What Fun!

It's not hard to tell we are all retired - well actually in this photo only two of us are retired.  Myself and the man in the blue shirt.
My friend Linda, in the red patterned blouse owns a large special events company here in San Miguel;  my son John does consulting with a travel company; and the two men to the right, Bill and Trey have a business in Dallas.  They act retired when they're here!  ha........
The above photo was taken yesterday when we had lunch at Gayle's - it has a fancy name, Mansion La Montitlan but we all call it Gayle's because she is the chef and its her home.  It's fun.   She only serves on Sunday.  A menu is emailed on Tuesday.  As you make your reservation, you also make your menu selection from one of three entrees and one of three desserts.
The service is seamless.  The ambiance of dining on a lovely patio with trees and foliage and flowers everywhere adds to the beauty.
The other part of the ambiance is that you see many people that you know.  Often you haven't seen them in quite a while.  So its like having lunch at a friend's house.
Which it is!

Today was a small, fun lunch with four really special friends and one brand new addition.
From left to right is my friend Angie who has lived here for twenty years.  She came here from Haiti where she lived for 20 years under the rule of Papa and Baby Doc.  Angie is known world wide for her pen and ink drawings of the Victorian architecture of Haiti that was commissioned by Papa Doc.  There is a book of her drawings that is awesome.  It took me almost eight years to find this out about Angie. She likes to be low profile.

Next to her is Carolyn.  She moved here from Nashville.  In Nashville she owned an antique mall and antique shop among other things.  She's kinda a new addition to San Miguel.  She brings sunshine to us all.  A really vibrant, fun woman.

At the end is Shannon.  She's the baby of the group at 58.  Today is her birthday.  For the past few years we have shared our birthdays together.  Shannon is an incredibly accomplished photographer.  She teaches it, she lives it and has had shows at galleries in Mexico, the USA and probably Canada where she came from a long time ago.  In the summers, she puts together a photo workshop for the kids from the country side and the photos that these kids produce who have never held a camera is quite eye opening.  An extremely talented woman.

The brand new person who joined us is Phyllis.  She just moved here from Charlotte, N.C.  That's about all I know.  I look forward to learning more about she and her husband who just moved here.

Then there is Willa.  She has lived here for a very, very long time.  Her parents lived here and were well known for their art gallery and clothing store which Willa operated until she recently retired and sold the business to her Mexican employees.  Isn't that great?  I first met Willa at a gathering of women who were ready to support Hillary Clinton nine or ten years ago.  Little by little we have gotten to know each other.  She and Angie grew up in Coral Gables Florida and went to grammar school together~!
The above descriptions explain what makes life here so vibrant and interesting.  Many people coming from all kinds of places with a myriad of different backgrounds, values and ideals.  The diversity makes it so fascinating and interesting to me to meet and know people such as these friends.

It's been a fun birthday time this weekend.  Even though I know I'm getting older each year - heck, each day!  I still love my life - wherever and whoever I'm with........