Wednesday 31st July 2013……where did the month go??

Another beautiful sunny morning and I picked Paola up at 10am and we did some shopping including getting a few roses for her Mum…

a few more errands in town and then to the playground before dropping her off at home with the usual Wednesday cooked chicken….then it was time for poker where another 30 pesos in my pocket and then off to visit with Linda and Guy before getting home around 6pm.

the days just go by so fast and this month especially.

Sorry not a very exciting read today!!!

Yashi koshi!!

Tuesday 30th July 2013…….a bit of everything!!!

YES!!!!! Sunny and warm and lovely this morning ideal for two hours of great tennis…Since October I have religiously iced my knee and elbow after every game and before each game rubbed some ice gel and so far I have no issues at all….. very healthy!!!!

I did some shopping after tennis…. where I buy most of my bread and pastries there is usually a young man who sits outside the store selling very fresh veggies and fruits and today he had

I then went to the deli that Linda told me about and bought BANGERS!!!!

then some potatoes, mushrooms and supper will be delicious tonight!!!

This afternoon I went over to my friend’s house who is donating some great furniture and other stuff for Paola and her family so I sorted it all out and will get another friend with a truck to come pick it up on Thursday I know the whole family will be thrilled.

From there I went to Silvia’s house she has been helping me obtain my Mexican senior discount card,,,yes I know I do not look that old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This will give me discounts on buses, shows, some restaurants, museums……

 

Watered all the plants on the property tonight and now watching the BC lions in a Canadian football game and yes the supper was great!!!

Life is great!!!!

Monday 29th July 2013…..hiking day!!!

Just a few chores to do today but one of them was very rewarding……I have been looking for some used furniture to put into Paola’s house they really have very little and anything would help…well I heard from a from a friend who has lots of stuff that he said I could come over and look at….so I did that this morning.

So tomorrow I am going to go back and sort through some things but I already know there is a table and 5 chairs, a microwave, some dressers and 2 mattresses and some kitchen supplies this will be wonderful and I will hire another friend who has a truck later in the week and pick it all up and take it to their home….so nice to have special friends!!!

I then packed up some lunch and drinks and took the scoter to the park across from los Frailes where Linda and Guy live and parked the bike and hiked down the highway a few miles to a dam and reservoir that I know of and see if I could hike into the canyons beyond.

I got to the dam and the scenery was beautiful

What I wanted to do was walk across the dam but I did not realize the wall was so narrow in the beginning…

So I thought about it and decided my sense of balance is not great but I could handle it and away I went

I got to the end but there was no way to get up the rocks into the hills so I sat and had lunch and then walked back the same way…no problem.

I then continued walking down the highway away from town for a few more km……

I then crossed over the highway and the

and then came across this wonderful sight I know nothing about baby horses but I reckon this little guy is not very old!!!

I was now back on the trails that I know by the Presa..

Get off my path buddy!!!!

We have had lots of rain since I was last here and the lake has risen quite a bit and I came upon this path and could not believe they were playing water volleyball!!!

The path I had to get across is where the few rocks are on the right hand side so you can imagine my hiking shoes are a little wet now!!!..there was no water when I was here last!!!

The old fashioned way!!

I got back to the scooter three and a half hours later so I reckon I walked maybe 17km …it was a good workout and I enjoyed the quiet and the exercise.

Back home the usual quiet evening….

Yashi Koshi!!!

just trying a different scheme!!

Sunday 28th July 2013…just a wonderful sunny and happy day!!

Started my day with a lovely breakfast the famous Pearson scrambled eggs and bacon and watched this great live soccer game.

 

SOLNA, Sweden -- Germany beat Norway 1-0 Sunday to win its eighth women's European championship in front of a record 41,000 spectators.

Celia Okoyino da Mbabi raced down the left wing and passed to substitute Anja Mittag who scored in the 49th minute.

Norway failed to score with two penalties. Germany goalkeeper Nadine Angerer saved Trine Ronning's kick in the 29th and again denied Solveig Gulbrandsen in the 61st.

Germany has now won the last six European tournaments. It defeated Sweden 1-0 in the semifinals, while Norway beat Denmark 4-2 on penalties.

Organizers said they sold a record 210,000 tickets for tournament matches.

 

I know from my reffing days when I did high level Collegiate games the women were always more aggressive, more determined and dare I say it more vulgar mouthed!!!

Did some laundry and then went up to Linda and Guy;s house….I think you know for last Christmas I bought Paola and Daniela bikes and Paola loves hers but with the difficulties I have had with seeing Daniela her bike has sat in Linda’s laundry room for 7 months untouched so this morning I decided enough…I had already contacted Casa Hogar and asked if I could bring Daniela's bike there for her but they told me no this was not a good idea..so I wanted it used and Linda’s wonderful gardener Rafael, has a daughter Jasmine, who is about 13 years old and I have met her and this morning I went to her house and delivered the bike for her…she was thrilled!!!!   I am happy it is being used and I know Daniela would be happy to that someone is using the bike!!!

This photo just thrills me…and Jasmine’s Mum is happy too…I know the bike looks small but the seat height can be adjusted and Jasmine and her younger Brother will enjoy it I know!!

I then came home and packed up some lovely sandwiches, fruit, marshmallows and juice for the kids as we were going back to the waterpark.

The kids were all waiting for me and again they were so well behaved….this is a great inexpensive treat for children..the grounds, showers everything so clean and well managed.

We were there 4 hours they had such fun even got me to go down the big slide I felt a bit silly being the only one screaming the whole way down…..

Dropped them home and they were happy and well fed.

Came back home and washed the scooter and relaxed with a lovely hot soak in the tub……..I was happy to have been a part of this day for these lucky kids!!!

 

yashi koshi!!

Saturday 27th July 2013…..was it just me that did something stupid today??

What a great way to start a day two hours of very competitive and fun tennis….followed by 30 minutes of laundry duty.

Then came home iced down had lunch and packed some drinks and snacks as it was my weekend to have Daniela for the afternoon..drove up to Casa Hogar and was extremely disappointed to find out she was not there and I could not understand from the Madre where she was…this is the second time in a row I have prepared for her for the dates they gave me and for her not to be there….I really have no idea what I can do I realize I am in a country with a different culture, dealing with Madres, I am a single male but I also cannot forget that before the new intern of Madres I had unlimited visits with Daniela for over 5 years!!!

As I was leaving CH I knew I needed gas and I passed a gas station on the opposite side of the road knowing there was another gas station on my side half a mile away…well I never made it about 330 yards short so faced with the embarrassment of walking to the station borrowing a container and walking back…lesson learned.

I decided that it was time to put the happenings of the last two days on hold and go for a hike into the canyons which was wonderful then came back got my book and went to the roof for some R & R…..a lovely hot bath, a nice supper and now going to settle down and watch a movie….

So what did you do silly today???

Yashi Koshi!!!

Friday 26th July 2013…Not sure about this post!!!

I really am not sure about this post the contents, my feelings…today was a humbling day of mass proportions and I am as I write quite stunned and sad……

I picked up Linda and Guy at 9am and we drove about 40 minutes to the city of Celaya where we were going to do a Costco shop but before that we had an appointment here

This is a state of the art Children’s cancer clinic run by an incredible number of wonderful volunteers and Linda, Guy and I have been here before 2 Christmases ago when the Rotary club donated over 150 blankets and Linda and I immediately became involved and wanted to help.

So we met with some of the directors this morning who took us on a tour of the clinic…it is run on donations and some Government money and children all over the State  come here for cancer treatments.

Linda gave them a fund raising proposal which they will investigate and I offered to coordinate a service which could transport the 11 children who live in SMA to get to the clinic for day time treatments…now they have to leave around 5am on a public bus to get to the clinic an awful ordeal for someone in good health…..my plan is to get a group of dedicated volunteers with a vehicle who could on say 24 hours notice be prepared to taxi a family to the clinic….. stay whilst they have the treatments and then bring them home…I think with a pool of 8 or 9 volunteers this would work my only concern is liability….and the directors have lawyers on their board and will investigate this……..

Whilst Linda and I were in the new wing of the clinic seeing these kids have treatments…no words can describe…check this little Angel out!!!

All three of us on the drive home know this is going to be a major part of our lives from now on!!!!

After Costco came home and helped unload and then picked up the kids for their last fencing class.

They have really enjoyed the class and the teacher had kind words to say about them I was so proud of them they all went and high fived the teacher and thanked her and she received some chocolates.

On the way back to the car ice cream was the order of the day.

We also stopped and bought a whole cooked chicken for them to take home.

I asked to go inside Paola’s house as I wanted to see what they have because I want to buy some things for them…they have 2 rooms with virtually nothing…so I shall go to garage sales looking for some furniture and things for them…….I just want to help in a small way if I can.

So it was a wonderful but tough day that I really need to process some more but I am ever mindful of my blessings….les

Thursday 25th July 2013..another whirlwind of a day!!

Finally no rain during the night and tennis at 9am it was good to get back on the courts and I enjoyed the game…..came home for some lunch and laundry detail and then off to pick up Daniela and Ernestine after their camp…Daniela was feeling better today but to me she still looks tired…..we had some treats on the way back to Casa Hogar.

After I dropped them off I went to pick up my friend Karen she had some chores she asked me to help drive her to and I was more than happy to oblige and we did them and after I left Karen back at her house I had some chores to do in town and finally home around 5pm.

It was R & R tonight with some reading on my roof top, a long hot soak in the tub, a nice dinner and now some TV.

 

The article below is taken from the BBC web site it is a very terrible accident……Santiago is the town where my Camino pilgrimage will end next summer.

 

 

 

Dozens have been killed and many more injured in a passenger train derailment in north-western Spain. It is the country's worst train accident for 40 years.

The Alvia 730 series train left the tracks on a bend about 3-4km (2-2.5 miles) from Santiago de Compostela station at 20:41 local time (18:41 GMT) on Wednesday, according to railway firm Renfe.

It was on the express route between Madrid and the ship-building city of Ferrol on the Galician coast. The line to Santiago de Compostela has stretches of high speed track, where trains reach up to 220km/h (136.7mph), before having to slow to 80km/h before the section where the accident took place.

According to eyewitnesses and media reports, the first four carriages derailed on the bend, causing the middle and rear carriages to either flip into the air or crash into those in front.

Spanish newspaper El Pais reported how the driver said he was doing 190km/h (118mph) as he took the bend - Curva de A Grandeira - where the speed limit is just 80km/h. Officials say one of the train's drivers is now under formal investigation and investigations into what caused the crash have begun.

 

Pura Vida!!

Wednesday 24th July 2013……..flash by Wednesday!!!

The morning started out at 930 am going to get my mirrors fixed on the scooter they were loose so my friend up the street fixed the problem for me.

Next I picked up Paola and we went into town for some chores and a little breakfast before I dropped her back at home…I then went to visit my friend Karen who is on town for a few days..today is their fencing class and because I wanted to go to poker I did what I did last week and gave her money for a taxi and she promised she would get the boys there with their fencing noodles and water bottle's….. and I went to poker where I kept up the winning streak only 20 pesos but a win is a win.

After poker I went to pick up the kids and they had a great afternoon again and on the way home we stopped and bought some fruit.

I was invited to Linda and Guy’s for supper tonight and imagine my face when I was served Bangers and Mash…the way to an Englishman’s heart!!!

Thanks it was a wonderful meal and evening.

Robin sent me an e mail with amazing vistas from around the world and I was to happy to recall that I had been to two of them last summer…

Croatia!!

Italy!!

So far the Magic jack seems to be working I have made a couple of calls and received 2 messages hope it continues!!!

 

Yahsi koshi!!

Tuesday 23rd July 2013…another day flies by!!

I am trying so hard not to be a whiner but another tennis morning rained out because of the storm during the night…..

I know the above is a bit of an exaggeration!!!

Well my internet has been down for 24 hours and my new Magic jack arrived so I called back the great techie I had a couple of weeks ago…..he fixed the Internet problem and set up the Magic jack and it works intermittingly and he thinks the main issue is that the main router/modem is in the main house and the distance between there and my casita is a bit far…. so I have decided not to fret over this when it works I will use it and when it decides not to function I will use Skype.

I then had chores and errands to run in town and I also went to the grocery store and got some food to take to Paola’s house I know they need all the help they can get so I did see Paola for a few minutes and she told me thank you for the food.

I then went to get Daniela and Ernestine at the camp drop off and take them to Casa Hogar….Daniela looked so tired and sick and she was not happy I hope the Madres understand and if she does not feel well tomorrow to keep her home and rest I have also offered to take her to the Doctors if needed…….

Did some more chores and was home for around 7pm in time to see a nice skyline over the city.

Forgot to post these yesterday of Paola at fencing class.

 

 

Thanks to Vicky for sending me these images!!

Yashi Koshi!!