Hello again, from Mexico,

I think it’s been about a month since my last update, maybe even longer. I’ve been enjoying winter here. Christmas eve, we had snow, but just a dusting on the ground, and it got really, cold after dark. Then, the wind started blowing something fierce, actually rocking the RV. I let the two big dogs sleep inside all night. They don’t like wind, and they’re both getting slower, because of their ages. They both find it a little harder, to climb in and out of the RV, so, I pamper them all I can. I keep just enough heat in the RV at night, so nothing freezes up, but, at least, it’s out of the wind, so it’s snug and warm, for the dogs. I used to put up a wooden barrier at the end of the bed, when I let them in, so they couldn’t get past the sink in the kitchen area, but, for the past couple of months, when I let them in, they stay back there, without a barrier. They learn pretty quick, that they’re not allowed beyond a certain point. Dogs are like that. Once they know something is a no no, they never forget. All of my dogs are good, and since I know I won’t have at least three of them, more than another year or two, if that long, I don’t mind indulging them a little, from time to time.
I let Dozer, my sixteen to eighteen pound combination Shih Tzu/Lhasa Apso, sleep in the RV, every night, because he won’t sleep in his dog house. If I leave him out, he sleeps on the metal step of the RV, right at the outside of the door, so I threw a rug back against the wall, under the table, and that’s where he sleeps. It gets below freezing, and I suppose he’d be okay outside, but I don’t mind him being in here. He just sleeps all the time, when he’s inside, except when I feed him. I always feed the three small dogs, inside, and the big ones outside. That way, they don’t get into each other’s food. I have to feed my little black dog, soft food, since he doesn’t have enough teeth to chew anything hard. That little guy has to be at least fourteen or fifteen years old, because I’ve had him since early in 1997, and he was a mature dog then. But, he seems as spry and active as he always did, even though the hair on his head and face is almost grey. And, he still has an attitude. He growls, even when I pick him up, unless he knows I’m feeding him. Since I have to give him soft meats and cheese, I feed him in the little compartment in the RV, above the cab, so the other two smaller dogs, won’t get his food.

Oh, one other thing. I was typing today, on the computer, and detected some movement. out of the corner of my eye, and looked over on the bench seat of the table booth, where Scout (the dog that was gone overnight, back in the summer, that I was afraid I had lost), was laying on his side, with his back to the wall, and all four of his little paws were flipping, to beat sixty. He must have been dreaming he was running, or swimming. He looked so cute, like a little wind up, animated toy dog. I reached over and shook his paw, and that didn’t phase him. He may have thought a dog was chasing him, or maybe he was chasing a female--a more likely scenario. He’s normally so easy to wake. I can say speak his name, or make the slightest movement, and he’s up in a flash, but today, he was, out of it. I pulled on one of his legs, and he finally opened his eyes, and looked disoriented, for a moment, which he never does. He’s always instantly awake, if he thinks he might miss something, or, if I say, “Come guys, let’s go out.”

Finally, he got his bearings, but he must have been dreaming, or having a nightmare, to be running like that in his sleep. It was so funny, I had to watch him for a while, and he kept it up for at least forty-five seconds, or a minute, before I woke him.

The water froze up in the source to the park, once already, but the landlord got it fixed, by noon. The weather here is amazing. It gets so cold at night, that my dogs water, outside, freezes up solid, and I have to take fresh water from inside, to them, first thing in the morning, but then, during the day it gets so warm, that for a least a couple of hours, almost every day, I have the door, and the windows open. It’s because of the altitude, it gets so cold at night, but I’m far enough south, that’s it’s warm during the day.

It’s plenty snug inside my RV though, with the one heater on low all night, it comes on automatically, if the temperature drops below about sixty degrees, and, I have an electric blanket on my bed, so I’m always very comfortable. I keep it set at about five, which is medium heat.

It was quiet around here on Christmas day, and about 1:00 p.m., I was sitting in my RV, wondering what I would fix for my Christmas dinner, when my landlord’s son drove up in their pickup, and brought a huge casserole, filled with Mennonite foods, creamed corn, with some kind of a custard in it, rice with shrimp and potatoes, smoked, pulled pork, which was so tasty and good, some kind of a beef dish, marinated with spices--very tender and tasty, meat balls, and sautéed carrots, fixed with squash. His mother also sent a separate container of salad, made with cucumbers, feta cheese, lettuce and carrots, plus a big bag of homemade rolls. I told her son, I had just been wondering what I would fix for my Christmas dinner, so I told him, they must have been reading my mind. It ate a meal that night, and made up four additional meals, and froze three of them. I just ate the last one, a couple of nights ago. They are really good people, and I take them food about once every week, or two.

Day before yesterday, Sunday, they had a group of people at their house, for dinner, and their son, came again, and brought me a meal. This time, it was just one meal, some tortillas, guacamole, salsa, grilled steak, rice, and a salad. Really looked and smelled good, so I was anxious to try it. I had it for dinner that evening, and it was very good. She’s a good cook, and I’ve had a chance to try things, I’d never tasted before. I took them a huge aluminum pan of lasagna about 2 weeks ago, then a week ago yesterday, Saturday, I took a big roasting pan full of homemade enchiladas, and yesterday, I took a big stock pot of soup, made with so many things, I won’t even try to name them all, but it was very good. I usually always take enough for two or three meals, since there are six of them.

The landlord told me a couple of days ago, he had a call that a caravan of RVers is coming in sometime this week, 21 Rvs, and they’ll stay two nights.

He said he used to get a lot of caravans coming through during the summer, but with the cost of gas in the states, people just aren’t traveling in RVs the way they used to.

I remember when I was living and traveling in my RV, back in the nineties, I used to see so many RVs on the highways, but since about 2004, they’ve just about disappeared. It’s rare I see them anymore, and I rarely see any in this part of Mexico. If people have RVs here, they’re probably living in them, like me. I’m sure there are still a lot of travelers, along the coast, though. That’s where all the resort areas are, and everything there also costs twice as much as it does here.
There’s a leak in my RV, coming from somewhere, that gets the rug, in the middle of the floor, soaking wet. I keep sopping it up with a rug, that I take outside to dry, but tomorrow, I’m going to have someone take a look at it. It must be a leak in the reserve tank, or the water line. I know it’s not the dogs! They never do anything inside, besides, it doesn’t have an odor. I’ll have to get it fixed, because eventually, it will rot the carpet, if I don’t. I just have no idea where the water is coming from; it only started up, about a week ago.

I’m still finding things in the grocery stores down here, which I try from time to time. There are so many things I’ve never seen in the states, and so far, I’ve liked everything I’ve tried. They have some crackers here, that are made like a combination cracker, and tortilla, that are so good with dip. I make my own dip, most of the time, with cream cheese, finely-diced bell pepper, onion, black olives, and tomato, then add chipotle seasoning, very tasty, especially with those crackers. And, I still love their tomato/celery juice, and their flan. I keep flan, all the time, and have a little container of it three or four nights, a week. And, there is an ice cream bar here that has a mocha chocolate coating on it, dipped in toasted nuts, over vanilla ice cream, that is to die for. Also, they have a sour, key lime sherbet bar, that is awesome. Mike, you would love that. I remember how much you liked those sour, lime popsicles. Their cookies here are incredible, and their bread and pastries, outstanding. I love almost everything I try. There are many fruits and vegetables that I still haven’t tried. I did get some watermelon a couple of weeks ago, that I threw away, because it didn’t have much taste, but that’s the first fruit I’ve tried that I didn’t love. Last week, I got some plum colored, seedless grapes that were enormous, almost as big as walnuts, that were awesome, and I just ate the last of them today.

About the only thing I’ve never bought here, is meat, because I had so much in my freezer, when I moved down here. I think I still have a couple of pounds of ground beef, and, at least three or four pounds of chicken. And, I have plenty of cheese.