Elvis Stojko

We seem to be well into the rainy season in the last week. We had a couple of rains during the first couple of weeks, but it didn’t change the pattern too much, i.e., pretty hot days. However, we have had a couple of heavy rains with cloudy and cool days this past week. We also rediscovered a couple of leaks, although not too bad. We have also had a couple of power outages. The first heavy rain last Monday brought down an enormous amount of debris from the eucalyptus trees. They shed bark like a snake. When we got up, we found large pieces of bark, especially inside and outside the front wall, but also in the back and in the courtyard. The next 2 rains brought less each time. The daytime temperatures have also been cooler--80º F (27º C) or less. Everyone is relieved, the mountains are turning green and the lake level has started to rise.

On Sunday at Open Circle, one of the speakers is Elvis Stojko along with his partner. They are talking about ‘alkaline water’. This is quite big in Japan. In the 1990s, Margaret and I heard about it from a couple of enthusiasts; we even bought the machine. It uses electrolysis to separate water into acidic and alkaline types. We didn’t notice any specific benefits, but we didn’t try it for very long; I can’t remember exactly why we didn’t continue. Anyway, it should be interesting to see and hear Elvis.

He lives down here close by in Lakeside but I don't know exactly where. He has been in the news a couple of times because he is coaching a young Mexican figure skater in Guadalajara. It is quite hard for the latter; as you can imagine, there is no program and few facilities. There is only a small rink, not a regular sized one for practicing and developing. It is an unlikely sport for a Mexican youngster, but kind of like the Jamaica bobsled team that came to the Calgary Olympics. The other former Canadian figure skater now living in Mexico is Toller Cranston, but he lives in San Miguel. He is more noted now for his painting here; some time in our first year here, there was a showing of some of his paintings. Our friend, Sonia, saw his mansion in San Miguel a couple of years ago. Cranston is not so popular with Canadians here; last fall, he was scheduled to speak to the Canadian Club, but literally at the last minute, he canceled. He was always unpredictable, and apparently still is.

Speaking of the Canadian Club, we have tickets for the July 1st picnic and affair. Last year, we waited until the last minute and the tickets were all sold. The Canadian Club has all its functions at the Neuva Posado Restaurant. The owner was a Canadian, but moved down here 25 or 30 years ago either before or after marrying a Mexican woman. The restaurant is part of a lovely, small hotel on the lake front; it is a favourite place for some of our Nova Scotia friends, especially the Sunday brunch. With all the snowbirds gone, we are not going out to eat as much as we do in the winter. We probably should go more as it is a tough time for the restaurants without the custom from the snowbirds.