Bluegrass
Also, after watching Yale (!!!) beat Baylor, we thought this New Yorker cartoon was funny.
“No way I’m applying to Yale—it’s a total jock school.”
Nostalgia
3 years ago
Mar 19, 2016
March Madness 2016
Thought some of you might get a kick out of this commercial. For those of you who might not recognize him, the coach is John Thompson III, coach of the Georgetown Hoyas. (I know: what's a Hoya? Whatever it is, their mascot is a bulldog.) Bob is OD-ing on basketball--doesn't matter who's playing. He's sitting with a bag of GF pretzels. Unfortunately, no GF beer.
Bluegrass
Also, after watching Yale (!!!) beat Baylor, we thought this New Yorker cartoon was funny.
Bluegrass
Also, after watching Yale (!!!) beat Baylor, we thought this New Yorker cartoon was funny.
Mar 12, 2016
Happy birthday, Mel!!
Don't happen to have any baby pictures with us or I would post some. Instead, here's one from our wonderful trip to Paris together:
Love you and miss you a lot, especially on your birthday.
Love you and miss you a lot, especially on your birthday.
Mar 11, 2016
Too Much Facebook
I find those quizzes mostly irresistible. I don't know why since they have nothing to do with reality. But today I discovered that in two years I'll be living in Tuscany (Yay!) but Bob will be living in South Africa (huh?), and when I get old..someday....I'll be a "sweet story-teller." But then you already knew that, didn't you?
You are going to be
a sweet story-teller!
As an elderly woman you will be the best story-teller! Maybe you can still remember your own grandparents who shared exciting stories from their lives with you? It was so much better than any story hour! People will be hanging on your every word because your lively nature will sweep everyone off their feet.
Mar 9, 2016
Strange Weather
Normally, there is absolutely nothing to comment on about the weather. Like California, each day is pretty much like the one before. But yesterday, gusty winds were blowing, bending the palms over, slamming open doors. This morning we had a very brief rain. Now the sun is out, but it's still very blustery with winds forecast up to 18 mph and temps dropping into the 50s. I guess March Madness with its changeable weather is global.
Speaking of MM, Bob has his SEC schedule all set, and I may not see much of him this weekend, except hunched over his computer watching the streaming games. :)
Speaking of MM, Bob has his SEC schedule all set, and I may not see much of him this weekend, except hunched over his computer watching the streaming games. :)
Mar 8, 2016
Wildcats are not limited to Kentucky
In case you think things are boring in this sleepy expat community, take a look. This headline was at the top of the front page of the weekly English-language newspaper:
There seems to be some debate as to exactly what kind of cat this is. The paper calls it a jaguar; others insist it's a cheetah. Some call it a "tigre." Nevertheless, there's widespread agreement that wild cats of this sort don't belong in residential neighborhoods. This happened about a block from where we were staying last summer in La Floresta, near where the horses are tied up.
On the Chapala webboard, I like this exchange:
There seems to be some debate as to exactly what kind of cat this is. The paper calls it a jaguar; others insist it's a cheetah. Some call it a "tigre." Nevertheless, there's widespread agreement that wild cats of this sort don't belong in residential neighborhoods. This happened about a block from where we were staying last summer in La Floresta, near where the horses are tied up.
On the Chapala webboard, I like this exchange:
Question: But what about the OP who said someone's dog was killed by this jaguar? That's horrible, if true.
Lexy
Response: It was a chihuahua.
*******************************************************
Oh, well, that's different--not a real dog, just a bite.
Odds and Ends
Just some pictures to share:
These trees are all over, seemingly in full bloom overnight. Appropriately enough, they're called Primavera (spring). Soon the jacaranda trees will bloom--deep purply blue. Of course, the bouganvillea are in bloom all the time along with lots of other flowers.
We met this cool cat in a shop the other day. The shop also had two big dogs, but this character clearly ruled his empire.
Almost enough to make up for no garden, but not enough to make up for no bathtub. And on that note, I'll share one of the bathtubs from the Galeana house--the tub with a view:
These trees are all over, seemingly in full bloom overnight. Appropriately enough, they're called Primavera (spring). Soon the jacaranda trees will bloom--deep purply blue. Of course, the bouganvillea are in bloom all the time along with lots of other flowers.
We met this cool cat in a shop the other day. The shop also had two big dogs, but this character clearly ruled his empire.
In our search for rentals, we saw this house, itself brand-new, very sleek and modern design, no garden though, just a patch of grass. But the view--oh, my!
Almost enough to make up for no garden, but not enough to make up for no bathtub. And on that note, I'll share one of the bathtubs from the Galeana house--the tub with a view:
The tub
The view from the tub
Nothing I've ever seen though tops the view from this bathtub--from a house that was for rent last summer but is now for sale.
Oh, well. Can't have everything.
Lunching with Peacocks and Birds of a Feather
Yesterday we went to a new (for us) place, The Peacock Garden, just a couple of blocks toward the lake from the plaza. You wouldn't know it was there because there's only a narrow entrance with a white boards announcing the day's specials. There is a sign but it sort of gets lost in the rest of the signs above. You walk back along a long brick pathway until it opens up into a wide, spacious, beautiful garden.
To our right was a huge mango tree with lots of air plants hanging from it. There are several seating areas, under the pergolas or out on the lawn. All kinds of tropical plants, including orchids and bromeliads, fruit trees--orange, limes, lemons, grapefruit. The garden takes its name from its resident peacocks who apparently stroll the grounds when they're in the mood. But we had to go in search of them yesterday; they were hiding out behind a large wall fountain. We also found free-ranging chickens and roosters, but nobody seemed to be in a sociable mood yesterday.
We did find a more sociable bird. He didn't have much choice since he was in cage. Pancho the parrot didn't talk much although he did do wolf-whistles when women walked by.
And Bob is getting downright hairy. Already had to trim his beard.
To our right was a huge mango tree with lots of air plants hanging from it. There are several seating areas, under the pergolas or out on the lawn. All kinds of tropical plants, including orchids and bromeliads, fruit trees--orange, limes, lemons, grapefruit. The garden takes its name from its resident peacocks who apparently stroll the grounds when they're in the mood. But we had to go in search of them yesterday; they were hiding out behind a large wall fountain. We also found free-ranging chickens and roosters, but nobody seemed to be in a sociable mood yesterday.
We did find a more sociable bird. He didn't have much choice since he was in cage. Pancho the parrot didn't talk much although he did do wolf-whistles when women walked by.
Lunch was pretty much forgettable. Bob had shrimp tacos which were ok but not as good as the tacos we get at Lake Tacos--yummy. I had a BLT, but I should have known better. Bacon (tocino) isn't always the "streaky" (as they call it in the UK) bacon we know; this was more like strips of Canadian bacon--hard to eat and not at all what one expects in a BLT. Oh, well. Live and learn. But the margaritas were good!
And Bob is getting downright hairy. Already had to trim his beard.
What have we been doing all this time?
Well, I'll tell you. I haven't been blogging because we've been busy house-hunting. We wanted to pick up where we left off last summer when our plan was to come down here and look for a place to spend at least a year to see if it might be the place we would want to live for a few years. Of course, other events overtook those plans, but we're ready to start again.
Order of business then was thus:
1) Find a place that we would like and be comfortable for a year or more
2) Go back to Louisville and put the house on the market again. This time, we hope to market it more aggressively than last year.
So we've been looking at rental houses--a lot of them--and rejected most for various reasons. But we finally decided on this one:
54 Galeana
That link will take you to the sale listing (it just sold in January, I think) and there's a YouTube link for a virtual tour. I don't know what the final sale price was, but yes, you are looking at a half-million dollar (USD) house. There are many of these and upwards, difficult to sell since the crash. These new owners are a cardiologist and an accountant who live in Atlanta, who've bought the house for their eventual retirement. Many people do that. Meanwhile, they want renters to keep the house occupied. The furnishings you see in the pictures are mostly from the previous owners. The new owners are refurnishing the house. Right now, the living room is the same, there's a dining room table and chairs, beds in all the bedrooms, a couple of recliners in the study, and some patio furniture. They plan to come down a couple of times during the summer to continue the refurnishing and the lease won't start until 1 September for a year. That timing was also an important consideration as we didn't want to start a lease right away. Of course, we'll be coming back to the US during that year and hope to have visitors here!
It's a big house with huge rooms, but very reasonable. We happened to be looking at rentals with the agent who had just sold the house and knew they wanted to rent it, so it never went public. We like the location: walkable to shops and restaurants; the view: of the village, the lake, and the mountains; the garden and the pool; bathtubs!!; the fantastic kitchen; views of the garden from every room. This is one of my favorites, the view from the study:
There are two master suites, one up and one down, both with huge bathrooms including separate showers and bathtubs, another guest room with two queen beds and full bath across the hall. And the study and a living room and a dining room. Lots of room for company and plenty of privacy.
So, now we're relaxing, enjoying the weather going out for dinner or lunch a couple of times a week, meeting up with friends. For me, I'm trying to get used to retirement. I know I don't want to work, but it seems strange not having work--like I"m supposed to be doing something. I read but get restless. I think I need some kind of schedule.
Anyway, there's the house.
Order of business then was thus:
1) Find a place that we would like and be comfortable for a year or more
2) Go back to Louisville and put the house on the market again. This time, we hope to market it more aggressively than last year.
So we've been looking at rental houses--a lot of them--and rejected most for various reasons. But we finally decided on this one:
54 Galeana
That link will take you to the sale listing (it just sold in January, I think) and there's a YouTube link for a virtual tour. I don't know what the final sale price was, but yes, you are looking at a half-million dollar (USD) house. There are many of these and upwards, difficult to sell since the crash. These new owners are a cardiologist and an accountant who live in Atlanta, who've bought the house for their eventual retirement. Many people do that. Meanwhile, they want renters to keep the house occupied. The furnishings you see in the pictures are mostly from the previous owners. The new owners are refurnishing the house. Right now, the living room is the same, there's a dining room table and chairs, beds in all the bedrooms, a couple of recliners in the study, and some patio furniture. They plan to come down a couple of times during the summer to continue the refurnishing and the lease won't start until 1 September for a year. That timing was also an important consideration as we didn't want to start a lease right away. Of course, we'll be coming back to the US during that year and hope to have visitors here!
It's a big house with huge rooms, but very reasonable. We happened to be looking at rentals with the agent who had just sold the house and knew they wanted to rent it, so it never went public. We like the location: walkable to shops and restaurants; the view: of the village, the lake, and the mountains; the garden and the pool; bathtubs!!; the fantastic kitchen; views of the garden from every room. This is one of my favorites, the view from the study:
There are two master suites, one up and one down, both with huge bathrooms including separate showers and bathtubs, another guest room with two queen beds and full bath across the hall. And the study and a living room and a dining room. Lots of room for company and plenty of privacy.
So, now we're relaxing, enjoying the weather going out for dinner or lunch a couple of times a week, meeting up with friends. For me, I'm trying to get used to retirement. I know I don't want to work, but it seems strange not having work--like I"m supposed to be doing something. I read but get restless. I think I need some kind of schedule.
Anyway, there's the house.
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