Fiesta time

We have been busy. The work around the house, especially on the gazebo, has continued and is almost finished. I just spoke with the contractor and he says that there will just be finishing touches for Monday. The roof is about 80% tiled. On Friday, the blacksmith came and took measurements for the screen door to be installed on the spare bedroom. That too will be finished and installed sometime next week. With the tiles mostly fiinished on the gazebo roof, it is looking very good, as good as I had visualized it.

Barb had been trying to find a way to get a Total Gym exercise equipment, but has found that there is no way to get one delivered in Mexico and no one seems to sell them here. She even went to the new Wal-Mart store which opened just last week a few blocks from us. Barb was swearing that she would never go to Wal-Mart, but she was desperate. They had nothing worth buying. However, she saw a classied ad for a Bowflex machine. We went to see it; it is a professional model with all the bells and whistles. We bought it. Barb will be able to start getting herself in shape again.

The guy we bought if from has a very interesting story. He and his wife are Canadians (from Nova Scotia) who have lived down here for 12 years. He said that they had been in the restaurant business for many years and had been able to sell out and retire early. However, they had invested their money in the US and have lost so much in the current financial collapse that they have to sell and go back to Canada to return to work. As you can imagine, he was pretty bitter about those responsible; however, for some reason, he is blaming Democrats in the US Congress, rather than the Republicans who I hold responsible--the entire ‘deregulate everything’ bunch since Ronald Reagan. He says that his wife is already back in Nova Scotia working while he tries to sell. The house (for which they are asking almost US$550,000) is beautiful. It is up the side of the mountain with gorgeous views of the lake. It has 3 bedrooms and 3.5 baths. Very luxurious in all respects. I noticed and commented on the huge stainless steel BBQ. It was obviously his pride and joy as he described all the features. He said that it had cost over $6,000. All the furniture is going with the house.

The Ajijic annual saint’s fiesta officially go started yesterday. That means big, loud, ‘boom’ firecrackes (rockets) in the evening, and again in the morning. They were going for almost half an hour starting about 6 a.m. this morning. The fiesta lasts for about 2 weeks. The entire area about 2 blocks around the town plaza is closed to traffic and rides for the children as well as all kinds of stands to sell food and other things are set up in the streets. Then, there are entertainments almost every night in the plaza. Our ladies from Halifax are down near the center of all this. It should be very interesting for them even if they would be happy to do without the firecracker serenade at 6 a.m.

The weather this week has been cooler than it usually is this time of year. However, the forecast is for warmer weather next week. Of course ‘cooler’ is relative. It has been going down to 9 - 11 C at night and only up to about 20 - 22 C in the afternoon. Not exactly frigid, but one does have to put on a sweater at night and I have given up my shorts for long blue jeans and my sandals for shoes and socks. Real hardship!