Monday April 14th Final

A lot of unpacking yesterday and today. Katie is a whirlwind of activity, me not so much. I always end up being super tired after getting home, and usually lasts about 3 days. This time is no different.

Now it is reflection time....ahhh MEMORIES!

• casino winnings on the way down $1480
• first trip to Mexico with Sister Maureen, driving across the International Bridge and suddenly out pops our two girls in the middle of the road, with a HUGE sign to welcome Katie and I back. Mom Erika nearby watching.
• Many trips to Mexico and having the girls to ourselves, taking them for lunches, getting their nails done and shopping, and just having fun
• Giving the tablet to Karelly, who uses it all the time, and takes it everywhere. I loaded it up with English programs, music videos, and music.
• Meeting Erika's friends Yasmin and Juan
• House hunting with the family
• Not one golf game...being sick, too busy, and not great weather
• Lots of fun at Erika's birthday party
• Livy doing karaoke at the birthday pary, Eric was hilarious, and fun was had by all
• Meeting Erika's mom
• Katie and I getting our great mugs, and my shirt from our great family!
• the trips with Sister Maureen, Ken and Vickey, and Dena, all over the place, and seeing all the kids, and giving them suckers and chocolate
• Meeting Pat Sullivan, who builds houses in Neuvo Progreso, church halls, bunk beds, what a selfless man!
• Watching the distribution of the education funds
• Meeting Erika's friend Joana
• Meeting Erika's dad who plays the guitar and sings
• Our final goodbye to our family on the bridge, with tears all around
• All the hugs and cuddles and I love you's all around
• More casino winning on the way home $1,325
• Livy singing to Jim at Erika's birthday party
• Our little Vicky and her bookbag almost as big as her
• Seeing our friends in the park, though not as much as we would have liked due to sickness, busy, and weather

There are probably other memories I could write about, but suffice it to say we had a great holiday! Hope those of you who followed along, enjoyed doing so. Sometimes I think I shouldn't write the blog each year, as it might be boring, and it takes time and work, but somehow I always get talked into it, or talk myself into it.

Except for being sick, would not have missed a minute of it!

and so ends another great year in the Valley....

Thanks for coming along!

Friday April 11th and Saturday April 12th

Beautiful weather in Council Bluffs since we got here. Played a little in the casino downstairs, and took the shuttle to Horseshoe Casino, the sister Casino to Harrah's.

Played there until about 6PM, then came back to Harrah's for supper and relaxation. Then a bit more playing downstairs, but they do not have the variety of machines that Horseshoe does and it is much bigger there.

The take for the day???

The total $1,525 less the $200 we started with. I think Harrah's should stop giving us free rooms in the hope they are going to get their money back. $1,400 on the way down, and $1,325 on the way back does not compute for them. Good for us though, and now we will send money to our family so they can get US visas hopefully. Livario's just needs to be renewed. It would open up a whole new world for the kids.

Leaving for Winnipeg today, no rush, so we are just taking our time getting ready. Had breakfast downstairs, used my points so it cost us $1.37...thanks Harrah's.

Grab a few groceries when we get home, then it is down to serious business on the eating properly front. I'll do a bit of a recap as my final post, tomorrow or Monday.

and so ends another great day on our 2014 holiday...

more later....

Thursday April 10th

We got up at 5:30 to get on the road out of Denton, as we had a long drive today. We had breakfast in the hotel, they will make you a fresh omelette of your choice.

Katie discovered there was no hair dryer in the bathroom...there was supposed to be, but she did a great job with the curling iron.

We were on the road by 6:50...fair amount of traffic for awhile, but it would be worse if it was later. There is always a jerk who stays in the outside lane and holds up a whole lane of traffic. The clueless should stay home!

Uneventful drive really...but I was more tired driving today than all the other days even on the way down. I managed though and we arrived in Council Bluffs about 4:45PM.

Got settled into our free room, and relaxed a bit, watched some of the Masters. Mike Weir had a good first day, Graham Delate, our other Canadian, not so much.

We went down to the Casino, and tried to find out about the offers they had sent Katie because of  her birthday being on April 15th. So apparently they gave her 2100 points but she can't use them because it takes 36 hours to a week to get into the system properly. So basically they say,"hey come and see us and we'll give you all this good stuff for your birthday, but you won't be able to use it when you're here." So really they are giving her nothing. Good gimmick, or poor system.

In the end, after talking to the rewards manager, she gave Katie a coupon for the buffet worth $47. Well better than nothing,

We had the Buffet and had $13 left over on Katie's card now, which we can use for breakfast.

We played till about 11PM, and we started around 6:30PM, with time out for the buffet.

The result at the end of the night was net $410. Katie always finds a way, and I guess she got her birthday present early. I held my own during the night as well.

We are going to Harrah's other Casino the Horseshoe just a few blocks away tomorrow.

I made a mistake on the blog the other day when I said the family had driven over two hours to Rio Bravo to get our mugs made. I should have said that Rio Bravo is about 20 minutes away by car.

and so ends another great day on the way home from the Valley.

more later...

Tuesday April 8th and Wednesday April 9th

We're leaving for home this morning...destination for the day...Denton, Tx. just outside of Fort Worth. Day 2 Destination will be Council Bluffs Ia.

Packed in the morning yesterday, got the cover on the golf cart, and all the outside stuff put away. We went and got some cole slaw from KFC seeing it was such a great hit on Saturday. We sent an email to Jazminn, Erika's friend to tell her no food for us when we come.

I'm still not totally over the stomach flu yet. Have a feeling some of the symptoms will hang on a bit yet.

Erika picked us up at the pharmacy at 3:30. Her friend Joanne was with her. We like her as well. We went to the school to pick up Livy. Size of classroom with one teacher 140 kids jammed into one room without a lot of room to spare. Livy was so happy to see us.

Back to Erika's and Karelly was home already. Of course Erika and Joanne had prepared some lunch regardless. Potato salad and Chicken salad. It was good.

When it was time to go after a few hours, Livario came home from working in the area, and by that time Juan the dentist was home. We had gone to his office earlier, which is near the pharmacy but it was very busy. We said our goodbyes to Juan, and he gave us his email contact info.

Then it was off to the bridge. Erika took a plate of food for Jazminn which she will drop off on the way back. So thoughtful.

Katie kept Livy laughing on the way to the bridge, as she had already started to cry. The family walked us over the bridge, after some more pictures. At the final point it was tears all around..everyone...Livy, Karelly, Livario, Erika, Katie, and me. There were lots of hugs and then more hugs and kisses all around. The only one not crying was Eric, and he didn't have a clue we weren't coming back until next year.

So sad...but what great memories, and what a great family. Everyone told everyone they love them, and finally it was into the building to show our passports.

and so ends another great day and year in the Valley....

more later....

Monday April 7th

Katie and I headed off to meet Sister Maureen, Ken and Vicky, and Dena another friend and helper of Sister Maureen, at the Residence.

Shortly after 2, we headed off with them for the last time this year in the red truck. We stopped at the Catholic Church Hall, just around the corner from our little Vickey's house. It was time for Sister Maureen to give out the education money, provided by the myriad of sponsors, so the kids can attend school. Today it was for grades 1 to 6, and there was over $4,000 to be given out in total.

They got a table set up, and envelopes with names, were spread all over the table. Sister Maureen has a local helper named Lupe, who helps her with this as well as all sorts of things, including distributing food, clothing, and household needs.

There was already a good sized lineup, and Lupe's mom sat by the door and let the line advance one by one. It was very organized and obviously practiced much more than once in the past. If Sister Maureen did not have a current picture of the child being sponsored, she took a new picture for her files, and for letters to the sponsors.

This is just a great picture Katie took

Sister Maureen gives the education funds to the mothers mostly, because some of the fathers would simply drink it away. Katie and I are so lucky that we sponsor two families children whose fathers are not drinkers.

We got to meet Pat Sullivan, who not only built the church hall we were in, but got married to his wife JoAnn in the church, where they met, after they had both lost their spouses'. He also builds houses, and bunk beds for the people of Neuvo Progreso.

Here is an article about Pat and his wife.

http://m.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/article_fb48fb5a-6b83-11e3-af31-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=jqm

What a guy, he was like a whirlwind while we were there, getting all sorts of the parts he had pre made for more bed installations, into his truck. He has a local kid helping him, who we are told used to be a problem kid, but not anymore. Then they were off to install bunk beds, so some people don't have to sleep on a concrete floor or worse.

Pat explained to me the reason they put a couple of layers of carpeting on the beds is because if they were to use mattresses, they would get all infested with bugs and rodents because of the conditions they live in. This helps greatly to alleviate that problem.

Pat's bunk beds...fantastic...he puts them in about 40 houses a year

After the envelopes had been given out, we went to Vicky's as we had a few things for her. We said our goodbyes to Vicky and her family and told her we would see her next year. Much different departure from Erika and the girls, no tears, perhaps just a little sadness.

Then we were off to see Erika and Karelly and Livy. They were anxiously waiting. Sister Maureen and the group came in as well, as their job for the day, giving out the education money was done.

Wasn't long after we got there, the kids told Katie and I we had to close our eyes, they had a surprise for us. We did, and when they counted to three in English, we opened our eyes to this...

A shirt for Jim

Jim's coffee cup and picture with wind blown hair

Katie's coffee cup

Now was the time for some wetness in our eyes, not the kids. What a wonderful gift!!!! They had the shirt, and the mugs made by travelling to Rio Bravo, which is over a two hour drive, and we only took the pictures on Saturday.

We had a great visit then, but Katie and I decided we did not really want it to end quite this way. We didn't want to say goodbye to our family right then, and we just felt like we wanted to have some really private moments with them. So even though Tuesday was to be our complete packing day, ready for departure for home on Wednesday morning, we told Erika and the kids we would be back for a couple of hours on Tuesday afternoon, after the girls got off school. There were big smiles all around.

So off we went again in the red truck, and when we got back to the residence we said our goodbyes for now to Sister Maureen, Ken and Vickey, and Dena, all of them our good friends, and our many thanks to all of them for accepting us so warmly and putting up with us every year.

and so ends another great day in the Valley....

more later....

Sunday April 6th

Departure time draws nearer...4 days to go.

Seeing as I was feeling better...still not 100 percent though, Katie and I went to Mexico in the afternoon. We wanted to give the family a treat that they normally don't get, so we went to Kentucky fried chicken, and got a big bucket and some sides. We wanted them to have some left over. They had little packets of butter and honey for the biscuits..too bad we forgot to get ketchup for the fries, as they were putting butter on the fries. Katie told them it was for the biscuits but that didn't seem to matter.

One of the big hits which we didn't expect was the cole slaw. They all liked it, even little Eric. Too bad we only bought one. Well maybe Monday we'll take them some more. I took it really easy, and only had a small tidbit sandwich and water, as my stomach is still not back to normal.

After eating we had a fun time with Erika, the girls and, Eric. We were playing a combination of basketball and soccer both inside and outside, and it was a ton of laughs. When we first got there I kept watching Livy to see how she was doing. She is still a little sick....but once the games started you could hardly tell.

Katie and I brought the girls a purse each, with a wallet, and some change and dollars. Who wants a wallet that's empty? Katie put quite a few girlie things in each purse, little containers of lip gloss, nail polish etc. They were thrilled. Karelly's has enough room for her tablet.

Then I fixed my old laptop so that Karelly could use the wifi on her tablet. The last software I used didn't work well. She is incredible, I show her something once and it is locked in. She has this great desire to learn, and is so focused on my, every move. Then she repeats it to make sure she has it right. It is the perfect definition of Demonstration Perfomance teaching with the best student.

She said she had a surprise, so off to get her report card she went. All perfect 10's and 9's across the board. I told her in English I was so proud of her, and so would her sponsor Durga be, and I could tell by the look on her face she knew exactly what I was saying.

Every year, we give the kids a 5X7 frame with one of the best pictures we took that year. Erika showed us later how she had already put them on the wall with the others, then she indicated that she wanted to fill every wall in the room with them for many years to come.

It was time to go on the house hunt now. Livario showed us a picture of a house he had found. Looked pretty good to me. It was many blocks from where they are now, over the dike, and a very bumpy road. When we got there, I was pretty impressed, considering what we had looked at before, which are basically nothing but shacks which need a lot of work.

This one had a fence and gate on the perimeter, a concrete pad in front, a very nice front door, and what almost amounted to bay windows. It was painted nicely and there were some flowers planted on one side. Typically it had rebar sticking out of the roof, which means it is not finished, so no additional taxes to be paid. We could not get in as the gate was chained. Unfortunately we did not get a picture, as we stayed in the van while Livario talked to some of the neighbors, making enqueries. It is not a good idea for Katie and I to be out looking around as the price immediatly goes up...gringos are interested.

Apparently the owner lives in the US, so the family will try to get a phone number and check on the price and the availability. It would seem the owner wants 195,133.50 pesos or about $15,000 US. Compared to some of the other things we've seen and the prices they want for almost nothing, this one had promise. It is four rooms, but with the opportunity to add on to the second floor at some point.

We continued on after that, and we showed them the vacant lot where the owner wants to sub divide. Livario already knew about this one, and said the owner wants $6,000 first and then an additonal $30,000. Hmm...forget it!

We looked around some more, and Livario showed us some more places where he said they wanted too much money. We headed toward downtown and on to the other side of the Main Street. Now we are in the so called "Centro" area, basically the centre of town. Livario told us that in this area, they want more money because it is "Centro".

Kind of strange really, many of the places are the same, or worse than others we looked at, but they are "Centro". One thing is that the streets are a bit flatter. and without quite so many ruts, but that's not all of them by any means. We looked at one really nice corner lot with a shack on it, but in the end Livario said they wanted way too much money for it.

It was getting late, and the kids were getting tired so it was time to go back home. Livy held my hand from the back of the Van most of the trip. She is such a sweetheart.

When we got back, One of Erica's good friends stopped by, and a lot of pictures were taken. Katie and I started to pack up, and Karelly said we should sleep over. We said there was no room, but she said we could sleep in her bed. What a kid! Livy was not happy we were leaving, and started to cry pretty heavily. Erika also said she didn't want us to go, and then she started to cry...another sign how close we are all getting.

This is before our last visit on Monday...I can just imagine what that is going to be like, when we finally wave goodbye for the last time this year.

One of the best things I ever did, was get a translator app called Jibbigo. The reason I picked this one is because it loads the dictionary right onto your phone or tablet, so you don't have to have internet access to make it work. You can talk into it in English and it translates it into Spanish, or you can type in English and it does the same thing....and vice versa. You can even do it ahead of time so it resides in History, and you can play back the translation whenever you want. We discovered it is better to type into it rather than speak, because speaking it just gets too many things wrong, but typing and translating seems to work really well!

Katie and I pre prepared, questions and thoughts for Livario and Erika before we went, and it worked out great during the house hunt. We told them they have to be happy with what they end up with, and do what is best for their family. We obviously won't get this resolved before we leave, but the good thing is with the computer, and how smart Karelly is, and the internet stick they now have, we can stay in touch constantly. They know we will help them!

Livario and the kids drove us to the bridge, and with tears from Livy and lots of hugs and waves, we were off. No lineup at the border as it was after 9PM.

When we got home, time to relax.

pictures later....

and so ends another great day in the valley....

and the Jets won 4-2 over Toronto...Yay!

The Three Amigos

The Girl's Wall

The Three Amigas and Eric

more later...

Saturday April 5th

Back to the land of the living today. Was brutally sick on Wednesday and Thursday, had a banana and some toast in two days. Haven't been that sick for many years. Went to the Doc yesterday just to be on the safe side, he was very good, and said he has seen plenty of people going through what I am.

Gave me a couple of prescriptions, but said I likely wouldn't need them, just fill them if I do.

Today though, feeling much better. Had soft boiled eggs for breakfast and toast, I was hungry and it was good. Also coffee for the first time in three days. Not perfect yet, but feeling so much better.

Katie and I went for a walk to say goodbye and safe trip, to a couple of our friends who are leaving tomorrow. It is a very nice morning, nice and cool.

We got back, took the cart, and went and fed the goats, as Katie had lots of pulp and leftovers from making juice this morning. They were hungry too.

We are going to Mexico this afternoon to see the kids, but we found out that our little Livy is sick, and in bed. I feel so sorry for her. We are going to continue to try and solve the housing situation. We are also going to take them supper...likely Kentucky fried Chicken or something.

We are also going back on Monday with Sister Maureen, and that will be our last time to Mexico until next year. Karelly is already sad, and says "no,no,no, I want you to stay in Mexico". We're just trying to let them down gently so that it doesn't hit them on the last day.

more later....

Wednesday April 2nd

Sorry foks for the lack of updates. Being sick leads to not much activity of any sort. Today was brutal...full blown flu which lasted all day. Got to the point where we thought I might have to go to the hospital last night. Katie talked to a friend of hers who is a nurse, and we decided we would wait until the morning to see how things were.

We were supposed to go to Mexico but couldn't do that...virtually spent the whole day on the couch or in bed, with sprints to the bathroom in between.

We also get new that Katie's great Aunt had died, she was 90 and in a nursing home. Katie is the executrix, so she had to make a few phone calls to make sure things were looked after, and they were.

So not really a good day in the Valley...

more later...

Sunday March 30th

Katie and I were debating about going to Mexico today to see the kids, as Katie seems to be recovering but

I am not yet.

We decided after waiting awhile, that our symptoms, basically get worse at night. We were feeling ok, and Karelly was standing outside Juan's house, online, waiting for an answer. We decided to go.

The family picked us up at the Pharmacy at 1PM, and we headed back to their house.

We gave them the $100 from Al Brolly, and explained that he was a friend, and just wanted them to have it. As usual this family is so appreciative of any help they get. Erika went and got some colored paper to make a sign with the girls, to say thank you to Al for the gift.

I brought a range extender for wifi, which I hoped would enable Karelly to pick up Juan's internet, so that she didn't have to go and stand outside.

It didn't work, as it was not powerful enough, managed to see the connection and get 1 or 2 bars, but that is not good enough. It is important for us to be able to maintain communication when we are back in Canada. Karelly is smart enough to do what it takes, given the right opportunity.

Two options...one was for me to try and find a strong way to get Juan's signal, I have been researching that for a few days, but in order to set something up that is more elaborate, I would have to order the parts, and we don't have time for that.

Between Livario and Erika, we managed to go through a process, where we learned they can get internet through an internet stick, which can plug into the usb port of my old laptop that we gave them. The stick is $60 and they can get internet for $5/mth after that. I'm not so sure about that, but we gave them the money, because if that works, I don't have to try and find a long range booster solution, that may or may not work.
They were going to get that hooked up Monday, hope that works!

We asked about house hunting, and they said they had found something. We then went on a long ride a fair distance from where they are now, and ended up at a purple place, not occupied. We went inside and found out it was three rooms, the one in the back was ok, the middle one, had a huge trench in the concrete running through the middle of the room. It looked like someone was going to hookup indoor plumbing, but never finished, as there was an outhouse attached outside. The front room was barely ok, but the front door and windows leave something to be desired.

middle room

Ensuite

Back room

There are no building codes or inspections, so if you have a place with only a front door, then you are basically living in a fire trap situation. To me, that is what this place was. The lot was also not very big. The price? $2,600 US.

We looked at a couple of others right around there, and every time I pointed at some concrete building that was not finished, Livario would tell me "too expensive."

This whole area is too far away from where the girls are going to school, and from where Livario works on a daily basis. We found out later, that the only reason they were looking there, was to save us from having to spend too much money.

We came back to the house, and I asked Livario if he could get Juan so we could have a conversation with translation. He did, and Juan came over.

We started to learn things we did not know before, and that is only because if you do not have the time and a good translator, you only learn the answer to the direct question you are asking. The translator has to be able to understand what you are really asking, and what else you would like to know depending on the answer.

We learned that Erika and the family had been in this house once before. Erika had negotiated with someone, we're not sure who, for them to be able to stay there. After awhile, some guys arrived in a truck, and told them to get out. They had no choice so they got out, and had to find somewhere else. I asked Juan, who has a nice house there, what he would do if these same guys came to his house and told him to get out. He immediately said he would take his family and leave. He said first priority is to look after his family. I asked him what he would do after that, and he said he thought he would get the Mexican Marines to get him back in to his own house. Such is life in Mexico, with the drug cartels.

Sad part is, that if no one bought and used the drugs they are selling, there would be no drug cartels. What a pie in the sky thought that is!

So at anytime now, the same thing could happen to the family again, where those guys come back and say get out! or not! who knows? they may never come back, or could come back tomorrow.

In our minds, Katie's and mine, we need to help them find a place good enough to live in for the family, and safe for them and the girls, and we're really not prepared to stop until that happens. I don't think I will ever be laying on my deathbed, saying to myself  "I wish I had not done everything I could, to help the family find a decent place to live" What is the point in having money if you can't do something good with it...you certainly can't take it with you!

So the search will continue...such a shame they can't stay where they are...as that would be perfect...but so far, we just can't figure out how to make that happen, and we have a feeling our resources are a too limited to make that happen.

We had a great afternoon with the kids, and around 6, Livario took us to the bridge. There was a lineup and we discovered that is because they only had one agent on for pedestrians. Soon we were back in the US with no problems.

We just relaxed at night as we were tired.

and so ends another great day in the Valley...

more later...

Saturday March 28th

Both of us had a better sleep last night for a change. Still not recovered yet by any means but feeling a bit better.

We went for a nice walk, and then decided to go hit some golf balls. Katie was pounding them out there like usual, I was pretty good, always have to make a few corrections though. The weather was good, not to hot with a nice breeze.

We came back and cleaned some of the outside windows on the trailer.

At night we streamed the movie "The Life of Pi". The Cinematography was outstanding. It was a very good movie, we enjoyed it.

After that we watched the first two periods of the Jets game, but we were tired, and so it was time for bed.

and so ends another great day in the Valley...

more later...

Friday March 28th

Health wise...still not so great.

Our friends Al and Bonnie made it home safe and sound, and this is what they came back to in Sturgeon Falls, Ont. That's Al standing there.

Katie and I were hoping for a good sleep last night but instead, there were two power outages during the night, one about 1:30, the other about 3:30, and of course when devices come back online there is noise. Both of us tired this morning as a result.

Got on the phone with Time Warner and got the old modem back online. Next year when we come back I may or may not, try and do something again with a new Docsis 3 modem. We'll see.

I made an online appt. at the local Toyota Dealership for an oil and filter change, as well as new windshield wipers. Was able to get appt. for 2:15.

Katie and I went to Best Buy to take back her new Sansa Clip Zip Sport, as she found out it does not do voice recording like her old Clip Zip. Got one of their two remaining 4 gig models, with the ability to add more storage via mini sd card.The sport was 8 gig and was $49.95, the regular was $29.95, a bonus!

Then we went to Target to take back the Docsis 3 modem.

Time for a little lunch so we went to Pizza Hut, close to Frank Smith Toyota and had a personal pan pizza each. They were good.

On to Frank Smith, Got the car done, and they washed it before they gave it back, Nice! The cost doing it this way is not the cheapest one can find, but easy and nice comfortable waiting room.

While we were waiting and watching TV, big announcement that the Sheriff for Hidalgo County retired. He got elected last time with 80 percent of the votes. Why is he retiring?  Because he is under investigation. There is a lot of corruption connected with elected officials, so really basically the same all over.

"EDINBURG — Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino Jr. announced his resignation Friday, citing internal and external pressures since December 2012, when his son and several deputies were arrested in connection with a far-reaching drug conspiracy."

Thing is, here they make a really big deal of the elections in the first place, because they are all tied to Democrats vs Republicans, and then of course when something like this happens.

Elections of Police Chiefs a good idea? Not in my books its not! Just asking for a Sheriff who is tied to the political process and needs to lean one way or another when making decisions.

Back home to relax, and cough some more....

and so ends another great day in the Valley...

more later...

Thursday March 27th

Both of us still sick...but on the news they said there was a warning from the Center for Disease Control. A different strain of a flu virus. The symptoms do not match what we have, but look at the map for the infected areas...All of Texas! They say they think it is caused by fruits and vegetables but don't know which ones, or from where. Great! Now what? If you get it, it is a trip to the hospital, and tell them to test for this, because they likely would not, and they can prescribe an antibiotic that works for this one.

We went to meet Sister Maureen at 2PM, so that we could give her some foodstuffs that Al and Bonnie gave us, because they were going home. We also gave her some gifts from my Brother and Sister in Law, to give to Michelle, the little girl they sponsor.

We also gave her the money to sponsor our first girl Vicky for the year, and also the money from my brother for Michelle.

Katie and I decided to go out for supper seeing as we are feeling not too great. We went to Cracker Barrel, it was good as usual. Funny, the woman behind us was complaining that they had changed the recipe for the corn bread and ruined it. We laughed because Cracker Barrel never changes anything. They already have a working formula for how to make money.

When we got home, I hooked up the new modem, got Time Warner to Activate it, then after a short bit, found out it was dropping the signal ever 5 minutes or so. Very annoying! So...now that Time Warner is not responsible for the modem, I phoned support for Motorola. The guy was good except he didn't really listen to me, and got me to do all the steps I had already done. Then he thought he was finished when I had internet access again. Oh no...said I! It drops the signal every 5 minutes I repeated.

He then got me to go to a page which exposes the settings for the modem. I read off a bunch of numbers to him, and long story short, phone Time Warner and get a technician out as the line is not performing well enough.

Nope...Katie and I said to each other. The new modem is going back, we don't have time to fool around with a technician right now, we'll put the old one back and pay the $6.99 for the months we're here. Later on, maybe next year we'll deal with this.

Tomorrow morning, back on the phone with Time Warner to get them to activate the old one again.

and so ends another great day in the Valley...

more later...

Wednesday March 26th

Wanted to show you a video from Erika's birthday party, but couldn't get blogger to take it, so here is another attempt, watch to the end for the cutest part...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xzcsebvoocxbl4e/2014-03-22%2016.50.02.mov

After the night of the horrible sleep for both of us...we sucked up our energy and went to Sam's Club and HEB to do a little shopping just to get out!

At least Katie and I can feel sorry for each other.

In the afternoon we decided to have what we call an "8 minuter". Ok get your heads out of the gutter! It's been said numerous times that a short nap is very refreshing and healthy, so Katie and I call that our 8 minuter, as it is not good to nap too long. Actually our 8 minuter is usually 20 minutes or longer so why we continue to call it an 8 minuter I have no idea.

We heard a knock on the door, and when we tried to get to the door we saw Steve and Janet who used to rent from us, but now own their own place walking away.

Katie and I decided we should go and tell them we were actually at home but having our 8 minuter. We walked to their place but they weren't home, so we thought they were probably still walking. We found them several streets later. Steve said he had been sick the night before, running a fever etc. etc, but said he felt better today. We had a nice conversation, and I invited them back for a drink, but Steve basically said he thought it best we not be confined to small places with him having been sick, and us still sick. We took a rain check on getting together.

Later at night, Karelly was on facebook, standing outside Juan the Dentist's place  so she could get internet, with her tablet, that we gave her, in the rain, all concerned about how Katie was feeling. What a kid...she is awesome!

A great thing happened yesterday, I got an email from a friend of mine, Al Brolly, who wanted to know our phone number here. I replied back and he got it right away. Shortly after the phone rang, and it was him. All he wanted was for Katie and I to give our family $100 for him, to use in whatever way they thought was best, and he would pay me back when we got home. Katie's response "IS THAT EVER NICE!", with a big smile on her face. Ditto from me! We will give them that, and I am positive they will really appreciate it! We have so much, and they have so little. Thanks so much Al!

I got my bill from Time Warner yesterday for the internet. They suddenly added a $6.99 charge for modem rental, which they never charged me for before. They have my $50 deposit already for that modem for several years. I phoned them, and the associate wrote it off, but I was informed that this is an across the board charge for everyone from now on.

So...off to the store Thursday, to buy my own modem approved by them, which will pay for itself, and more savings in time. This would be better if I was a full subscriber yearly, as far as saving money goes, but it just irks me that my bill has been steadily creeping up anyway, and now they want to get totally greedy!

and so ends another great day in the Valley....

more later...

Tuesday March 25th

Sorry folks, not much to say except Katie and I are both sick. We actually did a little work in the morning, but the rest of the day was pretty much a wash...

but...so ends another great day in the Valley...

more later...

Sunday/Monday March 23/24

Not much to report as the weather has been mostly rainy, and Katie is battling a bad cough, which I think I may be getting as well. Our little Livy was coughing a bit at Erika's party, now she is sick and has a fever. Sure hope she gets over that asap.

Our friends Al and Bonnie came to say goodbye on Sunday, as they were going to leave Monday morning. Al has a Doctor's pre-op appointment to get his other knee replaced.

still ends two great days in the valley though, which is better than snow and cold at home...

more later...

Saturday March 22nd

At 2PM we went to a small going away party for our neighbors Al and Lucy, who sold their trailer, and are leaving after many years. It's time as Al is now in his 80's. The party was only 4 trailers down, and was a nice get together for Al and Lucy.

Katie and I had to leave at 4PM, as we had to travel to Mexico for Erika's birthday. We parked the car and walked over the bridge, not knowing how busy it was going to be. Friday and Saturday were two days of "Tourist Appreciation Days" in Nuevo Progreso. As it was 5PM when we got there, it was not too busy, and the lineup of cars on the bridge was not too bad.

We got to the Pharmacy and said hi to Yazmin,

the Pharmacist and Erika's friend. She said it was not very busy for her on Friday, but was quite busy today.

There were still the dregs of the celebration happening on the street.

Very soon after we arrived Erika's husband Livario, who our little Livy is named after, arrived along with Erika's Dad. We walked over to a side street, where he had to park the car because of the celebrations. There was some type of a car show, so there were quite a few Mustangs roaring around and a few motorcycles, but we made our way toward the kids house with no incidents.


We should have taken pictures of the temporary house that the family is able to stay in. The maximum is supposed to be two month. It looks pretty good from the outside, but there are still several broken windows, and there are doors to the kitchen cabinets missing, no door to the toilet which is downstairs off the living room. There is one window missing altogether on the 2nd floor.

There are only a few houses in this entire complex, but the ones that are occupied are well looked after and upscale. There is one other house that is unoccupied, with broken windows, the wiring has been stripped out of the walls, bullet holes in the windows, the toilet is not there, and is in much worse condition than the one our family is in. There are many vacant lots, and because the owner of the complex is supposed to be somewhere in the US unknown, this whole development might not ever be anything more than it is right now.

Now...ON TO THE PARTY!

We went into the outside garage area, and saw balloons hanging from the overhead door. Also a big Karaoke machine which one of Erika's friends had arranged. We also learned that her friends had supplied he food, and the family had to supply the drinks.

We got to meet Erika's mom who came by bus from Monterrey, and is staying for three days. Mom was doing some of the cooking, while Livario was doing all the barbecuing.

Our little Livy, looking cute and singing Karaoke...

What a beautiful Pinata

Livy, Eric, Mom and Dad in the background

Mom and Dad, happy with the Birthday

Later on, Juan the Dentist, came with his wife, two boys and older girl. It became much easier for Katie and I due to the fact he speaks such good english.

His kids go to school in Weslaco, the two boys to Montessori school, and the daughter to a private school. The kids will be bilingual after all is said and done. What a good thing. Erika told him in spanish that she wishes she could get the girls educated in the US so they could really learn english so they could talk directly to Katie and I.

Juan told us that Livario keeps telling him how grateful he is to Katie and I for everything that we do for them. That's so nice! We are doing it because they need it much more than us, and they are like our family now!

We had great fun, lots of laughs watching the kids and Erika's friends do Karaoke, it was just great period!

Katie never wants to head back home later, as she doesn't like to take unnecessary chances. I assured her the walk over the bridge would not be a problem as it is extremely well lit. We're usually going back no later than 7, but on this night, we didn't leave until 10:30.

Erika, along with Eric, and some of her friends drove us back to the bridge. There were lots of revelers from the tourist day celebrations, on the adjoining streets around the various bars. Erika parked the car, and Erika along with Eric, and one of her friends walked Katie and I to the bridge. We thought they were going to stop at the paid turnstyle, but instead they walked us almost to the US side. Hugs all around and we continued on.

There was one guy who obviously had too much celebration in front of us. He decided he wanted to give the border guard a hard time...didn't take long for 3 other guards and one with a dog to hover closely. After that he calmed down.

Katie got flagged again by the computer on a random basis. She has a knack for that...but the border guard said he would override it and he did.

We got home around 11PM.

and so ends another great day in the Valley....

more later... 

Friday March 21st

Katie and I went to Costco in the morning to get a couple of items we wanted. When we went to the checkout, I noticed an older couple in front of us, they were both wearing golf shirts which had a logo embroidered on them. I could not make out what it said. I would describe them as being well dressed.

The woman began to take the items out of her cart, on the side away from the cashier. She took everything out with the exception of a bottle of wine, which was at the back of the cart. There is no way she could have missed it! She proceeded to quickly push the cart past the cashier, and then turned it 90 degrees at the end so the cashier could not see the bottle of wine.

When she started this procedure, my "Spidey" senses went off, probably as a result of my previous profession. I said to Katie "She is going to try and steal that wine". I said it again a little louder, and there was no way I was going to let her get away with it. There was no doubt in my mind, this was not an accident on her part, missing the fact the bottle was still in the cart.

The cashier left her spot and went and retrieved the bottle of wine. After the couple paid and left, the cashier looked at me and said "thank you for that". She said she had not noticed the wine. When she retrieved the bottle she asked the lady if that was her wine, and the lady gave her a strange look, and appeared to be annoyed. She said these attempts happen all time.

When Katie and I went to load our items in our car, a car drove past me, and guess who was in the car? same couple. The logo on the side of the car said "United States Wildlife Dept." Guess they were preparing to have a party in the wild.

Katie and I stopped in at the Tmobile store, I am looking for options for internet for the kids, so that we can stay in touch, about the search for a house and everything else.

Back home, and a little while after the company that sprays our trailer for termites, showed up and did the job. They do a good job, and spray our place twice a year.

Katie and I went an hit golf balls after that...Katie always does well, and I was very pleased with how I was consistently hitting the ball.

Then it was a relaxing evening, but Katie is still coughing quite a bit, I feel so sorry for her.

and so ends another great day in the valley...

more later...

Thursday March 20th

Katie has an annoying cough for the past few days which refuses to leave. We got an email from both Vickey and Sister Maureen, who said the ladies that were going to see the kids they sponsor would be going back to the US side around 3:30 and that if we wanted to meet them at the bridge on the Mexico side we could hitch a ride.

We did that and hopped in the red truck around 4. Sister Maureen dropped us off at the mansion the kids occupy(yeah some mansion) bullet holes in most of the windows, from the Cartel occupation days.

The girls came home from school shortly after, and we received our customary big hugs. They look so good in their school uniforms.

We talked to mom with sign language and the help of the translator on the tablet. From what we learned, the vacant lot where the husband burned down the house has already been sold. That was disappointing, as we had hoped they could get that lot for a reasonable amount, and then build a cinder block house there.

Now Katie and I looked at each other sort of at a loss as to what we were going to do next. Erika and the kids and Katie and I went for a walk around the complex. I would say there are probably 5 nice homes, and the rest are all vacant lots. Erika's husband Livario was working on cleaning the car of one Dentist he works for who has an extremely nice house. Livario went across the street and got another Dentist named Juan who is fairly young and speaks pretty good English.

To make a long story shorter, it seems the only way to get a lot or a house for the family, would be to get some type of bill of sale from the current pseudo owner. It takes a long time apparently to get any documentation that you own the property from the proper authority. In fact, if you get a bill of sale and move in, then start paying the taxes and utilities, and apply for legal ownership....then....after some lengthy period of time the proper authority will get around to you, and decide because you have been paying the taxes it is now yours, and will issue papers saying so.

According to Juan, this is just the way it is. Some may have papers but most don't, so it is a bit of a gamble when you pay for something, that it will really be yours in the end, but it looks like once you move in an start paying, it is unlikely anyone else can get you out.

Juan was very friendly and helpful and spent quite a bit of time with us. He said we could phone him if we needed more help with anything.

Livario and Erika said they would keep looking, and Katie and I thought that even though they are supposedly only supposed to stay in the present temporary house for 2 months, that they could probably stay there indefinitely while they are looking, and there is really no one interested enough to kick them out. We sure hope that is the case anyway.

We had fun with the kids as usual, and Erika's father was playing his guitar and singing, and he is really quite good with a nice voice.

Livario has already cleaned up the yard and the courtyard out back so it looks a lot better. They still don't want to spend money on the house though, as it will not be theirs.

Sister Maureen came back around 7PM, and we got our big hugs from the girls, twice, and I always look at Livy who looks sad that we are going. This time though she knows we will be back on Saturday for Erika's birthday.

Sister Maureen dropped us off at our car on the US side, and Katie and I headed home.

Funny thing...both our friend Al and myself bought 2010 Toyota Rav 4's within weeks of each other in 2010. They came with Sirius Satellite radio and was supposed to be for three months. It has continued working for Al until last week, and mine quit yesterday on the way home from Mexico. Oh well, great while it lasted.

and so ends another great day in the valley....

more later....

Wednesday March 19th

Katie and I decided to go to Don-Wes Flea Market this morning. There is another flea market several miles from Don-Wes and when we approached it on Business 83 highway, there was a total gridlock of traffic. We could see that it was not going anywhere fast, so I turned around, went over to 83 express by the freeway and went that way. That other flea market is like a zoo.

We did our usual browsing around, Katie always likes to get crystal nail files there. I told her to ask the lady if she had any microwave potato bags. Katie has two at home and loves them for making baked potatoes.
Sure enough she pointed to another booth and we were able to get one. $2.50 more than at home but worth it. We got an American stick flag for the golf cart and a few other odds and ends.

We came around the corner and thought this was funny all these folks licking their cones

This is the same vegetable guy that comes to our park on Tuesdays

Later on we took Al and Bonnie out for supper. A small token to pay them back for looking after things at our trailer when our renters first arrive.

We went to "Chedders" mainly good reviews with a few not so good thrown in. Nice restaurant with a comfortable feel. Funny, we all elected to have the same thing which was 1/2 rack of ribs. They were delicious and falling off the bone, very tender. Lots of laughs, we had a very good time with our good friends. Unbelievable Al and Bonnie have been together every minute basically since they were first introduced, 2 years ago.

Then it was back home to our place for a drink.

Katie and I watched the rest of the Jets game and watched them win in ovetime...yes!

and so ends another great day in the Valley...

more later...