December 2011

One day I made a Bread Pudding to cook in my Solar Oven.  Earlier I had cooked the Thanksgiving dressing in the Solar.  The more I use the oven the better I like it.  The temps usually get as high as 350*.  But it doesn't seem to matter too much if the temp is lower, especially when I first put the dish into the oven.

  I have finished the quilt for the auction & raffle fund raiser which is part of the May 2012 Loreto Fest.  I hope it will interest enough people to bring in lots of donations to further the education of the students from the local village and outlying ranchos.

 Now on to my next project!  Which is to quilt a blanket my youngest sister is finally making for herself.  After a frustrating beginning, I am now over half done & mostly coming along quite nicely.  Along with help from Opal!!  As you can see, she is a tremendous asset.  (or perhaps, liability?)  I get the corner on the other side of the quilt.

 December saw us with at least one potluck or party every week and sometimes two here on the beach.  There was a Spaghetti dinner, a Windy Day Soup potluck with entertainment, a Happy Hour going away party, trips to the Sunday open air farmers market, and of course, Christmas.

During the middle of the month we had several days of strong winds.  There would sometimes be a break of a day or two, just to quiet the complaints of the fishermen & women!  The day before Christmas Eve the winds were so strong we thought we might have to postpone our festivities til after the holidays!!  But the weather cooperated (again) and all went as planned.

On Christmas Eve we gathered at the fire pit for 'Snacks & Sweets', a great roaring fire, and to enjoy visiting with our friends.  People came from both beaches, one yachtie (formerly of this beach), and two families who have houses above Juncalito village.  One of our Canadian campers has a five year old who entertained and delighted us all with her enthusiasm and Christmas Hugs!

  Christmas Dinner was well attended by those of us on this beach as well as one of our house families.  About 20 as near as I can remember.  We have some really great cooks around here!!  The next day I for one was still full and could not entertain the thoughts of food!  I heard similar complaints from a few others as well.

New Years Eve several of us from here on Rattlesnake Beach will take pots of soup (Mike will make his famous Fish Chowder) and go to Juncalito Beach where there will be MORE pots of soup for 'Soup Night Potluck'!  It is great fun to sample the different kinds.  After dark we will watch a spectacular fireworks display put on by a couple who winter in Juncalito village.  It will be a late night for us as we won't get to bed til about 9 pm!!!

This has been a great year for me but it is always exciting to look forward to the coming year and all it promises.  Prospero Año Nuevo to One & All!!!! 

November 2011

Shortly after the first of the month Mike, me, and Opal drove south to LaPaz to visit friends in the area.  Our friends live southeast of town in the small Mexican village of Aqua Amarga.  They have done a lot of work building, clearing, landscaping, gardening and their place shows the fruits of their labors.  We had a great visit as did Opal.  She, along with the resident dogs, Sophie & Sombra, made a race track of the place.  Just don't get in the way of one of them for fear of being run over!

We also had breakfast and a quick visit in LaPaz with our friend, Elizabeth, who divides her time between Mexico and Washington.

We came back to our home on the beach just in time to get ready for the Paella Competition to be held Friday November 11.  (This is a fund raiser for a few of the Loreto charities.)  Our team consists of three members, Diane, Gloria, and myself and we are known as "Team Rattlesnake"after the beach we camp on.  (It's mexican name is El Quemado which I think is a lot prettier sounding than "Rattlesnake".)  We do a lot of prep work before hand but there is always plenty to do when we get to the competition.  We find our spot and transport the equipment to our area and begin arranging burner, paella pan, ice chests full of ingredients and wait til time to start cooking.  Our dish has to be ready by 1pm for the collection of our rice to be taken to the judges.  Shortly after that we begin to feed the crowd.  While we did not 'Win, Place, or Show' we had great reviews from our guests.  It is all in fun and I enjoy it immensely, and particularly the Sangria provided by Roganta Wineries of Baja Norte!  (Wine glass in hand!!)

We now have to import (another word for registering) our boats to be able to launch at the port or to be on be on the water.  Small boats (under 15 feet or so) are exempt. Mike has been busily doing that this month.  This was another reason for our trip to LaPaz.  He received papers there from the Port Captain (for a fee of course), then had to go into the Loreto Port Captain for more papers (and another fee), put a name on his boat (letters made at a price), take pictures of the boat with name on, and eventually receive a temporary (10 year) registration.  This included numbers (made at a price) to be put on the boat also.  Isn't boat ownership grand!?  No matter what country you are in!!

Mike and friends enjoy their football days!  Games are always on Sundays AND Monday & Thursday nights and if they get really desperate, Saturdays have college games!

Thanksgiving Day will have four games!  We will be planning dinner around the half times or between games!  Sunday football sometimes has impromptu potlucks such as the one the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  Mike had 3 albacore tuna loins he wanted to cook so as to free up freezer space.  We had a great turnout with even a few non-football fans!

TURKEY DAY!  (A favorite expression of my youngest brother-in-law.)  This year we tried splitting into smaller groups.  We had about 15 people at our camp.  I think our next door neighbor had about the same amount.  Some of the other campers went to dinners held elsewhere.  As always there was more food than we could eat!  Fortunately we sent plates of leftovers home with different ones.  WHAT!  No Thanksgiving leftovers for days on end!!!  YEP, That's right!

Now our thoughts turn to the December potlucks and parties.  We will have a beach wide Christmas eve fire along with Snacks & Sweets!  Of course, we will have dinner at home before we gather together!  Well, maybe!  Christmas Day will have the beach campers who want to come, joining together with different potluck dishes.  Probably around 50 people.  But more on that next month!

Enjoy Your Holidays & Stay Safe!!  See you down the road.  Hugs & Love to All.

End of October

The last couple weeks have been interesting and busy.  I enjoy reading light mystery books and one of my favorite authors is Sue Grafton.  One of our Canadian campers offered to put what Grafton books that he had onto my Kindle.  Great job and thank you very much!  He also added ‘The Winner’ by David Baldacci.  WELLL, I started reading about noon and had a hard time putting it down!  At 11:30 I figured I better go to bed.  And the next morning friends invited me to go to Sunday Farmers Market.  As soon as I returned, I started reading again until finished my book.  (About 3-4pm)  He is now a favorite author also.

Our temps are in the high 90's and the humidity isn't much better.  Along about Oct 17th I figured it was high time to give the dog a shearing.  She was very glad when the ordeal was over but looks much cooler.  

One day we had a visit from a Loreto City employee who collected our beach rent last year.  He told us our rent would now be $3600 pesos per month.  (Up from $1940 pesos we paid last year.)  We beach people had a renters meeting and decided we would go talk to the boss to see if we could negotiate a better rate.  We asked the owner of our little local tienda (store), Fernando, if he would be our spokes person.  His English is excellent and being Mexican could relay our concerns.  The official was very nice and willing to work with us!  All went well and our rent is now $2400 pesos monthly.  Our current rate of exchange is 13 to 1.  It has slowly declined from about 14 to 1 when we first arrived on the Baja.  How do you like our delegation!?  Fernando is next to the man in uniform (our rent collector).

 

Poor Mike!  After working diligently most of the day, in the heat, putting something or other together for the camp, he was enjoying his beer.  Some kind of wasp was sampling the beer also and didn't take kindly to Mike trying to swallow him!  So he stung him on the lower lip and I had to pull the stinger out.  Talk about a FAT LIP!!  Part of his jaw was swollen as well.  A couple days later, he was good as new.  He now looks before he drinks!

A very nice Mexican couple who live in Liqui, the next village south of here, came and cooked a very delicious clam dinner.  I don't know what it is called but it has bacon, chopped lunch style ham, mild peppers,tomatoes, onions, and garlic.  It is cooked in a flat pan over an open fire.  The rest of us supplied potluck salads and everything was enjoyed by all!

We have a very nice albeit YOUNG (at least to me) dentist.  I emailed him asking for an appointment to clean my teeth.  WELL, the only day he had left before leaving for two weeks to further his dental skills, was on MONDAY!  Which just happened to be my birthday!  How lucky can I get?  This picture was taken a couple years ago.

Mike made up for it by asking several of our friends to join us for dinner at Domingo's (a favorite steak house) that night.  As you can see, we had quite a turnout and Diane & Jay bought a Flan from one of the local bakeries.  (If you are not familiar with Flan it is a traditional Mexican custard type dessert.)

  

On the day of the 6th game of the World Series, we had a potluck. (Imagine that!)   Mike grilled albacore tuna loins he had caught off the Washington coast.  Diane grilled a nice piece of Wahoo their friend, Bill, had caught on the Pacific side of Baja.  The rest of us made salads and chips & dips.  I had been experimenting with baking Apple Crisps in my solar oven.  I'm glad it turned out well.  (You can tell it doesn't take us much of an excuse to have a potluck!!) 

Seems like every two or three days another one of our Canadian or American campers come in.  Always a cause for a celebration!  Funny how we become so close to people we have only met a few months ago, and each season we are so excited to see them again! 

I have made some progress on the quilt for the May raffle.  Some days I work a little bit, and other times most of the day.  I won't bore you with the step by step but will wait til it is finished!  It is actually starting to look like a quilt.

  

Today is Sunday and that means farmers market in Loreto and football on the beach with Mike.  Of course there is also football on Mondays, Thursdays and a few other days when there are Bowls or some kind of tournament!  And in a pinch there are college games on Saturday!  Mike and friends have a great time in the outdoor tent.

 

Tonight is HALLOWEEN!!  When I was in town last, I bought enough chocolate candy to make my visiting goblins sick!  And don't they just love it.  Last year we had about 20 of the young ones plus their parents.  They are all pretty cute!  And scary!  This was from two years ago.

That's all for now folks.  Safe travels and hope to see you down the road!
 

HEADING SOUTH

We left Long Beach Wed Sept 28 about noon.  (So much for an early start!)  This sunrise was taken of Claude & Connie’s new house a day or two before we left.

We stayed the first night at Yreka, CA and then headed out early the next morning.  Three plus hours later, we stopped in Corning for fuel and breakfast.  I got out of the pickup to go into the restaurant and NO PURSE!!!  No credit card or ATM plus other important stuff.  I had a few moments of extreme anxiety before I regained my wits and thinking cap.

I called the motel and the girl at the desk went and retrieved my purse.  I asked her to overnight it to Riverbank CA near Modesto where we were going to stay with friends for a couple nights.  Which she did on her own time.  Talk about above the call of duty!  Boy was I glad to see that package arrive!  And Francis & me immediately left to go shopping!

We arrived safe and sound at Puerto Escondido, BCS Mon 10/3 in the afternoon.  It is pretty warm here.  In the high 95 to 99 degree range and the humidity raises that another 5-10 degrees.  We stayed three nights at the RV park and ran the air conditioner before moving to the beach.

Two weeks later, Mike has camp pretty much set up.  We have water storage, 4 Solar panels, Potluck/TV-Sports tent, 2 Televisions, lights in the outside tent, the Toyota pickup running, VHF radio & antennae, INTERNET (Yeahhh), 13 foot aluminum boat & motor on trailer and 2 trips to go fishing.  I have no idea what else he will be working on!!  Oh yes, He has a nice mexican man who will help him clean up the 21 foot Marathon boat and paint the bottom!  He also has to get the quad running!  I just stay out of the way til he needs a hand with something.

 

Where do we put everything?

Boat waiting for it's trailer.

More or less all together!

Went swimming a few times.  It is like bath water!  The last time I was in the water a few days ago, the little stinging jellyfish were working overtime.  So that’s it for me until they disappear.

So now it’s on to the normal routine of walking the dog, hauling water, Sunday Farmers market, pot luck get togethers, dinners in town.  You know, all the important stuff!!  Having fun and enjoying life’s adventures.

 

End of Summer

I’m not sure where the last month and half has gone, but seems as it has flown by!  I have gotten a few things accomplished though.

Canned fish Mike caught through the summer.  About 69 pints salmon, 75 pints tuna, and 24 pints clams.  I may have lost count somewhere along the line but that’s close enough.  We shared some of the canned fish with several different family members who were all glad to have fresh caught and canned bounty from the sea!

Made a couple trips to Olympia to visit youngest son and family.  He is due to start school again (after how many years?) to learn a new vocation.  My youngest grandson is struggling to find a job.  He is not alone.  A lot of our work force are looking for jobs as well.  One will come along, just be patient and keep looking. 

Have made a lot of progress on the quilt I make for the fund raiser we hold in May  The money raised goes to the support of a couple of the Mexican schools and some university students in the area of Baja where we spend the winter.

 

Had a fun weekend with my girlfriend.  We went to Naches and visited with her family  And the weather was hot!  90’s.  I was a happy girl.  But it did feel nice to take our dogs down by the river and sit in the shade through the hottest part of the day.  It would cool down nicely at night for sleeping.  As in this example!!  Cozy, aren't they!!                          

To be fair, the last 3-4 weeks have been pretty nice here on the beach.  Even had a few days of actually being hot!

Made a flying trip to Puyallup to take my middle sister to dinner for her birthday.  We had a great visit as well.

Really got serious about gathering supplies for the trip to Baja.  Where is Mike going to put everything!?  What he doesn’t think necessary, I do!  Of course I tend to get carried away with necessary!  My daughter keeps telling me there is a difference between need and want!  Yes dear, there is, BUT!!

And in between everything else, we had 2-3 great potlucks in Chinook with friends.  Those people are great cooks!

I did have a few anxious days.  I wanted to get into my bank safety deposit box and went looking for the key.  WELLL. Couldn’t find it anywhere.  Stopped at the bank to see what could be done.  Arrangements had to be made to coordinate with the bank, a locksmith, and myself.  AND it would cost $200.  To say I was annoyed with myself is putting it mildly.  So I decided to wait til next spring to see if it would turn up somewhere.  Of course it would be in a perfectly logical place or at least one I thought so when I put it there.

Well that is exactly what happened.  I went looking for the 3^rd or 4^th time and it WAS EXACTLY WHERE I THOUGHT IT SHOULD BE TO START WITH.  To make an excuse for myself it was in a plastic bag with another key and I just glanced at it the first 3 times but the last time I turned the bag just right to where I could see the bank key.  As you all know, they are unmistakable for anything else. 

Well about Wednesday it’s off to Baja for the winter.  Next writing will come from camp on the shore of the Sea of Cortez.

Beach Get Together

It has been almost a month since we had our get together but I am just now getting around to writing about it.  Sorry folks!

People started arriving on Friday afternoon from Oregon & Washington.  I think we had about 17.  We had people sleeping in tents, RV’s, and bedrolls in Claude & Connie’s partially finished house.  And of course some went home to sleep in their own beds.

Michelle & Danny made the MOST delicious BBCue ribs for dinner!  We had some other things as well (corn, fruit, desserts) but the ribs outshown everything else.

 Next morning chef Claude warmed the sausage links and cooked hotcakes & eggs.

 After breakfast it was quad rides, card playing, and visiting around the fire.

Wayne & Shelly and Claude & Connie all had to leave early in the afternoon to attend two separate weddings.  The rest of the group were off for sight seeing, horse rides, and playing on the beach while some others  took a nap.

 

 

While everyone was otherwise occupied, I prepared to make my second paella on my own.  WELL!!  While a good paella is supposed to have a crust called a socarrat, 5 more minutes and this one would have been BURNT!!  Fortunately, it didn’t taste burned, so I got away with it.  Next time, more liquid and less heat! 

Another use for Paella pans is frying potatoes to feed a crowd.  Worked better this time.  Didn’t almost burn breakfast!!  Some of our group were a little difficult to get out of bed and had a later breakfast.

 

 Families were off to beaches and other important things.  My daughter stayed at camp with me and we had a nice visit talking about nothing in particular.  When the groups came back it was quad trailer rides & quad racing.  

 What are those boys trying to teach my grand nieces?  Surely they are not racing while the girls are riding on the quads? 

 

One of the evenings that we were sitting around the campfire visiting, someone noticed the full moon.  We all ran for our cameras and to find the best place to get the best picture.  It is difficult to get a night picture but this one isn’t too bad.

 

 

We all had a great time visiting, taking pictures, sometimes going off on an adventure, and in general enjoying ourselves and just being together .  Having good food, good people and gathering around a campfire.  Doesn’t get much better!  Lets do this again next year!

Mike's Family Get Together

The first to arrive on Friday afternoon was Mike’s sister Marva, with her daughter-in-law and two grand children who are 5 and almost 11.  Eventually her son along with a buddy arrived an hour later, but they were “right behind!  We were all getting hungry so Mike started his famous fish chowder.  When we didn’t think we could wait another minute to eat, Marva’s daughter (who was also “almost there”) arrived with her family.  The chowder was worth waiting for!  We ate around the campfire and visited the rest of the evening

.Saturday morning 6 of the fellows took two boats and went fishing.  Marva’s son in addition to catching salmon also landed a very nice Halibut.  It was fortunate that Halibut season was on that day!

 We 4 ladies, visited, and watched the 2 kids and 5 dogs have a great time exploring the woods.   On Friday evening our almost 11 year old was allowed to drive one of the quads.  On Saturday she was itching to ride the quad again but had to wait until my son Claude came back from fishing and gave the OK!  So Mom, Grandma, and Aunt took them to the Ilwaco Saturday Market and the beach to expend some of their energy.

When Claude returned with his crew and did give the OK, it was like race night around here.  She did very well and didn’t get going too fast even giving her Grandma a ride.  Then her older cousins took her for a ride, “just to show her how it’s done” of course!  But they all had a great time.

 At one point we had a total of 6 dogs who made several mad dashes at top speed around the camp.  They seemed to be having a great time as well but they raised quite a dust storm!  They went so fast I didn’t get a picture but here are 4 of the 5.

 I had promised to make a Mexican paella for Saturday night dinner.  Prior to this, I had only assisted in this process.  Assisting and being in charge yourself are two entirely different things!!  When we made a couple last winter, I had written her instructions, but left out a few of the details.    Fortunately my friend who lives in New Mexico suffered patiently through my 5 frantic phone calls and helped me through it.  She is a great teacher because the family all seemed to enjoy it.  Even by those who aren’t too keen on spicy foods.

 

Sunday morning Marva went fishing with her son and his buddy.  She was able to land a very nice Chinook estimated at 20 to 25 pounds.  The rest of us enjoyed a substantial breakfast of Bacon, Hotcakes, and eggs cooked by master chefs, Mike & Claude.  And we did a lot more visiting around the campfire.

It was decided we would do this again next year same time, same place!!  (Forgot to get a group picture but here is one from last year.)

 

Reunion of Cousins

There were 23 of us that started our cousins reunion Friday evening by meeting for dinner at the Lost Roo restaurant in Long Beach.  We had a great visit and the staff treated us great. 

Saturday morning we had a tasty breakfast of hotcakes, link sausages, and fried eggs.  Our chefs were Claude, Mike, & Dusty along with assorted assistants.  We had more people show up for breakfast and others straggled in later during the day.  Some were first timers and a few had not come for a while.  The younger ones (under 15) soon made friends or reconnected with old friends.

 After breakfast several people went off to explore the beaches, shops, and other sites of the area.  The rest of us stayed to visit and keep the campfire going.  Cecil & Larry had a few competitive rounds of cribbage.  Michael was delighted when Claude allowed him to drive one of the quads.

Wayne set up a target for a little archery shooting and Logan tried his hand at pulling the bow.  Did quite well for his first time.  There was also an exciting game of tag and quad rides by others.

We all gathered together again for a dinner of hamburgers & hotdogs cooked over the fire by chef Claude. We also had potluck dishes of beans, salads fruits and desserts.

We ended up with about 38 people as near as I could tell.  And 4 well behaved dogs.  Except of course for her highness, Opal, who tried to get into everyone’s plate.  And sometimes succeeded.

We had a little unwelcome excitement just as we were finishing dinner.  A hive of ground hornets at the base of a tree near the cook tent was stepped on.  Shelly N. received the first barrage and most of the bites.  People ran for cover, but several of us were stung including at least 2 of the dogs.  The hornets eventually left us alone.

I issued a command appearance for all to get into a group picture.  There were a few grumbles from young and old but all graciously smiled and waited patiently for umpteen cameras to get pictures.  The photographers were Kyle (Michaels staff person) who did a great job juggling all those cameras & Claude who only had to deal with one.

Sunday we had breakfast of fried potatoes cooked in my big paella pan, fried eggs and tortillas.  Our chefs were Claude, Mike, Chad, & Mark.

Some of the folks had to leave shortly afterward as they had long drives home.  A few others stayed a while to visit, ride the quads, and play a few games of soccer and badminton.

We adjourned until next year but did not decide on a date, place or host.