Lake Chapala's Martha Stewart

Last night we were invited to Rosemary and Bob's house for dinner. I love their house, their company, their friendship but even if didn't have all that going for them, being invited to their house for dinner would still be an honour.

My grandmother was invited as well and she was welcomed with her favourite drink, Vodka and Orange Juice. But this was not just a normal drink because they squeezed the oranges to make homemade juice.

Their house is built into the mountainside and has a spectacular view of the lake and mountains. That was where we enjoyed our conversation and drinks while getting ready for dinner.

We were fed the most amazing Chinese food, better than any restaurant I have ever been to and it was all homemade. We had coconut shrimp, egg rolls, crab balls, shrimp with lobster sauce and more. Our desert was homemade key lime pie made with the juice of the limes from their own trees.

After dinner our daughter was invited into the craft room. Imagine a whole room to do what you love. I would so want one of my own. There they sat making homemade earrings of Kristen's choice of bead. Spoiled!

We were sent home each with a homemade loaf of bread. Rosemary makes the most amazing bread you have ever tasted. I tried desperately to resist eating any when we arrived home because I was so full from dinner but all night their was a voice calling me "I'm over here - try me with butter" and finally at 11pm I broke down and did just as the voice suggested. Soo goood!!

We definitely have our own Martha Stewart right here at Lakeside and I feel so blessed to be invited. Thank you.

Kristen's Birthday Today

Today is Kristen's 10th birthday. It is hard to believe that it was 10 years ago. In some ways it seems like yesterday but in other's she is such an old soul that it feels like she has always been apart of my life.

When I was growing up, my parents woke me up on my birthday by singing Happy Birthday to me and coming into my bedroom loaded with my presents. What an amazingly happy memory that I have.

This morning Andre and I woke up and went into Kristen's room singing Happy Birthday. She bounded out of bed and hugged us both. She was so happy to wake up like that, the same as I did. But she had to wait until after school for her presents otherwise we would never have gotten her to school today at all.

We bought a cake for her to take to school. Her teacher asked Kristen when she wanted to have the cake - either before class or after. She of course chose before which meant that she and the rest of her class was eating chocolate cake at 8am. Can you imagine?

All day long the teachers gave her candy and chocolate as a gift. The Spanish teacher had the class sing Happy Birthday in Spanish to her and then each child came and gave her a hug for her birthday. What an amazing tradition!!

Tonight we took her to Ajijic Tango for dinner at her request. They make Argentinian steak in a wood burning oven which is to die for. We had an appetizer of grilled Provolone with grilled red pepper and tomato. Then had steak with grilled veggies topped with melted Parmesan cheese.

Then we played pass the desert. I ordered cheese crepes with strawberries, Kristen ordered chocolate mousse and Andre ordered Strawberry ice cream with Raspberry sauce. Nobody finished what they ordered. I love that.

We had wine, beer, coffees and all that I just shared for all three of us for $617 pesos - with the peso now we are looking at over $50 CDN for our amazing dinner. Eating here in Mexico is just so indulgent it is wonderful.

Happy Birthday Baby!! We love you.

Canadian Thanksgiving in Mexico

Yesterday was our Canadian Thanksgiving and we celebrated in style. I did not want to spend one whole day of my week with Andre cooking a Thanksgiving dinner that I guaranteed we would have spent the rest of the week eating leftovers because I don't cook small. So we went looking for a place to have dinner.

I had originally thought that we would eat at La Neuva Posada by the lake which is put on by the Canadian club and was $215 pesos each person but when I went to buy tickets they were sold out.

Plan B was I found a second restaurant called Manix in the Ajijic village on Ocampo and they were having a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner for $130 pesos each. I was thrilled to have not gotten tickets at La Neuva Posada.

We had us included Andre, Kristen and my grandmother and me and then we invited our neighbours and friends T and Ed and then I invited Rafael who is Kristen's tutor. He is such a wonderful man and he was a great addition to our table.

We had a choice of Carrot soup or Salad for starters, then our dinner had Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli and gravy. They served us bread and butter as well and Mexican butter is so sweet and amazing. I could have had so much more.

Half of us had wine with our dinner and when we ordered a second glass they came and brought the wine to to the table and poured just like you would do at home. The restaurant also looked so homey so it was a perfect spot for our Thanksgiving.

Desert was a choice of Pumpkin or Pecan pie. Both werre amazing but I ordered the Pumpkin which after asking if it came with a lot of whipped cream, mine was piled high. Hilarious.

All in all our dinner for 7 with drinks and coffees came to $1,125 pesos which I thought was a total bargain.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Parent Teacher Meeting at the School

Today I had an appointment for a parent teacher meeting at Kristen's school. When they called to make the appointment I was told that they were concerned about Kristen. Other than that I knew nothing.

So I showed up this morning and was escorted into a conference room with the English teacher, the Spanish teacher, the team co-coordinator and the student coordinator. That is a lot of people to support each student. At first it was overwhelming but then I began to understand the role that each played for the total growth of the student. Pretty amazing. We certainly didn't have that in Canada.

The reason I was called in was because Kristen was not integrating well and that was translating to her attitude and quality of work. She was feeling overwhelmed and when she didnt understand she just shut down and didn't bother to try.

I started to cry in the middle of the meeting, in front of these 4 women and it was embarassing but all I felt was guilt over putting her in this situation that she felt unable to ask anyone for help.

I asked that Kristen be brought into the conference and I could see the relief on her face that she had all this support to help her through it. She is determined to use all the help available. I am so proud of her. Her teachers said the same as well as how intelligent she is. Wonder where she gets it from?

So now she will have after school spanish lessons, a tutor at home 5 days a week and in class tutoring on her subjects and the language as well. With all this support I know she is in the right place and I am happy that we are here. What an amazing experience for her.

Butcher in San Juan Cosola Mexico

When my parents came up to Canada for my paternal grandmother's funeral three years ago, my mother was determined to eat and enjoy everything that she was unable to eat here in Mexico. We had Prime Rib roast beef with yorkshire pudding (my speciality) veggies and horseradish three times in a week and half. We had lobster only once. That should show you how much a good roast beef meant to my mother.

Growing up we had the traditional Sunday night dinner. It was always a roast of some kind. Usually prime rib or pork with crispy rind or whole roasted chicken was the item served. It was comfort food and at the time sometimes felt boring. Imagine being able to say and truly mean it - "Oh No not Prime Rib roast beef and yorkshire pudding again"

I believed my mother's opinion of what life was like in Mexico and I have not gone out of my way to prove her wrong or that things are changing here. I mentioned in a previous post that my mother felt that the schooling here was not up to par and that has been proven incorrect.

Looks like I may have just stumbled upon another thing that has progressed here in Mexico. Friends of my parents, who I am happy to say have become my friends, Rosemary and Bob, sent us an email about a great butcher shop in San Juan Cosola. I dropped in today and asked about the products there. Bob assured me that you could not only get an amazing aged Prime Rib and a pork roast with the rind, but anything else you may want as well.

He took me over there because I don't know the area and introduced me to the butcher (or his brother - not sure). I bought a couple of thick tenderloin steaks, 2 kilo's of split pork ribs and 3 thick pork chops for 120 pesos. I will let you know how they turned out but if they taste as good as they look we will be making the drive again.

Oh and for those who read my post regularily, I mentioned my bra issue to Rosemary and she helped me out. YEAH!! Thank you. I love handmedowns. They always thrill me.

Perfect Blue Skies are Back

When I was here in February and March, my Dad and I talked about the weather here. He said other than the rainy season, a cloud in the sky - just one cloud - constituted overcast skies here. I laughed and thought he was funny.

I have now lived through my first rainy season here and generally there wasn't alot of time raining, although we did receive over the average in rainfall this season. But what I really noticed was that the sky was full of clouds always - or almost always. Even if there was only a few clouds, the sky never seemed clear and bright and blue.

Well today as I sit at my computer, looking out my window, I see the green mountains, the sway of the coconut palm tree in my front yard and the clearest bluest sky. Not a cloud in sight. It is so crisp and beautiful.

I have been told that the rainy season ends in September and seeing as today is the last day of September, it just might be over. My only hope is that the mountains wont' turn brown and dry before Andre gets to see them when he comes on the 11th.

When he was last here, the mountains were sparce and brown and baren. Today they are green and lush with some trees blooming yellow flowers as dots on the horizon. You add in the clear blue sky and it is awe inspiring to say the least.

Wish you were here to see it with me.

Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have to admit that I have been horrible cook for just Kristen and I so I finally got tired of waiting until my husband arrived, to make a decent meal.

I wanted not only a decent home cooked meal but also a treat. I thought of cookies and went online searching for a good recipe for chocolate chip. My normal favourite recipe is on the bag of chipits and I didn't think that I would be able to either find that brand here and if I could, it might not be worth the price to buy them.

I found on my favourite recipe site, Epicurious.com a recipe for Mexican chocolate chip cookies. The recipe added cinnamon and pepper to the recipe and I used Mexican chocolate as some reviewers suggested.

I have to say that I just took the first batch out of the oven and of course I just had to eat the one that broke. Well didn't I? Guess what? They are amazing. It definitely has that Mexican zing to them but still sweet and runny.

I find that while I am here in Mexico, I really want to cook like a Mexican but am at a loss on finding traditional recipes. A couple of months ago I was invited to a neighbours house who was making arracherra for dinner so I found a recipe for Mexican corn pudding from a chef in Guadalajara to bring as my contribution. I am happy and proud to say that there was not a drop of it left.

Mexican cooking is so much more than Taco Bell. I am thrilled to be experimenting with it.

Want a cookie?

My grandmother and her garden

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My grandmother asked me to take pictures of her and her garden so that she could send to her nephew and her sister. I got out my camera and went to her casita and told her I was ready to take the pictures that she requested. She insisted that I come later after she had changed and dressed for the occasion.

I went home and waited for her to prepare. What I wasn't prepared for was her posing. Not only would she hide her walker but she would pose like she was a supermodel. How hilarious for a 94 year old woman to pose like that. She still is young at heart.

She told me to stand here and take a picture facing this way. She told me to move there and take this picture. She has this image that she wants the camera to see, but not all shots come out like her eyes see it.

I probably shouldn't admit this because she won't be happy about it but I can't resist. Can you see the pictures and in some she is wearing a blue outfit and in others she is wearing a pink? She wanted it to look like the pictures were taken at different times, so she did a costume change between sets. You can also see in the picture of her reading, that it appears as if I walked into her casita with my camera and couldn't resist taking a picture of her reading. She is such a model and loves to pose.

I took the pictures and then showed them to her on the computer. She couldn't understand how they got from the camera to the computer or how you could reuse the chip. I tried to explain that it was like a plate. You could fill the plate with food and then transfer the food to your stomach. But then the plate could be used again the next day to put more food on it. I think she understood but usually when she just laughs like she did, its her way of saying - Never mind.

She insisted on printing the pictures so she could mail to them to her family because she doesn't understand how they can emailed and viewed. I took my chip to the local drugstore and used the Kodak machine to print out the pictures I wanted. I requested 3 sets of most pictures and 2 of some, so she could mail them and still have a copy of herself. Seems I didn't read her mind well enough and I printed too many. Oh well.

Here are some of the pictures of her and her garden. You can see she has aged but still amazing for being 94 years old.

Lake Chapala Pictures

This post will be mostly pictures of Lake Chapala. My Dad took the before pictures in July 2003 when the lake was really low and the after pictures were taken today.

Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to control where the pictures end up, so they are not in order, but I am sure that you can figure out which are before and which are after pictures.

The picture of the boy was a picture that I couldn't resist sharing. As I was walking along the Ajijic malecon (pier) there was a boy there who had a rope dangling into the lake. When I looked down I saw many fish still alive but stuck to the rope. The boy was kind enough to lift his catch to show me, although he had to really work to hold them up high. Can you see how hard the load is for him to hold on his face?

Do you see the sandbags and the men continuing to fill them. They are trying to encircle where the beach park was, but as you can see, all they seem to be doing is holding the water in. I am sure that they have a plan.

Can you imagine eating a picnic at one of these picnic tables?
I hope you enjoy but if the lake rises too much more, I am not sure what they are going to do.

Lake Chapala and Robertos

I thought I would listen to my own thoughts on my last blog and decided to make this afternoon, family day for Kristen and I. We drove down to the lake and took some pictures of where it is now.

Last April 19th was my wedding anniversary and Andre and I were here for it. We made reservations for La Tasca which had been recommended to us but somehow made the mistake and walked along the beach and ended up at Roberto's on the beach.

We loved the food, the ambiance and the view of the lake as we ate. We loved how we walked along the beach to get to the restaurant.

Well Roberto's has moved and you can see why. Now they are on the carreterra on the west end. We will have to try it one day but the view will never be the same.

Early Dismissal every Friday

I am getting ready to pick up my daughter from school shortly because it is Friday. Every Friday the school lets out an hour early at 1:30pm.

I think its wonderful. They work hard all week going to school from 8am - 2:30pm and my daughter has after school Spanish lessons Tuesday and Thursday until 4pm. Every night they have at least 1 hour of homework, so letting them leave early on Friday I think is a wonderful reward for working hard all week.

Imagine if it worked like that in the adult working life. Imagine working hard and being rewarded EVERY single week. Imagine earning an extra 20% a week for working hard.

What would our world be like if every Friday afternoon was family time around the world? How would our children be different? How would WE be different?

What an amazing concept to imagine and consider. I think I would really like that world.

Gardeners are Here

As I sit here at my desk and write this, the gardeners are here working. Two things have crossed my mind that I wanted to share with you about this, one is regarding me and other my grandmother.

Our gardeners come Tuesday and Thursday. On Tuesday this week, they trimmed plants that my grandmother instructed them on and planted half of the flowers that she bought. Basically they worked on the outside perimeter of the garden. Today, they are mowing the lawn, weeding and planting the interior flowers.

My grandmother follows them around, instructing them on every little thing that she wants, even grabbing the shovel from one man and beginning to dig the hole by herself, leaving her walker standing beside her. She knows exactly what she wants because when they aren't here, she is walking around staring, imagining and dreaming of what she wants. So the picture is crystal clear in her head and all she has to do is convey those thoughts and life is good.

I am not nuts about gardens and flowers but I have stood staring, imagining and dreaming of my house as I was building it. I could see exactly what I wanted and would instruct my husband or whoever was working on my project to do exactly what I wanted. I am doing that now, here in Mexico trying to find what will please my heart. You will find my staring and imagining throughout the day.

Now I know where it came from. It is truly amazing how much I am learning about my mother and myself by living with my grandmother.

Telmex Phone Bill

Yesterday I went and paid the phone bill at Telmex. It was the 22nd of the month and the bill was due on the 24th. Here in Mexico there is no credit or grace period. If the bill is due on the 24th and it's not paid until a couple of days after, do not expect to have your service still operational.

When I was there and waiting in line, there was a woman trying to pay someone else's bill. Apparently from what I was able to hear, the person who's phone bill she was paying was up north. She had arranged for Lloyd's bank to pay her bills when she was out of the country and it was missed. So her phone and internet were cut off. When she inquired as to how long it would be until the service was repaired, seeing as she was paying now, she was told - 20 minutes. I bet she wouldn't make it home before the service was repaired. What a great way to reduce your accounts receivable.

My bill was about 670 pesos and that includes my local phone, internet service and a charge for my Dad's old cell phone. You still have to load minutes on the phone as it is a pay as you go but for some reason there is this 10 peso charge every month. One day I will figure it out but not today.

The other thing that really stuck out in my mind was I was there in my shorts and tank top or tshirt, don't really remember which, and every man who worked there was in a starched white shirt, with an undershirt underneath and a tie. How on earth could they look so clean and neat in this heat? Will I ever climatize and be able to wear long sleeved shirts?

But nowhere in Canada when you went to the phone center would you find someone looking like an office professional serving you. They truly show respect for everything here.

Our Garden in Paradise

My grandmother who adores and lives for flowers (she really should have been a florist when she was working) decided when my parents both died that she would like to make the garden hers. Her idea was that if she could see something beautiful and blooming daily, then it would give her a reason to live.

For a while though instead of it giving her a reason to live the garden put her on a roller coaster. She was happy and excited when the flowers were blooming but then she fall into the pits of despair if one died. I think we have gotten her off the roller coaster.

She took some of her investment money, money that she had never wanted to touch in case something happened to her, and she had a garden designer and arborist come in and redo the garden. My parents had liked the overgrown, tropical jungle kind of look. My grandmother wanted to remove some plants, open it up and plant hordes and hordes of flowers. I seriously am not exaggerating.

She trimmed back all the large supporting plants to just give a backdrop to lovely, heavenly sent flowers and life was good. For awhile.

The neighbours in front of us, decided that they were tired of all the overgrowth of our plants, cascading into their yard and they had their gardener cut it back. I am sure that they are thrilled with the openess and light that now fills their garden but my grandmother was in a state of frenzy, watching her private beautiful garden open up and now feel exposed with all the holes available for our neighbour to view our activities.

I told my grandmother that watching her sleep was not that exciting and I am sure that they aren't watching but she believes that it would be worthy of watching. Makes me wonder what she does in her sleep. LOL

Yesterday in one of our endless runs to the garden center, instead of just buying flowers with as little green on them as possible, she actually bought plants that don't flower and will fill in the holes created by trimming back the excess. Is there a metaphor here? Hmm I think so.

Grocery Shopping at Soriana in Chapala

I just took my grandmother grocery shopping at Soriana's in Chapala, the next town about 10 minutes away. We both bought quite a bit of food although my groceries don't last as long as her between a growing 10 year old and myself.

I bought yogurts, cheese, meat, juice, fruit and veggies, soap, conditioner ( have you noticed how you need to buy conditioner a lot faster than the shampoo?) and all sorts of other goodies. My bill came to 670 pesos (about $67).

My grandmother did the same but added a bottle of vodka (she buys a large bottle for 59 pesos - remember the 10 - 1 ratio of the dollar - too cheap LOL) Her bill was about the same as mine but instead of lasting a week like mine does, her will last her about 3 weeks.

Walmart is set to open just around the corner from us - walking distance actually unless we grocery shop. It is supposed to open the end of November just in time for Christmas shopping. It is also going to be a superstore. I am curious if they are going to stock a lot of NOB (north of the border) products and what price they will be.

We have a store called Super Lake that caters to the "gringos" and has every product that we can get including the luxury items like caviar, smoked salmon and my grandmothers must have today - Cheez Whiz.

Me, I am looking forward to my smoked salmon on toast with butter, chopped red onion and dillweed. Who called this a third world country? They are crazy.

Schooling in Ajijic

Years ago when my parents had just settled down here in Ajijic, we got to talking about what it would be like if I moved there. My mother was insistent that moving here before my daughter had finished school was not a good idea. She was informed that the school system here was not as good as in Canada.

Little did my mother know at that time that she would pass on suddenly and I would find myself here caring for her mother and raising my daughter as well.

I researched and asked everyone about the schools. Almost everyone that I met and respected sent their kids to Terra Nova and my kid had met so many other children going there, we just opted for this particular private, bilingual school.

The school is in the top 10% of all schools in the state of Jalisco and they are working hard to be in the top 10 - period. They have a huge percentage of teachers that have their PHD and masters degrees.

School is taught in English for the first half of the day and Spanish on the second half. I have hired a tutor for my daughter to help her with her homework and he is doing wonders with her. She is understanding more and more and not falling behind in her schoolwork.

She attends after school Spanish lessons twice a week as well to help her learn the language. I have been told that after Christmas a light will click on in her head and she will be bilingual.

What an awesome opportunity for her. She also has available French and Italian after school lessons which we will take up next year after she has Spanish down pat. The school is a major prep for the University of Guadalajara, which is world renowned.

I am thrilled with the teachers, the school, the curriculum and the students. I am sure that she is getting a much better education here than she did in Ontario. There is daily homework and accountability. They teach values and not religion, which I am thrilled with. You can't learn too much values but religion is personal for me.

If you ever find yourself living in Mexico with school aged children, (I have met so many people here who are raising their grand kids here in Mexico while they are retired) don't be afraid of the schools. There are excellent ones that you would be proud to send your children to.

Driving in Ajijic Mexico

Driving in Ajijic is similar to driving anywhere in some ways but so different in others. Today, I want to share my observations as a newcomer to Ajijic. For those who don't know the terrain here let me try to give you a visual. Ajijic is sandwiched between the mountains on the north and Lake Chapala to the south. Ajijic resides in the narrow place between the two, so the major roads run east and west.

How driving is different in Ajijic than Toronto:

1. Instead of seeing construction signs on the road, the warning signs are for cows. You will see cows grazing on the grasses beside the highway as a way of cheaply feeding the animals. At night beware when driving on the highways for dead cows or worse yet a live one in the middle of the highway.

2. Because this system works so well for the cow farmers, the horse owners have adopted it as well, when you drive along the road, try to count how many horses are tied up and grazing along the road.

3. Drivers use common sense. It's shocking. If the oncoming traffic has someone trying to make a left, you let them in to let the rest of traffic flow, regardless of the rules or traffic lights.

4. When driving in the village where the roads are cobblestoned and very narrow, if it is a two way street, ensure that you drive slow enough to watch for not only children but dogs, roosters and horses on road. They have the right of way.

5. When driving on a road that is too narrow, the right of way is given to the one who has the hardest time of making way. To explain if there are cars parked on the southbound side of the road and you are driving south and an oncoming car is approaching, then you would yield to the oncoming traffic and pull over to let them pass because it the easiest.

Driving in Ajijic is easy and fun as everyone waves and smiles but you have to find your way to blend in and not try to drive with the same habits and attitudes that seem to be necessary north of the border.

Next post I will talk about the vehicles and what is acceptable on the roads.

Regato de Globos in Ajijic

What do you get when you cross fireworks with the excitement of a live sporting event? You get the Regato de Globos.

The participants spend all year preparing for this event, making their paper balloons out of all sorts of colours and shapes. Then on the big day, they haul all their handmade Globos down to the outdoor arena. The arena is littered with ladders all around and in the center is a 3 story scaffolding.

In the stands is a live band like a marching band but sitting instead. The outskirts of the arena are filled with stands with fresh fruit, barbequed corn on the cob (which is served with lime juice and chili powder) and beer and wine. I have never been to live event where you go to the concession stand and buy your Corona to bring to the stands and drink. How cool!!

Then the first balloon launches and the crowd cheers. It has begun. Some balloons hesitate as they begin to rise and the crowd moans in anquish for the potential failing balloon but then if it catches the wind and begins to rise, the crowd cheers like their team has just scored a goal. The band plays loudly almost in unison with the raising and falling balloons.

What is heartbreaking is the balloons that never get off the ground and burn there in humiliation. I don't think I mentioned but they are hot air balloons made of paper with a burning helium ring on the bottom. Sometimes the flames ignite the balloons as they are preparing to rise. Sometimes the balloons are rising but the wind twists them into a dance of survival for the balloon with the flames winning sometimes. And the crowd moans.

But when a balloon rises properly and catches the wind beautifully it can rise to the heavens, dancing around the mountains in little dots in the sky.

What an exciting and beautiful event.

Welcome to Kathy in Ajijic Mexico

Hi there. I'm Kathy and here I am in Ajijic Mexico with my daughter Kristen.

I want to share with you my experiences in Mexico, the school system here and living with an elderly person. I hope to share insights and humour that you will enjoy. As a 43 year old woman from Canada and living here with my 9 year old daughter I have a different point of view than some of the retired folks here. My husband will follow us here when our house sells in Canada and then we can add his perspective as well. I plan on sharing my experiences of living here in Paradise when you aren't retired.

But before I do, I am sure that you are wondering how I came to be living here. Quickly I will share my story. My parents retired here in Ajijic with my grandmother. They arrived in 2001 and loved it here.

Unfortunately this year has been full of change and loss. My parents both passed on within 7 weeks of each other this spring, leaving my 94 year old grandmother here alone. My husband and I agreed that we would move here to care for her and start our lives over.

So here I am, with my daughter and my husband is trying to close off our life in Canada. Today it has been 4 days short of 3 months since I have seen him. Makes me feel for the families with loved ones in the military.

We are off to see the Regato de Globos which is a competition for Mexicans where they make hot air balloons out of Japanese tissue paper and then float them in the air. I will take pictures and share with you.

Until next time,
Kathy