Artisans Fair in Chapala

Today I need to get out of the house. Andre was at home in Canada emptying our home, giving away our prized possessions and I was feeling sad.

There is nothing like shopping to cure a little sadness so I asked my friend Janet if she wanted to go. She had already been but was up to tagging along with me. Yeah!!

First we went to find an artisans outlet just outside of Chapala that she had heard good things about. We found it, after a bit of an adventure and they had so many beautiful vases, jars and other ceramic decorative pieces. Because I have not made this house my home yet, nothing jumped out at me. I found nothing that said this would be perfect there.... So I came away empty handed. Janet found that something that she had to have and bought it.

So off we went to the artisans fair at the Yacht club in Chapala. It was a beautiful setting right on the lake and the lawns were filled with so many beautiful things that I just wanted.

There was a large ceramic jar, about 2.5 feet high that was a glistening pineapple. There were so many colours and I really liked them and wanted them. But the big ones that I loved were $1800 pesos, so unless I knew where I wanted to put it, not a good idea.

I found a mesquite wood carving that was about 3 feet high of a dolphin diving in the water. The dolphin was oiled and smooth and the base that it sat on was in its original condition. It matched all the other wood pieces that I had been given by my parents in their travels and matched all the others that I now inherited. It was only $900 pesos so it was a steal but I thought that if I was going to get something like that I should know where it was going to go.

I found so many beautiful things like a silver toilet paper holder that had painted flowers on it, a silver earring holder with a butterfly on it for Kristen.'

Mexico has black pottery that is just spectacular and I had seen it when I was here visiting my parents years ago. I really loved it then and wanted to buy it, and here it was today at the shop. Thank goodness there was not one that I adorded today or my pocket book would have been hurt.

Mexico has the most beautiful artwork made from the bark of a tree. The bark is soaked so they can manipulate it into braids, cutouts and all sorts of designs. The colours are always natural brown, beige or soft white and they had so many there so reasonably priced. I would love to have one and I will one day.

Janet my friend and common sense for the moment made me think about all that I wanted to buy.

So I decided that I would enjoy these found treasurers so much more if I was to search and find them, falling in love with each piece when my husband was here with me and we could build our new home together.

So that is what I am doing. I will wait and live in a house that it filled with memories and some one else's things so that I can create a new life and home, together with the love of my life.

I can't wait!!!