“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” Seneca
Our first week back and it felt like we never left. We slid right back into our old routine: yoga 🧘🏻♀️ chair aerobics 🙆♂️ lunch with friends and my favorite – shopping for fresh flowers and fresh produce at the weekly Tianguis (for David it was the sourdough donut 🍩 vendor!).
There were a lot of happy ¡Bienvenidos! moments from new amigos and sad moments knowing we left behind very dear old friends who are always welcome SOB (south of the border).
All our luggage was placed in the “green room” and as they were emptied moved over to the “blue room.” So far, we’ve made a very small dent since it’s been an extremely busy first week. I have also started putting away some of the home decor and paintings – waiting for the arrival of ours.
Wednesday and Thursday afternoons were dedicated to our volunteer efforts with creating the streamers and paper flowers for the upcoming Feria de Arte in November. We were honored to finish streamer #1 two months ago and then the final two: #99 and #100. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to do one of them I‘ll be able to identify mine since the colors white and purple always went together.
We met with our immigration lawyer to finalize our residency status and had our pictures were taken so in about 45 to 60 days we will be issued our Mexican Cange (green card) and become official Gringos Permanente 👏
Friday we made the trip to the Guadalajara Costco and Mega Soriana for home and kitchen supplies (plus a few new Christmas decorations 🎄 that found their way into our two overflowing carts). David had to contort himself again – this time in the front seat of our rented Nissan Versa. With all our purchases it was at its maximum weight as it huffed and puffed its climb up towards our hillside home. It’s been challenging driving to the big city and trying not to get lost and to keep abreast of Mexican drivers, but each time gets a bit easier.
We love our home more and more everyday. Finding which light switch (there are mucho) turns on which light fixture has become my new obsession. It took me two days and a phone call to the owner to find how to turn off the front door lights – let’s say the switch was not in a very logical place.
We got to try four new restaurants since arrival. David and I are in disagreement as to the best pizza 🍕 he likes the new one – I like the old one, so it’s going to be takeout from both. David also got a Tripp’s Burger – lakeside’s version of In-N-Out Burger – right down to the red/white theme. He found them tasty, but overpriced 💵
Sunday Brunch was at St. Remy, a French-inspired restaurant, in a beautiful, outdoor garden setting, with food and service to match. Flowing Mimosas, amuse-bouche, a tower of cheeses, fruits, cookies, and baked oysters and your main entree (Salmon Benedict’s for me). It gave us time to catch up with our friends, Mike and Darryl, but then we had to carry on . . .
. . . to our British & Dutch friends, Clare and Hans, for Cream Tea, an elaborate array of beautifully displayed English sweets and savory treats. Even on our full stomachs, it was difficult not to taste a sample of each. My favorite was a delectable Bakewell Tart. The last one found its way home with me courtesy of our gracious hosts. We discovered that Hans and Clare are both chefs and bakers. They owned a bakery cafe in Dallas for over 20 years and have cooked all over Europe. They were also celebrating their 37th wedding anniversary, with a very funny story as to how it all started, with two versions of course.
This week the repairs to the Jacuzzi begin; it was supposed to have been done before we moved in, but hey, we now operate in Hora Mejicana 🤣
We’ll try to book “I’m not driving down the hill time” and rest and relax at home……between unpacking, but likely not to happen ~ we are finding out retirement is a really busy time.
