Exploring New Places

It always takes time to feel comfortable in a new location but I love the possibilities of so many new places to explore.  We have joined the Lake Chapala Society, which might be described as the local Gringo group.  It offers classes, outings, video rentals and much more.  Last week I went on a shopping trip to the nearby towns of Tonola and Tlaquepaque (try pronouncing that one out loud) which are known for their handicrafts.  I bought a few things, but tried to limit my spending, knowing that I would have many more opportunities to return.  I met a couple of ladies who are also quite new and we spent the day exploring together.

This lady made the basket I bought for our bathroom 

I'm still chasing people for shots of local flavour

Mariachi music originated in this area of Mexico.  This female mariachi group is famous in Tlaquepaque.

My next door neighbour is from Guadalajara and retired here a year ago.  Since Guad (as it's known locally by the Gringos) is the big city (approx 4 million people) only an hour away, she offered to show me around there.  We spent the day speaking each other's languages (me in Spanish and she in English) and helping each other.  Our first stop was the huge fruit and vegetable market called Abastos.  I was in search of ingredients for fruit cake - Brian's favourite Christmas baking.  Maria Elena told me it was called 'fruita cristalizada' which seemed straight forward enough until I discovered that the only varieties included kiwi, pineapple and mango.  I've learned to substitute in these foreign countries so I hope this tropical fruit cake turns out!  

We're home...

in Mexico that is.  After purchasing the house 4 1/2 years ago, and planning and preparing to move into it (someday) ... we are finally here.  We arrived on October 14 and had our furniture delivered 10 days later.  It's been an unbelievably hectic month with many projects on the go - some planned for and others not planned for, but decided that they should be done now.  We've had the house painted inside and out, all the interior doors and casings scraped to remove an antique finish and then painted new, sprinkler system repaired, new windows and screens installed in some rooms, the roof sealed for better protection in the rainy season, more shelves built for 2 closets, hot tub repaired, some new plants for the yard, and the list goes on. One day Brian counted 13 workmen here at the same time!  Brian has been gone for several weeks of this time with his consulting job but we're grateful for the income to pay for these expenses.

We've made quite a few moves in recent years, and I enjoy to organize a new home, but this time has taken longer than usual to get settled for a couple of reasons.  First of all, some of the projects have required undoing what we've already done...like moving almost everything out of our bedroom when the new windows were installed or waiting on workmen to finish building extra shelves in the kitchen so I could move stuff into them.  The second reason is that it's been 13 years since we moved into our own home and that was back into our house in Calgary and we'd only been gone from it for 2 1/2 years.  So it's really been almost 24 years since we moved into a home that was our own.  The difference is an attitude of living with what's already there because it's temporary or wanting to make changes because this is our own.  Very soon we'll have all the projects behind us and be able to enjoy the terrace and view in the photos below.

Houston

October 8 - 14

This week has been a wonderful time visiting with friends from Saudi Arabia.  I stayed with Lynne & Don Best and they have been great hosts.  I was met at the airport and whisked off to a Persian rug class with Lynne, Jean Kucher, Therese Hartwell and Rachel Tucker.  We had all been friends in Saudi and had many rug adventures there together.  Now they are all living in Houston (Therese is still in Saudi part time).  The week has flown by with a few morning walks with Lynne, some errands, a bit of shopping, dinners with friends, a luncheon at Jean's house, and of course some time doing Photoshop with Don.  My final evening here was spent at dinner and a theatre performance.  It's been a great time, but I am excited to meet Brian in Mexico and officially move on to the next stage.  

Jean, Lynne, Therese, Rachel and Me

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Although this day trip was in the middle of my visit with Allison's family, I will enter it as a separate post because it really did seem like another place and another time.  We arranged for a friend to meet the school bus and drove about 2 hours north to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  We had mapped out a driving tour through the picturesque countryside that is known for its covered bridges and is home to many Amish and Mennonite people.  Allison assumed Brian's roles of chauffeur and map reader so I could take the pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maryland Again

September 28 - October 8

This return trip to Allison has been spent mostly enjoying the daily activities of a busy, young family.  

Elaina & Erin enjoyed playing with the original Polly Pocket toys found in our basement and destined for Mexico.  The more modern copycats aren't the same as the original models

Isaac  liked making a contribution to dinner preparations - in the middle of the kitchen floor of course

I helped Elaina prepare the Family Home Evening lesson on Joseph and his coat of many colours.  She read the story and used my iPad to show some pictures of Joseph.  We had printed out colouring sheets for everyone to design their own coats.  

Isaac and I had lots of time to play after the girls had gone to school

One day we headed out shopping to Ikea but it was raining 

I walked with Elaina & Erin to the school bus each morning - some days were less hectic than others

 

And after school I met the bus again.  That is their house in the background on the right

The week-day routine is to do homework together on the dining room table directly after school, but on Friday there is no homework so I met the bus and we headed to the park while Allison stayed home and Isaac continued his nap.  

I took apples to the park for an after school snack, but as you can see below, Isaac can  help himself to his own snack.  

A couple of years ago Allison convinced me to take their family photographs and then she had them enlarged and framed to display on her living room wall.  The problem with family photos is they are so quickly outdated, so she asked me to do it again.  Everyone knows how much I love to take pictures, but I enjoy to catch the spontaneous, candid moments.  The idea of being responsible to capture personalities in a staged setting is a daunting task.  However, I agreed,  so she chose the wardrobe and I selected a location in their back yard.  It actually went very smoothly and we were both pleased with the results.  They are a beautiful family.  

Elaina - age 7

Erin - age 5

Isaac - age 16 months

The Trousdales - Erin, Elaina, Allison, Isaac & Mike

After the photo session, we rode the Metro into Washington DC to investigate the International Spy Museum and afterwards we all enjoyed gelato.  

Thanks for a terrific time together!