Que pasa!!

Contessa Jewall8 Comments

So much is happening that I can barely keep up. How come I only posted once In June? So many things keep happening on a daily basis. Everyday a new problem presents itself to sort out.

Once again this will be a catch up post in no particular order. It will be written as things pop into my mind ( well hopefully they will )  😎

I started this post on July 5th and then had to leave the computer. I worked from 6:25PM until 7:44PM.  Colin was asking for dinner. I can’t believe how much he eats everyday – tons of protein and fresh fruit. He is always hungry. He truly does need the energy to keep up with his constant exercise routines. 

First of all, an extra shout out to a very special friend who just had recent  knee surgery. She really needs my support and I feel guilty but I am doing the best that I can.  At least I was able to send her an update. On the other hand my dear good and constantly supporting friend just became a grandmother very recently and I have yet to reach out to her. Please know that I love that baby – I have never ever seen a baby born with that much hair. Congrats to my friends, the grandparents and to mom and dad! A wonderful family. You know that I care and that I will get back to you 🙂

Taken this very moment that I am writing this post. I am also trying to listen to the Mexico/England Fifa match. The Mazatlan malecon has almost come to a complete stop as everyone is watching this ever so important match. Last game had this city going crazy and everyone gathered in various areas of the city to celebrate. Love this place.

Our RV is still for sale in Mesa, AZ and has received much interest. In fact one person is working on getting financing to purchase it plus to trade in his 2003 Monaco.  Fingers crossed.

Once again the city dump was on fire. We had a few smoky mornings. Needless to say we felt so bad for the homeless who live there at the dump. It is cleared up now.

June 15th was a vein day for me, I have put it off twice already. Last time in December was very painful. This was a bit better injection wise. The doctor thinks they are looking better. I have decided to only get them done three times per year. Just to stay healthy.

We both went to see our extremely diligent dermatologist June 16th. Last July Colin was treated for precancerous lesions and it was a tortuous treatment and healing procedure. He was so upset with me for putting him thru this. Great news this time – he is perfectly clear.  No treatment required. I am still dealing with non cancerous seborrheic keratosis. It is treated with cryosurgery, liquid nitrogen. Yes it is painful but at least non cancerous. Sadly it is something that I have to live with.

Most of you have already read about the breakdown of the malecon due to unusually constant high wave activity.

Colin calls these the “Spanish Steps”  – the ones we used in Rome.

As of today repair is at 15%. We can see where it happened from here.

Three weeks ago I started online chair exercises for seniors. I managed the daily sessions and now plan to move forward to the 30 minutes per day. I do think it is helping me with mobility issues. Hope I can do it.  I have been wanting to start pool walking every day which I hope will help me with my core and my balance issues. My cryotherapy scabs are almost all gone – then I will start with the pool walking.

Interesting information….

Of course Carlie had yet another issue that we needed to see the vet for immobility. Carlie had jumped off a recliner to the ground when someone ran the doorbell. The vet was so busy that they were unable to reply to us. I simple booked us a Didi and we went directly to the vet who was just out of surgery and was able to see Carlie. She said that Carlie was ok and only had a sprain.  LOVE our vet here.

So sad, Mexico lost to England 3 -2 .  Here in Mazatlan  it is extremely quiet – not even any horn honkings. The malecon is whisper quiet.

….and here I am finally getting back to writing at 7:30PM July 20th.

I have tried many times to get  back to this post. I fall asleep writing it every night and continue as I lay in bed every morning once my mind starts to wake up. But every single day brings new challenges which sweep me into the world of phone calls and online research and solving various problems that seem to come up daily. I prefer to write at night and Colin was okay with the delay but not so much now. When he is hungry he wants food.

It has been overt top hot and humid. Everyone ( especially th locals ) are complaint

It has been over the top hot and humid. Everyone ( especially the locals ) are complaining. Worst ever is getting into a Didi ( Uber ) that has no functioning A/C! I have actually got out  a few times and called for another car…I truly can’t do 15 to 20 minutes with these temps!

We are still in a transition stage of our lives and not yet settled. Colin is constantly researching ways to make his foot work and trying new things. Some therapists have been reduced to once per week and a few new ones added. Things are in constant upheaval with his discoveries and various responses from his body.  There are plans underway to involve our very special and unique chiropractor who lives in Edmonton, Alberta. We think that at this point he is what might be needed.

I actually need to see Dr  McKenna as well. However at this time of year, the flight time from here to Edmonton is about 19 hours with two changes of aircraft. I can’t handle that and Colin certainly can’t. Colin is hoping for an online FaceTime appointment between Edmonton and Mexico. I also have a school reunion on September 1st in Edmonton but my body simply can’t handle traveling that distance for the reunion and one chiro appointment. It would probably take 4 – 5 days return. And of course I can’t leave Colin alone that long.

FYI, it took 20 minutes to write this very little bit…..

Moving on, I started an exercise program in early June that takes a good deal of time every day. And I have felt the benefits of program. Then a few weeks ago I decided to ask pool walking and exercises. We have a pool here and so why not? It was a huge challenge for me but I did do it.

So what changed in the past four weeks????

About the 3rd week of June, Colin spoke with a young American fellow he met in the elevator. They have said hello often since we moved here but nothing more. He mentioned that he was moving elsewhere ( better for him as a surfer and the proximity to his girl friend in Cerritos ). Within ten minutes of hearing this I was on the phone with the property manager. We were unable to see the departamento until July1 st. It is the exact same layout as the unit we are in at the moment. But two floors up 😎   However you may or may not ( it is complicated ) recall that we had to vacate this lovely apartment the end of November as is was rented a year ago ( Airbnb ) and we could not return until April 1, 2027. We knew from day one that the deal was to move end of November and again early April.

We were not looking forward these moves but we had no choice until Colin’s chance encounter in the elevator. The fact that we had two moves ahead of us was unsettling to both of us. So when we’re told that we could rent two floors up for a bit less than we are currently paying, it was fabulous. Of course the price is based on long term rental, at least two years. However we had to commit to a July 31st move. Happening quickly but then we will be settled for a very long time. We are here for as long as Colin’s various treatments will take. There is no way we can afford this level of care back in Canada. So poco a poco 😉

The very best of news is that the offsite owner and onsite property manager are both willing to do whatever we ask. So I am getting most things ( bedding, furniture and kitchen stuff ) removed from the apartment. This will be our home with our things. We still have pieces of art coming from our Kelowna home arriving here in November. Exciting times. We still have about 20 boxes in storage in our bodega at Isla de lal Piedra. Lots to be happy for. They even agreed to take the tiny  😥 yucky fridge away if I paid for a new one 😀

Stored in the shower area here.

The very best of all, they agreed to paint the unit. So I reached out and asked if they would paint certain walls ( I worked around keeping it a minimum ) with colored paint at our expense. Their labour of course!! And they would paint the rest the standard Mexican white 🙁  Colin calls it living in a prison.  I think that we are in a WIN/WIN situation 😎

Sneak peek of one of our walls. Love this color.

In other news, the interested party in our RV which is for sale in Mesa, AZ backed out. Still for sale…..

Somehow Carlie got a VERY serious ear infection. I did my best despite with a vet phone consult but we had to bring her in a few days later as it was serious thing. She is on the mend at the moment. The entire 90 minutes that Colin and Carlie were gone, Ciela sat at the door and cried, whined and whimpered constantly. Even if I held she was rather upset.

To be honest this is only 50% of the que pasa in our current life.

We both started pool walking and resistance exercises in the pool. Definitely effective.

***********continuing July 21st at 6:00PM!

In real time, regarding pool exercises. After the 5th time I was beginning to enjoy it. Well that has been stopped as well.  NOT TRUE!!  Delayed is the proper word. Just want to add that Colin came with me and found some of his exercises easier in the pool. It was not easy for me to get into the pool. I dislike pools and bathings units etc, BUT I did do it. Now that it has been delayed I sort of of miss it 😯 “Did I just say that? ”  To be resume soon!!

This morning we checked out our soon to be apartment.

It took several trips to Home Depot to finally get the paint right. Colin made a decision that I sis not agree with so we went back for the 4th time.

The painting is complete. I love how the yellow changes based on the light.

A hint at the second bedroom color. We found out today that not only did they clean the mattress tops but cleaned all 4 sides and then flipped the mattress, cleaned that and then box spring all four sides. They even cleaned the headboard. So very happy with our property manager.

I had to go to Liverpool at the Marina a few days ago. Totally blown over by this cart enabling us to put the girls inside and walk everywhere shopping. I am pretty certain that we can do all of the Galleria Mall in this super cute dog mobile. Plus the mall IS air conditioned and dogs are AlLLOWED on a leash. Something to look forward to as the heat increases.

Most stove tops here are electric and the one in the new place looked pretty bad. They actually offered to put a new one in. YEAH!!  The fridge that came with the new place is very small. They removed it at my request and I only spent $1,500.00 CAD for a 28 CU FT huge new fridge. It is going to become our very own home and we can hardly wait for the move.

Old stove top.

New one. To be honest I prefer cooking with gas but I need to adapt to the circumstances. I haven’t used electric for at least 20 years.  I need to re learn how to cook on an electric element.

 

The twins do not like A/C and are always looking for a cool place to rest. But if too cold they “ask” – yes they do! – top be covered.

It took about a month but they did eventually adapt to their personal green area on the balcony. It does get cleaned almost every 2 days. Of course they are also taken outside three times per day. The morning walk is the longest re the coolness of the day.

They love rolling and stretching in the heat of the day in their grass patch.

I think that these are new for you to see, if not – please enjoy the second time.

All of my sunset photos were taken naturally with my iPhone. No enhancing. We are so fortuante to live here.

**** 7:30 PM, JULY 21st. Normally I would end this post here! However things have changed and I have decided to update you tonight. I won’t be able to tomorrow!

Over the past few months I have become aware of my inability to see clearly. Foggy vision.  Several times per hour I keep checking my eye glasses for being smudged and dirty. They were clear 🙄  Finally on July 15th I decided to go have my eye glass prescription checked and changed. First the thing this ophthalmologist did was check my eyes. Ahh, you have dirty cataract lenses. My surgery was done Aug/Sept.. 2024. Cataract surgery completed before we left October 2024. I never did see clearly after that.,

I was not comfortable with this eye doctor and sought yet another option. He did not understand English well and I really needed a definite and clear understanding of the suggested procedure.

Meanwhile on July 16th I saw my ear doctor. The guy who last January cleaned/vacuumed my ears completely and then I could finally hear again. I asked home bout an eye doctor.

He referred me to his personal specialist.

Sorry but this is a very very long story.

Last Saturday I went to see Dr. Wong. for a 12 noon appointment. I really liked him and he was extremely detailed in explaining what I needed to have done in order to see clearly. For some reason my new cataracts had developed a film on the inside of the newly implanted cataract lens. Both eye doctors said that it was common. Personally I had never heard of this before.  Bottom line the lenses needed to be cleaned by a Yag laser. Dr Wong was very clear and explained in all in detail. I felt very comfortable with him….only problem is that he is on vacation from Aug 1 – 15. MY eyes are creating so many issues, that I can’t wait that long.

I have Capsulotamia that needs to be corrected by Yag Laser. What heck, we are moving soon.

As I walked out of his office building on the ground floor at 12:25 PM, my ears heard gunshots ( 5 or 6 )!! What 😯  I was so confused but as I saw others ducking to the ground I figured it out. Someone was bring assassinated less than 20 feet to my right. I heard the bullets and saw two bodies on the ground! Enough. I got away asap.  Long before any sirens started.

 😎 

I came out that blue door to the right – just near the red car….!!! I heard the shots and saw the bodies. I and Colin still feel safe here. This was a one time scheduled assassination  and I just happened to be nearby. This does not happen often and this will not dictate how we live our lives here. Please DO NOT FOCUS on this incident. But I feel the need to record it.

Of course I have been rather unsettled but decided to have the laser treatment tomorrow, Wed the 22nd. My eyes are very sore every day and I need to see clearly especially with the move on the 26 th. I have been told ( sure hope it is true ) that it will be a 24 hour recovery.

To be honest I am not looking forward to the laser thing tomorrow, but if it means that I can see and read and use the computer without eye pain then I am happy. Let’s see what the next few days bring. I will let you know the Que Pasa once I do!

Last night.

Tonight. Every sunset is a new painting.

And so I will end this blog post at 9:05PM. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy 39th to us!

Contessa Jewall13 Comments

Mine on the Isla never grew as great as these – taken just in front of our building in a plant pot.

A stormy sky. We loved the freshness from the humidity.

2 doxies on that recliner…

Every night is a new painting….

Yes we are well and alive and doing the very best that we can in a physical sense. Time is our enemy and for some reason, we always have some sort of drama. I started a very detailed  “Que Pasa” post on July 5th and I have yet been unable to get back to it.  We do love living here in this building. The girls are adapting to condo life. I so plan to complete that post ASAP.

We are all resting a great deal.

Colin and I are both working on moving forward with exercises and therapies.

Fortunately we have not had more than three of these visitors.

A stormy sky. We loved the relief from the humidity and to be able to shut off the A/C and to just enjoy fresh cooler air.

A quick meal out after the chiropractor.  It was too hot.

With just a few days to the end of June Colin met someone in the elevator. This fellow opened a new path for us moving forward which will bring us instant peace, no stress and total relaxation effective  August 1st. Bottom line we are moving again staring July 26th – but within the same building.

Our 39th anniversary sunset.

However the past few weeks have been beyond over the top and we were doing well dealing with it all until the past few days.  But that is a story for the next post or two.

It was very colorful

We are happy to be celebrating our 39th wedding anniversary. In a few weeks we will be living in a dream apartment for as long as we wish to.

Beyond amazing.

You are all so very appreciated. Thank you for being in our lives.

 

Who did this?

Contessa Jewall4 Comments

They are just 12 days short of 5 1/2 years of age. I think they will always be puppies at heart.

I do know who did this tonight…..beyond amazing. Every night is a new view.

In other news, we finally bought the twins new recliners – yes it was a pain in the you know where. Took 2 weeks longer for the second one to finally get here. We actually drove to the store and made a wee scene as the pair had been ordered on May 22nd. But within two hours we got that second swivel, glide and full recline rocker. Yes we had paid extra for delivery  🙁  So now everyone has their own special chair except Colin and I 😎

Happy Father’s Day to all we know who are fathers.  I hope you had a wonderful day.

We finally found the correct road map…….

Contessa Jewall19 Comments

…and now are on a direct path of correction. The journey has been much too long and overly difficult. There were various times when each of us did not think of being able to survive. At one very dire point we actually found someone to take in the girls as it was just too much for us.

It is time to move forward and only forward.  Yes the nitty gritty happened and will eventually be documented for those who care to read about it – actually not one thing went as planned. From the signing of the house papers here in Mazatlan ( had to do it 3 times ), to the actual move date ( they were 90 minutes early and it was the hottest day to date this year and I had to pay double as we had so much stuff and oh they bashed a corner of the condo wall ) and so on and so on. We are still living with unpacked boxes all around us. Working on ordering storage pieces to use here in the condo. We do love the view and that has been been keeping us positive. The best is yet to come. However today I finally ordered ear plugs as it can be rather loud until about 2AM.

The RV finally got moved to Mesa, Arizona where it is for sale on consignment. We had gone thru several potential drivers – one was actually in transit to Mazatlan when he was denied boarding at his transfer point airport, as a few years ago he had damaged the numbers on his passport having used hand sanitizer!!! I kid you not…..suddenly we had to find a new driver and once he got here the trip north had serious issues such as theft and including the US border being closed as they drove up – had to spend night at border gate. So the RV is in the USA  😀

I can’t believe that we have slept here since May 1st.  Our departamento as they say in Spanish is a huge work in progress. Many changes there as well. Turns out that we can stay here until November 30 but must leave until March1 due to prebooked repeated Airbnb guests. Colin decided that as were were here for 6 months that we should unpack…half the storage is taken up with the Airbnb bedding, dishes, etc. We want to use our personal things and that is very important in keeping us stress free ( what a joke – there is NO STRESS FREE for us ). So not much space to unpack…so I am using TEMU!!!  Great prices – if you are very careful with what you order.

The girls are NOT happy. Ciela did not eat for 5 days. Taking them out to pee – huge nitty gritty.

Oh and the lady we hired to clean was a bust  – details later.  She was a no show the second week.  Found someone yesterday and they are a husband wife team. I spotted them cleaning  in the other tower and Colin went on a search and got access to where they were. They will be here at 9AM tomorrow. OMG, even if I go to bed at 10PM, 8AM is WAY TOO early.  My body is demanding sleep. Please do not ask about my fall off the toilet!! Well if you MUST know.  Last Tuesday I got up about 12:30AM to pee and fell asleep and next thing I knew I was laying on the hard ceramic bathroom floor. I will spare you the photos of the bruising and the dent in my head. Colin could not hear me calling due to the traffic noise but the girls came. Of course they  were no help but I eventually got back to bed. Still over the top sore.

I thank you all for your very heartfelt Birthday messages. Colin sort of forgot, so your overwhelming FB response made my day – more or less. Not going to discuss that day.  But you all kept me going.

For my birthday I went and ordered two swivel rocker recliners. The furniture here is not comfortable and I have no place to sit and relax. Hope it comes sooner than later…that reminds me.  we have had no TV since we got here. It is not compatible to our system of taping on a USB. So Colin pushed himself and went and purchased a TV and tried to set it up. Have hired TV/Computer Guru (3 times I think @ 1000 MXN each visit ) and now on the 3rd TV we have success.  Totally exhausting for all of us.

Best news is that the house in Kelowna is officially sold but even that was a massively huge stress issue. Extremely long story short, the buyers lawyer made a mistake and their monies were frozen for a week or so. We only found at 4:30 PM the day of completion – I think!!  What to do? It was suggested that we let the buyers move in without receiving payment for the sale!  Umm a BIG NO!!!!

So much stress and chaos all around.

And of yesterday we have officially sold our home and have the actual funds in our bank account.

I hope this helps explain why you have not heard from me!

Colin has increased his therapy ( I may or may not have mentioned that ) and we are busy every single day.  I hope that we will settle to a new normal by mid June.

Much more to come, please don’t give up on us.

PS….well someone had to make a choice…so I did……sending this blog post without photos so that YOU get this asap. You can be sure that I will send those photos…eventually. I think that today might be our very last difficult day!!

It’s just that it bothers me, that you remain in the dark as to the que pasa of it all!

Thank you all for your constant support  😎

 

 

We are alive and well and working on moving forward!!

Contessa Jewall24 Comments

Why am I always having to explain myself?

Photo by Colin just off our balcony, taken this afternoon.

Since my last post, it has been immensely difficult for us to function on a day to day basis. I had no idea that things could get so very intense. It took all I had to keep Collin anchored and myself functioning.

We have moved to Mazatlan – with difficulty. But for the most part are very happy.]

All the following are from the past 14 days.

We are still unpacking and working on settling in.  Of course new things have occurred as to our our future plans. All remains in limbo.

 

Today is the very first day since the move that we both (well, all four of us had a nap at the same time ). Actually Colin and I were in the midst of a discussion re future plans when we both fell asleep. So very many various scenarios in our future.

God’s sunset is a new creation every evening.

 

We have started on the healing journey and only have so much energy.

I just wanted to share that the four of us are dealing with the situation and everyday gets a tiny bit better.

Don’t worry as I intend to share every nitty gritty detail but for now it is important to share with you all that we have survived. I suspect that my past posts and what is to come is worthy of a movie. .Anyone want to write the script?

Every sunset is the inspiration we need to keep moving ahead. The difficult parts are almost done….

Please give me a few weeks to unwind and catch up with myself. Colin has maintained but this week he has made the decision to expediate his therapy schedule…..he really wants to improve even faster.

We so appreciate that you are hanging with us thus far…..

 

 

It was exactly just a year ago today…

Contessa Jewall16 Comments

…that Colin suffered a stroke.  A stroke that left my dear husband totally paralyzed on the right side.  Fortunately he did not lose his speech. Unfortunately he used the power of the word often that first month about not wanting to keep living as he was. The medical team told us that Colin was lucky to be alive. That a stroke in this part of the brain has never been recorded in a patient in the medical books as ever having recovered. That if he lived he would be basically remain a vegetable. The doctor told Colin to go and buy a lottery ticket as he was very lucky.

It is because of Colin’s extremely strong mind and will power that he is walking today.  The guitar playing hopefully won’t be far behind. I never gave up trying to find the very best therapists. We spent everything we could on therapy and more and trying this and trying that. We seem to have found the perfect combination. One more year and Colin should be back to as normal as he ever will be.

Lots of resting between the tiring therapy sessions. The girls always sit with him.

Now we need peace and quiet and time to do want needs to be done.

Oops, one less doxie to pack!

But first we must get through the difficult week ahead of us. As you read in my last post the house in Kelowna, Canada has been sold. Tomorrow we meet with a Mexican notary along with our brand new ten year Canadian passports that recently arrived.  All the paper work will be properly notarized and sent back to our lawyer in Lake Country, B.C. whom have been ever so helpful to us. Completion on May 27th and possession is May 28th.

The smaller of the two iguanas teases the girls.

We have to be so very careful when opening the RV door so that there are no more battles. Can you see the iguana on the top of the fence post to the left of Carlie’s ear?

Meanwhile back here on Isla De La Piedra we are awaiting the arrival of a second potential buyer for our 45′ Monaco Signature RV. The timing of this buyer has caused some stress but it is good stress. Well can stress be good? Maybe I should say a positive stress because the stress is still physically painful and mentally challenging. It is a welcome stress but must be lived through to get to the end result.

Lots of fragiles to pack.

It takes me a few hours to get started but once I am on a roll – watch out!!  Let the packing begin. It seems that I all have been doing is packing storage totes and now large cardboard boxes. One even came with a scorpion, our first one. Fortunately Colin dealt with it before I saw it. It is rather amazing the amount of things we were able to ‘cram’ into this RV, so very much storage. Nice to have all that we brought from home. And in repacking I am not throwing very much out. Glad those difficult decisions were made the summer of 2024. As I said in my last post, we both had hoped to spend more time in the RV but it that was not in our future.

We had a medical appointment last Wednesday. For the first time in 16 years we were held up for 40 minutes by “that train”!  It blocks the road we have to cross from the ferry boat lancha to get a taxi to get into Mazatlan. The embarcadero is so close to the shipping docks that this train thing happens perhaps once per day. But this was a record long blockage. The doctor waited to see Colin. Mexico is great.

So suddenly we are having to pack up and move quickly. This potential buyer has not yet actually confirmed that he is arriving May 2nd but if he does and buys the coach he is planning to leave here on May 3rd and drive it back to the USA. He is not retired. The gentleman is actually selling his personal RV, today, April 27th.

The older sunset cruise boat.

Fortunately Colin and I had already rented a condo for May 1st. We had expected to move in slowly over the month but now we are moving in mere hours. It has been flurry of activity and planning  and arranging a multitude of details. The rental truck is booked for 2:00PM May 1st and so on and so on…..

And the very fancy newer boat.

But what you don’t know is that this move is only for 3 months!!!  The condo that we intend to live in long term is only available on August 1st. So we are moving into an Airbnb for 3 months in the same complex. Only we are moving into one tower of the complex this week. You guessed it  8O! We have to move yet again the end of July into the other tower. We figured it might take us 9 months to finally get organized 😮 Who else but us would move twice 😳 I know, I know – but it will be so worth it.

The blue line on the left is our 3 month rental commencing in only four sleeps while the red line on the right represents our long term rental starting August 1st.

It has been bit of a difficult several weeks as we have been low on water. It just stopped coming in from Mazatlan. We have it less days than we have it which makes it difficult to get all the laundry done that I had planned to do while packing.

Fortunately 90% of what I wanted to sell has sold which has been helpful. Especially as we are paying for rent for two locations the month of May.

We sold our UTV to a lovely family from Rosario.

Well I best get back to the packing….my priority –  but I needed a break so I posted.

Only four more sleeps.

Thank you all for waiting for me

Contessa Jewall49 Comments

I love you all and feel so bad about the dozens of you who were so very worried about us and who emailed and sent comments. Honestly our lives have been out of kilter – I really don’t know what words to use to describe the past several weeks. Quite the upheaval. It was beyond stressful and I often just did not eat ( no time ) and went to bed when exhausted. Not the proper way to lose 7 – 8 pounds, no time to weigh myself. Heck, I sometimes went 3 days ( and once 4 days ) without a shower. Just no time. I lived on the computer.

I had to force myself to get Colin’s pills sorted daily. And of course feed the twins, but Ciela is very certain to let me know when she wants to be fed. Perhaps she has been feeling the strain.  Many days she wanted 2 of her 3 daily feedings at the same time. She insisted that her tummy be full. Carlie is always hungry.

Oh my, I just peaked out the window and there is an outstanding sunset happening. But I am committed to writing this post so no photos.

Speaking of photos, I have files & files of events in photos to share with you including Carnaval fireworks and the parade. Do you want to see this or just move forward?

Not sure I can do this in any sequence.  I think I am simply going to express what comes to mind and move on from there. Hang on for the ride.

About three weeks ago, I purchased one of those grounding sheets you see all over Facebook. I LOVE it…..I am finally sleeping more than 45 minutes at a time. I have even slept up to 3 hours a few times during the night.

Oh….get to the point you are saying!!!!!!!  We are all well. But it has been beyond frantic. I will never be able to describe it all to you. However Carlie did have an adventure with an iguana, not once but TWICE. The first time she must have bit the critter as she had blood all over her muzzle. The second time the iguana took two chunks out of her side, Thank goodness we have the best vet in all of Mexico. She came first thing the next morning and brought 3 medications, I already had the pain pills on hand, thank goodness. Her charge was only 60.00 CAD including coming here on the launcha and the medications.  She was here this past Wednesday to check and the wounds are healing with no infections. No charge for that visit.

Colin thinks that by the time his foot is better we won’t have enough time left for RVing.  We also figured out that this is our last year for our temporal residency. So we would have to get rid of of RV within the next 10 months unless we import it, which is extremely expensive. But as Colin can no longer drive it right now, we had to make a very difficult decision. The RV was put up for sale on the Monaco RV website.

We will import/nationalize our 2015 Jeep but that will cost us $4000.00USD.  We would rather keep our vehicle than buy a used vehicle here in Mexican that we have no idea how reliable it is. But we still have time to get that done. Tons of research and phone calls just on this alone.

And of course we had to deal with our Canadian taxes, due the end of April. Done and paid.

Oh and then I realized that our Canadian passports were expiring early May. Colin did that research. We had to go somewhere in the middle of nowhere to get passport photos. Then Colin even went on his very own into Mazatlan to the Canadian Consulate to make sure we had crossed every T!  We had not.  Semana Santa was in the middle of all of this. Today  ( a full month later ) we got our new ten year passports, very nice booklet, but no comment on the passport photos 🙁

We were very anxious to receive these passports as they were required at a meeting here with a Mexican notary to sign the documents re the sale of our house.

Yes we finally sold our home on the beach in Kelowna  😀

A huge amount of time online has been spent on the sale of this house.  I think that it might have been easier to give birth to twin dachshunds 😳  So many back & forth with the buyers, the realtor and the lawyer and so and so on and so on. As of this past Monday, I believe that all is well and the sale will proceed with the closing on May 27th.

Enough said…..

Oh yes!!!!  We had listed the RV 😎  Lots of back and forth but the RV is here in Mazatlan and the buyers are in the USA. Then suddenly a very bright and promising light appeared. A lovely fellow “M” from Colorado actually flew down here with his friend. We had nothing to hide as I have always been totally honest on this blog and “M” wife found my blog. Good for her.  “D” I loved your gift and wished I could have met you in person. M and his friend Joe ( did that medication help ? ) were so delightful. They went thru the RV with a fine tooth comb. It took a few weeks to get the final news, but M & D decided to go in a different direction and did not purchase our RV.  Honestly it hurt but M was open and explained that they liked our RV but their life took a turn. Good luck to the three of you.

Not too many days later we got an email……hey – now do you understand why I have been totally busy online and not able to post???

We will find out early next week, but it appears that yet another fellow might be flying in to purchase our RV.

We wake up every morning to new things that come out to be dealt with. Seriously no time to eat nor shower…

The plan was for us to get the RV moved to Arizona in August but people are interested and want to see it in Arizona. So with a huge amount of effort on Colin’s part a plan was made to transport the RV to Arizona mid May.

What????????????????

Where will we move to and when and how??? We were to be here a year and had to tell with our landlords ( they love us and cried ). We thought we would leave in August.

Suddenly we have secured an apartment for 3 months beginning  May 1st, because of the RV being sold.  The place we were hoping to get and WILL get is only available August 1st.  Definitely tons of online effort.

So It appears to me that we have a place to move to on May 1 BUT the RV is not yet sold . Nor has the Kelowna house sold yet. Are you beginning to understand that we are living hour by hour as well as day by day!!

And that is just the top ten items…

Dozens more that I am dealing with….hour by hour.

Oh, I have been selling our things including patio furniture  and plants and anything else you can think of.  Stuff we will no longer need as we will be living in an apartment.

It took us a long while to come to terms with selling the RV, to having to leave the Isla and so on. However we have had 16 winters here on Isla de la Piedra. As you know our hearts are here, but logically it is time for a change. We have to move because of our permanate – we can no longer live in the RV.  It certainly hit us hard once we realized the truth. But with Colin not being able to drive the RV right now, it was time for a change.

Neither of us can use the Playa Sur embarcadero which is a short walk away. So we have to drive to the main embarcadero  and cross the shipping channel each and every time he needs to see a medical person and take Didi / Uber. That often adds an hour in each direction. Very tiring.

In the past 5 or 6 weeks we have added a few new therapists. The reflexologist was good for a few weeks as long  she worked on his feet, which was her specialty. Then one day she worked on his hands and created a great deal of pain. end of that. Then a wonderful person came to us with her special therapist Sebastian. He is a kinesiologist and our chiropractor was  ecstatic that we found him…..he is the only one in Mazatlan. Our chiropractor plans to use him for his clients.  Long story short, Sebastian has made a HUGE improvement to Colin’s ability to walk. He is here twice per week, plus we have physiotherapy weekly ( she is the best ever ) and we see the chiropractor biweekly.

Yup, we are busy and we sold the house ( which involves a lot of things that I refuse to go into other than to say they are time consuming  ).  Hoping to sell the RV next week.

Meanwhile we have started to pack our personal times within the RV.

I apologize re falling behind in my blog posts.  I honestly did not have free time to update you. I was just trying to survive each day and figure out how to feed us.

Truly I have no idea how the next 3 weeks will be   – we don’t even have a move day yet.

But once we are get moved I can promise you sunsets like you have never seen. And I will do my best to post at least once per week until we move. You are my family ( we have no other ) and you mean the world to me. Please stick with me for a few weeks longer. Doing the very best I can……

 

😥

 

 

 

 

 

 

We re safe in Mazatlan!

Contessa Jewall11 Comments

Hola to all our friends! At this time we are safe in Mazatlan and in our case on Isla De La Piedra. As you can see by reading the news there has been some upheaval in Mexico today. Basically a head honcho in the cartel system was killed and all cartels are retaliating. Many states in Mexico have been affected but Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara the worst cities with lockdown in place orders issued including airports closed.

The first map shows earlier in the day and the various states affected, the second map ( a few hours later ) shows Sinaloa ( where we are ) being moved from yellow to red.

 

Villa Union – posted by Mazatlan’s main newsier, the Noreste.

Colin and I are safe and made the decision earlier to cancel our first social event in Mazatlan since the stroke and stay here on the Isla. Since then the road through Villa Union ( only 7 miles away ) has been closed with burning semis and I read that bus service within Mazatlan has been suspended. This is a difficult time for all of Mexico and we sincerely hope that all will be clear in a few days.

We have also been personally advised to not leave the Isla by three of the top people in the know here on Stone Island.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!!

Contessa Jewall21 Comments

I just want to let you all know that I really do think about you all. However at the moment we are super busy ( when aren’t I )? Right now I need to think about my family and our future. Things are changing very very slowly – but in a forward direction.  There will be light at the end of this long dark tunnel 💡

Colin continues to progress almost weekly. He is beginning to see changes more often. Two days ago he started to get some feeling in his large right toe 😀 Last week Sophia, his physiotherapist noticed how the tendons on the top of his foot are starting to form and grow. Colin exercises for many hours every single day. He is constantly inventing new methods to strength his right leg. He truly pushes himself and it is starting to show day by day.

We have made the decision to sell our beloved RV. It is not in our future to keep RVing. In about five or six months we will be making a change in our address for at least a year or two. We have not had much free time to find the perfect location but this place is calling to us. Still in negotiations.

Fingers crossed that this unit ( marked in red ) will work out for us.

The second largest mercardo in Mazatlan is less than 2 blocks away, we can see Centro which is only a 1.5 km walk away. Plus we see where the cruise ships dock. And the pelicans fly past at eye level.

We love where we live and day by day and enjoy all that the ocean presents to us. Be it dolphins, sail boats coming and going every few days and these small fish – moving very quickly thru the water – almost like they were walking on the water.

The girls continue to be enthralled with our resident iguanas. I love how they just observe so very silently, hour after hour.

This is the largest of them.

I was doing the math the other day and we have been living here on the Isla de la Piedra every winter –  now a total of 16 years. Of course longer each of the past few years. But 16 years !!!  I know of two ( perhaps 3 ) other RV couples who have lived here a year longer than us. Had Colin not had the stroke we would still be RVing but at this time we must make certain required changes to our lifestyle. Sixteen years is a very longtime to devote to a particular area in Mexico. We have given in so many areas including promoting the RV Park to encourage others to visit here ( especially when traveling here was not the thing to do ), to providing a variety of forms of music to this area and even feeding those in need during COVID. It is difficult to make the decision to move into the city of Mazatlan but we are ready for new adventures.

Looks like something tasted ready good.

Mamma and baby??? Referring to the iguanas!

From the back bathroom window.

A better effort another evening……