Erin's Journals

Just a thought…Do you know what a foreign accent is? A sign of bravery. [Amy Chua]

Well, they’ve swept up after Toronto’s Santa Claus Parade and we are truly into the holiday season. For me it’s a matter of bracing for the emotional onslaught (which does get easier every year), but in a different house and country there are mercifully few reminders of what was…and we can do things our own quiet way, if at all, just Rob, me and the perros.

If you picked up through context what perros means (dogs), good for you! You’re on your way to learning more Spanish than hola (never say the “h”), gracias and dos cervezas por favor (two beers, please). I’m on day 159 of my DuoLingo Spanish, and while I wanted to take lessons with a human teacher years ago when I lived in Toronto and I’m kicking myself for not doing so, the second best time is now, right?

See here’s the problem: it’s one thing to learn on an app, but another experience entirely putting that limited vocabularly to use. I’ve been able to use a handy translator app on my phone when I have to go to the gate house to get a package from Alejandro or Delfino, neither of whom speak inglés. But with smiles and thanks, we always seem to be able to communicate. We are trying. (The first day we met Alejandro I was sure to tell him we are Canadians. Tapped my heart and said, “Amigos!”)

I asked a boy in the pool the other day if he was having fun – or “it’s fun, yes?” in Spanish, and he said, “mmm-hmm”. He didn’t laugh, so yay me.

We are figuring out settings on the TV or Mexican Amazon (yes, we have to use the oft-hated app here if we want certain things I can’t get at Walmart or the local shops). But oh, friend, let me tell you about the stupidest mistake I’ve made online in a long time. And yes, I’ve made a lot of them!

I told this story in last Thursday’s Episode 153 of www.gracefullyandfrankly.com and believe me, it’s funnier to hear than to read, so Lisa Brandt and I hope you’re a G&F listener. Here we go.

I’ve mentioned that for the past few years, I’ve been doing keto. Basically it’s a way of eating wipes out sugar, flour and most carbs, so I’m limited in what I choose. Do I dine outside the lines? Absolutely! No WAY I’m not having fresh pineapple or a warm corn tortilla in a restaurant. But at home, where we do most of our meals, I have my keto tortillas that we brought in from Costco in Canada.

Back to the purchase. I decided whilst still in Canada to order a few things to eat here in Nuevo Vallarta before we could shop. Among them was a loaf of keto bread to keep meals interesting. First I clicked on the “translate” option in the address bar at amazon.com.mx and read in English what I was getting. The numbers looked good, I perused the price and clicked to put it in my cart, along with a few other things I couldn’t pack. It wasn’t until they were delivered that Rob looked at his Amazon Prime account and he said, “Do you realize you paid $37 for those two loaves of bread?”

Well, if I’d have been eating a slice, I’d have spit it across the room. I realized that my mental peso/Canadian dollar conversion had gone awry. Of course the site said $487 (you divide by ten and then three-quarters of that works out roughly to our dollar). But somehow I missed it. Blame shopping late at night during the stressful time of moving out of our house (which closed last Wednesday by the way) and you have bread that’s almost hotel room service price. I froze one loaf and I will mete out the slices like I’m on a deserted island.

So yeah, call this journal Lost in Translation. We make mistakes, no one dies, and we learn. Meantime my education continues: we’ve been walking to locally owned restaurants and I’m trying to get a sense of direction for when my compass on legs (Rob) sets his sites to North and heads home Thursday.

So far, so good! I’ve got delivery (water) and pickup (garbage) times down, and the girls and I are anticipating my sister Cindy’s arrival tomorrow from her home four hours away. She’s driving on the new toll road and we’ll have her carro! (Bet you figured that one out too.) Thank goodness SHE will be behind the wheel and not I.

Have a good week and thanks so much for stopping by. I won’t mention weather or anything that’ll make you want to smack me, so keep coming back.

In the meantime I’ll be peppering Drift with Erin Davis sleep stories with more Christmas and holiday tales, so be sure and check in every night. A brand new (old, of course) Charles Dickens tale drops next week. Find Drift with an easy, free link at www.erindavis.com. And sweet dreams!

Just a thought… As you move outside of your comfort zone, what was once the unknown and frightening becomes your new normal. [Robin Sharma]

I won’t say that all of that worry was for nothing; it prepared us for any possibility, and maybe that’s why everything on our big travel day last Thursday from Victoria airport to Puerto Vallarta went so smoothly. Some of it was luck, but a lot was preparation. And even more had to do with patience.

Last week started out on a decidedly rocky note: the breeder through whom we got Dottie and Livi decided she wasn’t sure Dot would be home in time for her next breeding cycle, and Bev wants a second litter from Dottie next summer. So she messaged about a bunch of vaccines they would need (we had all but one which is particularly hard to get, as I found out by calling several local vets in a panic and not getting any positive responses).

Then she told us she wanted Dottie to stay back with her for the winter. SO I did the chat feature with WestJet (disconnecting by accident while flipping back to my online receipt emails) and eventually, while connected again, getting a message from Bev that, no, she thought Dot would be better with US for the winter. So after all of that: cancelling Dot’s seats down and back, we had to rebook them.

For that bit of sorcery I decided to swallow the $25 and call an actual person. By the end of the day we were wrung out like a dish rag and no closer to being packed for the trip that was coming on Thursday. But we had our girls together (if not our act) and on we went.

I’ll fast forward to Thursday and, in brief, tell you everything that could have gone wrong, but didn’t:

Taxi on time. Perfect. Except I left my big sun hat in the condo and had to run up to get it. Phew.

Got through check-in at WestJet with no hassles about dog or carrier size. Excellent.

Rob weighing the suitcases and coming in under a pound below the weight limit (the trip IS for for months) paid off. No overage fees.

Flight left on time and was without drama. Girls stayed quiet in their carriers under our the seats in front of us. New plane, so softer seats, even slept an hour with my head in my lap (yes, I was that exhausted).

Got off the plane quickly BUT as we were nearing the never-ending line for customs, I asked Rob, “Where’s my hat?” Yep, it was back in overhead on the plane. So, like a salmon fighting the current, he had to go back and get the damned thing. (It was a new hat and would’ve been crushed in the luggage.)

Dogs checked out fine in inspection and the gentleman couldn’t have been nicer. They even had fake grass and a hydrant which both dogs were relieved (pardon the pun) to use.

Customs were glacially slow with a few flights arriving simultaneously, but if we’d gotten 10 pesos for everyone who made a fuss over the girls, our trip would have been covered. They loved it.

Finally emerged through the sea of cab drivers looking for our business and connected with the owner of the home we’re renting for the winter. She gave us a drive to the house, we got the tour, and then after we’d unpacked, she returned and took us to dinner in a local restaurant. A true taste of Mexico and Rob treated himself to not one, but two local cervezas. He earned every ice cold drop.

So, here we are, a few days into our stay. We’ve walked around the neighbourhood to the little local grocery and food stores to get what we needed for a few days and tomorrow our host is taking us to Walmart for everything else to get us stocked up.

I DID forget to eat or take water on our walking excursion and had to steady myself by gripping a store shelf, then sit outside and sip water, when I thought I was going to faint. Part of it was being nervous about a completely different feeling, outside my comfort zone in every way. What an awful sensation, though! Won’t go without a water bottle again.

The little pool in the neighbourhood isn’t heated and doesn’t need to be (for my liking) and there’s plenty of shade. There’s a bit of house building going on in the neighbourhood but nothing that will bother us. We’re going with the flow and still getting our footing. My Spanish? Well that’s one for the next journal. Let’s say I need practice, but I’m getting by.

So for now, I’ll sign off, mi amiga o amigo, and every week here I’ll share new adventures. For the funnier side, be sure to listen this Thursday as Lisa and I share her travels and mine at www.gracefullyandfrankly.com. Thank you for coming along.

And one pic for the road of two of my favourite furry beings settling in.

Just a thought… Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. [Swedish proverb]

Vaccines: check.

Move out cleaning: check.

Packing list: some checks….

Well, this is a week fraught with worry for us, but nothing like food insecurity or illness. Not real worry. No – this is the kind of “you did this to yourselves!” anxiety, which gives you a fresh voice in your head to try to drown out!

This Thursday Rob and I will fly to Puerto Vallarta where we’ve rented a house in nearby Nuevo Vallarta. He stays two weeks, comes back down at Christmas and returns one more time to get me in March, and I’m packing for four months there.

I’ve never done this: tried to fill two large suitcases with clothes (not many) and our comforts of home. Does the house we’re renting have a coffee maker? Of course, but it’s not a Nespresso, so we’re taking our tiny one, alongside – don’t laugh – an air fryer. They’re in the suitcase, and so is my weighted blanket. Anything else I need I’ll buy there, once I figure out how to get to and from the shops without a car. My step counter is going to be very happy this winter!

As you may have heard on Gracefully and Frankly Episode 151 (and if you’re not listening, join us – you’re missing a fun half hour with me and my pal and radio vet Lisa Brandt, free every Thursday or whenever) we are taking Dottie and Livi with us to Mexico to keep me company for the winter.

We flew with them to Ottawa last spring on the same airline as a trial run; all went well as they curled up in their respective carriers under the seats ahead of us. This time, though, we have to stop off at a special office in the PVR airport and get them checked, present their papers and make sure they get the green light.

Here’s where the worry comes in: there’s no good reason they won’t be okayed, and we even went to our own YYJ airport to make sure the girls’ carriers suited WestJet’s extremely picky size allowances, but…what if something goes wrong? We had to pay $100 per dog, each way, to get them there and back (in otherwise unused space under the seat ahead of us); a trip to the vet last week to have their papers checked and get flea/tick/heartworm meds for the winter all came to the grand sum of $800. Yep. Not travelling for a long trip with the girls again, I’m afraid. And I know I won’t be going away for this long again.

Anyway, I’ll be sure to keep you posted here and on my Facebook page as we take off Thursday and land and get settled in our new winter abode. Life was a lot easier just making the three-day drive to California but, of course, any travel to or through the US is not going to happen. We even got a direct flight from Victoria (hurray!) to make sure. Hearing that plenty of US airports are cutting back flights makes us doubly sure we made the right decision.

As for other worries (like where to get a meal the first night without a car or groceries), we’ll deal with them when we settle in. My nicotine gum addiction (’cause it’s always something with me) is facing some serious challenges as any nicotine replacements are forbidden in Mexico. I’ll take what I can get away with and then figure it out. I wanted to quit it anyway…and Rob will be lucky he won’t be around when I do.

So that’s where we are. After a weekend spent cleaning the house that we’ve sold and closes while we’re away, the days ahead involve tying up loose ends: lawyer visit, hair, nails, dog groomer, etc.. I’m also getting more Drift with Erin Davis sleep stories recorded in my studio so I can edit while I’m away and have fresh ones for you in the months ahead.

I thought about writing Christmas cards that Rob can mail when he gets back to Canada before December arrives, but I’m afraid I’ll just have to miss them this year. Efforts to remain sane include cutting back where we can, and just going with the flow but not the Ho Ho Ho.

Take care of yourself. Of course, we’ll all be pausing at 11 am in our respective time zones tomorrow to remember our veterans. I’ll be thinking of my dad who died this summer, and his immense pride in serving our country. He never saw conflict, thank God, but he was always ready, often gone from home, and we are grateful for his contributions to Canada’s safety and sovereignty, as we are for all the sacrifices of our veterans, active military personnel and their families. Love to them all.

Sisters Cindy and Heather, Ottawa 1963

Just a thought… I’ve been crying, for like probably for an hour. I thought I was done with the tears, but I just love these guys so much. I was having so much fun coming to work every day and battling with these guys. We have so much to be proud of, even though it didn’t go our way. [Toronto Blue Jay Ernie Clement]

What a weekend! Hearts racing, then breaking; tears of joy and regret for what might have, what should have been. Most of all there were memories of the loved ones who would also have enjoyed this incredible season-long ride, those who are no longer with us but always within us.

Baseball brings together families (as I texted my sister on her Australia trip with frequent updates) and an entire country. I lost count of how many Americans filled my feeds with well-wishes. It was a ride no one wanted to come to a stop, never mind the way in which it did.

To happier memories, this season reminded me of prior glory years back in the early 90s (as it did so many others) but I want to tell you about a little tradition Rob and I had to keep us going through the long cold lonely winter until Spring Training.

We would record (yes on VHS tape back then) a great game from the season that was. Then in January or so, we’d have a bunch of people over for a Jays Watch Party. We’d make hotdogs and serve popcorn, lots of beer and pop and other fun concession-style stuff. Together we’d watch one of the best games of the year.

There was one year that we recorded a close loss, just because we wanted to shake it up a bit, if memory serves. Or maybe we just considered doing that. Honestly, 30+ years is a lifetime ago. But maybe when Sportsnet is rerunning the series – as they undoubtedly will – you might think about doing the same in the months ahead. Get people to wear their Jays’ gear and come for a party. I mean, why not, right? Even a New Year’s Eve gathering!

As we all prepare to donate for a poppy and wear one after another after another (unless you use one of the great hacks out there to keep them in place) I wish you a terrific week.

Also, a huge Thank You again if you shared some time on my Blue Jays watch parties, from the start of the playoffs to Saturday’s bitter end, on Facebook. It helped make this incredible run of 2025 even more memorable, as togetherness always does.

Just a thought… You can start anew at any given moment. Life is just the passage of time and it’s up to you to pass it as you please. [Charlotte Eriksson]

Here we are heading in the final week of October when it feels like a dream that our baseball team – Canada’s baseball team – is in the World Series. Tied at one, they’re in LA tonight for the first of three. All they need is one win to bring it back to Toronto; obviously we’re hoping for two, and dreaming of three.

Aside from baseball, we have other things on our minds these days and Rob is waking up in the night to solve mental puzzles. Because it doesn’t rain, it pours, we have finally sold our house! That’s the big news: after nearly a year-and-a-half on the market, we took the second offer we got. It was well below our original asking price, but we finally caved and just said Let Them.

And now…let us! We have a house not-quite-full of furniture and some we are keeping for a cottage down the road (or more accurately, across the water on a Gulf Island). But what to do with it before that decision is made? Well, it’s going into U-Haul storage containers, to be trucked over to an island when the time comes.

Now let me add more more piece to the puzzle (although “take away” might be more apt for the confusion that surrounds this metaphor): we leave on Nov. 13 for a long-planned trip to Mexico, having sworn off the US. I’m staying until March; Rob flies home two weeks later to resume his hockey duties, both organizing goalies and playing as one. I have at least one friend and hopefully a sister or two coming to visit, so I won’t be alone. And I’m 110 days into my online Spanish course, plus my phone has a translator, so I won’t get into too much trouble that I can’t get out of.

It’s all a matter of what goes where, and when…and then where it gets unloaded and in how much time. SO much to figure out, but then I never did make life easy on us. The day after I did my final radio show in Toronto, we were on a plane to BC. Our friend and producer, Ian “The General” MacArthur asked, “Why would you do that to yourselves?” and I didn’t have a good answer. Once I make my mind up, I just want things done.

Oh, I should mention to you that yesterday marked 20 years since Mike Cooper and I formally began our permanent radio partnership in Toronto with a breakfast broadcast at College Park’s Carlu space. I sent Mike a text yesterday reminding him, and he responded with love and a line from Sgt. Pepper’s: “It was 20 years ago today…”

…Erin and Mike got the chance to play. And what fun we had!

I’m not sure what this next chapter in my ReWirement is going to hold, but I’m ready to let some doors close as others open. And as we get set to welcome November (with clocks going back this Sunday by the way, two days after trick-or-treaters do their thing) the timing feels as good as any to look ahead with hope and optimism. And World Series dreams, of course!

Have a great week and please join Lisa Brandt and me this Thursday for Episode 150 (!) of Gracefully and Frankly. We’ve just surpassed a milestone of 200,000 downloads and show no signs of slowing down. We’d love for you to give us a listen (free, of course, thanks to our friends at enVypillow and SierraSil) and join in this gathering. This week, the focus is going to be on getting better sleep. ‘Cause goodness knows Rob will be listening carefully!