MERRY CHRISTMAS, EARLY AND LATE

Merry Christmas to everybody out there! We're counting our blessings this morning but it's kind of betwixt and between. We couldn't get to a family gathering last week but we will be going to a family gathering this afternoon. So, we're early but late...

It was a classic First Day of Winter. So cold that the bay steamed like a tea kettle. So much snow that small cars could disappear. And who could possibly live in that house up on the ridge?

There's enough ice forming up here for all your holiday drinks. The birds bypass the 'cicles to get the good stuff, but some other creatures just wanna have fun. Afterwards, she keeps smiling by getting into the new sewing machine. I don't have to turn up the cuffs on my jeans any more!

Outside, the roof had to be prepared for a safe landing for Santa's sleigh. The ice is so thick I'm using my dad's 70-year old steel chisel to get through. And then the snow is a foot thick and getting heavy. All clear, Rudolph!

One drawback to the festivities is that one of us has been fighting severe sore throat/coughing/cold and the other might be coming down with the same thing. So we can reach for the pile of meds, but it's much better to reach for the love and good wishes today brings. Merry Christmas to our family, friends, and viewers all over the world...

SNOWED IN, SNOWED OUT

It has snowflurried, snowsqualled, snowstormed, and just plain snowed every day this week. Schools, highways, sports, and even Santa appearances have been cancelled. You have to get to your grocery and gasoline shopping between squalls and the driving has been treacherous. Accumulations go up to a foot and a half on the deck.

So, not much to do except shovel. All the way down the hill and all around the hardworking go-to Kia.

The one-shovel-wide groove downhill matches an Olympic luge run. Any takers?? The house could be our Christmas card. Even the birds at the feeder are red!

Kind of redundant to say all we're doing is clearing snow, but it's true. The squirrels have had to dig a network of tunnels to salvage seeds dropped from above.

It's not quite winter officially, but it's December in Kemble so what do you expect? The worst thing is we couldn't get to a family gathering in Michigan, a chance to catch up on everybody's news. But we'll try again later this month --- see you soon! In the meantime, the icicles are like jail bars trying to keep  us indoors. Oh Canada!

FROM SAND TO SNOW, SAFELY

It was one of those transition weeks that feels like it all happened a long time ago but was only days...

The recovery week on Isla included a lot of walking and a motorcycle rental, even though the humidity and heat were brutal. There's still a lot of tropical serenity if you pick your spots. And there's a good choice of fruit-based ice cream to help out!

A reminder of the season was the motorcade carrying the Virgin Of The Immaculate Conception ("Mary" to most of us) for a lap of honour. The statue was carefully transferred from the church to a Chevy pickup, then escorted by dozens of golf carts and scooters loaded with pious families. More meaningful than a Santa Claus parade?

The open-air cargo ferry gives a much better sense of departure than the closed-in speedboats. Two-tone seas beckon for a return, someday. Back in Cancun City, the ritual of finding smock fabric was repeated. Some lucky little girls will be getting hand-sewn colourful dresses!

Then a trio of flights home bounced us like Mexican jumping beans from sand to snow. The last leg turned out to be the worst flight in decades --- unexplained pilot absence, giggly uninformed cabin attendants, de-icing delays, turbulence, and airport closures because the flight was 2 hours late --- duh!

So we didn't arrive at the hill til midnight but the stars and cold air were literally breathtaking. Cold house, warm home! Next day trudged down to the car to retrieve stuff. And the day after that the twisted sisters bottled this year's vintage.

It's bizarre but true how great it is to do mundane chores again, like laundry. There's truly no place like home and we're happy to be here. It's really A December To Remember and it's not even half over. This time, we prefer bright and crisp sunrises over snow more than sand!

FROM ONE ISLAND TO ANOTHER, HAPPILY

This morning Castro's ashes were interred in a ceremony that was surprisingly not televised either locally or internationally. It all fits with Fidel's insistence to the end that his image and name would never be a focus ---- the Revolution should be in the spotlight, now and siempre. But we're in Mexico now, having hopped over Cuba in a Soviet-era Antonov 158. It looked and felt like a 1980 Lada but got us to Havana. Then frustrating and endless chaos at the airport, with shifting lineups, sheep-like crowds, and currency exchange scams. Including another short hop (in a modern Airbus), we endured 15 hours in transit to good old Isla Mujeres.

We walked from the ferry groggy but relieved to return to Room 7 at Sol Dorado, a familiar/gardeny/quiet oasis in the centro of town. Pia and Marcellina happy to see us again. The laundry boy happy to get cleaned up, and dig into home cookin'.

The island has been even further commercialized since our last stop-in eleven months ago. All the locals I've talked to over the years sadly agree "it's about the money" as hordes of day-tripping gringos arrive. Dozens more coffee shops/restaurants/junk shops --- at least 50 sombreros for every head that goes by! And at the end of an active airstrip --- a bullring has been set up. Who wants to see bullfights when you can drink and shop instead??

But the beautiful crystal waters are still here. Colourful snorkeling just walking in from shore. Warm shallow turquoise waves, salting your hair like the rim of a marguerita glass! Local fishermen still toss their nets among the swimmers and pull in dinner!

It's the lead-up week to Mexico's most revered figure, the Virgin of Guadalupe. Processions parade brassily down side streets. Nightly outdoor entertainment feature dancers, singers, music of all kinds. And it's a true Mexican celebration, not contrived for tourists. Mexico is showing a lot of prosperity and progressive change. One is a fierce basketball tournament where the women don't play like girls. The most startling, though, was a same-sex wedding on a public beach at sunset. Not long ago this couple would have been attacked; now their mothers crowd in for selfies! Pat and I were amazed and felt privileged to witness.

Each day ends with a spectacular sunset. We're so happy to have come from the third world to the second. And Isla is the best R&R til we get home. Now, where's that taco stand?!