Because all the usual suspects were partying in San Miguel de Allende, at RB’s casita. For such a small town, Pt Townsend contributes a lot to the winter migration to San Miguel.

It makes sense, because both are small towns with a high percentage of what they call “cultural creatives.” (I recommend that book highly, and yes, I read the whole thing.)

We (all of the above, plus other cultural creatives, including TMIML- the man in my life) had a terrific lunch, and then the pattern shifted, as it always does. Someone comes to town, someone leaves town.

Our next adventure was to Guadalajara, Sayulita & Tlacqepacque. Now we’re back in San Miguel, and not only the cast, but the weather has changed. Last night and tonight, we’re having major thunderstorms, which I love (once all the computers are unplugged.)

And we’re getting ready for visitors… My sister from NH has a friend coming down, and TMIML’s musical partner arrives Thurs for a few days. In the meantime, I’m going to try to make lemon curd. Stay tuned!

* Oh, mom update! She’s back to almost normal, just using a cane until her muscle mass is back. But she can drive & cook & do all the things she did before.  (Still can’t play the violin.) Hooray!

El Quixote sin Mancha, originally uploaded by sbmilagros.

What does don Quixote have to do with a lavanderia (laundry)? Well, mancha means stain & sin means without. So it’s the laundry without stains… Even in Mexico, there are punsters- beware!

So Candalaria is winding down… The Organic market has moved to the Ancha for a couple wkends. The chili cookoff was last wkend… Friends & friends of friends are arriving daily.

Yesterday, we took some FoF’s around & showed them the ropes. I’m starting to feel like an old hand here, although I still have a lot to learn.

I’ll be out of touch for the next wk or so. Senor is going to Cuba for a wk, which- as he is Canadian- is perfectly legal. He promises to come back w/lots of info & pix for my readers.

Here are some links to cheer us all up:

• Bike parking lot
• Cats in sweaters. Lots of them.
• Yoga that you & I can do- Thx Stephanie!

Entrance to Parque Juarez, originally uploaded by sbmilagros.

San Miguel de Allende’s courtyards and rooftops are justifiably famous for their beauty, and it all starts here…

The Candelaria festival at the beginning of Feb  marks the beginning of the gardening season in San Miguel de Allende. Vendors come from all over the region and set up stands in Parque Juarez, selling everything for gardens: roses, orchids, cacti, bamboo… and compost and containers, with live music and seminars on organic, and a seed blessing on the 3rd.

Each path is lined with beautifully decorated booths, and plants both familiar and new. And dodging down the paths are boys and men with wheelbarrows, offering to deliver purchases. Other vendors sell snacks near the park’s entrances.

Last year, the unusually heavy rains put a damper on the festival, but this year, it’s going strong. Activities will continue until Monday the 7th.

In the daytime, it was not too crowded, but the locals come mostly in the evenings after work. More pix!

IMG_1559, originally uploaded by sbmilagros.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted… Lots has been going on. I realized a couple days ago that my blog is not just for my friends and family, but also for myself.

I met up with a friend for coffee and we were catching up on what all had happened in the last year. Often, friends who read the blog know more about what I’ve been up to than I remember.

(Thanks, DE, for noting that the extra pounds are probably directly related to the food pix I’ve been posting- esp the poutine.)

Anyway, some of what’s been going on:

• Went to Bernal for the winter equinox, which also this year coincided with a full moon & lunar eclipse. It was fantastic, and I love the town of Bernal a lot. We were about the only English-speaking tourists there. I’d been there on a daytrip before, but this time stayed 3 days. It was very calm & beautiful.
• Moved from my little casita in Colonia San Rafael to fancier digs in Colonia Guadiana. It’s a very nice house, and a VERY nice n’hood, but I sometimes miss all the racket. It’s a flat walk into town, which means I’m doing more walking & less taxis, which is great.
• Went on the Vagabundos trip to the beach (Rincon de Guyabitos) & finally got a bit of a tan. Went whale watching, stayed over in Sayulita w/a friend of senor’s. Generally a terrific lazy time, including a lot of fish-on-a-stick and coconuts.

Of course, there’s always a lot going on… The town is now gearing up for Candlemas, which is when the official gardening season starts. Last yr, it was pretty much wiped out by the rains, but this yr has been dry (normal), so I’ll get a better idea of what is supposed to happen.

Oh, and the chili cook-off is this wkend. Will report back…

Rosca de Reyes, originally uploaded by sbmilagros.

Epiphany or Dia de los Tres Reyes (the 12th day of Christmas, when the Wise Men showed up) is a big deal in Mexico.
The special sweet bread these little boys are selling is called a Rosca de Reyes. There’s a lot of tradition associated with the roscas, and here’s a recipe.
It’s also when Mexican children traditionally receive their “Christmas” presents. In my old n’hood of Colonia San Rafael, they’ve shut down the main avenue & it’s now a tarp city selling all manner of gifts for children.
Here are a few photos of what’s going on.

Parroquia and pinata, originally uploaded by sbmilagros.

I haven’t been posting much, but I just added some photos to my photo stream that will give you a clue about what I’ve been up to. Lots of eating… as well as wandering, learning to cook tamales, going to the markets, hanging out w/friends…

Mi casa es su casa…, originally uploaded by sbmilagros.

The entrepreneurial spirit of Colonia San Rafael (my n’hood) never ceases to amaze me.

There are people who come in from the campos (little settlements in the country) to sell cactus, fruits, jicama, tortillas- you name it.

There are people who set up little shops in their front courtyards, people who sell juice & tamales for breakfast, people who go to Tues Market, buy clothing & then sell it on Wednesdays. It seems like everybody is working, scrambling to make it.

But I was a little surprised (ok a lot) to open my front door Saturday (That’s my door just beyond the little tree) and find a yard sale going on on my front steps. “Don’t worry,” said the lady in charge, “It’s just for today.” And sure enough, by the end of the day, everything was gone, and they had swept up my sidewalk as well.

Here are a few links to get your weekend started:

• Love this rolling room!
• How to wrap a cat for Christmas (Thx, JH!)
• Electrolux takes on ocean pollution
• DonDayin SMA- another SMA blogger, focusing on food & drink
• Dorita Loca takes on the cats of San Miguel

Breakfast at Fonda Dona Raquel, originally uploaded by sbmilagros.

So last year, you may remember that I came down with all kinds of good intentions of learning to cook authentic Mexican food. I did take a couple classes- my favorite was the market tour at Sazon.

But it became rapidly apparent that the whole exercise was a lost cause; I could buy better food more cheaply than I could cook it.

Case in point- this was my breakfast at Fonda de Dona Raquel in the San Juan de Dios market this morning. For about $4.50 I got: a chile relleno (the real thing- big blistered, battered & stuffed w/Oaxacan cheese), potatoes, beans, rice, salsa over the whole thing and tortillas plus a mug of tamarind agua fresca.

Now why the heck would I shop, cook, & clean up?

Check out my latest photos…

Official garbage collection, originally uploaded by sbmilagros.

So, you think you’ve got the worst job? It could be worse; you could be a Mexican trash catcher.
The way it works… One guy drives the big truck, jockeying with taxis, buses & ATVs up & down the narrow cobblestone street. Four guys ride in back with the trash, one banging on a metal triangle. People come out with bags & buckets of trash that have been moldering & hand them to one of the guys. Then they throw it up to the one guy still in the bed of the truck, who arranges this whole stinky mess.
What’s really strange, is that everybody (even the “catcher”) is having a terrific time & joking around.

I love that readers are starting to send me links for Fridays… Let me know if you have some good ones to add:

• Your TV time machine- (suggested by B.O.) This is really fun!
• Smoked Salmon Vodka?- Actually saw this on the shelves in PT. For the record, I did not buy it.
• The Divorce Dance (suggested by VT)
• Mini Pumpkin Pies- you know how I love cute food… ok, any kind of food.

Juan’s cafe, originally uploaded by sbmilagros.

Today after visiting the Library’s Bodega de Sorpresas (kind of a Thurs garage sale fundraiser), I headed across the street to Juan’s Cafe (its real name is Cafe Etc.), one of the other centers of culture in San Miguel.

Rest assured, he’s still offering the full breakfast special: latte, OJ, choice of entrees for 60 pesos and all of the other wonderful things we know and love. I personally credit Sr Juan with saving my sanity in last year’s  unusually rainy cold winter, when all there was to do was hole up in the casita with a dvd. (Or snag a last-minute trip to the beach w/Vagabundos, which I did.)

It’s early enough in the season that Juan actually had a chance to chat as I made my selections & he ground my (fantastico!) Chiapas coffee.

I’d heard this summer about the terrific conversational Spanish classes offered in his side room by Sr Jose Roque. Last year, they were only for advanced Spanish speakers & involved reading accounts from newspapers & conversing- things of that nature.

This yr, there’s also an intermediate group, so I’m going to see if maybe (maybe!) I can keep up with that.

The suggested donation is 30 pesos (which is incredible for a 2 hr lesson), and here’s the schedule:

Advanced: Mon or Fri 10-12 & 12:30-2:30

Intermediate: Wed 10-12