Thursday June 14/12 update
Yesterday Bella had visited with our friend Manon who lives
next to Joe’s Secret Garden as she had just returned from a trip home to
the US. Manon had returned with a long-haired
appaloosa dachshund, a rescue dog of all things. Bella says it was all friendly when Manon was
around, but turned into a guard dog when Manon went in for a shower. Too funny!
Bella returned home with the pet carrier we had lent her for
the trip and set it down at the entrance to the kitchen. Well you know what happens when you put down
a box or bag or anything that looks like fun in a house with two cats…. Peso and Pancho were trying to figure out
that new smell in their old carrier and we’re not sure if they have figured out
that it was used by a dreaded dog??
Bella was also talking to Stefania at the External Affairs
office in that same area to get a handle on her requirements before she leaves
in August. They are hoping to have a Cuenca office open and running in 2 weeks (a month in Ecuador time,
even she admitted) so people can come here and get things sorted out without
lawyers. She said to return in mid-July
for the letter that Bella will need.
There is an unsubstantiated rumour that the President has scrapped the
Censo requirement for travel, but apparently this is not true, at least not
yet.
Bella was off early this morning to Coopera Credit Union to
transfer some CD’s, then to SuperMaxi for some groceries. When she returned she asked me to refrain
from using the wine vinegars in my salads as she wants them for cooking
purposes and she can’t find any right now in the stores. Again, the thing to do in Ecuador is to
stock up on specialty items when you spot them in the stores because you may
not see them again for months.
I had a long 3-part sleep and it did good to recharge by
batteries. The weather was a little iffy
this morning so I decided to use my upgraded brain power to complete a few
peace-of-mind issues. I updated my
personal photo website with the RedBubble links, then I updated the
CuencaResidency blog with several items.
Then I scanned all my Consul and Embassy and Immigration contact
information to save in hard copy and electronic files, then backed everything
up, including on 2 “sticks” for off-site emergency portability.
In the midst of doing all this I took 3 videos of Tom Thumb,
again not in the light I want, but combined two videos into one for upload to
YouTube
http://youtu.be/qCKkYYDv3mQ.
I then decided I am not going to
vegetate in the house all day so I took a short walk starting east from home
toward the Hospital IESS and the small creek.
There are some very old gum trees that are very tall at the end of our
street.
Then I started back west along
the Autopista for a bit then cut down to Raoul’s new place again. He was there so he delighted in showing me
around. The rooms are really small,
Ecuadorian style, and the workmanship leaves a lot to be desired but he is not
hiring specialists, just generalists, so the quality suffers. I climbed up the the third floor to see the nice
three-direction views and to again confirm that he was using concrete blocks
for his ceiling. Yup! It sure is!
He had found a German Shepherd
adolescent dog and had left word in his neighborhood that he had the dog with
him. It wasn’t long before it was
claimed by the local priest who gratefully came to pick it up. Raoul was really hoping nobody would claim
him because he really wants a Shepherd.
He seemed to have time on his
hands so I invited him to view our place and he came along. He was blown away with the quality of our
home, the skylight, the he really loved the wooden cupboards, closets and
doors. He was impressed with our
renovations to the garage and the sunroom on the terrace.
Raoul was also favored by an
immediate visit by Tom Thumb so he was flabbergasted. He was overflowing with compliments when he
left. I am sure his workmen are going
to have a more particular taskmaster when he gets back to his construction
site.
Enjoy the pics and video.
That was today’s excitement.
Hugs to all.
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| 120614 The boys in the carrier, what's that smell? Dog! |
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| 120614 The boys love Bella's recliner |
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| 120614 Creek and bridge at the end of our street |
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| 120614 Creek and bridge at the end of our street 2 |
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| 120614 Free Clinic west of Raoul's |
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| 120614 Yup, a concrete block ceiling! Weird! |
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| 120614 Super tough homemade hacksaw |
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| 120614 Hospital IESS at the end of our street
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| 120614 Tending the lawnmowers |
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| 120614 Our new friend Raoul |
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| 120614 Raoul's View to the East |
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| 120614 Raoul's View to the North (Monay Mall) |
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| 120614 Raoul's View to the West |
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| 120614 Tall gums looking East |
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| 120614 Tall gums looking West |
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| 120614 Indigenous woman waiting in the parking lot |
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| 120614 Raoul's workmen |
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| 120614 Cutting concrete makes a lot of dust |
