LAKESIDE LIVING

 

Sandy Olson
Phone: 331-283-8529
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

August 2015

 

 

COMING EVENTS

SUMMER NEWS FROM VIVA MUSICA

Viva ‘Summer in the Village’ Concert Series

Here are two evening performances that will delight you.  They are at 7:00 p.m. in the Auditorio.

Thursday August 6 Joshua Chavez, double bass, with Rodrigo Leal, piano.  This brilliant young bass player will play works by Hoffmeister, Marcello, Bottesini and Gabriel Faure. He is a Northern Lights and Viva scholarship winner who is currently playing with the Zapopan Symphony. He will give us this “goodbye” concert before heading to Europe for advanced studies.

Thursday, August 20 The Serenata Piano Trio: Areli Medeles, cello; Robert Markus, violin; and Rosa Maria Valdez, piano, will perform works by Antonin Dvorak, Manuel Cerda, Alfredo Carrasco, Leo Janacek, Eugene Toussaint and Manuel Ponce’s Estrellita, written for Jascha Heifitz. 

Viva concert tickets are 200 pesos and are available at the LCS Thursdays & Fri 10-12, at Diane Pearl Colecciones and at the Auditorium.

FRIENDSHIP AND TRAINS

The old train station, Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo, will be the site of the XIX National Model Train Convention  on August 7, 8 and 9.  This event is held in a different Mexican city every year and this year the honor goes to Chapala.

 

 

Train fanciers come from all over the country with their layouts and models  have meetings and workshops at the convention. According to Ana Gabi, proprietor of restaurant Machina 245 atop Papeleria Trinidad in San Antonio (check out their trains), “It is a weekend full of friendship and trains.”

Here in Chapala there are two model train clubs. If you’re interested, visit the Facebook page: XIX Convención Ferromodelistas Chapala.

FUNNY SCENES FROM FAMOUS PLAYS

The  actors from Roseann Wilshere’s scene study workshop will be presenting scenes for the public at The Bravo! Theatre, 10 Rio Bravo on Monday, August 17 at 7:30 pm and Tuesday, August 18 at 4:00 pm. 

 


The cast, left to right: Barbara Pruitt, Kathleen Morris, Janice Carol, Diane Jones, Ken Yakiwchuk, Karen Lowe, Norb Michel. Missing: Jutta McAdam, Connie Davis, Pam Pettus.

 

It’ll be an evening of funny scenes from various famous plays authored by Harold Pinter, David Mamet, Carol Burnett, Norm Foster and others.   The actors hope folks can join them for their summer series presentation.  Tickets are “pay what you can,”  so everyone can afford to come and have a few laughs.  Reservations may be made by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

THE IDEAL WOMAN—OR NOT

The next Naked Stage production will be The Love List.  Leon and Bill concoct a list of the top ten best qualities in an ideal woman. When she actually arrives on the scene the men quickly learn that their list could use a few revisions.  The play is directed by Diana Rowland.

 


The Cast: Candace Luciano, Ed Tasca, and Tony Wilshere

 

The play shows on August 28, 29, and 30. The e-mail address for reservations: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Reservations guarantee a seat until 3:50, after which seats will be sold to those waiting without reservations.

Naked Stage is located at #10A Rio Bravo. Directions: west on the carretera from Ajijic, south on Rio Bravo, about two blocks down behind Daniel’s Restaurant on the east side. Daniel’s is open for lunch and dinner with a no host bar available at 3:00 p.m. The box office opens at 3:15 and the show starts at 4:00 p.m.

BRAVO! THEATRE

The September Bravo! production will feature two plays: The Way of All Fish by Elaine May and Two Sisters by Caroline Harding. They’re dark comedies about power, passion and possibly more than one murder.

 


From left: Bernadette Jones, Director, and Actors Roseann Wilshere and Jayme Littlejohn

 

Dates are September  3-5 and 10-12 at 7:30 p.m. and September 6 and 13 at 3:00 p,m. Tickets are 250 pesos and are available at Mia’s boutique, Diane Pearl Colecciones or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  The Bravo! Theatre is at Rio Bravo #10.

LAKESIDE LITTLE THEATRE

Season tickets are now available for the LLT 2015-16 season, which also promises to be exciting. The plays are as follows:

October 2-11 Murder by Misadventure

November 6-15  Stepping Out

December 4-12  Rumors

January 15-24  Good People

February 19-March 6 Nunsense

March 25-April 3  Other Desert Cities

To reserve season tickets, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact the Box Office at (376) 766-0954. The 1100 peso prices includes an annual membership and a reserved seat at each of the six shows.

WRITING AND READING

The Ajijic Writers’ Group was organized in 1988 by Alejandro Grattan-Dominguez, a former Hollywood screenwriter, film director, author of seven novels, and Editor in Chief of Ojo del Lago.  He and Victoria Schmidt, a columnist for the Ojo, keep the bi-weekly event moving along smoothly.  Former members include award-winning British screenwriters and novelists whose work made the NY Times best-seller list. 

 


Writer Ron Knight and Moderator Ilsa Picazo

 

Writers of all genres and abilities sign up to read their work and receive feedback from the group. It’s a popular event, with over 50 in attendance each week, and everyone is welcome, writers or not. The group meets at La Nueva Posada on the first and third Fridays each month, 10 o’clock in the morning until noon, with lunch and socializing afterward.

MUJERES DEL LAGO

A good lady named Paula Breitling last year saw that there were single women in the area who weren’t connected with the community. She wanted to help them to meet others and also to support local restaurants during the low season. Thus, Mujeres del Lago was born.

She and former resident Andrea Holme started the group a year ago with the help of Sheryll Soderdahl, who maintained the email list, sent out invitations and reported how many women would be attending each luncheon. 

 


Standing: Paula Breitling.
From left: Andrea Holme and Sheryll Soderdahl

 

They started out with about eight people at the luncheons and attendance grew by word of mouth initially. Then Paula started a Mujeres del Lago Facebook page last fall to notify women about the luncheon and also to share information about the area.

Paula says, “Now we typically have 60-100 people attending each luncheon even though we are in the low season.” For more information check their Facebook page or email Paula at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

LOOKING FOR APPLAUSE?

 There’s plenty of it at Living Lightly on Thursday mornings at La Bodega. Former Weight Watcher lecturer and leader of this upbeat group is Barbara Philleo, a Certified Life Coach. 

 


Life Coach Barbara Philleo

 

Her focus is on weight management but also on “lightening up in all respects.”  According to one member, the group is “wonderful for emotional support—it’s a great group of people.”  She went on to confide, “You don’t even have to be dieting.”

Living Lightly morphed out of a former Weight Watchers group a year ago. Discussion of losing weight is primary, as well as tips for healthy emotional and physical living.

The morning starts with introductions, checking in, announcements, where to buy local good food products, group sharing and awards for achievements. Weight losses of over 50 pounds are not uncommon. Members get applause and little stickers that remind us of how we felt when the teacher gave us gold stars.

Barbara also sends out a weekly newsletter that supports achievements, includes news from snowbird members, and reminds everyone to “live lightly.”

What a nice thing to do for yourself on a Thursday morning. The weigh-in starts at 10 and the meeting is at 10:30. Cost per class is 75 pesos.  Email: www.barbscoaching.com

NCA DOES IT AGAIN!

Last month the scholastic year of many Los Niños de Chapala y Ajjic sponsored students ended with a graduation celebration. High-ranking executives of the Jalisco State Secretariat of Education addressed the students and guests and presented Certificates of Recognition both to the graduating students and to their parents, in recognition of their perseverance and sacrifices.

 

 

MEDITATION AND MINDFULNESS

The Heart of Awareness Community officially began four years ago. The “seeds were planted” in 2008, according to Janet Reichert, a long term meditator, who held meetings in her living room at that time. Now there are over 100 people on the mailing list and the Community has its own space at Guadalupe Victoria 101 in Ajijic. Weekly attendance varies from 20 to 40, depending on the season.

 

 

Leader of the Community is Karin Miles. She’s been a student of Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness for more than 30 years. Her journey began in 1985 when she and her husband David lived in Kathmandu for three years, studying and practicing at the Tibetan Buddhist monasteries.

The sangha meets on Wednesday afternoons. A formal meditation period is followed by teachings and discussion.

Heart of Awareness also  sponsors a practice/study group and a mindful recovery group, which meet weekly.  A lending library has several hundred titles as well as DVDs.  The sangha also supports members in their planning for emergency/illness/end of life preparedness,  as well as matching volunteers with needs of members who are in need of assistance due to accident or illness.

Other sponsored activities of the sangha are live stream retreats from the Omega Institute in New York, featuring Pema Chodron, the voice of Tibetan Buddhism in the West. There will be another retreat in October.

For more information on the sangha or other sponsored activities, visit the website: www.heartofawareness.org or call Janet Reichert at (376) 766-6069.

IN CASE YOU MISSED THAT PLAYBOY CENTERFOLD

Our own Lakeside resident Rosemary Grayson was the first UK Centrefold (that’s how those Brits spell it) in Playboy Magazine in October 1964.

 


Rosemary Grayson

 

She was also featured in a PBS NewsHour production that aired last month.   A team came to Lake Chapala for an upcoming look at “care in later years.”

Producer Kathleen McLeery interviewed volunteer counselor and resident Rosemary for 45 minutes about the day to day “Contented Dementia” regime she exercises.

The video shows Lakeside at its best. You almost want to move here! Check it out if you haven’t seen it: www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/foreign-retirees-flocking-mexico/

GROW YOUR OWN….

…vegetables, that is. The Ajijic Organic Vegetable Growers meet on the second Wednesday of the month at 10 at the gazebo at Tabarka Restaurant, Rio Zula #7.

In July Ivan Lomeli from La Barca was their guest speaker. Ivan was a commercial organic farmer and still advises other growers on organic practices.   He has his own line of organic fertilizers  and pesticides.

The next meeting will be on August 12. The speaker will probably be a horticulturist from Guadalajara, who will demonstrate testing of the PH levels of our soils.

New members are welcome. They can contact John at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 376-766-0620. There are two websites that gardeners will find very informative: growingyourgreens.com and smilinggardener.com/introduction/why-grow-a-garden

GIVING WITH PLEASURE

Naked Stage has just given the Cruz Roja a mid-season donation of 20,000 pesos. The company is now in its sixth season and has been giving any income not being used for expenses to the Cruz Roja on a yearly basis.

 


The Naked Stage Committee, left to right: Jim Lloyd, Barbara Clippinger, Liz White, Graham Miller, Collette Clavadetscher, Diana Rowland

 

This year  the committee is delighted to announce that it’s in a position to give mid-year as well. Diana Rowland says, “We at The Naked Stage  thank our wonderful and loyal audience for their support that makes this possible.” 

STRINGS, SAND AND SUNSET

It’s already happened, but think about going to Zihuatanejo next year for a primo getaway. The Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival is a world class show that happens every March on the beautiful Zihuatanejo Bay.

 

 

Guitarists from all genres—rock, pop, jazz, blues, flamenco, Americana, classical, world fusion—and from all corners of the globe come together for a week of camaraderie and musical collaboration.

The festival is an event that brings together first rate musicians and enthusiastic music lovers. It was founded in 2004, and has grown every year in prestige, talent and size.  Try www.zihuafest.com for information about the 2016 festival.

According to Google, a trip by car to Zihuatanejo takes six hours and 28 minutes, and, yes, stay on major roads and drive during the day. Michoacan and Guerrero have been hot spots but will be just fine when we intrepid expats want to go, of course.

LET’S REMEMBER

When we get tired of complaining about Mexican mañana, mosquitos and weekend traffic, let’s take a moment to remember how lucky we are to be living in a beautiful place like Lake Chapala.


Kayaker Doug Burnside Enjoying the Sunset

 

 

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