Friday, November 19, 2010

Photos, Generator, Mindy, House Plan, Forum

Welcome new followers! I've been asked for photos. I will oblige shortly. Right now, my photo ops are rather limited. I've lost some plants. My lot is not landscaped and won't be until after my little house is built, some time next year. $$$ constraints. I hope that my fruit trees are becoming dormant for the winter. They are devoid of leaves. We'll see in a couple of months. My beautiful schefflera is totally d e a d, just as it had begun to grow new leaves. I'll have to replace it in the spring but will plant it in a large ceramic pot. This way, I'll be able to move it inside when there is a risk of close to freezing temps. We did have a cold snap a while ago when the night temperature dropped once to -4 Celsius and kept around freezing for a week, but at night only. The days are superb but the nights confirm that there is a winter season here as well. The Pacific beaches have more of a tropical flavour and weather but I do love Tequisquiapan. It seldom is unbearably hot or long enough to warrant air conditioning as it does in more tropical places. And the change of seasons without ice and snow feels both familiar and lovely.

I have gone through a difficult time attempting to get my generator fixed. And it has kept me busy physically going on a search... (Since I have no car, it means using public transportation; it eats up so much more time!) A friend's husband had tried to fix it a while back but accidentally set the whole thing on fire. Now it appears that many components may have been damaged. It has become a costly and hopeless proposition. I'll simply drop it. I can live pretty well with solar energy but cannot use my washer. So I give the large items, like bath towels and sheets, etc. to be laundered elsewhere and look after my own clothes by hand.

Mexico also goes on Daylight Saving Time and since we switched back to Standard Time, my days have sensibly shortened because it gets dark around 6 p.m. Without the use of my generator, I must do EVERYTHING during daylight hours. Running the computer at night is now impossible as it would lower my batteries' voltage way too much. I had faced a similar problem in the desert. So now, it's definitely Early to Bed, Early to Rise; I'm certainly healthy, I'm nowhere richer, and will eventually find out if I've become wiser!

Something weird happened to Mindy. Before the girls reached puberty and got their first heat, I got them spayed in San Juan del Rio. Everything seemed to be going fine until a couple of weeks ago. Mindy appeared to be in heat! I took her to the vet as I'd been told that a vaginal infection might provoke similar symptoms. Well, all was clear and she was indeed in heat. The vet said that it sometimes happens when a few cells of an ovary are unwittingly left behind and begin producing estrogen. While there is no risk of unwanted pregnancy she's been pathetic, ardently approaching any male regardless of species that would venture forth on this side of the fence. A bit embarrassing for all but guileless Mindy.

I have been working on my plan for the little house. I must have revised it 5 or 6 times. But finally, I think I've got it. After I mark the perimeter of the house on the lot with powdered lime, I'll get a definite confirmation of it. When I did it a while back, it made me realize that my plan was all wrong.

Also, I haven't stopped checking the internet about adding a forum to my new blog. I have spent DAYS copying html codes, inserting them in my new blog template, even lost it for a while to my great consternation, all without success. It's driving me nuts! But I've been raised with the D system (for Determination) ingrained in my bones. I'll get it going!

So, please forgive me for no new photos. I'll remedy it this weekend.

1 comment:

Barb said...

Your life in Mexico sounds much nicer and easier in lots of ways, but harder in others. You have a lot of patience - thankfully! I don't think I'd like to have to do the "early to bed, early to rise" thing, because of the sun going down, but I guess I would if I HAD to. Probably it's a more healthy way to live. Like in the "old days."

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