mudgirl

I wouldn't mind adding the point values by hand. Used to play a scrabble-like game with friends in Canada, called Upwords. You made words which had to connect to other words, just like in Scrabble, but the letters had no point values, and the Q included the "u". The letters were large and plastic (great for us oldens with failing eyesight) and stacked- you could change a word already on the board by stacking more letters on top, but one original letter (before you stacked) had to remain as is. Each tile was the same value, you score by adding up the number of tiles in the words you made and changed. It was great fun.

Hey, I could use some of those- have 5 missing pieces from my scrabble set.

"I've heard from people". Hmmm. Those people are obviously ill-informed. The tourist visa is max 180 days. There is no process for extensions. There is no "problem", just the immigration laws and policies, which are expected to be respected. You have to leave the country by the time your visa runs out and re-enter.

I'm pretty much a techno :() when it comes to such things, but my actual experience is this- I've been using cell-based internet at my place for 4 years and it worked quite well until about a year or so ago when Telcel came out with their modems for purchase and signed up a lot of new subscribers. Now it's unreliable, in and out all day and I've checked with my neighbors who use the service and they say it's the same for them. And it almost always works well and fast late at night and the wee hours of the morning when most people are asleep, so it would seem to me that the number of active users definitely has an effect.

I've been carting around and using my cast iron pans for 50 years and they weren't new when I acquired them. They have yet to "chip, crack, shatter or warp". So I'm not too concerned about that.

Roofs can start leaking at any time. It seems presumptuous to assume that the owners were aware that the roof leaked badly. I can't imagine that they wouldn't be concerned about fixing a leaky roof, as that could destroy their furnishings and belongings. I can't understand how so many posters here started talking about who was the "bad" guy. The OP simply asked if anyone had knowledge of where this couple could be, there was no accusation of them being some kind of untrustworthy people.

Home Depot sells it as well as an oufit called Prevasa, which also sells drywall and all the fittings, tape, etc. I think Prevasa is a chain, not just in PV area. BTW, they call cement board Durock here. Or at least that's the brand I bought. And it was less expensive at Prevasa than Home Depot. In fact, Home Depot's about the most expensive place to buy anything in Mexico.

I built an entire small shop building out of cement board. Wood framed. In a back corner of my yard- didn't want a construction crew slinging cement all over my gardens, nor piles of sand and blocks. No muss, no fuss. Taped and plastered the outside and you can't even tell it's not built of block from the outside. Didn't use it for the roof, though. It's incredibly heavy.

There was a guy in my area (not lakeside) who was going around with a book of paint samples. He obviously had been tracking home owners' movements and appeared at my friend's house when she and her husband were out, only the maid there. He came to the door, told the my friend had asked him to come by and check out colors for her rooms and could he come in. The maid was savvy and told him the dueña hadn't mentioned it, so she'd have to call her first, at which point he said he'd just come back another time. Always be wary if something seems off. Trust your intuition- it usually proves to be right.

Asbestos doesn't pose any danger as long as it is not disturbed- the danger is when the dry material, which consists of hair-like asbestos fibers is inhaled- the fibers stay in your lungs and cause asbestosis, which is fatal. Asbestos removal crews wet the asbestos down before removing, so the fibers aren't flying around, breathable. If your contarctor cuts or drills into dry asbestos, he's ignorant and putting himself and his workers in danger. If he keeps it wet while cutting, it should be okay, but he and his workers sould wear masks. It wouldn't pose a danger to you once it's all in place unless it gets broken. But I have no experience with that particular roofing as to whether it will keep the area cool. If the ceiling is high, it shouldn't matter. And regular roof tiles are just made of clay.

Nice of you to care and hope you find somewhere or someone to help. The cat is probably riddled with worms or ill, rather than actually starving- stray cats are pretty adept at finding food- there are plenty of insects, lizards and rodents around to hunt, but if it was a pampered domestic cat that just got lost at some point, it may not be too skilled in basic survival.

Is this possibly the result of snowbirds leaving their "rescued" dogs behind?

Buy two 36 inch ones, cut one or both down and connect them. 54" isn't a standard size doorway, so I don't think you'll find any ready-made.

If you're the kind of person who needs things to happen FAST, then Mexico is going to be a real challenge for you.

If a tourist couldn't drive a Mexican-plated car, the car rental companies would go out of business.

I believe he was asking about your credit card, not the salesperson.

I watched a fellow passenger have her brand new coffee grinder confiscated. Highjacking planes with coffee grinder blades must be a thing.

Contact lenses in Mexico are absurdly expensive- even from Costco. Years ago I ordered 10 boxes online (sorry, can't remember from where) for what they wanted for 2 boxes at Mexico Costco.

At this time of year, Westjet flights mostly go through Calgary, which is their hub. Although it takes a couple hours longer, it's not a big deal- your luggage gets checked straight through from PV (Puerto Viarta? It's Puerto Vallarta) to Vancouver. And you don't have a long wait in Calgary.

You don't have to go to a Telcel store to "set up" the Sin Limites package (not sure how that varies from the Paquete 150 you are talking about). All you have to do is go to an OXO, give them your number, tell them what amount you want and pay. At this point, $100 pesos gives you 17 days unlimited calling and texting for Mexico/US/Canada, $150 gives you 28 days, $200 30 days. The higher ones give you more data per period, if you need that.

In the cases I was referring to, the people had nothing to say "excuse me" or "pardon" for. They hadn't knocked into me, stepped on my foot, or anything like that. They just saw that I was looking on a supermarket shelf a couple of feet from where they were standing. They consider that to mean they are in my way, which of course, they aren't. Well if it was said with a question mark, it would indeed indicate that the person was asking you to repeat yourself. But that's not what I was talking about. Canadians are constantly apologizing for things that don't require an apology.

I'm on my annual month long visit to Canada to visit friends and family. 5 separate shoppers in the supermarket today said "Sorry" when I walked near them in the grocery aisle or was looking on a shelf that was a meter away from where they were standing.

A few years ago I had to buy a new laptop and the new one came with Windows 10. I was used to Windows 7. I'm far from any kind of techie, and there was a bit of a learning curve, but it really wasn't that onerous. My computer tech showed me the basic Windows 10 stuff and then I just surfed through all of it on my own until I was familiar with it. (You can always comfort yourself with the fact that new learning curves work to prevent dementia) And I have never downloaded one Windows update on this newer laptop. I do have it set to metered connection (which, in fact it is- I have to use cell-based internet) and so far (3 years) it seems to work to prevent any updates from loading automatically.

There's a lot more ways that you can be exposed to something nasty when eating out than just the fruit and veggies not being properly disinfected. There's the food handling practices, the dishwashing, etc. There just isn't anywhere near the same level of health inspection (if any) in restaurants in Mexico as there is in Canada, the US, or, I imagine, Europe. One thing I can tell you is that I've never gotten ill in Mexico in the 18 years I've lived here on street tacos, but I have gotten sick after eating in so-called "nice" restaurants. I prefer places where I can actually see the food-handling practices and the kitchen. As far as which pills, I can't remember what I took. Just ask your doctor or the pharmacist. I know it was 2 pills a day for 3 days.

"Cloth" is a generic term, so this "study" means nothing unless you know the type of material they were talking about. A well-made cloth bag will last for many years. If it's made of cotton, wool, linen , bamboo or any natural fiber, it will just biodegrade when old and unusable, could even be thrown in the compost bin to break down. Materials which are made of synthetics would be just as much of a problem as plastic bags, although even those would cut down on pollution as they aren't single use.