Friday, April 19, 2013

Friday April 19, 2013


Friday April 19, 2013  update #427
I tried some Pure Rest tablets, brought from Canada by our friend Mavis last year, to see if they would help me get a decent night’s sleep.  Of course I awoke at 3am, got up at 4:30 because my mind was rolling with several ideas for a fundraiser that could be awesome.   I went back to bed at 6:30 and didn’t want to get up at 8:30 to let Rosa in.
Bella had to go to weaving for the charity work but she was the only one that showed up today.   She got back in time to play more online Bridge.
I struck a deal with my buddy Chris to buy him out of the projector that we bought last year.   I am not sure exactly what I will do with it, but I wanted it accessible in case we needed it for Hearts Of Gold.
I didn’t venture out at all today so I went to work on a few more Pase del Nino photos from Christmas Eve.
That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.  Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Thursday April 18, 2013


Thursday April 18, 2013  update #426
Well I had the best sleep in weeks last night but I am still tired   I need many more of that kind of night to allay this exhaustion.
Bella didn’t stray at all today, getting into several Bridge tournaments online.   In one of them she played by herself and came in First!   Congrats dear.
I was getting ready to go to a Thank You card signing at the Hearts Of Gold office but the heavens opened so I delayed my departure.   I didn’t miss much.
Some discussion was given to suggestions for another event in August, one of the suggestions being a children’s event, outside.   I could foresee so many obstacles and expenses that I just kept my mouth shut on that.   I mentioned that friends had said that the big Full House Lottery in Canada was running an online 50-50 raffle and the Pot was already at $2.5 million….   That perked a few ears up….   A good computer person could operate that very simply and at almost no expense for a great return to HoG if we decided to try it here.    Our next project is to help local children be able to enroll in school in September.  That is a huge financial burden to all poor Ecuadorian families.
Thank you again to all donors, supporters and attendees of the Silent Auction last Saturday.  Sorry no photos but I am going to post something below that came up on Facebook, and they actually work…  Symbols…
That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.  Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Wednesday April 17, 2013


Wednesday April 17, 2013  update #425
OMG, Bella bought me a cabbage so heavy and so huge it was enough to make me 13 lunches!!  If the price is still 68c, you do the math, those are pretty cheap lunches at a nickel apiece!!
Bella was off to do about 5 errands ending with her Bridge Club.   I was to meet the gang at a recommended burger joint near Millennium Mall called Chill & Grill which is now purported to be the best burger place in town.
I did my chores and got back into my Tom Clancy book and should have had a nap, but didn’t.   Instead I decided to leave early and roam around that area before meeting the gang.  The Rio Tomebamba is quite docile as we haven’t had much rain in town for a while.  
I stopped in at the CIDAP Museum at the bottom of the Escalinata to see what they have new this month.  I know I read the lineup at some point but my brain doesn’t retain that stuff very well.  What they did have was a lot of devil masks counterbalanced with a lot of crucifixion art, Jesus versus the devil kind of thing.   Some of the art was really striking, especially the “Indian Jesus” which is really different.
Parque De La Madre had some openings in the fence so we could see the progress they are making, because they should be opening the park at the end of the month possibly.   It should be really beautiful and the walkers and runners will be really looking forward to the reopening.
I poked around Millennium Mall but couldn’t find much of interest for me except the Fuji store.
The gang showed up at the Chill & Grill around 5:30 and I ordered the Bacon Cheesburger, looking forward to a new burger experience.   The meal came and it had really great fried potatoes like fat potato chips.  I quite enjoyed those.  The burger was a huge disappointment though.  Big bun, small burger, and I couldn’t taste either the bacon or the cheese, so it was a huge letdown.   It doesn’t hold a candle to Big Kabuda’s, California Kitchen or Eucalyptus CafĂ© at all.  I won’t be rushing to eat there again.
We went across the Tutto Freddo’s for an ice cream to top off the meal before doing a small shopping excursion at the Super Maxi nearby.   I had been keeping my eye out for a small ghetto or stereo to play some music but never saw one all day.
That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.  Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Tuesday April 16, 2013


Tuesday April 16, 2013  update #424
Last night I finished Chris’ book, Methuselah’s Secret, available as an eBook too, and now I have to press him to finish the sequel.   He gave us a taste of the sequel at the last Writer’s Group reading and now it all fits.  C’mon Chris, get that typewriter clacking.
OMG did you read somewhere about explosions at the Boston Marathon.   I have a few ideas on what to do with the sicko that could do such a thing.  I think I’ll watch “Man On Fire” again to stoke me up.
Most of the morning was spent uploading photos etc before I had to run out to three meetings.  First we helped Mark and Karen with some banking so they could purchase their ‘new’ Suzuki.
Then we had the post-mortem on the Silent Auction and I was pretty surprised that almost every volunteer showed up to give their input.  The Auction was a success, and will end up closer to $5,500 when they add in the 50-50 proceeds plus the unpaid items.   Our goal was for $3,500 so this gives HoG the option to fund new projects that have been on hold.
The main gripe was the inadequate sound system which did not help us in informing the public properly about rules, etc.  In spite of that we had a huge crowd that was appreciative of all the work we did.
Many ideas were bounced around about trying a live auction although many did not believe Sheryle when she said a live Auction with 100 items would run about 5 hours.  Do the math at 3 minutes per item… she is absolutely right, then add at least an hour to register the public with bid sheets, etc, etc….  Another idea was to eliminate the paperwork, have everybody hooked up and synchronized electronically.  I didn’t see Ms Rockefeller ponying up the money for that little tidbit.   Talking heads aside, it was a productive meeting with a lot of brilliant ideas and shortcuts we can use next time.    I am so darn exhausted from this time I don’t even want to think about next time (due in August).
The I met with Ed and Peggy who had come to buy my gorgeous little Sony pocket camera.  They got a steal of a deal on that little puppy.    Now I have to work on selling my larger Sony DSC-HX1 with all its many accoutrements.  If you know of someone interested in that, let me know ASAP.
Bella is in an online Bridge Tournament all week, twice a day, so we are making arrangements to eat out every day so she doesn’t have to bother cooking.   Today we ordered the breaded chicken from next door where the price is never the same twice.  Today it was $2.50 each, no soup or drink or dessert, but the platter was full and neither of us could finish it, so we won’t complain.
Bella was just logging onto the Bridge Tournament when the doorbell rang.   The new Suzuki owners were outside with their new prized possession.and wanted me to take photos of them.   It is claimed that there is a way to get an Ecuadorian Drivers’ Licence without all the rigamaroll of tests in Spanish and so on, so I will be tagging along if that is true.
I did manage a couples of shots downtown today….
That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.  Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Monday, April 15, 2013

Monday April 15, 2013


Monday April 15, 2013  update #423
Boy, I am still so tired.  Never got to bed until 2am and awoke early like usual.  Some things are nagging at me about the HoG Auction that I will need to get resolved soon.
Bella is going to be busy participating twice a day in an online Bridge tournament for the whole week.
While at John & Barbie’s last night, on of the other guests asked me about finding a pocket camera so I decided on the spot to sell my Sony DSC-H55 because I am so unlikely to use it again.   Now that I am shooting RAW, I just can’t go back to shooting JPEG.   Therefore I guess I will shortly be selling my DSC-HX1 too with all its trimmings.
Oh, John and Barbie’s B+B is listed at https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/964085 if anyone is interested,   It is truly a beautiful home.   Of course there are many other listings under AIRBNB.com for homes in many countries.
Just got work that Hearts Of Gold raised $4,638 at the Auction event Saturday night!!  This exceeded our modest goal and allows us to begin other projects that were put aside for lack of funding.   Again THANK YOU to everyone who participated, and of course to all the volunteers who put in so many hours and donated so many of the items themselves.
There is a small group that gets together to dance here, not often enough, and the lady who spearheads it wants to make a weekly event of it when she returns from the US.  She has asked me to download a few 50’s and 60’s oldies to a CD.  Well that holds over 200 songs so I did that this afternoon.   It sure is a pleasure to listen to those old familiar tunes……..   No photos today, sorry.
That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.  Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Sunday April 14, 2013


Sunday April 14, 2013  update #422
Bella was off to her Bridge Club while I did my Internet chores then just collapsed back into bed.
I got up in time to meet Bella at John & Barbie’s shindig on Los Alamos for John’s 70th Birthday.  Gosh it seems like forever since I had a simple event to attend that did not necessitate any demands on my time or my camera.  I was able to visit and have a few drinks with many of our new friends in Cuenca.
John and Barbie have this incredible bungalow they have for use as a B+B while they live in the “cottage” at the front, which is actually a maid’s quarters.   The huge yard was perfect for a lovely “fall” evening of potluck food, good music, and schmoozing with friends.
Our shock of the evening was seeing newbies Mike and Jing yet again at this function.  They must think that we go to everything in Cuenca because we have run into them everywhere in the past week.  They even happened to pick California Kitchen as the place for supper last night and stumbled upon our Silent Auction.  This is truly weird.  They are leaving in a few days and are supposed to be back to stay in 3 weeks.   They are defying all local wisdom and are desperately trying to find a place to buy before they leave.    We wish them luck in that misguided endeavor as you can’t get to know a town like Cuenca in 2 weeks.
Winding down from the stress of working on the Auction is not easy, as ideas and questions constantly swirl in this old brain and won’t let me fully relax.   Hopefully this will improve over the next few days.    Tonight’s fun was a good start.
That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.  Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/