My Mexico Vacation

After my work-comp knee injury, the surgeon released me for "mostly-sitting" light duty at work. They didn't have any of that, so I packed up the cat and went home to Kino for a month.

By the way, did you know these roadside things are NOT tiny bathrooms? Ask me how I know.

The first few weeks were great! All of Mi Amigas were there, and it felt SO good to spend time with them. Among the highlights: (Click on photos to enlarge for details)

Segunda-ing

Those junk shops still amaze me. I usually drive, because you may need a large truck in the event of large purchases. The trips usually include lunch and the grocery store. One trip, I needed furniture for the screen-porch-in-progress. They had it all. I got a table with 4 chairs and a glider with 2 ottomen. And 1/2 way home the glider and a couple of chairs fell out of the back of the truck. And we didn't even load it! No permanent damage, in fact, one chair landed upright on the center divider!

Glider, Ottomen, Ron, Jaq, and Buddy (eating the chips he spilled.)

Table and chairs, with Christmas tree. See my ivy? On the screen.

Karen, Jan, and Delfie, after a hard day Segunda-ing.

Dinners Out

SO much better than dinners in (my cooking, you know...) Mi favorito is Pancho's. Pancho is a family man that opens up his kitchen evenings. Outdoor seating, usually chilly after sunset, but to-die-for food. 

John and Bette

Sal and Al

Jan and John

Chilly but full diners!

Ron, Delfie, and Jose

Pancho, owner and chef.

My Surprise 60th Birthday Lunch

This got a bit messed up. Because the date really was a surprise, I messed it all up by canceling my planned lunch date with Maggy. (It was while my cat was trying to die, and I just needed to stay in and wallow.) That date was a ruse, turned out. All hell broke loose: IM's and emails flying, as no phone service where we all live. Finally Jan came over and had to tell me about the party. It was great! I got SO many presents. Jan's invitations stipulated either a thrift store gift, or a re-gift, something used. I actually got a pair of socks: hand-knitted wool socks that Joan said do not work out well in Mexico, but felt I'd appreciate them in Show Low. How right she was! I also got the obligatory Depends and pill organizer, a homemade quart of Kahlua, a fun fish-shaped chip/dip that I'd recently admired on someone's table, beachy wall plaques, a huge framed print of a sleeping polar bear, and tons more!

Birthday girl and Maricela. They reneged on the male strippers I'd ordered,I only got photos...

Secret Santa Lunch

10 of us, a five dollar gift for the name you draw, alcohol, good food. This year's was at Pargo Rojo.

Delfie got spreaders, Bette and Joan in background

Jill got a plaque (curious, made near Show Low...)
Click on photo to read it.

Back row: Bette, Delfie,Karen, me, Joan
Front row: Jill, Sally, Joyce, Jan, and Nell.

Craft Fair

I didn't bring my stuff down, so I was appointed Jan's helper and cashier. I mostly shopped, though. Got turquoise ostrich Tony Lama boots, all-broke-in, fit like they were made for me.

Tony Lama's

Joan, shopping at Nell's embroidered shirts booth.

Maurice, looking for food.

Lunch at Casa Blanca after the craft Fair.

In between all those events were lazy days sitting on the new screen porch, shelling on the beach, or just giggles and cocktails with mi amigas. Lots of ATV rides (there's a place for my cane on it).

It was both a wrench and a blessing to come home to Show Low after losing Rocky. I was positive I could never go through that again, but I'm bereft without him and want another one. Looking at shelters for an older male that needs me as much as I need him. I figure if I get an older one, I might not get as attached to him, knowing I wouldn't have him forever?

Yeah, right.

Rocky

Rocky, dozing in the bird feeder.

 

I lost my 16 year old cat Rocky the day before my 60th birthday. He'd been slowing noticeably the last few months, eating less, sleeping more, needing help to jump up on the bed or chair.

I brought him down here to my home in Kino Bay, Mexico in my little Nissan, where he of course threw up the whole way. (I usually do too, if I don't wear a Scopalomine patch, which I did.) I'd found out one of the back seats folds down, so I put his litter box in the trunk and he mostly laid there, but would come up and puke on the front passenger seat perodically, then go back again.

He seemed very content to be home again, the whole sandy world his litterbox, but he stopped eating one day. Flat out refused. (He DID just devour 2 mice that weekend, I assumed he was just full at first.) By the 3rd day with no food, I was very worried. But his personality changed, too. Did not want anything to do with us, spent all his time lying in the shower. If we were in the bathroom too long, he'd get up and go to his jar on the porch or outside. I began to realize he was calling it quits, and we decided to let him go naturally if he wasn't in pain. I continued trying to get him to eat, and he did once accept 4 tiny slivers of tuna, but no more. He drank water till the end. Taking him to the vet was not Plan A, as the vet here I deem borderline incompetent.

On day 9, I gave him permission to go. Talked to him about how fabulous he was, thanked him for spending his life with us and sleeping on my left arm every night, and said it was OK to go, that we'd be OK. And I made him promise to come visit me sometimes at night, after I turn out the light and stretch my left arm out. Told him that if he just curled up there, I would scratch his "ears-es".

On the 11th morning, my formerly Fat Cat was skin and bones, weak, and his eyes seemed unfocused. He came out of the shower, slowly walked to his water dish, but flopped down before he could drink. I put the water right in front of him, and he drank a little. I picked him up (so light!) and put him in his chair on the porch. He looked at me and squeaked, voice completely destroyed. I knew he was asking me to help him go.

So we drove him to the vet, who after palpating his abdomen, declared "tumor in liver". I don't know if one can diagnose liver cancer merely through palpation, but I didn't say anything. It WOULD explain a lot. Rocky weighed 10 pounds, had lost 14 pounds in 11 days.

So on December 13th, 2012, Rocky was made to "asleep forever" (that's how the Spanglish-speaking vet phrased it, and I like it.) He's buried in the front yard next to Ella.

Ron seems stoic about it, but I know he's heartbroken. I am consumed with grief, long crying jags. But the part that gives me hope is this: the tears seem to be from a mixture of grief AND gratitude that I had this amazing cat for 16 years.

In time, I'll post a gallery of his best photos, but for now just this one, his empty chair.

Life as a 60 year old Gringa

Yes, I still feel like an expatriot, even though I'm living and working in Arizona. I dream about my casita and my beach while I'm saving lives and watching the temperatures plummet. (Yes, plummet, I live at 6400 feet).

So my boy Obama won! There IS hope! I could NOT abide the thought of that other person being our President.  I wore my old button "Hot Chicks Dig Obama" to the polls, but they made me take it off.

So LIFE as a 60 year old Gringa bears some soul-searching. I actually LOOK better than I have in years, thanks in no small part to weight loss. Which ALSO in no small part was due to no effort of my own: I do not eat much. I drink gin after work, 2 big ones, then go to bed. Sometimes I eat lunch at work, IF someone else goes out to get it, and IF I have time. Never breakfast, rarely any supper more than a corn dog and a Klondike bar or Twinkie, I just bought this T-shirt: Klondike Bars now come in Dark Chocolate, Mint Chocolate, Heath, Reeses, and Double Chocolate!

Currently, I'm on Worker's Comp disability after a mishap at work: I slipped in a puddle of liquid at work and re-wrecked my bad knee. Found out today NO SURGERY! PT and light duty, great news! Although "light duty" at this job may be an oxymoron...

For 7 years now we've been living on Ron's Va disability and SS disability, and while it paid all our bills, there wasn't much extra. There is now, and I'm really enjoying being able to pay bills WHEN they arrive (really new!)  and buy things I want. It feels really great and luxurious to SEE! BUY! after all those years. I get occasional complaints from my other half re: this, but his idea of "necessaries" does not exactly mesh with mine... To wit: these boots are NECESSARY! Why is he reading my emails anyway? I don't read his...


Etsy, $55, including shipping!
 

Mi amigas favorito, (Delfie, Jan, Karen, Bette Sandy Sue, Jill and Joan), are all in or en route to Kino as we speak. I am SO jealous! I am absolutely homesick and devastated that I'm here while they're there. I'm feeling secure in their love and wishes I were there with them, know that it's just a short delay in the grand scheme of things, and in any event,  I will be there for two weeks in December to reconnect and catch up. And have a blow-out 60th-Birthday-Party! And I'll wear my new boots!

Weekend Trip Home to Kino Bay

I suddenly got 5 days off in a row, and have been SO homesick for my casita and beach that I decided to run down there. I've been gone 8 months. I arranged for Mary-The-Cat-Lady to come tend to Rocky, who doesn't travel well any more. He pukes the whole way. The drive wasn't as bad as I thought, only 10.5 hours. It's exactly 500 miles from my house to the Dos Palmas gate. That little Nissan definitely wasn't built for comfort, but it sure corners nicely on those mountain curves. Sounds a bit like a sewing machine coming UPhill, though.

No issues at the border going down, they didn't even stop me. There've been reports online that there's a new immigration policy in effect, but I saw nothing new. Huge police presence all the way down, all the Pemex gas stations and Oxxo stores had swarms of them.

I drove through New Kino on Mar de Cortez, as I'd heard there was a new Oxxo going up in La Palapa's parking lot. It's true. The rumor is they'll close the other new one next to the Pemex that they finished last year.

(You can click on the photos to enlarge them, they're pretty good-sized.)

And just seeing the swath of the bay coming down Mar de Cortez is an AH moment! Lots of new potholes on Mar de Cortez, it was a bit like a video game with all the swerving.

It felt good to be home. I timed it right, the hot weather had abated, MOST of the No-See-Ums were gone, and it was quiet and very peaceful. There have been some changes since I left. THAT ROAD is nearly finished. It used to be 10 miles of rubble, soft sand, shredded tires, boulders, and took 2 hours when towing. Smooth as silk, 10 minutes, towing or not. 

This is the end of the finished part, nearly to El Cactus Trailer Park.

That first hill

Most of it is even striped, with glowing center and side markers that make it look like a landing strip at night.

At home, Ron's been busy building a screen porch and cultivating fauna. Here's the work-in-progress, and then some yard shots. Mind you, they've had LOTS of precipitation this summer, everything's a jungle. He spent many days grubbing out the volunteers with his trusty Hula Hoe.

New steps and walk

Before pic

Screen porch

Yes, the palapa roof needs some work. Our neighbor Jack's friend Marisela is our plant guru. She brings the seeds, plants them, advises, and checks back. Here's the "Ivy" Ron wanted to grow up the south side of the porch, to block that strong afternoon sun. It has purple flowers. Currently, it's attached to chicken wire, which will in turn be attached to the outside of the porch structure.

Various plantings around the property.

White acacia, Ron grew it from seed!

Bouganvillea, not growing much

Umpalumpa Tree, thriving!

Grapefruit Tree, not exactly thriving

Dead lime tree. Oh, well...

Center cactus garden.

Cultivated Datura-like bushes, huge blue and white trumpet flowers.

My Desert Rose!

We went on a tour of Old Kino, and saw they completed the little pier. It's terrific!

We ate at Jorge's (no clams yet), went to Happy Hour at Club Deportivo, went ATVing, went fishing pre-dawn at the Christmas Tree, and of course, I beachcombed. The shrimp boats are everywhere, and the shrimp are great. There's 22 pounds of them in the freezer there, and no, you can't have ANY!

It was a wrench to have to come back to Show Low. I left Monday morning at 5. No fears driving THAT ROAD in the dark any more! Saw some strange sights on the way: a truck with no headlights, both the driver and his passenger holding flashlights out their windows as they drove. A starving dog tearing a chunk out of a dead dog. I hit the border at 10, and had my car searched after he asked if I had any shells or animal parts. I admitted to a few shells and a coyote skull... They needed to make sure it wasn't something protected (like whale or dolphin bones), but it only took 10 minutes. I got home at 3:30, and the cat was actually excited to see me. Can you tell?

So this winter when we have 2 feet of snow on the ground, and it's dark most of the time, and I'm missing my beach and casita, I will transport myself to my rooftop chaise in my mind, and try to imagine that soft salt air on my face. I do get to go back in December for 2 weeks. Can't wait!

ADDENDUM!

An anonymous comment asked for photos of the Show Low area. I don't have very many, and they've all been posted in my blogs before, but here's a few. Show Low is located at 6400 feet in the largest stand of Ponderosa Pine forest anywhere. Not hot in the summer, DOES get some snow in the winter, but not cold like Minnesota. Winter population: not many. Summers it's full of all those folks from the hotter parts of Arizona. I only used the swamp cooler in the mobile home for about one week this summer. Fishing and hunting paradise. Very few bugs. And it's next to the Apache Reservation.

Hawley Lake, on the Rez.

My mobile home, last winter, photo courtesy of the previous owners Ed and Liz.

My mobile home, without snow.

ONE LAST UPDATE

This is what I've been doing lately: slipped and fell at work, re-wrecked my already worthless knee. Yes, that's a walker next to me.

Alone again, but OK!

I've had a really great summer all in all. My friend Delfie was parked in her motor home 50 feet away from me, and we spent the summer (after I got off work) eating, drinking, dissecting life, and laughing until the tears ran. I gained some weight back, because she cooked for me. She's truly family to me, and I love her dearly. But they left yesterday, time to go south. They'll be in Kino all winter, but plan on coming back here in the spring. I'll have her on Skype.

Me, Delfie, Jose, and Teriyaki Elk Chops!

Ron comes up to visit sometimes, had to buy screening for the casita porch. Here he is at the grill. Yes, it's mounted on the outside of the deck.

It was intended he take Rocky home to Kino for the winter. He had all his stuff packed, bought a winter's worth of those expensive tiny cans of Fancy Feast. Then the night before he left, Rocky suddenly crawled in my lap and was actually SNUGGLING against my neck and licking me. Normally that cat doesn't like me, but it was like he KNEW I'd be too lonely. I changed my mind. He's here for now.

After Delfie left yesterday, I tried to keep busy to lessen my sadness. I had bought a couple of coleus plants for the deck, and over the summer they got humungous. I want to try to keep them alive this winter, but had to move furniture to accommodate them inside. Ron brought our big trunk home from Minnesota this summer when he cleaned out our storage unit there, and it serves perfectly for those plants.

So here's the way it all looks now. Sorta crowded...

My oil lamps, now with crystal petticoats!

And I still have Buddha, sporting a tiara and binoculars...

During and after I finished moving furniture, I also did 3 loads of laundry, made another batch of Bailey's, made Elk Chili, watched a bunch of stuff saved on the TiVo, and had a bubble bath. I'm off today also, and plan to go to the Segundas. Maybe haul out the holiday decorations and see what's needed.

And let my cat know how much he's appreciated.