Parade Today‏

Pups and Props

Charlie in hospital, intestinal obstruction and may need surgery to get it out but it's minor and he'll be fine. Just costing me money and time cleaning barf. New house delivered today. Canelo moved in.

Also subbed a kids class today. Guess they liked it! (The teacher is the best!)


No doubt the kids liked the teacher when she looks like this!

Sunset and Pooches

:)

Easter

Happy belated Easter! SOOOOOO lots to tell. And sorry for not getting back sooner, I had no internet or phone service.
This weekend I got Thursday and Friday off so Gerardo and I went up to Santa Rosa (a town in the trees and mountains of Guanajuato) and rented a cabin on his extended family's compound. There was no gas, which meant no hot water and no cooking, but we had a fireplace and dogs and plenty of time to run around in the woods and go on hikes and all that jazz.
We arrived on Thursday after getting all our crap in backpacks, including a whole roasted chicken that we were planning on eating that evening. We took the bus for an hour in the heat with the new puppy Charlie (story to follow) and got off at the bus station in the 'downtown' of Santa Rosa. We walked another 20 minutes to the cabin (more like a small house connected to the family compound) and dragged the puppy the whole way because he refused to walk. We then ventured to the center again and checked out what there was to see. We tried a type of sweet that people make around this time. It comes from a cactus that grows a huge stalk inside of it around this time of year. They cut it down, peel it, and bury it in the ground to roast like a pig for a few days. When they take it out it's super sweet and they cut it in discs and sell it to chew on and suck out the sweetness. It's pretty weird but delish.
Then we took some pictures, bought some sweet bread and headed back to play around the compound a bit.There's a ton of dogs and newborn puppies and a tire-swing and a ton of land to roam around on. We took naps in the sun and a bunch of pics and I went home to wash all the dust off (heated a bucket of water - no gas!). We read for a while and played with the pup and went to bed pretty tired at about 9pm. No kidding,
On Friday we woke up and went into town to watch a procession for Easter. People were dressed up in all sorts of costumes (burlap bags with bare feet and ropes around their necks) and women wearing all black and people carrying statues of Jesus and Mary and cars blasting prayers and hymns. The whole town came out to follow this incredibly slow and hot procession all over town there they ended up in the center at church for mass. Gerardo's brother in law was one of the men donning a burlap sack so we went down to wait for him with the rest of the family. I carried the baby around the whole morning and we hung out and waited for things to die down before picnicking in the woods. Before we left the center for the woods, however, we heard a little puppy voice crying and followed it to a tiny pit-bull puppy, too small to be away from mother, crying and dusty and probably dying or thirst and hunger on the roof of a construction site. We took it with us and nursed it back to health. Wrapped it in a blanket where it fell asleep for the rest of the day.
That evening we introduced the two dogs. They fought (fight) a lot but ended up sleeping on top of each other at night. The German Shepard/lab I had found a few days before. Alone. Abandoned. I put up poster and everything and nobody wants to claim him so it looks like he's mine. Gerardo says that I might have chosen Chula, but this puppy chose me. That Chula sent him to me to keep me company. It's made me cry a few times thinking about her but it feels nice to be taking care of a dog in need instead of buying one. The pit-bull will probably go to Gerardo's sister when he's healthy and bigger and vaccinated and fixed. Probably a month from now. The German Shepard lab will be mine until who knows when... They are both big mama's boys and fight for my attention and affection. They like to sleep on or near my face.


On Saturday we left the dogs on the balcony to play and headed have a big breakfast and coffee at a restaurant in town. Then we went to the presa (dam) about an hour an a half's walk up and over a mountain to go ´swimming´, which was forbidden, and take in the view. We took some pretty cool pics along the way and took our time at the presa. There were a lot of people there because of Easter weekend and it's a popular camping site. That being said, we still felt pretty alone there.
We went back and had some of the food and salad's that we brought with us, took showers (super dusty) and made a campfire. The wood was so dry we lit the entire campfire with one touch of a candle. It was very satisfying. Then we read and pushed dogs off our faces and slept in before we headed home with the two pups on the bus. We ended the weekend and Easter Sunday by eating at Truco 7 and going to the movies (G.I. Joe 2....), haha. Now I'm back at part-time work and will use my afternoons to prep for the Uni and make up for all the days I missed because of random Guanajuato ´holidays´and for emergencies with Chula. Still in vacation mode. It's wonderful.
What's new? What was Easter like for everyone at home? I was really craving deviled eggs yesterday...
Love you

Very Sad News...‏

On Thursday, March 21, 2013, Emily Kippels wrote:

Today, after a very happy week with Chula I had to bury my baby.



Two Sundays ago, Chula threw herself off the roof of our building (4 stories) for who knows what reason - maybe wanted a juicy looking cat down there? My neighbor heard right away and called me, and I arrived within 15 minutes. I sat with her laying on my lap and pet her and cried while everyone else called everyone they knew in search for a vet with emergency services that would actually answer the phone.
Luckily we made it to the vet in time before she held to death. Her spleen had burst and she had lost a pint of blood inside of her. The vet told me it didn't look good, she probably wouldn't make it through he night, but he operated. I watched him remove her spleen and all of the extra little pieces that has broken off from the impact. He sewed her back up and told me to call him in the morning. She also had a broken femur, but that was the least of my worries.
The next day I was told to come and pick her up, that by some miracle she has survived. When I got there she was wagging her tail and had already eaten something. After a week of 24 hr supervision, taking her to work with me and cleaning her wound she was looking good.
Then Tuesday evening she started to look bad. She had been crying but I didn't think much of it considering what she had been through, but when I noticed her food bowl hadn't been touched and she wouldn't even eat treats I got worried. Her breath also smelled horrible. I took her to the vet at 11pm. He said she had a high temperature and he wanted to open her up to make sure she didn't have an infection. Gerardo and I gave her kisses and left.
Yesterday morning he operated and found something awful. She indeed has an infection (treatable) but he also found that all of her intestines were fused together along with her ovaries and uterus. Apparently here were microscopic lesions on her intestines from the impact of the fall and they had healed together in a way that was pretty much inoperable. This means she couldn't eat or poop, which explains her terrible breath. He said we could try but it would be very unlikely to work and would mean a lot more suffering. He suggested we put her down while she was anesthetized and I reluctantly agreed...
Today Gerardo and I went for her body and hiked her up the cruzita into the hills behind the city and found the exact tree that we had visited and rested at about 2 years before. We dug her a hole (in rock using an ice pick and a spade, not easy) at the base of the tree with a beautiful view on a beautiful day. We wrapped her in her blanky and gave her her fuzzy and her favorite ball. We covered her with dirt and rocks in very Mexican fashion and hung her collar on a branch before we left.
I'm extremely sad to lose my baby Chula but very grateful that I had another week with her after her accident. Everything happens for a reason...
I've attached pics of her burial site and views. Today is also Dia De Las Flores (Day of the Flowers), which is a big deal in Guanajuato. I think it's significant that we buried her today.
I'll catch up with happier stories and pictures soon.
Love

Who Dunnit?‏

And a few snapshots from my afternoon with Aline yesterday.





The big white building in the background on the right is the University. The big yellow church in the midground toward the left is the Basilica.The tin roof shanty in the foreground against the brick wall is Emily's apartment. Just kidding.

Rally‏

Yesterday there was a rally in Guanajuato. It happens every year. They close the streets, vendors come out, and everyone lines up to watch and take pics of the fancy cars racing through the streets and tunnels. They always cancel classes but wait until 5 minutes before we're supposed to start, just to keep us on our toes. People pay top dollar to have good viewing seats, but poor people like me just walk around to see what we can see. Ended the night with tacos al carbón and fresas con crema. Great day indeed.





Here is a short video from above the tunnels.Copy and paste into your browser.I cannot get the link to work on here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zx6vkCtpDU&feature=youtu.be

Also attached a pic of Chula's new favorite perch. Click pic to enlarge


Going back to the dentist tomorrow for my whitening kit and a cleaning, yahoo!