Isla Mujeres

We just returned from our beach break in Isla Mujeres Jan. 16-24. We had mixed weather with rain and wind, clouds and sun, and a fairly constant temperature of 27C. That suited us fine as Cancun can be unbearable hot with searing sunshine. The photo above shows both Playa Norte and Playa Centro, which are truly beautiful and excellent for swimming. Playa Norte is better as it doesn’t suffer from boat traffic and offers some shade most of the day.

I visited Isla Mujeres for a day in the early 80’s and don’t remember much, but I’m sure it has changed radically in 40 years. I would say a ruined paradise as the development attracts hoards of people, the prices are high, and the feel of the downtown core is very modern. The laid-back side of the island still exists but requires exploring to encounter. We stayed in a low-end Airbnb at the south end of el Centro, a great location with the necessary comforts.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip, especially the natural beauty and excellent beaches.

Late Adopter

About two years ago Aimeé was given an XBOX 360 system. I was dead set against the idea but turned out that she had always wanted to play video games. At first I was a reluctant observer but Aimeé persuaded me to try some games, nothing interesting until she started playing Assassin’s Creed II.

Up until this late stage of life I had avoided video games because I considered them time wasters. Back in the late 70’s I played some text-based adventure games and found them addictive, so for me the best life strategy was to ignore the whole industry.

According to recent datathe gaming industry is now making more money than the music and movie industries combined.

I was very impressed with Assassin’s Creed II: the graphics, the sound, the story, the game-play; and I played happily for hours, especially while Aimeé was in Mexico this summer. In October here in Guanajuato we bought the latest generation XBOX system and the Assassin’s Creed Ezio Collection, which comprises three games.

As of early December I had finished all three games as I have lots of free time in Mexico. Choosing the next game required research. I liked everything about Assassin’s Creed except for the violence, which is pervasive in video games. I decided on The Talos Principle and will have finished that game very soon.

I need a break from gaming as I feel the weight and guilt of playing so much, but finding the next game to play is on my to-do list. Not only am I a late adopter of video games, I was unaware of the demographic trend of video gaming for seniors and its benefits for healthy aging.

Sunny Guanajuato

We have been in Guanajuato one month now. Besides the good weather we have enjoyed Cervantino, Día de Muertos, and a three week visit by Blair & Jennifer. CineClub resumed yesterday with the start of the French Film Festival and the OSUG concerts have also returned. There will be lots of entertainment available until the end of the year. Aimeé is busy with family and personal projects, including driving lessons.

Aimeé’s Car

Aimeé is the proud new owner of this 2013 Smart ForTwo car. Its small size, automatic transmission, and cute looks make it the perfect car for her to learn to drive. It came with lots of little problems that I am enjoying fixing.

The Ford Escape that I ordered arrived in BC on August 14 and I eagerly awaited its arrival at the car dealership in Sechlet. One month later I still did not have an ETA due to local transport issues in the industry. Besides the uncertain deliver time that threatened to exceed the time of our return to Mexico this year, I was disappointed by the market’s valuation of my Jeep Patriot . These negatives allowed me to realize that the new car was not the best option for Aimeé, so I cancelled the order and helped her purchase her own vehicle.

We will be flying to Mexico on October 16.

Another Painting Project

Aimeé has gone to Guanajuato for six weeks for a plethora of reasons and I am taking the opportunity to paint the living room. I took me two days to remove all the furniture and cover the floor. Moving my 500 lb piano by myself while protecting the hardwood was an interesting puzzle. Today was my first day of surface preparation. While I like making progress, I am not enjoying the work.

The new car is scheduled for production on July 26. The Jeep is still available and its sale will be more feasible once I have an ETA for the new car.

New Car

I have a new Ford Escape Platinum Hybrid on order. Today I was informed of a scheduled build date of July 31 so I hope to take delivery early September. These are different times where there is little inventory on the lot, limited production and dealer allocation, and we are happy to pay MSRP.

My 2016 Jeep Patriot has only 51,000 km and is in excellent shape, a great used car for the right buyer. The Ford dealer has offered a low trade-in price so I am trying to sell the Jeep privately. The sales manager said it would be difficult to sell because it has FWD manual transmission but I am encouraged by the responses so far to my ads.

The primary reason for getting a new car now is to have automatic transmission for Aimeé to drive. She wants to learn and I think the latest safety features on the new car will help us both. I have to admit that I am attracted to all the latest technology as well.

Happy Place

We have been back six weeks now and they have been busy ones. A number of my projects have come to completion these last few days and I feel the glow of accomplishment.

  • the ornamental gardens are growing well
  • the vegetable garden has been planted
  • the hall has been repainted
  • the workbench is made
  • new shelving built in the garage

We went to Victoria for the weekend in April and enjoyed being tourists. Aimeé is working part-time with a friend cleaning houses so we should have more time to recreate this year.

It rained today and the forecast for tomorrow is mixed, giving me time to review my TODOs and set priorities. I need to get back into the garden soon and get ready to open up the cabin, maybe next weekend.

Nerd Reversion

I had been using Quicken for bookkeeping since 2000. As I moved away from Windows and retired those devices, it became more difficult and inconvenient to continue using Quicken. I searched for cloud-based alternatives and finally found CountAbout last year. The basic plan costs only $9.99 US per year and it does everything I need. I highly recommend this service.

Over the past year of using CountAbout I had occasionally thought about developing an equivalent application myself, not to save money but as a fun project. Two weeks ago, with nothing else to do, I finally started prototyping and today my replacement application does everything that I had imagined. I learned OO PHP and Javascript, and used extreme programming techniques to create the prototype. My application is not pretty but the UI is efficient and I improved on some of the CountAbout workflow.

During the project I reverted to the obsessive software engineer that I used to be. I resented interruptions and was constantly thinking of the various technical problems that I was facing. While that’s how I got things done, it didn’t make me a better person. I like myself better as a gardener.

We arrived in Garden Bay on March 21. Today, March 22, was sunny and I spent the afternoon outside cleaning fallen branches and inspecting my messy garden. Next priority will be rose bush pruning.

Reading, Planning, Shopping

After returning from our beach break, I went on a reading binge:

I was scared off welding but have embraced woodworking as a practical hobby, while gardening is a life-long pursuit.

Above is my first woodworking project for 2023, a solid workbench for the garage, which will be a great workshop. I decided to follow the design from the book, relying on the experience and wisdom of the author, even after reviewing many alternate designs on YouTube which is a fabulous resource for woodworking ideas, tips, and instruction.

The second project will be to add shelving to the garage walls. Having lots of free time here, I’ve watched many videos on YouTube to help me decide on the design, which although simple there are many options to consider. One goal is to move tool storage from the shed to the garage.

Part of planning these projects is developing material lists so that I can order the lumber for delivery when I get home. Another aspect is considering construction techniques and identifying new tools to purchase. So I have been window shopping on the Amazon, Home Depot, and Lee Valley websites, comparing products, prices, and filling shopping carts ready to hit the buy button.

We return to Garden Bay on March 21 and it will be time to start seeds for the vegetable garden. It is my turn this year to grow food so that has been another project to plan. I will place my seed order soon so that it arrives when we do.

Puerto Vallarta

Pancho’s Takos, Puerto Vallarta

We returned this morning from our beach vacation in Puerto Vallarta. The restaurant in the picture served the best tacos I have ever eaten in Mexico. The place is small and unpretentious but in the heart of the Romatic Zone and around dinner time every day one has to line up and wait for a table. While in line you indicate your order on a paper form so you have ordered as soon as you sit down.

We ate well every meal in a different restaurant and the options seemed endless. Prices are of course higher than in Guanajuato but still less than in the USA/Canada. PV is a very popular destination for all ages and in particular for gay men giving the street scenes lots of colour. There are tons of activities including shopping and night-life for those so inclined.

Boca de Tomatlán

Besides eating we focussed on getting to know the place by walking around and taking the bus. The beach at Boca was our favourite as the ones in PV were either packed or too wavy. The weather was perfect 25-29C there and it is a cool 21C back in Gto today.