Christmas Part IV

Adrienne, Charlie, Ellie and Gaga

Notice the "halo" around Charlie's head!

Damian setting up the first course of the Christmas Eve feast
Texas cousins, Baby Charlie, Cody Man and Miss Ellie
Had to be quick to get this photo!

We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was full of baby delights and delicious meals with over-the-top desserts. As for the food, Ed and I were amazed at how many desserts we could consume in one meal. I think my favorite was the pavlova - a meringue covered with lightly sugared berries and heavy cream. Papa's choice was the Christmas pudding - a very dense cake of berries and nuts soaked in brandy with brandy sauce and brandy butter. Did we mention brandy? These are just two of the many we had at lunch, dinner and sometimes breakfast.

As for babies, Ellie loved each of her presents to the extent that we weren't sure how many days it would take to unwrap her presents. Her first gift was a book that Gaga purchased at the Cedaredge Public Library annual book sale for 25 cents. Ellie was consumed with it for at least a half hour. As with Alex, Ellie reminded us of the significance of the little things in life. Thank you Ellie! As for Charlie, his grins are just the best. We couldn't stop kissing this most lovable baby!

To top off Christmas, Kelley, Jamie B. and Cody came up to Dallas from Hempstead. We were thrilled to have this precious time with them. Cody is so patient with his little cousins even when his Lego building creations are demolished in one fell swoop by Miss Ellie. Hopefully you can see the absolute admiration in Ellie's eyes in the cousin shot.

This was truly a Christmas to remind us of the abundance of our life. So much for which we give thanks. Ahhhh! We do wish you all a year filled with wonder, joy and good health.

Christmas Part III

Christmas, Dallas and UK style

Here's Ellie, dressed up in her Christmas jammers to go see Christmas lights. A neighborhood very close to the Hirst's was incredibly decked out with lights, inflatable Santas, reindeer, Mickey Mouse characters, etc. Ellie and Damian got out of the car several times to get a closer look. As Ellie is not bashful, she walked right up to several displays as well as told other passersby about them.
Here's Charlie! What a big growing boy he is. He smiles most of the time. Of course, we missed it in this photo! In fact he smiles right through spitting up! We'll try not to get a picture of that.

It's very festive in Dallas. In fact, it's snowing today (Christmas Eve)! Not exactly like Cozumel and Ed is shivering as this is written. Damian and Adrienne have been busy making all kinds of exotic foods that Damian views as a Christmas necessity. Here are a few of the delicacies we'll be having over the next several days - cranberry orange bread, chocolate yule log, summer fruit pudding, bread and butter pudding, cornbread stuffing for the turkey, bacon wrapped sausage, carrot mash, roast potatoes, pavlova, brandy sauce and butter to go on the Christmas pudding purchased in the UK, ham and salmon. Phew! Didn't know we could fit all this on a post!

Christmas, part II

Alex with her own Christmas tree - the color purple of course!

One of the best things in the world is having a little girl quietly enter my room and tell me about her dreams on a pre-Christmas morning. I just can't help feeling the true Christmas spirit when I hear Alex's whispers of delight at Christmas tree lights and seemingly inconsequential gifts of Mexican marimbas and flutes. It has truly been a week of wonder ending with a fun marathon cookie making session and a delicious turkey dinner.

Christmas time in the city!

Alex has the body movements down when singing Christmas carols.Do you think Mom would notice if I took just one lick?

The big question - which camera is next?

It has been big fun for Peggy aka Gaga to visit the Galyons in Broomfield. So great to look at the season through the eyes of a 3 year old! From watching Alex prepare to sit on Santa's lap (she made sure that the page with the picture of the animal she wanted was marked with a sticker so that she would have a visual aid when talking to Santa!) to her play group's party at Chucky Cheese (air hockey with lots of giggles) to her preschool party (a lively recital of Christmas carols, decorating gingerbread houses, making ornaments and necklaces, and, of course, consuming the requisite amount of sugar), it has all been a kick. This weekend will bring a marathon cookie making session and a Christmas turkey dinner. The only thing that would make it better is to have Papa and the rest of the family together.

Construction Continues!

Peggy in in the US now and has the camera, so I can't post new photos. Besides, I don't know how! But, here's an update on construction. The vestibule is done except for the tile on the floor. Pulpo poured the floor this morning. Senior Rigo, the wrought, man, delivered the protectora door (wrought iron bar door). We had previously told him what we wanted and since our Spanish is lacking, we always wonder if he understood. We try to draw things out, but it's like playing Pictionary! Then, we worry about the final outcome. But, as is usual, what we didn't communicate he figured out. The door is perfect and he's installing it now. Sometimes I can watch, sometimes not. His welder is ancient and he connects it directly to the fuse box. Sparks fly! He jumps back. And.... it's working! Zap. Zap. And he's done. More importantly, he's still alive! He's the man making our stairway and there's been lots and lots of discussion between us about it. Again, does he understand us? But, it'll work out. Usually does down here. It's all part of the fun.

Eco Divers Posada

Last night we went to the Eco Divers posada. Jorge has done this for the past several years and we were happy to be included again. Eco's version of a posada bears no relationship to most posadas in Mexico. This diversion from the norm shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has met Jorge or dived with Eco! It's mostly just good food courtesy of Jorge's girlfriend, Kristen, lots of booze, and some really funny folks. When we arrived, Jorge's long time friend Paulo was playing traditional Mexican music with a small group and all the guests were singing along. Peggy spent quite awhile talking with Jorge's niece Carlita (12 years old) and Paulo's daughter (11 years old). We have known Carlita since she was born and this year we were blown away by how she has become a young woman! Peggy tried to speak Spainish and the girls practiced their English. So much fun to have the girls become very serious instructors. Ed, on the other hand, drank beer with the boys and ate more food than was necessary. We stayed a couple of hours and when we left, the party was just gettin' goin'. Wow! These folks are party animals!

Bananaquit

This little guy and his buddies are really friendly little birds. As you can see they share this feeder with the hummingbirds here. They are fun to watch on the lilies because they try to suck the nector out of the side rather than the top of the bloom. The green hummingbirds (how do you like the scientific name!) here are on steroids - just huge. We haven't yet been able to capture one of them in a photo. It's sort of like trying to take a picture of Cody. Most of the pictures we try to take of him only show where he has been not where he is!

Construction

Construction has started here again. Before we we get into more detail than you may want to have about our project, we thought we would review our priorities with you. Now most people with limited funds would be thinking about maybe purchasing a stove/oven or a washing machine or maybe a vehicle. Not us. It has been pretty warm and still here and the skeeters are thick. So, literally, rising to the top of our list has become a way to get to the roof. Right now, the only way is by ladder and Peggy's whimpering about climbing the ladder has gotten to be a little much. So......



This time we're putting in a door from the top of our inside stairway that will lead to the roof of our back porch. From the porch, there will be a metal stairway made that will get us (actually only Peggy) without whimpering, to the roof of the house. This is a "before" shot.

Here are some of the "materiales". Sand and gravel were dumped on the front sidewalk. Blocks are stacked inside our gate. Cement and other materials are stored on the back porch. Usually concrete is mixed by hand out in the street and then carried in plastic buckets. Mortar for the block is being mixed, also by hand, up on the porch roof.

That's Alvaro, son of the contractor, on the porch roof. Pulpo (means octopus), the contractor is to the right. His real name is Elias. Most guys here have a nickname. We don't know why, but they do. You can see the wall going up. It'll go up even to the top of the house. The second tier of the stairway will traverse up this new wall. Almost all of the chipping necessary to attach the new construction to our house is done by hand. The men work from 7:30 until about 5:00 with an hour and a half for lunch. It is great to watch father and son working so well together. Pulpo has tremendous experience and good ideas. He listens attentively to changes that we have and is very willing, even eager, to change the design accordingly. Alvaro is a strong, hardworking young man who is learning to be a master in his own right. Both are used to working with Americans and they speak Spanish very slowly for our benefit.

They're making good progress. We're thinking that it'll be 10 days or so before completion. Maybe longer as estimates of cost and time are almost always overly optimistic! That's okay, we can wait!

The hunt!

One of the things on our bucket list has been to see the many kinds of fish which live in far-off places like the Great Barrier reef, Palau and the Maldives Islands. We never expected that we'd see one of the most exotic creatures in the ocean here in Cozumel. Yes, lionfish have invaded the reefs off Cozumel. There's a great deal of concern as these fish are voracious eaters with no natural enemies here. They propogate like mosquitoes! The underwater park authorities have OK'd their capture and have said it's fine to kill them. Today Peggy and some freinds went on a scuba/snorkel hunt for the critters just north of town. They found two. They caught one and it'll go into a a glass bowl at a local diveshop. All of the shops seem to have one or two on display now. We'll try and take on every dive a goody bag or something to snag the beautiful but nasty creatures! In Cedaredge, it's grasshoppers, in Mexico, the lionfish. Stay tuned for the body count.

Welcoming gift!

This is a story of a gift that keeps on giving! The Cedaredge Women's Literary Club has a Christmas ornament exchange each year. Members bring ornaments wrapped and take turns picking out a package to open. After the first ornament is revealed, then the next member to open a gift has the choice to either take the known commodity or to open another package. One year I came home with a real charmer! Being the giving mother that I am, I immediately regifted it to Jamie and Eric that Christmas. For some years, the ornament has been gifted back and forth between us. I don't remember when we last "gave" it back but apparently we did a good job of hiding it in Jamie's maternity underwear drawer. Jamie hasn't needed the drawer's contents for some years.

After a few days of settling in, I noticed that we had this beautiful object hanging from our fruit basket. Having a little bit of trouble with my memory (many people have commented kindly that I am Dory from Finding Nemo in human form), I just thought I had stuck this lovely thing up there before we left last year.

What actually happened was that last fall, Jamie called Rita and asked if she had any customers coming down to Cozumel in the near future. Jamie wanted to get the ornament down here to greet us upon our return. Rita, not being a Dory at all, remembered the story of the ornament exchange and was happy to be a part of the plot! Rita actually went back to Chicago this fall and Jamie mailed the ornament to her there. Voila! It appeared at our house, thanks to Rita, the courier.

Athough the ornament looks very much at home with our decor, we are confident that it has not found its final resting place. Heh, heh! For now, we are incredibly impressed by the devious child we have raised.

Any genetic link? Naw!

It is so much fun being friends with Becky. She finds out about the best stuff happening around the island. The other day, she was hanging out at a great little hotel down the coast from us and found an artist doing some very informal watercolor classes in the open air lobby. Becky jumped right in thinking this just may be her third career. She then enlisted another friend, Lynn, and I for the next class. The artist, Linda Lord, has figured out more than the fine art of watercolor. She has mastered the fine art of finding something good to say when, really, there is nothing redeeming in what is before her. After she had looked at my painting, she told me that I was holding my mouth right! Even though it certainly won't be my next career, it was a fun way to spend the afternoon!

Here is my masterpiece!

Now HERE is a true masterpiece - this toad is one of my favorites from the many over-the-top wonderful paintings my sister, Marcy, has done. Many of you know this but I just have to say that Marcy's story is incredible. She started painting about six years ago and now she is really well known in North Carolina and beyond. Amazing , huh? What's really amazing is that she's my sister! Any genetic component on the artistic ability - Naw! I'll just stick to appreciating it!

Thanksgiving weekend

This weekend was so much fun. Another delicious Thanksgiving dinner for an intimate (?) group of 44 people at the home of our friends, Dick and Gwen. Two 25# turkeys and all the fixin's. Yum! Then a few nights in Playa Del Carmen for the annual jazz festival on the white sand beach. Playa is a kick with a several mile-long walking mall lined with a variety of typical tourist fare as well as the funky shops("jellyfish" hanging lamps made out of dried gourds and sea glass)and the beautifully handwoven crafts from Chiapas. In just over 20 years, the town has grown from a one butcher shop village (we remember seeing a cow tied up in front of it on the lonely sandy road into town) to a bustling city complete with Asian Fusion and Thai fare. The powdery white sand beach that was dotted with a few palapas and tents here and there is now lined with hotels of every variety.



We found a small hotel on the walking mall just a few blocks away from Mamita's Beach where the jazz festival was in the evenings. So much fun to stroll down there a little before 7:00 and lay our blanket on the beach after molding sand supports for our backs. Our favorite group was Spyro Gira. Each of the musicians in the band were unbelievable but the drummer, Bonny B was our favorite. He did a 15-18 minute solo at the end of the set that was mesmorizing. His laughter and energy were infectious. We talked with him the next day on the beach. He was watching "his man", Al Jarreau test his sound equipment. Bonny is a sweet, soft spoken and humble man from Trinidad/Tobago. Other musicians we saw included Sacbe, Sergio Mendez (still stuck in the 70's), quitarist Pat Martino, and Herbie Hancock.



We came back to Cozumel midday yesterday and were greeted by clapping and cheering. It took us some time to realize the applause was for the Ironman competitors not us! Ironman. What an amazing example of mind over matter. Two thousand people entered the sea in the morning, swimming 2 1/2 miles (1/2 of it against a pretty stiff current), biking 112 miles around the island several times and then running a 26 mile marathon. We stood close to the finish line at 8 PM last night watching as competitors were either waved on to the finish line or motioned that one more lap was yet needed to complete their marathon. The mental and physical strength that is required to do yet 8 more miles after working so hard for over 11 or 12 (or more!) hours is mind boggling. We watched as several competitors crossed the finish with their kids in their arms or trailing behind. Other exhausted runners held their arms over their heads and reveled in the knowledge that they had done it! "You, too, are an Ironman! You've conquered the island!" blared the sound system as each crossed the finish line. What can we say? We were awestruck!

We volunteered (selling stuff) at the Red Cross booth and the winner (a Belgian) and the second place finisher (from Ukraine) had their photos taken there. We got in the pictures! Ironman groupies are born!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving Day

We are taking Bev Wilson's lead in giving thanks today. Bev is the wife of our good friend, Dave. Although Dave passed away on Monday night, Bev is giving thanks for the six good years they had together. Dave got us into so many fun things when we moved to Cedaredge -things like volunteering for the Forest Service up on the Mesa and at Powderhorn Ski Resort. Dave loved the Grand Mesa and was its main cheerleader for years. He spent every spare minute up there hiking and organizing fun things to do there. Whatever he did, he did with a passion that was contagious. We'll miss our evenings together solving the world's problems over wine but we ARE so thankful to have had his friendship. We hope that Bev will come see us this year as she and Dave were planning last year. Dave would like that and so would we.

We're backtracking already!

We managed to get this family protrait of the Galyons as we were leaving. Recognize Alex's dress from her blog- the one where Eric has 9 or 10 photos of her running in a circle? Notice, too, that Jamie is "showing". Maybe Eric a bit, too! Cody really doesn't fish all of the time. Being a good country boy, he rides horses, too! The horse seems so big and Cody seems so small!

Ellie was always on the move while we were there, so we didn't get photos of her! Gaga was was pretty busy, as well, playing on the floor with Ellie! But, here's a favorite of ours from their Halloween: Ellie as Minnie Mouse and Charlie as a pea in a pod.

We had so much fun seeing grandkids before we left the country. Alex, age 3, in Broomfield was getting so excited about their upcoming trip Disney World (see their blog, Galyonfamily.blogspot.com). She loves her twice weekly preschool and all of the fun outings that Jamie’s network of moms plans. Alex has lots to say to her animals during what should be nap time and she melts our hearts with her sweet ways. She will be a big helper when her little sister arrives in March.
Cody, age 6, is the fisherman supreme. He and Grandpa went fishing together in the Hempstead Baxter pond. Cody, on his first 2 casts, caught 2 big bass that he and his dad transplanted there from the lake across the road. Grandpa ? Nada! Cody is loving school and came home with straight A’s on his report card. He does his homework first thing when he gets home. Then, FISHING and maybe bed before 10!
We were amazed to see how big Miss Ellie (almost 2) and Master Charlie (almost 3 months) are in Dallas (see ellieandcharlie.blogspot.com). Gaga has to do sort of a Fosbury Flop to get Ellie into her crib and Adrienne found Gaga asking Ellie if she could jump to get into her car seat in their Yukon. You see, Ellie weighs over 30 pounds- a healthy, beautiful little girl. She is a dynamo of action and talking up a storm. Charlie is cooing, grinning and endearing himself to his sleep-deprived mom and dad. We know that they will be a hit with their UK family when they travel there next week.

Back in Mexico - Day 1

We’ve arrived! After Packing Master Ed’s superb job of packing (each bag weighed about 49.5 pounds!), the trip went perfectly. We crept out of the sleeping Hirst home at 3:45 AM taking the Super Shuttle to DFW. Cozumel’s version of the Super Shuttle, Henry (Rita’s Radar O’Reilly), came screaming up, parking Rita’s pickup in a place where no gringo would dare, leaving the doors wide open and sweeping our luggage onto his 5’5” frame and off we went! Before Henry made his entrance, we talked to our old friend Oscar, the timeshare salesman at the airport. In the decade that we’ve known Oscar, he has not been successful in getting us to see a presentation. You just gotta love him; he never gives up. When we walked away he hollered “ Hey, when you going to …….”. You never know though maybe one of these days……. Not!


We drove up to a beautifully clean house and thriving garden. Henry and his sister had been busy right up until our return, cleaning and even doing the windows and laundering drapes. Before we knew it our internet guy was here setting up our mast and antenna and hooking us up. And, it worked! Communication with the outside world! After doing a few very important things like finding our shorts and setting up a hammock, we went with Rita to Chilango’s (the pink home around the corner where they serve lunch at communal tables in their living room). When we were pleasantly full of our shredded chicken (pollo tinga) and squash with goat cheese (calabacitas) meals, we took a little siesta. Later, we went to Chedraui (the closest grocery store) for staples like beer and wine. A huge, deep night’s sleep under the ceiling fan that night. Ahhhhh.

To Belize or not

Our friends, Dick and Gwen, asked us as we were finishing our time at Rita's to join them on a trip to Belize this weekend. After feeling tied to her business and house for a while, we jumped at the chance. Road trip - yeah baby! Well we packed our little bags and were waiting at our gate when they picked us up this morning. We had taken a bike ride earlier and were a little shocked by the ferocity of the wind. It was coming out of the east so we didn't think too much about it. We just thought that we'd get to Playa Del Carmen via the car ferry more quickly with the wind at our back. We were a little disappointed to find that the ferry was cancelled. We didn't pout for long though. As always seems to happen here, the day developed quite nicely. Rita came over as we were mulling over our options with Dick and Gwen. Rita brought some chilled Chardonnay from South Africa and some pistachios and pound cake. After polishing that off, we went to lunch a great Cuban place and then to a movie (Knowing with Nicholas Cage). We had read mixed reviews on the movie. The NY Times thought it was laughable and Roger Ebert thought it was wonderful (we are really confused that he is still doing reviews after he died). We're thinking that there is something to be said for listening to reviews by live people as we sided with the NY Times. Still, though, always a fun experience to go to the movies here. We like trying to read the Spanish subtitles - very often they bear little resemblance to what is being said in English. The popcorn is always good, too.

How did the time slip by?

Can't believe it's been two weeks since we made an entry. We do have an excuse, though. Our friend, Rita, who runs a fishing and diving charter company took a very well deserved vacation to South Africa for almost two weeks. She honored and also scared the heck out of us by entrusting her company, her dogs and her house to us. When Rita first thought about taking a vacation, her business had about 4 trips total booked for the 12 days. By the time she returned, the number had ballooned to over 20. Yikes! We always thought we knew that Rita worked hard and kept ridiculous hours but we really had no clue. Our days normally began between 5 and 5:30 AM and pretty consistently went to 6 or 7 PM. Her employees, especially her Radar O'Reilly of MASH (Henry) and her divemaster/boat captain/mate/communicator (Edwin) were great. They had a lot of patience for our clumsiness with the business and the language. There were only a few times that Henry and I just looked at each other and pulled at our hair in frustration because we couldn't get our point across. The end result was good - no boats sunk, no customers drowned, no boat captains in jail and Rita came home to some money. And we came home to our sweet, uncomplicated life and felt new appreciation for it.

Our last day of fun with Alex

We were so happy that the resident turtles at Rita's house were out on Alex's last day in Mexico. Turtles tend to show up in Rita's yard during hurricanes. So, naturally, the turtles are all given hurricane names. Stan and Phyllis are the oldest and biggest ones. They like bananas, tomatoes and, it looks to us, that little girls may be okay too.

Alex woke up from several naps saying that she wanted to go swimming. How lucky are we to be able to accommodate those wishes in Rita's pool. Aside from being stylin', Alex's goggles provide UV protection. How great is that? A far cry from zinc oxide on our noses when we were young.

We sure hope that this is the first of many visits. It sure is heaven to wake up to a little one's voice added to the songs of the birds in the morning.

water and more water

So sad! Jamie, our dive buddy, couldn't go diving this trip. She had a pretty scary high fever that turned into a cold. So she had to settle for staying on the surface this trip. Spending part of a day at Hotel Barracuda did bring back some wonderful memories of previous dive trips when the girls were in high school. Fun to think about our grandkids joining us in our underwater adventures in years to come! Alex certainly is her mother's daughter. She loves the water! Then again, what's not to like?

Burying Papa's foot in the sand is pretty fun, too, even for a girl who doesn't usually like to have stuff on her hands.

After playing chicken with the waves, we all said our goodbyes to the sun. Jamie then gave Alex a little lesson in astronomy. She said that the sun was going to swim to the other side of the island and be there in the morning for us. That's the engineer that we know and love.

We were happy the sun made it to the other side the next day. This is one of a few protected coves that is perfect for little people. Okay, us big people too!

Cozumel's Zoo Park

This past week when Jamie, Eric and Alexis visited us, we walk a few blocks to the new park near the Palacio Municipal (City Hall). This park, formerly a soccer field, has been paved with walkways, several performing stage areas, some fountains, and 8 or 10 fiberglass animals. This is Alex, Gaga, and Papa with the Hippo. The Hippo is a small slide. Kids walk up the side and then slide out the hippo's backside! We tried to get a picture of Alex being expelled from the Hippo, but she wanted to walk up the slide and then down the stairs.

Alex wouldn't put her head in the Hippo's mouth until Gaga did! Smart girl! No hippo is going to bite her head off unless she has company!

Alex really liked sitting on the back of the reclining tiger. She kept saying "Giddy Up"! Fortunately the tiger ignored her and stayed still.

It took some coaxing, but Alex finally sat on the elephant's trunk. She didn't like it though.... must not be a Republican.

Parting shots of Miss Ellie

Our next door neighbor is such a kind, sweet woman in her mid eighties from the other side of Mexico. In spite many health problems, she loves to tend to her garden and care for her home. One of her few complaints is that she had four sons and no daughters or granddaughters. So she was thrilled to meet Adrienne and Miss Ellie.



We have some definite favorite tee shirts in our family. There are tee shirts from the girls' high school swim team, there are the shirts from Texas A&M, CU, CSU, SMU Law and from Adrienne's wedding in Greece. One of our favorites is this one from the Austin Fire Department that Jamie B. gave Alex. As with so many outfits, two year old Alex handed this one down to Ellie. It goes nicely with the purse Ellie loves to carry around the house.

There certainly was a big hole left when the Hirst family went home to Texas. But now we are excited to show Alex and her Daddy, Eric, the island this week. Jamie, we're sure, will feel as Adrienne did, she's coming back to a familiar, comfortable island home.

Fun times with Ellie

Ed, aka Papa, and I have been waiting and waiting to show off the new park by the Municipal Palacio to grand kids. Our favorite is the slide that descends from a hippo's back side. Ellie, though, preferred the tiger and the zebra.

Our friends here were generous with their pools while Ellie was here. They did think that we were a little nutty to be using them this time of year. The "season" doesn't really begin until April when the water is warmer. It doesn't look like Damian and Ellie were suffering in Rita's pool, though.

A birthday party

Our friend, Edwin, invited us to his daughter's 1st birthday party. It was due to begin about the time that Adrienne, Damian and Ellie were scheduled to arrive. So, thinking that we would get there a few hours late, I tried to tell Edwin that we wouldn't be able to make it. No problem! Edwin explained that if a party is supposed to start at 3:00, Cozumelians start to think about getting ready at 3:00, actually do something about it at 4:00 and arrive at 5:00. So we got there just as the action began.

Adrienne helping Ellie take a swipe.

The birthday girl, Abril, is already getting the hang of the pinata.

Hammocks Part II

We had several important discussions with Ellie in this week. There's just something about lying in a hammock under a coconut tree that brings out those philosophical questions like "What do you think Mom's making for lunch? I did really like the avocado, papaya, mango and oatmeal I had this morning!" And, the most important of all "Ellie, who do you like best?"





Things can't all be serious though. You just gotta sing a few rounds of "The Wheels on the Bus" every once in a while!

Hammocks, Part I

We were very excited this past week to have our first family visitors come stay - Adrienne, Damian and baby Ellie. They all got into the swing of things down here by spending tons of time in our hammocks on the new patio. Ellie especially loved contemplating important issues like how her purse tasted in the blue hammock as opposed to the multi-colored hammock.







We know, we know! This picture does seem upside down but we can't figure out how to turn it rightside up! So just turn your computer upside down to view!

Patio and Bodega

After many visits and lots of heavy duty negotiations over several weeks, we hired Tomas to build a patio and a store house (bodega) for us. Work began early this week after we gave Tomas money to buy and rent materials. Tomas and his brother, Guadelupe, finished off half of the patio the other evening at 9:00 PM "under the lights". It seemed to take longer for us to decide on a diamond pattern than it did for them to implement our plan. This is not to say that "working" is a continuous process. The fellows work awhile, take off for awhile, come back and work awhile more. The process continues all day.

With half of the patio finished, we're excited to plant some of the starter nursery Ed has grown.

Yesterday, the guys were mixing concrete to pour the bodega's roof. Tomas hired a couple of day laborers who arrived on their bicycles. They helped to carry buckets of concrete from the street where they had mixed it, and then handed them up for Tomas to pour and level. Mixing concrete in the street makes sense. If enough people do it, the street will be paved!

This is Tomas on top of the bodega, pouring a bucket of concrete. The roof took some time, as setting forms of the rented wood took a good part of a day. Then, cutting, bending and tying the rebar in place took some hours. After that, the rush was on to mix concrete and pour! Our understanding is that this is the "rough" pour and that a smooth finish will be applied next.

The back wall will get a rough texture so plants can grow up it and we don't have to paint! The front of the bodega will get a smooth finsh, like the house. Maybe we'll paint a mural!

Everything is supposed to be done by Wednesday, the day before Adrienne and family arrive. Again, it's Cozumel, so we're giving odds and taking bets!

Hempstead Baxters in Dallas

Jamie, Kelley and Cody came up to Dallas for the second day of Ellie's birthday celebrations. They missed the party but then made their own with Cody entertaining all of us. At age 6, Cody is full of energy and knows how to take full advantage of Ellie's toys - wheeling her push toys at high velocity, playing basketball with her stuffed animals and finding hidden pictures faster than any pro we know (Adrienne, the former champion, included).

A little elderly cousin advice on the proper use of toys.