Jan 10 update - South Lake Trip

We've been having some cool weather here. We had to buy a space heater to keep warm in the evenings in our little casita. I think the cool weather has turned us into "home bodies" and since Jordan and Sara left we've haven't been doing much more than eating and watching very bad t.v. We only have 4 English speaking stations....and re-runs of Miami CSI are starting to become boring. Greg can't stand Horatio at the best of times. Greg has been doing some web work and I have taken up knitting again and have been doing some writing. We've both started Spanish Lessons with Lina, an American gal, about our age, who was raised here in Ajijic by parents who moved here in the early 60's. All that being said, we haven't done much adventuring lately.

More Puppy Pictures

Yesterday, the sun poked out again in the morning and Greg was inspired to drive around the lake. We set out at around 10 p.m. When we got to the cut off on the highway for Mazitmitla we decided to check it out. Our rental agent, Gonzalo had told us it was a really interesting and very different little town. The road took us up a mountain and I mean ear-popping up and up. Once again, the change in vegetation was very interesting. The higher we went the more pine woods appeared. We drove past Mazatmitla to the little town of San Jose de Gracia. It was quaint and of course had a big chuch and a lovely square with the pervasive shops surrounding the square. These were a bit more high end stalls than those we have become accustomed to in our area. We also notice more indigenous people and the town seemed cleaner and there were less stray dogs roaming around. I had packed a little lunch for us and we sat on little benches in the square facing the church and watched as proud parents exited the church with their newly Christened babies, dressed in miniature bride gowns. Children flocked around the entrance of the church and called out for candy to get thrown which happened over and over again. Greg asked permission to photograph one of the more elaborately dressed babies and we chatted with the proud Papa who is Mexican but lives and works in Missouri so spoke perfect English. We used the banos publicos in the Town hall. The mayor's office seemed modest at most.

Greg bought his third Mexican hat in a store on the square. I think he finally got the one he likes.....and says he know looks like a happy Mexican instead of a mean cowboy.

South Shore Trip Pictures

We left San Jose de Gracia and headed back down the road to Mazitmitla. We chuckled to find a combination Gravenhurst, Lake Placid, Swiss Alpine town here in the interior of Mexico. Because they have pine woods, they use the lumber to trim and decorate their white adobe houses giving them a very Swiss Chalet kind of look. The high fences and gates of Ajijic and Chapala were not as prevalent. A beautiful church and square and the requisite shops were the scene of much activity, laughter, and general life with a buzz. We talked about how different life is here compared to at home where everyone has their own electronic device to plug into and interactivity seems to occur only as a planned event. That's part of what we love about living here. There is exuberant, racous life on the street and especially in the town squares and around the churches.

I bought some fresh ground coffee to bring back home and a pair of dangling earrings that I've been wanting to buy since arriving in Mexico.

We drove down the mountain and stopped in one last village before heading back home. San Pedro was a dusty little place with a vacant square, no vendors and an empty church yard. We aren't sure if it was the time of day....maybe everyone was having their siesta, or a small population that contributed to this phenomenon. We photographed the interior of the church and the list of donations made by townspeople to the church. This was all written by hand on paper ripped from a notebook and displayed for everyone to see in a glass case set into the wall of the church. Interesting.

I didn't feel like cooking last night so Greg bought himself 3 pieces of chicken and a big tub of cole slaw for 35 pesos.....about 3 dollars. I did however notice him spending an unprecedented amount of time in the washroom last night.

And so, dear friends and followers, that is the latest chapter of La Vida en el ranchero.

Puppies and Christmas Pictures

I finally got around to posting some pictures. The first group here are the pictures from Jordan and Sara's visit. I HAD to start them off with the picture of the fellow we found asleep in the middle of the town square at noon on Christmas day.

Too much Christmas cheer?

The second group are of the puppies. There are two German Sheppard's here on the ranch. Samson and Delilah. Delilah had pups a couple of weeks after we got here. One of our neighbors complained about the noise, so the puppies were moved up behind 'The Motel' as we call the building that the local resident groundskeepers live in.

We don't see the puppies much unless we walk up there. They are kept in the backyard of the building there. We don't like to intrude. The other night, the puppies got out.

All night long we heard the whining as they chased Delilah around wanting to get fed. I went out for a run in the morning. When I got back, two of the pups were playing by or front door. I grabbed them and brought them in. I was waiting for Lynne to yell at me to get them out but, she fell instantly in love with them too. We played with them for a while. I fed them a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. Lynne, being a bit more thoughtful, warmed up some milk and broke us some bread in a dish and fed them that.

Click here for Puppy pictures

They hung in here for about and hour and a half. They'd play, then snuggle in my arms and fall asleep. Delilah came around looking for them eventually and they tore off after her again.

Sun Jan 3 - Two Week Catch Up

Wow - I can't believe that it's been so long since we've updated the site here. More so - I can't believe I haven't re-designed it and cleared out a lot of the old stuff yet!

I've done a TON of studying on different technology from what I've been using for years. I'm looking forward to introducing it all on the new site.

So - what's been happening since we updated last?

1. I climbed the mountain.

2. Jordan and Sara visited for 8 days.

3. We installed Windows 7 and have both computers running again!

4. Christmas came and went.

5. So did New Years.

6. More people moved into the ranch here.

7. We signed up for Spanish lessons

1. The Mountain.

So, there is a Shrine part way up one of the mountains from here. I was talking to a guy who hikes around in the mountains and he invites me out to go with hi. I'm told it's about 20 minute up and 20 minutes down. A great introduction to climbing in the mountains I think.

Well, I've got a lot of catching up to do here so, to make a long story short . . 6 hours later we return from the top of the 8,000' mountain. (We're at 5,000' here) Cuts bruises scraps and legs muscle aches from muscles that I didn't know existed. Holy crap - what an adventure.

The really fun part was when we lost the trail cut through the bush, got all tangled up in vines and then slipped on the loose gravel and slid on my back until I could catch a branch to hold me until Doug came back and tossed me a line.

Yup - mountain climbing - something new to add to the list of somewhat insane things to fill in time doing!

2. Jordan and Sara Visit

We picked up the kids from Guadalajara on the 22nd. It was late in the day so there wasn't much for them to see while we drove the 30 minutes back from the airport.

It was really fun having them here. Sara hadn't traveled at all prior to this so everything was a new adventure for her.

We took them out to all the local, 'way cool' restaurants We did the Wednesday 'Tiengas' local market. The next day we headed off to the Hot springs and the Spa. The hot springs are only about 10k from here. The springs themselves were a bit of a disappointment because the springs now feed manmade pools and hot tubs, but it was great to be able to swim in huge warm pools!

The Spa was a riot. They offer two packages. A 1.5 hour or a 2.5 hour package. It cost 40 or 60 pesos for the packages. 60 pesos is $4.80 Canadian so we figured, 'Go big or go home' and spent the $20.00 for the bunch of us.

Now - I'm not a Spa guy. I'm really not sure about all this laying in hot tubs of with all sorts of minerals, or flowers or teas leaves or whatever sort of plant they can think of. There were signs beside each of the first 6 hot tubs explaining what was in them and what they were good for. All I know is that and hour and a half later, I smelt something like tea and flowers, was wrinkled like crazy, and pretty damn relaxed!

Then we headed over to the other side where we covered ourselves in mud, ad I mean covered. Hair to toes - crazy! Just these little white eyes blinking through all this crap! Then sat in the sun while it caked dry. More hot tubs to wash it off, steam rooms, inhalers and saunas. All in all, quite the adventure. We all fell asleep totally relaxed pretty early that night!

We did the Tonala and Tlaquepaque tour with them. We went to the movies, we spent some time just hanging out, we did Christmas dinner at the local hotel restaurant.

The last day here the kids opted for going back to the hot springs over going and touring the town of Tequila. I guess Lynne and I will go there ourselves again one day and do the tour.

We took them back to the airport on the 30th. They had wanted to be home for New Years. We were both pretty sad and lonely for a couple of days after they left. They're god kids and they were a blast to have around!

3. Windows 7

Yup - It works. It seems pretty stable. It's always such a pain in the butt to reinstall all that software, but it seems like it was worth in. Now if we could only get a solid reliable internet connection, computer life would be perfect!

4. & 5. Christmas and New Years

Christmas pretty much didn't come to Ajijic. I've always wanted to live somewhere that there wasn't all the snow, the cold, the hustle and bustle of running to the mall, shopping for all kinds of stuff and running around like a crazy person. Now I had the experience, I missed all of that frenzy. We both missed all of the people, our friends.

Christmas here is very subdued. Santa doesn't exist in Mexico. Almost every house has a 'Creche', a nativity scene all done up with lights. The one here at the ranch was huge. Not the size of the people and animals, but the ground that it tool over and the number of people and scenes within them. All of these had the flashing colored tiny lights, but you houses aren't lit up like at home.

New Years was quiet for us. We usually don't do much. I did my 5k Resolution run in the morning of the 31st. I thought about that unbelievable cold windy Running Room rn we'd done with a few friends the year before. I missed 'the gang' again then. Oh well, there is a cost of living here with all it has to offer!

6. The invasion of the Other People

The ranch here has 6, one floor buildings. There are a total of 10 rental units within these buildings. Several of the units are duplexes. Ours is a single unit. I think we have the best one on the ranch actually. It's not big, but we face east. We get the morning sun in the front and the afternoon sun in the side. Our front room runs the length of the building and is made totally of patio windows.

We were the 2nd couple to move in. It seems the place is pretty much empty during the summer months.The couple that were here when we came, John and Joan, were quiet but friendly. They seemed a tiny bit stand offish, keeping to themselves, but nice folks. The more we get to know them the more we're enjoying them.

A coupe of weeks ago, Paul sand Kay from Nova Scotia moved in. They have been combing here for years. They have a ton of friends here and seem to be out almost every night. Great folks! Fun. Stereo typical 'down east' folk. We're liking them allot.

The day before yesterday another couple arrived from Toronto. We were eager to meet some folks form 'home'. We don't know them well yet, but, it was a bit disappointing that they seem to be complaining and demanding. Nothing is good. There's problems with everything. they are making lists to 'get things straightened out'.

It's very interesting to see how, slowly our little ranch is acquiring every bit of all of the entities that make up the world.

There's another couple arriving today. The locals at the ranch here have been working furiously at getting their place ready for them. They are moving into the building directly across from us. Paul and Kay know them and say they are nice. I understand he's a photographer. I'm looking forward to learning some stuff from him.

7. Spanish Lessons

It's always bothered me at home when I met people who moved to Canada years ago, but they had no idea of the English language. I felt they were rude in not at least attempting to learn. Well, time to put up or shut up I guess!

Lynne has been doing great with her Spanish. I on the other hand . . . . not so much.

We found a teacher who does 'one-on-one' classes. She's taught people for years and says that "everyone can learn, but we all learn differently". I hope she's right. I feel like such a dummy. I start tomorrow (Monday) going 3 times a week for an hour each time.

Ok - that's it. All caught up. Happy New Year to everyone from Lynne and I. Here's hoping that we all have a great 2010. "Thanks" to everyone who has been keeping in touch. We love hearing about what everyone is doing back home too.

Wednesday Dec 17 - Tonila and Tlaquepaque

by Lynne

Today was a wonderful day. We woke to the sound of the alarm at 6:30 a.m. - first alarm clock awakening since arriving here 5 weeks ago. We walked up to the Carretera to the corner where the Lloyd's bank is to meet our van for our day's outing. We were early, so we went across the road to Donas Donuts where I bought myself a coffee. We chatted with another fellow who appeared to be waiting as well and sure enough he was booked on the trip. His name was Marten, born in Mexico in Jocotopec, a couple of towns down on the Carretera and now living in L.A. where he teaches kindergarten. He's home visiting his father's family. He spoke fluent Spanish and English. Then Vivienne arrived. She is a tourist from Boston and today was her last day after being here for two weeks. She has the Lake Chapala fever and is already scheming to get back here as fast as she can. Our driver Hernandez, was a lovely man and he spoke English fairly well.

We drove to Tonala where we were in huge traffic jams. The Tienges (open air market) takes up several streets there and seems to go on for miles. The item that was available there that we don't see at our own market was birds in cages and on sticks and in wooden cages on men's backs. Fascinating.

We stopped first at a Potter's studio. His name is Salvadore Vazquez and he works in a dark, cold dingy space producing beautiful work. He learned his art from his mother and his grandmother and the work he produces has been shown in galleries in Sante Fe, Albuquerque, and San Diego. Everything is hand painted, the colours are burnished and gorgeous. He has a metal tool used to polish the completed pottery to give it a glazed look, that was handed down to him from his grandmother. The home gallery where his work was displayed wasn't a very lovely space either. The ceiling was leaking and the paint was peeling and there was dog poo on the mirador......such a disappointing and very humble space for a renowned artist. We ended up buying a gorgeous plate, 22 inches in diameter - lunes et sol....moon and sun. We will hang it in our rental for now, but if we ever own a home again, I will be proud to own it. Greg took a picture of me and the artist holding our purchase. It cost 800 pesos, about 65 dollars.
No wonder his space was so humble.

Next stop, the paper mache factory. Not the kind of paper mache we all did in grade 3 although much of the process is the same. The layers and different glues produce a finished product that looks like ceramic.....all also hand painted and glazed. There were 7 foot giraffes and a lion lying on it's back so that it's feet produced a base for a piece of glass and voila, a coffee table. We didn't love this stuff and didn't buy a thing.

On to the glass blowing factory where about 20 young guys were working in scorching heat. No work place safety here. Everyone was running around with metal rods with burning globes of glass on the end but somehow they seem mindful of each other and as Greg said, they don't need government mandates, they just use common sense. It was fun to see the shapes being formed by blowing down the metal rods and rolling the blobs on metal slabs and voila all that gorgeous Mexican glass that I've always loved. In the shop here, I could have easily bought 12 drinking glasses priced at about 1.50 each and in great colours, but with no home of our own it seemed pointless. Greg bought one glass for him and one for me although we do have a set in our casita, these are our own. The "stuff" thing is a challenge. When we had roots and owned a home we were always buying more stuff. Now we don't have a home and all of our "stuff" is in storage and yet we still seem to want more lovely things when we see them. Consumerism is a hard habit to break.

We left Tonala, again through snarled traffic. We were starving at this point. Hernandez dropped us off at the Tlaquepaque and we went to a traditional Mexican restaurant called El Patio. We ate delcious lunches. I had sole diablo but told the waiter to go easy on the diablo. Greg, the carnivore, ate steak and sausage in a sauce. There was a cactus plant on his plate. We've seen them for sale at the market and haven't tried them up til today. It was interesting....a bit bitter. The setting of the restaurant was gorgeous with a fountain in the center and the lush gardens that you see everywhere here and start to take for granted. There was live music.

We walked around Tlaquepaque looking in wonderful galleries at lovely pieces made by very creative people. Greg brought his G.P.S. to enter the way points so we can now get to these places on our own without any difficulty. The square in the Tlaquepaque is delightful and the feel of the whole area is very European. We could have been in Italy.

We were like worn out kids after a day at the playground on the ride back to Ajijic, all of us quiet and tired after a day that nourished our senses.

When we got back home we joined the neighbours with a glass of wine to watch the sunset over the lake at the back of the ranchero.

Here, finally, are some pictures from the day.

Dec 15- Day 30 of 30 Runs for 30 days

And so ends (almost) another crazy experiment in how to ruin ones body!

I met Mike Cheliak this summer while playing 'Race Announcer' for a couple of the HSBC Tri weekends. Crazy, fun, big guys who ended up adopting Puppy Puppy from us.

About a month ago, Mike came up with this crazy idea of running 30 runs for 30 days. He tossed the idea up on Facebook and I saw it, his buddy Ted and his sister saw it. 4 people without the common sense to say "That's a dumb idea". Nov 15 we started. We all updated each other by adding onto the Facebook thread.

What a ride. I started out actually 2 days early and was shocked at how hard it was to run. Was I just out of shape? I hadn't done much at all since Ironman in late July. Was it the altitude? We're at a bit over 5000 feet above sea level. Just about exactly 1 mile up. Hummm - the mile high club with a different twist!

I did a bit of Google searching and found a few articles on running at altitude. If I have it right, it seems that at 5000' one can expect to loose about 10% of their ability. The blood thickens and it's much harder to get the oxygen that we need. I don't know if I'm glad I read that or not. I instantly felt better about myself and how hard it was to run, but then it quickly became an excuse for me too. The things I read said that one will feel like superman if they race at low altitude again shortly after returning. I can't wait for that one!

I worked my way up to 10k at a somewhat reasonable time last weekend. Actually, the 56 minute 10k was a great time for me! (I always remember my abilities much greater than they really are!)

I thought for the last 10 days I'd increase the distance by 1k, and not really think about speed at all. That lasted for a few days (as the chart on the right shows) but quickly I ran out of steam and ran the last couple of days at much shorter (recovery of sorts) distances.

I felt like running 21k shouldn't be that big a deal for me. I've raced a half dozen half marathons before and run, God knows how many 21k training runs in the past. For some reason I was nervous though.

I headed out this morning after a good breakfast, loaded with 2 litters of E-Load water, and the last 3 Gels that I could buy here. (Power Bar gels are crap aren't they? Who decided that 'Oh yea - this taste is great" Man oh man I can't stand that stuff. (Dear God - please open a Gu store within a days drive of here for me!)

I had a knot in my right calf from the get go. It lasted almost 5k into the run. I ran over to the town of Chapala along the highway. The highway is the only road that isn't 200 year old cobblestone, so it's easier to run on. It's about 7k to Chapala but, in town, there is a paving stone boardwalk along the waterfront that runs about 1.8k return. I did that 5 times and headed back. I watched my pace decrease slowly from about the 12 - 13k mark.

By the time I got back to Ajijic, our home town here and the start/finish line, I was bushed. The last 4 - 5k had turned from just going at whatever slow pace I could to, Holy Crap - I'm going to puke and pass out! I go to my start point to see I was still about 40 meters short. I'd added a couple of return laps along the way so that once I hit the start, I'd be done. Event hat idea didn't work out. I turned and ran back a bit more to put in the distance. Heaven forbid I'd be short by a few feet!

I walked back home, about .5k and had the only 2 packages of E-Mend that I'd brought with me. (Will someone tell Dr Doug that he needs to open a store here too please!)

The finish of this experiment for me is going to be taking a couple of days off, doing a couple of short runs and then something long a quick. Does running endlessly for a month build muscle, endurance and speed, or, did it just knock the crap out of me? I'll let you know.

Thanks to everyone who send good luck wishes along the way for me!

Oh yea - almost forgot to mention that I posted the totals from the month at the bottom of the table at the right.

Saturday Dec 12 Update

The weeks seem to fly past quicker every week. I guess we're settling into a routine. I'm not sure I'm entirely happy about that. I like to be adventurous, but, at the same time, it's nice to take it easy and relax too. "It is what it is" I guess!

I decided to push the heck out of myself for the last 10 days of the '30 days and 30 runs' I've been doing with Lynne, Mike and Ted back home. I pushed a pretty good time (for me) on a 10k run last weekend and thought I'd add 1k a day and then do 21 on the last day of the 30.

Where do these idea's come from, and how can I keep them there! I did reasonably well for most of the week. I skipped 13k because, well, 13 is unlucky. I watched my pace stay close to the same every day as I added more distance. I ran further and further into the town of Chapala. On Thursday, I hit the fence. (not to be confused with hitting the wall) View Run. A 15k out and back is all I can do along that route. The road at the far end dead ends at a fence.

Friday I did my 16k run by doing the same route, but cutting back and forth at a few spot sot make up the extra 1k.

Today was something else though. I was missing something when I headed out to start the run. Energy - yea, that's what's missing. A can of Red Bull didn't help either. I started running and remembered that my right leg, calf and hamstring were tight. They were tight the day before, but had loosened up after a couple of kilometres. I got to the 5.25k mark today and they were still tight. My energy level was dropping fast, my chest hurt, my leg, my foot . . . . you name it, it hurt.

I'm not sure if I was sending too much time thinking about the total mileage for this week that I'd done (90 as of today). I thought about the last month and how close we are to the end. I thought about this stupid toenail that STILL hasn't completely fallen off since Ironman and how it bites into the toe. (Isn't 4 months a long time for a nail to drop off?) Obviously, I was just thinking about all the wrong stuff. I turned back at the 5.25 mark, did a bit of a back and forth near the end and ended up running 12k today instead of the 17k I was planning on doing.

Tomorrow's another day. 3 runs left. The initial plan calls for a 18k, 19k and then a final 21k. Hummmm - 2k short of 150k in 10 days . . . . . Hummmmm :-)

Sunday update:

How do you tell when you're being a suck, or when you are making the 'msart' move? That's always the tough question for me.

I really wanted to run 1k a day more every day for 10 days but, I didn't make it happen.

I dragged my sorry ass out of bed this morning. Checked my email, looked that the weather channel, CNN, Toronto Star, Globe and Sun, long term weather forecast for here. I managed to waste an hour and a half and I still didn't want to go and run.

Maybe all this was like a "Message from God" - "You're tired Greg. You need to rest a bit. Go and jog a nice slow even paced 5k and just keep those tired old leg muscles loose!"

Well, who the heck am I to argue with God? OK big guy - you and me and a slow 5k coming up.

Off I went, back out along the back roads to San Antonio. If I'm not going to run far, at least it can sound like it is!.

Oh My God. That knot in my hamstring turned instantly into a burning ball in the back of my leg. My back felt stiff. I couldn't get a good breath. At the 1k mark I looked down to see I was running a 7 minute pace. My pace always stows down over time. I CAN"T do 5k at 7:00 mpk. I picked up the pace a bit, then a bit more. I ran through San Antonio and out the far side to the 2.5k mark where I turned around. 6:40 pace at that point. I totally forgot about running slow and easy to recover a bit from the last 28 days of running. I ended up back at the ranch with an average pace of 6:20.

This is the first time I've ever looked at the Garmin data (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/20478030) and seen every split be faster than the one before!

I'm a bit disappointed that I'm not going to clock all the mileage I'd originally planned to do but, I'm back home and I'm no where near as exhausted as I have been after the last few runs. My legs are loosened up, but not killing me like they have been.

I think I'm going to do about the same run tomorrow, then go for my second chiropractor appointment, take it easy for the rest of the day and see what sort of time I can get on Tuesday, Day 30 of 30 ending with a 21k run.

(I think sleeping in Wednesday is going to be delicious!)

Sunday Dec 6 - Lynne Update

Well our life here in Ajijic and on Ranch el Rosario is starting to unfold as is evidenced by the fact that we seem to have more to do now than updating the Blog.

Last Sunday, we drove to Guadalajara and did a bit of exploring. We didn't find the Tlaquepaque which is what we were looking for but ended up in an enormous mall that could rival any American one and it felt like we were home especially when we saw Santa Claus and heard the Christmas Carols over the sound system. There was a Chili's and an Applebees and we could have been anywhere in the States or Canada.

We also found the Center of town with it's beautiful Church and square and was a bit more in keeping with our taste. We will do more research and return to Guadalajara soon.

I'd like to report that other than a giant cucaracha on our bedroom curtain, there have been no more animal births or deaths in recent days.

Greg does a few hours of web work each day and I have managed to plug into the spritual community here. I've been to couple of Course in Miracles meetings and a couple of Science of Mind meetings. I've been meeting lots of good people. Greg even came with me to a Gratitude Service on Friday night and although it's not his thing, he was a very good sport about it. It was in a private home that is the most beautiful home I've ever seen, built in a U around a lush garden and pool and all the walls of the rooms are open to the garden. Someone told me this is a true Hacienda style home.

New neighbours arrived last week. Kay and Paul, a lovely couple from Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia and this is their third year staying on the ranch. New people to play dominoes with.

I was very excited this morning when Greg tried to shower and realized there was no hot water. I went out and found Ramon and said....L'agua en el bano es frio. He understood and got the problem resolved in no time. No pantomime and no sign language. I got the message across in Spanish.

Today we treated ourselves to massages at a place called "The Hidden Garden." I haven't felt that relaxed in weeks and I will definitely return. After my massage I had a half hour before my Course in Miracles Meeting and I went to the town square and sat on a bench and just watched the activity. I was awed by una mujere who turned a simple mango into a flower on a stick, like a popsicle, but better for you. They sell all kinds of fruit and veggies in the square in plastic containers to munch on instead of junk food. And the plastic containers are good for capturing those cucarachas I mentioned earlier.

We went to the Chapala Society, the other day to join. It is a Gringo organization that plans events, has a library and many Spanish classes and is in a gorgeous park like setting. It's where I do my yoga. We started chatting with Howard Feldenberg from Rochester N.Y. He's running for president and was shmoozing us. He asked me if I was Jewish (damn it, I thought I didn't look the part) and his friend came over and they invited me to services at the 'Gogue. There is a chapel (reform) in the town of Chapala....which is to Ajijic what Newmarket is to Aurora. He also invited us to the Chanukah party for Latkes.....we will definitely go to that.

Tomorrow morning we are going to something at the Chapala Society called "Open Circle". They serve coffee and someone speaks about their life. The only restriction is that your story has to be inspirational and uplifting. The guy who is speaking tomorrow is David about the stroke he had 10 years ago in his 40's that left him totally paralyzed and unable to function and his eventual return to total functionality. It should be an interesting story. I've met the guy as he comes to the Science of Mind meetings.

Yesterday Greg and I had the most wonderful lunch in a restaurant in yet another "secret garden." He had something called a Mojeta (not to be confused with a Mojeto which is some kind of fancy drink) which is shrimp and cheese and avocado done in a Lava pot and it looked delcious. I had a Caesar salad cause I'm boring. The waiter was lovely and he practised his English and me my Spanish and we had a few good laughs.

Life is good. I feel like we're finding a bit of a groove for ourselves. Yippeee.

And Jordan and Sara will be here in two weeks and two days. Yay!