IT'S A DOGGONE SHAME

Loreto Bay is a dog-loving community. Sometimes it seems as though there are almost as many dogs as people in our little community and for the most part we live in people/pet harmony. Most of us are responsible pet owners. We walk our dogs on leashes, we faithfully stock up on poop bags so we can pick up their poop and deposit the waste in a garbage can and we try to keep our dogs from being a barking nuisance.

Now here comes the but…

Unfortunately, a small minority of dog owners don't follow these simple rules - rules, by the way, that are clearly spelled out in our HOA rules and regs. Their dogs can be seen running through the community unleashed and unsupervised. Their dogs tear up the landscaping and poop with abandon throughout the development and the thoughtless owners expect the gardeners or security guards or someone else to pick up after their pet. I've walked by some homes and heard the howls and barking of dogs left home alone while their owners are out playing golf or relaxing by the pool or, as is the case with some renters, off at work.These kinds of thoughtless pet owners make Loreto Bay less enjoyable for all of us.

Zoe says keep your pets leashed and pick up their poop!

The mess left by irresponsible pet owners is annoying and unpleasant (especially if you happen to step in it - ugh), but it's not the worst that can happen when a pet owner doesn't follow the rules. There have been several cases in the past year of unleashed dogs attacking leashed dogs. There have also been some problems at the beach where many dog owners take their dogs to run off leash because HOA rules don't apply there (and, let's face it, dogs need to have a good romp once in awhile) and in a few instances a larger aggressive dog has gone after a smaller dog with injuries resulting. But even if an encounter doesn't result in injuries, it's still scary for the pet and the pet owner. I know because we've had a couple of close calls with our dog, Zoe, and it was damn scary. 

So what can we do? We can report offenders to our HOA administrators. I'm not crazy about that policy because it makes us the pet police, but it's all we've got at the moment. So let Associa know if you see someone violating the rules, because the owner is the violator, not the dog. The dog is just doing what comes naturally and it's up to the owner to make sure that his or her choice to be a pet owner (and it is a choice) doesn't make life more difficult for everyone else in the community.

To those very few dog owners who don't follow the rules: Please keep your dogs leashed; please pick up after your pet; please be a responsible pet owner! Your neighbors will love you for it.

Baby, it's cold outside

The sun may be shining and the sky may be blue, but it's cold here in Loreto and all one has to do is look around to know that's the case. The standard issue Baja uniform of t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops has been replaced with socks, jeans and jackets, and, in some cases, even woolen hats and gloves. George and I are bundled up whether outdoors or in, but still my toes are cramping and I have to pull a blanket over myself - and Zoe - while watching television or reading. I turned the heat on for the first time in three years and we're even taking hot showers now and that just doesn't happen in this part of Baja! Good grief, we're freezing to death down here.

Zoe keeping warm  in the sweater she got from her BFF Maryanne

Last year at this time daytime temps were in the upper 70s to low 80s. This winter we've seen highs that only reach 60 (gasp!) and lows near 40 degrees. Those of you north of the border may scoff, snort and send me photos of people shoveling out from under several feet of snow. My response to all that potential scoffing and photo sending is this: What the heck are you doing there? Get thee to Baja where you can at least lose the snow shovel!

We've been staying indoors a lot lately, only venturing out to take Zoe on her walks or when cabin fever propels us out the door and into the wind and cold. We've been hit with blustery 20-30 mph north winds during this cold snap, which really makes it seem cold - as in up north cold.

I've been keeping busy, though, by baking and cooking. And, of course, what I'm baking and cooking is good, old comfort food. Bread and rice pudding have been at the top of my list. I thought I'd take a page from my friend Sue's blog and post a most awesome recipe for rice pudding I found online. Thank goodness for the Internet and Mr. Google. I honestly don't know what I'd do without them. Credit for this recipe goes to The Frugal Chef at thefrugalchef.com:

Creamy Rice Pudding

1 cup short grain rice

1 1/2 cups water

2 cinnamon sticks

1 cup whole milk

1 – 14.5 oz. can evaporated milk

1 – 14.5 oz. can of condensed milk

Powdered cinnamon

Wash the rice well and place it in a pan with the water and cinnamon sticks. Simmer it for about 10 minutes, until most of the water is evaporated. Add the milks, mix well, and bring back to a simmer. DO not cover the pan and make sure it does not overflow on you. If it starts overflowing give it a stir. Cook the rice for about 20 minutes or until it is fully cooked through.

Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the pudding to a bowl or individual ramekins. If you are not going to eat this warm, cover the bowl or ramekins with plastic wrap, placing it directly on top of the pudding so as to prevent a crust. Sprinkle some powdered cinnamon on the pudding when you are ready to serve. 

In my humble opinion it is the sweetened condensed milk (nectar of the gods!) that makes this so wonderful and creamy. But I also learned an important lesson when I made this the first time and it's a simple thing we can all learn from: Don't leave out one of the ingredients when making this pudding! I forgot to add the whole milk which resulted in a very hard pudding. But it was still good, just not very creamy.

I also learned something about cinnamon, which I couldn't have discovered without help from my friend, Mr. Google. I used the last of my McCormick's cinnamon sticks when I first made this recipe earlier this week. The pudding was gone in a flash, so I decided to remake it but had to run into town to find more cinnamon sticks. The type I found is very different in appearance from what we get in the States, but I figured cinnamon is cinnamon so I bought it anyway. Not so! The type sold in Mexico is Ceylon cinnamon which is much lighter in color, more brittle and flaky and much less flavorful. My research also revealed that the type used in the States is mostly from Indonesia and is darker and more dense with a much stronger flavor. I didn't let that stop me from making the pudding again, but I am going to order some of the good stuff and ask a friend to bring it down for me, along with vanilla beans which I haven't found anywhere in Baja. Which is odd because Mexico is renowned for its vanilla. Just another strange anomaly and one of many that keep us scratching our heads.

The good news is that our cold spell is on its way out with the forecast calling for warmer temperatures every day this week, which means I can get out of the kitchen and try to work off some calories!

Hurricane weather

Zoe is not a happy camper in all this rain!

It was one hell of a summer and now it's one hell of a Fall as Hurricane Paul makes for our part of Baja. The storm is approaching Baja at a Category 2 level, but will hit our area as a Category 1, bringing 30-40 mph winds (which doesn't sound too bad, but that remains to be seen) and even more rain. Hurricane Paul : 5 Day Forecast Map | Weather Underground

Jorge Macias, our home owner association administrator, stopped by a few minutes ago to warn us about the impending storm with suggestions on safeguarding our home. Thanks, Jorge, that's what I call going above and beyond! We'd already started stockpiling water and shoving towels under doors and now we've moved our lighter outdoor furniture to safer locations, so we're as ready as we're going to be. 

Aargh! Not again!!

The problem we all face here in Loreto Bay when the winds kick up is loose tower tiles flying through the air and wreaking havoc. And all this rain means more leaks and more interior damage. We heard of a couple of cases of water just pouring in through people's ceilings after the last rain and this go-around sure isn't going to help. More mildew, more mosquitos and more slogging through water. 

I suppose it helps to think of this storm as an adventure, but that's hard to do when we've had to deal with all the earlier rain and storms. I know I'm not alone in saying, "Hey, nature, enough's enough!"

A whale-sized adventure

One of the highlights of living in Loreto is the annual opportunity to see gray whales (ballenas gris) up close and personal. Hundreds of gray whales make the yearly trip to the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur from the cold seas around Alaska to calve in the warmer waters along the coastline. Luckily for us, one of the prime breeding grounds is only an hour and a half away at Magdalena Bay located at Puerto Lopez Mateos, about 25 kilometers outside the small town of Insurgentes.


The whales start their migration in October, making their way down the west coast of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. The 5,000 to 6,800 mile trip takes two to three months and by late December and early January the whales arrive and the calving begins. We plan our trips for mid-March when the babies are older and less shy. By this time, most of the mothers seem relaxed about their little ones socializing with humans and even proud to show them off.


For the second year in a row we made the trip with our friends, Tracy P. and Tracy W., with the addition of Tracy P.’s cousin, Meghan, from Alexandria, Virginia. It was Meghan’s first time in Loreto and her first time to see and touch the friendly, playful mothers and babies.


We all decided that last year was good, but this year our experience was spectacular! Check out the video and you’ll see just what I mean…

FAQs

Since George and I moved to Loreto more than a year ago we’ve been inundated with questions about life here south of the border. Some of the questions are downright silly and some have merit, but there are a few that keep cropping up, just screaming to be addressed, so here goes!

“What made you decide to move to another country?” This is a legitimate question and deserves a thoughtful and measured response... I sure wish I had one. Truth is we were up for a big adventure and after trolling the Internet for possible retirement locations we happened upon a Web site for Loreto Bay that struck a chord with us. The site was filled with photos of a beautiful place – a desert landscape we were familiar with being from New Mexico with the added bonus of being near water. The views are of dramatic mountains to the west and the sparkling Sea of Cortez to the east. It was a no-brainer. Bottom line is we were seduced by a Web site, which only goes to show the power of really good marketing.

“What do you do all day?” This one is harder. When this question has been posed (which is often), I’ve always stumbled and tried to rely on my wit and that hasn’t always worked, which should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me. My typical response used to be something along the line of “a whole lotta nothing.” So much for my wit. It’s actually hard to describe what we do all day. We putter, we talk, we walk, we ride bikes, we hook up with friends, we lollygag and we shoot the breeze with anyone and everyone, in short, we have a great time. We enjoy the scenery, the people, the food and the lifestyle. Hey, it’s retirement! But after an unfortunate encounter with someone who persisted in pressing me for a different response (and how weird is that?!), a friend told me the best response is to simply say that we enjoy life. (Thanks, Robert!)

“Aren’t you afraid of the drug violence in Mexico?” No. Although the news north of the border is full of dire predictions about the fate of gringos in Mexico, the reality is that we had more to fear from drugs and crime in Albuquerque or most anywhere else in the States than we do here. Just for clarification, the vast majority of drug violence takes place on the U.S./Mexican border, which is 700 miles north of Loreto. Enough said.

“What do you eat?” Food. Really, really good food without the additives, hormones, antibiotics, refined sugars and other icky things that are staples in the States. So, what do you eat?

“Isn’t the language barrier a problem?” It should be but it isn’t. The people here are more than willing to help us with their language. We stumble and fumble and they smile and help us along. And the really cool thing is that they enjoy helping us understand their language.

“Don’t you miss the States?” No, we don’t, with the exception of family, friends and Costco. OK, I really miss Target, too, but that’s it.

“Don’t you get bored?” Are you kidding?? We live on the Sea of Cortez, which means we have access to water, water sports, wildlife including beautiful birds of all kinds, colorful fish, playful dolphins, swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, boating, sunny days, incredible sunrises and sunsets and beautiful vistas. That one is definitely a no-brainer.

“What happens if you get sick?” We have gotten sick and we went to the hospital here in town, we were treated and it was an eye-opening experience in that it was totally unlike going to the doctor or hospital in the States. We waited all of two minutes before we were seen by a competent doctor. We were escorted into an examination room by the doctor (not a nurse or receptionist who, in the States, leaves us in the room to wait another 45 minutes before seeing the doctor) where he asked us about our problem (it was a tummy thing) and then proceeded to order tests. We returned with the requested test results (which we picked up the same day) and after reviewing and explaining the test results, the doctor wrote out a couple of prescriptions. We were charged nothing for the consultation and the doctor’s time. Zip, zero, nada. The tests cost the equivalent of $18 USD each and the prescriptions were about the same. And we recovered from this common intestinal problem after a few days of treatment. All in all, it was like visiting the family doctor 50 years ago. No paperwork, no hassle and no wait.

Any more questions?

That George is one lucky guy!

Life is all about the milestone markers. When we’re young those milestones have a triumphal feel. “Hey, I got my driver’s license!” “ I can vote this year!”
“Let’s go get a drink, I’m finally legal!”

But as we get older, those milestones sometimes feel more like millstones around our neck. Our bones start aching, our joints start creaking and wrinkles pop up in all manner of strange places. When those things start to happen the passing years become a lot less exciting. Let’s face it, once you hit a certain age birthdays can be downright depressing.


George marked one of those milestones this week when he turned 60 – a very youthful 60, I’d like to add. But his milestone took on the feel of one of those youthful triumphal moments thanks to two friends here in Agua Viva. The two Tracys (one a home owner, the other a friend of her’s who visits regularly) decided it would be fun to celebrate George’s last day as a 59-year-old by preparing a pre-birthday meal before they left for home the next day.

We were greeted at the door of Tracy’s casa with the news that lobster and steak would be served, as well as baked potatoes, salad and fresh bread from Loreto’s newest (and best) bakery. My first thought was “Great!” my next was “How am I ever going to top this!”

Watching the two Tracys in action was like watching a synchronized Olympic event. They displayed a combination of gracious hospitality and intensity of purpose that was a sight to behold. The drinks were divine (massive quantities of vodka paired with cucumber and mint, yum!), the conversation was entertaining and the meal was superb, including an excellent wine Tracy 2 decided she'd like to share with us. But the highlight of the evening was watching these two friends as they worked in tandem to prepare the meal. They were so in synch it was almost scary. How’d they do that?! They shrugged off the compliments and went out of their way to make George feel special. And they succeeded. What guy on the verge of 60 wouldn’t be thrilled to have two good-looking young women cooking up a storm for him?

Thanks Tracy and Tracy for making George’s coulda been a millstone into a very fun milestone. You two are the best!

But that wasn’t the end to the 60th birthday festivities. A bunch of friends came over last night to help us celebrate and both of his birthday parties have me thinking that maybe turning 60 isn’t so bad after all…

Lazy daze

A friend pointed out to me yesterday that I've been remiss in not posting the news that George and I moved into our completed home a month ago. Considering the fact that the whole point of this blog was to share our Loreto Bay construction journey from start to finish, she's right. So for the record I'd like to announce that our Casa de Nuevos Suenos is finally a reality. From top to bottom our home is a thing of beauty. And other than a few minor glitches like a broken water heater (we're in our third day of no hot water) and a leaky dishwasher, we're very happy with our home.

The problem I have in putting fingers to keyboard can be summed up by the title of this post. Since moving permanently to Loreto Bay four months ago, I often find myself lost in a lazy daze. Life here in Loreto Bay moves at a much slower pace. Each day flows seamlessly into the next, so much so that I find myself surprised that an entire week has passed. It’s a peaceful lifestyle and one I've grown to love. The days are full, although not very exciting. I read (too much probably), I putter around the house, I complain about the heat, the dust, dirt and construction noise, I lay on the beach and read some more and generally indulge in the kind of indolent, non-productive behavior reserved for lazy no-counts (like me) or the fabulously wealthy. Although George indulges in the same kind of laziness, he's also very involved in our Condo Sub-Regime and spends part of every day on emails and condo regime business.

Apart from all that lolling around, the most rewarding part of living here are the people we meet, and so far we've met and enjoyed the company of many fellow home owners. Shortly after moving into our home we hosted a roof-top party for our Agua Viva neighbors and a few of our Founder's neighbors. It was so much fun to share (and show off!) our home with fellow home owners and we were very gratified that more than 30 of our neighbors showed up for our bash. Everyone brought something to share so the food and drink was outstanding and I don't think I'm far off the mark here when I say a good time was had by all.

We also spend at least two or three nights a week meeting friends and neighbors for dinner or drinks and getting together for the weekly "music night" wherein George and other musicians in the community meet to play music and have a good time.

In short, we are very lucky and we know it.

On the other hand, the least rewarding aspect of life here in Agua Viva is the uncertainty about our phase of the development and the increasing costs we’re all being asked to pay. Sometimes these problems seem so overwhelming we aren't sure if our dream of a completed and viable community will ever become a reality. Our biggest fear is that some home owners may become so disillusioned they decide to throw in the towel. All I can say is please don’t! The only way we can make this work is to come together as a community of like-minded people. And for the most part, we are like-minded. Most of us bought into the vision of a sustainable community and that is still a work in progress. We need everyone to remain committed to the dream of Loreto Bay or we’re doomed to failure. And we’ve sure come too far for that to happen.

In its own humble, dusty way, Loreto Bay is a paradise, but a paradise with some thorns. It's up to those of us who care about this place to make sure those thorns are pruned, so that the vision we all bought into can be realized.

To mark the beginning of this new chapter George and I have decided to rename our home and our blog Casa del Milagro, because it is most certainly a miracle that it exists! Look for future postings about life here in Agua Viva, which I’ll try to generate with more consistency.

Life's a blast

Orange Blast, that is. We got word this past week that our pleas for an exterior color change from Baked Clay (a lovely color, but not our first choice or even second or third) were taken to heart by LBC and we'll now have our second choice, Orange Blast. We headed to Sherwin-Williams upon getting the news, bought a sample size of the color and promptly painted an old brick. Within an hour the paint had dried revealing a wonderful warm pale yellow with slight orange overtones. We're delighted with the change because darker colors absorb heat, not good for us since we plan on spending most of the year in our Casa Encantada.

On a not so happy note, our construction start date may have been pushed back from the end of June until the end of July. We're hoping to find out for certain within the next week. Unfortunately, we've discovered that the information flow from LBC tends to run like molasses in January, regardless of the season! We like our account manager, but the lack of acknowledgement to our e-mails or phone calls can be quite frustrating. We're hoping for better communication in the near future!

George and I are still going back on forth on our furniture options. We've read some informative posts about furniture shopping in Baja and we've also talked to Joel Sherman at Casa Mesquite on a number of occasions. Our problem is that we've got some family antiques on George's side that are quite lovely and we'd like to incorporate them into our home. We also bought a fabulous copper dining table from a small American-owned company headquartered just north of Mexico City. We'd like an eclectic feel to our home and any suggestions on furniture makers in Mexico would be greatly appreciated. Specifically, we're going to need wardrobes and accent pieces. Unfortunately, Joel indicated that he wouldn't be able to fill orders for individual items.

Next up is news on our totally cool electric scooters!