Little by Little...

Robert has a new psychiatrist and I have great hopes for his interventions. He spent 1/1/2 hours alone with Robert and then about 40 minutes with me (at La Casa Nostra, BTW). He knows and understands Lewy Body Dementia and agrees with the diagnosis. I am greatly relieved. No one told him Robert’s diagnosis before his session with him. He ordered happy lights for his room, and an Exelon patch. (google it, it looks really promising to me). Robert has been wearing the patch for about a week. It is at the very lowest dosage to start, so can’t tell if there is any change. He has tranquil days….and some very agitated days. In about 3 months (one thing at a time….waiting to see how Robert reacts to the patch) Dr. Aldana will start treating Robert for the Parkinson’s symptoms. He thinks meds can recover some of his mobility…..at least for awhile. I am so sorry that Robert is pretty unhappy much of the time. And who wouldn't be? He has lost most of his mobility, his short term memory is failing, he's dependent for most activities of daily living. Still he can carry on good intellectual conversations. Robert is his best self when he is with other people. 

When I arrived at La Casa Nostra yesterday there was a fiesta beginning. A new resident, Jean, is obviously very beloved in the community. Friends have been bringing her to meals for a couple of months while they wait for a room for her (the rooms around the courtyard have a very long waiting list) to get her used to la Casa Nostra and the other residents. The friends call themselves Team Jean. Yesterday they had arranged a big birthday bash and housewarming party for her. I’m afraid dear Jean won’t remember it. She is a darling woman and very charming. Anyway, there was cake and balloons and music and dancing. In fact they hired a dance instructor to be there to sort of teach a little salsa, but also to dance with everyone and get things going. Robert was able to stand in front of his wheelchair for about a song and a half and we jiggled, swayed, danced. He had a huge grin. I had a nice dance with Tony, a little salsa. When Robert is with people, especially Tony, he is quite himself. The people there are fond of him and call him “quite a special guy.” I do my best to take him to the garden when I’m there. Here are a few photos from the party:

Heart brothers

Group dance

   

Tony says he loves this chapter of his life because of the people there (both staff and residents) and because of what he is learning. He says it is God’s plan. I like that he talks this way with Robert. 

Let’s see. A little slice from my life. I now ride buses more than I take cabs. The bus can be quite an experience. Sometimes they are so crowded you can barely squeeze another person in. People sit on the dashboard. Sometimes the bus driver has his kid with him. Sometimes musicians get on and play hoping for tips. The other day the bus was so crowded several of us entered by the back door. To pay we handed our money to someone in front of us who passed the money to the front. I had a 20 peso note and the fare is 10 pesos. I saw my note go forward. Pretty soon 10 pesos were handed back down the line to me.

Yesterday I took the bus to Robert @ 11:00 a.m. and the party was just starting. I left at about 1:30 because I needed to be in Ajijic by 2:00 for an appointment with Polo, the hearing aid guy (he comes from guadalajara to LCS every monday and every 1st and 3rd saturday). Both Robert and I had hearing aids not working. I waited quite awhile for the bus and then it zoomed past me because it was too full. I started hailing cabs as they came by. One pulled over….and he was a cabbie I’ve had many times before. He was dropping a woman off right where I was! So I jumped in and he got me to my appt just in time. I think of these experiences as little miracles. Polo was able to repair our hearing aids. While talking to him I decided I will buy myself new state of the art hearing aids from him for my birthday. They cost more or less the same as in the U.S., and I’ll get a 15% discount because I’m an LCS member (Lake Chapala Society). While leaving Polo I got text from a friend telling me she and her husband would be coming through Ajijic soon and would be going grocery shopping and to pick up the leather chairs we ordered last week from the guy who makes them. I sat on a curb and waited for them to pick me up on their way by. Living without a car can be challenging at times, like doing major grocery shopping or picking up large things like the chair and footstool I ordered. So another little miracle that a friend just happened to be going grocery shopping and coming by where I was.

This is the guy who made my desk chair and foot stool. My stool is like the one he is sitting on. My chair is more or less like the one he is working on. 700 pesos for the chair. 400 for the stool. Total about $60 U.S. for both. They turned out beautifully and I am sitting in my new equipale chair right now. 

BIG NEWS! I’m so happy. I had blood work done to get established with my new doc here, Dr. Santiago Hernandez. As usual my cholesterol is high while everything else is totally normal. I have been really worried that my arteries might be getting clogged, so I decided to get an ultrasound of my corotid artery. I was really scared to know the outcome. The outcome  is really good! My corotid arteries are 95% to 98% clear. Whoop! I was lying there while he was doing it planning my trip home to have them reamed out I was so sure it would be bad. I told Dr. Hernandez I don’t want to take statins. He prescribed lots of fish/krill oil and metamucil daily. In 6 weeks I’ll have another blood draw. Incidentally, my first visit with Dr. Hernandez was 1200 pesos. After the first each visit is 800 pesos. $60 for the first and $40 thereafter. The ultrasound was $110.00 and practically next door to the doctors office. Everything is close and convenient. 

Today I have no interest in going anywhere. I want to study Spanish (I’m taking a once a week class right on my street!), sketch, walk the malecon, rearrange some stuff regarding my desk space, find dinner somewhere, and watch more episodes of Offspring. Tomorrow is another “out there” day. In a few days Dawn, Robert's daughter, and Sarah, our 12 year old granddaughter will be waking up here for the first time and we will be beginning our adventure together here. Robert is anxious/excited about their visit. He’s telling everyone they are coming. Only he thinks it’s today. Or tomorrow.

My neighbourhood is unfolding to me a little more every day. I think of Mexico as a hidden place. You never know what you will find behind a gate or door. There are 3 very well regarded traditional Mexican restaurants within two blocks of my house. I went to one with neighbours last night and was glad I had their guidance regarding how and what to order. It is nothing like Mexican food I have had before. I look forward to more lessons in eating traditional Mexican food. My Spanish class is just down the block, and I found a hair cutter a few blocks away who did a great job on my hair. Poco y poco. Little by little. 

Daily Living in Chapala

Warning! this posting may be overly long. It has lots of pictures though. I just couldn't quit thinking of things to share. 

In a few days we will have lived here for 2 months. Seems longer, so much has happened, and I have learned so much. I thought today I will just talk about what it is like to live here. I have a beautiful home which belongs to a friend of a friend and it miraculously fell into my lap. I love living in this house, and in the magical garden that surrounds it. 

After walking through a beautiful gate, and a garden and the pool, you come to mi casa. The name of the house is The Galleria. Funny, huh? This is my front porch and entry. In this walled compound there are 7 private homes and Quinta Quezlequatl, a fabulous boutique hotel that has 8 gorgeous suites. It is low season right now, so I rarely see anyone on the grounds. I feel I have a magic garden all to myself, complete with fountains and turtles. I love the turtles and visit them every day. They travel all over the compound, so sometimes I see one, sometimes 4. I have named them Tortilla (my favourite), Taco, Margarita, and Pequena. Guadalupe, the gardener, tells me there are more. 

This view is from the hall to the kitchen. The ceilings are very tall in the living room and there is a beautiful cupola that sheds wonderful natural light. 

There are two bedrooms and two baths in mi casa. This stairway leads to the loft bedroom. I love both bedrooms and have slept in both. To the right of the stairway is my desk and computer. To the left is a window and door leading to a charming patio and fountain. I need more pots and plants out there and someplace to sit. Without a car these kinds of projects become more creative. I hear there is a vivero (nursery) that will plant your pots and deliver. Need to find my way there. My driver, Armando, knows everything and everyone. I know he will help me make this happen when I am ready. When he can't drive me where I want to go he always finds someone who can. Often it is his brother in law, Beto (short for Umberto). 

When Faye and Barb were here they decided I needed a few personal touches. We found this wall hanging....and it knew immediately where it wanted to be. These wall hangings come in many designs and cost from $7 to $11 U.S. depending upon who you buy them from. We also bought two other designs for Robert's room. They add colour and cheer. Obviously this is my kitchen.

I am told that this compound is a full square block in size. It is filled with exotic plants and trees and also some familiar ones. There are lots of roses and daisies, along with the birds of paradise and succulents and cacti. The garden is filled with birds and there is birdsong most of the day. The street is right on the other side of the wall to my patio (Calle Zaragoza), so I hear the sounds of the city. The are sometimes barking dogs, cars with loudspeakers advertising who knows what. There is the gas truck with a special sing song announcement, and the tinkling sound of the ice-cream truck. During the weekend Chapala is the go to place from all around and the city fills with people who are mostly on the malecon which is one block away. Then there are the sounds of cars passing, people talking, music and singing and laughing, which goes on until the wee hours. Of course there are the church bells which start around 7:00 a.m. with a call to worship. The pattern of the bells seemed really mysterious to me at first, but a mexican friend explained it to me....and now I have a general idea. There are first, second and third calls to worship (involving around 35 chimes in differing patterns), the hour of the day, and then special patterns for weddings, funerals, baptisms. So sometimes it is truly peaceful and quiet here with just birdsongs and water splashing in the fountains. And sometimes I'm very aware that I am living right in the middle of a very busy city. I like it all. Here are a few shots of the garden:

In this view I am standing on my front porch looking into the garden. At the other end of the path is a very lovely home, but I have not yet seen anyone there. I am told the owners of the other homes come in the Fall and stay for the Winter. 

This is just one of the many magnificent plants in the garden. this is an enormous cactus. There are two of these. I have no idea how old they are. At the moment they are producing a fruit that I can't remember the name of. It is bright red and sweet and juicy. One of the gardeners gave me a taste yesterday and left a gift of 4 of them on my porch. 

Just another view of my front porch that gives you an idea of the varieties of plants in the garden. I always love coming home and wandering through the paths and the plants. The mango trees are dropping fruit like crazy right now. I pick up the ones that are not too damaged from their fall and eat them. The gardeners pick them up every day, but it still smells like mango wine is being made some of the time. 

I am so centrally located that I can walk to anything I need. I get all my pesos from ATM machines. My favourite is Santander....about 4 blocks away. I pay all my U.S. bills from my bank's Bill Pay on line. I pay for Robert's care by wiring money from his account to the account of La Casa Nostra where he lives. Most everything else is in pesos. I reserve my Visa card for big things like travel or medical bills. I charged Robert's emergency hospital costs on my Visa. Hopefully United Health Care is reimbursing me 80% of that minus $250 deductible. Food is plentiful and easy to get and inexpensive. The mercado is 3 blocks away where I can buy all fruits, veggies, meats, flowers. We are totally living within our social security checks and a small amount from our IRA. It's pretty hard to spend much money here. 

A bouquet like this costs 140 pesos, or $7 more or less. 

I rarely cook. I mean to, but there are restaurants everywhere you look and the food is generally very good and very inexpensive. I just haven't figured out how to get enough veggies. My doctor tells me they have vitamin T here....Tacos, tortillas, tortas, tamales..... I love the guacamole in a local place and sometimes just have a margarita and guacamole made right at the table. Breakfasts are easy because of the plentiful fruit and a very delicious yogurt bread that a local guy makes filled with fruit. I try to eat a good breakfast, more or less a main meal around 3:00 (usually enough food that I can bring half home for later) and a snack for dinner. It works most of the time. Trouble is, there is an Argentinian bakery in the next block that not only makes fabulous espresso but the baked goods are out of this world. I visit Tomas and Guillermo (father and son owner/bakers) more often than I should. Also there are little bakeries here and there that make delicious cakes. 

Most of the clothes I brought with me just don't work here. I have slowly been buying Mexican cotton pants and tops and dresses to create a comfortable and cool wardrobe. Most pieces are around 400 pesos....$20 more or less? So I can splurge a little. 

My exercise is modest, but daily. I walk the malecon where there are always people strolling, talking, sitting, eating, drinking, taking photos. There is always music and food.

A very quick sketch of some guys hanging around the malecon

Every sunset the skies are different. Always beautiful. Lake Chapala is 50 miles long. Some of the water goes to Guadalajara for drinking water. Some of it goes to irrigate crops in this area. The lake can get low, so the water is guarded. The rains fill it up annually so they always pray for a good rainy season. People fish the lake, take folks on boat tours, but not many people swim in it. I have not yet gone on a boat tour, but look forward to it. I read somewhere there are over 100 varieties of shorebirds. It is really fun to watch the birds.  

There is always music and various other forms of entertainment.

There are paintings everywhere waiting to be made. I hope I start doing some soon.

I have made some friends. Most of them I met in the grocery store or on the street. "Hi, you live around here?" is my usual pick up line. I will start taking spanish lessons next week with Erin, a neighbour, who I met one day on the way to the lavanderia. Juan has a school in his home just two blocks from here. How can I not? I took a little test to see where I should start....somehow I know enough verbs (much to my great surprise) to take with Erin who knows more than I do. 

Laundry. I don't have a washer or drier, but there is a lavanderia a couple blocks up the street. I take my dirties and they wash, dry and fold and I pick them up the next day. Barb isn't here anymore, but one day when she was here she helped me bring my laundry home (I had had lots of guests so this was an unusually large load....sheets and towels etc.):

Of course I visit Robert 4 or 5 times a week, and we FaceTime or talk on the phone several times a day. 

Have I left anything out? Money, friends, food, mi casa, laundry. Mary Lou, the maid, comes once a week and makes everything wonderful and clean. $9 or $10 per week? The weather is now the fabulous weather I was told about. May was way too hot. I can see why people leave. I went to a meeting of Ajijic Society of Artists and got volunteered to do the program for September. New blood I guess. I'll talk about sketching. That will be easy. Maybe I can gather a sketching group? I have not been sketching and need to start. 

As you can probably see life here is very sweet. Of course it isn't Langley, and this isn't my tribe, and I'm aware I'm pretty far from home and family......and I wonder how long I will live here.....and each day is an adventure. I feel totally comfortable here, and love how many guests I have had. Keep on coming down. I think this is over and out for this very long post. Thanks for reading this far, if you did.