Tonight we will stay at home. There are many options open to us here in Nuevo Vallarta, but Ken has a cold so we have spent the day in the condo, watching football. We will continue to enjoy ourselves and celebrate the New Year quietly, at home. Actually we will celebrate along with the good folks in Nova Scotia, where the time is two hours ahead of us. We will celebrate midnight in Liverpool, then we will go to bed.
My favorite celebrations for the new year have always been held at home, with good friends. A few times in my life I have been talked into a large dance and dinner party, but I have not enjoyed them. The frivolity seems to be forced as everyone is determined to be festive, whether they wanted to be or not. Last year was lovely. We all stayed home at Suzanne and David's home. The kids had a dance party with the WII and we all ate, and ate, and ate. Then we went to bed, after the ball dropped in New York. The kids were happy and so were the adults.
Tonight Ken and I will be home, together, which we will enjoy. And we hope Ken feels better tomorrow.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
December 30, 2011. Playa Royale, Mexico. Voyageurs.
My clever niece gave me this book for Christmas, sending it to me directly on my Kindle. It was a wonderfully efficient way to give a gift to someone always on the go. I was so pleased with the gift and have enjoyed reading Voyageurs.
The author is from Scotland and lives in Glasgow, which surprised me, as I assumed she was a Canadian. It is very evocative of the landscapes and the topography and I thought that the scenery was a normal part of the authors life. It is certainly a big part of the book and I wished I had a good map at hand. Fortunately I am familiar with the areas described but I wished I had a good map.
It is a rollicking good tale that takes place in Upper Canada between 1809 1nd 1814. Margaret Elphinstone is the author. The story is somewhat unbelievable but I enjoyed it thoroughly.
The author is from Scotland and lives in Glasgow, which surprised me, as I assumed she was a Canadian. It is very evocative of the landscapes and the topography and I thought that the scenery was a normal part of the authors life. It is certainly a big part of the book and I wished I had a good map at hand. Fortunately I am familiar with the areas described but I wished I had a good map.
It is a rollicking good tale that takes place in Upper Canada between 1809 1nd 1814. Margaret Elphinstone is the author. The story is somewhat unbelievable but I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
December 29, 2011. Playa Rpyale, Mexico. The Lazy Day
I think I have become lazy. Today I did nothing except read. And I prepared a large salad for lunch. At six o'clock I finally got dressed but until then, I was wearing my night shirt. The rest of the time I was reading. I am still trying to figure out if retired people are allowed a lazy day or whether I am truly a slug.
To top it off, since 6:00, Ken and I have been drinking a combination we learned in Boston. In one large glass you mix clamato juice and beer half each, with a large squirt of lemon juice. And we ate nuts. It might be the only food we eat tonight. After all, we haven't really done anything today!!
To top it off, since 6:00, Ken and I have been drinking a combination we learned in Boston. In one large glass you mix clamato juice and beer half each, with a large squirt of lemon juice. And we ate nuts. It might be the only food we eat tonight. After all, we haven't really done anything today!!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
December 28, 2011. Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. The Italian Couple.
They are from Toronto and are about our age. In the early fifties they moved from Italy to Toronto with their own families and soon married and had five children. Now they are rich. This afternoon by the pool we met them for the first time this year. We were delighted to see them again.
It is fascinating to hear their story. He started out working as a carpenter. They saved their money and bought some land. Then they did it again. Next he started building houses on his own land but always kept expenses down. So in one lifetime, he has gone from being very poor to being very rich, but he and his wife have never changed a bit.
They have five children and fourteen grandchildren. She and I became fast friends when I observed her trying to swim and offered to help. She calls me her swimming teacher and gives us home made sauces for our pasta. Now she has ten family members coming for two weeks, for whom she will cook every meal.
Now he is going into the sheep business, on 400 acres he owns north of Toronto. He will milk the sheep or rather he will have someone milk the sheep. "That's where the money is". The milk becomes cheese. The government is taking another 200 acres for a park but he has yet to agree on a price. "Always something going on", says our friend, the Italian man from Toronto.
It is fascinating to hear their story. He started out working as a carpenter. They saved their money and bought some land. Then they did it again. Next he started building houses on his own land but always kept expenses down. So in one lifetime, he has gone from being very poor to being very rich, but he and his wife have never changed a bit.
They have five children and fourteen grandchildren. She and I became fast friends when I observed her trying to swim and offered to help. She calls me her swimming teacher and gives us home made sauces for our pasta. Now she has ten family members coming for two weeks, for whom she will cook every meal.
Now he is going into the sheep business, on 400 acres he owns north of Toronto. He will milk the sheep or rather he will have someone milk the sheep. "That's where the money is". The milk becomes cheese. The government is taking another 200 acres for a park but he has yet to agree on a price. "Always something going on", says our friend, the Italian man from Toronto.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
December 27, 2011. Playa Royale, Mexico. The Mega.
The Mega store is a big grocery store. It is not quite as good as an HEB in Texas but much superior to any grocery store in Bethesda. Most people in Washington would never believe it, but it is true. Here in Mexico, in Bucerias, they have a wonderful, large grocery store, with staff bumping into each other to help you shop.
Maybe I enjoyed it so much today because our pantry and refrigerator has been empty for three weeks and all of a sudden I could see all these marvelous foodstuffs. Or maybe it is just a really good store. When Ken and I went to get a taxi, we had four large grocery carts to wheel outside. Now who would have ever thought that one of the best grocery stores you ever shop in is in Mexico, where it is supposed to be so backward?
Our freezer is full of meat and bread and pizza. The refrigerator is full of fruit and vegetables and beer and milk and yogurt. i And the pantry has everything we need for the next two months. I am a happy camper.
Maybe I enjoyed it so much today because our pantry and refrigerator has been empty for three weeks and all of a sudden I could see all these marvelous foodstuffs. Or maybe it is just a really good store. When Ken and I went to get a taxi, we had four large grocery carts to wheel outside. Now who would have ever thought that one of the best grocery stores you ever shop in is in Mexico, where it is supposed to be so backward?
Our freezer is full of meat and bread and pizza. The refrigerator is full of fruit and vegetables and beer and milk and yogurt. i And the pantry has everything we need for the next two months. I am a happy camper.
Monday, December 26, 2011
December 26, 2011. Playa Royale, Mexico. Sarah's Key.
This is a wonderful little book, written by Titiana de Rosnay. It is another of a long line of books written about real people and their lives from the Second World War. The writing is beautiful and sparse and tells an interesting and tragic story. It is a novel but tells of a real event that occurred in Paris in 1942. The story needs to be told as anti=semitism is alive and well in France...once again.
It is interesting how so many people kept secret their terrible experiences during the second world war. On a personal note, Suzanne's grandfather Capps, went to war a normal person in 1943 and returned 'shell shocked' in 1945, not able to be around loud noises or many people. No one did anything except his parents bought him a ranch in the Hill Country where he lived the rest of his life. He never talked to anyone about his experiences. He never complained. But he could not function as a normal human being.
Now we are reading a bit about what really happened to people during the war. This book is another in that ilk and is worth reading.
It is interesting how so many people kept secret their terrible experiences during the second world war. On a personal note, Suzanne's grandfather Capps, went to war a normal person in 1943 and returned 'shell shocked' in 1945, not able to be around loud noises or many people. No one did anything except his parents bought him a ranch in the Hill Country where he lived the rest of his life. He never talked to anyone about his experiences. He never complained. But he could not function as a normal human being.
Now we are reading a bit about what really happened to people during the war. This book is another in that ilk and is worth reading.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
December 25, 2011. Playa Royale, Nuevo Vallarta. Christmas Day.
We are back in our condo at Playa Vallarta, with everything out of the locker and in place. So far, we have no food, except eight lemons we brought from the tree at Villa Number 5. We are happy to be back. The Villa was beautiful but the hotel/time share was very busy and everyone was on vacation to be spending one week at Paradise Village so we were not inclined to pay attention to anyone. We stayed by ourselves in our Villa. Here at Playa Royale, the staff calls you by name and when you walk around you recognize people, so you feel that you are at home.
I must say, this is the most unusual Christmas for us. In other years, when we were giving our family time with the in-laws, we have been around other people. One year we took a cruise and by Christmas Day had made friends to enjoy but this year we are really alone. Fortunately, we like each others company so we are happy. in future years, I have already figured out a better system. We plan to spend Christmas in a city where we have relatives. We will enjoy the city and we will spend the holiday season with our relatives. The only problem is that Ken does not do well in cold weather and all our relatives live in the cold. This could be a problem. Perhaps Vancouver will be the first test for our new system.
Ken and I will laugh about this Christmas, the one we were alone...together.
I must say, this is the most unusual Christmas for us. In other years, when we were giving our family time with the in-laws, we have been around other people. One year we took a cruise and by Christmas Day had made friends to enjoy but this year we are really alone. Fortunately, we like each others company so we are happy. in future years, I have already figured out a better system. We plan to spend Christmas in a city where we have relatives. We will enjoy the city and we will spend the holiday season with our relatives. The only problem is that Ken does not do well in cold weather and all our relatives live in the cold. This could be a problem. Perhaps Vancouver will be the first test for our new system.
Ken and I will laugh about this Christmas, the one we were alone...together.
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