Many, many people that I know are traveling to Isla Mujeres this year. I thought that I would resurrect a packing list that Sister #3 put together and I have enhanced. I am still almost a month away from my departure but getting out my flip flops and sun dresses adds to the joy of anticipating our trip.

What to pack for Isla Mujeres

Personal Items

Ear plugs (Especially if the person you travel with is a snorer but sometimes you can have noisy neighbours)

Kleenex packs, small hand sanitizer, wet naps (Carry with you as some bathrooms don’t have toilet paper or soap to wash up)

Clear plastic rain poncho-dollar store variety (When it rains it comes fast and hard), easier and lighter to pack than an umbrella

Your toiletries (Most hotels and some casa’s provide shampoo and soap)

 

Sun glasses, sun screen (Vital as the cost of sun screen if very high in Mexico)

Sun hat (It is very windy on the island so one that has a tie is a good idea)

Blow dryer etc. (I don’t bother with any of this stuff on the island.  I just let my hair go crazy – and it does.  I wear a lot of head bands and scarves to keep my hair out of my face in the wind.)

Clothes

I typically pack the following for two weeks.

Three bathing suits, two beach cover ups

6 sun dresses, two pashminas, jean jacket (It can get a bit chilly in the evening so I carry one of these so I have something to slip over my shoulders)

2 pairs of shorts

4 t-shirts or tank tops

2 nighties

something light to through on when I get out of the shower.

One pair of long cotton pants and a hoody to wear on the plane.

Flip flops, one good pair of walking shoes.  Don’t bring anything with a heel, the sidewalks are cobblestone and you can kill yourself.

The restaurants are all pretty casual.  I like dresses as they keep me the coolest.  Remember you can always go see Hortenzia if you run out of things to wear.  She can whip up a light cotton dress for less than $20.00 in a day or two.

You can drop off a load of laundry at one of the many Laundromats and they will wash, dry and fold it for you for later that day.  It is a very affordable option and helps reduce what you need to pack.  Your clothes will come back smelling fantastic.  I wouldn’t recommend it for anything delicate.

Other things to consider

I scan my passport, bank card, travel insurance card etc and I keep a copy in the room safe.  Just in case I was to lose my stuff.

I put the address of the place I am staying inside my bag in case my bag goes missing it can be sent to where I am.

If you have a soft sided suitcase you might want to put the clothing in a garbage bag inside your suitcase as cases can get wet on the ferry ride over or on the airport tarmac.

Tag all your luggage even carry on.

I also bring

a laptop or iPod to check email

docking station with speakers to play music

digital camera with charger

baggies, cutting boards, containers for food preparation

laundry soap to wash out bathing suits etc.

Clorox wipes for cleaning up the kitchen area

Peanut butter and jam packets to have on fresh buns from the bakery

Tea, hot chocolate packages, salt and pepper, granola bars, homemade granola (to go with breakfast of fresh fruit and yogurt or for a late night treat.)

Bubble wrap and masking tape (to pack breakable things for the trip home)

Beer sleeve, cooler bag (I like to fix sandwiches in our room to take to the beach and a beer sleeve keeps my water or beer cold on a hot day)

I bring tea towels to do my own dishes (I don’t like leaving them for the maid as I don’t want to attract bugs) and a small hand towel to take to the beach in case I get really sweaty. I don’t pack towels as they take up a lot of room and the casa we stay in provides them.

Kath here to add a couple of things that I bring along:

I sometimes pack running shoes and school supplies to leave on the island. At one time WestJet let you take one of these bags for free.  I haven’t check this year’s status.

Pesos or failing that US money. There have been many ATM scams on the island so don’t depend on that. Avoid using credit cards except at Cancun airport.

A journal and a lots of paperback books that can be left in your hotel for someone else’s reading pleasure.

A beach umbrella. D gifted me with a great one that fits into a large suitcase. One hotel where I am staying provides back pack lawn chairs and the other is right on the Caribbean so we don’t even go to the beach.

A good waterproof sandal (like Merrels) to beachcomb and climb over rocky coral.

An insulated coffee mug (Contigo brand is my fave) because I like my coffee to stay hot as we watch the sunrise and I fill it with ice and water for my walk to the beach.

I pack more bathing suits and put one on as soon as I get out of my pjs.  Then I wear one of Hortenzia’s dresses over top and I am ready for anything the day throws at me.

Gravol, Imodium, polysporin, band aids because you just never know what may occur.

Kath’s quote: “29 more sleeps!”-me

Love never fails.

I have taken a break for the past month to reflect on where I am in life, this space and a fresh approach. Coincidentally the government of Canada’s new food guide was released yesterday and it too is a new look at how we should regard our food.

https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/

I especially appreciate the references to mindfulness, cooking at home more often (avoiding fast and processed food) and eating more often with others-in essence “en” joying eating and food. Now, I have always professed that there is much joy (and love) in food. For me there is both joy in the preparation and in the sharing.

I also received a beautiful gift this week. I fessed up on Instagram that a good friend and I have girl crushes on Joanna Gaines and that same friend gifted me with Joanna’s beautiful new cookbook: Magnolia Table-a collection of recipes for gathering. I have yet to try one of the recipes but I am enamored just the same by what she shares of food and her family in the Introduction.

Last evening I co-hosted a training evening and we kicked the evening off by breaking bread together. I knew that I was cooking for up to 18 people so I made a vat of my favourite chili. I adapted a Zest Cooking Solutions (Sister #3) recipe. Where it called for a Veggie Ground Round I used ground chicken and I also boosted it with yellow corn for colour and kale for nutritional oommph. Unfortunately I did not take any photos of the recipe preparation or the end result because in truth I didn’t know last evening that today would be the day that my personal reflection was done and I was back to blogging.

Please forgive me for the small m in Mexico. I mean no disrespect but I cannot figure out how to edit it without deleting and starting over again.

I doubled the recipe for the large group. The dish could have been served with crushed taco chips but I decided to make some cheesy corn muffins to go along with it. It was a hit!

Kath’s quote: This meal embodied comfort and safety to me. It felt like home. To this day whenever I eat spaghetti, that warm, fuzzy feeling hits me and I feel like all is well in the world.” -Joanna Gaines

Love never fails.

 

And so this is Christmas and what have you done?

I pick up on our many celebrations from where my Christmas letter left off.

This was the crew which helped D cater a Christmas banquet which he does each year in early December. Pictured here are family members as well as C, R and D. The former are long time friends who now reside for part of the year in Sicily, the latter, one of our core gang that travels to Isla with us each year. After guests are all served, we eat together. This years menu was turkey, rosemary garlic mashed potatoes, gravy, gluten-free wild rice and broccoli stuffing, sweet potatoes topped with apple butter and the biggest hit-Mexican street corn. As I am not partial to turkey, it is my one feed for the season.

The very next evening we hosted another dinner party for our small group. The good news here was that everyone brought a dish and I was able to serve leftovers potatoes from the evening before (I dislike wasting food).

Our next Christmas celebration was with our bestie couple friends. We shared plates and lovely wine selections at Passero just off the Commons (pictured here) at the Forks.

Poppa and I were invited to our first French kindergarten sing-a-long. I have to admit that I didn’t know all the words but I was a happy Glamma nonetheless, basking in the glow of this Wee One.

When Christmas weekend was almost upon us, it snowed and snowed and snowed. In fact, this may be the first day without snow unless it is predicted for later today. But this is one of the beautiful reasons why we love living in Winnipeg. Whereas Vancouver and Toronto had nary a flake, we are living in a scene from a snow globe!

The Friday before Christmas we celebrated Grandma Jean’s birthday with Chinese food at her place. Her birthday is actually December 24th but we always try to eek out some special time for her. She typically hosts Christmas day but this year could be talked into dinner at one of her daughter’s homes.

Having renovated their kitchen it was the perfect spot with room for everyone as we gathered around the peninsula for appies and later when we sat down for dinner.

The Wee Ones got to meet their new (second) cousin, being held here by our Boo.

The Frenchman and the irreverent Boo (see Santa message above) hosted us for gift opening and Christmas dinner.

We started with charcuterie on a beautiful board which the Frenchman made himself! Then we went on to an amazing tortiere to reflect his heritage. There was so much butter in the pastry that when we arrived, we thought they were making popcorn!

Our last family Christmas event was yesterday with my siblings and their families. There are so many of us that we assembled at Boo and J’s workplace that was closed for the day. It was perfect in that we had plenty of space with a kids area, dining space and everyone could see when it was time for our gift exchange.

The Wee Ones got to be with even more (second) cousins and were pleased to do so.

This is the youngest on my side of the family. Both D and I are so blessed to be parts of large multi-generational families. The little ones of course make Christmas so very precious.

Kath’s quote: “Another year over, and a new one just begun…” John Lennon

Love never fails.

 

 

 

 

 

The Christmas season is upon us. As I speak Doug is roasting his 4th or 5th turkey for an event that he caters each year at this time. Our first Christmas of 2018 was in November celebrating with Doug’s co-workers at Petals West. He loves the hustle and bustle of his work and is already sourcing roses for Valentine’s Day!

My second Christmas was with my precious sisters earlier this week. We celebrated early because Kimberley and Michael are leaving soon for a six week visit in Australia to visit Danielle, Dylan and Dylan’s family. Our third Christmas will be Monday evening with the dinner that Doug is preparing for. At the end of the evening we light white tapers and sing Silent Night with the dinner guests.

We started the new year of 2018 in a flurry, taking down the Christmas tree on Boxing Day because we flew to Mesa, Arizona a day later. I went with Jer, Jen and the girls, Bekah and Seb and Grandma Jean. Doug and Kate arrived on the weekend.

Doug found us a great condo where a Christmas tree was still up when we arrived. The occasion was the wedding of Doug’s nephew Justin.  All the Grisims were together for a rehearsal dinner on Friday Dec 28th and then the beautiful wedding the following day. The venue reminded me of a Tuscan villa and not surprisingly the food was fabulous. The next evening Doug, his Mom and siblings with a couple of nephews and nieces thrown in for good measure celebrated New Year’s Eve together, an event that has not occurred in a very long time.

I arrived back home in enough time to throw a load of laundry in the washing machine and repack my suitcase because Doug and I were off to Portugal with good friends. Unfortunately the good friends did not make the trip due to unforeseen circumstances. In spite of missing them and feeling sheepish about it all, Doug and I had a wonderful time staying right on a beach in the Algarve.

We took an overnight trip to Seville, Spain but otherwise stayed along the southern coast.

The weather wasn’t tropical but it was pleasant and I am happy whenever I can walk along a beach.

We celebrated Doug’s birthday in late January and then Sebastian’s and Josie’s second birthday in February. Bekah’s May date came next with Jen and I following close behind. July brought Kate’s celebration as well as Isabelle’s, who turned five. Jeremy takes up the rear with a September birth date.

In May there will be another milestone to celebrate as Jer and Jen are rounding off their beautiful family with another baby at that time. We never tire of our role as grandparents. We adore the Wee Ones and find joy again in every little thing when we are with them.

Late February and early March was our annual sojurn to Isla Mujeres.

Along with lots of family and good friends we reconnect with each year, long-time friends Melinda and Richard spent most of a week with us and it was a special time.

When our traveling days were curtailed for the early spring, we focused on another wonderful blessing to our family. Doug and I drove back and forth to the lake meeting with a cottage renovator and hauling bead board and flooring in the back of Doug’s truck. By May long weekend we were able to set beds up and even though it is not yet finished, we felt luxurious with all the space and rooms and beds for everyone! I was also able to ask some girlfriends out for the occasional weekend.

We attended four wonderful weddings in the summer-two of them in the same family!

The first three were young members at our church and the fourth was that of our nephew Bronson.

Since I had been so sick the summer before, Doug gifted me with a summer do-over and I spent a couple of weeks all by myself out at Lester Beach. I cannot adequately express, how drawn I am to our special piece of heaven.

In August Kate and Doug flew to Toronto so that they could attend the Rogers Cup together. Kate’s fav tennis player didn’t make the finals but Doug’s Nadal did.

Come September, we had the traveling bug again and taking advantage of cheap flights out east, we visited Charlottetown PEI for our first time. Both the hospitality of a friend we met on Isla and the quaintness of the island ensures that we will visit again in the future.

Another trip to Toronto for the Food Bloggers Canada conference and extended stay with Richard and Melinda rounded out the fall. Thanksgiving was once again at the beautiful lake home of Kim and Michael.

The first weekend of November Bekah, Seb, Doug and I took a road trip to Minneapolis. Doug found us an Air BnB in a neighbourhood we loved and we explored many of the breweries and restaurants. Doug’s brother Jim and fam met us for breakfast and then Jim met us again that evening at Surly, a favourite Minneapolis Brewery. Bekah and I went to a Idina Menzel and Josh Groban concert and Doug and I took in a Vikings game. We not only had “nose bleed” seats, we were in the very top section in the very last row! Since then, it seems like Christmas preparations began soon after, which brings me full circle.

Going backwards for a moment, Kate graduated with her Masters Degree this spring and we used it as an excuse for a family party. Little Brown Jug where both Bekah and Jeremy are employed allowed us to throw the party there and it was a wonderful celebration.

Jeremy is head brewer at LBJ and acknowledges the blessing of being employed in a career which he loves. Wife Jen has launched her own business and is a certified pre- and post-natal fitness instructor. In some classes the participants carry their babies in a front carrier, soon Jen will look just like them! They love their little house in Wolseley where Belle’s school is a short walk away and the park where I used to take the kids when they were toddlers is just down their street. Isabelle is a beautiful, sensitive and kind wee one who adores her little sister. Josie is a character who loves to tell long animated stories and always goes for the big laugh just like her Daddy.

Bekah too loves her work as the General Manager of Little Brown Jug. Having gone to school for International Development Studies, she is surprised that she loves business the way she does. Sebastian’s workplace is in the same neighbourhood, he is on the front lines of Siloam Mission and has signed up for the Reserves! They too have a home in the west end and it is big enough for all of us and additional guests to stretch along one long table for this year’s Christmas dinner.

Kate is carefully considering her options for her career but is leaning towards a not-for-profit where she can serve the minority communities that she is so passionate about. The gang collects together at Life is Good (the name of our beach house) all summer and for Sunday suppers the rest of the year.

I am chugging along with my small business, always delighted when a new client approaches me. Each day holds a different set of tasks and I amazingly still absolutely love what I do.

Doug and I are still devoted to our neighbourhood church and we host a small group in our home, a couple of times a month. They too make up our family.

If you are reading this, you are important and loved by Doug and I and we can never adequately express the gratitude that we have for our many friends and enormous families. Peace and Christmas blessings to you all.

Kath’s quote: “God bless us everyone!“- Charles Dickens

Love never fails.

 

Do you find that you are so preoccupied with preparations for Christmas, that you don’t give any thought to how you will spend New Years Eve?

There was a year when D had access to tickets for the formal New Year’s Eve bash at the Winnipeg Convention Centre featuring Ron Paley’s Big Band. We asked good friends to join us and had a really special time together. It was an opportunity to dress up as if we lived in a city not quite as informal as Winnipeg; she in an exquisite floor length gown and white gloves past the elbow and he in a dashing tuxedo and black bow tie.

The dinner was superb and the music and dancing a fine distraction until midnight. If you have never had a chance to attend this elegant tradition, book now before the event is sold out newyears@wcc.mb.ca.

Today that same friend and I had the opportunity to attend a preview event of this year’s New Year’s Eve Celebration. We met the RBC Convention Centre’s new President and CEO Drew Fisher. He explained that what the special evening is known for is the elegant ambience with superb food and libations and so the theme of this year’s party is just that…A Tradition of Elegance.

True to the name, the noon kick off event was a lovely and delicious way to start a week. I was the designated driver so did not partake but my sidekick was delighted with the champagne selection.

On New Year’s Eve the party will commence with a pre-dinner reception with a number of gourmet food stations. Two of them were set up for the event preview and we enjoyed a selection from the Parisian Charcuterie and Fondue Station.

We enjoyed the European meats but were so glad that they featured local Bothwell Cheeses.  My favourite black truffle cheese went well with the marinated artichokes and especially the handmade yam and beet chips!

As we ascended the stairs to the event we were struck with the wonderful aroma of sauteing garlic. The source was the Moroccan Shrimp Station where shrimp were flambeed with either a creamy harissa (chile sauce) or chermoula (like a pesto but with the inclusion of warmer spices). Both complemented the shrimp perfectly!

When the dinner event commences a Amuse Bouche trio will be served first.

We sampled the house made tuna tartare topped with an avocado salsa,

and smoked pheasant breast topped with a harvest apple compote.

The third element of the trio was my personal favourite- an Asian grilled scallop on a bed of okame seaweed. In both the case of the shrimp and the scallops, they met with heat sources just briefly, producing succulent morsels of seafood.

The MC for the upcoming evening was on hand for the preview event describing the five course menu in store for the guests. His description of the soup course: a roasted fennel and garlic bisque drizzled with truffle olive oil and a carrot crisp had my mouth watering!

Before we were done the preview of tastes we enjoyed champagne gelato with fresh berries.  And so a lovely Monday lunch was shared with anticipation of the festive season ahead.

Kath’s quote: “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Love never fails.