Yesterday I stocked the kitchen and settled into the apartment and today I wandered the town and settled into the studio.  The sky is an intense blue and the sunshine bright and the temperatures are warmer than they were this time last year. The evenings and mornings are cool requiring a light jacket, but by mid-day it is shirt sleeve weather.  It is also dry.  I washed a sweatshirt this morning and hand wrung it and it was dry by 3 pm.

This morning there not too many people out and about either on the street or at the Instituto where there was an arts and crafts fair in the courtyard. (The Instituto is one of two major art schools in town.) But by this afternoon, the town was teaming with locals, and Mexican and foreign visitors.  Although not a holiday, it still had a festive feeling.  The Jardin (center of town) was dense with people milling about, food vendors, toy and baloon vendors, and mariachi bands hoping for requests.

The arts and crafts fair features jewelry, ceramics, paintings, decorative papers, clothing, rugs, scarves, soaps, honey, etc.  Every time I visit I discover something of interest - this time it was the folk art.

I found this applique work charming!

This group of people are all in line for ice cream, the only vendor in the center who sells it.  Behind the line of poeple is a mariachi band entertaining the people as the patiently wait their turn.