The Big Project

THE WATERFALL

 

In our last installment we mentioned that the waterfall project was underway.  In this extended story Mrs.T gives a more detail to the project.  However, some background is needed.  We already had a pond/pool against the highwall behind the house.  Unfortunately it was neither deep enough nor stable enough to hold fish or supply water to the falls.  The main stone around here is sandstone which sucks water up like a sponge.  And the spring which is mentioned below is rather weak.  So the original pond would go up and down according to the rainfall; sometimes it would be quite high but would fall to a puddle without precipitation.  Thus, a liner was needed to insure a pond of constant depth, especially so the fish could over winter.  Also, it was not possible to drop a waterfall onto the sandstone wall; eventually it would wash away and possibly collapse.  A concrete pad needed to be made to stabilize it.

 

Our neighbor Jamey harvested our trees and also does concrete work.  He is our major contact when we do not know whom to contact for projects.  He assured us that he could do the job.  Brian handled the heavy machinery.  Darren did the concrete and electrical work.  Ray pitched in a bit; Duke and Bill provided some consultation. 

 

Pictures before, during, and after construction can be found at:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/

 

Come and see it for yourself.

 

 

 

Before we started building our house a couple of years ago I had great plans.  Not for the house, although Dan and I had been working on house plans for years.  In addition to the house I had plans for the stone highwall behind where the house would be built.  I wanted a waterfall. 

 

Many people spend fortunes building little stone walls for pleasant little waterfalls in their gardens.  Here we had a forty to fifty foot stone wall already near our house what could be simpler?  Well….

 

I had talked about this project with our neighbor Jamey, but we planned to wait until the old house was sold.  But Jamey came down and explained that because of the economy he had no work for his guys and asked if we would consider doing the project now.  The price was higher than we had hoped.  But thanks to the recent generosity of Dan's parents we had some savings available.  We talked about it and agreed to go ahead.  I was so excited!  In two weeks I would have my waterfall.  They promised.

 

The first part of the work was slowed down because of rain.  It was impossible to do the grading, etc. in the mud.  A couple of times I thought the guys were really going to get their Bobcat and stuck but they never did.  (Brian was not happy about working in the mud.  dt)  The first part of the job was very frustrating for me because I like to do things myself.  By great expense of will power I stayed inside, peeking out of the window most of the time and letting the guys get on with it.  Dan used the excuse of taking pictures to go outside a lot.  But let's be honest here, I think almost everyone at one time or another has had an urge to get on one of those machines and push dirt around.  The Bobcat was too small to be really intimidating.  I think I could have done it with a little practice.  Darren told me it was easy.  But I refrained.

 

After initial grading and pulling down of trees it was time to drain the existing water – or so we thought.  Jamey hooked up a sump pump to a long hose thinking we could drain the water off down the hill in a day or so.  The water level began to slowly inch its way down and then we had a really hard rain.  We were back where we started. Two more days of pumping and then it rained again.  Jamey decided to leave the pump on over the weekend and if it did not pump it out he would have to get a bigger pump.  At this point I was beginning to suspect that the project might not get done in the original two weeks that was projected. 

 

Well it rained all weekend so Jamey got a bigger pump.  The water level really started sinking and I was optimistic.  But as the water level fell we found something completely unexpected - a large turtle.  It was about 10 inches across so both Brian and I thought it must be a snapping turtle.  We tried poking sticks at it.  This is the traditional way to catch snappers.  They are very grumpy turtles and if you poke a stick at them they will snap at it and refuse to let go so you can drag them out by the other end of the stick.  However this turtle would not snap.  He pulled his head in and dove under the water and swam away.  Hmmm.

 

"I'm not sure this is a snapping turtle," I told Brian.

 

"Well, stick your finger in the water and see what happens," he suggested.

 

Needless to say, I declined.  "Well it certainly is the most polite snapping turtle I have ever met," I muttered.

 

I went to fetch a five gallon bucket.  When the water receded a bit more Brian and I managed to herd the turtle into the bucket.  "I really don't think this is a snapping turtle, "I said, "Its shell is wrong."  (Snapping turtles shells have points on them but this shell was smooth.)

 

Brian repeated his previous suggestion.

 

What is that awful smell? I thought, as I lugged the turtle up to the house.

 

I went inside to do more research.  The computer had a listing for turtles of Ohio.  I was hot on the scent.  And guess what I found out?  We had a stinkpot turtle.  Yes that was really its name (for reasons you have already figured out).  I went outside and dumped the turtle into a large plastic tub and added some water.  I dropped in a large leaf of lettuce for it to munch on.  The turtle dived down and came up wearing the lettuce on its head.  Either this was a turtle fashion statement or it thought if it could not see me, I could not see it.  I left the turtle and went out back to rinse the bucket out several times.  By the time Brian left that day the pond was almost empty and we were all confident that another half hour of pumping with the big pump would empty the pond and we could go on to the next step.

 

Many of you may be aware that Dan has a very nasty habit of getting up at ungodly hours in the morning.  (Actually I think God approves of early risers.  dt)  So at six the next morning I was not enthused at his insistence that I come and look at something.  I was even less thrilled when he showed me that our pond, which was almost empty the night before, was now half full.  Did we have pond pixies?  No what we had was a spring!  I went out to check on our tub resident.  He was still wearing the lettuce leaf and smelled no worse than any other turtle. (Stinkpots are kind of like skunks in that they give off foul odors when they are upset.)

 

When the guys came to finish emptying the pond they found another large turtle.  Stinky number two was duly captured and ensconced in his own tub while everyone discussed the situation.  The suggestion was that perhaps we had a spring at the bottom of our pond.  After subsequent pumping it was determined that this was in fact the case.  Now we had a problem with what to do with the stinkers.  Before we had been assured that the pond could be emptied, graded, lined, and refilled in two or at most three days, I had thought we would just keep the turtles in the tubs and return them to the restructured pond when it had water.  Now what with the spring we were unsure how long it would take. 

 

Keeping turtles that large in tubs for very long seemed cruel, so I scooped them back into the five gallon bucket and lugged them one at a time about a quarter of a mile down the ridge to another pool. (Boy were they heavy!)  The turtles were not very pleased with this procedure and let me know it in their own special way.  I washed out the bucket and both tubs and returned to see what the plan was now.

 

It was more complicated but eventually after constructing a little dam in front of the spring the pond was drained and the liner was installed.  Then the pond was refilled and a pump was put in to pump the water to the top of the rock.  The first pump did not do the trick so they tried a second pump.  Alas no!!  By this time the frogs had returned.  And one morning whom should we see but Stinky who had decided to come back home.  During all this I was driving around spending my secret stash on various moisture loving plants.  The boys cheerfully planted them in the locations I pointed to.

 

One day our neighbor called Dan to see if we wanted a couple of Koi (Japanese pond fish) which were deeply discounted.  Dan was unable to contact me as I was plant shopping so like the true bargain hunter he is, he agreed.  (Rather difficult to turn down a 75% discount.  dt) They appeared later that day, a red one whom I named Scarlett and a white one whom I named Rhett.  They were dumped in the pond and have not been seen since.  Everyone tells me that since I haven't found them floating they are doing fine.  Supposedly these Koi will eat from your hand but that has not yet occurred.

 

Finally pump number three appeared and we had a waterfall!!  It was all downhill (so to speak) after that.  We added some more plants and got some smaller fish to eat any mosquito larvae and spent quite a while moving the pipe for the waterfall back and forth to decide exactly how we wanted the water to splash.  The electricity is all hooked up and we have a switch in the house so we can turn the waterfall on and off.  Is that decadent or what?

 

The local wildlife seems to approve also.  Almost every morning the birds come and bathe in the little splash pool.  Chuck the groundhog has sauntered by twice to check it out.  Two Canada geese, with half a dozen goslings toddling behind stopped by but after a close examination moved on finding the pond did not exactly meet their needs.

 

So almost every morning Dan and I turn on our waterfall, slip into the hot tub (au natural of course - dt) where we can watch it out the window, and relax.  Life is good.

 

Thanks Mom and Dad.

 

 

Dan and Rebecca

 

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

 

---

Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. Check it out.

Back north

HOME and MORE

 

As Mrs. T relates below, we are back in the holler.  And the weather is too ^%&*(^ cold.  And wet.  My body more and more appreciates the warm weather of the south where there is no need to dress layer upon layer.  And certainly shoes and socks are only for formal occasions.

 

R just alludes to the fact that a major project is underway here:  the construction of the waterfall that she has had at the forefront of her mind even before the house was built.  Even as I edit this, the crew is out back with the big Bobcat removing trees and stumps, moving dirt, sculpting the bank, building a dam, etc.  This has become much more than a pick and shovel project, although down at the condo that is what they would use.  But it appears that it will be quite nice when completed.  And we are doing our bit to help keep a couple of guys employed; Muskingum County has one of the higher unemployment rates – a bit north of 12%.  However, Mrs. T needs to rein in other ambitious ideas for a while.

 

The pictures are a bit out of order, but you should be able to see what is happening:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157616665013277/

 

 

You will note that I did not accompany Mrs. T on her excursion to Yucatan; I decided that my walking was still not up to speed and did not want to impede her.  If I had gone, she might not have met the more seasoned Canadian traveler and writer Alison Gardner.  Check out her website:  http://travelwithachallenge.com/

 

 

 

 

We are back in Ohio and beginning to readjust.  Two days of April snow left us a little grumpy but there are lots of wildflowers in bloom and that made me happy. Before I get to the news from Ohio I would like to mention a few last things about Mexico.

 

The trip to Chichen Itza was very interesting.  We forget what a big country Mexico is. The Yucatan is completely different from the Pacific coast where we live.  For one thing it is hotter.  In Mexico they call it Caliente Tierra - the hot lands. The temperature was in the 90s every day I was there.  I was fortunate in that when I was there, there was a little breeze a lot of the time.  But standing out in the sun in the middle of the day was not a good idea. 

 

To get to the site I flew on two airplanes and then took a bus.  By the time I got off the second airplane the first class bus was gone so I took a second class bus.  What an adventure!  The second class bus had nice seats (on second class buses you never know in Mexico) but it took back roads and stopped every five minutes.  People just come up and stand by the road and when the bus comes by it stops and they get on.  This is actually a good way to see how ordinary people live.  Not too well.  We had been told that Bucerias where we live is a prosperous part of Mexico but I had not given much thought to what the other parts were like.

 

In Bucerias on the beach there are palapas with thatched palm roofs for shade.

In the Yucatan many of the houses had thatched roofs.  There was an odd thing though; some of them had thatched roofs with corrugated metal over the thatch.

Also, in Bucerias most of the buildings are made of brick or cement but in Yucatan a lot of them were made of rock or sticks.  Outside of the towns many of these small houses had no electricity, and I would guess no plumbing.  At one point the bus went by some caves and people were living in them.  You could see the beds, tables and so on.  They had what looked like curtains hanging down at the front of the caves but these were open to let in air and light I suppose.

 

In the Yucatan a lot of the farming is slash and burn agriculture.  This is a lot of work.  Every few years they move to a new field and burn every thing on it and then plant it in corn.  The ash provides some fertilizer.  But the big problem is they have to get the rocks out of the way.  We passed many of these burnt fields and they all had huge piles of rocks in them.  Looking at them I had to wonder if the pyramids were just rock piles that got out of hand. Ah - no.

 

A taxi driver later told me more about the corn planting.  It was almost time to plant the corn.  If it did not rain within three days of the time the corn was planted, the birds ate the corn and the farmers had to replant.  From this I wondered if they merely sowed the corn but I do not know.   Perhaps the soil is so rocky this is the only way to do it. Within five days after planting if it has rained the corn will sprout and then it will be OK unless there is a drought which seldom happens.  In October after the harvest there is a big fiesta and the farmers make sacrifices to Chuc the corn god.  I told the cabbie about our Thanksgiving.  A lot of food seemed to figure into their harvest fiesta also.

When I got to the hotel it had beautiful landscaping, the bungalow had stained glass windows and was quite lovely.  The reason I picked this hotel, however, was because it was right beside the Mayan archeological site.  This place was amazing.  The main ball court was about as long as two football fields.  The hoops the player had to get the ball through were quite high, perhaps twenty feet above the field.  I cannot imagine how they did it.   Supposedly either the winners or the losers were sacrificed to the gods at least some of the time.  I think it must have been the losers because otherwise it would not be much incentive to win, but that is just me.  People do strange things for religious reasons and supposedly being sacrificed was an honor.

 

The main pyramid was quite large.  We were not allowed to climb it because an American had fallen off and killed herself some years before.  (You know how those American tourists are.)  But you could see the intricate carvings quite clearly.  There were four main animals that seem to have been revered: the rattlesnake, the eagle, the jaguar, and the bear.  I personally related most to the jaguar.  (See pictures of me holding a baby jaguar attached.  (Pictures from the PV zoo; yes, although black it is a jaguar. dt))  I asked my guide how they knew which buildings were oldest and he told me it was because they carved the date they finished the buildings on the top stone.  Dah.

 

There was a light show at night that told the story of the city - Chichen Itza is translated as 'well of the water sorcerers' – with pictures flashed on the side of the big pyramid.  In addition to several pyramids there was a marketplace, several ball courts, a school, an observatory, a palace, a sacred well where they threw in human sacrifices, and much more.  Originally most of these were painted in bright colors but most of the paint has fallen off.  It was an exhausting but thought provoking day.  It put me in mind of the poem Ozymandias. 

 

I was looking for a little memento to bring back to Dan when I found just the thing.  It was a bookmark with his Mayan astrological symbol.  That is how I discovered that Dan is in reality BATMAN!  No, he does not run around trying to save Gotham City in his underwear, but his Mayan astrological symbol is Zotz, a bat.  (Probably of the vampire variety:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camazotz  dt)  I had always suspected he was a Zotz but now we know officially.

 

At any rate we are back in Ohio starting to work on our waterfall but in the back of my mind I remember the water sorcerers and know that whatever we build is for a moment and then is gone.  In the end I think it is the moments that matter.

 

Best wishes.  Keep in touch.

 

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

---

Hotmail® is up to 70% faster. Now good news travels really fast. Find out more.

One more week

ALMOST TIME TO MOVE NORTH

 

Our time at our southern home is coming to a close.  Next week we head back to the holler.  The flowers there should just be coming out and the weather should be turning warmer – we hope.  Most importantly we will once again be among our northern friends.

 

We really live in two places now.  And this leads to an announcement that some of you know:  Starting this year we will be spending a full five months at the condo.  We will return here the first week of November later this year and stay until the end of March/beginning of April.  We thought long and hard – trite but true – about this plan that will cause us to miss holidays and other winter events.  But winter is the problem; we both find the cold, drabness of Ohio winters to be detrimental to our health.  We both feel much better here in the warm tropical sunshine.  Thus, we are going to split our year almost evenly between our northern and southern residences.  We will miss the time with many of you, but now you will have more opportunities to visit us here and miss some cold weather yourselves.

 

Mrs. T does not have a story to share of an adventure.  Actually she is currently on the other side of Mexico for a short vacation to visit the pyramids and other ancient ruins of Chichen Itza (Someday I will learn how to put on the accents.) in Yucatan.  As my walking is still a bit slow I decided to stay home and work on relocation preparations.

 

Not that we did not have a couple of events.  Mrs. T went to the zoo in Puerto Vallarta and enjoyed kissing the camel.  And we had a small fiesta in the condo, part of which involved bashing a piñata.  Here are some pictures of the events:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157612563682656/

 

R claims the piñata followed her home from scuba diving.

 

Skype has worked quite well for us here.  Again, to all our friends in foreign lands, send us a telephone number where we might reach you.  (We are not sure that Skype will work in the holler, however.)

 

Happy birthday to LL.

 

Keep in touch.  And always you can review past postings at:

 

http://www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com/

 

dan and rebecca

---

Windows Live™ SkyDrive: Get 25 GB of free online storage. Check it out.

The Dentist Adventure

More than a root canal

 

You may recall we interrupted out last posting when Mrs. T returned from the dentist.  Here is the adventure that she had.  (Apologies to our neighbors who have heard all this already.)

 

 

 

Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. (NB)

 

I had told my friends that I was getting pretty good with Spanish.  Not that I spoke correctly or fluently (I would never claim that!), but that I almost always could get my point across.  When I limped home from my planned root canal Chuck piped up, "Your Spanish is not nearly as good as you thought!  You went to get your tooth fixed and they fixed your leg instead!"  Oh Well.

 

What happened was this.  I was sitting in the dentist's office minding my own business and thinking of the film "Marathon Man,"   (R does not like to visit the dentist.  dt) when the men came to install a new glass door.  We had watched them remove the old door on a previous visit.  I was watching in a desultory way as they attached the bottom part. They were trying to attach the top part when the glass shattered. A shower of glass pellets fell on my right leg.  Ouch!!

 

I was looking at my leg in surprise when after the shock of pain the red came.  First a drop here and there then a trickle, another trickle, and suddenly my whole leg was covered with blood.  About this time the lady sitting beside me started to shout.  "OH NO!!!  THIS IS HORRIBLE!!!  LOOK AT THIS!!"  I turned to see how she was faring and saw two tiny drops of blood on her leg.  I looked down at my own leg, where blood was dripping steadily into a small puddle on the floor.   "OH NO!!"  the lady started again, I turned to her and gave her what Dan (I wasn't there.  dt) describes as my sad cow look (isn't he poetic!) thinking I may have to sit here bleeding but do I have to listen to you too?  She immediately shut up.

 

I looked at my leg again, I thought of my first aid training.  "What should I do?" I wondered.  I saw no blood gushing, no arteries, good, I thought.  I should sit still, I thought and not move or get excited so the blood will flow slower.  I started Yoga breathing.  "When I breathe in I am calm," I thought.  When I breathe out I …  The breathing out thought was supposed to be  "When I breathe out  I smile."  But frankly I did not think I could do the smiling.  "When I breathe out I am still calm," I thought.

 

People were scurrying here and there.  After a short Spanish discussion I did not try to catch, one of the dental assistants rushed out.  "Hold her leg up!" Dr. Adrian, the dentist, commanded.  One bent beside me and carefully lifted my leg to a horizontal position.  She began to gently brush the glass off my leg.  YEOUCH!!  "STOP!!" I yelled.  I knew she did not speak much English.  "Vidrio es aqui!" I explained.  I could not think how to tell her that some of the glass was still stuck in my leg but whether she could figure out what I meant by saying glass is here or not.  In any case, she stopped.

 

"When I breathe in I am calm," I thought, "When I breathe out I am calm."  A person swept some glass off the floor.  They brought a five gallon bucket and put a sofa cushion on top of it so I could rest my leg on that.  The receptionist (who speaks English fairly well) told me they had sent for a doctor and he would be there soon.

 

"When I breathe in I am calm," I thought, "When I breathe out I am calm."  Dr. Adrian's brother, Dr. Mauro, who is a regular doctor had his office about a block away.  Before long Dr. Mauro came.  "Are you in much pain, lady?" he asked.  "OH THIS IS SO AWFUL!!" screamed the lady sitting next to me.  I stopped right in the middle of yoga breathing and turned to give her my official patented If looks could kill glare.  She shut up immediately. 

 

Dr. Adrian took the other lady firmly by the arm and pulled her away saying "Why don't you stand over here so the doctor has room to help Rebecca."  Then he gave her a few good hard slaps.  Just kidding about the slaps but it was a lovely thought.  Dr. Mauro came closer, "Are you in much pain?" he asked again.

 

"No, es muy malo, pero vidrio…"  I stopped, trying to think how to tell him that some glass was still stuck in my leg.

 

"Speak English, Lady," Dr. Mauro said.  I felt an immediate urge to kiss him.  You may have been wondering why I was trying to speak Spanish to a doctor who was speaking to me in English.  All I can say is I was stressed.  So I explained to Dr. Mauro that although it did not hurt too badly, I knew there was at least one piece of glass still stuck in my leg.

 

"I don't think this is quite as bad as it looks," Dr. Mauro said comfortingly.  I looked at my leg, it looked pretty bad.  "First I am going to spray this anesthetic on your leg, it will sting," Dr. Mauro explained.  It did sting! But then it began to feel numb.  Dr. Mauro was using Dr. Adrian's stuff.  One of the dental assistants was helping him.  "Now I am going to spray some antiseptic on you leg," said Dr. Mauro.  And he did.  "Lady, you have been very brave, but I don't want you to be brave now.  I am going to wash your leg and I want to tell me any time it hurts."  So Dr. Mauro slowly washed my leg looking for pieces of glass that were still embedded.  He found three.  Then he carefully taped together the biggest wounds.  There were about fifteen. But none of them were deep or needed stitches.  (Thank God for safety glass!!)

 

By this time it was time for my root canal.  "Do you think you still want a root canal today Rebecca?" Dr. Adrian asked. 

 

"After all this a root canal is nothing," I replied.

 

"WHAT ABOUT MY LEG?"  my seatmate demanded.  Dr. Mauro looked her over disdainfully.  "You can follow me to my office I will look at you there."  So after my root canal was over my lag was wrapped in an elastic bandage and I was ferried home.

 

Dan was quite impressed and has recorded my recovery in photographs.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157612563682656/

 

 

Well, Mrs. T has been visiting Dr. Mauro almost daily for inspection of her cuts.  She had improved enough to go scuba diving yesterday.  But boogie boarding is still not in the offing.  As you can see her wounds were indeed impressive; she looked like she had been hit with buckshot.

 

 

You may note the pictures of the impressive iguana that Crystal caught.  Crystal jumped in the pool when the iguana headed that way to escape our maid.

 

And we now are using Skype here.  If you have a Skype name, let us know.  And for those of you not in the US, we can now call your regular phone cheaply – send us a number and we may indeed give you a call.  It was wonderful to talk to BN and JRS.

 

As always, you can read previous postings at:

 

http://www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com/

 

Best wishes to all.

 

Dan and Rebecca

---

Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. Check it out.

Breaking News

 

Last evening Mrs.T had a very enjoyable time attending the visiting circus in Puerto Vallarta with our neighbor Chuck.  Unfortunately today she is at the dentist for a root canal.  In the past you have heard us speak of the high quality of health care here, and Dr. Adrian the dentist is certainly as good as anyone in the US.  Mrs.T's tooth adventure began a week ago when she was eating some hard candy and one of her several crowns fell out.  We were able to see Dr. Adrian rather quickly – it was even busier than usual at his office as they were removing the double glass door - and after a preliminary exam he determined that the tooth had decay and that it would need further work and the crown could only be temporarily attached.  Indeed, temporary was a short time as the crown fell out later that day as R was eating an avocado and shrimp salad.  Today Dr. A's endo specialist is in town to do root canals and related work.  Thus, Mrs. T is there … we interrupt this to announce that she has returned from the dentist with an even more exciting story that she will report in the next installment.

 

So we will continue with some of her latest adventures:

 

We had an official meeting to incorporate the condo.  There is a specific way you do this in Mexico (Probably in the US too but I wouldn't know).  Most of the owners were not there but there were a lot of proxies some for Luis and some for Dan.  At the meeting were Luis and Joannes, both essentially trilingual although Luis is better in Spanish and Joannes is better in English.  I was sitting between Dan who was pretending he didn't understand Spanish and a Mexican owner who was pretending he didn't understand English.  About halfway though the meeting I finally figured all this out and stopped trying to explain.  They both may not have been able to speak very well but they knew what was going on.  Well the upshot is that Dan was elected president of the condo association (Maybe, I think I was just president of the meeting.  dt)  and the Mexican owner, Ulysses, and I are the vigilance committee.  This means we can stick our noses in anything and ask what is going on.  I warned them that they might regret having Dan be president because he is pretty bossy but they ignored me or pretended they didn't understand me as the case may be.

 

I went to the unfinished furniture store (Muebles Rustico) and bought another bookcase and two little tables to match the bookcase in our spare bedroom.   They come with carvings on the wood and I paint them with my oil paints.  With the new mixer, the widescreen TV, the new microwave, and this furniture the condo is shaping up nicely.  We have a renter already for April who we hope will also stay for May and June.  The long term renters are best from our standpoint.

 

I went snorkeling with two of our neighbors Crystal and Dianne.  We took bananas to feed the fish.  They were mostly king angelfish and chubbs.   We found that if we held the bananas out the fish would nibble from the end.  This worked pretty well until Dianne was holding out the banana and a large chubb came along long and took the whole thing (Why do you think they are called chubbs!)  At any rate we had a good time.  On the way to snorkeling we saw the Indian pole dancers.  These swing slowly around upside down tied by one foot. Slowly unwinding from the top about 150 feet in the air and descending to the ground while hanging upside down playing their flutes.  I am unsure exactly what all this portends but anyway we watched them do it.

 

My favorite dive shop is dissolving is a disagreement between the two owners.  Because of this my favorite divemaster Alex is starting his own shop with a Canadian lady, Donna.  This is a bad time to start a tourist type business but I hope they make it, and right now it works for me because I am diving with Allex every week.  This week we dove at Las Mariettas and went through a cave which had an opening to the sky.  There the waves splashed through the rock and fell back down on thin rock shelves making music that sounded like marimbas, it was amazing, this music of the sea!   We were swimming along underwater looking at fish and suddenly the sea darkened and we saw a cloud above us.  It was a school, no a veritable college of bat rays.  On the way out to the islands we saw three groups of whales and a sea turtle.  When we came to the third group of whales, I heard the divemasters and the captain muttering in Spanish whether to stop or not.  "We better stop," one of them said, "the more whales the better the tips."  I was glad they did because one whale came up about 30 feet from our boat.  Let me tell you whales are BIG!!  On the way back the wind had picked up and it was pretty rough.  The captain rearranged us to get the weight even.  In these situations I always sit on a bench in the back of the boat in the center.  In fact he was moving all of the passengers further back in the boat.  Keep those engines down in the water and the bow up I always thought.  However as I sat getting splashed by every wave, another thought occurred.  Perhaps I am not merely a weight but also a makeshift screen for the captain (Emilio) who stood directly behind me steering!  We had gotten about a third of the way back when I heard Emilio mutter, "I see a bunch more whales but I'm not stopping!"  In spite of the cold return it was a good day diving.

 

Here are some new pictures relating to the above and some other items:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157612563682656/

 

I can also report to you that baking bread on a grill is a challenge.

 

Happy Valentine's Day.

 

Keep in touch.

 

Dan and Rebecca

http://www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

 

---

Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. Check it out.

Warm and Sunny Mexico

INFRASTRUCTURE AND DICKENS

 

The big word this year is infrastructure and that is true here in Bucerias as well.  A major project was the redoing of Lazaro Cardenas street which is the main north-south street in the tourist part of town other than the highway.  Apparently the old surface was excavated well down and replaced with precast squares of simulated cobblestones.  It is quite nice and most folks prefer to walk on the street now and slow vehicular traffic.  The new street is quite a bit lower and probably allows better drainage during the rainy season.  New signs abound.

 

We made some infrastructure changes at the condo:  a new TV, mixer, and microwave.  And a new 'professional' boogie board (See below.).

 

Mrs. T is out with the fishes at the moment.  And we see that our friends up north are enjoying some nice frigid temperatures and howling winds.  And you wonder why we are in the tropics?

 

Here is a bit from our resident writer:

 

 

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.   It was a time of sickness; it was a time of health.  It was a time of growth; it was a time of decay.  It was a time of creativity; it was a time of plagiarism.

 

Well our time in Mexico this year started out a little rough.  Dan has for the last several months been suffering from a nerve disease called small fiber peripheral neuropathy.  This causes him a lot of pain and makes it difficult for him to walk among other things. Dan optimistically hoped that just being in warm sunny Mexico would make him feel a lot better.  Alas, not so.  While he was improved some it was not a magic cure, and so he has slowly been increasing his meds that has helped significantly, however we both hope he will continue to improve.  (No miracles yet, but I am slowly doing better. Every evening is an adventure in pain.  dt)

 

He has slowly increased the distance he walks and he can now get to the bank, to church, to the mini-supermarket, and to the beach what more can you need?  Well several things actually and he only feels like walking to those places on good days.  But no worries (Did she go Aussie?), he can send out Rebecca at other times!

 

The first week my sister Rita came and we had a great time boogie boarding (Yes we both still remembered how!), snorkeling and SCUBA diving and cavorting with the local fauna.  We were amazed at how the plants have grown with all the sunshine here.  The Norfolk Island pine that was a little tree is growing very tall.

 

Some of our Canadian friends who rented nearby condos came back and brought us souvenirs so that we can almost pass as Canadians.  We are practicing saying "eh" and "aboot". 

 

We were cheering up as Dan was walking further each day until the Fiesta Bowl came.  Yes we watched it here on cable with Mexican commentary.  Things like "He took his eye off the melon!" and "Si, Senor!!".  Well we lost but at least it was not as humiliating as last two years.

 

Since we broke all of the cheap boogie boards, I broke down and bought a good one.  Dan thought they saw me coming when he heard how much it cost (More than the mixer!  dt) but I did get an old people's discount.  The thing about it is this board is really great!!  I bought it hoping to get one that did not break but this board is much more stable allowing for longer rides.  Dan suggested this is possibly because it has little groves on the top to channel the water off.  (I assume R will limit the use of this board! dt)

 

When I did SCUBA last week we played with a 12 foot Manta Ray.  I thought I would like to have a Manta for a pet and he thought he would like to have a Rebecca for a pet.  He was following us back to the boat and I was thinking of telling Dan, "He followed me home, can I keep him?"  But alas we lost him finally.

 

We went to dinner next door with some of our Canadian neighbors and I brought a three kings cake for desert.  In Mexico Santa is not big, but the Three Kings traditionally bring gifts on epiphany (the twelfth day of Christmas).  Another tradition is the Three Kings cake.  Into the cake are baked little Baby Jesus and if you get one in your piece you have to host the next party.

 

All this typing has made me tired so I think I will lay down and read for a while or perhaps do a Sudoku in the book that Rita brought that has nice big boxes.

 

(At this point Mrs. T took a nap.)

 

 

Best wishes to all and come visit.  Keep warm.

 

 

Dan and Rebecca

 

http://casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com/

 

A few new pictures:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157612563682656/

 

 

---

Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. Check it out.

VISITORS

HOUSE GUESTS

 

The frost has been on the pumpkins.  The wondrously hued fall leaves have been falling like snow.  Turkeys have been about.  We have had deer browsing literally in front of our bedroom window.  And our houseguests have returned to their homes in Georgia.  Here is Rebecca's report of some of the highlights of their visit.

 

 

My sister Ruth and her granddaughter Savannah came to visit us for a week.  It was a lovely visit.  My sister is nice in that we enjoy talking about old times, our families, our silly husbands, our health problems.  I suppose it is because there is so much shared love. Silly husbands some of you might say, I defy anyone to be married 38 and 40 years without feeling their husbands are a bit silly.  (Or if so I REALLY want to meet the husband in question!)

 

Ruth showed me pictures of her latest grandchildren.  She has fifteen!  A bit excessive I know but there you are.  They live in rural Georgia. One of her latest is a black boy named Terrance who was adopted from Nashville, Tennessee, and when her pretty granddaughters suddenly appeared with him and called him their cousin I guess some eyebrows were raised.  Hopefully this will be a growing experience for the whole community.  Terrance is doing well but still a trifle alarmed by the cows who rush towards him when it is time for them to be fed.  Her granddaughter Mia is a cute little baby with red hair.

 

I enjoyed showing Ruth our beautiful little new house.  She cleverly timed her visit and came when the leaves were just turning.  We both love the fall colors.  With Savannah I guess I had forgotten exactly how energetic teenagers are.  But she had a really sweet disposition most of time, although perhaps a mite giggly and squeally.   Savannah went swimming with me and she was really a little mermaid turning somersaults in the water and racing beside me while I swam laps.  Savannah tries to be tactful and when we were discussing dyeing hair (she is trying to convince her mother to let her dye her hair blue) I asked her if she thought I would look good with purple hair.  I do like purple.  "Well, Aunt Rebecca I think you look good in natural colors," Savannah replied.  Ruth and I laughed.

 

We visited the museum in Marietta, Ohio, where one of the exhibits was about coal mining.  As our father and grandfather, not to mention various uncles etc., worked in the mines we tried to relate this family history to Savannah. We also visited family cemeteries with flowers for the graves of our parents and grandparents.  

 

Another day the three of us visited a conservation park called The Wilds where they breed endangered species.  My favorite was Rustus the rhino who lay there ignoring us as the bus stopped right beside him so we got a really close look.  There were all kinds of animals and the bus drove though the fields where the herbivores were which was nice.  The carnivores were penned but in very large pens. It was amazing to see the cheetahs loping along.

 

Some pictures:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157608171895706/

 

We spent much of the visit just lolling around and talking.  Ruth is as voracious a reader as am I and we compared favorite authors.  Savannah who is home-schooled did a few lessons and spent a fair amount of time emailing her friends and trying out our hot tub.  Where was Dan in all of this?  Well the three of us kind of overwhelmed him but he did cook us delicious dinners at the end of each day.

 

 

We hope none of you have been adversely affected by the apparently worldwide turbulence in the financial markets.  Perhaps things will be back to some normality soon.

 

Keep in touch.

 

 

Dan and Rebecca

http://www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com/

 

---

Want to read Hotmail messages in Outlook? The Wordsmiths show you how. Learn Now