Citrus Christmas Tree

We had dinner at the Nueva Posada hotel in Ajijic with new friends, David and Karen, this week. We saw this most intriguing Christmas tree in the lobby. It is made of lacquered slices of grapefruit, oranges and lemons. There are also cinnamon sticks tied up with little red ribbons. It is a rounded, one sided tree which allows the light behind to show through the spaces between the citrus slices. Most unusual!! Karen was kind enough to send me a couple of pictures she made with her phone so that I could share this tree with you.

Here's a closeup that shows the citrus slices in more detail.,

It was a wonderful evening of delicious food and lots of fun conversation with a terrific couple. We'll miss them when they leave on the 31st,

Betty

Candy for Kids

Just wanted to give you a glimpse of my latest project. We will be going again (along with other friends) to the nearby village of Mezcala to distribute food bags and toys this Christmas. I have been saving toilet tissue rolls for more than a year and have filled them all with candy (you should have seen the 11 pound bag of candy that I bought at Costco). I wrapped them up pretty, and have enough to bring a big smile to 100 faces when I hand them out!! Can't wait!! We were so blessed by doing the food distribution last year to 50 families, and with the addition of some more couples to contribute, we're hoping to have 75 bags this year.

I also had a chat with a right jolly old elf, Santa himself, last week.............

Hope your Christmas preparations are going smoothly,
Betty

Thanksgiving on the Beach

Many thanks for the encouragement to continue with the blog, even though it may not be every day. I did say I had some pictures to share with you from our beach holiday over Thanksgiving, so here goes......

This first picture is the hotel (Coco's) where we stayed. We were on the second floor. It was not a fancy hotel, but nice, clean and all the employees were very helpful, with friendly smiles! There were actually three different pools at the hotel and it was right on the beach too!

The next picture is another section of the hotel, which was across the road from our building. Don't you just love the abundance of color?!

Thought I'd better show you a picture of me on the beach to prove I was there. This beach didn't have white sand but it was very clean and smooth and the water was crystal clear. One of the places we visited in Puerto Vallarta had such a rocky beach that it was very hard on the feet walking out into the water. Didn't have that problem here.

Another colorful sight on the beach was a vendor selling water inflatables. I don't know how he saw where he was going -- his modified bicycle was completely taken over by water toys!!

Just wanted to show you a picture of a house on the hill nearby our hotel -- talk about a house with a view!! I'd love to be able to a peek inside of this one!

We were simply fascinated by all of the pelicans on the beach. You could walk within a foot of them and they weren't bothered at all!

And a couple of closeups.....

It was a wonderful, relaxing way to spend our Thanksgiving. Might have to do it again next year!

Betty

Absentee Blogger

Hello! It's been a long time since I put in an appearance on my blog. Dental issues and other craziness of life have been taking priority.

Just wanted to share a picture of card class this month. A group of ladies from the Spanish speaking congregation of Lake Chapala Baptist Church came to the card class. I prepared a simple card that showed off embossing, die cuts, and stamping.

The lady on the left side with the face mask is Bertha; she was supposed to be our interpreter but got sick and could only whisper on the day of class! There are two "gringa" ladies in the middle. Beth is wearing a green shirt and took on the job as interpreter (she taught Spanish back in the United States!) and Joy (denim jacket) has been taking Spanish lessons and wanted to practice while meeting some of the ladies from the Mexican congregation!

I think they all had a wonderful time. Not only did they make this wreath card that I had prepared, they also jumped right into card making and created two or three other cards with the Christmas supplies that I had brought to use.

Also wanted to share a a few of the Christmas cards I've made this week.

I'm trying to decide if I'll keep up the blog, but I want to come back at least one more time and share some pictures of our Thanksgiving trip to the beach at Guayabitos.

Adios,
Betty