Volume 17 - Day 365/0, 2025 - Wednesday

Well, this is the last day for Volume 17, and the last day for 2025. Volume 17 will be finished with this post, and tomorrow will start Volume 18. It is about 10:30 in Playa, and for two people who barely got out of the house today, Mike and I are settled in for the night. Truly, other than going for coffee at the 7/11 this morning, we did not leave the condo until about 4:45, waiting for Candy Crush to pick us up and take us to the venue for Cirque du Soleil. Joya, is very well done, and the venue is the only permanent Cirque venue in the world. I think. It is tucked back in the jungle a pretty good way off the highway, and it is really well done. We had dinner first, and during dinner there was entertainment by a trio (sometime a quartet) that reminded me a lot of the Buena Vista Social Club. The whole experience was really good, and I recommend it to anyone visiting Cancun or Playa. When we got back to the condo, we walked a little while, but I fear neither one of us will make it until midnight. If I make it to midnight, it will not be by choice, and it will be the first time I have seen the New Year in for many years. Happy New Year, y'all.

Volume 17 - Day 364/1, 2025 - Tuesday

We had a relatively calm and quiet day. Last night, Mike bought some pastries when we were at dinner at Chez Celine, and this morning, he got up and went to 7-11 for coffee. Nothing like coffee and pastries for breakfast. At 9 o'clock, Marco and Hugo were at the condo, and we talked about four paintings I would like him to do for the condo. I may get more before 2026 comes to an end. I like his work very much. Later in the morning, Candy Crush came to the condo and took us to the DHL office, where we shipped some stuff home that we bought the other day. I am pretty sure it would have been WAY cheaper just to buy a giant suitcase, and put it in checked baggage. In fact, I am certain of that. Live and learn, or in my case, live and be less stupid. Once we got back to the condo, we walked to the grocery where they had bananas (finally) and we got enough for the rest of our stay, and then had lunch across the street. Then it was nap time, and after the news, we took off just walking. Neither one of us were hungry, but we made room for ice cream, and just walked up and down for a while. It's Tuesday night, but working up to New Years Eve, the street performers are out, but the tourist numbers are down considerably. I wonder what it will be like tomorrow night? Whatever it is, I expect it will be fun!

Volume 17 - Day 363/2, 2025 - Monday

Okay, it's Monday in Playa (and other places, I assume) and once again, I slept for more than 8 hours. Weird. I went over and met with Simona, one of the managers at Riviera Maya Suites that also is the property manager for the condo. It has been a couple years since we met, and we are working on a plan for some cosmetic upgrades in the condo. Since I apparently have a fetish for Frida Kahlo, I am going to replace the artwork with art that reflects Frida, and all of it will be done by Hugo, the artist here in Playa that I like very much. Then, we will market the condo as 'The Frida Suite,' and I will also do my best to promote Hugo to guests at the condo. I really want to support local art, and I like Hugo's work. I am not really sure that he needs my help, but it (probably) can't hurt. It was dribbly rain when I got up this morning, and Mike got here this evening, and said it had apparently rained very hard in Cancun, there was still water standing in lots of the roads and getting through was a bit of a problem. Did I mention that Mike is here? We ciphered it, and we have been friends for more than 50 years. I really value that friendship, and I don't think we see each other enough. After Mike got here, we took off and went to dinner, and then walked up and down Fifth Avenue for a little bit. We have a couple things we will be doing tomorrow, but nothing big, just taking it easy. We're in Playa...that's what we are supposed to do.

Volume 17 - Day 362/3, 2025 - Sunday

According to my cell phone, I slept over 8 hours last night. I cannot tell you the last time I slept tht long. I usually sleep about five hours a night, so 8 hours is kind of crazy. I did a lot of touristy things today, and some things I do out of habit. Habit was that I went to the 7-11, about a half block from the condo, and got a large coffee. Much easier than trying to make coffee at the condo. I had one of the muffins I got at the grocery last night for breakfast, and then I finished listening to the book I have been 'reading,' Wild Dark Shore. There were a lot of twists and turns in that book, and I liked it a lot. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, though. Next up is A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost. I will be very sad if it is not funny, I need a funny book about now. I had a burger (across the street from the condo) for lunch, and I had a call from Paulina and Oliver (they are in Italy), and Oliver guided me through getting the television to work. Finally. The last time I was here, the guys from ExPatTV came out and installed their new streaming system, but we left about an hour later and I never got a chance to enjoy it. Now, I appreciate the service that gets about six or seven hundred channels, including the local Austin channels. I like that very much, and really, that's all that matters! I did a little bit of souvenir shopping, and went back to the grocery for milk, paper towels, a sandwich (that I had for dinner), and a couple more diet cokes. You don't buy refrigerated milk here, it is room temperature on the shelf, and you put it in the refrigerator when you get home, and keep it in the refrigerator after you open it. I prefer skim milk, but I think I ended up with low fat milk, which is fine. According to the news, it is going to be windy in central Texas, winds up to 50 miles per hour. Crazy! And it will cool down, but I think the threat of freezing temperatures might not be happening, I will keep watch. Mike gets here tomorrow about 7PM, and it will be fun to hang out with him for a couple days, before we head back on on Friday.

Volume 17 - Day 361/4, 2025 - Saturday

It has been a really long day! I was up at 3AM to catch a shuttle at 4AM to make sure I did not miss my flight at 5:30AM. Everything worked out okay, but I am tired, and it was a bit of a chore to get in my 10K steps, even though all I really try for is 7K steps. The plane landed in Playa right on time, and I got to the condo at about 10AM. Playa is on Eastern time. There was a wreck on the way, and the highway was a mass of mashed tomatoes! First time I ever saw tomatoes as a victim of careless drivers. The condo was not ready, so I went and had breakfast at Chez Celine, just around the corner. Once I got in to the condo, I panicked (sp?) for a minute, thinking I had left ANOTHER set of headphones in a hotel, but I didn't. I found Hugo, the artist I like, and talked with him for a while. I went to the grocery and bought some muffins, an eclair, some chips and two diet Cokes. That is totally logical, right? I had pizza for dinner at De Local, and the pizza is DELISH! I have not been to Playa in too long, and I am glad I got this chance to be here. Some things have changed, some things are the same. I am happy to see the dogs everywhere, and when we brought the girls one time, they did not have any issues at all. I did make it to the beach for a few minutes as well, but it is time to call it a night. 

Volume 17 - Day 360/5, 2025 - Friday

I am having a little bit of trouble keeping up with what day of the week it is. I know it is Friday, but it does not feel like Friday, and I am not even sure what day of the week it feels like. AND...I do not believe that it has anything to do with my advanced age, so put a sock in it! I had a nice walk this morning with Richard and Paul, and it was about 84 degrees in Georgetown this afternoon. I did turn the air conditioner on, mainly to get the humidity out of the house. We are expecting a little bit of a cold wave next week, Monday night going in to Tuesday morning. The forecast, so far, is a low temperature of 31 degrees, but you never know what might happen. Whatever happens, I am ready for it. I got plants moved and faucets covered. It is not going to be that big of a deal if it really happens, but the morning glories might not make it. I said that the last time we were threatened with below freezing temperatures, and they are still doing just fine. Cold weather is big news in central Texas, and I will keep you updated. Other than that, it ws a relatively quiet day, we will see what tomorrow brings. The amaryllis I got at Trader Joe's earlier this month are blooming beautifully, and in the spring, I will plant them with the other amaryllis I got over the years at Trader Joe's.

Volume 17 - Day 359/6, 2025 - Thursday - Christmas Day

So, somebody got a Power Wheel for Christmas! When we were walking this morning (me, James, Paul and Richard), we saw this family (see photo) out celebrating the day with their young one enjoying his Christmas present. Fun to see. Otherwise, my day was relatively calm and quiet. I did check our PowerBall numbers, we won $16, but I am glad somebody finally won. No more playing until the jackpot gets back up to about $450M. I went down to Jimmie and Linda's to have some cake for Wells's birthday, and then Richard and Marge and I went for Chinese for dinner. I am in for the night, and I will (perhaps) have more to say tomorrow. Merry Christmas!