I think the rainy season has started again...

Tonight is the third night in a row that it has thundered and then poured down rain. The green festival, Festiver, finally had to concede that it could not have any outdoor movies at the Parques des Artes (the auditorium) and moved the night showing of movies to the church.

My three ceramic works for this session at the taller.

This afternoon, with a few of my ceramic classmates, I went and saw the presentation about getting the lead out of ceramic glazes in Mexican potters creations because of the damage that lead does, most especially to the children. Dr. James Sargent of Dartmouth College is among those taking the lead about the awareness of lead poisoning. Since I've been here in Colombia I've learned a lot about ceramics and glazing and we are exceptionally cautious when mixing colors.

When I first returned to Barichara, I got several interesting responses: 1) We thought you got lost and couldn't find your way back here; 2) I thought the twins were holding you hostage; 3) We were wondering if you died... (what?) and 4) We want to see photos of the bebes now that you are back. I was happy to tell all the ceramic students who offered up some wonderful 'benedicions' on behalf of my family that everything and everyone was good.

But what has been very hard for me is realizing that the little casita I have been enjoying so much isn't really mine and the owner wants it back. She isn't pushing me, thankfully, but realistically I will have to move again and I've been evaluating the options. And I've been thinking about what has to be moved - again. I totally HATE the actual moving process, even though the pre-move appeals to my organizational mind. So today I spent some time making up some lists of a) things I cannot bear to sell or give away, b) things I am ambivalent about and c) stuff that can be replaced or disposed of without much energy. It is amazing what one person can accumulate in two years. But to be fair, I have used everything in one way or another.

The next door neighbor has a baby. Whenever that baby cries, my antenna tune up. Last night in the middle of the night, I heard it crying and crying and I woke up. I was so alert I was out of bed before I even realized I was standing by the window wondering where I was. One of my cats was lying in front of the window and meowed as if to say,"What are you doing anyhow?" Then I realized I was still recovering from a kind of fatigue I've not experienced since... the twins. LOL! And how I miss them. I wonder off and on through the day what they are doing, how they are sounding... sigh.

This is my street. This is actually an improvement.

The installation of sewer lines throughout the city is still progressing, but fortunately my street is completed, more or less. There is still some cleanup required (see the photo) and those large boulders need to be removed. Probably they were dug up when they did the trenches, but there are huge stones scattered all over the village streets, waiting to be picked up. I wonder what they will do with them. There actually is a paved street under that mud, and quite a lot of that mud got washed into my casita while I was away when a sudden downpour forced it under my door and into both the living room and the bedroom. It took me three days to get it all cleaned up.

Well, guess that's it for this week. It's still raining, and the only good thing about it is all the streets are getting rinsed clean.