Thorn to the Head

It was a very normal week here. Something that hasn't happened for a while. Jeff left on Monday and we regrouped from having visitors for the previous 3 weeks. We have just enough time to get back into the routine of things before the next round of visitors, which starts on Thursday. More information on who those visitors are when that happens. (We've got to keep some suspense here...)

I thought I would share a little story from our hike up La Mula, the mountain, last Friday (and hence the name of the post). We had made it up the mountain fine, had spent some time enjoying the weather and view from the top, and were on our way back down when I, Regg, stumbled. Now before you go forming ideas or comments about how clumsy I am, please take into account the fact that the trail is actually pretty bad and that when it gets dry here, all the stones loosen up and the dirt gets all worked up so that in some places there is no other option than to ski a couple of feet with each step. So, as the story goes, I stumble and veer off to the left of the trail in a desperate attempt to regain my balance, crash into some branches of some sort of woody vegetation, juke to the right with a little spin move to escape the branches, almost wipe out on the right side of the trail, and finally get my feet to catch up with my body. I survived the stumble while remaining on my feet even.

I was feeling good except for what felt like a scratch across my forehead. I reach up to feel it and found a piece of wood. It didn't just wipe off so I figured I had a bigger problem and turned to my back-up crew. Well, to make a long story short, it wasn't just a piece of wood. It was a thorn about 1 cm long stuck straight into my head. I think my skull stopped it. After a bit of work, my medics, specifically, Bev, pulled it out, and we were on our way again.

That was the big news of the hike.

All that we've heard on the house is that it will be longer still and that even then, who knows. For those who feel out of the loop, the people who are now renting the house that we plan to rent are not yet out. They are building their own house and are trying to get everything finished before they move in. That means that what was originally a Christmas/January move in date was pushed back to February, which was pushed back to maybe March or April. We don't really know and now are thinking about checking out some other options. We don't really know what exactly will happen at this point. So keep praying for our patience in the waiting. We appreciate all the prayers as we continue to adjust to everything down here and where our lives are heading as we move on.

We hope that all is going well up there and the weather is warming up some. We're hoping that it is nice and warm when we are up there in April.

Guadalajara

Yeah, I know. It has been about a week and a half since posting. We have been somewhat busy and somewhat lazy in regard to posting. But enough of that, you want to know what has been happening. Well.

First, last Monday was an official holiday. So without school, we headed back to Guadalajara Sunday night with Christy Stoller. We then spent the day Monday in Guadalajara. Sunday night we went to Walmart and then out to eat at this little Italian pizza place. Strangely enough, they were playing the Super Bowl there. It was an interesting mix of cultures, truly a Mexican-Italian-American evening. Whatever that really is.










On Monday we went downtown. There is a large market there and we walked around there for a while before we got some ice cream and sat relaxing and watching the crowds in a small plaza downtown. Feeding the pigeons was incredibly popular that day and all the little kids in the area entertained themselves running through the birds and scaring them away. Except for the boy that was apparently trying to catch one with his sister's bright pink coat. He couldn't do it.








We then went back to Los Colomos, a park near Christy's apartment. We took along lunch and ate there. It was a really nice and relaxing park. We walked and walked and walked and then we decided to walk a 5k running path. We were well walked out by the time Bev and I got back on the bus to head to Ixtlan. It was a nice day and it felt good to be away for a bit.

In other news, Tim and Lynette Bahler left on Wednesday, so we are eight people less in the guest house. They finished up their visit by arriving in time for about the coldest weather yet this winter up in Indiana. My brother Jeff arrived Wednesday morning in Guadalajara and came back with Marshall. He will be here until Monday morning and then he hopes to go up to Aguascalientes, a state about 3-4 hours away, to visit a friend Cecilio for a couple of days before going home. It has been nice having him here and we even got in the traditional hike up La Mula, a nearby mountain, already today. Who knows what we will be up to tomorrow, but time sure goes fast.

No news on the house we will be renting yet, but hopefully we will be hearing soon!?!?!?

The weather is starting to warm up a little down here and we are gearing up for the hot season. Hopefully we can send a little of the warmth your way.

The first of the visitors

Hello from the sunny south to all of you stuck in that awful snow!!



I am at least sitting down to write this blog a couple of days before it is time to write the next one. Bev and I are recuperated after our first visitors of our very own. It was a fast long weekend, but it was great!!



Our first visitors were my sister Angie, her husband Mark, and another one of my sisters, Jodi (who lives in Magdalena, Mexico). They arrived on Thursday and left early Monday morning. Jodi got to Guadalajara at about 2:30 Thursday so Bev and I headed off after lunch and we met Jodi there at about 5:00. Mark and Angie didn't get in until 9:00, so we had time to sit and chat before Mark and Angie arrived and we headed off to the famous burrito restaurant just down the road. Nothing like burritos at 10:00 at night to start the visit off right. We got home at about 12:00 and enjoyed a free morning to relax. It was a nice weekend and we really enjoyed the time that we had together. Jodi left at 6:30 on Monday morning so we packed up and left Ixtlan at about 3:00 in the morning. So, after a fast, long weekend, I took a two and a half hour nap on Monday afternoon.



Here's the happy group. (Bev, Regg, Mark, Angie, Jodi)



In the meantime, we are sharing the guest house with Tim and Lynette Bahler (Lynette is Jan and Marshall's daughter) and family. So there are 8 extras in the house now as well. They will be here until next Wednesday (the 9th). Thankfully they are very easy to share with.



We haven't heard anything about the house yet. The most recent update, when we got back from the US in the beginning of January, was that it would be open in February, so we are waiting to hear that we can move in. It could be anytime, yet we don't want to get too excited because it could still wind up being awhile. We'll keep you all posted when we hear more.

Keep warm digging out up there and we'll see if we can't send you some of the nice warm sun we have down here.