[This is Luz Daniela, our shy neirghbor. She recently turned two, and as of when we left in April, she had just stopped running away when she saw me. She treats Diana like just one more grandma. I suppose that pretty soon she'll be dropping in to visit us... ]

We’ve been back for a week, on the calendar.  In subjective time, we're just getting settled.  When we left, in the waning days of March, we shut off the gas (we have 30-kilo tanks with screw-down valves outside) and the lights, and locked the front and back doors and the security gate.

We are fortunate to have no need to sublet when we are gone, and someone comes in once a month to sweep up the dead bugs.  When we got home after an all-nighter from LA with stops at Guadalajara and Mexico City, all we needed to do to get the apartment ready was unlock the doors, turn the gas back on, and open the windows to air the place out.

[World-famous painter and protector of the cultural patrimony FranciscoToledo turned 70 this week, and aside from feature articles extolling him in all the mainstream newspapers there were little celebrations here and there around town. This homage in front of the still-being-restored MACO, started out blank, and folks came by and had their say.]

First order of business after unpacking was a visit to the corner restaurant for a comida corrida, consisting (as normal) of a soup, choice of spaghetti or rice, a main course, dessert, and fruit-flavored water, all for the astounding price of 35 pesos (about $2.80 usd) each.  Nothing fancy, but tasty and filling – a sort of “pinch-me” that tells us that yes, we really are back home.

Then it was off to the Merced market to stock up on fruits, vegetables, meat, cheese and eggs.  We get all our non-perishables across the street at the IMSS market, and almost all our  non-organic perishables at Merced.

Fed, beginning to restock the larder, and totally exhausted, we call it a day.
Next day, a trip to the Primavera to observe the changes, which were minimal.  More hunting and gathering, comida at home, and a leisurely evening.  Pretty much the same, until Saturday.

With the first Lunes del Cerro (Guelaguetza day) two days away, the town was jumping. Lots of tourists, mostly Mexican; puestos (booths) galore; and today a special treat: governor-elect Gabino Cue was throwing a thank-you party!

[want to know more about what we experienced after 3.5 months away from home, including about the two Guelaguetzas and the police riot? Just break down and subscribe]

Harvest From the Field:

Michele Gibbs and George Colman are among our oldest and closest friends. For years, we were also collaborators. They provided the content, and I provided the website for "From the Field", a quarterly (and occasional) mixture of essays, poetry, photos, drawings and art, mostly their own but occasionally from the works of others they valued.

It was a rewarding collaboration, spiritually and financially - they paid a yearly fee for the space and my work, even though I didn't require it - until they grew weary of the format and turned to other endeavors.

Now, after years of inactivity, George and Michele have asked me to remove the site from the web, and I have done so. All is not lost, however. Some of the contents have been preserved in their new book,"Harvest From the Field".

Available only from Amate Books in Oaxaca (unless you happen to run into Michele on the street) for 275 pesos, "Harvest" was printed locally. The quality of the paper and the printing are high. The contents seem to have been selected for their timeless quality: lessons learned from past investigations that are well worth contemplating today; poetic truths that are as universal today as they were when they were written.

George and Michele write it - and draw it -like they see it, and they see pretty clearly in my opinion.

Notes:

**Gabino has promised that he will bring the governor's office back from the village of Santa Maria Coyotepec and reinstall it where it belongs: in the old governor's palace on the Zocalo. It never was fully used as a "museum". It will be good to sit and watch all the lawyers going in and out again...

**After a lengthy and frustrating hiatus, the Friday market is back at Llano park. Our delight knows no bounds. The chicken man tells us the deal is only guaranteed until December, but so is everthing else, since that's when Gabino takes office...

[Every edition has a few little tidbits thrown in. To see them all, take a deep breath and subscribe]