I figured I'd simply give you updates the best I can while Jimi and I are apart.
I arrived in McAllen, Texas on January 10th; The weather, my first week here, was cold and wet, dropping to the 30's at night and highs of 40's some days. Crazy, as all I brought was warm weather clothes. I guess it's not normal for the area. My second week I was happy when we reached the 80's with a lite breeze - the weather outdoors was absolutely beautiful.
Here are pictures of my room, (aka tiny apartment) while I'm here.
The living room looking in from the front door.
Looking into the living room and front door from the kitchen.
The dining table and desk.
This is the bathroom, just off the kitchen.
The kitchen from the living room.
Looking in the bedroom from the door.
Rest of the bedroom.
My car is a Toyota Corolla. When I turn my phone's bluetooth on, my car talks to me. It tells me when I have a new text message, reads it to me and lets me reply with voice recognition. Ok, so I really miss Jimi, but I have to say being here does have it's perks and I'm very much enjoying them. I enjoy working again with my once long time co-workers, managing the accounting department for Cencorp and being in the office. And for those who know me well, you've probably figured that I'm deep in many craft projects.
I enrolled in a cooking class at the McAllen Culinary Academy. We meet every Wednesday night for five Wednesdays. We're learning the correct cutting, preparation and presentation for a five course meal. Our first week we learned the correct way to hold a chef's knife, what kind of knife to have, how to cut many different fruits and vegetables and made three salads including the dressings from scratch. At the end of each class we eat what we've prepared. Our second week, using many of the skills from our first class, we made three homemade soups. They were all delicious. I look forward to next week's class. In the end I'll have a certificate, which will help with the next journey Jimi and I are planning. If you don't know what it is, we'll announce it in the coming months.
Jimi is doing well. He's been in the Bay Islands of Roatan, Honduras since my last update. On Wednesday morning of this week, he left. I've received three spot updates from him, which you can also see on the "Where Are We?" tab of our blog. He checked in at 6pm Wednesday evening, 6am Thursday morning and at 3:30am Friday morning. His last check in indicates he's arrived and anchored in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. After sailing for nearly 48 hours straight, I'm sure he's resting now. And I'm hoping he'll be able to find some internet and make contact with me.
Sadly, my uncle Jim passed away this past Wednesday morning. I'm so glad I was able to see him in December before coming to Texas. I missed my aunt's funeral a year and a half ago because we were unreachable in the Caribbean; I'm thankful I'm here now. I'll be driving to Kansas/Nebraska for the services and to be with my loved ones. It's about a 16 hour drive. After work today, I'll drive as far as San Antonio and stay the night with lifetime friends, the Goetzke family. Saturday morning, I'll leave early and drive the remaining 13 hours.
The viewing is Sunday and funeral services are Monday afternoon. I plan to be back by Wednesday night for my cooking class.
I'm not sure what else I could tell you other than I will keep you posted on Jimi's whereabouts and you can always watch him on the "Where Are We?" tab of our http://www.svsanibel.blogspot.com/p/where-are-we_12.html
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