Tuesday April 30, 2013

Tuesday April 30, 2013  update #438

I would kill for a good night’s sleep already.   In spite of taking two Melatonin tablets I was still watching the clock all night.   I couldn’t let that stop me because I had a really busy day planned.

I was downtown to pick up Ed & Lynne at 9:30 and we headed to the Rotary Market where they picked up some gifts for at home.  They were fascinated with the selection of wooden, leather, plaster, and metal articles available.  

We went back through the Civic Plaza and watched a youngster feeding the pigeons before heading to City Hall, then the Provincial Azuay building.  We went up to the second floor and got some shots of Parque Calderon before heading over to the Justice building.

Next I showed Lynne where I bought my solar powered dancing flowers and she fell in love with a BumbleBee one, and even bought one for me.  I showed them several stores including the big software store on the way to the Coffee Tree.  They actually found an iPad case for a real reasonable price so they grabbed one.

Then we went to the Book/Movie Exchange at the Windhorse Cafe where I exchanged one book and 2 movies.  Since it was noontime we decided to have lunch there, my first time too.  There were many new folks asking questions of everyone and all the folks were being real helpful.  

I got buttonholed by our friend Greg who wanted to talk to me privately.   He didn’t know how to ask what was on his mind so he just blurted it out.  “Someone told us to pray for Bella because she has cancer.  Does she really have cancer?”  I assured him that she was having a bout with the flu but she definitely did not have cancer.   However, once that bug got in my ear it did begin to bother me.   After having two previous bouts of wives with cancer, it didn’t take much to get that snakebit feeling.

Anyway, off we went again to the Carolina Bookstore for a moment where Lynne began to have a few stomach somersaults.   Time was running short on me so instead of going to the Banco Central Museum they decided we should head in the direction I needed to head, so down the Escalinata we went.   The CIDAP Museum was the next stop with all the devil masks and all the crucifixes on display.   Again Lynne spent a few moments in the washroom.

We took the short stroll along the Tomebamba towards Solano where a rest stop was needed.   Lynne was trying to be a trooper but common sense prevailed and they decided to grab a cab to their hotel.

That left me a few moments so I popped in to the Alianza Francesa (French Alliance) where they were having a photography display.  What a great display of action art so I took shots of most of it for you.

Next was a stop at Hearts Of Gold for a meeting to discuss the structure for the non-profit organization.  Since I was an hour early I took advantage of the couch to get a real needed rest.   The meeting generated a few surprises, like their move next week to another house behind the Monte Sinai Hospital.  We got some papers with an organizational chart and some openings for different Coordinator positions.   There are 3 positions open for Donations, PR/Marketing and Events.   I suppose I was the last Event Coordinator but I have hesitated to stick my name anywhere.   I think I will just wait and see where they need me.

Then I stopped at Papeleria Monsalves to grab a ream of blank paper because we have almost run out.

I caught the bus home hoping to have supper with Bella but she was not home.  That little cancer thingy was still burning at the back of my brain.  I made myself a quick cabbage salad (the last of the batch of 13 helpings from that huge head she got 2 weeks ago) and changed clothes to again head downtown.

The destination this time was.to a fundraiser to help them raise funds to build a 1000 foot mural to benefit the sick children at Hospital Vicente Corral Moscoso.  It was a $20 entrance fee at an artist’s studio and you got a glass of wine and some hors d’oeuvres.  They were selling more wine, food, raffle tickets and art.  I knew most of the folks in attendance and we got to see a preview of part of the mural too.

I stayed an hour then headed back to parquet Calderon where it was International Jazz Day with a small concert in the park’s gazebo by the Jazz Society folks, Jim Gala, Vivian Slade and others.   I stayed only long enough to grab a couple of shots before catching a cab home.

Bella was home this time so I was really watching for her reaction when I recounted to her the cancer story.  When she burst out laughing I breathed a very large sigh of relief.  I really didn’t think she would have kept something like that from me.   Anyway, I guess she got dragged off to help at what she thought was a “tea”, but turned out to be a Bingo with about 250 Ecuadorians, and she was the only white face.   She even managed to come home with a soup pot and soup bowl set when she won the final Bingo game.

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

Monday April 29, 2013

Monday April 29, 2013  update #437

I was working on the photos last night until past 1am and sleep was fitful as usual.

Bella was off to do chores this morning, grocery shopping, etc, but is still sick and hacking away, now trying Vicks to calm her illness.  She claims all the medicines on offer contain aspirin and exactly the same antihistamine that only make her more sick, so there is no end in sight for her.

I didn’t want to get up but knew I had chores to do and lots of laundry so I just got at it.

Now it is 4 pm and I can’t keep my eyes open.    I just finished processing 30 more Pase Del Nino photos as that is a never-ending process.

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

Sunday April 28, 2013

Sunday April 28, 2013  update #436

Bella was heading for her Sunday bridge so I made arrangements to tour around with Ed and Lynne again.

We agreed to meet at Parque De La Madre which was officially opened on Friday.  There were many people wandering the park, clowns from Etapa and an open exercise class in full swing, enjoying another gorgeous, virtually cloudless, sunny day.   Near the river I encountered a lady in a heavy wool coat and looked over on the banks of the river to see what had to be 2 Canadian couples in shorts and bikinis!  

The city had closed off nearby roads for what looked like a bicycle race about to happen.

From there we wandered over to the small ruins at the bottom of the Todos Santos hill before walking over towards the Inca ruins at Pumapungo.   We were surprised to see a gate open at the bottom near the aviary so we went in to enjoy the birds, llamas and fish.   Ducks and a hummingbird kept us entertained but we were sorry that the peacock was moulting and barely had two tail feathers left.

Then we went by the statue of Huayna Capac before wandering around El Vergel then up the metalworkers street to the statue I call Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.   I took a little artistic licence with those shots.

We were just getting started…   Then we went to Parque Paraiso to enjoy the family fun and to have an ice cream.   It is so darn refreshing to see a park full of children with no screaming, they are so well behaved here.

Then we caught a bus to our place and we gave them the quick tour and Lynne quickly fell in love with the screened terrace and our two Boys.

Next we caught a bus up to El Valle and we went to see the house that Greg likes and confirmed that the floors are mirror images so there are only 2 bathrooms at most.    That home has so many possibilities and that view will never go away.

We caught the bus back to town and got off at the huge municipal cemetery and Lynne thought it was the highlight of the day, with all the magnificent statues, antique hearse, and amazing mausoleums.

We passed by San Blas with the 2 lovely churches and the gorgeous park being lit up by the setting sun.

We finished just in time to make it to meet Bella at Don Colon’s for a filet mignon supper which lasted almost 3 hours with lots of conversation about the fun involved in getting a residency application submitted and approved.    Bella will be sending them her treatise on her very recent experience which she had made up for the immigration department.

It was a full day and I am looking forward to doing absolutely nothing tomorrow, except laundry, so don’t expect much tomorrow.

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

Saturday April 27, 2013

Saturday April 27, 2013  update #435

No actual sleep for 3 days gets a little taxing but all I can do is rest as much as possible to make up for it.  The cold is almost gone but so are the pills.   I suspect I’ll be getting some more tomorrow.

Bella wanted me to take photos of the house her son Greg found up in El Valle when he was here in January so we grabbed the bus up there and walked in.  I have been up there many times and not given this house a second glance because it is off the main roads a ways but that was my mistake.   The house has a perch on the mountain with one of the most spectacular views of the area.  The house itself is under construction and  I found it quite odd that they only had timber separating the two floors because the floors are usually cement here, and completed as they put up each storey.  Other than that, the home seems to have mirrored the room sizes on both floors so I am not sure what it has for bathrooms upstairs, we didn’t climb up.  There was thunder coming from some very dark clouds moving our way so I didn’t want to get caught in a downpour.   

The house certainly has possibilities though, if a person could get it at this stage and complete the rest a little differently, like add a huge porch with deck above so a person can sit outside in comfort and enjoy that magnificent view.   None of the neighbors could tell us much about the house.

We continued on to Joe’s Secret Garden to enjoy the chicken and shrimp fricassee and the company of some lovely people.

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

Friday April 26, 2013

Friday April 26, 2013  update #434

I managed to get drugs last night and they began to have immediate effect.  I was able to lay down and breathe properly but did not get any sleep at all even though I stayed in bed until 10am.

I thought maybe Bella had left for her crochet charity group but was surprised to see her still in bed.   Later she was up and retching and not having a fun time of it.  The rest of the time she was in bed with the lights off until 5pm.  

I had spent almost all day sitting on the terrace, getting some morning sun, then being chased in by a most unusual cold wind.   I read later on GringoTree that we are having weird weather contributing to drought conditions that are coming from a jetstream from Peru.  They claim our daytime temperatures soar while the nighttime temps have plummeted to +2C, but I don’t believe it got anywhere near that cold in our area.

As suppertime neared I almost dreaded eating because I feel like I have swallowed a tennis ball that has lodged at the base of my ribcage.  That is not doing much for my appetite but I did carefully ingest a chicken sandwich and time will tell if that will stay down.  Maybe it is tiredness plus maybe just soreness from sitting in the deck chair all afternoon but I am also getting awfully achy    If things don’t improve quickly I imagine we will be forced to cancel our trip to Joe’s tomorrow.   Bummer.

I did spend part of the day getting together the necessary documents I will need to make my trip to Canada and Reno starting May 21.  Time is rushing by very quickly.

Bella got formal notification that her own separate Residency Visa has now been approved and there is a procedure, onerous like usual, to cancel the old one where she was a dependent on mine.  Government bureaucracy reigns in Ecuador and they never make anything easy or comprehensible.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.  Sorry, no photos today.

Thursday April 25, 2013

Thursday April 25, 2013  update #433

Damn, I am starting to catch Bella’s nuisance cold so I started the day by getting a lot of sun on the terrace.  She is trying to avoid drugs so her cold isn't going away and it is inevitable that she is going to pass it to me.    If I don't feel better tomorrow I definitely will be heading to the drugstore. 

I saw that Tom Thumb was visiting often, and with a little sparring partner, so I got out the Canon to see if I could catch anything decent.  I managed to get a few not bad shots but nothing like I hope to get when I get the proper lenses and remote controls.   I was lucky today because the city guys with the Weed-Whackers were cutting the grass so Tom did not hear or mind my shutter clicking.

Bella and I then decided to catch a health/travel insurance seminar at the Chamber Of Commerce at 3pm.  It turns out it was being put on by the same folks who handle our house insurance.  I fail to understand why they make things so complicated and yet they seem to cover so much more than most other insurers.   First they want you to pay a 20% co-insurance on the first $5,000 or so and then apply whatever deductible you choose, before they pay anything.  I think I will ask them to quote what I feel might be a reasonable package for us considering our good health.

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

Wednesday April 24, 2013

Wednesday April 24, 2013  update #432

Too bad that Lynne turned ill, so our excursion today was cancelled.

I did my chores then decided to get out in the bright sunshine.  I caught the #15 up to El Valle and then set out to try and find the red house near the church that Bella says her son is lusting after.   I didn’t.

I climbed the hill behind the church where the buses turn around and didn’t stop until I hit the mountaintop.  To be standing on the top of the Andes with a 360 degree view is an awe-inspiring experience.   My only company way up here was a hawk and a couple of hummingbirds.   The main hydro wires cross over this mountaintop so I took a couple shots of that to prove I was indeed up there.   Some kids would occasionally be on their way up or down between home and school.

Up on this mountaintop someone had dug a couple of trenches to gather rainwater in a couple of dug out holes, smaller than bathtubs.   One hole was really murky but the other was quite clear and imagine my surprise when I saw movement!   Here I am about 9500 feet up on the very top of a mountain and there are tadpoles and a wicked looking tarantula-type water spider in this collection of rainwater!   I have the photo to prove it too!

I took a very leisurely walk back down the mountain, snapping a few more shots as I went, including horses and a saddled up mule.

Bella and I tried a new restaurant up the street and ordered a $3 quarter-chicken dinner.   This came with soup, rice, French fries and a spot of salad.  It really wasn’t very good so we brought most of the chicken home to have a sandwich tomorrow.

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

Tuesday April 23, 2013

Tuesday April 23, 2013  update #431

I had to deliver my Thank You cards for Hearts Of Gold but first I had to pick up some more window stickers so that meant a trip to the office.  With that accomplished I headed downtown to do the deliveries.   I stopped at the iTur office to get some maps but they were closed.

I then met up with Ed and Lynne Nadeau who are visiting from Montreal.  Ed was here last November with his buddy Dick, but now was back to show Lynne so she could make her own decisions.  I instantly took a liking to Lynne and they decided they wanted to see the big market, Feria Libre.    So off we went on the #28 bus and toured the huge Mercado.   Something was very strange though, much of it was closed, or closing, early and they were scrubbing the floors.   I surmised that this is because Wednesday is one of the big “fresh food” days and they closed early on Tuesday to prepare.

Then we caught the #13 back and got off near San Sebastian where we saw the square and then made our way to La Condamine and the “maypole” sculpture.  They had already been on the double-decker tour so they had seen a lot but the river is still a big attraction for them.   We went ½ way down Calle Larga checking out the Panama Hats and several stores.

I showed them where California Kitchen is located, although it is closed Tuesdays, and we continued on to La Vina for supper.   The pizza was fabulous as usual, the spaghetti disappeared from Ed’s plate in moments, but poor Lynne’s lasagna was decidedly weird.  It looked like tomato soup and had one layer of noodles.   We should have said something, but didn’t and I shared my pizza with Lynne.   We had a helpful server named Sarita, 4 years old from Colombia, and cute as a button.

I asked them if they wanted to see the junior Symphony in action just down the street but they pleaded tiredness so we parted, only to resume again tomorrow morning.

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

Monday April 22, 2013

Monday April 22, 2013  update #430

I got to bed early, for me, and waoke around 4, got up at 6 and went back to bed around 9.   I got up around noon after 3 hours of the best rest I have had in a long time.

Ed and Pauline have arrived from Montreal, Ed having scouted Cuenca with his buddy, Dick from Moncton, a few months back.   Ed and Dick were both to come with their wives this time but Dick and his wife had to cancel at the last moment due to family emergencies.  Too bad.  I was looking forward to seeing them all.

Ed and Pauline decided to tour the area of their hotel on Mariscal Lamar on their own today, not a bad idea.   I imagine the walking and the altitude will take their toll on them tomorrow but time will tell.

I spent over an hour just waiting for Tom Thumb to make an appearance and giving myself a muscle strain in my left arm from holding the camera in one position for so long.  When he did finally show his pointy beak I only managed to catch one shot of a 3 shot burst.  He is very sensitive to the shutter sound so I don’t want to do it too often lest I scare him away permanently.

I spent the afternoon thoroughly enjoying my return to the Tom Clancy novel “The Bear and The Dragon”.   That is really scary reading and not all that far-fetched in our current world.  I highly recommend it.

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

Sunday April 21, 2013

Sunday April 21, 2013  update #429

Well I sold my last remaining Sony to the first person who looked at it.   Like me, Walter owned a Sony DSC-H9 before and wanted to upgrade.  He got a good deal on a very good camera.  It turns out his wife is Cuencano and they have lived here for 17 years, and 12 years prior in Brazil.   They run the Bell Academy with grades 1-4 and they add a class every year, keeping continuity with their students, teaching English, Spanish and Portuguese to the young sponges.   Sounds great to me.

I didn’t do much except to test out the projector I just bought.  It would not display RAW photos so I had to take a couple of shots of Pancho and convert them to JPG’s, then it would work.  The quality seemed quite bad until I darkened the room substantially and then the projection was acceptable.

Bella was off to open up the Bridge Club even though she is still pretty congested, she had no choice.

I met her over at Mark & Karen’s for a meaty lasagna supper followed by chocolate mousse.   This is such a tough life.

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

Saturday April 20, 2013

Saturday April 20, 2013  update #428

I have posted my wonderful Sony DSC-HX1 for sale earlier today.   You can see all the information at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/.

I spent most of the day preparing that information before heading to Joe’s for scrumptious Southern Fried Chicken.  Unfortunately Bella is regaining her head cold and cough and had to cancel out at the last moment.

I had to stop at Chris & Bettye’s to return his book ‘Methuselah’s Secret’ which I enjoyed very much and eagerly await Chris’ sequel.   I also left them a few movies to watch while picking up the micro projector that I bought.  Bettye had picked up a few more art pieces since I was there last and I am amazed at her excellent taste and positioning.   They have also purchased one of Gary Meyer’s paintings on display in the lobby level.

Joe’s was a packed house, 80 people is their capacity, for the Fried Chicken and everyone was mighty hungry by the time service began after 7pm.  Time was easily forgotten as everybody dug in to their meals.  There were many new faces as usual and I got to sit with two new couples from Alabama and Colorado tonight.

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

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  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  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 Café 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  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  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  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 70^th 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/

Saturday April 13, 2013

Saturday April 13, 2013  update #421

I honestly didn't think I would get a Blog done today but here we are.

Today’s the big day for the Hearts Of Gold Foundation “Pay It Forward” Silent Auction and Sale.   I was at California Kitchen by 8:45 to be ready for the arrival of the 13 tables from the rental company.  Once they arrived we had to set them up and put on the tablecloths.    Outside the room we had to set up a Cash Desk and a sale desk for our partner organization to flog some great purses.

At 10:30 the Auction and Sale items arrived and everybody got to work.  The items had to be set up in such an order that we could squeeze in all 108 Auction items around the outside (I was notified of another Gift Certificate at 11pm, nothing like last minute aggravations, but it is for a good cause so we bite our lip a lot).   God must have been watching over us because it worked out with about 2 inches to spare, I kid you not!    What an enormous load off my shoulders!  

We were done the set-up by 11:30, much sooner than I expected and the place looks fabulous!   There is even more walking room than I had envisioned, which is good, because we expect it to be wall-to-wall people tonight.  We have lots of volunteers assigned specific duties so hopefully we can all be unobtrusive and helpful at the same time.   I have some “before and after” photos so you can see the amazing transformation.

I headed home for lunch and a much-needed few minutes of shuteye on the terrace.

Then we got cleaned up again and took a bus back to El Centro.  Bella wanted to check if grand-daughter Kiki’s letter had arrived but the Post Office was closed.

We continued on to California Kitchen and went over many duties with the different volunteers and the MC’s.  People were there at 4pm waiting to get in to be the first to get a crack at our Buy-It-Now  option on the Auction items at 80% of the retail value.   By 5pm the place was packed and when we opened the doors it was like a feeding frenzy.   Organized chaos is the best way to describe the rest of the evening.   Very few people left but the bidding slowed to a crawl so we speeded everything up by ½ hour.   All in all, it was a good decision to let the people go.   I didn’t see who won the $310 in the 50-50 draw, or the gold or silver coins.   Congratulations to all the winners.   I would say that I knew 80% of the crowd, having met most of them at Joe’s Secret Garden.   There were many disappointing absences but I am sure they had good reasons.

The main MC managed to show up from his sick bed and did a masterful job.  None of the Ecuadorian musicians showed up although Rich the magician did show up and entertained the kids.   Bella bought one of the purses on sale.

It appears that we had a couple of items disappear on us without payment but they were very minor in the big scheme of things.   All in all it was very successful and I am hoping Hearts Of Gold realized their goal of about $3,000 tonight.   California Kitchen was very happy, saying we could bring in this business for them every weekend!

All mine and Jay’s items sold, although I have to reimburse some good friends who bought my photo package just so I wouldn’t feel bad.   I am grateful to them for that.

People were most gracious despite the many misunderstandings of procedures and paid us all the kindest of compliments.  It was a great event that they all seemed to have enjoyed, a room full of folks with big hearts.  THANK YOU to everyone who participated.

Sorry but I was so busy dodging bullets all night that I hardly took any pictures.  

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

Doce De Abril, 2013

Friday April 12, 2013  update #420

Doce De Abril is a big holiday, Cuenca was founded by the Spanish 456 years ago today.  There are huge parties and festivals all over town but I apologize, I am not going to make it to nay of them.

I was awake at 4:30 rolling over many more ideas in my poor head and I finally just got up at 5:30 and started to act on them.  We had two more ‘missed the deadline by a mile’ Gift Certificates brought in that creates havoc with all the paperwork we were supposed to have been finished with.   It took me a while to cool down and process them because the ultimate beneficiary will be the underprivileged of Ecuador.  I think I crawled back into bed around 8:30 and just laid there, after grabbing a pain killer, until 10:30.

Bella was off to do her charity knitting and crocheting.   That giraffe she made is so darn popular that one of the Ecuadorian ladies simply insisted that the giraffe was what she was going to make today, and she was not taking No for an answer.   It didn’t matter that she didn’t have the right wool, or pattern, or stuffing….  Of course this took away from Bella’s teaching a class which did not please her too much.   Bella will have to finish a proper pattern and translate it into Spanish soon.

My next order of business was to map out everyone’s duties and responsibilities for tomorrow, to the minute.  We have a ‘Time Coordinator” assigned to keep everyone on time or we could have a shambles.   This included a breakdown for the MC’s so they know when they have to initiate things.

I finished off all the other paperwork too and decided to do a quick total of the retail value of just the Auction items.   I was more than a little surprised when that total alone came to $8,886!!  Once we add in the direct sales items we would be around the $10,000 mark!   Kudos to our volunteers who have worked so hard.

When Bella returned she wanted to go donate blood for a local lady.   She had received a note from some neighbor and then there was a posting on GringoTree or GringoPost about it too.  Since the lady is in the hospital 2.5 blocks away at the Hospital IESS I decided to go along too.  However, this being the Doce De Abril holiday, the Blood Bank was closed until Monday.

We both came home and hit the sack for another hour or so.

I never thought I would feel so much relief as when I closed the binders on all the paperwork for the Auction.  I feel in my heart that I have done everything humanly possible to manage this Auction so I hope we get a huge crowd with fat wallets tomorrow and become the talk of the town. 

There won’t be any Blog tomorrow because I will be out all day dealing with the Auction.   I will have to put it up on Sunday.

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

Thursday April 11, 2013

Thursday April 11, 2013 update #419

I awoke at 5:30 and tried to sleep some more but gave up and got to work at 6:30.   I did what I hoped would be the final paperwork before the auction.   The laugh was on me.

Bella was up half the night in the bathroom so she stayed home and tried to play online bridge but apparently the Internet was down most of the afternoon.

I headed downtown before lunch to get magnetic bracelet.   She did the same loose work on it so I doubt it will stay together much longer than last time.  She only asked for $1 again but I gave her $2 as it must be a fair amount of work.

As I headed to Hearts Of Gold for yet another meeting I caught a couple of interesting shots along the way.   I also stopped at a video store to pick up some great movies to throw in our Door Prize basket.  

I also took a chance and stopped at Tiesto’s, the expensive meal place in Cuenca to straighten out a glitch on their 2 Gift Certificates.   I was surprised to catch them open but I was so very thankful that I wouldn’t have to return later in the evening.   The owner/chef is a very nice person but he placed some very stringent time restrictions on his Certificates that are upsetting.   We will have to make sure that the winning bidder is well aware that they have to be used during specific days in May.

Before the others came we received more donations, including a small Kindle for a Door Prize!!   Door Prize winners will be able to choose their prize from what is remaining in the basket.

We received some paintings made by the kids at El Arenal to raise some funds.   We had supplied the canvasses and the paints for them.   The work they have done is mighty impressive.  I was asked to take photos of them so they could post them prior to the Auction to raise more interest.  The paintings will probably sell between $35 and $45.

Our final Auction tally is 105 items, totaling somewhere around $6,000 retail value.   I had done a suggested blurb about our little wrinkle of Buy-It-Now prices at 80% of retail on all our Auction items and they have posted that on GringoPost and GringoTree.   If we got 80% on everything we would be ecstatic.   We are getting great advertising so we expect a packed house.

On top of that we have a lot of direct sale items to add to our pot.   If someone can’t find anything they like at this Auction they won’t be in this country long.

Our MC’s, Michel Blanchard (Canadian) and Ashley Rogers do a weekly radio show and are experienced with stages and microphones so we are thrilled they agreed to help us.  They came by at 2pm to get a feel of what we were proposing and to get an idea of their duties.   I had a sample list ready for them and helped put them at ease with the knowledge that we will have a “Time Coordinator” to keep track of  when things are to happen, announcements, etc.  They were given a quick outline of our partner organizations and some of the stories that tug at the heartstrings.  Emilie and Melinda will be supplying them with lots of material to occupy their stage time.   They will get to talk in amongst the proposed musicians and a magic show.   Where we are going to fit everybody I don’t know.

Our meeting was for ironing out a few more details, delineate more of the responsibilities, etc.   Naturally there were some changes to a few of the Auction items which entailed a lot of document reprinting tonight.   Maybe I will get most of tomorrow to rest and relax before the huge day on Saturday.   That is going to be one long day so don’t expect any Blog Saturday.

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

Wednesday April 10, 2013

Wednesday April 10, 2013  update #418

 I was up at 7:30 and hard at work on Hearts Of Gold paperwork.   I didn’t stop until 4pm, even for lunch, and got a lot accomplished but still much to go.   That will have to wait until morning because the volunteers keep changing and adding more stuff.   It is hard to get mad at dedicated volunteers who didn’t grasp our deadline of last Friday.   Tonight I am still working on changes resulting from emails just received.

Bella was off to her Wednesday Bridge Club this afternoon.

I met Bella, Mark & Karen, Mike & Jing down at Otorongo Plaza after trying to make contact with a donor that gave us an expired Gift Certificate.   I won’t get into details but the volunteer who got the Certificate is petrified to go back because I stroked out the expiration date….   The owner isn’t there until 7pm so guess where I will be tomorrow night or Friday night….??   Walking along the river I took a few shots.

We walked through the market that was just setting up in Otorongo even though it was supposed to have been running since yesterday.  Then we climbed the steep escalinata and walked past San Sebastian to get to Mangiare Bene Italian Restaurant where we enjoyed a delightful meal.  We finished just as a party of 14 were coming in and the volume level was about to explode.

Walking to Parque Calderon we heard a beautiful male voice and we found this man singing in the gazebo backed by a small orchestra.   I was thankful to catch a cab home as I am just exhausted.

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

Tuesday April 9, 2013 update #417

Tuesday April 9, 2013  update #417

Bella was off to the book exchange early this morning then to complete her many other chores.

I was up early to fine-tune more paperwork for a Hearts Of Gold meeting in the afternoon.   I then caught a bus downtown to go to the jewelry market to retrieve my magnetic bracelet, which I had left with the lady for a week.  She spent 10 minutes hunting it down then she was pulling out the fishing line to start work on it.   I told her I would be back in 2 days because I don’t want a rush job like last time that did not last.

As I meandered my way to the Hearts of Gold office, wishing to arrive before they close for lunch, I snapped a few photos along Solano on the way.   I won’t have much time to myself this week to do photos.

I was surprised to find our maid Rosa at the office but it seems she is the liaison with some destitute families in the country that we support.   Our world is getting much more close-knit here.

At the office I busied myself with organizing the auction physical items and tagging them with their position numbers.  Then Denton Verkley came in to photograph all of them for posting on the Hearts Of Gold website.  We have about 45 physical items and about 55 Gift Certificates so we have a great assortment of items to bid on.  We hope the citizens and gringos of Cuenca will support us heavily.

The meeting was productive as we get down to the final items to process.  I picked up about 15 more today that I will have to arrange all the paperwork on.  There were many changes desired that I need to incorporate on the sheets.  We discussed who should handle which positions on Auction night and we have a few outsiders that have volunteered to help as well.   Our preparations are nearing completion.

There were some heated discussions about major donors wanting to pitch their wares physically at the Auction and we had to put the Kybosh on that.  We simply don’t have the room and we don’t want to take away from the charitable spirit of the Auction.  We have no problems with them supplying business cards and brochures but that is where it must end.   The only exception we are allowing is a partner organization with charitable intentions as well.

Remember I posted the warning about Banco Territorial yesterday on this Blog, and I also sent it to GringoTree and GringoPost so we could warn as many folks as possible about the deadline.    You can imagine my shock to discover that GringoTree did not post the notice.   I honestly cannot figure those guys out.   They normally do such good stuff but lately are more interested in pestering us with an annoying pop-up every day.   I have now complained to the owners to see what can be done.

Relaxation is the ticket tonight as I will tackle the paperwork in the morning when I am fresh.   I am too cranky tonight to do it any justice.

Happy Birthday Patsy.

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

Monday April 8, 2013

Monday April 8, 2013  update #416

By the way, Bella is elated at the good times they are having at the new Bridge Club.  They had 12 people there yesterday and everyone is raving about it.  That is what she needs to get it rolling into something substantial.

Today was a most interesting day.   I woke up worrying about the liquidation of Banco Territorial and the procedures to cash in our CD before their 30 day time limit was up, and we had no idea when that was.  

We would not have known anything about this if one of my Blog readers hadn’t emailed me because I had mentioned that we had dealings with them.   We don’t get newspapers or listen to radio or watch TV.  Getting any news or sports is really hit and miss and we normally don’t think much about it.  It seemed that GringoTree or GringoPost let us know of any major happenings which we can then check out on the Internet.   This kind of event could have cost us $28,000 had we not been alerted.

We had emailed the Bank Superintendent and he had responded with a name, phone number, and email of a Carolina Pesantez that we had to contact.    My email of Friday had been unanswered so I composed a detailed list of questions in a new email that I fired off at 8:19.

We had nightmares of being forced to go to Quito, hoping at worst to go to Guayaquil, and were making preparations to go on Thursday, our only free day.

At 11am I tried calling the phone number with a Cuenca prefix and it just rang and rang.  I then called Oswaldo and emailed him my list of questions and all the information.   He also tried the Cuenca prefix and also got no response.   Then he tried a Quito prefix and managed to talk to this Carolina.   He asked us to meet him at Banco Del Pacifico at 2pm with all our paperwork and he would explain then.

We arrived and he explained that Banco Del Pacifico is partly Government-owned and they would handle the transaction.  He said that Carolina told him the deadline was this Saturday!!  We asked one of the counter reps where to go and they said simply to go to a teller, so we got in the short lineup.

This teller, another cousin, according to Oswaldo, lmao, gave us $16 back from our small savings account and everything was going smoothly with cashing the CD until they compared my passport number with the information they had on file.  When we had begun the process from Canada in 2009 I still had my old passport so this account had that information.  Since the number changes with every renewal, nothing seems to match.  So Oswaldo and I roared back home where I still kept my old passport (Bella had told me I’d never need it again), then stopped to get 2 colour copies, and we were back there in an hour.

Again everything was going fine until they now asked for a passport history document…  Oswaldo blew up at his cousin and the supervisor telling them they have to stop asking for silly documents that don’t exist!  Everyone in the lineup was listening intently by now.  Anyway, they relented and we not only got our full principal amount but also our full interest to date!

We then went to Coopera to deposit the money there for now and had a long chat with the Manager, Juan, about their situation now that they have a new Superintendent for Credit Unions.  They are going through an audit stage run by a bunch of former bankers who are not kind to Credit Unions so it could be an ordeal yet.  Juan figures they will be forced eventually to reduce their interest rates a bit to appease the Banking Gods.

Upon arrival at home I fired off the following information to my informant and GringoTree and GringoPost:

Banco Territorial is under liquidation by the Bank Superintendent of Ecuador.  You have only until Saturday April 13th to recover your money, guaranteed up to $31,000.  Do not delay!

The Superintendent's website claims that you have to go to the Guayaquil or Quito branches but this is not necessary.  You are able to get your money on-the-spot in Cuenca at any branch of Banco Del Pacifico, which is partly Government-owned.

There are two Banco Del Pacifico branches in Cuenca, the first is just east of Las Americas on Gran Colombia, and the second is just south east of the main stadium.

Bring any original documents, CD's, Bank books, etc as well as the identity documents used to obtain the documents, ie. old passport, new passport, or Cedula, along with 2 color copies of each.  You just get in line to see a teller and they will handle the transaction easily.

Hopefully this will save a few souls a lot money as well.  We are so thankful to everyone, Trudy, Carolina, and Oswaldo for simplifying things and saving us a lot of worry and needless travel.

Sorry, no time for photos today...

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

Sunday April 7, 2013

Sunday April 7, 2013  update #415

Bella apparently was up ½ the night retching for reasons unknown.   However she felt well enough by lunchtime to go meet with her Bridge Club, so off she went.

I spent most of the morning preparing our documents to go to either Guayaquil or Quito to cash in our CD from Banco Territorial.   We want to wait to talk to the person we  were referred to by the Banking Superintendent so we do things just once, and in one day,   We are both too darn busy at this particular time to waste our time needlessly.   Bella will get confirmation on how to fill in our claims forms in Spanish while I have made colour copies of the other necessary documents.    We should be ready to fly or bus at a moment’s notice.

The afternoon I spent redoing half the paperwork for the Hearts Of Gold Silent Auction and Sale happening in a scant 6 days.   We already have 79 confirmed items for the tables, not counting sale items, and I expect a flood of late items in the next 2 days from some volunteers that have missed the last meeting.

The Auction should go off well, we are as organized as we can be.  My only fear is that I will get stuck lugging heavy tables, etc, up and down those stairs.   Saturday will be one loooooong day.

Sorry no photos today, never got out of the house, but there were 2 uploads yesterday….

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

Saturday April 6, 2013

Saturday April 6, 2013  update #414

I did take a short walk in the neighborhood on my way to exchange two movies that weren’t in English.  Can you believe that one of the movies I brought back was again a duplicate???

I had brought my camera so I got a few shots of the sights in the area, including a wedding at Santa Teresa.

So there will be two uploads to Souvenir today.

We slipped over as invited to have a mango daiquiri with Mark and Karen before heading to Joe’s.   They asked me if I knew anything about buying vehicles, or checking out vehicles.  I advised them that I sold cars for 7 years so I knew a little about what to look for.   They were having a tour operator come to show them a 2009 Suzuki with 33,500 kms on it, previously owned by a little old man who only went to church on Sundays…  When he arrived we all went down and I gave it a thorough going over to see if I could disprove of anything that was claimed.  The vehicle had been scrupulously cleaned so extra vigilance was needed to hunt down any anomalies.  There were many scratches and a minor front dent that was consistent with an old man always scraping or backing into things, but nothing serious.  The tires and brakes and pedals and seat wear were consistent with the mileage.   The motor ran really smooth and there were no rattles even on rough roads.   All in all it was a pretty darn good unit for the asking price.   They dropped me off at Joe’s to do my chores there while they returned to negotiate.  I later learned that the sale may be consummated pending a mechanic’s check.

Joe’s was the usual crowd with a few new faces, including another couple from Vancouver.  The BBQ pork was exceptionally good tonight as were the cinnamon rolls.

I keep getting requests for copies of photos and I keep giving them away for nothing.    Some day I will have to learn how to charge properly for my work and not feel guilty about it.

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

Friday April 5, 2013

Friday April 5, 2013  update #413

I stayed in bed for 10 hours, not necessarily sleeping, but surely setting a modern-day record.

Bella was off early to do her Friday crochet/knitting charity work that she enjoys so much.  It is nice to see her happy with that as well as the huge improvement in the Wednesday and Sunday bridge group where they are really having a lot of fun.

I got busy with the usual chores and uploading more photos for sale before deciding to research the demise of Banco Territorial and how we might possibly get around to cashing our CD coming due in July.   I managed to find the website for their Banking watchdog and sent off a request for their advice, in English and in Spanish.  It was surprising to get a very quick response to contact a particular individual with email and phone number.  We naturally opted for email so we can use Google Translate to communicate in writing.   Our Spanish is not good enough to be able to understand any technical terms they may say.   Having a hard copy also makes it easier to confirm what was communicated.

A person has to be quite careful with literal translations, especially of names, for Banco Territorial becomes Land Bank, and the poor lady we have to contact, Carolina Pesantez, unfortunately becomes Heaviness Carolina.

I spent part of the afternoon getting into Chris Peterson’s book, Methuselah’s Secret, which is available on Amazon I believe.  I really like his writing style and it was easy to get right into the characters and the plot.  I am not a speed reader like Bella so it will take me a week or so to finish it but I am already looking forward to delving into his sequel, it is that good!

Tonight we met Mark and Karen, our second night at California Kitchen, so Bella could enjoy her favorite baby-back ribs.   I opted to also try the ribs and couldn’t finish them all.   Since we had ordered the full-meal-deal with salad and dessert I did my best to eat the apple cobbler and vanilla ice cream, but it was a struggle and made the rest of the evening very uncomfortable.    We were entertained by a pleasant Latino singer, I believe the name was Haden according to the CD that Karen bought, and he even played Guantanamera as I had requested.

We weren’t finished for the evening yet because we had a second appointment to meet Oswaldo and Caty at the Cuenca Symphony presentation in the Old Cathedral.   We arrived ½ hour early and the place was packed already.  Luckily Oswaldo and Caty had saved us the best seats in the house in the second row, since the first row was reserved for the dignitaries.  The amazing guest Director was William Vergara and the fabulous oboe soloist was Jorge Layana.  They did some classical greats such as Claire De Lune by DeBussy and Beethoven’s Fifth.   The acoustics in the old cathedral are magnificent and the music was heavenly.   It was standing room only and we had people sitting in the aisles.   My photos were all taken without a flash.

A young lady sitting in the aisle in front of me was obviously a budding musician as she hardly looked at the orchestra but was playing an imaginary instrument in her lap.   I took a long video catching both her and the orchestra.    I hope you enjoy it.

http://youtu.be/oMMRXVyn3p0

At the conclusion Oswaldo suggested that we go to Tutto Freddo’s for coffee and everyone said OK.  They all had huge ice creams or milkshakes while I opted only for water, I was still so bloated from supper.  We certainly had a lot of laughs, because everyone we mentioned was supposedly Oswaldo’s cousin…

Bella has it in her head that we must get to Guayaquil on Monday to cash the CD according to information on the Bank Superintendent’s website.  I am digging in my heels that I am not rushing there until I talk to Carolina Pesantez and get the proper procedures.    We both have many things on the go in the coming week so Thursday is probably the day that is best for both of us but we can’t afford to sit in Guayaquil for more than the one day, I have the Silent Auction on the weekend to keep on track.  Hopefully everything will work out.

I am working very late to get these ready for the Blog and some guy is firing off fireworks way up on the mountaintop at 12:45am!  My camera is close by so I hurriedly put it on manual, set the shutter speed at 5 seconds and brace myself against the window frame.  No time to fart around with a tripod and guess what???   I actually got one of the clearest pictures I took tonight!!   Enjoy.

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

Thursday April 4, 2013

Thursday April 4, 2013  update #412

Today is a happy-sad day.   Today would have been my Dad Horace’s 111^th Birthday but it is also the one-year anniversary of our Stepdad Lucien’s passing.   It will be a very bittersweet day for my Mom who, at age 96 is finding the days lonely and long.

I was up early, having had the unusual company of both Boys overnight.  By the time I had done emails and uploaded photos, and worked on the next batch, it was already almost 1pm.   I had not heard Bella stir until then so I was almost scared to go check on her.   I had been up and down a few times, getting coffee, then lunch, changing the gas tanks, getting a tank refill, and still no sound.   I finally screwed up the courage and was at the top of the stairs when I heard her in her bathroom.   My gosh, she had slept for 14 hours!

I read more of my Tom Clancy novel and we wasted away the afternoon.

At 5:30 Cathy and Oswaldo picked us up to go to Big Kabuda’s for burgers.  Jesus and Elizabeth were late opening, waiting for their egg shipment, so we had to wait almost 20 minutes but it was worth it.  I tried his new Tilapia burger which was quite good but it still doesn’t touch my favorite Porky’s burger.   I will be sure to return to my old favorite next time.  Oswaldo and Cathy tried the Diabla which they both enjoyed.  Bella tried some chopped BBQ chicken in a hot dog bun and it was really tasty (I finished it for her).

We then had Oswaldo just drop us off downtown on their way home.  I had decided to go again to the Writers’ Group readings at 7pm because my friend Chris was reading some of his sequel novel and, unbeknownst to me Bella had been invited by Manon, who was also reading a story about cotton-picking as a youth in Mississippi.  We enjoyed California Kitchen’s scrumptious desserts before the proceedings got under way.  It was quite enjoyable listening to the various stories with the different deliveries. 

I liked Chris’ story line so I approached him after the session and told him I would like to read his first book.  I was quite shocked when he brought me to the corner and handed me a coiled volume!  I guess I will have to put Mr Clancy’s novel aside for a bit so I can get this solo copy back to its excellent author quickly.

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

Wednesday April 3, 2013

Wednesday April 3, 2013  update #411

After uploading my photos this morning I had to get cracking at the Hearts Of Gold bid sheets for the auction.  We are up to 73 confirmed auction items plus several “for sale” items and some door prizes.  It is going to be a good event so I hope we get a great turnout.   It seems everyone we talk to has heard of it and is intending to show up.

Bella was off to her Bridge Club and left me in charge of a possible noon visit by Luly who did not arrive until after 1.   Bella is returning the Kefir substances as she is tired of doing all the work involved.   I am truly sorry to see that go but I can appreciate all the work it takes. 

Then I got a call from Emilie at HoG asking if I could be available at 3pm to go view some rental tables for the event, so off I went again.  California Kitchen don’t have nearly enough tables for our needs so we went to this wedding rental place on Solano.  We rented 13 6.5-foot tables, with pickup and delivery, for $45, such a deal!  That is one major worry off our list.   We will be setting up at 9:30am on the day of the event.

I then walked to Diez De Agosto, took a few shots of the picturesque church on the hill, then went to check out the little 27 De Febrero Mercado a block away that I had never visited before.   It is much bigger than it appears and is very clean.   I might visit this place more often.   In my travels I spotted a huge backpacker’s backpack and asked the price.  I walked away with it for $20.

Then I headed over to get my house insurance policy at SegurAlmeida.   The office was open and they finally located my documents and I had to sign about six forms just to get my copy.

Once home I got the urge to try to catch Tom Thumb.  On my first attempt the shutter click scared him away but he came back fairly quickly.  My first shot was so terrible I can’t even show you.   The light was fading fast but I did get a much better shot although it is not anywhere near the quality I am looking for.

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

Tuesday April 2, 2013

Tuesday April 2, 2013  update #410

Bella was off to a cooking class this morning while I was waiting for word if I would have to rush downtown or not.  I got the message at 11:15 to be at the Windhorse Café at 11:45 so I really had to hustle.  I met a new donor for the Silent Auction and got his signature on a Gift Certificate.

I actually was there early so traded about ten movies at the movie/book exchange.

Next I headed over to the jewelry market to drop off my good magnetic bracelet for repairs.  I told the lady that I would be back in a week for it because I want her to have time to do a good job on it.

Then I stopped in another video store and browsed for a while but found several movies I wanted, Ben-Hur, Ten Commandments, Dr. Strangelove, A Shot In The Dark, The Party, 3 Musketeers, The Man Who Would Be King, Jerry Maguire, Michael, American Graffiti, and a couple more.   We shouldn’t be bored for a while.

I stopped at California Kitchen to confirm that we wouldn’t be able to use extra space in the hotel lobby for sales tables at the Auction so we have to use our available space.

On the way to Hearts Of Gold I spotted a hummer not too far away in a tree so I got to test my new camera.  I wasn’t close enough to get the shot I wanted but I am not displeased with the results.

Our Hearts Of Gold meeting was marred by a lot of absentees but we did sort out a lot of details I need to complete the Bid Sheets for what we have.  We really have an awesome group of volunteers with big hearts so I sincerely hope we get the public’s support for our auction.

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

Monday April 1, 2013

Monday April 1, 2013  update #409

Last night was an Easter Sunday to remember as a photographer.   I thought one guy was making fun of me ny congratulating me on a few sales, but then I checked, and you could have bowled me over with a feather…  Some wonderful person in Jackson Heights, NY bought SIX large canvas prints of different Ecuador scenes I have taken!!!  Do you think this is possibly a homesick Ecuadorian??   THANK YOU , whoever you are!!

I did not get to use my camera today as I spend more time getting prepared for the Hearts Of Gold Silent Auction and Sale April 13^th, Saturday, at California Kitchen.   The items are coming in fast and furious now so we anticipate full tables lining the front room.

So I will apologize in advance as the next 2 weeks are likely to be shy of photos on a few days.   I tried to get a small night photo shoot for tonight but that didn’t pan out.

Bella was doing groceries and taking it easy today.

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

Sunday March 31, 2013

Sunday March 31/13  update #408

Happy Easter Everyone.

Today is a rest day in anticipation of a very busy week.

Bella went off to play bridge and is hoping for at least 2 tables of players today.   Sorry to say, but trying to manage catty women players must be a terrific challenge.   Men are not so bad, no politics or agendas.

Everyone must be away for the Easter weekend or something.   I have uploaded what I consider to be some wonderful stuff in the past week or so but the response has been worse than abysmal.   I sure hope it picks up a lot, and soon.

I had it in my head to dig out a few older select works and try some artistry instead of concentration on straight photography so much.   I have to do much more of this in the coming months.   Today I decided to do some selective coloring and ended up going a step or two further and applied an oil painting motif.   Let me know if you like, or hate, any or all.

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

Saturday March 30, 2013

Saturday March 30/13  update #407

Well you already know that I spent almost all day getting yesterday’s Good Friday photos processed and posted.  That didn’t leave much time for anything except to get ready for the usual gathering at Joe’s Secret Garden.  Many more new faces again showed up there.  There was this nice young Ecuadorian couple that spoke pretty good English and, I don’t know if they were unannounced arrivals or what but, they were placed to sit at a table all by themselves.   I asked if they would prefer to sit with our group and they said they would be delighted so we moved a table onto the end of ours to accommodate them.  

Supper was again really late tonight and it was on-again off-again rain tonight so most people were at their tables and waiting.  I was lucky again tonight that there were no objections to any photo taking.  It really is a nice class of people that come to Joe’s.

When supper was finally being served, well after 7pm I went looking for the Ecuadorian couple.  I finally asked the staff and they said the couple had left!    Oh well, we tried….

Joe got on the piano to entertain for a bit and that is certainly appreciated by most folks.   Joe is naturally a showman and likes the adulation.

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

Thursday-Friday March 28-29, 2013

Thursday-Friday March 28-29/13  update #406

I didn’t do enough on Thursday to write about at all.   I relaxed and caught my breath.

Friday however we were out the door early to try to catch the Good Friday processions in El Centro.  Bus service is extremely limited on holidays so I had quite a wait at both ends.  I was headed for Santo Domingo but saw a group gathering earlier at San Francisco church so I caught the beginning of this procession of the Way Of The Cross.

Then I made it to Santo Domingo in time for their 9:30 start and caught the many statues involved in this procession.   I love the brightly colored robes that the statue-bearers wear and love their ingenuity in designing the platforms to hold the statues.  The bars just slide through holes in the platform and, depending on the weight of the statue, usually 6-10 people carry it the whole way.  Then they have a person at each corner bringing a bracing bar to set under the corner bars during stoppages to give the bearers a rest.

The folks playing the Roman soldiers try to be convincing with their whips and when kicking the poor sod playing Jesus.   I took one video at the beginning of the San Francisco procession then a second one of the Santo Domingo procession as it passed Parque Calderon.  The second one is shot from the fourth floor of the building across from the gazebo.

http://youtu.be/bShWEnXyAvo

http://youtu.be/VGL54NVLQk4

I was in the fourth floor at the apartment of Vivian Slade and Todd Burr collecting 3 Gift Certificates for the Hearts Of Gold auction.  Boy!  Do they have a cat’s meow view of the central square!!!  Thank you to Todd, Vivian, Johanna and Sophie for your kindness.

The view from the fourth floor is spectacular, especially of Immaculate Conception and Parque Calderon.  Around the corner of the cathedral Carlos, the harp player, was performing right next to many booths selling some gorgeous arts and crafts.

I then hurried home to get a start on the many photos to process, some of which I spent hours on, (and that is why this blog didn’t get completed until Saturday).

We had company in the evening for Chinese food deliciously prepared by Bella, followed by yummy cinnamon buns while we played stick rummy.

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

Wednesday March 27, 2013

Wednesday March 27/13  update #405

Bella was off for her Wednesday bridge games.   I hope people are supporting all the work she is doing to promote bridge in Cuenca.  She is again offering bridge lessons for beginners next month.  

She has also crocheted the cutest giraffe doll presumably for the Charity work they are doing for kids at the Weaving Store.

I have spent most of the day on the computer, emails, uploading photos and blogs, then getting into all the work required for Hearts Of Gold on the admin side.  The donations are increasing and I want to thank everyone who is supporting us.   The work HoG does is worth your support.

I only slipped out for a few moments to try to find some strapping to hold my tripod to my camera bag.  After stopping at a couple of ferreterias and Coral I finally stopped at my seamstress who suggested a shoemaker…  Brilliant idea!!  I found a seamstress/shoemaker in the next block and they made them up as I waited.   They are so good with their hands here.

I walked back along the river and finally noticed that something had been missing for a long while.  All the car/bus wash outfits are gone from the riverbank and they have planted trees and updated the walkway.  I really haven’t walked that way in a quite a while but it is obvious they have been gone for a long time.

I am trying to get a better connection on our NetTalk.  It is possible that just unplugging it to get all the details off the device may have cured most of the ills.  Anybody on the other end was always complaining that our voices were always cutting out.

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

Tuesday March 26, 2013

Tuesday March 26/13  update #404

We had a very short but productive meeting at Hearts Of Gold today.  Our volunteers are terrific at bringing in new ideas and exciting new items for our auction.   Tarek has done a wonderful job on the new website and we are looking for as many folks as possible to Subscribe to the website to be kept abreast of updates   If you haven’t already, please Subscribe at heartsofgoldfoundation.org and see all the fine work they are involved in.

The fearless chairperson, Emilie, had a birthday yesterday, 27 I think, so we all enjoyed a little cake.

Melinda asked for a volunteer to go get Gift Certificate information at the Carolina Bookstore so I held up my hand since I was headed downtown anyway.  Carol was happy to give us two Gift Certificates which I will be making up shortly.

Then I headed to Parque Calderon to meet Jay because he is leaving Friday for Canada and we were taking him out for supper.   Bella met us downtown and she needed a watch battery so we stopped at a watch shop I suggested and Jay also got a new strap for his watch.

Then we headed to La Vina for pizza and I again talked the owner into two Gift certificates which I had pre-made, counting on her cooperation.  She also put up two posters for the event which will be just down the street at California Kitchen and which she promised to attend as well.

During supper Jay gave me his cel phone, ready to use, for putting in the auction as well.  There are going to be a lot going on at the auction so I hope we get a real good turnout.

Sorry I didn’t take out my camera today but do have a few more Pase Del Nino photos for you.

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

Monday March 25, 2013

Monday March 25/13  update #403

Bella took her third crack at her own residency permit this morning.  God help them if they had tried to find something else wrong with her paperwork again!  There was supposedly one minor error in a three-letter word that they decided to overlook and accept her documents.   Now there is the interminable wait for the final decision.

I had a horrible night but got up and did my Internet chores anyway them looked outside and grabbed the phone.  Paul had mentioned that he wanted to get some more Cuenca skyline shots and the day was shaping up nicely with blue skies so he agreed to jump on the #16 with me. 

We headed on the milk run to the northwest corner of the city, literally opposite where we live and it took about an hour.  We walked even further and were actually 3 doors from being on the Cajas mountainside, no more Cuenca.  We took a few general interest shots because there really wasn’t much of a city view from there then we walked back and caught a bus to just above the Catolica University.  We hopefully got a few decent skyline shots for you.   It is really hard to say you have a skyline shot if Immaculate Conception’s blue domes aren’t in evidence.   They are the center and the icons of this city.

The skies began to threaten so we caught the next #16 just as the thunderstorm began.   Most of the rain had subsided by the time I got home but the heavens opened again very shortly so it is possible that Paul got pretty soaked on his last little stretch home.

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

Sunday March 24, 2013

Sunday March 24/13  update #402

This was Bella’s first Sunday bridge group and they had a decent turnout with two tables.

I decided to crawl out of bed and head to El Centro for Palm Sunday celebrations.  Almost immediately I ran into a Good Friday style parade complete with Jesus, Barrabas, crucifixes, soldiers whipping and kicking, etc.  There were masses going on in Santuario Mariano and Immaculate Conception but the crowds seemed somewhat smaller than last year.   I was hoping to capture a procession of the Bishop between the two churches like last year but that didn’t happen.

All in all it is refreshing to see devout Catholics holding all manner of plants on this day and enjoying the beautiful weather as families with everyone dressed nicely, especially the priceless children.

I then made it back home to process the photos before heading out on the bus again, running into yet another parade with a recreation of the crucifixion. 

We headed to a new restaurant that is reputed to serve the best beef, pork and chicken in town called La Parrillada.  The ambience and the service were great but the overcooked meals were really disappointing for all four of us.  That was quite a letdown.    The length of the kitchen had not been exaggerated, we had never seen such a large open kitchen before.

There was also a large empty bungalow across the street that caught our eye.   The folks at the restaurant seemed certain that it was for sale, and not for rent.   How to find out who owns it??

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