Glass and Aghast and A Blast

We Must Get Organized!

I apologize for the raggedy, random ramblings of our latest blogs but the cacophony seems quite reflective of our lives of late.   This blog will ricochet back into December before ending up somewhere near the end of January.

Talk About a Glass Ceiling...

OK.  Stay with me now.  We are back in Florida in December after Mary's wedding and the family has scattered.  We are there one more day and our pals Donna and Todd head over from the right side of the state to visit for a day. We decided to head for St. Petersburg and the Moreans Art Center, which was featuring glass works of Chihuly, which Michael and I have seen but they had not.  It is very cool but I think we've featured it before in the blog.  The neatest part (not noted previously) is the "hot shop" where they spin out these amazing works of art.  We toured the museum and then were able to watch them work and have the techniques explained to us.  It was great. We also ate and drank quite a bit.  Pictures do the trick.

We saw this interesting Art Deco facade in St. Petersburg.

The Moreans Art Center not only had art inside, but outside as well.

This was one of Deirdre's favorite.

These next three photos were of the glass ceiling.

In addition to the Chihuly glass exhibit, there were these art works created by three different artists.

None of the artists knew each other, nor did they see what the other artist created.

One artist created the feet, another the torso and the third the head.

These are some of the more elaborate Chihuly creations.

These next series of photos show the creation of an artistic piece in the "hot shop".

Several pieces of folded, wet newspaper are being used to shape the piece.

I Hate New Years

I never make it awake to midnight and usually have strep throat or something icky.  But after 2016, I was really looking forward to saying adieu to that dog of a year. So, for a rare New Year's Eve appearance we joined a group of friends because (in addition to their charming personalities) the event was featuring LOBSTER.  Yes, NEW ENGLAND LOBSTER -- flown in that day.  I really miss three things about New England:  good bagels, T.J. Maxx and LOBSTER.

Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay.....

Jalisco is the home of Mariachi music. In restaurants, on buses, at curbside there are Mariachis everywhere.  Some are very good.  Some are....not.  We had a chance to go listen to some of the best Mariachis in the world.  So we went.  I bet you didn't know that all over the Southwest and California there are Mariachi bands in the public schools.  Neither did we.  So, these groups we heard came out of a Mariachi program in San Diego at Chula Vista High School.  When they graduated they didn't want to give it up so now all grown up and doctors and engineers and all sorts of things they are still doing the Mariachi life.  They have won awards everywhere.  Our favorite was the 11 year old daughter of a couple of the Mariachis that could truly play the fiddle and belt out a number.  We have some photos but hearing them was even better -- and I'm not normally a Mariachi fan.

The first Mariachi group was all female...

except for the harp player.

The youngest member not only played the violin...

but also sang beautifully.

The second group has all played together in high school and have continued playing together since then.

The "Leader of the Band" is the light haired Gringo who has a German name which I think is hysterical.  He was their music teacher in High School,

Another Ex-Patriot is Made -- well maybe

Our younger son, Alex, has decided to make Mexico his home.  He has any number of good reasons for this but....it is not as easy as it sounds.  For him to come to Mexico as a "temporale" he has to show he has at least $125,000 in the bank and has had that amount for over six months. He doesn't. Or that he has an income of over $1,200 USD a month.  He can't work legally here until he has a visa and since he isn't on Social Security at 28 that option is out.   To come in under our status he has to be "incompetent".  He isn't.  So, since he was going to have to learn Spanish fluently anyway, he needs to come in as a student but in such a way that he can convert to a "permanente".
But don't worry.  All that is involved is obtaining your: original birth certificate, college board scores, high school diploma (do you know where YOURS is?) and college transcripts.  Then they have to be "apostille" ed, and translated. Oh, and you have to get a letter from the University you are studying at that you will be a student. And THEN you have to drive back over the border to a Mexican consulate, present all this and, hopefully on the whim of a bureaucrat, be granted your visa. You may be getting an idea of why we have been a bit scattered of late.  And I'm not even bringing up the pit bull. Thanks to our friends Betsy and Fred for chasing documents down in our old home of Wellesley.  Oh yeah, I miss FOUR things in New England-- good family and friends. And bagels.....

So, if the lawyer's toddler daughter recovers from whatever she has, and all the paperwork is complete and translated correctly and the car doesn't break down between here and Laredo, we should accomplish this daunting task by Friday, January 27th and be back in Ajijic by the 28th so that we can leave for Merida and the Yucatan on the 31st with our Portland Me. friends Gary and Ginny.

Pussy Hats Parade in Ajijic

As we have pointed out before, Ajijic is sort of a hippy, liberal bastion.  Sort of a poorer version of Taos or Santa Fe.  Well, the day of the Woman's March unleashed the pent up emotions of hundreds of geriatric lefties as they took to the streets with their signs, pussy hats and walkers. Congregating on the Plaza we listened, or tried to, to stirring speeches about resistance.  It is baffling.  When Mexicans have rallies on the Plaza we can hear every word 2 miles away in our house.  With Gringo rallies you can't hear the speakers at 50 feet.  Cultural diversity I suppose.

Everyone gathered at the plaza, the traditional center of the village.

Our friends Peter & Elaine created their own Trump pinata.

Even this Newfoundland had a "pussy" hat.

This woman has a more creative "pussy" hat.

Well, that is it for now.  We're off to the Yucatan -- we hope.  Typically, the Yucatan is the quietest, least violent area of the country.  With our usual vacation luck however there was a gun fight in a bar in Playa del Carmen followed by a shootout in downtown Cancun last week.  Hopefully they have gotten it out of their systems....Until our return and a blog of Mayan ruins and beaches and not one political aside.  Take care.  Stay sane.