Guadalajara Reporter

Many of you are working hard to get your special events finished successfully before the “season” is over. We’re happy to help you out with publicity, but don’t forget that we have deadlines. For either of my columns, it’s the Monday before the date of publication. Sending things by email is great – but make sure that the email address is correct (don’t forget those pesky double letters). Photos need to have at least 1,000 KB (1 MB) resolution for publication and need identification. I have a great imagination but we really should have real names. It wouldn’t hurt to send a photo credit along with the photo (that’s the name of the person who took the picture) and always, always, a phone number where you can be reached. Computers are great, but for immediate gratification, you still can’t beat the telephone.

After you’ve sent the email, it wouldn’t hurt to check your computer to make sure that your information wasn’t returned to you as undeliverable (those double letters again). Following up with a phone call doesn’t hurt, either (unless it’s before 9 a.m. or after 11 p.m.)

Keep on doing what you do and I’ll keep trying to keep up.

Yard sale

American Legion Post 7 will hold its monthly yard sale on Friday, March 5, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the post at Morelos 114 in Chapala. It’s a great opportunity to have a look at the bargains and stop for a real American-style breakfast.

Another yard sale

Tina Hite and Tony Rojas, sponsored by the Little Chapel by the Lake’s Outreach Committee, are holding a yard sale to raise money for a mission to Morocco “to carry the message of Christ.” The sale will be held Monday, March 15, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Roberto’s Restaurant. They are seeking donations for the project. If you have saleable items, please call 766-4546 for pick-up.

Hite and Rojas will leave Ajijic on March 20 and return June 15. They will spend about one week in Madrid, Spain at a Youth With a Mission base and then enter Morocco via the Strait of Gibraltar. They are trying to raise 4,000 dollars each for this venture. Cash donations are welcome.

On the boil

American Legion Post 7 holds an all-you-can-eat Shrimp Boil on Saturday, March 6, beginning at 2 p.m. The shrimp are large and will come with corn on the cob, cole slaw, bread and dessert for 175 pesos. The ticket includes one house drink or wine or beer. DJs will play music from the 50s and 60s and there will be a prize for the folks wearing the best costumes from those years. For tickets call 765-3757 or 765-2259.

School for Deaf officers

The Lakeside School for the Deaf held its annual general meeting on February 19. Officers were elected for 2010 and a new position of School Facilities director was created. Part of the approved budget for 2010 sets aside 200,000 pesos for improvements at the school, including expanding the bathrooms from four to ten to serve the 94 students and 20 staff members. Funds will also be used to rewire the antiquated electrical system.

The officers are Corresponding Secretary Robin Lawrason, Recording Secretary Patricia Proudfoot, President Mike Campo, Vice President Jim Lloyd and Treasurer John Martin.

The directory

The 10th edition of the Chapala (Lakeside) Directory is now available to the public at about 275 local businesses. We can’t list all of them, but a good start would be at the Libros y Revistas bookstore in Plaza Bugambilias, which has a large inventory on hand. Imagen Publishing and Printing have packed lots of info into the full-color publication, including area maps, temperature conversion charts, residential phone listings, large display ads and easy to read large text.

Businesses and residents are asked to visit the website at ChapalaDirectory.com to submit updated or corrected addresses and phone numbers. Basic residential and business listings are always free. Updates to the printed version will periodically be posted on the site throughout the year.

Get yours for only 50 pesos.

Day tripping

Cruz Roja (Red Cross) bus trips scheduled for next month are to the crafts centers of Tlaquepaque on Tuesday, March 9 and Tonala on Tuesday, March 16. Each trip leaves Auditorio de la Ribera del Lago in La Floresta at 9 a.m. and returns from Guadalajara at 4 p.m. Tickets are 150 pesos per person.

Sign up and further information is available Monday through Saturday at the Cruz Roja table at the Lake Chapala Society.

Coming up is a trip to Tequila that includes a city tour, lunch and a distillery tour on Tuesday, March 23 for 750 pesos. The bus leaves at 8 a.m. and returns about 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 25, the bus goes to Guadalajara’s Plaza Galerias, where you will also find a Costco, Sam’s, Walmart and Mega. The cost is 150 pesos.

Fashion show

Tickets for the Cruz Roja Fashion Show on Friday, March 19, are still on sale. The Hotel Real de Chapala venue is ideal and the show is always a sell-out. Tickets prices are 600 pesos per person for platinum level (a table of ten and includes all beverages, plus special snacks and desserts). Reserved seating is 450 pesos per person and unreserved tickets are 400 pesos per person. Remember – this year there are single reserved tickets.

All of this information is available at the Cruz Roja table at the Lake Chapala Society.

Español

Spanish classes at the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) are scheduled to begin the week of March 8. Classes at the Wilkes Education Center include Intermediate, and Advanced Conversation, Warren Hardy levels 1, 2A, 2B and Level III (new class by popular demand). Introductory Spanish will continue to be held on the LCS campus. Registration is on Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon at LCS under the blue umbrellas.

Please go to the LCS website at www.lakechapalasociety.org for details. Send email inquiries to spanishprogram@lakechapalasociety.org.

Hospitality

The Hospitality University located in Jaltepec is inviting the public to a dinner on Wednesday, March 24 to benefit the students. Cocktails begin at 6:30 p.m., with a no-host bar and dinner served at 7:30 p.m. Music will be provided by Timothy G. Ruff Welch.

The menu starts off with grapes and tequila in gelatin, followed by vegetarian lasagna. The main course is a choice between beef filet or fish filet with pepper sauce, served with zucchini, carrots and sliced potatoes. The dessert will be mini nut pie. Tea or coffee, regular or decaf is included.

Tickets are 350 pesos per person. Contact Linda Buckthorp at 766-1631 or buckthorp@laguna.com.mx before March 3.

Your attendance will help the needier students of this technical university that specializes in hotel and hospitality management. These young ladies graduate from their courses with good positions waiting for them. They, in turn, are able to raise the financial status of their families and help their siblings through school.  Besides, you’re going to love it!

Navy League

Raoul Schreiden presented a very interesting talk about his amazing experiences during World War II in Belgium at the last meeting of the Lake Chapala Council of the Navy League. He also revisited his year working in the underground in Vichy France. Finally, he trained in Canada and flew B52s in the 2nd Tactical Air Force.

The next Navy League meeting will be on Saturday, March 20 at Manix Restaurant in Ajijic starting at 1 p.m. Prior military service is not mandatory for membership in the Navy League.

Garden party

The Love in Action Garden Party on February 19 was a huge success with more than 500 tickets sold! Many thanks to Michael Schaible and Bonnie Newman for the terrific job in organizing the event and getting folks out to see the Love in Action Children’s Center and meet the kids.

Presbyterians

Pastor Ray DeLange will continue his series on the Sermon on the Mount on Sunday, February 28. The text comes from Matthew 5:43-47 and the topic is “Loving the Unlovely.” Services begin at 10 a.m. at Lakeside Presbyterian Church, Carretera Chapala-Jocotepec at 231A in Riberas del Pilar.

Unitarians

The theme of the service for the February 28 meeting of the Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship will be “The Invitation: Relationships and Spirituality.” This Sunday (only) the meeting will begin at 10 a.m. The Fellowship usually begins its meetings at 10:30 a.m. at the Lake Chapala Jewish Congregation Center, Sta. Margarita 113 in Riberas del Pilar.

Goin’ green

The Lake Chapala Green Group is pleased to have Eileen Collard as its guest speaker for the meeting on Wednesday, March 3, 3 p.m. on the back patio of the Lake Chapala Society (LCS). Collard works with Amigos del Lago, one of four sponsors for the upcoming International Living Lakes Conference to be held at Lakeside and in Guadalajara later in March. Her remarks will focus on how the smaller municipalities around the lake are handling ecological issues and other lake-related challenges.

The Lakeside community represents a relatively small portion of residents living around Lake Chapala. Collard will address the great diversity of interests in the greater community and discuss how plans are shaping up for the Living Lakes Conference. Lake Chapala is central to our way of life here, so the topic should be of interest to all. Bring your questions. Everyone is welcome to attend. The Green Group meets the first Tuesday of each month at 3 p.m.

For babies

Mi Bebe y Yo, sponsored by the Lake Chapala branch of the Junior League of Guadalajara, is holding a quarterly potluck lunch on Wednesday, March 3, noon at Villa Formoso in lower La Floresta at the end of Paseo de las Olas.

The group prepares gift packages of baby needs and delivers them to the needy mothers who have just given birth at Guadalajara’s Hospital Civil. Those attending the luncheon should take new receiving blankets, cloth diapers, sleepers and newborn disposable diapers. The ladies also include special things for the new moms, such as panties and footie socks.

They also need yarn for the knitting of tiny hats and booties.

Contact July Hensley at julieywayne@yahoo.com.

Eating well

The Asociacion Comunitario Autosuficiencia (ACA) continues with its Food Extravaganza sessions at the Lake Chapala Society (unless otherwise noted). Wednesday, March 3, Wendee Hill presents “Super Salads and Edible Flowers from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Peter Parker presents “Adding Vegetarian Spice from India ” from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Secret Garden Restaurant on Thursday, March 4. That same day, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Ana Rios will talk about “Organic Select” for using, buying and growing sprouts.

Tuesday, March 9, noon to 2 p.m., Greg Couilliard of Chili Bang Restaurant will demonstrate Mexican Fusion cuisine and from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., Clare Gearhart will elaborate on Mexican Dining Etiquette.

Jose Melendrez will teach the technique for producing Mexican moles on Tuesday, March 16, noon to 2 p.m.

Sign up for the sessions at the Lake Chapala Society office or by emailing acacentroecologico@gmail.com. Each session requires a 50-peso contribution or you can get a full pass to all of the sessions for 500 pesos.

Check the LCS bulletin board for the full schedule.

Learning

The next LCS Learning Seminar will be on Tuesday, March 2, noon in the Sala. The subject will be “How to Live to be 100+” and Fred Harland will be the moderator. The guest speaker (via internet podcast) will be the National Geographic author and explorer who studies the world’s longest-lived peoples and distills their secrets into a single plan for a healthy and long life. He and his team study those communities where elders live with vim and vigor to record-setting ages.

All LCS members are invited to attend this promising presentation and express their opinions in the discussion that follows.

Brits

The Lakeside British Society meets Saturday, March 6, 1 p.m. at Manix Restaurant, Ocampo 57 in Ajijic. The speaker for the meeting will be Dr. Ken Jones, formerly an anesthesiologist in North American hospitals. He will speak to his observations and experience with the Mexican National Health System (IMSS), as a multiple sclerosis patient.

The menu is chicken florentine, with spinach, cheese, white wine sauce or bass with mushrooms and cream sauce for 110 pesos including tip. They are also offering a light two-course lunch for 75 pesos. Dessert is carrot cake.

Please contact Alicia McNiff at 765-4786 or Ceri Dando at cpdando2000@yahoo.com to let them know if you’ll be attending and which is your choice from the menu.