Thursday 13 th June 2019.....Like it???

I have been keeping a little secret from you for a couple of weeks now.......I am moving to a different casita!!

I have been very happy at Jen’s place for nearly two years now and was not looking to move but I always look at the Civil List, a website here that is like an informative forum and I saw an apartment for rent..I liked the looks of it and asked for photos and liked it even more.

As I was in New Jersey I arranged with my good friend Carolyn to contact the apartment owner and to go look at it.

Carolyn has seen all my apartments here in SMA and she is an interior decorator and has herself a gorgeous home...

So after Carolyn went to look she sent me an email saying...YOU HAVE TO TAKE THIS!!!!

I was comfortable with her advice and I did in fact make an offer which was accepted.

It was very hard for me to inform Jen that I would be moving but she was very understanding!!

So I went to look at the apartment myself on Monday and wondered what would’ve happened if I did not like it???

The apartment is actually a penthouse loft of a three apartment building...the Owner is a Mexican man and his daughter Michelle lives in the ground floor apartment and manages the building.

On the first floor is an older Mexican man and the total top floor is mine....the monthly rent is 11000 pesos which includes everything and I mean everything I don’t pay anything else..included in that rent is Cable TV and Internet...all utilities....it even comes with a washer and dryer.

The Colonia is in a middle class Mexican neighbourhood and really  close to all my activities...the building is two year old and was built for Airbnb rentals but the owners decided that was too much work!!

So I get to move my stuff in on the 26th of this month and will move there when Gracie comes home on the 28th.

Michelle is very nice and this is a really good move for me.

There is no place to keep my scooter and I think outside on the street would be OK but yesterday I drove out to the neighbourhood to look around and see if I could find something suitable.

The first place I tried was right across the street and I mean right across....the lady was outside and her home which has a nice front patio and garden and a huge locked metal gate....she had a car but that was parked on the street.

I went to her and introduced myself, she spoke perfect English, and I asked what the possibilities would be of me keeping my scooter at the side of her front yard...she immediately told me yes of course you can!!!!

I asked her if she thought 500 pesos would be reasonable rent and she just smiled and said it will not cost you anything!!  What else is there to say????

So there you have it I will be in a new neighbourhood at the end of the month!!

Want to see some photos????

The beautiful outside street look..

My penthouse is the total top floor with all those windows and the whole roof top terrace..

This is what you see when you come up the stairs..

The area is one huge room but check out all the windows which have great blinds to keep out the light at night..

Love the colour of the kitchen....

Smart TV..

This is also a sofa bed..

That door leads to this..

Which in turn leads to this..

Yes a full 360 view of the town and the mountains..

This door leads to a small patio perfect for morning tea..

It also has a washer and dryer for my exclusive use..

Love the view down the street!!

All the little alcoves have so much light..

A nice large bathroom with a spacious shower with a rain forest shower head..

What do you think???

Have a great evening!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Wednesday 12 th June 2019...an easy day!!

Went up town this morning and did some chores and banking and then just relaxed till it was time to go see the poker guys again.

We had a fun afternoon and my absence did not deter my winning ways..another 120 pesos!!

Took the dogs for a long walk when I got home before settling down to watch the final game of the Stanley Cup Finals....it was a good game those guys are such warriors!!

Short post but a good day!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!

Tuesday 11 th June 2019...YEA TENNIS!!!!!!

Had a bit longer sleep this morning the dogs woke me up at 7 am they want to be petted..so I pet them open the balcony door so they can go out and go back to bed..they are fine with that and then later I get up and feed them..they are no trouble at all!!

The rain last night did not cancel the tennis and it was so great to be back on the courts and see my good friends..I was a little rusty but had a lot of fun!!!

Carolyn asked me about my fingers and I told her what happened and that also last night I scratched my nose and I got a whiff of a stale smell...she and Jen told me I need to go to my doctor and maybe get them drained....so after tennis I went to Dr. Marco and made an appointment for Thursday afternoon...

This is what they look like four weeks after I thought I had broken them in the garage door!!!

It is so nice to be able do chores on my scooter and here is what I bought from four different stores for only a few pesos!!

Granola

Fresh multigrain bread

Strawberries and sweet corn

My favourite sandwich roll

This afternoon I worked out in the yard and then went to Bo’s house for our regular Mexican train night...Lisa had made a wonderful meatloaf and Bo did mashed potatoes and a salad it was delicious and I have a doggie bag...we had fun good to seem them both again...

Taking the dogs out for their late night walk just a few doors out on the street!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Monday 10th June 2019...being home feels good!!!

Well I had a great sleep till 4 am......the nasty mosquito 🦟 had a lot to do with it!!!

I got up made tea and worked on the computer and then started to unpack the car ....I did have a lot of stuff....

Took the dogs for a really long walk into the mountains it is a great place for them not too steep and not far out of town.

Got my scooter washed and it was nice to be on the roads with the breezes keeping me cool!!!

I took my camera to my camera guy and a couple of hours late he called me and told me it was toast!!

I have to get my car out of the country by late July so more about this in a day or two but I shall be in Nanaimo for a few weeks so I will look for a new camera then and I do think I need the rugged unable to break type...I know it won’t take as good a picture but I think in the last ten years I have had almost double digit cameras!!!

Just did chores and sorting at the house and then had a lovely salad for dinner..I need to loose a few pounds being on the road and away is not good for my eating habits!!!

There is another Basketball game tonight involving the Toronto Raptors..I am not a big fan but they could win the championship with a win tonight!!

Back on the courts mañana!!

Yashi Kochi!!!

Sunday 9th June 2019..Home!!!

Well I had a good sleep and was up and on the road by 5.30 am...I got to the border in Brownsville by 5.50am and was first in line for opening at 6am...I was decked out in my border crossing T shirt...Mexican Olympic soccer shirt!!!!

It is always a bit daunting crossing borders so I drove very slowly there was a lone female officer after the green light who just smiled and waved me through..I thought about stopping and telling her to look at my shirt, but thought the better of this!!!

So here I was back in Mexico.....the drive was very easy..Sunday is a great day to drive very little truck traffic and this route is through the mountains and very scenic...

The other good news only three toll booths and a total of 174 pesos!!!

I was pulling into Gracie’s house by 4pm..I was not tired at all...

I met Jarrett the house sitter and we chatted for a few minutes before he left to go to another house sit in town!!

Einstein was thrilled to see me 

and Scout was obviously looking around for Gracie!!

I unpacked a few things to get some exercise and then checked the TV guide and would you believe the French Open final was being shown again..so I made some tea and sat and watched this great historical game....I have to eat my words two years ago I said Rafa was done....too much wear and tear on his body and he would not win another slam..shows you what I know!!!

Then I checked the guide again and would you believe again I was so lucky ..game six of the hockey finals was being played live..so here I am watching this!!!!

Good to be back and get into the swing of things again!!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Saturday 8th June 2019....Day 9!!!!!

All packed up and on the road by 8.30am for a five hour drive to Harlingen where I am staying the night...

Before I left I filled up with the cheapest gas I have seen this whole trip $2.15 a gallon!!

The drive was mainly on Interstate and it was over 90 degrees outside....

I arrived at my Airbnb stay around 3pm and my hostess was there waiting for me.....brings back memories I am staying in an RV, albeit an older parked model.

It has everything I need and I made some tea cooled down before I went out to the car and did a final move stuff around and get ready for the border crossing tomorrow morning.

Then went to a Walmart for a few last minute things...found a nice pizza take out restaurant and brought a nice pizza home.

The next stop was McDonalds to sit and use their Internet, there is no wifi in the RV.....so posting the blog from here.

I love the English sense of humor or humour!!!

When I arrive in SMA tomorrow late afternoon I am going straight to Gracie’s and meet up with the house sitter, get the keys and take over house and dog sitting...the house sitters have another sit in town starting tomorrow..so it all works out.

Stay tuned!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!

Friday 7th June 2019...Day 8!!!

I woke very early and knew it was going to be an iffy day I just did feel great, energetic or particularly joyous but I was determined to try to make the best of the day.

The big tennis match between Roger and Rafa was scheduled for 7 am this morning and I was hoping I could watch it on the tv in the apartment like I did the hockey game last night but to no avail..I could not find it....so plan B....

When I was in Houston last year Carolyn my tennis partner from SMA was here with her partner who was having some medical treatments and she took me to her tennis club and boy what a fancy club it was..imagine every available amenity in plush surroundings and this was it..they also have a huge 120 inch Tv screen in a bar area with leather armchairs....

So I thought why not.....so I drove the three miles to the club and went to the front desk and gave my woeful tale to the lovely lady on the front desk and asked if she would sell me a day pass to go and watch the game..she said sure and asked me to sign the guest book and told me to enjoy the game...no charge!!!

I had the room all to myself and although the game did not live up to all the hype I still enjoyed the moment it may be the last time these two meet in a semi finals of a slam!!!

Rafa dominated from the opening point!!

Some of the courts at the indoor facility!!

Came home and had a long nice breakfast and then went out and did some shopping....

This evening just quietly getting ready for my trip tomorrow where I am staying in an Rv Airbnb in Harlingen which is close to the Mexican border and I shall cross Sunday morning!!

Hope you had a safe and happy day!!

Yashi Kochi!!!

Thursday 6 th June 2019....Day 7!!!

Up early again this morning and still the camera won’t open..I have had some advice on what to do and I will try that but if it does not work I have until Saturday to decide to buy a new camera and my initial thoughts are for me to buy one of those robust waterproof type ones?. A shame because this camera is really a great one!!!

On the road by 8.30 am and this was the route Houston ...

As you can see a six hour drive all on Interstates......well it proved to be a truly horrid experience that took almost three hours longer!!!

First off was a back up for miles where I inched along until it finally cleared..I have no idea what the hold up was...

Then came the hardest rain I have ever seen which lasted about thirty minutes....even with the wipers on top speed it was hard to see..everyone was driving with hazard lights on and going about 15 m.p.h...I thought about pulling over on the shoulder but deemed that would be more dangerous and of course it happened where there were no exits of the highway....

Do not worry these were shots taken from the Internet..

After it stopped I saw many homes and fields that were flooded!!

The next crawl was to go over a two landed bridge that was reduced to a one lane bridge by an accident...

When I finally approached Houston I got stuck in rush hour traffic....so a driving day to forget....

But let us not form these women and men!!!!

I arrived at my Airbnb for two nights it is a full apartment and the key was in a drop box never saw the owner...

It is great and has ever I need included a tub and a pool and one mile from my favourite store..Trader Joe’s!!!

I got settled in went to TJ’s..got some food and settled down to watch a live hockey game!!!

Now all cleaned up and after this ready for bed!!

Yashi Kochi!!!