Since taking possession of this home in March, we worked hard to make it our
own. The termites that came with the house forced us into some of these
changes, but others were of our own making. Now we are pleased to say that
it is ready for entertainment at least through March 15.
We arrived in Ajijic on October 29, in time for the Day of the Dead, which is longer than a day. Young and old paraded through
the streets dressed in the garb of their ancestors to celebrate and honor
their lives.
Meanwhile, we attended a traditional Halloween party with friends at a local
nightclub. No doubt, Kathy, Rick and Margo won the best costumes of the evening.
What a fun way to get back into the swing of Ajijic.
Here we are posing with Ricardo, who came dress as Elvis and did an awesome Elvis impersonation. Click to watch
him sing.
The
Day of the Dead is actually a three-day celebration, in which Mexicans (and other Latin
American countries) swarm local cemeteries and welcome the return of the
departed for a yearly visit. They adorn the gravesites with flowers, food and
alcohol.
Students at a nearby school created mockup gravesites to honor their
ancestors or their favorite Mexican heroes.
El Parque had a celebration also. Here we are honoring the lives of
former residents, with an alter filled with pictures, flowers, booze but no food.
Maureen and Wayne joined us on our mirador (our rooftop patio) for cocktails as
we marveled at yet another spectacular sunset. The Sierra Madres
(Mexico's extension of the Rocky Mountains) provided the backdrop.
Wayne and Maureen hosted Wednesday Game Night, where we get together with
friends to play cards, Mexican Train or board games. The boys played cards
while the girls played a board game--Rummikub.
Another tradition that Glorine started is Monday Nights at Adelita's, where
we reserve a table and invite friends to join us in conversation, food and
dancing. Here Chuck, Jean, Barbara and Chris joined in on the fun.
The Ajijic Jam Band provided the music, which is 60s and 70s Rock and
Roll mixed in with a bit of Mexican salsa and cumbia. There is rarely a
dull moment living here in Ajijic.
We attended the Behind the Walls Home Tour, which spotlights some of
Lakeside's most awesome homes. This one featured a mural
the entire length of the patio.
This home was built on a lot with old trees and the owners decided to
build around them. Here is one of three trees that has their own living
quarters.
November 20th is Revolution Day where Mexicans celebrate the revolution of
1910. Here is another parade where school kids are dressed up in
revolutionary clothing, commemorating the overthrow of the military
dictator General Porfirio Diaz, who ruled Mexico for over 35 years.
The parade also included this cowboy and his dancing horse. Click to watch the
horse dance.
The nice thing about living in a foreign country is we celebrate lots of
holidays. Thanksgiving was spent with both our American and Canadian
friends with a turkey and all the dressings.
Our
biggest celebration was the completion of the extreme makeover of our home here in El
Parque. We have included a few of the before and after pictures of some of
the project we undertook.
We enclosed this open-air patio and added weather proof ceilings, windows,
glass sliding doors and a custom-made entrance door.
This
change added 220 square feet to the house, giving us a new sunroom/dining room.
The change in colors also added to the character of the home.
Neither of us take baths, so out came the bathtub.
In
its place is a 3' x 7' shower, with a new granite topped cabinet, a mirrored medicine and
linen cabinets.
This
concrete patio gave us an opportunity to add some ambiance.
In
its place we added a water fountain along with some potted plants. Our
neighbors love the sound of the fountain.
These cabinets were destroyed by termites. So, all the wall and base cabinets were
removed and replaced.
In there
place, we had custom built cabinets made with taller than average wall cabinets and work
lights under each of them.
The existing granite and tile were damaged in the process of removing the
termite ridden base cabinets.
This
gave us the opportunity to get some new granite and paint the walls to match.
This corner cabinet left lots to be desired.
So
in its place we added this Lazy Susan.
Termite destroyed the cabinet in the small bathroom.
So
along with a new cabinet, we decided to put on a granite top and a mirrored medicine
cabinet.
The home came fully furnished, but we decided to change out the dining room
table with
a custom-made table and eight new chairs.
The
left over granite we had put in the bathroom was made into this 5-foot diameter table top.
The base was custom built with eight metal legs to carry the load.
The couch was awesome to sit on, but did not "sit well" with our new decor.
So
off to the upholster it went. They did an outstanding job bringing it up to
standard. Note the art work above the couch. Our framer created a
shadow box for this beautiful piece of art that we inherited with the house.
The bedroom came with some beautiful artwork and a bedroom set that included two twin beds,
with awesome mattresses and box springs.
So
we had the
headboard joined to create a king size bed. The brass
decorations came off and brushed metal knobs were added. All art work was
re-matted with new frames.
We drove our 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee to the states in June and sold it
through a consignment shop.
When
we returned in November, we replace it with this 2005 Honda CR-V with Mexican
license plates.
The previous owners had a sailing yacht they named Scaramoche and when they
settled into their winter home here, they named their house the same.
We
could barely pronounce Scaramoche, so we changed the name to Casa de Jubilacion,
which in English means "House of Retirement".
One of the features we love in our new home is our breakfast nook made out
of this awesome slab of Brazilian granite. The craftsmanship was
awesome!
And finally, we created this stunning entry to invite you in for a glass of wine
and a view of the sunset. For now, we send our Holiday Wishes.
Click here to view!
November's web page includes November 1 through November 30.
