Non-profit roundtable
The final call has gone out for representatives of Lakeside area charity and non-profit organizations interested in getting in on the roundtable gathering scheduled for Wednesday, November 6, 1:30 p.m. at the Lake Chapala Society gazebo. Topics of mutual interest under discussion include volunteer recruitment, keeping up a local events calendar and networking to resolve common problems. Each group that plans on attending is asked to submit a brief write-up listing its mission statement, the name, phone number and email address of the president or chairperson and website URL.
Monday market
The “original” Monday market is moving to make it more accessible to its customers and vendors.
From Monday, November 4 the market’s bright and airy new home will be at the Blue Fountain Casino (events building), just a half-block off the highway in San Antonio Tlayacapan.
To get there, turn at Mail Boxes and you will find the market on the left, next to Johnny’s Mama’s. There is easy on-street parking and a private parking lot.
The market presently has over 40 vendors selling everything from homemade prepared foods of every variety, lamb products, desserts, homemade breads, gluten-free foods, fresh vegetables, jewelry, paintings, plants, health foods and much more. On November 4, Tina Jones will help to celebrate this exciting move by serving her famous southern fried chicken.
Christmas Bazaar
The second Lakeside Christmas Bazaar will be held Saturday, November 9 and Sunday, November 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at La Huerta de Serna, on the highway in West Ajijic. There will be all kinds of special handcrafted items for sale, as well as local designers, artisans and artists on hand selling one-of-a-kind gifts. Expect to find jewelry, chocolates, liquors, paintings, photographs, Christmas decorations, bags, and all kinds of goodies to delight the eye and the palate.
The Tarahumara Project will be on hand with a select array of Tarahumara pots, baskets and crafts.
Come shop, visit with friends in the seating area and enjoy the cafe. There will be many surprises. A few booth spaces remain. Call 331-252-0812 (cell) for more information.
Democrats
U.S. expats may not be able to vote this year because it is not a federal election but Democrats Abroad is revving up for 2014 by holding a get-together on Tuesday, November 5, from 4-9 p.m. at Club Exotica (upstairs over El Jardin restaurant on the Ajijic Plaza).
Featured speaker Jim Rambo will give a talk titled “A 50-year trek: How a committed Republican became a Democrat.”
Rambo and his wife Linda have lived in Ajijic since 2005. He graduated from the University of Delaware and Delaware Law School and was Chief Deputy Register of Wills for New Castle County, Delaware from 1970 to 1975. He worked in a private law practice between 1975 and 1985, when he became Deputy Attorney General, serving until 2005. He was also the Chief Prosecutor for Kent County, Delaware from 1987 to 1995.
Rambo is the author of “Let My Record Reflect,” a collection of stories about growing up as a city kid in the 1950s and going on to practice law.
A cash bar opens at 4 p.m. Rambo speaks at 4:30 p.m. Botanas are served at 5:30 p.m. News of the governors’ races will be on TV at the bar. Individual dinners may be ordered and delivered from the downstairs restaurant, El Jardin, if desired. Donations are welcome.
LCS seminar
The Tuesday, November 5, noon seminar, available for LCS members, will be chaired by Fred Harland. It features master chef Jamie Oliver who uses his fame and charm to bring attention to the changes that Brits and Americans need to make in their lifestyles and diet. In this TED Internet podcast, Oliver argues that we need to “teach every child about food.”
Canadian Club
The Canadian Club meets at La Nueva Posada on Wednesday, November 13 to hear Wayne Palfrey present “Chapter Two” of the Mexican historical drama.
Having entertained the club’s September audience with fascinating stories about the Mexican Independence movement, Palfrey is back by popular acclaim, this time to explain the November 20 celebration marking the start of the 1910 Mexican Revolution. His timely talk will reflect that era’s excitement, drama and parade of colorful characters.
The social hour begins at 3 p.m. and the program at 4 p.m. The yearly membership fee is only 200 pesos and is now due. This includes four 25-peso drink tickets. There is a 50-peso charge for non members. Everyone is welcome.
Master chef
Chef Gerard Militello of La Vita Bella Restaurant in San Juan Cosala will be at the helm when Jaltepec Centro Educativo hosts its first Master Chef Course on November 21.
The course will be broken up into two sessions. The first, from 9:30 a.m. to noon, sees Militello prepare a three-course festive holiday menu.
In the second session, groups of four will try to reproduce what they learned during the morning session. All the ingredients needed to replicate the three courses will be provided. Participants will then get to enjoy a late afternoon lunch of their preparations.
The Jaltepec Centro Educativo has a mini kitchen laboratory complete with mirrors, as well as eight mini kitchens, fully equipped for groups of four. There is a capacity is for 24 students.
For more information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Spay-ghetti fundraiser
The newly formed Operacion Compasion group plans to hold a three-day spay and neuter clinic in San Juan Cosala but first needs to raise 20,000 pesos to cover the cost of 75 sterilizations.
To raise these funds, a “Spay-ghetti No Balls” dinner has been scheduled for Saturday, November 16 at the Raquet Club Terraza, from 5 to 8 p.m.
The menu will feature all-you-can-eat spaghetti (Bolognese and vegetarian), Caesar salad, garlic bread, a glass of wine, and dessert – all for only 200 pesos.
Operacion Compasion’s mission statement is direct and to the point: “To provide free spay/neuter clinics in the municipality of Jocopetec to poor Mexican families, street dogs, and others of limited means in order to reduce animal suffering and help the communities in which we live.”
To buy tickets contact Dee Mistrik at 387-761-0041 or June Cooper at the Lake Chapala Society, Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This is a chance for groups of friends to get together and reserve a table, or singles to come by themselves and get to know like-minded people.
Operacion Compasion needs volunteers and donors to help with all the aspects of this spay/neuter project. For more information go to www.facebook.com/OperacionCompasionLakesideMexico?
Donations needed
Tarahumara Project founder Libby Townsend is putting out the call for unwanted or unloved items that can be sold in the annual yard sale to benefit the Complejo Asistencial Clinica Santa Teresita in Creel, Chihuahua on the edge of the Copper Canyon in northern Mexico.
During a recent whirlwind trip north to deliver supplies, Townsend realized that many people not only rely on the clinic for medical care, but also need help with food and warm clothing, and particularly, education.
Nothing is too small or big, Townsend says. She will gladly accept books, clothing, shoes, artwork, decorations, jewelry (even broken), bedding, furniture, appliances (preferably working), household goods, tools, leftovers from yard sales, and just about anything else including vehicles, running or not. She even says she will accept livestock, but no house pets, spouses or significant others.
Donations can be dropped off at the Guadalajara Reporter office in Plaza Bugambilias, Ajijic, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., or call (376) 766-3338 during office hours, or 333-495-72690 (cell) to arrange for pickup. Townsend and co-founder/volunteer Saul Chavez are more than happy to pick up donations.
During her recent visit to Creel, Townsend attended a ceremony to give thanks for another year of help for the free children’s hospital. Monarcha Lorenzo, the head shaman in the area, also gave thanks for crops that were lost due to the effects of the hurricane and tropical storm that blew through the region in September. “Even though we lost much of (the crops), Mother/Father god left us with enough to share. This is good. Our strength is in sharing, helping each other.”
Townsend says she realized that if the Tarahumara can give thanks for what they have lost and share what little they have left, then so can she.
Bus trips
The next Lake Chapala Society (LCS) bus trip is to the plush Andares Mall in Guadalajara on Wednesday, November 13. The bus leaves from the sculpture area in La Floresta at 9:30 a.m. and returns at 3:30 p.m.
Three trips are planned in December. On December 3 and 19, the destination is the Plaza Galerias, with its Costco, Sams, Super Walmart and Mega stores. The bus departs 9:30 a.m. and returns 4 p.m. The trip on December 11 will be to the crafts centers of Tonala and Tlaquepaque, departing 9 a.m. and returning 4 p.m.
Sign up at the Lake Chapala Society table Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Open Circle
“Conscious Living, Creating Happiness” is the title of the talk to be given by Tim Schubert at the Open Circle meeting on Sunday, November 3 at the Lake Chapala Society.
The Dalai Lama says that what every human wants is to be happy. To be happy we must release suffering and embrace compassion, joy and wonder. Schubert will present a perspective on doing this moment to moment in our lives.
Schubert was a medical professor, researcher and practitioner. His interest in mind body medicine lead him to study at the University of Creation Spirituality and at Holmes Institute where he received a masters in consciousness studies. He is founder and director of the Lake Chapala Center for Spiritual Living.
Weekly Open Circle gatherings start with coffee, tea and sandwich bites for socializing at 10 a.m., followed by the program at 10:30 a.m. sharp.
Open Circle will present a universal Remembrance Day observance program honoring all veterans, whatever their country of origin, on Sunday, November 10, 10:30 a.m. Mark Sconce, James Tipton and Margaret Van Every will be reading on the subject of war and remembrance in English. David Bryen will be moderating. All are welcome.
Little Chapel
The Little Chapel by the Lake, an interdenominational congregation, will hold its regular service on Sunday, November 3, at 11:15 a.m. The title of Rev. Gene Raymer’s sermon is “Again, With Feeling!” He feels that too many times we recite things like the Lord’s Prayer without giving consideration to what we are saying. So the goal of this service is to examine the great truths of the Lord’s Prayer so that the next time each member says the prayer, they will do it with feeling.
Following the worship service, the congregation will join with the congregation from Christ Church Anglican Fellowship for a pot luck lunch in the fellowship hall. This month’s theme is sandwiches.
The Little Chapel by the Lake is located on the Carretera just east of the Chula Vista Golf Club and welcomes all Christians.
St. Andrew’s Anglican
Who are the Saints of God? We know a few of their names, but mostly they are anonymous. Some made a splash on the pages of the Bible or in the annals of history, and those we celebrate on their own special days each year. But what about the multitudes of others – unknown, unnamed, unremembered? What about those personal saints in each of our lives: the one who first brought us to faith, the one who held us in prayer when only prayer would do, the one who never gave up on us when others had? This week is All Saints Sunday at St. Andrew’s, when the congregation remembers and thanks God for saints known and unknown.
Father Leo Theriault will celebrate the Eucharist and preach on the subject, “Who is your God – Yourself, Money, or Jesus?” Sunday School for children begins at 9:45 a.m., followed by worship at 10 a.m. A post-worship time of fellowship and welcome then takes place in the garden. St. Andrew’s is located at Calle San Lucas 19, just a block south of the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar.
Spiritual Living
Join Reverend Tim Schubert as he presents “Me and My Shadow, Can We Get Along?” at the Center for Spiritual Living (Nicolas Bravo 17, Ajijic) on Friday, November 8, from 5-6 p.m. A social hour will follow.
On Wednesdays, Schubert will lead a six-week class on “Conscious Living” from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The “Unfettered Soul” continues on Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. to noon, with an optional meditation from 10-10:20 a.m. The Thursday discussion group is “The Unfettered Soul” at the same time, with an optional meditation from 10-10:20 p.m.
The Sacred Cinema on Sunday, November 17, 4 p.m. presents “Regarding Henry” with Harrison Ford and Annette Bening. A lively discussion will follow. Popcorn is provided but bring your own drinks.
For more information check out the website www.cslchapala.com, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 766-0920.
Unitarians
The Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (LCUUF) meets every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at the Plaza de la Ribera (formerly Sol y Luna), Rio Bravo 10A. On Sunday, November 3, James Luce will deliver the talk “Off the Mount.” There will be a coffee hour following the service. For more information call 766-1119 or 765-7231 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..