Each year we must renew our FM3 visas. There's an easy way and a hard way. Guess which one I take? Yep, the hard way. I figure it saves me $50 and takes up two mornings. Time, I have plenty of now — ... read more

Accidents I had my second car accident in Guadalajara last week. The first one was dealt with between us two drivers with a negotiated sum I paid for fixing his dent. I think it was about $200. My opt... read more

This morning, getting ready for my next vacation, I went to the Ajijic street market. I needed to stock up on dog food. I needed to make enough of it for a month! I picked up three bags of mixed chopp... read more

Last week my good friend celebrated her sixtieth birthday with a once-in-a lifetime street party near Six Corners in the Village of Ajijic. Linda moved here four years ago after a thirty-four year care... read more

Living here in Mexico offers me so many opportunities to be thankful. How did I ever fit a career into my life? My days are filled with friends, with travels, with bridge, with doll making and writing ... read more

Are you curious about the title? I thought I'd share my last month with you. Two of my lifetime friends came down for a visit. They stayed ten days and we took a four-day whirlwind tour through Patzcua... read more

Last night I met Karen Greenbury in person. I first met her on the Internet after she quit her secretarial job in Alberta, Canada and was preparing to take a one-year sabbatical in Mexico. Karen is for... read more

One of my readers asked me to talk about bugs and diseases. These are simply my experiences or observations and they apply to the Chapala/Ajijic lakeside area south of Guadalajara. I'm sure different p... read more

I just returned from four days in Huatulco, located along the coast of Oaxaca at the end of the Southern Sierra Madre mountains. The area's nine bays and twenty-three beaches stretch 35 kilometers alon... read more

Last month, my friend and I drove my Mazda MX6 back to California (yes, my third driving trip), so my son could sell the car for me. Other than illegal means, I had exhausted possibilities for selling ... read more

On Monday, I took two friends with me to Guadalajara. My doctor gave me the address of a female Ob/Gyn who spoke English. It had been three years since I'd seen one and knew it was time for a mammogram... read more

Hello Readers. I'm out of country for the month of May and taking a vacation from my regular column. I received this short story from a reader and thought I'd share it with you. It captures the es... read more

Sayula After having read an article in the local Guadalajara Reporter by a man who retired in Sayula, some friends and I decided to check it out. It's a nice-sized town with a population of about 200,... read more

Yesterday, for the second time in three years, I attended ENART at The Central Culturo El Refugio in Tlaquepaque. What a treat. Over one hundred and thirty exhibits by Mexican artisans from around the ... read more

Anyone interested in purchasing land Lakeside has watched the prices skyrocket over the last two years. It's next to impossible to find single lots because the contractors are buying open land, subdivi... read more

This is an e-mail I received from Steve in Montana. He's given me permission to share it with you and I hope it will touch you in the same way it has me: Dear Blue, I have just concluded a wonderful ... read more

M - Money, Medicine and Maids Most expats here keep the majority of their money in Canada or the States; however, because of the recent peso devaluation, interest rates are high in the bank--33% last ... read more

These next two columns will share some dubious gems of wisdom, organized alphabetically. My editor (are you listening, David?), limits the number of words for each column, so you'll have to wait until ... read more

I'm just back from California with my new car. It's a '93 Ford Explorer that I purchased from a good friend on one condition--that she help me drive it back to Ajijic. Yes, she's a very good friend. An... read more

Today is my second anniversary in Mexico. Three events happened during the last few weeks that made me realize how much I've changed and learned during this time. On Patience On ... read more

This is the second in a series of excerpts from a book I'm writing that consists of interviews with women who have come to Mexico alone. Join me and Virginia as we sit at the kitchen table of her two b... read more

I'm writing a non-fiction book that chronicles a new trend -- independent women from America, Canada and Europe, choosing to live the remaining years of their lives in Mexico. Moving to a foreign count... read more

It's been my pleasure over the past year to meet many new friends through this column. They've stopped by for a day, stayed for weeks or months. They've rented homes, stayed in hotels and B&Bs. T... read more

Two friends have fallen this month and each has broken a hip. That's the bad news. It's easy to do here if you're window shopping instead of watching where you're walking. Between the cobblestones and ... read more

Two of my life-long friends from California have been visiting with me the past two weeks. This is Marcy's third visit. It's Nancy's first. I'm always nervous about first-time visitors. Will they see M... read more