Busy times

We have had some good visits with family. Jeff, Tarra and Aiden arrived on Dec. 26th; Angie and Matt arrived on Dec. 27th. Jeff brought his Wii game machine so we all, except Barb, engaged in various contests. It can be quite addictive, especially if one is at all competitive. Every time you lose, you immediately want a rematch to try to get even. Lots of fun and much better than TV watching with its passivity. Jeff and Tarra left on the 28th, leaving Aiden behind. He is really good. He likes is afternoon nap at about 1 p.m. and goes to bed at 7. The only downside is that he wakes up at 5 a.m. or shortly after. However, even then if someone says hello, he seems content to stay in his crib, talking to himself.

Matt had to work on Monday, Dec. 29th so they got up and left about 8 a.m. Later about noon, Barb's sister Emma and her spouse Sonya arrived. We had lunch in the lodge and spent the afternoon together. Last night, there was just Aiden with us. Jeff and Tarra are to return today to attend a cooking demonstration at the lodge and to pick up Aiden. Also today Dawn and Gordon are to arrive before noon to spent 2 nights with us as well as attend the New Year's Eve dance. Then, on Dec. 31st, Barb's sister, Faye, and her husband Keith from Toronto are scheduled to arrive. Wendy and Greg may also come. We shall have a full house with 8 adults; however, it is possible to sleep 10 in this cottage so we can manage.

Dawn and Gordon leave on Jan. 1st. We are not sure how long the others will be here. Our time ends on Saturday, Jan. 3rd when we return to Halifax. Barb's brother, Dave, and wife Jess are coming down to Bedford on Sunday, so that will complete the visits with family. We leave very early on Jan. 5th to return to Ajijic. The visit is a busy, at times hectic, period, but we have managed to see a lot of people and relatives. White Point is a lovely, and restful place so that has helped. We always enjoy being here.

Gazebo

Today at White Point, it is raining; also, we have lost power about 4 times, although the longest was only about 2 hours at most.

With all the busyness, I have not had time to post photos of our new gazebo, which was finished just before the end of November. Here are some photos now. The first is at an angle with the bedroom to the right. the second is from the back wall looking towards the house. The third is in close with the entrance hall in the house in the background.

We seem to be getting more company here at White Point. Barb's sister, Faye, has called to say that she and Keith are going to come down from Toronto to visit us Dec. 31 and maybe until the Jan. 2. There is a possibility, albeit a bit remote, that her sister, Wendy and her husband Greg may come at the same time. With Dawn and Gordon here, that would make a total of 8. That is not serious, because at a pinch, we could sleep up to 10 people here. At any rate, it will ensure that we make good use of our 3 bedroom, 2 bath cottage. And all for my birthday!

White Point Beach Resort

It has been over 3 weeks since I posted on this blog. It has been a very busy time. Marilyn and Del, friends of Nancy as well as Kate & Jack, visited the latter for a week in early December. We were busy going to dinner, going to the spas in San Juan Cosala and Tlaquepaque. I was also marking and grading essays from my course. Then, we had to get ready to make the trip to Halifax.

Jack and Kate are looking after Bijou for us. On the 15th we took Bijou and stayed at their condo to see if Bijou would settle there. Early (5:30 a.m.) Jack got us up and drove us to the airport. That was early and we got there with almost 2 hours before flight time. However, I then noticed that I had forgotten our computers--necessary because it had my grades to be submitted in Halifax. We rushed back home to Ajijic, got the computers and got back to the airport with just a half hour before boarding (an hour before takeoff). On going in to get our boarding passes, we learned that we needed our FM3 visa documents. Barb had packed them in our carryon luggage. We searched, but were unable to find them immediately; under stress like that one does not perform well. The lady at the counter gave us some forms that had to be stamped by an immigration official, if he was willing. We rushed down to the office; fortunately, although a bit grumpy, he agreed to stamp the forms. Then we had to rush to security; after that, we had to run to another terminal at the far end of complex. When we got there, they had already started the boarding process; however, there was a long line which we could join. This was still not the end. For some reason, there was another security check before boarding the Continental Airlines flight; my suspicion is that Americans don’t trust the Mexican security. This check did not have x-ray machines so everything was being done by hand going through our carryon luggage. The guy in my line, opened the suitcase, took a quick look and examination and waved me through. However, Barb got a young woman, new to the job, and she examined everything thoroughly. Barb had wooden knitting needles (ok), but the young woman didn’t know and had to call someone higher up. She also kept going over Barb with the wand because it kept setting alarm, probably the snaps on her coat. Barb was the last to get on the bus and was holding everyone up. Needless to say, we were pretty frazzled by the time we got on board. Thankfully, because we had not had time to eat, there was a decent breakfast on the airplane.

Everything went well until we got to Newark, N.J. Although the temp. was just above freezing, it was snowing and planes were behind schedule. There was a huge backup of planes because they had to be de-iced. We had a car rental reservation, but I was worried that there would be no one at the desk. We were supposed to get in just before midnight and they were supposed to close at 12:30 a.m. I had been warned to call if we were going to be delayed. I did that and the woman said that she would wait. However, when we were over 3 hours late, I didn’t expect her to be there. However, there she was even though it was about 3:15. She was very cheery, with a wry sense of humour. I had given her the flight number so she had watched as the time kept getting later and later. We were exhausted when we finally got to Barb’s sister’s house in Bedford (about 4 a.m.).

We then had 3 busy days in Halifax, keeping appointments, changing addresses, picking up my exams to mark, etc. We did get to the Brunch Club party at Estelle’s condo on Friday night. It was great to see so many of our friends in the Brunch Club. Barb had her computer with lots of photos of Ajijic, not just hers but Nancy’s and Estelle’s. I expect our Brunch Club friends were getting a bit sick of hearing about Ajijic by the end.

We finally got to White Point Beach on Saturday, December 20th. The temperatures are certainly a shock after leaving Mexico. The night of the party, it was -12 C. Sunday night there was a big storm hitting the Maritimes. There was some snow, which turned to rain; the big problem was the wind which reached close to hurricane force. We lost power here for a short time in the night, but nothing very long. However, quite a number of people in Halifax area lost power. Barb’s son Jeff lost power for about 9 hours; it turned colder today (about -5 C) so it was getting quite cool. We heard that Point Pleasant Park in Halifax has been closed until the downed trees can be removed. That park was devastated by Hurrican Juan a few years ago. It apparently got zapped again.

The forecast is for the temperatures to get warmer and even perhaps rain on Christmas Day. I finished grading my exams and submitted the final grades this afternoon. Thus, I am now free to enjoy our time here. What ever comes, we are very cozy in our White Point cottage with a nice big fire in the fireplace. I’ll try to keep up to date better now that we have got our must-do tasks pretty well taken care of.

Goodbye to the gang of 4 from Halifax

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/

A small world

I think the workers finished the gazebo at about 6 p.m. tonight. I went out and gave them each a bottle of beer to celebrate. They’ll be back tomorrow to collect their gear, but I think the work is done and a fine job they did. It is a really solid structure and really looks nice. Tomorrow, we’ll do some cleanup, get the furniture moved around and under the gazebo and will take some pictures which we’ll post here to show off our new addition.

Today, I went early to the restaurant where we play bridge to get a bite of lunch. There was a woman sitting alone (although I knew that she was also going to be playing bridge) so I asked if I could join her. In conversation, we discovered that we are both from Canada. We chatted as we ate. Just as we were getting up to go play bridge, we exchanged names. It was then that I discovered that her name was Rajhathy! She is Judit’s mother. She was surprised that I had met Judit in Dartmouth. We keep getting reminded that it can be a small world. When Jack & I were playing bridge, the first couple we played with are from New Brunswick; they are snowbirds, but have been coming here for 12 years. The next couple we played with are from Alberta. Lots of Canadians here. Nancy’s son-in-law mentioned to his boss that Nancy was in Mexico. She asked where Nancy was . He couldn’t remember the name, but his boss then asked if it is Ajijic. When he confirmed that it was, his boss then had a relative who is visiting or living here also. The word seems to be spreading rather widely.

There is a little story about Barb’s bowflex exercise equipment. We had originally discussed with the seller taking the machine apart to try to fit it into our station wagon. However, when we got there, he said he had worked out a better arrangement. A friend who has a pickup was coming with another friend (all in the same neighbourhood) to take the machine, more or less intact, to our place. We got here and they were very intrigued to see the place. One of them had lived right next door and the other one just in the same block down the street. Barb said, “So you all lived here and then moved to the mountain.” They agreed, then they said as they were leaving, “We’ll see you next year when you move to our neighbourhood.” Their neighbourhood is well out of our price range, but we are not sure that we would prefer theirs anyway. Their views are gorgeous; however, they are not within walking distance of anywhere. They are at least 5-6 kms from Ajijic and over 3 from Chapala. Thus, except for walking along the Carretera (there is a walking/bicycle path for at least 15 kms), they have to go by car or bus to get anywhere. We often go for several days without ever getting into the car as we can walk to everything in Ajijic.

It turned out that they also knew the workers who were working on our gazebo. Jose Luis had done work for them. In fact, the seller of the bowflex said that Jose Luis had been up that very day to look at a faucet or some such at his place. They spoke very highly of Jose Luis and his workers. The latter certainly have built up a big, solid reputation among the ex-pats down here. Jose Luis was recommended to us by fellow Nova Scotians, Gary and Cathy.

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!

Barb goes solo into Guadalajara

The work on the gazebo continues. Doing the roof rafters was quite a problem for the workers, because with 6 sides, the angles are very tricky and Jose is very demanding and requiring that they not only get it right, but that it looks right. He had them move some secondary rafters because he wanted them turned the other way. We also found out about how some things are done here in Mexico. The workers need 240 volt power for their welding equipment. However, because we don’t use use electric stove, electric water heater or clothes dryer, we have only a single 120 volt wire into the house. However, this problem was solved by bringing 2 long wires (at least 150 feet) to go from the back of the house, across the street to the power pole. There, they use a long bamboo pole to hook the wires over the power lines. Today out walking, I saw another house with wires leading from the power pole into a house where there is no meter! Apparently, construction workers do this all the time. I expect there are quite a few places where the meter is bypassed.

We have had Jose’s workers do a couple of other jobs as well. There was a leak in the master bathroom where the drain from the roof (it is flat there) comes down through the wall. Also, they added about a foot to the bevelled lift up the curb to the driveway. The front of the car (and in the middle too if there was a load in the car) frequently scraped. Finally, they installed an electric plug beside the fountain and ran the wire under the grass, up the side of the wall and into a kitchen plug with a switch. Now we can turn the fountain on/off from inside the house.

Today is an adventure for Barbara. There is a big craft/art show in Tlaquepaque with artisans/artists from all over Mexico and even farther in Latin America. Someone had to stay home to let the workers in. I did that while Barbara drove the 4 ladies from Halifax in. This is the first time that she has driven much in Guadalajara and certainly the first time she has driven in by herself. She called on the cell to tell me that they had made it in without any trouble and she has now reported that they are all back safe and sound in Ajijic. Driving to Tlaquepaque is pretty straightforward. However, after this, Barbara may feel more confident about driving in.