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.

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!

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!?!?! :)

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!)

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.

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.

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!