Five Black Cats

Friday, March 6, 2009

30 Weeks....just over two more months to go!

Looks pretty much the same as my last photo...that's okay with me. :)

One Step Closer to the Grave Party

Sarah's annual birthday gathering was filled with good food, wine and even some interesting shots (Apple Pie, Carrot Cake...).

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Jeff in Oaxaca - a visit to Etla

Thanks to Sarah Noll for putting me in touch with her ex (Sarah used to live in Oaxaca), who lives in Etla, a smaller valley close to the larger Oaxaca Valley. Fredy and his girlfriend, Lupe, picked me up at Nuevo Mundo (nice cafe in Oaxaca City) for a day's tour of their valley.

First stop, Fredy's family farm. His parents live here.

A quick hello to the dogs...

And then we checked out, among other things (goats, cows, etc), the greenhouse where Fredy is a pioneer in his region at growing tomatoes organically. Yesterday he led his first workshop for about 40 people interested in organic techniques. Note that this is all something Fredy does in his 'spare time'. He and Lupe are electrical engineers in their principal day job.

After seeing the farm, we headed out to the surrounding areas. Here I saw an ingenious way of getting around....

Eventually we arrived at the beautiful Center for the Arts in Saint Augustine (in Spanish, it's Centro de Arte de San Augustin, the initials of which spell 'Casa', which means 'house'). This is an old textile factory that has been (and is being) restored and transformed into an art center.

All the restoration, as well as the art itself, uses environmentally friendly processes. For example, see the purple steps on I'm sitting in front of? It's not paint. The stairs have water running down them and the color comes from a type of algae or intertebrate (didn't quite catch which).

These stacks are obvious relics of the old factory (that's me and Fredy).

Cool staircase, huh? (Fredy and Lupe at the top)

Me and Lupe (I'm the tall white one).

Inside, an art exhibit highlighting a recycled paper process...

The exhibit included a dazzling area of artistic kites....

Right, so then onto our little meal at the end of the day. Fredy and Lupe took to me to this place called Santa Marta, and I kid you not, I've never seen more food anywhere in one place. Over 120 dishes to choose from. All you can eat buffet, for approximately $10 USD. The place is ginormous...seats hundreds. Arriving in the parking lot, you'd think you were about to go into a sporting event. And with live music to boot.

Salad anyone?

How about some mole?

Meat?

These represent a mere sample of what was there.

Better'd leave room for dessert...

Thanks Fredy and Lupe! A day well spent.

Sunny Sunday

We had a beautiful weekend full of sunshine and sand. Allison organized the annual Shackleford dog walk for today. We met at 9am and took the ferry over to the West end of the island and walked all the way to the other end (approx 8 miles). The dogs had a great time once we got out of the patch of prickly pears we encountered in the dunes.