Oh ShiRt!

I think Donald enjoyed shopping at the indoor market in Chapala as much as the ladies. He tried on many, many shirts and got everyone’s opinion…even two German ladies who finally gave him their approval. I tell you...that Donald was a babe magnet!

We all convinced him that the embroidered shirts just weren’t him, but we all applauded at his final choice.


To see Donald's fashion show, click here!

Monkeying around with Bill!

We had lots of firsts with the group that came on February 13, but one of the more interesting concerned one of the monkeys at Ana’s brother’s B&B in Guadalajara. When Bill got to the B&B, not everyone was there yet, so he, being the patient man he is, settled in comfortably with his feet up on another chair. I guess one monkey in particular saw him as a friend and not a threat and, therefore, began exploring his new-found toy…even to the extent of crawling up Bill’s pant leg. I, of course, immediately took advantage of the photo op, and kept saying, "see how far he’ll go up your leg, Bill!"

Bill, being smarter than I, stopped the little fellow at the knee. I can appreciate his caution.

To see more delightful pictures of Mr. Monkey’s exploration of Mr. Bill, click here.

The Donald and The Singer!

Donald Collete had a wonderful time at La Bodega, and it made our evening! First, let me explain, Donald & Mildred Collete had their first date on February 13, 60 years ago this year. Donald made the announcement at our first-night get-together in the bar at the Hotel Real de Chapala. And, you could tell from looking at the both of them that it was the best date of their lives! I don’t think they’ve been apart since.

So you understand, they’ve been through a lot together and weathered it all…until The Donald met Carol Bedford. It was a rollicking good time that I don’t think anyone in our group OR the restaurant will forget! I told Carol at the end of the evening that I think she made Don’s night. She looked at me, and shook her head, and said, "No, honey, he made my night!"

Carol even came up and performed a song with Don, which was a highlight of the evening. Don & Mildred bought Carol’s CD which she personally autographed, while sitting on his lap, of course! It was a great evening with the "luck of the Irish" going strong that night! We were glad to be there to witness it.

For more pictures of Carol & The Donald, click here.

Retire in Mexico …Live Younger Longer

By Karen Cottingham
Retirement looms in what used to be the distant future. But now, in my early 50s, it's something that does cross my mind at least once a day. So when I was approached to write an article about retiring in Mexico, I was intrigued. My children were more than intrigued --- they were downright excited about the thought of being able to vacation at the hacienda they envisioned me buying.

In November I travelled to Lake Chapala, beautiful lake district made up of several communities along the shore and nestled in a mountain valley about 50 minutes south of Guadalajara. The area is known to the locals as "Lakeside."

Lake Chapala is quickly becoming the retirement destination of choice for many North American baby boomers.

I enrolled in a program called "Focus on Mexico," a series of seminars and tours designed to teach you everything you need to know about retiring in Mexico. There were 16 attendees, made up of Canadians and Americans, all of whom came armed with a sense of adventure and a longing for a quieter, warmer, less-expensive place to "live the best of their lives."

Click here to read the entire article ...

I Thought It Was A Mural!

Most of the restaurants in Ajijic are indoor-outdoor restaurants. That's one of our favorite things about the area. I love eating outside. Pampa Tango's, one of the fine Argentinean restaurants in Ajijic...great beef...is covered with a palapa roof. Palapas are those palm-thatched umbrellas you're used to seeing in the tropics.

However, there is a bit of space, as you can see in the picture, where the palapa roof ends and the trees begin. It was hard to get a picture of the clouds...but the moon was full and the clouds had a faint outline around them. It was really beautiful. We were all talking about the sky when all of a sudden Fleming said, "That's the sky...the real sky...it's open? I thought it was a mural!"

And, then this dear man and his darling wife re-enacted the moment so I could take advantage of a Kodak moment. They're truly good sports, and we laughed about it through the rest of the dinner. We really enjoyed Fleming and Katt...they had a joy for life that was quite infectious. They were a lot of fun to be around.

Click here to see pictures of our Jan 27 - Feb 2, 2007 program

Colorado Snorkeling

From time to time, we hear from some of our participants. One couple we hear from often is Lane & Pam "Lets buy stock in Viagra" Maxwell. They were bringing us up todate with what has been going in their life.

By the way, we are still waiting for someone to tell us about the "Lets buy stock in Viagra" story.

Lane and Pam sent us a couple of pictures of their area and about one, Lane says "With the weather here in Colorado, who needs the tropics? It has been so nice here that I went snorkeling the other day as you can see form the picture." Of course this is not the original, we felt the "Speedo" Lane was wearing needed a bit of help, so we added the towel.

In fact, Focus On Mexico is not sure this is really Lane, anyone out there care to comment?

An inspiration of Chapala

John and Sylvia White were a energetic and dynamic team on our last program. John is an artist, and his wife, Sylvia, owns the Sylvia White Gallery in Santa Monica, California, where John is one of the featured artists. Good planning, Sylvia! If you want to read about Sylvia and John, go to their web site: http://www.artadvice.com/.

John blew us away when he sat down and just whipped out this wonderful piece using the word Chapala and the colors of Mexico as his inspiration. As their web site says, John's "notational style of work draws from everything as varied as his experiences on the golf course to therapy notations." And now, we're quite delighted to say, he can add Lake Chapala, Mexico, to his repertoire. Can't wait until you join us here, John. I'm dying to see your art up close and personal.

Click here to see pictures of our Jan 27 - Feb 2, 2007 program

A Star is Born!

This was a first for us...John White (or as we liked to call him...Juan Blanco!) sat down and played us some tunes while we were at Omar O'Rourke's for lunch. John said he had been taking lessons for only about a year. He’s going to have to make a comment to this blog to let me know what he played. Sorry, John...I can't remember. I just know everyone was amazed to think you had only been playing for a year. It was awesome.

Then Jerry Patterson and John played a duet together and played a toe-tapping tune that really got the joint jumping!

Omar's house is a popular place with our participants. Before we got there, I told everyone that Pedro, Omar's bartender, makes the best margaritas I've ever had. I made believers out of all of them! It was, as always, a great afternoon.

Click here to see pictures of our Jan 27 - Feb 2, 2007 program