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Now that we have moved here is all the latest news! I have archived the older pieces if you are here for the first time click on Old News The Festival Page will give you pictures of all the village celebrations. Mexico Trips will detail some of our explorations of other parts of this beautiful country.
December 25 Christmas Day- Yes I know it has been forever!! Sometimes things here just get really busy. Let's see what do I have pictures of? In November the weekend after Revolution day we did a car parade with the Guad Classic Car Club. They have clout. We paraded down a CLOSED careterra into San Juan Cosala, looped around the plaza and came back along the highway to an evento across from the lake. Great party there and many gorgeous old restored American cars. Ours were the only English cars in the parade. Team Lallo/Harry drove the Triumph and Team Caldwell/Chris drove the MGB. Then the Triumph went back to Lallo for more work!! We both drive the MGB now because with the cooler weather it is lovely top down driving.
After that we entered the time of constant fiestas! First San Andreas..nine days. Thanksgiving came during that and a group of us all cooked and feasted at a friend's house. Then the festival for the Virgin of Guadalupe. Then Christmas!! We talked about going to the beach, but I wanted to stay home. Did lots of baking and went to a ton of parties. We had our block posada party on Tuesday night. Once again I was the queen of albondigas/meatballs!! Mexicans love Italian food just as much as gringoes. For the past several years I have made a big kettle of meatballs in sauce. They get hoovered up with a slice of bread in a bowl! This year I went up to 6 lbs of meat. There were none left. Everyone contributes to the party. Either money or food or both. There are tamales, possole, and a wonderful hot fruit punch. Plus whatever everyone else brings to eat. We had a trio playing music as well and Harry's pinatas for the kids to close the party. It was as always a wonderful cross culture success. Now for the bad news. Harry had to have surgery AGAIN. This makes 4 on his back. He was having really bad sciatic pain and when he finally went to the Dr. he ordered an MRI. The neurologist read the MRI on Friday and told him to report to the hospital on Monday!! Three bone spurs in his lower back were wrapped around and pinching his spinal cord. They did the surgery and we were home in four days. Total relief for this stuff takes time!! The swelling has to go down. But so far the pain has diminished quite a bit. More bad news. The Guad reporter just reported four murders last week!! One seems to have been a family vendetta thing and the rest sound drug related. Execution style stuff. The crime and burglaries are about the same. Someone WITH A GUN! tried to car jack a gringo sitting in his SUV outside El T. but the gringo blew the horn and fended off a partner trying to enter the car from the passenger side. He was lucky the gang that couldn't shoot straight took off on foot. The Guad Reporter also chronicled the rise in food costs and the price of gasoline... so paradise IS getting more expensive. Home sales seem about the same. There seems to be about the usual number of snowbirds in town. The lake looks good and compared to last year El Nino has been making it a bit colder. LOW 50 at night and maybe 70 by day. Just means unlike the Canadians we wear long pants and a sweater!! The house is wide open by 10 and shut up again by 5. Maybe next month we will go to the beach!! That's all the news from Lake Chapala, where all the women are beautiful, the men are handsome and the dogs are extraordinarily smart! And Harry and Chris are very happy.
September 15th-2009- It has been a disappointing rainy season. Still the lake is up to the malecon wall, both the new and the old one. The mystery tomato plants came through. We have two kinds, Roma pear shape and cherry tomatoes. They are good but since this seems to work I am actually going to look for some seeds of Early Girl and Sweet millions and try again next year. There has been enough rain to trigger bloom on the Laelia orchids, my Oncidium and a couple others. Everything else is happy and looks great. The Independence day celebration went on for a week. The globo regatta was wonderful. Lallo and the crew did an awesome job. It is funny that I just took those pictures and now the terrace and the house floors look entirely different! The Mexican economic downturn hit Lucia's husband. No more work for the contractor where he is a Maestro. So since after eight years the porous saltillo tile all over the property was showing signs of salitre ( mineral salts, destroying the finish cause by moisture below) we decided to have Jose replace ALL the tile. Most of our friends thought we were nuts! This is a dusty, nasty job. All the old tile is chipped and abraded by hand and then down goes a layer of cement and then the new tile. To prevent further salitre all the tile we chose was very hard fired. Outside we chose a three color slate simulation tile and inside a beige travertine. An added benefit is that both tiles have a matte finish and unlike the saltillo are not slippery when wet. We also had a carpenter in to add more cabinets in the pantry/laundry. There was plenty of wall space and I will no longer have "stuff" piled all over the floors under the sink. The tiles are finished and they look great. The carpenter should be done to day with the cabinets and that will be the end of the current phase. ;-)
Jose made a really pretty pattern in the kitchen The terrace and some of the new Talavera pots
The front entrance The rug now in the DR..., newest place for toys and rawhide chews Harry also gave me a surprise birthday trip to the beach. We stayed at the very fancy Wyndham resort on Isla de Navidad. The suite was pretty incredible and the whole facility was very luxe!! But also due to the economy almost empty! A 500 head hotel with maybe thirty guests. If you click here you can see the pictures. Late this month we went to Queretero and then San Miguel to say with friends. Quertero was a lovely city and it is always great to see Rob and Cindy! Harry as always went to Delores Hidalgo for a day and we collected more Talavera pots! Both cities are higher and it was colder. I spent most of the trip with a jacket on. It was good to get home to warmer climes. Crime here continues to be a major problem. It finally happened last week. A gringo homeowner shot a robber in his yard. The thief fled back over the wall and was stupid enough to go to a local clinic seeking treatment!! Both he and the home owner were arrested. The home owner was released but the thief is still in custody. No idea how this will play out. A lot depends on if the home owner was using a licensed gun. And many say he should have waited till the guy got into the house!! Supposedly this was the thief's second attempt at robbing this house. It is to the point that other than us and Marianne everyone I know has been robbed at last once. That's all the news from Lake Chapala, where all the women are beautiful, the men are handsome and the dogs are extraordinarily smart! And Harry and Chris are very happy.
July 8-2009- When we first looked at this house it had only been built about 6 months. My immediate reaction to the back terrace was we needed more flowers. Understandable coming from an acre and a half of over 200 specialty rhododendrons, rare trees and alpine plants and beds full of perennials. The house in NJ had been built and landscaped by a serious plant collector and I was much the same! But gardening here is a whole other ball game. It took me months just to figure out what zone it was here! A local hort person also cautioned me that at 5200 feet a plant I had grown in full sun at sea level would need some daily shade or it would cook!! I still thought I knew it all. :) after all "I have a hort degree" but Mexico and its bugs and plagues taught me to be humble!! Here are old pictures from when we first bought the house.
Those skinny little cypress trees grew to cover the wall. But then started falling/blowing over in the rainy season. They had always had lots of water and a small growing space so they just never bothered to send down roots. Eventually they all got taken out and the beds became Harry's rose gardens, plus whatever perennials I slip in! Daylillies, crocissmia, iris and dahlias. The palm tree you can't see at one end grew huge (if it is happy..everything here does in very short time frames) and began to block the satellite signal from the dish atop the roof of the upstairs BR. Which has yet to be built on these pictures. Since I am not a fan of palm trees anyway it got removed. That bed now has an orange tree and collection of dahlias. This is what the back terrace looks like now. We do NOT lack for flowers anymore! All my cooking herbs Crape Myrtle
the other assistant gardener Harry's rose bed
the mystery tomato plants assistant gardener
This spring my gardening memory was challenged! I am the one who decides what and where I am going to plant something. First in one of the front garden beds an amaryllis appeared. Unlike the short shelf life, potted Christmas plants up north, here they grow in the ground, come back every year and grow larger and larger clumps. I have a bunch but this was NOT where I had planted any of my amaryllis. It grew nicely and had a lovely solid pink flower. I have no idea how it got there and no recollection of buying or planting it! Then over by the guest room terrace Lucia noticed a batch of tomato plants coming up! This was in the middle of my ginger root and lemon grass bed! Most people here give up on trying to grow tomatoes. No matter what you do some virus, wilt, fungus or nematode kills them before they set fruit. I tried all my tricks and then gave up since they never survived for long. Where these came from we have not a clue! The birds might have planted them or they may have been in the potting soil. But as I type they are covered with flowers and baby tomatoes and we are keeping our fingers crossed. The store tomatoes here are nasty, so fresh picked ripe ones IF they survive will be a treat. The rains are loaded with nitrogen and the plants love it. My orchids are looking good and I will have some blooming for Show& Tell at Orchid Club next week. The rains are coming nightly and the lake down by the tennis courts is up over the old wall. So far the new malecon wall at the park is holding it back. Now that the elections are over we can hope someone will come up with the money to finish the park. Because of the flu bugaboo the kids are still in school making up the time. It ends for vacation next week. It is pleasantly cool here now. 80's by day and down to low 70's or high 60's at night. The summer birds from hot Texas and other parts of the south are arriving. I have not heard anymore crime statistics from anyone but as the month progresses and we hit club meetings if more have happened someone will be talking about it. The big fiesta at Lake Chapala Society is scheduled for the end of the month. Marianne and I will be baking for the Red Cross booth. Life goes on ;-) That's all the news from Lake Chapala, where all the women are beautiful, the men are handsome and the dogs are extraordinarily smart! And Harry and Chris are very happy.
June 27th- 2009- Well the crime situation has everyone in an uproar. Causes "they" think seem to be, of course the rise in prices and loss of jobs here, returning Mexicans who can not find work here either, or whatever! There have been many more burglaries, one recently where the man had a gun and when the home owners returned home he threatened them and made them open the safe. In that one the wife managed to get out of the house screaming and the neighbors called the police. The guy then ran off and they got a partial plate # on the car. There was also an attempted kidnapping of a husband and wife in La Floresta but again they managed to get out of the car. There was a big meeting of the expats with the Chapala police hierarchy and a long explanation on how to file a denuncio after a crime. They say they need to have those reports to get funding for more cops. There is also a lakeside crime website for reporting crimes. Other than that not much being done. People need to understand that when they boast about paying $100-$200 in taxes a year that does NOT buy much in the way of police! And the Napoleanic laws and splintered police structure make getting anything done labyrinthian. Just filing that denucio can take half a day assuming you brought an interpreter. Are we scared, well not much. We have three dogs, an alarm system and the panic call is on the car keys so if as the boogers do the usual, someone follows you into the garage, all we need to do is push the button. The police station is five minutes away. The house has all doors and windows secured, we set the alarm when we go out and that is about it. Knock on wood we have been unscathed for seven years so I refuse to worry about it. If it happens it happens as long as they don't hurt the dogs the rest is just stuff. Homes are still selling here albeit slowly. Tom our neighbor sold an over $500,00,000. one last week. Prices on food continue to rise. Harry picked up eggs for me at the abbarote the other day and was shocked to pay 20 pesos a kilo. I told him the other day he was getting no more low fat cottage cheese because it was up to 58 pesos a container! Most everything else has gone up so we just shop more carefully and go to the tianguis on Wednesday. Elections are July 5th so maybe once the new administration gets in they will finish the park. It is still just dirt.... ick now that it is raining at night. This is slow season and blessedly the rains have started and it is now cool. Mid 80's by day and down to low 70's at night. The gardens and flowers love the nitrogen enriched rain. I can take the MG out with the top down to run errands in the AM without cooking myself!! Dida is back to lying out in the sun on the terrace. Even black Cisco is copying her. Crazy dog. We have been up to the states several times in the past few months to see relatives and my sister and Harry's sister and brother in law have been here to visit. The swine flu thing is still nada. We shall see what fall brings. That's all the news from Lake Chapala, where all the women are beautiful, the men are handsome and the dogs are extraordinarily smart! And Harry and Chris are very happy.
May 4th- 2009 -Well by now you are probably almost as sick of swine flu coverage as we are. Yes it has been bad? in Mexico City ..no there have been no cases anywhere here in the state of Jalisco. You still see some people wearing face masks but not many. Until Wednesday school and all public events etc are closed, then we shall see. So far it has been a non-event. The municipal gov went around last week and tried to force all the restaurants to close. Most of them told him to take a hike!! This is a slow time anyway and all these waiters and cooks etc need their jobs!! The disease experts say it may all start up again world wide this fall.....well hopefully by then a vaccine will be part of our annual flu shot! I understand it is a new strain and they all need to have a cow about that but I am tired of e-mailing friends telling them yes we are both fine ;-). The hot season is till going strong. 93 a few days ago at 4 PM . We are lucky that due to the way it is sited and constructed that the house is cool. It is only hot to us if we are out there in the sun. This time of year a mid day siesta around 2PM is almost a must!! My knees are better than usual. They don't mind the heat. Harry and I are still trying to get to water exercise regularly which also helps. Despite the recession houses are still selling here. I think MLS said six last month. Most in the $250,000 price range. Yes costs are still rising. Price for gas for the cars is frozen until next year but groceries, and household gas prices are rising. Don't know about electricity will have to check with Harry. I went up to SC to see Joanne even though she had just been here. It was a kill two birds with one stone thing! My brother Gerry was brining his camper to Myrtle Beach so I could just drive an hour with Joanne and see him too. He managed to get out and head home on schedule but just before the fires there got worse and were nearing the campground. I love being back in the states, just hate that 50 lb. limit on the bags!!! I got a reasonable cost on the flights from Delta and lucked out on the return. On an international flight they don't charge for two checked bags. I had been weighing the bags at Joanne's and they were right around 50 each but how accurate is hoisting a bag onto a bath room scale! Well oddly Charleston airport still allows curbside check in...even on an International flight. So we checked in at the curb and then a man came up with a bag and a sack of golf clubs. The guy checked him in too, gave us both baggage claims and boarding passes loaded it all on a cart and took it in and just heaved it onto the conveyer!!! Some lady next to me on the plane was having a cow because Delta hit her $10.00 a lb. $90.00 for being nine lbs. overweight!! So the dogs got their new toys and fancy cookies and Harry got Triumph parts without us getting hit with a weight fee. We don't plan on going anywhere else until fall. Then maybe an orchid trip with the group to Guatemala. Hope everyone up north is staying well and hanging on to their homes and savings!! That's all the news from Lake Chapala, where all the women are beautiful, the men are handsome and the dogs are extraordinarily smart! And Harry and Chris are very happy.
March 13, 2009 -We are both mending well. Harry has his collar off and is happy that many of his symptoms are better. My knees are my knees! Good days and bad. No one can remember ever having such an early spring. Already the temps are up into the 80's daily, Looks like a long dusty time until the rains come. But.... we saw a rainbird on the garage wall yesterday!! I have not heard them calling but supposedly then in 6 weeks the rains will come. If so again it will be very early.
All of our guests have left. The Northern Lights Concert series billeted two musicians with us. The series has grown so much over seven years. We enjoyed all the concerts and we enjoy meeting the musicians every year. At the same time they were here my sister made her first visit to Mexico. She really enjoyed it and got to see a lot of things. The Mardi Gras parade was a great photo op. We also took her to a famous birria restaurant along the highway so she could try goat birria. She had to get bac Harry had a brother Shriner in the Triumph. Both cars are being driven here. The cobblestones are NOT their friends and we try to avoid topes at all costs. They are still fun to drive and we are looking forward to joining a classic car group in Guadalajara and perhaps exhibiting them at their car shows.
Just like the U.S. the living costs here are going up. Gasoline, LP gas and food prices are all rising. Some houses are selling but nothing like the old days. Many people either lost their retirement savings or are staying in the states to help their grown children who may be losing their jobs or homes. Some have had to return to the U.S. We are staying and I will keep the website going. We are still busy and enjoying our life here. That's all the news from Lake Chapala, where all the women are beautiful, the men are handsome and the dogs are extraordinarily smart! And Harry and Chris are very happy.
January 21, 2009- I have not posted for a long time. Health problems and three trips back to the U.S. have been taking up all our time since August. After arthroscopy on my right knee things were OK for awhile but then both knees got really bad again. There were several courses of steroids and methotrexate both of which depress the immune system. I managed the stellar performance of getting both strep throat and salmonella at the same time. Lydia came to the house twice a day to administer IV antibiotics and it was awhile coming back from that. I had a test of my immune system and I scored 4 on a scale of 4-12! So weekly immunoglobulin shots. We have come up with a drug regimen to relieve the pain and NOT depress my immune system. I have also at the Doc’s suggestion cut back some on my many clubs/obligations. At the same time as this was all going on Harry was suffering a reoccurrence of his neuro symptoms. And we were trying to buy the small narrow lot next to the privada and also get up to the U.S. to purchase Harry’s dream a couple of old English sports cars. In November we flew to Daytona to pick up a 1965 TR4A IRS and in December to San Diego for my 1979 MGB. Getting them back here involved harrowing trips, for one a bunch of Aduana money and for both mountains of paperwork. As Harry’s symptoms worsened we consulted two different neurosurgeons. Both advocated immediate surgery. Last week on the 18th he underwent 4 hours of surgery to relieve the compressed nerves. Three discs and two vertebrae were removed and replaced with artificial parts: Cadaver bone, artificial discs, plates and screws. He is home now and recovering slowly. Many of the symptoms have abated or disappeared. Lets hope we are both on the mend. I am not sure if I am going to keep this website going. As I said I have been cutting back a great deal on my many obligations. I just wanted to put this up so anyone who reads this will know why it has been untended for awhile-Chris
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The
work on the park is going along. We now have a beautiful paved malecon right on
the water. Hopefully high enough to keep the lake out of the park. They have not
sodded yet so it is still dusty dirt but they have taken out a lot of the
overgrown trees so grass will actually have a chance. It is interesting to see
the daily work progress and the dogs on their early morning run know and greet
all the workmen. They were all laughing at Cisco yesterday as he leapt up to
bite at Tosca one of his friend's face. Tosca is a 100 lb.+ mastiff!! Schnauzer
boy weighs about 16 lbs. Cisco passed his first birthday and is a jekyl
and hyde schnauzer! One minute the fierce barking watchdog at anything he hears.
And the next climbing into your lap to be hugged and petted. We love his crazy
personality. 
k
to her family so she missed the Chili cook off. We drove both the cars in the
parade. The only issue there is keeping the car going as you stop and start and
watch the temp needle go up!!! I drove Sheila Paul the Worthy Matron of our
Eastern Star group. The flag on the back is a hummingbird, sort of her symbol.