CHRISTMAS SEASON

The Baja is Different!

Me, Barb, and Pat out for our early morning walk.

Dody, Joel and Oregon Gary

These are just a few of the people we meet on our morning walks.

Mike and Nancy had a palapa-warming happy hour!

Ted, Irene, and Debbie

This is our compound on the beach. At far right is the palapa, then the new market tent, and
then the lanai with the RV behind it. What I couldn't get in the picture is the boat, the boat
trailer and the car.  Beach folk are calling our site the Taj Mahal.  What you can't see inside
the tent is the wood floor Bob built with partitions that divide the space into a cooking
area, the bano(bathroom), and a bedroom. We call it The Annex.  This way, we don't have
to buy a bigger RV.

Cooking area

         

Bob's bedroom

The bano

Bob enjoying some time out on the water.

Trying out the new spinnaker.

KARIN VOLKMANN       

The Exercise Lady  

              


I first met Karin in the early 2000s when she worked for Ballys and
I went there for my workouts.
As the weeks and years went by,
I watched her train various clients and
was impressed with her work with
older clients.

Karin with Tucker and Callie (her "children")

About 10 years ago, I realized I wasn't pushing myself hard enough, I signed on to be trained by Karin. We have become
good friends over the years.  About 3
years ago, I told her I need to get ready
for knee replacement surgery. I wanted
to lose weight and get my leg muscles
stronger. She was very instrumental in
helping me reach my goals. I ended up
having two knee replacements and 
Karin was right there aiding in my recovery.

My knee with replacement part

Both knees now look like the X-ray on
the right here.  Because of these metal
parts, I have to be specially scanned at
the airport to make sure I'm not hiding
a bomb.

Friends forever  (we're often taken for sisters)

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

Learning a new Device!


This summer I bought a 10-inch fire tablet with a
keyboard that I can attach or not, depending on
how I want to use it. I have engaged the help of
friends (thanks, Karin) and strangers (thanks guy
working at frozen yogurt place).

The above picture of a shell garden has nothing to do
with the text but I felt a photo was needed.  Unfortunately
I don't have my photos available to this device yet.  I shall
have to venture out and rely on the kindness of strangers
to get them synced somehow.

I'm looking forward to seeing old friends and
partaking in beach-type activities: crafting,
shelling, pot lucking, etc.

These "flowers" were fashioned from gourds
by Gwen of the Jamaican accent.



I love the turquoise-colored water of Coyote beach 
with the deeper blue water out further.

And then we have many whale sharks in our bay as
they cruise back and forth feeding.

LET'S FINISH THESE CRAFTS!

You Knew It Was Coming!!

This is an art piece of strung shells and beads created by Philli who is from Holland.

Our project here was to make a birdhouse by twinning 
seagrass.  We started with a big knot, then twinned
around the strands from the knot.

Anne's birdhouse
ended up looking more like a pufferfish.                                                     My birdhouse.

My basket

Round reed baskets~~seagrass twinned around spokes of
round reeds.

Nan, Kay, Deb, Anne and our lovely baskets!

My basket

The flat reed baskets are pretty much the same as the round
reed baskets.  They look very different because of the difference
in the reed spokes.

CRAFTS CONTINUED

Will It Never End?

Our neighbor's fish cleaning station which attracts many seagulls. They do not forget and come back
every day demanding more scraps. And, thus, we get the Seagull acapella choir.

After the kelp baskets,  we learned pine needle coiling in a wall hanging. The coiling was around a fair sized sand dollar.  Sea grass was added to the coiling and a piece of kelp for a hanger.

This is my pine needle wall hanging.

I enjoyed working on a gourd the best.  We first chose a size and shape, `decided how and where to cut it, scraped and sanded the inside, then painted the inside. Deciding what to do on the outside is the challenge!





This is my gourd~~I'm very pleased with the
results.

I gave this to my walking buddy, Barb, for her birthday.

KEEPING UP

Better than being DOWN!

Finally a fiery red sunrise!

We have again spent two nights in Loreto in the Hotel Plaza to experience a little respite from the beach.

      The broken pot on the right with twine holding it
together typifies conditions in Baja!










        A few weeks ago the streets were full of Mardi
Gras.  On Saturday night there was a parade that
seemed to feature the whales that people come to
Loreto to see.

This weekend is a gathering of beautiful motorcycles that make a great deal of noise.