January 1, 2013

It has been quite an experience watching Claude build this apartment.  I help in any way I can but it mostly consisted of remembering where or on which beam he left a tool he needs “Right Now!”!  It took us two weeks to find our favorite screwdriver.  He had left it on the top board in his shop (about 15 feet up) above the breaker box!  And then there was the time we were putting caulking in all the places we thought mice could get inside.  Easy job, right?  Well that’s what I thought.  So I start caulking and I don’t know what went wrong but I had it on my face, my gloves, my coat and in my hair!  Every place but where it was supposed to be.  Claude wanted to cut it out of my hair for me.  No Thanks!  And he took the caulking gun away from me!

Then the electrical inspector (unintentionally) gave me a set back.  I heard him tell Claude to change the wire we had just run between the shop breaker box and the one for the apartment.  I worried all night about how we were going to get that done.  This wire is about an inch diameter and very stiff.  AND we had also put it into conduit.  Well the next day I found out it was the grounding or bonding wire which is a quarter inch or so that he wanted changed.  Talk about relieved!

After the sheetrock people left, we started having lots of fun.  The perfect color I had picked for the walls & ceiling was NOT perfect.  I had bought 7 gallons of it.  OK.  Let’s add some of this chocolate brown I had for the molding.  Yes!  That’s more like it! 

And then we started putting in the cabinets.  Everything was going great until we discovered 3 cabinets were the wrong size.  I was in a panic.  So off to Home Depot the next day.  My kitchen designer & her supervisor called the cabinet maker and we had the right ones the next week.  While we were waiting we installed doors, put up molding, laid the flooring, and installed smoke alarms.

Finally we were ready for a final electrical inspection.  Looks good he says.  Yippee!

Now I can move my stuff out of Claude's garage and my cargo trailer.  Found things I forgot I had and others I hadn't seen for 10 years.  The bedroom was the most challenging.  I rearranged it at least once a day and a couple times, twice a day.  Finally have it to suit me.  I am so very pleased with the whole place.  It's cute, small ( at 400 sq ft), and suits me just right!  I still have a couple pieces of furniture to get, but that will have to wait til spring.  I'm off to Mexico in a few days.

Here's a look at the finished 3 room apartment and;

  

                Have a Happy, Prosperous New Year!!

Dining, Kitchen, Laundry

Living area

Bedroom (Do I maybe like Red?)

Bath Vanity

October

October has been an interesting and learning experience for me.

After arriving safely at our camp site near Loreto, Baja Sur, MX; Mike began setting up camp with minor help from me.  My largest contribution is staying out of the way!!  One of the winter campers had arrived ahead of us and had their camp set up.  About a week later several of our other friends started arriving from various points of the USA & Canada.  We had a great time visiting and catching up on everyone’s summer.  When I told everyone I was heading back to Washington in a few days and would not be back til after New Year’s, the chorus of moans were “who is going to make Pecan Pie for Christmas!?”  Isn’t it nice to be missed!! 

My son & daughter-in-law picked me up at the Portland airport and the next day I began my job of being carpenter’s helper & goffer!  My son has volunteered to build me a mother-in-law apartment at his shop.  It’s my version of “assisted living”! 

I had no idea of all the rules, regulations, supplies and downright work that go into building a dwelling.  And then we get something in place and find out “no you can’t do that like that.” Or one of us decides “no that doesn’t look right”, “let’s do it this way” or “we really should add a plug, light, different window”!

It is fun and exciting for me to watch it all come together.  We have been working a month and there are stud walls, a roof (with 2 quads sitting on it), electric wires & water pipes going EVERYWHERE, lots of blue boxes for electric outlets, phones & TV, and lights.  Whenever we need to run a wire somewhere, here comes the drill and a hole appears in one of the studs or rafters.  Looks like Bucky Beaver has been at work! 

 

And the other day just ahead of a big rain storm, Claude & his helpers dug a ditch & put in the outside water & sewer lines.

We should have just about a week more of wires to run, blocking to put in, windows to install and then we can call for the inspectors to come.  If that goes well, it will be time for the sheet rock people to come!

Have an enjoyable time with family & friends during this Thanksgiving Holiday  Hugs to All,  Patty

September

It has been brought (and non too gently) that it has been sometime since I have submitted a report.  I did have good intentions but as usual for me, I was side tracked.  Here is what I started a month ago.

September seems to have been rather busy.  Started off with a nice Labor Day weekend visit from Mike’s grandson & the 2 great grandkids.  There was a potluck in Chinook with Mike’s fishing buddy’s & their wives.  Bill made some yummy BB Cue ribs.  A few days later, we had a potluck gathering around the firepit for a guest from Italy staying with my son & daughter-in-law.

I finally got around to buying the Mexican insurance for the vehicles and then started gathering supplies in anticipation of our trip south.  I also finished the quilt for next year’s yacht club silent auction to be held in May.  I then started quilting on 1 of 3 quilts my youngest sister & me are doing for our cousin in Ohio. 

My youngest son came from Olympia a couple different times for a visit.  Once he helped his daughter bag a deer and a second time to help his renter put siding on the house.  I drove up to Puyallup to visit my middle sister and see the changes she had made to her house.  Looks good!  Mike & me drove to Westport for a last visit til spring with his sister.  Finally, after putting it off for 2 months, I gave Opal a close shearing.  We will be in VERY hot weather soon.

Mike is busily packing the two pickups, a cargo trailer, and his Bayliner.  I have been dragging my feet and he keeps wanting to know how many tubs I will have.  I finally was able to get everything to him and he found places to put everything.  By the way Mike has bought a Ford 150 4-wheel drive and a 17’ Bayliner both of which will stay in Mexico.  Our original plan was for me to drive the F-150 pulling the Bayliner.  HOWEVER, a few days before departure, the master cylinder on the clutch on the F-150 went out.  My son Claude, who among other things is a mechanic, helped Mike change it.  So now I will drive the Ford 350 with the 13’ Smokercraft boat on top and towing the 6x8 cargo trailer.

(That was as far as I had gotten, so to continue on--)

We were finally loaded and hit the road on Monday Sept 24^th.  I missed a few gears starting out.  (Both pickups have standard transmissions!)  But by the time we made the Oregon border and I also pulled the seat forward a bit more, using a clutch came back to me.

We made a couple stops in central California to visit with friends.  About half way up the grapevine just after pulling out of a rest area the 150 heated up.  Steam was really pouring out.  Mike was able to pull around the corner into a gas station at the little town of Lebec to assess the situation.  We needed a mechanic.  Thank you to the gods who watch over travelers as there was a shop across the street from the gas station.  They were able to go get a new radiator, pull out the old one, install the new one and had us back on the road in about 3 hours.

AND THEN we got into the LA area and it is getting dark.  If that is light traffic, I do not want to be driving there when it’s heavy traffic!!  To top it off, we had to stop at 3 motels before we found one who would let Opal stay.

We breezed through the border crossing at Tecate and made it to Loreto in 2 ½ days.  It was hot & humid but I wasn’t complaining.  Too much that is. 

Will try and get the next installment out in a few days.  In the meantime stay safe, warm, & dry.  Hugs & Love,  Patty.

July 2012

The second week of July we went to Enterprise, Wallowa Co in northeast Oregon for this year 'Reunion of Cousins'.  Had somewhere around 50 people.  There were 6 of the 7 remaining first cousins attending.  We started with 15.  Had a great visit with everyone & ate way too much.  Visited the museum & looked around in the shops in Joseph and walked around the farmers market in Enterprise.  Rain & thunderstorms can't tame us down!  We just moved our picnic into the hotel conference room!  Worked great.

Claude & Connie finally moved into their new house.  It is beautiful.  They have done a majority of the work themselves.  Still a lot to be done, but they will keep working at it.

                            See the tree on the upper left side that looks like a BB Cue Fork?
That tree is close to 100' tall.  The main trunk goes up about 50' and then branches into 3 more trunks that are each about 50' high.  Loggers call these types 'widow makers'.  You never know which way they will twist and fall when they are cut down.  Claude was nervous about which house (his or one of his neighbors)  this tree would hit if it came down when one of the winter high wind storms came along.  So!  Here is where the professionals come in.  First they cut all the branches off from the bottom up, then cut the tree into about 10' lengths.  I wouldn't want to be in that bucket!!

And this is what is left.

 

  

Connie & Claude hosted a reunion of Connie's brothers & sisters and their families about mid July.  While not all of the eight siblings were able to come, there was a nice turnout of about 20 people.  Everyone enjoyed visiting around the campfire and we all ate too much.  Again!  But they all agreed to come back next year.

 This spring before we left Mexico, Mike sold the 

 yellow Toyota pickup.  It has served us well and taken a lot of abuse.  The first few years it was in baja every mexican that saw it wanted to buy it!  I imagine it still has a few miles left for the new owner.  










Last week he finally found a replacement for the Toyota and we drove to Woodburn to take a look.  It was just what he was looking for.  It will end it's days as a 'Baja rig'!  Mike will use it to launch his boats off the beach in front of camp and to haul firewood and do other assorted chores.

Mike and friends have been busily at work catching salmon, a tuna or 2, and crabbing.  Ahh the bounty of the sea!!

Til next time, travel safe.

June Happenings

I cannot believe it has been 2 months since coming north.  The time just seems to fly!

I have accomplished a few things.  Have made a great start on the 2013 quilt for HPYC.  I have all the T-shirts, Birds, & Fish appliqued onto the front panels.  Cut the material for the backing and found I am ONE panel short!!  I thought I had more than enough.  I can piece the last panel if I cannot match my material but I really don't want to do that and is a last resort.

Had a nice visit with my daughter and her family in the Everett area, went camping with my youngest son, and camping with my sister Bobbi.

Waiting for trailer lights to be fixed.

We are patiently? waiting to leave!

Picture this!  4 women, 7 children between 5 & 12, a 6 month old baby, AND pouring down rain!!  We at least had the children fed before the rain started.  The kids were really good and the baby is a little sweetheart!  The most fun thing for the kids the first night was to stand at the corner of the motor home awning with the rainwater funneling down onto them. Makes as much sense as some things adults find exciting!  (Some of them had to wait til the next day for their parents to bring dry clothes!!)   They all had a great time and what did it really matter?  They're young & tough!

Five of the 7 kids and the baby all slept in the motor home.  Just before going to sleep I came in from my car (where Opal & me were to sleep) looking for a snack.  Of course Bobbi had them all settled down in bed.  "Who wants frosted graham crackers?"  "We all do!"  "May we have 2?"  "Of Course!"  (What are great grand aunts good for but to stir up young children?!)  Upon my leaving to go to bed, my sister remarked "You ARE a trouble maker!"

Mike has been very busy fishing.  He spent a little over 2 weeks in the Oregon Mts trout fishing with friends who also came to fish & visit, fishing the Columbia for sturgeon, and the Pacific for salmon.  And in his spare time he's been cleaning up the campground here, chipping limbs, and cutting downed trees for the firepit.  He has everything looking pretty nice and ready for the reunions.

Enjoy the rest of your summer.  Travel safe.       

North to Washington

To start at the end rather than the beginning, we arrived safely on Long Beach the afternoon before Mother's Day.  A few days later, Mike was setting up my satellite internet and could not lock onto the signal!  Frustrating, but maybe we just needed to check things a bit more.  Well a few more days went by, another try with the same results.  OK.  Maybe we needed a new part.  You mean the same one we replaced last spring?!!  Sometimes it is better to say 'enough', and after thinking it over, I decided to try getting DSL over the phone landline.  Equipment was sent out and I am now in the (for me) technical world again.  Now on to our journey from Loreto.

And what better way to start than with a sunrise Mike took a few days before leaving the beach for the RV park.  We go there just before Loreto Fest so we don't have to travel the mile of rocky, washboard road out to the pavement 3 times a day for a week.

Made by Chris

Made by Patty

I managed to get through Loreto Fest although there were a couple times that I had my doubts.  I could not have managed with out the generous support of my helper Chris.  She also makes and donates a quilt to the LF Raffle.  Several other volunteers would come by periodically to see if help was needed.  Thank you All!!  Our attendance was down by about half and the amount spent at the auction & raffle was also down.  A sign of the depression no doubt.  Let's hope next year will show an improvement.

Tuesday morning, May 8th, we took the RV trailer and jeep over to park in storage at Emma's in Juncalito village.  Her grandson, Leno, helped Mike to cover them for the summer.  We were on the road by 9am.  Filled the pickup with diesel in Loreto and then we both remembered things we had forgotten.  Mine was not worth returning for but Mike had forgot to turn off the propane tanks.  So back the 12 miles to Juncalito, turn off the propane, and the hotwater tank, and get my package. We were again on the road for the second time by about 10am.  Not too late a start!


The rest of the day and the next went well.  That is until we went to pull into the motel on Wednesday night.  The left front brake on the pickup seized up.  A mechanic was recommended and Mike made arrangements for him to come to the the motel the next afternoon to make repairs.  He came the next afternoon, only half an hour later than he said, took the tire off,  checked to see what parts he would need, made a trip to the auto parts store, put it all back together and was done by 7pm.  A very nice and capable young man and didn't charge an arm & leg.  Mike was pleased to have had it done so quickly.  We were only delayed a day.  And it's not like we had a time schedule to stick to!!!


We had dinner Wednesday night & breakfast the next morning in the old part of Temeculah, CA.  There were some very interesting tourist shops and I just happened to spot a quilting store that called me to come look at all the materials on display.  I managed to get out of there with only some iron-on fusible backing for my next year's tee shirt quilt.

We were back on the road early Friday morning and Saturday around 3pm we pulled into our campsite near Long Beach.  Washington that is!  What beautiful weather greeted us.  Was actually warm and almost hot!  Now to unload and reorganize.

Claude has really been working on their new house.  The biggest thing now is to set the kitchen cabinets which are due to arrive on tuesday.  (They did and Mike helped set them.)  The kitchen now has cabinets, appliances, running water and is waiting for the counter tops to arrive later this week.  That leaves the master bedroom and upstairs to carpet and a few odds and ends that need doing.  With luck they hope to move in Fourth of July weekend. 

Decks will have to wait til next year.

 Opal has joined the geriatric generation.  It seems like overnight.  She has trouble jumping in or out of the pickup.  Needs a little bit of a lift.  So she now needs to take glucosamine.  She HATES the tablets but loves the chewables.  Of course she does, they are twice as expensive!  What else
would I expect of her Highness?

Safe Travels and Wonderful Adventures to All.  

 



  

Back to the Beach

Had a great visit with Aunt Ev and other family & friends in the area but it's time for me to head to the airport.  I changed planes 4 times, had 2 five hour layovers (Austin & Los Angelos) and finally arrived in Loreto 22 hours later!  For the second time in a row, I was the last one through customs.  At least this time I got the green light!!  Mike & Opal were patiently waiting to greet me and take me to our home on the beach.

The next day, Friday, Mike headed to a little town south of LaPaz to fish and visit with longtime friends, John & Patrice.  He was gone about a week and brought home some delicious Pargo Rojo (Dog Snapper).

Like these caught last year

My niece was coming for a visit after spending a week with her cousin in Long Beach, WA.  They are restoring a 1940 Chevy pickup her Dad bought her while she was in High School. Claude has this pickup in a 100 pieces!  They sanded, bondoed, sanded, primered, sanded, primered, & 1 coat of paint.   Here's what they accomplished in a week.

Lona was due here on Monday in the late afternoon or early evening.  Driving from Los Cabos she was lost a couple times and by the time she arrived at the port it was just about midnight.  Rather than try to find her way to our camp in the dark (this is nearly impossible even for those of us who know how to get here!), she spent what remained of the night in her car in front of our local tienda (store).  I was very glad to see her early the next morning.  We enjoyed a couple trips to town, meals at a few of the different cafes & restaurants, walking the dog, a hike up one of the canyons, sitting around visiting drinking coffee or iced tea, a boat ride, and snorkeling a few times.

Lona left here to drive back to Cabo the day before she was to catch her return flight.  Good thing because she was lost again and finally called a taxi to pilot her!  All ended well but not a very relaxing way to end her trip. 

Mike and friends Dale, & Bob, went fishing with Senor Torres and caught a total of 11 Yellowtail.  Mike brought home 3 nice fish.  I canned 31 pints, 6 half pints, and 15 pints of scraps for Opal.  I have 2 dozen empty jars left, so maybe Mike can bring a couple more yellowtail home to can before I get too busy with Loreto Fest.

Yellowtail similar to this one caught 3 years ago

Easter is a big camping time for Mexican families.  We had more campers on this beach this year than we have had in the past.  It is great to see everyone together.  They bring the WHOLE family, from little babies to grandparents.  Everyone has a great time.  Kids & adult 'kids' ride their ATV's, (which causes the dogs to bark!), go swimming, or just visit around the fire and there is lots of laughter.  We don't have music playing all night, just half the night!  All is good!!

Loreto Fest is off to a slow start this year.  I have my part (mostly) under control.  All I need now are donations, volunteers to help me, and people to make auction bids & buy raffle tickets.  I sure ask a lot!  Will let you know how it all turns out.

Safe travels to All.