Happy Saturday

The sun heated up our glass house in a hurry this morning, and we hit the ground running, like little bits of popcorn launching out of our husks.

I was dispatched to the market known as El Molino to buy a bed frame for Sophia and get the zippers fixed on a duffel bag and a cello case. I also planned to check out the indoor marketplace that apparently had some great stuff...

Step one: bed purchase. Along the railroad tracks outside the market, at least a hundred furniture vendors line up with their wares every Saturday. I was able to find a bed frame for 80 soles ($25) pretty quickly. I helped the casera take it apart and bundle it up for me to throw in a taxi when I was done with the rest of my purchases.

Step two: zipper repair. I found an old man in a tin shed surrounded by piles of dilapidated footwear. He was able to fix the zipper on our duffel bag and on Sophia's cello case in ten minutes for a grand total of 3 soles. That's one dollar.

Step three: a tour of El Molino. Thank goodness I only had 150 soles on me is all I can say. Cameras, clothing, toys, speakers, and... DVDs. I managed to buy the entire oeuvre of the Sopranos for less than a tank of gas. I also picked up the second season of True Blood (we just finished the first) and Arrested Development. Woohoo! Our evenings will be a bit more fun and decidedly less productive as we move forward here in Cusco.

I put Sophia's bed together as soon As I got home and she slept almost all night in her own bed! We tried out the room up on the third floor and it was lovely. This house is leaps and bounds ahead of our old place and really feels like a home.

In the afternoon we dropped off Isabel at her orchestra practice and we three headed off to a Hanukkah party! Our friend Heather who works at Sophia's school is Jewish and decided to do a little latkes and dreidle fest. It was wonderful to see the kids having such a good time as they played dreidle, ate latkes, and listened to Heather read picture books about the holiday. We said the prayers as the children lit the candles at sunset. As we left to pick up Isabel the stars were the brightest I have seen since arriving in Peru.

It was a great Saturday in Cusco.