One more look at SMA, a couple of short flights, and Oaxaca in our pocket

February 27

We slept in…yum and had planned to see another house this morning but found out it would be this afternoon. We watched the Michael Cohen hearing aka circus with the Republicans on a rant and we were thoroughly disgusted by the antics.

We walked to Biblioteca to see if there was a good map that defined the various neighborhoods to help us in our real estate search. No such luck. We came back home and had lunch from various items in the refrigerator. Ron had a plate of veggies and I made myself a tossed salad with some leftover quinoa salad.

We were picked up at 3:00 and went to the Independencia neighborhood which is further away from centro than we desire. It is 2 km from the Jardin-dead center of centro. The house was enormous, palatial actually, with six bedrooms each with its own bathroom. The master suite had two showers, one with a bathtub. The double sized lot afforded room for a lovely open courtyard with an abundance of plants and flowers. The view from the roof was expansive, probably 240-260 degrees.  The owners kept it dark inside and had heavy classic Mexican furniture. It also had a casita in the back. It would make a great B and B but we are not interested in starting a business.

We then left for a house in centro. When we arrived, our agent got a text from the showing agent that she couldn’t find her keys…sounds like an agent I wouldn’t want to have. We waited for about 15 minutes with no luck. When we got home, we looked at it online and it was gorgeous with a beautiful courtyard planted with tall cylindrical cacti and other plants. Every window was tall with arches at the top. Two bedrooms and two baths with a small kitchen that could be expanded. It looked like what we want but it also looked like the stairs to the upper level was outside which is common here. I was glad we didn’t see it since we are not ready to buy.  I have a feeling I would have loved it. We think it would be best to live here for six months and do a thorough job of learning more about the area, the neighborhoods and what it is like to live here permanently.

We started packing for departure before dinner, another ‘let’s eat up what’s in the refrigerator’ meal. We had leftover spaghetti and tossed salad and cleaned out the refrigerator. I wiped down the shelves as another couple arrives for a three-month stay on Friday.

After watching the News Hour we headed upstairs to bathe since we are getting up at 0 stupid 30…5:20.

Feb 28

We popped right out of bed when the alarm went off. After dressing we went downstairs and made some toast and packed some fruit to eat at the airport. Nicolas, true to form, was right on time. It took 90 minutes to get to the airport in Queretaro. The toll road pay station is usually backed up with only two stations open. Many semi-trucks were backed up. This added about 30 minutes to the trip. No problem because Nicolas had told us we needed to leave by 6:00 to make our schedule.

We got checked in quickly, went through security in a flash and found an espresso bar. We got coffee and sat down to our breakfast of toast. The flight was quick, really quick, to Mexico City…just enough time to be served a bottle of water and a small pack of two cookies. No time for picking up trash.

The airport in Mexico City is huge but then so is Mexico City, one of the largest cities in the world. Unfortunately, we had a four-hour wait. There was an earlier flight but we had checked bags. So, we grabbed a coffee and muffin and I worked on the blog while Ron read a novel.

Time for lunch so we chose a Mexican place and it was pretty bad. I ordered a mushroom and cheese omelet thinking that would be hard to mess up. Surprise, I think the cheese was plastic because it didn’t melt. Strange.  I pulled it out of the omelet and ate a few more bites and gave up. Ron’s lunch wasn’t any better.

We arrived in Oaxaca after another short flight of one hour. We took a group taxi to town which was a short 10-15 minute ride. We were the first drop off at an air bnb (private one bedroom apartment). It is quite spacious and well furnished so no complaints at $42 a night! We are about six to eight blocks from centro.

We were both tired, so we rested briefly then headed out to get some items for tomorrow’s breakfast. I was a bit shocked at the differences from SMA. It is a much bigger city, it is hotter here although it is about 5000 ft in elevation, it is louder with honking horns, cars do not yield to pedestrians and the streets outside the World Heritage core are dirtier. It is more crowded with many street vendors who daily set up stalls in the street and on the sidewalks. 

We walked up to the zocalo which is a large square and it was a bit overwhelming with an abundance of large sidewalk cafes, roving vendors some who held a huge bouquet of mylar balloons making me wonder how they stayed earthbound, more stalls with every description of textiles, tables of cheap jewelry with fake strands of amber and turquoise. It was a bit disconcerting probably because I was tired and it was an assault to my senses.

We popped into a crafts gallery and found some black pottery but it paled in comparison to what we had seen in SMA. We are hopeful that when we go to the village where it is made we will find a higher quality since we passed up buying the pottery we had seen in SMA.

We use Trip Advisor to find restaurants that have recommendations. Not too far from our bnb was a recommended restaurant, so we headed there only to discover they were closed for a private event. It was late so we stopped at a place across the street. No English was spoken here and the menu was in Spanish. We took a wild guess. Ron had a luncheon meat sandwich and I had a veggie sandwich with a patty made of scrambled eggs, diced potatoes and onion, a carb lover’s dream on thick crusty bread. Off to home and to bed early as we were both exhausted.

March 1

Up and off in search of breakfast. We found another recommend place and had muffins, Americano and latte for breakfast. We wandered in the centro area before going to Santo Domingo Church. Originally build in the late 1500’s it is a massive Baroque structure. The Dominican sect of monks took a vow of poverty but the church was anything but modest. The gold leaf throughout was amazing as was the décor. 

In the adjacent monastery was an incredible history museum. The displays exhibit the history and cultures of Oaxaca. My favorite part was the remains of an excavated tomb of a former Mixtec king at Monte Alban. Monte Alban is a pre-Hispanic site located a few miles out of town and we will visit it on Monday with a guide.  The tomb contained the remains of the king and his sacrificed servants, with a stash of beautifully worked silver, turquoise, coral, jade, amber, pearls, finely carved bone, crystal goblets, and a skull covered in turquoise. The tomb was discovered in 1932. We could not see the entire museum due to its size. Our feet could not handle any more standing on stone surfaces.

We walked around looking for a grocery store that might have some soy milk and found a tiny organic outdoor market. I saw two women who looked like ex-pats and asked if they knew a place to buy soy milk. Off we went in search of the recommended place. We couldn’t find it so we popped into a local eatery and I had a salad and Ron had an omelet. We inquired about the grocery store and quickly found it two blocks away. We found soy milk, the kind with 15 ingredients but decided it was our only choice. I bought apple juice as a back up in case the soy milk was really bad.

In the heat of the day the best thing to do is what the locals do; have a siesta. Back to the room we went and got in bed in our undies, turned on the floor fan, read and dozed. Earlier we had asked the housekeeper if she could do a small load of laundry for us. We brought limited clothing so we need to do laundry every five days. Just as we were dozing off there was a knock on the door and it was the housekeeper delivering our laundry.

After Ron had a call with our son David, we headed to the textile museum. On the way, I felt someone trying to open my backpack purse. I swirled around a grabbed a young woman by her arm and asked if she was trying to get into my purse. She didn’t speak English, acted innocent but I discovered the zipper was open about six inches.

I have traveled to over 60 countries, most of them are developing countries and I have visited crowded cities with over 14 million people. Only once has someone tried to steal my purse and that was in downtown Portland at dusk in front of St Mary’s High School for girls. HA! When traveling I always use a backpack purse to keep my hands free. I buy purses that are difficult to open without using two hands because I think of it as a safety feature. I also am always aware of my surroundings and the potential for a problem with theft. But here we were in broad daylight on a busy street. This particular purse as another safety feature that I have not bothered to use: I can lock the zippers by attaching the zipper tab to a ring, literally making it impossible to do what this woman had just done. Time to employ that device! I also later removed all the money and credit cards from my wallet and put them in a secret zippered compartment which cannot be accessed without fully opening the purse then finding the compartment and unzipping it. The purse would have to be stolen. I also learned here that a knife is sometimes used to slit the bottom of the purse while on your back and the contents would fall out. So that was my incentive to move the money out of my wallet. It is my responsibility to take care and not invite trouble.

The textile museum was a two-room display of wonderful cotton fabrics, all hand woven and dyed with natural dyes. One room had an exhibit of indigo fabrics used in a ceremonial dance. There was a video playing showing about eight characters in costumes on high stilts swirling through Brooklyn NY. It was absolutely spellbinding even without any information to explain it.

Afterward, we sat in the zocalo and watched life in Oaxaca. There were hundreds of people, mostly locals playing with their children, buying and selling goods, young couples courting, and multiple stands where you can get your shoes shined. The square is lined with restaurants and cafes with outdoor seating. It is a busy place from early morning to late at night.

We revisited the restaurant we tried to get into last night and had a rooftop seat eating two different mole dishes. Negro mole is a wonderful sauce with a dark chocolate base and multiple spices. How could we go wrong with a sauce like that? Oaxaca is apparently famous for its mole.

On the way home, we lucked out and ran into a fiesta de quince años (fiesta of the 15^th year). This is widely celebrated in Mexico and it is to mark the transition from childhood to womanhood. It is somewhat akin to a debutante ball in the US. Here is it celebrated in the street with a loud brass band playing so people can parade and dance down the street, two large puppets on stilts dance in the lead and another man carries a large balloon-like thing that he twirls while dancing. The balloon gives the name of the girl and announces that it is her 15^th birthday. We watched for two blocks then the white Hummer stretch limo showed up to fetch the family members. It was a joyous occasion and we felt very lucky to have witnessed the cultural event. It is happenings like this that make traveling so incredibly rewarding.

Sleeping in, Dreaming and OMG what are we doing?

Feb 24

We slept in until 8:30…yum. We had our usual Sunday breakfast of Ron’s Dutch Baby; this one made with fresh pears. We read until noon then headed out to enjoy more art on the self-guided open studio tour. We are so impressed with the quality of art available in this small community but there has been an art school here since the late 1930s. We spent a long time at the shop that had a print we spied yesterday. We got a quote on matting and framing but were not able to get a shipping quote. More information is needed before making a commitment. I looked at the print ‘Nocturnas’ for a long time. It is a scene with women each holding a slice of watermelon on her head. One part of the print didn’t ‘read’ right. I just couldn’t make sense of it. We will return tomorrow because the salesperson gave us a print out of the quote and when I looked at it later the price had been left off. I will ask for an explanation of the part of the print that doesn’t make sense to me.

Afterward, we were able to visit a few more studios, have a quick lunch, visit the last day of a weekend craft fair then go see The Wife at the Pocket Theater. The movie theater is small, hence ‘pocket theater’. It was completely full with an extra chair added to accommodate the overflow. We came home and decided to go out for dinner but several places we considered were closed. Many restaurants serve breakfast and lunch only and others close on Sunday so the choices are more limited. We tried a new place. I ordered tostadas and it came with 10 huge shrimp. The salad was not good but the shrimp were delicious. Ron’s meal got a similar review. That was a one-time only visit.

Our host has a large TV screen so we indulged and watched the Oscars for our evening entertainment, getting to bed past midnight.

Feb 25

Today our neighborhood homeless man started his shouting quite early. It was light out but traffic had not started so it was probably 6:30 or 7:00. Fortunately, he roams so after a while he went somewhere further away and we went back to sleep…another sleep-in day for us. I woke up around 8:20 and came downstairs and Ron woke up shortly after.

Today we hope to make a decision about the print and plan any more excursions before we leave lovely San Miguel early on Thursday to fly to Oaxaca. I need to do a little shopping to get some garbage bags for the next tenant and a few food items.

Our day ended up fairly full. We decided we wanted to explore real estate here, going beyond looking online. Most of the realty websites are not easy to use. Ron called a realtor, gave her some specifics of what we would like, price range etc. We will look at houses on Tues and Wed to get a feel for the market here. Her family has been here a long time; her mother was one of the founders of Fabrika La Aurora and her father brokered the deal for the Rosewood Hotel, a high end large colonial hotel. No immediate plans to buy but we are curious about the possibility.

After speaking with her, we went to the shop with the print we liked and I got clarity on the part of the print I couldn’t understand.  We decided to buy it unframed. After framing and shipping the cost would be more than triple.

While there we struck up a conversation with an artist who moved here from Nova Scotia. She loved our print so we told her there was a similar one by the same artist. We told her our story about when we were first married, we gave each other very practical gifts on our anniversary, like a shirt or blouse. After a few years Ron’s mother, Sonia, said ‘You two are so boring’. We looked at each other and had to agree with her. From that point on we would pick out an artwork each anniversary and managed to build a decent collection after 33 years of marriage. The woman from Nova Scotia loved the story. As the staff at the store was writing up our order, she called her husband over to consider two pieces she wanted to buy and looked over to us and said, ‘Great idea, I am taking care of two anniversaries now’ and the four of us laughed. She bought the other print by the same artist as ours.

Next, we tried out a new to us restaurant. The

setting couldn’t have been more serene or more photogenic. The building had been an administrative and storehouse building for the Catholic church in the 1800s. At the time the church required a tithe of 10% in either cash or crop harvest, hence the storehouse. The center courtyard was planted with trees, ferns, ground covers and flowers. It was lush and so cool with all the greenery.

The covered walks next to the building had columns and arches. Grinding stones were beautifully arranged in the garden as were sculptures, a koi pond, and a small fountain. I regret we didn’t go here when we had guests. We each had a salad; I couldn’t finish my curried chicken salad with papaya and mixed greens. Ron enjoyed spinach beet salad with goat cheese. 

Next stop was Juan’s Café where we got a copy of The Favorite. Ron has seen it but I haven’t and since the lead got the best actress award last night, I wanted to see it. Afterward, we went to the centro store where I got butter, garbage bags and Kleenex. Surely this is my last time to go to the grocery store.

After resting at home, we will make a veggie dinner.

Feb 26

Another day to sleep in until 8:00. Today we viewed four houses in the SMA area with a real estate agent’s assistant. All four were interesting. One was too far away from town up a very steep road, and too far to walk to town. 

The next one needed a MAJOR upgrade and because it is in the heritage area there would be restrictions as to what could be done to upgrade the house. It was way more work than either of us was interested in having done. 

The third house was charming but it is what is known as a vertical house. Each of the three bedrooms was on a different floor. Access to the two upper floors was on outside stairs. 

A few blocks away outside centro was a gorgeous home with large rooms that was twice the size for the same price as the third house in the centro. Location, location, location! It was a very helpful day to see what is available, where the homes were located and how that influences the price.

Tomorrow we will see a couple more houses. We are flirting with living here. It will be at least a year probably before we are able to make the move.

We left at 12:30 and got home around 3:30. We had eaten a small sandwich around 11:30 because we were not sure when the person was coming but she was expected around noon. After we returned home, we decided to get a snack up the street at a small café. I got an Americano with cookies and Ron had a piece of carrot cake. We went away happy.

Tonight we went out to dinner at the restaurant where we had lunch yesterday. It is just as romantic and atmospheric at night. The garden had small lights strung in the trees to add to the ambiance.  I had a delicious Yucatan pork in a banana leaf dish and Ron had a Caribbean shrimp dish.  Our food was excellent.

We started packing today for our departure on Thursday. Nicolas will pick us up at 6:00 a.m. We are excited to discover Oaxaca. Everyone we have told that we are going there has said ’You will love it!’

Shopping, Good food, Guests leave, and the Art of San Antonio

Feb 21

Today was a super shopping day for Gary and Edmund. Ron wasn’t feeling up to par nor does he like shopping. So, we left him at home. We first walked downtown so I could exchange the shirt I had bought for Ron. I noticed a bleached-out spot on the back on the shirt when I unfolded it and fortunately the owner asked no questions and quickly exchanged the shirt.

We took a taxi from downtown to Fabrika La Aurora. This large arts/cultural center is housed in a former textile mill. We started at one end and ended the day at the other. There may have been a few galleries we skipped but we had fun popping into shops and galleries for hours. In between, we ate outside of a cute coffee shop on the patio under a tree.

Gary saw a beautiful textile made from imported merino wool in muted blue, brown, ochre, etc. But the size wasn’t right for a wall hanging and he didn’t need a bed covering. But he looked at it for a long time, touched it and tried to find a way to justify purchasing it. It just wasn’t right. I took them to a shop I had visited with Sandi and Bill and like me, they loved the shop. They got two ceramic shot glasses with a cacti motif.

We walked back to town and decided to pay for a sculpture they wanted to buy. It was too heavy to carry home without a backpack so the plan was to return the following day to pick it up. While in the shop they decided to take one more look at the wonderful textile shop next door that we have visited a couple of times. Gary said ‘I just want to make sure there isn’t something I may have missed’.  Sure enough, laying there on top of some cushion covers was a beautiful woven rectangular wool rug in muted grays, off white and light tans. We got home in the late afternoon and rested until time to go to Zumo, the lovely rooftop restaurant. Three of us ordered fish and found it to be lacking in the wow factor. Gary and Edmund repeated Sandi and Bill’s dessert order: Chocolate tamale. It is a rich chocolate cake with bubbling dark chocolate wrapped in a leaf.

Feb 22

Our first order of business after breakfast was to go to the small organic grocery to replenish our veggies. G and E wanted to come with us so off we went. Back at home, we put veggies away after soaking them in disinfectant. We headed to La Parada, the Peruvian restaurant and everyone LOVED their lunch. I had my favorite rice and seafood dish, Ron had tacu tacu again, Edmund had pork short ribs and Gary had what he described as ‘the best chicken sandwich of his life.’ No one had room for dessert. Gary and Edmund headed to town to fetch their sculpture and we headed home.

We had a late dinner outside by candlelight. I had made a zesty lime quinoa salad with black beans, celery, fennel root, red and orange bell peppers with lime dressing with olive oil, lime zest, and cumin. I also made a hearty green salad with blue cheese, pepitas, kale, butter lettuce, carrots, orange peppers, and purple cabbage with a balsamic and olive oil dressing. Ron made some delicious garlic butter bread.

Feb 23

Everyone got up a little earlier. Nicolas was coming by to pick up G and E for the airport at 11:00. I made scrambled eggs for Edmund and Ron while Gary and I had our usual breakfast. Nuria had been out all week due to hurting her ankle but was expected today so I started a load of sheets and towels to help her out. Ron took some time to view Gary’s photographs which were amazing. Gary has been taking painting classes and has developed a good eye for composition. We were impressed with his photos. Nicolas true to form showed up on time and after hugs and goodbyes off  G and E left for the airport, a 60-90 minute drive depending on traffic.

Ron and I went to the farmer’s market to get more veggies and fresh bread, probably our last shopping trip before leaving on Thursday for Oaxaca. On the spur of the moment, we decided to take part in the San Antonio (our neighborhood) Open Studio, an annual event. We visited 13 of the 47 open studios and saw some amazing artwork. Paintings, sculptures, jewelry, clothing, and prints. There was a wide range of skill but overall it was a fun and worthwhile effort.

At home, we dined on leftovers, what we call a ‘déjà vu’ dinner. It is quiet tonight with no guests. We had a great time with Gary and Edmund. We have been friends for a long time but we have never been on a vacation together and we all agreed it went well and that the best part of the experience was spending time together.

Gary and Edmond arrive, the tours begin again, SMA shines on

Feb 16, 2019

We slept in since neither of us slept well. We went to another nearby crafts fair then bought some cheese at our little organic market and then popped into the Saturday farmers’ market for some fresh veggies. At home, we washed and soaked the veggies. A little after 1:00 we met a friend for lunch. Steve is a cousin of a good friend of ours in S OR. We met four years ago when we were considering moving here. He is still enthusiastic about living here even with all the changes. I told him I wasn’t sure but he pointed out how real estate prices will continue to grow here. He told us what he considered the positives and said there were few negatives. He felt my story about the angry woman on the street was a one-off incident and he has not experienced any negative encounters. Steve is a delightful man and we enjoyed our time with him.

We walked into centro and bought a copper vase we had been admiring and realized it would fit into our carry-on luggage, saving us shipping costs. We are waiting to buy the black pottery piece because the shipper gave us an estimate but never sent us the quote in writing which we want.

We came home and read, watered some plants and looked at real estate online. We have no immediate plans to buy down here but we really enjoy looking at real estate.

Feb 17

Ron made us his famous Dutch Baby for breakfast. We went to the market and came home. We went to a documentary on the Forests of the Yucatan peninsula which was one of a three-part series on Mexico aired on PBS. Part of the film focuses n the geology of the region and it was fascinating. Afterward, we walked across the street and had a great meal at Juan’s Café. Four years ago our friend Steve took us here for lunch so he reminded us where it was when we had lunch on Saturday. The menu had many tempting choices but I couldn’t resist the blue cheese salad with mangoes, apples, tomatoes, red onions and lettuce topped with mango dressing. Ron had chicken tostadas with chipotle sauce. Neither of us could finish our meal due to the generous servings.

We walked back past our place to the pocket theater which is showing academy nominated films and watched Cold War, a grim love story that took place during the 1940s-50s in Poland and Paris. On the way home, we came up behind a family on the sidewalk. We stepped off the curb to pass them because the elderly grandmother was in the lead and moving slowly. As we passed them, we greeted them with ‘buenas tardes’ and we got a response in perfect English ‘How are you?’ I stopped in my tracks and turned to the man and said ‘You speak perfect English’. A wonderful exchange ensued. The man was with his wife, his four daughters, and his mom and dad. I asked him how he was able to be surrounded by so many beautiful women which he liked hearing. We visited for several minutes, enjoying the experience.

 We came home and made grilled cheese and Portabella sandwiches with some fresh broccoli soup we had picked up at the market where the film was playing.

We have not looked at TV but once while here and that was to watch the last five minutes of the Super  Bowl. Tonight Ron discovered a PBS channel out of Seattle and we watch two episodes of Victoria while waiting for Gary and Edmund to arrive. At the stroke of midnight, the doorbell rang. We gave Gary and Edmund a quick tour of the house then said goodnight.

Feb 18

 We slept in until 7:30; I discovered Gary wandering around the patio when I came downstairs. He loves the house. After making coffee Edmund joined us on the patio. Today after breakfast we walked through the Instituto and the Juarez Parque then headed to the ATM to get pesos for G and E.

We continued on into centro to show them San Miguel’sbeautiful historic center. We stopped at the Bibliotecha and had lunch and poked around a few shops. Before coming home we stopped in a courtyard for a refreshing drink. I then took them through what is known as the Life Path and showed them the outside of the house we looked at last week. As we stood there talking about the house a woman stopped by and told us she was pretty sure she was going to buy the house. Once we got home we rested. Edmund was my sous chef making a great salad to go with our spaghetti dinner at home. Ron and Gary where taking pictures from the roof patio.

After dinner, we planned activities for the rest of the week.

Feb 19

Today I went with G and E to the botanical garden. They loved the arid plant life. Gary was taking photos throughout the three hours we were there. I went to the counter to ask the staff person to call a taxi for us. She said it would take at least 40 minutes due to a traffic accident on the freeway. I asked her to place our taxi order and we would get a drink in the ‘café’. I ordered the drinks and went back to the counter to pay our bill. I presented the kitchen staff person with the receipt and about that time G and E came up to say ‘our taxi is here’. I went back inside to see if I could get a refund since the staff person had not yet made our drinks. No luck. I think my lack of Spanish made it impossible for the staff person to understand what I was asking for. I let it go and we jumped into the cab, relieved that we didn’t have to wait.

Meanwhile, Ron had taken the morning to wander around town taking pictures. One of the things he likes to do is take pictures of local people in candid shots; mostly with his telephoto lens.

 

Within minutes we ran into stopped traffic, bumper to bumper all the way into town. What is usually at 12-15 minute ride turned into a 45-minute traffic jam from hell. With two exceptions every street in each direction was jammed packed. I can only assume the freeway traffic accident forced all the cars off the freeway at least on one direction onto the streets of SMA. I have never seen anything like it. Our patient driver was a peach. No honking, no cussing, just a patient man. I kept texting Ron of our progress. I think it was almost 3:00 before we ate lunch at Hecho En Mexico. We got home and all of us rested, reading books, napping and relaxing. We were too tired to go out for dinner so we made an unplanned meal of scrambled cheese and red bell pepper eggs with toast and a fresh fruit salad. We dined by candlelight on the patio.

Feb 20

This morning I took G and E up to centro square so they could go on the Historic Tour that is a fundraiser for a non-profit that serves the needs of nearby village children. The woman who greeted them said the organization had purchased four vans that take doctors, dentists, and psychologists out to the villages to serve the needs of poor families. How wonderful and bravo!  The ex-pat organization of 31 people has been serving the rural community for 40+ years.

I came back home and asked Ron to go grocery shopping with me to help me carry things home. After putting the groceries away, we headed to a square in centro to get our shoes polished. The botanical garden’s dirt pathways had taken their toll on our shoes. Afterward, we went to Biblioteca to meet up with G and E. They called to tell us their tour ended up at a different place than usual so off we went to meet up and go to lunch. That took longer than expected as they had gotten confused about their location but we finally hooked up after several missteps. We ate at Juan’s Café in anticipation of going out for a nice meal tonight. When I called La Parada while we were having lunch, I discovered they did not have room for any reservations for dinner until next Wednesday! Dang, I made a Friday lunch reservation.

We went around the corner to visit a shop that has great textiles. I got a gift for a friend and a shirt for Ron. Ron departed as he wasn’t feeling well and G, E and I continued to pop into shops. After three or four I was flagging. I could not get to sleep last night and stayed up reading very late. I came home to find Ron upstairs in bed resting. I got him some cold water and let him rest.

I think when G and E return I will try to talk them into going out to a nice restaurant without us. I’ll stay here with Ron and make a simple salad or grilled sandwich for dinner.