Soggy Bloggy
Today was dreary: cloudy throughout and intermittent rain. Boots didn't get to do any sunbathing, her favorite activity in Mexico, other than walks on the Calzada. The real rain didn't start until about 5:30 PM, with several stops and starts until about 7 PM or so, at which point the monsoon began. Here is a shot of the patio with rain coming off the roof.

The rain continued, steady and heavy. I finally gave up on the rain diminishing and dashed out to rescue some potted plants (basil) that were absolutely drowning. To give you an idea of how much rain we've had, we discussed the rain in Spanish class last week. We were already on our third day of overcast and intmittent rain at that point. We haven't had a completely clear day since, and we've had rain nearly every one. I wouldn't be surprised if the dry riverbed in Monterrey proper was full.

The rain led to a potential problem: flooding. The maid's quarters in our house are reached by exiting through the laundry room and walking about ten feet across an open courtyard. (If we had a live-in maid, we'd have to really dislike her to make her live there. She'd need about six keys just to get in the house, exit the laundry, and enter her room. Then there's the room itself: tiny bedroom (good luck fitting a single bed in there!) and tiny (claustrophobic!) bathroom.) To get back on track, the courtyard has a single drain, just outside the maid's quarters door. It was clogged with leaves from the neighbor's tree and other bits (probably including drowned roaches, but I try not to think about it). As a result, the water was about an inch from coming under the door into the laundry room and less than half an inch from entering the maid's quarters. Wading through about eight inches of water, I went into the maid's quarters bath, the only place we had a plunger (what planning!), cleared the drain with my fingers, then plunged it a couple times just in case. After removing the obstruction, I could immediately feel a strong current.

Within just a few minutes, the water level had visibly dropped. I declared victory!



Perhaps tomorrow I'll get some scenery shots up. The maid called in sick, postponing until Thursday. That means I have Spanish class in the morning, but plenty of time for college stress in the afternoon. Until then, stay dry.