Amazing, huge, flowers that grow in our back yard.  Below is the view looking out over the lake from our Mirador. The succulents probably come from the vivero (nursery) that is next door to this gated group of twelve lots (6 houses w/1 under construction) and a small, shared pool. The nursery is "cactus only", est. in 1991, and has many, many different kinds. Really neat! I want to go wander around in there sometime soon. Between our little community and the lake are some very large and beautiful homes. I speculate that they may belong to druglords' families... It's possible that I read too many crime novels, though. I feel completely safe here.

As I did in posts from our last visit, I will share some interesting info from the Guadalajara Reporter. I have already read in various sources how well the Mexican economy is doing (very well, gracias), but the wealth is not shared by all, as you may imagine.  Example: 52 Guad. neighborhoods will finally gain permanent access to running water next year. This is in a very cosmopolitan city of about 7 million people (counting all the neighborhoods outside of the muni. of Guad. that I mentioned).  This is astounding to me. Related to this, a new dam is under construction in Jalisco to provide water to 2.4 million people in the area. The only catch - three established towns will be flooded when the project is complete.  Construction has continued despite appeals being legally filed by residents (and ignored or dismissed by Mexico's Supreme Court). The project is 53% complete, and is scheduled to be finished in 2013.

On the positive side, the skate park that just opened was made possible by a 50/50 collaboration of federal and local monies, and is working well. And...the arts community is forever strong here. Later this week is the 11th annual Feria Maestros del Artes which brings folk and indigenous artisans here from all parts of Mexico. We will be volunteering all days, and I can't wait.  This is some of the best artwork available anywhere. Below is a link to their website:
http://www.mexicoartshow.com/ 

No picture this time. I have lots to write about and no time to take new pics right now.

The Dia de los Muertos holiday is drawing to an end. The only part of it we were able to be a part of was a really fun event called "Thrill the World", which apparently happens in many locations. People dress up like zombies and do a choreographed dance to M. Jackson's Thriller. People who take part get sponsors and all proceeds go to charity. Ajijic's group was about 40 strong, young and old - Gringo and locals - and it was REALLY well done. There is a woman locally who is really talented and trains people for a couple of months beforehand. Unfortunately, the sun was too bright and the orientation wrong for pics.

The skate park I mentioned, was dedicated by local parks and gov. folks as well as the architect involved who is related to friends of ours here. It's pretty neat - right on the lake - and the day of dedication there was a competition that drew competitors from all over Mexico, as well as live music later on in the day. If I knew how to incorporate my video taken on my IPhone in this blog I would share it with you. I'm thinking both of these events are probably on YouTube.

Our new place is great in many aspects. The kitchen is huge and cabinet space is amazing there in. What a treat for Gregg and for me, as I don't get in his way when he's cooking and I am trying to clean up behind him! We have had issues that we shouldn't have, that are not resolved yet. The dishwasher doesn't work and our satellite service is wacked (read: intermittent). As usual the place is missing a lot of things that we need.  And as usual, we are checking out all second-hand options. Today we went to a local woman's sale that is leaving in a month and selling EVERYTHING. This happens a lot here, so if you can jump on these opportunities when they come up you can really get some deals. Today we got two German knives worth over  $125US ea.as well as a 3rd knife worth $30 all 3 for $40US. Houses can be purchased like this as well. It's all about being there at the right time, you know? More soon ...