Dirty clothes and forbidden activities

"The dirty laundry," became the whispered subject of ridicule among the local businessmen and their wives in the late 1800's.

The Dirty Laundry Vineyards is a short drive from the original laundry business which was located near the steamship wharf in Summerland, but the back-story is so intriguing that no one cares that wine and wine touring was not a 'thing' a hundred or more years ago.

Brought with thousands of his countrymen from China to Canada to do the back-breaking labour of laying the CPR railroad tracks, one man soon realized the work was akin to forced labour. He left to start his own business - a laundry service for the multitude of single men working in the area.

Some would agree he catered to a niche market.

The upstairs waiting room at the laundry in Summerland BC, was a place where the working men could get their clothes cleaned and enjoy an illicit drink, play a game of cards, or spend time in the company of a woman. 

The consumption of alcohol was frowned upon by the upstanding citizens of the day and had to be purchased from the Hudson's Bay Company in Vernon then shipped 60 miles south to Summerland on the lake steamers. The trade supplied the local men, plus the furtraders, cattlemen, goldminers, and railway labourers. The Sunday-school children of the time were taught to recite this odd little ditty;

"We don't like tobacco, and surely we think that all that use it are more apt to drink." 

My friend Sharon Hickey and I popped up to the Dirty Laundry Vineyards on a warm Friday afternoon for pizza and wine on their outdoor patio. With the COVID19 protocols enforcing social-distancing between tables, the restaurant was busy and had a waitlist of guests. But, we didn't have to wait too long, just enough time to check out the fun merchandise in the company store. 

The restaurant concept is self-serve with one kiosk to order freshly made pizza, another for beer, and a third of course for ordering their own wines to enjoy with your food. The view from the patio overlooks the vineyards, the remnants of the Kettle Valley Railway, and Okanagan Lake. The food was great, the atmosphere relaxing, and the wine good. 

The only downside was my semi-famous pooch, Sparky, had to stay home and sulk in the cool comfort of our air-conditioned apartment. 

The YouTube video posted on the The Dirty Laundry Vineyards' webpage has a fun mention of the morals of the late 1800's. 

Have a look!  https://www.dirtylaundry.ca/our-story

An afternoon at the Dirty Laundry is a pleasant way to spend a few hours chatting and sipping wine. We didn't see any women of ill-repute, but we did notice a suspicious amount of lacy lingerie hung out to dry.

Cheers

Lynda & The Sparkinator

Murder and mayhem. Revenge and romance. 

Grab your copy from Amazon! 

My view of San Miguel de Allende - by Sparky

Early morning in San Miguel - before the streets get crowded

Hi, this is Sparky. My hooman, whom I call Servant, said it is my turn to write the blog. 

We recently moved from Isla Mujeres off the eastern coast of Mexico, to San Miguel de Allende located in the mountainous region north of Mexico City. We left the hot sunny beaches for a cooler climate. I was born with an enlarged heart and the heat bothers me. Here I can walk for an hour and not get tired. 

Rooftop terraza at our hotel 

After a week in a funny hotel with lots of skinny spiral stairs to climb, we are now in our own little place. It has a sunny rooftop deck and an enclosed garden - they are my favourite places to hang out. My only complaint with our new place is the windows aren't designed for doggies to look out at the street. Everything is people height. Even the patio wall upstairs is too high for me to see over. 

Different horses - but part of the same police troop

Last night three big brown horses carrying police officers came by our house. I had to get Servant to pick me up so that I could see them. Because she was holding me in her arms Servant couldn't take a photo of the horses, so you will just have to take my word for it.

Yesterday I saw a super-fast little bird in the garden. It was a bright green colour and had a long skinny beak that looked dangerously sharp. I'm going to stay a long way away from that guy. Servant said he was a hummingbird. Funny, I didn't hear him humming, but he did chirp at me a few times.

Reading the local pee-mail

When we walk the streets in San Miguel, Servant thinks I am on the trail of suspects, criminals, and murderers, but really I am reading the pee-mail left by other doggies. 

I like it here, but I am still getting accustomed to walking on busy sidewalks. At times my hooman gets a bit testy with me, yelling,"Sparky, watch where you are going!" 

It's not my fault that the sidewalks are crowded the hundreds of pairs of feet. Those people should watch where they are going! I'm a busy detective dog.

My favourite cafe - Ojo de Agua, two blocks from home

In our neighbourhood we have discovered four restaurants that allow well-behaved doggies to come inside. 

It's a nice treat for me to lay on a sunny patio while Servant has her morning coffee, or sometimes we stop in for a glass of wine in the evening. Well, she has a glass of wine, I have a drink of water.

Well, that's all for this time. Woof! Woof! Sparky.

Protein bowl and a latte at the Ojo de Agua

~

Don't forget to read all about me in the Isla Mujeres Mystery series, available on Amazon in e-books, or paperback. 

Murder and mayhem. Revenge and romance.

Get your copy today!

Why San Miguel de Allende?

San Miguel de Allende at sunrise, December 

Why did you choose San Miguel de Allende? 

That one question keeps coming up on my Facebook posts, over and over again. After skimming the last few blogs I realized I hadn't fully explained my reasons. So, here's the Cole's Notes version:

#1 my fascination with history 
When Lawrie and I, plus his sister and brother-in-law, drove from BC Canada to Isla Mujeres in 2008, one of our stops was San Miguel. We arrived on October 31st, and stayed until November 2nd. We were in the city during the Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos, celebrations. I was hooked, and always wanted to return to more fully explore the city.

That beautiful blue ocean

#2 change is good
Lawrie and I were restless people, always looking for the next adventure. We
had several discussions, while enjoying our evening glass of wine, about where would we like to live if we ever tired of looking at the Caribbean Sea. He was reluctant to leave the warm temperatures and our view of turquoise water. He insisted he never wanted be cold again, so we stayed and enjoyed our lives on Isla Mujeres.

City park in San Miguel de Allende in December 

#3 a more temperate climate
We loved the warmth of the Caribbean area of Mexico, but neither one of us were sunworshippers. We rarely ventured to the beach, preferring instead to hang out in the shade of our palapa, or refresh ourselves in our own pool. One of our cheeky friends suggested that we didn't even know how to find Playa Norte. I flapped a hand in the general direction of the north end of the island and replied, "it's over there, somewhere."

Summers on Isla Mujeres can be very hot and humid. Not as hot as some parts of Mexico, or the southern USA, but occasionally uncomfortable. We rarely used our air conditioning except to sleep at night during the months of July, August, and September. We had adjusted quite well to the climate, until recently. I think as I get older the heat effects me more. Showering and changes my clothes three times a day became a bit of a bother. 

Image from San Miguel Writers' Conference

#4 a flourishing community of writers and artists
I started writing and self-publishing books in 2014. The first was my bilingual book for children The Adventures of Thomas the Cat - Las Aventuras de Tomás el Gato in partnership with islander Diego Medina. Then in 2016 I self-published my first novel Treasure Isla. Since then I have published four more novels in the Isla Mujeres Mystery series, and Diego and I are working on completing the second bilingual book for kids. I am hopeful that my new community will help improve my writing skills.



#5 And, San Miguel has only a few memories associated with Lawrie and I as a couple.
As I posted in my December 20th blog, I finally realized I was being crushed by the  powerful memories of a romantic and joyful life. He was on every street corner and in every restaurant. He shares my morning coffee, my afternoon meal, and my evening glass of wine. 

He is still with me and always will be, but I can walk these streets without living in the past, our past. 


I am looking forward to this next chapter of my life.

Cheers from San Miguel de Allende
Lynda, and my furry sidekick, Sparky

~

Murder and mayhem. Revenge and romance.

Grab your copy today on Amazon

A surprise gift - Sparky's story

Proceeds donated to Clinicia de veterinaria de IM

to help island animals. 

The beginning of a new adventure - Widowhood 101

I'm excited! We're going on an adventure.

It's time to say "Adios." Sparky, Boo, and I are leaving Isla Mujeres on Monday December 23rd, for a different Mexican experience. We are moving to San Miguel de Allende.

Living twelve years on a tropical island, just steps away from the beautiful Caribbean Sea, has been a life-changing opportunity. 

As of this week, our little ocean-front casa has been purchased by Tracy and Karl from Wisconsin.

The infamous golf-cart-trap at the north end of Medina Ave.

Despite their recent and hilarious discovery that golf carts can't swim through rain-flooded streets, Tracy and Karl are looking forward to their new adventure. I hope you will give them a warm island-welcome.

Our first experience with this little Caribbean paradise started seventeen years ago when Lawrie and I stayed at Villa Makax on the western side of Isla Mujeres. We later stayed on the Caribbean side in 2003 and again in 2005 before deciding to buy a lot and build our home. 

2007 builder and dear friend Patricio Yam giving us the keys

In the winter of 2008 we threw ourselves into retirement, island living, and just having fun. 

Lawrie was always the 'social butterfly' willing to chat up anyone, to tell them how much we loved living on a tropical island in Mexico. 

He happily told everyone he met how much we enjoyed the culture, the people, the food and the beautiful turquoise Caribbean Sea. We made many friends, from both the born-on-the-island local community and the recent arrivals from Canada, USA, Britain, Scandinavia, Europe, and Japan.

2011 Evan and Ethan being greeted by their granddad Elmo

Our two grandsons experienced Mexico, Elmo-style, with their fun-loving grandfather meeting them at the Ultramar in his authentic Elmo costume. That costume was repeatedly used to greet siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews, until it became the centre piece for the Elmo's Christmas Caravan - La Caravana Navideña de Elmo.

We created great memories, showing our grandsons Xcaret, Xhel-Ha, Xplor, Garafon Park, Tulum, Zama Beach Club, and the sugar-white sands of playa norte. We also organized an island-wide pirate treasure hunt for the entire family. 

Custom-made bootie bags for the younger generation!

Son, John, really enjoyed floating in his Mexican office - our swimming pool. 

We also amused John and Maia by getting hopelessly lost in the backroads between Valladolid and Izamal, while the gas-gauge alarm pinged in increasingly shorter intervals .... low on gas, really low on gas, Hey, wake up! You're running on fumes. 

John's GPS skills on his phone saved the four of us from certain death from a lack of cervesa. 

Maia,"Do they have any idea where we are?" John, "Nope!"

Our year-around entertainment consisted of the annual cultural events: New Year's Eve, Carnaval, Día de la Independencia, Día de los Muertos plus many other parades, processions and fiestas. 

We danced on the sand, in the street, at beach bars, and under the moonlight on our ocean-side patio. 

There were many laughter-filled neighbourhood parties, family birthdays, and New Year Eve's celebrations at our house. Siblings, nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews, cousins, and many old friends visited the island. 

One Canadian friend remarked, "all you seem to do is party." Well, maybe, but posting the celebration photos was far more interesting than uploading pictures of our day to day routine of cooking meals, making the bed, or sweeping the floors.

Waiting for the lights on the Eiffel Tower in Paris France

And living in paradise didn't stop us from taking a vacation from our vacation. We traveled back to Canada every second year to visit with our families and as many friends as we could squeeze into the time available. 

We traveled with Lawrie's siblings to Desolation Sound Canada in 2011,  Europe for his 70th birthday in 2012, and the Florida Keys in 2013. Recently he and I celebrated his 75th and my 66th birthdays in Argentina. 

July 1st 2017 at Javi's Cantina on Isla Mujeres

As many of you know, Lawrie, my adventure-partner passed away on September 3rd of 2018. I was convinced that remaining on Isla Mujeres with my network of supportive friends was the best place for me. 

However, I finally realized I am being crushed by the  powerful memories of a romantic and joyful life. He is on every street corner and in every restaurant. He shares my morning coffee, my afternoon meal, and my evening glass of wine. 

In June of this year, I listed our home with my friends at Mundaca Real Estate. Within three days I had a good offer that I accepted. And then I waited, and waited, and waited.

It's a lengthy and frustrating process to sell real estate in Mexico, especially when the deal spans three countries: American buyers, a Canadian seller, and Mexican property. The folks at Mundaca patiently pushed the deal forward one document at a time. In the end it all came together. 

I am ready to start writing the next chapter of my life.

2008 Our first experience of San Miguel de Allende

The first chapter spanned from childhood to high-school graduation. The second chapter was my first marriage at age nineteen, when I mistook the discovery of sex for true love. The third and most exciting chapter was my almost forty-year-love-affair with Lawrie. 

So, now I am heading into a new adventure, to experience new places, and perhaps write a second mystery series. I am still working on book #6 of the Isla Mujeres Mystery series, Treacherous Isla, but due to the recent changes my writing schedule has been a bit erratic. Be patient. It will happen. 

Thank you all for being a part of our lives. I'm certain I will run into many of you again, either here on Isla Mujeres, or in San Miguel de Allende.

Adios y grandes abrazos
Goodbye and big hugs

Lynda, Sparky, and Boo the Cat

~

The quote below was always one of our favourites. Thanks to Julie and Rob Goth for reminding me ...

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”  ― Hunter S. Thompson,

Isla Mujeres Mystery novels - available on Amazon.com

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