…in my blog writing, and for that I can only offer one excuse… It’s been too damn cold to type!
Yes, beautiful San Miguel de Allende, with its quaint (dangerous) cobblestone streets, pink-shaded Paroquia, and enough restaurants to satisfy the taste of any discerning diner, is filled with big, beautiful houses… almost none with any source of heat!!
It might not snow here, but temps in the mid-30’s at night and highs only in the 50’s during the day, even if it’s sunny, means that the insides of those beautiful, stone and adobe houses are at least 10-15Āŗ colder than the outside.
My recent housesits have had some form of at least a wee bit of warmth. The best have been installed mini-splits, but the majority have only electric space heaters, which you sit next to, with one part of your body burning while the rest is numb with cold.
When I left my housesit in San Antonio, I moved literally up the hill (have I ever mentioned just how terribly hilly SMA is?) to a condo complex called Santo Domingo. For 10-days I took care of the semi-feral Tiger Lily, one of the most beautiful cats I have ever cared for. But the small condo where he spends part of his days receives almost no sun, is built into the hillside, and even has a part of that hillside as the rock wall in the kitchen. With the temps just starting to drop, and one small space heater at my feet, it was nippy, to say the least.
For the next 5 weeks, I stayed in the same condo complex, but moved UP the hill to a much larger and newly remodeled home. And when I say UP the hill, you can see what I mean by the first photo. It was dangerous walking down, and Uber drivers really hated bringing me back!
While here, I had two loveable kitties, Jasper and CaliCat, with whom to snuggle. And the owners had installed mini-splits in almost every room. I set up my workspace on the dining room table, where warm air would pour down over me, as the temps outside really started to drop. For most of the month of December and well into January, winter has made itself known in SMA.
The sun has shown brightly almost every single day, and the sunsets from the rooftops are still magical. If you are outside, directly in the sun’s path, you do feel a bit warmer. But for now, coats, hats, and even gloves can be seen on almost anyone venturing out and about.
Life here hasn’t been totally frozen. And I ventured forth to take in the fabulous New Year’s Eve fireworks in Centro. Here, you are actually ‘under’ the fireworks, and can’t be surprised when hot ashes from them land on your hands or burn a hole in your coat. OSHA would never approve.
I have had the great pleasure of getting reacquainted with old friends and making a few new ones, as well. I took a 4-week course on how to play Mah Jong and continue to enjoy playing Rummykub and Mexican Train on a weekly basis. Life has been good here in Mexico.
The street art is always colorful and found in the most unusual places.
There is a huge choice of live music, theater, and dance performances nightly in SMA. The great Lady Zen, just back from performing at Lincoln Center in NYC, presented a wonderful selection of jazz standards, and the incomparable David Mendoza offered a 2-hour performance of film classics, each making for a memorable night out on the town!
And the circus came to town! As you know, animals are no longer a part of a circus, but the ringmaster, clowns, acrobats, trapeze and aerial acts, along with a huge metal globe with senior-aged motocyclists riding around and around upside down, made for a fun evening.
My final house & kitty sit is in the beautiful neighborhood of Guadiana, where the streets are flat – and paved! I have Finn, a 10-month old kitten, as my charge. The homeowner was a landscape architect and has turned her rooftop into a garden filled with an amazing array of plants, succulents, and trees. It takes over 40 minutes to water everything, which is part of my duties at this housesit.
The bonus of this housesit is that it’s located right next to Parque Guadiana, one of the neighborhood-maintained parks found throughout San Miguel. With plenty of benches, fountains, and tables scattered throughout, it is a gathering place for long talks, dog walking, meet-ups, sketching, and just enjoying the peace and quiet.
My time here in San Miguel de Allende is almost at an end. I arrived on September 28th and will depart on February 1st. Where next, I am sure you are all asking? Well, I’ll tell you!
I fly from Mexico City to Newcastle-on-Tyne, UK where I am house and kitty sitting for a Knight of the British Realm and her Ladyship (La de da!) and their 2 cats while they find warmth and sun for a month in….Mexico!
After a quick 3-day visit with a good friend from my Chicago Cubs days, who has a lovely place in Brighton, on March 7th, I’ll take the Eurostar, for the first time, through the Chunnel to Paris, where I’ll be staying in Montmartre for 3 nights.
Then it’s off to Verona, Florence, and Siena, Italy, for a week, which includes an invitation to stay with the fabulous family of the young Italian woman I have been tutoring in English for the past 6 years. She was a junior in college when we began, and now she has her PhD in Chinese and Economics and holds down a full-time job!
From Rome I will fly to Crete, where I begin a 6-week wander-around–Greece. It will include not only Crete, but the island of Paros, and a complete circle tour of the Peloponnesus area of Greece.
On May 4th, I fly to Chicago, where I’ll celebrate my 80th birthday while kitty-sitting once again for a good friend while she does an Atlantic crossing on the QEII.
And then…..so many options to be considered! Don’t forget, you can click on any of the photos to enlarge them!
Until next time…..
My Home on the Roam 