Christmas Part I

Peggy’s great adventure this Christmas started with a little 19 passenger airplane  to Cancun.  It was just a few minutes after we boarded the prop that it was in the air.  The views were spectacular!  

 

From Cancun, I flew directly to Dallas.  We got right into the Christmas festivities the next day at the school that Ellie and Charlie attend.  Each of their classes had a Christmas party.

Charlie’s girlfriend is to the left.  She is about 1/2 his size but he looks to her for a little help now and again.  At the party, he sat down next to her on the floor, put his feet on her lap and asked for help.  She knew exactly what was needed and took off his shoes.

Lots of props reside at the school for some great imaginative play.  African safari anyone?

Always construction work that needs to be done!

Keanan gets some extra Mommy time while the older kids are at school.  He reminds me of Thomas the Train sometimes – his head stays stationary while his wide eyes follow Adrienne everywhere.

Ellie and Charlie are more like twins than regular siblings.  They always seem to be dreaming up play scenarios.  When Damian came home one evening, they were kitties.  Damian didn’t miss a beat and put saucers of milk on the floor for them to slurp.

As usual, I had a difficult time taking pictures of Ellie.  She is a study in motion.  Like her cousin Cody, several of the pictures I attempt turn out to be pretty background photos with no little body!  Finally, I captured one of Ellie’s death defying jumps.

Gracie, the family dog, has been amazing to me.  She has had quite a roller coaster ride of a life.  From being abandoned to becoming the princess of the household and now to being  just one of the crowd.  She is my buddy!

Is it a see-saw or a boat?

Adrienne and her men!

See what I mean about Ellie’s launches?

Keanan, like Gracie, is happiest when he is with his pack.

Ellie is mailing some last minute instructions to Santa.

Adrienne really got to me with this handmade Christmas present.  Now really, could any grandma keep the tears back with a present like this?

My visit with the Hirsts for the week leading up to Christmas created some lasting memories .  Adrienne made sure to keep the true meaning of Christmas in the foreground.  Each day Adrienne thought of a “random act of kindness” for the kids.  One day it was leaving toys at a playground for some lucky kids to find.  Another day, they took treats to the library, the fire station and the police station.  Adrienne fashioned a tee shirt for Damian complete with train tracks drawn on the back.  She included little wooden train engines that the kids can use to drive over the tracks.  A massage shirt!  Like Gracie and Keanan, I was happy to be part of the pack!

Cozumel Radio Online

We told you about Cozumel Radio Online/Cozumel Radio.net in a previous post. While Peggy’s been gone, Ed thought it was a good idea to record a Christmas/New Year’s greeting and put it on the air. The owner of station came over and recorded two greetings: one for the kids and kiddos and one for Cedaredge friends. Each greeting airs about every hour and will continue to January 1. Fun for the kids, grandkids and Peggy to hear Papa’s voice wishing them a Merry Christmas. Hopefully Cedaredge friends and the Hamburger Group hear them, too. If not, Feliz Navidad and Feliz Anno Nuevo.

Pulpo and Arturo

While Peggy is gone, Pulpo, our friend and contractor, and his son, Arturo are doing some work at the house. It’s good that Peggy’s away, as any type of work creates so much of a mess. Dust and concrete chips everywhere. Even in the coffee maker! First, he built a new shelf in the kitchen and then tiled it and the existing one. Never enough storage room. On the new shelf we’re thinking about storing plates and bowls. Then he built and tiled 3 small shelves in the dining room to hold such things as the internet modem, telephone, Skype and cell phones, etc. He put in 3/4 inch holes in the back of each shelf for wires, cables, and electrical connections. Works well. Now, he’s building a new stand on the roof for our tenaco (250 gallon water tank). The old one’s concrete and rebar were rotting. He’s also moving it a bit so there’s more room on the roof. He’s making it “Wilma proof” by making it larger and stronger. After that’s done, he’ll do some minor roof surface repair. Finally, he’ll start on the bathroom counter. That’ll be big! Ed has cut out the wall tile where the counter top and shelves will connect to the wall. The counter and shelves will be tiled with small (1”) bright blue tiles. All of this work was supposed to have been completed before Peggy returned, but this is Mexico! Manana! Start late, work slow, but, it’ll get done- eventually! It’ll take several weeks. We’ll keep you posted on the progress.

The Eco Divers Show

I think we told you that shortly after arriving, we checked in at Eco Divers. No Jorge! Word was he had left for Mexico City and was teaching there. On one of my walks I passed by Eco and there was Jorgito! I stopped and after a couple of beers, I got the whole story. Seems that years ago Jorge taught in the public schoosl. Over the years his mother has kept his teaching status in place. So, this summer, his mother called and said that he had a job teaching at a Mexico City school. What she also told him was that if he taught for only a few years (maybe 2 or 3) he would qualify for a pension when he reached retirement age (60?).  By keeping his status active and “lending” it to his relatives who taught school, he received credit toward a retirement benefit. Amazing. For a guy who never gave it much thought, he now thinks about it a lot. The monthly benefit will be about a $1,000 US ! More than enough to live comfortably here since he now owns his condo. We told some of you that story, no? Well, Jorge bought a condo about 6 years ago. Didn’t like it, so he gave it back after about a year. Then, he stayed in the condo, waiting to be asked to leave or evicted. Never happened! Mexico has “squatters rights”. Seems that if you live at a place 5 years, never being asked to leave, and you then pay the back taxes and file some paperwork- it’s yours! And, so now he owns it free and clear. So, along with the pension, his life appears to be set. Why him? Aztec/Mayan gods must be smiling upon him.

Peggy Update

Peggy left on December 14th to spend two weeks and Christmas with Adrienne and Jamie G.  Actually it is to spend time with the kiddos! She flew Maya Air from Cozumel to Cancun on a small plane. A 15 minute flight that very fun. Then she flew to Dallas for a week with Ellie Bellie, Charlie and Keanan. We’ve talked via Skype every night and she had a great time. Now, she’s in snowy Broomfield with Alex and Aubrey. She got a busy schedule for Christmas Eve and the Christmas. Ed stayed in Cozumel but has been busy. See the Posts! Peggy flies back to Mexico on the 28th and she’ll be welcomed back with open arms. Her friends, and especially Ed, have been missing her.

2011 Posada

Once again we were invited to Sergio and Cesci’s annual Posada. A posada is a play about the 3 wise men going to see baby Jesus in the manger. The street is blocked off for the play. There’s also a pinata filled with candy for the kids.  The audience is invited to participate in the play. And, of course, there’s food for everyone!

Here’s Jamie B, Ed, Cody and Peggy all dressed like peasants and dancing to celebrate the arrival of the wise men (3 kings). Cody kept calling us pheasants rather than peasants!

The 3 kings are visiting the manger with baby Jesus. Our friend Bob , in the middle, was one of the 3 kings. He’s wearing a decorated lampshade as a crown.

Joseph and Mary with baby Jesus.

An angel announces the birth.

The Posada was great fun. Lots of food, friends and fun. Cody got a huge bag of candy from the pinata which he left a healthy amount for Grandma and Grandpa.

The Texas Baxters are here!

Jamie B, Kelly and Cody came down for their annual visit. We had a great time with them We swam, fished, ate, and played bunches. They got to go fishing with friend Edwin and they caught a bunch if fish which we ate at Edwin’s parents place, El Farito. It’s right around the corner from our house. Cody caught 15 grunts which we delicious.

Jamie B, Cody and Grandma at Blue Angel looking for crabs, snails, or some other critters!

 

The Baxters getting ready to ride bikes somewhere. Cody loves riding on the back of his Dad’s Jaguar bike. The Jaguar is a pretty old rusted out bike. But, it’s fun!

We drove to the other side of the island to play and fish! Here’s Jamie and Cody casting out their line.

Grandpa trying his luck.

Cody looking in one of the many pools, searching for fish, crabs, or anything swimming around. He always carries a net and a collection box. He dumps them out before they die, or, he leaves them for Grandpa to dump out.

Visit With The Vein Wizard

Today we took the ferry and bus ride to Galenia Hospital in Cancun for Peggy’s visit with Dr. Morales, who we call The Wizard of Veins. He calls himself a magician, as he makes veins disappear.  Dr. Morales did the surgery on Peggy’s varicose veins 2 years ago and this was her annual follow up. Dr. Morales injected a few small veins and let Ed watch as those veins vanished. Mago (magic)!

Peggy then visited with the dermatologist there, Dr. Solis. She gave Peggy a thorough exam- from her scalp to the bottoms of her feet!  Nothing serious. She then prescribed some skin creams. And, the usual exhortations of  “Use  sunscreen. All the time. Everyday!” Good advice for us all.

Sam’s Club

Earlier this summer Sam’s Club opened a store here on the island. Prior to that, if we wanted to go to Sam’s we had to take the ferry to Playa del Carmen or to Cancun. Today, we biked over to the new store. It’s not a tiny Sam’s, nor is it Grand Junction’s size; it’s just right, to steal Goldilocks’ line.  Many of the same Member’s Mark products (only labeled in Spanish) that are found in the US stores and, of course, many Mexican products. Prices are about the same as US, except for some notable differences, like wine! Eat your heart out Gerry and Denny, 5L of Franzia was a little less than $10 USD!

Cochinita Pibil

This trip we brought down a DeWalt jig saw for our friend and contractor, Pulpo. Most guys down here have nicknames and Elias’ is Pulpo which means octopus. Go figure. Anyway, when we handed over the jig saw, Pulpo said he’d bring us cocinita pibil for Sunday breakfast. Cochinita pibil, is a Yucatan dish with pork that is slow cooked after marinating it in lime or orange juice. It’s cooked with achiote seeds to give it red color. Very, very tender and deliciousl. On the island, it’s usually a Sunday morning breakfast treat. Served with onions on corn tortillas, it’s perfect! Although Pulpo made his promise a few weeks ago, he did not forget and here’s a photo of him delivering it to Ed. Dressed in shorts and T’s, drinking coffee ,and enjoying cocinita on our new table, we pondered our good fortune!

Elias aka Pulpo and Guapo.

It’s a tough job but………

One of Rita’s boats (Frigate) has been out of the water for awhile getting some new fiberglass, paint, and engine work done. Before putting it back into service, a shakedown run is required  to break in the engine. We along with Dick and Gwen were were pegged for this grueling work. The night before, Dick decided to pass a kidney stone and bagged out. Silly excuse as far as we were concerned!

The weather was good with large rolling waves that we “surfed”  going south.  A very smooth ride but no luck fishing. The ride back was a bit different as we were headed into the wind and waves that were so helpful before.  The engine wouldn’t rev higher than 1,50o rpms so we motored into the marina and the mechanic checked it out. A few hours later after cleaning out the gasoline filters, we were back out on the ocean fishing following the frigate birds hunting on the water.  For us, no fish. For the birds, probably!  To mimic the old saying, “A bad day of ocean fishing from the boat is better than a good day at home doing not much!” Thanks Rita!

Such a pretty boat!

We don’t know about you but we’re thinking that Rita’s fleece lined jacket might be a little over-kill! 

Chester, the scooter riding dog, is watching every move Ed makes with that chicken!

Wednesdays in Cozumel

Wednesday is fruit and vegetable day on the island.  This is the day that you can see grocery carts piled high with tomatoes, onions, chilis, peppers, carrots, spinach, oranges and grapefruit being wheeled out of the store.  On the past few Wednesdays, we have bought a huge bunch of spinach for less than 10 cents.  five pounds of carrots for 25 cents, a jalapeno for a penny and 2 avocados for 50 cents.  Today Peggy went to buy wine and just couldn’t pass up the deals on grapefruit and juice oranges.  Grapefruit was 3 cents a pound and oranges were 5 cents a pound.  Wine?  Wine was slightly higher than US prices.  The moral of the story – buy lots of fresh stuff so we can afford vino!

Cozumel Radio

The only station that we can receive on our little radio is the local island AM station. While it’s fine, all of the DJs are Mexican and speak Spanish. Of course, this IS Mexico, no? Some time ago our friend Lynn told us about an online radio station that plays lots of “island” music, soft rock, etc. And, the DJs speak  English with a sprinkling of Spanish. We’ve been listening to it while we prepare dinner and have a beer. We’ve told lots of friends down here about it and last night, we heard our friend Rita! “Hi, this is Rita from Albatros Charters…..”. So, if you want a bit of Cozumel, try www.cozumelradioonline.com. “Always on  island time”.  Who knows maybe you'll hear somebody you know being  the evening DJ!  “Hi, this is Ed from the tropics and….. on island time”.

Tu eres un Ironman!

We saw the Ironman from a little different perspective this year. We were able to see the swim portion of the event from a boat! First, the elite class start and then the remaining 2300 entrants take off looking like a giant herd of baby turtles with their arms flailing. They swim like crazy to break away from the massive pack. Soon they stretch out for the swim. Most athletes shoot for an hour time. Back on land, we watched riders zoom by on their 112 mile bike ride. That’s 3 times around the lower half of the island. Averaging about 20 mph, the riders then jump off their $5-12,000 USD bikes (mostly Cervelos), change clothes, and begin a full marathon! The winning man (USA) completed in in about 8 1/2 hours and the winning woman (Swiss) finished in about 9 1/4 hours. The running continued all afternoon and evening until the midnight cutoff.

There were roughly 2,500 participants with about 600 women and about 500 Mexicans. It’s estimated that the event attracts over 10,000 people to the island- a huge economic boost.

We volunteered at the Red Cross Information Tent from 7PM to midnight. It was mass confusion as we (who know very little information) were barraged by questions of “Where do I pick up my bike?”, “What’s the status of my daughter who is in the Medical Tent?”, “Where’s transportation to the hotels?”, and on and on. All this while we we trying to keep a tally on finish times (thankfully, we weren’t the official timers- athletes wear computer chips for that), entry into recovery, departure times, and trying to locate contestants who had been in the medical tent for a long time for concerned family members. Even though we didn’t have adequate information for families, the athletes were well taken care of by doctors, nurses, paramedics and massage therapists.

There were loads of foot blisters, strained muscles, dehydrated, and tired, tired people. But, lots of happiness and tears in completing an incredible physical challenge. It was tremendous to be able to congratulate the athletes and to, hopefully, be an encouraging face at the end of their long day.

The swimmers’ arms are moving too fast to capture them in a photo.  All you can see is turbulence like a fish feeding frenzy!

Another boat with cheerleaders!

Swimmers starting to spread out in a long, long line.

Bikers coming down the the Melgar, just south of the Palacio with folks cheering them on.

A runner beginning his marathon.

  The local airbase had vintage planes performing aerial acrobatics above the competitors as they raced through town.

Underwear Run

The island has become a beehive of activity; gearing up for the Ironman Competition on Sunday. Lots of participants are arriving today. Taxis are all busy. Lots of events taking place. This morning was the first annual Underwear Run. This was a benefit for the Humane Society and Chrysalis (an organization that provides materials for poor children to attend school). The Run is a short course, maybe a mile.  That wasn’t nearly enough for the 40 plus participants because then they went straight  into  Zumba after the run.

Here are a few photos. Obviously, some of these folks are veterans of previous underwear runs elsewhere. Lots of enthusiasm and fun all at 7:30 AM.

 

The masked man is our friend Monstro (Monster?).  This is his 3rd Ironman.  In real life, he is an artist and divemaster.

Movin’ on Up

After owning this house nearly 5 years we finally bought a dining room table and 4 chairs to replace our plastic table and  patio chairs.  Two years ago the Mabe stove replaced the  two burner flameneta and now a dining room set. Crazy, no? God bless Social Security! We’re movin’ on up in the world!We purchased the set from a  friend who owns a rustico furniture store. We’ve known Haddy Haddad for probably 15 years. We met her at small beach restaurant  where we used to stop between dives on the old slow boats for lunch of empanadas.  One day, while Peggy was out on the boat, Ed started telling Haddy what a drunk Peggy was.  He really had Haddy feeling sorry for him, pobrecito Eduardo. When Peggy came back to the beach, she knew something was up.  Ed confessed pretty quickly with the result of Haddy and Peggy pounding him on each of his shoulders. Funny. Back to our purchase, after not seeing anything that we wanted to ditch our fine plastic table for in her store, Haddy took us to a 3 story warehouse.  After climbing over furniture and performing a minor archaeological dig, we found our table in pieces.  A few days later, voila, Haddy’s husband delivered our fine furniture. 

A fashionista is born!

Who would have thought it would be a bicycle helmet that would cause such a stir!  This deeply discounted Nutcase multi-purpose helmet we bought this summer is being widely admired and coveted down here this year.  At age 60, you want to keep as many options open as possible. With this helmet, Peggy will be able to do some technical climbing, skateboarding, snowboarding and rollerblading as well as making a stunning fashion statement.  We know what most women who see this helmet will be asking for this holiday season.  Merchants, stock your shelves!

Treasures

Almost every time we dig in the soil here we find something whether it be a rusty nail, marbles, a rusty bottle cap, or bits of plastic clothes pins.  Every once in awhile,though, we uncover real treasure,  almost certainly left by Mayan women as the island was  sacred fertility ground.  Above are some of the more interesting pieces.  Did Michael Jackson really play here way back when?  Did the Mayan women really invent pink high heels?  And, we think, the old guy might have been a star in the silent movies.  We’ll post more discoveries as they are unearthed.

Recycling, Cozumel style

Last year Ed decided that when we came back down that he would change out all sink and toilet shut off valves and hoses.  Included in our bags were a couple of Home Depot faucets as well because the ones we had were pretty well corroded. Yesterday he changed out the valves, hoses, and installed a new faucet in the bathroom. Work went smoothly maybe because the cat went home? Soon Ed was able to put the old stuff out on the sidewalk beside our garbage container. Within a couple of  hours everything was gone. One of the guys walking by picked it up, probably to sell the brass. This happens a lot down here- you just put stuff out that you don’t want and it eventually disappears. Recycling!

New Neighbor

Several years ago Matt and Deb purchased the large lot across the street from us.  We heard this summer that construction had begun on their house there. When we arrived, we saw that it was well under way. The house is a good sized  two-story with a pool and nice yard. We’ve been watching the 15 or so workers crawl around like busy ants, pouring concrete, laying block, chipping away for electrical conduit, etc.  The house is supposed to be finished by Christmas, but the jury is out.

The new  house backs up to and overlooks Summer Place Inn’s pool area.  Well, it seems that the owners of Summer Place took offense at something - don’t know exactly what.  The new house’s orientation? Dirt and construction noise? Workers ooggling guests?  All we know is that one day last week a large curtain went up on the Summer Place wall! No one knows exactly why. And no one is asking either.

Summer Place is the terra cotta colored building on the right.

The white material is hanging between poles about 10 feet from the new house’s second floor windows.

Chaton (Kitten)Update

A friend of ours saw the couple who rented our house in 2009, Jake and Sara, the other night and told them that their cat was at our house. Jake replied that their cat wasn’t missing. We were puzzled!  So we took a picture of the cat and emailed it to Jake and Sara.  Meanwhile, Peggy heard conversations deteriorating into expletives and threats when Ed and the kitty were on the back porch together.  The verbal stuff was interspersed with the sounds of collections of screws and fasteners being knocked off the washing machine.  It seemed to Peggy that this saga might not end well.  Then last night Sara stopped and indeed the black cat is theirs. Seems that Chaton (French for kitten) had run away some nine months ago! If only cats could talk. Where had he been? Who fed him? Was he temporarily adopted? Regardless, he seemed well fed and pretty happy. So, Sara took Chaton home. She also gave us cell phone numbers if  he “visits” again. We have some cat food here. Just in case. 

Incredible Journey, Part 2

The cat is back!  As you might remember, we had a wonderful young couple rent our house in the summer of 2010.  Their black kitty must have really loved this house because she came back several times last year.  Who knows how many times she may have visited this summer while we were gone. 

She just makes herself at home here sleeping on our washing machine on the back porch and prowling the yard for frogs.  We’re happy that she doesn’t seem to like the hummers or the banana quits.  She is pretty insistent, though, about trying to come in and we’re adamant about keeping her out.  So far, we’re winning that battle.  She followed me most of the way to the grocery store tonight.  Did she want to make sure that I got the cat food she prefers?

We know that her human companions have moved a few times since they lived here and we don’t have a valid phone for them.  We have emailed them and we’ll let you know what happens.

Buy Fresh, Buy Local

It came as a delicious surprise to me that we have a chocolate factory in Cozumel.  Is life great or what?

Our friend, Laura C., got a group a people together to tour the factory this past week.  A young Mexican couple started it almost 5 years ago.  They have one full time employee.  In a regular sized kitchen, they are able to make 3,000 candy bars a month.

This couple is trying to get a kaokao (cocoa) plantation going on here.  It takes the plants about 4 years to start producing.  The plants are pretty picky about where they like to grow.  But really, how could they not like Cozumel? 

Back to the chocolate….the flavors are fantastic – lemon dark chocolate  is my favorite.  Other close runners up are chili, orange, white, coffee, coconut and passion fruit truffles.  Okay, really, they are all my favorite! 

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of our tour.  There is a website, though.  It’s www.chocolateskaokao.com.   

Testing, testing

We’re just trying something here to see how it works. 

You know how our last post was unedited?  Well this program is supposed to help us look a little bit smarter. Above is a pic of 3 parts  (Ellie, Charlie and baby Keanan) of the Hirst family of five.

 

 

Above, for some reason unknown to me, is a bigger pic of 3 (Alex, Jamie G. and Aubrey Belle) parts of the Galyon four.

 

And finally, is a pic of 3 (Jamie B, Kelley and Cody) of the Baxter/Burzo four.

 

 

 

It's happened again!

It takes me by surprise every year. Each year, October in Cedaredge is absolutely spectacular. The weather is sunny and cool much of the time, the aspen haven't yet given up all of their leaves, soup and our homemade bread taste especially fine and the lambs are fat and sassy. Our friends who remain in Cedaredge, start to think about hunkering down for the winter. This year, as with years past, I can't imagine leaving this special, special place. It's wrenching to leave the prospect of beautiful mountain snow, the town's winter activities and most of all, our friends.

Then each year we take our Tour de Grandkids. We marvel at their happy lives. We love to play with them, to watch their antics once we have worn ourselves and to appreciate all of the love their parents give them daily. We gather images in our mind to hold close until we see them again.

Finally, after months of Ed's preparations, we are back to Cozumel with 300 more pounds of stuff that we can't seem to be able to live without. Our arrival was perfect: no airport hitches, plane actually early, our friend Rita at the CZM airport to pick us up, and all bags arrived intact. Priceless!

The house was good. The house had been cleaned. The yard mowed. The gardens weeded and plants/bushes trimmed. Dan at Casas Cozumel had done an excellant job or maintaining the house during the summer. Now, all we had to do was unpack our bags and unpack all the stuff we had put away for the summer. Unpacking, rearranging. washing, cleaning, going to the grocery (mostly for beer!), etc. took 4-5 days. But, we're all settled and comfortable. Please see how comfortable Ed is in the photo below! Setting up hammocks was a priority!

Rina was pretty much a non-event. About 6 inches of rain but no damage. It sure made the grass and plants green!

Our friend, Pedro (Rita's boat captain, on his moto with his dogs-Chester (on the back) and his poodle on the front!

Ed fighting his cold! This is his usual remedy for any health issues, both physical or mental!

The gardens along side of the house. Most plants survived, but still plenty to do.