Jocie's Blog

 Hmm So I have been thinking of buying another house.. to rent out for income.  But, is that really the smartest thing to do?  Barbara picked me up in her car in the morning.  I made my way along the cobblestone road in front of my gated community.  It was flowing with the overflow from the overwhelmed, most likely broken, sewage system.  It has been getting continually worse since I got here.   It has been a long rainy season here.  The amount of water falling has been exceptional this year, add to that a water spout, too much new construction and a developer that decided to reroute the river, and you are asking for trouble.  Just a couple of weeks ago a big rainstorm added to an already overloaded eco system and there was a huge mud slide.. well, a lot of mudslides.  They took out homes and businesses all in West Ajijic. People were left without homes, but thankfully, no lives were lost.  The manhole cover just outside my gat...

 I am back in Mexico.. listening to the football players at night, as the field is right next door, and the roosters in the early hours of the morning.  It is noisy here, but all the noise is happy life.  Each day I wake up and wonder what will unfold.. it is always busy, but nothing is ever urgent.   I walked into a home that was, ready for me.  Like walking into a gorgeous condo for a two week holiday.  Fully furnished and ready to go. The power was on and my bed was made. The big screen tv on the wall is hooked up to Shaw cable, so I can watch Canadian TV.  After almost two years away, the place was clean and the internet was on.  My neighbours and friends had cared for the place while I was away, never knowing for sure when I might be back.  The possum living in my car had been removed and the mechanic cleaned it up and had it running.  It was almost as though I had never left.  My plants, in their pots, had grown and looke...

 So, I bought a house in Blind Bay.. that is just outside of Salmon Arm.  Karen and her friend Nancy took me around when I spotted it.  It called to me!  There was no sign up or anything, but there was a woman getting in, or out of her car so we pulled over to say hello.  And ask if she would consider selling the place.  The asking price was way over what I was planning to spend, I would have to get a mortgage and without a job, I thought that may be an issue.  But I wanted that house.  The bank said okay.  I was in!  And what a relief to be out of the apartment!  Never again!   It was November 2020 when I moved in.  Just in time for winter!  There were two gas fireplaces that kept the house warm.  There was the view of the lake.  There was winterizing to do.  There was a view of the lake.  There was soon snow to remove.  There was the view of the lake.  Man, if it wasn't for the vie...

Gotta love quarantine.    So.. I left the territory.  I left Australia all together.   I felt like a failure.. no longer a leader and elder in my field, but, quite defeated by the whole thing.  I had to buy a new ticket.  The airlines had cancelled my return ticket, on their own, but not offered an alternative.  So, I bought a new ticket and flew into Vancouver, and on to Kelowna.  I was looking forward to Kelowna.  Karen had chosen an apartment right in the downtown, and I thought we would have great fun together.  Karen was a school chum, and we had shared an apartment when we were teens.. first in downtown Vancouver, and then later in Burnaby.  It should have worked well, but really, it didn’t.   It started with fourteen days of quarantine.  Try that in a small apartment.. good lord.  It was awful.  It was the start of the pandemic so I was following the rules very closely.  I didn’t even g...