Lucky Me

Sometimes we think things are just so bad, however if we just wait a moment in time, we find out we are wrong!  All the emotions that are wasted on worry and stress are just that, wasted energy that could have been put to some greater cause.  I left Mexico completely convinced that all was just a disaster in my life, one month later I find myself filled with happiness and hope for all!  
Time such a funny little thing.  Use it wisely and understand it. Lucky I gave it a chance and let things sort them selves out.
Live with love and laugh often.

TIME

I didn't stop to think,

just wandered, worked,

and played

away the day,

time had no 

meaning in

my mind,

and my mind

did not keep track of time.

The skies were weeping

white clouds of dust,

the air a mist of sparkles,

dropping lightly, all my tasks

so brightly done under the 

mask of a noon day sun.

It seemed I blinked and

that sun was setting under

layers of purple, red and gold,

who needs a clock to tell the time,

It seems my day was done!

I settled in for the night and 

waited for my stars, 

It seems I fear I have been 

here now so long that

time and I agree,

This is my time

To Live!
Live with Love and Laugh Often

The Gift

Sometimes we receive the strangest gifts.  I was completely consumed with the death and subsequent burial of my beloved cat of 17 years the other day.  I was so preoccupied that I; the one who always keeps track of the important things; somehow missed the fact that there was a tropical storm bearing down on us!  As I rushed to bury my little bundle of sunshine the rain began in earnest; I thought wow, that will take your mind right off of sadness!  I had to run around and do all the things I do when the wind and rain comes here in the tropics.  It still never crossed my mind to check the weather reports.  The next day I awoke resolved to put it behind me and move on.  Well that lasted about 4 hours and then I just felt so sad I needed to nap.  Shortly thereafter I was up doing some work when I noticed the wind just blowing and I thought what a welcome relief!  Then I thought oh no; I turned on my computer and the storm had already landed!  I raced to my car; loaded the dogs; ran off for water, M&M's, potato chips, and Coke; you need essentials in a crisis; and made it back to my gate just as the skies opened up!  God knew I needed a major distraction and he sent me the one thing that was sure to occupy my mind and my time!  So my neighbor and I enjoyed the wind and rain and ran from one side of the house to the other; thus occupying my mind,body and soul until I was exhausted.  We laughed and made plans and life was back on track.  The torrential rains made the earth ready for me to plant; which made me happy since I had plans for Sugars grave but needed help with the soil.  All in all I can say the storm was a gift of love for me from the heavens above; I had to work hard for several days and I was back to me!  I still miss my little friend but I now have a happy ending to her story!

Laugh Often, Live with Love

It Rained Today For Sugar

The silence is deafening.  I never thought that loosing my deaf cat would make my world so quiet!  We have not had any substantial rain yet; and just as I pulled in the driveway; it began to rain.  I barely had time to pull together her funeral party and get her buried before the skies opened up!  My tears of sadness were mixed with Joy because I knew she was at peace, and even though time changes all things; one thing remains the same I will always remember her, she was one of a kind!  Every time it rains I will lift my face and smile knowing I was blessed for 17 years.  I will plant a beautiful rose bush and tend it with loving care.  I was surrounded by loving friends who knew my pain and stayed by my side easing this day for both of us.  She has moved on back into the universe and will be at peace and pain free.  In time I will be okay and my smile will widen and my heart will lighten because I really Loved Sugar!  Live with Love and Laugh Often it is what we have now that is all we can really count on!

Today I Remember

How I choose to be remembered- Always on the prowl when I wasn't sleeping!

It's exhausting being Father Christmas!

If She gives me one more organic treatment .........

I Loved This Sweater! I don't care what anybody says!

Today I remember so tomorrow I can smile, so tomorrow my tears will flow with gentle pain and leave my heart less broken.  Today I remember how 16 years ago my daughter and my husband brought a tiny little kitten into our house and I thought no more cats, but then took one look and began to care for one who would eventually care for me.  Today I remember how my Daughter was smart enough to call her Dad for this because she had him wrapped and knew it.  Today I remember how we found out she was deaf and loved her all the more for it.  Today I remember how much she loved to be vacuumed; nothing gave her greater pleasure except nursing on my Husband or Sons shoulders.  Today I remember watching her leap like a deer as she ran when she got out and my son and I gave chase and we realized we could not let her out like the others.  Today I remember her dialing 911 at 2 in the morning and trying to explain it to the police.  Today I remember the endless hours of watching her sit in the sun over the years because we could not leave her alone.  She would raise that tiny little face to the warmth and I swear she would smile.  Today I remember that she started waking me all night long for no reason.  And today I realize that since I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and no longer need to be awakened in the night, she has given up.  She did her job and did it well, those tiny paws slapping my face; and if that did not do the trick well then havoc would rain down.  In either case I would get up and tend to her and then go back to sleep, this would repeat all through the night.  I have more brain cells thanks to her, so today I remember My Little White Knight Sugar.  The Queen of cats afraid of no man or beast her entire life.  She ruled her world and saved mine; I thank you my little friend and love you. Today I remember that if you truly love someone you set them free with no regrets and keep the memories alive.
Live with Love

If Only

If only every day could be like today?  If only all my days I could walk with my absolute faith?  Then I would not have had the days before where I was paralyzed with fear.  A fear that came from deep within; I could not control it; I knew it's name; I knew it's game; I just could not remember; once again that the footsteps in the sand in front of me are those of the ONE who carries me in times of stress.  Who lifts the burdens off my chest and helps me, to breath and think and live as I was meant to do.  Then like a whisper in the wind; in blew Angels from the east, the west and right next door, all lifting me above the fear and clearing my path once more.  Such simple things like an email sent, not knowing I was in need, it said exactly what I needed to hear in that moment of my pain, and then one more and so on, so strange.  My friends appeared to visit me from here and there, all not knowing why, and my JOY returned.  Band of Joy  So today once again I will remember to live in the moment, laugh often and live with love!  Trust in my heart and turn to my God.

Today Will Be A Bust

Well I have all my babies  (of the animal type) on their medications everyone seems to be doing great!  That being said I should be happy as a Lark!  However once again my back is out and this time it is a bugger!  I suppose it was the trip to La Paz, wrestling with the dogs, and then coming home and trying to get too much done once again!  However I do have a good excuse, the weather turned for a day, it was so beautiful, cool, overcast, calling me to do yard work!  I really wanted to fix up a hide away for both dogs and a safe place for the cats to browse, I just couldn't pass up the moment, so now I pay!  Though once you see how cute they look you will see it was worth the effort!  I have decided I need a Kodak easy share camera.  My friend has one and it takes the best pictures, am I teasing you, you bet, more to come tomorrow!

Laugh often, Live with Love

This Day

My husband asked what I was going to do today.  I thought about that question long and hard.  I have been waiting for the rain, it is here, a gentle mist, just covering the desert enough to make it pop with green, mosquitoes too I am sure.  They have lain in wait for a year and will be out in force!  It is time for the no see me's too, a little bug that you can't see hence the name, that finds your face and invades your nose and eyes.  So today, since all my pets are now treated with new Frontline and have had their medicines, we will test our Off Clip on and brave the beach!  It won't be hot, just buggy, and today I will find out how much bug I can take!

I probably should work my garden since it is cooler and wet, but the ocean is calling and the dogs are pulling me toward treasures yet to find,  I have a friend I want to find the perfect piece of seaglass for and today just might be the day!

Laugh Often, Live with Love

A Pray is Answered

Thank you God for hearing me,

I know that I can be so trite,

it was the Angels you sent me though

that I was worried for.

Once again I found it true 

that you always carry me

through.  All my worries, all

my fears, groundless, needless,

wasted energy, AGAIN.

All we need is two of me to 

keep all these medicines and 

treatments straight or maybe just

one more prayer that Sugar takes 

a shine to this like the little bit of angel 

dust she is!  Maybe Baby will decide to 

help and just swallow once or twice, and if it's not 

too much to ask how about throw in Jack and 

let him love his treatments as attention just for kicks I 

say!  Then again I have no fear, you have a plan for

me, or is it them, either way I intend to trust you 

all the way!

Laugh Often Live with Love

We Caught A Mouse!

Cause for celebration I say!  The Whipster caught his first mouse.  Since he was just a little runt his toys have all been little wind up mice to run and chase and play with; so it  was with great pride that I saw him with his first mouse.  I thought all my hard work paid off!  Then he began to play just like the days of old.  He let that little mouse run free, watched it run; then like the wind, he would corner it and gently take it by the tail and run with it to a new room, to play some more. His goal it seemed was not to kill but to find a new wind up friend and add it to his box of toys.  Now I had company coming for a Lost marathon (boxed set), and this really needed to be dealt with, so I had to bring in the ringer.  While Whip is now a year old, big and strong and beautiful,  he has much to learn from Sugar our 17 year old, tiny, little, white, deaf cat. I brought her into the area, turned her in the direction of the mouse, and the second it ran she had it, game over!  I am sad that I have to teach Whip to mouse because they are so cute, however I am also not willing to let them share my house. It is what it is.
Laugh Often , Live with Love

A Pray For Today

Okay God here's the deal

I know that I have said before 

thank you for the pain I feel

it reminds me I am alive!

If you have the time today

could you back it off 

a smidge.

Baby needs to see

the Vet,

So does Sugar, and I

know that I can't drive,

to La Paz

and back again

with my back as it is.

You sent them to me for a reason,

now I need to see this through and 

keep your Angels healthy too.

So we ask you for some help and know You hear 

us, that's what gives us hope!

Getting ready for the drive 

we'll call You when we arrive!

From an Air Conditioner to Jewelry

I went to buy an A/C, a very nice LG model from a Jeweler in the next town over.  In the process I met his friend who makes and designs Stirling silver pieces. When they found out that I was a struggling artist in my own right they immediately offered to show me how.  I was simply floored by the act of kindness they showed.  My friend said I learned somethings from him and he learned some from me and we will now share some with you. I had simply asked if they had a book I might borrow on how to work with silver wire?  And from there we became friends, not just the oh yeah see ya later friends; but real friends who are now totally invested in helping me develop a passion that I have and learning to use some of the tools I have acquired but have yet to master. So a new adventure awaits me and I am ready to go!

Laugh Often, Live With Love

Cloak of Invisibility

When my children were very young our son gave our daughter the cloak of invisibility; yes it was to keep her out of his play time; but she wore it well.  Apparently she never took it off as we found out while in a restaurant/bar in Mexico.  The Federalies stormed the place en mass; searched everyone except our daughter; and even though they were in the process of checking my car never did ask for my papers,  and then finally left.  Some of the cloak must have draped over me!  She did not have her papers with her that night since we lived so close.  I mention this because I have a new cloak of invisibility; Off clip-on apparently really does make me invisible to mosquito's!  Since she is now gone I hope it will work with the Federalies as well.  

Laugh Often, Live with Love

My Secret Garden

Strangely enough I planted a garden out of the desert with patience and tender loving care. I have two very large guard dogs, one who loves to dig up everything once it is rooted and one who just likes to take each plant and keep them for her very own use! So began the ritual of retraining them. I did such a great job that as the garden grew, and things grow so rapidly here, they just avoided the garden. The entire purpose of the garden was to provide them shade in the hot blistering summer days! The other day I was staring at my lovely garden thinking, all that work, and they don't even use it! Suddenly it occurred to me, why don't I use it! All I needed to do was rake out an area for my bench, cut some low hanging tree branches and I had a wonderful cool Secret Garden all to myself! Of course I have now added a side table and foot stool, cushions, and a water tight container for my books and glasses; what good is a Secret Garden without amenities I asked myself. I suppose I should add another chair for company in time, but for now it is mine, I have been dreaming of one since I was 6 and read The Secret Garden. So for a little while I will hide away and read to my hearts content!

How Do You Lose Your Dog In Your House?

THE EYE THAT NEEDS TO GO

I suppose that seems like a silly question, however I already have a deaf cat that I tend to misplace on occasion, so imagine how I felt at 4:00AM when I woke up and could not find my dog.  I looked all over the house.  Now you might wonder why I was so worried; it is just that he is blind and needs to have his other eye removed.  I have put off this procedure until he was once again familiar with the house in Mexico.  Last night he was acting very strange, before bedtime I could not find him and he ended up being under my bed, a place he never goes.  So after letting him out I put him up on the bed and he jumped off.  I followed him around the house for awhile and finally went to bed.  When he wants up he will just wake me or so I remember it going.  He is a long legged Jack Russell so he is not really that small so you think I can find him,  30 minutes of searching and heart pounding thoughts, of who would steal just my dog and nothing else later ideas, and I was about to cry.  If I had not tipped over a chair in the kitchen which woke the dog I would probably still be searching!  Apparently I did put the dog up on the bed at some point, we get up every hour or so here, but had forgotten, he must have felt like burrowing, I use a dozen pillows on my bed,  he just managed to get inside of one of the cases and curl up and I never saw him!  I was so relieved, all I could think of was that he had some how gone off to die as old dogs will do.  I now realize that the eye needs to come out, the air from the fans irritates it, and I have them all going in this heat.  He was simply trying to get away from any source of airflow and still be near me.  I am down one pillowcase and up one dog, and smarter for it!

Laugh often, Live with Love

Aimless Meetings

So strange I ran across another person who could have written my thoughts and my day.  The world truly is a very small place. I accidentally hit the next blog button and up popped a blog by a woman I will never meet, in a village I will never go to, who had exactly the same thoughts to share that I did!  

floating like feathers
gliding colors
blues and greens
aimless
free
all of places
I am meant to be

Laugh Often, Live with Love

Just Can't Live Without

All fun no pain!

When I first came to the Baja there were so many things that I missed from home. I did not realize how brand specific I was until it was time to go shopping and they did not have what I wanted, or if it was there, it was SO expensive that I just could not justify the expense. Then as an owner of pets flea season hit. I found that some things you just don't compromise on, and some things are more important than food! Frontline Plus and I are best friends! In an area where fleas and ticks carry some very serious diseases I have managed with Frontline to keep my pets free and clear. Normally I would not rave about a product but there are a few that have become indispensable living along the desert slash coast line. I added Ortho Home and Garden to the mix and we live relatively bug free. On the days we go to the beach I used to worry about the dogs bringing home fleas or ticks however the products do as they advertise which is why I am taking the time to share. I have three dogs and three cats and no fleas and no ticks! I put a little garden in for them to dig in and get shade so I was sure they would get fleas or ticks but absolutely nothing over the last four years. Now how well do I know it works, I took my dog home and left him with my husband, who used copious amounts of different flea products on the poor little fellow, and not until he finally got the Frontline did he get rid of the fleas on both the dog and our cat! He was amazed and of course swore I never told him about it before! So if you have flea issues and have not tried it give it a whirl, both you and your pets will be grateful!

Laugh Often,Live with Love!

Custom Search

In The Begining; there is always a begining

As with all stories mine began, well it began many, many years ago, however for this story it began five years ago with my decision to relocate to Mexico permanently.  It was an unconscious decision made out of many conflicting emotions, the most intense being LOVE.  This is something my husband wants and in order for me to succeed at it I needed to just jump in and go for it!
 I have always believed and still do that the hardest part of marriage is in the act of selflessness.  It is easy to be selfish  but hard to just be selfless.  At first I was overwhelmed by the cultural life styles and the very simple fact that I needed to be the one to make the change if I was going to make this work.  Living without all the things I take for granted, water for showering and eating; electricity whenever I want, and of course just the ability to communicate were things I never thought about until they became the very things I thought about every day!!!!  When the power is out your phone is out and your computer.  It does no good to go to the next town because after all the power is out in both towns, one station for both, long line????  I know this sounds silly but I wanted to get over all the issues of relocating, all the hardships, on my own so my husband would feel better about his decision to do this.  When he comes on a permanent basis he will find someone who not only loves his crazy ideas but embraces them!  I will; probably still not speak Spanish; though I am trying, but I will know where to get the best water, the best tortillas, the best food, and the best beaches.  I will have made friends whom I enjoy spending time with because here that is all you have, time and I love it.  I will be able to coax him through the transition faze of retirement which believe me is not easy; and keep him sane; also not going to be easy; and we will thrive!  There is an element of living here that requires you to just understand that This is Mexico(TIM); from driving your car to finding the best drinking water; to just knowing that today is not tomorrow and whatever you planned is not really important; just exist as you are for the moment and live. It is the Baja way and once you get it you have it and can simply put you got it!
Laugh Often, Live with Love for today Is the Day you Have.

Profuse

It seems strange that I should once again fall victim to a heat related illness.  I taught Heat Stress/Stroke, I know more than I care to about it and yet when it comes to myself, it is the little details I always miss.  Now the fact that I did not feel well was not a really red flag, or that I slept all day, or that I was so dizzy, but HOW I over looked the profuse sweating is a mystery to me.  When you are in A/C and still  profusely sweating you better pop the top of some electrolytes and start chugging!  It just took one third of a bottle of Pedialyte, grape or cherry if you haven't tried it yet, and things just got right back on track.  Now for me the moment the profuse sweating started, okay a few moments or so after, I thought, I have been down this same road before and I seem to remember it ending badly,  but this  time I have Pedialyte, two flavors no less!  The fact that I once again did not see the obvious sign until it was almost too late and I once again almost found myself on the floor did not escape me.  I am getting better at this, at least this time I actually had the right stuff to drink, and it was cold, instead of just wishing I had it, like last season.  My goal today is to make it to the water store and the store itself to get juice and more good stuff to drink.  This season of intense heat I will  remember for each Gatorade or fitness water to follow it with actual water.  The most important thing I will remember is that too much water is just as bad as not enough!

Laugh often, Live with Love!

Pain

Perspective is everything;  each time my Jack Russell; also called Jack: also a one eyed Jack: who knew when we named him that would happen:  at any rate I digress, whenever he hits my right shin, in exactly the same spot, and I feel the pain I thank God for it.  Now most people would get upset and frustrated; however I simply remember the pain I felt when I touched my head, shoulder and knees in the hospital and realized that if not for him I would probably ; in fact most definitely be dead today! When I slipped into unconsciousness on that back porch because of my heart/head injury he never gave up trying to get help.  He would not let the neighbors in the gate so they were forced to call the ambulance that ultimately saved me.  My head injury caused me to forget I had a heart problem and I thought I was on the couch with the flu because I felt so bad.  He had also for several years been waking me up several times a night; each time I just thought he needed to go out, or that our other dog needed out, and that they just were not on  the same schedule.  Of course it turned out it was me that needed to get up and get the old heart rate up and going and he just knew it.  After my pacemaker he never woke me again.  So pain is simply put into perspective in life; he is now blind and each time he bumps me I think; Thank You God For My Life Saver.
Laugh Often, Live with Love!

Disconnected

It turns out  that the time has come to register my cell phone with the government here, that is, if I intend to use it to call out of the country.  I have no problem with this, it is just that the only way to do it, is to drive an hour and a half in either direction to do so.  Normally I would jump at the chance to take a trip into the big city for supplies, and a real mission, but the temperatures there are triple digits right now and that is not where I want to be!  I am going to have to suck it up and go it is just a matter of which day I feel like dealing with it.  Then I see the weather and realize mother nature is forcing my hand!  It will be tomorrow since a big storm is headed our way!  Since they started the new road construction we have all realized that the first storm would isolate us for a week if not more if you do not have 4 wheel drive.  While the intentions have been great, to get the bridges in, all the excavating has left us with deep trenches to drive through until they do!  So the fire has been lite and now I fear I must go!

My Life Saver

This is the dog that saved my life.  And so now that he is totally blind I am working with him to ensure that the quality of life for him is top notch.  As it turns out; other than rearranging some furniture he seems to have things under control! When we returned to Mexico I thought it would be difficult for him, since he went completely blind while at home and had to adjust there.  Well I was so wrong!  He came back here and still finds his spot at the gate to bark at the same imaginary issues, and he still finds his favorite spot to sit in the sun, and he has figured out exactly how to navigate his way back into the house both front door and back!  At the beach I keep him on the longest lead I can find and he wanders at his own pace.  When he wants to go down to the waters edge he does; however he never did learn the dangers of the tides so the other dogs still run interference with that and I let them just to keep things the same. There are people that have suggested we have him put down since he is now blind, however he is happy and healthy  with the exception of his sight.  He saved me and now I will save him; the little extra work involved is meaningless when you consider the fact that I would not be writing this if he had not been so devoted to me in the first place!  Watching him enjoy living makes my life fuller, extra work and crazy schedules mean nothing in the  large scheme of things.
Laugh often and live with love, today is what we have!

Shells

I was walking along picking up my usual detritus of sea glass and broken shells when I began to wonder about my fascination with shells;  It is not as if I can  identify many of them by name  or that I even search for a perfect shell.  I simply look for ones that are broken so that I can see the inside of the shell so I can see the absolute perfection and intricacies involved, the wonderful colors that you miss by just looking at the perfect outer shell and such.  It was at that point that I realized that shells just remind me of the people I meet in my life,  from the casual contact to the momentary friend, to the life long forever type which is so rare.  If we just look at what we see then we miss the most exciting part of meeting people, the endless vortexes of human nature, the inner beauty that is in all of us; some people just need to be broken in order to find it. Those people tend to find me and my life is richer because of them.  In my house I have pieces of shells that look like certain types of fish, and drift wood that look like birds and fish, and coral and rocks that look like a giant tooth and cars, and different animals.  All of these items, and many more were picked up along the way as I contemplated someone or some thing yet to come.  Gentle reminders of life.  Laugh often live with love.

Aloe

How strange that I should get so side tracked that I would forget that I decided to blog about aloe to begin with! Love it! I have several plants and can not imagine living without them now. They are huge, which is necessary here because I use aloe after the beach for the sun and for every cut and scrape; not just for me but for my animals. The only draw back with pure aloe is that is stains. So I have some aloe Jammie's and I am good to go. It is like a refreshing face lift. It is a magic cure all for just about everything; have an itch -aloe; have a cut; aloe; have a burn aloe; need to look refreshed aloe! laugh often and use aloe!

It isn't Easy

Well just when I get comfortable about something, I am always reminded that I am human. I have been attempting to retrain my deaf cat and my blind dog at the same time; either I have succeeded or the Universe wants me to take a day off. Yesterday I managed to pull a muscle in my right arm. Not the end of the world by any means I grant you, however, today was water day and those 5 gallon bottles will not jump out of the car and into the house by themselves. You see I have been putting off this water run for days in favor of oh nothing, and now I am paying the price of pure; I would rather run with the dogs, so to speak; they run I walk; instead of taking care of stuff. You see there is always stuff and when I first arrived here it overwhelmed me. Then the signs started. Not all signs where obvious at first. Bit by bit I began to see them for what they were and pay attention. Yesterday a friend came by with a bag of ice out of the blue which is what kept me from going to the store to get the water and that should have been my sign! I never went; hurt my arm and now it will be a big to do just to get water, all because I missed the sign. It even kept me from going to pizza night at the local watering hole. I mean if I didn't have to go through all the effort to get out the gate at this point why go. Had I gone for ice my car would have been out, I would have gone for pizza and stopped for water. Didn't need to get Ice so none of the other stuff actually happened, just other stuff instead!

Whoa!

I just didn't see this coming. One minute I am writing journals and the next I am attempting a blog. I suppose It came out of the perfect moment swaying in the hammock yesterday. Since I decided to live here I have found that planning is just not something you do anymore. One minute I was up for coffee with friends and the next; it was sorry; perfect moment and I just can't let those pass me by. They are so surreal, that even trying to find a way to explain how the air and the wind and and scents of all the plants around me combine; it is even more than that; because somehow sound is even affected; when you put it all together it is almost as if time is suspended just for you and somehow you accomplish so much all the while doing nothing but swaying in a hammock for a few hours!!!!!!!!!!!! When these days happen you just go with it! At first I just took a moment and thought hmm cool; now I embrace the time and just let it flow. You always get it back. That is the really funny thing about time, we rush around like there just isn't enough of it and yet we simply seem to forget to take it; it is free. Tomorrow if my re-training of my cat goes well I shall take some more time. I was fortunate enough today to have another perfect day in paradise (weather wise) just long enough for my beach time with the dogs; we shall try for a triple play tomorrow.