Randomness

I have no idea why but today is one of those days when it's hard to focus or feel attached to my surroundings.  I usually have these days following a productive day - which yesterday was.  So today I plan to just go with my mood and post some random photos.  And maybe a thought or two.

First, I have a request from my daughter, Diana, who wants to see some pictures of our dogs - maybe she thinks we lost them.  But not to worry - they are treated like royalty around here.

Citlali's favorite perch is Diana's and Laura's old crib,which I filled with blankets, etc. and then covered with fabric, that now resides in my new "office" in the second bedroom upstairs.  Yes, the decor needs some work, but for the moment it functions and it is all mine.  And Citlali's.

Poukie's spot is on the floor of my office.  Luckily, he is a resilient little guy and he makes the best of whatever scraps Citlali leaves for him.

Now I want you to see the beautiful bougainvillea that I pass by every morning while walking the dogs down our street.  It's dry season in Mexico City right now and this is when the bougainvillea is even more vibrant than during the rainy season.  It's always been one of my favorite shrubs - unfortunately it doesn't exactly thrive in Chicago.

Remember the pyramids the other day?  The ones in Ihuatzio, Michoacan?  That's where I took this photo of a pretty cute horse.  Or a good looking horse rather.  One of the things I love about Patzcuaro is that every day I see people from the nearby ranches on horseback going down our street, right alongside the cars.  They are simply part of the daily life there.

And finally, these two photos from one of the plazas and outdoor markets in Patzcuaro.  The little boy was chattering away to himself while he played with his toys on the bench.  His parents were next to him selling seafood at a food stand.  In the other photo, I watched the couple for a few minutes while she bargained over buying some dishes.  After awhile her husband got bored and walked away but she persisted until she got the price that was right.  Like husbands everywhere, he just shook his head when she gave him the bag to carry.

Since this is a random sort of day, I'll leave you with this rather long quote:

"Most of the time - 99 percent of the time- you just don't know how and why the threads are looped together, and that's okay.  Do a good thing and something bad happens.  Do a bad thing and something good happens.  Do nothing and everything explodes.

And very, very rarely - by some miracle of chance and coincidence, butterflies beating their wings just so and all the threads hanging together for a minute - you get the chance to do the right thing."

Lauren Oliver

Bye for now,

Naomi

Back from Patzcuaro, Michoacan

We arrived back in Mexico City late Friday after spending more than two weeks in Patzcuaro, Michoacan.  We don't have internet in the house there so I haven't posted for awhile.  It's strange but through the years when I knew that someday we would again live in Mexico, I always swore that I would never again live in a large city like Mexico City.  Instead I had this idea in my head that I wanted to reside in a small, colonial town and that's why we bought the house in Patzcuaro and Arturo spent several years fixing it up.  Then I discovered that when we are in Patzcuaro, I enjoy myself but I find that I start to miss Mexico City.  Seems like I can't make up my mind.  However, I think the problem is that I haven't let myself settle down and start a life in Patzcuaro.  Were I to do so, I'm pretty sure that I would be just fine.  And we would add the internet!

We had a great time though and spent several days with some good friends from the U.S. who live in Patzcuaro as well as going places and enjoying the town and surrounding area with friends from Mexico City who now live there.  It's a beautiful colonial town with a large plaza that is one of the largest in all of Mexico.  These pictures are the best I could do.

 
We went to a pyramid site one day last week that dates back to around 900 A.D.  What is left is the town plaza where they conducted business, had their markets, etc.

I took a few pictures of our house - the one that Arturo pretty much rebuilt over a span of about five years.  It is the old colonial style with a patio in the center and the rooms surround that patio.  We haven't filled the patio with plants yet because we don't spend enough time there and they probably wouldn't survive our absences during the dry season.  It's a house that has plenty of room so if you are looking for a vacation spot in a place where you can just relax and enjoy old Mexico let me know!

There are a lot more photos and more rooms but I'm not going to bore you today with all of them.  Instead, I'll leave you with one of the surrounding landscape.  It is dry season there so everything is not as green as it will be in a couple of months but it truly is a beautiful state.