It has been a busy time, especially this last week with the ladies from Halifax. On Tuesday, Jack & Kate had the whole gang to their place for dinner. We relaxed on Wednesday night, but the ladies had all of us to their place for dinner on Thursday night. Friday night we all went to Bodega restaurant for dinner and a bit of dancing. Saturday night, everyone was here to help us celebrate the completion of our gazebo. We were lucky in that it was a warm day (27 C) and evening so that we could eat and sit out all evening. Tonight it is much cooler. This morning, I took the ladies to the airport for their return to Halifax. I think that they all enjoyed this short, but meaningful emersion in Mexican culture.
They got to witness most of the Ajijic’s San Andres fiesta (about 11 days). They went a couple of times in the evening to witness the activities (including the fireworks) and of course the morning firecrackers at 6 a.m. each day to wake people up for mass. Today in the plaza in front of the main church, there were Indian dancers putting on a long dance programme. I don’t know how they could keep going for so long. This is the last full evening of the fiesta. Each day’s events, including the fireworks and free entertainment in the town plaza, is sponsored by a different group or area of town. Apparently, as soon as one year’s fiesta is finished, the groups start saving money and planning for their day the next year. Each group wants to put on as lavish and grand a display as possible.
As I mentioned, the gazebo is finished. However, we also got a heavy screen door (with iron bars) installed in the guest bedroom. I had expected a frame that would be screwed into the walls. However, when it came (it was made-to-order by a blacksmith), it was intended to be embedded in concrete. They chopped the cement door step so that they could put the door with a piece of rebar down about 4 inches and recemented. Along each side were three 4 inch, v-shaped pieces of metal. They then chopped holes in the wall so that these could be put in place and cemented in! It is mostly done, except that the painter has to finish a few touchups on Monday. Like the gazebo, it is extremely solid and well built (cost including installation 4000 pesos--$400). Also, we had 4 other jobs done around the house while they were here. The extra charges for these was 850 pesos (about $85). I almost fell over because I was expecting 3 or 4 times that amount. Jose Luis’ reputation for good and very reasonably priced work is well deserved.
It is hard to realize that tomorrow is December and we shall be leaving for Halifax on Dec. 16, just a little over 2 weeks away. I expect that the temperatures and weather will be a bit of a shock. BTW, our friends, Kate and Jack also have a blog so you can get other news and views from Ajijic http://www.kateandjack.blogspot.com/
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