More from San Miguel...Dec. 2007

I was just thinking I should have published some of the "before" photos for those of you that did not see the original property so I will do that in the future. The facade is almost completed and our little house has arisen out of the rubble. Though our house is small next to many other homes being built by gringos , it looks like a mansion in our Mexican neighborhood. This has caused some concern for Ron and I as we, too,have become a part in the changing of our neighborhood and the way of life for the natives of this city. Our neighbors have been warm and friendly on our little callejon (narrow street) and we hope the rest of the neighborhood will be as accepting.

The workmanship in Mexico is wonderful and we have lovely curved arches, boveda ceilings, and stonework throughout the house. We have been busy picking out tiles for the 3 1/2 baths and 4 fireplaces as well as lanterns. Every door, window, lantern,ironwork, etc. is hand-made. We found out our lowest level workers only make $95.00 per week for their hard labor. The head-man doing the daily supervision(and works) makes $145. weekly. One might think money goes further there but when we went shopping for towels, a nice bath towel costs about $35.00, a set of sheets around $100. It is true, many things are cheaper but many are more expensive. It is no wonder extended families live together. It is the only way they can survive.

Another good reason to count our blessings............

San Miguel de Allende Dec 16, 2007

I'm having technical difficulties with this site and posting! However, here are a couple of quick pictures of the house and more will follow soon! Ron and I are heading out to shop for appliances . The weather is gorgeous and all is going well. Lots of snow in the east, I hear. Enjoy!

Christmas in Telluride, 2007

Merry Christmas to all! Telluride is all decked out for the holidays and even the snow has cooperated! It has been snowing since last Friday with the exception of Sunday. I have never seen so much snow! When we get 6 inches in the town, the mountain looking over the village gets 2-3 feet! The store fronts are beautifully decorated with garlands, ribbons, and lots of pine cones. The biggest Christmas tree in town belongs to the family I work for and it is shown in the first picture all lit up. The temperature changes so much between day and night; it is often around 1-5 degrees in the early morning but by late morning, it may be close to 50 in the sun. Asi t is very dry and there is a lack of wind, even the low temperatures do not feel uncomfortable as they do back home.

I had a great time skiing on several occasions but then, managed to fall on the hot top while walking. I think I probably sprained my wrist so had to lay off for the week. I am leaving here tomorrow and driving to my cabin in Austin where I will spend the night. On Thursday morning, I leave for Mexico and will be dragging two full suitcases and my computer so I knew I had to mend my wrist.

Ron has been sending exciting pictures back of the house in SMA and it will probably be complete by the end of Jan. One of my suitcases is filled with household items as we will need to furnish both the main house and the casita....pretty exciting. I'll write a blog from there and include some pictures.

I'll be in Mexico from the 13-19 of December and then I'll head home for Christmas. I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season!

A Perfect Day December 2, 2007

Boy, am I tired!
I imagine by morning, I'll be feeling muscles I forgot I even had........
The snow of yesterday continued most of the night but when it dawned, the clouds rolled away, leaving another gorgeous day in Telluride. The snow continued to hug the trees all day despite the temperature rising in the town to the 40-50 degree range. The ski mountain stayed considerably colder, though very comfortable.

I picked up my new K2 Love Bugs this morning around 9:00 with th bindings mounted and ready to go. Teddy joined me and she became the teacher today and took me up the gondola to "teach me the ropes." It is such a big mountain, I was grateful for the guidance. Only a few of the trails are open so far, but it was some of the best skiing I ever remember. Maybe that has a bit to do with my age and simply forgetting, but I don't remember ever skiing with such beauty all around me. The mountains tower and surround you while skiing from Mountain Village.

The free gondola takes you up the mountain and you get off at a ski trail called Village Byway. This slope takes you down to Mountain Village, the hub of the ski resort. It was bustling today as everyone is so excited to have the mountain open and the official ski season underway. The snow was awesome and the weather, perfect.

I only skied for a couple of hours and was amazed at how quickly it all came back. Of course, the cute new skis with the sculptured shape and short length surely helped. As I reminded myself of shifting weight, weight on the downhill, etc, I kept hearing the voice of my junior high boyfriend and how patiently he tried to make a skier out of me. How proud he would be to see me skiing Telluride!

After walking back home, I spent some time doing yoga and then relaxed in a hot bath but I'm afraid I'll still be stiff tomorrow. However, trust me, I'll be right back out on the slopes!

I hear the east is expecting some snow tonight........enjoy!