I feel like I’ve been remiss in sharing our goings-on. However, truth be told, there hasn’t been a lot going on in recent months.
The strengthening value of the peso against the falling value of the dollar means this morning, when I withdrew some funds, the conversion rate was 16 to 1. YIKES! Due to this financial crunch, there has been no frivolous spending (besides bags of ice). No day trips. No eating out. No fun things that cost any money at all. So I’ve nothing to report there. Fortunately, I’ve had steady work, and although my dollars aren’t going as far as they used to, they are keeping us fed.
Building projects have been on hold pretty much as well. We have one small final room to complete, and it’s taken nearly 6 months to get the materials to do it. Last week, we scoured the animal pens and came up with enough stray bricks (bricks that were leftover from one project or another and set aside and forgotten about) to finish the walls. We also used the bricks from the patio by the pool. Now I need to save to get more cement to finish that.
The pool, which has been our salvation in this heat wave, also needed some fixin’. I bought a pool pump last year but had to get the solar panel and battery to run it. It’s up and running now, but it seems we’ll need at least another solar panel and battery to run it for the hours it should to keep the water from getting murky. That’s not going to happen this month, so into the murky waters we go (and enjoy every blessed minute of it!).
Bear, now that most of his digestive issues seem under control, has grown and grown. It appears he is a Doberman Shepherd mix. He has the hair, feet, and tail of a German Shephard and the body structure of a Doberman Pincher. That means he is like a freight train on walks when he gets a’goin’ and I’m exhausted after wrestling him around the block.
I’ve been working in the garden, and this morning I noticed a few sprouts. I’d like to say that I can supplement our food with my garden, but I’m not sure with this crazy weather we are having. Rainy season should start any day now, but the forecast says at least another week of temperatures over 100 degrees in our area, which is not conducive to happy plants.
The one plant that seems to thrive in this heat is our random banana plant. We didn’t plant it. It just sprung up last year in the pool area. It’s now reached the mesh roof, so I hope it’s stopped growing. Anyway, to my delight, it has blossomed and has little green bananas on it. Very exciting!
I’ve also been working on editing the next book in A Women’s Survival Guide to Rural Mexico series in my darkened office with the ceiling fan on. Hopefully, the book and the heat wave will be finished soon!
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Surviving Mexico 