Saying Goodbye

Friends from Edmonton are leaving today and we pull out on Wednesday so we decided to spend our last night together at a beautiful beach restaurant.

The restaurant we chose is situated on the same beach as our favourite beach bar, but this is a little more classy and requires that we dress up!  No barefeet and floppy hats!

It was a quiet evening because the drive to Tucson is not an easy one and it requires the driver's full attention.....sleep is required!  This is Semana Santa week and the Mexicans are starting to come to San Carlos by the thousands.

Yesterday we filled with gas, got pesos from the ATM and bought some groceries for the trip home.  San Carlos has been known to run out of gas and pesos when Semana Santa starts so we made sure we were early.

We have tons of things to do before we are ready, although many are last minute details.  Chuyita is coming tomorrow to help us clean out the fridge, stove etc.  No bus for her...she takes home all our extra food so we always need to drive her back to Guaymas.

It has been hot and cloudy for the last three days, although that is to change today with the temperatures hitting 34C with lots of sun.

I have been a little slower than usual due to a bike crash on Thursday.  We ride our bikes everyday and most days we ride up this certain incline near home.  I never have a problem handling this section of the road, but on Thursday I ran out of strength near the very top and my bike started to slide back down.  I controlled it for a bit, but eventually it took me backwards and I fell.  My left leg received some rather nasty cuts and I banged my head on the cement.  The worst injury is to my right elbow which I'm sure I used to protect myself.  Helmets are now required by law in Mexico and I for one will be following the rules next year!

But...it didn't stop me from going to Zumba the next day!

Young Waiter

After our round of golf on Sunday, we stopped at the upper restaurant for a beer and lunch.  A young gentleman delivered our limones, all cupped in his hand.  His mom was the waitress at the restaurant and he wanted to help her out.

He was so shy that it was difficult to get a good picture, but I think you get the idea.

Time is Disappearing

The last two weeks have been busy with farewell parties and meals out.  Many people have headed back NOB and it won't be long before we do the same.

We are down to our final two weeks and as usual, are frantically trying to summerize the house.  That includes having the termite guy in to give the house a prevention injection and we need to paint the flat roof with a rubberized mastic to prevent water from leaking in during the rainy season.

We need to clean everything out of the cupboards, down to the last crumb.  Much of the food goes to Chuyita, our housekeeper, but some we do take home.  We probably take too much as the vehicles are always packed solid.

We always scramble the last few days changing curtains so the intense summer heat doesn't ruin our good ones and packing away the bedding.  We have learned to do little things like moving all the furniture and beds away from the walls and to lift up the bed skirts in case of a flood, like a few years ago.

We turn the blades of the fans upside down so that when the heat causes them to sag, it will be the wrong way.  All batteries come out of the AC remotes, the stove and microwave must be spotless to keep the ants away.

Probably one of the more time consuming things we have to do is the removal of all pictures and ornaments.  We don't leave any outside decorations up as they somehow have a way of disappearing.  We move our outside patio furniture into the house for that reason, along with wanting to keep it out of the direct sun.  Some of our upstairs furniture is too big so we just chain them together and dare anyone to carry them away!

We have already arranged with Chuyita to check and clean the house during the summer.  It needs to be aired out to keep the humidity down and also she needs to flush the toilets and run water in all the sinks.  They can't dry out or the cockroaches may find that route and enter the house that way.  A baggie filled with water and placed over the shower drain works great.

The BBQ needs be cleaned thoroughly to keep the bugs away and WD 40 will be rubbed on it to prevent rusting that comes with the humidity.

The list goes on and on...I think getting the house in Eatonia winterized is far easier than summerizing this house.

I guess I should be working rather than complaining, but complaining is more fun!  Plus, I am one of the world's best procrastinators!