My mood fluctuates a bit. This is a new morning, fresh air, fresh coffee, things are good! I started to write last night but was too introspective and a bit down perhaps.

We are getting along fine here. Although, we don’t feel quite totally settled here in this house. The house we rented over the Internet is quite adequate, even good perhaps, but we are still tempted to see what else is out there. It would mean breaking a 6-month lease which I don’t want to do. But rentals are so tight that they could probably easily re-rent it, possibly without penalty to us. Yesterday we went to look at a casita (guest house on the same property as a main house). It is within walking distance to the more interesting village and in a quieter neighborhood. But I didn’t really like it much. It was a geodesic dome, with small rooms off the sides. I would rather be happy with what we have, but there are some little barking puppies two doors down that annoy us sometimes. [OK, more than that. Leigh went over yesterday and mimed that she was pulling her hair out over the barking puppies!] And other dogs as well. We can also hear some of the trucks on the main road, but that’s not really too bad. We’ve spent enough energy getting this place up and running that I really don’t want to start all over with another house. Yesterday, we rearranged the furniture again. We say we are improving the Feng Shui. It is looking pretty good now, although the guest room needs some work. We realized it is partly because there are no paintings on the walls, etc. But the beds and closets are clean and ready for visitors. There is one very obvious thing we have to fix in the living room yet. There is a fireplace with no screen or anything. So the cats were going in and getting all sooty. We blocked it by jamming an end-table into it and stuffing a towel around it. Very bad Feng Shui!

We are getting more adventurous with cooking and eating out less. This week we went to two outdoor markets and then prepared meals from the produce. Buying raw chicken at the outdoor market is our latest feat. It seems to be very fresh. Better than the supermarkets at home. Leigh made a great stir-fry on Monday and soup yesterday. We’ll probably venture out to the pork next. It is said to be excellent as well.

As for fun we have a free Yoga class three times a week. Then we have church which I told you about. We’ve been having dinner with some of the church people about once a week. The sports nut (and I too) have been watching the Red Sox and Patriots. Last week the Patriots game was not televised but we listened to it live over the Internet. I joined the Lake Chapala Garden Club a couple weeks ago while Leigh was in Las Vegas. It meets once a month and includes a home tour, followed by a lunch and short lecture. I missed the home tour because it was my first meeting and didn’t know the routine. I heard it was a fabulous property.

I was sick some last week. I’m not sure if it was the flu or what. It didn’t last too long. One day my body ached and was sensitive to touch. I slept all day and all night practically and it was much better. Then I also had some stomach problems and diarrhea. Somebody at church told me to go to the pharmacist and ask for the medicine for amoebas. I did and finished the last dose last night. It may have been going away on its own, or maybe the medicine worked, but I’m feeling much better now.

Leigh had a good trip to Las Vegas and back for the AEA convention. The only problem was the day she left Guadalajara there was fog and her departure was delayed five hours. She was a couple hours late for the first meeting she needed to attend but other than that everything worked out pretty well.

OK. I’m pretty well typed out.