.

(i) Take quality Omega-3 oil: Increase your intake of healthy and essential fats like omega-3 oils found in fish oil, krill oil, flax oil, or extra virgin olive oil, these are crucial to maintaining your health. Avoid damaged Omega-6 oils which are found in trans fats and in processed foods, such as, French fries, and margarine; these fats can seriously damage your immune response.

(j) Wash your hands: Washing your hands will decrease the risk of spreading a virus to your nose, mouth or other people.

(k) Eat garlic regularly: Garlic works like a broad-spectrum antibiotic against bacteria, virus, and protozoa in the body. Unlike antibiotics, no resistance can be built up so it is an absolutely safe product to use.

(l) Avoid hospitals and vaccinations: Stay away from hospitals unless you are having an emergency. Hospitals are prime breeding grounds for infections of all kinds, and could be one of the likeliest places you could be exposed to various infections. Vaccinations, when available, will not be tested with clinical trials, the public will be the test subjects. They may be ineffective and can lead to crippling paralysis like Guillain-Barre Syndrome or other serious side effects.

(m) Eat wholesome nutritional food; avoid eating in fast food restaurants, processed food, genetically modified food, micro waved food. As much as possible, eat fresh, live, locally grown foods. Imported foods (not locally grown) are gassed, sprayed and irradiated which kills all the natural enzymes. Commercially grown foods, like tomatoes, are picks several weeks before they are ripe. They may turn red, but they will never have the nutrients they lost by picking them too soon.

The following are excerpts by Dr. David Darbo from the book “Green Leaves of Barley – Nature’s Miracle Rejuvenator “by Dr. Mary Ruth Swope and David A. Darbo, M.D.
“I am NOT in any way criticizing the noble men and women who dedicate their lives to saving the lives of others. The hospitals in the U.S. are first-rate, equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and staffed with skilled technicians, nurses and physicians.
In a medical emergency, there is nowhere on earth I’d rather be. It is necessary to act dramatically in crisis situations, and the medical profession is to be applauded for its skill in dealing with catastrophic illness. My hat is off to the established medical order within the context of crisis care. The problem is not how the medical system operates in its own context but how it fails to maintain health.”

For more information on the dangers of childhood vaccinations, sudden infant death syndrome, autism and other risk factors with vaccination, go to these web sites; www.wellnesschiro.com/physicians_group_end_mandatory_vaccines.htm and www.vaccinationdebate.com/web8.html.
...

Shopping Day in Guaymas

2009-10-06T14:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great girls' day in Guaymas. If you look hard enough you can find everything that you need and the language barrier gets less daunting when you put yourself out there and just try to speak Spanish. I picked my friend, Kris, up at around 11:0o and we drove into Guaymas. One lane of the main bridge in and out of San Carlos has reopened so it's a lot easier to get through town. You have to pay close attention because the detours change a lot. I have found myself on the wrong side of the median numerous times. The last time it happened I had to run the jeep over the median, through the shrubs and over the curb. I had no choice and I didn't do any damage.

Our other partner, Bliss, was unavailable because she publishes a book every year at this time and yesterday they went to press. Kris is a yoga teacher and she needed color copies of her brochure to hand out around town. We found the print shop that had been recommended (don't ask me how we found it). We went in and asked for pricing. The guy who was helping us said he couldn't do less than one thousand copies and we said "ok, how much". He said it was $210 pesos for 1,000 copies. That's seemed very inexpensive. We did this all in Spanish and we thought it was pretty impressive on our part. Then Kris handed him the brochure and he said "oh, it's more for two or three colors". We then realized that we were in a real print shop where they do actual typesetting, like for a newspaper. I don't even know if those still exist in the U.S. We excused ourselves then but it still might be in the running because the next place quoted 6 pesos per color copy. That comes out to about 80 cents - so around $80 USD for one hundred copies. I don't know why it's so expensive and why there isn't a Kinko's around. Kris might go with black and white and then she could pretty much do it for free. In any case, it's fun to find little businesses here and talk to the local people. I love it. It reminds of how it must have been back in the old days or in a small town in the U.S. before big business took over (like Kinko's). It's one of the things I love most about Mexico.

I knew I wanted to get some fresh fish so we headed towards the water to a fish store that had been recommended to Kris. Generally, the best fish comes in early in the morning and it was already past noon so all they had were shrimp. It's the beginning of shrimp season and they had the biggest, most beautiful shrimp I've ever seen. However, we didn't need any. Both Kris and I had shrimp from our local guy who comes around and delivers. We continued on towards the marina and we passed a fish vendor with a stand right near where the fishing boats come in. He had beautiful fresh fish, scallops and fresh crab. I bought a nice whitefish that is white and firm and I'm hoping it will taste like mahi mahi. We both bought some crabmeat too. It is so inexpensive here. I'll make crab cakes tonight.

We stopped for lunch at a big palapa restaurant that is very popular. I can't wait to take Bruce there. We were there before comida so it was empty. I had a fish taco made with mahi mahi and Kris had a crab tostada. It was absolutely delicious and the bill came to $72 pesos (about $6 USD) for both of us. We were right across from the water so we had a great view. Guaymas has an interesting waterfront and a very nice marina. It is definitely a working waterfront, not a tourist place. Mexico has some government run marinas that are nice, kind of similar to the ones run by the Canadian government. They are always cheaper than private marinas and I've heard the ones on this coast are well run. After great lunch and great conversation we left for our last few errands. There's nothing better than being with good friends and talking about anything you want to talk about. I love having girlfriends to goof around with. I swear it doesn't matter how old or young you are. There's just nothing like it. I wanted to show Kris a part of the waterfront that I didn't think she had seen yet. I found it one day when I was lost in Guaymas by taking a wrong turn at a "Y". It takes you out to a kind of inlet that has tiny islands covered with cacti and on the shore are ponga boats that belong to the local fishermen. On the right side of the road there are some really lovely and expensive Mexican homes surrounded by the desert hills that are so common here. It's a really beautiful section of town.

Kris and I finally wound our way back to Soriana, one of the mega marts in Guaymas and did some shopping. Their produce is fresh and we can't find anything great in town right now. However, that has changed today because Tony has reopened. Although I can get everything I need from Tony, I'll continue to go into Guaymas for the fresh fish and crabmeat. It's a lot cheaper and it's fun to stop and talk to the fish guy. So...that was our day in the big city. It was a great day.

2009-10-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

Since the hurricane, life has been busy. We were expecting another tropical depression yesterday but it dissipated and went south. However, we are getting rain and low clouds. I don't see anything on the satellite images that explains the persistent rain we are having today and that mystifies me greatly. It is very tropical out and little bugs are flying everywhere. One town nearby, San Jose, was evacuated yesterday due to the impending storm because most of the people that live there lost their homes in the hurricane and are either living outdoors or in makeshift tents. The biggest thing I've learned since the hurricane is that the outpouring of help from the local people and the expats has been overwhelming. I've never seen anything like it. There are hundreds of people helping in San Carlos alone. There's even a movement to help all of the animals. All of this makes me glad we moved here. Everyone who knows us, knows that this is our second hurricane of personal consequence. The first was Hurricane Kenna in 2002. Bruce and I lived on the beach two hours north or Puerto Vallarta at Playa Las Tortugas and we fled to Tepic one hour before the hurricane hit. We lost all of our belongings on the first floor of our house but we didn't lose the house. It took us months to dig out and oddly, there was not a lot of support in that area. Many people in San Blas and neighboring areas were left homeless and there was a significant loss of life. It wasn't easy to recover from that, but we did.

I know that every year there are weather events all over the world that are catastrophic. Still, I don't understand what is going on right now with all of the typhoons, tsunamis, hurricanes; as well as the basic human misery caused by other humans. It just feels like there is something bigger than us hitting us over and over again. When I look at all of the humanitarian efforts around the world I wonder why we can't have world peace. If you take insane and unfounded hatred out of the mix, prejudice, bigotry and the rest of the ugly emotions, we really could have peace in the world. I'm not religious but sometimes I wonder if the catastrophes that are coming often these days are sending us a message. We tried to do it in the 60's, but we were labelled hippies and potheads. I wonder if we could try it again without the drugs. I am not feeling the love around the world. I guess I'd better get off of this subject or I will drive myself and my friends crazy. Still, if we could all do a couple of good and unselfish things every day life would be better for everyone. I hope it's not too late.

The men of El Cobijo are doing well. They are safe for now and can stay at the ladies' retirement home in Guaymas for three more months. At the end of that time they want to live in Guaymas (the city next to us) where they can get out more easily and be closer to the public health facility and farmacias etc. At this point, we are using donation money to buy supplies for them each week; mostly meat and chicken. There's a great butcher shop called VillaReal and they kindly give us a 30 percent discount. We are still getting great donations for them. One of my neighbors brought down a 25 pound bag of pancake mix and diabetic syrup. They love pancakes! Kris and I also discovered the local dollar store where everything is under 12 pesos. If you like to shop like we do, this is a great find. It's like the typical US dollar store only more fun with more random items that make us smile. This week we're going to put some energy into finding a good Mexican book store. There's one man who loves to read anything and everything. He has lost a leg to diabetes and his other leg is losing circulation so he's not in good shape but he is very happy all the time. We love him. We're going to try to find out more about each one of the men and we'll have plenty of time to do that. The one lady that lives there from El Cobijo is pretty out of it, but when she's awake she sings Cielito Lindo.

One bad thing that is happening right now in Guaymas is that lots of people have gotten very sick since the hurricane and they think it's from just breathing in the air pollution that happened after the hurricane. One friend of ours was sick in bed for a week with terrible symptoms. A lot of folks are hospitalized with this. Thankfully, it seems temporary.

Our wonderful grocer, Tony, has not been in town since the hurricane. We know he's coming back but we don't know when. We are all realizing how much we depend on Tony. Kris and I have been to a couple of wholesale warehouses since we've been out looking for supplies for El Cobijo and we have discovered how much work it is for Tony to get the freshest vegetables, fruits and meats. He has to go each day early in the morning to get everything he needs. We really miss Tony. The other stores in San Carlos just don't put the effort into buying fresh fruits and vegetables and getting rid of stock when it starts going bad like Tony does. We've heard that some of his refrigerators and coolers were damaged in the hurricane so I'm sure he's getting them repaired. The snow birds will be back soon too and I don't think Tony had any kind of a vacation last summer. We'll celebrate when Tony reopens. Tony is really our rock and if you think about it he helps us be less dependent on Guaymas for staples. If he were to run for office I would vote for him.

2009-09-16T16:23:00.000-07:00

Soon I will get back to my usual blog, but for now, Hurricane Jimena and the relief effort has taken on a life of its own and it has taken me with it. We are working hard to help and it's a wonderful feeling. Below is a letter I wrote to friends and family asking for donations. It explains how I feel about El Cobijo.

Dear Friends and Family:

As you may or may not know, our area was hit on September 2nd and 3rd by a very serious hurricane (Hurricane Jimena) that did tremendous damage to our town, San Carlos, and the City of Guaymas, and especially the small Mexican towns in between. Bruce and I and Teddy and Niko are fine. We did lose our items in storage but that is nothing compared to the loss of homes and belongings that our neighbors suffered. The water came up to the roofs of most of the houses in the towns of Santa Clara, San Jose and Fatima and thousands of families lost their homes, cars and belongings. Everyone lost power and water and some towns still do not have safe water. We don't either but we can afford to have our cisterns filled by the water trucks. Many people are just living outside with nothing.

Unfortunately, American TV did not cover this event so we didn't get the publicity that disasters so often get. Many people have stepped in to help. Our town, San Carlos, has a large population of people from Canada and the United States so of course we are all ok and in a position to help. Everyone is working day and night to help the people in the small towns. Rotary Club has brought in Shelter Boxes which contain tents, blankets water containers etc. Food is being prepared and distributed to all the families. I've heard that trucks have just started arriving from the United States with more supplies.

My particular focus is on El Cobijo, a residential home in San Jose, that houses 14 elderly men and one woman. They were caught in the hurricane and spent all night on the roof of the home having climbed/been carried up a rickety ladder to get there. These hardy souls spent the night on the roof in the raging winds with water lapping at the roof until they could be rescued in the morning by helicopter. We had no communication so no one knew what had happened to them. Bruce and I drove there in our four wheel drive jeep on the following Sunday with a carload of supplies and as we drove through San Jose our hearts sank and we both cried. We drove as close as we could to the home but the roads were out so we walked in. My heart was pounding. The homes were gone and beds, sinks, cars, every conceivable belonging from their houses were scattered everywhere. In a matter of hours their lives were shattered. We could do nothing but come home in shock.

Finally that night I found out that the men had been taken to the ladies retirement home which is run by the Catholic Sisters in Guaymas. They have no extra money and the men are going to be housed by donations from us. So far, two of us are pretty much doing the shopping and using our own funds to purchase items. We have received a couple of extremely generous donations that are keeping us going but we are talking long term. Kristine Ladau and I have made a long term commitment to help, probably at least a year or until the El Cobijo home is back to where it was before the hurricane. It has become our fulltime job. El Cobijo has always operated to their last peso but now they have less than nothing. These are very old men; some are blind and crippled and some get around fine. Many of them read. We became interested in El Cobijo when we first moved here in May. Having lost both of my own parents, I have always been committed to making sure older people are not just alone and forgotten. My sister and I promised my mother that we would stay with her when she was ill and we did. I feel strongly, that at the end of your life, you should not be alone. As you can see I feel very passionate about this.

There is a wonderful woman who has worked with these men for years. Her name is Luz Acosta and we have become good friends. Luz has been with the men day and night since the hurricane; everytime I see her she is running, hauling boxes, changing adult diapers and sweating. Her emotions are raw right now and she cries a lot because her heart is sad, but she also sees the light at the end of the tunnel. I am obviously writing to ask for your help. I have set up a Paypal account to help these people. All of the money will go to their care. Kristina and I will gladly continue to pay for our own gas and labor and time. If you can give any amount at all even $5.00 it would be a tremendous help. All you need to do is go to http://www.paypal.com/ and send money using my email address: janambrose@gmail.com. It's that simple; the account is linked to my US account in Seattle and I can send receipts as well. I have never done this before and I probably won't again. It's just so extremely important. The visible people who were hurt by the hurricane are getting help but the old people get forgotten because they can no longer speak for themselves. If you just can't give, then say a prayer for all the people who are suffering from this disaster. Thank you all so much.

With love and thanks,

Jan Ambrose and Kristina Ladau

The Story of El Cobijo by Martin Ruelas

2009-09-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

I have found a full time job. I'm working for the residents of the Old Folks Home, El Cobijo to help them eat and go on with their lives. I feel happier than I have in a long time because I'm doing something that gives me great satisfaction. My background is in the helping field but the political aspects never agreed with me so I moved on, sadly. I'm opening a PayPal account right now and taking donations of food and clothing from my neighbors. There's a lot of work to do in our town. Everyone is in help mode right now, but this intense need by the people will go on for months. Everyone is willing to give time and money now, but it's the long term commitment that is worrisome.

The residents of El Cobijo are safe and sound at the Ladies Retirement Home in Guaymas. That's where they were taken as the water was rising to the roof of their home in San Jose. They only have two dormitory rooms there but it is clean and in a beautiful setting run by the Catholic Sisters. Can you imagine being 90+ years old, sick and pushed up a ladder to a roof during a raging hurricane with water rising all around you? Martin has been working each and every day to help the town of San Carlos, San Jose de Guaymas and Guaymas itself. The ladder is pictured above; yes the rickety wooden ladder.

By the way, I have visited the men and they are happy, clean and well fed. They love every single visitor. They are well loved by the ladies that take care of them and they crave human contact. Even though we have somewhat of a language barrier, the feelings are there and it's heartwarming. Why wouldn't I want to be involved in something like this? It's the most rewarding thing ever.

A friend of mine; a restauranteur and coffee maker here in San Carlos is working hard each day and night to help everyone and he has written the following story of El Cobijo. I think it captures the feeling of what is going on here. This is Martin's beautiful story:

I was yesterday at the Shelter Cobijo de San Jose de Guaymas.
I stop in my journey with shocking scenes of destroyed houses, was very sad and bitter see people taking their cars from the mud, and trying to find in the mud and dirt might find something, which was very sad to see that reality of that pile of mud and earth could be seen at a glance that nothing can be rescued, too many people were left homeless, with no furniture, no clothes and even worse than that without water to drink or something to eat, all with little effort and hard work had done so before the storm "Jimena" on that day than anyone expected, and nobody was afraid of the tremendous damage "Jimena" would leave in its wake, September 3, 2009 will be for all Residents of San Jose de Guaymas, Salvation, Empalme, Buenos Aires, Santa Clara, Ranchitos, Guaymas and many other nearby suburbs will be bitterly remembered by all.
Today, a record by the storm that struck in 1948 to Guaymas which was of 348 mm was exceeded with more than double for "Jimena" reaching the 711 mm.
In this sad story I met Fernando and Jose who cleaned up gradually inside of this building “El Cobijo of San Jose” told me the Odyssey who lived in person during this storm, "Jimena". They had too windy and raining in torrents and when they heard the sound of water coming toward his community people began to leave their homes and get on “El Cobijo of San Jose” roof. José has to hurry and start helping the elderly to climb the ceiling by a wooden staircase which was made right there with loose boards that had to see in the photos down below. In the mine time by curiosity Fernando went to the vicinity of the creek to check how big it was growing but apparently he fail to cross back and had to stay on the other side, hampering the work for Joseph to climb the ladder elders one by one.
Then we started to get people to seek refuge at “El Cobijo of San Jose” and these people helped Joseph to go to the elders at the ceiling. The water level rose steadily and people already in the roof of “El Cobijo of San Jose” from the ceiling began to see with sadness that the beds, dishes, clothes all the little they had was taken from his house and dragged by the water, this happen also to“El Cobijo of San Jose” lost everything and the same had been happening in every house in San Jose and “La Salvacion”, the streams growing by the minute, then at that time the most important thing was to save the lives of their loved ones any cost.
José mentioned that he saw a family that became trapped on the roof of his house and the water level was exceeded the level of the roof of their house and Jose had to break a copper tube for use as a means of rope and save them, thanks to this a lot of people were saved. Very strong winds knocked down electricity pylons and in total darkness were on the roof. The heavy rain and icy winds haunted by the lives of their young children, they have to break two of the four water tanks of asbestos with stones and bricks by a side and make a hole to put the children and thus could be protected by the impetuous of bad weather, rain and down winds that never before had felt, heart-wrenching moments, were alone in solitary confinement, without light, without telephones, cell phones had no signal left is whether his own fate.
But God is great and never abandoned even in total darkness were never lost hope or gave up, it was time to be together and support each other it was time to pray and ask our Our Father God to protect them and wanted to finish the rain, anguish heard the roar of cows, deer, horses and dogs washed away and the unfortunate animals who desperately fought for their lives.
They realized that there was nothing to do, only in wait until the storm ended, were hours of anguish never before seen anything like this, from Wednesday 2 September, rain beginning at 6 pm and end the day Friday at 6 am. A tremendous amount of water that fell incessantly for 36 hours 711 mm. more than twice what it rained in 1948.
The secret things belong to God our Father. Which unites us like brothers now to support what we are, that is our God the Father who loves to see, that we love each other and give thanks to all who have come together for this noble cause. What we have seen is actually a word that if we love, that if we want and we can do much, much more together one with another. Let us well.
God Bless you today and always. I love them all!

NOTE:
If something is left over at home please donate to the victims of these affected areas will not be wasted slush.
They need your donation, you can support them with:
Clothing, footwear, blankets, pillows, mattresses, cupboards, food, china, kitchenware, cleaning supplies, toiletries, refrigerators, stoves, tables, chairs, beds, wheelchairs, adult diapers, disposable, signs signaling, one UHF radio, medicine, and all you can donate.
Jose, Fernando and the director of “El Cobijo de San Jose” LuZ Acosta (Cellphone: 6221234910) We thank you very much.

Help People Recover From Hurricane Jimena

2009-09-08T09:49:00.001-07:00

For those of you who read my blog and for my Facebook friends, here are some help efforts underway....if you live far away and can even give a little money that would be great. It's hard to picture what is going on here in Sonora if you can't see it and the US news and weather channels did not cover this hurricane at all. Bruce and I are very fortunate. We have plenty of food, electricity, water in our three tinakos. All is well here, but when we leave the hill, it's a different story.

There is also a paypal account sent up by George, the forum coordinator in San Carlos.

Thanks for reading. Here is a description of help needed posted on the San Carlos bulletin board:

Subject: Jimena Help!!
For those that don’t know, we are going to try to give out care packages to all needy families that were devastated by Jimena in San Carlos, San Jose, Santa Clara and Guaymas. We need LOTS of supplies to make that happen!!! In addition we will try to work on the immediate water needs by sending water trucks to affected areas. My goal is to help at LEAST 2,000 families. We need everyone’s help to make that happen. Even sending $1 will make that happen! If you don’t have $1, call 10 friends that have 10 dimes!!! I will try to summarize what I found out today.
Needs/Care packages: (somewhat in order)• Money-100% of the money will be used towards helping people.• Clorox – needed to clean and disinfect to prevent illness and disease• WATER!! - all kinds, for drinking and for cleaning• Milk- in cartons that are non-perishable (Lala)• Basic foods – rice, beans, canned food• SOAP –personal hygiene, toothpaste, tooth brushes, brushes, combs, hair ties for the girls, shaving cream, razors• Diapers• Kotex• Face masks• Basic medical needs• Clothes – shoes, underwear• Comforters – most lost their mattresses. Something to sleep on• Sheets• Dishes• Utensils• Furniture• Mattresses• School supplies• Any and all types of furniture

Fatima: (link to Google Maps)Darren went to Fatima and they seemed fairly organized. Many homes have been leveled. There is a central location that is currently housing approx 150 people. They served 350 meals last night. This central location can be used for a distribution center and I understand that they have police assistance so it is safe. They need all the above items. Did not yet receive any count as to how many households. They DO HAVE RUNNING WATER but only for a day or so. Darren has already purchased $4,000 pesos for immediate need food for them at a bulk store that donated 20 kilos of Beans and 20 Kilos of rice. (approx 40 lbs each). Darren is working directly with this center and will coordinating the delivery. He can respond to the number of households and will follow up with pictures.

San Jose: Google MapPJ, Shelly, Morgan and I went out to San Jose today and saw massive destruction. I was in tears when I saw the destruction. They DO NOT HAVE RUNNING WATER and I believe they are still waiting on electricity. I did not see any homes that were not affected. The San Jose area that includes La Salvacion and El Cuadrito has approximately 700 households. They need all of the above items. We will work with the Police department (Comisario) to distribute supplies. Also, important we need to pay for a water truck to deliver water to homes. Photos are attached. They had a lot of livestock that died and the chance of contamination in the ground water is high.

Santa Clara: Google MapI understand that Santa Clara is similar to San Jose. Charla’s father went there today but I haven’t yet received a report. Charla will be going there tomorrow morning. To give a full report.

San Carlos:There are several areas of need many roads are washed out and still without water. George will contact Mark & Miguel and will be working with them to access need. I think San Carlos will be more of a case by case basis. No doubt many areas will need the basic need, but I understand that some houses did not lose everything.
Other help and organizations:• We discovered that the government is paying people $150 pesos per day to clean up their house, roads or other homes.• A senator from Cd. Obregon (forgot name, will post later) had a crew giving out clothes and some rations. They are ready and willing to help with any aid. I will follow up and ask for matching donations.• Spoke with Pablo Audelo, there will be a MEETING TOMORROW WITH DIF at the San Carlos Plaza. Trying to coordinate efforts with other groups to help. I will meet them and will give feedback of combined efforts.• We will continue to make joint efforts to make our money and supplies go further. Hopefully we will get some matching funds from government organizations.
DROP OFF POINTS: (More to come… we’re just getting started)•
Tucson: Drop off points in Tucson - Desert Divers (Mike) and Risky Business (Eddie coordinating).•
Flagstaff: Woodland Self Storage (Tom@flagstaffstorage.com)1425 W Forest Meadows StFlagstaff, AZ 86001(928) 779-5066Get directions• Phoenix: Still working on more…..Home of Stephanie Holbrook 9451 W Mary Ann Dr Peoria, AZ (623) 910-1711 (stephanieholbrook@yahoo.com)
If you have any more ideas or people that can help either bring things to San Carlos or just GET THEM TO A DROP OFF Please let us know.
Right now we are trying to satisfy immediate need, there will be need for the next year. So if you know anyone coming this way.. ALL CARS SHOULD BE FULL OF SUPPLIES! And we need money. Donations of $1 are welcome. I will let Charla reply to all with the PayPal account. We will find a way to take donations if that is a problem. Just let me know. Also, there will be a rebuilding campaign. If you or your church group wants a project we can help coordinate.
Thanks to everyone for pitching in!!!
Tammi MillerERA San Carlos RealtyOffice (from US): (011-52) 622-226-2000Fax (from US): (011-52) 622-226-2121Vonage: 520-495-0020Cell (011-52) 622-197-0989Nextel: 62*14*26105tammisancarlos@gmail.com

Beyond that, we will take anything.
PayPal - Just set up. Donations will go towards those that need money, gas for deliveries, purchasing water, etc. email gcg@gadsbys.com for the link to PayPal

Jan Meets Comandante Raymundo Mercado

2009-08-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

Paulina is a kindergarten teacher in Guaymas. She house sits for us and takes care of Teddy and Niko while we are away from San Carlos. She is a wonderful and sweet person and she is incredibly responsible. She's also one of those people who sometimes gets in precarious situations because she is so sweet and responsible. Bruce and I were going on a short trip to Phoenix to do a couple of errands. We asked Paulina to come over on Friday afternoon so we could talk about the house and the pets. The Caracol (our neighborhood) is up on a hill in San Carlos and there is a gate that opens with a code during the day and a remote control after 7:00 P.M. It's a security device adopted by the Homeowners Association. Naturally, as in any town, there is some controversy over the gate, but overall it does keep the neighborhood more secure. We like it.

Paulina was having trouble getting the code to work so she called us. Bruce talked her through the process and we waited for her. Several minute passed and we were getting concerned about her when she called again. She was crying and said she had been in an accident down at the gate. We said we would be right there. We jumped in the car and raced to the bottom of the hill. The first thing we saw was a small, white compact car with the front bashed in badly. I jumped out of the car and the police were there. There were at least three of them talking to Paulina and the lady she hit. Everyone was fine. The lady in the other car had pulled up behind Paulina and, as a resident of the Caracol, she had a remote control that raises the gate. Paulina was already really nervous and when the gate went up she gunned the car and accidentally put it in reverse. I can completely understand how this happened.

Paulina had been at her aunt's house just before she came up to see us. Her aunt threw her the keys to a friends' Hummer and told her to go ahead and drive it. Paulina said she hesitated because it was so big and she hates driving borrowed cars. The good news about the Hummer is that the accident did NO damage to it whatsoever. The bad news is this; the Hummer demolished the front end of the other car, it belonged to an American and had US plates, the Mexican insurance had expired the week before, the owner was in Texas, and Paulina had no driver's license. This was bad, and under other circumstances (i.e. not being pretty and nice and charming) jail would be a possibility because here in Mexico you are guilty until proven innocent. That's just the way it works here and it's complicated. I have mixed feelings about it, but that's another story.

The lady whose car was hit was very nice and very understanding, though it was obvious she was upset and why wouldn't she be? She had just driven down from the States and was going up to her house. Her dog was with her and thankfully they were both fine. Bruce helped her unload her car filled with "stuff" and drove her to her house and unloaded her and her dog. Her car was going to be towed to the San Carlos police station. In the meantime I told the police that I would vouch for Paulina and I would go down to the police station with her. I did not want her to go to jail. One of the officers drove me up to our house to get my purse (in the Hummer) and off we all went to the police station. I could see that this man was loving the drive in the Hummer. In the meantime, Paulina was beside herself. She knew she was responsible and was willing to pay whatever it cost even if it took years. She had her paycheck with her from her teaching job. She makes about $600 US per month as a university educated teacher. Let me just add that this woman works hard, has several jobs and is so responsible in every way except for that driver's license thing. In her defense, it doesn't seem like getting a license is a priority here. After all most of the people have only been driving for a generation or two.

I am on my very best behavior with the police. I have learned in Mexico that being belligerent (even if you think something is really stupid) gets you nowhere although sometimes crying works a little. At this point, I know that my goal is to keep Paulina out of jail. I feel a little responsible for having her come up to the Caracol in the first place. I am doing my best to speak Spanish to the police. I know that shows respect and goes a long way with them. I understand most everything but my conversational skills are marginal. Still, I can put key words together and, in a pinch, I do pretty well. Paulina is a little calmer when we arrive at the station though she is pretty scared about the outcome. So am I, especially since I know several laws have been broken. The police are all saying that it really was an accident and that sounds really good. They're smiling a lot and being very friendly.

We are summoned into the the Comandante's office. He seems nice and introduces himself as "Comandante Raymundo Mercado". He has three phones; two cell phones and an office phone. One of them has a siren as its ringtone. He begins to interview Paulina and finds out that he knows her family in Guaymas. This is really good too. He has been a policeman here for 27 years and has worked as a bartender in San Carlos off and on for many years. He doesn't do it anymore because his wife wants him home. First of all, he issues Paulina a temporary driver's license dated a few weeks earlier. He lets us know that it's illegal for a Mexican national to be driving a US plated car without written permission so that will need to be cleared up. Paulina's aunt needs to get in touch with her friend and get permission faxed down from Texas. It turns out that two of Paulina's uncles have a body shop and mechanical shop. They will be able to fix the other car. This can all be worked out between the two parties. Everything is looking very positive and in the long run it all worked out. Paulina got her driver's license, she drove my jeep with written permission while I was gone and she doesn't have to use all of her money to fix the other car. She took great care of Teddy and Niko and she was much calmer when we returned. Unfortunately, the night before we arrived home, she and Teddy were out on the back terrace and a skunk approached. Paulina ran and Teddy wanted to play with the skunk so he got sprayed. Other than that, things went well.

The San Carlos Police were very nice. Comandante Raymundo and I became friends. While Paulina was out getting her belongings from the Hummer we had a good talk. He and I are about the same age. He doesn't speak much English. He couldn't get over that I am a grandmother. He asked me if I like to dance. Oh my. He did know where to draw the line though. Though Mexican men are usually pretty chauvinistic, they are generally very respectful of women and they appreciate women (at least until they marry them). Bruce had called while Paulina and I were in his office and I asked the Comandante if Bruce should come down. He said no need. He also said I reminded him of his wife. He called her the Pantera Negra (black panther) and he put his fingers out while making a grrrrring sound. I nearly fell out of my chair. That was a good one. That was the end of our encounter. He walked us out and told Paulina not to worry, shook my hand and told me to come back anytime and the police would watch our house with vigilance. Paulina was to come back the following morning at 10 to meet with the lady in the white car and iron things out. Her uncles were coming too. When I see the police around town now they honk and wave and turn their lights on. They know me and I think they like me. I feel very safe and I'm honestly glad they are around. I like them too.

Wednesday

2009-08-12T17:10:00.000-07:00

Today is one of those days when I especially love and appreciate being here in Mexico; San Carlos in particular. I am a U.S. citizen and I love my country and always will. However, after being saturated with reactions to the health care town hall meetings throughout the U.S. yesterday, it was especially nice to be here where I can take myself away from the chaos and misinformation. My friend, Chrissy said that people are losing their minds over this and she's right. My son, Tommy thinks that the extremes on both the left and right have gone overboard and he is right. I'm hoping that "we" in the middle of both sides can have a voice. It was hard to hear people yelling unreasonable and uninformed opinions on the news shows. The Mexican people don't understand the politics in the U.S. They are confused by our society. Great health care does exist here as well as not so great. I have observed that no matter what happens here in Mexico, people still love life and for the most part they make the best of what they have. It also warms my heart to see how families here treat each other. Family is everything here and there's a lot of laughter even in the face of extreme poverty

We had a wonderful storm last night and lots of rain, thunder and lightning. It was a treat and this morning it was a little cooler. The mountain across the bay gets greener each time it rains. Bruce and I also went and signed our land trust this morning which brings us closer to construction of our house. This particular transaction can take a long time so we feel some relief in getting it done. These signings are always kind of formal, like all legal transactions in Mexico. You always go into a conference room, sit down, exchange pleasantries and sign, sign, sign. Then Bruce went home and I got a pedicure...now I know it sounds like I'm a real princess obsessed with my hair, nails and toes, but honestly the spa gave me a free pedicure because I wrote a recommendation for them on our local internet bulletin board and, well, I have had a couple of things done to my hair and nails. Let's face it, it's cheap enough here to do things that I almost never did in the U.S. I always have a good time at Chocolate' (the spa) too. The women who work there are really fun and they have great stories. They are also listeners and I find that really refreshing. In spite of our cultures, we all have a lot in common. There are many things that are the same everywhere just because we are women. We all have the same stories.

To top off the day, the shrimp guy stopped by with the most beautiful shrimp ever; one kilo for $100 pesos. That solves the dinner problem. The last couple of days I haven't really been inspired and cooked because I felt I needed to. I think the shrimp acquisition has given me a lift. Senor Camaron said he "might" come by tomorrow with lobster. I have never cooked lobster. We'll see (if he shows up and how I cook it).

BFFs

2009-08-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

Our dear friends, Jake and Sharon, just left for the airport to head back over to Santa Rosalia in a twin engine, eight seater, Cessna. Accompanying them is their cat, Lillie (Lupe), four small bags and an empty gas can. Their boat "JAKE" is in the marina in Santa Rosalia and they are anxious to get back to her and back out on the water. They came over about two weeks ago so we could take care of Lillie while they went down to Zihuatanejo for a family reunion. Jake's sister and husband picked them up here in San Carlos for the trip south.

It took them just three days to get from here to Zihuatanejo. They took an interesting route, one that I would love to try. Bruce and I have driven all the way up the coast from Acapulco and it felt like it took forever though it only took three days from Acapulco to Puerto Vallarta. It's a beautiful drive, especially through the coast of Michoacan. The coastline is spectacular though the driving is a bit slow (and God forbid there should be an accident which brings traffic to a halt indefinitely).

Jake and Sharon drove the autopista to Tepic, cut over to Guadalajara and drove down the inland route through the mountains, past Paracho and Zamora and on to Zihuatanejo. They were on the road for three full days but that is very fast. Bruce and I are going to do that sometime. On this route you pass through the mountains that take you to a piece of Mexico that a lot of people don't get to experience. It is really special. There are small mountain peaks and it gets very cold at night in the pine forests. Everything around Paracho is made of wood and the people wear coats and sweaters late in the day. It's wonderful and if you have some time you should stop in Paracho and check out the guitars. It's the guitar capital of Mexico. People come from all over the world to have guitars made and, as you can imagine, the guitars are a fraction of the regular price. In Paracho, beautiful shawls are hand made in wool. They are usually blue and black. The pottery there is also very different; a lot is glazed a beautiful bright green. It's a fantastic experience. I'm told the road now that heads over the the coast is nice and wide and well maintained so I look forward to a trip down there.

Back to Jake and Sharon; they had a good time with family in Zihuatanejo and decided to leave early and take the bus back to Guaymas. Jake was told it was a 24 hour trip on Estrella Blanca, a really nice bus, with good air conditioning, snacks on board and movies. When they got to the bus depot in Zihuatanejo, the Estrella Blanca wasn't there so they had to take the Sonora Norte, a less substantial bus....but still it had air conditioning and movies. They are such good sports, truly and they will try anything once. After all they are boaters; they are retired and have no real schedule. They are living the dream. Well, I guess this particular bus took the libre (free) road the entire way. From Zihuatanejo to Puerto Vallarta, it's mostly a two lane road anyway, but after that there are a lot of stretches of autopista (freeway) that are very nice. Apparently, the bathrooms were not quite usable (no water) and food opportunities were fleeting. The bus stopped in every tiny town imaginable. Still they are good sports. They showed a couple of movies; most notably Cantiflas movies. Cantinflas is a folk hero in Mexico, one of the first great comedians and actors to become world famous. I think he was on the Ed Sullivan Show way back in the 50s or 60s. On the buses, there are no headphones, the movie just blasts and reverberates throughout the bus. I guess at one point Cantinflas' face was frozen on the screen for quite a while and the TV was just above Jake's head so it was hard for him to sleep while Cantinflas was staring at him. Still, they are good sports!

They called us from Mazatlan at about 4:00 PM and thought they would be a few hours late...which of course was fine with us. We realized they would arrive after midnight so we thought we would just go to bed at our regular time and wait for their call. We both fell asleep on top of the covers; I was still dressed. I slept fitfully all night. I kept waking up and looking at the clock. Then at about 4:30 I got up because I was a little worried. Jake has a Mexican cell phone and I tried calling; no answer. We were about to go into Guaymas and look around for them (I had visions of them there with a dead cell phone and no way to get up to San Carlos). Well a few minutes later, the phone rang and they were in a taxi heading to San Carlos. Bruce went down to the gate to meet them and they finally arrived here. They were fine. Sharon looked like she was in shock and they were both really tired. Nothing special happened except that they had to take the Sonora Norte instead of the Estrella Blanca. Everyone who travels around Mexico knows that there are all kinds of inspection points (especially for buses). There are the army checkpoints looking for contraband, the fruit and vegetable inspections and the federales. These can happen several times in each state. Sometimes you get off the bus, sometimes you don't, but it takes a long time.....so long story short it took about 32 hours instead of 24 and there were no snacks and drinks served and no decent bathroom, but there were movies and there was air conditioning. As the weekend went on we heard more and more funny stories about the bus, but it was a little too fresh in their minds to be really funny yet. That will come with time.

Many people in Mexico travel by bus. It's usually the most economical and they run often. I have taken the bus twice; a round trip from Mexico to Cuernavaca. I was on the Estrella Blanca and the bus was beautiful. I had a little pillow, blanket; there was a bus attendant who served drinks and snacks and several little TVs. It was wonderful. I didn't check out the bathroom but I'm thinking it was probably OK. The lesson here is - hold out for the white star of Mexico!

Jake and Sharon flew back to Santa Rosalia this morning with Lillie and all of their stuff. We had a fantastic weekend together here in San Carlos. We've been friends since we were boat neighbors at Shilshole Marina in Seattle. Boat neighbors are very special because we had our own little community and always helped each other out. We moved in 2001 and they left on their boating adventure in 2007. They visited us in Mexico every year and they are usually our first guests wherever we end up in Mexico. They're pretty young to be retired and they are loving the boating life here in Mexico. It's wonderful to see good friends doing what they planned; boating in paradise....with little side trips now and then. I know them and I know they will get on a bus again though they might wait for the White Star!

Foreign Relations and Construction Estimates

2009-08-04T15:37:00.000-07:00

I feel so relieved today and at least half of it is because Euna Lee and Laura Ling are being freed from North Korea. I have thought of them each and every day since they were captured by the North Koreans and I've been so worried that there was a possibility of a tragic outcome. I don't believe for a second that these women crossed the border on purpose and I think our apologies were made to appease their very psycho leader, Kim. Still, I understand why the apology was made. We had no choice.

Obviously, our President gave the go ahead to Bill Clinton to get involved and this has been in the works for a long time. He is a great diplomat and I don't believe there's a living person more qualified and charismatic than Bill when it comes to negotiations and statesmanship. I apologize to all of the Bush fans out there, but I think when it came to foreign relations he was a disaster. He just didn't have that skill set. I think Laura had it, but he did not, and a lot of our foreign relationships suffered as a result. It's one thing to snap your teammates on the ass with a towel. That's what I think of when I think of Bush reaching out and building relationships. It doesn't work like that in foreign cultures.

I have spent some time thinking about the fear and despair Laura and Euna must have been feeling. North Korea has always been so unpredictable - I mean what country sets off nuclear weapons and then laughs in our face. It will be very interesting to see the news coverage of Bill and these two brave women coming home.

On another positive note, We got the estimate for the building of our house today and it was and is a great estimate. It includes nearly everything (except the pizza oven) and we are thrilled. Our contractor is a good communicator and has tons of experience. His three daughters all work in his office and we like them. It's like night and day compared to our first contractor. We should break ground this month. It is a huge relief. Oh - and if anyone reading this has pizza oven advice or experience please let me know. I know it can be built and I want it in the kitchen!

Blah

2009-08-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

Haven't felt much like writing this past week. It's been a gloomy one for me and sometimes I have to retreat when this happens. Life is good by all appearances but there are certain things that affect me deeply and the major one is when my family and friends are in pain. I found out early in the week that a very old friend from Seattle who I spent some really important and pivotal points in my life with had died from the very thing that he fought for so many years, drugs and alcohol. He had many successes but the addiction was always so strong. He left two grown kids and a wife (one of my oldest and dearest friends). It's really their pain that I feel, but the addiction brought them down too.....not personally, but through their dad. They are a strong family and they will be ok. They had already separated somewhat from the addiction. You really have to if you are going to survive. The bright light in all this is that I reconnected with my old friend and that feels really good. I don't think either one of us have really changed much in the last ten years and we're going to spend some time together in September. My friend's life was literally torn apart in the last three years by her husband's addiction and she put physical distance between them, but still after 26 years of marriage there's a lot of pain.

I believe that I've just felt grief this past week and it's going to take a little time to regroup. I did what I usually do when I feel down, got my hair done. Sounds superficial but it did make me feel better. I get a lot of comfort from being at home with Bruce and Teddy and Niko. I love our life together and can't wait to get started on the house. We're getting really close now. I need to make plans to see my boys and grandkids. I miss them so much. I want them to share this beautiful place with me. My sister is coming down soon too, for the first time. It will be so much fun. I can't wait to show her San Carlos. I just know she's going to love it here and that's why I want her to get here soon. I can see her painting the mountains. The mountains here are so her style!

We had a wonderful storm Friday night; lots of wind and thunder and lightning and surprise, surprise, rain. Rain started pouring through the front door. That's really good to know so we can have the big towels ready for rainy season. The storms really do come out of nowhere here. I can see where it can be dangerous boating. You definitely need to be prepared.

So now I'm back in the groove. I really have to try harder to turn off my mind, but after all these years, I don't think I can, but life does go on and it is good.

A Good Day

2009-07-23T20:14:00.000-07:00

Today was a nice day of communicating. First of all, I had a nice visit with my friend, Bliss, at our local coffee house which included some pie (apple, pecan and a take home blueberry for Bruce) and delicious coffee - just two cool chicks on the loose on a Thursday morning. It's fun to have the luxury of coffee with a friend and companionship and conversation with another woman. I didn't do that enough in Sayulita.

I didn't sleep well last night because we had a big thunder and lightning storm, the first big one of the season and I was excited; I didn't want to miss it. It just went on and on and we got some great rain which really cooled things off. Niko was on the bed with us and Teddy was almost under the bed, but he did ok. He's generally pretty ok when he's near us. It was really cozy, but I didn't get a lot of sleep.

When I got home Bruce was busy in his office, as he has an actual job, so I presented him with his pie and he was happy. Of course, we're both on diets, a sort of Scarsdale diet which really means cutting down on the white carbohydrates and eating healthy, healthy, healthy and smaller portions. We both need to lose weight and get ourselves in good shape. Bruce is doing better than I am. It seems that I have to work up to the concept of a diet and really feel good about it. I know I can do it. I was really tired so I flipped on the TV in the bedroom and there was a James Lee Burke movie on (one of my favorite mystery authors) so I watched for a while and had a little rest. Alec Baldwin was playing the Dave Robichaux character and it was great, plus I love the bayou setting. I had a nice rest and felt much better after that. It just seems so luxurious to be able to do that without feeling guilty.

I did some kitchen cleanup and laundry, answered some great emails, talked to my sister, Laurie, about her coming down and the changes in her life. I can't wait for her to come down and see San Carlos. I can't wait for her to see the mountain in person. She's a wonderful artist and I know she'll get some inspiration here. I so want her to just take it all in and then paint it plus I miss her so much and our great laughter together.

Out of the blue, I got a call from a guy from Phoenix who is starting a deli here. He's the guy I was defending on the San Carlos forum and we've become friends. We had a great talk about the new deli coming here in the fall. He is a great character and I think his business will do really well in San Carlos. We also need another great character here in San Carlos to add to the mix. I'm still trying to figure out why there is petty terrorism going on in the forum. Actually, I'll never figure it out so I haven't gone there since my run in with Bombero. I've decided if I need a shrink I'll make an appointment.

One of the highlights of the day was that Bruce talked to another contractor here who I think we're going to use for our house. We thought we had someone, but the price just kept going up and up and the communication wasn't happening like we had hoped. We were supposed to break ground this month. The creativity wasn't there with the original contractors either. Our first instinct was to go with the contractor we talked to today, but we took a different turn at first for a variety of reasons. I can tell this is going to work much better and I'm excited (finally) to work with someone who seems to understand what we really want (and care). It's a long story of course, but I was getting worried because things just weren't flowing with the first contractor. Everything boils down to honesty and communication. It turned out to be a really good day and then I went out and threw Teddy's toy for him. You should see the moon over the mountain and the stars. It's unbelievably gorgeous.

What's Important and What's Not

2009-07-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

I wanted to start a blog because I like to write and I like to communicate but I'm slightly insecure (as I've said before many times) so I'm never sure if I'm that interesting. However, I know my sisters and sons and other family members are interested in what I have to say or how I feel so I'm still a work in progress and it looks like I need to face the fact that I always will be.

I try to be careful about posting negative things, but you know, stuff happens in everyones life, no matter how hard you try, and sometimes it helps to share it. I still struggle with a common problem - small and/or close minded people and people who love to put other people down really bug me. I have a difficult time tolerating the views of these people so how do they fit in my world if I claim to be tolerant and open minded? I'm not sure. Last week, after talking repeatedly about how much I love San Carlos and its residents, I had a run in with the local San Carlos "internet" bulletin board. We have a forum that I consult it to look up services or to see if anything is going on in town and one post caught my eye. A couple of people want to start a business based on bagels. They want to have a deli with pastrami and all kinds of delicious things so they asked the forum what the people of San Carlos and Guaymas thought about it. I wrote a note in support of the deli and suggested that they add some healthy stuff too and most of the comments started out in the same vein. Then......one person wrote saying something to the effect.......if you don't serve wraps your business will be closing down shortly (only it wasn't stated that nicely). One person wrote that Mexicans wouldn't drive there from San Carlos and neither would he because he doesn't like being around large concentrations of gringos (he's a gringo). Well the deli owner took offense and it went downhill from there. I defended the owner with a brief post asking people to be nice and not offensive.......then I was hit with a personal attack saying that my little blurb was describing myself (good god). It was really ugly. I used to see this stuff all the time on the Sayulita blog; people taking the opportunity to just be mean because they were somewhat anonymous. I actually ended up by writing "screw you" on the forum, incredibly childish of me. I was that mad and then I went in and deleted all of my posts. I'm not really ashamed of myself because I didn't really do anything wrong and I didn't get kicked off the forum. I guess the point of all this is that I saw so many nasty posts directed at this poor guy who has clearly spent a lot of time and money researching this wonderful business idea and I want to see him make it and I couldn't believe what I was reading. What motivates people? One of the coolest things about this part of Mexico is that there are so many nice, entrepreneurial folks around. This lovely person ended up saying he wouldn't dream of opening a business in San Carlos after all those nasty remarks. He simply got mad and took the comments to heart, as did I. He ended up getting so many private emails supporting his business and explaining that the forum was often a way for people who "don't have a life" to pass time by offending others anonymously that he has decided to go through with his original plans. We will have our deli. I learned a good lesson (AGAIN) too, and that is to quit while I'm ahead. I do need to get thicker skin and not get too involved in this stuff, but I will probably continue to support people who are being unnecessarily attacked. The whole thing really bothered me. Why in the world do people have to be mean on purpose? I will never understand it. How could that possibly make you happy.....something to ponder certainly. I'm almost over it now, but I'm still a little stunned by the black mark on my idyllic dream of my life in San Carlos. Guess it was time to come back down to earth and realize that life is what you make it. You can't stop what is inevitable; all you can do is be a decent person yourself. I still love my new home.

On the up side, I'm in Cincinnati with Bruce at the conference. We are seeing a lot of old friends and it's pretty here. The weather is lovely for now though it may rain tomorrow. It's still going to be warm and this city is connected by a series of sky bridges. The skyline is beautiful and we're right next to the Ohio River which forms the border of Kentucky and Ohio. The part of Kentucky I can see is lots of green and rolling hills. The hotel was built in the 30s and is a historic landmark and it's said to be haunted by the wife of a laborer who died working on the construction of the hotel. It's supposed to be a good haunting. She's wandering around looking for him. We think we met her. When we were in Chicago last month Bruce lost his earring. This morning before he got in the shower he found the lost earring on the bathmat. It was absolutely bizarre. He thinks it may have been attached to his shaving kit somehow and dropped off onto the floor. That's pretty crazy especially since he uses that bag ever single day and it's travelled between Chicago, San Carlos and Cincinnati. I just chalked it up to the lady who's walking around this hotel looking for her husband. I think she returned it to us. I like her and I'm not scared at all. I think she's looking out for us.

Before I close this novelette I have to talk about something really funny (to me) that happened last night. I'm still laughing about it. We went down to have dinner in the hotel restaurant. We're on the 26th floor and I was in a goofy mood (from hunger). We saw a little camera lens mounted on the ceiling in the elevator and I started waving, making faces (and other gestures), dancing (sort of) and I pushed most of the buttons on the elevator. Bruce was, of course, shaking his head, hoping no one would get on and notice that all the buttons were pushed. He would hate for people to think he did it. Ha. We made it to the lobby uneventfully and when we passed by the reception desk the guy who checked us in said "Oh by the way, we really enjoyed your little dance". I said "uh oh, I'm sorry, I am very immature". He laughed and said "no, it was pretty tame considering some of the things that have gone on in there". All is well. Bruce still loves me and I'm proud of myself. However, I will be more well behaved in Cincinnati from now on. They have my number.

Off to Cinncinnati

2009-07-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

We're off again, this time to Cincinnati, for another ASID meeting. This will be Bruce's last big one as president. He'll still have to attend meetings next year as past president but it won't be as busy as this year. We need to be here more so he can supervise the house building. We already know it's going to be a challenge. The price seems to be going up on the construction but we are fortunate in that we will be here and we can easily visit the job site and communicate with the crew and the jefe. We are having a hard time convincing the builder that we are not the typical rich Americans that build here and I don't mean this as an offense to anyone. There is that stigma attached to Americans and Canadians that build here. San Carlos is unique in the sense that it's not a predominantly Mexican town. It is definitely filled with gringos and with non Mexican style homes. At this point in our lives, we want a little of both for our house. We hope to break ground soon. We need to break ground soon.

I'm really enjoying the hummingbirds. I need to look in a bird book and see if I can identify the birds that come in and feed. They are here all day long and we love watching them. It will be interesting to see how long they stay. I have read that there are several types that are endemic to Mexico. I hope some of them live here all the time.

Off to prepare for the trip. Does anyone know some interesting and fun things to do and see in Cincinnati? I did read that there is a large German population there and some interesting historical sites revolving around the German influence.

Home Sweet Home

2009-07-08T10:10:00.000-07:00

Over the past week, I've felt more and more at home in San Carlos and Guaymas. I can't really say there's one special thing that makes me feel at home here. It's just all of it. I like the rental house and the view. It's really comfortable and Teddy and Niko settled in here right away. Right now the neighborhood is pretty much like a ghost town. All of the snow birds are long gone and the diehards left a few weeks ago. It's just us and a few people who stay all year.

I'm at a point where I am going to learn Spanish well no matter what because I truly feel like I am missing half of the fun of living here. I have Rosetta Stone CDs, a program Bliss forwarded to me and I'm going to a Spanish conversation class each week....just went to my first one yesterday. I loved it and the hour flew by. We talked about the summer heat, the CFE (electric company) summer discounts that occur from July through October (yay), and a whole bunch of other topics. It's interesting that the people of Guaymas banded together and staged a "power out" as part of the strategy to get the power company to subsidize the summer power bills. I'm not sure that could even be pulled off in the US. It's interesting also, that this doesn't occur in all of Mexico; certainly here in Sonora and I believe Sinaloa, but not Jalisco or Nayarit, where we lived before.

Part of the feeling of belonging is making new friends too. The weekend with our blogger friends was really special and it gave me a real lift too. It just feels like I ended up in the right place and I'm looking forward to more settling in. Now if I could just get those last few boxes unpacked. I'm more motivated today since I more a pair of ridiculous sandals yesterday to our Spanish class and I tripped on the sidewalk and really hurt my foot. Normally I wear my chacos (really comfortable and sensible sandals) but I couldn't really find them.

Here's another thing about living here too. The neighbors that are here for the summer are super neighbors. They offer to drive us to the airport if needed and this morning, Jim stopped by and told me he sprayed the weeds (organic sort of) in front of our house since he was doing his anyway. I have to admit that I stopped being a friendly and helpful neighbor when we lived in Playa Las Tortugas because it didn't seem like an accepted thing to do. It was kind of sad. Now I've got my faith back!

I've really been missing my grandkids too, but they called the other night and my four year old grandson, Garrett (who has never talked on the phone to us before), got on the phone and talked and talked about his trucks and all sorts of things. Ok, he was mostly yelling into the phone, but I loved it. My nine year old granddaughter, Hallie, has decided to started a business with her sewing skills online. I wouldn't be surprised if she pulled it off. It was a great conversation.

Oh, and the best thing....hummingbirds are coming to our new feeder. I am absolutely thrilled! Now I'm really at home here.

Night Sky

2009-07-05T20:10:00.000-07:00

This sunset and the bread recipe have made this a great day.

Bloggers Out and About

2009-07-04T16:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I just attempted to publish a new post, but it disappeared. It's a complete mystery. Since I started blogging, I have realized that I don't know as much about the computer as I though I did.

Last night Bruce and I met fellow bloggers, Chrissy and Keith and Bliss and the Captain at our house on the Caracol. We had drinks, great conversation and then dinner out. It was fantastic and they are fantastic. We all have a lot in common and I felt like I had known them forever. Bruce felt the same way. They are all such interesting and wonderful people. I think bloggers just naturally care a lot about other people and have lots of interesting stories and opinions. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, our best so far in San Carlos. We were hoping to hear Bliss and the Captain perform tonight, but the gig was called off due to lack of participation, due to no liquor served for two days in our city, our state and maybe all of Mexico because of the election. The authorities are vigilant about this! However, I stocked up yesterday, so anyone who really needs a drink - please feel free to stop by, fly in or drive by.

Seriously, we had a wonderful evening with more conversation today and we are delighted with our new friends and hope to see much more of them. Our door is open to all of you out there. Just bring a sense of humor and and an open mind. Blogging has taken me to a place where I really needed to go and I love it. I couldn't talk about my friends without putting up a few pictures. Happy 4th of July to everyone!

2009-07-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

I haven't written in a few days...I've been in a weird space and really don't think that's worth sharing. There are some family issues out there and I can't seem to stop thinking about them. I guess we all feel this way; when someone in our family gets hurt, we naturally want to make it better and it just doesn't always work that way.

Sometimes I feel like everyone is more interesting than me and really why should that bother me? I'm sure it's just a leftover insecurity. I'm looking forward to the weekend; a blogger friend is going to be in the neighborhood and that will be fun because I already feel like we have a bond and I think they are interesting and nice people. One of my favorite things is to meet new people and find out what their lives are like.

I really want to write and I want to be a better writer. I'm looking for ways to do that. I know that my writing comes from mostly an emotional level. I write what I feel so if I don't feel a certain way, my writing reflects that. No one wants to read a troublesome blog! I don't want to be a whiny blogger. Uh oh, now I'm making myself laugh. You'd think at age 60 a person would have it all together....finally, but life just doesn't happen like that. I'm sitting here in San Carlos looking out at the most beautiful water and mountains and sometimes I can't see it at all. Most of the time I do though. It is, indeed, a lovely day, and a lovely spot. We will start building our house soon. I think that's part of what is causing my unsettled feelings; so many things pending and nothing has quite come together yet. It's just a matter of time. There is nothing standing in our way; all is well with the plans, the construction team, the permits. Bruce and I have put together a beautiful plan that suits us, nothing fancy, just a reflection of us with room for kids and grandkids to enjoy it with us.

All is well in our little town (as far as I know). Yesterday we went to Guaymas to look for lawn chairs, the chaise type; plastic would be just fine. We didn't find any. Everyone looked at me with a perplexed look on their faces.....is it the end of the season or something? There were tons of plastic chairs and tables, and lots of those Coleman type chaises for camping, but frankly I can barely get my butt out of them to stand up so I hate those. I'm sure there's a chaise type plastic chair here somewhere! We will probably have to go to Hermosillo to find them. We can get everything else here so I try to avoid going to Hermosillo if I can. I'll go in the winter when it's cooler. I believe Hermosillo does have my favorite department store, Liverpool so it's just a matter of time before I venture up there. I'm also looking for a hummingbird feeder. We have so many hummingbirds here. They are so lovely. I guess I want my own little family of hummingbirds hanging out exclusively at our place while they're in town. We have dear friends in the Berkshires who have hummingbirds start visiting around Memorial Day and I always wonder if they make it down here at some point. I like to think that they do.

Memories

2009-06-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about the death of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett and how they were such a big part of periods of my life. When I was in my early twenties I wanted to look like Farrah Fawcett; I wanted her hair, and most of all her teeth and smile. I even tried a couple of shag haircuts but I never got that "look". I was always sad that Farrah never truly became a great actress. I love her in Burning Bed and the other movie were she trapped her rapist. She was fantastic in those movies, but after that she was just more of a Hollywood persona. What seemed to be all over the news was showing up "high" on Letterman or one of the other late night shows. To me, it was just a sign of the times and how everyone seemed to be self medicating to cope with their lives and the world in general.

As for Michael Jackson, I have always loved his music and it was so special to me. During certain difficult times in my life, I always had his music. I loved "Rock With You" and it was such great dancing music. I secretly tried cool dance moves but I never quite mastered any of them. I played the album "Off the Wall" over and over again in 1980. During a very difficult period of my life, in 1984, I met Bruce. We were both struggling, in our early 30's and we were neighbors on Vashon Island, Washington. We had very little money; we were both divorcing and starting over and we had this incredible friendship. Thank God we had humor in our lives because we both had really wacky soon to be ex spouses. We both loved music and since we were short on money we spent a lot of evenings listening to lots and lots of music and drinking wine (of course). He had been a DJ in and after college and had an amazing record collection and one of the things his ex-wife didn't take from him was his sound system. Michael Jackson's Thriller had just come out and we loved it. It was also the beginning of VCR tapes and I think we saw him dance on either a tape or on a tv special. During that time we also loved Cindy Lauper, Madonna, Kenny Loggins, Hall and Oates, Stevey Wonder, Quincy Jones "The Dude" and many, many other great artists of the 60s, 70s and 80's. We also went through a Temps and Tops phase. Today I have all of this music on my IPOD along with the BeGees and my favorite disco artists, Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer. A year later, We Are the World came out and we played it on that Sunday morning with everyone else in the world.

Our relationship evolved and in a year or so we moved into Seattle and got real jobs, eventually got married and I guess you could say we became more main stream, but not quite. We have always lived a kind of alternative lifestyle. We lived on a boat and a houseboat, certainly not the norm. Music remained a huge part of our lives and still is today. In fact last night we listened to an amazing DVD of David Gilmore, founder of Pink Floyd doing music with Crosby and Nash.

Back to Michael Jackson, I'm really sad that he's gone and I hope in my heart that he didn't do the things he was accused of with little children. I think he was a product of abuse and it ruined him psychologically. He was a genius and I feel so sad that he couldn't find happiness and I think a lot of people wanted a lot from him. I hope he's in a better place. His music will always be with us in a big way. Rest in Peace Michael.

The Shopping Ritual

2009-06-25T12:27:00.000-07:00

I love shopping in San Carlos. I needed some fresh fruits and vegetables today so we headed down to Tony's Truck. First we stopped at the vet so Teddy could get his tick fever shot and some follow up pills. He loves the vet, Vanessa, and she loves him. I told her about my dream of getting another border collie (so Bruce could see that yet another person thinks it's a great idea). Clearly, she's on my side. It's not that Bruce is opposed to it. He's just trying to be practical, but really when has that ever really worked out or been fun. I've had a premonition that Teddy is going to have a playmate.

Tony's place has probably been described before because it's so unique and he and his family are so nice. I'm new here so I'm not sure how long he's been in business, but I can say he is the quintessential entrepreneur here in San Carlos. He has clearly studied what the gringos want and need and he gets it. He makes shopping very easy. I'm pretty sure he gets his Sonoran beef at the Villareal meat market in Guaymas. That's where we go when we're in Guaymas. To us, Sonoran beef is what US beef used to be. It's just delicious. Tony also carries chicken, pork, fresh fish, fresh crab, fresh shrimp and on and on and on. Today I was in the mood for mahi mahi (dorado) and I bought a couple of beautiful fillets, some chicken, some smoked pork that Bruce loves and some chorizo and breakfast sausage Mexican style. We are trying to eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and Tony has the freshest ever. I bought potatoes, baby potatoes, red onions, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, beautiful mushrooms, fresh ginger, avocados, peppers, carrots, and nopale. We also bought fresh orange juice (Tony's wife makes it), butter, real cream for our coffee. The last minute point of purchase items that we bought were homemade peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip, freshly baked bread and banana bread. I popped a cookie in my mouth in the car and can I just tell you that it was so delicious and fresh and rich made with lots of butter or shortening. The bill came to $480 pesos, about $40 USD. That's incredible to me and it's another thing I love about Mexico. It's easy and inexpensive to buy great and healthy food.

Tony's place is neat and clean. All of the perishables are kept in giant ice chests according to what they are and laid out very neatly. It's all organized and they are very helpful and fun. Tony is an unusually tall, nice looking Mexican man who is very nice. I've never met his wife but she makes lots of goodies. I think his sons work with him too. I'll probably know more later on when I really become more known to them. I'm sure I need to prove myself by shopping there through a couple of seasons. Right now San Carlos is pretty empty. Most everyone has gone back home for the summer or taken their RV to cooler areas. We like it when it's like this. It's so quiet and peaceful. Now I'm off to Chocolate for a double process hair appointment. I'll keep you posted. Keep your fingers crossed! It could go either way.

Teddy

2009-06-23T17:54:00.000-07:00

We've had a couple of nice days just enjoying being back home and into our routine. I love going outside in the morning and enjoying a cup of coffee. I know that all of my fellow Mexico bloggers know what I mean when I say that the birds are spectacular in the morning. We have smaller birds that hang out around the yard and it's wonderful to watch the pelicans and frigate birds catching drafts higher in the sky. I lost my hummingbird feeder in a storm in Sayulita last year and I'm still looking for a replacement.

Teddy and Niko are thrilled to have us here. Unfortunately Teddy had several ticks when we got home and when we had him tested yesterday for heart worm we discovered he has a mild case of tick fever. He doesn't have heart worm and will get medication for tick fever tomorrow. Poor Teddy. It's not slowing him down a bit. Our vet says he will be absolutely fine, but I was panicked at first.

I hope everyone understands how much I love this dog. Next to Bruce (and Niko) Teddy is my very best friend. OK maybe he's tied with Laurie. Teddy's breeder, in Shelton, Washington, has new border collie puppies and the idea is planted in my head that Teddy could use a companion to run on the beach with. Most of all, we love Teddy so much that we want another one (well Bruce didn't really say that). Border collies are smart and sweet and active. Teddy is fixated on car and truck tires going round and round and he watches them from our car window. It's kind of strange to other people, but really I think it's a sign of supreme intelligence. He is incredibly well behaved and he minds us. That is not because I have trained him well. It's because he's just smart; much smarter than both of us. He goes everywhere with us unless it's just too hot. It's great to have him along when we cross the border or get stopped at the random and numerous checkpoints in Sonora. Though they won't admit it, a lot of Mexican men are a bit intimidated by dogs. This can work in our favor (and has). It saves us a lot of time though Teddy's plan of attack would be to lick someone to death.

Teddy has driven cross country with me three times, driven up to Oregon, toured the country in the RV, been to Yellowstone, Mesa Verde and Zion National Park, spent lots of time at my sister's house in Oregon and with my boys in Missouri. He's been to the east coast. His best friend, a husky named Lila, lives in New Lebanon, New York and he's been there for weeks at a time. We have stayed at just about every single dog friendly motel on I-5, 395 and I-70. He loves the midwest because of the cows, horses and sheep. After all he is a herding dog. Some day I'm going to take him on a vacation where he can spend the day herding sheep and cows. He doesn't care for goats, finds them annoying. There are various ranches that accommodate herding dogs and their owners and they are like dude ranches for dogs. You pay for the experience and your dog works all day long. Border collies will never stop even if they are tired. You literally have to stop them. That would be a highlight in my life. He loves my son, Tommy's farm, but Tommy's sheep are herded and protected by a donkey so Teddy's not really needed there though he loves going there. He loves to play frisbee and loves to chase his toys, but he doesn't quite bring them back. He brings them near us, but will never bring them directly to us. It's a little nuts and we don't know what this means. Three years ago in Puerto Vallarta (with absolutely no training) Teddy and I won first place in the Owner/Dog Look- Alike contest. He is a red border collie and he has a couple of freckles so yes, we do kind of look alike. We got a blue ribbon. I also entered Teddy in Best of Show but I think since he ran me around the field and had control of me, we didn't win.....some hoity toity well trained beautiful golden lab won. We were gracious but we knew that we should have gotten that prize as well. We figured there was a political reason the other dog won. Teddy should have won. That was our first and last experience at a dog show. Teddy just feels that competing isn't right. He would rather just hang out and watch tires.

Going to Chicago.

2009-06-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

Geez, it took me 15 minutes to figure out how to add to my own blog. Finally got it. We're all packed and ready to leave for the Guaymas airport to Phoenix and then Chicago. Tomorrow at this time I will be in my rental car heading up to Madison, Wisconsin for my nephew Nick's graduation from high school. I have never met him or his older brother, Erik. I can't wait. However, looking out over my beautiful bay right now, makes it hard to visualize that I will be driving from downtown Chicago to Madison in 24 hours. Both sisters, Kelly and Lisa (graduate's mom) will be there along with my other niece, Haley, so it will be a fun reunion. It's funny how it goes when you're with people you love. It just feels so easy and wonderful. No worries about being politically correct or wondering where you stand with them because they love you no matter what.

It's always hard for me to leave Mexico because it's my home now. That's kind of funny coming from someone who refused to take Spanish in high school because she (I) hated Gilroy so much (at the time). Now I can't wait to get back here and work on my Spanish some more because my biggest goal this year is to become nearly fluent. I am missing so much by not being fluent. I understand most everything but when speaking I fumble over the words. Of course, part of it is due to my advanced age. No matter where I fly I always have a fleeting moment where I'm a little scared, but I'm always ok.

Yesterday was, unfortunately, a wash for me because I truly made myself sick from eating those cookies that I made the night before...you know....the best cookies in the world. Bruce loves them and doesn't seem affected by them at all, but for me it was a physical disaster. At one point I actually felt like I might be having sort of a gaseous heart attack. I gathered my wits about me though and realized it was just an overdose of butter, sugar, more sugar, oats, cornflake crumbs and more butter, oh and some flour. One or all of those ingredients set off the gasometer in my body. I guess I had better end this topic now. I'm absolutely fine now but scared to eat before I get on a plane. I think I'm sounding like a middle aged woman now for sure.

I'm excited about Chicago. Though I will be in Wisconsin for a few days, I will have three or four days to explore Chicago. I'm going on the architectural boat tour on Monday which I hear is fabulous and we have all kinds of recommendations for restaurants. I'm the kind of person who wanted to go see Oprah but they quit taping in May so now I'm mad at her. We are going to a big design conference so we'll see lots of design friends, some that I haven't seen in a while and it will be great. No matter what, these people are always fun and delightful. Bruce will be busy most of the time but I get to join him at night. Can I just put in a plug for him and say he is the National President of ASID this year and I am so proud of him. It's a huge job and it keeps him really busy. It's also a big honor. This, of course, makes me the first lady, though I have no privileges whatsoever. Oh yes, that only happens in real life when you're the real first lady. Just so everyone knows I greatly admire our president and the first lady. I don't really want to get political but last night I was watching Lynn Cheney vs. James Carvelle and she kept referring to President Obama as "your president" not her president. I think that was just wrong and it really made me wonder where she was coming from.

Ok time to go. Great thanks to my beautiful son, Tommy, who likes my blog. What an honor truly. I'm thrilled that he read it and liked it. Both of my boys are so smart and such good writers that I was a bit nervous that they might not like my writing. They are just the best. I'm grateful for all of the feedback I am getting. This is really fun for me and everyone who blogs is just so interesting. It's truly a great mix of interesting and fun people who have a lot of good stuff to say.

Tuesday in San Carlos

2009-06-09T21:28:00.000-07:00

Bruce and I went to our first Board Meeting of the Caracol Homeowners' Association this morning. Our construction plans were formally presented to the Board and other members that attended the meeting. Our builder, Carlos, presented our drawings and had written up a blurb to explain to everyone that we're not asking for anything extraordinary (we really aren't). One of the bylaws is that you have to have parking for three cars at your house. There really is no street parking because the roads are very narrow and the whole Caracol is on a hill. Most lots cascade down the hill with huge retaining walls. The idea is to have a wonderful view of either the west towards the Teta mountains or the east which looks out over Guaymas in the distance and the Sea of Cortez dotted with little islands. Either side is gorgeous; the kind of view you can look at all day and the stars and full moon have been incredible the last couple of nights.

Getting back to the variances, we are building closer to the property line than the bylaws allow because our property line is already more than a meter back from the street and we already have room to park a third car off the street. This is all very confusing really but we all have to follow association rules. Ofcourse, it's good and bad. The rules are written mostly to protect people's views. This brings to mind a house near Sayulita, where we used to live, that had a lovely view. The property just below it was bought by a couple from LA who built a four story house directly in front of that house completely blocking their view and lowering the value of their neighbor's house by hundreds of thousands of dollars....so you see the laws here are really meant to be a good thing. I just can't imagine someone doing that to another human being. Those are the kinds of things that started the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys (I think). I think with some people it's all about control. I'm sure there will be some sort of a law suit but in Mexico two gringos going to court over something like that seems very silly and makes us look ridiculous. It's embarrassing. People in town would drive out this house just to see it for themselves because it is pretty unbelievable.

There's a very interesting man in our association who thinks we should just design our house back a few meters because he thinks it would flow better, and a man who thinks we should change the side of the house that the garage is on....easy...just like that. However, keeping these suggestions in mind, we're not going to change the design and the committee did approve it so all is well. I am still trying to figure out why someone would want to make a change like that to a design that's been in the works for a year and designed by an actual designer. I'm not sure I understand it, but then I'm still learning about people. It just never stops.

The house is going to be great, not a big and fancy house but a culmination of what we both want and our ideas for saving energy and collecting rainwater. There are fantastic systems out there that don't cost an arm and a leg to design and end up saving money and our our environmental resources . Doing the math, we will have almost enough water to keep us going all year and then we'll supplement it with city water. In this part of Mexico you really need heat in the winter especially at night and though I would love a romantic wood burning fireplace, we're going to have natural gas heat in the fireplaces. We will have a pool. It is so hot in the summer and though not so hot in the winter, I'd still like to use the pool. However, I need a warmish pool. I am not a fan of cool water; never have been. We'll heat the pool with a solar heater. It's really interesting here in that a lot of people know a lot about having a "green" house. We've gotten a lot of great ideas from people including filtering and reusing gray water to water our plants and yard. It's all really exciting and now Carlos will go to the city and begin the permit process. We will break ground in July. I love thinking and talking about the house.

With our first meeting behind us, we went out for lunch at a little place called Evie's. It was good and it just feels like a new experience.....almost like retired life....going to a meeting and then going out to lunch with Bruce. I don't want to feel retired though and I really wanted to do something constructive because the day was already half gone. I am two thirds of the way done with my closet unpacking but I couldn't face it so I drove back down to the store and got ingredients for the world's best cookies...you know the oned with lots of butter, cornflakes, rolled oats, brown sugar, vanilla, almonds etc. I ate a bunch of batter, baked the cookies and ate about four right out of the oven. Now my stomach is so upset that I couldn't even manage dinner. I made myself sick and I know better, but they really are incredible. I really hope I can sleep tonight and feel great tomorrow because by messing around today I have backed myself into a corner and have to finish unpacking tomorrow, pack for Chicago on Thursday and do something to my hair. I'm really in trouble. Oh and if I could lose about 15 pounds before Thursday that would be really good too.

The Beginning

2009-06-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

I wake up most days now not even knowing what day it is unless I'm travelling somewhere. It feels so good.

I still remember the agony I felt when I was working a structured job. If I think deeply enough I can actually feel the tension in my body (I try to block those thoughts). I hated Sunday afternoons because I started thinking about work; and Monday mornings brought little panic attacks. It always got better as the days wore on heading towards Friday, which was, ofcourse, my favorite day. Most of my jobs were on the lower echelon of the corporate world and I was motivated by making money. I wasn't happy in the work part of my life. I swear my quiet irreverence and sense of humor pulled me through. Then in the mid 90's I started a travel agency with a partner (just as the travel business started bottoming out) and boy was it fun. I loved it a lot and I spent most of my time researching trips for people. I have always loved travel in any form. Ofcourse, the bread and butter was in booking tickets and tours and most of all, cruises. If I counted all of the extensive research I did, I think I made about a dollar an hour. I worked in a wonderful building in Fremont (Seattle) which was filled with artists and musicians. There was even a guy who specialized in making bows for violins and a woman who made exquisite knitted scarves and ponchos and lots of seriously talented artists. It was a really special time; one of those times in life that's just fun and interesting. I loved going to work and my building mates were also good clients. Being close to Starbucks and Hale's Ale was also a big plus.

Bruce and I had just built our house in Mexico during that time and I was secretly yearning to move down full time. I thought about it all the time. I secretly obsessed about it. The house was meant to be a vacation rental and Bruce started the design on a napkin on a flight home from Puerto Vallarta just after we put money down on the lot. We still have the napkin.

In November of 2000 we packed up our little jeep wrangler, our two cats, linens, pots and pans, and drove down to Playa Las Tortugas to spend Thanksgiving and oversee the final touches on our beach house. When we arrived it was a long way from being done (which all of you who live in Mexico can relate to I'm sure). It was really unliveable, but we had to stay there. We had no choice. We did have the essentials; working bathrooms and all of the appliances. Oops, our developer/construction manager forget to tell us the house wasn't ready before we hit the road for the 2,000 mile drive down from Seattle. Still, we had already been through a lot, being so far away during construction, so we just accepted that it was a little behind schedule. We had invited our dear friends, Jake and Sharon, to come down and stay in our new house for Thanksgiving. They arrived just in time to celebrate Sharon's birthday and help us sweep the dirt out of the house so we could stay there. They were and are such good friends and good sports. It seems like they are always there when we are in the midst of a big change or a minor crisis (they don't use the word crisis here). Jake and Sharon didn't even flinch when they arrived and our furniture was in the yard encased in plastic wrap just waiting to be moved into the house (by us). It had been driven down the 9.8 kilometer dirt and gravel road at midnight the previous evening from Guadalajara. I was completely immobile by then (shock), but when Sharon pulled out her box cutter and started cutting the plastic away, I finally sprung into action.

We threw together a delicous Thanksgiving dinner with all of the fixings (there was already a Sam's Club in Puerto Vallarta - two hours south). We had no doors and windows (manana) and put the garbage in a double sealed plastic bag on the back porch. It didn't occur to us that the mapaches (racoons) would have a late night orgy on the porch and there would be garbage and racoon droppings strewn everywhere you can imagine. I don't exactly remember how I felt about that but I think Sharon and I went right back to bed and Jake and Bruce cleaned up the mess. That was kind of how it was back then. We blamed Bruce and Jake for all of the outdoor mishaps (which means everything since we were essentially living outdoors). I was already in the manana mindset even back then. It took Bruce a little longer.

Long, long story short, I didn't go home after Thanksgiving. Bruce flew back to Seattle by himself. I had to be there to oversee the final touches on the house and make numerous trips to Guadalajara to get pots and plants and more stuff. I had the time of my life because everything was so inexpensive....giant terra cotta pots for $120 pesos ($12 USD). Bruce was a really good sport about it. He had installed an incredible sound system and I have the most wonderful memories of listening to the Dixie Chicks and Sarah McLauchlin every single night with a glass of wine and just living in the here and now and loving it.

The doors and windows arrived in February and I went home in early March. My business partner was resigned to the fact that I was on an extended leave of absence and he actually encouraged me because the travel business had by then, officially tanked for us. For me, things were never the same after that. I was captivated and charmed by Mexico and everything about it. I think that's when I realized I could really live here full time. Everything that happened was fun and magical and I felt like I belonged there. I loved the way I was able to shop in Zacualpan, a tiny town nearby. I loved the fresh vegetables and fruits, buying fish from the fisherman right in front of our house. I had a Mexican family who worked on the property and are still family eight years later even though we don't live close by anymore.

We moved to Mexico full time in November 2001. Bruce brought his design business down to the beach. After all, he could communicate with his main client in Hong Kong easily enough and it was the age of telecommution. We got one of the very first Hughes satellite dishes in western Mexico so we could have internet. There were no telephone lines to our house then. That was the beginning. Now we've moved north to San Carlos. I wouldn't trade any of the little inconveniences and that's not really what they were anyway. They were lessons and we're still learning. As I sit here in San Carlos now I feel really fortunate for the way things unfolded for us. I'm still charmed and delighted by Mexico. Our lives are still unfolding and changing and it still feels really right.

2009-06-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

I've been overthinking my blog. However, I'm finding that everything I think I "should" write about changes when I actually start writing.

Today is my father's birthday - Don Carlos Ambrose. He was a career Army officer; never the same after he retired. He loved army life and without it, he was a fish out of water. We loved it too and I think that's where I got my love of travel. We lived all over the world and never forgave our parents for planting us in Gilroy, California after he retired. Looking back, it wasn't so bad. After all that's where I attended high school, but come on it smelled like garlic. I hated garlic for years. Now I use it ever single day without fail and I went to a big combined Gilroy High School reunion a couple of years ago and I had a great time; reconnected with old friends from my high school years (but that's another story). I think about my father a lot. He died in 1986, a month after Bruce and I got married. He was only 64, but he had battled alcoholism all of his adult life and it took a toll on him. I think he must have been depressed most of his life and if he had been able to get help for that (or even admit to it) his life would have been different and he might possibly still be here. We all loved him a lot. He had a powerful presence and he did help me through some hard times in my adult life. He wasn't a mean drunk ever. In fact we never saw him drunk. He would simply go away for a while. That's a problem in the army. He was a very funny man; outrageously funny. He had a wacky sense of humor and he passed that on to his four daughters. God forbid any of us should ever say the first thing that pops into our head. Some people would say it's inappropriate; black humor, but if I'm honest it makes me laugh out loud, sometimes that hysterical kind of laughter that nearly gets out of control. My sister Laurie says he channels through me sometimes (actually a psychic I saw a few years ago at Rio Caliente told me the same thing). I think we all have good hearts too. Our father was generous to a fault and would literally give you the shirt off of his back if he could. I think I learned how to really care about people from him. My parents were complete opposites and I don't think my mother ever got over him although she would never admit it. She was a really strong and smart woman and a great person but our father's alcoholism took its toll on her. Sadly, I don't think she allowed herself to be really happy after she divorced him though it was always hard to tell because she never learned how to share her feelings.

Laurie and I have the same mother; Kelly and Lisa's mother was Terry. They are 18+ years younger than we are. We didn't meet each other until the early 70's, when we were grown and they were little girls. We didn't see them again until 1984 when my father was very ill. Then years passed again and it wasn't until about five years ago that we really reconnected and will stay reconnected. We've all realized how important it is to be connected to each other. Kelly and Lisa are in their early 40's and have their own families. There is no question we are all sisters. We are very much alike. Laurie and Lisa have dark hair and flawless complexions while Kelly and I are freckle faced girls. Kelly came to visit me at Playa Las Tortugas with her son, Jack, about five years ago and I hadn't seen her since 1985, but when she came through immigration I could tell who she was because she looked a lot like me! It was shocking. During that first visit we discovered that we even used the same shampoo and conditioner...now that's just crazy. The next year Kelly and Lisa came down to Puerto Vallarta together and we had an incredible week together. Laurie and I spend a lot of time together; in fact every chance we get. We are almost more like emotional twins. Our voices are so similar that we've been able to fool people over the years, even our husbands. We talk to each other every day. She's in Oregon and I'm here in Mexico. Next week Bruce and I are going to Chicago (I've never been there!) and I'm driving up to Lisa's town, Madison, Wisconsin, for her son Nick's graduation from high school. I don't know Nick or Erik (Lisa's oldest) at all and I can't wait to meet them. It's also Lisa's birthday on the 13th so I'll be there for that; the first time ever. I love having sisters. It's really special. I love them so much and no matter what, we would do anything for each other (and have). It's a great feeling.

Well now this is a mini novel, but I want to write about what's happening in the present too. Life in San Carlos continues to be good and I'm happier here than I was in Sayulita. Part of that is environmental. I'm really affected by my physical surroundings. When I was younger and apartment hunting I could tell immediately what the vibe was in the apartment and whether or not I could live there. In our former home, Sayulita, we lived in a neighborhood with roosters, dirt roads and lots of boom boxes turned up to nose bleed at any given hour of the day or night. It's a cool town but, for whatever reason, I never really bonded with it. It's quiet here on the Caracol. We didn't have sunsets at our house in Sayulita because we had no view. We have a wonderful house there (it's for sale!) but here we have the view and the sunset. It is gorgeous. It just makes life seem easier with all of this right here. I love being close to what's going on outdoors. If I had it all to do again, I would be a weather person. Bruce and I lived on our boat in Seattle for several years just before we moved to Mexico and we loved it partly because we were right there on the water and in the weather. I like the people I've met here in San Carlos. Even dealing with the Homeowners Association Architectural Committee has been good and I'm really excited about building our house. The house also bring us closer to the environment because we're going to have as many solar panels as we can afford and we're going to collect rainwater and have a gray water system. It's going to be as green as we can make it. Bruce has put his heart and soul into the design.

So now I'm going to make a small amount of strawberry freezer jam with the strawberries I bought at Tony's truck. I love Tony's truck. It is my way to shop. For those of you who don't know (which is everyone but Bliss), Tony sells just about everything you could possibly need from his truck and outdoor market on the main street of San Carlos. He is an entrepreneur who even has whipping cream which I like to put in my coffee. I think he has the best fresh fruits and vegetables in town. He even has fish, chicken, meat and every staple you can think of. He's also a really nice man. I just feel good when I shop there...just another reason I love it here.

2009-06-04T12:55:00.001-07:00

I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing or if I've formatted this correctly or if anyone is going to read this, and if they do what if they think I'm a moron? I'm thinking the picture of me is much too large, but I don't know how to fix that yet. I don't want readers to think I am in love with my own image because the truth is I am not at all photogenic and I am, and always will be, insecure. However, this photo is probably one of the best of me ever. It's a self portrait and I probably took about 20 shots. It was taken in LA right after I spent a small fortune getting my hair done on Rodeo Drive. It was crazy, but more than worth it because it was really fun and quite satisfying. I normally do it myself and the total cost is about $15.00. There I go trying to justify my expenditure again. I was on my way to Hong Kong with my sister and best friend, Laurie, and I knew I should probably not start running up the credit cards before I even left the country, but it was like I had an out of body experience. I was experiencing one of those stress free days when everything feels perfect (or am I truly mentally ill?). We had been planning this trip forever. My nephew, Josh (Laurie's son), and his beautiful soulmate, Natalie, were having their first baby and we were going over for the big event. Laurie never thought she would be a grandmother and her reaction was over the top. She was, and is, so happy and so am I. They have a girl, Scarlett, named after Laurie. Laurie's pen name is Miz Scarlett. Little Scarlett is the cutest baby ever except for my four grandchildren. More about all that another time.

I want to write about my life, our lives, in Mexico and I guess I have a nagging fear that it might not be all that interesting. The truth is I find it all very interesting and I don't know exactly how I got here. As an old friend of mine said "if I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself". However, if it weren't for all of those crazy experiences in my life, I wouldn't be who I am or where I am today. I can't get over thinking that I'm really lucky and part of life's path is just that - luck ........ and timing. Karma is number one, but no matter what, there's the luck and timing thing. I also got very lucky in finding a life partner like Bruce; a man with enough of a right brain to be utterly charming and creative, and number one in my book, a great sense of humor. It has to be somewhat wacky too.

I kept waiting to start this blog; waiting for the right time, a day when I felt really on top of everything. The truth is that day will probably never happen and when it does I'll probably be off satisfying my manic side.....like getting my hair done at a fabulous place or some other form of instant gratification.

This is my eighth year in Mexico and I have never looked back. I'm an American and I'm proud of it, but when I'm in the US I definitely feel the stress that just isn't present here in Mexico. I'm still trying to figure out where all of that stress comes from. People may not drive all that well here, but in my part of Mexico there is no road rage, just laughter and at most a shake of the head. That's not to say it isn't frustrating to drive here, but there's no fear of death for accidentally cutting someone off. I can't even get started on all of the things written about this charming country that are just not true and my opinions on the border problems would problem rile a lot of Americans. Let's just face it, these hard working people (whether in the US legally or not) are doing jobs that a lot of Americans don't want to do like bussing tables and working for minimum wage. Mexicans are, more often than not, really good and kind people with amazing family values and a work ethic that I don't see often. I also feel absolutely safe here even when I'm travelling alone. I love going back to the US; my family is there and I miss them very much but this in now my home. The US is the greatest country in the world and sometimes we take those freedoms for granted. All of the bad press Mexico has gotten recently is definitely keeping people away. I believe tourism is down at least 50 percent right now.

So now ....about today...I'm getting over a cold I probably picked up on my last trip in spite of my vigilant nose swabbing with Zicam (isn't that a pretty picture). I learned the Zicam thing from my sister on our trip to Hong Kong in the most cramped, tiny, crowded little seats in coach with people hacking and coughing all around us. We managed to arrive in Hong Kong healthy. Oh yes, my pet peeve is people hacking and coughing on a plane. I feel an extremely unreasonable urge to smack them and say "stop it already".

Bruce is working on our house design; I believe the lighting plan; in his office about ten feet away from me and I'm sitting here taking a stab at this blog. I'm looking out of the window at the bay and the mountain. I can't get over the beauty here in San Carlos. It's like we have found the perfect geographic location. We are both water people and we love mountains. It's the middle of the day and I'm going to watch the rerun of Obama's speech. I have only heard the reviews and I'm anxious to hear the real thing. The reviews are all over the place. I know it's cynical but I am sick of the press spewing their opinions and spinning important events in a negative manner. I may also bake some cookies. I haven't baked cookies in about three years. I'm not sure why. I think it has something to do with the heat.

I'm reading this blog over and thinking it's kind of all over the place, but that's how I think too. I will try again tomorrow.