Where the heck have we been?

It's true.  What can we say?  We're blog slackers but, truly, we are busy slackers.  We're waiting for a rainy day to catch up on 3 months of posts but it's just not happening.  Had to do this short post though.

We were a very small part of a fun event yesterday for kids in Cozumel. Kites for Kids was held in a park a long way from the Cozumel that most people see.  It was at the end of a long dusty road into the jungle.  As soon as we arrived to start setting up, the kids came on bicycles, on foot, in their parents' arms.

While some of us were putting up face painting stations, coloring tables, and a "fishing pond", others got busy playing with the kids.  I looked over to see Ed on a teeter tauter (sp?) with kids piled on the other side.  Our friend Bob was playing soccer on a basketball court.  Others were working with kids to put together their kites.

After providing the "fish" to fishing lines that were being launched over the wall (next time we'll bring bike helmets), we wandered off to other activities.  Peggy's favorite was sitting in the shade and helping kids who timidly asked for help in putting together their kites.  They were so patient as I improvised and then we were all so elated when the final creation actually soared, for a few minutes anyway!

 It's already been memorialized in the following blog:  http://www.facebook.com/l/PAQE8vV4zAQFBEIM0S__y9GB6MqP1vAhmOkwGqCP0iBvIgw/mexcelia.wordpress.com/2013/03/24/its-all-about-the-kids/

Another truth, we took our camera but didn't take one picture of those sweet happy faces.  Hope you'll take a look at the above blog!  And think rain!

Wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year

Filled with love, laughter, family and friends

The Hirst Family in Plano, Texas

Damian, Adrienne, Ellie Bellie, Lover Boy Keanan, and Charlie Boy

The Galyon Family in Broomfield, Colorado

Jamie, Eric, Meeko, Aubrey Belle, Alex-eeee

The Baxter Family in Hempstead, Texas

Jamie B and Kelley (MIA)

Cody Mac, Ashly Splashly, #$&! Mia, Buddy Boy and Jemma

New Era

Lots of willing party posers and thankfully a photographer.  Unfortunately the photographer had to leave early to get some sleep after a long day at work.  So no pics of the later arrivals!

Rita, Peggy, Sarah

Roberta, Dick, Laura B., Gwen and Robert

Javier, Chuck, Sarah and Moni

It certainly was not the end of the world and it may have been the end of the Mayan calendar, but we'd like to think of it as the beginning of a New Era. We had an End of the World/End of the Calendar Party on the evening of the 21st. We invited about 30 people- a mix of American and Mexican friends. All celebrated with gusto. We chowed down on homemade Mexican tamales (in corn husks) from Sra. Arcer. Two types: red with chicken and rajas con queso (poblano peppers with cheese). There was lots of discussion about Mexican tamales, Yucatan tamales, Chiapas tamales, etc. Which are the best? Who prefers which? We had pozole from Los Otates restaurant with radishes, cabbage, onions and tortilla chips. All agreed that this was truly fine pozole -even the pozole aficionados!  Edwin came earlier in the day and made a huge bowl of guacamole. Wonderful. He seasoned Peggy's pico de gallo perfectly. Peggy also made great sangria.  Friends brought other drinks and desserts. Chocolate. Fit for Mayan gods. If it is going to be the end of the something, what better way to go out than with your belly full of great food and drink! As usual down here, there was plenty of stress leading up to the party: Where's the tamale lady live?  Shall we pay in full before we get our tamales? Is Otates ever going to acknowledge our order which we texted to them as they speak no English there? Will it really be ready at 5:30PM as the party started at 6PM? On and on. Hand wringing. Nail biting.  Gnashing of teeth.  But, as is normally the case, it turned out fine. Just not on our normal American schedule! Good friends, good food and no rain! The cat even got to have a little guacamole!  No End of the World, for us only a new beginning.

Rainy Day/s Musings

We've had a couple of days now of on and off really good rain. Ed did laundry the other day and hung it out to dry on the roof. This morning during a break in the rain he brought it in and hung it up under a ceiling fan. It was far wetter than it was after the washer's spin cycle! Now, we're doing inside house stuff and trying not to do the stuff that really needs to get done. Our friend Socrates and a buddy stopped by to say hello and, having no work today, were planning on smoking mota all day. Not a bad way to pass the time. We, on the other hand, decided to try and figure out how much rain we've had. The Tracker had left its Carlos 'n Charlie's yard glass on the patio table and it's about filled. So, we started to think about how to compute how many inches of water we've had. First, how tall is the glass? Well, it's raining pretty hard and neither of us wanted to go out and measure. So, we guessed. Now, how do you compute the area of a circle- the top opening of the glass. Pi R squared? Ummm. Then, what's the diameter of the glass's stem? Again, we could go out and measure its diameter, but, it's still raining! This is not a task for us. It's a task for daughter Jamie! We'll send her the measurements and in her spare time (ha!)she can figure it out! Back to being inside on a rainy day. So, let's take photos of the lake which now is the Tracker's new home! Patio Lake empties into Tracker Lake, which has a spillway into Ave. 10 Bis Sur canal. Done. Photos are only possible because the camera is waterproof. Now, let's plan a party! We'll have it on December 21- the end of the Mayan calendar or maybe the end of the world! Let's do dishes! Let's take showers! Let's make a list for the grocery store! But why? It may never quit raining. Let's build an ark! Ummm. No wood. OK, let's join Socrates and his buddy! Ahhh. life is good- even when is raining!

The Jamie Baxters Visit

Jamie B, Kelley, and Cody came down last week for their annual early December visit.  Every year they have more fun, as friendships grow and Cody finds more and more cool things to do. This year we got out on the water a few times, along with the normal hanging out at Blue Angel Resort swimming, snorkeling and, of course, drinking a  few beers! First, we fished with Edwin on his small panga boat a couple of times. First day, we trolled and got nothing! The next time was an all day outing down south to Punta Sur and Cielo, Jamie B and Cody landed a huge 45 pound wahoo! What a magnificent fish! We actually had 3 strikes at about the same time but only hooked one. It took about 30 minutes to land it and did it put up a fight! Cody tried to reel it in, but didn't have the strength. We bottom fished off Punta Sur and caught trigger fish, grunts, and a yellow tail snapper. Pretty hard to get skunked bottom fishing there. We motored back to Cielo where we got off the boat and swam. The fish went to Edwin's family restaurant, El Ferito (The Little Lighthouse) around and we got a huge fresh fish dinner! Most of the wahoo is residing in the restaurant's freezer for other dinners.  After dinner several generations of our families played Mexican bingo which is like American bingo but with pictures instead of lettered numbers like B6. The best evening, so much laughter and making fun.

Two days later we were back on Rita's boat, the Albatros, for a day trip along with a group of a dozen others to snorkel, swim and paddleboard at Cielo and Cardona Reef . Cardona is deeper with lots of pretty corral and fish. Cielo is shallow, has a huge population of starfish and  is perfect for wading. Kelley got up immediately on the paddleboard and Cody paddled around with ease. He went from being tentative about the water to diving headfirst off of the boat several times.  Cody got to drive the boat back to the marina under the watchful eyes of Jamie B and Captain Pedro. He was in heaven.

We also did the usual trips to the grocery store, the shore where Cody netted small minnows and crabs, and, of course, did a bit of shopping. Kelly gave us 2 wine glasses that she bought down here last year and she bought us a matching vase this year. Jamie B muled down fishing stuff as well as scuba stuff. Cody brought down homework which was pretty much ignored! Thank you Baxters for spending your vacation with us and for your kp duty! We love you all and look forward to next December at a huge beach house, Villa Debra, where the whole family will converge next year.  Yippee!

This piece of oceanfront is now called Cody's Shore.

 April got to take the day off of school to go fishing with Cody.

 Another beautiful day.

 Whitty Kitty is going through Cody withdrawal.

 Life is good.

 Life is AWESOME!

 The Baxters' favorite mode of transportation even with a boogie board.

 Looking for a stingray.

 I love this!

Cat Tales

This morning when we got up at 4:30AM to go over to the other side of the island to see sunrise on 12/12/2012, our water pump turned on. Strange, as we weren't using any water or hadn't flushed a toilet. Ummmm. While going downstairs, Ed heard the washing machine start running. And, checking it out, it had indeed filled and had started its wash cycle. A sheepish looking cat, Kitty Whitty (not being too original we name all cats Kitty Whitty), was rubbing the door and Ed's leg.  So, the mystery was solved. The cat sleeps on top of the washer, she must have touched the start buttom or rubbed up against it. You can see from the photo below that the blue start button is located low enough for her to start the machine. From now on, we'll unplug the machine or try to train the cat to load dirty clothes!

The flash on the camera must have been a bit much so early in the morning!

Tracker At Its New Home

For the first time since we bought this house, the gates were opened and a vehicle was pulled into the parking area. The Tracker appears happy and content with it new retirement residence! It seems to have aclimated itself in no time! Hat, blanket, Carlos 'n Charlies yard glass. What else does anyone or any vehicle need? Viva Mexico! Viva Cozumel! Una mas cerveza, por favor! Bien fria! Donde esta el bano?

Have to say that this guy is going a little overboard celebrating his retirement!

Thanks for the inspiration, Jame!