A Leisurely Life

Dear Family and Friends,

Very little to report from this southern paradise. December definitely is a lovely time to come down. The weather has been just ideal and the crowds have no begun to gather. We are in the midst (actually it ends tomorrow) of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a 12 day celebration that seems to primarily involve ringing the church bells in a frantic fashion every 15 minutes and, when the bells aren't going, to fire off some sort of cannon! It is rather like a having a Salvation Army bell ringer synchronized with the back-firing of a car. Who can blame us for being a bit jumpy.

I have been walking regularly and in the last couple of days, after bragging about the weather, it has become a bit muggy. There is a chance of our first rain later this afternoon. We have been spending evenings down at Roberto's, getting to know a new set of waiters. Freddy is a nice little Mexican guy who actually grew up in Houston, but, as so many of the young Mexicans we have met, got into trouble with the law and are now back here and likely will not be able to return to the US. We spend an hour ore more watching the crowd pass by, usually everyone headed in one direction, but soon return seeking out the perfect place for dinner.

The sunsets have not been spectacular. Each night there seems to be a bank of clouds through which the sun disappears before the designated hour of sunset. I did catch this glimpse of the sun last night

But, as you regular follows of this blog know, more sunsets will soon be arriving.

We have been beseiged by cats of late. Since Polley's limitations with her hip have kept her away from the mass-feeding frenzy of years past, the cats have been coming to us. While we just have a small opening through which they can come and go, I need to beworking in a "revolving" cat door forgreater efficiency. The girl who lives below us acquired a kitten shortly before our arrival. She is a little stray (the cat, not the girl) that was found near the river. So she is called "Cuale," like the river. Very cute and, as you can see, seems to be settling in

Cuale is on the right and the old house cat, Kyra, is on the left.

Otherwise, life has consisted mainly of reading and drinking. I finished a very good book, Some Luck, by Jane Smiley. It is part one of an eventual trilogy that follows the Langdon family from the birth of their first son, in 1920, up through their 6th child, ending in 1953. There is little that might be called dramatic in the book, but it seems to deal with how each child, despite similar upbringings, is unique and how "some luck" seems to play a role in who we are, what we become, who we meet and how we survive. Highly recommend it and am looking forward to Part 2.

So, we are here, we are happy and enjoying each day. I will try to get up to stride in terms of day-to-day activities and have something new to share. But for now, we are sitting back and letting the days come to us. More soon.

 

Ed and Polley

 

 

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