70th birthday aerobatic flight photos

 

WELCOME TO APOLLO

Saturday, May 18, 2024 ; Our neighbour Patti is moving out of Dugald Estates this Victoria Day long weekend, and relocating to a small community near Edmonton, Alberta, to live with her son and daughter-in-law. To facilitate her move-out we are dog sitting her two dogs this weekend ; Peeta, the 12 ½ year old black Labrador, and Apollo, the 12 ½ year old Miniature Schnauzer.

Unfortunately, due to circumstances, she can only take one of the dogs with her. So … as we have known since last fall was a very slight possibility, and have known since early in January was a certainty … Patti will take Peeta with her and will need to leave Apollo behind. With us !

We are thrilled to welcome Apollo to our home. It has been over three years since we’ve had a pet, and we are more than ready to have Apollo become part of our family.

Today (Saturday) and tomorrow Patti will be packing and loading, with the assistance of her Alberta son who is flying in this afternoon.

Peeta and Apollo came over to our suite at noon today. We cared for them for two weeks last summer when Patti was away on vacation, and we have visited with them frequently, so they are both comfortable with us. Since we returned a month and a half ago from our winter in Mexico Apollo has been over for a few “sleepovers”, to help him become accustomed to living with us. He even spent an overnight here while we were fostering Tigger the fat cat. She was not thrilled with his presence, but everybody survived.

The afternoon was uneventful. In the evening Peeta became restless and stressed. He’s aware that “something is afoot” because Patti has been packing for the move for awhile already. And Peeta is “concerned” whenever he is away from Patti. So … I brushed him. That calmed him a lot. Fortunately Apollo does not suffer the same “concerns” and stress. He happily comes to live with us. He happily returns to Patti. I hope that holds true once Patti and Peeta are both gone in a couple of days.

Sunday, May 19 ; We had a bit of a rough night. The dogs are on a different schedule than Joanne and me. They were ready for sleep last night before we were. That’s not a problem. But … they were ready to get up long before us. Especially Peeta who wanted to go outside to relieve himself at 5 AM. Then he wanted breakfast at 6 AM. Then Apollo wanted to go out at 6:30 AM. Then they both wanted the day to really get started before 9 AM. Apollo wanted breakfast. Peeta wanted MORE breakfast. Hey … he’s a lab ! Then they both wanted their long morning walk. <sigh> OK !

As we returned from their long morning walk Patti and her son were just arriving back home from picking up their rented U-Haul trailer. Peeta and Apollo “said hello” to them, then surprisingly to us, happily returned to our suite without showing signs of stress from leaving Patti again.

We had a pleasant afternoon, working on chores, enjoying the fine weather. Apollo followed one or both of us around like a little sidekick. Peeta moped around feeling sorry for himself, worrying that maybe Patti was abandoning him. Late in the afternoon we went for another long walk, our farewell walk with Peeta.

Shortly after 8 PM Patti showed up to retrieve Peeta, and say farewell to us … and Apollo. She will be leaving early tomorrow morning, before we are awake. I quickly took Apollo outside for a walk, leaving Joanne to say goodbye to Patti and Peeta, and to help Patti take Peeta and his stuff back to her suite for their last night here.

When I returned to our suite with Apollo, to our surprise, his spirits immediately sunk very low. It seemed as if he finally realized he was being abandoned by Patti and Peeta. Poor, sweet, little fellow. We had not expected this. He is usually such a cheerful little fellow, we never anticipated he would “crash” like that. We spent the rest of the evening trying to console him and make him feel better. We didn’t really succeed.

Monday, May 20 ; Well … upon arising this morning, Apollo is “officially” ours. Welcome home, sweet little boy ! We promise to take very good care of you. We will lovingly help you to adapt to your new reality.

His spirit was improved this morning, although he was still uncharacteristically subdued. And he was disinterested in eating. I have been eager to try adding some yogurt into his diet for its probiotic value. Apollo has previously had some intestinal (pancreatic ?) issues. I added some yogurt to his food this morning, and it did entice him to eat a bit, but not much.

Once Joanne was out of bed (Apollo and I were up before her) his spirit improved even more, and he initiated play with one of his favourite squeaky toys. We took that as a good sign that he will soon bounce back to his normal, high-spirited self.

Right after lunch we left to run some errands in Winnipeg, and to visit Joanne’s sister to introduce Apollo. We have kept our “adoption” of Apollo a secret until today. Yes, yes … Joanne’s sister was surprised ! While we visited with Lorraine in her backyard, Apollo explored the yard. It was a great outing. The car ride, visiting, and exploring all lifted Apollo’s spirits immensely.

After visiting with Lorraine we drove to a garden centre in South St. Vital to buy vegetable seeds and plants. We will be planting a vegetable garden in a few days. We left Apollo in the car, parked in the shade, with partially open windows while we shopped. We want him to accept that practice, and behave well when we leave him in the car briefly.

We might have a way to go with that. While we shopped we could hear him barking in the car. Hopefully we can modify that behaviour over time.

This evening at home he seemed quite tired. I suppose it was both an exciting and stressful first day for him with us.

Good boy, Apollo !

Tuesday, May 20 ; Another big day for Apollo ! This morning we took our neighbour Glennis’s small puppy for a walk with us, which we have offered to Glennis to start doing on a daily basis. Glennis acquired Gracie last fall at the age of two months, so Gracie is about ten months old now. And … is quite a handful for Glennis, who is … well … elderly.

Gracie benefited greatly from having a long walk. It allowed her to exercise off a lot of excess energy. Glennis can’t take Gracie for walks. Today Gracie began to learn to “pack walk”, an exercise that we have always considered a very important part of a dog’s social development. And it allowed Apollo to exercise some of his “alpha dog” dominant tendencies, acting as a mentor for Gracie. Win, win !

Joanne went to run errands all afternoon. Apollo and I gardened. I took him with me to our community’s garden plot area, and I worked on preparing our assigned garden plot, which is seven feet by twenty feet. It was already covered in weeds, testament to the fertility of this area’s soil. I weeded it, measured it, roped it off, and marked it with stakes every eighteen inches, to define my planting rows. I worked on the garden for at least a couple of hours. The entire time Apollo sat nearby, watching the world go by, visiting with our neighbours / condo residents as they happened by. Twice I left him sitting alone in the garden while I returned to our suite for a few minutes to get stuff I needed. He sat patiently and attentively waiting for me to return.

Good boy, Apollo !

Wednesday, May 21 ; And yet another big day for Apollo. And again he was a very good boy ! And … we tired him out … again.

Immediately after lunch we all loaded into the minivan and headed into the city to run errands, mostly shopping for Apollo stuff. First we picked up a home fire extinguisher that I had sent in for inspection and refurbishment / refilling. Then we headed to PetsMart where we shopped for way too long for supplies for Apollo ; a new harness, a raincoat, biscuits, ear cleaner, and styptic powder. Selecting the right brand and size of harness, then raincoat, took way too long. Sorry, Apollo ! But he was patient, and very well behaved.

As an aside … I was thrilled to buy Apollo a bag of Northern Biscuits. I feel a “connection” to the genesis of Northern Biscuits. Shortly after we began our first (of four) pet food & supply retail stores in Ottawa, in 1990, we were approached by a young married couple from Toronto about our age with a request to “test market” their new “all natural” dog biscuit product. They had a few stores in Toronto trying out their home made product, and on a trip to Ottawa one weekend approached me with a request to be the first store in the Ottawa region to give their biscuits a try. I struck a hard bargain with Nick on a Friday evening for a case of biscuits “on consignment’, with no payment until they were ready to head back to Toronto on Sunday afternoon. No payment on Friday, payment on Sunday only for what I could sell between Friday evening and Sunday afternoon.

Well … shit … I sold the entire case by Sunday afternoon, and people were already returning to buy more ! On Sunday afternoon I paid Nick for the first case, and ordered more to be shipped ASAP ! Eventually Joanne and I became very successful in our pet food & supply retail stores, and obviously so did Nick and Patty with their Northern Biscuit line of all natural dog biscuit products. They’re still going strong. Congratulations, Nick and Patty of Northern Biscuits !

Next store was PET VALU, the chain of stores in which we were franchisees. They certainly have evolved over the last 34 years ! And their stores and staff still have excellent pet food knowledge. We were very impressed with the young woman who served us at the Reenders location. She helped us select a new pet food for Apollo, a Canadian made, limited ingredient, prebiotic and probiotic loaded sensitive stomach and gut formulation. And we purchased some treats in the same product line. Thank you for the PET VALU gift certificate, Patti. We put it to good use.

While Joanne went into Sobey’s for a few grocery items I took Apollo for a walk around the perimeter of the mall parking lot. We refilled the minivan with fuel at Superstore, then headed home to Dugald.

Again … Good boy, Apollo !

Thursday, May 22 ; A nice weather day. I spent the entire afternoon working on preparing and planting our garden plot. Apollo once again joined me as my garden sidekick, sitting or lying contentedly in the garden watching the world go by, occasionally visiting with neighbours.

We are now taking our neighbour Glennis’s ten month old puppy Gracie with us on our twice daily exercise / dog walks. Apollo likes to lead, Gracie likes to follow, he’s a good mentor, she’s a good student. She’s beginning to figure out that our walks have a purpose, and she needn’t rely on her indoor “puppy pads” exclusively. Valuable lesson to learn !

Friday, May 23 ; A terrible weather day, cold and raining. After our somewhat miserable noon time walk two of our neighbours, Nina and Gail, met us coming back indoors with two wet, cold dogs, and accepted our invitation to come into our suite for cookies and tea. Apollo enjoyed visiting !

After their visit we left Apollo alone in our suite for the first time in the week that we’ve had him, while we went to Winnipeg Humane Society to pick up our new foster cat Snooki, who will be with us until June 17. She is being “tested” on a new to her hypoallergenic diet to see if it will reduce her food allergies, and to await dental surgery on June 18.

<whispering> We saw Tigger in the cat adoption wing.

When we returned home after a 2 ½ hour absence one of our neighbours commented that Apollo made a bit of noise during our absence. <shrug> Get over it ! We have to endure sharing a condo community with some of your annoying peculiarities … it’s a two way street !  Apollo has been through a traumatic experience of “abandonment” less than a week ago, he’s still adjusting, overall his behaviour is excellent… yeah, get over it !

Snooki will live in our office / spare bedroom, with the door closed most of the time, we think. When I left the door open, with a baby gate installed, Apollo stared at her for awhile, then barked once. As he did with Tigger a few weeks ago. Same as with Tigger, Snooki did not really appreciate being barked at, so the door to the office will remain closed most of the time.

Saturday, May 24 ; What a miserable weather day ! Cold, windy, raining ! Good practice for us spending next winter on Vancouver Island, I suppose.

We took Apollo and Gracie (neighbour’s puppy) on a morning walk. Miserable ! We took them again on an afternoon walk. A bit less miserable, but still … !

We began to trim Apollo’s nails this afternoon. We didn’t get very far ! I hit the quick (blood filled nerve) on two out of three nails I cut ! ! ! That hurts like hell ! ! ! And bleeds ! Good thing we waited to do this until we bought styptic powder (to stop the bleeding) a few days ago. I’m very sorry, Apollo. I quit after hitting the quick on both the second and third nails I cut. Obviously his nails aren’t as long as I thought they were, or … his quicks extend very far down the length of the nails. <sigh> He has black nails so it’s impossible to see the quick.

Good thing Apollo is so forgiving !

He vomited his meal today. And … <sputter> … so did Snooki (the foster cat). <sigh> Remind me again how much I’ve missed having pets ? ! ?

DSK

March 31 to April 6, 2024 ; Oaxaca (city), Oaxaca (state), Mexico to Dugald, Manitoba, Canada

 Easter Sunday ; Sunny and hot, 95° F / 35° C at 3:30 PM.

Joanne continues to feel ill, but slowly improved throughout the day. She declined to participate in our morning exercises routine, or noon time exercise walk, but felt well enough to join me on a slow walk around the neighbourhood at 6:30 PM.

I went for a walk by myself before lunch. As I walked by Mercado de La Noria, expecting it to be closed due to Easter … it was filled with people and noise. A real “happenin’ place”. The small food court was filled to overflowing with loud, boisterous family groups, enjoying Easter brunch, I surmise. Dressed to the nines in their “go to church on Easter” finest. Although … here in Mexico … there is a very fine line between “go to church on Easter” finest clothing, and … <cough cough> … “porn film shoot” finest clothing. HA HA HA ! The local women must watch too much telenovelas.

On impulse I decided to buy a few items to provide lunch provisions for our remaining few days. I bought five eggs (sold individually for three pesos / twenty-five cents each), a couple bolillos / sandwich buns, and an aquacate (agwaKAtay) / avocado (ten pesos / 82¢). Mi amigo perro Lucho was not at work today. <sigh>

On our late walk, at the end of our block, at 6:30 PM, was … a horseshoe arrangement of perhaps fifty chairs, blocking the entire street, covered by a sun tent, the kind that flea market or farmers’ market vendors might use. <blink blink> HUH ? The building at the corner has shown no life during our three month stay here. BUT … tonight, the doors and windows were open as we walked by beside the sun tent and chairs. One large room looked like it was a commercial kitchen. The other large room was filled with large Easter floral arrangements, and lit religious candles. <blink blink> HUH ?

Large family Easter dinner ? Impromptu Easter twilight church service, with flowers, candles, and appies ? Holy Roller revival meeting ? ? ? Beware of the Kool-Aid !

There truly seems to be no municipal regulations / restrictions of any sort here. Want to block the street with a sun tent and fifty chairs ? No problem ! Anything goes !

During and after supper we watched yesterday’s episode of Saturday Night Live.

HMPH ! Just had an earthquake (at 10:35 PM) ! ! ! Well … THAT was kind of interesting !

Monday ; Sunny and hot, 91° F / 33° C at 5 PM.

Joanne is almost healthy. Should be good to go on Wednesday. I had a somewhat frustrating, but productive day, taking care of “return home” chores and more.

Perhaps the most important achievement of the day was … <insert drum roll here> … I secured a reservation for two months next winter at Xanadu Estate in Cobble Hill, a small seaside village on Vancouver Island, halfway between Victoria and Nanaimo (see www.xanaduestate.ca).

I verified that our automobile insurance will be reinstated upon our return home. I verified that some work that needs to be done in our Dugald Estates suite a week after our return will be done. I left a message and am expecting a return call from the Winnipeg Humane Society volunteer/foster team. I left a message and am expecting a return call from an apartment hotel in downtown Victoria regarding a reservation for next winter season. I paid some difficult to pay bills online. Long story … online banking drama ! Required two phone calls to Montreal for assistance by technical support agents. I filled out and submitted our ArriveCan forms. I worked out check-out details with our landlord here. And finally … at 6 PM we walked to Lavanderia Cancer to pick up our laundry which has been there since noon last Thursday. <sigh> Not ready ! Not surprised ! ! ! <sigh> Guess we know where our morning walk tomorrow will take us ! ! !

During and following supper we watched last week’s episode of Survivor.

Tuesday ; Sunny and hot, again 95° F / 35° C at 5 PM, on our final day in Mexico.

GOOD NEWS ; Joanne’s gastro-intestinal distress is over !

BAD NEWS ; She now has a cold … again ! <sigh >

We just can’t seem to catch a health break this winter in Mexico !

Around noon we walked to Lavanderia Cancer to pick up our washed laundry. WOO-HOO … finally ! Clean underwear ! By the time we had walked half way to the lavanderia Joanne was complaining about the heat. I suggested that she return home and I would continue on to the lavanderia. She declined my suggestion. <sigh> We picked up the laundry and walked home. I left her at home to sort and pack our clean laundry … except for some clean underwear … and I walked to OXXO to buy cold medication and lozenges to ease her discomfort today and especially on tomorrow’s long (about 18 hours) journey home. Oh, joy … ANOTHER long trip home with a sicko … just like last year ! <sarcasm>

After lunch Joanne slowly prepared and packed for departure early tomorrow morning. I tried to achieve as much as I could online and on the phone prior to leaving. Once we’re home the “at home” priorities will prevail. My main achievement of the day was securing a “long term winter stay” reservation for a suite at our chosen apartment hotel in downtown Victoria, BC for next December and January. WOO-HOO ! I now have the accommodations for the entire winter on Vancouver Island arranged. Well done, Daniel !

I confirmed the reactivation of our home TV and internet service tomorrow. I secured a meeting in a week at the Winnipeg Humane Society to complete our new volunteer / foster paperwork, and … <insert drum roll here> … be assigned our first foster animal, probably a senior cat. I arranged for another replacement water flosser to be sent to our home in Canada. Remember ? The first one lasted about two months. The second one lasted about a week and a half ! Maybe third time’s the charm ? Probably not !

I tried repeatedly to “check-in” for our flights tomorrow, but the Delta online check-in system would not allow that. Perhaps it’s not possible to check in online for flights that start in one country, fly from point A to point B within that country, then fly to a second country, then to a third country ? Oh, joy … just what I needed / wanted … airline drama ! Memories of WestJet ! ! ! <more sarcasm>

Joanne was responsible for managing our food, so that we would have little to no food left when we leave here tomorrow morning. She did an excellent job. I was responsible for managing our cash, so that we would have little to no Mexican money left when we leave Mexico tomorrow. I also did an excellent job. After paying our restaurant bill tonight, I have 300 pesos ($24.59) left for the taxi ride to the airport early tomorrow morning, and 500 pesos ($40.98) left for lunch in the Mexico City airport tomorrow.

At 7 PM we went out for our “farewell to Mexico” dinner at Oscuro Brebaje, the local upscale restaurant where I ordered a custom made birthday cake for Joanne, and where we went once for Sunday brunch. Tonight’s dinner was excellent. And Joanne wanted to share a piece of their pineapple pie, but … after dinner we were too full. We ordered the pie anyway, and asked for it “para llevar” (yayVAR) / to go. We might have it as a bedtime snack tonight, or more likely as breakfast at the Oaxaca airport tomorrow morning.

Wednesday ; Oaxaca to Mexico City, Mexico to Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, to Dugald, Manitoba, Canada

Sunny and hot in Oaxaca and Mexico City. Not so much in Minneapolis and Winnipeg / Dugald !

Awoke at 5 AM. Left apartment at 6:50 AM, pre-arranged taxi waiting. Arrived Oaxaca airport at 7:15 AM. Waited in long line to check in at AeroMexico counter … at 8 AM. HMPH … forgot that our Delta Airlines tickets did not include luggage charge. Had to pay 1000 pesos / US$60 / CA$82 for 2 pieces of luggage. Through security at 8:15 AM. Boarding at 8:45 AM. Wheels up on time at 9 AM.

Landed on time in Mexico City at 10 AM. HMPH … fifteen minutes of taxiing and waiting for available jetway. Not off aircraft until 10:30 AM. Walked and walked and walked about halfway to next gate, then found place near sandwich restaurant … City Baguette, Mexican version of Subway … to sit and rest. Both of us falling asleep ! Slept poorly last night … again. Insomnia for me, coughing for her !

Around noon, I bought a small container of milk for me and a small container of chocolate milk for Joanne at a clone of the 7-11 convenience store chain, then a sandwich at a chaotic Mexican clone of the Subway sandwich chain, and we had lunch. We found our way to our departure gate, then each of us went to the restroom and changed from shorts to long pants. I went to a money exchange booth and converted my remaining pesos to … < rolling my eyes> … forty dollars Canadian and two dollars American, with five pesos left over. <sigh> Looks like I now have a five peso coin as a souvenir. HA HA HA !

At 1:30 PM we boarded our Delta flight to Minneapolis. We were wheels up fifteen minutes late, at 2:15 PM. We landed in Minneapolis thirty minutes early at 7 PM. However … <fume> … because we were thirty minutes early, we sat at the jetway for twenty minutes waiting … <fume> … for a “jetway agent” to show up and position the jetway so that the aircraft door could be opened.

AND … <sputter> … just to remind me of the magnitude of my contempt for the United States’ Customs & Border Patrol agency … <sputter sputter> … and their incessant “make work for ourselves” … Canadians landing at Minneapolis simply to make a connecting flight are required to “clear customs”, then retrieve their luggage, simply to walk it over a few feet to have it checked in again and sent to the connecting flight ! ! ! Ostensibly … <sputter> … just in case the CBP agent decides that the luggage should be “examined”. Examined ? ? ? ! ! ! ? ? ? Neither we Canadian connecting passengers, nor our luggage is really “entering” your shithole of a nation, you assholes ! ! !

<taking a deep breath> And we’re not finished yet ! ! ! After retrieving our luggage, and re-checking it in again a few feet later, we had to go through security again. Despite never having left the “secure” boarding gate area of the airport. Including … <sputter> … taking off our shoes, and … <more sputtering> … I had to go through a full body scanner because I “have metal in my body”. My sternum has been sawed in half for cardiac bypass surgery, then the two halves were “re-connected” using a series of titanium clips and wires.

That whole Customs & Border Patrol bullshit took forty-five minutes ! ! ! It took us another forty-five minutes to walk all the way through Minneapolis Airport’s Terminal 2, through a long series of covered walkways to and all the way through Terminal 1 to our connecting flight’s departure gate. WHEW ! Minneapolis Airport is another HUGE facility, like many of the airports we’ve been through in the last two winters ; Pearson in Toronto, Lisbon in Portugal, Mexico City. However, Minneapolis Airport is clean, well organized, relatively quiet, and … civilized !

While walking we were checking out where to have supper. After finding our departure Gate 20 C we backtracked to the area around Gate 12 and went to Chick-fil-A for supper. We had never been to a Chik-fil-A before. It was pretty good. Joanne was a bit reluctant to eat there because of her vague recollection of news about its “association” with MAGAts. While eating supper she Googled it to refresh her memory.

AH, yes ! The MAGAts / American “conservatives” / RWNJ’s / “deplorables” (that term is so apt !) boycott Chick-fil-A because it is so … woke ! HA HA HA HA HA ! My kind of place ! ! !

We finished supper and were back at our gate at 9:30 PM to board our 10 PM flight. Without explanation from Delta Airlines we did not board until 10:15 PM and were wheels up half an hour late at 10:30 PM. Our first time on an Embraer aircraft. Very comfortable.

We landed in Winnipeg fifteen minutes late at 11:45 PM. We were through customs (thank you ArriveCan) and had retrieved our luggage by midnight. We found an ATM, withdrew cash to pay a taxi, unloaded from our luggage and put on sweaters and jackets, and were into a taxi by 12:15 AM. BRRRRR … winter ! ! !

We were home at Dugald Estates at 1 AM. <breathing deep sigh of contentment>

Thursday ; Sunny and … well … cold ! It’s still winter !

First thing this morning … AHHHH ! ! ! ! ! Instant, unlimited, high pressure hot water ! What a luxury ! What a privilege ! AND … <snicker> … no cockroaches in the bathroom ! HA HA HA !

Saturday ; Joanne’s cold has worsened since we arrived home. But … it hardly matters. We’re home, we’re comfortable, she’s resting a lot. I’ve already made two trips to PharmaSave in Oakbank (nearby town) to purchase lots of drugs por mi amor.

DSK

March 24 to 30, 2024 ; Oaxaca, Mexico

 Sunday ; Sunny and hot, 91° F / 33° C at 4:30 PM.

This morning we walked to Mercado de La Noria to once again look for Oyster mushrooms needed as an ingredient in tonight’s meal plan. Again … no Oyster mushrooms today. Supper will be “plan B” again. One last attempt to buy Oyster mushrooms tomorrow.

Using Google Translate and WhatsApp I made appointments for a haircut for me and a haircut and pedicure for Joanne tomorrow. This afternoon I trimmed my beard myself. I didn’t really like the beard razor trim Conchita gave me a couple of months ago.

This afternoon I made totopos integral (whole wheat tortilla chips), an essential ingredient for tonight’s “plan B” supper. This winter in Mexico has resulted in me developing the skill to make excellent, home made, whole wheat tortilla chips. Essential for me, since I can’t digest “regular” (corn) tortilla chips.

Monday ; Sunny and hot, 91° F / 33° C at 3:30 PM.

This morning we walked to Mercado de La Noria looking … again … for Oyster mushrooms. Third time’s the charm ! We replenished other vegetables as well. Mi amigo perro Lucho was in fine form today, wandering around the market with us, wagging his tail, tapping our toes with his paw every time we stopped to look at something, to tell us he needed more attention and affection. HA HA HA … bueno perro, Lucho !

At 4 PM we walked to Estetica Osmos across the street from Mercado de La Noria to each get haircuts and a pedicure for Joanne. Joanne’s haircut was first. Partially because of language barriers, and partially because of the high heat, I think, Conchita seems to be giving everyone fairly short haircuts. Comfortable here now that’s it’s hot, maybe, but I’m not so sure about back home in Dugald next week. It’s still winter there ! ! ! Oh, well … I’ve often had too short haircuts while in Mexico. Hair grows back soon enough !

Cost of haircuts ; 100 pesos / $8.20 each. Cost of pedicure ; 200 pesos / $16.40.

After my haircut I left to return home, while Joanne stayed for a pedicure. As I came out of the esthetician’s Lucho was across the street, sniffing around in the mercado’s flower beds looking for a suitable place to relieve himself. He was surprised and very happy to see me as I crossed the street calling his name. Oh, Lucho, it’s only been four hours since we last visited. HA HA HA !

During and after having supper we watched last week’s episode of Survivor.

Tuesday ; Sunny and hot, 91° F / 33° C at 2:30 PM.

Around 12:30 we left to walk about a kilometre (about 2/3 of a mile) to a restaurant where Joanne wanted to have lunch ; Emperatriz Comedor. Turned out to be an excellent choice. Small restaurant, excellent service, menu del dia, cost 70 pesos / $5.74 per meal. Choice of three appetizers, five main courses, aqua fresca melon to drink.

Joanne chose a pasta salad to start, pozole pollo (spicy Mexican soup/stew with shredded chicken). I started with tomato pasta soup, followed by res en salsa verde con nopales (beef in green salsa/sauce made with tomatillos, along with Prickly Pear cactus paddles, sauteed I think). I was very pleased. I have long wanted to try nopales (noPALees), properly prepared ! When we tried to prepare, then cook them ourselves, a few times many (fifteen to twenty) years ago, they were … horrible ! We have always referred to nopales as being like green beans covered in snot. Properly prepared, they are tender on the outside, firm on the inside.

On our walk home we stopped at a panaderia and bought a chocolate cookie (for bedtime), a telera (to toast for breakfast), and two bolillos (to make sandwiches at lunch). Then we came across a frutas y verduras vendor truck at a busy street corner. We bought a small bag of (containing twenty-three) fresh, ripe, local strawberries. Cost ten pesos / eighty-two cents !

During and following supper we watched last Sunday’s episode of CBS 60 Minutes featuring interviews with (moron) Jim Jordan regarding “truth”, and Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador aka AMLO.

Wednesday ; Sunny and very hot, 97° F / 36° C at 4 PM.

This morning we walked to Mercado de La Noria to replenish milk and eggs and vegetables. Mi amigo perro Lucho was once again in fine form. Maybe he likes spring / summer / hot weather ? In addition to visiting with us he was interested in visiting with some children that were in the mercado. He was wagging his tail, and doing “downward dog” stretches. Seemed pretty perky for an old guy.

Late this afternoon we went for a late afternoon long but slow walk around our neighbourhood. I did some income tax preparation work. I verified our flights home next week. I’m a bit paranoid, since our flights last year from Canada to Portugal and back were botched in both directions. I processed photos from the phone to the laptop. I did some review of training information for new volunteers / fosters with the Winnipeg Humane Society.

I watched another episode of Air Crash Investigations on TV. As a (former) private pilot (with no crash history !) I’ve always been fascinated by aircraft accident investigations. It was particularly interesting to me to review the accident investigation report of Cessna 172 C-GHBM’s accident upon take-off from the airport in Princeton, BC, after I had flown Hotel Bravo Mike for many years as a rental aircraft based in Penticton. Including flights from Penticton over Apex Mountain to Princeton and back to Penticton following the Similkameen River, passing right over our home in Riverside RV Park Resort near Keremeos, a flight Joanne particularly enjoyed.

Thursday ; Sunny and very warm, 82° F / 28° C at 3 PM, quite a bit cooler than the last few days.

This morning we walked to Lavanderia Cancer and dropped off our bag of dirty laundry. I was surprised … and balked … when the young man serving us told that it wouldn’t be ready until Tuesday evening. About thirteen hours before we’re leaving to return home to Canada. The owner … his mother, I think … intervened and revised our “ready” day and time to Monday evening. HMPH ! Guess we’re both going to be doing some hand washing of underwear this weekend !

From the lavanderia we walked … and walked and walked … about a mile to the Venezuelan restaurant Joanne wanted to have lunch at. There’s something about the structure of that sentence that probably has my grade three teacher rolling over in her grave. HA HA HA ! It was closed. <sigh> Using our i-Phone map function we found and walked to about another half dozen nearby restaurants. All closed ! ! !

Seems as if most restaurants are closed on the day before Good Friday, so that they can be open on Good Friday. And … <sputter> … apparently everyone other than us gringo tourists seems to know that ! We gave up “restaurant hunting” and headed to Chedraui for our final grocery shopping trip.

When we arrived at Chedraui, from a different direction than usual, we could see that food vendors were set up in the park across the street. And the only other time we saw food vendors set up in that park was on our first visit to Chedraui after arriving here in Oaxaca three months ago. And that first visit to Chedraui was also on a long weekend.

So … we had a wonderful “long weekend street food” lunch on our first visit to Chedraui three months ago, and … had a wonderful “long weekend street food” lunch today, on our final visit to Chedraui before leaving Oaxaca next Wednesday morning.

We did our final grocery shopping trip at Chedraui. Including indulging ourselves a bit at their panaderia. Quite a bit ! Before stocking up on pan dulce and tres leches cake I used the i-Phone to (facetiously) check today’s stock market status. YUP … still climbing ! (As it has been all winter !) Can afford all that baking. HA HA HA !

Good Friday ; Sunny and hot, 91° F / 33° C at 3:30 PM.

Joanne was ill today. Consequently our plans for the day were thwarted. We went for a walk around noon, but by the time we had walked around the neighbourhood for twenty minutes or so in the hot sun Joanne was feeling worse than when we began. We returned home and had a lazy rest of the day.

We had planned to go downtown to the Zocola late in the afternoon to view the Good Friday somber and silent Procesion del Silencio “parade” honouring the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ that winds its way around downtown and the Zocolo, ending at the cathedral. It would have been an interesting perspective of local culture and religion.

Joanne becoming ill as we prepare to return home in just a few days is a terrifying “déjà vu” for me !

Saturday ; Sunny and hot, 93° F / 34 ° C at 5:30 PM.

Joanne continues to be ill. We are throwing everything in our drug arsenal at her ; Pepto-Bismal, Ciprofloxacin, Dicetel, Amoxicillin. We both desperately want for her to NOT be ill for the trip home … like she was last year coming home from Portugal ! At least she did not deteriorate further today, so maybe that’s a good sign, maybe we’re on the right track. And to ensure that she has every possible opportunity to recuperate, she did nothing today except rest. <sigh>

In five months in Mexico, Joanne has had four serious gastro-intestinal bacterial infections. I’ve had one serious, and one mild. <sigh> Mexican food handling protocol is extremely different than Canadian (and American). Mexico is still a third world country. Reliable electricity and refrigeration are certainties in Canada (and USA), they are NOT certainties in Mexico. Copious amounts of bacteria exist on foods here that our gastro-intestinal systems are not used to, and have little resistance to. Mexicans have exposure to these bacteriae from birth, and develop bacterial resistance that we gringos simply don’t have. <sigh>

And there are cultural differences that are a bit difficult to understand and accept. I remember (with horror) a few weeks ago in Chedraui. In the aisle of the meat department. A large display stand topped with a huge amount of crushed ice. And a lot of thin cuts of beef steak sitting on top of the ice. Meat “on sale” / special advertised price. Undersides of meat kept cool by crushed ice. Top sides of meat sitting exposed to very warm room temperature. A set of tongs, that haven’t been cleaned since before the store opened many hours ago, and has possibly been dropped on the floor numerous times, with which to pick up your chosen cuts of meat, and a stack of plastic trays on which to put your meat and take it to the meat counter to be wrapped and priced.

AND … <sputter> … a young boy, perhaps five or six years of age, poking his grubby little fingers into the cuts of meat, enjoying the squishy feeling of it. HA HA HA … oh, sure, little boy, that’s a lot of fun … until it results in a GI bacterial infection so severe that some poor old gringo almost dies sitting on the toilet !

I did some further work on planning next winter’s travels. I found a most intriguing accommodations opportunity / destination that inspires me to modify / enhance our plans made to date.

This morning I took our empty water jug to be refilled. To my surprise, Aqua Purificado La Noria was closed. <blink blink> It seems that only we gringo tourists lack awareness of what is closed, and when, during Semana Santa / Holy Week. Previously the operator of the water purification business showed me where the doorbell is to summon him if he is not at his storefront’s window. Good thing for me ! I rang the doorbell, and momentarily he showed up and opened the barricaded door. I asked if he was open today (DUH … obviously he wasn’t !) and held up my empty water jug. He sighed, looked at my empty water jug, thought for a moment, then told me to give him the jug and he would disinfect it, refill it, and deliver it back to me later, as usual. He obviously realized that if he didn’t do that we would have no drinkable water for the next two days. Muchas gracias, señor. He delivered the refilled water jug a couple of hours later.

Joanne sent me to Mercado de La Noria with a shopping list of items to buy ; frutas, verduras, queso Oaxaqueño, tortillas harina. I visited with Lucho, probably for the last time. Again … maybe dogs have intuition ? He seemed sullen and pouting at me today. Well … adios, mi amigo. You’ve helped me overcome my “pet deprivation”.

During and after supper we watched Amazing Race.

DSK