Hello from Yakima

On July 30, 2006, we retired the first time and moved to Mazatlan, Mexico.  April of 2010 we left Mexico and moved to Yakima and have been working since.  However, after a stressful two years of a full time job I've had enough and have retired once again as of July 31, 2013.   I'm so relieved and happy and so very thankful and grateful to have such a wonderful husband that is so understanding.  Unfortunately, he will be working probably for another year and a half.  I'm trying very hard to support him in any why I can to make his life as stress free as possible by taking care of all our needs at home.  I love being home, planning meals, keeping our home clean and organized and pursuing some of the passions I've put on hold for a few years.  I'm loving having time to get back to yoga and walking.  Here is a picture of us celebrating my retirement at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

I had a wonderful 63rd birthday thanks to my husband.  We went to "Twigs Bistro & Martini Bar" for dinner after he let me open my presents after work.  He surprised me with a new microwave, spatulas, cutting board & chip clips.  I thought perhaps there was a theme with these gifts but there wasn't.  Very nice gifts but where was the little box?  Finally, it surfaced and he had gotten me some beautiful diamond earrings. :)  He is such a wonderful, wonderful husband who is the love of my life.  Then, we headed out to the bistro and who came to dinner with us but Scott & Deannie!!  It was such a nice surprise when they came walking in.  Deannie & I had salmon.  Greg had enchiladas and Scott I think a burrito.  Food was delicious!!   Had to try the martinis.  Greg had a Key Lime and I had the Mucho Mango.  They were so very yummy.  Just a great birthday with lots of birthday wish phone cal...

It's a little vineyard not far from our home.  It's called Naches Heights Vineyard, NHV.  They have a lovely tasting room and beautiful grounds that are just wonderful for spending our leisure time.  We've been going out on Friday nights when they have some live music and, of course, great wine.  We are actually members of the wine club and are so enjoying their new release "The Carmen".  It's a blend of two grapes.  56% Tempranillo, arguably the most famous of Spain's native grapes, is a vibrant, aromatic varietal that offers spicy, red fruit aromas and flavors. The grape's name translates to "little early one," a moniker that references fruit's early ripening tendency-- Tempranillo thrives even with a short growing season.  The Carmen is also 44% Monastrell which is the spanish name of a grape variety known in France as Mourvèdre .  Mourvèdre grows in Rhone, Languedoc Roussillon and mostly in Provence. Basically Mourvèdre is cultiv...

Summer is in the rear-view mirror. There's a chill in the air. And it's time to start thinking about firewood, mittens, apple cider and Halloween costumes.  Fall is here!! http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-autumn-equinox-first-day-of-fall-20120922,0,2968313.story

As we make our plans to leave Mazatlan the week of April 12th, we find ourselves in the middle of Semana Santa (Holy Week) or Easter week. This is a popular time for families from all over Mexico to take a beach vacation. Mazatlan is getting very crowded right now and there are live bands along the Malecon and a general party atmosphere. They figure an additional 40,000 people will be in the city this week. There are many umbrellas starting to go up on the beaches, as families enjoy the ocean. With the violence that has recently hit Mazatlan, many had thought families wouldn't come this year, but it's looking like they're coming anyway. The government has sent in additional military, ie Army, Navy, Municipal Police, Federal Police, lifeguards and other entities to help keep the city safe. However, we continue to hear of incidents on a daily basis. We just hope and pray the families will be safe this week and be able to enjoy their beach vacation. Happy Easter to you all.

We've been here in Mazatlan for 3 months now. Many of you may be wondering what we do with our time down here. Sometimes, as we reflect on our days, we too wonder what we do with our time. Our days seem to fly by with always something interesting, fun and rewarding to do. This year, we have had some concerns however with the drug cartel problem in Mexico. In fact, there have been more drug related shootings in Mazatlan than ever before. The violence has made it's way to Mazatlan and we now feel a little less secure than we have in the past. We do hope and pray the situation will turn around someday but we don't really feel like that will be any time soon. We're careful where we spend our time in Maz and haven't ventured out into the small villages outside Maz this year. We are staying pretty close to home and try not to be out after dark. Of course, our days are spent enjoying the beautiful weather. Mazatlan is just 15 miles south of the Tropic of Cancer and on the ...

We spent our 13th Wedding Anniversary this year at our timeshare, Torres Mazatlan. These pictures were taken from the terrace of our condo there at sunset Valentine's Day which is our anniversary too. We were married here on the beach and stayed in this same building 13 years ago. Torres holds a very special place in our hearts. We had a wonderful time. This year our anniversary/Valentine's Day coincided with Carnaval. After a wonderful dinner in the La Palapa Restaurant at Torres they put on a fiesta outside to celebrate Carnaval. There was lots of festive mexican music and dancing. They gave each of us a Carnaval mask to wear too.

We had a huge rainstrom yesterday starting about 5:00 pm. It rained heavy all through the night. Just like Seattle kind of rain. So strange and unusual for this time of year. This is the rainbow we woke up to this morning. Just beautiful!!

Looks like the groundhog saw his shadow today, indicating there will be 6 more weeks of winter. Not for us here in Mazatlan though. We are enjoying sunny, warm days with tempertures in the 80's. Just wonderful! But to all you folks up norte, hang in there, this too shall pass. http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/weather/02/02/groundhog.day/index.html?section=cnn_latest

We had an opportunity to view the first full moon of 2010 here in Mazatlan on Friday, January 29th. It was the biggest and brightest full moon of the year and we were even able to easily see features on the moon with our telescope. See our photos below. This full moon is also known as the wolf moon, dating back to Native American culture and the notion that hungry wolves howled at the full moon on cold winter nights. Each month brings another full moon name. Here are some interesting facts about our moon. The moon is, on average, 238,855 miles (384,400 km) from Earth. The moon's orbit around Earth - which causes it to go through all its phases once every 29.5 days - is not a perfect circle, but rather an ellipse. One side of the orbit is 31,070 miles (50,000 km) closer than the other. So in each orbit, the moon reaches this closest point to us, called perigee. Once or twice a year, perigee coincides with a full moon, as it did last night, making the moon bigger and brighter than an...

My "60th" birthday was very nice. Greg made it special by inviting a few of our close friends/condo owners here at Las Gavias. They showed up about sunset for margaritas, appetizers and birthday cake. Here are a few pictures of the evening. Not a wild and crazy "60th", just nice, relaxing conversation with nice people. Greg got me a "Tres Leche" cake for my birthday from Panama Bakery. I know it doesn't look very appetizing but it is just delicious! Has 3 different types of milk. Just in case you are interested and haven't heard of this cake, here's a link to info about it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tres_leches_cake

The choral group, singing in the video clip below is from the Municipal Center of the Arts here in Mazatlan. They performed in a free holiday concert for us at Las Gavias Club Residencial where we live. The group, Coro de Camara Guillermo Zarabia, are instructed at the school by Maestra Marta Felix who also makes her home at Las Gavias. Maestro Enrique Patron de Rueda, who is a very well known Orchestra/Conductor in Mexico and lives here in Mazatlan at Las Gavias, helped sponsor this concert. Below is a link to his website. http://enriquepatron.com/enriquepatron/patron.swf The group was just fabulous and such a treat for all of us during this Christmas season. Enjoy this short video clip of one of the Christmas carols they sang for us. Sorry but I'm having trouble with uploading the video clip. Check back later.

I went to a great Broadway performance at the Angela Peralta Theater here in Maz last evening. It was put on by "Dance, Inc." of Mazatlan. The group is instructed by the "Professional School of Contemporary Dance of Mazatlan." http://www.culturamazatlan.com/cma-en.php?seccion=cma-esc-prof-danza-en They performed dance/song clips of great Broadway performances such as: Chicago, Hair Spray, A Chorus Line, Cabaret and Big Spender/Sweet Charity. It was very entertaining, amazing dancing and so professionally done. I really enjoyed the evening with my friend Jan. Before the performance, we had dinner at the La Tramoya Restaurant in the Plazuela Machado where the theater is located.

This Christmas fundraiser breakfast for the poor was held on Saturday, December 12th in the arts and crafts building at the cruise ship docks here in Maz. It helped raise money to provide Christmas chicken dinners for 2,000 families. The dinners will be delivered to them on Christmas Eve morning. The building was decorated with festive pinatas and Christmas music, some we even recognized. Our good friends, Dick and Jan from Colorado, went with us. Dick and Greg are served breakfast. The breakfast consisted of beef machaca, chilaquilles, soupy refried beans served with tortillas. We also enjoyed some yummy pastries. A nice Mexican family sat at our table and the mother had a 4 month old baby boy named Joseph. Mother and Joseph Group photo. Jan enjoying baby Joseph. Rough translation of the message on the back of the shirts the wait staff were wearing was, "Share your Christmas with someone". Front of shirts. Again, a rough translation is "learn to give back when one gives...

Saturday night before the race on Sunday morning, the crowds lined up along the malecon to watch the hot air balloons fill up and the fireworks/light show a little later in the evening. Just a spectacular site to watch these balloons fill up and the fireworks were awesome. Sunday morning about 8:00 the runners begin passing our building. At this point, they're more than 1/2 way through the 46K, or 26 mile race. The participants from Kenya lead the pack. Not sure where this lady was from but she was the first of the ladies to pass by. She must have been important as she had escorts ahead and behind her. Is this bystander's warm up suit pink enough?? The Kenyans are leading the pack on the homeward stretch too. The skies were overcast for the race but by afternnoon this is what it looked like. Just a gorgeous day!!