David arrives, more dancercize, feasting, and a visit to Vive Mexico - Dec. 24- 2013

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The woman who makes baskets was at the Tiangi

Day at the Tiangi with Lynda - The inspirational Squash Soup Flowers are cooking!

     We discovered how delicious squash flower soup was last year. They are in season so our Tiangi day (market day) meant bringing home lots of treasures, mostly edible and healthy!

The serious art of floating...

Soothing sunshine, soothing breeze and a much needed day or rest

      Today we took a full day off, leaving house chores and problems behind.  We headed to a place we love high above the lake with a great pool (warm and pleasant) and the best view of lake and mountains.
      The sky was luxurious blue,  with sub-tropical colour in the form of birds, flowers or brightly painted buildings here and there. Lynda needed a day to adjust to the altitude away from our casita which seems very "chore oriented" so far.
      We brought a picnic, our Kindles, and explored the Racquet Club, a place we often find peace and tranquillity. During the week few people use the pool, so it is delightfully quiet.
      David K. arrives this Saturday and we seem to be falling into comfortable routines so one more person in the brew is always an addition around here.
      No Christmas decorations or fuss around here...I always love to escape North American Christmas. It is just not an important holiday here.

  

Lynda Arrived!

     Each day small improvements happen in our casita. Today Dave and Ivan worked on the electrical system,  there was a short that was blocking power to a couple of wall plugs. Part of that mystery is solved and we now have more power in our bedroom.

     We had a busy day yesterday making a welcome happy house and dinner for Lynda. Her flight arrived early and she was delighted to dine with us, & enjoyed the dedicated strawberry pie. The weather has been terrific for her first day. We had a relaxing day enjoying tea on the balcony with Sonia, while a red breasted bird sunned itself across the street.

     It takes time getting used to the altitude and change in climate but I am now feeling comfortable, though I continue to have my higher altitude dreams. They are vivid, convoluted with complicated stories. I now look forward to my first 10 sleeps as the altitude has a pleasant effect, the quality of sleep is better, deeper and very restful. It seems once I am used to this altitude those deep lovely sleeps are more influenced by the amount of sunshine I experience.

    We are delighted to have Lynda settled into her room and plan at day in San Juan Cosala tomorrow. It will really be the first day we relax and stop focusing on repairs and domestic chores, settling in and survival. We are ready for a day high above SJC with a fantastic view of the lake, mountains and a pool with pleasantly warm water to swim in.

    Here are some photos of our yard, offering us fruits of all kinds.

Best Wishes to Everyone!!

Settling in to our casita in Roca Azul - Dec. 13, 2013

December 13, 2013

Hello From Mexico!

      We were very pleased they finally connected us to the Internet yesterday. It just feels like everyone we care about is a whole lot closer, not to mention being able to access information.

    Our first week has been the usual labour intensive experience, the earth shifts here which causes little problems in most houses.  Any house unattended always needs help. Thanks to Marta, Dave, and Sonia we arrived to a clean place but then messed it up with all the plumbing  repair jobs!

    It’s lovely fresh weather, sunny but not too hot. The Tulip Tree is still in bloom, so beautiful with deep orange flowers against a perfectly blue sky.  The Mexican rainy autumn left us greener mountains all around.   

    We planted bright orange and yellow roses, and the balcony is starting to feel like home. Tomorrow we will plant herbs for soups and salads. We already enjoyed a supper of avocado,

 papaya, fresh carrots and strawberries. Fruits and vegetables are abundant, cheap and shopping is always more interesting here:)

    Lynda arrives on Sunday and it will be a great week for all of us to rest. Each day so far has been busy with arrangements, start up, purchasing staples and settling in. The two of us have worked very hard setting things up so a week to relax will be welcome.

    Our new land line telephone number is  387 763 1815 (not sure what the preamble is depending on where you call from, but we are located in Jocotepec, near Guadalajara, State of Jalisco)

    Hope the icy days are over and everyone is cozy enjoying a mild winter.

Cheers,

Evi y Ivan

Tomorrow we are on our way to our other beloved home in Mexico!!

 Hello Folks,

This season we had some challenges prior to departure. We postponed our flight a few days due to a terrible virulent cold/flu that Ivan had. He is much better after a course of antibiotics and we are packed and anxious to start our journey.
Ivan took up jewelery making again and we completed two craft fairs. He is quite inspired and the beads and artifacts we discover in Mexico will add to our inspiration.  Just the daily artistry that surrounds you is uplifting!

We will fly (as usual) on US Airways - leaving tomorrow Dec 5, Thursday

US Airways flight 542   Departs 2:29 PM Vancouver, it arrives in Phoenix at 6:30 PM, then we get a connecting flight to Guadalajara at 7:45 (US Airways 2929) and arrive at 11:27 at night. Mark will pick us up and we will stay at his casual B & B ( we rent a refurbished car from him). So we can begin our Friday with lots of errands to do, and arrive at our casita by the afternoon. Our kind friends have helped prepare our Mexican home. We look forward to moving in, setting up, and relaxing in the sunshine while our bananas ripen!

I will post on the blog when we have adventures of stories to tell.

Happy Holidays! Happy Winter! and  Warmest Greetings to All

Evi and Ivan

(the pictures remind me why I am so anxious to get back:)

The Best Possible News!!

At this time Ivan is cancer free. He saw an ear nose and throat specialist. The doctor assured him his throat was fine, there is no cancer there. (often breast cancer and throat cancer are linked) 

Since the oncologist does not want to use radiation as a follow up treatment another test will take place this week. Ivan can't easily raise his arms. Also the radiation would be on his left breast, close to his heart. Her choice would have been tamoxifen but Ivan has often show up with the " lupus anti-coagulant" in his blood. Tamoxifen can cause blood clots so he is seeing the hematologist this week and they will make a decision.
In the meantime he feels well, has returned to swimming 3 X a week and is delighted with the current good news.

We booked our flights to Mexico for Dec. 3 and will return to Jocotepec, and Roca Azul where we have established friendships and a sense of community over our five years of snow birding.  (maybe we can call it rain birding, as it rarely snows here)

Life is full of twists and turns and delightful surprises!

 

Appointment at the Cancer Clinic - Sept. 16 / 2013

Today we came to Vancouver for an appointment at the Cancer clinic expecting some kind of follow up treatment program plan.  After we filled out many forms, then Ivan was examined by an intern (prior to seeing the specialist) we learned a few things (that I already assumed). Ivan had invasive ductal carcinoma/ estrogen receptor positive. (the most common kind of breast cancer)

The intern assumed the treatment would be 16 sessions of radiation during 3 consecutive weeks. The specialist was not enthused about this plan. She felt it wasn't required and was also worried as Ivan can't place his arms over his head. The radiation could be damaging and only has a 15- 20 %  chance (or less ) of preventing the cancer from returning. Since it is his left breast that would receive the radiation she did have some concerns about his heart.

She felt Tamoxofin (a hormone that blocks estrogen) would be more beneficial. However since Ivan may still have the lupus anti-coagulant she worried it could cause blood clots. It is a hormone medication taken for 5 years after breast cancer surgery.

So after many hours and discussions, she decided she woul look into his medical records before making a decision. He may need to see a hematologist again to ensure he no longer carries the lupus anti-coagulant (we're not sure). 

Dr. Weir was satisfied with his physical condition and plans to follow up as soon as possible.

So we are still in  limbo with more medical appointments planned.

But Ivan is generally feeling well and is already swimming. The scar is healed and he has no pain from the surgery.

So Far Pretty Good News! Sept. 8/2013

Hello Everyone,

Ivan got the lab results from his doctor this week. He was told the area around what they removed was totally clear of cancerous cells but the one lymph node removed had a 4/10" area of cancer (which was removed). 

Ivan has an appointment with the oncologist on Sept. 16. We expect for more advice, treatment options and more information.

At this time it is a great relief that the surgery went well, Ivan is comfortable and the results don't seem as daunting as they could have been.

I will keep folks up to date following our visit to the oncologist.

Warmest Greetings,

Evi and Ivan