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/