Autumn in May

My wife made dutch babies for breakfast a few days ago. I'm not sure what their real name is, but they are good. I think its actually an egg souffle. I can't decide if it looks better sideways....

We took a little excursion to visit Pablo Neruda's home, La Chascona in downtown Santiago. On the banks of the Rio Mapocho, protesters were camped out to show their discontent with a new welfare bill passed in the Chilean congress. Apparently they aren't too bad off, because nobody ever lived here before the bill became an issue, and they all have pretty nice expedition tents.

Pablo Neruda is one of Chile's 2 Nobel Laureates, and this home was very eccentric, like the one we visited at Isla Negra a couple years ago. He seemed to have a taste of unique architecture and women.




Sunset viewed from our back porch.



Several of us had lunch at Pedro & Marissa's home in La Reina recently. Florencia loves playing fetch with their dogs. We were surprised to meet Edwin Reynolds from Southern there--we didn't know he was coming to Chile.

Autumn colors in our neighborhood of Santiago.

My wife and I have been saving our 500 peso (about $1) coins in a piggy-bank we bout in Pomaire over a year ago. We cracked it open recently, and the total added up to about $360! We plan to use it for something(s) special.

On another recent Sunday we went to one of our favorite escapes from the city, Yerba Loca National Reserve. The fall colors were losing a bit of steam as the snow creeps further down the mountains.

We really enjoyed the fresh, clean air outside of Santiago.

My wife made her weekly trip to volunteer at a local orphanage. She feels very sad when she sees the babies, because none of them get enough love or attention, and they often have to cry themselves to sleep alone. She says they get better attention that some other orphanages she has worked at.

Nary a day goes by when Mrs. Globetrotter doesn't exclaim: "I want a baby". Sometimes I ask her why, and the answers are usually similar. For example: "I want to care for a baby and raise it", or "I want to have a little bundle of joy to love". The clock ticks. I hope I will be a responsible father someday when the time comes. I guess we have been married long enough--2 years and 2 months, to start having kids. It took me long enough to become ready for marriage. Thinking about having a child is another decision. I guess secretly I fear the loss of independence and added responsibility of kids. At least for now, we enjoy the practice.