Now it was clear to me they would spend more time punching each other then that bag.  I shared in the excitement of the new toy and then turned to Lyle and said, in English, “You can go out and play with them but you may not box.  You can watch or hit the bag.”  That statement went in one ear and out the other, 10 minutes later I hear Lyle crying and look out to see him standing there with his gloved hands on his face and all the other kids standing around him telling him he’s ok.

He took a good pop in the eye, Rick, my husband was out in the garden watching the whole thing.  He decided it was better to let Lyle get into the ring and find out for himself what it feels like to take a punch.  And obviously my instruction about not boxing made little impression.  The face punch was a success, the next time the kids came over Lyle went excitedly out to play, but declined the invitation to get on the boxing roster.

We noticed the water was boiling up just a few feet of shore and as I watched the waves roll in I could see they were FULL of fish.

Our friend Ray had just brought in a big one the locals call Horel.  He took if off the lure and without bait just tossed the line back in.  About 5 mins later he started yelling for Rick, Rick ran over and Ray handed him the pole.

It took about 10 mins but this is what he brought in!  Just a little pre-breakfast adventure!

Photo of Miguel with his catch using his net!

Given that Lyle is 8 I think with will be the last year he believes in Santa.  He had his doubts this year but thanks to our friends Willy and Kimberly and a great little iPad app we were able to convince him this year that yes, Santa is real!

We went to Kimberly and Willy’s for dinner Christmas Eve and as we were walking up Lyle asked if Santa was real because Gael, his 7 year-old friend said he wasn’t.  We told him of course Santa is real and he comes for anyone who believes in him.  I told him we could prove it because Willy would be able to track Santa on his iPad.  Sure enough  Willy whipped out his IPad and started looking for a Santa App.  He found one and it showed Santa’s location and our location.

When we arrived for dinner Santa was 4.5 hours out somewhere around Iceland.  We enjoyed a very nice dinner and Lyle was amusing himself checking on Santa, and seeing the ETA going from 4.5 to 3 to 2 hours.  All of sudden he checks the status and yells, “Hey, ETA says “soon, you better go to bed!”  He started rushing around gathering up all his stuff and saying, “let’s go, let’s go we have to go to bed, Santa is almost here!”

We rushed out of the house and down the hill, brushed our teeth and jumped in bed!

And lo and behold…Santa showed up, ate some cookies and left some presents especially for Lyle.

The Unofficial La Manzanilla Holiday Gift Guide!

La Manzanilla Scene by Efren Gonzalez

Efren Gonzalez painting

No La Manzanilla casa is complete until it has at least one of these beauties!  Ajijic artist Gonzalez is a favorite among the expat community – and no wonder – his paintings are just plain good.  From street and market scenes, to our beloved bay, he paints them all with a light hand and light heart.  These paintings also make a great gift for friends and family who have visited our community and want to capture the memories shared here.  Available at Galeria La Manzanilla.

Jewelry by Liat

Handcrafted Jewelry from Liat

Working with silver, gold and precious jewels, Liat creates striking one-of-a-kind earrings, necklaces and rings.  She will even custom design jewelry items to your own specifications for a truly unique heirloom that is sure to be treasured for generations. Available at Galeria La Manzanilla.

La Manzanilla bookstore

Books

Check the internet for the New York Times best sellers and then meander down to La Manzanilla’s only bookstore for a wide variety of used books for around 30 pesos each.  You are bound to find an old treasure, a current list topper or the perfect gift.  The best part: your purchase is two gifts in one. All of the money raised by the bookstore goes to support local kids through scholarships and educational materials. La Manzanilla bookstore

Reflexology

Reflexology

Karen at Bending tree Yoga offers a wonderful hour-long reflexology treatment using finger, thumb and hand techniques to apply pressure to the hands and feet.  Benefits of reflexology range from stress and pain reduction to an improved immune system.  It can even improve blood flow to the kidneys and other organs, which might be helpful if you’ve had too many margaritas!  Enjoy your treatment under the palapa or have Karen come to you.  Available at  Bending Tree Yoga and Healing Center

You need one of these!

Lamb Piñata

For a truly unique and udderly cute gift, try a lamb piñata!  You can find this treasure at Casa de Regalos on the main street into town.  If this doesn’t sound quite right for the loved ones on your gift list, Casa de Regalos carries a huge variety of other gift and stocking stuffer ideas, from nail polish to straw hats.

The gift of Yoga

The gift of Health

Nothing says “I care about your well-being” better than the gift of yoga.  Yoga has been proven to help people improve their posture, flexibility, strength and relaxation.     Brenda Dempsey offers two classes each week featuring an eclectic mix of yoga and Qi Kung.  Ani Mac has three classes a week based on the teachings of Vanda Scaravelli.  Both organize annual yoga retreats to Europe: Ani in France and Brenda in Italy.  Yoga classes make wonderful gifts, or if you are feeling really generous, a European yoga retreat is sure to bring a smile to any recipient.

Spa packages

The Gift of Pampering

Mani, pedi, massage, oh my!  After the stress of the holidays, there is no better way to relax your way into 2012 than with a spa treatment.  Don’t think of this as only for the ladies in your life – men can benefit from spa packages, too.  Check out Kenny’s Evolution and Spacifico for information on spa packages and gift certificate options.

Non-profit donation.

In the true spirit of the holidays, help the children and pets in our community by making a donation in the recipient’s name to either the Catalina Educational Foundation or Cisco’s Amigos.  La Catalina Foundation funds art and English tutoring programs for children.  Cisco’s Amigos is the La Manzanilla free annual spay and neuter clinic for dogs and cats to help control our pet population.

Part of the grading system includes quarterly presentations.  This quarter the subject was Turtles.  To that end they went to a turtle sanctuary and met with scientists to learn about turtle ecology and conservation, they did several art projects about turtles and many French lessons focused on turtles.

Since Lyle loves dinosaurs he decided to give his on prehistoric turtles.  He did an outline that included, the two families and how the evolved into today’s tortoise and sea turtle, their anatomy, when they lived, what they ate, their predators and how they raised their young.

One Friday he gave his presentation to his teachers, with a little help from his dad.  It was a rousing success!

This school is a lot of additional work…at 45 minutes away.  But vale la pena, it’s “worth the pain”- Lyle is flourishing in such a challenging environment were hard work, creativity, respect and excellence is the common vernacular and expectation.

I say to Lyle, “Ask them if they want to earn some money.”  I hear a resounding, “SI!”  So, I tell them I’ll pay them 10 pesos each if they will come with me to the community garden, located next to our house, and pull the weeds in the walkways and put them in the compost.

They scurried over there and, after a few minutes of heated discussion about who was getting what gloves and tools, they got to work.  And boy did they work!  After about 20 minutes they had cleared most of the upper part of the garden.  I gave them the 10 minute warning- “Diez minutos mas, apurense!” and they scrambled even faster to get the weeds pulled.

No more Lucha Libre and a cleaner garden all for 50 pesos!

A favorite is Efren Gonzales, a painter from Ajijic.  He opens each season at the Galeria and his shows are a huge success.

Efren Gonzales will be teaching a watercolor workshop January 18-21, 2012 and an oil workshop in February 1-4, 2012.  My husband took a watercolor workshop last year from Efren and appreciated his teaching technique as well as the fact that Efren is just a down to earth nice guy.

If you’d like to take either workshop call Aby at 351-7099 to reserve your space.

If you answered yes, yes and yes then we can offer you a way to help!

LCEF has been working hard since 2003 to provide free classes that allow community members to build themselves a better future. The foundation is able to offer classes for free thanks to generous individual donations and our annual fundraiser which includes our online auction and the Night Under the Stars Silent Auction.

This is where you can help…we are looking for donations that we will be able to sell in the auction. Small electrical appliances and electrical goods are very popular but locally are much more expensive and of lesser quality than in the North. For example, USB memory sticks, printers, small stereos, irons, food processors, rice cookers, etc. These would all be very sought after items in our silent auction! If you’re coming from up North it would be easy and cheap to buy these items (new or used) and put them in the car or in a box on the plane (especially if you take advantage of WestJet’s humanitarian aid program for the free extra luggage).

Bikes are also the most bid on items at the silent auction! Thanks to Jacqueline W. for bringing a mountain bike down for three consecutive years!

Please consider taking some time and purchasing an item to donate. Your donation will help support projects like new bathrooms for the elementary school, finishing the playground at the Kinder, building a kitchen area at the middle school, construction of the Costa Alegre Educational Center where we hold classes, and the continuation of our many free programs.

If you do not have room in your luggage or prefer to buy something locally, irons, blenders, etc. can be purchased at the Muebleria in La Manzanilla (owned by the family of Aby from the Gallery) and donated for the auction. They are located on Playa Blanca St. past Martin’s restaurant.

We, and the community, thank you in advance for your time and consideration!

Please direct any questions to Nancy at lacatalina.nancy@hotmail.com

Jova was a category 2 when it slammed into the pacific coast of Mexico known as Costalegre.  The eye hit about 40 miles north of us and reports are that it nearly destroyed the town.  I can say first-hand the town 30 miles north of here, where Lyle attends school, is drastically changed, leafless trees uprooted, rivers full of muddy water and huge rocks pushed to the side of the road so cars can pass.  The towns to south of us also suffered, mud slides killed people and a huge bridge connecting our villages with Manzanillo, food, and fuel was nearly downed by the raging river.  The airport just opened up two days ago!

Compared to those around us La Manzanilla was extremely lucky.  Yes, we had flooding, see video below!

but where Melaque residents are digging out of 5 feet of water in their houses, La Manzanilla residents had a few inches.

We went out in the morning to survey the town and everything was calm, stores were opening up, people were shoveling mud of the walks or clearing downed trees.  The rain had stopped and the water ran out into the bay.   Given the terrifying sounds of the wind and rain the night before it was very reassuring to see La Manzanilla had come through the storm so well.

Rick and I debated about whether or not to stay and in the end we buttoned up the house, stocked up on fresh water, made sure we had our important papers close by and decided to ride it out.  Our son slept through the entire storm, thank goodness because when the tree hit our house it difficult for me to hide my fear and apprehension.

Next time a category 2 comes our way….I say button up the house and get out of town! Some additional photos here!