Dec 7, Monday

yesterday was a busy day -  I know that I say that all the time !!

today Maureen went to Ensenada with Rich to drop the stuff off for the garage sales ...THANKS MAUREEN AND RICH AND MOM who did all the shopping. and it's raining cats and dogs according to Derek and mom as well......not fun to be driving around like that .... so double thanks

I am making 6 cakes for the elementary school tomorrow PEACH - BANANA - CHOCOLATE, I have cake batter in my tummy (not so good for the diet), all over my hair and face and blouse and in the midst of it all, I had to give a class - hahaha - many pots on many burners

got 500 pesos from Apolinar - the school's contribution to the cafeteria/kitchen/theater space

I  explained that he needed to contact the powers that be and get permits running

he did. I am so happy that he is finally acting and not dreaming

the kids are all going to compete to see which class raises the MOST money -  bake sales - raffles - games - so - that is why I am making cakes for them to sell.... piece by piece or whole or ????  Guess who has to come up with a good prize for the winner ???  Guys - help me with some suggestions ...

met Chelo at the coop store -she is busy with her hotel - they were shopping away (she and son Ivan). She is booked solid. So, after 4 months of taking it so slowly - she is now going at full blast !!  Her leg healed (long story but she fell. tore a gash in her thigh which the doc in La Paz fixed. which then got infected. which he opened, cleaned and told her to leave open !! She called her b-friend in the States who came and got her - took her to a plastic surgeon)

It is now 4 months after the fact. she thinks she would have lost her leg otherwise. crazy world.

the diet doc came for lunch yesterday.  and his wife and his daughter who is the cutest thing on earth. she smiles and laughs constantly.  soooooooooooo cute !!  I made a huge and delicious lasagna.

YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED .... yesterday a guy was wallking right past our house and he found fossils of a whale .  We never heard anything about it, til today - I was running around all day  yesterday, but the coop decided to have him dig the bones up since they were on the road and would have been broken by the next car going  over them. So sad. why not rope it off ???? why not call an archeologist ...why destroy humanity's property ???  Well, they got everything but the head - it is buried in rock and they did not dare to break it.

This is the guy who found them

He asked if I knew anyone who could study them

amazing moment for me ....

Les was not happy but I wrote to the biosphere and asked them what we had to do in order to be able to keep it. I said it could be housed in my future dream museum OR in the front of town OR at the coop, where it would be under constant surveillance and protected from humans but not from the elements.

I am still waiting to hear form the guys who did the presentation. I would like them to come in February and have to make the right preparations so that we have a full house.

I have asked the surfers to meet me again next Wed.  I came up with a list of things they can do to raise moola for the teounament:

car wash

sell arts and crafts

sell my cake

we can have special dinners and invite all friends and family to come so:

Roal's tamale night

Les's pizza night

Joaquin's taco night

Now, I got a horrid email from the owner of a motor company which the governor just bought 25 brand new engines from and gave to our coop.  The coop asked me to contact the  owner of this company (seeing as how he just got thousands of dollars from them indirectly) to ask for whatever I wanted...so I thought about it and we decided then and there to ask for porta potties. There are NONE on the beach and there are NONE whenever we have an event. So, I had the secretaries write a nice email and  we sent it.  Then I wrote another one about 2 weeks after the face which he quickly responded to "How much for the porta pottiees".   This was Friday. So, I wrote to an American who has land here who has a porta potty company and Les, don't ask me how, found out about some Chinese companies that do the same and wrote to them. They sent an excellent quote at $400 something each BUT we have to get them from China to La Bocana or at least to Ensenada !! The American. Lance. wrote and said they were having a major snowstorm but he would get back a.s.a.p.

Point being - we were doing our research.

The today I get an email from the guy, after he had seen the UNA BOCANA LIMPIA  site which goes out automatically after any email, and said he would deal directly with the gvt or the coop but not with me to figure out what the community priorites were !!!

  So, I wrote a wonderful email which Edith made even more wonderful with her spectacular Spanish writing skills telling him that I was indeed working with the coop  already and that he was welcome to deal with them directly - added names and numbers and cc'd them as well. In the end I said:  in my opinion, not having bathrooms for workers/fishermen was inhumane in my opinion and therefore of the highest priorty. and left it at that. JERK. I am still seething inside. I mean - face it - he was reacting to me as a gringa which just ticks the living heck out of me. Reverse discrimination.

Well, the other good news is that Pancho stopped by for dinner yesterday. He had mentioned forever ago that he wanted a retiree clubhouse but that no one supported him who was already retired. So, it was on my wish list, of course.  Well, I guess he decided to act on it and convinced some of them to start building the clubhouse !!  he wants to retire in a year and wants a hangout !!  Seeing as we have No bars. NO restaurants to just hang out at ... his idea is fabulous and he is now making it a reality. I am convinced he just got motivated by seeing me make such a movement in so many other areas. How cool is that ????  VERYthis is Herman Hill and we bought his book - he is/was a gold miner adventurer in Baja for years and years and so many incredible stories.  I love the  book.

Larry, our B & B guest who has a house inBay of LA (BOLA) and worked in rural trash biz forever, introduced me to Mauro - the new kid on the block in the recycling and trash biz in the northern part of Baja ... and Blanca - of course -the newest kid on the block in the southern part !!

the guy on the far right is in the kayaking biz

I want him to come here and teach us .... build a kayak biz ..... we have a huge lagoon, which I th ink is perfect for the sport