Actually, I opened this thread to gripe about a dang bear getting into my garbage. I hate cleaning up after bears ! I wash my garbage ... yeah, I do and I pour ammonia on anything that even might smell attractive to any kind of critter so that it stinks, but the bears have learned that garbage cans can contain stuff they like to eat, so they just tear into them. They don't even bother to smell them any more.

Now, I have to not only clean my garbage, I end up having to clean up bear messes ...

RoseBlush1 said:

It sure is ! The powers that be say there is no real inflation. Yeah, right. I know this has been going on for a long time, but I opened a can of pickled beets last night to add them to the salad I was making and the can was half empty. The can of beets cost the same as a full can of beets used to cost, we just don't get a full can of beets any more. Same with a lot of things we buy. It is an illusion. Still makes me feel cheated.

Like the 12 oz box of pasta or the campbells soup can that shrunk...disneyland food. ---
everything is MINNIE-ized

@Stillwood - you asked where we're moving to - We're moving to a small hamlet of 179 people (called Torrington, Alberta), with about 80 homes, total.
The mobile park we're moving to has 28 lots, and 3 of them are vacant at the moment.
We move on August 15th, and that's when the Mobile Moving company comes in the morning to hitch up our home and carry it away down the highway. Nice that we don't live far from either highway - east / west and north / south - only 2 blocks from one and half block from the other.
Today we have people tearing down our deck, and others are packing stuff. We get to leave our appliances and furniture in, as well as one layer of boxes. Thank goodness for closets and small rooms (bathroom lol). We'll be able to cram boxes in there, with no sliding and breakage.....
The lot is 43ft x 150ft - much bigger than the 39ft x 65ft lot we are at now

Ugh. Heat index is at 102F and I just spent my entire lunch break changing my tire. Well, this dress shirt used to be white.

Thank the powers at be for spare tires.

When you see a label or advertisement say: "New and Improved", one of two things has happened (or both!). Either you are getting less weight/volume for the same price or the packaging has been enlarged, so that you think you are getting more bang for the buck. This has always been the case, but it seems that in the last 20 or so years, this got'cha-process has speeded up.

It sounds ideal, Susan. I hope the move goes well. You deserve some peace.

Thank you, Zuzu
yes, we deserve some peace & quiet........ so looking forward to it!
We've already made some new friends out there, too

Oh gosh Lyn I can't imagine cleaning up bear mess.

James that sure is a rotten way to spend your lunch break.

Susan that sounds so wonderful. You're going to love it there and it sounds peaceful and quiet. Only 10 days left right?

James..sounds like you need a new shirt and a spare!

Susan..are you able to save any fav plants?

Yes, Rosie - saved the honeysuckle, and will save 2 Mock Oranges, 6 Cotoneaster shrubs, a False Indigo bush and I think I've saved my bleeding heart, but not sure.

Susan, I'm happy to hear that you will finally be making the move! I hope everything goes well and you will be able to settle in and enjoy life again; you've been in quite a turmoil for way too long

Lyn -- do you have garbage pickup where you are? or, if not, what do you eventually do with it? Those darn bears can be such a nuisance once they learn to go for the easy pickings instead of earning an honest living for themselves

Thank you, Sandy!! We're getting rather excited!!!

Sandy ...

When I moved here, we didn't have garbage pick up. Now, there is a pick up service. My problem is that I don't create enough garbage to justify the cost, so I still haul my own to the dump. Actually, I only fill two garbage cans in about three months. The service is weekly, so you can see I don't need a weekly pick up.

There are three families up the road that use the service. To a bear, a garbage can is a garbage can. Cleaning up the mess is not that awful. Basically, for me, it's cleaning up litter. It's not all gooey and stinky and I have bags down there to re-bag all of the stuff the bear has spread around. It's just another chore.

Anna - your rig! It looks like it could go to war!

This morning I went to the dental clinic in Santa Rosalia. The dentist looked like a 14-yr-old girl but seemed quite competent. Tony drove and translated though she spoke some English and I speak some Spanish. Good news. She did an X-ray and said the root of the problem tooth is fine. I have two antibiotics and a lot of reassurance. Cost of dental clinic was $11. About the same for the antibiotics. The peso is way down.

After I got the meds, the car wouldn't start. Tony called Marco the electrician on his cell phone and we were back on our way in about ten minutes. Mexico can be a great place. It's so hot and humid that when I got home I took my meds and fell asleep for about six hours.

In the last year or so, the peso has gone from about 12 to the dollar to almost 19 to the dollar. I convert Tony's salary to the dollar value since I get paid in dollars. Boy is he happy. Same for Anita. I'll die with an empty bank account but some very good friends. Fine by me.

The heat-loving plants like hawiian wood rose, guava, papayas and citrus are doing well. Tony and I try to keep up with the watering. Survival time.

Susan, glad to hear your good news.

katie

You are a good person Katie

I've been trying to be more generous with tips and payments too Katie because this windfall from the dollar's rise is impressive. Of course, it could fall again too and that won't bring any prices down. I used to give the guys that watch your car 2 or 3 pesos but now I mostly give them 5, and the guys who carry my groceries out used to get 5 pesos but now it's 10 or close. I haven't raised the salaries for my workers yet, I'm trying not to be the ugly american that makes everyone else have to pay more. I pay at the top end of what locals pay and I round up when I can. One of the women who works for me is having the quinceañera for her daughter this weekend. I really don't want to go. I just don't have the energy to stay out so late anymore and the mass is at 8pm with the party supposedly starting at 10pm. That means no one will get there until 11pm or later. I got one of those cards for money and I'm just going to make my excuses on Monday and give her mom the card. I am giving her $500 pesos although I considered more. My friend from Puebla told me not to go too high, that $500 was a good present. It's the equivalent to 2 days work for her mother so I guess it is good. It just seems like so little. I'm lucky to have this type of problem, I should just be quiet.

"The mass is at 8pm with the party supposedly starting at 10pm. That means no one will get there until 11pm or later."

OMG -- that is some late-nite partying, Jonna! I normally stay up pretty late... say midnight or 1 a.m.... but going out to a party at 10 or 11 pm -- nuh uh!

Lyn -- "To a bear, a garbage can is a garbage can. Cleaning up the mess is not that awful. Basically, for me, it's cleaning up litter. It's not all gooey and stinky and I have bags down there to re-bag all of the stuff the bear has spread around. It's just another chore."

I guess that's the upside to "washing your garbage."

Just chased off a raccoon that wanted to eat the cat food we had out for out stray that we're slowly taming. Before that big and old thing came by a black cat that's been in the area for quite some time also came up and ate the food. I brought the bowl in which Baby Girl wasn't happy about but we're not feeding anything more tonight.

Ah -- I think that falls under the "no good deed goes unpunished" category!