Not Much New... Well, Chuy Got a Haircut!

Look at this guy...he's getting gray already, but he's only 9 months old! He's a good dog, and he's becoming more affectionate, not so restless. He sleeps in our bed now and can jump up on the sofa and loveseat to cuddle while we watch TV. But why is he getting so gray????

One problem with writing a blog about your life is that sometimes there really is nothing of great significance which happens in your life. That is where I am today. We have settled back in to our Mexican life with nothing earth-shattering to write about. Pixie and have joined Facebook...with some reluctance, but it's interesting to see what all your "friends" are up to... And, there is one other significant thing...we tried ostrich burgers the other night. They were Mexican-prepared and very lean. I was impressed as I was cooking them on the BBQ. Cheap and very lean...very good. Pixie took one bite and said, "Not for me." I cooked her a turkey burger as a replacement. I...being adventurous, ate two ostrich burgers. But...I have to say, they were salty and didn't set that well. Oh well, it was worth a shot. So what else have we been eating? Mangoes...lots of mangoes. They're in season for just a bit longer. I usually get up and cut up a mango and papaya, pour yogurt over the fruit, then sprinkle granola over the yogurt, add a few raisins and walnuts, and that's my high calorie breakfast. No photo of that.

We do have photos of our dinner at George and Kenya's house. These guys have been living here for close to 20 years. They got here when property was very cheap and, intelligently, bought a lot way up on the mountainside, and built a beautiful house with a big terrace overlooking the entire lake. We are friends with them from our Great Books discussion group and have grown closer to them over the past three years. They just got back from the Czech Republic, where Kenya's son lives with his family. George worked in Latin America for much of his workig life, and he speaks fluent Spanish. They have many Mexican friends, one of whom is an exellent sculptor who recently made a bust of George. Here are some photos which capture their wonderful home:

Here's an update on what I've been reporting in the last two posts about the American and Canadian homeowners who bought property in the coastal town of Tenecatita and had their property seized a couple of weeks ago. Well, it turns out that although the land was originally ejito land, a Guadalajara property developer has apparently owned the entire tract of land, legally for about 38 years, way before these people thought they bought the property. Apparently, even though they have legal-looking titles, and they were signed and approved by lawyers, the land was illegally sold. So...as of now...it looks like these people are going to lose their land. Stay tuned...I'll update any new developments.

Two other news developments. You may have heard the BIG news that Miss Mexico, from Guadalajara, won the Miss Universe contest last week. Good boost for Mexico, two weeks before Mexico celebrates its bicentennial on September 16. You may remember that I mentioned before that one does not need a prescription to buy medications at local farmacias. They do have prescription requirements for barbiturates, pain medications and sleeping pills. Now, they wisely have added antibiotics to the list of meds requiring a physician's order. Good news for the people who try to self-medicate.

We have decided to put our house on the market and rent instead of own. Although we love our house, we really don't enjoy the unanticipated expenses that inevitably come with home ownership. In this market, it will likely take some time to sell, and we are happy here in the meantime. Here are some garden photos:

Rainy Days of August

Those of you who have been following Maine to Mexico since the beginning may remember Danie, Dora and their children. When we rented a house on the west end of Ajijic, from May of 2007 through March of 2008, Daniel and Dora were the live-in couple who managed the property. There are six casas in the compound and a swimming pool. Most of the casas are owned by Mexican families from Guadalajara who used their casas on weekends. We, of course lived in one full time, and Kathy Kinney, an artist form Indiana, also lived in one. We became friends with Daniel and Dora and their family, and we still get together occasionally to celebrate birthdays, etc. Here is a recent photo of their family on the occasion of Jesus' eleventh birthday. From left are Dora, Jesus, Daniel with Yoselin, and Dora's older son Elias. Tonight we are going over to their house (they still live in the same place) for a dinner of tamales and atole (a sweet corn-based drink which is a speciality of Michoacan, Doras' home state). Yoselin and Jesus are growing up!

Before we head over to Daniel and Dora's, we will be attending a memorial service to be held on the patio of the Lake Chapala Society for Rick Sargent. Rick was a friend of ours, married to Mary Alice Sargent, who has been responsible for the Lake Chapala Society's sponsorship of the Wilkes Education Center where I taught English for the first two years I was here. Rick and Mary Alice are from New Hampshire, and we usually see them at our monthly New Hampshire-Maine group where we met for drinks then had dinner together. They have been active in the community sponsoring several Mexican children by paying their educational expenses. Rick died unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago while undergoing surgery to repair an aortic aneurism.

We've had typical rainy season weather since we've been home. It rains most nights, sometimes very hard, then clears by morning, and we enjoy sunny but refreshingly cool weather during the days. We had a pot-luck lunch at our house for about fifty people following our UU Fellowship service last Sunday. We had a visiting minister, Rev. Howard Hunter, visit our Fellowship and speak. Dr. Hunter is a part-time speaker at the UU church in Harvard Square and lives in Rockport, Massachusetts. He has travelled and studied world religions in many countries and is a fascinating speaker. You can see from the photos that we had to figure out a way to accommodate everyone under cover. This was because rain was threatening Sunday, even during the daylight hours. Below is Reverend Hunter with his young friend, Amir, a Lebanese-Mexican professor at a university in Mexico City.

Another event Pixie hosted last week was a surprise birthday party for our good friend Jeanne Haley. She put together an old-fashioned girls birthday party for Jeanne, including games like pin-the-tail-on -the- donkey, musical chairs, Mother may I?, and dropping clothespins in a bottle. They additionally had cake, gifts, and a pinata. You can tell they had fun!

There was an interesting article in the Guadalajara Reporter this week. It was about roughly 40 homeowners, many Americans and Canadians, in the coastal town of Tenacatita who had their property seized by the Mexican government, even though they thought they had legal titles for their properties. After the 1910 revolution, the government set aside vast tracts of land for the indigenous population called ejito land. No one was allowed to develop this land. Over the years, some ejito land has been allowed to be sold to developers following a complex legal process. In fact, until several years ago, foreigners were prohibited from owning coastal property at all. Apparently, the properties in Tenacatita were built on ejito land, at least that's the assertion. The case will be appealed in Mexican courts, but meantime, their property has been seized. Such seizures have occasionally occurred here at Lakeside. As a result, anyone buying property in Mexico must be very careful to be sure there is no question about the land once being classified as ejito land.

I will close this entry with a few photos we took on a recent walk along the malecon in Chapala. It's always a pleasure to enjoy the lake, the sun, and the many Mexican families who use this lakeside area for relaxation.

Well, I have to include a couple more photos. A couple of days ago, we were dog-sitting for Layla, Chuy's best friend, a golden retriever owned by our next-door neighbors, Ron and Pat. You can see, Chuy enjoyed having a friend to hang with.

Massachusetts to Mexico

Here I sit in Goucester, Massachusetts, with by brothers (from left) Fred and Brackley. We spent our ast two days in the US visiting them and their families in Gloucester. Brackley's wife, Happy, is from the area, and she and Brackley own a home there. Fred and his family were renting a cottage there for a week, so it was a perfect opportunity to get us all together, as we did last year too.

Here, on the left, is Fred and Heidi's daughter, Nora. Brackley and my cousin, Sally, ham it up with copies of my poetry book. Below are Ariana (Brackley's daughter) with Fred, Heidi, and their son Alex. Pixie makes a toast with Happy, and, below, a view of Rockport Harbor.
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We drove to Boston's Logan airport last Saturday morning. Everyone who gave us directions claimed it was so easy that I couldn't possibly get lost...but, I managed. Fortunately, our GPS lady helped us find our way, and we dropped off the car without incident, and arrived home about 11PM.

Our house, and Chuy, had been well taken-care-of by our experienced house sitters from Boulder, CO, Mike and Christi.

They were able to stay for the day on Sunday, so we had a great chance to get to know them a little better. They retired early, live a simple, thrifty life, and travel all over the world house sitting for accommodations. They are actually thinking, at some point, of escaping Colorado winters by moving to Mexico, but they are undecided as to exactly where. This trip let them familiarize themselves with the Lake Chapala area, and they seemed to have had a good time.

Of course, when we returned, we had a large stack of mail and newspapers. I thought I'd highlight a few of the headlines in the Guadalajara Reporter to let you see what's been going on since we were gone.

MAJOR PARTIES SHARE SPOILS IN STATE ELECTIONS

It appears as thought the PRI party (who was the single party ruling Mexico from 1929 to 2000) is regaining ground from President Calderon's PAN party. They won 9 of 12 state governorships up for election. Yet, the three governorships they lost, in Sinaloa, Oaxaca, and Puebla, were as a result of an unlikely political coalition between the right wing PAN party and the ultra left PRD parts. Everyone here is waiting to see who will win the 2012 presidential election. There is speculation that whoever wins will establish a new approach to the drug cartels which have caused so much violence since 2006, when Calderon was elected. Presidents in Mexico are limited to one six-year term.

MONEY EXCHANGE LIMITS NOW IN PLACE

This is an interesting new policy designed to make it more difficult for the drug cartels to launder money. By placing a maximum of $4000 USD on money changing into pesos each month, authorities hope to reduce the ability of the drug cartels to bring large amounts of US cash into Mexico. Last year, according to the article, 29 billion dollars were "laundered" in Mexico.

SECURITY ALERT: US CONSULATE ISSUES LOCAL ADVISORY: LONGTIME EXPATRIATE RESIDENTS SAY THE TONE OF THE MESSAGE DOES NOT REFLECT THE REALITY ON THE STREETS

The US consulate in Guadalajara issued a warning to US citizens living in the four-state area of Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit, and Aguascalientes, that drug-related violence has been on the rise near Guadalajara and in Tepic, Nayarit. The advisory recommends being aware of one's surroundings and moving away from any perceived disturbances, should one happen to witness something going on. The article goes on to include comments of longtime residents who believe that the advisory was an over reaction and that they feel more safe walking around the streets in Mexico than in many US cities.

STATE HEALTH CHIEF UNMOVED BY DENGUE FEVER SPIKE

The prolific rains during July have spiked the number of reported cases of Dengue Fever from 253, last year at this time, to 640 so far this season. Although the vast majority of these cases appear on the coast of Jalisco, there have been cases near here. The health officer in Jalisco suggests that the warnings issued for each rainy season, already in place, are sufficient this year as well. Preventive measures, such as spraying for mosquitis and warning residents to use mosquito repellent, are the best ways to fight the disease. Dengue Fever is usually a flu-like disease, but far fewer cases are the more dangerous hemorrhagic type.

One thing we are hearing from friends who have traveled to the border recently, is that police officers are stopping and harassing more Americans near the border areas as a direct retaliation for the anger generated by the Arizona immigration law. Feelings are very strong here that the law is unfair and racist. We can expect there to be some repercussions.

So, as you can see, there are always concerns and challenges living in a foreign country, especially when that country is facing a weak economy, mass deportations from the US, and a government trying very hard to wipe out drug violence. Luckily, things are calm and normal here at lakeside. and we are happy to be home.

One last photo: We bought Chuy a stuffed lobster as a gift. He is enjoying his new toy!

Getting Ready to Return to Mexico

We are, at last, wrapping up our Maine visit and preparing to head to Gloucester, Massachusetts where my brothers have gathered with their families for a vacation. Then, on Saturday, we’ll fly back to Guadalajara.

The weather in Maine has been almost picture-perfect since our hot and humid stretch in early July. We had fewer days at the Kennebunk beach than I thought we would, but we did have some good beach time watching the surfers and relaxing in the sun.

We noticed, not too surprisingly, that the Maine seafood restaurants down by the harbor were, to say the least, very pricey. Since Pixie, every year, loves to have a fried clam dinner, this presented a challenge. Our friends Ron and Jean, who live here most of the year, helped us by bringing us to a local restaurant frequented by the locals. Pixie’s friend clams were great, while I enjoyed a fish ‘n chips dinner myself.

One of our good friends from Central Maine Community College put on a party one evening at her country home n rural Leeds, Maine, for Pixie and I. They invited many of our good friends for an evening of recollections, updates, and a lot of fun. She has a beautiful home she and Jim build themselves and share with some chickens, sheep, ducks, and quails. They invited us to spend the night so we wouldn’t have to make the trip to Kennebunk late at night. Here is Lucy our host, hamming it up with fabric artist and professor, Don Talbot. At right is Ethel and her new husband, Jeff. Below are our friends Lloyd and Kathy and a photo of Lucy's husband, Jim, watering the ducks and sheep in the morning.

The following night, we joined up with three-fourths of our gourmet dinner group. When we lived in Maine, we gathered every month or two with three other couples to cook a special dinner at one of our homes and had wonderful times. We shared the cooking and some wonderful moments together. We, of course, abandoned the group when we moved to Mexico, as did Marlene and Elliott, when they moved to Aiken, South Carolina. We gathered with the other two couples for a reunion at Kathy and Doug’s home in New Gloucester, Maine. Kathy and Doug visited us last winter in Mexico. Gene and Betty were there, as well, so we had 75% of the group there. After dinner, of course, we put in a conference call to South Carolina so we could include Marlene and Elliott in the fun. From left; Gene, Betty, Kathy, Doug, and Pixie

Every year when I come back to Maine, I get together with by former gym buddies, Don and Larry. This year was no exception, as Larry treated us to a meal at Pat's Pizza.

We revisited our old Unitarian-Universalist Church one Sunday and reconnected and brought greetings from our UU Fellowship in Mexico. It was good to see some more friends that day. We had brought a small bag of Mexican jewelry for them to sell at their Christmas fair to raise money for the church. Then, we spent the rest of the day with our daughter Wendy and her partner Troy at their apartment in Lewiston. We had a wonderful dinner and good conversation. Wendy is in the final stages of finishing her undergraduate degree in Therapeutic Recreation, and plans to complete an MSW degree when she finishes. Troy is also planning to start graduate work in the fall of 2011. They may need to move away from Maine for their studies. We’ll see how that works out.

We were busy last week with some hearing/audiology appointments for me, where we confirmed that I am suffering from some hearing loss and was fitted with hearing aids. Pixie spent a few days with her sister, Liana, and her family in Gray, while I returned to Waldoboro to visit my dad and stepmom again. Pixie’s brother , Tex, and his daughter Jan came by for dinner one evening. It was good to have some one-on-one time with them.

Then, last weekend, Pixie, Wendy and I made the trip to the University of Hartford to attend the art show and dinner honoring this year’s graduates of the MFA Illustration program. This was the first time we had been on campus and met Cassie’s classmates and professors. Amazingly, many of the students are already professional illustrators looking to get the MFA as a teaching credential. The art show was phenomenal. Cassie’s work was the artwork for a children’s book about a Pug named Gertie. It was very complex pen and ink work. Every one of the twenty or so exhibitions were very different from one another and phenomenal, both in terms of their expertise and creativity. We were happy to see that Cassie was loved by everyone who knew her….but of course we were not surprised. Alana, Cassie’s partner was there as well, along with her mom, sister, brother-in-law, and niece. We had never met them before…a very special family. Here Cassie poses with her images from her "Gertie" book, and with Alana and her mom and sister below:

Last Monday, we enjoyed a pizza dinner with Cassie and her partner, Alana. We were able to see their apartment right near the ocean on Portland’s Eastern Promenade, and meet their wonderful puppy, Yo’te.

We even entertained while we were staying at the condo. On one of our last nights there, we had good friends from our UU church for dinner, Kevin and Judy and Mary Kay and Claire. Other UU church friends who own the condo, Mark and Beth Ayotte, also came for dinner one night. Here are Mark and Beth, on left, and Claire, Mary Kay, Pixie, Judy and Kevin on right.

From writing all this it’s easy to see why we didn’t have as much beach time as we had anticipated. We were too busy. Need to return to Mexico to get some rest from our vacation!

Isabelle Meets a Lobster

We have been in Maine for about two and a half weeks, about halfway through our trip north for the summer. The weather has been sunny most of the trip, but we have had some of the hot and humid weather we avoid in Mexico. We have been enjoying our visit here, spending time with all of our children, enjoying good Maine seafood, celebrating my dad’s 90^th birthday, and, of course, enjoying a wonderful week with our only granddaughter , Isabelle, and her parents.

We spent our first week in Waldoboro with my dad and stepmom, Joy. We had been unsure they would make it to Maine this year because of my dad’s health challenges this winter, but he was determined to make the trip north from Philadelphia, and they did. They have arranged for some personal care assistance in their home, and they are enjoying being here. We celebrated his 90 years simply with Pixie, Joy , and her daughter, Beth, who helped them make the drive north. They had had a big celebration with family and friends before they left.

Here are photos of Dad with his cake, posing with me, my stepmom, Joy, and her daughter, Beth, and Cassie and Dad.

From Waldoboro, we headed down to Kennebunk, about two hours south, to move into the condo. We arrived and had a couple of days to get prepared for Eric, Crystal and Isabelle to arrive two days later. They arrived safe and sound, and we had a busy week. Isabelle has become more of a little girl than a baby, and she was quite conversational. We were able to watch her several times while Eric and Crystal enjoyed some child-free time alone. We went to the beach in Kennebunk, drove over to Walker’s point in Kennebunkport to see the Bush estate, viewed the fireworks over the ocean, visited the botanical garden and a Chinese restaurant in Boothbay Harbor, and enjoyed a lobster dinner. Here they are at Walker's Point, Isabelle taking great pleasure in tickling me, Isabelle at the beach (for an Indiana girl, this was her first time at the ocean!), Isabelle getting creative with chopsticks at the restaurant, sitting at the botanical garden, and looking skeptically at the lobster.

We were able to capture a wonderful photo of us with all three of our children and their significant others. Top row, me, Pixie, Troy (Wendy's partner) and Wendy. Seated, Alana (Cassie's partner), Cassie, Eric, Isabelle, and Crystal.

Now that they’ve gone home, we are enjoying time with friends. We spent Sunday night with our friends Ron and Jean at their camp on Long Lake in Belgrade Lakes. We enjoy a unique relationship with Ron and Jean because, although they live in Kennebunk, they spent last winter in Ajijic, and plan to spend six months there next winter. So we spent time with them in Mexico and here this summer. We had a grand time at their beautiful camp and learned to play Canasta. The next day we went into Belgrade Lakes village which I remember from my youth when we spent time near there every summer while my dad taught at Colby College. Last night we spent the evening with Curt and Judy Webber who hosted us for thirteen weeks last summer and have visited us three times in Mexico. They treated us to dinner at our favorite Auburn hangout, Pat’s Pizza. It was wonderful to catch up with them. Here are Pixie and Jean preparing to be pulled behind the boat in "Big Mable" and a view from their camp porch.

Of course, we also enjoy picking up few things we cannot find easily in Mexico. This year we shopped for new sandals, clothing items, books, and vitamin supplements in large quantity bottles. Our friends in Mexico report that they have been having an abundance of rain, even during the day, so we’re not missing that much. Our house sitters, Mike and Christi, report that they are enjoying time with Chuy, as he continues to entertain them with his eccentric habits. We miss him and are looking forward to our return at the end of the month.

I have had a small medical issue relating to my previous problem with blood clotting. Apparently, my Coumadin level had dropped a bit too low before our flight north. As a result, I developed a few small deep vein clots in my right leg. So, I am now in the process of raising my Coumadin level to a new maintenance level and taking heparin shots in the meantime to keep my blood anticoagulated. A new ultrasound yesterday showed no new clotting and some shrinkage of the new clots. So things are resolving themselves, and I’ll just need to monitor my Coumadin levels a bit more closely when I return to Mexico.

We are looking forward to seeing more friends in the next couple of weeks, including a party Friday evening at Lucy Coombs’ house. She replaced me as department chair in the Humanities department at Central Maine Community College. She has invited many of our colleagues from CMMC to the gathering, which should be fun. Then, on Saturday, we are reuniting our gourmet dinner group with Kathy and Doug, who visited us in Mexico this past winter, and our other friends Betty and Gene. Next week we’re heading up to Waldoboro to see my dad and stepmom again, then on the 23^rd, we’re off, with our daughter Wendy, to Hartford to see Cassie graduate with her MFA in Illustration. After we leave Maine, we’ll be heading to Gloucester, Mass. to see both of my brothers and their families before flying back to Guadalajara on July 31.

Busy days, but satisfying and relaxing.