thevalerieleigh

Hi all you dancing fans! Announcing an addition to the dance classes we offer. Maritza Freyslinger will be teaching a basic Jazz class starting Wed. June 5th. Whether you have danced before or are not sure which is your left foot, the class will have something to offer each participant. The goal of the class is to teach people awareness of their body and how it moves through space. The other goal is simply to enjoy dancing and moving to great music. The classes will follow a set format. There will be a warmup phase that includes stretches, roll downs, pliés and more. This will be followed by time spent on isolations and then floor work which will consist of more stretching and core strengthening. Next, she'll focus on technique and basic Jazz moves. Finally we will work on choreography. So here are the details you need to know: When: Wednesdays, 12:30- 1:30 (Starting June 5th) Where: Ricardo's Dance Studio on the north side of the Carreterra 3 doors west of the lights at Juarez Cost: 60 pesos per class or 300 for 5 classes Dress: loose comfortable clothes, jazz shoes or shoes that give your feet some support but won't prohibit your foot from pointing/flexing. Running shoes w/ thick soles don't work well. Other items: large towel or mat for floor work lots of water!!!! Come give it a try! Lots of fun, great music and wonderful teacher! Let me know if you have any questions. Val Jones

Tiny, no, I haven't monitored my CFE meter but intend to start doing so. Since I don't understand what it's showing, I thought I'd make a habit of taking photos with my iPhone each Monday and share that with Opiere Solar to help identify the problem. As 2 retired adults, our habits haven't changed so I don't believe consumption has increased. We haven't purchased any new appliances so it seems reasonable to believe our usage would be similar each month. Perhaps the production of solar is less but even though we had some cooler days/weeks, we had sun most of the time. It's perplexing but I trust we'll get to the root of the problem. As for dealing with CFE, trust me, I know that's like running head first into a brick wall. Took us 3 years to get an additional transformer for our neighborhood. Still having significant problems with low wattage and fluctuations between 103-127. Profeco was completely impotent when working with us and their representatives. It took us going there weekly, sometimes several times weekly for years to get the new transformer. Now, if we can get them to increase the wire gauge to handle the new transformer and push more electricity through the lines, we may actually have made some progress, LOL. Hope springs eternal, Valerie

GREAT news, thanks! In this case, no, they asked me to share the two bills with them. When I received the first ridiculous bill, I called and asked them to come out and check our system to confirm it was working properly. It was/is. There was a little dust (not enough to cause any real issue) on the panels and they cleaned them. They asked that when we received the next bill, to send it to them so they could see the results. The second bill was even HIGHER than the first. CRAZY!!! So, that's what I have tried to do. Happy to hear they've enjoyed an Easter/Spring Break vacation and I'll chat with them this week. Cheers! Valerie

Does anyone know if they took last week off for Semana Pascua/Spring Break? I sent an email last Sunday with my last 2 ridiculous CFE bills and didn't get a response. Also, called throughout the week and didn't get an answer so yesterday, drove over to their place in West Ajijic and doors were closed. Hoping they haven't closed up. They've been wonderful to work with. Anyone know? Thanks, Valerie

Another vote for Caries Fines de Sonora. Their meats are top notch and affordable. We LOVE their Picaña (Brazilian version of Bife de Chorizo in Argentina). DELISH! Valerie

Wednesday they were installing fiber optic cables at the top of Carranza between Marcos Castellanos and Galeana! We were so excited, we drove straight to the office and signed up. The kind, professional lady said she thinks we'll have service in 2 months. WE ARE THRILLED!!! Valerie

LOVE Jorge and Angel! Used them after my hip replacement last year. Also, LOVE Cesar in the shopping center near Lake Taco. He's GREAT and very knowledgable. I worked with him for months in an effort to avoid hip replacement. We are so fortunate to have wonderful, knowledgeable, kind, compassionate and challenging Physical Therapists lakeside. After using these three gentlemen, I can highly recommend ALL of them. Depending on your goal, your motivation and your willingness to work hard, they will do what it takes to get you where you want to be. Salud! Valerie

YIPPEE!!! Love IKEA! Valerie

Thanks for the additional information and personal experiences. Still hoping to hear from someone who has had to take the written test. The range of questions posted in an earlier posting on this topic were all across the board and seems difficult to study and prepare for the Exam. And, also, does anyone know how long you must wait to re-take the Exam if you fail it? Thanks, Valerie

Yes, I picked up the paper work about 9 months ago, before the written test changed. Now, there is no longer a written guide with test questions (100) of which they would ask 10. My understanding is we had to answer 8 of 10 correctly. From other postings on this topic, I've read some of the test questions currently being asked and they cover a far greater spectrum of knowledge. It's intimidated me from taking the test (I'm under 60) and I, too, am eager to hear if someone has recently taken and passed the exam. Also, if anyone knows, should I fail the exam, how long must I wait to re-take it? As always, thanks for the info. Valerie

We had LASIK done in GDL with Dra. Laura Choza about 10 years ago. Are they related? Valerie

Still really hoping to apply and become a Citizen but like an :(), waited too long and am now facing what sounds like an almost impossible Exam. Were the 10 questions given orally, are they written and are they multiple choice? I see you took the test twice. How much time did you wait between Exams and is there a time limit? Many thanks for your informative post. Valerie

Yikes, I KNEW I should have gotten that done before 2018. And, YES, there are many here who wish to become Mexican Citizens who are younger than 60. So, that means more studying for the test. Once again, procrastination has bitten me in the arse! Wishing all good luck on your Exams and I'll begin to study the new material in January. Happy New Year and success on becoming Mexican Citizens! Valerie

Many thanks for all of your comments and experiences. Will definitely look at the Kruger 16 liter/minute unit and MAYBE the solar hot water system provided by Ron Magen. I talked with him at length and he assures me they have a great system now that works seamlessly with the Kruger unit. Valerie

Johanson and RVGRINGO, I think you're both quite correct! We had 2 companies out of GDL and one local company, Green Home, located on the Carretera just West of Juarez in Ajijic. The bids were all similar price and equipment so we decided to support our local company. Well.... Although each company took the time to calculate the assumed water usage for 2 adults, including our dishwasher, washing machine and bath tub, they all determined the size of the tank needed to give us consistent hot water. They even measured the liters required to fill the bath tub. But, things didn't go as planned. From the very beginning, we had problems with inconsistent hot/mild/cold water, lack of pressure (although we have a pressure system and pumps), and the Technico was here for days, weeks, months until we hit one year. At that point, the owner/manager of the store told us they would no longer service the unit and we would need to pay the Technico directly. I did call one of the GDL companies to come take a look at the system after one year and he looked at it and said it's inferior and I need a new/different one. (One, of course, he was happy to sell me.) I showed him his quote from the previous year and he just smiled. So, hard to know. Although I have only been up on the roof once to look at it, my husband has been up there many times with the Technico. There is a secondary "on demand" hot water heater that is supposed to take up any slack from the solar hot water system if there hasn't been enough sun. After 2 years of frustration, I've had it. So, although we LOVE our E-SUN solar panels for electricity, I'm done with trying to get this unit or any other solar unit for house water to work. I am pretty sure the unit we had before this situation was 16 liters/minute and can't remember the manufacturer. I appreciate your suggestions and input and would like to know if the technology has progressed to a greater number of liters/minute and if anyone feels a certain brand is better than the other. REALLY looking forward to consistent, HOT water and a full bath tub that doesn't take 25 minutes to fill. Many thanks! Valerie

After 2 years of overwhelming frustration, we are ready to ditch our solar hot water system for our home and return to an "on demand"/ "al paso" system. The one we had before was terrific but I don't recall exactly the brand nor size. I think it was 16 liters/minute. Has anyone purchased and installed one recently and if so, would you share your experiences? We're hoping to make this change in the next week or so. I'm so tired of constantly changing hot/warm/cold water temperatures in the shower and NEVER enough hot water to fill a bath tub. Looking forward to returning to the beauty of a constant source of truly hot water. Thanks, in advance, for sharing your recent experiences. Valerie

This is FANTASTIC information and very thorough. Thanks so much, Spencer, for sharing this with us. Happy New Year! Valerie

I've been using a guy in GDL the last year or so to refill my Soda Stream CO2 tanks but this last go around was a little rough. Took 3 trips to GDL to hook up with him and get them refilled. Lots of excuses! So...with that said, I'm wondering if anyone has a local person who is re-filling the CO2 tanks. Thanks, Valerie