Neighbors and veggies

Our landlord, who lives next door to us, has a
sweet, old dog that likes to stay on our balcony.
Elena loves dogs!

There was a landslide on the highway near our
house.  One lane of the road slid down into the canyon
but they still let cars travel single file.  This is the
main route to the north of Chichi.

This is one of our neighbors, living in an adobe with a dirt floor. 

We were surprised to find the boxes from our new
appliances used to make the walls of this outhouse in
our neighborhood.  What we had put out with the trash,
someone else had used to build their bathroom.

We visited a children's home in Chichi, named
Casa Salazar.   They are caring for 3 siblings so far,
Pascuala (age 9), José Luis (age 5), and Marta (age 2)
along with their own daughter, Rebecca (age 1).

The fruits and vegetables here are fresh, inexpensive,
and delicious.  The girls helped prepare these green
beans for dinner.

Veronica at 15 months

Veronica is 15 months old!

Enjoying some music from one of Andrea's
Internet games.

These hard plastic balls are really cheap here. 
We buy things in quadruplicate now!

Look Mom, I'm helping you sweep!

Veronica's first meal feeding herself with a
spoon:  black bean mush, a Guatemalan favorite.

Veronica has her own little chair, so she can
hang out on the balcony with her sisters.

She is getting neater at spoon-feeding herself
oatmeal in the mornings...  Ok, I admit, this was
the beginning of the meal!

Veronica is such a joy to have.  She is compliant and sweet!  She started walking about a month ago and loves to toddle around.  There are several words she knows, like "blah blah" for her blankie, "die-da" for diaper, and her favorite, "nana" for banana!  She is developing a sense of humor, and we all enjoy her laugh.  Carrie, Elena, and Andrea each babysit Veronica for at least half an hour each day, so she is getting to know her wonderful big sisters and I am getting a chance to update our blog!