March 31, 2010. Chevy Chase, Md. Tests.

I just hate being forced to undertake medical tests. What starts out so simply ends up with yet another round of testing. It all started so innocently, the decision to remove the cataract from my left eye. The surgery is scheduled for April 29, the day after we return from Texas. But not so easy. Within thirty days prior to surgery, I must have a physical, so I made an appointment with my internist March 25, which is very close to the time frame required. Everything seems fine, blood is drawn and EKG taken, except Dr. A. can not hear my right carotid artery well enough and sees a couple of spikes on the EKG, so from one visit to my internist on Thursday afternoon I am left with yet more tests.

Monday I had a Doppler ultra sound test of my right carotid artery in yet another office. It was fine, with no problems at all. At the same time, they checked the left, which is still plugged, but the collateral arteries around the left carotid are doing yeoman's service, so that is good. Next I must have a consultation with a cardiologist, which I did today, for yet another test tomorrow, this time an echo stress test and something else. Then to totally make sure I am perfect, I must wear a monitor for 48 hours. These tests are never going to end. Every one seems to take two hours. For the last straw, I must return for another blood test with my internist because my white cells are elevated, which of course they are, because I have a cold. It is enough to grind your teeth

And it all started with the simple decision to remove my cataract.

More Blossoms @ The Kenwood House Condo

Traffic Jams, Allergies & -- yes, Blossoms!

March 30, 2010. Chevy Chase, Md. Blossoms.

Spring has arrived to Washington. The cherry blossoms are in bloom in Kenwood. From our apartment windows we see pink blossoms in every direction. When we arrived on Wednesday evening, there was no sign of any flowers, and other than the forsythia, there were no blossoms in sight. But over the weekend, the pear trees bloomed, then almost over night the cherry blossoms came out on Monday morning, and by the time I arrived home from work, the streets were gorgeous, with the blossoms covering the whole street with blossoms. It is quite remarkable, but unfortunately lasts only a short few days. While the blossoms are out, the neighborhood streets are full of slow driving cars and pedestrians, all enjoying the beauty.

For the next month, the colors will be vibrant in the gardens. Next comes the magnolia trees, followed by the dogwood trees, only to follow along with the azaleas. Then we must wait until the crepe myrtle in the fall, but the Spring show is dramatic. If you have not seen it in person, plan a trip. The problem is that the Cherry Blossom Festival is often not the same time as the arrival of the blossoms, but this year, the blossoms were on in full bloom the same weekend as the Festival. What luck.

The farm is usually two weeks behind the Washington area. This weekend at the farm the forsythia will be in bloom, but certainly not the cherry trees and dogwoods. Now this year we have enjoyed the Spring blossoms in Mississippi, followed by the Spring in Washington. Now this weekend we will enjoy the bursting trees at the farm. Spring is an exciting time of year.

March 29, 2010. Chevy Chase, Md. Manager Emeritus.

Tomorrow I am giving myself a promotion. I am declaring myself a Manager Emeritus. I have the vision of myself bustling around the office, looking important and talking to people, but not really doing anything that smacks of stress. In my minds eye I recall Robertson Davies at the University of Toronto as the Professor Emeritus, giving a class every now and then and talking to students and visitors, and every day walking briskly around the campus feeling happy and content. I have been doing it for a bit anyway, so tomorrow I am declaring myself as such. Suzanne suggests that the title means I will not be paid, but I don't intend to let the "powers that be" at Long and Foster know about that aspect of my title. It all sounds marvelous being a Manager Emeritus.

We have worked very hard to keep the systems in the office alive and well all through the years, in order to allow the agents a platform to do their work. When I was 60 and needed more time away from the office, Carole and the Metro office joined with us, to make a bigger, better office. It worked well for the agents and the office grew. Then 70 came along, and Ned joined us as another Manager, thus allowing me to take more visits to my family. Historically, when an office is very productive, it will only keep the volume high when the Manager is in place. But we have worked out a better plan and it is working very well. The productivity stays high, the systems are in place for success of the agents, so I am giving myself a new title. But I intend to stay around, probably until I turn eighty, still as the Manager Emeritus. I think it suits me.

March 28, 2010. Chevy Chase, Md. Richard.

Richard and Marilyn were with us on the horse back riding trip in Alberta along with the rest of our friends. From the time we left Mount Norquey in Banff, those sixteen people were together all day, along with the two guides. Not another soul crossed our path for the ten days we spent together, except for the cooks at the camp sites. All day we rode, except to stop for lunch. At the end of the day, we set up our bed rolls in the tents provided, then ate and drank and talked all evening, every evening. By the end of the trip we had talked about everything under the sun and we got to know everyone well. Except for Richard. He went fly fishing so we never got to know him at all. He is very unassuming as well and is not prone to intrude into our racket. Since that trip, we have met with Marilyn and Richard at the ranch, in Nova Scotia and at the farm and have discovered a thing or two about Richard, all very interesting.

In his professional life, he had three different jobs. He first graduated from the Medical School in Galveston with a PhD and MD degree. His PhD was in Chemistry. First job was teaching and research at the Medical School in Dallas, eventually ending up as the Dean. One day he decided that he was not doing any medicine, which he had first set out to do, so he quit, and moved to Frederickburg, Texas, as a General Practitioner working in a group of Doctors. He loved it, and ended up as the Medical Director of the Hospital. Clearly he was good at organization.. All along he owned a piece of property in Colorado, with two lakes, so every time he had vacation, he checked on his trout in the lakes. At age sixty, he decided to move to the mountains, and turn the trout into a lake trout farm, selling the fish to the Denver restaurants. He was very successful perhaps because he had a Chemistry background and was able to keep the trout free of disease. After Marilyn retired as a Doctor, she delivered the fish to Denver, and they still spend six months in the mountains of Colorado. Now he had donated his land to the state, along with all the trout and they will live there as long as they are able. He no longer raises the trout and now is learning to do nothing except travel and read. It is common to meet successful people and it is always interesting to me to figure out how it happened, but it is very unusual to meet one person who has had three different and distinct jobs and excelled at all three.

I still can not figure out how none of us spent any time talking with Richard when we were all together in the horse back riding trip. We missed out on a lot of good conversations.

March 27, 2010. Artemas, Pa. The Farm&Friends.

All the snow is gone and the grass is coming up. The snow did a lot of damage to the bushes and shrubs, but on the whole, the farm looks wonderful. Lots and lots of calves sticking close to their Mothers but also looking like calves, leaping in the air for no apparent reason. This afternoon we took a drive around the whole farm on the gator, just checking the fields and the woods and the fences. The day was chilly but gloriously sunny, so with warm clothes, the drive was a pleasure.

A pair of Canada Geese have arrived and are checking out the pond. They strut around the whole pond and prance down to the cattle to do I do not know, but so far, they have made no nest. It is impossible for me to determine if these geese are the same as last year, as they all look the same to me. But I am happy they have returned to our small pond, and only wish they would make their nest in a better spot that is not so visible. I tell them, but they don't seem to heed my instructions.

On the drive we flushed about thirty wild turkeys, who fly away in front of you, close to the ground, then retreat into the woods, where you can never see them again. Nine large deer ran across the field right in front of us, along with two fawns. One deer was slow to cross and got stuck on the side of the field, wanting to cross to the others but too close for comfort to us, so she finally ran down the field ahead of us and jumped the fence. It is quite a sight. The robins are back, at least some of them, and the crows are big and noisy. The farm looks great and once again, everything was in good working order. Our friends Marilyn and Richard loved the place.

March 26, 2010. Bethesda, Md. Memory.

I do not understand how a person can forget to do something they do every day? It is interesting. Every day I write this small web log, so one could expect to remember to do it every day, except last night I forgot. It was this morning before I realized my mistake. And the other night, despite the fact that I put drops into my eyes just before bedtime, I forgot to do it. First thing next morning I noticed the drops were in the position to be applied, not just after using the drops. Now the truth is, I am not sure that I did apply the drops, but merely failed to move the little bottle along.

As you would expect, I have a system with the drops and the pills as I am aware that when the brain is required to recall an action frequently, the recall is poor. That is why we use the daily boxes for the pills, as we really can not recall what we took and when we took them. But to totally forget to write my blog is unforgivable, in my opinion. Now my excuse is somewhat valid, as Fred and Phyllis came for dinner, and by the time I cleared up the kitchen, my brain went out of gear. Perhaps I was still on the jet lag mode. Now we will go to the farm for the weekend, where Marilyn and Richard from Houston will be visiting with us. Perhaps next week I will have put my brain in gear.

Church Camp

Mississippi Ladies

March 24, 2010. Chevy Chase, Md. Home Again.

It is interesting to me to notice today how many details and how many people must perform their task well for us to travel from Jackson, Mississippi to Bethesda, Maryland. If any one of those people fails in their task, our trip is delayed, and that does not mention the weather. Today every task was done in a timely pleasant manner. The whole trip was smooth. We left at noon, and arrived at the apartment at seven-thirty, with not a glitch anywhere. I started counting the number of folks involved with the trip, but finally gave up, but I was appreciative for all the good folks who performed their tasks well. We were flying Continental, first to Houston from Jackson, then to D.C. National airport. Even the Metro came quickly. Great trip from first to last.

The Metro is always interesting watching the diversity of the riders. Every kind of people from many places, with clothes both formal and casual are seen on the trains. It is fun watching . Washington is full of interesting people, and every person on the Metro has a story that I would love to hear. Three black young women were very excited to attend their event. They were bursting with enthusiasm, smiling and laughing and excited. But I never could figure out where they were going. They didn't talk loud enough for me to hear. A third of the riders were of foreign extraction, a third black and a third white, all driving together and getting home. I appreciate competence and today, I saw it in action, all day long. I appreciated it !!

March 23, 2010. Jackson, Ms. Measuring.

Today was the day of recording the heights. After dinner tonight, we all got measured. It is interesting, because as the girls are growing, Ken and I are shrinking while Christina and Andrew are staying the same. So here is the height for today: Kate - sixty nine and three quarter inches. Mary Frances - sixty and one half inches. Christina - seventy and one half inches. Ken - seventy and one quarter inches. Ruth - sixty seven and one quarter inches. Kate is 13, Mary Frances 10, Christina 41, Ken 73 and Ruth 72. Molly was already asleep, and Andrew was at a meeting, so we must measure them another day. Christina has promised to let me know their height so I can add to the chart.

In Texas at the Lake House, we have marked the post in the children's room, with one child on each side of the post, so once a year, we mark the height, than compare and contrast the children with each other. This is the first time we have charted the adults. Definitely, I have shrunk the most although Ken is down a bit. Christina is the same and I expect Andrew is too. The two girls seem to have grown as we watched. Kate is trying hard to beat her Mother's height so she is eating a healthy diet, trying to grow some more. Her Pediatrician suggested to her that she might be full grown now. Kate was not pleased and told her Mother that that Doctor was wrong!! It is fun measuring the progress in both directions. I'm thinking that by the time I get to ninety, I'll be sixty inches tall. Amazing.

March 22, 2010. Jackson, Mississippi. Museum.

Once again, it was a perfect museum. Three hours and done. It's our kind of museum. It was The Museum of Agriculture and Forestry, full of information and artifacts old and modern. It was very interesting indeed, starting with a twenty minute film of the state, both agriculture and forestry. We love to go to museums but we can only take in so many facts, so we have learned to limit our time we spend in the facility. Then we head for lunch.

One of the displays was especially interesting. Outside they have assembled a whole town circa 1920, with the store and barns and school and sheds and saw mill, all just as it would look at that time...Ken's comment when he saw the little houses was "No wonder they did not live long". One building was dedicated to the collection of one couple who donated their collection to the Museum. They spent their forty married lives collecting Mississippi Americana and Indian artifacts. A separate building in back of their home housed their collection, and the stipulation when their collection was donated to the Museum was that the collection must be kept intact together, not co-mingled with any other objects, and housed in a separate building. So there we were, looking at all their stuff. Fascinating what people do with their time.

Early eighteenth century started the agriculture and forestry in Mississippi. Great strides from then till now and still is important today. Catfish farming is a big deal now. I still can not get over the fact that all the trees were cut down, just as they did in Ontario. The museum is worth a visit, but we were the only folks in attendance.

March 21, 2010. Jackson, Ms. Twin Lakes.

It is a lovely and useful facility, for use by the members of First Presbyterian church in Jackson. Fortunately, Andrew and Christina are members, so Saturday afternoon, we all went out for the afternoon. The church uses the place for conferences and retreats, in addition, allowing the members to come to make use of the facility for day use. Several cabins are available too, at a cost of eight dollars per night, so this five hundred acre former farm with two small lakes on the property are a huge bonus for the members of the church. It is located south of Jackson, a thirty minute drive away, so it is very convenient.

Yesterday, the afternoon was beautiful, sunny and seventy. Upon arrival, Andrew took himself off for one of the lakes to fish in a canoe. Molly immediately headed down to the playground and spent her time alternating between the slide and the swing, with the last half an hour throwing pine cones in the lake. Christina and Mary Frances stayed in the playground with Molly. Ken wandered around the place taking pictures, and ended up sitting in a rocking chair overlooking the lake watching Andrew fish. Kate and I went hiking, almost all around one lake and all the way around the other lake, with a stop off at the basketball court. True to form, while Kate and I were hiking, I gave advice to two ladies who asked us for directions. They told us they had only been at Twin Lakes a few times, so they needed help. Of course, I never let on that it was my first trip there.

Everyone enjoyed the afternoon and is a great resource for the members. Back in Jackson we ate dinner at Newk's, a salad and sandwich place, a perfect spot for one very hungry two year old, two old adults, two growing girls and two parents of three. A good time was had by all.

March 20, 2010. Jackson, Ms. A Good Day.

It didn't start out well. Yesterday, after breakfast in our condo, I went to my favorite grocery store, and discovered to my horror that the wonderful store was closed. The last time we were here I mentioned to Ken that this grocery store was too good to be true, because the store was never crowded even though the store was as good a store than you could find, even in Texas. Now it has been sold and will re-open next week. But I found another store almost as good, just not so close to home.

Next, Ken and I went to lunch with Andrew, Kate and Mary Frances at a new restaurant, The Pan Asian, chosen by me because it was right next to the V.I.P. nail place. Christina kept Molly home as she had a cold. It was the first time the girls had even had a pedicure so they were excited. You should have seen the three of us sitting side by side feeling like queens with our feet being attended to, all at the same time. Ken picked us up and we went home to our place for tea and cookies. Finally home to Andrew and Christina's for dinner, followed by basketball. It was indeed, a good day!!

March 19, 2010. Jackson, Mississippi. March.

Pleasures are to be had in Jackson in March. The temperature is 75 degrees. All the pear trees are in bloom and are everywhere in town. The red bud is also in bloom but is purple and can be seen on every street and woods. It seems that Spring comes early to Jackson and we like it. Our apartment looked appealing when we arrived last night late. We were pleased with not only the function but also the beauty of our little condominium. I liked it even better this morning drinking coffee in bed where I watched the ducks swimming around in the reservoir, right outside my window. How sweet it is.

"Global Entry" is a new experimental program in the U.S., the equivalent of the Nexis program for Canada, whereby you can by-pass the customs by being approved as a "Trusted Traveller". Yesterday was the first time we used it and it worked well. It certainly saved us many many minutes waiting in line. The system going in and out of Canada works very well, and works using a retina scan, but the entry to the U.S. from Mexico is using fingerprints. One machine would not pick up my finger prints, so I moved to another machine and all went well. The system is being evaluated, so we hope it works well as it certainly saved us a lot of time. Only two other people were using the system yesterday, while the lines were long, so Ken and I are definitely early adopters, thanks to Ken. This modern world is wonderful.

March 18, 2010. Mexico. Safety.

Ken and I were in Nicaragua, staying at an all-inclusive resort right on the shore. It had been our habit to walk the whole beach every evening, stopping at each bar until we arrived at the former house of the Dictator, now converted into a bar and restaurant. The home high over the water was beautiful, and with one mile of beach, securely fenced and gated, it was a wonderful place to walk. The bars were spaced about a quarter mile apart, so the house on the hill was number three on our hike. Not many people were at the resort, perhaps one hundred in all and the place was big, so it was never crowded. Certainly we felt secure and safe. When planning the trip, many friends and relatives suggested that the trip was dangerous. Certainly they would not take the trip with us.

One evening, when having a drink at the beautiful house on the hill, we met and chatted to a couple from Quebec City. Many guests were from Germany, also from Quebec, in Canada. When they found that we lived just outside Washington D.C. they commented that they really wanted to visit Washington, but they had heard it was much too dangerous to visit. Ken and I laughed and told them that our friends and relatives said the same about Nicaragua. This was their third trip to that country and were totally comfortable being a tourist there.

Mexico is the same. The State Department issues a statement telling Americans not to travel to three states in Mexico. Instead, the statement is heard "Do not travel to Mexico." I am more secure here at our resort in Mexico than anywhere else I live. Security is high. No one comes into the resort without permission. Yet I am told regularly that Mexico is dangerous. D.C was dangerous if you went into certain neighborhoods at two o'clock in the morning, as is Mexico now. Perceptions of security are always interesting. Folks won't fly because they feel more secure when driving. Now we go to Jackson,Miss. where the crime rate is high. But most people would feel more secure for us in Jackson than in Mexico, Nuevo Vallarta. Interesting, but not true.

March 16, 2010. Mexico.. Athabasca.

Fifty degrees was a common number this winter, as in, fifty degrees below freezing and this was Celsius. Their thermometer goes to forty degrees below, so at fifty, the red stuff just huddles in the bulb at the bottom of the thermometer. I would too if I lived in Athabasca. Helen is the daughter of Margaret and David, our neighbor here, and Helen and her husband Brian along with two year old Benny are visiting for a week. Benny is a sweet child, but soon number two will arrive in August, so his life will change. We have visited with them a couple of times this week and we enjoyed their company, but most of all, I enjoyed getting to hear about Athabasca.

First thing I must do is look at a map. I know that Athabasca is north of Edmonton and I know that Edmonton is very cold, so going further north must be an ordeal. A direct flight from Edmonton to Puerto Vallerta is a good thing, probably necessary if you live so far north. Athabasca is a town of three thousand and once was a major trading site for the Hudson's Bay Company, as the town is on a river. Once the population was greater than today, but seems to be holding it's own.

I asked Helen how she survived the winters and she struggled to come up with suitable answers. She in turn asked me how I survived when I was home looking after children, so I gave her my solutions; picnic group and book club were my salvation. We enjoyed meeting these two young people. Now we must go up and see Athabasca, but not in the winter.

March 16, 2010. Mexico. Colds.

It drives Suzanne nuts. Christina too. It is our system for getting rid of a cold or any other minor illness. The good part is that eventually the cold goes away without any fuss or muss, the bad part is that sometimes things deteriorate into a more severe illness requiring the Doctor's help.

The system is simple. I just do not acknowledge the fact that I have a cold even though I sound awful. I take Ibuprofen every four hours to keep myself going, then proceed with my tasks. I never mention the cold and when asked how I am feeling I say "I am fine". It works just fine. In two days the cold is gone.

The first week we were in Mexico, I caught a cold, probably on the airplane down. Using my old system, no one even knew I was fighting a cold, even Ken. Many years ago, someone at work asked me my system for handling distress. It caused me to reflect and finally decided that both parents carried on with their tasks, even when they were not in top form. I further reflected that perhaps that was not wise, as my Father died at 62 and my Mother at 74, so now I use Ken's system for everything except colds. The biggest part is not to make a fuss, and keep reminding the immune system to get to work. It works for me and apparently does Andrew and David.

Golf Course 3

Golf Course 2

Golf Course 1

March 15, 2010. Mexico. Golf Course.

Golf courses are lovely, with all the grass, lakes and hills. Even the sand traps are picturesque. But I am always irritated that they don't let anyone walk the paths. Today we walked right across the fairway from one side to the other, and no one even arrested us or noticed. The Il Tigre golf course in our resort is a good course, interesting and challenging but not a monster to play. Everyone I talk to complements the course and I like to look at it and eat at the club. But I have never wished to live on that golf course.

Today, with camera in hand, Ken and I walked along the streets where the houses front the fairways, just as are done all over North America. It was interesting to see these large houses, but we discovered several things. Lots of the houses are for sale so we were able to peer in the windows and walk into the yards. And the houses are close together too. Several homes are under construction, but even though it was Monday, no building was being done. Many lots are still for sale on the roads we walked and a condominium project is being built too, but again, no carpenters working.

Eventually we ran out of roads, so to avoid retracing our path the whole way, we cut across the fairway, trying not to get in the way of the golfers. Fortunately, we decided that we did not like that neighborhood, so we could walk away with a happy heart.

3X300HP Outboard or up to 100' Yacht

Search & Rescue

Going to Sea

March 14, 2010. Mexico. Churchill.

It is a new biography written by Paul Johnson and it is worth a read. I liked it because you know everything about Winston Churchill from a distance, but I was not up to reading one of the many definitive biographies of this important man, so when this new brief book was published recently I bought it for my Kindle. I loved the book. It is breezy and quick to read. I started to read it late yesterday afternoon and I was finished by noon.

You learn the main facts of his life and you get the essence of the man, both the attributes and the warts, so by the end of this short book you are left thinking that you kind of know what he was like in the different situations of his life. Theodore Roosevelt did not like him and thought him rude and arrogant. It seems Churchill did not stand up when a lady entered the room. You can learn a lot from the life of Winston Churchill and reading this book is a good place to start.

Ready to Sail

La cruz

Local Fishing Tasks

La cruz misc

Wind Surf

March 13, 2010. Mexico. Lunch.

Our lunch was wonderful in La Cruz. After walking all morning at the boat show, we decided to walk around the town of La Cruz, so at the end of the Marina we wandered up into the little town and turned left along the first street parallelling the shore. The street was fairly primitive with homes fronting the ocean beautiful, while across the street many homes were under construction, and had been for years. When you walk in little towns in Mexico you get to look into the homes because the doors and windows are always open, so being nosy I walk slowly. While walking we came upon a half a dozen people standing outside a house for sale, so I asked a lady the price. She chatted to us and told us they were considering making an offer, even though the house needs a lot of repair. She also gave us directions to a restaurant.

After a half dozen blocks we entered the first restaurant open. It turned out to be a good choice. A little Mexican restaurant with charming attentive waiters and fortunately good food. Ken and I shared an appetizer of cerveichi, with Mahi mahi fillet cooked in butter and garlic for me and snapper in butter and garlic for Ken along with rice and salad. It was delicious, perhaps the best dinner in Mexico. Ice cream for dessert. In the midst of our lunch, two couples came in and sat at the adjacent table. They were about our age, from Victoria, British Columbia. We are inveterate eaves droppers. After reading the menu, they finally ordered a cheeseburger, all four of them. We, being polite, said not a word and they were happy with their lunch. But I tell you, they missed the lunch of their trip buy not ordering fish. It was a wonderful meal.

I must say that I did suggest to the lady that if they were going to buy here in Mexico, they should buy overlooking the Pacific. Location is important!!

March 12, 2010. Mexico. Boat Show. La Cruz.

Marina Riviera Nayarit at La Cruz was the location of the boat show. The Marina is new, just one year old and is the largest marina in Mexico. We had wanted to see the new marina, so the boat show was a perfect excuse, especially as a bus was taking us from our home to the marina, free of charge. Of course, they want you to come and pay the entrance fee, so it makes sense to provide us a free bus. But it made it easy for us so we went.

It was a wonderful day. The marina is big and with all the boats on display the place was full. The new boats are fancy, all boats ready to go out onto the Pacific Ocean to fish and cruise. Boston Whaler Co was there in force. One 37 ft. Boston Whaler had three 300HP motors on the back. Can you imagine how fast that boat would go? We walked all around the marina, and sat while twenty sail boats got ready and departed the harbor to race on the Bay of Bandares. It was exciting to see the hustle and bustle, with each team members wearing their team shirt, looking very smart and important.

La Cruz used to be a sleepy little fishing village, but with this new large marina, I suspect it will change. Just around the end of the marina is a dock area for the fishing fleet. As soon as the fishermen arrive with their catch, they come up the small hill and clean their fish, then put the fish in front under ice, ready to be sold. While we were there, folks were waiting while the fisherman cleaned their fish so they could take the fresh fish home for dinner. Fish doesn't get much better than that and neither does our day at the boat show.

March 11, 2010. Mexico. The Help.

Kathryn Stockett is the author and Jackson, Mississippi is the place. The time is 1962, 1963 and 1964. It is well worth the read. I am anxious to talk to Christina and friends about the book. The book was recently published but I bet much has not changed in the past fifty years. The three protagonists rotate their stories and which are fascinating and intertwined although not really credible, that black maids would ever be interviewed in 1962 and talk to a white woman for publication. Part of the interest in the book is the risk these ladies were taking, just talking to a white woman about her bosses. In those years, safety was a major concern for the black community and to any one else that did not dance to the segregationists creed.

Safety was such a concern in the south that when Ken and I drove to Texas from Toronto in 1964 we were careful to travel west before heading south as we did not want to drive through the deep south with Canadian tags on the car. The CAA suggested that we might be deemed freedom fighters and they got shot. This is a fine first novel, interesting and believable. Now I look forward to hearing what the good folks in Jackson have to say about the book.

Flowers

Water Toys

March 10, 2010. Mexico. Money.

Some folks manage money very well while others seem to spend every penny they earn then complain that they have no money to travel. The question is how do people learn about the handling of money? Certainly money management is not taught at school at almost any level, although I have read recently that in some elementary schools, classes are being held about the subject of money. It is my guess that the parents are the ones that teach money management, and probably from example.

I guess it is habits that are so useful for a lifetime. Small habits such as saving a bit of every dollar you earn, and not frittering away the money that you have. Small amount of money add up over time. Delayed gratification is a requirement too and never buying an object you can not have money to cover in the bank. What is not easy is not having any money at all, but I commented in the earlier years of our marriage when we had no money that we managed very well, but that a person must be well organized and bright to manage to live well on limited income. It is amazing to me when Starbucks are full of people buying a cup of coffee they could get for free at work. And I know of the two dollar cokes from the convenient stores when their refrigerator is full of cokes costing twenty five cents a piece. It is the little habits that will work for a lifetime that pay off. But the truth is that some people are always broke even though they earn big salaries.

Depression era people never really recovered from the experience and it is my guess that the recent recession will teach lessons to all of us about our expenditures and savings. We will see.

March 9, 2010. Mexico. An Invitation.

I was reading while Ken was beginning to prepare dinner when someone knocked at our door. This unusual event had us both standing up alert, looking at each other. Finally, we responded and discovered that Margaret, our neighbor next door , invited us to come for a drink, right now. I like spur of the moment events so of course we said we would be right over and we did, after Ken took the meat out of the oven. Margaret and David live in Kimberley, British Columbia, a lovely spot of the world worth visiting. They were both born and educated in England but have lived in Canada many years. Margaret is a doctor and is semi-retired. She will fill in for local doctors when they take vacation but only a few times during the year.

The reason for the invitation was to meet a friend Joan from England. Margaret and Joan were in Medical school together in England and have had a good job of keeping in touch over the years. Joan was an Anaesthesiologist but now is retired. Joan is a perfect image of an English lady in every way. She is polite and unassuming and interesting and pleasant so we were pleased to meet her and of course we always enjoy talking to Margaret and David. All three of them have travelled a lot so it was fun to pick their brains about places to visit. Ken and I have travelled much less than most people we talk to down here. It was lovely hour with them, especially as it was so unexpected.

It turns out that on Wednesday, Joan will sleep on the couch as Family is arriving with a grandchild so they need the second bedroom. They overlapped on purpose as Joan is the godmother of the daughter of David and Margaret. As we live next door and we have three bedrooms, all with a bathroom, I urged Joan to use our empty bedroom when the company arrives, so tomorrow morning, Joan will come and bring her belongings into her own bedroom and be much more comfortable than sleeping on the couch. Everyone is happy and grateful.

Sailing