Well, I've been loath to mention it for fear of jinxing things, but our pallets did clear customs. Now they just need to come across the Mexican border, which they will do tomorrow morning. So Carl will have his books. Hurrah!
Melody has been just a little off in her timing today. First, there was a thing called the 'connection group', supposedly a group of gringos who get together every Thursday, and if you want to meet a bunch of locals, this is the place to go. 4-6 Thursdays. We got there at 4, a few people arrived at 5, and they were all...well.... old. And clearly not interested in meeting anyone new. So it was a bust, which we figured it might be, but what the heck, worth a try. Good margaritas, though!
Then we came home, I had a nap, and we were going to a local Mexican square where on Thursdays they have music and dancing and food stalls, etc. We went about 6:30. Nada. I think it probably starts up about 9. Wandered around for a while and finally decided to pick up some pollo asada and call it a night. Great meal, roasted chicken, corn and flour tortillas, salsa, pickled onions, chopped cabbage. Why chopped cabbage? No idea.
Tomorrow we pick up a fridge, for real this time we think. Pallets arrive about 9:30 or 10. Before that, our beach walk, and Melody might have a swim. Tide's about right for that now, and the water is WARM! Maybe I can entice a certain dog to go deeper than his paws.
Our kitchen is the one room that really needs work here, (Besides flood land, we'll deal with that soon). It's a great space, just with lousy cupboards and drawers, and no counter space. Two things we've done are helping a lot- first, Carl found a steel counter in the garage, which I guess came from the condo sale. It fits nicely into one of the corners and is a perfect height for chopping. Pots and pans fit under it nicely. And we bought a container today for all our wooden spoons, whisks, and other utensils. A nice blue ceramic piece with calla lilies. It looks great, and is a big help.
And tomorrow I get my knives and knife block! yeah! Not to mention some videos and DVDs. We can check out this monster TV and see how it works! So... a lazy night, maybe next week we'll go to the square a little later in the evening and catch the action and get some pictures.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
NEWS BULLETIN
Flash Flooding Strikes Sonora, Mexico
No Dogs Reported Injured
Sept. 4, 2008
A localized flash flood was reported in the State of Sonora, Mexico today as approximately an inch of water from an unknown source covered much of the area known as Our Guestroom and the adjacent Guest Bathroom region.
Cleanup efforts are well underway and there appear to have been no casualties.
Reporters on the scene describe the mood of residents as “sweaty, somewhat grumpy, with scattered outbreaks of swearing.”
When reached for comment local resident Carlo Scottierez remarked, “I was planning on washing that stupid floor any way.”
When asked how this development would affect the future of tourism in the area, prominent gringa Melodie Scottoso said plans would go ahead as scheduled, noting, “Many of our friends are good, strong swimmers.” She did add that flotation devices would be provided, free of charge, for the benefit of any skinny red-headed gringos who might drown in an inch of water.
Local dog reaction was mixed though most agreed it was “The best fun we’ve had all day” adding “Got a cookie?”
Sept. 4, 2008
A localized flash flood was reported in the State of Sonora, Mexico today as approximately an inch of water from an unknown source covered much of the area known as Our Guestroom and the adjacent Guest Bathroom region.
Cleanup efforts are well underway and there appear to have been no casualties.
Reporters on the scene describe the mood of residents as “sweaty, somewhat grumpy, with scattered outbreaks of swearing.”
When reached for comment local resident Carlo Scottierez remarked, “I was planning on washing that stupid floor any way.”
When asked how this development would affect the future of tourism in the area, prominent gringa Melodie Scottoso said plans would go ahead as scheduled, noting, “Many of our friends are good, strong swimmers.” She did add that flotation devices would be provided, free of charge, for the benefit of any skinny red-headed gringos who might drown in an inch of water.
Local dog reaction was mixed though most agreed it was “The best fun we’ve had all day” adding “Got a cookie?”
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Crazy dogs and siesta land
Shadow has a new friend who has been greeting him every morning. We call him Lucky:
And Carl created SiestaLand, just for fat gringas and their esposos:
Shadow has apparently come to grips with the heat. Today he decided to come out and lie in the sun for a while.
Last night when we were at the Malecon, a group of teenagers were calling, "wolf!!". They liked Shadow a lot, although they were a little nervous. I think they thought he really was a wolf.
Tomorrow, Cholla Bay!
And Carl created SiestaLand, just for fat gringas and their esposos:
Shadow has apparently come to grips with the heat. Today he decided to come out and lie in the sun for a while.
Last night when we were at the Malecon, a group of teenagers were calling, "wolf!!". They liked Shadow a lot, although they were a little nervous. I think they thought he really was a wolf.
Tomorrow, Cholla Bay!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Even more today
Another busy day in paradise. The desk arrived about 6 PM, unbelievable!! Here it is, now our little office is almost complete:
Here are pictures of the beautiful Taz. Cheryl bets me a beer she'll be afraid of the pool. The question is, does love of water beat the fear? I'll take that bet.
After the desk arrived, we carried on with our plan to take Shadow down to the Malecon and catch the sunset. Not a lot of clouds tonight, so not very splendiferous, but the port is nice and quiet now, mostly just locals catching the sunset.
here's the fisherman statue, I love this guy.
The plaque:
The guys and the statue:
The sunset:
I do love the pelicans:
Shadow loves this place too:
And there is grass!!! Yum, yummy grass...
Back home and my first serious attempt at Mexican-style cooking, Veracruz fish fillets with garlic, onions, tomatoes, jalapeños, olives, and pan-fried potatoes.
Put the lime in da coconut....
The finished product, pretty darn yummy!
Here are pictures of the beautiful Taz. Cheryl bets me a beer she'll be afraid of the pool. The question is, does love of water beat the fear? I'll take that bet.
After the desk arrived, we carried on with our plan to take Shadow down to the Malecon and catch the sunset. Not a lot of clouds tonight, so not very splendiferous, but the port is nice and quiet now, mostly just locals catching the sunset.
here's the fisherman statue, I love this guy.
The plaque:
The guys and the statue:
The sunset:
I do love the pelicans:
Shadow loves this place too:
And there is grass!!! Yum, yummy grass...
Back home and my first serious attempt at Mexican-style cooking, Veracruz fish fillets with garlic, onions, tomatoes, jalapeños, olives, and pan-fried potatoes.
Put the lime in da coconut....
The finished product, pretty darn yummy!
Quick blog
Just a couple of things on prices:
Got about a pound of fish fillets today, nice white fillets but no idea what, plus a bottle of hot sauce, for $2. Got a large watermelon for $3 (two for $5).
Our desk guy is custom building a solid wood desk for us, staining it and delivering it to cut out a space for our telephone jack. $370.
Other benefits of living here:
-It's easy to pick up dog-poo in sand.
-No rosebushes. (only people who have dogwalked with us will get that)
Our beach this morning- blue sky, so a lot more reflected color:
Taz's pool awaits her. Shadow won't set foot in it, but I can just see Taz in there.
Taz, is coming to visit in January, I was going to post a picture of here but it's on my other drive. Cheryl, care to send me a shot?
Got about a pound of fish fillets today, nice white fillets but no idea what, plus a bottle of hot sauce, for $2. Got a large watermelon for $3 (two for $5).
Our desk guy is custom building a solid wood desk for us, staining it and delivering it to cut out a space for our telephone jack. $370.
Other benefits of living here:
-It's easy to pick up dog-poo in sand.
-No rosebushes. (only people who have dogwalked with us will get that)
Our beach this morning- blue sky, so a lot more reflected color:
Taz's pool awaits her. Shadow won't set foot in it, but I can just see Taz in there.
Taz, is coming to visit in January, I was going to post a picture of here but it's on my other drive. Cheryl, care to send me a shot?
Quick medical update
The anti-inflammatory did wonders, hip and back about 85% better, don't need to take scary pain killers unless it flares up, woo-hoo! More pics today I hope, again lots to do, new fridge, washer dryer, desk (we might go with the custom made one, will see.) Also back to doctor briefly, and deal with our shipment locked in Phoenix. Also calls to make to get our mail service here up, and change of address calls. Oh, yeah, and I have a job. Good thing I have a job. :)
Monday, September 1, 2008
Morning Constitutional
Another interesting and challenging day in Puerto Peñasco, beginning with our morning walk.
Out the door by 6 AM- we drive down to the Penasco del Sol hotel, then cut around the side of it to public access. Purple line is our drive, blue line is our walk:
This is the Penasco del Sol hotel from the beach:
The entrance to the beach:
The view towards the Sandy beach condos:
Happy Shadow wading in a tidal pool:
The track of the rare Shadowopogus:
A view towards the Old Port (Melacon), where we went to the restaurant yesterday:
Beach birds- who can identify them? Little long-legged waders of some kind:
Another shot of the birds:
Roaks with moss, vivid green:
Our boy in his new element:
Stalking birds:
Now, since we got here, my hip and back have been bothering me more than usual. I figured it was from the drive, it would fade. But it's not fading, and today when I started work on the laptop, after sitting for 15 minutes or so, I could hardly stand, and putting weight on my right leg was impossible. Damn. Quite a lot of pain. What to do?
Luckily, there is a new doctor in town, a medical clinic just for dumb gringoes such as us. I made an appointment and got right in. He thought it was probably sciatica, along with muscle spasms, etc. He took a couple of X-rays. Now, here's the strange part. He says I have an extra lumbar vertebrae, most people have five but I have six. Also my hip bones are different sizes. So this has been building for years, and nothing can really be done. Well, true; I have had back and hip problems for years, but...sheesh. Anyway, he gave me a shot of anti-inflammatory, and some very effective but scary pain pills, and sent me on my way. Any advice or ideas would be welcome- he says I should go back to Canada, get an MRI and see a back specialist.
Anyhoo, the cost of this adventure was $187. Not bad. But this clinic also has a program whereby you pay $660 US a year per person, and all doctor's bill and tests are covered. If I go for that, today's bill will be covered in that. Get this- it includes house calls. Strange and interesting. So that was today's adventure. (however, the pain pills are $3 apiece)
We also found out that there is only one way to get beer where the bottles are returnable. There are places called depositos, one for each type of beer, Tecate, Corona, etc. You buy beer there, pay a deposit, get a slip of paper and when you return the bottles they give you the deposit back. Otherwise, all the cans you buy go into the trash. Not that I can be drinking beer while I'm taking these scary pills, but maybe that's for the best anyway. Soy gordo.
What else? We took three 19 litre water jugs in to fill today, not having any idea how much that would be. They carry them from and to the car for you, fill them in about 3 seconds flat, and it costs about $1.00 each. Tip them a buck and that's some cheap water!! We're trying to remember to drink lots of that, since every trip around town, walking or driving, is a sweatfest. And we frankly love it. It's gloriously hot here!!
Here's more on the Jazz fest: http://www.cometorockypoint.com/jazz_festival.html
Last night we took a fairly long walk down Melchor Ocampo to the Mexican shopping area. I love it down there. It was about 1/2 an hour walk there, same back. We bought a Melon juice (con helio) and sipped it as we walked along. Really nice! As we walked there, we were facing the sunset, and caught some of its glory. We haven't been down to the beach at sunset yet to see it, but there's time for that.
We went back to our new favorite store today, Salmo Importado, and got some more towels, a mop bucket, a mop, a hose (I have a little pool for Shadow that I need to fill), and a few other sundry items. Still searching for a desk for Mel, we have a line on two different ones. From the other day, #1 was too big, number 2 is too expensive. We saw a good one today, not necessarily the right color, but very serviceable. Alternatively, the place with the rustico furniture will custom-build a desk for us, in one day.
Tonight's dinner will be scrambled eggs with leftover shrimp. Yum. Oh, Cheryl and Dan, we found a fairly nearby Panederia, will check that out soon. Tonight working more on numbers (past twenty) and days of the week, months, etc. I'm finding I'm already understanding a bit more as people talk to me, listening to the radio, eavesdropping, you know how it goes. And Carl has rediscovered his talent for mime.
Tomorrow there may not be time to blog, we have to work on getting our shipment released, we need to call a whole bunch of people with our address change (City of Calgary, AMA, AHC, etc. etc.), and I have to get some work done. Also, there is a nearby store that I HAVE to investigate. It apparently has great crafts, and it was pointed out by Osvaldo, so it's bound to be reasonable. I'm sure you can all see how that would supercede a blog entry. CRAFTS! REASONABLE!!
Take care, all, and thanks for all the great comments. You're keeping us from getting lonesome. There is some kind of Thursday get-together for gringoes in town, I'm thinking we should go this week and get to know a few people.
Out the door by 6 AM- we drive down to the Penasco del Sol hotel, then cut around the side of it to public access. Purple line is our drive, blue line is our walk:
This is the Penasco del Sol hotel from the beach:
The entrance to the beach:
The view towards the Sandy beach condos:
Happy Shadow wading in a tidal pool:
The track of the rare Shadowopogus:
A view towards the Old Port (Melacon), where we went to the restaurant yesterday:
Beach birds- who can identify them? Little long-legged waders of some kind:
Another shot of the birds:
Roaks with moss, vivid green:
Our boy in his new element:
Stalking birds:
Now, since we got here, my hip and back have been bothering me more than usual. I figured it was from the drive, it would fade. But it's not fading, and today when I started work on the laptop, after sitting for 15 minutes or so, I could hardly stand, and putting weight on my right leg was impossible. Damn. Quite a lot of pain. What to do?
Luckily, there is a new doctor in town, a medical clinic just for dumb gringoes such as us. I made an appointment and got right in. He thought it was probably sciatica, along with muscle spasms, etc. He took a couple of X-rays. Now, here's the strange part. He says I have an extra lumbar vertebrae, most people have five but I have six. Also my hip bones are different sizes. So this has been building for years, and nothing can really be done. Well, true; I have had back and hip problems for years, but...sheesh. Anyway, he gave me a shot of anti-inflammatory, and some very effective but scary pain pills, and sent me on my way. Any advice or ideas would be welcome- he says I should go back to Canada, get an MRI and see a back specialist.
Anyhoo, the cost of this adventure was $187. Not bad. But this clinic also has a program whereby you pay $660 US a year per person, and all doctor's bill and tests are covered. If I go for that, today's bill will be covered in that. Get this- it includes house calls. Strange and interesting. So that was today's adventure. (however, the pain pills are $3 apiece)
We also found out that there is only one way to get beer where the bottles are returnable. There are places called depositos, one for each type of beer, Tecate, Corona, etc. You buy beer there, pay a deposit, get a slip of paper and when you return the bottles they give you the deposit back. Otherwise, all the cans you buy go into the trash. Not that I can be drinking beer while I'm taking these scary pills, but maybe that's for the best anyway. Soy gordo.
What else? We took three 19 litre water jugs in to fill today, not having any idea how much that would be. They carry them from and to the car for you, fill them in about 3 seconds flat, and it costs about $1.00 each. Tip them a buck and that's some cheap water!! We're trying to remember to drink lots of that, since every trip around town, walking or driving, is a sweatfest. And we frankly love it. It's gloriously hot here!!
Here's more on the Jazz fest: http://www.cometorockypoint.com/jazz_festival.html
Last night we took a fairly long walk down Melchor Ocampo to the Mexican shopping area. I love it down there. It was about 1/2 an hour walk there, same back. We bought a Melon juice (con helio) and sipped it as we walked along. Really nice! As we walked there, we were facing the sunset, and caught some of its glory. We haven't been down to the beach at sunset yet to see it, but there's time for that.
We went back to our new favorite store today, Salmo Importado, and got some more towels, a mop bucket, a mop, a hose (I have a little pool for Shadow that I need to fill), and a few other sundry items. Still searching for a desk for Mel, we have a line on two different ones. From the other day, #1 was too big, number 2 is too expensive. We saw a good one today, not necessarily the right color, but very serviceable. Alternatively, the place with the rustico furniture will custom-build a desk for us, in one day.
Tonight's dinner will be scrambled eggs with leftover shrimp. Yum. Oh, Cheryl and Dan, we found a fairly nearby Panederia, will check that out soon. Tonight working more on numbers (past twenty) and days of the week, months, etc. I'm finding I'm already understanding a bit more as people talk to me, listening to the radio, eavesdropping, you know how it goes. And Carl has rediscovered his talent for mime.
Tomorrow there may not be time to blog, we have to work on getting our shipment released, we need to call a whole bunch of people with our address change (City of Calgary, AMA, AHC, etc. etc.), and I have to get some work done. Also, there is a nearby store that I HAVE to investigate. It apparently has great crafts, and it was pointed out by Osvaldo, so it's bound to be reasonable. I'm sure you can all see how that would supercede a blog entry. CRAFTS! REASONABLE!!
Take care, all, and thanks for all the great comments. You're keeping us from getting lonesome. There is some kind of Thursday get-together for gringoes in town, I'm thinking we should go this week and get to know a few people.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)