How Cute!

My teenage neighbor did this collage because she is already missing Opie. She calls him Señor Morales since his father's name is Carolino Morales. I think it is a cute collage.

Leaving Reynosa with REAL FIREWORKS!!!

Today was my day to finish up bringing things from Reynosa over to Raymondville and to clean the Reynosa house. Well, I started out fine and got to the international bridge.....and found it surrounded by police cars, flashing lights, and police redirecting traffic away from the bridge. The police said that a group was having a demonstration in protest of high diesel prices and a high military profile. I drove to McAllen to the post office to get all my junk mail and then back to the bridge. By 11 a.m. it was open and I crossed. However, when I arrived on the Mexican side, there was a very, VERY high military presence. That happens, so I went on to my house, swept two bedrooms, put a folding table and a chainlink fence gate into my van......and my neighbor Lupita came out to tell me that there were shootings in Reynosa. Well, by then, the traffic was at a standstill, the city of Reynosa was closed off by the military, soldiers with rifles and face masks were ALL OVER. Several schools were in danger....and although I do not know for sure, it sounds as if a couple of students were killed. The soldiers were escorting kids out of the schools. The federal police were trying to arrest a new leader of the Gulf Drug Cartel, according to what I have heard. And, I heard that at least 6 people died. By 2:30 p.m., the traffic started to flow again and I decided that instead of staying to work in Reynosa, I should come back home. I had to go through three military check points to get to the Mexican border...and then all was quiet on the US side. I am safe and that is great. However, I didn't get any cleaning done and will have to go back on Thursday to clean and Saturday to turn in the keys. Pray that the bridge is not shut down again and that there is no violence. What an explosive way to end my years of living in Reynosa. REAL FIREWORKS!!!

PTL!

With much relief, I can say that the moving van with my furniture made it across the Mexican border into Texas today! Yes, I still have a lot of cleaning to do at the Reynosa house and there are things to finish up. Yes, the house in Raymondville is full of boxes and bags and even stacked furniture. But this was a big step and I am so thankful.

Just Some Trivia

While sitting in the van, waiting to cross from Mexico into the US, I was bored. So, I engaged in some trivial pursuit. I did a rough estimate and came up with the possible number of round trips I have made from Mexico into Texas and from Texas back into Mexico. In almost 14 years, that comes to about 3,550 tríps. And each round trip costs about $5.00 in tolls, depending on the current value of the dollar. So, that would mean that I have spent around $17,700 in tolls. And If I spent an average of 30 minutes of wait time on the bridge for each trip, that would mean about 106,080 minutes or 1,708 hours WAITING to cross the bridge. Now, I am sure that all my readers will find this information USEFUL!!!

Getting closer.......

This week is the LAST FULL WEEK that I will be living in Reynosa. Whew! Tomorrow, the movers come to give an appraisal of the stuff that is going in the moving van on Wednesday, February 4th. Then, I have to hurry up and get the last things that I am taking in my van packed up and transported. I need to clean the big pieces of furniture that will go in the van. I have two cats left to take to the vet for their shots and international passports!! It will be a big week of finishing as much as possible before the moving van comes. Then after the big pieces of furniture are moved, I still have to clean the house, take the cats and Chiquita over....and get the keys turned over to the owner. Hopefully, I will be all in one place by Tuesday, Feb. 10th. And, so we are getting closer to finishing up on all these trips back and forth.

Just Keep Moving!!!!!

Well, it seems that my schedule is dominated by pack, load the van, unload the van and go back for more. In between, I am trying to keep up with my church activities and the rest of life! Now, I have a new washer, dryer, and stove--in place and working in my new house. About 50% of what I can move myself is now in Raymondville. I am aiming for February 4th as the day for the movers to take the big pieces of furniture. I am tired....I have lots of sore muscles from lifting furniture that is really too heavy for me to do by myself....but Opie is my only faithful helper and all he can do is cheerlead!!!....or trip me or push me out of bed onto the floor (which he did last week and my collection of bruises prove it!). I am thankful for so many, many blessings.......but I must admit that it is getting pretty stressful and I will be so happy to be ALL in one place. So, each day, I am just telling myself to keep moving and one day soon we will celebrate!!!!

In the Middle of the Mess

Ten days before Christmas and yes, I have boxes all over the place.....but alas! they are not gift boxes nor are they wrapped. They are packed boxes or boxes waiting to be packed. I have made 11 trips to Raymondville with an assortment of stuff. And, I cannot really tell the difference....except for the mess....in my old house! Please note the picture of my temporary bed!!! Last week, I started checking about phone service and I found out that I don't have a lot of choices for internet. I contacted Sprint, my cell phone carrier, and discovered that I can use a "card" or whatever it is called and get internet service for my desktop. And, the little connection piece costs $300 + tax...however, it was a promotion until Friday of last week. It was free with a two year contract. So, I got it. Now, I am getting ready to take my computer apart and put it in the van. I will take it to Raymondville tomorrow and try to get it set up and working! I am so thankful that I called when I did....now during the 30 day trial period, I hope that it works and I will have good internet service and just use my cell phone, no landline, at least for now. Then also I contacted the moving company about the moving date. It cannot be scheduled until after January 5th due to heavy traffic on the international bridge and the company's vacation! And, the price for a medium sized U Haul type trailer is now up to $750. Oh, dear...I hope it doesn't keep going up in January. Well, it is back to packing and getting my computer ready for the trip to Raymondville. In about 1 month, I should be contracting the movers. But will this mess ever go away?.......