an end and a beginning

This is Jaime and his equipo who worked on the house over the past two-plus weeks. Jaime is in the top row, center. I took this yesterday, the last day of official work. There are a few details that have to be finished up this coming week but for all intents they are done. We are shooting for Wednesday as the move-back day, providing we get the sliding doors in the living room installed. This whole experience has been relatively painless; this crew knows its business. There is the maestro de azulejos, the electricista who put in the two new outlets, one in the kitchen and one on the 3rd floor (he's the one who looks 14); the plomero who redid the drains and toilets and faucets, except the one in the kitchen that came without the right parts (shades of the faucet handles); the floor guys who laboriously chipped away the old tiles, the wall man who removed all the wall tiles from the kitchen and bathroom, the tile cutter, the sponger, the guys who mixed the pegamento to stick down the new floors and the juntar to grout them, and the cleaner-uppers who carefully sponged the floors clean every night. There were anywhere between 6 and 12 guys working around in the house at any one time. They worked together like a well-oiled machine, each knowing exactly what his job was.

Yesterday was the celebration of the bautixo of Dagoberto, infant son of Dago, he of the eponymous puesto we like so much. He was just worn out with all the socializing brought on by this celebration so his mama put him in a hammock, gave it a couple of swings, and he was out for the rest of the party. There was a lovely comida in the garden patio next to the Nelson's house. Lots of family, cousins, abuelas, tias and assorted friends.

This is not the font used at the baptism. It is, instead, the new sink in our bathroom. We bought it three years ago during a trip to Dolores Hidalgo, knowing we would get around to installing it sooner or later. I'm going to have to think twice about spitting in it!