Santa's A Canadian!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei3rTITyOhY

Watch this.............it's great!
Merry Christmas again
xoxo

Christmas at Lakeside.............

As the Christmas season goes into full swing here this weekend, there  will be multiple opportunities to attend special events and observe traditional Mexican holiday customs.

The main churches in Ajijic and Chapala stage one-night exhibit-ions of a dozen or more live nativities.

Most of these long-standing practices trace back to the 16th century methods of indoctrination into the Christian faith introduced by Franciscan missionaries in the immediate aftermath of the Spanish conquest.


Posadas

The festivities kick off with nine consecutive days of neighborhood processions known as Las Posadas, running from December 16 through Christmas Eve.

Crowds of youngsters gather each afternoon to reenact the Holy Family’s quest for lodging in Bethlehem. The procession is usually headed by a pair of children dressed for the roles Mary and Joseph, with the Virgin Mother sometimes perched on a live burro. They are followed by other tots representing pastores y pastoras (shepherds and shepherdesses), often decked out in colorful handmade costumes and carrying brightly decorated báculos (walking staffs) and faroles (paper lanterns).

The parade of santos peregrinos (Holy Pilgrims) makes several stops along the way at designated addresses where they croon verses of a traditional litany asking the “inn-keepers” behind the door to provide shelter for the night. Voices from inside, replying in alternate stanzas, turn them away.

At the final destination the hosts chant that there is no room in the posada (inn), but they are welcome to take refuge in the stable. The doors are flung open and all are invited to enter. A happy fiesta ensues, complete with piñata smashing, hand-outs of bolos (packets of sweets), and holiday refreshments.

A very beautiful time of the year here at Lake Chapala - wish you were here to share it with us.  We will miss our families back home this Christmas and we're thankful for Skype which will allow us to visit via the internet!
Merry Christmas!

Ready for Santa!

Wookie Wishing for a Smokie Bone from Santa!

Michelle - My Christmas Snowmen In Mexico!



Death by Papaya .................

A close call to say the least.......................
The other morning sitting on our verhandah having our usual 6 am coffee - still dark outside, dogs all out in the yard  - we  heard a huge crash!  We could see all the hounds out the front and couldn't figure out what was going on.  Greg went out and checked the yard and there it was..............our huge Papaya tree just off our patio in the backyard had crashed to the ground.  It was quite the mess.  A very large branch ladden with not yet ripe papaya fruit had ripped away.  Our patio table sits right near where the branch came down and luckly I was not in my usual chair!!  That darn thing crashed right on to where my chair was positioned! 
Greg was laughing saying that he would have written the obituary to read - " Wife dies in Mexico - Papaya Tree Incident - No Crime involved!!"
Here's the aftermath!

Augie Doggie

Of the many things I absolutely love about Mexico and our new home here, there is one thing that continues to astound and disgust me.  So many people come down here to stay for the winter months and head right over to one of the local shelters and get a dog (for free!), they keep the dog while they are here and then discard them when they decide to go back home north of the border.  Mexican families are finding it hard to continue to feed their children and themselves and many times cannot keep their dogs.
Instead of taking the dogs back to a shelter or trying to re home the poor thing, they simply drive to a subdivision and open the car door.
This is true of yet another little creature that showed up at our gate last week crying and starving.  The little dog is only 2 months old, a baby and unable to survive on it's own for long.  Yep, open the gate, take it in.  We will keep "Oliver" until we can find him a good loving permanent home.
Ok, now that makes 6!  Nuts I know but how could you possibly turn away such a poor little thing.
Oliver has taken to the pack very well and is a mix of schnauzer and basset hound - he reminds us of Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy......if you remember the cartoon from our childhood.
Here's Oliver.........

Planting and Christmas Decor!

I haven't blogged in awhile.  Been busy.  After a great visit back home with my family, I'm back here in sunny Mexico.  A strange day yesterday...............we have just completed putting in a new garden bed across the back of our property.   Spent the moring  planting palm trees and other exotic greenery, pruning the many 7' high poinscetita bushes around our yard.  After that was finished, I suddenly felt Christmasy and moved my efforts inside.  Dragged out the Christmas ornaments from the garage and proceeded to decorate the house.  Lights, Santas, Garland..............it's all up.
Feels very wierd to be gardening one minute in 75 degree weather and putting up little Santas and Snowman the next!
Christmas in Mexico will be a new experience for sure!  I couldn't help going on the weather network website this morning to check out the temps back home.  I see Gravenhurst is having it's first blast of the nasty stuff!  Won't be missing that!!
All for now
xoxo

In Case You Missed This Toronto Star Article!

Peaceful Canadian port thrives amid a Mexican drug war...............

About eight years ago, Burlington residents Julianne and Chisholm Lyons moved to a small village called Ajijic about an hour outside of Guadalajara. It is said to have one of the largest Canadian ex-pat communities in the world, with an estimated 8,000 Canucks. At 84, Chisholm is co-president of the Canadian Club. Julianne, 80, a former Etobicoke city councillor, is organizing a music festival featuring Canadian musicians.

Robyn Doolittle/Toronto Star

AJIJIC, MEXICO — Every inch of Julianne and Chisholm Lyons’ two-storey Mexican casa is adorned with mementos from their exotic travels. An antique door from Indonesia. Colourful photos of Thailand. Artwork from China. But tucked away in a little corner of their dining room is a keepsake from Canada: a framed photo of their old Burlington home, buried one foot in snow. “Just a little reminder that we live in paradise,” said 80-year-old Julianne, a former Etobicoke city councillor. “Not that we would forget it.” “Paradise” is not a word used by too many to describe Mexico these days, not with more than 40,000 deaths attributed to the country’s drug wars over the last five years. A couple of fatal shootings linked to organized crime happened just a few weeks ago in this otherwise charming lakeside village about an hour outside of Guadalajara on Lake Chapala. The violence seems far removed from the world of the Lyons, who moved to Ajijic eight years ago, lured by its cobblestone streets, gentle pace of life and authentic Mexican vibe. In fact, Ajijic has been luring snowbirds from the United States and Canada since the 1970s and is believed to be the largest concentrated community of expat Canadians in the world. The local Canadian Club estimates 8,000 Canucks — just over half of the village’s population — call Ajijic home most of the year. Like everyone in Ajijic, the Lyons are defensive about how Mexico is being portrayed around the world. A recent story that appeared in the Dallas Morning News, which suggested cartels are moving in on the Chapala area, has the entire village incensed. Those in this retirement community make the eyebrow-raising argument that the vast majority of Mexico is safer than Toronto. The Lyons’ home is in a gated corner of town, but most of the houses in Ajijic aren’t. Etobicoke resident Tom Gladney said a gate isn’t needed. “People have this very wrong perception of Mexico,” said Gladney, 70, a former executive with Eaton’s. “My son will call and say: ‘How are you doing down there in that third world country?’ and I’ll say: ‘Sorry, can’t talk to you right now. I’m going grocery shopping at Costco.’” Speaking en route to her morning yoga class, Torontonian Cece Girling, a charismatic former fashion businesswoman, said the cartel rumours are overblown. “A few years ago, yes some businesses were getting calls — give us money and we’ll protect you. But that happens. The expats are protected because, well, the drug cartels don’t speak English and the Spanish just hang up,” she said, making a left-hand turn at the new mostly English-language movie theatre. There are subtle signs of the Great White North everywhere in this community. The supermarket imports authentic maple syrup. There’s an English-language library with 25,000 books. Satellite television picks up Toronto news stations. A popular local pub hosts Hockey Night on Thursdays. (No Canadian beer on tap unfortunately.) There’s even a Wal-Mart. Every day here feels like late spring. Warm enough to swim — which is good since almost everyone has a pool — but cool enough to spend the entire day outside. • Photos: Meet the expats in Ajijic, Mexico When 84-year-old Chisholm fell gravely ill with colon cancer, the couple didn’t consider for a moment heading back to Canada. The Lyons pay about $1,200 a year to be part of Mexico’s socialized health care, but to battle Chisholm’s cancer, they decided to use the private system. Between the X-rays, biopsies, MRIs and eight months of chemotherapy — which included a doctor driving from Guadalajara to Ajijic each week to administer the treatment — the total bill was just over $30,000. “The standard of care here is first-rate. The hospitals are incredible. The doctors are world class. I was very, very sick,” said Chisholm, a former corporate lawyer with an MBA from Harvard. His cancer is gone. The cost of real estate in the Chapala area had been steadily climbing until 2010. Then the Mexican drug war exploded. Safety fears combined with the American recession has ground the market to a standstill. Sales are down more than 25 per cent. It takes a certain kind of person to pick up and move to Mexico, so the cast of characters in Ajijic is predictably impressive. There are world-renowned architects, designers, and artists, high-powered lawyers, a fashion editor and an Olympic figure skater. Engineers, entrepreneurs and corporate executives. Most are retired and eager to redirect their talents. Donations from expats in Ajijic support about four orphanages, a school for deaf and disabled children, the Lake Chapala Red Cross, and various arts programs. Nicholas Favian, a bartender at Salt & Pepper tavern who commutes to Ajijic from Guadalajara every day, says the expats are good for the area. “The tourism is important for this area. They stimulate the economy. They go out more than locals and they tip more. A Canadian will go out four or five times a week. Locals will go out once a week,” said Favian. And so far, locals have not been shut out from buying homes. The cost of real estate is high for the elaborate villas favoured by expats, but typical Mexican homes are still affordable and are passed down through the generations. Because the cost of living is so much less, Canadians are able to afford luxuries they might not be able to at home. Mexican maids are paid about $1.50 (Canadian) an hour in Guadalajara. In Ajijic, expats pay about $5 an hour — still a fraction of the cost. In Ajijic, about $420,000 will get you three bedrooms, four baths, a pool with a waterfall, fireplace, purified water system and fully-equipped gourmet kitchen. For the Lyons, the only thing that’s missing in Mexico is their children. They have seven, plus four grandchildren. “All I can say is thank goodness for the Internet,” said Julianne. “And you know they’re getting close to retirement too. We’re not pushing it. We’re not even mentioning it, but — well — wouldn’t that be lovely.”

Animal Comparisons!

Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. If you lie down with dogs, you’ll wake up with fleas. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander...

A dirty rat. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.  Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill.. All bark and no bite.

 Stubborn as a mule. When the cows come home. It’s raining cats and dog-  You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. As little as a tad pole .Quiet as a mouse. Slippery as an eel. Slow as a turtle.  Sly as a fox.  Bats in the belfry. Blind as a bat. An old bat.  Like water off a duck’s back.

Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon-day sun. So hungry I could eat a horse.   A fly on the wall. The wise old owl. Silly as a goose. Strong as an ox. Gentle as a lamb.  Proud as a peacock. Liike a bull in a china shop. The early bird gets the worm.   Just ducky.   Happy as a clam . A memory like an elephant.  A cat on a hot tin roof.  Let sleeping dogs lay.  More fun than a barrel of monkeys.  A social butterfly.

Raining cats and dogs. A frog in my throat. Off like a herd of turtles. Don’t want to hear another peep out of you. When pigs fly. I smell a rat -  Crows Feet -  Pigheaded.  I was buffaloed. Snug as a bug in a rug. An eager beaver. 

It's funny how often we compare ourselves or others to animals...........these are a few that come to mind..........

Cheers!! 

How Old is Too Old to Move to Mexico............an inspiring story

A Heartwarming Story from one of our local writers!  I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.  It just goes to show, Attitude is Everything!!

 

How Old Is Too Old To Move To Mexico? By Bob Dietz My 91-year-old father, Ray, sold his Florida condo and asked to move to the La Floresta Convalescent Home. It is seven blocks from my home in Ajijic. This is the story of that transition. I flew to Gainesville, Florida to pick up a man who had consolidated all of his worldly possessions into a bank account and one checked bag. That’s a lesson in reverse materialism. Our departure day featured tornado warnings and no plane was allowed to fly. We patiently waited in this snack bar airport for eight hours. My dad and I, and his trusty walker, stuck in airport hell. I’m waiting for complaints. But not one was uttered from his now parched lips. He seems to enjoy this unavoidable delay. After the TSA groping, eight hours of waiting provides a perfect opportunity for a father and son to do a lot of catching up. Four bags of peanuts, one hamburger and three sodas later, the skies cleared and we apprehensively boarded the aircraft. He’s excited, but looks spent. But wait, is that the voice of an angel I hear? It’s the strawberry blond stewardess asking for volunteers to unbuckle, deplane, and be regally rewarded to help solve what has become an overbooking situation. This is going to be a test for him for sure. Just how much adventurous spirit does he have? Since I had no way to measure that, I simply said paradise looks better in the daylight. It can wait a day. So we dragged our disappointed bodies back into the airport and stood in line for another hour with two nurses who shared our plight, and waited to be compensated. After spending the entire day in anticipation of his first flight since being in a World War II military plane 72 years ago, our progress is only fifty feet closer to Guadalajara. But still no complaint. Does this man have patient Mexican blood in his veins? He leans over to tell me that the two nurses want us to join them for dinner at the hotel restaurant. O.K. now tell me you’ve been on a double date with your father? How do I explain this to my wife? Yeah honey, I couldn’t help it, my father was just a bad influence. Why do I keep visualizing Rickey Ricardo saying, “Lucy ju got sum splainin to do.” After a very enjoyable dinner with our escorts and repeated assurances that the $400 each, gorgeous hotel suite and dinner was complimentary, he just floored me. He whispered, “ If the airline offers you this again tomorrow take it.” This isn’t aviation hell, he`s having a great time. What happened to the North American rush, rush, don`t let anything get in my way? Has this gringo achieved a more laid-back Mexican attitude before we’ve even made an approach landing on Mexican soil? Fifteen minutes after we were airborne, he asked me,” How does the pilot put the brakes on and stop the plane in midair?” What? We are flying at 600 miles per hour. He thought we were sitting still in midair. I guess avionics have greatly improved since World War II. The retirement home had permitted us to paint and decorate his pool view room prior to his arrival. So he was pleased upon seeing his new digs. The love and care of the management and staff has to be experienced to be truly appreciated. In his first three weeks in Mexico, he reversed most of the ill effects of self-neglect. The cans and microwave diet was replaced with fresh food prepared by a loving cook. His ankle swelling disappeared in one week. Yeah, dad you can stop taking the Prilosec, heartburn medicine you’ve taken for three years too. The expectations of daily showering and clothes changes was instituted by the staff. A wonderful, and caring doctor injected some medicine into his hip joint and he parked the walker and started using just a cane. Even in Mexico, where ingenuity is highly regarded, his pants with the big yellow paper clip in place of the broken zipper, will not be considered stylish. New pants, a successful trip to the dentist and optician and he has completed a makeover that even Oprah’s producers would envy. How did all this happen so efficiently? Didn’t his age hamper things? No, it was all his attitude. It seems attitude is more important than age. I saw him even reach for the hot sauce yesterday. Dad, you are one cool gringo and even though I’ve lived here three years, thanks for teaching me to be more Mexican. Did we answer the question of how old is too old to move to Mexico? Maybe not, but we now know the bar has been raised to north of 91 years old!! A really good story............ Now, how about you?  Are you ready to experience a new life in a great new place??  We are only here on this planet for a short time, what are you waiting for?  Maybe this posting just might inspire you to take the leap.  Hope to see you soon, Lori

Pan Am Games Standings

Canadian athletes had their best day yesterday during the 16th Pan American Games, winning five gold medals to take their overall tally to 14. Canada has 45 medals in total and is now third in the rankings behind the United States and Brazil.

Chapala falls into the Pan American spotlight this week during four days of water ski competition at the Boca Laguna Ski Club.   The Boca Laguna Ski Club is located just 10 minutes from our door.  The Waterski Event takes place all  weekend long. We tried to get tickets but they were sold out.  Guess we waited a little too long!

Here are the results so far.............Canada is doing great - in third place.  USA first, Brazil, Canada, Mexico.  These games have brought a much needed boost to the economy here.  We've watched over the past month the many improvments to the area.  Highways are clean of refuse, new lines have been painted, new gardens planted in the central area of Chapala.  The little area looks amazing!
Below is a chart of the medal standings as of yesterday. 

Medal Tally

Rank	NOC				Total
1		41	42	36	119
2		17	13	20	50
3		14	12	19	45
4		12	12	20	44
5		12	10	11	33
6		8	9	9	26
7		8	5	11	24
8		7	9	11	27
9		3	2	7	12
10		3	1	1	5
11		1	4	8	13
12		1	1	1	3
13		0	3	1	4
14		0	1	2	3
15		0	1	1	2
		0	1	1	2
17		0	1	0	1
18		0	0	2	2
		0	0	2	2
20		0	0	1	1
		0	0	1	1

Day of The Dead Celebrations in Mexico

More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish Conquistadors landed in what is now Mexico, they encountered natives practicing a ritual that seemed to mock death.

It was a ritual the indigenous people had been practicing at least 3,000 years. A ritual the Spaniards would try unsuccessfully to eradicate.
A ritual known today as Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

In rural Mexico, people visit the cemetery where their loved ones are buried. They decorate gravesites with marigold flowers and candles. They bring toys for dead children and bottles of tequila to adults. They sit on picnic blankets next to gravesites and eat the favorite food of their loved ones.

Today, people don wooden skull masks called calacas and dance in honor of their deceased relatives. The wooden skulls are also placed on altars that are dedicated to the dead. Sugar skulls, made with the names of the dead person on the forehead, are eaten by a relative or friend.

The Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations kept skulls as trophies and displayed them during the ritual. The skulls were used to symbolize death and rebirth.
The skulls were used to honor the dead, whom the Aztecs  civilization believed came back to visit during the monthlong ritual.
Unlike the Spaniards, who viewed death as the end of life, the natives viewed it as the continuation of life. Instead of fearing death, they embraced it. To them, life was a dream and only in death did they become truly awake.
The Spaniards considered the ritual to be sacrilegious. They perceived the indigenous people to be barbaric and pagan.
In their attempts to convert them to Catholicism, the Spaniards tried to kill the ritual.
But like the old Aztec spirits, the ritual refused to die.
To make the ritual more Christian, the Spaniards moved it so it coincided with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day (Nov. 1 and 2), which is when it is celebrated today. The goddess, known as "Lady of the Dead," was believed to have died at birth.
Here in Mexico, the towns come alive through this celebration.  Families decorate their homes and erect alters.  Family members gather and pay homage to those they have lost.  As always in Mexico food plays an important part - with the favourite foods of the deceased prepared by loved ones and eaten in their honor.  Along the local roads and highways, crosses are already placed for those that have died in car accidents.  The local shops are filled with Day of The Dead statues and trinkets. 
It's really a very stange tradition - kind of spooky to us newbies!  But the Mexicans being so devoted to this long standing tradition enjoy yet "another fiesta!"
The picture below is an example of a decorative alter in the homes............

A "Guiness" Anyone??

We decided to head to Costco in Guadaljara a couple of Sunday's ago.  Upon arriving home we see a little puppy sitting outside our front gate.  The little dog was apparently starving, you could easily see her rib bones poking through her skin.  We took out a bowl of food and water and she immediately wolfed it down as if she hadn't eaten in days.  We left her outside the gate to see if she would wander off.
No way, she stayed for a couple of hours with her little head poked through our gate crying to come into our yard.  We had company coming that afternoon for dinner so Greg put her in the car and took her to our local vet.  We asked our vet, Dr. Pepe if he would check her over, give her her shots, de flea her and keep her overnight.  Pepe agreed and we promised to return the next morning.  When our friends were here for dinner we told them about the little pup hoping they may want to take her in.  Marty then proceeded to tell us that she would like to take our black cocker Bella - that she had a little black cocker when she was growing up and would love to have her.  Marty & Wes asked us to consider it as they have a cocker spaniel and she needed the companionship. 
Anyways, the next morning we returned to Dr. Pepe's to see the little pup.  Pepe told us that she was a little 4 month old Rotti mix.  He thought she would be a medium size dog.  Greg and I had spent the previous evening discussing the options for this poor pup.  There were really one two options.  The first was to keep her.  The second was to take her to one of the local shelters and see if  she could find a good home.  After checking with a few of the shelters we found that there were so many dogs like her that simly could not find homes.  We were in a quandry as to what to do - we simply could not take her to the shelter.    So, we brought her home and thought we would see how it went.  Our dogs seemed fine with her presence - not too many problems.  So, drag out the crate!  Our friends returned after a few days for yet another visit.  This time they pleaded with us to give them Bella.  With 6 dogs, it was too much for us.  We didn't want to give them Bella but Marty said........" Please give us Bella, this way both dogs have good homes".
Since we live next door to M&W and would see Bella all the time, we finally agreed.
So, meet "Guiness"....  She has a lovely dispositon, friendly and loving and in time she will be a perfect little watchdog. 

 

A Gecko in My Dishwasher!

There is a little gecko that has taken up residence in our dishwasher.  The first time I saw him was quite a few weeks ago.  As I opened the dishwasher door to put in a dish I was startled when the little guy was running around inside.  I quickly closed the door and called for Greg!  When we opened it again, he was gone.  We thought that was the end of it. 
Yesterday some weeks later, I again opened the door and there he was again!  This time he ran out and crawled up the outside of the door and ran inside the vents.  We then realized that he was living inside the dishwasher door - in between the door panels.
We've decided to let him stay!  I guess we really are adapting to this strange new place!

Thanksgiving in Mexico

It seems somewhat strange to us ................it's fall and the leaves are falling off some of our trees here.  The mountains are coloured in yellows and orange wildflowers and are beautiful as I mentioned in my previous post.  It's Thanksgiving Weekend and I must admit, I am  feeling a little homesick.  This is the first time in almost 6 months............I am thinking about our family and it is quite strange not to be home for this favourite family holiday.  Memories of Black Lake, the great family times, the beautiful colour of Northern Ontario.  On the other hand, it is wonderful here to be able to sit outdoors in our shorts and t-shirts under the beautiful blue clear skys.  Today I am cooking a turkey, green beans and mushroom soup casserole etc. for Greg and I.  On Monday we are going to one of the local restaurants - they are hosting a Canadian Thanksgiving Event -  will be a great way to meet  some fellow Canucks!
I am thankful for many things this year.  First and foremost - I am thankful for our wonderful children and grandchildren...............our family back home.  I'm also thankful for the wonderful life we have here in Mexico and for the good friends we have made here.   The peacefulness and beauty of all that surrounds us  everyday.  Greg and I feel very fortunate to be able to be here at this time in our lives.  Every day a new adventure in this foreign country.  We are adapting well to our new environment.  I am very much looking forward to my visit home in November.  I just hope the snow holds off!
Have a Wonderul Thanksgiving, with all our love.
xoxox

A Special Post

Someone very special sent this to me the other day, I thought it was so beautiful that it was worth posting here.  Your thought for the day.............

TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING 

THROUGH THE DESERT . 

DURING SOME POINT OF THE

JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN

ARGUMENT; AND ONE FRIEND

SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE

IN THE FACE 

THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED 

WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT

SAYING ANYTHING,

WROTE IN THE SAND , 

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND 

SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE . 

THEY KEPT ON WALKING,

UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS,

WHERE THEY DECIDED

TO TAKE A BATH .  

 THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN

SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE

MIRE AND STARTED DROWNING,

BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM.

 AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM

THE NEAR DROWNING,

HE WROTE

ON A STONE:  

 'TODAY MY BEST FRIEND

SAVED MY LIFE'  

 THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED

AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND

ASKED HIM, 'AFTER I HURT YOU,

YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW,

YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?'

 THE FRIEND REPLIED

'WHEN SOMEONE HURTS US

WE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN

IN SAND, WHERE WINDS OF

FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY.      

BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES  SOMETHING GOOD FOR US,

WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE

WHERE NO WIND

CAN EVER ERASE IT'

 LET US ALL LEARN TO WRITE

OUR HURTS IN

THE SAND AND TO

CARVE OUR

BENEFITS IN STONE.

Fall Has Arrived in Chapala Mexico

It is hard to believe that summer is over and that Fall has arrived!  Reflecting on this past summer I cannot remember a summer that I have enjoyed as much as this past one.  Every day was  a pure delight - hot sunny days, rainy nights, cool breezes and bright blue skys. 
Now the unmistakable seasonal changes are creeping up on Lakeside.  Even Lake Chapala - know as the "land of eternal spring", has four distinct seasons.  The skies are higher and bluer, the mornings are a crisp 55 to 60, the afternoons now are warm to around 80 F.   Evenings have cooled enought to be able to turn off the whirl of the ceiling fans and put a light blanket back on the bed. 
Fall in Mexico has other distinctive noticable changes.  Independance Day - which we just experienced on September 16th with it's red, white and green flags flying proudly everywhere.  It was a delight to watch how the Mexican nationals love their country and celebrate with such pride.
Flowering trees and bushes are beginning to show changes as well.  The mountainsides are beginning to show splashes of brigh yellow colour.  Wild sunflowers are popping up all over the hills - it's absolutely majestic to see.  The trees are changing as well.  There is one tree I especially love.  It is called  African Tulip Tree - they begin their bloom now until early February and have the brightest red-orange flowers I've ever seen.  The streets are lined with these amazing trees and the colours remind me of home this time of year.
The population and activity levels change here now.  The first of the "snowbirds" are arriving (otherwise known as "early birds!).  The sunbirds have left and so the area is quite quiet right now.
In a few short weeks, the area will be bustling with many Canadians and Americans that either have winter homes here or come to rent to escape the dreaded long cold dark winter months ahead.
The folks in the US seem to be feeling the economic downturn much more than us Canucks and it's been reported that the majority of winter bookings at casa rentals for the upcoming winter season will be Canadians! 
It is upsetting to hear and read all the grim reports and news that clouds Mexico these days.  It's hard to understand the fear that keeps people from coming here or coming to visit when the we look out our window or drive down the street, the biggest danger is a clip-clopping horse, a couple of cows parading down the street or a barking dog behind a fense.
After these past few months, we know we 've made the right decision for us - we love this lifestyle and hope to be here for many years to come!

Happy Fall Everybody!!

The African Tulip Tree

Efficiency...........

I had to see a doctor here this week.  My back has been killing me and I finally gave in.  Called a doctor on Saturday morning and was granted an appointment for first thing Monday morning!  After an hour and 15 minute appointment and a detailed review of me, my health, my life, the doc said he needed to run a series of tests.  Bloodwork and 2 MRI's so he would be able to properly find out what the exact problem was.  Here I'm thinking, OK great............this will most likely be another 6-8 weeks waiting.
To my utter shock, he got on the phone and proceeded to speak in rapid fire spanish.  He hung up and told me to be at the Guadaljara Hospital for 12:30  the following day!  I think my mouth was wide open.............. this was amazing to be able to have such tests all in the matter of hours!
So, off we headed to Guadaljara the following morning, our friends were happy to drive us as they know the city and knew just where to go.  Guadaljara is a huge city with a population of 12 million!
Checked in at noon and by 3pm was finished.  I left with a huge envelope containing all my photos and results.  Will see the doc tomorrow for the final diagnosis!
Hard to believe that in less than one week you can go from calling to book an appointment with a doctor to having had all the tests and results.
September 16th Mexico celebrates it's Independance Day (from Spain).  It is a huge celebration for this country and we plan on taking part.
Viva Mexico, still lovin' it here!!
xo

A very Interesting Article about the Mexican Economy

 

Mexico’s economy

Making the desert bloom

The Mexican economy has recovered somewhat from a scorching recession imported from America, but is still hobbled by domestic monopolies and cartels

Aug 27th 2011 | SALTILLO | from the print edition

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HOT and high in the Sierra Madre, the city of Saltillo is a long way from Wall Street. Stuffed goats keep an eye on customers in the high-street vaquera, or cowboy outfitter, where workers from the local car factories blow their pesos on snakeskin boots and $100 Stetsons. Pinstriped suits and silk ties are outnumbered by checked shirts and silver belt-buckles; pickups are prized over Porsches.
The financial crisis of 2008 began on the trading floors of Manhattan, but the biggest tremors were felt in the desert south of the Rio Grande. Mexico suffered the steepest recession of any country in the Americas, bar a couple of Caribbean tiddlers. Its economy shrank by 6.1% in 2009 (see chart 1). Between the third quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2009, 700,000 jobs were lost, 260,000 of them in manufacturing. The slump was deepest in the prosperous north: worst hit was the border state of Coahuila. Saltillo, its capital, had grown rich exporting to America. The state’s output fell by 12.3% in 2009 as orders dried up.

Related topics

• Mexico City
• Trade
• Free trade
• Chinese economy
• Latin American economy

The recession turned a reasonable decade for Mexico’s economy into a dreary one. In the ten years to 2010, income per person grew by 0.6% a year, one of the lowest rates in the world. In the early 2000s Mexico boasted Latin America’s biggest economy, measured at market exchange rates, but it was soon overtaken by Brazil, whose GDP is now twice as big and still pulling away, boosted by the soaring real. Soon Brazil will take the lead in oil production, which Mexico has allowed to dwindle. As Brazilians construct stadiums for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, Mexicans, who last year celebrated the bicentenary of their independence from Spain, are building monuments to their past (and finishing them late).
Mexico’s muscles
Yet Mexico’s economy is packed with potential. Thanks to the North American Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and a string of bilateral deals, it trades more than Argentina and Brazil combined, and more per person than China. Last year it did $400 billion of business with the United States, more than any country bar Canada and China. The investment rate, at more than a fifth of GDP, is well ahead of Brazil’s. Income per person slipped below Brazil’s in 2009, but only because of the real’s surge and the peso’s weakness. After accounting for purchasing power, Mexicans are still better off than Brazilians.
Though expatriates whinge about bureaucracy, the World Bank ranks Mexico the easiest place in Latin America to do business and the 35th-easiest in the world, ahead of Italy and Spain. In Brazil (placed 127th) companies spend 2,600 hours a year filing taxes, six times more than in Mexico. Registering a business takes nine days in Mexico and 26 in Argentina. The working hours of supposedly siesta-loving Mexicans are among the longest in the world. And although Mexico’s schools are the worst in (mainly rich) OECD countries, they are the least bad in Latin America apart from Chile’s.
These strengths have helped Mexico to rebound smartly from its calamitous slump. Last year the economy grew by 5.4%, recovering much of the ground lost in 2009. Exports to the United States, having fallen by a fifth, have reached a record high. In the desert there are signs of life: Saltillo’s high street, where four out of ten shops closed during the recession, is busy again. CIFUNSA, a foundry that turns out some 400,000 tonnes of cast iron a year for customers such as Ford and Volkswagen, shed 40% of its staff in 2009, but has rehired most of them and is producing more than it did before the slump.
However, the jobs market has yet to return to its pre-recession state. Nationally, the official unemployment rate is 5.4%, having peaked at 6.4% in 2009. Javier Lozano, Mexico’s labour secretary, believes that the pre-recession mark of 4.1% will not be matched within the term of this government or the next (ie, before 2018). What’s more, the new jobs are not as good as those that were lost. Average pay last year was 5% lower than in 2008. Because of this, and rising food prices, more Mexicans have slipped into poverty: last year 46.2% of them were below the official poverty line (earning less than 2,114 pesos, or $167, per month), up from 44.5% in 2008.
Just as recession came from the gringos, recovery depends partly on them. Many analysts who once predicted economic growth of 5% this year cut their forecasts to under 4% after a downward revision of American GDP in July. Exports account for nearly a third of Mexico’s trillion-dollar GDP, and most go to the United States. Remittances provide $190 per person per year (down from $240 in 2007). Now America faces several years of lacklustre growth, which poses a dilemma for Mexico.
Some look at the recent explosive growth of Brazil and wonder if it is time to follow its example and look to new markets. In 2009 only 3% of Mexico’s exports went to Brazil, Russia, India or China, whereas Brazil sent 16% of its exports to its fellow BRICs. Industrialised countries receive less than half of Brazil’s exports but 90% of Mexico’s. The Inter-American Development Bank, the biggest lender in the region, describes a “two speed” Latin America, in which economies, such as Mexico, which do most of their trade with developed countries, lag behind those, such as Brazil, that have forged links with emerging markets.
South or north?
Mexico has already diversified its exports. America’s share of them has fallen from 89% in 2000 to perhaps 78% this year and will fall further, according to Miguel Messmacher, head of economic planning at Mexico’s finance ministry. Sales to Latin America and Asia are growing twice as fast as those to America. The automotive industry, Mexico’s biggest exporter, is ahead of the trend: though exports to America continue to rise, they now make up only 65% of the total. Eduardo Solís, head of the industry’s national association, says he would like to get the figure down to 50% by focusing on Latin America and Europe.
Others say Mexico’s economic future will always be to the north. “We can’t just become a commodity exporter and start sending soy beans to China,” says Jorge Castañeda, a former foreign secretary. History, geography and natural resources have wedded Mexico to its wealthy neighbour: “It’s not something we chose,” he says. If the American economy is growing slowly, Mexico will just have to get a bigger chunk of it.

That task has been made harder by China. Since China joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001 its share of American imports has grown fast and is now the biggest. The shares of Canada and especially Japan have fallen. Mexico’s share, which almost doubled in the seven years after NAFTA came into effect, slipped after 2001. But it is edging up again (see chart 2).
China’s low wages, which lured factories away from Mexico, are rising rapidly. In 2003 Mexican pay was three times Chinese rates but now it is only 20% higher, Mr Messmacher says. The rising yuan and the cheap peso accentuate this trend.
Proximity to America, Mexico’s trump card, has been made more valuable by the high oil price. The resolution in July of a long dispute has allowed Mexican lorries to make deliveries in America, which the Mexican government reckons will reduce firms’ shipping costs by 15%. The rise of China may also help Mexico too, by forcing American companies to compete more keenly. Detroit carmakers cannot export cars to South Korea, but a Mexican factory using American parts can, notes Luis de la Calle, a former trade minister.
Luring foreign investors has been made trickier by a spike in violence. Since 2007, a crackdown on organised crime has caused Mexico’s drug-trafficking “cartels”, as they are known (though they are in fact rather competitive), to splinter and fight. Last year the murder rate was 17 per 100,000 people, a little lower than Brazil’s, but more than two-thirds up on 2007. Ernesto Cordero, the finance minister, has estimated that the violence knocks about a percentage point off Mexico’s annual growth rate.
The fighting is highly concentrated: last year 70% of mafia-related killings took place in 3% of the country’s municipalities. In Yucatán state, where tourists scramble around Mayan ruins, the murder rate is no higher than in Belgium. Last July was the busiest ever for Mexico’s foreign-tourist trade, but there are signs that the drip of bloody stories is starting to hurt bookings. In the first five months of this year, arrivals were 3.6% lower than last. Acapulco, which caters mainly to domestic tourists, has virtually emptied thanks to frequent shootings in the heart of the hotel zone.
Many of the roughest areas are in the north, where foreign investment is concentrated. In Ciudad Juárez, a centre of maquila factories that assemble products for export, the murder rate has climbed to one of the highest in the world, as the Sinaloa and Juárez cartels battle for control of the border crossing, little restrained (and often aided) by the local police. In Tamaulipas, a border state where violence surged last year, the unemployment rate has risen to 7.5%, the highest in the country. The head of a Mexican multinational with operations there found recently that his local manager had been siphoning company money to the cartels. Many rich businessmen have moved their families to America; the governor of one border state is rumoured to have done the same (his office denies it).
Investors have largely held their nerve. Foreign direct investment, which reached $30 billion in 2007 but fell to half that in 2009, is expected to recover to $20 billion this year. Businessmen play down the violence: Mr Solís admits that some car transporters have been robbed on highways, but says that this year has been better than last. This month Honda became the latest carmaker to announce plans to expand in Mexico, in spite of the insecurity.
Still, insecurity adds costs and delays. The road from Saltillo to Monterrey, the nearest big airport, has become dicey, so more people rely on Saltillo’s own tiny airport, where a single airline offers flights to Mexico City for upwards of $400. Conferences, concerts and sporting fixtures have been cancelled in Monterrey. In Coahuila on August 20th a football match was abandoned after shots were fired outside the stadium. Some foreign companies are even nervous about sending executives to Mexico City, although it has a lower murder rate than many American cities.
From Uncle Sam to Uncle Slim
Despite Mexico’s difficulties, one of its citizens is the richest person in the world. Carlos Slim, the son of a Lebanese immigrant, has made a fortune estimated by Forbes at $74 billion. The magazine reckons that last year his net worth rose by $20.5 billion.

Nearly two-thirds of Mr Slim’s wealth is thought to lie in América Móvil, the biggest or second-biggest mobile-phone operator everywhere in Latin America except Chile (where it is third). In Mexico Mr Slim’s grip is particularly strong, with 70% of the cellular market and 80% of landlines. In half the country’s 400 local areas, only his company has the infrastructure to put through calls to landlines. Not surprisingly, after accounting for purchasing power home landlines in Mexico cost 45% more than the OECD average and business lines 63% more (see chart 3). Mobiles are better value, particularly for those who do not make many calls. But basic broadband access costs nearly ten times more (per megabit per second of advertised speed) than in the rest of the OECD.
Telecoms is not the only monopolised sector. A study by the OECD and Mexico’s Federal Competition Commission (CFC) found that 31% of Mexican household spending went on products supplied in monopolistic or highly oligopolistic markets. The poorest tenth suffered most, 38% of their expenditure going on such things.
The cost of these captive markets is ruinous. Until recently, for example, firms selling generic medicines were required by law to operate a plant in Mexico. This, along with a system that allows doctors to prescribe medicines by brand rather than by generic compound, means that the market is dominated by expensive brands. Generics account for less than 17% of the drugs market, against 66.5% in America. Medicine is a third pricier than in Britain.

Time for some self-service

The labyrinth of torpitude
Transport is expensive too. The handful of budget airlines that arrived in the past decade have struggled to get take-off and landing slots at Mexico City’s airport, which are dished out by a committee dominated by incumbents. The CFC found that flights to and from Mexico City were between 40% and 80% dearer than those to less strangled airports. Intercity bus routes are dominated by four firms that have divided up the country. Fares are 10% higher than they ought to be, the CFC estimates.
Banking is similarly uncompetitive. Two banks control almost half the market for deposit accounts and two-thirds of the credit- and debit-card markets. The lack of choice means that 95% of account-holders have never switched banks. Top of the list of Saltillo businesses’ complaints is the scarcity and cost of credit.
Some of these pinch points are being addressed. The collapse last year of Mexicana, North America’s oldest airline, has presented an opportunity to auction landing slots to nimbler competitors. Drugs should get cheaper thanks to an auction system devised by the CFC for Mexico’s social-security institute. In April a new competition law introduced penalties of up to ten years in jail for collusion, and empowered the CFC to make surprise inspections. The same month it fined Mr Slim’s mobile-phone operator a record $1 billion for abusing its market dominance.
Banking has been opened to entrants such as Walmart, which has already shaken up Mexican retailing. Commercial credit is expanding: it stands at 19% of GDP, nearly double the ratio in 2003. Lending is still less than half of what it was before the banking crisis of 1994, suggesting plenty of room for growth—certainly more than in Brazil, where credit already equals about half of GDP.
Forcing competition on cosy industries is still not easy. When the government decided in 2009 to shut down Luz y Fuerza, a state-run electricity company that was costing the taxpayer $3 billion a year, it required 1,000 police in riot gear to occupy the firm’s offices. Since Luz y Fuerza shut, the wait for new connections in Mexico City has fallen from ten months to four. But its ex-employees still bring parts of the capital to a halt with protests. Labour-reform efforts, to ease hiring and firing and allow six-month trial contracts, have met opposition in congress. Even with the new competition law, few people fancy the authorities’ chances against Mr Slim’s lawyers.
The answer is to open the economy and let foreign competition force Mexican firms to adapt, believes Mr de la Calle. “If you have free trade, you don’t need structural reforms because the companies have to compete,” he says. He cites the pork industry, which used to be blighted with hog cholera. Farmers resisted pressure to eradicate it, preferring to sell low volumes at high prices. When tariffs were dropped, cheap pork from America forced Mexican farmers to clean up their act. Cholera was eliminated, output rose and prices fell.
Other industries are ripe for similar treatment. Oil is a prime candidate. Pemex, a state monopoly, handles everything from exploration to petrol pumps. Its profits contribute a third of government revenue, allowing Mexico to maintain a generous and feebly enforced tax regime. But decades of underinvestment have hurt production, which fell from 3.4m barrels a day in 2004 to 2.6m. Brazil, which has allowed foreign investment in its oilfields, is producing around 2m barrels a day and expects to be pumping 6m by 2020.
Pemex’s output has stabilised in the past year, and this month it awarded its first performance-based contracts, a precursor to getting oil majors to explore the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. But efforts to make the company more efficient have been vetoed by the oil workers’ union. Refineries are poorly run; petrol stations forbid self-service.
The Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, a think-tank, estimates that the GDP growth rate could be raised by 2.5 percentage points if the oil industry were opened up and labour and competition laws reformed. Reeling from an American-made recession, however, Mexico is hardly in the mood for a more open economy. With a presidential election next year, it would be easier to keep puttering along in the shadow of Brazil, an economy which in some ways Mexico outclasses. Mexico’s rebound from slump and its resilience to lawlessness show its underlying strength. If it could only bust the monopolistic dams that have parched its economy, its desert might one day start to bloom.

A Day Trip to Tonala!

Tonola is a suburb of Guadalajara and is 40 minutes from where we live.  It is a shoppers paradise featuring tons and tons of beautiful handcrafted Mexican wares.  Hand blown glass shops, copper shops, home furnishings, ceramics, clay planters etc.  There are so many stores you could not possibly see them all in one day - maybe not even over a weekend! 
We went to Tonala with our friends Wess & Marty for the day and bought alot of nice things for our place - super inexpensive and unique. 
Here is a you tube video that I found online that gives you a little overview of the lovely place.
I can't wait to go back.  We shopped till we dropped. 
When you come to visit, a trip to Tonala is definately in order!  Fun, Fun, Fun..............


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWNaxdoRtcA&feature=related

Creepy Crawlers..............

When Greg and I decided to move to Mexico, one thing immediately caught our attention and concern.  Not the crime stats, not the healthcare, no, for us it was all those creepy crawlers that live well in Mexico.  We're not talking about regular insects, we're talking about the scary ones..............
Scorpions, Cockroaches, Black Widow Spinders, Rattlesnacks.   We are well accustomed to mosquitos, ticks and the dreaded Black Flies...............but this was going to be different, these could kill you!
We listened carefully to the advice of our expat friends.............Never go barefeet, not even in the house, keep bedsheets and blanket up off the floors, use this product or that product on your floors, but the one tip suggested time and time again was "Be sure to use plastic drain covers on all your drains when not in use.:  We did all of the above.
One morning I decided to take a bath instead of the usual fast shower.  I had bought myself some lovely coconut foam bath and was anticipating a nice long soak.  I opened up the tub/shower door and reached down to pour in my bubbly..........to my shock, there was a very healthy scorpion sitting on the drain - tail pointed straight up!  Well, that was the end of the nice relaxing soak .  Screeching, I call Greg.  We're both standing there looking at the thing not knowing how these things move.  Will it jump?  Do they move fast?  Can it fly?  Yeesh.............. After a few minutes we decided the best thing to do was to go get one of Greg's Size 13 sneakers.  Success!
We haven't had a further close call but we do see them around from time to time.  We were concerned for the dogs being outside so much.  Our vet recommended that we keep a vile of anti-serum (complete with syringe!) in the fridge to allow us to administer a quick needle in the event of a sting.   We have the same thing for ourselves.  Most of the scorpions here are small and we are told will not kill you.  They leave a very painful sting and of course for those of us who are allergic to bee stings, this can cause a problem.  The Red Cross phone number sits beside the phone - just in case!
  Our newest little addition "Bella" is a scorpion hunter.  The other day on the front porch Bella begins to bark looking directly at the corner.  Not her usual bark, this one was an alert bark.  You guessed it, there it was on the floor - a scorpion!  Size 13's again fixed the problem.
We now have the outside of our home, around the perimeter sprayed monthly - we're told that this will elliminate the little monsters from coming indoors.
And to think that I use to be afraid of the Little Brown Mice we had visiting us on Black Lake!!

Kindness.................

Over the past couple of days both Greg and I have had some stomach complaints - okay it's been over 2 months in Mexico and we have been waiting for this!  Nothing extremely serious, just plain old "Mexican Stuff".  If you've been here, you know what I'm referring to.
Today (Wednesday) is garbage day.  As Greg is down at the gate putting it to the street, our Mexican Neighbours Maid saunters across the street to chat with Greg.  She is in her PJ's (cute flannel ones) and after a little morning neighbor chat she leaves.
Not long after, our doorbell at the gate rings, there she is (still in PJ's) with a large pot of brewed homeade herbal (majic) tea in her hand.  She explains (in spanish) that it is the remedy for what is ailing us both.   As we sit here drinking the pot of tea, we again are reminded of the kindness and helpfullness of the Mexican people. 
We hope a second pot won't be necessary!!

Espanol.............Por Favor!

Each day our Spanish improves...........we now can effectively communicate with our gardener Juan and our weekly cleaning lady Maria.  What began as sign language has now become daily exchanges of basic communication.  Although we stumble with putting together complete sentences, both Juan and Maria seem to understand what we are trying to say.  Every now and then they begin laughing when we mistakenly use an incorrect word. I think they applaud our efforts!   Here are just a few of the words we use on a daily basis.............

*Basura - garbage
* Hasta Luego - see you later
* Mucho Mahor - big job
* Poco, Poco - little by little
* Paintura - painting
* Jardin - garden
* Mucho Deneros - alot of money
*  Plantas - plants
*  Auga - water
*  Mucho Calor - very hot
*  Juvia - Rain
*  Bano - bathroom
*  Libramento -  highway
*  mas  - alot
*  grande - large
*  especial - special
*  necessario - necessary
* muerto - dead
*  hoy - today
* ahorrar - save
*cafe solo - black coffee
*  poco cafe por favor - a little more coffee please!
* de nada - you're welcome (or "don't mention it")
*  Pollio - chicken
*Pierro - dog
*vente - for sale
*renta - for rent
* amigo - friend (male)
* amiga - (friend female)
* bien trabajo - good job

That's it for todays post!  Love you all...........
xoxo