Today, after almost 3 weeks of being sick, both of us are feeling well again. Yipee.
Despite the flu or whatever it was, Bob has tiled our service patio since we returned from Maz.
What a nice change. Easy to keep clean.
It has been unseasonably cold here which means 0C at night. The other day I bought a gas heater, and we have been basking in its warmth the past few evenings. We had a small electric heater, but the cost of electricity is high here so we hesitated (cheap/frugal) to run it for hours.
The Christmas season here is a very festive time. The posadas start about Dec 17 and go until Dec 24. Almost every street has a party at this time of year. Different homes serve food and punch (ponche). The punch maybe fruit, with or without alcohol. There is always LOUD music. Our street party was this past Sunday, but we were not feeling up to the night of partying, so we stayed at home and listened to the music. The posadas are reinactment of Joseph and Mary trying to find a place to stay. On Dec 24 they are finally taken in to a home...time for many fireworks and more loud music. The fireworks often start at 4 am. That jars me, but Bob and Patches sleep right through the church bells and the rockets. The church is around the corner from our house so sometimes the rockets land on our roof...fizzled out of course.
There has been quite a lot of violence in our area...the head of the local drug cartel was killed and 2 other head honchos were arrested at a restaurant in Patzcuaro. That lead to the drug cartel ..La Familia...closing the main highways near us and burning a few buses. That was a week ago, and it has quietened down since then. This morning when we drove into Morelia (apparently La Familia has its headquarters there) the police were everywhere..state and federal. They seemed to be screening vehicles. They had pulled over a few pickup trucks. Our old gray van does not stand out in a crowd...in other words no self-respecting drug dealer would drive such a beater!
Do we feel threatened? No, but we do travel during the day....and that is for a few reasons, such as donkeys, etc on the road, or people dressed in black walking on the road.
On Thursday we are having 12 people for a sit down dinner. We started with 2 people coming over 5 years ago. Now we are up to 12, and unless we buy a bigger house (which we may) 12 is the limit for a sit down meal.
We will spend Christmas Day at a friend's house. She has invited 55 people, and yes she does have a rather large house. At this dinner, we will see all of our friends and lots of people that we do not know. Jean always entertains on a large scale. She has the most interesting acquaintances, and sometimes they even become friends!
On Dec 27, we will head for Mazatlan. New Year's eve will be spent with 4 friends from Manitoba. One couple were our neighbours until we sold our house last summer. The other couple lived about 3 km from us. Both couples are renting condos that overlook the marina where we have our boat moored. Very convenient ..no driving involved. A safe way to go on New Years Eve.
Have a festive holiday.
