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I can’t believe it, but I killed another camera.  Rummaging in my purse for my frequent buyer card at the Soriana checkstand there was a thunk and another camera went to its final resting place.  I have the crummy camera on my ipod touch or the mediocre camera that I can borrow from Paul.  Not such great choices.  I need a good camera.  With shock absorbers, if possible.

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It is the time of year here where there are lots of snowbirds leaving.  To those of you not familiar with this system, we keep track of who is coming or going in order to welcome or say goodbye as the case may be. The 28th saw Colin and Contessa leave.  Yesterday Mary and Tom left for Oregon and Canada.   Michael leaves on the 8th.   Ingrid and Frank leave on the 18th. Sandie and Mike leave right around then, too.  We want to make sure to have a dinner-lunch-walk-drink-whatever with people before they leave and sometimes it make my head hurt to keep track! Just kidding, I am joking around trying to make these farewells a little less sad.

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Paul’s only good pair of walking sandals – Teva’s – bit the dust here a couple of weeks ago.  We tried to glue them as they had a flapping tongue (you know what I mean) but the repair didn’t hold.  He ordered a pair on eBay and crossed his fingers, but in the meantime we decided it was time for a shopping trip to the Big City since shopping options here in the provinces are pretty sketchy.  Instead of driving to Guadalajara this time we are taking the bus, and I am excited about visiting a whole shopping mall devoted to nothing but SHOES!  We also need some clothes and electronics (possibly a camera?) and cheddar cheese and who knows what else so that should be fun.  Friends have turned us on to a reportedly great Indian Restaurant that will probably require numerous visits and maybe a cooler fill up before we head home.

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We just recently purchased a 1+ bedroom house right near the main plaza that we plan to use as a rental.  It needs some work so we are in the midst of cleaning, getting painting done, the tinaco cleaned, a bunch of carpentry done, etc etc.  It will be a fine house – and really the work needed is pretty minimal.  We hope to rent it to a tenant who will be here 6+ months a year.  I’ll put a page up here with information and pictures once the work is done and it is ready to rent.  We have another month or so to wait for our final documents arrive and once we get a tenant we get to experience first hand getting set up with an accountant, with Hacienda for taxes and all that.  That should be fun!

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Last night was the Luna Gallery opening – Transformations, art from recycled material and found objects.  Wonderful works, and a fun event- as always!  Tomorrow is First Friday art walk again – I am looking forward to it.  In other art news, our friend and excellent artist Ann Hankel’s monoprint is featured on the cover of the April edition of M! Magazine.   (The April issue will be up on the first.)

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Last Sunday the group we bike with got up a bit early and participated in a group ride on the malecón.  The paper said 200 riders were there, leaving from Valentino’s at a little after 8 am.  Our group was even listed in the paper, which was nice. Our group ended up at Shrimp Bucket for breakfast and watched a huge bunch of Amigos de los Animales have a group dog walk.  Sometimes you have to pick among two very fun events, and it can be hard! The picture at the top of this post is of some of us as we chatted before the ride started.

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Now I am off to get back to my knitting – I am almost done with my latest project!  Hasta pronto!

I went AWOL again, I know!  Lots has been going on, we are having fun for sure.  I never got around to editing the video of the Carnaval parades, and I have to confess it probably isn’t going to happen now.  But here’s some of what we’ve been up to:

We went to the Bow Wow Meow, a fundraiser for Proyecto Animales de la Calle (PAC) at the Condominium Om.  It was a great event, a lot of money was raised, and everyone had a wonderful time.  I thought I was going to be able to capture the crowd with the sunset behind us, but this is the best I could do even with Photoshop help.

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Bow Wow Meow - 2011

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I’ve been perfecting my bean making skills.  We’ve decided that peruano beans with carrot, onion, celery, and lots of garlic are our favorites.  I make them in my 40 peso bean pot using plenty of epazote (that I remove before we eat.)

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We’ve been to the annual Oaxaca craft fair – I went once with Paul and once with a girlfriend and bought a fantastic wool jacket and some other clothing.  Afterwards a beverage and lunch at Diego’s makes for a pretty nice afternoon.

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Diego's

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We went to a wine tasting at Casa de Leyendas featuring wines by L.A. Cetto vineyards.  Very nice wines in wonderful surroundings, with excellent food and good friends. What could be better than that?

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Joe, Paul, Me, the sommelier Irving, Sharon, Joe, Kari

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I’ve been knitting – right now I am working on the Ribs and Lace Tank by Jodi Green.  I’m using some lovely variegated cotton-alpaca yarn that I bought when I visited my sister in Berkeley last year.  I plan on wearing it over a white camisole and skirt so the open weave pattern is more visible.

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We spent a really fun afternoon today visiting with Contessa and Colin who are wintering here (and blogging from) Stone Island where they live in their RV with their two adorable daschunds. We met at Puesto del Sol palapa restaurant for lunch and then later a tour of their RV, too.  They head back to Canada soon but next year we hope to get to know them better.  I’d include a picture of Contessa and me but unfortunately the picture was horrible so you’ll have to check out Paul at the table before Colin and Contessa arrived.

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Paul at Puesto del Sol

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We’ve been doing plenty of other stuff, too.  Tonight though I plan on watching the super-moon for a bit and then going to bed early.  Tomorrow will be another busy day, here’s a shout out to my sister Wendy, wishing her a happy birthday, and a happy spring!

If you are visiting Mazatlán in the winter, you owe it to yourself to spend the first Friday of each month visiting open artist studios in Centro Historico.  First Friday Art Walk is from 4-8 pm, and you can amble from one studio to another using the maps & artist profiles that are available all over town (and on the website link above).  This month the First Friday art walk is actually taking place on the second  Friday, the 11th, a necessary change due to Carnaval activities.

If you don’t happen to be able to come to Centro for First Friday,  you can visit a couple of new galleries in Centro during regular business hours.

One bit of news this month in the Mazatlán art world is that Darian Day and Michael Fitzpatrick have opened a dedicated gallery – Mexicolors – inside the Casa de Leyendas bed and breakfast at Venustiano Carranza No. 4, across from the Art Museum.  Michael and Darian’s Mexicolors Collection contains more than 3000 photographic images from Mazatlán and other parts of Mexico including Tlaquepaque, Patzcuaro, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Yuriria, Mérida, Valladolid, Mexico City, Playa del Carmen, Isla Mujeres and more.

A Mexicolors Arch

A Mexicolors entrance hall

Darian and Michael recently received the honor of being approved by INAH (National Institute of History and Anthropology) to market their archaeological imagery in such prestigious institutions as the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City and other sites and museums around the country.

Darian and Michael

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The Mexicolors gallery within Casa de Leyendas will be “almost always open” – thanks to the gracious and friendly hosting of the gallery by Sharon and Glenn Sorrie of Casa de Leyendas.  You can almost always stop in at any reasonable hour and browse the collection.  They’ll be open Fridays during Art Walk – and this time for their special Grand Opening event.

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Another recent addition to the Mazatlán art scene is the Luna Gallery.  This gallery represents many Mazatlán artists, including Rafael Avila, Mark Jay, Glen Rogers, Dave Robb, Nan Robb, Lucila Santiago, and many more.  The works shown change monthly and the opening night is always a fun event in town.

Glen Rogers and Mark Jay in front of one of Glen's works

This town is full of incredibly talented artists and we love having the work of many local artists hanging on our walls.  You should check them out, too! Luna Gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm or at other times by appointment.  The gallery is located at Niños Héroes #1211, in Centro Histórico.

Rafael Avila with his work "Suspiro"

- Disclosure:  Yes, we are friends with the people above.