Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Worst Year Ever

(Apologizing up front for the trumpisms. Can't help myself)


We came to Mexico 10 years ago for a six week stay. Still here, but the bloom is off the rose this year. It's still warm and beautiful, the food and drink are still fabulous, and we love our little house near the ocean.

But this year sucked bigly. We lost 4 of our friends.
Kim Edwards

Al Warthan

Jack Moon

Phil Hahn
Ron and I were the youngest of an aging, retired population of gringos out here in Dos Palmas, and now we're among the oldest. These friends are sorely missed, and we're all shell-shocked over our losses.

Some more friends left us. Pat moved to France, Richard went back to prison, and Tony's not coming back here.
Pat

Richard

Tony
These three, BTY, are not equally missed by everyone, but still provided that "never a dull moment" quality to the hood.

But we did get some new ones! Cathie's down the hill, Diana's up here, and Alan's next door. YUUUUGELY fun people! Believe me! Gonna make Dos Palmas great again!
Cathie

Diana

Alan

Besides losing friends, other woeful events of 2016/2017 include the election (OMFG), Ron smashing his face, and our lemon of a Nissan. Plus I gained nearly 20 pounds...

There have been a few good things: the new Mazda CX-9, our new/old summer home in Minnesota, and our under-construction guest house atop the garage.
Mazda CX-9

Mobile Home

Guest House

Floor plan

So generally it's feeling all a bit less here, and we'll be spending longer summers in Minnesota, shorter winters here. Not that they HAVE longer summers in Minnesota, but since we no longer need to deal with cold/snow/ice/propane in an RV, we can go by the end of March and come back when it becomes intolerably Minnesota. Say Thanksgiving-ish. As long as we remain able to drive 2500 miles, we want warm winters. Plus, there are still good friends here.
Karen, Bette, Gary, Jill, Maggy
Harold, Maurice, John, Jim, Danielle, Norm, Joan
Sal, Tom, Helen, Suzanne, Les, Allie
Eileen, Ron, Luis, Marisela
Jaap, Anneke, and Ed