NEVER leave home without a camera...............

I have never lived somewhere where every direction that you look is something to photograph.  Not only that, but then something cool happens, like a man carrying his son, asleep across his shoulders or you turn the corner and the men from the mountains have come down into town with burros laden with volcanic soil to use in the garden or..........it is endless.

I've learned to NEVER leave home without the camera.

The past two days are prime examples.  The latter photos still make me smile and giggle.

Thursday I met some old time friends that I met on the trip to Guatemala about nine years ago.  They are definitely travelers, both by RV and by other means of travel almost every summer.  We had not gotten together in quite a while and we were all three looking forward to hearing about each others adventures.

The choice for breakfast........Posada Corazon on Aldama 9.  I have walked through the unobtrusive door, right smack dab in the middle of centro, and always been amazed what exists on the other side.  A lovely boutique hotel on exquisite grounds along with a delicious place to have breakfast.  The property is extensive and still has many orange trees blooming with fruit, among other plants.

I feel like I'm in a cocoon when I'm there because of the serene and tranquil feeling.  The wait staff are not overly attentive, but willing to serve something in any weird way you might want it served.  More on that in a minute.

 I had not intended to take any photographs, but the light was so lovely coming in the window and shining on the sitting area and the fireplace, that I grabbed the camera and spun around taking a few photos.

 This little corner has toys for children to play with - a brilliant idea for visiting children who get fidgety at the meal time table.  In the USA, they give kids a paper to color and that sure helps.  That is a trend that only started about twenty five years ago in the USA in earnest.

 Not only is the room cozy but the views from each table look out onto a patio and beyond that all the flora
of San Miguel all the way to the next street.

When my friends arrived, I order the Pozada Corazon special, French toast.  My friends order hot cakes, but one of them wanted an over easy egg between the pancakes.  With some Spanish and gestures, he thought he had gotten his request across.  We all waited to see what we would get.  Well, his egg came on top of fluffy hot cakes and so he just flipped the pancake over, which had the egg as a pancake sandwich sort of.  Then mine came and was French toast with a fried egg on top, which I would never have imagined.
I did not particularly want the egg, so my friend had two fried eggs with his hot cakes.  We chuckled about the whole thing.

It's so darn great to be with friends where there is no pretense and you just say it like it is and have great conversations about a myriad of subjects.  I left there with a big smile on my face, as they did as well.

Then yesterday, I went off with another friend to see an outlet with lots of fabrics and who knew what else, but things very, very inexpensive in most instances.  I really wasn't looking for anything in particular so when I found a meter of oil cloth for 10 pesos (60 cents), a birthday crown for Matilda with rhinestones for the same price and a little purse for 20 pesos, I was done.

My friend was buying fabric.  She is an avid quilter.  And makes all kinds of beautiful things.  I knew we would be there a while so I went out to sit on the front steps of the building while she shopped.

At first I did not notice the old Mexican junk heap parked across the street.  Then I snapped to and saw three mariachi men in full dress already in this, whatever it is vehicle.  I grabbed the camera out of my purse and got the first photo.

 Just about that time two more mariachis came walking up from different directions and another guy pulled up in an old red Mustang, circa 1960's or 70's.  He was in mariachi regalia as well.

 The time was about 11:30AM, so obviously they had a gig somewhere that they couldn't take a bus or walk to, which is unusual.

The last mariachi put his gear in the back and got in the Mustang with the other man and off went the two cars.  This of course, makes me question where were they going, what was the name of the group,  and did they make it to where they were going?

I swear I never tire of these delightful surprises that I experience often here in San Miguel.

Oh, and then last night,  about 8 PM, I heard singing, like hymn singing along with drums and fireworks.
It was the beginning of the observance of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Yes, eventually the singing and drumming stopped but at midnight and again at 6AM, the fireworks began in earnest.  To say that it was an enthusiastic display of noise would be an understatement.  Truthfully, I just turn over and go back to sleep.