Log #59, August
Settling Down, Settling In
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30 August
Starting the Garden
Plants for garden wall
TS Gil moving west, new system forming up
Home again, home again. The cats and I have resumed camping mode back at the SolCasa. There have been a few changes since we left for the luxuries of Vida del Mar three weeks ago, mainly: the rainy season has taken its toll on ceilings and walls (more on home improvements in that section of the log, accessed from the home page).
The whole time that we cats were ensconced in the lap of luxury, Stan was over-seeing the house training, medical needs and general up-bringing of Rosie. Puppy-sitting wasn't conducive to remodeling activities, but Stan stumbled upon a plant sale, plus snagged a few free palms at a construction site, and has begun planning our plantings. Our immediate gardening goal is a living screen between our backyard and the neighbor's (even though Stan's cleaned out the neighbor's fallen branches and coconuts, there's still unsightly trash over there).
So much to do here at the house, I'll miss the inactivity of the condo - and another cool thing, the awesome view out over the water with a ringside seat for the storm systems trucking up the coast. The latest was Gil, who'd been churning and churning in place, just off the coast, providing light shows and cooling winds. Then he finally cranked up enough steam to be named a tropical storm, but also pushed off the coast in the direction of Clipperton Island (in the picture on the 22nd, Gil was as yet un-named, but very obvious, west of Manzanillo). Today, Gil is well on his way out to sea, but another system is organizing west of the Tehuanapec.
24 August
Adios a Dean - Hola Alacran?
Just to prove my point of yesterday,
Ana Maria Salazar reported on TS Dean on http://mexicotoday.blogspot.com/
"Tropical storm Dean left at least seven people dead in the states of Hidalgo and Puebla… Two people were reported dead in Hidalgo and five in Puebla after heavy rains caused by the storm led to landslides and flooding…National Civil Protection decreed an emergency in 60 municipalities of Hidalgo, among them state capital Pachuca…In Puebla, 1,500 people were in shelters, and heavy rains damaged 47 schools and 1,500 homes…"
Here in Vida, the skies let loose all night. At SolCasa RanaQuemada, Stan's handy rain gauge measured 3.25 inches overnight. With the inundation, I've been expecting an influx of alacranes (scorpions), cienpies (centipedes) y aranas (spiders).
Most people we've met here in Manzanillo have suffered scorpion stings, and most go to the emergency room for antivenom. The local treatment, however, is to chew three cloves of garlic and submerge the sting in bleach. A comparison chart for the chemical make-up of the antivenom vs. garlic and bleach would be interesting.
A quick web search revealed that only one type of lethal scorpion resides locally. Thirty or more different types inhabit Manzanillo, and presumably all are capable of stinging. Antivenom is specific to each type of scorpion. It's my assumption that the antivenom treatment that one might receive in a Manzanillo emergency room would be specific only for our lethal variety, the Bark Scorpion, a yellow to dark tan 3-incher with slender pinchers.
Moral of story, catch the guy who stings. Know who stung you, is he's a bad guy? If not, the antivenom treatment would probably be superfluous.
22 August
Hurricane Dean
Wind rattled the windows and woke me up, or was it Bucky throwing my glasses off the table? By the time coffee brewed, rain pelted the windows. Hurricane Dean came ashore and lost intensity. Now just a tropical storm, he will lose large-scale public attention, even though the mudslides and havoc expected from huge rainfall over the Sierra Madres will be devestating. But the damage won't interrupt oil production, only travel and lives of poor villagers, therefore, the world won't care so much.
Tropical Storm Dean
On the Pacific side, Dean is sucking in a huge amount of moisture and spilling it up and down the coast. Currently traveling due west, Dean's remnants should pass to the north of Manzanillo, dumping buckets on us. It will be a good test of our neighborhood's drainage system, as well as Casa RanaQuemada's.
21 August
Biding Our Time
Surveying the mess
Mango surround
Starting to make a dent
Our strategy is to live in this space for a little while and get a feel for how we'd like to fix it up. Stan's getting most of the living-in-it experience, while I'm still fixated on the amenities that come with condo living.
Rosie's house-training needs have necessitated extended trips out into the back yard, where Stan has made a huge dent in the chaos of trash, palm fronds, coconuts and mysterious concrete pieces strewn about. To start with, he dumped two barrels and an old tire full of mosquito-breeding, stagnet water. Then he tackled the fallen fronds and coconuts, 80 of 'em. A couple of the cocos had already sprouted, so instead of hauling those two off to the garbage, he stuck them in the ground.
Once the litter was under control, he and Rosie started work on the smaller stuff. They built a screen to sift out big chunks and started shoveling yard dirt through it. They also broke up the concrete blocks around the mango trees, sifted that dirt and redistributed it around their lowered bases. The new beds didn't stay nice very long, though, because Rosie had her own ideas about the use of fresh dirt.
The large cement chunks are being relocated to the west wall, where we will have some sort of raised beds, and the chunks will help hold the dirt in place, not as a visible fence, but as invisible support, underneath.
Important purchase during this settling in process, a 4-pound sledge hammer. Yee ha! We're ready for demolition. Inside, there's going to be lots of brick flying, but for now, Stan worked on the little walls built around the mango trees. They were ready to go, already, but that sledge helped them along the way.
Coincidentally, while Stan's been clearing out the back forty, a condo down the road apiece has been bulldozing their garden and giving away plants. Stan drove the van over there and picked up a few more palms, and discovered a plant sale right next door where he scored a few smaller verigated crotons. All will live in pots and plastic bags until we've had a chance to plan out the garden, a real challenge because the back yard is all shaded northern exposure, while the front is direct sun from the south.
12 August
Waterspout
Waterspout, but not mine
(http://www.davestravelcorner.com)
Another waterspout, still not mine (NOAA)
The stormwatcher chair was drawn up to the window. Constant thunder-rumbles had started in the north, late afternoon. By six o'clock thick cumulus had spilled out over the water, perfect viewing. I poured a glass of wine and settled in for the sound and light show.
The show evolved into sound, light and sight. Starting as a drip from the bottom of the cloud bank, a gray string slowly descended towards the water. A cargo ship had just made its turn into the shipping lane this side of the squall line, so I had a good feel for the distance. It was way out there.
It took a good fifteen minutes for the funnel to reach the water. With binoculars I could see the white spray kicked up on the water's surface. The squall was moving right to left, I was hoping that the funnel would follow the same line, but it crept closer. Pretty soon I could see the swirling water at its base without binocs.... Hm, time for a plan.
The ship I used for perspective was long gone. How close was that thing, anyway? Never to be caught unprepared, I hustled the cats into the back bathroom. MJ's contingency planning: being over-prepared never hurts (just ask Stan, drives him crazy). Sat back down in the stormwatcher seat, in another fifteen minutes the waterspout fizzled but a giant storm crackled, engulfed us. Visibility down to twenty meters, the sky buckets tipped over.
Cats, released from bathroom prison, gaped with me at the phenomenal light show. Needed shades for the sky-wide bolts, thunder like splitting tree trunks overhead shook the doors, the walls, the ceilings. We watched and watched for hours, darkness closed in, another glass of wine passed, the downpour let up, but the strobes continued. We drifted off to the rumble.
Storm cell moved off to the north, six hours later (CONAGUA)
Nice and cool this morning, hyping up the cats. Good. They'll chase all those spiders escaping the soggy grass. Lots of BIG spiders have slid inside underneath the door. Kitties wound up, dashing around knocking things over, mostly each other.
9 August
A Condo in Vida del Mar
BuckyKat, Gale, Georgina and MJ are in the bottom
apartment, second patio from
the left, right above the cliff
This is the life for me, a 180° view of the ocean and the awesome tropical storms passing by, out to sea; a fully equipped kitchen, hot running water, clean and tiled shower, a maid, and cats...only cats, undemanding, unscheduled, easy-going cats.
BuckyKat, Gale and I moved out to Georgina's place to stay with her while Lou and Dianne tripped off to Seattle. Georgina refused, absolutely, to come into town to stay in the SolCasa RanaQuemada with Stan and Rosie. Two days with Gale and Bucky as guests and she's still huffing and puffing. I can imagine how puppy would have sent her for a loop.
This little break from supervision will also give the shipwright-turned-home-remodeler a chance to gather his thoughts. So much to do in the SolCasa, one must ponder the many alternatives...balance them against the bank account.
Another view of my temporary Vida digs
A two-bedroom condo can be had in Vida starting at $165K, or rented for $1,500/month in low season, a third more in high season. Association fees are steep, and some say, uncontrolled.
L'Recife restaurant and pool bar, closed for the season
Our living space
And the patio, on which only one of us is allowed
Cool critters stop by the patio and the shower to visit. Large blue crabs drive the cats crazy by skittering up the screens, and some can squeeze between screen and sill, to their detriment. Tiny red crabs, pearl size, bob up out of the drains and make themselves at home. They wander all over the condo, compete with the spiders (LOTS of spiders) for floor space.
Coatis and racoons are also said to visit. I have instructions to keep the patio doors closed at night to prevent altercations.
6 August
Rosie Comes to Visit
We're all so confused! First a puppy moved in with us and upset everyone's routine. Then we up and moved the whole shebang, puppy, weirded-out cats and all, down the hill to our new digs. Our routine's all messed up - not a good thing with a partially house-trained piddler under foot.
Rosie came fully equipped with swimming pool of sod
Rosie's sad saga has a happy ending. A condo security guy found the battered little pup on the beach, dragging two broken hips plus a host of other problems...mange, worms, ticks, fleas, ear mites, malnutrition and dehydration, the gamut of street dog afflictions. Out of the goodnss of their hearts, two of the condo residents consented to take her in.
Bucky's okay with Rosie,
but Gale used harsh training methods - an ear
strike looked
dramatic after one head shake
Stan's methods are more gentle
A month later, after intense vet treatment and gourmet meals four times a day, Rosie was plump, sleek and bouncy. It's that bouncy part that confounded Gale and Bucky. Candy and Debi, Rosie's real parents, escaped the rigors of puppy-love by taking off on a driving vacation. Stan and I (idiodically) volunteered to watch the dog and became surrogate trainers/babysitters/all-around nice guys.
Puppy energy must be walked and played off, a time/energy-consuming process. I've walked off two pounds, already, on our hour-long treks in the morning. Stan takes the PM shift, plus most of the play requirements.
Thankfully, Rosie also sleeps...alot. During her long morning nap, Stan and I were able to escape long enough to close on our house. Then, in between exercise periods, we loaded up the van and schlepped our bazillion boxes of stuff thirty feet in elevation lower, and at least a hundred degrees in temperature higher. The new BurntFrog (RanaQuemada) SolCasa is only a block away from the casita, but situated down in a holler (not unlike Mark and Leslie's Foggy Bottom) where the sun beats down and the sea breeze skips over.
1 August
Starting the Month on a Positive Note
Stan's Take on the Hospice
When I heard that my mother was being placed in the Kansas City Hospice and Palliative Care Center, I had to look up the phrase "palliative care." Wikipedia described it as any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms rather than providing a cure. Wikipedia went on to state, “it should not be confused with hospice care which delivers palliative care to those at the end of life.” Wow, that’s when it set in that my mother truly was dying.
I had two preconceived notions about the hospice that, thankfully, proved utterly false. The first was that the normally restrictive visiting hours of regular hospitals would be in force; the other was that the condition of the facility and quality of care would be directly proportional to ability to pay. My mother was on medicare with a bit of supplemental insurance, and I had read about terrible conditions in nursing homes dependent on medicare funds - Hospice House receives Medicare funding, but they also have a non-profit arm.
Both of my fears were proven false at 1:30 in the morning on the 30th of June when I arrived from Manzanillo. My sister picked me up at the airport and assured me we could go right to the hospice to see Mom. So off we went to the care center, confident sister and skeptical brother.
Sure enough, all we had to do was ring the bell for admission and we were welcomed onto the floor of this beautiful facility. The nurses made us feel welcome, offered coffee, and updated us on Mom's condition. Then I was told I could spend the night if I wanted to. Another big shock, one of many to come.
We went into Mom's room, a 30 by 14-foot space with a sofa, 3 or 4 chairs, bookcase with TV and books, a little dining table and a fold-up bed. It looked more like a fancy efficiency apartment than a hospital room, if you were able to ignore the hospital bed.
Just outside the room was a large sitting room with a kitchenette where there was always hot coffee and something to eat, plus a play area with books and toys for the children. There was also a table featuring a community puzzle in process that visitors were welcome to sit and work on it.
Besides nice facilities, there was always food. Panera Bread Company brought bagels every morning, there was a soup of the day at lunch and all throughout the day other goodies just sort of appeared. I don’t know where it all came from, but it made it very easy to just sit and spend time with Mom and the family.
The nursing staff was wonderfully supportive and constantly checked on both patient and family to ensure everyone was doing okay. The care center also had excellent literature about their operation, the dying process, grief and a host of other subjects that I found invaluable. The dying process pamphlet described the physical changes experienced as death grows near and it helped us understand what the nurses and doctors were looking for when they stopped by Mom's room on their rounds.
And if one needed to get away for a few minutes to reflect, there was a welcoming garden with sidewalks and benches for quiet wandering and meditation, and also a chapel for the same purpose.
The professional staff was augmented by volunteers. Hospice literature claims they have over 500 volunteers on staff. We were visited by a gentleman who played his guitar and sang for patients, and another one who brought his dog for animal therapy. There are many others, but those are the two that come to mind.
I also remember one morning having a very informative conversation with the doctor that was different from any medical discussion I'd had with a care giver before. Instead of telling us, she wanted us to tell her what we understood was happening with Mom. I found that to be a very refreshing approach. So we told her that Mom knew she had visitors and that most of the family would be leaving in two days. It was after most of the family returned home, we told the doc, that we expected her to pass away. The doctor felt that was about right, that Mom was hanging on for her final family visit...and that's exactly what happened. The staff had us, the family, well prepared.
At one point ten adults and three children were there visiting, celebrating life and enjoying each other’s company. The hospice staff encouraged our celebration and made us feel totally welcome.
The constant visiting was great, but I kind of preferred the nights when things were a little less hectic and I could be alone with Mom. There was a night nurse on duty most of Mom's six-day stay named Jewell. What an appropriate name! She was one of the most caring, loving individuals I have ever met. She had a great sensitivity. She and I had some wonderful conversations about Mom's life, and life in general. Jewell seemed truly interested in hearing stories that would bore a normal person to tears, but she even asked probing questions and encouraged more talk and more stories. I just can’t say enough about Jewell and her concern for my mother and our family, she's a true gem of a person, and an apt reflection of our whole hospice experience.
