our new yard guard

When we walked into the back yard the first afternoon, this kitty lazily got up from her nest in the plants, stretched luxuriously and waltzed on over to throw herself against our legs.  Feral cat she is not!  Glances out the window later in the day told us that she felt very much at home in our chairs, on our back porch and laying against our back door.  A little notch in her ear tells folks who know that she has been fixed and there will be no little ones in her wake.  It took an afternoon for us to decide that she just may be part of our home.  Our tenants think that Maru, the older woman next door, feeds her pretty regularly but just to be sure, Ed bought some food for, is it, Edwina or Whitty Dos?

Afternoon siesta time.

I'm watching every move you make.

Just one more picture and then I'm going to start charging.

Arrived in Cozumel!

Last Monday we flew from Mobile, AL (taking the 6:30AM bird) to Dallas, TX and then the 11AM flight directly to CZM. The American Airlines flights were great. No problems with bags and our reservations. And all on time!  Thanks to wonderful tenants who Lynn met last summer, Casa Bella,the yard and  the garden were in super condition.  We finally got to meet Dan and Mary Kay the other night when they invited us to dinner at their new apartment.  Peggy was amazed by how clean windows were. Of course, she's always impressed by clean windows. But, down here with the dust and salt air, clean windows are pretty amazing.

Back to day 1, after a quick tour of the house with our ooohs and aaahs, we began unpacking the bags we brought as well as all our stuff that we had packed away in SpaceBags. The process took several days and was interrupted by visiting friends, a new resident cat which we'll post about next, and all of our favorite neighborhood dogs. We were glad to see them all. The weather was wonderful- warm, sunny with some humidity. The only thing we've lost is our Mexican cellphone. Can't find it anywhere. Ed thinks we took it to CO and Peggy thinks we gave it to someone down here. Of course, we never wrote it down so who knows? A new cell phone is cheap, so we'll get another one. Peggy got the internet and local phone working with CableMas. It took a day longer than promised, but hey, we have it! With a higher speed internet, Skype is working much better and NBS Nightly News is perfect! A few trips to the grocery store (Chedraui and Mega) for essentials like coffee, beer, yogurt, fruit, and toilet paper and we're all set up!
The visits  on the way down with kids and grandkids, as well as the Johnstons, were great fun. Next adventure picking up the Tracker that is being shipped to Progresso. We'll tour the Yucatan Penisula for a few days, but that'll be another post or two.

Wow, has the garden grown!

Amazing how Ed started with almost a blank slate!

So many plants have a history behind them - gifts from friends, cuttings from the neighborhood......

Birds of Paradise - one of Peggy's favorites.

The hummingbirds and bananaquits have emptied several feeders already.

Tracker Delivery to Panama City, FL

After leaving the Baxters in Hempstead, TX we drove to Panama City, FL to deliver the Tracker to Linea Peninsular, the container shipping company. The Tracker was spiffed up (washed and vacuumed) in Hempstead by Ed and Cody. As Jamie G said, all it needed was a sombrero on top and mariachi music playing, as it was loaded on its "retirement" voyage to Mexico! It's a long drive to Florida and we were to pick up a rental car in Mobile, AL so we stayed the night in Biloxi, Mississippi. Biloxi used to be a small beach and golf resort town. Now, it's a mini Las Vegas. Casinos everywhere! We stayed the night at the Grand Casino and Peggy was off to play penny poker. Well, she played and played, finally losing her initial stake of one dollar! The room cost $27. Sandwiches and beers for dinner cost more than the room. It was fun!

The beaches are fantastic along the Gulf Shore of Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.

The sand is white, white, the ocean a Caribbean blue and it all seems freshly raked.

This is a part of the living history museum in Pensacola.  The building on the left was the home of a free African American in the 1830's.  We had way too little time to do this museum justice!

The Johnston's in their back yard facing both a golf course and the Intracoastal Waterway.  Beautiful place and gracious hosts.

This picture doesn't do this park in Mobile justice.  Stately homes facing a fenced park.  We could imagine little children being able to play here safely while their moms cooked supper.

Our hotel in Mobile, the Malaga Inn.  These were identical homes built in the 1830's by brothers.  The homes were joined to make the hotel in the 1960's. 

We spent a beautiful afternoon at the Mobile Botanical Gardens. This little buddy was hamming it up for us.

This bee was a busy guy.

Next day, we picked up a rental car in Mobile and with Ed driving the Tracker and Peggy trying to keep up in the rental car (Ha!Ha!), it was off to try and find Linea. We did! We said "goodbye and pleasant voyage" to the Geo and we drove to Gulf Shores, Alabama  to spend the night with Ed's high school and Marion, Ohio friend Dick Johnston. Dick and his wife Vickie live in a beautiful development there. On the way we did a quick visit of a museum in Pensacola, FL. Lots of old (15 and 1600's) stuff. We couldn't stay long. Should have, but couldn't.Then off to Gulf Shores. Dick golfs 5 days a week and Vickie has become a tennis pro! We had a great time, lots of old Marion stories, and then in the morning a great send-off breakfast at Ducks Diner. Dick told us to travel up to FairHope on our way to Mobile, which we did. FairHope has an interesting history (Google it if you want) and now has lots of shops, artists, etc. We arrived in late afternoon at The Malaga Hotel in the historic section of Mobile. Notable guests inculde Ronal Reagan, Nelson Rockefeller, and Micheal Landon. No one took our picture. Ummm.  We did a walking tour of historic buildings. In the morning we walked some more, looking at historic houses. We left late morning for Mobile, as on Monday we fly to Cozumel.

Hempstead Texas and Cody

 Grandpa and Cody fishing for bluegill  or crappies

 Cody and Grandma paddling in the pond with Buddy

 Nine year old Cody with his painting of a clown

 Cody in his dress up outfit ready to go to school

Cody displaying the bass that Grandpa caught!

After 4 whirlwind days with the Hirsts, we travelled the relatively short distance from Plano to Jamie Baxter and Family's home in Hempstead, TX.  Jamie, Kel and Cody are all doing well. Nine year old Cody is a delight! He likes his school, fishing, riding his 4 wheeler, fishing, playing with the dogs, fishing, driving the tractor while helping his Dad and, of course, fishing! He also is a wiz at playing Hangman, which was a constant when we were in the kitchen. Oh, we fished some (every day) in the small pond in front of their house. The pond is stockd with bluegill and crappie. There are also a few bass and catfish living there. Cody runs on the shore with a large net and scoops up minnows to use as bait. It's pretty much impossible to cast out a hook and bobber with a minnow and not catch something! So, Grandpa fished with Cody and when Cody got bored, he and Grandma got in the small boat and paddled around. Dog Jemma is an wonderful swimmer (doesn't even breath hard!) as well as Buddy the Golden retreiver. Buddy is also a great jumper and manged to jump into the boat with Cody and Grandma when they were close to shore! After 4 non-stop days we're off to Panama City, FL to drop off the Tracker with the shipping company for its sea voyage to Mexico.

The Hirsts in Plano

First, here are a few pics of the action!

Charlie enjoying a fruit juice popsicle.

 Keanan trying to make a "take out" order at the playhouse.

 Charlie showing his friend points of interest in the yard.

 Keanan thinking "Let me loose, Gaga!"

Sorry about this dark pic but we had to show trick or treating!

Leaving Jamie G’s, for us it’s a 2 day drive to Plano. We spent an uneventful night in Amarillo, before arriving to the wonderful chaos of the Hirst home. There is no doubt that Ellie is a little girl,not a toddler anymore, and  she has a beautiful voice. Gaga taught her Bless This House and Ellie remembers the lyrics and sings it with almost perfect pitch.   Charlie- well, Charlie is a bundle of energy and a handful. He’s an independent little man. Loves his brother and sister (well, most of the time!) and has the greatest grin in the world. Keanan is a doll baby. Always happy to be part of the clan.  He’s become a integral part of the non-stop action that is the Hirst household.  For Adrienne, it seems the more the merrier.  She had a Halloween party for a crowd of pre-schoolers and their moms while we were there.  On top of entertaining, she makes every meal an occasion.  After spending the summer at Camp Cedaredge, the Hirst dog, Gracie, is back to work making sure that all of the crumbs are swept!  We know she loved being a sheep dog for the summer but she has an important job to do in Plano!