Saturday May 11, 2013

Saturday May 11, 2013  update #449

I had an early morning appointment with the new Executive Director of Hearts Of Gold to iron out a few issues and to brainstorm a few more ideas in preparation for Tuesday’s meeting.   After that I will be missing about 6 weeks of meetings so I need to get my areas of concern looked after.

A long nap was what the doctor ordered for the afternoon before we headed to the west end.   It started to rain as we attempted to access Mark & Karen’s new apartment but the security guard was nowhere to be seen so we did not get in.   We don’t complain about the recent rains because the rivers are really quite low.

So we backtracked to have a delicious BBQ supper at Joe’s Secret Garden followed by scrumptious cinnamon rolls.  It really is heartening that we have made so many good friends and acquaintances at Joe’s and how they go out of their way to say hello and goodbye and to ask advice on different matters.   It really is a good core bunch of folks that frequent Joe’s.

I see Bella finished the second baby booty so now I has some shots of the pair of them.   So cute…

That was the day's excitement,   Cheers, Al   Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Friday May 10, 2013

Friday May 10, 2013  update #448

I was off early to get to Banco Pichincha and try again with my third visit for an International Credit Card.  We had carefully filled in the new application and therefore I was hopeful things would go smoothly, but this is Ecuador, and nothing runs smoothly.  First they needed a copy of our utility bill, which we don’t receive because they are paid automatically through this very bank.  Finally they managed to print off a copy somehow.   They got Diana down from the fourth floor and I explained the strange situation about our confusing address.   The tax bill shows us on 24 De Mayo and the utility bill shows us on Popayan so they agreed to use Popayan.  Then Diana tells us that because we entered a number in a box we shouldn’t have that they needed another new application, again with both signatures.   Of course Bella is not with me so my patience is wearing a little thin with this ridiculousness that you can’t just make a correction and initial it like anywhere else in the civilized world.  Then, to top it all off, now they say they need a $2,000 CD on deposit for an International Credit Card where they will only give you 70% for a limit!   I don’t know how I held my cool but I thanked them and left.   I called Bella and we will maybe be checking out other banking options upon my return from Canada.  

Bella was off to her Weaving Store classes and charity work.  The new little baby workboots she has made are just too cute.

I then decided to go to the Carolina Bookstore and sign out a few movies.    I went through their whole supply which some poor soul took three days to put in alphabetical order.  I grabbed about 7 movies and headed downtown towards the San Francisco church. 

The area of the flower market was very busy and the flowers intoxicating.   There was a mass going on in Santuario Mauriano.   The interior of that church is so photogenic.

I wandered through the big Immaculate Conception Cathedral trying to get some better shots of the interior and was heading out the far door when I noted a sort of security person hanging about, very unusual, then I noticed a small door open on the right leading to a brick circular staircase upwards.  Then I happily spotted a notice on the wall stating that this was now open to the public to access the cupolas of the cathedral!  The security fellow came over and said it was $1 so up began the long walk upwards.  I knew there was nothing in the twin towers because the openings are large and empty although it appears that there may be some construction starting.  Getting up to the level of the statue of Mary and Jesus is uplifting and the views spectacular.   I was hoping to be able to walk at the base of the blue domes but that was entirely wishful thinking.  I hope you enjoy the photos.

Passing by the Old Cathedral the harpist had taken a break so I got a shot of the top of his beautiful harp.  Then I went to the next corner and peered into the Justice Building.   I can hardly pass this building without stopping in, that fabulous courtyard is such a magnet to me.   They have made a beautiful shrine to Mary on the opposite side so that has added another dimension to it.

I caught the #3 to Monay and walked down the hill deciding that I was too tired to make lunch so I stopped in to the restaurant 2 doors from us that we have never tried before.  It was a delightful lunch for $2.50.   Hanging on the wall above me was this gorgeous painting of a mother and her son.   They have such wonderful artists here.

Bella is anxious to watch a movie so I have to run.

That was the day's excitement,   Cheers, Al   Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Thursday May 9, 2013

Thursday May 9, 2013  update #447

The morning was spent on picking up our new sofa and loveseat with the built-in recliners.  We had made a deal with Hearts Of Gold that they could get our existing 2 sofas if they would provide the transport and the strong backs.  Tarek and Marco drew the short straws and I met them at the office at 9am and we headed over to the Totems area to get the new set.  Recliners contain a lot of iron parts so the two new units weigh a ton, each.  

The boys managed to get the two items out of the apartment and into the elevator to go down the 4 floors.   The rest was relatively painless to get them strapped into the truck, a 1972 Datsun I think.

I had already dismantled our 2 sofas so they were easy to pitch outside once we arrived at home.  We put blankets on the tile floor and just slid the new units most of the way to their destinations.    We then loaded the old units on the truck for delivery to the HoG office where they were welcomed with open arms.

We set them up and they are about as good as we could expect in our small living room.  By using a different configuration we now have a lot more room and all 4 recliners are functional.   Bella is happy.   The boys were upset at being locked in while the transfer was occurring but that soon gave way to curiosity and picking out their spots on the new furniture.

I just was thinking of about 4 cars that I had bought over the years, …combined, that cost less than this furniture…  Ouch.   But we deserve some comfort in our old age.

We slipped up the hill to Coral and purchased a couple of solid little table lamps so we can have decent lighting and a comfortable place to read, etc.  We are quite happy with the results of our morning.

Most of the afternoon was spent on a sticky issue with Hearts Of Gold that had me drafting a notice of resignation but that was forestalled.   The problem will hopefully resolve itself with a clarification meeting in the next few days.

After supper we enjoyed watching Iron Man 3 while stretched out in the loveseat.  Life is good.

That was the day's excitement,   Cheers, Al   Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Wednesday May 8, 2013

Wednesday May 8, 2013  update #446

Bella went to Coral to pick up her new misting floor fan and brought it home for me to assemble.  Next she was off shopping for lamp stores then of course she had Bridge in the afternoon.

I did my uploading chores and finished some more Internet chores before deciding to start to dismantle the couches downstairs in preparation for the swap tomorrow morning.   I managed to get the small one stuffed into the dining room and the bigger one is now ready to go.

I then tackled the assembly of Bella’s new fan, sans instructions of course, but I took my time and did what made sense from the equipment in the box, the parts list, and the photo on the box.   Sonuvagun if it doesn’t actually work too!   I don’t know where Bella is going to stick anything else in that bedroom…

I took her old humidifier and cleaned it right out for use in the guest bedroom now.

I had a couple of hours open so I headed out to check a few stores I knew along Huayna Capac for lamps as well.  A few places had a single floor lamp only, and nothing like we are hoping for.    I then checked along the whole route to home but found nothing better.   I started formulating ideas of building our own so that it would hug the wall and not take up any space.   

Once we get the furniture tomorrow we can have a much better idea on where things will have to be placed.   

Sorry no photos today.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.  

Tuesday May 7, 2013

Tuesday May 7, 2013  update #445

Bella was off on a lamp shopping expedition before we were to meet up later in the day.

I went back to Banco Pichincha and got bounced around amongst the personnel on different floors again before being given an entirely new credit card application and being told to return on Friday to complete the necessary documentation.

Next was another meeting at Hearts Of Gold to go over our expected online campaign to raise funds to help kids attend school.  Many kids don’t make it to school because the families can’t afford the $50 or so each for 2 pairs of shoes and the initial basic school supplies.   We have an ambitious goal of $6,150 to outfit 123 kids at 3 different partner organizations.   I was asked to write the Blog entry for our website before they do the teaser advertising in the social media.  We went over my offering and made a few revisions to satisfy everyone’s needs.

Then I had to hop a cab to meet Bella and friends at a Charity Bingo being put on at the Oro Verde Hotel for the Messengers Of Peace Orphanage for whom our friends Anne & Michal Roche volunteer.  There was a reasonable turnout of expats and Cuencanos and we enjoyed the Bingo in spite of the terrible caller who really had no clue what to do, changing his mind every 10 seconds.   At one point they replaced him on the podium then inexplicably let him back up there to finish the last games.  There were 50-50 draws, Latin American music and a light lunch too.   Our table ended up being the envy of the place because everyone won at our table, (except me, BooHoo), and some of them more than once.  I was playing 6 cards and we were using shirt buttons for markers.   We found several instances where cards had duplicate numbers, like two number 29’s on the same card!   Anyway, we had good company and contributed to another good cause.

Mark and Karen have bought a modern ground floor apartment along the Tomebamba this afternoon so they will be very busy with that purchase for a while.   It is about 8 blocks from where they live now.

We stopped again at the Chinese food place at the top of Gran Colombia and the food was again excellent, best Chinese food in town by far.   We had a few giggles at the antics of our little gangly waitress who was doing some fancy dance moves but didn’t realize we were watching.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.  Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Monday May 6, 2013

Monday May 6, 2013  update #444

Bella was off for groceries this morning while I zipped off to Banco Pichincha to see about arranging for a credit card in US funds.   I stopped to ask the first floor personnel who sent me to the second floor who then sent me to see Diana on the fourth floor.   It was a short conversation because they need patrons to open a one-year CD for a large amount then they will give a credit card for 90% of the amount.  Having a US credit card can save us a lot of conversion fees so we think it will be worth it.   Bella says I can try this tomorrow.

As I headed over to Hearts Of Gold I spotted this fellow brushing down what I think was artificial turf in a sports field, but pulling the brushes with a motorcycle!   We have all seen this kind of thing done with tractors or ATV’s before, but never with a motorcycle. 

The new Hearts Of Gold offices are much more spacious and it seems most of the staff are settled in nicely.  Apparently this beautiful home had been vacant for many years, for reasons unknown.   It would seem that they have lots of room for the two couches that we are donating to them on Thursday.

We got into some detailed discussions about a couple of fundraisers we are considering and they raised almost as many questions as they supplied answers.  One thing is for sure, HoG needs to get officially legal ASAP so we can really make our presence felt and get proper banking and money-handling issues all handled in-house.

My suggestion for an ongoing online fundraiser will necessarily be put on hold for a while not only because of the above but also because so many of our volunteers are going to be out-of-country over the next 3-4 months.   We still did up some ideas and suggestions for the executive to mull over and Bella helped us out enormously with her Excel skills.

We will be organizing a straight online fundraising effort designed to help poor kids attend school.   Last year it was very successful so we want to build on that if we can.   We have scheduled another meeting for tomorrow to gather information for a news bulletin that I have been drafted to write.

Yesterday we had 3 separate rainstorms and I took a couple of timed shots just for fun last night.  The rivers have risen nicely with the welcome moisture and another little rainshower is passing by as I type this. 

I spotted this colourful yellow bird quite a distance away and hurriedly took a shot.   I have cropped and enlarged it so the quality is pretty bad but I get the impression that this little bird has a small toucan-like beak.   I will have to keep an eye out for him.

I certainly can’t figure out Google.   I actually can open my Gmail much faster through Firefox than I can through Google Chrome…..   Does this make any sense???

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.  Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Sunday May 5, 2013

Sunday May 5, 2013  update #443

Gosh I had a decent sleep and got up thinking I would get out today and do some good.   The weather looked very changeable so I delayed while I did some chores.

Bella stayed in the sack until 11:30, no problem for her!   Then she was off to her Bridge Club again.

I tried to get a partner to go with me somewhere, anywhere, but he wasn’t feeling well.   Then the heavens opened and we got a good soaking.

Then suddenly my exhaustion kicked in and I just laid down and power-snoozed for an hour or so with Peso as my hot-water-bottle.   I awoke somewhat refreshed and packed up and headed to the Solano area to poke around.   The first order of business was to find the new Hearts Of Gold office which wasn’t too difficult.   The building seems to be a little larger than the last place.

Then I wandered down to the newly renovated Parque de La Madre (Park of the Mother) and soaked in some of the family atmosphere as the Cuencanos enjoy their Sunday afternoon.

Next I took a small walk along the Rio Tomebamba which is really very low now, so we can really use some of that rain we have been getting the last few days.

I searched around to find the first hotel we stayed at in Cuenca, the Hostal La Casona.   It is beautifully situated on a fairly quiet street close to the El Vergel Super Maxi store.   Kitty-corner is the first house we checked out that belonged to some beauty queen who wanted $250k for it when everyone around says it was only worth $100k.  The place was very nice, with fruit trees and separate maid’s quarters outside.   The inside had some beautiful woodwork and multiple bedrooms with ensuites but it had poor electrical, water damage, and a very basic kitchen.   It probably became someone’s money pit.

I had made arrangements to meet Bella for supper at the Chill Grill nearby but I arrived there early to find it closed.   I didn’t mind as I find their burgers very ordinary while Bella just loves them.  Bella thought they might open at 6pm but apparently not.   A nearby buffet had its doors open but had closed 20 minutes earlier.  A taco place did not look too exciting so we tried a Pronto Pizza place that seemed to have lots of clientele.   Their pizzas had a lot of mozzarella, but no tastable meat or tomato sauce or even crust, totally boring.   I had ordered the meat lover’s pizza and couldn’t taste any meat!!!   Oh well, we have to check out the different places.

There was a family with 3 young girls next to us at the pizza place and one of the kids took an interest in us so I took her picture.   Her father kept giving her English phrases to use with us and it was so cute.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.  Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/