It’s Been So Long

Wow. It’s been a long time. i miss you guys.

It’s kind of hard to describe how I’m feeling about being back. It’s all really good. Sometimes a little overwhelming. I miss the weather already (it’s Sept 17). It was cool here tonight but we were at an outside party and it really was okay. It’s light fall weather. It’s different, though. I do miss the weather. I also miss something else that I can’t quite put my finger on. Witnessing the poverty in Mexico hurt me every day.  But witnessing the weatlth here hurts me almost as much.

One thing I remember noticing right away was the cars in Vancouver (particularly West Vancouver). They are all new. And Mercedes, BMW, Tesla, Audi, Alpha Romeo, Ferrari, all of them. All new. Here’s my last cab ride in Mexico:

We drive an old van. A Honda, but a 2007 (we bought it used whe we got back, as we had to leave our old Honda 1999 van in Mexico). A Tesla (or any EV) is better, but can’t afford it yet. I personally think that we should stop new fossil fuel powered car sales now. Let the used ones run out their lives with proper controls.

Anyway, I do notice that there is more excess here. Oh f-ck, a lot more. I’ve been gone long enough that this is not normal. And now I think, why should it be…how can it be? But I guess it might always be. And that’s the problem with the world.

Now, it’s September 26. Nothing much is happening. Waiting for “operations” to schedule a pick up of our stuff, all of our stuff in the world, from a storage locker in Lynnwood, WA, where our Mexican shippers put it when they realized they can’t cross the border because of Covid. I have no idea what’s going on. We’re using an international mover on the island to try and sort it out. House closing has been delayed until October 29. So really only another month, maybe. But what if we have nothing to put in it? I guess I’ll worry about that on October 29.

I did go to Dad’s at the end of August, had a few days and we went out to eat and hung out with him and Syl and had fun. It was a fly-by though, didn’t get to see everyone else. Next year. We are in the rental now until May next year, even though the house is supposed to be ready. We will just go back and forth.  It’s a super-short cab from the float plane harbour. 

I feel like we still don’t know what we will be doing or where we will be after next spring. Not sure buying that blue house was smart (now a charcoal gray house, btw, our choice) but the market has gone up a great deal since we did. At this stage, it just seems to complicate things because now we have to live in it. But we’ll get everything sorted out, we always do. By Easter, we’ll have a handle on the next 10 years. Our end of year annual plans (for 6 mo, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years) should be interesting this year. We’ve got three months to figure out where the third act takes us. 

We attended a fundraiser that our daughter throws for her projects in Africa and now, Mexico (water cachement systems). It was incredible. She usually raises mid-six figures and now I see why. She does an incredible job. Photos below.

What else. Oh yeah, I took a photo of my dead cousin, Tom (the younger), and made something from it for my sister-cousin, Sharon. It actually looked much better than this — and I’m going to do it with another photo of him that I have. Of all things, I got that blue tint at a walmart email in your photos and collect them thing when I was in Ontario with Sharon years ago and finally figured out how to backlight it. It really worked well. There’s a project that was pretty simple but ended up taking seven years to finish. I did the holes right away, and never found the parts to complete. I’m creative, but not technical. Hell no.

What else? Working away. Stuck on a couple of creative projects, they just aren’t coming right now. Maybe I’m trying too hard. I have a couple of contracts, one particularly good, so those are paying the bills. CW is considering what he wants to do with his third act. A lot of the last couple/few years have been focused on his back and then selling the house and then getting out of Mexico. We’re both sad about the dogs I think – Rosie is fine and having a great time at her dogsitter/aunt’s house, she loves it there. And the borders are still closed so there is nothing he can do about driving her anyway. And he’s pretty much decided it would be kinder to leave her where she is. I hope he gets to visit her this winter. The only issue would be the pandemic. And how long she lives.

And me, I’m still sad about PJ. There’s more to talk about but I really haven’t sorted it all out yet. And Junior, I’m still grieving him. Mexico has not been great for our dogs. And then there was Waylon, in San Miguel. Those of you who are old-timers will remember that tale. I wake up thinking about them sometimes. Waylon not as much, as it’s been seven years and we had him briefly. PJ and Jr. more. Time will tell if I ever get another one. But I sure miss having one. It’s been over 40 years since I’ve been dogless. From the left: Piggy Caesar, Kato (Cato really), Junior, Rosie, PJ (Piggy Junior).

Ok, enough about that. No dogs until we know what we’re doing and spend a couple of winters travelling to Spain and maybe Portugal. So we say now. But I’m not done grieving #3 and #5 yet. and #4 is still alive, albeit in Mexico with her godmother (that’s a good name, or is it…dog-mother?) In any event, it’s not time for a new dog. So she says.

I don’t know what to think about Covid. We just have to watch and see. I probably had no business flying in August (domestic) but I was careful and wasn’t around many people at all. And did survive. But we need to hunker down again this winter, all around the world. We are more protected, we know more (they know more), there are more effective treatments, it is getting easier. But FM it has not been fun. In BC, no indoor dining unless you are fully vaccinated after October 23. Which is when we may go out and have a meal. Right now, you need one vaccine to dine indoors. We’ll wait. We can meet with fully vaccinated friends, I have no issue with that. It’s strangers I have an issue with 🙂

We are creating a back area for when it starts raining this year. And it’s really temporary, this is a rental. But it will progress. I need an outdoor rug, an old one as it’s likely to get wet somewhere down the line. We are testing the plastic cover, will add it all around and add a hanging heater over the table. And it should be fine. This extends from our office. I’ll take photos of that, sometime. But the rental is nothing special. However, the location is prime. And it will stay green all year, which helps a lot. I just have to make sure my head is ready for this weather ??? but it won’t be.

I should really close and send this. Life is good. Still on hold. Missing the weather and our friends who are still there, and missing the dog. But otherwise, delighted. It took us a long time to get here. I do think we can start to unwind a bit now. Maybe more so after our stuff crosses the border, but still. I’ve been traumatizing myself with the thought that we lose it all somehow. I guess that would be another big lesson. Hopefully, not one we need, LOLOL.

I don’t have a song. Most of the time I do, but I don’t today. Stay safe, stay informed, stay kind. Get vaccinated and even if you are vaccinated, wear a mask inside. One more winter of this, and hopefully not as bad or as restrictive as the last one. And send me a note and let me know how you are 🙂

Hasta Luego/B