The Last day

My time here is over, today is my last day here. I was going to write a story about the things I will miss while in Canada and the things I won't miss but for days I couldn't figure out what I wouldn't miss and I didn't want to write such a one sided story....because there is always supposed to be two sides to a story , right? Then a few days ago I came across something I won't miss. I won't miss having to continually defend my garden from the Iguanas. The last 2 weeks it has finally really warmed up and then out came the Iguanas and ate the blooms off of my Geraniums and ate some of my watermelon plants...grrr! They annoy me so much. I won't miss them.

Nasty bugger

The other thing I won't miss is always having dirty fingernails, because of the sand my fingernails are always dirty, partly because I have a bad habit of always running my hands through my hair or scratching my head, I feel it gives me a more intellectual look, like I am always deep in thought...actually no, it's just a bad habit and there is always sand embedded into my head and so my fingernails are always dirty, plus everything you touch is sandy, you can't get away from it. So, those are the things I will not miss.
At the top of the list of things I will miss are the people here. I have made so many new friends yet again and they will all be missed. A few of them are contactable by the Internet but most are not.

This is Augusta, she comes all the way from Mazatlan everyday and walks the beach all day selling her beaded necklaces, bracelets and earrings. It is not easy to walk up and down the beach all day long. Her husband is a painter and is in Los Cabos right now trying to sell his art as the tourism in Mazatlan is the pits right now. So until he comes homes she is left to feed and mother 5 children. One little guy came to work with her today (this was taken on Saturday) 

Augusta's jewelry 

I bought the green one on the left

Next is the ocean, I does one ever get tired of gazing at the ocean, whether it's at sunset or sunrise or the bright sparkley afternoon, it;s never the same, always new and fresh.

Another thing I will miss is how the groceries come to my door everyday and I can buy just enough fruit and vegetables for the day.

This is Israel, he is one of the produce guys, we have 2 on the Island, which is great because sometimes you miss one. They have a regular morning route and will come by your house at the same time everyday. Once they have done their route they just randomly cruiser around all day, so even if you weren't home in the morning you can still catch him somewhere. 

I will miss my quirky house, all my quirky things and my quirky neighborhood and all the quirky noises that I have come to know what they are. From a certain honk to a certain stereo playing I can tell who is coming up the road.

 I feel in love with this red/blue table when I first saw it last year, it's been the backdrop for many of my photos

Wish I had a counter like this at home, it is rock solid and does not move regardless of what you are doing on it and it is just the right height for once. 

I will miss hand scrubbing my laundry

and I wish I had a BBQ like this at home

I will miss laying in my hammock watching my laundry dry

And of course I will miss the view from my hammock, I have a hammock at home but the view isn't the same

I am going to miss my Hibiscus blooming, it is so close

The sunsets over the ocean

Not only will I miss sunsets over the ocean I will miss sunsets all together, I rarely see a sunset at home because the sun sets so late and I am usually in bed by then, however I rarely miss a sunrise as I am up at 4:30 am almost everyday. I like how here sunset is a time of day, most of us refer to the sunset as a time. We'll say " oh, it was just after sunset" or " about 1 hour after sunset". We (the snowbird community) will usually take the time to sit and watch the sunset, it's a time of day most of us look forward to. Well....I do anyway, I make a point of having tea at that time.
So, how did I spend my last day here, worked all day long packing and cleaning up my house. Of course I left laundry to the last day....again, which is so risky, if you have an overcast day laundry doesn't always dry in one day and if you pack anything that is even remotely damp it will be stinky and moldy when you come back. I was lucky the morning was hot and windy, it was a bit overcast in the afternoon but I got everything dry. I pack every single thing in plastic to keep the sand and humidity out. Of course every year I have a little bit more stuff and this year the big item is a futon, which I will be sleeping on tonight so first thing in the morning I have to wrap it up in plastic too and tuck tape it up. Tuck tape is the Mexican version of duct tape....it is not the same but it is tape. When I went to buy it a few days ago the guy at the store said he has been selling tuck tape like crazy the last few weeks, it;s a sign that the snowbirds are packing up. Just in case he clues in to a good opportunity and raises the price of tuck tape next March I will make note to buy mine in February next year.
Anyway thats it, the next posting will be from the cold white north, High Level, Alberta. I know I still owe you a story about my trip to Lake Chapala, I'll post it yet, I promise.