10 Reasons to forget last week!

I wanted to show you pictures of our trip to Mazatlan, but I can't -- no pictures on my computer.

Let's go back a few weeks...my hard drive crashed again on this laptop for the 2nd time, so I lost all my bookmarked pages (again) and Roy had to reinstall Windows (again). I have no sound on my computer so I can't hear videos, or my aquarium or my farm animals (that's another story). Very frustrating.

So, just now, I was going to write about our trip to Mazatlan and add some of our beautiful pictures and now I find I am not connected to our home network and cannot access our shared pictures file. Another frustration. So I'll tell post pictures later.

First off, we were leaving on Sunday morning around 3:45 and Lupe was going to pick us up at 3:30 to take us to the bus. I waited until Saturday afternoon to do laundry and during this process the dryer decided to stop working (#1). Roy is a master fixer -- so he fooled around and it started again so I could finish doing laundry before we left on our trip.

On Tuesday, our trip coordinator Marta (Lupe is her husband), came to Roy and asked for a favor. He said, of course, which he always does. It seems the hotel where we were staying had gotten our reservations wrong and only had our group confirmed for 2 nights and not 3 so Roy whipped out his good 'ole AMEX (don't leave home without it) and he put 1 more night for our entire group (about 40 people) on his credit card $29,000 pesos (#2)!! We're going to get the money back, not a problem with that -- we were just the only ones there with a credit card with a large enough credit limit to help her out.

We were scheduled to leave on Wed afternoon around 1:00pm. At 2:30 am on Wed. Roy woke me up complaining (which he never does) about severe pain in his lower belly. We called for the hotel doctor who came to our room and by 3:30 am he was on his way, via ambulance, to the hospital in Mazatlan to figure out what was going on. He (we) stayed in the hospital for 2 nights and he was diagnosed with a kidney stone and had surgery to break up a 1cm stone in his kidney that would not pass! (#3). We have insurance here in Mexico, but there is a one year waiting period so this expense comes out of our pocket too (#4). The hospital, urologist, cardiologist, GM, hotel doctor, meds, nurses, etc was about $50,000 pesos.

We now have to get home another way because our return trip was to be by bus with our group. On to the Mazatlan airport and tickets on Mexicana Air (#5) for both of us -- $1500 pesos. After a 5 hour wait at the airport -- we arrive back at the Guadalajara airport and our friend, Tom Faloon, is waiting for us to bring us to Ajijic.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, that while Roy is in the hospital, we receive word from our friend, Tom, that Beau is near death (#6)! Beau has been Roy's big, black, dog for more than 16 years! He is part black lab, part chow and has the sweetest disposition and temperment of all our dogs combined. When we get back to the house, Beau is laying on a pallet outside our bedroom covered with blankets and not moving. Roy, who is just out of surgery and hospital, lies on the floor with Beau for several hours because we both think he won't be with us for much longer.

Monday, I have a dentist appointment at 9:30am. I go out to leave and the car won't start (#7). It's the battery, of course it is! So we call our mechanic and he buys and installs a new battery (#8) for $2000 pesos but it's not taking a charge when the car is running -- it's the alternator (#9). We give our mechanic $3000 pesos to buy parts in Guad so he can repair our alternator. No car Monday or Tuesday (#10).

Today is Tuesday. I am without a car and low on cash! LOL The total for our trip to Mazatlan and the car so far has been about including refills on prescriptions here $58,800

The good news is that we are home, Roy is healing, and the dogs got groomed this morning $350 pesos.

Our trip to the beach was not what we had planned for it to be. However, the hotel was wonderful, the weather was perfect, we had a balcony with a magnificent view of the ocean and sunsets. The food was good, the pools were beautiful and Lauren, Joseph and Forrest were a delight to spend time with. We all had fun (except maybe for Roy because he admitted to me this morning that he'd been feeling poorly and had back pains for 2 weeks before we left). That's my husband, suffer in silence. Very frustrating, but I think he's gotten the hint that he needs to take better care of himself -- if he wants to be around to take of all of us. Even while Roy was in the hospital he was worrying about Lauren, me, and Keith, his business partner! That's what I love about him the most -- and find it to be very frustrating too!

When I have access to our pictures I'll post some of them -- Mazatlan is a great place for a vacation.

I wanted some more yard

I wanted to remove the slate patio for more yard and a place for another tree. We had workers here repairing the leak in the roof of the covered patio so while they were already going to be here for that job we included a "re-working" of the large area surrounding the fountain that was slate. It was very "hard" looking and hot when the sun was beating on it, which most days here in Ajijic it is sunny.

Most work in Mexico is done by hand. A man and his pick axe hacking away at the slate. The picture above shows the beginning of the project.

This next picture shows what was revealed when the worker got under the slate. What we found was an entire other patio under the slate and concrete...a very common occurence here. You don't like your floor, we'll just lay a new one on top of the old one -- no one will ever know! The patio below the slate was laidout in a parquet design so obviously it was planned and designed that way.

Apparently the previous, previous owners had gone to a great deal of work to have this brick patio installed. However, the previous owners, from whom we bought the house, decided they wanted slate. It is handsome and elegant looking, but it doesn't wear well in the elements.


This picture shows how thick the concrete layer was they poured over the brick and then the cement layer for the slate to attached to...OMG how deep does this go down? I am going to guess about 6" deep. I was off a bit -- I just went out and measured and it's at least 5" thick. That's a lot of hacking and pounding.


This morning, I went out to take pictures and this is what was left of the "patio" before the guys came back to keep hacking and pounding and digging away. Magda had to come out and make her inspection prior to today's work beginning.


Well, as you can see in this picture, the one guy in the foreground seems to be leaning on, what's that, a machine of some kind. The Maestro decided to rent a jack hammer for the day so the work would go faster for the two fellows working here. Thank you Miguel! It's an electric jack hammer so not quite as loud as a pneumatic one -- thank goodness. The pounding will be done by this evening as well as the digging!

Magda is super angry she can't go outside and flirt with the trabadores. She's been whining for 2 days now. It's a really good thing Roy's working in Houston because between Magda's pathetic crying and scratching at the door and the pounding and noise -- he wouldn't be a happy man right now.

The next part is the fill dirt and some new flagstone steps to and from the house to the garage and grass! It will be much cooler and softer looking too. AND I have more areas to grow flowers, etc. I am hoping we put in a plumeria tree (that's the blossom the Hawaiian's use to make leis) and maybe even a little lime tree for fresh limonadas y margaritas!

I'll post the after pictures once the yard is in so you can see how much nicer it is and will become!

Facebook & Farm Town

Well, I've developed a new addiction friends, Facebook and Farm Town. OMG -- I can stay on Facebook all day and into the night. It is a wonderful way to keep up with the goings on in friends' and families' lives. AND, since joining Facebook I have found out about a game called "Farm Town".

It is an amazing waste of time and I can't stop thinking about my farm! When I first went on and started my farm I didn't get it -- what's the purpose of this silliness? You get 570 coins when you start and you buy and plow some fields and plant a couple of crops, have no more money left, and THEN WHAT? What's the fun in this silly game. I don't get the point of it. Roy googled strategies and chat forums about Farm Town for me so we could figure out HOW to play and how to advance.

A couple of my friends invited me to be their neighbors at Farm Town. They started explaining what you do to "grow" your farm. I started working on their farms making more coins by harvesting and plowing for them. I went from level 1 to level 24 in about 2 weeks -- that's obsessive behavior! I have withdrawal when I can't get into my farm, when the server for Farm Town bumps me out, or when my computer internet is slow or down all together. I plan my crops around when my friends and I will be available to harvest for each other.

I wake up in the morning and immediately log onto Farm Town to see what's going on and what is ready to harvest. If none of my "neighbors" are home, I go to the marketplace and wait to be hired to work on some stranger's farm so I can get more coins and more points to get more stuff to plant and decorate my farm. It's crazy and I love it! It's one of the only addictions I've had that's not shortening my life or costing me money -- at least as far as I know!

If you want to be my Farm Town neighbor, let me know. With more neighbors I get to do buy more stuff like streams, lakes, big houses, and expensive crops that make more coins!!!!!!! See what I mean -- I've lost my mind.

Posting pictures, wierd celebrity obsession, whinning

As I am not a very techie person it seems to take me a long time to 1) remember how to post pictures on my blog, facebook, ravelry, etc. and 2) to then get them where I want them in the damn blog, facebook, ravelry, etc. I refer to Roy as "Help Desk"! We even have friends here in Mexico that call on Roy now when they need something figured out!

Do I sound like I'm whinning -- You betcha!

I am so sick of Michael Jackson, his family, his legal issues, his drug use, his beatification yesterday, etc. There was nothing else on TV yesterday except that crap -- I use TV to entertain and sometimes inform myself and there was none of that to be found leading up to and including yesterday. As someone said -- there are real issues to be talking about in the world now -- NOT MJ! WOW where did that come from....

Thank you I needed to get that off my chest.

Back to my original post title: posting pictures. I want to post pics on my ravelry page, but it's a pain in my a** to do it.

Can someone please let me know if there's an easy way to download just some pictures off your camera, put them someplace logical and push a button to then "paste" them where you would like to view them and let others view them as well??? Probably not -- too logical.

Enough whinning for today (maybe, not promising). Hope your day is turning out better than mine.

Visit to Texas

I was back in Texas for a couple of weeks and saw lots of family and friends. My Dad was in hospice in Longview, and is in good spirits and still smiling! Love you Spence and JoAnn. It was hard to see him immobile in a hospital bed but I'm so glad I was able to go and see him. My brother Mike went with me on the drive from Dallas. We had a good visit and did lots of reminiscing!

While in Dallas a tornado went over my brother's house -- pretty scary! Mike and Marisa were there for dinner and when they finally got home (which isn't too far) all their pool furniture was in the pool -- but the old fence was still standing pooooh! I enjoyed the time we all had to just be together and eat, talk, and watch some TV. Amy, David, William and Kathryn came up from Richards for a big garage sale at Mike and Willa's church. Even Carolyn got to come up for a night. We had a pool/BBQ party at Mike and Marisa's on Thurs so I got to see almost everyone expect Daniel (Carolyn's hubby) who had to work in Waco.

Went to Houston for my grandson, Forrest's, first birthday party. So much fun -- lots of little children and noise! Lauren and Forrest go to Gymboree and many of their friends came. It was so wonderful to see Dad's holding their babies and being involved with the party. Not like when I was little. Moms did the children stuff and the Dad's smoked and drank cocktails and talked about sports or business. Very refreshing to see fathers eager to participate! What a blessing for them and their children. Forrest wasn't having any of the cupcake with bright green icing though. He smeared off the icing and rubbed it on his ears, and hair, and face -- great pics. The little man was coming down with a cold so by that night he wasn't feeling too well along with his Daddy, Joseph. Roy came down with it by Monday -- so far Lauren and I have dodged the bullet!

Roy and I got to see Forrest's day care school too. It's really nice. Great security and the teacher/child ratio for his group is great. He's happy and has fun -- that's all you want for the little man! They read, dance, eat lunch together and learn something everyday. I'm so proud!

We also were there to close on the sale of our Bellaire house. There were many, many, many, many glitches in this process (as of today we still don't have our money). The buyer has no shame! Lauren's going to go to closing for us on Monday and hopefully call us with good news! We think things are all okay -- but with this guy it ain't over til they slide the check across the table! If for some reason he blows it Monday -- he ain't getting our house. We'd rather leave it empty then screw around with him any more -- he's used up all our patience.

I got to spend a lot of time with some friends too while in Houston. Some I haven't seen in a couple of years. I even met some new friends -- hi Pam and Lizzy! This, for me, is one of the hard parts about leaving Houston -- I miss my knittin' buddies! When we left Houston on Friday it was 98 degrees -- even hotter and more humid when I was in Dallas if you can believe that! When we landed in Guadalajara is was 78 degrees and raining. It was 68 when we got to our house! At 2:00 this afternoon it was 77 degrees and the mountains are turning velvet green! Muy bonita!

I am happy to be home with my dogs and hubby! I love it here, but I do miss my friends and the kids so very much. We all have to make trade offs though and thank God for email, facebook, Ravelry, VOIP phones, and blogs!

COME SEE US!

Knitting with Friends

Yesterday I had 4 friends over to knit. It was soooo much fun. They looked through my library and borrowed some books and Roy even served us cool drinks. Having a group here to knit with on a regular basis has been something I've missed from Houston. There was a group that I used to go to but the makeup of the group changed and there was lots of drama associated with who was there and who wasn't wanted -- so I stopped going.

This group is small and they have been getting together once a week for some time so I'm happy to have found them. We also have several alternatives for purchasing yarn here now too. Another couple of crafters who go back and forth to the US monthly have opened a yarn shop with mostly acrylic, but they will bring back special order stuff too -- like Lion Brand naturals, Vanna White yarn, etc. Still no Malabrigo though! -- I am dying to see this stuff. Got plans to visit several stores in Texas while I'm there to check out what's up!

Also, I've found a couple of people on Ravelry that live here lakeside. I've got plans to hook up with one of them later this month. Ravelry is truly amazing.

Well, sitting in my bedroom with 2 fans going and getting ready to break out the wet washcloths -- it's really freakin' hot today -- 93 on the patio -- and no A/C! This will be over soon, but OMG while we go through these dog days of spring here in Mexico it's pretty brutal!

Memorial Day

Memorial Day for me is not just remembering and giving thanks for those citizens and friends of the USA who have given the ultimate sacrifice for me, but remembering and giving thanks for all my friends and family who have sacrificed and loved me during my journey here on this plain!

I am feeling sentimental today and missing people that I don't get to see anymore on a regular basis. Thank GOD for the internet, facebook, blogs, email, Ravelry, and the phone. I don't think I would have been able to move to Mexico without being able to stay in touch with my extended family.

I recently have reconnected with friends from Dallas through facebook. What a gift! I spent many, many hours, days, weeks, months, and years with these people. They had quite a positive impact on my life in forming how I think about myself, life, the world, spirit!

THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING!
I love you this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!much!

Please know that you are often in my thoughts even though I'm over 1000 miles away. Hope everyone reading has a wonderful, grateful, reflective Memorial Day weekend!