How to get a tan.

It's a quiet day for us, something we have looked forward to for a few days. I guess it's one of those days where it is enough just to be alive and satisfied with that fact.

After breakfast we went for a long walk that basically took us two hours to accomplish. We walked along the beach just doing our thing - walking in the water, stopping to check out shells, choosing some of them for the collection and taking an occasional photo when something caught my interest.

Obviously, a row of seagulls won my interest, especially when they all started to take to flight when Mom crept close to them. With the walk done, we went for a swim before heading in for lunch.

The afternoon has been even quieter as we read on the beach patio. Before long, we both found ourselves raking seaweed and rocks off our section of the beach, making it even more to our liking. I guess you could say that this is just another boring day in Chuburna.

Hockey Night in Mexico

This isn't the best photo I have ever taken, but it does show a dolphin in the top left corner. It isn't always about quality. It was amazing watching the dolphins crest the surface before diving. At times they would leap out of the water. It was quite a show. We got to see some of it through our neighbour's binoculars.

Late this afternoon we went walking and ended up having drinks with two others from Canada. I imagine that we will see them more in the future as they are here for three months as well. Since they have a car here we might go to tour some Mayan ruins with them. We will see.

A final note, I got to listen to the last period of the hockey game, heard them lose to Boston. A poor effort in the third from Ottawa with only eight shots on net in the third. A lot of mistakes and giveaways. Gerber faced 22 shots and allowed five of the six goals. Any day now I expect to hear that Murray and Hartsburg have been fired.

Viva Mexico

Warm. That's the best word to use at this time. We don't have to wear parkas and boots. Bathing suits, shorts, and barefeet most of the time is how we handle living on the beach. We do wear sandals or the dawgs if we walk on the sand lanes.

We got to eat out at a restaurant this afternoon for a late lunch with our neighbour, Kathy. It was a village outdoor restaurant that had fish in various dishes as the main sets of dishes. We had fish fillets done with onion and garlic along with some interesting side dishes of what I could best describe as Mexican sushi and Mexican escargot.

Of course, there has been too much to see in such a short time, so the best thing I can do is just keep putting up a daily photo and some kind of story which will all add up in the end. Glad to hear from all of you. Oh yeah, Mom really didn't try to climb the tree ...

The Rockies as Seen from Strathmore

We got to take Duke and Rider for a walk after a late breakfast. While walking around the golf course on a walking path that is kept plowed, I saw this scene of the Rockies which said "take my picture, please.", so I had to go back for the camera.

We enjoyed a good evening with watching hockey as the main attraction. Unfortunately, Ottawa lost against the Leafs after scoring the first goal, their only goal. Fortunately, the Canadian Juniors won in a shoot out and now go on to play in the gold medal game on Monday. Ottawa plays again this afternoon against the Devils. Here's hoping.

Later this afternoon, probably at halftime during the wildcard NFL game with Minnesota Vikings, we will head to Terra and Daryl's for supper. That should be the last we have to report from Canada. Next post is going to be from Mexico.

From Elrose to Strathmore

Well, we are at Dustin and Robyn's after an uneventful (thankfully) drive. The temperature was -30 all the way with a wind chillof -45C. At least it was sunny and bright out so we felt warm in the car. The photo for today is fromour first trip to Mexico in 2006. I guess you can tell that we are pumped for the vacation.

Once at Dustin's we cleaned out a spot along the side of the house for the car before settling in with some tea. Now, we are enjoying some NFL playoff action before watching Ottawa play Toronto. Robyn's dad and partner are here as well (not really as they are shopping with Robyn at this moment) so we will get to play six people Tee Wars this evening to help pass the time. Likely, I will get to post tomorrow. Hasta luego!

Waiting Mode

It's snowing agian this morning and it has warmed up to -21C at the time of writing this. The house is colder than usual inside as we have been testing the light alarm in case of furnace issues while we are gone. So, we are both having coffee in the living room while checking e-mail with quilts to keep us warm. Mom is complaining of cold fingers. Brrrr!

I used a different lens setting on my camera to get better focus on the hills in this photo taken in the living room. It is quite neat. I took it yesterday at 1:00 pm so that I would get more white than blue. I'm still learning the features of the camera and look forward to more learning in Mexico.

Tomorrow morning at this time we will be en route to Dustin and Robyn's. The forecast is for sunny weather all the way, but back down in temperatures with an expected high of -28C. Needless to say, we will suffer temperature shock when we get to Mexico where the expected high today is +31C. This is a 60 degree difference in celsius terms, or about 105 degrees in fahrenheit in comparing our low temps here in Saskachewan with the high temps in Merida, Mexico.

So, what's on the agenda for today? Not too much. Late this afternoon, I will go out to the dump with Wayne to chuck out the old wood and dry wall and other mess from cleaning out the new bathroom area. We filled up his truck yesterday afternoon. Other than a few final tasks such as cleaning out the fridge and reading utility meters, we basically are in "waiting" mode. Of course that means time to read, time to surf the Internet and read a bit more from my Spanish lessons book.

Happy New Year! Bonne et Heureuse Année!

It's January 1st and the temperature is dropping lower and lower as the hours pass while we enjoy sunny skies. The forecast for Saturday is for more sunshine and cold, perfect weather for travelling to Dustin's.

This morning mom and I unpacked all of our bags and the repacked. We have decided to also have carry on bags which meant that a few more dressier clothes could be packed. We also had too many books packed as we forgot we were only going for three months, not ten months like when we went to China.

Last night we had Don and Darlene as well as Wayne and Denise over for a ham supper and then several rounds of Tee Wars. The women won. Of course that meant we didn't get to watch Canada beat the USA in Junior hockey. Mom and I then stayed up to watch New Year arrive on television. And now, it is a new year. I wonder where it will take us? And by us, I mean all of us as a family. I hope it all will be good. - love, Papa