A Couple More Sleeps

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

Yesterday was a fun day and a day off before gearing up for packing.  We went to a baptism for our friends who recently adopted a baby.   They are very good friends of ours and waited for almost two years to be approved only after classes and psychological, physical and financial evaluations.   If anyone deserves to be parents these guys do.

 

We spent the afternoon there not getting home until almost 9 o'clock.  Oh well, it was a fun day.  We started out at the church and then headed over to the quinta in Monterrey.   A beautiful place they rented and invited 100 guests.  We had snacks, drinks and then carne asada with all the trimmings.  The kids swam in the pool.  

I want to make a comment about the event.  All of our friends there, or at least the majority, are first generation graduates from the university.   Most of if not all of their parents didn't finish high school and worked in factory jobs, had a small business, market, etc.  back in the sixties and seventies.   Not rich by any means.   Their parents, now retired and on small pensions have to be proud of their kids.   All of these people worked and went to school, got a good job, a degree and now live very comfortable and productive lives.   So, I guess what I want to say is that it isn't all "woe is me, I'm a poor Mexican".  It's about making something out of your life.  Our friends are younger than we are, 30 to 45 years old.   They have worked hard to achieve what they have.   Mexico is on the move and truly growing.

Today, we went shopping for all the supplies we need to take with us and what we need to keep the house going while we're gone including cat food, chlorine and chemicals for the pool.   I picked up some of the hottest salsas I know of in Mexico for my BIL in Reno.   He loves that stuff!

We cleaned out the shed in the backyard, loaded some stuff in the rv, cleaned the bathrooms,  cleaned out the pantry and most importantly was to replace the pins on the weight distribution hitch.   No wonder I had to use hose clamps to keep the bars in place.  The lugs, or pins, were pretty much sheared off to nubs.  It's not like I can go out to the Eazlift hitch store in Monterrey and pick up a repair kit.  I ordered it online and had it shipped to our friends house in McAllen and I picked it up on Thursday.  You need four hands and a double set of reading glasses to get the job done and we did it.  The bars stay in place.  I'm not taking any chances and keeping the hose clamps in place.

Tomorrow we need to have the security company do some adjustments to our DVR and software, clean out the refrigerator and talk to the gardener and his wife about their lists of duties while we are gone.   

One small glitch.  In today's paper, people were complaining about the U.S. border agents.   The wait to get your permit is up to eight hours.   Everybody wants to travel to the U.S. to visit relatives and the people asking for permits say there has been no additional agents added, no overtime authorized, and most of all, no understanding on the part of the U.S. agents to speed up the process.  To bad we don't have a place to stay overnight in Nuevo Laredo.  We could go late afternoon and get up at three a.m. to get the permit.   We may cross the border and put up with the two hour crossing and then spend the night going back after midnight to get the permit before heading to San Antonio.

Now, a steak is on the grill and a cocktail in my hand.   I am ready to roll!  Viva Canada! or Oh Canada!