http://community.webshots.com/user/brendamaa
Hi, I have taken some more pictures of the yard today. Rather than take up all my storage space on this site you can see the pictures on the above link.
Partly cloudy,windy and cool here today. Ugh!!! Gotta love this Alberta weather!!!
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Spring????
25/05/2005
Spring????
Well not much to say today. It has been windy,raining and chilly here the past few days. Even the dogs do not want to be outside!!! I am hoping it warms up, so that I can get some yard work done.
Roys' passport has still not arrived; but must be on its' way, as the cost has been charged to us, so hopefully it will be here shortly. The weather here is just making us want to get going sooner!! We have decided that we will probably leave a bit sooner than expected, probably in the first week of October rather than waiting until later in the month.
Spring????
Well not much to say today. It has been windy,raining and chilly here the past few days. Even the dogs do not want to be outside!!! I am hoping it warms up, so that I can get some yard work done.
Roys' passport has still not arrived; but must be on its' way, as the cost has been charged to us, so hopefully it will be here shortly. The weather here is just making us want to get going sooner!! We have decided that we will probably leave a bit sooner than expected, probably in the first week of October rather than waiting until later in the month.
Friday, May 20, 2005
Springtime
UPDATE: PHOTOS ADDED HERE NOW. 
Hello, just a short note to say that I've added some photos to the Guaymas album and have also started a new album of some pics. of the yard. I will be adding to the yard photos as the summer blooming progresses. The cowboy and cowgirl at the yard entrance I made this winter, I prefer the painted versions to the black silhouettes. The fish are in a fair sized pond that I had the neighbor excavate with his backhoe! The river starts at one end of the back yard, goes right across the yard and empties into the pond. Yes, it has a major size pump,with a 2" hose that sends the water under the creek to a spillway and runs it down the creek back into the pond. I haven't gotten the pond filled completely yet, it takes alot of water, so fill it in increments. It looks like the rain is over and the sun is back out, so I guess it's back to mowing the lawnssssss. Bye for now, hope you enjoy the photos.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
I'm Back
Hello, we have been really busy here. Spent alot of time getting ready for a yard sale and then having it, this past weekend. It was a very busy weekend, and we got rid of alot of old stuff that has been hanging around taking up space.
We got lots of rain Monday and yesterday,so have been taking a rest!! Today I got busy and got the fish outside into the ponds. I am glad to get them out of the house again, finally. Anyone want some fish next fall????
Nothing much to report on our trip at present, just waiting and wanting to go!!! 149 days and counting!!! Still waiting on Roys' passport. I was hoping it would come yesterday or today, as he is on days off, and he has to sign for it when it comes; but no such luck. Oh well, guess it will come in due time.
Well that's it for now.
We got lots of rain Monday and yesterday,so have been taking a rest!! Today I got busy and got the fish outside into the ponds. I am glad to get them out of the house again, finally. Anyone want some fish next fall????
Nothing much to report on our trip at present, just waiting and wanting to go!!! 149 days and counting!!! Still waiting on Roys' passport. I was hoping it would come yesterday or today, as he is on days off, and he has to sign for it when it comes; but no such luck. Oh well, guess it will come in due time.
Well that's it for now.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Gotta Love Canada Post
Well.... despite Canada Post my passport finally arrived today, still no sign of Roys. On the envelope was a sticker saying " this item did not meet delivery standard as a result of an incident within our operations, etc. etc.. Go figure.... Canada Post messed up!!! Hard to believe that in these times, when you can send information from one side of the world to another in mere seconds; and, we can put men and machinery in space(also repair it there if necessary), that Canada Post cannot get an envelope from Ottawa to Alberta without having an "incident". Kinda makes one think that not all the Space Cadets are working at Nasa, doesn't it????
Well that's it for now.
Well that's it for now.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Here I Am Again
More about the area we are going to. Guaymas is a major shipping/fishing port(lots of shrimp). The pleasure fishing in the Sea of Cortez is also great apparently; according to what we have read. There are 2 large marinas in San Carlos, full of private boats. A web cam that we watch from there shows one of the marinas. The other web cam(the one I prefer) , can be controlled, and you look at whatever area you want. Usually I just look at the view of the bay, expecially when the weather here is nasty-- nice to check out the bay/boats and palm trees. Here are the links to the web cams if you would like to have a look around. http://www.marinaterra.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?Action=LoadCam&Word=994a1fc1ed682427059162dba3a3b295&Title=Vista%20Panoramica&lang=EN_US and http://www.cybercosecurity.com./webcams.html .
During our online travels we have chatted/emailed with a variety of people. When we first began to think of leaving our lovely Alberta winter, we intended to go to Belize. That is a whole other story!! We did end up talking to some very nice people though, and had the opportunity to housesit there for a month this June. We didn't have our passports ready yet and didn't want to give up our summer here and have to return home for winter. We also knew we couldn't afford to stay away right from June to next April (10 mths.)so we decided to pass it up. That was kind of disappointing.
We have chatted with people from Belize,Veracruz(Mexico),Xalpa(Mexico),Lake Catemaco(Mexico), Hermosillo(Mexico),Guaymas,and 1 who lives part-time in Empalme(Mexico) and part-time in Phoenix. On our trip down we are supposed to stop and have a quick coffee with the person we have been chatting with in Hermosillo, he has been very helpful with information about the area and various other cities. He has visitied Guaymas, as he has relatives there.
We read alot of information on various forums and these are also helpful when we have queistions that we can't find answers for elsewhere.
While we are there , of course we won't have our computer. My crystal ball shows major withdrawal in my future!! Good thing I love to read!!! We will be using internet cafes, which is the reason for this blog. We thought that it might be easier to do this rather than emailing everyone separately. We will see. I can already see that I am much more verbal on here than by email!!! This reminds me of my mother writing reams of letters at Christmas time. Something that I have never been good at!! I am happy to say that my typing is better than my handwriting so you should be able to read this!!
It should be interesting when we arrive in Guaymas, as while we are having Hallowe'en, they are also celebrating a holiday called the "Day of the Dead". This is when they honor and remember their loved ones who are no longer alive. It sounds like a beautiful celebration. Families clean and decorate their loved ones graves and celebrate their lives. This celebration lasts anywhere from 1-3 days.
Christmas there is also celebrated for a much longer time than it is here. We are looking forward to seeing and living many,many new and exciting experiences.
Well enough for now. Bye til next time.
During our online travels we have chatted/emailed with a variety of people. When we first began to think of leaving our lovely Alberta winter, we intended to go to Belize. That is a whole other story!! We did end up talking to some very nice people though, and had the opportunity to housesit there for a month this June. We didn't have our passports ready yet and didn't want to give up our summer here and have to return home for winter. We also knew we couldn't afford to stay away right from June to next April (10 mths.)so we decided to pass it up. That was kind of disappointing.
We have chatted with people from Belize,Veracruz(Mexico),Xalpa(Mexico),Lake Catemaco(Mexico), Hermosillo(Mexico),Guaymas,and 1 who lives part-time in Empalme(Mexico) and part-time in Phoenix. On our trip down we are supposed to stop and have a quick coffee with the person we have been chatting with in Hermosillo, he has been very helpful with information about the area and various other cities. He has visitied Guaymas, as he has relatives there.
We read alot of information on various forums and these are also helpful when we have queistions that we can't find answers for elsewhere.
While we are there , of course we won't have our computer. My crystal ball shows major withdrawal in my future!! Good thing I love to read!!! We will be using internet cafes, which is the reason for this blog. We thought that it might be easier to do this rather than emailing everyone separately. We will see. I can already see that I am much more verbal on here than by email!!! This reminds me of my mother writing reams of letters at Christmas time. Something that I have never been good at!! I am happy to say that my typing is better than my handwriting so you should be able to read this!!
It should be interesting when we arrive in Guaymas, as while we are having Hallowe'en, they are also celebrating a holiday called the "Day of the Dead". This is when they honor and remember their loved ones who are no longer alive. It sounds like a beautiful celebration. Families clean and decorate their loved ones graves and celebrate their lives. This celebration lasts anywhere from 1-3 days.
Christmas there is also celebrated for a much longer time than it is here. We are looking forward to seeing and living many,many new and exciting experiences.
Well enough for now. Bye til next time.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Still Planning
Hola a todos---hello to all.
Ah yes.....Spanish. Well...the first phrase I thought I needed to learn was "Buenos dias(buenas tardes,noches),↕donde esta el bano, por favor? (the keys used for the spanish accents don't seem to work properly here, so just pretend the accents are there) Good morning(afternoon,evening)where is the bathroom,please. I'm sure that I will be needing this phrase!!!! The second phrase I thought might come in handy was "Buenas dias, ciento ochenta dias, por favor", for the aduana(customs) to get our 180 day tourist visas so that we won't have to go and get it renewed partway through our trip. If you are interested this is the link to the newspaper from Guaymas that I try???? to read every morning. http://www.elvigia.com.mx/ .
We have gotten almost all of our shots, just need to go back in August for a booster. We got Tetanus,Typhoid,Hepatitis A, Hepatitus B(I already had this because of working in hospital),and TB test. We had no side effects other than a bit of a sore arm for a few days.
Our passport applications are in Ottawa awaiting some bureaucrats scrutiny. Should have been mailed out last Monday(2nd); but hmmm......still haven't arrived. Hard to believe that the government didn't do what it said it would, isn't it????
Guaymas is approx. 400 kms. from the Arizona border and is not far enough south to have a really tropical winter. I'm not sure the antifreeze in our Alberta blood is set for tropical anyway!!! The low temps. in Dec./Jan. are in the 50's F. and the highs are upper 60's-70's F.. Then it begins to warm up. Sounds much better than -30 in either Farenheit or Celcius. I'm hoping that the fibro. aches/pains will not be so bad there as it seems to be better here when it is warmer.
How to get there? That has been a source of a lot of thought. I think that we have finally decided to drive rather than fly. We will be able to take some kitchen things(coffee pot,etc.),towels,blankets,etc. that we wouldn't be able to take by plane. If we flew we would have to buy all that down there and then dispose of it before coming home. Some comforts of home on our big adventure! We plan to leave sometime in October and be in Guaymas a few days before the end of the month for renting purposes. Taking the car will give us more freedom and if the weather is nice may camp the last few nights. Once we are settled in we plan to use the local buses as it is so convenient and cheap. The bus from Guaymas to San Carlos costs about $1.00!! Having the car will also mean that we can take other excursions on our own schedule though.
Ah yes.....Spanish. Well...the first phrase I thought I needed to learn was "Buenos dias(buenas tardes,noches),↕donde esta el bano, por favor? (the keys used for the spanish accents don't seem to work properly here, so just pretend the accents are there) Good morning(afternoon,evening)where is the bathroom,please. I'm sure that I will be needing this phrase!!!! The second phrase I thought might come in handy was "Buenas dias, ciento ochenta dias, por favor", for the aduana(customs) to get our 180 day tourist visas so that we won't have to go and get it renewed partway through our trip. If you are interested this is the link to the newspaper from Guaymas that I try???? to read every morning. http://www.elvigia.com.mx/ .
We have gotten almost all of our shots, just need to go back in August for a booster. We got Tetanus,Typhoid,Hepatitis A, Hepatitus B(I already had this because of working in hospital),and TB test. We had no side effects other than a bit of a sore arm for a few days.
Our passport applications are in Ottawa awaiting some bureaucrats scrutiny. Should have been mailed out last Monday(2nd); but hmmm......still haven't arrived. Hard to believe that the government didn't do what it said it would, isn't it????
Guaymas is approx. 400 kms. from the Arizona border and is not far enough south to have a really tropical winter. I'm not sure the antifreeze in our Alberta blood is set for tropical anyway!!! The low temps. in Dec./Jan. are in the 50's F. and the highs are upper 60's-70's F.. Then it begins to warm up. Sounds much better than -30 in either Farenheit or Celcius. I'm hoping that the fibro. aches/pains will not be so bad there as it seems to be better here when it is warmer.
How to get there? That has been a source of a lot of thought. I think that we have finally decided to drive rather than fly. We will be able to take some kitchen things(coffee pot,etc.),towels,blankets,etc. that we wouldn't be able to take by plane. If we flew we would have to buy all that down there and then dispose of it before coming home. Some comforts of home on our big adventure! We plan to leave sometime in October and be in Guaymas a few days before the end of the month for renting purposes. Taking the car will give us more freedom and if the weather is nice may camp the last few nights. Once we are settled in we plan to use the local buses as it is so convenient and cheap. The bus from Guaymas to San Carlos costs about $1.00!! Having the car will also mean that we can take other excursions on our own schedule though.
Monday, May 09, 2005
In The Planning Stage
Hello everyone. As some of you know we are planning to spend the fall/winter of 2005/2006 in Mexico. After many hours of research online we have finally decided where we want to visit. We will be going to the city of Guaymas in the state of Sonora,Mexico. Here is a link to a map of Sonora. http://vivasancarlos.com/jpg/mapa_trun.jpg . Guaymas is a port city on the Sea of Cortez with a population of approx. 130,000. It is not a big tourist city which is its attraction to us! Here is a site with some information about Guaymas. http://www.tourbymexico.com/sonora/guaymas/guaymas.htm . About 10 kms. east of Guaymas is a small city called Empalme. Empalme is different in that it has only been founded since 1905, and was built as a railroad town. This is their centennial year. Here is a site with a lot of info. about Empalme. http://groups.msn.com/EmpalmeSonoraMexico/inandaroundcontinued.msnw . To the west of Guaymas about 20 kms. away, is the town of San Carlos, this is a tourist/expat. town of approx. 7,000 residents. You can visit here on a virtual tour by using this link http://gotosancarlos.com/en/virtual_tour/ . We have been emailing to someone in Guaymas and he will assist us with renting an apartment when we get there, as our spanish is pretty well non-existent!!! I have been trying to learn some spanish online and have progressed to being able to understand some of the local newspaper which I look at every morning with my coffee. It is much easier to decipher the written that the spoken, as when I turn to the local radio station there(online) I maybe catch 1 out of every 10 words!!! Oh well, after 5 mths. of immersion we should pick up something!!
Sunday, May 08, 2005
A Move From Another Site
The first 14 or 15 posts on this blog were originally posted on this site. It didn't take me long to get frustrated with the absence of capabilities of that site and so I moved over to Blogger. I finally got energetic in May of 2008 and moved these posts over here. Hope that you enjoy reading all that has happened in my life over the last few years.
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