One of my favorite spots 

the upper part of the new stairs 

Where the fireplace used to be 

Random

Samantha and Jimmy arrive on the 3rd - next week. It will be fun to have them together. I look forward to getting some color advice. It is agreeably hot here but not much going on in the arts scene here during May – the hottest month. I have taken the opportunity of their impending visit to clean this old place up a bit so that I can see what the next priorities should be. I think the main thing will be to build a new fireplace. I built another bed while I was thinking about this so Jim will have a place to sleep. That completes the basic bedroom furnishings.

I saw the K-9 paddy wagon go by the other day. It is no wonder that Greg found it exciting – about 20 dogs tied up in the back of a half-ton with stock racks. They were all howling and generally seemed to be having a good old time. In accordance with the local regulations Greg is now sporting a new tag stamped with his adopted Mexican name (Goyo) and my coordinates.

We passed a guy this morning with an artists brush carefully painting the wires (set up to train his climbing plants) to match the color of his house. That much attention to detail is more than I currently have time for.

Finally finished re-plastering my dining ceiling. Horrible job. The result, while better, is no thing of great beauty – close enough for government work however as I like to tell Greg. In the meantime my pond is growing a good crop of mosquitoes and I took some time to fix the screening around the place to keep them in the garden. It reminds me that I must get some fish.

May 5 is not a big deal in Mexico – celebrated more north of the border. It probably has to do with the fact that the Mexican defeat of the French on that date was led by an American and the victory was in any case short lived as the French returned to take over the country shortly thereafter.