Keeping in touch with Jim

  Well, here comes another Christmas season and the beginning of a New Year, hopefully a happy one for all. As I sit here near the beach with a cool breeze blowing in over Zihuatanejo Bay, I am so very glad that I'm not dealing with cold, wet, windy weather and that I have many friends from the northern climes to share the afternoon with and laugh about some of the images of snow and ice that we find on the internet (not wishing bad weather to any one, of course).   There are so many quiet joys in my daily routine as I make my way through the open air market to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. The kind smiles of the familiar vendors, the laughter and shyness of the children, the sun, ah the sun, and the constant pull of the warm sea water, beckoning my dry, dirty feet to wade in and refresh.   I do, however, miss my friends and family from time to time and I hope the feeling is mutual. But I also have my friends and family here and I wish they could all meet. But alas...

Okay, time to play catch-up. So Lucas Sky Walls was born six weeks early on August 31, 2013 weighing in at just 5 lbs.                                                             Proud parents Kris and Amanda.   But now he has caught up and is doing extremely well. Award winning smile. With grandma Jaimee (Abuelita) Also, I did get my tablet when I got back to Washington and it works just fine. Life is good :)

I love technology.... when it works. In late September while I was visiting Oregon/Washington I purchased a Samsung Galaxy Tab3 tablet. A little 7" wonder that made my life so much easier. It worked wonderfully during my return trip home to Zihuatanejo but then at the end of November it quit. I tried the reset method in the manual to no success. Then I called the tech support at Samsung where we went through all the Q & A and then tried the reset again. Nothing. I was told to send the unit back to Samsung repair in Plano, TX and they provided and electronic shipping label for UPS. I printed out the label and went in search of and UPS shipping locations. The nearest location was in Acapulco which is about 150 miles/240 km and takes about 5 hours. Since the family was gathering for Christmas there I waited until we arrived on Dec 22 to get to the UPS office. Success. I have been tracking the package since then. Dec 23 left Acapulco, MX Dec 23 arrived Mexico City, MX Dec 26 ar...

When I was a kid my mom never made a big deal about Memorial Day so I never gave it much thought until a few years ago. My mother didn't work for a big company so she never had paid holidays (she was a vocalist/singer). We didn't have any family who died in the wars especially since her family was of the Salvation Army not the military. So, when my birthday rolled around and I was usually disappointed that more kids didn't come and didn't understand that it was mostly because it was always on or very near Memorial Day and that their families were observing that occasion. Even when I became an adult the same thing would happen and for years I took it personally (bad attitude). So, after my 50th birthday I decided to celebrate just once every decade. My 60th birthday observance was a crazy 10k scramble up the black diamond ski run at White Pass, WA. great fun. But now I am living in Mexico with the love of my life and here they won't let a birthday go by unnoticed ...

I never got to meet my father's father because Grandpa Lon Walls died in 1939, seven years before I was born. My mother's father, Grandpa Fox was a huge, positive influence on my life and I hold his memory near and dear to my heart. Great grandfather John Fox died in 1931 so I never got to meet any of my great grandfathers but while studying our family through genealogy research I feel that I know at least something of their lives. Great, great grandfather Walls was named Zachariah and I believe he was born in Virginia about 1799, but I haven't been able to confirm that as yet. He raised his family in Nicholas County, Kentucky in the early 1800's. His last child, of the 13 I have found, was great grandpa Edgar, born 1852. The family made their way from Kentucky to central Missouri where Edgar married Sophronia Woody. They continued their migration into west Missouri and grandfather Alonzo (Lon) Walls was born in Butler, Bates County, Missouri in August of 1881. The fa...

Things have been very busy in my little and my mind has been occupied with the excitement of Kris and Amanda expecting their first child, so I overlooked the renewal of my "resident visa" by 3 days. Ouch. That's a $100 usd fine and I was told that I had 20 days to leave the country (in order to get a new visa). The very next day my great grandson Lucas Sky Walls was born so I bought a ticket for a flight to Portland. I will have to start the visa process all over again but, as always, I'm sure there is a reason for it.

Today I wanted to get a price for a project I'm working on so I took my measurements and found that I needed about 30 meters (100 feet) of screen. I went to the ferretería (hardware store) and asked "How much for 30 meters of screen?" The answer I received was 150 pesos per kilo.....? "Kilo?" I asked. "Si señor".  My next natural question was "How many meters are in a kilo?" He said " Oh, I don't know. Maybe 3 1/2 or 4."      So.......taking the cautious approach I calculated 30 meters at 3 1/2 meters per kilo and said "I would like to buy 8 1/2 kilos of screen please." Right? Wrong!  I need have them cut the 30 meters of screen, then they weigh it and then, and only then, do you know what the price is. Funny or frustrating .... we all get to choose. Right now I'm reading Mark Twain's book Following The Equator which is the story of his trip around the world. Before this I read another of his books Rough...