The painting on our house is almost done, and soon we’ll have great things to show you. But the big news from here is the two kittens — los gatitos — Leslie and I have adopted! Both males, Ziggy is only about two months old, while Marley is three months.
They came to us as Ziggy and Azafrán — not litter-mates but “best buddies” according to their foster caregivers, Kimrey and Juan. We really liked the name Ziggy, and it fits him! Azafrán is Spanish for “saffron.” It’s a pretty name, but it’s a mouthful so we needed to make a change for him. Many thanks to those who offered lots of great options. Our dear friend Jo-Jo suggested Marley so we would have Ziggy Marley! Thanks, Jo-Jo!
They are rescues and seem to love their new home. Of course, they’re kittens so everything is a toy! They come from the Lake Chapala Society, which has lush, beautiful grounds and a number of feral cats. These two are from litters born to those cats. Several other kittens were placed, and at least one of the feral cats has now been spayed.
Leslie saw photos of these two on Facebook and just couldn’t wait any longer to have cats in the house again. Marley reminds us both of our dear Max and Sam, our companions in Illinois. It’s going to be a lot of fun watching these two grow up, as we did with Max and Sam.
I hope we can share photos soon of the house transformation. Then Leslie and I will live for several months (we hope) without any renovation going on. There’s still work to do done, but we need a break! We think landscaping will be next, but probably not until spring.
More good news. I have taken on a new volunteer role that’s interesting and doesn’t take a lot of time. I am translating Spanish news articles into English for local weekly newspaper Seminario Laguna. Okay, not really “translating,” more like “editing,” which is what I do best.
The Spanish-language paper has two pages in English. Along with several other volunteers, I take assigned articles in Spanish, translate them into English using DeepL (which is an outstanding online translation tool), then edit the result so it’s more understandable to ex-pats and other English-speakers. I may get a chance to do some writing also.
Finally, a shout-out to the Chicago Sky, who just won their first Women’s NBA championship! It’s a great day for Chicago sports!
More photos next time! Hasta luego!
Ex-pats in Mexico 
Hi
Love Ziggy and Marley
They are sooo sweet at that age.
I remember just watching our Butch and Sunny play at that time. Enjoy
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Thanks, Joyce! Maybe you and Jack can come visit our little guys. We hope travel will become easier in the coming year.
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Thrilled to hear that Marley’s name worked out! Enjoy the kitties and your completed renovation projects. Love, Jo-Jo
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Thanks, Jo-Jo! Our best to you and Steve.
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Leslie,
I don’t know if you received my message…. Let me know if you did. So much stuff going on in the US….we are definitely going to come and rent and see if we like it there. (I already know I will)…. Love your stories. Hope you’re both staying heathy. It’s a battle. We are good…thank the Good Lord. I do a lot of praying these days. My Dad & Mom came to me in a dream the other night. It was so calming. Dad said “everything will be ok Michelle”. I’ll go with that. Please respond. I hope you and Mike are doing well.
Warm Regards, Michelle
Sent from my iPhone
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Hi Michelle! Leslie says she got an email from you awhile back and she did not respond. I think things were going weird back then. We are both much more healthy than this time last year! We’re glad you like the blog and excited about you and David coming to Ajijic! The climate is much better than PV, and we think the people are friendlier, both the locals and expats. Keep in touch!
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We are so excited to see all that you’ve accomplished.
I sent you both an email recently and haven’t heard back so I’ll try this.
We are coming to Ajijic for our 3rd time in May. I know it’s a ways away but we all know how time flies. Hard to believe it’s almost February.
We have our flight, our ride, our place. We are all set. Can’t wait to see our favorite place. It’s so beautiful there and I’ll never forget telling you both at Starbucks in PV about how perfect it was….
Anyway, we hope to hear back from you. Would love to have dinner one night while we’re there. My Dr in PV told me to get a hold of his friend who runs the hospital there. Should be fun to see it. He says we’ll get the grand tour.
Take care…I don’t mean to bother you guys! We hope you’re both healthy and happy. We are. All is good here!
David & Michelle
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Hola, Michelle! We got your email but haven’t gotten around to responding. Lo siento! May is the hottest month, as you probably know, but it will be great to see you. Dinner at our house for sure, and maybe we can show you some of our favorite places.
Hasta luego!
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