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Paul and I attended the local Linux users group on Friday, mostly because blogger Jennifer was going to give lessons in Gimp, an open-source photo editing program. I learned some good stuff and am enthusiastic about Gimp, so I came home and fooled around with a few photos that I thought I’d share with you. Paul has now gotten interested in Linux and has spent some time using it and will probably keep working with it just for fun.

The picture at the top is of a panga pulled up on the beach at Playa Norte. One of the things that Jennifer taught me was to measure to make sure your horizon is horizontal. This picture needed some correction, believe me! I love this one too since we just bought a large painting by Trevor Bennett of some Mazatlán pangas. (Here’s a link to info on the First Fridays artwalk)

Next is a house on Belisario Dominguez and Romanita de la Peña. This is such a fantastic home, I love the Victorian cutouts holding up the window covers. Below that is a closeup of the upper porch. And I adore the half circle wrought iron on the side!  Oh, and for all you old building nuts, here’s a link that both bloggers Sandy and Jennifer gave me.  It’s a wonderful site with pictures and history of many of Mazatlán’s Centro Historico buildings.

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If you’re my Facebook friend you will have seen me in the hammock chair in my profile picture. I love this picture of Paul – he just needs to stretch out and he can have a nice nap!

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It’s been foggy lately in the mornings, and the other day we noticed through the fog a cluster of fishing boats. (Yes, pangas!) I’ve never seen them in so close.

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And then, because every time I see them I just get happy, I had to put two recent pictures of little Consuelo. She is almost three months old, and I can’t believe I have only spent time with her once. Adam has been traveling on business a lot lately so it is hard to plan ahead. Last night on the phone with Adam, Consuelo was fussing in the background…but she settled right down when he changed to speakerphone and let me talk to her. That’s my girl!

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So there you have it! Blog Post a la carte!

Maybe you’ve noticed the graphic in my “What’s New” spot at the top of the left column. It links you to a new website The Truth About Mexico.

Anyone reading this blog is interested in Mexico or already lives here, so visiting The Truth About Mexico will give you a perspective on the topic of safety in Mexico written by people who live here and are telling the truth.

So when a friend or relative tells you an alarmist story when you’re discussing your home here in Mexico or an upcoming trip, send them to the site for the real information.

Our patios are quite the playground for the local flock of hummingbirds. We feed them at a feeder, supply them with pretty flowers to sip from, and provide them with an all-important bathtub.

Our climate is very dry for most of the year, and a bird can have quite a challenge finding water to bathe in that is safe from predators. Our fountain is very well used – and in the morning if we don’t turn it on quickly enough there will be hummers hovering and buzzing to let us know we forgot.

By the way, there are two main types of hummingbirds that visit, one is the very small green one like is in most of the video, and a cinnamon hummingbird, who was in the last part of the video in the rain. The cinnamon hummingbird is quite large. There are quite a number of small green ones in my bird book and I haven’t identified ours yet.