Muchacho Polaco

This was my view coming home a couple of days ago. We are on the end of the monsoons as we move into the final part of summer. The skies are beautiful, the roads are a disaster. Hopefully it will begin to cool down in the next couple months.

Last week on Monday we headed north to Tucson and a little bit further north to Mount Lemmon. Our plan was to spend three days on Mount Lemmon and a cabin with Matt and Dana, and Charles and Julie.

It was a glorious break from the oppressive heat we experience daily here in Hermosillo. It was actually quite cold. I did not exactly prepare for the temperature given the triple digit daily temperatures at home. But nonetheless, it was fantastico.

We had steak every night! Fillets the first night, and ribeyes the second night. Lots of wine, tequila, and other beverages, coupled with cigars, to help digest the amazing food.

The dogs had a spectacular time. It has been 6 years since our last visit. Tila spent hours digging in the dirt. Scout ran vigorously until his legs shook uncontrollably.

We had a great time and the time we spent went all too quickly. It would be wonderful if this was a trip we could take on a monthly basis. I really enjoyed the change of temperature.

Unsuccessful rise, but still edible.

My favorite place to study here in HMO.

Sundays are still are free day from the diet. So today we went out for taco fish with some friends after church. So good.

I have been trying hard to smoke with more frequency these days. I don’t often have time, but some things you must make time for. So combining tasks with the cigar bar is a sure way to get things done.

We have a wonderful cigar place not too far from the house which has a couple lounges which are never occupied. I love it so much. Great service, good air conditioning, and you can bring your own drinks. They started selling non-cubans, so now I can smoke at a much more reasonable price.

It seems far too long since we we were last in Tucson. We used to drive back and forth between these cities every weekend (6 years ago). Now it seems that gap has widened to a few months between visits. Life has been hectic and such with robberies and other fun. Even so, we got away last week. It was a great time of rest, spectacular food, tasty wine, and ever better cigars (for digestion).

This steak and potato tradition is nearly a decade in operation. I love it so much. And being on this miserable diet the last few months (I’ve lost a whopping 5 pounds, so you know that’s worth it), these special occasions are the more appreciated. We had fillets, which is my favorite cut (closely followed by rib eye, and when able, the porter house).

We get plenty of monsoons here in Hermosillo, but they’re so much prettier in Tucson. We got hit hard Monday night and it was glorious.

Such a fun trip and one in which I hope to repeat soon.

Yrem and Heidi have returned from Wisconsin, bringing our numbers up to 18.

Alejandra forced me take pictures of her and Gabby. I charge $10 pesos each.

Phil was kind enough to visit us the Sunday before last. He drove down on his vacation by himself directly to the house. Pretty impressive given this town is not the easiest to navigate in my opinion.

We had a wonderful time with him. On Saturday night we had a carne asada at Yrem’s house. Sunday morning we had a breakfast one of my favorite places in town with Orlando and Ana.

In our service Sunday afternoon we had three baptisms, all three of Daniel and Daniela’s children, as well as participation in the Lord’s Supper. We used some delicious Mexican wine for the communion. I had baked bread that morning which proved plenty for our small gathering.

I made my hottest bread to date last week. Previously I’ve been doing about 2 to 3 grams of chiltepin per loaf, but I took it up to six grams last week which made for a sufficiently spicy loaf.

That red stuff in there in the bowl is fire in the mouth.