Roses April Challenge

Sue Walsh is hosting the Roses April Challenge this month and she wanted us to make a card with a fancy fold. My card itself is not a fancy fold but it does have a couple of fancy fold elements on it. I've used some doublesided paper to make the frames for the butterflies which come from Annabelle Stamps set, All Things Grow, as does the stamped greeting. Because the paper is a checked pattern I used Cuttlebug's Checker Board emmbossing folder on the Camero Coral and Very Vanilla card stock.

I have used the sketch from The House That Stamps Built for the layout of my card. Here is the WHAT IF? Wednesday sketch A2011. If you would like to join me in this challenge you have until 5 pm EST on May 3rd to post your card.

My craft area is not yet set up here in Mexico. I have a friend who is going to Costco in Guadalajara next week and is going to pick up a folding table for me. Maybe if I can also find a plastic drawer organizer I will be closer to getting a place set up so that I can rejoin all of my crafting friends in my favorite hobby!

Betty

"The Chicken Place"

Here is Larry at the chicken place. I was across the road and I didn't realize he was waving at me as I took the picture! As you can tell, the place was sooooo crowded; he waited forever but still never got our chicken so we'll just go back again next week. (There are a lot of people from Guadalajara who are down here for the Easter holiday.) I can report that we had a wonderful lunch though. We ate at "Bubba's" -- sounds like we're in Mississippi! We had fried catfish, hushpuppies, cole slaw and french fries -- yum, yum! There were so many delicious sounding things on the menu -- bar-b-que ribs, pulled pork, chicken fried steak, chicken and dumplings, etc., etc., etc. Guess what???? the fellow who owns the place is from Dallas, TX! I think we'll be able to find plenty of comfort food here!
We had a nice swim this evening and I'll say good-bye for now so I can go take our swim suits out of the washer!

Betty

A Few Pictures

Here is a picture of our rental home. It is a very pretty place but fairly sparse in its furnishings. We went to the local Wal-Mart today and got an egg crate; I hope that will help us sleep a little better on our extremely firm mattress. I'll not tell you all the things I wish were different here because I'm trying to "go with the flow". We'll be getting our own place one of these days and can fix it up just the way we want. Until then, we'll just put the problems to one side and focus on what we like best about the place -- the pretty flowers outside, the gorgeous infinity pool, the beautiful weather, the friends we have here, etc.


We have a little patio outside the front door with a breakfast table. I'm sitting there drinking what looks like a Pepsi but it is actually a medicinal tea (in a Pepsi bottle) that my doctor here prescribed for my acid reflux when I was here last year. The tea is made from the bark a tree here in Mexico and it really does work! If I forget to drink my tea throughout the day I can pretty much count on having acid reflux at night.
We're going to have a Dominos pizza for lunch today and stop by a roadside vendor and pick up a roasted chicken for supper tonight. A lot of places are closed today and most everything will be closed tomorrow and maybe the rest of the weekend due to Easter which is a very big holiday here. I'll take my camera and get a picture of the chicken place so you can see where my supper came from!
Later,
Betty

We're at Lake Chapala, Mexico!

Hello all! It was a long, tiring trip but we arrived at Lake Chapala Mexico yesterday. We spent the night with a friend that I met while living at El Parque last year. We were supposed to be able to get into our rental house this morning but they didn't have it ready so we had to wait until later this afternoon. We had a wonderful lunch today at a seafood restaurant close by where we will be living. I had breaded shrimp with mango sauce and Larry had coconut tempura fish with mango sauce. Both were delicious!
After unloading our car, we're both dead tired and just plan to have a pimento cheese sandwich and turn in early. I've even been too tired to walk around our complex and see the beautiful pool and clubhouse. Wonder if I'll be able to make it until 9:00 pm before having to hit the bed!! Hope to be able to post a picture or two tomorrow!
Betty

We Made it to Laredo!

Just a quick note -- we signed papers and sold the house this morning and set off to Laredo. We have a flexible roof top carrier and had some problems for the first part of the trip because of a very strong crosswind. The straps that hold the carrier on the roof of the car come inside and hook. One of them started vibrating and sounded just like when the bees infested my house in Chapala last year! We had to stop a couple of times and readjust. Finally we put a little piece of "rubbery" shelf paper between the car and the strap and it helped immensely -- and finally the cross wind settled down. It did make for a long drive today though, because we couldn't drive over 60 mph for the first part of the trip.

We plan to cross the border in the morning, get our vehicle permit, and hopefully get a "green light" at the customs stop. This means that we don't have to stop and have everything in our car inspected. Please pray for a green light along with me!!!!

Will give you another update tomorrow evening -- I'm pretty sure that I remember that the place we'll be staying has wi-fi.

Betty

Another Update

Today was spent cleaning a very empty house -- well, it's not completely empty. We're leaving this silk tree that I have had for many years. When we bought one of our houses many years ago, we had it put in the contract that they would leave the tree for us. They did, and it has lived in six different houses with us. We've really had to pare down and get rid of a lot of things that would add bulk and weight to our move. So when our buyers asked if we would leave the tree with them I agreed. Just hope that they enjoy it half as much as I have!

And speaking of cleaning, do you realize how much easier it is to vacuum and mop when there's no furniture to get in the way?????? If I could get used to sitting on a hard tile floor, that might be the way to go!!

We will close on the house sale tomorrow and drive to Laredo, Tx and spend the night there. We'll cross the border on Saturday morning and drive about 6 hours to Matehuala and spend the night there. Then on Sunday we will continue our trip to Lake Chapala (another 6 hours).

Here's my contact info:
Betty Benton
5802 Bob Bullock Loop C-1
Ste. 328C - 228
Laredo, TX 78041

This is a mail service that will deliver our mail to Lake Chapala much more quickly. Unfortunately, I cannot receive packages, just regular envelopes (guess that will curb my spending on stamps and paper -- boohoo!!). I can receive a kraft envelope if it will fold. I can get things delivered to me in Mexico through FedEx -- I just don't know how much I would have to pay -- probably an arm and a leg!

Later,


Betty

Moving Update!

Just a note to let you all know what's going on right now. We think that we are ready for the packers to come on Monday. We've had to sort and sift through a lot of "stuff", deciding what we want to take with us and what we can do without. We've had to complete a detailed inventory on what we'll send with the movers; that was quite a job! We've had to get all of our paperwork done, in order to become residents of Mexico. That is taken care of except for the very last step, when we'll file the paperwork we completed at the Mexican consulate here with the proper officials in Chapala. Then we will be legal!! I have to admit that I'm quite emotional these days -- crying at the drop of a hat! It's so hard to go off and leave my kiddos here, but I know that I have to do what is best for my health. My asthma flared up again just recently and I had to go through another round of treatment. We will close on the sale of our house on Friday, April 15 and take off for Laredo after that. We'll spend the night there, cross the border on the morning of the 16th and it will take us two days to drive to Chapala. We have a place lined up to stay on Saturday night that we have been told is very nice with good food (friends just did this drive last week so we have all of their input to help make the trip easier!!) Can't wait to get there and start joining all of you in cardmaking again!

Betty