EDM 299 Draw a corner

This is where I should have been last Sunday afternoon.  Sitting in my new leather recliner in the corner beside the window, with a cup of hot tea, a good book, and a tabby cat purring on my lap.  Maybe with a fire burning merrily in the hearth.  It was a bitterly cold winter day, with wind chills hovering around 24 degrees below the freezing mark.  This is where I should have been.
Instead, I was bundled up like a snowman watching the CFL western semi-final game in an outdoor arena.  It was so cold that every time there was a stoppage in play (which in football happens about every 30 seconds) the players would jump up and down to keep warm.  The super tough Saskatchewan Roughriders team didn't even have long sleeved shirts on under their jerseys.  We Canadians are pretty stoic when it comes to winter, and some (me included) actually like the chill and the snow.  But it was simply too cold and we left in the fourth quarter, even though it was a good, close game and Calgary/Saskatchewan games are always hard fought.  Alas, the home team lost and next week's Grey Cup will be between Saskatchewan and Montreal.  Go Riders!  And now, my poor, aching knees are burning with the fires of a thousand suns to remind me of it.

Seashells

These are some shells that we picked up along the beaches during our vacations in Mexico.  We are heading back to Mexico in  a few weeks for our fourth vacation. This time we are going to Ixtapa/Zihuateneho, along the Pacific coast.  We have been to the Mexican Riviera and the Caribbean Ocean is lovely, but I think I prefer the Pacific Coast.  The weather is just as temperate, but the ocean has a lot more personality.  There are waves and currents and if you're a person who loves being in the water, as I am, then the Pacific Ocean is much more fun.  The waves are big enough that you can interact with them.  If snorkeling is your thing, and I like that too, there are plenty of sheltered areas where the waves are calm enough not to swamp your breathing tube.  In fact, Zihauteneho has some of the best snorkeling on the Pacific coast.  This may be the perfect vacation, as Mexico has not been as battered by hurricanes as it has in previous years.  Here's to the perfect vacation!

EDM 297 - Draw a water bottle

This is one of the water bottles we used when we took a guided tour through the Yucatan Peninsula.  We selected the option that did not include having chilled bottles of water in a cooler in the van for the princely sum of an extra $100 a day.  We thought that we could manage our own water and then have extra money for food, excursions, souvenirs, etc.  So I searched and found these water bottles that included a zippered insulated sleeve.  We could "undress" the bottle, fill it with free bottled water from the hotel, freeze it overnight, and then in the morning "dress" the bottle in the insulated sleeve.  The also had nice shoulders straps in case your backpack was too full.
When we reached our first, somewhat rustic hotel, I discovered that there was no fridge in the room and the bottled water was $7.00 US for a small bottle.  I may have miscalculated this badly.  It may be that away from the major resorts, bottled water is rare and expensive.  After supper, we went out to the town and found that the little bodegas sold bottled water for prices much cheaper than even at home.  We stocked up, and although we couldn't keep it very cold it was fine for our needs.