into the cold

Actually, it's not going to be quite this cold in San Miguel de Allende, but this morning's temperature registered at 34º. We leave tomorrow morning for about 10 days, first to San Miguel, then to Patzcuaro and Tzintzutzan. We are packing up all the blankets we have in the house (the hotel in Patzcuaro has no heat) plus our warmies from the Italian trip. Our main focus for this trip is to go to Delores Hidalgo, the home of Talavera tile works, to buy tiles for the kitchen remodel. Patzcuaro is the fabric center of Mexico and I need new material for bedroom drapes, the old stuff having become unsightly from the salt and grime of many years. Tzintzutzan has a weekend market that includes some of the most whimsical pottery I've ever seen and I hope to buy a few more pieces. We have rented an apartment in San Miguel, the same place we went two years ago. Very handy location, off-street parking (unheard of), an easy walk to our favorite fish restaurant and the newspaper vendor who carries the Miami Herald International Edition (first papers we will have seen since leaving Tucson, AZ). Apartment does have satellite TV but no internet, so I'll pack up my own trusty Mac and hope to connect at a local cyberspot.

While we are gone Fernando will be doing some painting around the house, including the inside of the garden wall. I have taken some photos of "before" and will do the same "after." Then I will let you decide whether or not it was a good idea.

Next post will be from sunny, chilly San Miguel, a town in the mountains that has become more gringo than Mexican, but is still a beautiful place to spend a few days sopping up culture. Last time we enjoyed a couple of concerts, a play reading, visits to galeries and museums, AND the Miami Herald, all things that are hard to come buy in our little village by the sea.