Christmas Day in Ajijic

Here are some photos of my afternoon at my friend's house in Ajijic. For all you people in the snow up north, wish you were here in the sunshine. 

Merry Christmas, even if you are cold.

I wouldn't swim in that cold water but these young boys are adventurous enough to do it. They look cold but a little cold water never hurt anyone.

It was also a dog party.

They decided to become friends and ran around the room chasing each other.

Smile everyone.

Happy Holidays to you All

It is already very sunny and warm outside. I went to the local grocery store for some food. I haven't put prices on the blog for a long time so I decided to do it this morning. Here is a photo of what I bought.

A chunk of fresh string cheese, two potatoes, three tomatoes, one Fresh bolillo (bread), six fresh eggs, a quart of milk, sour cream, five yoghurts, a banana and a box of cereal. The cost was 135 pesos which is six dollars and eighty cents today.  Is this close to the cost of groceries north of the border? It has been almost four years since I have been out of Mexico so I am out of touch with prices up there. I am just curious, wondering if I could afford to buy groceries up there. Not that I am considering moving. The Pit Bull problem has finally been solved and I am happy living here again. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

Lunch with Pablo and David

Today I was invited to have lunch with my friends Pablo and David at Yves Restaurant. I swam first and took the bus there. It was a beautiful day, very warm. Here are some photos of the restaurant and us. 

This woman came in with her two big poodles. 

The white one is a tv star. 

We all had sea bass

And salad bar.

Old photo of Pedro before he passed away. He was a wonderful man.

Another photo of Pedro

Pablo and David. 

Third Thoughts

What to do?????

Well here he is AGAIN......  I took down the thorns because I was afraid of hurting the poor dog. I think the dog has won this round. I yelled at the dog's owner to close up the hole from his side. He speaks English. He said, "Okay, no problem." But I wouldn't bet on him doing anything about it. 

Just today I read in the news about two Pit Bulls attacking their owner and killing her in the woods. There was a photo online of this beautiful young woman with her pit bull resting his head on her shoulder. They had never been violent until the attack. A vet made a comment that if pit bulls get scared, sometimes they attack. This really scares me.   I am at my wits end about this dog.   

Here is my next defense. I tried closing up that hole with my old mops. Oh what a lovely garden I have now, filled with chicken wire, a chicken wire fence, black plastic and old mops. And still the neighbor does NOTHING about the problem....

This is the fence that my landlord previously put up on my washroom roof to keep the dog out. Lovely.

This is my next fix, old mops.....

So you can see what is happening. My beautiful garden has become a junk yard.  

I just went to the hardware store and bought more chicken wire and plastic. I put it up. But if I had to bet on it, I would bet that it doesn't work. How lovely my garden looks now. UGH!

So I got the neighbor to come over and look at the mess in my yard. My now junk yard. Then I got him to talk to my landlord. His excuse for not fixing it is that he doesn't have the money. Chicken wire is twenty pesos. I know because I just bought some. He is too busy starting up his marathon Christmas party that lasts from now until after Christmas. (Beer costs a lot more than a bit of chicken wire.) 

My landlord came over with his wife and they added more to the barrier. Here is the newest addition.

He added bricks and a long board and even threw in a spare tire. That long board is wired down. What do you think? Would you bet on it holding? Do you think my garden should be photographed for a gardener's magazine? 

I am continuing with this saga so people can see what happens in Mexico with irresponsible neighbors. There is no government agency to call. In Mexico everyone is on his or her own.  It helps if you have a lot of tolerance. Tolerance is something I ran out of on the last go around with the pit bull. 

Second thoughts

So the neighborhood is starting to rock with parties and fireworks. I got a comment from a reader, Marilyn, warning me about the branches with thorns. I hadn't thought very far into what could happen until after her comment.  I started imagining the pit bull with a sharp thorn in his eye. So I went out and took them all down. I will have to think of some other solution. I guess I was just feeling desperate and went along with my landlord's solution. 

Morning Thoughts

I took this photo at the nursery in October. I may have already put it on the blog but I am doing it again because the marigolds are so bright, like sunshine. Today we have no sunshine. It rained last night and this morning. So it is gloomy and grey outside.  And cold. 

I was planning on going to the nursery again today but the outing was cancelled due to the rain. So I am stuck inside, waiting to see if it will get nice enough to take a walk with Chico. 

Last night there were once again loud fireworks and my neighbor's pit bull tried to get over the barrier that my landlord had put up to keep him out. Chicken wire and black plastic. I heard the poor dog out there crying and I went to see what had happened. He had broken through the black plastic with his nose and it was stuck in the plastic. I started to go next door to get the dog's owner to help out but he got out by himself. So this morning my landlord went off to find more reinforcements. This is becoming a never ending process. He puts up barriers and the dog, in desperation, breaks through them. And I shell out more money..... and of course the dog's owner does nothing except bring him back to his house. 

I think the landlord is getting some kind of thorny plant to put up there. I feel sorry for the dog but also for my lost peace of mind. Christmas is coming and the parties have already started. My neighbor has had one party already. No sleep for me.   I am dreading the Christmas holidays. Don't think I slept much at all for two weeks around Christmas time last year.  I would go someplace else except for my animals. I am stuck here with all the noise and chaos and the continuous dog problem. I hope everyone else is enjoying the holidays. I will just be glad when they are over. 

My landlord, Pepe, returned and is now fortifying the barrier with branches of a thorny plant. You can see the black plastic that the dog stuck his nose through last night and the chicken wire that the dog got past. We will see if the thorns will keep him in his own yard. I don't have much faith in anything we try. When the dog gets scared he just acts on instinct and jumps my barrier to get out. But we will keep on trying to hold him back. 

A cold Wednesday Market in Ajijic

Above are back grapes.

My friend Charlie.