Saturday, February 25, 2012

Friday-Saturday February 24-25, 2012


Friday Feb 24/12 update
Bella was heading out for bridge today so I decided to go walking to again try to find a way to cover the piping in the dining room and to put a wider shelf on the terrace for the boys.
I stopped so many places, eliminating many different ideas, and probably coming up with the dining room solution at a drapery shop.  This was at a store very near to our old place but there were many more shops above that I kept walking and didn’t stop until I was past the airport at the Kywi store.  At that point I felt like I had a charleyhorse and walking was not fun so I caught a bus downtown near the Rotary Market.  I poked around a bit, caught a bit of lunch (BBQ pig) and toyed with the idea of hanging around for Bella but my legs said no.
So I caught a bus home and, lo and behold, I got a call from the Etapa internet technician.  They were at the house at 4:30 and fiddled for an hour, changed my router password and figured they had it solved.   So far, so good.
Bella came home with the news that our immigration lawyer from Quito, Gabriela, is saying we need to get a letter from the Immigration Police Censo guys because we apparently have to apply for our Cedula papers (in Quito) before March 6th or we may have to start the process over again.  Bella was livid that we may have to spend another $40 changing our airline tickets again.  We had been told by the Immigration Police that we had an amnesty on dates because this was all their fault, not ours.  Gabriela said she was going to the Minister’s office today and would let us know the outcome, but hasn’t called yet.
Next week could be very busy as we try to deal with finalizing our home purchase and dealing with Immigration.


Saturday Feb 25/12 update
We bused downtown to meet Jim and Cindy Wilkins for a chauffeured trip to the Caja Mountains with a pleasant driver named Juan.  It was nice and sunny as we left Cuenca and we were hoping for a nice day but it got cooler and cloudier as we climbed to 4,167 meters and the Tres Cruches viewpoint.
Tres Cruches (Three Crosses) is so named for the crosses placed there to mark where they found three bodies a few years ago.  At night it can get quite cold there so people who get lost on mountain trails often do not survive.
The Cajas are one of the ranges of the Andes Mountains that stretch through South America and it would have been better to have seen them on a sunny day when we would have hiked to some of the many waterfalls.  Also 3 of us have colds and my charleyhorse was acting up so hiking was not on anyone’s agenda today anyway.
We were however treated to a couple of gaggles of llamas and alpacas (the white ones) on the roadside.  But we did not see much else in the way of animals or birds until we stopped for lunch at this lovely valley resort surrounded by the mountains and waterfalls.
We came back home before 3.  Juan lives just south of us, over the hill we look at every day.  Five years ago he bought a large piece of land and a huge house for $40,000.  He raises dogs, looks after several properties, and has his tourist tour service.
At 5:30 we caught a bus to Joe’s Secret Garden for a fried chicken supper that everyone had been raving about.  The chicken was good, not spicy enough for me (bring on the KFC), followed by a superb strawberry pie.
Oh, and the Internet hasn't dropped on us once yet today so, knock on wood (usually my head), we may have reliable service finally.
That was today’s excitement.     Enjoy the pics.   Hugs to all.

















Thursday, February 23, 2012

Wednesday-Thursday February 22-23, 2012


Wednesday Feb 22/12 update
http://www.zazzle.com/souvenirphotostudio
Here is a link to my new Zazzle site which will take a while to build up.  From this site a person can order about 350 different variations of artworks derived from my photographs including mugs, aprons, posters, prints, clothing, etc.  If you see anything you like, but not in the product you want, just contact me and I will get the proper item uploaded for you.   If you have a favorite photograph from any of the other sites that isn’t uploaded yet, and know what product you would like it on, let me know.
Sorry the embedded code did not function to give you the cute Flash player to scroll my work.

We went to the airport to change our tickets to Quito again to the end of March as there still is no Censo paper here so there is no point making the trip until that is resolved.  Then we made a quick stop in Kywi to check out shelving possibilities for the dining room.
Then we went to Banco Pichincha to get a Cashier’s cheque for the balance of the house payment as apparently Jorge has the title split now.  Michael is to call him in the morning and get the papers over to the lawyers for notarization and finalization.  This is just formalities and paying the final bills before we get the house, taxes and utilities all in our names.  Some of those items could take a while yet.  Of course, it started raining while we were at Pichincha, like usual.
Michael called again to say Jorge had an emergency so nothing will happen until tomorrow.  Also Etapa is to come and try to fix our Internet problem in the morning. 


Thursday Feb 23/12 update
Bella is off to her book exchange and then weaving this morning to get a latex backing on the rugs she has woven for the living room.  I was sitting around home waiting for Etapa to call, crazily expecting them to show up first thing at 8am.  I am such a sucker for punishment.  I have been on the internet most of the morning and have lost the signal 4 times in 4 hours.
Michael called to say Etapa won’t show up until after 2pm.  He also said Jorge has dropped off the property subdivision papers to Nelson & Grace, our lawyers.  He said Nelson has looked over the papers and they are in order but he won’t have time to do anything with them until at least Monday.
Even though it is another blustery day the boys are enjoying the view and the warmth of the terrace so I took a couple of shots.
Etapa never did show up, again.   I am so fed up with their service I am ready to tell them to take a hike.
That was today’s excitement.     Enjoy the pics.   Hugs to all.





Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Monday-Tuesday February 20-21, 2012


Monday Feb 20/12 update
Today is still part of the Carnaval holiday so it is really quiet.  We are both still struggling with the sinuses so the furthest we have gone is to Coral at Monay for lunch groceries.   Bella had slept for 12 hours straight so our bodies need more recovery time.
I am spending my day uploading photos to a new site called Zazzle that can provide up to 350 different products including clothing, mugs, etc.  The site is at http://www.zazzle.com/souvenirphotostudio  and will be growing daily as I upload more and more photos.
Bella’s Mom says Shaw has told her how to call our cel phones from Canada in an emergency (at 47c a minute).  If someone wants to test it for 47c, give us a call.  To reach Bella try 01-11-593-8834-8897 or Al at 01-11-593-8195-3658. 
Cindy called Bella and reported that it was deader than a doornail in downtown.  It seems like most Ecuadorians leave town for the Carnaval holiday.  We could tell the difference here too as it was extremely quiet too.

Tuesday Feb 21/12 update
The silence today is deafening.  We both slept in way beyond our normal again.  Other than the odd dog barking we hardly hear any noise at all.  I did an hour’s suntanning this morning again and it was so peaceful.
We finally had a response to an email we had sent to ArteLibre looking for a mural artist.  We have responded to this fellow and hope he can give us an indication of his pricing for one or two murals.
Mid-afternoon livened up in the neighborhood with a few families getting into the CARNAVAL spirit and wetting everything in sight.  Since my momma didn’t raise no fool I took shots from the safety of the third floor terrace.
The boys are just lazing away the sunshine up there.
That was today’s excitement.     Enjoy the pics.   Hugs to all.











Sunday, February 19, 2012

Sunday February 19, 2012


Sunday Feb 19/12 update
It is a blustery day that had moments of sunshine this morning as I made my way about 12 blocks west to the only official Carnaval event today.  It is listed as “Ginkana Carnavalera Con Los Barrios De Cuenca”.  Loosely translated it means “Carnival contests with the neighborhoods of Cuenca.”
The photos will show most of what I watched for 2.5 hours until the sky looked ominous and I made it home just as it started raining.  I did not catch any photos of the inter-neighborhood race as it was too spread out and there were just too many people in the way.
Families enjoyed the brief sunshine and mostly were shooting the foam spray cans at each other.  I got hit a few times, also by super-soakers, which is OK as that is mildly refreshing.  Luckily the camera never got too wet.  I managed to avoid any of the few water balloons that were in evidence.  Seeing the joy in the faces of the children as they got to shoot their parents and siblings was worth the trip.   Bella was not up to par today so she did not accompany me. 
This is another day of rest to recharge the batteries as we struggle to get rid of the sinus cold that won’t go away.
On a sad note, our prayers go out to two people who have always been likable, vibrant, funny and good friends over many years.  Our sister-in-law, Kaye Bourassa, is now unable to look after herself or her affairs and is in a supervised rest home in Victoria.   And our cousin by marriage, Peter Sikorski, has been felled by a brain tumour and is now in the Sarcee Hospice in Calgary.  We wish them both a miracle recovery.
That was today’s excitement.     Enjoy the pics.   Hugs to all.

120219 Carnaval 1, incoming water balloon

120219 Pretty flowers

120219 Pretty Palm

120219 Family riverside picnic

120219 Ecuador-style volleyball

120219 Family lunch

120219 Striking tree

120219 Carnaval 2, spraying sister

120219 Carnaval 3, spraying friends

120219 Carnaval 4, getting away

120219 Carnaval 5, dangerous Auntie

120219 Future acrobat

120219 Carnaval 6, gotcha

120219 Carnaval 6, tastes like soap

120219 Carnaval 7, foam shower

120219 Carnaval 8, volunteer officials

120219 Carnaval 9, Mom fights back

120219 Carnaval 10, little guys are dangerous too

120219 Carnaval 11, school buddies

120219 Carnaval 12, Dad fights back