It’s Official, Canada Is Penniless!

Canada’s Minister of Finance announced today that by the end of 2012, Canada will be penniless! Yes, the lowly penny will cease to be manufactured or distributed. Those of us with jars full of them in the closet will be able to use them indefinitely but we will not be able to get new ones. A penny costs 1.6 cents to manufacture and they produce 25 of them for every Canadian every year. Canada says they are loosing $11 million a year by stamping these things out and that is why they are stamping them out (?).

Pennies used to be made of real copper but in 2000 when copper prices rose, they switched to copper plated zinc and then in 2005 to copper plated steel. They are no longer worth their weight in copper! We may have the advantage here. A friend of ours gave our son several bank bags of pennies when he was born back in 1970. He told us to leave them in the sealed bags and they would buy him a car one day. Well, maybe a tire… At least these pre 2000 pennies are real copper so maybe they will buy two tires!

You can’t buy much, if anything for a penny. Not even a thought. Few of my thoughts are worth a penny with the possible exception of this one. I would price it out at $.02, which would then be subjected to the “Swedish Rounding Rule” which dictates that 1 and 2 (or 6 and 7) cents are rounded down and 3 and 4 (or 8 and 9) cents are rounded up. That would make this thought worth nothing. Maybe I should price it at $.03 in which case you would have to pay me a nickel for it!

Electronic payments (credit and debit cards) will still be to the nearest penny so this change will only affect cash purchases and who uses cash anymore? Those lucky people with a hidden supply of pennies will have to dispense them with care. If your lunch costs say, $6.72, you would never admit that you have pennies thereby forcing McDonalds to reduce the price to $6.70. However, if your lunch comes to $6.73 then we would quickly pull out our three pennies to prevent being boosted up to the next nickel. Be careful out there and keep those pennies close to your vest! Constant vigilance and a quick mathematical mind is required!

I remember when you could buy something for a penny. I remember in the late 40’s and early 50’s my mother would give me a penny or two to go to our neighborhood store. There were huge selections of items for a penny, well maybe not huge selections, but quite a few anyway. I actually remember something that was three for a penny! Whatever they were, I did not like them. Remember Jaw Breakers? They were a penny and while they didn’t actually break your jaw, they did stain your lips and tongue. There were little wax things that squirted a blast of foul tasting liquid into your mouth when you bit down on them. They were not worth the penny they cost and the memory of them still makes me cringe. Maybe they were the three for a penny things. The dilemma was always what to do with the wax mess after you bit down on it. Swallow it or spit it out?

Canada is not the first country to do this. Even Mexico stopped using the centavo years ago. The smallest coin normally used down here is the peso, worth about seven cents. You do see the odd 50 centavo coins, worth half a peso and I once found a 10 centavo coin on the ground. It is tiny, not much more than a quarter of an inch across and silver colored. Most of the Scandinavian countries did this long ago but they have always been far advanced over us anyway. They even invented the “Swedish Rounding Rule”! Australia threw out it’s one and two penny coins and New Zealand broke ground by eliminating the nickel in 2009!

So no more sayings like, “A penny for your thoughts”, “Penny wise, pound foolish” or, “Mind your pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves”. Canada is now penniless!

She Is Getting Better!

Norma was actually walking today! Not far but from the bedroom out to the kitchen and living area and back. She also felt good enough to complain about my housekeeping. In any case, she could not have done this if anything was broken so I guess it was as she said, just a bad bruise (or whatever).

We will stick around a couple more days, maybe until the 1st and then hit the border. It has been a stressful few days. That will give us two or three weeks to get home. We have to have our taxes mailed by April 30 so that is our deadline. It will take me a day or two to do the taxes.

We have to get the propane leak fixed on the way home. Maybe in San Antonio and I have to buy a new desktop computer for home as well. mine crashed and burned just before we left in November. We also need two new 6 volt golf cart batteries from Sam's Club.

Things are looking better! Thanks for all the kind words and concern!

Saltillo

Juan, Norma and Chris - A few hours before her fall.

Downtown Saltillo. The first is a very old coffee sales store. We bought a kilo of blended coffee for $130 pesos or $10 CAN. It smelled delicious and I can hardly wait to brew a pot!

One Problem Solved!

I dropped the Mazda off at the Goodyear shop at 9:00 AM. They told me (at least I think they told me, it was in rapid Spanish) that the emergency brake was dragging and it would be ready in three hours. I took a cab back to the Hotel and then walked back to the shop at noon. they had it finished and were out for a test drive. They replaced the rear brakes and turned the disks. The total bill was $990 Pesos or about $77 dollars. Shop time is $19 per hour and they charged me for one hour plus parts and the outsourcing of the the turning. Not bad! Did I mention? Shop time is $250 pesos or $19 dollars per hour!!

Now if we can just get Norma fixed. We have paid for two more nights and if it is not a lot better by then we will get an X-ray done at our own expense (they are cheap here) and find a doctor to read it (also cheap). Chris will drive over from Monterrey to help out. In the meantime keep your fingers crossed.

What's Going On?

I am sure you are wondering why we are still in Saltillo and not posting much. Well, something IS going on!

The last night Chris and Juan were here Norma fell on the gravel parking lot between our RV's. She could not walk after the fall so I carried her into the motorhome. She landed on the butt attached to the same hip she broke and had repaired six years ago so of course the fear was that she had re-damaged that hip. It did not hurt unless she put weight on it and she said the pain was centered more in the butt cheek and not in the hip. She wanted a couple of days to see if it improved before we headed to the hospital.

Well, it does seem to be improving although not as quickly as I would like to see so we are giving it a couple more days before we move. The way she is, it would be very tough for her to climb down into the seating area of the motorhome to travel. We will also be hitting the border the first day and when they put the RV through the x-ray machine, they make us get out and walk 50 feet away. She would have a great deal of trouble doing this.

So, we will wait here until she is more mobile or we decide she has to have it looked at. In that case we may ask Chris or Juan to drive over from Monterrey to help us with the Spanish required in the hospital. It is a one hour drive but they have kindly offered to do this.

On another front, the rear end of the Mazda has started to make a grinding noise when we are driving or towing it. I thought it was accumulated dirt in the brakes but now I think it might be bearings. There is a Goodyear shop just down the street so I will take it in there in the morning to see if they can fix it. One thing after another!

Like Marvin Gaye says, "What's Goin' On"?

The Leak

The propane is still leaking. I poured soapy water over all the connections I could see and no bubbles. Chris suggested going to a local hardware store where they keep lists of tradespeople to help with projects. We did that and we found a local plumber who said he knew propane. It seems that it is not a separate trade in Mexico but is done by plumbers. The plumber and his helper showed up and basically did what I had already done. They tested the obvious connections for tightness and checked all the connections around the tank with soapy water. He tried to convince me it was probably the fill valve where sometimes a piece of foreign matter gets stuck during a fill. He cleared this by sticking a small screwdriver into it to cause a jet of propane to come out, clearing the valve. I was sure this was not the problem as I can stop the leak by turning off the shutoff valfe which is not connected to the fill valve.

Anyway, he seemed to be at the limit of his abilities so we paid him $100 pesos or about $7.75, his asking price for a house call. He actually did not ask for $100 pesos. Instead he told me to pay what I thought he was worth' Juan told me to offer him $100 pesos. Try to get that in Canada ot the US!

He suggested leaving the valve open and to call him back if the problem returned. Well, it returned but we are not going to call him. I don't think he is all that familiar with propane systems in RV's where connections are hidden.

We are going to do without propane until we get to the USA next week. The only time we need it, or at least use it, is while moving to keep the fridge working. Many people turn their fridge off while they travel as they are afraid of having propane open in case of an accident. We (and most others) have never worried about this and travel with the tank open. It will not hurt to turn the fridge off for a few hours as long as we keep the door closed. We just won't be able to boondock along the way to San Antonio, TX where we will get it fixed.

More Important Stuff:

Our friends Chris and Juan have left as Juan had something he had to attend back in Monterrey. It was great to see them! Chris keeps saying he is "almost retired" but takes the odd contract from the publishing house he works for, traveling around Mexico training teachers and presenting new school books. Juan is also "sort of" retired but is working on his Doctorate in Education. His specialty is kids leaving high school before graduation in both the USA and Mexico. Perhaps his studies and work will lead to a solution of this problem that knows no borders!

Catching Up

Our friends Chris and Juan arrived on Thursday and parked one space over from us. Tables and chairs were set up and we caught up on each other's life for the past year. They report that things are slowly getting better in Monterrey, enough that they now feel more comfortable leaving their home to travel more. Juan is tied up in completing his Doctorate and Chris has had a few contracts that have taken him on short trips around Mexico. They are looking forward to retirement when they want to do some extensive RVing in Mexico.

We have developed a propane leak near the propane tank. Norma noticed the smell and when I checked the level, I found we had lost a quarter of a tank in a little over a day. It started just after we had it filled so I think something happened then that loosened a fitting somewhere. The smell was quite strong in the bay where the tank is but I was unable to find the leak with my soapy water solution. Chris, who is fluent in Spanish, is talking to people trying to find a mechanico who will come to the park to do repairs. We have to have the tank turned on in order for the fridge to operate while we are driving so it is important to get this repaired. Chris and Juan have a small leak in their oven that they will have repaired at the same time.

Later today we all want to go down to the Centro here in Saltillo. We will wander around and find a nice place to eat. Life is good!

Saltillo

We are safe and sound in Saltillo after an uneventful 250 KM drive. The directions in the Church’s guide to the Imperial Hotel and RV Park are a little confusing to say the least! This may have been partly my fault as I tried to let the GPS assist me as well as Norma reading the directions. I probably should have just turned the GPS off. We ended up driving past the turnoff while looking for their landmarks. As soon as we did this the lady in the GPS started complaining and telling me to make a u-turn. I did this (divided highway) and the first exit was the street the hotel was on. From then it was simple.

We checked in and paid $350 pesos per day for five days. There is no weekly rate and the RV rate posted on the wall actually reads $460 pesos per day! I guess that is just there to keep undesirables out. We can always add a couple of days later.

Our friends will arrive tomorrow. There is one other motorhome in the park. It is a couple from Minnesota who read this Blog! They are just on their way down to the Yucatan.

Las Palmas Hotel, Matehuala

It was a short drive today from San Louis Potosi to Matehuala. We are meeting our friends Chris and Juan in Saltillo but they are delayed by having to make a quick trip up to the USA. This gives us a little extra time.

Matehuala is just a few kilometers north of the Tropic of Cancer. This is a significant marker for me because it tells me that I am really on my way home. I love the Tropics and I think my body and personality are suited for life in the Tropics. I may have been born at the wrong latitude!

We really like the Las Palmas! It is right on the Old Highway 57 that Matehuala is built on. The sign is huge and can be seen from far away. It is a very old sign, reminiscent of the old Route 66 signs.  Out back of the Hotel is the RV park which is really just a gravel parking lot with hookups. The water is good, the pressure is good, the electric is good and there are plenty of sewer connections. There are also spotless showers with tons of hot water. Everything works. Only seasoned Mexico travelers will appreciate this.

The hotel has a great restaurant. It is not cheap by Mexican standards but it is by Canadian standards. We went tonight and our meals were great. I had shrimp enchiladas and Norma had ham steak. With a glass of house wine each, the bill was $345 pesos or $27. The waiters are very good, they are dressed in tuxedos, the tables have white tablecloths and the silverware is actually silver (plated anyway). I once said something nice about the restaurant on RV.net and got the immediate response that it was too expensive for Mexico.  In my opinion, it is not. It is good value for the money.

One funny thing though. We are getting close to the border so they have English menus for English speaking customers and most of the waiters know at least a little English. I surprised them by ordering off the English menu in Spanish! The waiter thought that was pretty good!

Blogger Question

Blogger (Google) seems to have done some changes recently. One, they have assigned a .mx suffex to my address, I guess because they have detected I am posting from Mexico. I hope this will change when I cross the border.

Second and more important, the quick edit "pencil" icon has disappeared from below my posts. This means I have to go through extra steps to edit a post. I Googled this problem and it is fairly common (mostly in Australia) with no simple fixes being offered. Have any other Blogger users had this problem?