Missing my dogs

Sarah has been with me for almost a year now and one month before I left Aticama, Lobo showed up.  Lobo and Sarah make a great pair and provide me with hours of entertainment and companionship.  They compete for my affection and any time one of them comes over to me for a pet, the other's head is sure to be right there.

Lobo was never very far away from me and he even slept under Dod at night and was right there to greet me each morning.  When I left for Bakersfield I made arrangements for a friend to feed them daily but without me there they apparently changed their habits.  Lobo decided to go on the road and was missing for two weeks.  He finally surfaced in La Palma (a small village about 2 miles northeast of Aticama) and a friend noticed him there and brought him back up the hill.  Sarah, who had always been very timid (almost afraid) of other dogs attached a German shepherd and lost, exiting with a large puncture wound on her shoulder.

Sarah on the day we met!

Now both dogs are hanging out with my neighbors on the hill.  Inland from the house on the hill is an arroyo about 100 yards across.  There are several homes on the hill across the arroyo and a majority are inhabited by Americans and Canadians.  Before Lobo arrived, Sarah would take a morning hike and visit most of the houses around the area to say hi to her dog friends and beg for treats from the neighbors so everyone is familiar with her.  Lobo would hang our with me but after I left, Lobo joined her on her morning walks and became a welcome visitor at many homes.

Thanks to my neighbors I get regular reports on the dogs and am happy to report that they have settled into a routine now and are staying close.  I am really looking forward to our reunion in a couple of weeks.

Surgery Successful!

I came north to Bakersfield in late September to have a growth removed from the top of my head.  Being an optimist, I firgured that it could be accomplished in a few weeks and that I would be home for Christmas.  That plan did not even come close.

My only health insurance is Medicare backed up by Medical and it took 9 weeks to go through all the channels and get approval for surgery.  I would provide details but it makes my head hurt just to think about it!

I am happy to report that the surgery was successful and 72 hours later the pain is subsiding.  Even though the growth was only about the size of a golf ball cut in half, the surgeon had to make several long incisions in order to be able to stretch the skin to cover the space where the scalp had to be removed.

More good news is that two of my Canadian friends are heading south to Aticama shortly after Christmas and have invited me to ride down with them.  Now I can spend Christmas with my brother and his family and be in Aticama in time for New Years.

Christmas comes early in Bakersfield

First, I want to apologize for ignoring my blog for such a long time.  I don't know what caused me to stop posting but I will try to do better.

When I arrived in Bakersfield in late September my plan was to have a growth removed from the top of my head and return to Aticama.  Since this would mean that I would not be in Bakersfield for Christmas, my brother Rick and his wife Karen decided that I should receive my gifts in October.  Actually, the gifts started the moment I walked in the door.  The kitchen counter had been redecorated with 5 big bottles of my favorite scotch:  J & B.  The only thing I could think of to say was: "I like what you have done with the place!"

The gifts started with two great pairs of flip-flops as they are the only footwear I use.  The big Christmas gift was a new laptop computer to replace the one that was stolen in Aticama.  I shopped and researched for almost a month before deciding on the Lenovo.  I had never heard of this brand before  but in a Google search for "Top Ten Laptops"  three Lenovo laptops made the top ten.

This little computer has all the bells and whistles with a 500 gig hard drive and 6 gigs of memory.  It also has a built in camera and microphone so I will be able to Skype from Mexico.  It's so nice to have a wonderful family!

After a month I can report that I am completely happy with the performance of the Lenovo and would recommend it to friends.  I have been busy loading the hard drive with music and movies so that when I return to Aticama I will have mucho entertainment.