So here we are, almost a year has passed since my last post. A lot has happened but life remains largely the same. Life is good and we are happy.

So maybe I’ll do a quick recap!

You last heard from me in August 2023. In the time since, here’s what’s been going on – not in chronological order.

We adopted a new rescue dog. Our neighbor was looking for someone to foster her and we stepped up. And just like with Coco, as soon as we brought her home she was never going to leave! Rosy is a mixed breed with maybe a bit of terrier and maybe some shepherd too. She’s about three years old now and has a sweet personality. We have a lot that we call “the dog park” here in our little development and she loves playing with the other dogs and chasing her ball. Coco and she are very good friends and we feel really lucky to have hit the rescue jackpot again.

Back in February I was so lucky to be able to travel with a group of 12 women – all of us friends with the common denominator of Mazatlan. Some still live there, some have moved back to the US, and some of us are now living elsewhere in Mexico. We all met in Houston and took a cruise out of Galveston to Honduras, Belize, and Mexico. It was a lot of fun as you can imagine.

I took a class to learn how to weave on a backstrap loom. It was so much fun and really goes along with my love of knitting. Oh, speaking of knitting, a (new) friend set up a Facebook group for Lake Chapala knitters – the Madame Defarge Knitting Salon: Lakeside Chapter – and we’ve been meeting every Friday to knit and chat.

I’ve been on a kick of knitting socks lately – I think I have done seven or eight pairs in a row. I’m about to start a throw for our new couch though, just to change things up.

I started working one day a week at the Tepehua Treasures Thrift Store in Riberas. I had already been managing their Facebook page and website but the work in the store has really added a new dimension to my life. I really love it. The founder of Tepehua died at the end of 2023 and it has been a bit bumpy getting everything sorted out after such a loss but things are running very smoothly these days, which is thanks in a large part to the President, Sandra Zamora.

Paul and I have also joined the board of UVA – a non-profit that provides scholarships to worthly Lakeside students. Paul is managing the communications with students through a WhatsApp group mostly and I am helping with student interviews and then summarizing the interviews for the board and potential sponsors each semester. We both help with local outreach and distributing checks to the students among other things. We feel strongly that the path to a better future for individuals and the country as a whole is through education, so we are pleased to be a part of this important effort.

We’ve had a good friend from Mazatlan move nearby, that makes us so happy! And other good friends from Maz are right now planning their move! Yay!

On a sad note our friend Ann T. passed away a week ago here Lakeside. We all met in Mazatlan and have stayed friends all these years. I won’t go into details but it was a very difficult few months for all and we are happy that she is at peace now.

On a lighter note, Paul and I bought a new car a couple months ago. We really don’t drive all that much and we wanted a fun, energy efficient car and we got the very first Renault E-Kwid electric vehicle that had been delivered to Jalisco. We even had to wait for the title as the government didn’t have a code for it in their system! It is a little sweetie, fun to drive, quiet as a mouse, and we haven’t noticed any change in our electric bill. We charge it off 110 power at home every few weeks and we have a 258 kilometer range. Great for us as we mostly bop around Lakeside.

That’s all I can think of, I am hoping to be a better correspondent in the future.