I didn’t plan it this way, I swear!

I had no way of knowing that going to Mexico for two weeks would keep me out of a punishing deep freeze in Ontario. If I had known, I wouldn’t have come back while it was still so cold!

i won’t linger on the fact that it’s in the high twenties and thirties in the part of Mexico I visited to stay with Erin. Nuevo Vallarta, specifically. It’s a lovely area. We stayed near a sweet little village called Jarrataderras.

We even stopped into a bar at Bucerias for lunch and Erin sang La Bamba with the band! (View the video on YouTube on Gracefully and Frankly’s channel and please subscribe!)

We met many fellow Canadians and a few Americans there. One man who drives a Tesla truck said he bought a bumper sticker for it that reads, Cars Don’t Equal Politics. He says it’s an incredible vehicle and he loves letting it do the driving.

To each their own.

i also experienced an earthquake. Although it was centred 28 km away, it abruptly moved the bed I was sitting on. I even looked outside to see if a vehicle had hit the house.

And can we talk about food? Erin makes the best salads in the world and does a heck of a BBQ steak. We were within easy walking distance of several restaurants. They ranged from little mom-and-pop spots to more sophisticated (but never snobby) places.

She also found a low and net-zero carb food brand that makes all sorts of things from tortillas to crackers to treats. It’s called Healthy Brand and they only ship within Mexico. Pity.

Business or Pleasure

We did a lot of visiting and walking and market strolling but there was work in there as well. If you can call podcast planning work. We put our heads together about a few things and hosted a Facebook Live episode of Gracefully and Frankly which is always a great time. We love that listeners stop by to share their thoughts, ask questions, and visit with us in real time. The video is now up on YouTube and the audio is on our website: www.gracefullyandfrankly.com.

The photo above was taken by the ocean on Puerto Vallarta, about a half-hour drive away. At a market there we ran into a former radio colleague of mine from decades ago. Thank goodness for Facebook so we could still recognize each other!

And the dogs. Oh my goodness, Dottie and Livi are such little sweeties. I’ve spent time with them before but it was beyond wonderful. They’re the happiest, most affectionate little love bugs you can imagine.

So, it’s back to hibernation and hot soup as we hunker down and wait for signs of spring. I’m so grateful for the respite and for the face time with my fave Queenager. We don’t see each other often enough for my liking. In a perfect world, we’d be next door neighbours. But as we know all too well these days, the world isn’t perfect. So we just do the best we can.