A Whispery Daybreak

 Buenas tardes! Que tal?
It was a whispery daybreak here in Alamos.  That may not even be a word, but I have decided that it certainly is now and it definitely describes the early day and the atmosphere.
I went out at day break on new old bike, on what is one of the biggest days in Alamos, the first day of the Alfonso Ortiz Tirado  Festival Cultural. From my past posts you may remember this festival as FAOT. The name has been slightly altered, but the fact that by later this afternoon thousands of people will descend upon Alamos in high fiesta mode has not.

This is a huge festival and this year musicians and artists from Cuba, Nicaragua, Italy, Germany, The United States, The Spanish Canary Islands, Russia, Chile and Mexico will have us all dancing in the streets.

But I ventured out at dawn to see what, if anything was going on.

 As I pushed new old bike over the old cobblestones in the Callejon del Beso, or Kissing Alley, I heard whispers from long ago........sing for me, dance for me, kiss for me...........the words floated on the breeze as I went by the old buildings.

On the Plaza the vendors were still sleeping inside their make shift tents, babies crying, mothers whispering a lullaby to calm them.

 The main stage on El Callejon de Templo, stood strong in the hushed breeze, waiting for its lovers to caress its stage later today with their song and instrument.

 A fire whispered against a pot as a food vendor began his morning chores.

 The side iron gates to the Mercado stood open, waiting for the morning rush.

 Slightly ajar, one wooden door reveals the setting in the Palacio, where each night an opera will overflow the hall and float out on the night wind.

The banner outside the Palacio tells us what to expect within.

 The stage at Plaza La Alameda waits patiently while lacy leaves whisper against its awning.

 Closed streets tell me to not pass, but who can help it. I continue on.

 A lonely food stall sits and waits. The wind whispers under the tent, just wait it says.

Alamos is about to erupt with the most fascinating of all its fiestas. It is almost time! See you there!
Que le vaya bien!
Linda Lou

I Have to Watch Him Like a Hawk

 Buenas tardes! I thought you might enjoy seeing what Senor is up to these days.

 This fireplace, which will have a huge wood mantel, is keeping him busy and out of trouble. As you can see in the photo to the right, it is in the main sala, or living area. See the blue tarp? That is very near where the front door will be. So that should give you a good perspective. The door to the left will go to the main bath and the door to the right to the main bedroom. The fireplace chimney will go up and on either side of the big beam. So there you have it.

And below you have his little garden which is still just that........little. He discovered that Cookies has been going out in the night and laying in the lettuce. It has been completely flattened in the mornings. That Cookies, he knows a nice soft bed when he sees one. Senor thinks most things will be bigger right when the heat hits us. We have butter lettuce, spinach, peas, beans, carrots and corn.

We had a little scare. Senor and I were watching Barcelona, our favorite football (soccer) team. Senor got up from his chair and caught his foot in the land line cord (which we have to use because he forgot the password for our Wi Fi  the last time we had to get a new modem from Telmex). I have tried not to bug him about this but for about six months he has put off calling Telmex to find out the password. We have constantly dodged the long blue cord, especially in the night because it is between the bed and bathroom.
The computer crashed to the floor................%#$^..........he said................*^_+.........i said. The screen was blank. He picked it up, still in one piece. For half an hour he messed with it and finally turned to look at me...........i broke it............yes, i think you did..........the land line cord won't insert anymore.........hmmm, i said. I am too busy, not listening to him as I am already practically out the door and on my way to Tucson for a new computer. On the phone suddenly with Telmex.............yes, can i have my Wi Fi password, please.........
computer back on. Barcelona wins 4-1.
I have to watch him like a hawk.

Everybody is Busy Working

 Buenas tardes. The doves are busy working at drinking from the water bowl.

 The burro in the field next door is busy working at eating all the leaves off  the Tecoma trees.

 The bees are busy working at stealing the hummingbird nectar.

 Senor is busy working at getting the hot water going.

Cookies is busy working on his suntan.

3:39pm, Sunday. HOUSTON, we have hot water.

Will I be Right or Will I be Wrong.........

Hola!
So, if you have been following the blog, you most likely remember seeing this, the propane tank.
When did we get it. I don't know, maybe two years ago? My memory fails me. But what I do know is there has been nothing in it but air.

While I was at History Club, Diesgas brought their truck to the house. They are the company that used to go around town playing the tune to the Good, Bad and the Ugly. They don't play that song anymore. In fact they don't play any song anymore so I never know when they are around. But they filled the tank.

Senor tells me we will have hot water by the end of the weekend. Now usually when he makes this kind of announcement, I push the actual happening out six months and sometimes I am right and sometimes I am not.

I am going to say Sunday afternoon, four pm.
will I be right or will I be wrong.........................

Senor's Garden and a Christmas Trip

Buenos dias and Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Here are a few photos of Senor's garden. He did not plant anything until the end of November and he lost most of the little plants that came up. We checked for ants and other critters and found nothing. Our planting soil in the past has been excellent, but now he is wondering about the soil he has. So this is what is in the garden today. Teeny tiny lettuce, a little corn, carrots and beans and peas, all very little. We will see what happens, but as he says............this year is just an experiment.

The system works great though, the drip irrigation is perfect and the garden size is just right. I have seen a few gardens that are full of lush vegetables and greens and fruits, so not sure if we got a late start or just a slow start. I will keep you posted.

Our trip to El Fuerte for Christmas was just what we wanted, very relaxing, a lot of walking, shopping, eating at our favorite Sinaloa taco stands and movies and food shows on the tv at La Choza, an old hotel on the Plaza. El Fuerte has one of the prettiest Plazas we have seen, with flowing fountains, huge palms and cascading bouganvillea.  So, here are a few of the photos.

 We were not able to get the fishing in. We could not fish in town off the Malecon because there are a lot of net fishermen there. So we scouted around the outskirts of town, but could not find any banks clear enough of brush. The popular fish though, in town, is big black bass.

 Below is the large Municipal building, the Palacio. El Fuerte is much larger than Alamos and the Palacio is enormous.

 We also took a side trip north of El Fuerte to Choix (pronounced Choice). Still much larger than Alamos, but old and also a Pueblo Magico. It is on the road that heads up into the Copper Canyon, which you can see in the background behind the arches, but is not on the El Chepe train stop like El Fuerte is.

 This is the Palacio in Choix and then photos of the beautiful gazebo, the church and a newer building which is similar to a Mirador, or view point.

 On Sunday we had a cold, all day long rain. Everything turned to mud. I don't even need to show you any photos of that mess. Stepping off the portal was risky. I am happy to say there are no leaks in the West Wing and no leaks in the portal roof. So we lit a fire in the bathroom to be of the West Wing and read most of the day, either there or under the covers in the bedroom.

  Monday meant steady clean up, sweeping and drying out things that got left in the rain because someone forgot to bring them inside. Now we have rain again in the forecast. The couches are covered in black plastic and are huddled against the wall, as far under the varro blanco roof as possible and a stiff wind is tingling wind chimes, tilting bird feeders and spooking the cat. Senor is off soon to play bridge and I am going to see if joining Mexico Netflix has paid off.

For anyone who wants to see many, many more photos of El Fuerte and Chiox or anything else for that matter, you can go to Glasspondstudio's Facebook page and message me. I always post what photos I can here on the blog and then, more on Facebook.

I also want to take a moment to thank all of our blog followers who purchased glass jewels from Glasspondstudio this Christmas. It was very special to hear from people who follow our blog and who also follow my Etsy shop. Thanks to people in Estonia, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Italy and the USA and Mexico. Enjoy your jewels and Happy New Year to everyone! 
Linda Lou and Senor, too.........

El Fuerte

 Buenas Dias, new old car is loaded with all the important stuff, like fly rods and visas and we are off for Christmas in El Fuerte.
The Dr. Seuss neem tree, covered with purple Christmas balls, hummingbird feeders and wind chimes will keep watch on the casa until we return on Wednesday. Here is a present for you. I hope the link works!

http://www.jibjab.com/view/TaBJVzzZTkKXuNEPMpPn1Q?utm_campaign=URL+Copy&utm_medium=Share&utm_source=JibJab&cmpid=jj_url

Feliz Navidad to everyone! Linda Lou and Senor, too!

A New Room

 Buenos dia! Well this just may be the record. Thirty days without a post to the blog. Terrible! But I have been consumed with glass orders and glass shows, one in San Carlos and then, here in Alamos. It is impossible to make one pair of custom earrings when the kiln can hold up to eighty pair, so I have been busy and have a rather nice inventory and am almost out of glass. Now I think I will not cut glass again for about six months and that will give me loads of time to do other things.

I keep the fireplace going every morning and I stay nice and warm inside while Humberto and Senor work outside. Keep looking to see what they have been up to!

 The library game room is going in at the far end. I told a friend that Senor is putting in this room and someday maybe she will get to play bridge in there. She got a little upset that Senor would think to put in a bridge playing room before he would even give me a kitchen. I tried to explain the sequence of room making to her and she still did not understand. I think you will get it.

Once the library game room is completed, the L shaped wall on the left will come down. The fake kitchen is in there and everything in that room will go, temporarily, into the library game room and we will begin working on the roof for the large sala. Then we will get to the kitchen. See the white table? The space for the refrigerator is there and the counters will go along that wall and under the window on the right. The cooking island will be in the middle.

Below is another view of the walls that will come down. This will then become one large room.

 And now below you can see the door to the existing bedroom and the library game room and the shelves. And when you come to visit you can stay in the bedroom and have your own little room in which to play games or sit and read. Originally we had planned to make a separate little kitchen in here for guests but we decided you do not need your own little kitchen. You can eat with us instead. 

 Now here is Senor's project. The sala fireplace, in between the doors to what will be the master bath and bedroom.

 And there is the front door, well it looks like a front window right now, but it will be a door someday and you can just walk right in for a Sunday afternoon visit.

Okay, I have to run and do some errands in town. I need to get the phone bill. One of us forgot to pay it last month and they do flip a switch at the main office in Navajoa and turn off your service and put a message on your machine that tells everyone who calls that service was suspended because the homeowner did not pay the bill.
Que le vaya bien! Linda Lou