Another great day

The shrimp boats are out in the water and surfers are bobbing around and waiting for the next big one. The weather is a little overcast but warm and nice. Lots of activity around. Fernando is painting the rails on the deck and Angeles is cleaning the kitchen after my spurt of cooking yesterday. I made oatmeal cookies, and fried some chicken. I have started cooking more since I got back from San Francisco after Thanksgiving. I guess I realize how much I miss USA food. So I am generating my own. Hector called from Mexico City and he is coming back to Sayulita Tuesday, good news. Today was my birthday and received lots of Happy Birthday wishes. Not going out for a dinner tonight with friends as I still am a little under the weather. A little chest infection and some antibiotics, and I'm feeling better. My friend Dee called to say she is leaving Belize and going to the oil fields of N.Dakota. She worked in the oil fields of Alaska and can drive big rigs. She is following the money, she's got gumption as Grandma Moody use to say. My friend Veronica is gallivanting all around S. California and plans to arrive here in January when she will rent my Studio. I picked up Julia at the airport the other day so the old Riviera Nayarit gang is slowing returning.  Me I am just sitting around enjoying the beautiful weather. Today I guess I will study some Spanish and catch up on the political scene.

A whale of a day

Back in Sayulita after a quick Thanksgiving in San Francisco. It was a short trip encompassing some business, some pleasure. My brother and his wife came to SF for dinner. It was very nice. :-)) The weather is again perfect with the ocean being quite rough and noisy last night. The birds are in full noise, large yellow, blue and of coarse  the Chacalacka's. (hehe) I'm sure I spelled that wrong. Of course the little bugs are in full force too! They come in too many sizes, shapes and colors to even begin to describe. My Architect and friend Hector is in Mexico getting ready for surgery. He had a small cancerous growth on his ear. He says it's cold in Mexico City!  Went to Mega and Wal-mart  (yes we have both within 20 minutes) today with my renters, Bic and Roni, looking for decent binoculars for whale watching. We didn't find any :-(( The whales are out there, I saw a spout about 20 minutes ago. I got this nasty cold from jumping to San Francisco and back to Sayulita in 5 days. So this blog may be a little blah, like I feel today. But I don't want to lose my blog space so I have to put something here......the sun is about to set, what a sight!!  Hasta luego amigos.

A new season a new day

Here I am once again in Sayulita.  When I get here it's always so beautiful. That humid air I feel when I get off the plane says hey we're back in the jungle...my personal jungle is so green and full of birds etc. An architect is building a house adjacent to mine. She said my jungle was gorgeous and hoped I would never destroy it. Well I am one of the few that built my house without decimating the landscape first. Like she did!! The city had a very slow summer and the locals for once are hot for work. Americans are afraid of Mexico, they don't want to come here, hmmm I don't want to go to Oakland, California for fear for my life. Parts of San Francisco aren't that safe either. I guess it's just a mind set. The house fared well as the summer was mild. Fernando was on top of everything. My friends and neighbors are filtering in. Lots of welcome back dinners' and after noon beers at the beach. It's hard to be a recluse. I am sitting here with every window open and enjoying a nice breeze off the ocean. Netflix streaming has come to Mexico, awesome, best new thing so far this year......our own Pemex should be open soon as well. Could things be better??

Carmel Valley Weekend

Drove to Carmel Valley to visit my friend Gypsy Vero for the weekend. She has a lovely little private home in the woods on a mountain side. She had a little gathering of friends. Poets, Writers, Artists of all sorts, neighbors, old friends and the such. We sat on the deck and insulted one another with relish and enjoyed it immensely. V cooked all the food. It was a gourmet delight :-))   My brother Jimmy and his wife Dana were there. They joined right in. Dana is photo buff so she took many pictures. My brother and Dana arrived in Carmel Valley in an RV. He rented it and drove from Sacramento to see if this was a viable way to travel. It was a nifty (that is a 50's term) van. Quite not what I expected. Lots of space, great layout and nicely decorated, very tasteful.(LOL) And the cat loved it! So a good time was had by all. I am back here in San Francisco starting to pack up to return to Sayulita, Mexico. It's been a busy summer, and over all too soon. I am a little sad to leave SF but I will get into the swing of things quickly in Sayulita. All my Sayulita friends will be returning from all over the USA for winter on the Nayarit Riviera.....  I think I have my San Francisco apartment leased for the winter months. I will know tomorrow, if so I will need to get out of here and return home to Sayulita very soon! Adios San Francisco,  Bienvenido Mexico.

A foggy day in San Francisco

I have been back from Sayulita, Mexico about a month now. The weather has been good until this week, it has been miserable. Cold, windy, foggy, drizzly etc. It's good tho to be back. My friend Gypsy Vero (see her blog) from Carmel Valley visited along with Fred from Arizona. We went to see the Picasso exhibit at the De Young and out for Dim Sum. I miss the food when I am in Mexico. Since I have been back I have had good ole American  food, along with  Indian, Italian, Chinese, Thai, etc and I haven't even left the neighborhood. A new large whole foods like store (Mollie Stone) opened within a block, so now I bop down for all my organic foods, yeah like I'm an organic food nut (LOL) besides I can't afford 2.69 for my Greek yogurts. I can get the same at the mission Asian markets for 1.09. Am I getting cheap in my old age? But hey convenience is worth something, I think.... I am always bitching about the prices in Mexico but the prices here are absolutely astounding. I got my car washed down the block and it was 21 bucks, only 10 bucks last year. Hey there is inflation going on. The dishwasher went out yesterday and I was complaining how it's practically new, then I checked the warranty and its 6 years old, where has the time gone, but still I would expect at least 10 years on appliances. Things are good here and it is nice to be back....... 

One day more

It's early evening 7:30, the water is very choppy and there are no surfers in the water. There is a hurricane (Adrain) off shore but not coming in. The skies are dark and threatening but the sun is beaming through it all to make looking at the water almost blinding as the sun reflects off it. I have the house completely open and there is a stiff cool breeze blowing through rearranging everything that is not weighted down. It feels invigorating, most of the day was hot and humid with only a slight breeze. We may be getting rain tonight. I went into PV last night to my friend Ariel Sainz latest gallery exhibit. Just two years ago he was a struggling artist, still is, but after a very successful showing in a prestigious Mexico City gallery his paintings are taking off. The sales are as much to do with  his improving technique as anything else. The gallery showing last  night of his latest paintings blew me away. Not only how far he has come as a painter.  He has a painting that I actually lust after. But it's in the thousands of dollars. If it wasn't in the gallery I might be able to get a discount as I have been one of his patrons.  His current paintings are flying out the door. It's so good to see someone making it when you knew them from the very start. Arial took me to dinner at one of  the best restaurants in Pv. A Mexican hole in the wall but wow. muscles, squid, calamari, shrimp. Behind the purely Mexican facade was a 4 star restaurant. Then I took him to dessert at Rebecca's in old town. Great evening. Night before last went out with nine friends to Calypso. I'm getting ready to return to SF and I'm sort of saying goodbye. Normally I try to avoid large dinner parties.....Had my Spanish lesson with my friend Fiora in Malibu this morning, it's not likely we will be talking fluent Spanish anytime soon, if ever. :-((  Also talked to Veronica (The Adventures of Gypsy Vero) for a couple of hours. Amazing how Skype has become a integral part of my life. Enough............

another day in the life

I am sitting eating Giro's and drinking Kick. Giro's are Mexican Oreo's. They got it right. I can't put them down! kick is a Pepsi drink combining ginseng, caffeine and the flavor of cola..... It is way too hot to venture out of the house today. Last night I walked all over town. They are putting in a new street down the road a few blocks from here and working through the night to beat the winter rains. An unusual sight, normally these projects can go weeks without showing any progress. The new bridge into town is a perfect example. It too should be finished soon, it has been in the works since last September after the torrential floods here washed away the old one. The new bridge is very substantial!! It will take a tsunami to dislodge it. After my walk I stopped for a pizza (small!)  With the rains the flora and fauna is changing.  The trees profusely blooming yellow lost all blooms in the rain. Now all trees blooming orange are in full florescent bloom. Never noticed the color thing before. The chachalaca  birds have quieted, they are extremely loud, and huge. The birds are scary here, they congregate in large numbers and then fly in circles around the house, very unnerving......:-((   The Whistler's are in control, I never see them but they never stop whistling....... Enough drivel for today....

not just another day

We got a jungle rain last night. It was hot and heavy. It's been a long time. The crabs are showing their heads and soon I will be crushing them as I walk down the steps. The ants are ferocious and everywhere. I'm sitting here watching the sunset. We have some cloud cover and the sun is creating a huge bright spot on the horizon which glistens on the water. I can see the water is dotted with many surfers. The waves aren't that impressive. I'm not a surfer, this is a surfer town. Dude!! Tonight I will walk into town and have a couple of taco's at one of the many street taco restaurants. Plump juicy tacos for less than a dollar. I love taco's but hey I've been here since November and I wish there was more variety of food. For such a little town we do have many upscale restaurants but they mainly are closed for the season. So taco's it is. Soon I will be in San Francisco eating a different ethnic food everyday and wondering why I would ever leave San Francisco. That is of course until next season begins here in Sayulita.

another day

Yet another hot day in the jungle north of Puerto Vallarta. I have been inspired by my friend who blogs as Adventures of Gypsy Vero. It's mid day and from my vantage point I can see the shimmering blue water of the Pacific Ocean. The windows are open and the waves are pounding and a cool breeze blows through the house. I came here several years ago and built this spectacular house to forget my woes. As life goes I have none but can't help obsessing about imaginary ones!! As the season has passed here most of my winter friends have scattered for cooler summers. It is quiet. Only the locals and a few foreigners stay for summer . It's hot here but not unbearable, yet. Soon I will return home to San Francisco. Why have I chosen Dread to call my blog. I dread everything: going to the store, out to dinner, studying Spanish, writing this blog, you name it (LOL)  Once I decide to do these things then I don't mind doing them. Strange..................