SUNDAY

                                        Turkey Buzzard

…..Natalia fixed breakfast today and I helped a bit around the kitchen [mostly doing dishes] as she cooked for her mother for the coming week. I also found the time to read more Hemmingway and to generally do nothing until about 11:30 {Natalia had left for her mother’s place} when I left with my book and water bottle. Today  was cool enough to wear long sleeves but I decided to brave the elements without going back to the house. I did bring a light jacket but it would have been too warm for that. I made a stop at a market and purchased two boxes of cereal for 115Pesos and carried them with me the rest of the day. I had a soup dish and rice for lunch, it was good but the very thin soup had two pieces of unboned chicken and trying to remove the meat from the bone made things difficult with only a fork and spoon. After splashing soup all over me I dove into the soup and lifted the chicken out with my fingers and tore away at it with my teeth. That worked. The dish was called Caldo de Pollo and rice on the side. Natalia told me later it is a favorite local dinner. The taste was fine I only had trouble with eating it without splashing all over myself… . . .After lunch I stopped in the central square and sat on a bench for some time reading and relaxing. I arrived back at the house at 3:30 just as Natalia was driving off; she saw me and waved as she quickly zipped around a corner. I walked to the corner market, Oxxo, and got a quart of milk and a pint of ice cream. I had developed a sweet tooth since lunch. Natalia stopped by later for a short time and had her mother in the car so I went out to say hello. They were on their way to Wal-Mart and we did not visit long. It was nice to see Natalia One again; she has been sick but is making a comeback. Jessica, the nine year old from upstairs stopped by to let Natalia know she was moving away, Jessica was the violin player I mentioned last year when I was here. She told us she no longer plays the violin…..