Greg being a prostitute - Sami is actually somewhere in this picture. 

final touches on pond 

stairs getting close to done 

making more cement - with gloves on 

a close up of a blister 

a blister 

countryside on the road to Queretero 

lining the pond 

Guanajuato from high on the hill 

in the streets of Guanajuato 

trying to get it straight 

Sami mixing cement 

starting the landscaping 

Sami and Greg catching some rays 

Sami’s Help

Have not blogged recently due in part to the visit of son Sami, who arrived safely Feb 01, (sin maletas – which surprisingly turned up the day after). My agenda was to get some of the heavy lifting associated with some basic landscaping in the garden. It has worked as we are at the point where we can receive the garden soil, which is due next week. His hands were a little soft on arrival but I am pleased to say he will return to Canada fully calloused.

He also will return probably knowing more about the internal workings of SMA than I do. He may have damaged a few brain cells in the process, as his research tends to be late night and quite intense. That, and late-nite work he does on-line related to his computing interests, means I get the mornings off.

Greg was beginning to think he would never see any of his old friends again so was, to say the least, quite excited when Sami turned up. I am feeling a tad abandoned – but then I don’t let Greg sleep on my bed! You know what they say about dogs – the prostitutes of the animal world.

We took a little day trip to Guanajuato, the capital of the state of the same name where I live. We took the mountain road to get there. It is a quite breathtaking and very steep climb over green and forested topography before dropping down into the old silver mining town. The narrow windy road took all the car had going up and proved to be very hard on the brakes on the way down. Guanajuato is quaint and well preserved, about the same size as SMA I guess. One big difference is the tunnels from the mines have been turned into roadways under the city, which makes for interesting driving. Sami said he preferred SMA.

We also went to Queretero for a few necessities and to see the countryside. Stopped at my favorite fish restaurant on the way back and filled up with fresh Gulf mariscos. I wish I could blame them for the revenge that Montezuma has perpetrated on our house but alas I think it was some other little stomach bug that has laid me low over the past few days. I feel lucky in that it is the first time I have been ill since getting here.