Saturday June 16, 2012

Saturday June 16/12 update

Bella was supposed to be visited by a neighborhood family to learn some English around 11:00. and Rosa, our cleaning lady, came to join in with her five-year-old precocious daughter Carolina.  Carolina was born in New York and therefore has a pretty decent command of the English language.   She sure enjoyed playing with the boys.  They laft about 11L25 as the other family hadn’t shown up and we didn’t think they would.

I was about to leave at 11:40 when 3 brothers from this family finally showed up so Bella helped them with their English lessons and had a few laughs over English indiosyncracies.

I left to go watch Mother Earth Festival celebrations at the Civic Plaza to watch some music, ethnic dancing, etc.   Bella joined me when she was done but she didn’t miss anything.  We did not see any dancing, just two sets of musicians, one Ecuadorian Spanish and one American gal named Sarah who sang in English (but also speaks Spanish) and was very well received.   There were several gringos walking the grounds during the afternoon and we did say Hi to a few.

Spanish singer               http://youtu.be/mdOicSGY2jA  http://youtu.be/ljGxc_-zsNc

Sarah                           http://youtu.be/4Gw7gKBHarU            http://youtu.be/kZtIKjlOqsc

Accordion player with a singer  http://youtu.be/dsBlp2LD9jI

We went home to change and then caught the #50 to go for supper at Joe’s Secret Garden (where Bella also plays bridge on Wednesdays) and I was under strict instructions from Joseph to bring my camera.  I am going to have to wangle some free meals for myself if I am going to do all this work for them.  It is one thing to take my own candids, because then I don’t really care if I miss a few faces or if I fluff a shot.   But to do it with expectations of full table shots, to do the processing, and then to have to send them full-resolution to Joseph, … well that becomes dreaded WORK.   I don’t mind his gushing over my pictures and saying that they have garnered lots of “Likes” on his Joe’s Secret Garden Facebook page, but I want a little tickle for my work.  Two freebie nights are enough.

The atmosphere at Joe’s is relaxed and friendly, exactly like being invited to a large supper at someone’s home and meeting their relatives and friends.  The food is always delicious and it is always a good night out.  We sat with Brian and Shelley from Calgary, Doug and Diana from Abbottsford, and Chris from Denver.   Garth and Orilla from Edmonton were at another table and Bella spotted another gal from Halifax.  The supper was Beef Wellington, a first for me, followed by key-lime pie, then another key-lime pie…  Bite me.

I had seen somewhere that Joe plays piano very well so I asked him to play a little and he acquiesced.  Here are 3 videos put together.   http://youtu.be/LJRDG5lBqH4

I will upload all the photos tomorrow as there are way too many.   I don’t have time tonight.

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

Friday June 15, 2012

Friday June 15/12 update

Bella went to meet Yoshi at a Spa near our Coopera store to exchange some goods.   Apparently the lady that runs the Spa was born in Main Centre, Sask (around Herbert, Morse, Swift Current).  They moved to Toronto, then Ecuador, she married an Ecuadorian and they have been back and forth between here and Texas many times.

I had a lazy day, watched a strange Casey Affleck movie then went for a little walk East again with the camera.  Behind the Hospital IESS is this complex of 136 townhouses that the security guard said was sold out although there appeared to be very few occupied yet.  Beyond that complex it appears there are a couple of apartments being built as well but they are not part of the complex.   I saw the #16 bus continue down the dirt road so some day I’ll have to see if it somehow makes it to the Hospital Del Rio that way…  We are not short of medical facilities in the area.

Walking back through the neighbourhood I saw a very familiar sight, a home restaurant (right next to their laundry) offering a $0.75 burger, and they are generally very good.  The pizza joint was closed again so I don't know if we will ever figure out their hours.

They are pouring a cement flat roof across the road.  They actually have a Ready-Mix truck come and pump it up to the roof where they are busy screeding (I think that’s the word) it flat, trying to beat the darkness on a Friday night.   Most workers are done at 4pm on a Friday night and these guys were still rushing at 6pm.

Bella made homemade chicken pot pie for supper and it was the best I have ever eaten anywhere.

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

120615 $.75c corner burger

120615 Concrete roof poured across the road from us

120615 Idyllic spot on the Rio Tomebamba

120615 Mighty big gum tree, and very old

120615 A quiet picnic near the river, in the park

120615 Rear of the Hospital IESS

120615 Picturesque river of rocks

120615 Unoccupied Townhomes, 136 in the complex

120615 More of the same

120615 Tall gums above 3-storey homes, 100' tall+

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.

120614 The boys in the carrier, what's that smell?  Dog!

120614 The boys love Bella's recliner

120614 Creek and bridge at the end of our street

120614 Creek and bridge at the end of our street 2

120614 Free Clinic west of Raoul's

120614 Yup, a concrete block ceiling!  Weird!

120614 Super tough homemade hacksaw

120614 Hospital IESS at the end of our street

120614 Tending the lawnmowers

120614 Our new friend Raoul

120614 Raoul's View to the East

120614 Raoul's View to the North (Monay Mall)

120614 Raoul's View to the West

120614 Tall gums looking East

120614 Tall gums looking West

120614 Indigenous woman waiting in the parking lot

120614 Raoul's workmen

120614 Cutting concrete makes a lot of dust

Wednesday June 13, 2012

Wednesday June 13/12 update

I finally got Tom Thumb to visit me a couple of times this morning in the sunlight so we could see his iridescent colours better and I could make use of the new tripod.  You can easily see the violet patch below the eyes which give this species the name of VioletEar.   These still aren’t quite the definitive shots I want so I’ll keep trying to get the right shot and video.   http://youtu.be/FI5owV8jKW0

I am off to Spanish class this morning and Bella will be off to Joe’s Secret Garden to play bridge.

The bus drivers here are a known quantity.  They don’t give any quarter to any vehicle or pedestrian.  And, if the driver is in a hurry you had better cooperate with your ingress and egress speed or you could lose a limb.  Our morning driver was picking up some solo people this morning without stopping, just slowing down enough so they can get one handhold and one foot onboard.

Chris contacted me this morning so we met downtown after my class.  We both waited on Calle Larga for the 12:40 or so flight from Quito to fly overhead but it didn’t show up so we went for lunch at the Taj Mahal.

Then we hunted for a specific paint store on Cordoba (closed for siesta) and the Vilcabamba store on Mariscal Lamar.  Then we checked out the St Cecilia store and several furniture and hardware stores before parting at the Rotary Market.  It was cool when the sun was hidden behind the clouds as we had an unusually strong breeze today but it is so darn nice in the sunshine.

I guess I enjoy the sunshine because I can enjoy it on my own time, when I want, and it is plentiful.  When I was tied behind a desk sunshine seemed like a luxury.

Tom was very hungry when I got home so he visited me 3 times in 20 minutes and got his fill for a while.   The boys are hungry too and sticking like glue but they have to wait for suppertime.

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

120613 Snug as a bug in my nightshirt

120613 Kid on the bus

120613 This is our fall season

120613 Hmmmmmmmm

120613 Rotary Market

120613 Tom Thumb showing his colours 1

120613 Tom Thumb showing his colours 2

120613 Tom Thumb showing his colours 3

120613 Tom Thumb showing his colours 4

120613 Tom Thumb's afternoon feeding 1

120613 Tom Thumb's afternoon feeding 2

120603 Tom's getaway profile

Tuesday June 12, 2012

Tuesday June 12/12 update

Last night we tried to watch 3 different movies but stopped them all ½-way through, we just couldn’t get into any of them.  I had another sleepless night so I was up watching TV for a while and uploaded a few pics.

Bella stayed home as Rosa was cleaning the house today and she did not have a book to exchange.  So it was up to me to go exchange my book and the 7 movies we have accumulated.  I took the #15 to the Inca ruins/Banco Central and walked up Calle Larga from there for a change of pace.  Naturally I go by Todos santos and I can’t resist that beautiful white church on the hill.  The hoarding was gone from the front of the church and the doors were open so I stopped in.  The building is under major renovation so I was asked not to go in too far.   I don’t think it is going to be used as a church at all, I am pretty sure it is destined to be a museum.  

The Windhorse Café was open for business and their prices seem very reasonable, up to $5 only.  There were a lot of familiar faces in attendance at the book/movie exchange.   Garth Bogart is back from Canada after a successful trip home and their container of belongings should arrive in 2 weeks.   My Spanish teacher, Christine Magee was also there with her husband Noel, who is actually German, not French. 

I got another Tom Clancy book, bigger than the Cuenca phone book and yellow pages.  The selection of movies seemed low so I just kept aside any of those I thought we would watch.  When I got through the main pile I counted my pile, exactly seven, and all seemingly action-adventure, go figure….

Then I just wandered towards El Centro hoping to keep my sweet tooth in check.  The seven day “Body Of Christ” sweets festival is still on and the area around Parque Calderon was crowded with people enjoying the great sunshine.   I noted that there was going to be a free live play in ½ hour at the Teatro Sucre so I stayed in the vicinity.  The theatre is at the back of the Justice building which has this amazing center courtyard.   My camera was busy again.

The play was about two Ecuador soccer fans (yellow jerseys) and the crowd seemed to enjoy the humour.  I took a photo and a  video just for kicks.  http://youtu.be/yeiPWGwYD0I  The sound effects person was a marvel.  I honestly don't understand the background noise on my video.   I don't think I had my microphone obstructed...??

Then my phone rang!   I didn’t bother to turn it off because nobody ever phones me…  I killed the call and then decided I may as well leave the play because I can’t understand much anyway but I got the gist of it.  I slipped out and returned the call to Chris who was a couple of blocks away and wondered if I would join him for lunch at this new hole-in-the-wall restaurant he had been referred to.  The place was crowded with Ecuadorians, always a good sign, and the food was very delicious for $2.50.  Thank you Chris for buying lunch today.

Poor Bettye has a sinus infection that has had her felled for about two weeks but she has finally gone to see a doctor.  It is hoped the antibiotics will have her mobile again by the weekend.

Rosa was hard at work when I returned.  I made her take a short break and observe as I fed Tom Thumb.  Her eyes were like saucers at this sight.   She couldn’t believe he was tame enough to trust me for a hand-feeding.

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

120612 The two cathedrals

120612 Justice building courtyard 1

120612 Justice building courtyard ceiling

120612 Justice building courtyard 2

120612 Justice building courtyard from 2nd flr

120612 Wall mural

120612 Old cathedral belfry

120612 Teatro Sucre actor in long john's

120612 Street scene 1 - Calle Larga

120612 Street scene 2, Justice building at left

120612 Street scene 3 - sweets at old cathedral

120612 Street scene 4 - street of sweets

120612 Street scene 5

120612 Street scene 6 - Tempting sweets

120612 Street scene 7

120612 Street scene 8 - who can resist?

120612 Todos Santos 1

120612 Todos Santos 2

120612 Todos Santos 3

120612 Tourist bus at Immaculate Conception

120612 Windhorse Cafe on Calle Larga

120612 Windhorse Cafe operators