There was a lot going on this weekend - and not all of it was as planned.

We have been in touch with a doctor from New York who is trying to get a co-housing venture going in Mexico - either in Jalisco or Oaxaca. He flew down to Mexico City a little over a week ago and then rode a bus for nine hours from D.F. to Oaxaca. He was supposed to stop by Denver and Fort Collins on his way home, but with H1N1 on the verge of a global pandemic (and a few other equally good reasons) he decided to spend a few more enjoyable days at Lake Chapala in Jalisco, then return directly to upstate New York.



We went to First Friday and did an abbreviated gallery circuit, of course spending some time at the fun Gallery Underground.



Saturday morning we went by the shop North of town and visited El Chile, who now has most of his innards rearranged or replaced as planned. Just one more hose needs to arrive to button up the beast, and we can try a few road trips to see how things are holding together. Hard to believe it took nine weeks at the call center to finance all this stuff (most of which is reliability-focused and not visible), but if it reduces the odds that we will be left by the side of the road in some godforsaken place in 110 degree heat or a tropical thunderstorm I guess it will have been worth it.



This morning dawned following a fairly steady rain all night, and the first thing Mdog and I encountered on our morning walk was a few earthworms navigating along the gutter. They always seem to run amok after a decent rain, and get disoriented. Fearing they would get stranded on the broad expanse of pavement in the rising sun, I gathered them up and tossed them back onto a nearby lawn. This seemed like a good deed with which to start the day. Then a few more, then - oh god, the wormanity - there hundreds, then thousands of the navigationally challenged Lumbricus Terrestri. I finally had to confine my benevolence to avoiding stepping on their slimy carcasses.



Later in the morning, we went to one of the men's group coffees at a funky campus cafe. Pay attention when you read that college towns are great for retirement - or just intergenerational living.



Finally, we headed up to the civic center park for the local modest Cinco de Mayo festivities, where I bought a big bag of freshly roasted Anaheim chiles from a cheery guy from Chihuaua for five bucks.

The weekend started off on a worrisom note with Mdog being a little sick for a couple of days, but I spent the morning cooking rice and chicken and sweet potatoes to give her a dietary break, and she seems to be doing better now.

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