Ginger's Journal...

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T18:43:00.002-05:00

Today has been a quiet day. I sent Easter greetings to family and friends, washed 4 loads of clothes and hung them out to dry, watered all the plants and worked on updating my blog. I was 4 days behind on my blog, so it has taken me most of the day to get it updated. I had lots of pictures to load.

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter!

Jewelry Day

2009-04-11T22:17:00.002-05:00

I met Lauri at the galleria and spent several hours with her. She closed about 3 p.m. and we went to the 1st house sitting house. (She now has a 2nd house where she is looking after the cat while her friend Barbara is in the States.)

Lauri needed more jewelry for her gallery, so we spent the rest of the afternoon making jewelry. She handed me some beads in the colors she wanted and basically said, "See what you can do with these." Below are our creations. She liked the ones I did well enough that she putting them in the gallery. That's a vote of confidence!

The following are the ones I made.

Sorry about the flash reflection. Jewelry is hard to photograph!

Here are the pieces that Lauri made.

The first one isn't quite finished.

Local Color! (literally)

2009-04-10T13:58:00.019-05:00

After going through the tiangue on Wednesday, I continued my walk through Ajijic. I shot about 350 photos.

Colorful buildings in the United States often cause a raised eyebrow, but down here it is part of the culture and the colors are bright and welcoming. Here are many of the colorful buildings that I saw. Obviously, there are a lot of buildings that aren't colorful, too, but I have concentrated on the color.

Many of the stores carry the colorful theme through their displays.

I have spent many hours loading and editiing the photos, so I didn't make a lot of comments. Just enjoy the visual tour through Ajijic. Do you have a favorite?

Even some of the poles are painted!

This is the house number!

Even some broom closets are painted!!!

I put this in just for Susan!

A Day of Pampering...

2009-04-09T21:01:00.002-05:00

I have not had a manicure in probably a year and it has been at least 6 months since I had a pedicure. I can't even remember the last time I had a facial. I decided to splurge and have a day of pampering, including a massage.

I found an advertisement in a free local English magazine called "El Ojo Del Lago." It translates literally to "the eye of the lake," but I think if also means "The Lake through the Ages," which is in the subtitle. I sent an e-mail to the salon and got a phone call to make an appointment.

I took the bus early, so I would have time to eat breakfast. I knew I would be in the salon for a minimum of 4 hours. At 10 a.m. I showed up and was ready to be pampered.

Alma, the salon owner, met me with a smile. She was originally born in Mazatlan, but spent 25 years in Guadalajara. She still owns a home there. In Ajijic, she has a house behind the salon. Her daughter lives in Los Cabos and her son lives in Guadalajara. Both of her children have children.

Alma said she studied English for 2 years at the University in Guadalajara, but when she opened her salon, she couldn't speak a word. She said she has learned English from her clients. She speaks very good English. She was even teaching me some Spanish. I know some Spanish words to read them, but I can't understand it spoken, because they speak too fast. My brain doesn't process it quickly enough.

I had the best pedicure that I've ever had. Since I've been down here, my finger nails have grown and she actually had something to work with. In the States, my nails are soft and break all the time. I also got a facial and a wonderful massage.

I was there for 4 1/2 hours. In the States, a 50 minute massage is usually between $65-$95. I paid 690 pesos (approx $51 US) for the manicure, pedicure, facial AND massage. What a bargain!

The door to the right of this shop is the entrance to the salon which is on the 2nd floor.

Here is a photo of the 2nd floor balcony. When I talked to Lauri, she said she had taken her mother to the same salon and she also thought Alma was excellent!

The Tiangue

2009-04-08T22:19:00.036-05:00

The tiangue (street market) is on Wednesdays. Lauri has been telling me that I need to see it, so today was the day. This markets goes for blocks and blocks. You can't see the end of it until you get close.

Glassware for sale

Furniture

Jewelry

Pottery

Food vendors. You can get everything from pizza, a fruit cup or even a full sit-down meal.

Vendor cooking...

Birds!

Yarns and lace.

Fish vendor above with their fish displayed on ice.

The vendor on the right is selling raw shrimp.

Slabs of beef. They will cut what you want.

Fruit and vegetable stand.

More fruits and vegetables.

Nuts, jelly beans, and snacks.

A flower vendor.

Chicken...whole, cut-up, patties, liver/gizzards, etc.

Orange Ginger Cat

2009-04-08T10:33:00.008-05:00

Here are some pictures of the orange cat that comes to visit me. My neighbor, Cecilia, informed me that this cat is a "Ginger" cat and not a tabby. No wonder I like him so much. He usually comes by in the morning for breakfast and often throughout the day. In the evening, he tries to talk me out of more food. I had to break down and buy a bag of cat food.

We think he belongs to the neighbor on the other side. However, they are only there on the weekends, so he is on his own during the week. Cecilia has been feeding him too. He eats like he is starved, so we are probably the only ones who feed him during the week.

He is quite a talker. When he wants your attention, he doesn't stop talking. I wonder if he is part Siamese, because of his talkative ways?

At first he was a little leery of me, but once I started feeding him, I became his best friend!

As you can see, he is quite comfortable here!

Made New Friends

2009-04-07T23:31:00.027-05:00

It has been another beautiful day in paradise. I hate to even think about leaving!

I had taken a Benadryl before I went to bed Monday night, because the post-nasal drip caused me to cough all night the night before. It sure helped me sleep well, but I didn't wake up until 7:30 a.m. Alberto came an hour early this morning (I was barely out of bed).

Last week he trimmed all the hedges on both sides of the back yard, and today he trimmed the back hedges. Here he is below standing on the wall between this house and the house behind. He works hard and does a very good job. Anna came today too and the house is nice and clean. Since I was making lunch, I made lunch for Anna too. Alberto had already left. Anna especially enjoyed the ice cream for dessert.

Lauri called this afternoon and invited me over for dinner so I could meet two of her favorite friends. I had already showered and my hair was dry, but I needed to curl my hair. So, I spent 15-20 minutes working on my hair, grabbed my hairspray, shut my eyes and sprayed away. When I opened my eyes, I had snow banks all over my head!! I stood there staring at myself in the mirror, because I couldn't believe what I saw! I had accidentally grabbed the mousse instead of the hairspray! Oh, no! Lauri was going to be here shortly and I now had gobs of mousse on my head. I didn't have time to shower again and re-wash my hair.

I wiped off what I could and grabbed the hairdryer to dry the rest. After it was dry, I combed it out the best I could and then sprayed again. I made sure to grab the "correct" red can. This was one time when "helmet head" really applied. I didn't have to worry about my hair getting out of place. Lauri came shortly after and we went to her house where she is house sitting.

This is Maria and Frank Jordan, Lauri's friends. They were so much fun. These are the kind of people I like to hang out with. I sure hope I get to see them again before I leave. I so enjoyed the evening. Lauri made chicken and vegetable stir fry with a big salad and hot bread. Maria and Frank brought wine and a dessert. Lauri also had wine, so we definitely didn't run out!

We ate on the patio overlooking the lake. I love these beautiful plates. Do you suppose I could get a set of plates in my suitcase? I was already 10# over the limit coming down. I think I will pass on the plates. (Just kidding, anyway!)

Lauri has two golden retrievers. The girls (Sky on the left and Luna on the right) were very polite and sat quietly beside the table while we ate.

After dinner, they all indulged me by letting me watch the Dancing With The Stars elimination. (Actually, I think they enjoyed it too.) Here Maria and Lauri are in front of the TV while Frank was making his spectacular dessert in the kitchen. Aren't they pretty?

Frank made this incredible dessert, which is a Mexican recipe. It was made with pineapple, coconut, lemon/lime zest and I don't know what other ingredients. After it was baked, he poured tequila over it and lit it (flambe). It was served with ice cream. Oh, my goodness! My tummy was so happy! (I love men who can cook!)

After dinner, dessert (and Dancing With The Stars), we retired to the patio for more good conversation and wine. Luna, who is almost 2 years old, thinks she is a lap dog and wants to be with Lauri (or on her lap) all the time. They are very sweet dogs. What a wonderful day! Maria and Frank were very gracious and gave me a ride home.

I was met on the patio by the orange tabby cat that I shared my fillet mignon with a couple days ago. He came in and visited for awhile. He didn't want to leave and I had to coax him out the door. I will probably see him again tomorrow. He has figured out that he gets food or petting from me.

Galeria Dos Lunas

2009-04-06T21:54:00.015-05:00

Today I met Lauri at her Gallery in Ajijic. I took the bus for 5 pesos (35 cents US). Her gallery is only open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dos Lunas means two moons. She takes in consignment for a lot of artits and jewelry makers. Here are some pictures I took of her gallery.

This is a terrible picture. It was so dark you couldn't read the sign, so I had to lighten it and the sky changed to a weird color. I will have to go back and try again.

There are 4 rooms. This picture is taken from the front door towards the back of the gallery. The first room has mostly jewelry and paintings. The next room has objects of art and more paintings. The 3rd and 4th rooms are smaller and have a variety of things. In this picture, it is hard to distinguish where the 3rd room leaves off and the 4th room starts.

This is a display in the 2nd room. There are some beautiful dichroic glass plates.

This is one wall in the 1st room with jewelry displays.

These 3 pictures show some of Lauri's work. They are all Dichroic glass pendants.

This, too, is a display of jewelry in the 1st room and more art work.

Here are some paintings and miscellaneous crafts in the 2nd room. As you can see, there is a display of earrings as well.

This display is also of the 2nd room. I don't have pictures of the 3rd and 4th rooms. I guess I need to go back.

When we left Lauri's gallery, we went to a Greek restaurant for lunch. We both had a Gyro salad and it was fabulous. I would definitely go back to this restaurant. From there, we went back to Lauri's house sitting house and made jewelry for several hours. I have 3 necklaces strung, but haven't finished them off yet because I'm not sure how I want to finish them.

My Dichroic Pendant

2009-04-05T10:15:00.007-05:00

Lauri brought over the pendant that I made in her class. Here again, I am having trouble taking a picture that doesn't blur. Dichroic glass is difficult to photograph because of the light refraction. Anyway, I'm quite pleased with my piece. What do you think?

Gallery Shows

2009-04-04T20:22:00.007-05:00

Lauri and her friend, Barbara, picked me up about 4:30 p.m. We went to two gallery showings.

The first one was in Chapala. It was a gallery opening and a big doings. There were speeches (in Spanish, of course) and a ribbon cutting. I think we were the only Gringos there. If I got my story correct, this gallery displays the wares of about 75 Mexican families in the area. Lauri's friend, Jose, was displaying his natural soaps, that he makes, and jewelry, that he also makes. He makes a lot of his own glass beads, if I'm not mistaken.

When we first walked into the gallery, there was a staircase leading to the 2nd floor and the Mariachis lined the stairs. It was quite impressive. I didn't get a picture of them on the stairs, but here are a few of them playing in one of the display rooms.

Barbara and Lauri are checking out the carved statues that were displayed.

From here, we went to Ajijic to another gallery showing at the Cultural Center where Lauri knew one of the artists in the showing. He is a young 16 year old Mexican boy who does paintings in different mediums. I got distracted and didn't get any pictures of his work. However, I did get pictures of this artist's work. He would take body molds of live women and then paint the molds. I only posted a couple here, but I thought they were beautiful.

When we walked into the Cultural Center, these young women below were standing there displaying the paper works of another artist. This is living art. These 2 women are dressed in only magazines. All of their clothes are paper. The picture on the right is the back of the young woman in the front (in the other picture.)

After we left the Cultural Center, we went next door and had dinner.

Rings from Guadalajara

2009-04-02T14:36:00.002-05:00

I talk to my sister, Judy, almost every day. We were talking about jewelry and she wanted to see the rings I bought in Guadalajara. I discovered that taking pictures of silver is very hard to do, as it blurs. This is the best I could do.

The ring on my pinky finger has charms on it. It was 91 pesos (wholesale), or about $6.40 US. The ring on my ring finger was 106 pesos (wholesale), or about $7.40 US. Both rings are .925 pure sterling silver. The silver down here is very inexpensive. I bought a couple silver chains, as well, for the pendants that I am making with Lauri.

Rich and Sue's Last Day

2009-04-01T22:23:00.002-05:00

It seems like Rich and Sue just got here and today will be their last day here in Ajijic. They moved over to the La Nueva Posada hotel and have a "beautiful" room on the 3rd floor overlooking Lake Chapala and the gardens below.

This picture was taken from their room at sunset, just before we went out for dinner. Because it is so dark, you really can' see the lake, but during the day, it is visible.

Ajijic Tango is rated the best restaurant in the area, so we decided to go there for our last dinner. We were celebrating our birthdays (we are all the same age and turn a certain milestone this year). It is also Rich and Sue's anniversary tomorrow.

Ajijic Tango is noted for Angus beef, grilled with natural firewood. Believe it or not, this is a fillet mignon. Look at the size of it! I had a Greek salad before this came. I only ate about 2 slices off the end and had to take the rest of it home with me.It was "outstanding." The portions down here are huge.

Shopping in Guadalajara

2009-04-01T17:38:00.003-05:00

Lauri, as you know, has a gallery here in Ajijic, and she does most of her buying for the store in Guadalajara. She also takes clients to Guadalajara for shopping trips. She was taking Barbara today, as well as buying for the gallery, so she invited us to go along.

Guadalajara is probably between 50-60 km (31-37 miles) from the Chapala area. Once on the highway, it is 2 lanes each direction. However, we go through several towns on the way, so the speed limit slows considerably. Where we were going was in the heart of Guadalajara, so it took us close to an hour to get there.

One of the places we went was to a shopping area that would be like our "mall" in the States. Instead of stores, it is like an inside fleamarket with aisles and aisles of merchandise. This building was 3 stories tall and enormous! (Imagine "enormous" and double it! I honestly could have gotten lost without Lauri.) The aisles were very narrow and the vendors sat on stools next to their merchandise in booths. You could buy saddles and spurs next to leather shoes and boots. They had lace tableclothes and household goods. There were pharmacy products and clothes. There was all kinds of jewelry and even a food court. You name it and there was a booth.

We had lunch at one of the little food places. It was true Mexican food cooked right beside us. The waitress was also the cook. It was delicious.

Lauri took us to the places where she gets wholesale discounts on her jewelry. I bought sterling silver chains, a couple sterling silver rings and a couple other necklaces at Lauri's discount price.

This was an example of the hand work on one of the Mexican dresses.

Sue found a beautiful, hand embroidered shirt. Rich was such a sport. He was the purse tender and the hat bearer. He was extremely patient for spending a whole day of shopping with 4 women! (Nice bow on your hat, Rich!)

In another area, there were bronze statues made into chairs. The one Lauri and I are sitting on is of a man (you can see his little tiny head between us) and his shoulders and arms are distorted way out to make the chair. His arms are laying on his lap, which in this case is goosing both Lauri and me. There were 4 to 6 different benches and chairs. I should have gotten more pictures.

This is a street scene of Guadalajara. We were crossing a pedestrian bridge over to another shopping area when I snapped this picture. The mall we came from is to the right, but off the picture.

Just before we left, this horse and buggy was sitting on the street near the shopping mall. It was beautiful.

Dinner at La Nueva Posada

2009-03-31T22:26:00.000-05:00

Tonight we had dinner at La Nueva Posada. They have an indoor restaurant and a garden restaurant overlooking the lake. Guess which one we chose.

The lake is behind Rich and Sue.

The La Nueva Posada hotel is in the background.

Rich checked out the lake before we had dinner.

Yummm! These were our dinner.

After dinner we all shared apple pie ala mode. I didn't get a picture.

Another satisfying day!

Jewelry Making

2009-03-31T14:21:00.005-05:00

Lauri teaches several different types of jewelry making classes. Last week, I took her silver pendant class. The silver comes in a clay form. You roll it and use templates to make the pendants. You have to work fairly fast, as the clay dries quickly. The pendants are fired in a kiln and the non-silver material burns off. The pendants are then polished. I haven't seen the finished product yet, as Lauri's tumbler is on the fritz. She is hoping someone from the States can bring another one down. She has been shaking the tumbler by hand and it takes a LONG time. Since I will be here for awhile, I'm in no hurry.

Today we made pendants from dichroic glass. I had seen this glass before, but didn't know anything about it. Here is information I got from Wikipedia. Lauri told us all this, but I couldn't remember.

Dichroic glass is glass containing multiple micro-layers of metal oxides which give the glass dichroic optical properties. It was developed by NASA for use in satellite optics and spacesuit visors.

It has multiple ultra-thin layers of different metal oxides (gold, silver, titanium, chromium, aluminum, zirconium, magnesium, silicon) which are vaporised by an electron beam in a vacuum chamber. The vapour then condenses on the surface of the glass in the form of a crystal structure. This is sometimes followed by a protective layer of quartz crystal. The finished glass can have as many as 30 to 50 layers of these materials, yet the thickness of the total coating is approximately 30 to 35 millionths of an inch. The coating that is created is very similar to a gemstone and, by careful control of thickness, different colors are obtained.

The main characteristic of dichroic glass is that is has a transmitted color and a completely different reflected color, so it can look a different color at different angles. Dichroic glass can be fused with other glass in multiple firings. Due to variations in the firing process, individual results can never be exactly predicted or duplicated, so each piece of fused dichroic glass is unique. Dichroic glass is specifically designed to be hotworked, but can also be used in its raw form.

This is an example of a dichroic glass pendant that I got off of the internet.

For Lauri's class, we used her kiln and made our pendants with different pieces of regular glass and dichroic glass.

Lauri poured out all her glass fragments for us to choose from.

Here are some of the tools that Lauri uses to cut glass.

This is my pendant pre-firing. It will look totally different after it is fired. The flash from my camera washed it out some. A clear piece of glass, that is slightly larger, is laid over the top of this and it all fuses (melts) together.

Clean Up Day!

2009-03-31T11:30:00.001-05:00

On Tuesdays, the gardener and maid come. Alberto has an old fashioned push-type, manual lawn mower. He has attached a canvas to the back to catch the clippings. He crawls on the ground and does all the trimming by hand and waters everything by hand. (Of course, I water by hand daily too.) Neither he nor Anna speak English, so it is challenging talking to them. I keep my computer up on an English to Spanish conversion program and run back and forth, if I have questions or need to tell them something.

There is always a breeze here and I often keep the doors open. I can't believe how dirty it can get in one week and how many leaves fall. They even blow into the house. I'm sweeping during the week.

Alberto mowing the front lawn.

Quiet Day...

2009-03-30T21:14:00.019-05:00

I promised to post some pictures of the interior of the house where I am house sitting. It isn't very big, but it is very clean and comfortable. I love the gardens in the back yard and the patio in the front.

Today was a stay-at-home day. I watered the plants in the front and back yards and did a couple loads of laundry. The washing machine is outside, under the steps that go to the roof and the clothes line is on the roof. Rich and Sue came over around noon and we sat on the patio and enjoyed some snacks. They went to visit friends up the hill from me and came back later so we could go to dinner.

I am standing in the living room looking towards the dining room and kitchen. The front door is to the right.

Here I am standing in the kitchen looking at the living room. The dining room is to the right. The front door is to the left. There is a fireplace in the left corner. I obviously don't need it this time of year.

This is the ktchen. It isn't very big, but it has all the amenities I need. There are so many good and inexpensive restaurants here, that I eat out a lot.

This is my bedroom. It is quite large and the bed is very comfortable. I was a little concerned about the beds here because of my back problems, but it is one of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in.

The living room is to the left and the dining room is to the right. I am standing at the front door looking towards the back of the house. The desk is computer central. I spend a lot of time there. I open the front door and the back door and get a great breeze going through the house. The hall bath is straight back on the left side of the picture. My bedroom is off to the left of the hall bath and the master bedroom is off to the right, just past the desk.

This is the master bedroom with sliding glass doors to the back yard.

This is the master bath and the bath I was asked to use. I love all the counter space. There are sky lights, so it is quite bright during the day.

Today was laundry day. I have not had to hang clothes on a clothes line in over 50 years. This is for the birds. I'm looking forward to getting back to my clothes dryer. I almost needed a step ladder to reach the lines. My orthopedic surgeon told me to exercise my right arm. It really got exercise today.

Rich and Sue came over tonight and we went to Lety's, a seafood restaurant about a 12 minute walk from where I am staying. I had Camarones (shrimp), rice and vegetables with a mango sauce. It was good, but not as good as the BBQ Ribs at Tony's. There was so much food, I took over half of it home.

We used to have movie nights at Rich and Sue's place, so this is a close as we could come...watching Spanish TV. Actually, there are a few stations that have English speaking programs.

Checking out Ajijic

2009-03-29T18:41:00.010-05:00

This morning, I met Rich and Sue for breakfast at the Laguna B&B, where they are staying. I still had Lauri's car, and she found us there during breakfast. She was feeling much better. We were now on foot.

After breakfast, we strolled the streets and ended up in her gallery, Galeria Dos Lunas, and she swung in and out while we were there. Here are some pictures of our day.

This is a very common site of a cowboy on horseback. Here a vaquero (cowboy) is taking his children for a ride through the streets of Ajijic. They were kind enough to pose for us in front of the lake.

View of Lake Chapala.

We visited the La Nueva Posada Hotel, which sits on the shore of Lake Chapala. Rich and Sue are checking out 2 HUGE parrots. They were beautiful, but the cage could have been bigger.

Sue, our tour guide (hee hee), pointing out the sites. She keeps us entertained. I love her for that!

This is a mural on a building near the park on Colon, the main street through Ajijic to the water. This is hand painted and amazing. Colon is a one way street, barely wide enough for 2 cars. One side is for parking and the other is to skim by.

We started getting hungry about 1:30 p.m., so we took a bus for 5 pesos (35 cents) from Ajijic to Chula Vista, where I live and had lunch.

This fabulous meal was my lunch! We went to Tony's, a little restaurant next to a meat market. Tony owns the meat market, so you know the meat is tops. I had BBQ Ribs and all the trimmings for 95 pesos ($6.64 US) and 2 cervezas (beers) for 17 pesos each ($1.20 US). The meat literally fell off the bone! Rich had lamb, which Tony only grills on Sundays, and Sue had skirt steak, which was mouth watering tender. The lamb was excellent too. We all had to try each other's lunch.

From here, we walked to my house, which was about a 10 minute walk. I gave them a tour, Sue took a quick nap, and they left to take the bus back to their hotel. I'm looking forward to seeing them again tomorrow!

Yea! Rich and Sue Are Here!

2009-03-29T18:24:00.005-05:00

Lauri and I were going to pick up my friends, Rich and Sue Waller, at the Guadalajara airport last night at 10:30 p.m. Rich and Sue were coming down to visit me! What a great gift!

Anyway, Lauri called me about 7:30 p.m. and said she was really sick and asked if I could get them on my own. Now, the airport is just South of Guadalajara, which is about a 40 minute drive from here! I've been to the airport once, when she picked me up and have been on the highway to the airport just once, when she brought me to Lake Chapala and now I have to drive this in the dark!!! Sure, I can do it! What's the worst that can happen? I would end up somewhere else!

Anyway, I left early to give myself plenty of time to make wrong turns. I got there with no problems and only had to make one lap around the airport to figure out where to park.

When they came through customs, Sue came running to meet me. I was so excited to see them. (Rich is the cool dude in the background taking his time!) After I snapped this picture, I was told by security that I couldn't take pictures in the terminal....oops! Oh, well. Too late!

Fortunately, Lauri and I had been to their B&B, so I had their key to their room and knew where to take them. It was about midnight when I dropped them off. I'm so glad they are here!

2009-03-27T19:46:00.002-05:00

I miss my baby, so I added him to my blog. He is going to be so mad at me for leaving him for such a long time. Fortunately, he has a great pet sitter. In this picture, I just woke him up from a nap.

Problem Solved!

2009-03-27T17:34:00.003-05:00

When I got up this morning, I was feeling awful. My cold had taken a turn for the worse. When Lauri called, she asked if I wanted to put off going to Telecable to talk to them about the power cord for the modem box. I would have to have been half dead to put it off!

Lauri picked me up about 10 a.m. and we ran a couple errands for her and then we went to Telecable. I needed her there as I don't speak Spanish and they don't speak English. Lauri's Spanish if pretty good, but she didn't know how to tell them that Linda had accidentally taken the power cord with her, but she did know how to say the cord was stolen. Anyway, they gave us another power cord! THANK YOU, LAURI!!! I now have my life-line to my family and friends again.

After I got back "home," I decided to walk down to the farmacia (pharmacy) and talk to the farmaceutico (pharmacist). Fortunately, he spoke English and I was able to tell him about my sore throat, cold and congestion in my nose. He went into the back and brought me 2 boxes. One had 3 pills in it and he told me to take one for the next 3 days. That box cost me 250 pesos ($17.50 US). The other box had 10 pills in it and I am to take it 3 times a day until they are gone. It cost me 50 pesos ($3.50 US). When I asked Lauri about the pharmacists down here, she said they are like doctors in their education and are very knowledgable.

Then I walked across the street and bought some more groceries. It is about an 8-10 minute walk to the grocery store from my house.

Tomorrow my friends, Sue and Rich, are coming to visit me from California. They are two of my best friends and I haven't seen them in about 6 months. I am so looking forward to seeing them!

Move In Day!

2009-03-26T17:15:00.003-05:00

The Canadian couple who are renting the house where I will be house sitting left for Vancouver this morning. Lauri dropped me off at the house a little after noon. She left, as she had appointments.

My first priority was to set up my computer. I am totally lost without the internet. I got my computer out and plugged everything in to find that the power cord for the modem was missing! OH, NO!!!! Linda must have taken it with her. The modem was there but no power cord. How do I function without the internet? I went into panic mode! I couldn't even unpack because I was so upset!

Well, I packed up my computer again and waited for Lauri to pick me up. She was teaching a jewelry making class tonight and I was going to attend.

We made silver pendants. I really like the one I made. I had brought the silver with me from the States. Lauri had purchased it and had it shipped to me before I left. She has to fire the pendants in a kiln and tumble them to polish them before we can pick them up. I will post a picture when I get it back.

After class, I set up my computer and notified the necessary people about my lack of internet. Lauri is going to help me try to resolve this "little" problem tomorrow.

I've uploaded a few pictures of the exterior of the house where I am house sitting. I will upload interior pictures soon. The washing machines in Mexico are often outside. In this house, it is under the steps that lead to the roof. The clothes line is on the roof.

2009-03-26T17:14:00.000-05:00

Patio and front of house where I am house sitting.

2009-03-26T17:12:00.000-05:00

Front yard of the house where I am house sittiing.

2009-03-26T17:10:00.001-05:00

West side of back yard of the house where I am house sitting

2009-03-26T17:09:00.001-05:00

View towards the lake from the roof of the house where I am house sitting. If you really look closely, you can see the lake through the trees.

2009-03-26T17:07:00.000-05:00

View towards the mountains from the roof of the house where I am house sitting.

Oh, No! I Feel A Cold Coming On!

2009-03-25T10:13:00.000-05:00

Last night when I went to bed, I had a scratchy throat. Oh, boy do I have a sore throat today! I suspect I picked this up on the plane, as I wasn't sick when I left ND.

Lauri is going to be busy most of the day, so I'm just going to read and rest!

Meeting Linda Today...

2009-03-24T20:47:00.001-05:00

I met the people, Linda and Barry, I will be house sitting for today. Lauri was teaching a jewelry making class at 10 a.m., so I took her car while she taught the class. I only expected to be gone for no more than 2 hours. Needless to say, that wasn't the case.

Linda is very organized and had all her lists made out. She showed me around and told me what she needed done (i.e. garbage days, maid and gardener days, water delivery, plant watering, etc.) Then she said, let's take the bus and I will show you around.

We walked to the Super Lake supermarket. It is a really nice grocery store and has a lot of American foods. However, the imported foods are high priced. Anything made in Mexico is a lot lower.

We then got on the bus and went East to the Telecable office to pay for the cable TV and internet. I don't care about the TV so much, but the internet was a requirement of my house sitting.

From there, we took the bus to Ajijic, another village to the West. Linda had some errands to run. The bus is very inexpensive. It only costs 5 pesos (35 cents) from Chula Vista, where she lives to Ajijic. Unfortunately, I had worn my new shoes and after all the walking for her errands, I was feeling it.

We took another bus back to Chula Vista. This bus was late and it was so packed that we missed our stop because we couldn't get through the crowd of people in the aisles to tell the bus driver to stop. So, we walked some more.

Lauri and I had another evening of catching up.

Mexico, Here I Come!

2009-03-23T20:26:00.003-05:00

This morning I got up early, took a shower and packed my bag. I called a cab and got to the Minneapolis airport early. My first destination was Houston, where I changed planes and got on a small plane to Guadalajara. There were 2 seats on one side and only 1 seat on the other. The whole trip was uneventful, so that is a good thing.

When I got to Guadalajara, I went through customs, got my passport stamped and picked up my large, over-weight bag (it cost me $50 for my bag because it weighed 60#). To determine if your bag will be searched or not, you push a red button. If the light turns green, you are good to go. If the light turns red, you have to have your bag searched.

Fortunately, I got the green light. I was sweating it a little as I remembered that I was carrying 10 packets of silver for Lauri. I forgot about that until I got to Guadalajara.

My girlfriend, Lauri, picked me up at the airport. It was so great to see her. It was just like yesterday and we haven't seen each other in probably 4-5 years. I originally met Lauri sailing out of Sausalito in the San Francisco area. We got to be good friends and found out that we both worked for Wells Fargo Bank. Not only did we work for WFB, but we worked in the same building, on the same floor only about 20 yards from one another. We used the same elevators and the same bathroom and never ran into each other before sailing together. That obviously changed after we found that out.

Lauri moved to Mexico about 10 years ago and we have always kept in touch. I adopted her 2 Himalayan cats when she left. I left Shiraz in Richmond, CA with another girlfriend, Enid. I still have Bucca, who is going to be very mad at me by the time I get home.

Lauri is also house sitting for friends of hers for the 6 weeks they will be gone. So, I will be stayig with her at that house until Thursday, when I move over to the house where I will be house sitting.

We stopped and picked up a couple beers and then went back to Lauri's house. She made us dinner, we drank beer and caught up on our lives.

2009-03-23T20:20:00.000-05:00

View from the patio of the house where Lauri is house sitting.

2009-03-23T20:19:00.000-05:00

Patio of the house where Lauri is house sitting.

2009-03-23T20:16:00.001-05:00

Dining Room and Kitchen (to left of dining room) where Lauri is house sitting.

Oh, What a Beautiful Baby!

2009-03-22T20:57:00.003-05:00

My nephew, Jake, was at the train station to pick me up in St. Paul. He took me to my luxurious Motel 6 and said he would come back to pick me up for brunch, which he did.

I finally got to meet my newest great niece. She is beautiful and such a good baby! I even got to hold her. Nikki and Jake are such good parents.

Nikki made my sister-in-law, Mary's, famous Sausage and Egg casserole. It was delicious. Nikki did you proud, Mary!

I had such a nice visit with Nikki and Jake and also got to meet Herbie, their Cornish-Rex cat. Herbie loved sitting on my lap. He knew I was a cat lover!

Jake took me back to the motel after my visit.

2009-03-22T20:42:00.001-05:00

Baby Annabelle! Nikki didn't want her picture taken. You can see her peeking over Annabelle's shoulder.

2009-03-22T20:40:00.000-05:00

A smiling "Belle!"

2009-03-22T20:38:00.001-05:00

My young nephew, Jake, and Herbie, their Cornish Rex, the Greyhound of the feline world.

Last Minute Rush...

2009-03-21T12:00:00.001-05:00

It seems that no matter how organized I am, I am always rushing at the last minute. Today has been no exception. I've had my packing list almost done for 2 weeks. However, a lot of things couldn't be packed until the last minute, like my computer and accessories and my bath products, as I use them daily.

I took my car over to Dad's apartment and he drove me back. I called a cab a 10 p.m. for a 11 p.m. pickup to take me to the Amtrak station. I only had to go about 2 blocks, but it was too far with all my luggage. The cab was on time, but it was driven by a woman and she sat in the cab while I struggled with all my bags. I would have given her a $5 tip just to help me. Her boyfriend was there too and never lifted a finger. Oh, well! Even with a broken wing, I managed.

The plan is to take the train to Minneapolis/St. Paul, visit my niece and nephew and then fly out on Monday morning to Guadalajara, Mexico. The train was a half hour late. The conductor told us to sit on the first level. At Grand Forks, a lady sat with me. I did get a little sleep during the 7 hour ride.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-03-20T21:30:00.001-05:00

Can you believe that I turn 60 today? My God! I sure don't feel it. I actually feel better than I have in about 4 years.

The last few years have really taken it's toll on me. My weight had reached an all-time high! This move to North Dakota has really helped. I really miss my mom, but I have had a chance to decompress and relax. It is nice to be close to my family after over 40 years. The weight is starting to come off (I've lost 22 pounds so far) and I even survived this awful winter weather!

Judy and I were at Best Buy a week or so ago to get her a headset so she can talk to me on Skype. I was admiring a speaker system for my iPod, but didn't want to spend the money. Well...I got it from my sister and wonderful nieces for my birthday. I am tickled pink! Thank you girls for my much appreciated present!

Judy and Ervy went to Minot for the weekend. So, I went to the Ranch (the fanciest restaurant in Devils Lake) and got a steak, baked potato and veges, took it over to Dad's and we shared the meal. It was still more than we usually eat. One meal was way too much for both of us. I'm still full and we ate 4 hours ago. We probaby could have cut it in thirds and still had more than enough.

Dad had gotten me a birthday card and there was even cash in it. Thanks, Dad! I also got calls from some of my nieces. This has been a very nice birthday.

Found a new apartment!

2009-03-19T20:29:00.017-05:00

As most of you know, I interviewed for a programmer/analyst job with CoreLink Administrative Solutions (a subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield) in Fargo, ND. I'm pleased to say I was hired and can hardly wait to start work.

I would love to go back to California, but Dad is so frail, I feel I need to be here for him now. I plan to see him on weekends. I've been doing his laundry and cleaning his house for him. We eat together as often as we can. Sometimes he cooks and sometimes I do.

My trip to Mexico is for pleasure. I will be house sitting for a Canadian couple who have a home in the Lake Chapala area, which is south of Guadalajara. They are going back to Vancouver to take care of some personal business. I will be there from March 23rd to April 27th. My girlfriend, Lauri, lives in this area and I haven't seen her in a few years. Since I will be gone for about a month, my start date with CoreLink won't be until May 4th.

I'm taking Amtrak to Minneapolis Saturday night. On Sunday, I will be visiting with my niece, Nikki, her husband, Jake, and their new 3 month old baby, Annabelle. I am so looking forward to spending time with them. I haven't seen them since my mother's funeral in October.

I leave for Guadalajara on Monday morning. I get back to Devils Lake on April 28th (again on Amtrak). This gives me less than a week to move to Fargo, so I needed to find an apartment before I left for Mexico.

I made a quick trip to Fargo again today to nail down an apartment. I looked at a few more apartments and when I called the apartment complex that I originally was talking to on Tuesday, I got voice mail. I also stopped by the leasing office later and the door was again locked. I knew this was the wrong apartment. I looked at another complex with the exact same floor plans and found an even better apartment. It is perfect! The first one was on the 2nd floor and overlooked the freeway and a truck stop. This one overlooks trees and grass.

It is about 4 miles from work. In addition to my own bedroom, I wanted an office and a guest bedroom. I am hoping my family and friends will come visit...hint, hint! It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath apartment with a washer and dryer in the unit and it is on the first floor! I lived on the 3rd floor of a walk-up in California and I really got tired of hauling stuff up and down several flights of stairs. There are trees outside the living room and a lot of birds. Boy, do they sing! This apartment also comes with a 2 car garage, so I will have a place for extra storage.

So...I am extending an open invitation for family and friends to come visit. Once I get settled, you will have your own bedroom and bathroom during your visit. Life just keeps getting better and better!

Appointments, Appointments, Appointments!

2009-03-18T20:17:00.005-05:00

I've been gone from home most of the last 2 days. I went to Fargo (175 miles from Devils Lake) on Tuesday to have an eye exam and order new glasses, see the dermatologist for my annual checkup (I do this religiously since I had skin cancer) and to have my teeth cleaned. The plan was to also sign a lease for an apartment, since I will have a new job once I return from Mexico. I did meet the leasing agent at the apartment to look at it again and take measurements, but I didn't have time to do the paperwork before my first appointment. Well, to make a long story short, every time I went back to the leasing office to sign the papers, the door was locked. I ended up leaving Fargo without an apartment. I wasn't too happy about this, but I have learned that when things don't go smoothly, I'm often not making the right decision. My gut was telling me this was the wrong apartment.

I'm trying to get all my annual appointments completed before my trip to Mexico. All 4 of my grandparents had colon cancer so I go in every 5 years for a routine colonoscopy. Tuesday night (last night) I stayed with my sister and brother-in-law, Judy and Ervy, so I would be closer to the clinic this morning. I had to drink a gallon of a mixture between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. last night. It didn't taste too bad, but that is a LOT of liquid! Judy and I went to Grand Forks (50 miles from where Judy lives) about 10 a.m. this morning. The procedure went off without a hitch and I had a very good nap most of this afternoon due to the drugs. I do have diverticulosis, which I already knew. Other than that, everything looks good. I got home tonight about 7 p.m.

Tomorrow I'm off to Fargo again to see about an apartment!

Good News, Bad News

2009-03-17T21:25:00.003-05:00

Well, Judy did find out that she didn't have a heart attack (good news), but the stress test is not clear. She now has to go in next Tuesday for an angiogram (bad news). I leave Saturday night by train (Amtrak) for Minneapolis, so I won't be here for her when she goes in. Sis, you will be in my thoughts and prayers! I will be in Mexico by then, so I will wait to get an e-mail from someone with your results. Good Luck, Judy!

Drama...

2009-03-13T20:10:00.010-05:00

I talk to my sister several times a day and called her late yesterday afternoon. She sounded horrible and was having trouble breathing. To make a long story short, she got a quick ride in an ambulance to the hospital. She had all the symptoms of a heart attack. They have done a lot of tests, including a stress test, and we're waiting for results.

I also got the results of my MRI today. I have a non-displaced fracture in my upper right arm and a torn rotator cuff. My doctor sent me over to an orthopedic specialist this afternoon and he said I need to have surgery when I return from my Mexico trip. Darn! I will have my arm in a sling for about 4 weeks and will probably have to have physical therapy. I start my new job on May 4th. What a way to start a new job!

2009-03-13T20:04:00.001-05:00

I took this picture of Judy to remind her that this is NOT to be a repeat performance.

Nearly 5 Weeks and Still in Pain

2009-03-11T07:44:00.002-05:00

We had an ice storm on February 9th. The sidewalk in front of my building has a slight slope and it was like a sheet of glass. I had to cross the icy sidewalk in order to get to my front door. The landlord had put down ice melt directly in front of the door, but not on the sidewalk. I was making every effort to be careful. However, walking up hill on solid ice is nearly impossible and I fell flat on my face. I hurt my right shoulder again...the one I broke about 8 years ago. I did go to the hospital and had it X-rayed. I was told it wasn't broken. I was given a prescription for pain meds and a sling and was sent home.

Here it is nearly 5 weeks later and my shoulder still hurts. I still can't lift my arm from the shoulder. I have an appointment today for an MRI to check it out. I will get the results on Friday. Wish me luck!

Joining the Blogging Community

2009-03-10T12:28:00.001-05:00

I enjoy my niece's blogs so much, I decided to get on the band wagon. With my upcoming trip to Mexico, I thought this would be the perfect way to keep in touch with my family and friends. I will post updates and pictures to let you know of the goings-on in my life.

I haven't figured out how to customize the blog look yet, but hopefully over time, I can make an improvement over the standard template.

I look forward to hearing from you all! Please add your comments and let me know how you are doing in your life as well!