Cuenca Updates: Thursday June 14, 2012

Thursday June 14/12 update

Yesterday Bella had visited with our friend Manon who lives next to Joe’s Secret Garden as she had just returned from a trip home to the US. Manon had returned with a long-haired appaloosa dachshund, a rescue dog of all things. Bella says it was all friendly when Manon was around, but turned into a guard dog when Manon went in for a shower. Too funny!

Bella returned home with the pet carrier we had lent her for the trip and set it down at the entrance to the kitchen. Well you know what happens when you put down a box or bag or anything that looks like fun in a house with two cats…. Peso and Pancho were trying to figure out that new smell in their old carrier and we’re not sure if they have figured out that it was used by a dreaded dog??

Bella was also talking to Stefania at the External Affairs office in that same area to get a handle on her requirements before she leaves in August. They are hoping to have a Cuenca office open and running in 2 weeks (a month in Ecuador time, even she admitted) so people can come here and get things sorted out without lawyers. She said to return in mid-July for the letter that Bella will need. There is an unsubstantiated rumour that the President has scrapped the Censo requirement for travel, but apparently this is not true, at least not yet.

Bella was off early this morning to Coopera Credit Union to transfer some CD’s, then to SuperMaxi for some groceries. When she returned she asked me to refrain from using the wine vinegars in my salads as she wants them for cooking purposes and she can’t find any right now in the stores. Again, the thing to do in Ecuador is to stock up on specialty items when you spot them in the stores because you may not see them again for months.

I had a long 3-part sleep and it did good to recharge by batteries. The weather was a little iffy this morning so I decided to use my upgraded brain power to complete a few peace-of-mind issues. I updated my personal photo website with the RedBubble links, then I updated the CuencaResidency blog with several items. Then I scanned all my Consul and Embassy and Immigration contact information to save in hard copy and electronic files, then backed everything up, including on 2 “sticks” for off-site emergency portability.

In the midst of doing all this I took 3 videos of Tom Thumb, again not in the light I want, but combined two videos into one for upload to YouTube http://youtu.be/qCKkYYDv3mQ.

I then decided I am not going to vegetate in the house all day so I took a short walk starting east from home toward the Hospital IESS and the small creek. There are some very old gum trees that are very tall at the end of our street.

Then I started back west along the Autopista for a bit then cut down to Raoul’s new place again. He was there so he delighted in showing me around. The rooms are really small, Ecuadorian style, and the workmanship leaves a lot to be desired but he is not hiring specialists, just generalists, so the quality suffers. I climbed up the the third floor to see the nice three-direction views and to again confirm that he was using concrete blocks for his ceiling. Yup! It sure is!

He had found a German Shepherd adolescent dog and had left word in his neighborhood that he had the dog with him. It wasn’t long before it was claimed by the local priest who gratefully came to pick it up. Raoul was really hoping nobody would claim him because he really wants a Shepherd.

He seemed to have time on his hands so I invited him to view our place and he came along. He was blown away with the quality of our home, the skylight, the he really loved the wooden cupboards, closets and doors. He was impressed with our renovations to the garage and the sunroom on the terrace.

Raoul was also favored by an immediate visit by Tom Thumb so he was flabbergasted. He was overflowing with compliments when he left. I am sure his workmen are going to have a more particular taskmaster when he gets back to his construction site.

Enjoy the pics and video. That was today’s excitement. Hugs to all.