Neither Rebecca nor I has slept well this week. The excitement of Santa, you think? Well, of course, that’s part of it. And, Mr. Claus, we liked the stocking caps and that you’ve joined the upcycling clothing movement. Your endorsement was the nudge needed.

But we won’t need them where we’re going. We’re migrating south to Mexico for January.

Some of our friends wonder why Mexico. Aren’t you going out on a limb? What about the cartels?

We asked ourselves the same question two years ago, before our first exposure to San Miguel. Why leave the comfort and routines of our little nest in northeast Iowa for the unknown?

This central Mexican community is now a little less mysterious, and what we’ve come to glimpse — the people, the climate, the landscape, the food, the culture, the language, even the cobblestone streets — we like.

We believe it’s a durable branch.

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