KATE AND JACK STILL IN HALIFAX>
It is now July 19th. and a lot of water has gone under the bridge!
Since coming home we have had absolutely no spring, and summer to date has been questionable.
Kate has made 3 trips to see her 97 year old father over in Newfoundland, plus a trip to Boston to visit with her grand kids. Jack on the otherhand just got back from a trip to Vancouver to visit with his sick daughter and carry out some minor home repairs for her !
Kate and I went down to Florida in May and spent 10 days visiting some dear friends whose acquaintance we made over the last 20 years, one of my close friends and ex business partners gave us the use of her condo on the beach which was a real treat!
After spending time in Florida we both realized how much we loved Mexico and wished we had discovered it years sooner, I can't wait to get back to see all our new friends again and my singing buddy Mike.
Kate's grand kids just arrived from Boston and are staying with us for a week, they are low maintenance, Matthew is 15 and 6 ft.4ins. Meghan is 12 and taller than Kate.
Kate and I planned going over to Edinburgh next month but have put that plan on hold for now.
But for now, life is good!
Jack
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Back home in Halifax....
It is almost three weeks since we left Mexico, to return home (unfortunately).
We did manage to get on the flight to Montreal but sadly the lady sitting adjacent to Kate suffered a heart attack. Sometime was spent by passengers and crew trying to revive her by means of CPR. The Captain then announced that we would have to make an emergency landing in new Orleans to get medical assistance. However, the lady had died by the time we landed, she was only fifty nine years old. The paramedics removed the body and we were stuck on the ground for over three hours because of customs and red tape. So we were too late getting to Montreal to make our connection and had to overnight at a hotel and flew out the next morning. Our good friends Maggie and Brian were waiting to pick us up in Halifax. They also invited us for dinner at their place that evening.
I am still in a state of depression since coming back.....nothing but rain, fog, wind and cold. Today is a heat wave, the temperature is going up to 17C.....oh boy I'll be able to remove my second pair of socks. The worst part of it all is that I am back getting physiotherapy for my aches and pains, which had completely disappeared while in Mexico. Kate is also suffering. Also the culture shock of prices. We lived in Mexico for a quarter of what it costs to live in Canada. I am seriously going to go house shopping when we go back in November.
Our friends, Barb and Wally have left to drive down to Mexico to spend the rest of their lives there. Smart move. They are the couple who came to stay with us for a week and bought a house after three days.
We are late getting in touch with everyone, we have been busy shopping for a new lap top computer and camera to replace what we had stolen , so now we can catch up with e-mails etc.
So that's it for now. I have to go now and throw another body on the fire or else wear pants under my kilt. (Perish the thought)
Jack
We did manage to get on the flight to Montreal but sadly the lady sitting adjacent to Kate suffered a heart attack. Sometime was spent by passengers and crew trying to revive her by means of CPR. The Captain then announced that we would have to make an emergency landing in new Orleans to get medical assistance. However, the lady had died by the time we landed, she was only fifty nine years old. The paramedics removed the body and we were stuck on the ground for over three hours because of customs and red tape. So we were too late getting to Montreal to make our connection and had to overnight at a hotel and flew out the next morning. Our good friends Maggie and Brian were waiting to pick us up in Halifax. They also invited us for dinner at their place that evening.
I am still in a state of depression since coming back.....nothing but rain, fog, wind and cold. Today is a heat wave, the temperature is going up to 17C.....oh boy I'll be able to remove my second pair of socks. The worst part of it all is that I am back getting physiotherapy for my aches and pains, which had completely disappeared while in Mexico. Kate is also suffering. Also the culture shock of prices. We lived in Mexico for a quarter of what it costs to live in Canada. I am seriously going to go house shopping when we go back in November.
Our friends, Barb and Wally have left to drive down to Mexico to spend the rest of their lives there. Smart move. They are the couple who came to stay with us for a week and bought a house after three days.
We are late getting in touch with everyone, we have been busy shopping for a new lap top computer and camera to replace what we had stolen , so now we can catch up with e-mails etc.
So that's it for now. I have to go now and throw another body on the fire or else wear pants under my kilt. (Perish the thought)
Jack
Monday, April 7, 2008
The moment of truth has arrived !
The time has come for Kate and I to pack our bags once again and head back to that other place we call home! The thought of leaving paradise is leaving us with mixed emotions, we have made so many friends here, and of course we will be meeting up with them when we return again in November ,and return we will, we have already booked our rental for next winter.
Most of our friends have already gone back to the cold, three couples from Nova Scotia who we will be meeting up with on our return, we all got together last week for the last supper at our favourite restaurant owned by my Scottish friend Mike, needless to say we all got" hammered".
Starting this month, Mike is putting prime rib on the menu on Wednesdays only and has kindly invited Kate and I to be his guests this Wed. for a prime rib dinner.
We were up to the office this morning meeting the 12 year old girl that Kate is sponsoring to put through school on behalf of her grandaughter Megan, I also want to sponsor a young boy and a young girl on behalf of my daughter Jacquie. so many of those kids need help to get an education,
they come from families of 5 and 6 and whose father only earns approx. $400.00 a month.
Hard to believe, but so many similar cases, and yes, kids here only get free education until the 4th. grade, after that they have to pay.
So back to the packing, our plan is to leave here on Friday 11th.April depending on the flights and be in our apartment on Saturday.......Look out Pete`s, here I come !
Most of our friends have already gone back to the cold, three couples from Nova Scotia who we will be meeting up with on our return, we all got together last week for the last supper at our favourite restaurant owned by my Scottish friend Mike, needless to say we all got" hammered".
Starting this month, Mike is putting prime rib on the menu on Wednesdays only and has kindly invited Kate and I to be his guests this Wed. for a prime rib dinner.
We were up to the office this morning meeting the 12 year old girl that Kate is sponsoring to put through school on behalf of her grandaughter Megan, I also want to sponsor a young boy and a young girl on behalf of my daughter Jacquie. so many of those kids need help to get an education,
they come from families of 5 and 6 and whose father only earns approx. $400.00 a month.
Hard to believe, but so many similar cases, and yes, kids here only get free education until the 4th. grade, after that they have to pay.
So back to the packing, our plan is to leave here on Friday 11th.April depending on the flights and be in our apartment on Saturday.......Look out Pete`s, here I come !
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Easter in Ajijic, Mexico
You´ll have a hard time reconizing Christmas and Easter celebrations here in Mexico. They last much longer than they do back home and they are more festive, involving the entire community. We certainly felt free to join in the public displays of joy. It´s contagious. The locals are very welcoming. Life here is leisurely.
Good Friday.
Holy Week celebrations involved processions of Roman centurions, the blowing up of paper-mache Judas and a dramatic rendering of Christ´s suffering on the cross.
On Good Friday the town organized a Passion Play. In the churchyard Jesus of Nazareth was put on trial. Here he was crowned with a ring of thorns. The procession where a real life Jesus figure dragged his cross through the streets followed by the mourning Mary Magdalen and the saints and the ever present menancing Roman centurions. The young men of the village re-enact the whole story. It is a great honor to be chosen, Jesus for this role. He was perfect. Shoulder length hair. Clothed in a white robe with a rope at his waist. Serious. Very good looking! Strong. After the trial inside the church he had to drag this very heavy wooden cross (estimates were 200 pounds!) from the Cathedral , through the village streets and up the mountain to the chapel. He was accompanied by hundreds, maybe thousands of followers and stern-looking Romans. The spectacle was amazing! It commemorates the magnitude of Christ´s suffering on the cross. Once up the mountain there was a simulated crucifixion. There were also the crucifixion of the two thieves. Finally, Jesus was lowered from the cross and placed on a streatcher of some sort. He was completly covered in a white linen cloth and brought down the mountain and into the Cathedral where there was a Mass.
On Saturday after Mass, again, the townspeople gathered outside for some comic relief. There was a raucous burning of "Los Judas". Large paper- mache effigies, painted in eye-popping colours, represented Judas and other forces of evil, including the devil and unpopular political personalities. Yes. They have these here too! The figures are hung up in the street and the town plaza. They are ignited in quick succession and blown to bits, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil. What fun!
So this is Easter in Mexico. What you won´t find is any sign of the Easter bunny! No jelly beans. No marshmellow chickens. No cellophane grass. No Easter baskets. These are "Gringo" customs that have failed to make it across the border. Yet.
Mexican schools are closed now for two weeks to celebrate Easter. All workers are granted time off with pay. There is a happiness in the streets you can taste! We feel so lucky to be part of it all.
Good Friday.
Holy Week celebrations involved processions of Roman centurions, the blowing up of paper-mache Judas and a dramatic rendering of Christ´s suffering on the cross.
On Good Friday the town organized a Passion Play. In the churchyard Jesus of Nazareth was put on trial. Here he was crowned with a ring of thorns. The procession where a real life Jesus figure dragged his cross through the streets followed by the mourning Mary Magdalen and the saints and the ever present menancing Roman centurions. The young men of the village re-enact the whole story. It is a great honor to be chosen, Jesus for this role. He was perfect. Shoulder length hair. Clothed in a white robe with a rope at his waist. Serious. Very good looking! Strong. After the trial inside the church he had to drag this very heavy wooden cross (estimates were 200 pounds!) from the Cathedral , through the village streets and up the mountain to the chapel. He was accompanied by hundreds, maybe thousands of followers and stern-looking Romans. The spectacle was amazing! It commemorates the magnitude of Christ´s suffering on the cross. Once up the mountain there was a simulated crucifixion. There were also the crucifixion of the two thieves. Finally, Jesus was lowered from the cross and placed on a streatcher of some sort. He was completly covered in a white linen cloth and brought down the mountain and into the Cathedral where there was a Mass.
On Saturday after Mass, again, the townspeople gathered outside for some comic relief. There was a raucous burning of "Los Judas". Large paper- mache effigies, painted in eye-popping colours, represented Judas and other forces of evil, including the devil and unpopular political personalities. Yes. They have these here too! The figures are hung up in the street and the town plaza. They are ignited in quick succession and blown to bits, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil. What fun!
So this is Easter in Mexico. What you won´t find is any sign of the Easter bunny! No jelly beans. No marshmellow chickens. No cellophane grass. No Easter baskets. These are "Gringo" customs that have failed to make it across the border. Yet.
Mexican schools are closed now for two weeks to celebrate Easter. All workers are granted time off with pay. There is a happiness in the streets you can taste! We feel so lucky to be part of it all.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Palm Sunday in Ajijic, Mexico
What an interesting place this is. We went to "open circle", which is a non denominational service held under the trees at the Lake Chapala Society. As is our custom now we proceeded to brunch with Cathy and Gary, our Halifax friends. Bridge on their terrace followed this until four o`clock. We knew something magical was to take place at the square so we stared out treck...just a few blocks. We noticed bundles of Alfalfa sprouts tied up and lying by doorways. We knew these were decorations, but we did not know what would be done with them. meanwhile, the street was being swept and watered. This was to celebrate the entry of Christ`s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the week before he was crucified. This marked the beginning of Holy Week that culminates in Easter.
We were told the procession would start around four but it was almost seven before anything happened. This is Mexico!
So the residents scattered the Alfalfa leaves upon the streets, making a carpet along the entire procession route. A green carpet! Amazing. Children sold individual palm fronds which were torn into eight or nine strips and woven into intricate designs. Soon the procession arrived. Jesus rode towards the cathedral on a burro accompanied by his 12 deciples on foot, all dressed in period costume. Behind them the local priest and two clergymen all in red and gold robes! The rest of Ajijic folks and visitors followed carrying their palm fronds and singing hymns all the way down to the 500 year old church where the proccession terminated .The simplicity and the splendor and the joy of these people make our obsession with easter eggs, baskets and chocolate bunnies seem garish and gaudy.
After Mass, the men with handmade brooms cleaned the streets of the trodden Alfalfa.
Then the food vendors, the musicians and diversions for the children came alive, in the decorated town square! What a feast! Fruit on sticks. Clay bowls of sweet rice pudding. Tamales. Every sort of Mexican food and candy. The older woman selling eggs, which have been blown out, painted for Easter and filled with confetti. These are broken over heads as a shower of wealth. Mostly it is just the little children who receive this but on Sunday everyone was surprised! The colours. The glee. The wonderful feeling of sharing in this simple tradition was lovely.
Funds are now being raised to pay for the Passion Play on Good Friday. Can`t wait for THAT!
Happy Easter......Kate
We were told the procession would start around four but it was almost seven before anything happened. This is Mexico!
So the residents scattered the Alfalfa leaves upon the streets, making a carpet along the entire procession route. A green carpet! Amazing. Children sold individual palm fronds which were torn into eight or nine strips and woven into intricate designs. Soon the procession arrived. Jesus rode towards the cathedral on a burro accompanied by his 12 deciples on foot, all dressed in period costume. Behind them the local priest and two clergymen all in red and gold robes! The rest of Ajijic folks and visitors followed carrying their palm fronds and singing hymns all the way down to the 500 year old church where the proccession terminated .The simplicity and the splendor and the joy of these people make our obsession with easter eggs, baskets and chocolate bunnies seem garish and gaudy.
After Mass, the men with handmade brooms cleaned the streets of the trodden Alfalfa.
Then the food vendors, the musicians and diversions for the children came alive, in the decorated town square! What a feast! Fruit on sticks. Clay bowls of sweet rice pudding. Tamales. Every sort of Mexican food and candy. The older woman selling eggs, which have been blown out, painted for Easter and filled with confetti. These are broken over heads as a shower of wealth. Mostly it is just the little children who receive this but on Sunday everyone was surprised! The colours. The glee. The wonderful feeling of sharing in this simple tradition was lovely.
Funds are now being raised to pay for the Passion Play on Good Friday. Can`t wait for THAT!
Happy Easter......Kate
Monday, March 10, 2008
more info from us guys!
Nothing has changed here weatherwise, because the weather never changes, paradise every day!
It seems that kids here are only schooled until 4th. grade, after that they have to pay for all of their future education ,as well as supplying all of the school supplies and buying their school uniforms. Consequently an awful lot of kids dont go beyond 4th. grade because the parents cannot afford to educate them. a lot of the gringos here take on the task of providing for the kids, and this also includes getting them through university.
Kate spoke to her 11 year old granddaughter ,Meaghan, in Boston and asked her if she would like to sponsor a Mexican child here for school in lieu of getting xmas and birthday gifts, Meaghan was delighted with the idea and Kate already has an 11 year old girl by the name of Daniella ready to go back to school. We go to meet her and her family this week. So many gringos are doing this type of thing here, helping the deaf, the crippled and so on, it gives you a sense of purpose and well being.
We were up today booking our new residence for next winter, we have given a deposit ,and think we will be very happy in our new digs.
The only other news flash is that I started art lessons, for the first time in my life. Its never too late!
Adios from Jack
It seems that kids here are only schooled until 4th. grade, after that they have to pay for all of their future education ,as well as supplying all of the school supplies and buying their school uniforms. Consequently an awful lot of kids dont go beyond 4th. grade because the parents cannot afford to educate them. a lot of the gringos here take on the task of providing for the kids, and this also includes getting them through university.
Kate spoke to her 11 year old granddaughter ,Meaghan, in Boston and asked her if she would like to sponsor a Mexican child here for school in lieu of getting xmas and birthday gifts, Meaghan was delighted with the idea and Kate already has an 11 year old girl by the name of Daniella ready to go back to school. We go to meet her and her family this week. So many gringos are doing this type of thing here, helping the deaf, the crippled and so on, it gives you a sense of purpose and well being.
We were up today booking our new residence for next winter, we have given a deposit ,and think we will be very happy in our new digs.
The only other news flash is that I started art lessons, for the first time in my life. Its never too late!
Adios from Jack
Friday, February 29, 2008
Barb & Wally
Kate and Jack are wonderful hosts. We have had a great time, but a bit hectic. Their house is really special; it reminds me a bit of a mini Venetian palace. There is a curved stone staircase to the second floor. The atrium which is open for 2 stories and serves as a dining room, has a vaulted brick ceiling and a copula. The inside walls are about 10 feet high. It is in fact quite grand.
We fell in love with Ajijic almost immediately. Then after talking to a number of ex-pat Canadians who live there (they are very enthusiastic about their experiences), we started to think about going there too. Initially, we were just thinking about an extended visit next winter. However, as we looked around, soaked up the atmosphere and started looking at houses, we changed our approach to one of actually moving to Ajijic. As you have been informed by Jack on the blog, we took the bull by the horns and pulled the trigger (I’m not sure that those two sayings are appropriate together but you probably get the picture). We are buying a lovely house. Barbara did feel better with more energy in that high, warm, dry climate. However, I think that an even bigger consideration for us was that if we were ever going to do something different, this was the time to do it. Although there is an extensive ex-pat community, many of them do try to interact with the Mexican population and contribute. The Mexicans we met on the street were always friendly. This will be an enormous change in lifestyle for us, but we are looking forward to it. On the other hand, I think that I shall be able to continue to offer my courses over the internet from Ajijic.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)