Sunday 4 December 2011

Dec 04, 2011. Hello from the cold (and wet) north. (posted by Shelley)

Well it has been a while since we posted, first our password got changed and we could not get in and since Trev and I have been away it has been hard to get 1. a computer to sit down at and change it and 2. time.

Right now we are visiting with my brother in Canada so I won't but a big post just a quick update. Once I am back home I will do a full update with pics of our trip to PV and all the details about the trip to Canada.

While it is cold and crappy here it has not been as bad as he thought. It is still mild enough that it is mostly rain all the time with only a bit of snow. I don't know which is worse though......gloomy rain but mild, or sunny snow, but cold?!?!?!? They both suck as far as I am concerned!!!!!

It has been great visiting with family and friends though. We flew into Detriot and stayed with Trev's dad for 2 days then headed to London where we stayed with our friends Dan and Jodi. Yesterday (Sat.) All week we have been doing running around and spending time with friends each day. To cap it off a group of us went out for a great dinner at Moxie's for our freind Tanyas's birthday on Friday . On Saturday morning we headed to Keswick to see my brother David, his wife Terena and their son Jacob. We are here until tomorrow morning, then off for lunch with my Aunt Sonia, on to see Trev's sister Sonia near London and then back to London to visit with more friends that we did not get to spend time with last week. Man we are very popular :) We will spend 1 more night at Dan and Jodi's as Trev as a Dr.s appt on Tuesday morning in London then it is back to Sarnia for the rest of the week. Trevor's brother's (Nick) wedding is on Friday night. So this week he has to do wedding stuff as he is the best man. Then is is back home on Monday Dec. 12th. We will be sad to say good by to our friends and family but glad to say hello to sunshine and naps. lol

While we are here Trev has also sold his car (a 59 Pontaic Laurentian). He is very sad to see it go, as am I. But it has gone to some great people that we know so we are happy that when we come to Canada again we can still see Stella and take a spin. We hope that Del and Rob enjoy the new ride as much as we did. Trev decided the only cure for his sadness was to buy a guitar.......can I really say since he just sold his baby?!?!?.....just another thing to pack.

Well that is all for now, it is getting late and we have an early morning to hit the road.

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Nov 16 - All A-Buzzzzzz About Nothing...

(Joan here) It all started with a little wasp and ended up with the fire department - yesterday I was sitting reading out on the pool patio and also watching the progress on the casita. The guys have worked hard and its almost finished and considering they have few electric tools really, but a lot of hand tools. They were chiselling out a chanel above the new french doors to accommodate the Spanish-style tiles, and I guess that noise, along with their radio and singing (yes, they sing constantly) must have annoyed some wasps and there was one or two flying around. You would have thought the wasps were pterodactyls the way the workers were yelling and dancing around like a bunch of girls. Jose (our gardener) and I were laughing at their antics, running around flapping their hands around their heads and then they were all huddled in the corner by the laundry room.

I never thought any more of it and went inside as it was getting too hot (yes, and its almost mid-November folks) and to get another drink. About a half hour later Jose came in to say one of the workers had been stung twice and they weren't working now and that the tree where the wasps have a nest would probably have to be cut down. That would be such a shame - its a beautiful African Tulip Tree - dark glossy leaves very like Sumach but with huge cup-shaped orange flowers, just like ttulip. The tree isn't on our property proper, but on the corner outside on the street. Jose took out his bug killer and sprayed where he thought the nest was, but that didn't satisfy the guys as there were still wasps flying around.

I guess they had called Steve (the contractor who owns the business) and he in turn called me to say that the fire department had been called and would probably be here in about a half hour. Well it was about an hour or more later (it was dark now) when they showed up - the workers had long since left. There were hundreds of dead wasps on the ground at the bottom of the tree, but Trevor said there were hundreds, if not more, still further up in the tree, so I'm guessing more than one nest.

The fire department guys got suited up and took out spray things and sprayed chemicals all over the tree and in a whole bunch of holes in the tree then took paper soaked in the chemical and stuffed it in all the holes. They were here for quite a while. Whatever they did worked as Trevor said he didn't see any live wasps today when he was over there and fortunately, the workers came back and are working (and singing) hard.

All in a day's entertainment here in Mexico - and still loving it.

Tuesday 15 November 2011

November 15th Happy Birthday Trevor.

(posted by Shelley) So it was a pretty busy day. First of all it is Trev's birthday today, so happy birthday to him. After a busy day of running around we went to lunch at Ajijic Steak House. On top of the usual home made salsa and chips that you get everywhere we got garlic mushrooms with toast as an appetizer, then the meal was a baked potato and some amazing steaks. Trev had 3 beers (Sol) and I had a ceasar and a pop and the bill came to under $50...not too shabby.

Today we also got our FM2s so it is official......we are Mexicans now :). Tomorrow we will finally be able to go and book our flight back to Canada for Trev's brother's wedding. Just in time since we are off to PV in 5 days and will head to Canada right afterwards.
After finishing up at immigration we went and test drove a car. Since after 6 years there is a regulation that you have to either get your car out of Mexico if it is not from here or pay $3000 to legalize it, we wil need a new car at some point. Plus whenever Trev and I go out it leaves my parents here without a car and vise versa. So there is a 1973 VW Thing for sale that we have been looking at. As much as I like it for Trev and I, I don't think it is the car for us as a family though. My mom would have a hard time getting in and out of it since she is a shorty, plus it is standard which they do not like. And down the road when we don't have the van anymore it needs to be something that they are comfortable in and driving themselves, and this is not that car.  :( We will keep looking though. There are tons of cars and we are not in any great rush for now.

We have made some great progress in the house painting and it is looking soooooo good. We started in the courtyard/ car park and it looks like a whole new house. I will take some pics and post them once it is done, right now it is a bit messy with a concrete mixer from the contractors and plants and stuff everywhere.

While Trev and I were out today my parents stayed home since it is Tuesday and the maid and gardener are in as well as the contractors. Today the contractors were putting Teka (terra cotta tiles) on the patio roof off the castita and in one of the trees outside the wall where they are working there was a nest inside the tree with hundreds of wasps. One of the guys was stung twice but luckily is not ellergic. But they were unable to work there until the wasps are gone since there are so many. So in comes the fire dept. yup......that is you you call for your wasp issues I guess. From what I understand they have to come in and get rid of them. If the tree needs to come down they have the authorization to cut it down without further permission from the government which is usually needed if you want to take a tree down on or off your property. So the fire dept came around 6:30 and suited up. They sprayed the tree all over and in all the holes and then stuffed the holes with newspaper soaked in the spray stuff and stuffed it in all the openings. Hopefully that does the trick since it would be nice not to lose the tree since. I guess we will have to wait and see.

My dad has been asked to sit in on a committee for the subdivision. I won't pretend to know all that this committee is involved in, but he is helping out with stuff regarding the new water storage systems for Chapala Haciendas 1, 2, and 3. I think it is great for him to be helping out and he loves doing stuff like this so he is chuffed to bits. It also gets him out of the house.....he had a meeting today and then another meeting tomorrow. That also gives my mom some time to herself while we are out and he is at his meetings.

I think that sums all that is new up for now. Tomorrow is market day, booking a flight and more painting I am sure. I am shattered just thinking about it, so off to bed.

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Nov 8th. Day of the Dead and the pyramids

(posted by Shelley) So it has been a few days since we last posted and it has been pretty busy here. Lots of building going on and the casita is looking good. Trev and I can't wait to get in there and unpack all of our stuff as right now everything we own is still in boxes in my parents spare bedroom along with our king size bed, a huge armoire, 6 foot tall filing cabinet, an amp and a guitar stand with Trev's guitars.....oh ya..and Flash's dog bed. Needless to say it is pretty packed in there. We don't expect to be fully in before we leave for Puerto Vallarta and Canada but when we get back it should be all good to go.

We have not actually booked our flight back to Canada yet since we are in the middle of getting our immigration papers and you cannot leave the country without special permission during the process. If we do not have our FM2s by the time we get back from PV then we will apply for permission to leave the country.

So what is new......our first Halloween was a pretty uneventful one.We bought 3 bags of candy and had one group of kids come. There were about 6 kids and 4 adults. They didn't actually ring our bell but I heard them standing out in the street just yelling "Trick or Treat" and then waiting to see who might come outside with some sweets. They were very excited to get some suckers and then that was it. We were stuck with all that candy. Luckily we got some chocolate and we had no problem getting rid of that :) but none of us eat suckers of the sponge bob square pants variety, so we gave them all to Maria who has kids.

Then on November 2 Trev and I went into town for The Day of the Dead. There was a whole street in Chapala that was decorated with alters for loved ones....friends and family aswell as beloved singers like Mexico's own Selena and of course Bob Marley. It was amazing to see all the work that goes into these alters. Day of the Dead is actaully 2 days......November 1 is when it is believed the spirits of children come back and November 2 is for everyone else. It is not a sad time - more of a celebration. It is thought that tears will make the path to the other world slippery and the spirits will have a hard time walking on it. Once the spirits get here the alters are decorated with their favourite foods and drink, and many people hand out bread and drinks to people passing by. It was packed and just as were were leaving there was a candle light procession with all the teenagers painted in traditional day of the dead face paint.

Trev celebrating Dia de Muertos

an alter for Bob Marley

some kids painted for the celebration


candle light procession, about 50 or more teenagers

On Friday Trev and I finally got to go to the pyramids. It had been postponed a few times as they need at least 4 people to make the trip and it is right in between seasons for the travel agents but this week they had 8 people including Trev and I. The pyramids are about 1 hour and 40 minutes from Ajijic. On the way there we stopped on the side of the road just outside of Jocotopec for a traditional Mexican breakfast beverage. We pull up to a table on the side of the road that has all the stuff you can add to your drink.....cocoa with sugar, coffee, tequila and a few other things. Once you have put your ingridients in the cup you take it over to a white "tent" that is filled with a few cows and you hand your cup to a guy who then milks the cow right into your cup. Stir and drink. Now this might sound gross but let me tell you, it was awesome. For any of you that come and visit we will definitely take you there for your cup of morning joe.

We got to the pyramids and our guide Rosie was great. It was definitely worth going on the tour rather than going on our own because we would not have gotten any of the history on what we were seeing. These  pyramids are not like the Mayan ones that you are more familiar with. These are round to start with. These ones are also older dating back to 1500 BC. There are 3 large round pyramids. Two have been uncovered but the 3rd and largest is still buried. Before the site was protected some of the stones had been removed to build the roads in the nearby village and water has ruined all that was buried inside. Rosie says that due to the high cost it will not be uncovered, but they are still excavating other areas on site. Each round pyramid is surrounded by raised alters that at one point had a house in each one. Each alter was occupied by a different village and the site is belived to be for ceramonial purposes only. Walking around the large round pyramid you see Tequila Vocano. It was pretty amazing to touch stones and walls that were put there so long ago. Definitely worth the trip.


1 of 3 round pyramids, this is the 2nd largest on site

can't figure out how to turn this around but this was taken standing on the largest temple that is still covered.


from this angle you can see Tequila Vocano right behind the pyramid
 On the way home we stopped for lunch and then stopped off at a small village called Santa Cruz de las Flores to check out the church there. It was finished in 1692, and it is amazing. It is all made of stone and covered in carving from top to bottom.


This same day was also Chapala Haciendas annual street potluck. There was lots of food and beer and live music. It was great and we actually knew quite a few people there which was a nice feeling. It was also a chance to meet some new people also. We all had a great time.

Since then we have started painting in the kitchen and Jose, Trevor and my dad are getting the wall around the property painted very fast. Now we are trying to find the right colour for the house. Things are starting to shape up around here.

Monday 31 October 2011

October 31 - Construction begins ....

The contractors started on Saturday - marking out for the new patio off the casita and measuring and marking for the removal of the windows and the installation of the new french doors. One of the tangerine trees has to come out and one of the pomegranite trees - but that's ok as we have way too much fruit anyway - even though we give bags of everything to Maria and Jose every time they come, we still can't use it all up, so we won't replace them.

One of the bouganvillas, the biggest unfortunately, also had to come down as there is going to be a new hallway from the casita over to the laundry room which will become the casita's bathroom. The old fountain around there also had to come out but we're going to reassemble that in the front courtyard somewhere.

The current front door on the casita is going to be changed to match the new french doors and there is also a door out into the street which will be blocked up completely. The electrical wiring is currently on the surface of the walls so the walls have to be channeled out to hide the wiring and some outlets added, then the walls painted and the floor tiled and we're ready to go.

We also have to move all the potted plants (very large and  heavy) which are around 2 sides of the pool. The surface there is gravel with a channel underneath to take away any excess water from either rain or the pool overflowing, and all the gravel is coming out and the area is going to be concreted so we have a solid surface on which we can put out lounges - and a few of the pots. Currently when we sit out in the sun we sit on the large pool patio which is at the bottom end of the pool, but we are going to put a cover over that and turn it into a bar area so we had to find somewhere else to lay in the sun. For some reason we don't use the lawn area on the far side of the pool????

The work is expected to take about three weeks altogether then Shelley and Trevor can finally move into the casita and we can get Colin's desk into his office - where they currently sleep.

So other than preparing these areas for the builders we have been  busy shopping mainly - we found a fabulous yard sale in Ajijic yesterday and we hit paydirt. The people were unfortunately moving back to Ontario (her husband is very ill) and they were selling EVERYTHING. Unfortunately we were too late for the larger pieces, couches, armoires, etc., but we bought Colin a new golf bag and we got an absolutely enormous pot - almost 5 feet high which is now standing in our courtyard. We also got a large assortment of serving dishes which are beautiful an ice cream maker and a crockpot (halleluya) - can't buy one of those here for love nor money. They obviously brought it from up north. Trevor also bought a bunch of guy-stuff - a box with compartments full of screws and such and a bucket full of other interesting looking stuff. Certainly well worth the stop. We had hoped to pick up a bunch of other things on our list while running around but all the stores we wanted were closed (it was Sunday after all) even the place where we wanted to have lunch so we ate at Mom's instead - nothing special so won't be going back I think.

We had picked up another blue flowering vine from the garden centre to add out front so will have to get that planted today before it wilts in the heat - we waited a bit too long to plant the first two and one of them is struggling now.

When Colin cut down the very large bougainville from near the casita, he cut it into 3-4 ft. lengths and we are going to try and re-root them. Apparently all you have to do is cut a little wound in the bottom and then stick them in the dirt and in 4-6 weeks you have new bougainvilla plants. This will save us a ton as we need to spread them all around the walls both inside and outside down the side street where our walls are quite bare.

So all in all, a very productive time. Will keep everyone posted on the success and wish you all a Happy Halloween.

Sunday 23 October 2011

October 23 - Sunday - a day of rest

We all had a bit of a lie in today and after breakfast Shelley suggested we go to the malecon (boardwalk) in Chapala for the afternoon, so we headed out around 1:30pm - it's only a five minute drive and it took a while to find a parking spot as everyone and their brother was down there - Sunday is family day in Mexico, but we found a spot up by the Notario's office which is just across the street.

We headed straight for a restaurant which was down by the water and had an amazing lunch - Shelley had cheese stuffed shrimp wrapped in bacon, Trevor had beef brochettes, Colin had a seafood mix and I had scallops. The margueritas were free! After lunch and a number of refreshing beverages the kids set out to walk the malecon, Colin headed for the market (which runs parallel to the malecon) and I headed to a bench to people-watch and take photos.

The sun was hot and sparkling on the water and there were tons of boats out giving people rides back and forth along the lake. There were a lot of people in the water swimming and playing, and on the beach and tons of families just wandering around or sitting like me, people-watching - there were people selling balloons and kids toys, ice cream sellers, musicians everywhere, mariachi and dancers. It was awesome. I took a ton of photos and then bought an ice cream from one of the vendors. It comes in metal cylinders stored in a tub of ice and when you buy one, he takes it out of the container and wraps a piece of firm paper around the base to hold it by - the ice cream is very firm and gorgeous. I got vanilla but it had a huge chunk of raspberry right down one side. I sat in the hot sun and ate my ice cream and then a bunch of people showed up with costumes and music equipment and set up right by the fountain in front of me. They got changed and were just getting ready to start dancing when Shelley, Trevor and Colin showed up so we sat and watched. It was a lot of fun and they did a number of different dances and their costumes were very traditional, huge full skirts edged with colourful edging which they swirled round and round.

We got home around 6pm very tired considering we hadn't done anything but eat and drink - I guess the sun wears you out. But what a great way to spend the day!

Saturday 22 October 2011

October 22 - The things you find in your swimming pool...

Joan here - Well, we get all kinds of stuff in the pool: scorpions, spiders, bugs of every kind, but today, we had a basset hound! Yes, Flash fell in the pool somehow. We (Trev, Colin and I were in the tv room, Shelley was in the shower and I heard a funny sound that sounded like Flash sloshing in his water bowl, but seeing as that's in the kitchen at the other end of the house, it couldn't be him, so I went out into the hallway and looked out to the pool, and there he was, doing a frantic doggie paddle in the pool and trying unsuccessfully to get out of the water. I yelled for Trev who came running and dove straight in and rescued a very soggy and sad looking Flash. He must have swallowed some water too as he started throwing up a bit. He looks very sad and sorry for himself  but at least he's drying out now. Heaven knows how he ended up there. He does use the pool as his personal drinking bowl so maybe he toppled over while drinking. Anyway, he's safe for now til the next episode. At least for now he seems to be avoiding the pool and is taking his drinking water from the koi pond instead. Don't know why we bother with a water bowl in the kitchen. At least if he falls in the koi pond it's shallow enough he can get out by himself. Dumb dog!

Today is Saturday and Trev is going into the village to the North Shore Autolovers Club or something (some club or others for car enthusiasts). They meet the once a month at one of the bars in town. Guess he's missing his car and like-minded buddies. Don't know if we are going to stay home or go into town with him and then do some shopping, plant hunting or something til he's done. Decisions, decisions, decisions. As long as they don't involve WORK I can hack it.

We (as in Trev and Shelley - I supervised) planted some blue flowering vines this morning out by the front gates so they will climb and cover the walls and ironwork out front. They look lovely and will grow fast now they're in the ground. No painting today though - may be tomorrow.

We had the contractor in a couple of days ago and will be starting on the cassita in the next week or so - there's a fair amount to do - replace the windows with french doors, block off the door to the street, new door to the patio and install patio with roof, install new door to laundry room, along with walls and roof (the laundry room will become the kids private bathroom) There's already a shower, toilet and sink in there and we just have to remove the excess cabinetry. We are also going to have the gravel which is on 2 sides of the pool removed and have the area concreted instead so we can sunbathe there. Right now it's not really usable as it's uncomfortable under foot. Should look good once it's done - the job should take around 3 weeks once it starts.  We also want to put a palapas roof (palm leaves) on the structure out on the patio  by the pool, but it's not the season yet. But Shelley found a company in Florida that makes artificial palapas which doesn't attract scorpions and doesn't have to be replaced every few years so she is investigating If we can get that, we will get the look we want but without the maintenance (or scorpions). The thought of them dropping in my margarita doesn't sound appealing. It may be more expensive initially, but cheaper in the long run.

We decided to stay home after all and have been sunning out by the pool. It got way too hot so we came in to the covered patio to have lunch then I wandered round taking photos. Ah, life is good.

Tuesday 18 October 2011

Tues. October 18th

So today Trevor and I started the steps for immigration. We met with our immigration advisor Julie at the Real De Chapala Hotel. That is the hotel we stayed at last year when we were here. She basically uses their outdoor dining patio as her office here at lake side since her base is in Guadalajara. We did all our paper work and stuff, we have to go back and see her again on thursday to sign our application and then in about 3 weeks or so they will take us to Guadalajara to have our fingerprints taken as part of the final process. I will be soooooo happy if we can have our FM2's before we leave for Canada, and if all goes smoothly she thinks that is possible. I don't want to have a hassle at the Detroit airport like my dad did when we was leaving for Mexico. They said that because he did not have proof of residency here in Mexico that he had to have a return ticket showing when he would be leaving the country.....that is Detroit's policy, not Mexico's.
We did a bit of running around and picked up some chicken from a street vendor and brought that home for lunch. It is VERY good chicken. You get 2 chickens (flame roasted right there) 2 bunches of roasted potatoes, rice, roasted peppers and onions, 2 coleslaws, salsa, a bottle of pop and a crap load of home made tortillas for 215 pesos.....that is less then $20 Canadian. Needless to say that is what we had for dinner also...and there is still tons left over.
Today we finally got ahold of a contractor. He came out to talk about the stuff we want to do with the casita and around the pool. The back wall around the property is also in need of repair. He will be coming back on Thursday evening with a quote. Fingers crossed it is a good price since it would be so nice to get that started. Trev and I can't wait to be in our own place so we can finally unpack all of our stuff. The contractor (Steve) says that it would take about 3 weeks, so we figure in 6 to 8 weeks it would be done.

This morning Jose brought his son with him as he was running late and wanted a hand. His son then took his scooter so he could go to school. School is divided here into a morning group and then an afternoon group. So my dad drove Jose to the bus station in Chapala when he was done. when my dad returned I was in the living room and say him pull into the drive........with the drivers side light assembly missing and the wires hanging out. I though he had hit something but nope.......it fell out all on its own. He was on his way back home and he was coming down our street when he heard a noise and thought he had run over a bottle or something. He stopped and what he had run over was the light that had fallen out fo the van. All I can say is thank God that happened when he was driving because there is no way he would have believed me if I told him it just "fell out"!!
I guess these bumpy cobble roads will take a tole on a car but it is crazy that your light can just fall out when your driving down the street. Luckily it was in our sub-division and not on the highway.

Yesterday Trev and I booked a trip for this Friday to go and see the Teuchitlan Pyramids. They are about an hour and 40 minutes away from here. They are not like the pyramids on the west coast....these onces are round and date back to around 400 A.D. It should be a very cool day and should be alot of fun.

Other then that not too much is new.....Angel is becoming quite hunter. As I mentioned in a previous post she caught a lizard and last night it was a huge butterfly. She was pretty pleased with herself with lots of meowing and expected lots of pets and praise when she brought it to us while we were playing cards. Flash has mastered the art of napping in different locations around the house. We have a no furniture rule but he still manages to slip onto a couch at night when no one is looking.

Tomorrow I think we will do more painting. Trev will finish patching the tile in the jucuzzi and who knows what else. It is so easy for the day to slip away and not have done anything. I can't believe that we used to fit an 8 hour work day into our schedule. Like my mom said in the last post, we are lucky to get 1 or 2 things done a day. Often those 1 or 2 things are playing cards and making drinks. Hey...if you can only do 2 things those are pretty good ones!!

Saturday 15 October 2011

October 15th - The sun finally makes its return

It's great to have the sun back - blue sky - no clouds and its WARM - life is back to normal although when we were in the village yesterday we met up with Patti and she said she heard there is another tropical storm doing its stuff out in the ocean so we're hoping we don't have to go through that rain again. None of us have winter clothes any more!

The kids and I went into the garden centre again yesterday - and came home with a van-load of new stuff - vines, cactus, succulents and something tall covered in buds of beautiful pink flowers. It's all so new, all this tropical stuff but we're having fun deciding where it's all going.

Shelley started painting the walls inside the courtyard this morning - they're going to be a mustard colour. Much better than the current white and dark  blue. They look quite shabby at the moment, but we'll fix that.

While we were out yesterday an old Mexican guy came to the gate and asked Colin if he had any work, which we don't of course, as we have Jose and Maria. He was also hungry and asked if he could have something to eat. Colin wasn't sure what to do but asked if he would like some tangerines - he would - so he went and picked some from the tree and the guy was very grateful and started to eat them straight away. I felt so bad when he told us, not that there's anything we could do, but its sad that there are people out there who can't find work and are hungry.

Yesterday in the village we had lunch at a lovely restaurant in the square - Jardin - as usual you eat out in the courtyard under umbrellas and watch the world go by. It was lovely, as was the food, and of course there was the obligatory dog looking for a handout - this one was part sheppherd, part greyhound by the looks of his rear end. The street dogs here are very gentle though and never snatch the food out of your hand. Once the food was finished, he moved on to greener pastures, ie. the next table.

This morning Trevor and Colin went into Ajijic to look at another roll top desk - Colin is on a mission to find one. There is one in Alfredo's, but it's quite expensive (7,000 pesos ($700 US). We found one yesterday for only 1600 pesos but he didn't like it, so he's now thinking of breaking down and buying the other one. It's huge and very nice and he's wanted that style forever. Also picked up some extension cords and power bars - there's not a whole lot of outlets in this house and its quite difficult to put them in as the walls are all concrete so we'll have to make do with extension cords for now anyway. Maybe when we get the contractors in to work on the cassita we can price out some extra outlets here in the main house.

It's amazing how fast we run out of time here - considering we're basically not doing anything. We start off each day with a list of 'to do's' and by 6pm, we've maybe done 2 or 3 things and it's time to think of dinner. Oh well, life is still wonderful and for now, so is the weather again.

Wednesday 12 October 2011

October 12th Hurricane Jova

Another rainy day. It poured during the night and I think it has maybe stopped for a total of 10 minutes today. This is due to the hurricane hitting the pacific coast of Mexico. Luckily no one has been hurt or killed according the the news this afternoon and it has been down graded to a tropical storm.

Still with such a dry rainy season the rain has been a good thing. This wet weather has also been driving the critters indoors I think.....we were sitting in the T.V. room and I saw a scorpion crawling along the floor. I lept into action though and killed it with my trusty flip flop. Now had it been a spider I would have been running out of the room, but scorpions move slowly where as the spiders here are on speed. Maybe that is why the scorpions don't bother me as much. That is not to say I want them crawling around on the floors though.

Today my mom had a focus group to go to. It was a think tank to talk about assisted living here in Lake Chapala for seniors. So we dropped her off and then did a bit of running around. I had hoped to be in the village when the torch came thru but it just didn't work out. I am not sure if it came thru in the morning since on the website it said it would be in the afternoon, but signs along the street said no parking on the streets on the a.m. as this was the torch route. Oh well....what can ya do.

We went to the bank to take out a sum of money greater then what the bank machine allows (which is $3000.00 pesos that is about $250 Canadian) but turns out you need specific i.d. .....like your passport or you FM2 or FM3, or a Jalisco drivers license....none of which we had on us. So we went for lunch instead. Chimichangas at Salvatore's. We sat outside since today we dressed for the cooler weather and they have a covered veranda. I fed most of my chimichanga to a sweet little dog. It looked like a little german sheppard, she was wet and shivering and VERY skittish. The slightest move or noise and she would get spooked. She wore a collar so she belongs to someone but not sure if that someone deserves a dog. She would not let me pet her but she would take the food from my hand. It is lucky I have people here to keep me in check because I would end up taking all these dogs home with me. That seems to be the case with alot of people here. At the market yesterday we met a woman who has 10 dogs at home.......all Mexican street dogs that she falls in love with. It is nice that there are people that can and will take these animals in. Our friend Summer is house sitting and they already had two dogs of their own when they saw a little girl hit a small dog with her bookbag and  break it's back leg. First of all I would have been tempted to hit that girl with her bookbag!!!! These people took the poor little thing to the vets, had it's leg set and also had it fixed while it was in there and have now taken it into their home.

We also had to stop at an appliance place as our fridge was making some very stange noises at about 4 yesterday morning....not that Trev and I heard anything but apparently it woke my parents up, yesterday Trev and I went in to ask for a repair guy to come and have a look but now it is working fine so we wanted to go and cancel the request, they said oh, the repair guy went out yesterday....well I am not sure who's fridge he was looking at but it was not ours. Oh well as long as it keeps the beer cold and the icecream frozen, who cares.

After all this we came home to find the Flash our lovely dog had ripped his way thru the kitchen garbage. So Trev and I had the pleasure of cleaning that unpleasant mess up. I am thinking Flash may have to stay outside when we go out if he keeps this up.

After that we just watched t.v. ....not much else you really want to do on a really rainy day. We had dinner and then updating the blog. I have been slacking which has been pointed out to me by a few people now, so I will try to do an update on a more regular basis as I know you are eagerly waiting to hear our goings on. lol

Hopefully tomorrow the weather will break and we will get a glimpse of the sun. We are picking up all of the paint we ordered the other day and it would be great to get started.

October 11th Happy Birthday Mom

I am writing this the day after but yesterday was my mom's birthday, so a big Happy Birthday to you!!!!

We will make her a nice fancy meal later in the week as Trev went to Guadalajara last night with our friend Thomas to a Mexpat get together. But we did buy her some flowers and something special for dessert.
Other then that today my parents stayed at home as Maria and Jose come on Tuesdays. The market was also held on Tuesday instead of Wednesday this week since on Wednesday the Pan Am torch was coming thru the village and they wanted to keep that road clear. It was very wet and cool since we are getting some wet weather thanks to Hurricane Jova.If I could find my spring jacket I would have worn it, but it is one of the many items that are missing in action right now.
Trev cannot find a shirt, I am also missing a shirt, a bag of magnets and keys aswell as my jacket and my mom is missing her fancy hair towel. I am sure we will start to find things as we go thru the rest of our boxes but for now we have no idea where they are. We have found where Trev's shoes keep going....if he leaves them out anywhere Maria has been putting them in my parents closet. Maybe we should start checking there for the rest of our stuff.

So as I mentioned our friend Thomas invited us to go to a Mexpat get together in Guad. It is organized by a guy from the states that is living here and once a month roughly expats will gather at different locations. This time it was held at a small Irish pub called The Temple Bar. It is a good thing that Thomas offered to drive because there is no way Trev and I would have ever found it. We have only been to the city a few times and it is HUGE!!!! But we did get a very nice tour around the city as we had a bit of trouble finding the place. There were quite a few people there....maybe around 40 or so. We were the only ones from Canada but there were a few from the States and allot from Holland, Denmark and England. Although we felt a bit akward as most people there it seems knew one another Thomas was nice enough to introduce us to some of the people. Everyone was really friendly and all are here doing very different things. It was great to see so many younger people there.
On the way home we stopped at a 24 hour burrito place between Guad and Chapala, you can choose you fillings and let me just say YUM!!!!! They were so good and it is only 15 minutes from our place so I imagine we will be going there again. The city will be busy for the next month with the games going on so I think we will wait til after they are over. Maybe we can even talk my mom into trying one.

Monday 10 October 2011

October 10th Happy Thanksgiving

Today we went and had our Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant called La Bodega. Salad, followed by cream of broccoli soup and croissants, traditional dinner (turkey, mash potatos, gravy, green beans and cranberry sauce) then pumpkin pie for dessert.

It was very good and very filling. Obviously we are all thankful this year to be here in sunny Mexico......even though today it is not so sunny. This weekend has been overcast and it rained today during the day. Although we can't complain about a few rainy days here and there. Since it has been rainy we were watching t.v yesterday.....Jamie Oliver's meals in minutes. I love that guy. He makes me want to channel my inner chef. lol So last night I made one of his desserts. Roasted stone fruit (plums and nectarines) with vanilla icecream. It was pretty damn tasty. Next I need to get some fresh prawns and fish from the market and make a seafood bake. For today though we won't be eating too much after our big late lunch. Maybe tomorrow for a special dinner since it is my mom's birthday.

This week we went and picked up some more furniture....a couple of end tables and we also starting looking at replacing our couches in the tv room. The couches in here are not too comfy and are not very pretty either. But it is something for now. We found a place called Furniture for less" where we bought a cabinet for the hallway and they will custom make a couch for you in your choice of fabric, style, density of foam, and you can even choose the type of feet you want on it...all for the listed price. a 3 seater sofa costs about $800 canadian dollars but it is custom. If you want a deeper seat or you want it longer they will do it. They are very accomodating and everywhere has free delivery.

We painted some colour samples on the walls outside and we have a winner - a mustard colour that Shelley calls Gray Poupon (NOT French's) LOL. We will paint the house itself Terracotta. There aren't a whole lot of walls on the house, as it is mostly floor to ceiling windows. Tomorrow Trev and I will go and get a big bucket and get started on the wall.. We have planted some planters along the veranda and a few new cactus out in front of the wall by the gates. Other than that, we have not done too much (except eat, swim, nap etc.)

This week we are getting some people in for quotes on the work to be done on the casita. It will be nice if we can get in there in a month or so but I really have no idea how long the work may take. Really for us to be able to move in we only need to tile the floor and change the window to double doors and then add a door to the hallway that leads to our washroom. The rest can be done while we are in there.

On Wednesday the PanAm torch is going to be here in town. My mom has a meeting in Ajijic with Focus Group on future retirement living, so Trev and I as well as my Dad will go into town and watch it. I would love to hold it if they allow that. Then I can add that pic to my pic of me holding the olympic torch. Dare to dream huh.

Tuesday 4 October 2011

Update......

Angel (my parents cat) has just come trotting up to us on the veranda with something hanging out of her mouth. It is a lizard....just a little guy, maybe 3 inch long tail and all. It was alive and she really wanted to play with it. I took it away from her so she would not eat the poor thing. Yesterday I saved a butterfly from the pool and then for about 20 minutes it would not get off me. I tried to put it on a flower and leaves but it was just interested in walking up my one arm and when it got to the top I put my other hand there and then it would walk up my other arm. Lizards and butterflies I can do, spiders and scorpions I am working on. There were 3 dead scorpions in the pool this morning and 1 GIANT spider. Thank god for creepy crawlers!!

Joan here - what Shelley hasn't mentioned was the 4 inch moth that kept dive bombing us on our patio the other night. My GOD do things grow big here.

October 4th. Just another day in paradise

Posted by Shelley: This morning Trev and I went and got pedicures. 1 hour each for 130 pesos....that is less than $13 Canadian dollars. It was great and for that price you can't go wrong. My parents stayed at home since on Tuesdays the maid (Maria) and the gardener/pool guy (Jose) come in the morning.
After our pedicures we grabbed some fresh rasberries and blackberries and headed toward Jocotepec for some lunch somewhere new. There is a row of restaurants right along the lake and the waiters stand out in the middle of the street and try to flag you in to have a meal. It is always dead during the week. We chose to eat at La Bamboo. We were the only ones there, so we had our pick of seats right on the water. It is 29 degrees C. and there was a great breeze coming off the lake. It really does not get much better then this....it is Tuesday and we are enjoying pedicures and lunch on the lake in October.
Now I am sitting here on the veranda poolside back home and drinking a nice cold Sol lime and then I will take a dip in the pool which is now up and running.

But it's not all fun and games......we are going to be painting the house and wall around the house soon and yesterday we went and got some samples cans for the wall colour. So I need to paint some sample squares around the place so we can make sure we like the colour. We are going with a terra cotta colour on the house and a mustard colour on the wall.....grey poupon not french's.

Other then that we will not be doing much else today. Tacos for dinner and then cards and drinks on the veranda again.

Tomorrow is more running around and the Tiangis (street market) in Ajijic. After that...who knows - another new restaurant for lunch and more shopping. We have the shopping thing down pat. We bought some new furniture - an armoire for the casita and a new tv stand for the tv room. It's just temporary as we are having a much larger piece custom made to the exact size we need - and only $1,000 US - not bad at all.

Sunday 2 October 2011

PV here we come

Trev and I are booking a trip tomorrow to go to Puerto Vallarta for 5 days and 4 nights from November 21st to the 25th. It is an all inclusive trip. The luxury coach picks us up in Ajijic and takes us there and back (but from PV we will be flying back to Canada for Trev's brothers wedding. The trip includes all food and drinks, free room service, free mini bar in your room, all activities at the hotel right on the ocean daily entertainment and all taxes and tips. We checked out the hotel Buenaventura Grand Hotel and Spa http://www.hotelbuenaventura.com.mx/ and it looks pretty nice. We are really excited for that....no so much for the going to Canada in November/ December but it will be great to see all our family and friends while we are there The trip cost 3950 pesos....so that is $297 and change Canadian. Not too shabby.

So hey....if anyone is looking to take a trip maybe you can come to PV and meet up with us.

October 2

Shelley here......well a while has past and I am really bad at updating this daily. Just so much to do during the day.....well......not really but it is suprising how time flies when your not doing too much. it also doesn't help that I usually sleep til 9:30 or so then have to do the breakfast and get ready so by the time you get out the house to go and do whatever it is already around 12 or 1.

We are slowly getting settled in the house but in the lst day we have had 2 not so pleasant things happen. We have found ticks on Flash GROSS!!!!!! and we have a leak somewhere in our pool. We think we have figured out where it is and it seems to be on the small jacuzzi section so hopefully Trevor can get it fixed up the tiles were lifting off one of the seats so we will need to fix the leak and then tile that spot again. Luckily there is lots of extra pool tiles in the bodega ( storage shed). With flash we discovered yesterday 3 big female ticks on him and 1 male. If you don't know what they look like google it. They are really gross and the females are huge as they grab hold and suck the dogs blood. We gave him a good bath and have been checking him since it will take up to 24 to 48 hours for any others to drop off if there are any more.

Other then that all is well here. We went to an open jam night at a place called El Bar Co. in Ajijic last week and it was great. We met up with our new friend Summer who is from Washington state and now living in Ajijic. There was a wide reange of people from 25 to 85 and everyone was having a good time dancing and drinking. The next day we bumped into the bass player from the night before and had lunch together at Wing's Army. He is from California and has been here over 3 years now but has also lived in other parts of Mexico before finding Lake Chapala.  It is great just walking down the street and actually bumping into people we know and everyone here is so friendly.

This week we also ventured to Guadalajara to go to Costco. We took the long way around thry Jocotapec and it took about 1 1/2 hours to get there but it is right off the highway so really easy to get to really but drivers here are loco and there are no road rules so you have to be careful. If you get in an accident here and anyone gets hurt EVERYONE goes to jail and they figure it out after the fact. But I am not in a rush so if someone wants to pass, I move over and let them. It is not worth the headache.

On Friday night Trev and I were going to go see the Tall boys play at the Beer Gardens in Chapala but when we got down town there was a huge festival going on. Each village has it's own saint and this weekend was the party to worship their saint. So while we are sitting in the beer gardens waiting for the band to start a big band comes on right outside and there was no way we would be able to here the band in the bar since it is all open to the outside. So we figured we would just go outside and enjoy the free festival and entertainment. There was a big band playing on a stage by the pier, fireworks and rides.
Right outside the church there was a big structure all wired with fireworks. I guy would light a section off his cigarette and it would spin around sending ambers into the crowd and when a big buring piece would fall off the kids would run up to grab it and then play with it....like poke it with sticks and stuff. No such thing as helath and safety here folks. Trev and I were about 30 feet away from it and you could taste the grit in your mouth from it and we both had ash on our shirts. Then every once and a while a big firework would go off above us. The grand finally if this fireworks extravaganza was that these wheels start spinningo on the top and then brake free, and like a frisbee they fly over the crowd.....and then fall INTO the crowd. They loved it kids run to try to be there when it lands and then the church bells start to ring and the party os over :(

We are finally done with that dumpy rental!!! We went and cleaned it up and then turned in the key. I am happy to never have to step foot in that place again.
Now this weekend all I really wanted to do is sit around in the sun, swim and relax and we were doing pretty well til the pool level dropped 2 feet over night pretty much. But hey..........can we really complain?! I mean we still have it pretty good so I try not to complain or worry about it too much. It will get fixed..and we still have the big pool so all is not lost. lol

Thursday 22 September 2011

Sept 22nd

Well it has been a busy few days and none of us have updated the blog so this will cover what's we've been up to.
The last few days have been busy getting ready for our move. We have been counting the days to get into our new house since our rental leaves alot to be desired. I can't tell you how sick I am of killing tiny little ants by the hundreds in the kitchen and in the bathroom.....i mean what do ants want in a bathroom anyway?!? We came to the realization that we are out numbered and will not win so they can have the house. We give up. lol But on a side note Fabreeze is a great ant killer in a pinch.

Other then killing ants we do the same daily stuff these last few days......go for walks or read, watch movies and sample great food from the MANY MANY local restaurants. Trev and I have been taking Flash for walks along the malacon (boardwalk) at night and the other night there were some people setting off some left over balloons from the globos festival. The first one looked like the space shuttle and got really high before bursting into flames. The next one was huge and very fancy but met it's maker within minutes of leaving the ground. It hit a palm tree, caught fire and fell in the lake. It was amazing to see them doing it right there in the middle of the malacon....right beside the basketball court......they were blowing up the balloons with what looked like a flame thrower on the end of a propane tank. There were kids playing basketball and bikes and skateboards everywhere.....the police were also there just watching along with the rest of us.

I have also started feeding Vino Blanco....he is a white donkey who at night is always on the beach by the malacon. He belongs to Pedro......Pedro is an ex lawyer from Canada who has lived here for many years....no one really knows what his real name is but anyway.....when we passed vino blanco the first night I went to let him sniff my hand before I pet him...like you do with a dog. Well I guess he thought I had food for him because he just started chewing on my hand. Let me tell you....although his teeth are dull he has got a big bite on him! So I started taking him carrots. So we walk Flash and usually end up sitting at the bar at the beginning of the malacon and have some beer and margaritas and we feed the donkey. I now have the inside scoop that Vino Blanco likes marshmellows so we picked some up the other day and see what he thinks. I wonder if my parents will notice if I brought a donkey home??? I could just tie him up across the street and tell him he must belong to some farmer but that I just like to feed him. There are always cows and horses grazing across the street from our new house.....why not a donkey. I would name him Paco!

On Tuesday we came to the new house and did our walk thru and met the gardener (Jose) who comes every Tuesday and the maid (Maria) who comes every Tuesday and Friday. Seems so weird to say that.....gardener and maid, but I gotta say I am glad to not have to mop a floor again!!

Wednesday Sept 21. Today is not just moving day....it is my parents wedding anniversary AND it is also Martha and Randy's (the people we are buying the house from) anniversary also, what are the chances. we go to the notario (notary) for 2:00 to sign the papers and get the keys to the house......and when I say keys I mean you need a janaitor's key ring to hold all these keys. Each door has it's own key....inside and out. There are probably around 20 keys or more. It will take some time before we don't have to look at the list to confirm which key goes where.
After the transfer is all done we start taking stuff to the house, cleaning and unpacking.

After our dinner (tomato soup). The the doorbell rang and it was Jenny from the real estate office. She and her husband had taken one of Martha and Randy's dogs (Bear) a really beautiful german sheppard. She thought the previous owners may still be here and could take Bear back. But Bear did not care who was here.....he was coming in like it or not. Bear is also very fast.......I spent a while chasing him around the yard trying to catch his leash. Randy and Martha were actually just coming down the street as they are staying at a friends house around the corner until they head back to the states. Luckily it all seems to be sorted. Today my dad the big softy said he would like to have Bear and suprisingly my mom said the same. It was Trev and I that actually said no......well Trev because I would take him also. The last 2 to 3 years we have been saying NO MORE PETS and it took all of 1 day to change. Man are we soft!
Later that night Thomas and his wife Eleanna and their 3 kids came over for a visit and a drink. ON Friday Eleana is taking me shopping to show me all the good spots to get meat, baked goods and so on so I am really looking forward to that.....it can be hard to find a good place since I am not familiar with Chapala as much as I am with Ajijic.We are actually a bit closer to Chapala than Ajijic, so she will show me around.

It will take some time to get settled.....the casita is not done yet so Trev and I will stay in the spare bedroom but for now we don't have a bed since it will not be delivered until Sat. So Wed. night was stayed at the rental along with my dad who did not feel up to driving back here in the dark. So mom braved the first night solo in the new place. She did not get much sleep as she says this place makes some weird noises at night. I guess I will find out tonight. Trev is staying at the rental since he did not want to sleep on a couch and also wants to get the engine tuned on his bike tonight so he can ride it up here tomorrow, but I was not goign to sleep in Ant city one more night so the couch is looking pretty good to me.

Today was more cleaning, moving stuff to the house, but today we sat in the pool for a bit and enjoyed a drink in the yard. The cat and the dog think they have gone to heaven I am sure. One of the patio screens has a doggy door in it so they can come and go in and out as they please and the yard is huge with lots for them to explore. And they have both really gotten the hang of coming in and out on their own. who needs humans eh?!?! except to feed them of course.

Friday 16 September 2011

Sept 15th. Time to Relax

Today Trev and I went to the Hotel Villa Bordeaux to spend the day at the thermal pools.
here is a link http://hotelspacosala.com/portal2/ . It was great. it cost $220 pesos, so just under $22 for the whole day. you can take in your own food and drink but there is a great restaurant there also. They have a jacuzzie and infinity pool both filled with thermal water heated from volcanic magma. although they do cool the pool it is still pretty warm. They also have a great steam room, and tons of loungers and seating to laze around all day. All this is in the adult only section for ages 18 and up. But there is another section just thru some gates that you also have access to for this price and this is for all ages. It has waterslides, a big pool, lazy river and maybe more but for today we stayed in the spa area.
It was sooooooo nice. we just moved form the jacuzzi to the pool and back, then sat around and had a drink and some lunch. After lunch I went in the steam room and then back to the pool while Trev had a long nap in the patio chair under the umbrella. It was really nice just floating in the pool looking out over the lake to the mountains on the other side and thinking to myself..we actually live here. we are VERY lucky!!
The spa also offers other services like massage, pedi and manicures and so on for an additional cost.

After leaving the spa we had to make a trip to walmart to pick up a few things. The walmart here is not anything like walmarts in canada or the u.s. which we avoided like the plague. They are alot smaller (more like a large zellers and sell mostly things made in Mexico only.
Once we got home it was time for a another nap while dinner was cooking.

It is a good thing we had all that rest during the day because tonight at 11:00 in the square is the beginning of the Independence day celebration. The square is filled with food and drink stands and  and stands selling Mexican flags, clappers and confettie eggs and it was packed with adults and kids of all ages everywhere. There is music and at 11:00 they do a re-enactment of the speech given 201 years ago when Mexico gained its independence from Spain.
On the stage they sing the national anthem and repeat the speech and everyone in the crowd chants "VIVA" about 10 times and them lots of cheers and fireworks. And I mean fireworks right there on the stage.....not on a barge or 500 yards away from the crowd. They go off right above us and you have to watch for falling ambers because they are coming down everywhere. Also on the gazebo in the center of the square that is covered with kids some fireworks go off there also. Here they are not so much into regulations and stuff like that but it goes off without a hitch, no one gets hurt and everyone has a great time.

Then home to bed. Tomorrow there is a small perade at 10:00.......me thinks we will not make it!

Wednesday 14 September 2011

Sept 14th Market day in Ajijic

Wednesday is market day in Ajijic, so we headed up there around 10:00 or so. My dad and I set off ahead of Trev because he was busy farting around with his new bike. He has got it running so was driving around in circles in the parking area behind the real estate office across the street from us. He finally shows up but only after we bumped into Anna, a friend we had made last year while we were here on our focus on Mexico trip. My moms' hip was bothering her so she opted to stay at homes since walking on those cobbles can be challenging for somone in the best of health. so we got all our fruit and vegetables(cauliflower, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, grapes, strawberries, blackberries, plums, pears, and 2 cups of pomogranite seeds, plus some french bread and home made banana bread all for under $20. Not too shabby.

Then back to the house, dad and Trev picked up the van from around the corner and I treated the fruit and veggies before putting them away. It is a good idea to treat ALL your fruit and veg with iodine in water.

Then it was off to lunch at La Bodega - just 2 blocks down - there was some live entertainment, 2 gringos singing tunes from the 50's and 60's (sort of country). The food was great also.

Once we got back home we finally got around to mopping the floors....man that is tough work. Luckily we have a maid in the new house so my mopping days are numbered, which is a good thing. I needed a nap afterwards and by the time I got up it was 7:30 already. the days really do get away from you here.

Now it is 9:00 and we are having hot dogs for dinner.....how mexican is THAT!?!?! :)

Tuesday 13 September 2011

September 13 - Good News

Yesterday we met with the Notatio in Chapala to ask a few questions and Thomas, our real estate agent, asked him if there was any chance of us closing earlier than the 26th as both the sellers and the buyers (us) were both willing. Well he checked his calendar and guess what - looks like we can close on September 21 - 5 days earlier!!!!!!!! We are fast outgrowing this rental house. Each time we go out one of us buys something new "for the new house" - yesterday it was towels, the day before my statue, etc etc. We've seen so much stuff we want but most of it is bigger and it's nuts to buy it now, store it when we don't have the space and then have to haul it to the new house.

Today we went to lunch and met a guy from Sudbury (via Barrie and Tampa Florida) - he was very interesting and we had a long chat with him and his wife over lunch. Then we had to go get a new tire for the van (current one is leaking at an alarming rate) and afterwards we took a drive out to the house to take more pictures and talk about paint colours, landscaping etc. So many ideas floating around.

We came home with the intention of doing some cleaning, but Trev and Colin were talking bike/gasoline/engine stuff and Shelley and I were on the computers so, you guessed it, never quite got around to the cleaning thing. Oh well, manana (we're Mexican now, right!)

Monday 12 September 2011

September 11 - Holiday weekend over

Well we survived part of our first Mexican holiday weekend - and it wasn't too bad at all. Mexican independence day is coming up but the celebrations starts the weekend before the actual day. We'd  been prepared for a lot more noise with fireworks etc - but there weren't too many at all and what there was didn't bother us. Lots of people around decked out in red, green and white, flags everywhere - on cars etc - and you can hear shouts of excitement from heaven knows what. We aren't far from the village square and there's always stuff going on there and then there was a parade through the village - passed us one street up - horses etc., The young girls on the horses in their beautiful dresses look wonderful and they are very accomplished in riding the horses side-saddle.

The kids went to the rodeo but weren't into the cattle roping or horse roping though - but they did enjoy the dancing horses. Their favourite was definitely the balloons. Now they want to make one themselves for next year - we just have to find out how exactly to make them. Some of the designs are really exquisite and some of the balloons are HUGE -anthing from 2 feet to 15 ft across.

We went for more groceries today and a mop  and bucket so we can give this place a good clean. We opted out of maid service for the rental - big mistake - too late now though. This place is all white tiles and with 2 animals that both shed and one with big feet - the floor is in dire need of a good clean which is on tomorrow's agenda.

Also checked out the price of beds - which compares very well with Canada - you can get a good bed for around $700 but for top of the line it is more around $1000 or a bit more, brand name, king size with memory foam - not bad.  with beds you get what you pay for i think so better to spend your money on a good mattress. it is worth it. The kids need one as soon as we move into the house.

Going to the notario tonight to check on the  best way to deed the house, then it will be supper and another movie. Am soooooo looking forward to getting a tv again.

Sunday 11 September 2011

September 10 - Health & Safety is NOT an option...

Today is the globos festival (balloon festival) - imagine making hot air balloons out of tissue paper - all shapes and sizes (some huge) then soak a maxi-pad in kerosene in the bottom, setting that alight (yes guys, fire and paper - a great combination) so it heats up the air and carries the balloon up into the sky - if you're lucky that is - if you're not, the whole thing catches fire and falls back down on whoever happens to be standing there. This happens ALOT and when the reckage falls back onto the soccer pitch all the kids run towards it to stomp out the flames. It is something to see that is for sure. The lady who owns the hotel down the street was telling us that one year they had a balloon and it came down in a farmers corn field and they had to pay for the entire crop since it caught on fire. I guess the lesson learned here is don't put your name on your balloon! Later that night trev and i went to have dinner at la tasca, a nice restaurant on the lake at the end of our street and a balloon came down in the lake. This was hours later.....they just keep sending them up until there are no balloons left. Here is a link from Youtube which captures the admosphere much better than I ever could:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZCIkjXl0VI.

The crowd roars as the balloons head for hydro wires and applaud madly when they miss and soar off into the sky, or over the carretera (the mainhighway through the village)
This event is held every year around Sep. 16 (Independence Day) and is a huge crowd favourite. They have dancers and bands on the field and people selling baloons and cotton candy - quite the festival and very exhilerating.

Its sponsored by the Red Cross - so maybe they're trying to drum up business,, who knows, but everyone sure has a great time. It's held on the soccer field next to the bullring here in town, followed by the horse rodeo tomorrow.

Saturday 10 September 2011

September 9 -

Joan here - not much of anything going on today - waiting for the water guy to come by - we're just about out of bottled water - a necessity in the rental. The kids have to stop by the bank again and take some more paperwork for their bank accounts and at 5pm we're all going next door with a bottle of wine to see Malcom and his lady-friend. Malcolm is the guy who is going to make me a wooden birdhouse - he runs the B & B next door.

The kids had a great time last night out with Thomas and his friends - apparently the bar carries 45 or so of local microbrewery beers - which in guy-speak, is a great reason to go there. I see at least 44 more visits in Trev's future. It's also a grill which sounds interesting - a new place for lunch maybe?

On their way home - it's just a couple of blocks away, there was a small store open and they had some interesting artifacts in so Shelley took a look and saw a plaster madonna (like the ones I like but more rustic and WAY cheaper) so she picked it up for me. What a nice surprise when I got up this morning.

Went next door to Malcolm's last night and we met his friend Patty who has lived here for 5 years now, she just lives across the street and around the corner. Had a lovely night talking and drinking - everyone here is so nice and Malcolm is just hilarious with his corny tricks but he is also smart and very interesting to talk to. He's lived here for 25 years!

Thursday 8 September 2011

September 8 - Another step closer..

Joan here again - Well we got the building inspector's report and as we expected, there was nothing major, just a few minor items, so we signed off on it and Thomas explained the next step which was the wiring of the deposit and the money for the notario plus the money for the furniture. He explained that if we sent the deposit first, and then the balance, we would have to pay two fees for wiring (3 if I sent the furniture money separately), but if we paid everything up front, then we would have only one fee plus - and this is a big plus - if he can move the closing forward, then he will be able to do so because the money is already in the escrow account. So, there is a chance we MAY be able to move into the house even earlier. Apparently the sellers are very amenable and of course, we are too, so we are doing that right now (Colin's on the other computer as we speak).

Also this morning we met with Julie - our contact in Immigration with the Mexican government. We went over what is required to get our FM2 visas (permanent but not the full Immigrado). What we have right now is the FM3 which is the 180 day tourist visa. Shelley and Trevor are going to apply first as they need to have theirs in place before they go back to Canada in December for Trevor's brother's wedding, otherwise the airport in Detroit will make them purchase a return ticket (their policy for some crazy reason). Julie was amazed when we told her this, but she has heard of it before, but not many airports/airlines do it now. Trust us to find one that does!

We met Julie in the Hotel Real de Chapala (where we stayed last year) - it was like going home. Whenever she has to come to Ajijic to do business (her office is in Guadalajara) she does it from the dining room at the hotel - everything is so relaxed here. Anyway, once we officially sign on as her clients (as in pay her fee which is $500 US for the visas per person, and then each year it is $150 and its like having a lawyer on retainer - we get to access her and her staff 24-7 forever and for everything, not just  visa issues - anything remotely official, which is awesome. She knows how to 'get things done' which are not necessarily the 'official' way. Another one of the Focus contacts paying off.

Shelley and Trevor have gone up to the  bank to open up their Mexican accounts so they can start transferring money here rather than using the ATM and paying fees every time. Plus you have to show that you have a certain amount of dollars coming into your account each month to qualify for the visa - and get this, it doesn't matter where it comes from, so even though it is already their own money in Canada, coming down into a Mexican account, all they have to do is show 2 months of  bank statements showing the appropriate amount dollars deposited per month. But Julie said after looking at their bank statements from Canada, that what they already had enough deposited in Canada to qualify for the past few months so they are going to start their visa process in the next couple of days - even though Trevor was on EI for the past 6 months. Anyway, onwards and upwards.\

Colin and I came home after seeing Julie to have some lunch while the kids went to the bank and they're going out tonight with Thomas and his wife and some of their young friends - they meet once a week at a  local bar to drink and chat - just the young 'uns - us old fogies get to stay home and dog-sit - lucky us! Will probably watch a movie - last night we watched Buried with Ryan Reynolds - which was very good considering he's the only one in it and 75% of the movie you only have the light from a lighter, cellphone or glow stick. It kept you right on the edge of your seat for sure. Anyway, Shelley and I really enjoyed it but Colin fell asleep, which is par for the course for most of the movies we watch.

Anyway, gotta run and help Colin with the wiring instructions - will return tomorrow with another episode.

Wednesday 7 September 2011

September 7 - The noisiest cricket in Mexico

Joan  here - yes, the noisiest cricket  in Mexico lives in our front yard. It's UNBELIEVABLEY loud and every  - night, as soon as it gets dark - off it goes. It took us a while to figure out what the noise was. Hard to believe that something that small could make such a BIG noise and it drowns out the computer if we're watching a movie.

We had a very lazy day yesterday - sat around each doing our own thing - Colin playing computer games, me reading, Trev tinkering with his bike, installing a motor on it and Shelley has discovered MahJong and has become obsessed and has claimed my computer as her own. It's becoming battle if I want to check my emails or update the blog and she's in the middle of a game. But as always folks, seniority wins.

We did sit up on the upstairs patio for a while with our drinks and Shelley ventured up to the mirador to take some photos of the lake and the mountains and rooftops around the village - it's a whole other world up there. We have GOT to figure out how to get our pics on line here.

Today so far just a lazy day but now going to head to the market for some fresh fruits and veggies.

Monday 5 September 2011

September 6 - And now we wait...

Joan here - again... Shelley seems to be avoiding the blog lately so I will bring you up to date on yesterday's escapades. Well, the inspection yesterday went very well and now we wait for the report and hope there's nothing too detrimental. The Inspector told Colin that everything was basically ok which is good. I also negotiated with the owners for the contents and got everything in the house and cassita, including their uneaten food and spices in the kitchen for $6,600 US which is a good deal. It includes a 42" Sony flat screen tv and a king size bed with a handpainted metal frame (like a 4-poster with a headboard and footboard also. The list of 'stuff' is awesome and I'm very pleased and it saves us having to run around trying to furnish that big house, especially when we don't know where to get anything. I will sell the things I don't want and when I replace the living room set(s) - there are actually 3 of them - all with couch, loveseat and armchair, 2 large recliners, 6 (at least) end tables, and my favourite, the 8 piece handcarved dining room set. All the gardeners tools are included too which is a gas lawnmower, chainsaw etc. etc. etc. We certainly got a good deal anyway. They also tried to throw in one of their dogs but we've already gone one thanks very much. Nice try guys.

By the time we got home after our obligatory daily stopoff at Walmart - yes again - it was after 8:30 pm and we hadn't had dinner yet. Made an interesting dinner for me - cauliflower and mashed potatoes and everyone else had left-over pizza, then read til bedtime.

September 5 - Inspection Day

Joan here - Happy Labour Day Canada! - It's just a regular day here though - market day in Chapala and 'Inspection Day' at 'the house'. Can't wait til 4pm for the inspection then approx 24-48 hours to receive the report. Once we accept the report then we hand over the deposit and the house is indeed officialy ours. A little different than back home - as are most procedures here we're finding. Still, if we take them one at a time they don't become overwhelming. We have our appointment with the Notario on Wednesday to sign all the papers, assuming all goes according to plan of course.

Just a note of interest - my Vertigo, which had reappeared my first day back in Mexico, has cleared up thank goodness. Last year it appeared also on my first day in Mexico. Every time I lay down the room would spin violently for a minute or so and sometimes even when walking, I became lightheaded and dizzy. This lasted for almost 10 months so was not happy at all at its reappearance. I had thought it was because of the flight and that was why I didn't want to fly down this time, but now I'm thinking it's just the altitude itself - we're 5,000 ft. up in the mountains here in the village. Anyway, the other day when I was sick and taking all kinds of meds to fight off whatever was the problem - the Vertigo just stopped. I was wary for a couple of days, but it hasn't reappeared so I'm assuming it's gone and all is well now.

Had another violent thunder storm last night while watching Rise of the Planet of the Apes online - the storm was so loud we couldn't hear the movie half the time. The rainy season ends around the end of September and the next 'season' is winter which is approx December 15 to January 15 - that's when we may have to wear a light jacket. Yes folks, read it and weep - a light jacket in winter!!!  Beats the heck out of coats, boots, scarves, hats, mitts and you're STILL freezing. Another great thing here is the price of gas - we've only put gas in the van once since we got here and that was only $20 (200 pesos). Nobody 'fills up' in Mexico, you just tell him how much in pesos. Not sure how much a litre/gallon it is, but will check it out when we go to the house this afternoon. While Colin and Trevor are following the inspector around, Shelley and I will be negotiating with the seller for the furniture and contents.

Trevor has ordered a motor for his  bicycle so he can motorize it and get around easier (and faster) than walking - although he and Shelley often walk around the village in the afternoon or evening. Last night their walk produced Domino's Pizza and wings for supper - a nice surprise! It will be great to get in our own kitchen with decent appliances. The stove in the rental (and the hot water heater for that matter) both have minds of their own. It took us a few days just to figure out how the oven worked (you have to light the pilot light every time you want to use it) and it takes forever to cook things at a high heat and the pilot light in the water heater upstairs in the laundry room keeps blowing out everytime you open the door to the upstairs patio! Gets quite frustrating at times, especially when you're downstairs trying to run hot water for a shower. Still, one of those Mexican idiosyncrosies (excuse spelling guys).

We now need to figure out where Home Depot and Costco are in Guadalajara - our next main port of call. One of the things I find hardest right now is not knowing WHERE to get the stuff I want - like new curtains and curtain rods for the house - normally I would go to Sears but here..... haven't got a clue so far. I will have to contact Paulette (one of the Focus gang who is also an interior decorator - she is the 'go-to' expert apparently for all household type stuff.

Saturday 3 September 2011

Day 13 - And the shopping continues

It's Saturday and Shelley and Trevor went out for a walk around the village - and came back with a beautiful metal statue of a two-spired church. It's a sort of darker mustard colour and beautifully detailed. It only cost 300 pesos (approx. $27 Canadian). Here artisans travel a route across the country which takes them right through Ajijic and they sell their handmade pieces to the local gallerias - some of the galleries are quite expensive, especially the ones owned by the Americans, but the one they found today was very reasonable.

Shelley mentioned they had one of the madonna statues in that I loved so she's gone back to get one for me.
After all, there are a ton of smaller niches in my new master bedroom which need some interesting things in them (LOL), plus I'm doing my bit for the local economy. Right! That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Will go out myself tomorrow to see what else I can find.

We also want to buy a new stove - the one in the house is ok but it's older. We saw a lovely one in WalMart yesterday which was only lovely, gas, full size, black - around $450 approx. While we were in WalMart we bumped into Ray - who owns the Focus on Mexico program that I took last year. He's just got back from Nova Scotia so we had a nice chat it's so nice to be able to go out and bump into people we already know even though the kids and I have only been in the country a week and 3 days. Not bad eh.

We're also thinking of replacing the washer/dryer with a stackable. The washer is fairly new but the dryer is a bit older, plus it will make more space in the laundry room which is also the bathroom for the cassita. The kids want to remodel that a bit also and put in a bidet.

Colin has spent the past hour cleaning the upstairs patio - there is a ton of bouganvilla growing over the wall from Malcom's place next door and it drops like crazy on the skylight in our bathroom. He's getting a bit bored not being able to potter around and is anxious to get in the house and has a ton of plans of his own. He wants to buy a pressure washer and give the place a good clean outside - it's understandable in this weather, the constant heat and now with this being the rainy season and dirt splashing up the walls from the ground, everything needs a bit of a clean. That's Colin anyway - constant motion, always doing something. He doesn't like to just sit around, unless he's doing his crosswords or playing chess on the computer.

Trevor is the same, starting to be at a bit of a loosend, not having his old car to work on or renovations on his house - he's even started to read some of my books. At the restaurant yesterday I exchanged a couple of my books that I had read - most of the restaurants here have book exchanges which is a great idea. Nobody likes to hang on to paperbacks so when you've finished with yours, you go to a restaurant and get some new ones. At the Cafe Magana, he has them all categorized, which is awesome - so easy to find. I found a Margret Yorke that I hadn't read and a James Patterson that I haven't read also.

Think we may go to La Tasca tonight for dinner - they have great food AND entertainment. Last year we went there and the owner plays the guitar and sings - he's great, plus the Tall Boys also play there and they had a flamenco dancer who does his thing with ropes and lights etc, It's awesome and a great show. You can sit either inside or on the gardens - it's also right on the lake and across the street from La Nueva Posada, 2 doors down from our rental and on the other side of the street.

We are just not used to having so much so close by - its a great advantage of living in the village but I'm still looking forward to the quiet of Chapala Haciendas - no sound but the birds (and the cows grazing across the street of course) - it sure is a different way of live and we're loving it!

Day 12 - We bought the house!

We've had our offer accepted on the house in Chapala Haciendas - subject to inspection of course. The asking price was $195,000 US and after their counter and our counter/counter, we've agreed on $185 and we're all happy. Colin and Trevor are going along on Monday to shadow the inspector and ask him questions and Shelley and I are going to negotiate with Martha (the seller) on the furniture. We certainly don't want all of it, but there are some fabulous pieces we certainly do want, a very Mexican wood and iron couch, loveseat and armchair and a hand-carved 8-piece dining set, a huge wooden carved table which I want for my desk and some odd cabinets, tables, coffee table etc, which are gorgeous plus we would like all their patio pieces - there's a white wrought iron set out by the pool, a couch and 2 chairs in iron and leather and a handmade round table and 4 leather chairs on the side patio which are awesome too. We will see what prices she has in mind. We went out yesterday to some bazars to check out prices and see what's out there and what is a fair price, then went for lunch at Cafe Magana on the carretara.

Great lunch - fish and chips for Colin, hamburger and fries for Shelley, spaghetti with sausage for Trevor and meatloaf and mashed potatoes and peas for me (I've been craving comfort food for a few days now - it was all great. Jeffery is the owner, originally from Liverpool/Manchester and is quite the character. He is a soccer fan also so Colin has found a friend .He has invited Colin to the restaurant to watch soccer in the afternoons and even offered to tape any special games that he can't get out to. People here just go out of their way to be helpful.

On our way back home after that we stopped off at the Antique store where Shelley and Trevor had seen this gigantic copper sun which they want to put on the wall in the garden so it can patina in the weather. It's about 3.5 ft. across. It's beautiful

The shopping has begun!

Day 11 - Second Visit

Joan here - We have all agreed that the house in Chapala Haciendas is "the one" but want to go back for a second visit. The first time you see with your heart, not your head. Thomas came by about 11 and off we went. We took more photos and measurements and all agree - this is it. There isn't much NEEDS doing to it, but of course, knowing us, there will always be stuff we WANT to do. First thing is paint! But it definitely is the one for us. We tell Thomas we will go for lunch and strategize and call him later.

We went into Chapala for a fabulous lunch of Beef, chicken, shrimp and cheese in a burning hot lava  bowl, then walked tShe market for a while and when we got home we called Thomas and told him we'd made our decision. He came around about a half hour later with the offer and he has now gone off to present it. We will have to wait for 24 hours to see what happens now. We've asked for a Sept.26 closing - the sellers want to get back to the US quick too - their son who is blind, had moved to Mexico but it just didn't work for him so he went back to the States and they need to be with him. The father has already gone  back so we're hoping that the mother wants to get back there soon too!  They are also selling off their furniture separately, so if the house deal goes through, we will start negotiations on the contents. We don't want all of it, but hope to get some, just to get us going. Spent the rest of the evening discussing how we will paint,decorate, renovate etc. The kids want to put in patio doors in the casita. It's also only one room so will check out how much to put on a bedroom. They also need to tile the floor as it's plain concrete right now.

The main house has the local terracotta tiles. It also has a fireplace in the living room and huge floor to ceiling windows everywhere, overlooking both the parking/front patio area plus the gardens and pool on the other side. We have all kinds of plans and are getting excited.
Having supper of leftovers - we're accumulating a lot - zucchini from the La Nueva Posada, Pad Thai and an assortment of dishes from Simply Thai (last night) and my shrimp and rice and salad from lunchtime today.The meals here are HUGE - could easily feed two.  Guess its' another dvd and bed again while we wait for a phone call from Thomas.

Day10 - more houses

They are all starting to run together. The purple house from yesterday is still no.1 til we get to Chapala Haciendas. A community closer to Chapapa than Ajijic and we find a house that seems to be overtaking the purple house as the no.1 choice. It has a casita, a solar-heated inground pool and its' on a double lot with lots of gardens and fruit trees, pomegranite, bananas, mangos, avocado, limes and sweet lemons. The main house has 2 bedrooms and a big living/dining room with open kitchen and laundry room and huge parking spaces. Most of the houses we saw wouldn't accommodate the van - including the purple house. We would have to extend the gates out another foot into the street to get them closed with the van inside. Will go home and discuss everything we've seen in the past two days.
Supper, another dvd and bed.

Day 9 - Househunting at last!

Have seen a whole bunch of houses - some just need too much work , some are too small and won't work for us, but one really stands out - in Riberas Del Pilar - a small community close to Ajijic (just minutes away). It's on the south side of the careterra and we would prefer the north side (quieter and a better view of the lake) but the house is move-in ready, gorgeous inside with a small inground pool. It doesn't have a separate casita but the rooms are set out so that Trevor and I could live upstairs and my mom and dad downstairs. This one is at the top of our list so far. It's a bit smaller than we would have liked, but so beautiful and immaculate we've all fallen in love with it.

Day 8 - Does this sunshine ever end?

Not really! Rain during the night, but the days are gorgeous. Nothing much to report today - trying to tidy the house and find stuff in boxes. Preparing to go on our first househunting trip tomorrow with Thomas. Each day ends with a dvd and bed.

Day 7 - Another sunny day in Paradise!

After breakfast we head out for a drive around the area to refresh our memory from last year. We had lunch at The Garden Inn here in the village - a gorgeous lush garden with tables set among the plants and chickens and peacocks running around. It's gorgeous - had a great lunch. Checked out one of the many galleries in the village and found some amazing Day of the Dead dolls and other local craft type stuff. Can't wait to start buying stuff to decorate our new place, once we have one. Another trip to WalMart for supplies and then we dropped some sheets off to mom's friend Pat who lives in the village We brought them down from Canada as Pat says she couldn't get anything as nice locally, then off home for another dvd and bed.

Pat's not feeling well so we arrange to get together later, and head back to the rental for dinner, a dvd and bed. Life WILL get more interesting once we get settled.

Day 6 - our new life begins

Well, we all had a good nights sleep and the sun is shining. The rental isn't ideal, it's quite small and my mom's bathroom is tiny but it's not for long. After breakfast, we wait for Thomas, our real estate agent, who is coming over for a chat and to plan our house-hunting strategy. We try to organize our stuff, which we had to unpack from the van and bring into this small rental with hardly any storage. A quick trip to WalMart for supplies (yes folks, even in Mexico there is a WalMart - sad eh). Our next door neighbour Malcolm invites my mom and dad in for a glass of wine. He is quite the character, about 80 years old and teaches ESP. Mom explains how we had to leave a lot of stuff behind, including her old wooden birdcage and turns out Malcolm is a woodcarver. He says to get a photo and the dimensions, and he will make her one. She's over the moon.

By this time Trev and I have a case of Montezuma's Revenge (I'm sure everyone knows what that is). We suspect the salad at dinner last night at the motel up in the mountains had been washed in local water, and boy are we suffering.

There is no tv in the rental house, turns out the owners are blind so it sorts of makes sense I guess, but it gets a bit boring by the evening, so we watch a dvd on the computer before its off to bed.

Saturday 27 August 2011

Day 5....are we there yet????

Up nice and early and on the road again. What can I say. I probably would not recommend this drive for a fun family vacation. There is not a lot to see or do along the way. If we drive again, this is not the route we will take. We get to Guadalajara around 3:30.....now it is looking a lot nicer.....green grass and palm trees. That's more like it. We are not far away now......only 40 minutes or so. It is nice to recognize things along the road. The drivers are still crazy but I am starting to get used to it now and just decide to go with the flow. There don't seem to be any sort of road rules so anything goes. After a short time we come over the final hill and there it is.....Lake Chapala. We made it we find the rental and wait for my dad to answer.....he has been here on his own since August 1st since he decided to fly with their cat Angel (smart guy). The rental house is surrounded by a 15 foot wall with 2 big metal doors in the parking area. He opens the gate and we pull in and.......the van does not fit in the parking area.....CRAP. After numerous attempts and angles, still no luck. We park across the street in the hotel parking lot and go for dinner at the hotel, La Nueva Posada, which is only 2 doors away from our rental house - and have a lovely supper on the terrace, by the lake with a Mariachi serranading everyone - this is what it was all about. We met the owner on our way out and had a nice chat - they're from Pickering and have been here 37 years. We explain our parking dilema and ask if it's ok for us to park in their parking lot overnight. She says she will check with her son tomorrow (who actually owns the hotel) but it's fine for tonight. We then talked to another neighbour who told us of a vehicle lockup just a  block away and for only $30 a month, our vehicle will be secure so we go up there and in no time, the van is tucked away for the night and we head off to our first night's sleep in our new temporary home. During the night the heavens opened again and we had an amazing thunder storm with lighting and torrential rain - this is the rainy season after all, but by morning, the sun is out and it's lovely and warm.