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.