Above center and to the right are photos of the place we were able to put a deposit on for next Nov-Mar. The place is beautiful as you can see. It's about half the size of the place we are in this visit -very small - but it has a heated pool and gorgeous outdoor areas that we can use to extend our living space. And...it's completely secure, right on the edge of Lake Chapala and in Ajijic so that we can walk to the tiangus (outdoor market) three blocks away and to a  good-sized conventional market as well.

Tomorrow we head down the road, heading back to Oregon. The weather there has been record-setting at 70-78 degrees lately, but it doesn't beat the 82-87 we have had here lately! Because of the altitude (5000 ft), it's just perfect. We're hoping most people will be at church or entertaining family, while we are driving. Or if they are travelling during Semana Santa (the extended Easter holiday), they should be at their destination, fingers crossed! I will post again soon. Right now we are in packing mode - a fairly major undertaking after six months in our second home in Mexico.

There was a big art show and sale this weekend. It coincides with the annual judged show put on by the Ajijic Society of the Arts. Over 80 artists in all different media had their wares for sale on the plaza on Sunday. The ASA group was established in 1986 and is primarily made up of expats, but also includes some local artists. They support each other but also do good work in the community, including supporting a local children's art training program. They have a small web presence you can check out for examples of just a few of the members' work Last yerajijicart.weebly.com.

Below is a pretty nice photo I took with the phone (some of them turn out!). This is the very old church that borders the plaza area just off to the left of the photo taken here of the sale area. It was built in the 1500's. This town is VERY old.  Lots and lots of history and changes over the years, but for this church - not so much, as you can see.

Our time here is very short now - less than two weeks before we leave for all points north and home. It continues to be very busy for us. We went to a fundraiser for Ninos Incapacitado last week, an  organization that helps fund health care for severely challenged local children whose parents can't afford the medical treatment that they require. Every year they raise thousands of dollars from this event alone, and it's always a lot of fun. It's themed, so some people have fun dressing for whatever that theme might be, and the rest of us enjoy looking at them! This year the theme was "The Orient Express" - and there are a lot of former theater folks here and people who were in various positions in that industry in their former lives. Not to mention that there are two active theater groups here in town, as well as symphony performances from time to time in an actual auditorium built just for that purpose, and last Fall a real cabaret opened downtown called El Piano Rojo which is a sister establishment to one in Puerto Vallarta. We, unfortunately, haven't seen one of the excellent acts that keep getting rave reviews there. But we did see a friend of ours perform there on open mic night recently. That was pretty much fun! Checking back, I see I didn't post about the Mexican National Chili Cook-Off that happened about a month ago.  Last year the weather was dismal for this event, but this year it was great. This event is a fundraiser for Cruz Roja (the local Red Cross presence).  It was fun, but the interest in the competition seems to be waning. A number of the competitors in the two competitions that they promote (chili and margaritas) cancelled at the last minute and left voters with very few to evaluate!