So, you want to sail away….

Hola U 2,

Somehow I could not get into your ‘comment box’??? See if this works.

I guess that is why we own a ‘land yacht’. We can use a key in the ignition and ‘step out side the door’. Though, there is work to do on it from time to time. Last Sunday Lorne replaced the ‘built under counter water filter ( needs replacing about every 1 1/2 years). and we had water every where under the counter� I took out all the dishes and cleaning supplies and dried them out. It was actually a good thing as I got to clean the cupboards out which I had planned to do anyway as Lorne had misdirected his little coffee maker one morning and the grounds went flying every which way.. when I first discovered this’ error of his ways’ I thought we had an ant invasion but was relieved to see it was only coffee grounds!

I guess you could get someone to tie dye some batik patterns on your hat Tony to camouflage the mould!

We are doing well in our little bit of paradise. There was a Canadian sailboat anchored off the beach here for a few days this past week. Made us think if you of course. It left yesterday. Yesterday I had my water colour group here from 9:30 to noon. Then some park folk took us out to lunch up at the fancy restaurant with a view looking over the bay. It is an amazing view of the entire Jaltemba Bay. We have been once a winter for 4 years now just to take pics. It was a lovely treat! My first bowl of Tortilla soup or as they call it in this restaurant ‘Sopa de Aztec’! Tortilla soup sounds a little common. It was good but mine is better ( but more work).

We also checked out a few of the local ‘bungalows’ as they call them here� meaning Motels really with little kitchenettes. Leia is coming to visit for 2 weeks in Feb. She has not been here before so that will be good for her to see our winter digs. Also Lorne’s Auntie Flora and her husband Eric are planning to come down to the’ All Inclusive’ with her daughter and 3 others.They will over lap with Leia so that will be a good thing.. we will get all of the visitors at the same time and read ( over and done with). As you well know, it is always great to see’ the fronts of them but also good to see the back of them’ too.

We will go down to Bucerias to have lunch with Carole and Al tomorrow. Al has quit his job as Band Chief and signed a contract with one of the Gas pipeline Co. as a First Nation supporter.. He starts work the day after they get back next week. More details on that after we visit with them tomorrow. He has been VERY stressed out with his Band job and his favourite Uncle died while Al sat at his bedside at New Years so he had all that to deal with too. Poor guy, it seems like he always has some drama happening in his life. As Carole said. she longs for the day to come when they will be out of the ‘public eye’. Maybe then she can write her MEMOIRS. No doubt you will be mentioned Connie.

Lorne has a meeting this morning with some local ‘ Volunteer movers and shakers’ about getting some school equipment for a kindergarten in a poor puebla about 15 kms from here. They are going to meet with the parents of the kids to see if they are willing to get involved too. If not, it will not go ahead. This group does not give ‘handouts’ unless there is puebla involvement too.

And so it goes. Have only seen Pam once but she has been busy with visitors over Xmas.. old Yukon friends she has not seen in years. We are going to see her at our Thursday market one of these Thursdays but not tomorrow, maybe next week? She will drive over.

Don’t throw you that hat away Tony, I have some fabric paint at the condo if you can’t get it tie dyed!

Hasta luego and mucho loco, Annie B and Lornie D.

When Susan and I moved into our new-to-us house a few months ago the first possession day was pretty awful. The house was really dirty, but worst of all – we’d purchased a house with mold! It had been hidden by the people’s furniture when we looked at the place.

Anyways, after calling our house inspector back we concluded that the 2011 water heater nearby probably replaced one that had had a catastrophic failure, soaking the wall which then sprouted mold. But the inspector confirmed there was no abnormal moisture now, AND he turned us onto a great product.

The active ingredient is called concrobium. It apparently works by saturating the surface where the mold is, and then shrinking as it dries in a way that captures the invisible-to-the-eye mold roots and shatters them. It’s non-toxic, odorless and natural. (When I see “natural” advertised I’m too much of a skeptic and I immediately assume it’s an inferior alternative to a more potent chemical (non-natural) solution. But this stuff seems to work.) We bought a commercial product with concrobium in called “MoldControl”. The house inspector explained that bleach (a commonly suggested mold solution) did address the cosmetic issue of dark spots/blotches, and cleaned surface mold, but it didn’t address the invisible mold roots and as soon as moisture was re-introduced, dark mold spots would return.

Now, how that might apply to a hat I don’t know – I’ll leave it to you to consider with – perhaps – the same inventiveness Holger showed in his repairs. (Oh-oh…)

Anyways, Susan and I really enjoy following your adventures.

Fair winds!

David