When we first put our house up for sale, there was a lot of interest. For one reason or another, we could never make a deal. Our asking price in pesos was quite high, so we were dealing with a small portion of the population.

As we waited for a buyer, Beth discovered a dosage of lithium that kept her stable with minimal side effects. We also discovered that going to fiestas was one of the things that could set Beth off. The noise and events of a fiesta made it difficult for Beth to fall asleep once we returned home, and often the effects continued for days. Given Beth’s problem with fiestas, and the fact that I don’t drink, we stopped going to fiestas.

Eliminating fiestas from our regiment has also reduced the number of visits we receive. We spend a lot more time alone. We’d never been social butterflies in the States choosing instead to read, watch documentaries, and browse the internet. With all the free time, we’ve been able to return to our earlier pursuits. We don’t watch television but have a Netflix account which we might end.

We also found a local doctor that understands bipolar better than most.  We are both very comfortable with her. Sometimes office visits last up to an hour. She seems to be as interested in us as we are in her.

As Beth began to recover, we both regained a renewed interest in Oaxaca and began to question the move back to the States.

Also, when the word got out locally that we were selling; we received multiple calls and visits from friends reminding us that we are not here alone.

Our second thoughts about moving grew to us both being adamant about staying. We are both content with the idea of living our lives out here.

Since our decision to stay, we have applied for and received our permanent residency. We’ll never have to reapply again, even if we leave Mexico for years.

Flying is hard on Beth but we’d like to try a trip to Washington maybe next year.

We are having a new well dug behind our house. I’m guessing the location is about twenty five meters higher than our first well. We are presently at twenty three meters of depth on the new well and have hit water. Hopefully, in another three or four meters, we’ll have enough water to live with.

Our first well was dug with a small sledge hammer and chisel. The new workers are using a jackhammer. Still tough, but much easier and faster. At twenty three meters, getting in and out of the well is a major challenge. I need to give thanks to Humberto for his generosity. The well would not have been dug without him.

Starting the well. 

Our first bucket of water.

Beth and I love traveling to Cuajimaloyas.  About eight miles past Cuajimaloyas is a small town call Llano Grande. In this mountainous region it’s difficult to find a stretch of level land that’s more than twenty meters long. The town of Llano Grande must be a couple hundred meters long and almost as wide. And it’s level.  After having lunch in a restaurant/ general store the owner allowed me to video the interior. It reminds me of a general store from the past. It’s loaded with merchandise, made of wood, lots of old nick knacks, and the owners make you feel at home.

One dark cloud that hangs over us is our first full time neighbor. Aside from being dishonest, after he’d built his little wooden shack, he took over a year to build a bathroom. They just went wherever they wanted. And as family and friends came to visit, the accumulation of excrement multiplied. I understand that in large cities on the West coast of the United States, this might not be a big deal, but it is here.  We were at first shocked. As time went on our shock turned to disgust, and then to anger at their lack of common decency. This is something we’d not experienced since our retirement. To make matters worse, the family had speears in the US which made it more difficult to understand this kind of behavior. As their home is only fifty meters from ours, our concerns over health issues escalated. I finally confronted the owner and he did build an outhouse. I’m still amazed that he chose to do all sorts of projects rather than build a simple outhouse.

I’ve made hundreds of photographs of the Sunday market in Tlacolula, but photos lack the movement and sounds of the market. A few weeks back I decided to video the market. The lack of people in the videos is due to our early arrival at the market. By noon many parts of the market are literally shoulder to shoulder with people. Many people from the outlying indigenous villages do not like to be photographed.  I’ve always been respectful of that fact. In the video though, I chose to film an indigenous family. They weren’t happy about it, and I was uncomfortable, but I was determined to film their resistance to being filmed or photographed. It’s something that I still don’t understand.

 Our purchases at the market are usually limited to fruits and vegetables. We make about three trips a month to a Walmart in Oaxaca and a trip to Sam’s Club once every two months.   

A couple of videos of the Sunday Market. They are pretty much unedited.

I continue to ride my bicycle every day and recently switched to tubeless tires. Mickey talked me into switching and I’m so glad I took his advice. I haven’t had a flat since I switched.

Beth continues to crochet beanies and blankets for newborns. She still quilts and makes alterations for locals.

I’ve begun to give guitar lessons on Saturdays. This has proven to be quite difficult as I’m far from fluent. We manage to stumble along and my vocabulary has increased. I’d love to find an accordion player to make music with.

An emaciated puppy wandered into our yard about three months ago. We’ve fattened her up and she’s become part of our family along with our other two dogs.  We rescued Big Boy from Tlacolula, and purchased Nellie from a farm down the road.  I believe she’s a mix of Jack Russell and who knows what. She’s smart as a whip and has proven to be a loving companion.