And Next

Just when we thought things had settled down, the renter's of the house in Washington informed us, they we leaving.  Off we skedaddled north again.  We informed no-one that we were coming back. Deciding that this might be one case that surprise is necessary.  

The renter's left the house in a condition very close to us having to comdemn the house.  The house, barn and bottle buildings were used as hot houses for a pot operation. The pond was devoid of close to 50 large Koi.(They ate them, having cooked them on the grill) Walls had to be torn down and replaced due to moisture and mold, one large window also had to be replaced. Repairs had to be made to the electrical system in the both the house and barn.  Things were missing and never found.  The yard had not been mowed in the year.  Lee textured all the walls with joint compound, while I teased her about "wax on and wax off".  Me, I painted(an ugly medium green that reminded me of the walls in the house where I grew up) those area's reachable without ladder  and laid  laminate flooring throughout both bedrooms and the bathroom.  (Lee definitely had the harder jobs.)  Cabinet's were painted (butternut cream), everything was scrubbed down at least once to get rid of the smell of pot.

  

And then Aunt Marilyn was in the hospital and rehab in Utah.  We had promised if ever she was hospitalized or needed us, we would be there.  We spent a couple of weeks keeping her company (between bout's with the physical therapists) and resting from the work we had done on our house. Visiting with Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Jack will go down as one of my favorite experiences. I was able to really get to know my aunt and uncle and become friends beyond a familys' forced connection. Marilyn was off to another rehab facility and we could not put off our work any longer.  Long hours awaited us. 

In between the trip to Utah and our moving out of the house. The transmission/rear differential broke on the Jeep.  Inventory of destruction: left and right rear axle rods destroyed with ¼ to 1/2inch bands etched in them from the bearings, 3 axle bearings seized and associated little parts worn broken and/or missing were replaced.  Then as a safety checkup the mechanic says...let's check the front axiles….left front came out in several bits and pieces instead of being the perfection of one solid unit. The right side was good. When you don't have money and there is not a way to earn said money,  a whammy hit for thousands instead of the 10 dollars left in the wallet seems insurmountable.  We appreciate the financial help we got from several people.  I won't name you here, but if you were one of the generous, THANK YOU!

  

We met the nicest family in Castle Rock through a craigslist sale. Dan and Kristin (with kids) swept in; moving a barn full of our stuff out to the bottle building so Lee and I could sort and say goodbye to years of saved treasures. Their family also moved about 3yrds or so of dirt into what used to be the pond.  If we needed help they were there. Bringing treats and coke's to make sure we took breaks.  Telling us to leave the rest of the repairs for them to do after we left. I don't think I have ever appreciated a family so much.  I will never be able to say enough thank yous to cover what they, as a family, did for us.  They are the new overseers of the property.  I think they love the quirkiness over the place as much as we do. I do believe they will be there a long time.  Finding some weird sign or piece of art to add to the collection already started.

What treasures we could not part with; were put into a rental trailer and hauled south to a storage facility.  Soon we will head north again to claim it and then haul it back here in our own trailer.  This will put an end to being scattered over two countries.

So, we are home in Tlajomulco, enjoying the house, the weather and most of all our friends.

Beginning's

It has been almost a year since our first arrival here in Tlajomulco de Zuniga.  We thought that once here, it would be a long time before heading north again.  We thought wrong, so this year is our first in a what we hope will be a long life led as expats.  Just to quickly run down the last year...My mother and Lee's good friend and her childrens' adopted grandmother were both diagnosed with an very aggressive form of lung cancer.  They both died in early March.  Lee and I spent time taking care of my mother in Utah for 3 months (unfortunately we were not told of Kay's health until it was too late to make a visit)  We returned to Mexico in April.  In May it was back to the US to take care of business associated with mom and to re-up our visa's.  On this trip we headed to northern California to visit family and friends.  We had a blast driving the coast road south to San Fransisco and playing tourist.  We then headed to Utah for a wood turning conference.  Uncle Jack and Aunt Marilyn opened their home to us and their hearts.  I for one needed the TLC they provided.  With their urging, as we drove south stops were made at Bryce Canyon and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  We took a ton of pictures and played tourist through most of southern Utah and then Sedona Arizona.  When we made it back home, we were thinking it would be for an extended time.