Autumn Leaves Must Fall (No Politics Here)

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

"Autumn leaves must fall".  Here we are in November and the trees aren't turning color but the leaves are dry and falling.  We had a good hurricane season which brought rain and well-needed moisture to the ground.  Now, however, we have been in a dry spell for four weeks, not a drop of rain in sight.  The air is crisp in the early mornings and warms up to the mid 20Cs during the day.   Open windows, fresh air, and light breezes throughout the day.  This picture is the everyday view of my power walks.  They get longer the cooler the weather gets but I prefer daylight savings time.  Darkness brings fewer people out and about and for me, that's what mornings are all about.

Covid update:  Our friend Irma is in ICU with the virus.  She is recovering.  Another good friend, Rolando, lost his mother this week to Covid.  She was 84 and lived alone.  Someone went to visit her and gave her the virus.  Today Mexico has had 94,000 deaths and continues to rise.  

I am two months behind on my cardio check up so I went ahead and pulled out my file and ordered some blood tests.  I went in early morning after a fast for blood work.  I did just about everything and my cholesterol is low, glucose I need to retest it was borderline, PSA extremely low, but one thing puzzles me.  I had urine tests and my calcium is low although we take a daily calcium tablet.  I just don't feel comfortable right now going to my doctor whose office is in a hospital.  Although he is the medical director of the hospital and says everything would be fine, in my head it's best to steer clear for a bit longer.

What to do during a two-week high alert lockdown?  Bake and cook!  I tried my hand at no sugar, low-fat whole wheat blueberry muffins.  They turned out great but they aren't sweet enough.  Warmed with a touch of honey makes them super delicious.

I'm not sure what happened Sunday morning.  You would think by the looks of it that we had family over for breakfast.   We just got "batter" happy I guess and made enough pancakes to last a couple of weekends.  Wrapped them up and put them in the freezer for future enjoyment.

Town square during lockdown when I went for my blood tests.  Restaurants are open and people were there enjoying the great weather but the plaza was roped off and business is way down.  Everyone was masked but they aren't locals.  Locals are convinced the have a "special" DNA that protects them.

I've mentioned before that people make assumptions based on a limited personal experience and I run across them on a daily basis reading Mexico forums, Facebook, blogs, and YouTube videos.  A YouTube couple claimed they couldn't find Dr. Pepper anywhere in Mexico.  Not that I give a rat's behind about Dr. Pepper as we don't drink sodas, but their experience was limited to a couple of small towns where they have lived over the last year.  Dr. Pepper is available in Mexico and Super 7 or Seven-Eleven has it on the shelves and also in supermarkets.

Another was the lack of building codes in Mexico and water shut off valves.  Mexico does have building codes but when someone decides to build their own house they have the opportunity to avoid those codes by being cheap and having a contractor who doesn't care.   As you know, we are always looking at homes for sale both new and pre-owned, and have never seen a house that didn't have water shutoffs under sinks, toilets, showers, etc.  Our house was built 25 years ago and all the water connects have shut off valves.  Opinions based on limited experiences are what can spread rumors about life in Mexico or other countries.

It reminded me of Tioga and George and his famous statement that ATMs were not available in Mexico.  Well, at the time in San Quentin, Baja Sur, there wasn't one when he needed it, hence the statement.  BTW, I checked his blog yesterday and it is still up and running.  I read what happened in the first week of November for several years.  The guy had a good life as a boondocker.