Last Day of the First Month

We attended the service arrangement today as did many others. Everyone had prior arrangements and it looked like Carol and I would be working by ourselves which always involves much hiking in the humidity. Then Brother Roger, presiding the arrangement, invited us to join him and his two young sons in his SUV while he caught up on a number of return visits. As an agreeable alternative to walking our legs off in the heat, we gladly accepted.

Chauffeur me around? I'm cool with that.

The occasion gave us the interesting opportunity to get to know Weston and Sebastian, his two sons. One time, while I was walking with Roger we met a man I had seen at a meeting. He is an unbaptized publisher and eagerly told us all about his big toe that he had injured. Considering the endless steps, slopes, curbs, holes and other sidewalk ankle-breakers here I am not surprised at the injury. Afterwards Roger told me this man had a history working for a cartel. After studying the Bible he arranged to leave the cartel. Reportedly, this is not easily done. But his reasons were accepted and now he is progressing toward baptism, on a sore foot.

After service we were near Bananas Restaurant, and since at least three Witnesses work there, we chose it as our lunch stop. Next, I found a much needed shoe shine. 20 Pesos plus tip.

Later in the day we had necessary errands to do in Ixtapa Centro. Walking in the cool and the shade of late afternoon was pleasant and offered photo opportunities along the way. I post a few samples ...

I like the look of Bandstands, don't you?

Carol checked out colorful tablecloths and even bought one.

One of those Door Photos.

Ladies, take note.

I am scheduled to be the speaker at the Hall tomorrow. And it's Superbowl Sunday. Whether by coincidence or design I do not know, but I gave the Sunday talk here last year on Superbowl Sunday too. I learned we have plentiful sports fans in this congregation. This is the only occasion that, when the meeting is over, the Hall clears in 11.3 seconds.

Walking, Wi-Fi, and Whales

It was time for Emelio's, and this morning, before the sun released maximum heat, we strolled the fifteen minutes to Ixtapa Centro to pick up a selection of baked goods at Emelio's. This is a combination bakery and Italian Restaurant, producers of bread rolls, croissants, strudels, etc. and assemblers of lasagna and pizza extraordinaire.

But even the morning sun was strong enough to incite yearning for a smoothie, so we stopped first at a shaded outdoor restaurant where we each enjoyed one of the banana persuasion.

Nearing Emelio's we passed men stacking firewood for the winter. No, wait, this *is* winter. They were stacking wood for Emelio's great pizza oven ...

Emelio's

Upon returning home we discovered our wi-fi service was crippled. Things were loading very slowly indeed, and after a while not at all. I called our rental agent who stopped by to advise us that a car had crashed into an electrical installation which disrupted Internet service for most of this building. But not to worry because it would be fixed sometime, and next year the building would have Internet service from a better company.

When we got back from our meeting tonight wi-fi was working again. But it's been spotty for a while so if this blog suddenly vanishes you'll know why.

next year?    yippee.

This afternoon Carol, sitting on the balcony and watching the ocean, saw whales playing in the bay, some close by and spouting. I was on the phone at the time and missed the spectacle.

Tonight's meeting featured the first Ministry School part with a family study demonstration. So nicely done I took a photo ...

The last part was about using a tablet to show videos to interested persons they could show in turn to their children. The hall has wi-fi but no flat screen TV for major display, so the congregation watched a sample video of a song on an iPad.

... and so it goes.

Readin' & Writin'

Today we enjoyed a pleasant time by the pool with our tablets, both reading and writing (emails, text messages, etc.). We keep strictly in the shade, but of course reflected rays also reach a person. In the heat of the afternoon we cooled off in the pool of course. And an order of lemonade made with mineral water goes down marvelously well.

Cool tan, huh?

In late afternoon we met our neighbor, for the first time, while we sat on the balcony. The woman was about to clean her side of the translucent glass panel that separates her balcony from ours, and she thought she'd bend around it to introduce herself first. She and her husband are owners of the condo next door. The wiping of her side of the glass made a surprising improvement, if you want to call increased transparency an improvement, but I did feel a little concerned when she stood on an apparently unsteady ladder to reach the upper regions. Although there is a cushion of grass lawn below, we are on the eleventh floor after all, and the lawn was recently mowed.

Removing a stubborn spot.

A slow day in Ixtapa.

Out And About in Zihua

We boarded the bus to Zihuatanejo this morning with misgivings. The driver looked 18 years old and, given the fondness for speed some bus drivers demonstrate on the trans-valley expressway, we had to hope this fellow had his head bolted on on right. Thankfully, he did.

The number at the service arrangement this morning was, for whatever reason, much less than last week. All were able to fit into the single available vehicle except Carol and I. This was not disagreeable to me since I wanted to call back on the fellow I had met last week who is in treatment at AA, and this we did.

We were able to discuss with him for about a half hour. I sensed he was positively affected by a scripture I read to him. Although he is in treatment to overcome a problem that is clearly to his own benefit to achieve, that personal benefit is only one motive to conquer the problem. I told him if he has an additional reason to conquer it, this will make him stronger. So we read Proverbs 27:11 which explains a wonderful motivation to be wise in our actions. So far he owns no Bible so we arranged to bring him one next week.

We had other English-speaking persons to find but soon we had to pause our walking in the strong sun and seek a handful of rest and refreshment. This we did at Bananas, the restaurant I've mentioned before. Possibly it's the stimulation of caffeine and sugar, but Coca-Cola is the thing that gets us going again in this climate.

Got a straw?

At Bananas we left a JW.org business card with our waiter only to learn he is a Witness himself. And the lady at the back counter was a sister. Shortly afterwards, passing a park, we met a family of Witnesses doing cart work. Continuing on to the next call we passed an older man minding a convenience store. He also is a Witness. I passed him last week and began speaking with him as best I could because he was reading The Watchtower (in Spanish).

We also passed the interesting sight of a woman carrying on her head a bag of various fruit. I would have loved to photograph this as she approached but, more discreetly, I snapped a shot after she had gone by.

A 'balanced' diet 'heading' home.

Once finished in the ministry we took a bus to Commerciale, the supermarket. We were getting perilously low on peanut butter among other items. But the first things we bought there were ice cream cones. Two excellent ice creams in the better cones for $1.08 each Canadian. Good deal. I asked about a flavor that looked interesting and understood nothing of the Spanish response. I chose it anyway. I did not recognize the flavor and have no idea what it was, but I'll give it an 8 out of 10.

Back home we took an hour to watch the sun set. Rather than another sunset photo though, I offer this of a sailboat between islands in the bay ...

Clouds

Heavy clouds dominated the morning's early hours and in places mist hovered over ground far away. Below is a photo from our building's front balcony. The earlier hours were available to us because someone rang our bedside phone at 6:45 a.m. Wrong number.

We have found that occasional clouds provide welcome respite from constant, almost overbearing sunshine. We don't recall feeling that way about clouds before, but the sun's power here is practically constant and unremittingly strong.

I set about catching up on business and was speaking via Skype to someone in Montreal when our internet abruptly quit on us. Laptop, iPads, and iPhones all severed from their intercontinental reach. The modem was on, the connection bars full strength, everything looked good, but disconnected all the same. I tried unplugging and rebooting the modem. Nada.

Offline? What do you mean I'm offline?

So we made the best of it by going to read and meditate by the pool. Also, internet was available there enabling at least some basic communication as necessary. The clouds gradually dispersed, the sun came out, and we enjoyed time both beside the pool and in it.

I had reported the Net failure, of course, and requested it be fixed but around 5:00 p.m. nothing had happened and we still had no connection. I called again to see when we'd get service and in mid-conversation with the rental agent Carol announced the Net was working again. I personally find it all inscrutable how these things cut out, cut in, and evidently have a mind of their own.

The Sunset Gang

A solid part of today was spent trying to solve a software problem on my Mac laptop. In a few words, some programs I need to conduct certain business ceased to function obliging me to scour the Web for a solution. I have possibly patched one together. We'll see tomorrow when I try to run with what I found.

Computers.

Around 5:00 p.m. today a group of us JW visitors to Ixtapa gathered on the beach to watch the sunset. Everyone brought something for the gang to munch on and to drink, from wine to Coke. Just a word about Coke: When a Coca-Cola delivery truck pulls up to a store to deliver the product, there is usually a passenger in back who sits on the crates and debarks at delivery time. He is a uniformed policeman with his automatic weapon. The other day in service I was talking to a man when a Coke truck stopped across the street and the policeman stood guard as they unloaded the soda. I asked the man, "Why do they need a policeman with an assault weapon just to deliver Coke?" He explained with all seriousness, "Oh yes, sometimes there are bad guys who want to steal some." So? You'd think they were unloading the crown jewels. It's pop.

Anyway we succeeded in sharing family-size bottles of Coke on the beach without military protection.

Here is a shot of part of the group. Others, including us, were further back, off the beach.

... and here is how today's sunset looked:

Although I did not fail to photograph the sunset, as noted above we spent most of the evening at an off-beach table. I was with two brothers, discussing scriptural questions and sharing observations from personal research. It was a stimulating conversation. It's always enjoyable to discuss things with folks who are analytically inclined and pay attention to details.

Sunday - Meeting Day

From our balcony Carol captured the sunrise this morning. Personally I slept in.

The serenity of the view and and the ceaseless rush of waves onto the beach add greatly to the golden sense of repose one can enjoy at this place. Supper on the balcony is also a delight offering a view like this ...

At 4:30 p.m. we boarded a bus, along with Ken and Lynn who, like us, are staying on the eleventh floor here. Ken was our speaker last week. Today we had another fine public talk about making Jehovah our refuge and I commended the speaker for the way he added sense-stress when reading scriptures. It not only makes the reading more lively but also makes the main point of it stand out so much more clearly. The Watchtower study bubbled along at a good pace, always with many hands raised to comment, which is exactly how it should be of course.

The singing was robust as usual ...

also how it should be of course.

After chatting at the hall we left to catch a bus home when a couple from Indiana, staying in a building next to ours, offered us a ride and invited us to have supper with them at an Italian restaurant. Ralph and Pam had decided to rent a car so they were mobile and we accepted with pleasure. I find that after a period of eating burritos, tacos, enchiladas, and quesadillas (which are basically all quite similar but with the tortillas folded a different way) I get a strange craving for a good old-fashioned bowl of spaghetti with meat balls. At this restaurant they served it with a knife and a fork which was gauche, but still tasty. So we enjoyed our supper in an outside patio and got to know one another a bit. Before becoming a Witness Ralph had been a soldier in the Vietnam war. Because he knew how to type, soon after his arrival he was chosen to prepare daily reports which kept him at a desk all the time he was in Vietnam. This may also be a factor in why he's still around to talk about it.

Mucho Caminar

The title of course means 'much walking,' and that's certainly what we did today. We caught a bus to the Hall to attend the 9:00 a.m. service arrangement and, in stark contrast to Friday evening when our bus to the meeting crowded to capacity, this morning Carol and I were the only passengers the entire way. Below is a photo from the back of the bus. Saturday mornings are slow here.

Probably 40 persons gathered at the Hall. Practically everyone had prior arrangements which was interesting. The one solo sister was assigned to Carol and the one solo brother to me. We were given territory in Centro (the downtown core) and off we went.

One street was named Cuauhtémoc and it was decorated with a bust of the man who bore that name.

Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec ruler in Mexico (1497-1525).

 
 The first hour we walked from one Mom-and-Pop business to another, and for the rest of the morning walking in the sun increased as we went in search of addresses where English-speakers were known to live. Along one street a Mexican man sitting on steps called out to me, "Hello Sir, where are you from?" And that was the beginning of a half-hour conversation and the reading of several scriptures. People are clearly concerned and willing to talk about where they see this world going.

At the end of the morning we were exhausted but we had planned errands in the area, for example picking up my adjusted pants at the tailor (job well done) and bringing my service bag to another shop to have a split seam repaired (also well done, and by a brother). So, forcing one foot in front of the other, we soldiered on in the sun, the humidity, and the heat. The heavenly aroma of freshly ground coffee impelled us to pause at a coffee boutique and purchase a bag ...

We also wanted to bring back cold beverages, namely Penafiel Limonada and Naranjada, our favorites, but could not find it in the shops nearby. We simply had to give up and bus home. So, as if our walking marathon wasn't enough, shortly after our return I walked to the neighborhood OXXO convenience store because we were completely out of cold drinks and needed some desperately.

You may get the picture that this day produced fatigue. It is an accurate picture. I'm glad our meeting tomorrow is at 5:00 p.m. because ...

tomorrow morning I'm sleeping in.

Familiar Sounds

We spent a little time by the pool today and heard much Québecois French spoken. There are more people congregating around the pool than we've experienced in previous visits. We have the impression this place has been discovered by Quebeckers. It was very pleasant to chat with the ones near us except for one lady who suddenly became territorial when I asked an attendant to move a large shade umbrella so Carol and I could benefit from its shade. There were two of these umbrellas standing in front of the chairs casting their shade uselessly upon the pool. When he moved one to give us shade the lady got very annoyed and verbal, claiming this umbrella was also supposed to give her shade. We pointed out that there was an additional umbrella directly in front of her chair, it was all her own to use, and the attendant was willing to move it also, like ours, to provide her shade. This he did in fact, and the flap subsided.

Lady, let's not get carried away here!

In other news, I see the Colima volcano made it onto Yahoo News following a picturesque explosion on Wednesday, Jan. 21st. I cannot know for sure if there's any connection between this event and the fact it was my younger son's birthday, but I insert a short, time-lapse video of the event. I regret to note this volcano has been keeping its theatrics until after we are gone. Rats. Volcanoes ought to come with a schedule.

The link to the story is here ...

http://news.yahoo.com/huge-volcanic-explosion-in-mexico-captured-in-stunning-time-lapse-171336409.html

Perhaps you can tell I retain a fondness for this geographical phenomenon.

This evening we attended our meeting. Just before we left I discovered my iPad, that was supposed to be recharging, was in fact not. The plug was not in the socket perfectly and the battery was down to 8%. This obliged me to follow the meeting with a paper Bible (not so bad) and my iPhone (kinda pokey).

Shorn

At 8:30 this morning our friend Wayne kindly picked us up in his Volkswagen and drove us to the barber shop in Zihuatanejo. He purchased a haircut for himself and then both Carol and I got ours. Needless to report, I am very pleased to have this matter attended to and it does feel cooler with shorter locks.

Mission Accomplished

Here is a photo of the Hair Salon ...

That's Carol inside getting her hair trimmed. The person who provides the service is Perla who has been studying for a while and now attends meetings and makes comments.

Once we were done there we decided to go for a proper breakfast at the restaurant called Bananas. The toast we had before leaving just didn't cut it. So here is a photo inside Bananas ...

Continuing on our errands we walked along a market area peopled by shopkeepers eager to sell souvenirs to tourists until we came to the shop of a tailor who couldn't care less about the tourist business. We sought him out because I wanted him to take in a pair of pants I need for the service. They were supposed to be my size when I bought them but the waist does not measure according to the tag they had when new. I got tired looking like I was wearing drawstring pants and hired this fellow to take in the waist to match my actual measurement which shall not be commented upon here. I await Saturday with great interest when I shall get to see the results my hundred-peso investment.

We returned from Zihuatanejo on a reasonably paced bus lacking super-hero insignia, but at our stop we strode past the familiar Hulk machine.

It was a seriously warm day and we drank muchos cold fluids.

In The Ministry

Groomed and equipped for the ministry, we embarked on a bus to the Kingdom Hall at 8:30 a.m. The ride, happily, was accomplished with civilized speed despite the vehicle being emblazoned with an image of The Incredible Hulk.

Carol had an arrangement to work with a Mexican sister and I joined a brother visiting from Montreal. Eventually we entered an area with about eight men outside, sitting around a table. I spoke up and asked if any of them understood English. One fellow responded, "I speak English." How satisfying to hear this. He spent time in San Francisco.

We spoke initially about God's Kingdom and Daniel 2:44 and soon were discussing the "Our Father" prayer. I asked him about the request for the Father's name to be sanctified and whether he had ever wondered what the Father's name is. "It is Jehovah," he replied. "When I pray, I pray to Jehovah. I'm not like other people who pray to Jesus or saints." "Really?" I said, somewhat surprised. He continued, "And I never pray to images. That is wrong. It is terrible for a person to pray to something a man has made for money."

"And where did you learn these things?" I asked. He said, "I read the Bible. I like to read. I read a lot." I asked him, "Did you find the name Jehovah by yourself in the Bible, or did someone point it out to you?"

"Well, some Jehovah's Witnesses helped me with that. We have Jehovah's Witnesses in our group."

"May I ask what is your group?"

"All of us here are in AA. We all have problems with drugs or alcohol. We are just waiting for a visiting speaker to come and talk to us."

"You have Jehovah's Witnesses in your group?" I asked.

"Well, not really Jehovah's Witnesses, but people who used to be when they were young. They left it and got in trouble with drugs. Now they are here. They remember some things in the Bible and show them to us."

He explained how AA teaches them they must believe in a God and pray to him if they hope to defeat their addiction. But they say a person's idea of God can be whatever he likes. This fellow said, "But I know I must pray only to Jehovah, no one else. I have read about this."

We continued talking for a half hour then a car entered the area bringing the anticipated speaker. The fellow I was speaking to was probably in his early 30's and he glanced at the car and said, "Look at this. They are bringing us a teenager. What does he know? This guy is not going to be able to help us." The car's passenger did look about 18.

I made arrangements and am looking forward to calling back on this man.

Our territory was hilly, the sun very warm, and gulps from my water bottle transformed immediately into perspiration on my shirt.

There were also stairs in our territory but too warm to climb them today. Halfway up these steps you will notice half the stair with one step five or six times higher than the others. When coming down, watch out for that one.

Originally I had hoped, while in Zihuatanejo today, to make a fresh attempt to find my barber. I was chauffeured there last year which is why I had to seek directions this year. But we were too tuckered after service so came home instead. I have very solid plans to get there tomorrow.

Ça presse!

P.S. Some readers have said it is difficult to leave comments.
I have tweaked the blog's settings to simplify that. Hope that
doesn't turn out to be a bad idea.

Bad Hair Day

Today we set out to find a barber that once cut my hair last year and, as rare as it is in the world of barbering, did a good job. We were given general instructions by someone who knows the place and we set out by bus to Zihuatanejo. No, it was not the Batmobile that arrived. It was a bus decorated simply with numbers, namely 007. With some misgivings we boarded it, destination: hair salon. Although later our bus did almost bump into another one, it was the fault of the other bus driver. Our driver was clearly, and happily, not a Mr. Bond wannabe.

There comes a time.

Well, we resolutely trekked around the area where we understood it would be, but to no avail. We gave it a good hour and a half, tired ourselves out, and had to stop at an OXXO (convenience store) for some cold liquid refreshment. Actually, due to the warmth of the sunshine we stopped a few times to recoup. Here is a photo I took from a shaded concrete bench ...

 Despite our failed search for the barber we had the consolation of flowers bursting upon us at the most unexpected moments.

So despite my ardent desire for a shearing I continue on for at least another day as a mop top. We stopped at the Commerciale, the big supermarket here, to fill a few bags with needed items, and took a taxi back to our place. Our gray-haired taxi driver *was* a Mr. Bond wannabe and covered the elevated expressway over the valley at a speed about 50% over the limit. On the other hand we were passed by all other vehicles on the road. I'd think that if the speed limit signs didn't impress these fellows perhaps those occasional crosses by the side of the road would. You know, the ones with flowers laid around them and sometimes with candles. I've been told that the best way to slow down a taxi or bus driver is to call out, "I'm going to vomit!" I'll work on that expression in Spanish tomorrow.

News of the Day

We spent a little time by the pool again today, indulging in the three R's: reading, ruminating, and resting. It was interesting to hear Québecois being spoken nearby. Ey, qu'est-ce qui se passe, mon vieux? Late afternoon clouds moved in and a light wind cooled things down, but enough sun bathed us to brown us up a few shades. The fact is we do not sit in the sun. We do not have a sun-tan. We always sit in the shade. What we have is a shade-tan.

We ordered up Mexican Salsa and tacos for lunch.This, it should be noted, is truly delightful stuff, very tasty indeed.

 A little word about the entrance to our rental unit: The elevator takes us to a corridor that empties onto a passageway designed as a wide balcony ...

In the photo below you can see the corridor that leads to our unit. Whether leaving or returning, it is always a pleasure to stop a moment and gaze at the panorama show-cased by this open area. Kudos to the architect!

We watched a little local news on TV this evening. Although it was all in Spanish there was no mistaking that the Colima volcano was a featured story. Yesterday morning it started blowing smoke and ash in a theatrical way. Too bad we missed the performance. I found an image on the Web that shows what the volcano looked like yesterday ...

If this geographical dragon ever actually spews out fire and brimstone I trust it will descend first and foremost on certain bronze objects I know of the bell persuasion.

First Meeting in Zihuatanejo

As we prepared to leave for the meeting I happened to look down from our eleventh floor window and noticed a man and woman walking toward the front gates of the complex. He wore a white shirt and had a shoulder bag. I wondered if they were also Witnesses going to the meeting.

When we arrived at the street where we normally catch a bus we encountered this couple. They had just flagged a taxi. I asked, "Are you going to the same meeting we are?" Not only were they, but they were taking a taxi to avoid the hustle-bustle of a bus since the brother was scheduled to be the speaker. So we shared the taxi ride and got to know them a little, Ken and Lynn from B.C. We asked if they knew our buddy in Nanaimo, Bill Milliken. True to the oft repeated consistency of our experience last year, they did. Every soul we meet here from B.C. knows Bill. I'm beginning to think B.C. stands for Bill's Country.

At the hall we got to meet many couples we had associated with last year, all back again for a month or two. I would guess there were about 50 or 60 in attendance with about half being visitors and all being remarkably robust singers. These people sing the paint off the walls.

The meeting was absolutely enjoyable except for the fact that the air-conditioning was set to Arctic. It was a *very* warm day today but let's not get carried away with the air-conditioning, huh? Carol and I were ready to wriggle our way to the interior of the penguin pack for warmth but there were no penguins. Probably too cold for them.

After the meeting we went to a restaurant in Ixtapa where I had an unforgettably wonderful Aztec Soup last year, discovered a day before we left. I had been looking forward to another bowl ever since arriving in Mexico. They have a new chef now and although the Aztec Soup is still excellent, it achieves only about 87.3% of what the previous chef concocted.

One couple we know, and met again at the Hall, is staying for a month in the unit that is one floor directly below us. If they need to borrow a cup of sugar I'll be able to lower it on a string over the edge of our balcony.

I didn't take any photos today so I thought I'd check on Google Images for "Kingdom Hall, Zihuatanejo, Mexico," just in case I found one. Well, I did. And it was the first photo shown. I wondered who the person might be in the preview thumbnail. I post it below ...

Pool Day

Yesterday we visited the local market in Zihuatanejo for vegetables and baked goods which are of better value and usually better quality than what is offered in the large, modern supermarket. Our trip included a stop at Bananas, a restaurant we discovered last year. They make a great banana milkshake.

We returned to our condo by bus, one that was decorated on front with a large Batman sign ...

The route back to Ixtapa takes us over a curved elevated highway bridging a valley and the driver, a juvenile delinquent inhabiting the body of a thirty-year-old, gave all his passengers a thrill by speeding along it. Many seemed amused. We were not. But we appreciate this fellow decorating his bus so flamboyantly. The next time the batmobile arrives we'll just tell Batman we're waiting for the next bus.

We have been disappointed to discover some of our favorite places here have closed. A cute restaurant that had a convenient location, great smoothies, and free internet is empty and locked up. A corner ice-cream store is shut with iron gratings. On the other hand a new condo project is under construction. So we're not sure which way the economic wind is blowing here.

Today was a sunny, warm, cloudless day, perfect for sitting by the pool. And after we were sufficiently warmed up it was perfect for jumping into the pool.

We enjoyed supper on the balcony and here is the view from there ...

 The sweeping vista, the gentle breeze, and the ocean's eternal washing of the shore do make our balcony an appealing dining room.

Yesterday's Sunset.

Yesterday Once More

Yesterday was a day of recuperation and rest, more or less. Make that less. We had a visit from the rental rep inquiring if everything was all right. Our ceiling lights were flickering so an electrician was sent in to fix that. And I installed a device called "Apple TV" which we had bought prior to our trip to Mexico so we could access some English TV while here.

Installation instructions, available on the Web of course, are always entertaining. The writers of such instructions inhabit a world far removed from the realm of simple, clear English. For example, they tell you simply to follow their sequence of steps. Then they write, "Connect Apple TV to your TV then power it on." Power what on? Apple TV or the TV? What exactly is the next step? They tell me I will see a certain display on my TV. Not unless I turn on the TV, so that must be it. I turn it on and see CNN. If I were writing the instructions I might add a reminder to press the 'TV Input' button on the remote, but that's just my exaggerated, personal penchant for nitty-gritty detail.

The Remote Control that came with Apple TV curiously serves a double purpose. While using it to control the settings of Apple TV, it simultaneously opens iTunes on my computer, selects songs, and raises and lowers the volume - an amazing unadvertised feature of this advanced Apple technology.

So now it's set up and we can watch JW Broadcasting as well as a few other weekly programs we enjoy. My iPad serves well as a remote control. We initiated the set up by watching the JW video on higher education. Very well done!

Yes, we also caught a bit of much needed relaxation. Here are a few scenes of welcome serenity ...

And as for something not so serene, here is a little video of how the Colima volcano is capable of performing. It's for those of you who have expressed some interest in it ...