Sunday in Chapala

Welcome to Chapala
Families having fun in the water.

I don't think she has to worry about getting a sunburn!

Fountains for sale


On Sunday we decided to take a ride to Chapala, they were having an art show there, and we always have a good time in Chapala, seeing all the families out having fun, tasting the food from the stands, listening to some live music and just enjoying the day. Hope you all enjoy the pictures.




Cute puppies for sale, and no, we didn't buy one!


Delicious tacos!


Corn on the cob Mexico style.


Many things to spend your money on.

Some of his finished work.

This man makes these beautiful paintings using spray paint, it is really something to see.


The flowers on this tree are a beautiful pink color.


Billy's favorite stand!
The best ice cream is inside these barrels !

Lot's of balloon vendors out for Valentine's day

My Sunday Stroll

On Sunday I took a walk on the malacon, it was a beautiful day, but then again everyday is awesome here. I was a good girl and remembered to take my camera with me, that really helps if I want to post pictures.





These riders also thought it was good day to ride. The horses here are bomb proof, they have to be with all the very narrow streets, the cars go by you with very little room to spare.









This mural is painted on the wall of the rest rooms, rest rooms here are funny, you usually have to pay to use them if they are in a public area, the attendant gives you the toilet paper and then if you are lucky there is a toilet seat, but not usually LOL Then you don't flush the paper in the toilet, small pipes here, they will clog up, this is just one of the many things you have to get used to if you want to live here.

I wanted to capture how blue the sky was, the picture does not do it justice!

Kids being kids!


The woman who sells these wall hangings has a very heavy wheelbarrow that she pushes everyday, then she hangs up all of these, of course at the end of the day, she does it in reverse, every day !!! Not to mention that she weaves them.

Thought this play equipment made for an interesting picture, also loved the background.

You can see that the lake level is receding, pretty soon we will be able to ride the horses on it.


These pretty flowers grow everywhere here, I think they are called morning glories.

Diet? Thought I would give you all an update, I have started my diet, I have cut back on all the rolls that I love to eat, no more soda, cookies, donuts, chips and Magnum bars! How will I ever survive? I have also started walking more, and the pool is starting to warm up so I can start swimming again soon. Will let you know if I lose any weight, I better.
Vacation: Which sounds funny, I mean am I not on a vacation all year now? Looking forward to going back to the states to see my grand children, and shopping for some new clothes! Seeing all my friends, should be a great time, oh, and, can't wait to go the beach.
That's all for this post see ya later!!!

Our Trip To Talquepaque & other things

Well I just don't know where the time goes, it seems like a just do a blog and it is time for another one, and I didn't even do the last post.

Home Sick: Finally, I am not home sick any more, I reached the 7 month mark and it seemed to go away, which I am so glad of, I was getting worried, but now I wake up every morning ready to greet my new life head on. I know some people don't have a problem adjusting, but I gave up so much to make our new lives here, plus I went from being busy all the time, to what do I want to do with myself today. Recently we have met some more people, so interesting to meet new people, everyone has a story.

Weather: I know I have said it before and you will hear me say it many more times, I love!!! the weather here, beautiful days, lot's of sunshine. I am a sunshine girl.
Our bedroom is my favorite room because it gets so much morning sun. The patio is my second favorite place, around 2:00 the sun is on it, I love to sit and read my books there.

Things I want to Do: I made a list before I left the states, one of the things on it was to read, and I have been doing lot's of that. Riding was on there, of course! and I get to do that. Playing tennis is on my list, I haven't done that yet, but I just met some one who plays so I may hook up with them, it has been years since I last played, but I used to really like it so I think it will come back to me. Playing cards, well I have done that with Billy and I even managed to win at Knock Gin, no easy task, as he is a really good card player. Swimming, I love to swim and as soon as the pool warms up I will be in it! Sex, well that is always on the list, at least for Billy TMI and LOL!!!!
Diet: What diet, unless you call still eating my bread, and having my donuts a diet, so no weight has been lost yet!!! There is way to much good food around here.

The following pictures are of our second trip to Talaquepaque, we went with our upstairs neighbors and had a great time. Talaquepaque is a town 45 minutes north of Ajijic. It is a town full of beautiful old!! buildings, filled with beautiful things to spend your money on. More than the the things they sell I love the buildings. They don't make them like that any more.

The first picture was taken at the Patio restaurant, they have a female Marichi band there, they were very good, and loved to pose for your pictures.


Thought this guy was interesting



I loved this stained glass window, you are not suppose to take pictures in the stores but I couldn't resist. It was so much prettier in person.



I can't remember how old this building is, I should take notes next time.


Loved this purse.


Billy and our neighbor Brian

Big man about town.
Metal Mariachi band
Fighting for freedom


Well that does it for this week, I already know what I will be posting about next, tune in to find out. Hope all my readers are fine, and thanks for reading my blog. Don't forget you can leave me a comment, it is always nice to hear from you all, and Dale are you happy now, I did a new post!

Billy's Turn at This

Greetings to all Cheryl's blog followers. We all have heard the saying that "Anything good is worth waiting for" right? Well, this post isn't it. When I told Cheryl that maybe I could do a "guest" blog, she jumped at the chance. OK, so maybe it took a few weeks or a little more, but here goes.

To start with, I am not a writer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once. What I wanted to write about are some things that I have seen and/or observed in the past 6 months.

• The People-Every single instance of my interaction with any local Mexican person has been, to say the least, a very good experience. We made friends with a couple of waiters and were taught how to ask for certain things relative to the restaurant experience. Simple stuff like a glass of water with ice, or maybe a beer. No wait, I already knew the beer one. Or, "where are the bathrooms"? Sorry that goes hand in hand with asking for a beer. But, you get the idea. People here are very helpful.
• The Money-Two years ago, when we were here, I used to go to the local store and just hold my hand out with money in it and the cashier would take the amount needed. It's a trust thing. That has changed as I have learned the money and it wasn't really all that hard. Remember, anything to the right of the decimal point is pretty much a waste of time. (unless you have a huge amount of it) The hardest part of the money was to STOP equating with the dollar. It IS NOT a dollar, but a peso. For instance, if we went to the grocery store and spent $700.00 pesos, we used to think "Well ok, just spent $70 dollars. This thinking, while quite normal for new ex-pats, will drive you crazy. A short drive for me, so they tell me.
• Driving-Not for the faint of heart. On and earlier trip here, we had the pleasure? of driving with a local. OMG!! (means Oh My God for anyone without teenagers) Some of the moves he pulled were quite extraordinary. "Hey, isn't this a one-way street"?I asked, "Well, I am only going one way". he replied That sort of stuff. Mostly, I drive around town and to the other towns nearby. No, not mostly, but all the time!! No worries, though, I feel safer with me driving. Oops, maybe I shouldn't let that one go. Yeah, what the heck. I am off track, a bit here. The thing about driving here is to, as they say, put the pedal to the metal and go, baby, go. When pulling out on the careterra, or main street, if you normally would wait, don't. Just do it. It is really what is expected, and that's no lie. The people on the street expect it, the guy behind you expects it. One word of advice here though, don't get into an accident. More so if you have to go to the bathroom as you will be at the scene for quite, and I mean quite, some time. I'm talking hours, maybe 4-5 hours or more. And, whatever you do, no matter what the other person in the other car tells you, NEVER, EVER move you car after an accident. Bad things will happen to you. To make this point more clearer, if that is possible, even if you have a crash on a Sun. outside a church as church is getting out, do not move your car. Really. For sure.

The Language-My favorite topic. The language learning experience can be fun if you want it to be. Or, it can be a drag. For me, its a blast. The locals are very helpful to us, much the same we would be to someone trying to learn English. I am only skimming the surface of the language so far and just beginning the tough stuff like verb conjugation. The thing I tell people, and you are people, is to keep you eyes AND ears open wherever you go, whatever you do. And please, don't try to literally translate from Spanish to English. It too, will make you crazy. There are just too many phrases that if you translate them to English will sometimes make you nuts. Ok, now for some examples. We were walking one day and some school girls passed us and were approaching other schoolgirls. As they passed one another they said "Adios" What? All the books say that adios means good-bye. True, it does. It also can be used as a greeting. Well, I'll be. Who knew? One thing that really struck me was whenever we were leaving a store or restaurant, the cashier would say "Que le vaya bien" HUH? That's not in any book I have been reading. After asking numerous people, Mexican and English speaking, here's what I found out. It sort of means "go and be well" or something like that. I asked how do I respond and was told just say "Gracias" One gardener told me its just like when we say "Have a good one" A good what?he says. That Americanism confuses the heck out of the local folks here. A blogger friend of ours once said she was sitting in her car at a red light and started to read some signs. And, she says all of sudden she started to wonder when she learned those words. It just happens. We were at a red light in front of Wal Mart and I was reading the bill board in Spanish and realized that "Wal Mart has all your Christmas needs" WOW!! One of the little things I have learned is that "v" actually is pronounced "b" . Cervezca, beer, is pronounce "Cerbeza" Same with "vaso" glass, becomes, "baso" ok,ok, I am not a Spanish teacher, however, did i tell you about my Holiday Inn stay.
I will write more later, but now it's time for a cerveza frio.

Around Town

Well I can't believe it has been over two weeks since I did a post, time sure has a way of going by. I hope all my readers had a good Holiday. Billy and I had a nice one, we have met some really nice people here and we spent it with them.

Christmas: Celebrating Christmas here was different, they celebrate it on Christmas Eve. They open their front doors, build a small fire in front of their houses and eat outside. Lot's of food, drinking, loud music, and of course the fireworks! For our Christmas Eve we went to our friend Kerry's house, everyone brought something, we had 3 different soups, Billy made his awesome New England Clam Chowder. On Christmas day when we drove into town it was business like usual, lot's of stores were open. I think it was the first time in our married life that we went to a restaurant for Christmas dinner, just easier and cheaper, turkeys here are expensive. After dinner we went to a friends open house, and ate some more!!!! I am glad the holidays are over. For New years eve, there was a party here, pot luck dinner, the food was great, even better we didn't have to drive home. We came home early and watched the New Year ring in from NY, which in our case was at 11:00 our time, so I went to bed early, I am an old fart! LOL

The following pictures were taken around town. This guy is wating for his owner, as you can see the lake level is still high.



We are new at building fires, but I think we got the hang of it now. I love them, so pretty!

Billy and our new little guy Pancho

Thought this was a beautiful flower pot

You can walk into town either by going down the streets, or taking the malacon, I love walking the malacon, so much to see, it is so pretty. You can't stay in a bad mood when you have all this beauty around you.

Children love to ride their bikes on the malacon, sometimes you will see them roller skating on it too.

Ducks enjoying the sunlight

Well that's all for this post I will write agian soon.

Our Trip to the beach

Our friends Kathy and Rick invitied us to spend a few days with them at their house in Barra Navidad. Being the beach lovers that we are, they didn't have to ask us twice ! We packed our suitcase and off we went. First we had to drop off our kitty to aunt Dorothy's, where he got to spend a few days with her two cats, he had a great time there, and we were lucky Dorothty gave him back to us. It was a 4 hour drive to get to Barra, really nice roads if you are on the toll roads. We spent our time there going to the beach, eating out, exploring the gift shops, and playing cards and Yatzee at night. The weather there was hot and humid, just like Florida! I have to say that when we got back to Ajijic, we were cold! We had a great time with our friends, and look forward to them coming back here in Febuary.







Could this be Billy and me in our next life together????



Billy and me in this lifetime.

Billy and Rick having fun.

Billy on the beach

This was taken at a small beach town called Melaque

Interesting rocks in the water

This boat is a water taxi, you can get to the hotel Grand Bay on them, or if you live on the water, like Rick and Kathy do, you can take one home.

Thought this would make a nice picture.

Billy and Rick sitting on the dock

Kathy, Rick and me !

the pool at the Grand Bay Hotel

View from upstairs at the hotel

The grounds of the hotel

one of the beautiful views

Sandy, Rick and Kathy's dog, he is so cute and sweet!

Sandy on the dock, he likes looking at the fish swim by

One of the streets in Barra, no cobblestones there, easy to walk on!

Billy really loved it a Barra and Melaque, I was lucky to get him home, I liked it but Ajijic has more things going on. I wouldn't mind spending maybe a month there, and exploring more beach towns. Hope you all enjoyed this post, till the next time!

Cheryl