5C's Que Pasa

The entire packing and loading thing took much longer than expected. We knew that it would be time consuming but had no idea it would take the energy and amount of time that it did. Who knew how much space a king duvet and cover and sheets and mattress cover would take once all folded up? In the end both the car and the U – Haul were full and I mean FULL!!

Extra special thank you to our great neighbour and friend Jack who helped Colin pull it all together at the last minute. And he even took out all of our garbage and recycle later in the day. Also a huge shout out to our friend Cindy who was concerned that we were still home when we should have been gone 15 minutes earlier. The plumber could not come on the weekend to do the water blow out of the house which is why we rushed things to leave today,  However I had a hair appointment with Tana which would be my last for a very long while. Cindy took only a nano second to take in the que pasa of the moment and decided to save the day by driving me to the top of the Mission for my appointment giving Colin much needed extra time to finalize the packing and loading. Almost two hours out of her life to do this for me 😎

Meanwhile I also have another special friend working behind the scenes trying to help us figure out a way to delay the extension of our temporal due to the cartel situation in Sinaloa.

We had a shaky start to the day but we quickly crossed into the the USA late afternoon with few questions. The border agent asked all the usual questions but not once asked why the Jeep was loaded to the roof nor what we were hauling in the U-Haul. I must say that we truly felt like the Beverly Hillbillies today. It was only about a 130 mile day but we were ready to call it a night. About 10PM now, we just shared a tuna Subway for dinner and a lovely bottle  of Sauvignon Blanc. The girls were very upset earlier in the day because of all the strange activity.

Actually I later realized that I was also unsettled as suddenly I was being driven away from my home without having a chance for a final look at the view or even an adios to mi casa 😥 It felt strange not leaving the house together.

Tomorrow is the begging of another adventure for us, roads never travelled and so on.

Maybe photos tomorrow……

The weather has been spectacular the past few weeks. No rain to mention, the odd shower perhaps. Perfect conditions for packing and packing and even more packing. The leaves are just starting to turn. Nature is beautiful. We will miss our home here but not the cold which is beginning to creep in despite the sunshine. However it appears that at some point we will be back here next spring/summer for a bit, especially if the house sells.

Colin is working so very hard –  I never could keep up and now he is taking over most of my duties as well. I wasn’t going to tell you but then I always tell you everything so here goes. I had a fall, actually a bad fall last Sunday evening getting out of the bathtub. Finally I got up and got to bed. When I woke up Monday I could not walk and thespian was off the charts. No I did not go to the hospital as I don’t have 7 hours to sit in the ER. I carefully felt around, even both hips were hurting. Then I borrowed a walker. That helped me a bit. Mostly I sat at the computer and finalized all the online to do’s 😛 Yes finalized. There will always be things to do but I can let go now for a few days. I was so grateful for Colin taking on so many of my usual tasks.

Tuesday afternoon I got my crown and it fit perfectly. Best root canal and crown ever. I was using the walker and in pain. Yesterday morning I saw the eye doctor but a different one. Not the surgeon but an ophthalmologist in the same office compound as the surgeon. She was young and full of energy and very helpful. I had the best eye examination ever. Long story short I do need some distance correction ( very minor and a bit of astigmatism adjustment in my left eye ). I do need readers for close up, computer and reading. I am going to alternate between a  2 and a 2.5 correction. She came up with the perfect prescription for me but when we walked across the hall to the optical area I discovered that while they can do many things in a day they can’t do progressives. It takes a few weeks which of course I don’t have. My eyes are still healing and in fact I still do have inflammation in both eyes. Also my tears dry in mere seconds which is another reason I have trouble seeing. So I need to continue with the eyes drops but Mazatlan’s humidity will take care of that. So I had distance lenses put into my old teal coloured glasses which will be great for driving. I will use the readers I have. I was hoping to get sunglass readers but they are expensive and take several days to make. So I will find a pain of nice sunglasses to cover my readers when outside or using my distance glasses. As my eyes heal I will likely no longer need the distance correction.  So it was a good surgery but I am unique in my healing time.

Today I have less pain than the day prior and am going to start using a cane instead of the walker. To be honest neither of us felt that I would be able leave tomorrow because of the pain levels. However here it is our last day and there is a huge amount of packing to get done and I have no choice but to get it done.

This quick post was just to update you. I might just use the lap top so there may be no photos. Right now I am focusing on the next hour and then the next hour. The poor girls are upset with all the activity and were not happy to be left alone for over 5 hours yesterday. Today we are all together and will be from now on.  I am looking forward to building them a lovely nest in the car for our hours of travel.

I have been stressed to the max but today I can see a glimpse of my lovely future. Just have to take baby steps. You all know that loading the RV in a day next week will be a challenge but that is next week.

Off to finalize the packing……

 

 

…good lesson to learn. We must learn to live each day to its entirety – actually to live each hour to the fullest. Time passes so quickly and then it is gone. The day before yesterday is gone, yesterday is gone and today is almost gone and I am not happy about it. But how do we take control of our own time?  EDIT HERE : I wrote this last evening and then Colin insisted I stop so I could eat dinner. So here I am taking a wee break from packing to finish this post. 

The past three days have mostly been devoted to the transfer of my old iMac desktop to my new iMac desktop. You likely will recall that we purchased 2 new desktops computers this past July, one for each of us. Hopefully they will our last major computer expense. Colin set his up in August, it took a long time. Therefore I kept putting off the transfer to my new computer. Well here we were with just a week left so it had to be done. Long story short I/we spent three full days online with Apple techs.  They do a great job but only do what you ask. So you need to keep calling back to get it done. Today I realized that my Mail had not been transferred. And just now in really time Sunday morning, I realize that half of my mailbox folders are missing. Just another task I have to figure out later today.

I thought I was done midday today. Turns out that a previous FaceBook issue had resurfaced. So the new computer is operating a non functioning FB account on one email address and the old computer ( about to be killed and sold ) is using a fully functioning FB account with all my accounts and marketplace information. sadly I went down the dark road today of getting help from a FB ‘fixer’.  I fear I have been scammed $30.00 USD. He did fix it but says that he needs another 16.00US to delete the bad account so that I am good to go. Well we spent hours going head to head with neither of us giving in. He would not take 50%. I told him that I had trusted him with the 30.00  ( 45.00 CAD ) and that he had to prove to me he could do the job before I gave him more money. So at this very moment we are at a standoff. The major issue is that it is the new computer that I can’t use my correct FB account in.  The one where I have all that I am selling on. In fact that  email account will be cancelled this next Friday. I finally had to say enough and move on to writing this blog post. And again in really time Sunday morning I caved and send him another $16.00 USD. I think that he is working on it now!  I had no choice.

Yesterday we  officially cancelled our MLS listing for the house. We will re list in early 2025. Difficult decision but it needed to be done.

So I saw my eye surgeon this past Monday ( the 23rd). My eye tests were done and the doctor told me that all the “numbers” were good. He decided I have dry eye ( probably from being on the computer so much )and now has me doing different eye drops 4 -5 times per day. He is confident that I am fine. He did suggest that I lower my readers from 2.5 to 2.  Hard to say how much of a difference it is making. He did say that the humidity of Mazatlan will be of help to my eyes. However I have another appointment on Wednesday to pay to have my eyes tested by their eye glass selling division and to give me the numbers I need for readers. Maybe I should order sunglass readers??

Next is my root canal. For the first time ever I asked to be sedated 😎  Definitely the way to go. I have no recall of the 3 hour procedure. However I still have pain today…supposed to get the new crown Tuesday.  I recall having pain for a full month this past February when I got my crown done in Mazatlan. I guess my teeth are sensitive.

Only 5 sleeps to go and still lots of work to do. So I best be off and get it done.

I have no idea where to start. We plan the day and then it goes 10 ways sideways.  So much I want to share with you but things change 4 – 8 times or more per day. My mind is a few days behind. I have not kept a list as the time is passing too quickly.

For instance we are in the midst of our……….. – I wrote the above about 10 days…….

I wrote the following this past Wednesday the 18th of September.

Right now today ( the18th ) I am sitting at the airport in Edmonton waiting for my flight back home to Kelowna.  Colin left home yesterday @ 4:30 am to drive with the twins to Vancouver to do some must needed errands before we leave.  I left home at 8am. At least we were gone the same day. I flew to Edmonton to see my chiropractor.  Good thing I did as I had quite a few issues directly related  to my fall this past July when I broke my nose.   I needed more intense treatment today, hopefully that is all the I will require.

 

Meanwhile Colin got his two major errands done and my two smaller ones. He says that the girls travelled well and despite all different people he met and going up and down elevators three times that they never barked once.  Sadly he never got home til almost 11pm. I was already asleep in my uncomfortable hotel bed. But I was on the 8th floor, top floor, and kept getting up to check on the Northern Lights. Despite having been out the past few nights they were a no show last night – much to my dismay.

So que pasa? The house has not been sold. The very original plan was to sell the house and upgrade our 2001 RV – probably in the spring of 2025.  But as the house never sold Colin started to look at options. He found a lovely 2006 Marquis in Langley, B C. However he discovered that we would have to pay a $25,000.00 luxury tax to register the RV.  Well of course we would not do that.  So then we decided to drive our original RV to the USA to trade it in. First of all they would charge us $5,000.00 USD to register it in the USA so that they could sell it. Plus they would have only pay us 50% of what we could sell it for here.

So it became a bit of a game. Colin who gets up a few hours earlier than I do would wake me up with the “new plan for today” about 8am.  So almost every day we had a new
direction to plan for.  One morning he had yet another plan. We should sell our RV here in Kelowna and to drive to the USA and purchase an RV there. I simply glared at him and said no way.

The next day he had a solid plan. We would unload the RV – which by now was fully loaded and only needed the rest of our clothes and bathroom items to be loaded.  My quick reply was asking how the $400.00 worth of special frozen food that I had already ordered would be transported. In the end we ordered two freezer/fridge coolers. Click here to see them.

So you now are starting to understand how each new day had special challenges.  In addition to that I was able to shut down Colin Jewall Photo Studios Inc.  the end of August. The final final year end will be done the end of February.  However I am done and so very happy about it. The last six months balanced to the penny – of course it did.

Meanwhile every day poses new challenges. A few are solved quickly but most take more time which changes the course of our planned day. Of course we are behind schedule. The last two showings we had were canceled at the very last minute. Oh and due to a multitude of factors we are now leaving a day earlier.

At this point we plan to take the house off the market the end of September and relist in the spring. We have arranged to have the house winterized as usual on Friday the 4th of October. Plumbers don’t work on the weekends so we’ll have to leave a day early.

Everyday Colin is working at packing things as well as planning for the weeks ahead. Our motor home sold in two days site unseen for full asking price. We had hundreds of inquiries. My job was to sort out the buyers while Colin cleaned and unloaded it. We had literally just finished loading it. What we found sad was that most of the inquiries were from people wanting to live in it full time as they had no home. A couple and their two kids were renting one room in a house. They were so hoping to get the financing to make our RV their forever home. Sadly they were unable to get the financing. We felt so badly for them.

…..and now I am continuing in real time today, Sunday the 22nd. 

So we got back from our mini individual travels and hit the ground running. Well not quite, I was exhausted, I went to bed without dinner that first night back. I have been having a tooth ache off and on for a few days. So a few days ago – Thursday past – I went to the dentist. Very bad news. I have a hidden cavity under my gold crown. It is a big deal, crown has to come off, clean out the infection, kill the three roots and and prep for a new crown. Three hours in the chair. $3850.00!!  I am on antibiotics. And for those who will tell me to wait and do it in Mexico, I can’t wait because of the pain. Also it would probably cost more or the same as here. You may recall that I had that root canal just this past February and then Colin had one, same price as here. So this is an expensive year for teeth.

As well as expensive in getting my cataracts removed, I think it was about $3700.00. I still am not seeing clearly. There is no way I can drive as I can’t do anything using my readers and a magnifying glass. I see the eye surgeon tomorrow. It looks like I will be going back to eye glasses.

We have also put a deposit down on a new to us RV in California. We did a FaceTime video walk through. However it has now come to our attention that in order to do all we need to do ( register the RV in Montana, get an LLC and the plates and have everything legal – including no paying California taxes ) we now have to pay for the RV in full this coming week.

Things would’ve been much easier if we had sold the house. Also if we did not have that deadline of renewing our Mexican Residency paperwork I Mazatlan by the end of October. We are being pushed in both directions.

I am in the process of changing my Facebook information. I have changed it to Contessa Jewall from Connie Doxie but am having  a load of trouble changing my email address with FB. Don’t even ask.

Colin is like the energizer rabbit. He just keeps going and going and going and packing and packing even more. Thus far we have 40 bins full with many more to come. The final ( at least I hope it is ) plan is that we will be pulling a U – Haul trailer, probably 6 X 12 or 5 X 8. We don’t actually have a plan because we don’t have time to talk about it but I think we will be on the road for 3 nights hoteling it. Traveling to the Sacramento area where the new bus is waiting for us.

That is all I can give you today folks. Yes we know about the cartel activity in Sinaloa but I can’t even think about it until we get into our new home. we will have a week or so in Las Vegas to get settled and sorted out. I refuse to think ahead about all there is to do. Enough to do at this very moment. My desk is sold and goes out this afternoon.  I am sad about that. I also need to get my new iMac set up before we leave.

Thank you for all your thoughts and comments.

 

 

 

Still working on catching my breath. I feel like I have been on a giant roller coaster these past ten days or so. We have had  2  or 3 ( I’m losing track although I think we have had 13 official showings and untold spontaneous showings ) but still no buyer. We remain very sad that the lady who had to cancel the purchase of our home is not buying it. She was perfect for this place. But life has suddenly taken her in a different direction. Deep down I hope that within the next year she will come back to our home.

Departure day is October 5th and that is whether we sell or not. I knew the date but just now adding it up on the calendar its  shows that that is only 37 days  🙄 Will we be ready? Colin will for certain, as will the RV and the Jeep. The last thing needed for the RV is to check the freon in the AC system and add if needed. He is doing that this morning and the same with the Jeep on Friday. Mechanically we are ready to go.

Emotionally we are more than ready to go. We really don’t want to have to come back here next year to sell. So keep your fingers crossed and keep sending out positive thoughts. Anything is possible in the next month. If the house sells we have some fun and exciting plans for next year.  If not we will keep on track with our current wonderful plans. The world is in upheaval and there is no way to know what the future will bring. Best to live in the here and now and enjoy everyday to the fullest.

I keep selling things on FB Marketplace and elsewhere. Yesterday we sold our rosewood credenza. That was a bit difficult to let go of. So we play a little game between us. If we don’t sell the house and come back here can we live without whatever item that I am selling. Little things are easy to part with, not so favourite pieces of furniture we have had for over 35 years. At this point we prefer to keep as much as we can to stage the house for selling but this particular sale will allow us to pull back the white leather sectional and open up that space a bit more.

Physically I am a mess. My eyes are not cooperating and I am unable to tell the time on my watch, use my iPhone, write or read nor use the computer. Never mind driving – I can’t even walk on my own. I am living in a fog. I ended up with a small corneal abrasion after the second surgery but that pain has finally passed. With so much to do before we leave and so little time I am very frustrated. I saw the eye surgeon last Thursday and he said it does take a full 6 -8 weeks to heal. I see him again tomorrow.

Even the dentist is conspiring against me. I haven’t had a cavity in over 5 years and yesterday the dental hygienist found 3 tiny tiny ones 😮 I know it could be much much worse. But snow on the Coquilhalla and at the Big White ski mountain yesterday!!  Yes yesterday was still August. I guess that is the sign of the times we live in.

 

 

 

The only offer we have had and our potential buyer dropped out. She had almost purchased all of our furniture, so it was a turnkey deal for her. It was perfect for us. Now we only had to keep sorting, donating and loading the RV. We were crushed when she dropped out. No need to go into all of the details and reasons. We tried but the deal couldn’t be saved.

This happened last weekend and we are still getting over the disappoitment. Nothing to do but keep pressing on.

Still leaving October 5th and still hoping the house sells before we leave.

I have been struggling with my right eye. It is fighting the non operated eye and seeing, reading and typing on the computer are difficult. I now understand why having both eyes done at the same time make for a much quicker recovery. Your eyes are both seeing the same thing. My eye condition is astigmatism which I also looking forward to not having to deal with.

In about 90 minutes I will be having my left eye cataract removed. I am so hoping for rapid progress. Colin had been great with the eye drops.

That is all the news for now. Looking forward to brighter days ahead.

I am home safe and sound and do not want to leave it. The procedure was not what I expected, no worse but no better and just strange. I experienced no pain at all. I did have 14 drops pre surgery, was very nicely cared for and even a weighted blanket to keep me cozy as I waited outside the OR. Dr. Monica Penny was my anaesthetist and did all that I asked to keep me comfortable and as much as she could in lala land. With her guidance I was able to able to walk from my recliner to the OR area. I vaguely recall the doctor pulling me up higher as I could not manage that. I needed to be wonky as I metabolized anesthesia very rapidly ( think of the dentist – they need to give extra as they work on a tooth ).

Anyway all went well. I slept all the way home in the car. Actually I slept until 7PM.  Colin woke me to give me the needed eyedrops. I wan’t hungry but he made me something to eat and we sort of watched something in TV, If I closed my left eye I could not see anything but shadows from the right surgery eye. It did not get better as the evening progressed .

Fortunately I was given a special bottle of what was called ‘comfort drops’ which I was allowed to use for 24 hours post surgery. I used them a few times and took a Tylenol about 6pm and again at 10PM. It felt like I had a piece of sand constantly irritating my eye. Most annoying.

I wore a clear eye patch to just protect my eye from any sudden movements from the girls. Colin said that they did not touch me but slept close to me as I rested on the bed.

Yesterday morning ( 24 hours post surgery ) I saw the surgeon for my first check up. He looked with the big microscope machine thingy into my eye and simply said ” excellent”. He said that the irritating feeling would go away and that I would have more vision every so many hours.

I had asked to have the right eye lense taken out of my eye glasses so that I had some vision. The doctor suggested that it might be better to go without any corrective lenses. So I am working with it this and that solutions. Almost impossible to use the computer.

This morning at about 2AM I work up to no as in nada pain in my eye. Such a relief. I slept from 10PM to 9:30AM. Obviously my body is rebuilding.

I can see better today than yesterday but really look forward to tomorrow and even more improvements.

‘Thank you for your kind words re Ena. My second eye surgery is next Wednesday the 21st and her funeral service in on the 23rd in Edmonton. It breaks my heart that I can’t attend.

So that is where I am at the moment my friends – in limbo. Give me a few days.

We must all learn to live each day to the fullest. None of us knows what tomorrow will hold. Personally Colin and I have had an extraordinary three days. Goods news on the home front but too early to share for certain.

But just a few hours before the home event I received an email. My longest and dearest friend Ena, whom I have known since the summer of grade six, who I went to junior and senior high with, the very special friend that we have visited back and forth over the years and well into adulthood. I met Ena’s children when they were very young and they were already trilingual! She had set backs in her career being a dentist to due a physical error to her made by a surgeon. Ena was always, kind and positive ( just like her mother ) and cared so very much about her family and those in her circle of friends as well as her Latvian community.

Ena was one of the main reasons I rejoiced in my almost annual trip to Edmonton to see my chiropractor ( and visit with her ) and before that she would drive me to the hospital to see my ailing parents. I was very fortunate to see her last September at our high school reunion. You can click here to read that blog post .However I knew something was off with her but she wanted the event to be fun and fluffy, no serious stuff. So the last time I saw Ena was last September. I could not believe my eyes when I received the email this past Sunday advising all of us, her school friends, of her passing this past Saturday, August 10th.

So a door closed on Sunday yet another is opening. I knew that Ena was giving me her blessing to move on in life. Yet I have felt her in my heart for days now. Folks reach out to your family and friends, be loving and kind. Life is much shorter than we know. I am 71 but dear Ena was only 70, she would have turned 71 this coming December 1st. I am happy to say the Ena did her best to live life to the fullest and I honestly believe that she was content and mostly happy. Rest in peace my very special and unique friend! You will always be a part of me, after all, you have been in my heart for 60 years.

I also received an email from an Isla friend telling me that her daughter was killed in an instant in an automobile crash on August 1st. My heart breaks for her and her husband and the rest of their very close family. Please everyone live and love everyday to the fullest.

Last Thursday I received a phone call from my eye surgeon. They finally finally had a cancellation. I have been waiting since mid May for one. So my right eye is being operated on tomorrow at 9AM. The left eye will be be done a week later on August 21st. What this means is that I will be free of my eye/medical obligations by October 3rd.

We are leaving here and heading south to Mexico on October 5th and plan to arrive on the Isla in the early afternoon of October 25th. Plenty of time to get settled into our Isla compound and with enough time to compete the renewal of our temporal by the end of October.

Things seem to be working out for us. Love you all and thank you for taking the time to read this post.

I thought that we had our last garage sale in early July. However as we kept going thru all of our “stuff” it became apparent that I would need to sign up with the parks already scheduled garage sale for August 3rd. Their advertising brings in a number of people to our park.

On July 29 I sold our 5 cu ft chest freezer for $130.00 and then started to add more items to FB Marketplace. By the 31st I ended up opening up the house for anyone in the park to come and see. Over the previous weekend Colin and I had thoroughly gone through both the RV and house kitchens and knew exactly what we were keeping. The forever stuff was in the RV and we kept just what we needed here at home and the rest was for sale.

Who has 4 potato mashers? And I never even make mashed spuds. I won’t get into all the brand new stuff we had to sell. In the end I did an open house all day Thursday and Friday for my FB Marketplace people and for those living here in the park. I only made $105.00 at the actual garage sale on Saturday. However I did extremely well for the entire week, more that expected and I was very happy with the outcome – close to 2 months rent on the Isla.

Because it was so hot with temps in the 100’s I set up the garage sale inside my home with things laid out everywhere. I called it an open house garage sale. Many took that to mean “an open house” and we had many many people checking out our home rather than the garage sale. Colin and I were both run off our feet talking to all who came. I personally knew of 5 sets of  people who were very interested in the actual sale of the house. A few thought it was the ideal location for their parents to downsize to.

We cleaned up within an hour after closing and the house looked presentable when I laid down for a nap with the girls. I think Colin was also resting somewhere when there was a loud knock at the door at 4:30PM. Long story short, it was someone we knew who lived here in the park who had their friends in tow and wanted to have a showing right then and there. We were rather overwhelmed ( and I was sleepy ). We asked them to look around outside while we made ourselves presentable and then Colin went outside while I picked up the house as best I could in five minutes. They were here close to 45 minutes and loved the place. However they were not yet thinking of downsizing as I discovered yesterday ( although the friends who lived here decided they should ). Much too soon for them. Bu just a few hours ago we got a request for showing late tomorrow morning.

Today has been quite the day and I must say that both of our heads are in a continuous spinning rotation. I received a phone call this morning from my eye surgeons’ office and despite denying me an earlier date for my cataract surgery they were calling to say that my first eye would be done on August 14th ( they had just had a cancellation ) and the second on the 21st!! Simply wonderful.  All the pressure of meeting my 6 week healing date and getting a post surgery eye check before we left was now going to work out. The timing and date pressure was off. We would for certain be back on the Isla in time to renew our Temporal Residency Visa by the end of October with time to spare in case of an RV breakdown.

Also today we spoke with both our financial advisor and our accountant re shutting down Colin Jewall Photo Studios Inc. permanently. It seems like I have been on the phone all day ( I also spoke with our lawyers office ) and made many changes to previously scheduled appointments. Then the call came in about having a showing tomorrow at 11:30AM. Of course we said.

I think it is one of the ladies that came to the open house Saturday as later in the afternoon, today, I saw her and her friend standing on the street and looking at our house. So Colin of course has had to stop the packing he was doing and proceeded to  remove the multitude of spiders and their webs from outside the house. Then trimmed and cut the lawn, vacuumed inside etc. Much more to do tomorrow am.

Fingers crossed for a great showing and an offer tomorrow or the next day. Like I said, everyday is full and often we have no idea how the day will go once we get up but it is always rather busy.

Forgot to mention that this morning the girls were attacked by two huge dogs, a Saint Bernard and a black Bernese Mountain dog. Colin was not even yet at the gate to the dog park when these two with their hundreds of pounds came rushing out the dog park gate and proceeded to chase Ciela and Carlie. In all the confusion Colin dropped their leashes and they were yipping, screaming and running as they were chased.  He called me, I called security. The owners were unable to control their dogs. Then we had to look for our girls. Found a block away but in different directions. They were terrified. Just another element to our hectic day.

Today I finally got fed up with the constant knocks at my door looking for our neighbours address. They are seldom home and have not had an address sign up for close to 2 years I finally taped a piece of cardboard in their fence next to the gate. I really should have written it in bright lipstick on their fence 😳

This pen is a FIRST EDITION Parker Duofold marble pearl black twist pen. Born in the age of Jazz and Art Deco, the Duofold reflects the opulence and iconography of its origins. It is a pen of exceptional character and distinctive appearance, exuding the quality and luxury of outstanding craftsmanship. this pen was made in the 90’s.
An alluring combination of shades of pearl veined with a rich, velvety black , crafted from lustrous, cast acrylic. Every pen has its own individual, unique appearance. 23k Champagne Gold Plated Trim. Manufactured in the UK. I am now selling the pen at a very low price of $250.00 I vaguely remember purchasing this as a gift for Colin.

Carlie is doing about 65% better. Her gut is reacting favourably to the ‘poop pill’. Meanwhile we are still dealing with her acid reflux – that is a work in progress. They are both getting so very much love from us that I am beginning to think of Ciela as a velcro dog.

Now that we have got thru all of our things ( well 85%) and for certain know what will be brought to Mexico with us, we are much more relaxed. Of course we need to keep pushing everyday to get it all done. But the pressure is off re our “things”.  So we are ready for the sale to go thru quickly but also prepared to leave the house as is until next spring. The house is the only thing left in the air and we can deal with that.

It has has been difficult not having any dates to work with. With my eyes now booked a few weeks earlier we are free to make departure date plans and to make travel reservations as needed. Actually I am looking for someone in the Las Vegas area being willing to take my Amazon deliveries into their home. There likely will be several. I got in trouble last October at the RV Park as my orders had come in earlier than expected and filled up the mail room before we got there. If anyone can help us out that would be vey much appreciated.

So we are busy but never does a day go by that I don’t think of you and keep trying to write a post. Hope this helps get you up to date. If you need a gap in the time line filled in let me know and I will do so for you.

One last thing, I usually get my bath bar soap ( the coconut aloe one ) here before we leave. Turns out that my face creme, that bar soap and a few other things are no longer coming into Canada – something to do with restrictions. So if anyone is selling Avon I can put my order in with you or if you have a relative or a friend selling Avon let me know. So the only thing left is to ask you which bath bar soap you recommend. We tried Dove and yuck is all I can say re the odor. Trying Ivory right now.

PS. Slight delay posting, one of our neighbours was just taken away in an ambulance. Self abuse with alcohol but he is alive 😥

 

That means that if we have been married 37 years ( and we really have ) that Colin has been married to me for half of his life 😎 Pretty neat, eh 😀

I have not posted many photos of late but I am surprised that no one has noticed ( not even those that see him here in the park every day ) that Colin has had his hair cut short again. This was my first hint to you.

Yesterday was the day I was going to get in touch with my eye surgeon to sort out my surgery dates and or possible options. Effective last Friday the entire office is on vacation until August 7th. Also the good doctor only operates on Wednesdays and the first date will be August 14th or 21st ( I don’t know why ). I am confirmed for one eye on the 28th and the other on September 4th. In the worst possible situation I will use both those surgery dates but ask the doctor to discharge me re the final eye on October 11th instead of October 16th, the official date. Unless he can do both on the 28th or possibly one on the 21st and the other as schedules on the 28th. We have no choice but to cross into Mexico on October 25th at the very latest.

I had hoped to see the doctor on the 14th of October ( only 2 days short of my required recovery time ) but that is the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend. Just my luck 🙄 We can’t leave any later than October 16th re meeting the obligatory dates in Mexico re our residency. Otherwise we would need to start from the very beginning in 2025 and we would forfeit the monies that we have already paid.

Just a quick aside – many of you have shared your cataract surgery details with me and I thank you for that. Regarding the eye drops I will only have 2 different bottles to use which must be applied 4 times per day. One drop per bottle, seems simple enough to me.

So yesterday was Colin’s birthday and I always insist on getting a few surprises for him. He prefers to have Chinese takeout for his special meal and his cake of choice is an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Because of my failing eyesight I am no longer driving the car. So off Colin went to pick up his cake and take out Chinese. They are closed on Mondays! Ah such a disappointment. So I said to come back home and we would make something and we could do the take out later this week. At least he got his cake.

Such is our life these days, nothing is for certain and can change often during one day.

Even the weather is poco loco. We had a system come in about 10AM and it overpowered the heat and we even had a few minutes of rain. Seriously refreshing and the smell of the ions – wonderful. A few hours later we were back up to 104F!   Already so smoky here. Please no more ligheninlg strikes 😥 I read that there were over 1000 strikes yesterday.

This morning a fellow came along to purchase something from my FB Market place site. Sold! Another $400.00 to the Isla kitty fund. However he was stunned with our home and begged to come in and check it out. So we did a a proper showing both inside and outside and under the house. He is interested for himself as a summer home for his family as well as for a friend of his moving to this area. He asked all the right questions including being able to rent it out when he is not using it. So fingers crossed, toes as well if you can manage it, prayers and as many positive thoughts that you can manage 😎