This is another scarf from the book, Scarf Style. It is called Zigzag Stripes, though there are no stripes in this version. The yarn doesn't do much to show off the zigzags; therefore, dingle balls were installed.
We have had the small misfortune of plumbing problems in our rented apartment. A cracked toilet bowl, a cracked tank (the other toilet) and someone's reading glasses lodged in a place they didn't belong have resulted in several visits by the local plumbing professionals.
Yarn: Austermann Barkarole
The names of the kids in Ray's third grade class:
Galit, Nicol, Marco, Alexis, Rocío, Carlos, Monica, Luis, Joaquín, José Antonio, Gaby, Humena, Fatima, Regina, Francisco, Luis Gerardo, Juan Pablo, Valeria, Luis Obregon and Ana Claudia
Carolyn, my mother-in-law, has painted with watercolors for many years. She has a friend here in Puerto Vallarta who has recently sold some of her finished works. Finding homes for those has inspired her to get out her paper and brushes and paint some more.
On Sunday, we went to the local Catholic church to see the baptisms of Brian and Lilia. They are the children of our neighbors, Blanca and Tino.
Four or five other children were also baptised. The service was very low-key, almost casual. The godparents brought fancy candles and decorated shells (to dip and pour the water) for the service. Pictures were taken by parents and friends and there were two professional photographers who gathered names and phone numbers after the ceremony.
Blanca and Tino cooked up some carne asada tacos on the barbeque for the neighborhood when we got home. Just like any good party, there was plenty to drink and too much to eat. The children were great. Blessed they are, the little angels.
Ángel de la Noche - Angel of the Night
Una Lágrima - A Teardrop
Amor de los Dos - Two in Love
Tu Mal Amor - Your Bad Love
This city has great buses. There are three or four companies that cover the local routes. Buses come along every few minutes on the busy streets and every half hour or so out in the sticks. I have never been on a bus that wasn't at least half full, and often there is standing room only.
Termites live in the wooden furniture and the doors. They don't make any noise and leave small piles of sawdust behind after their meals. Eventually, people learn to use tile for shelves and to buy glass tables and metal chairs.
Geckos come out onto the whitewashed walls every evening. Some are babies and all of them are cute. We see far fewer now in our winter apartment; whether it is the place or the season, I don't know. They do leave cute little droppings behind, like cute little mice. Geckos don't seem to dig in to the groceries, however.
Iguanas are around outside in the neighborhood. They have their favorite perches and sundecks and we know where to look for them. We were swimming last month at a local hotel that has a huge garden. Large iguanas inhabit the giant, spreading trees. A very relaxed woman was hit by both barrels from above. Iguanas have to go to the bathroom, too! Susan was in her room in the shower in one minute flat. She did not go quietly.
Big, leafy trees also shade the street outside our building. Falling avocados broke at least two windshields and dented a fender in parked cars. Children playing in the street were wary. Now that season is over and the bats are here. At night we see them darting about in large numbers and hear a quiet noise like rain. They are chewing on some tree fruit and spitting out the seeds. Everything is bat spit seed splatted in the morning - street, cars, windows. What a mess...
We sure miss the girl.
Katherine has spent the last four months living in Istanbul with Turkish families, has learned to speak quite a bit of Turkish and has become friends with teenagers from Turkey and other countries. She has gained so much independence and has grown up so much. (Note mature self portrait.) She hangs out at a Nargile cafe, where the drug of choice is flavored tobacco smoked out of water pipes. She prefers chocolate, however, and just hangs out there because of the cute boys.
Rotary International is her sponsor for exchange. We are not planning to go to Turkey to visit while she is there. This is her experience. She will return to Juneau some time in June or July; the dates are vague. She leaves in two weeks for her first bus tour of the country, a tour arranged by Rotary for all of their exchange students. It will be a chance to see places outside of Istanbul that she has read about. She is very interested in the architecture and history, and is aware and appreciative of how lucky she is to be there. "How many people can say they studied ballet in Istanbul?" All this from a girl who used to have 27 Barbies.
The mercado down the street, in our neighborhood, is great for fresh fruit and vegetables. There is a top notch meat market with friendly, helpful butchers. You can get keys copied, buy fresh squeezed orange juice or yummy carrot juice and get a free calendar with your purchase of honey and butter. It's a nice place.
And if it is yarn you are looking for, well, there is a yarn store. Only acrylic is available, but there are lots of colors. The only other place I have found yarn in this city is at WalMart, which has some white sport weight cotton. 
