July - What a Month

Life back in Cuenca has not been dull this month.  It started with a great 4th of July Party at California Kitchen.  As there are fireworks most weekends here they were not missed, but the food and fellowship was great.

The puppies are growing like weeds.  They are about 7 pounds each now!!

Most of our adventures this month have been medical.  It started with finally getting correct diagnosis on Iggy.  The limping just was not getting better with glucosamine and so our vet around the corner, a great guy, told me that the other opinion I had gotten was absolutely wrong, Iggy did not have an issue with arthritus but it was either a tendon or nerve damage.  He referred us to Dr. Freddi Carpio on 10 de Agosto.  Dr Freddi examined him and determined that the knee was dislocated and that he had torn the tendon in the knee.  The only recourse was surgery.  Surgery scheduled and completed. 

Jack and I both seemed to have been bitten by either fleas or a spider.  Mine got better but his did not so off to the doctor.  He prescribed antibiotic as Jack's bits appeared infected.  So Iggy comes come from the hospital with stiches.  He proceeds to chew the stiches out on a Friday night and off to Dr. Fredi's hosptal at 11 pm!  New stiches and 5 more days in hospital. 

Four days latter we were back to see Jacks doctor. He said those are not spider bits shingles and oh by the way, why is your arm swolen and dark red?  Off to the ER for ultrasound and X-ray.  Guess what, you have a blood clot in your left arm.  Yes shingles on the left side and a blood clot.  Gee we have a very nice room for you upstairs.

Now back to Iggy.  He had an allergic reaction to the new stitches and now has metal ones, 5 more days in hosptial all this while Jack is in one too receiving blood thinning shots and shingles treatment.

Get Jack home from hospital with ongoing treatment for the clot, Iggy is still in the hospital, now with another set of stiches as even with one of those plastic cones he managed to get to the stiches.  Now his leg is in a cast with new stiches and as of today, Sunday July 31, he will be there until next Friday....

In between I did manage to stop and smell the orchid that is just startsing to bloom in our garden.  I get up at 6 AM and let the puppies out, feed the birds and the puppies and crawl back into bed.

Jack is getting stronger but the treatmes leaves him pretty tired.  We have managed a few dinners or breakfasts out and are looking forward to the end of the treatment and confirmation that the clot is disolved.

Where Back and the Family Has Grown

June has been a very busy month.  Although it is not widely known we were in the US lately to visit friends and family.  We flew to Florida and before I go further I want to recommend LAN Airlines.  The service was great, leg room more generous than American, and real food!  We were on the midnight flight and were served a "snack" which included salad, whole grain roll, chicken curry with rice, flan, and a glass of WINE!  Miami was hot and humid, a reminder why we live in Cuenca.  We had to laugh as we used almost as much Spanish there as we do here! 

We had wonderful visits with new friends we met here in Cuenca who were down kicking tires and old friends, some Jack had not seen in 40 years.  Got to see his son John, granddaughter Danielle, and great-granddaughter Scarlet.  Two beautiful ladies!



Danielle and Scarlet

  

Finger Food!

The practical purpose was to establish with a doctor, closer than our old home in Oregon, to get prescriptions renewed as mail order pharmacies in the US have to have an Rx from a doctor with a license to practice in the US and the doctors here in Cuenca, and probably all Ecuador can not afford to maintain a US license.  Anyway, had a good visit with the new doc and we will see him again next year!  Also did some shopping to help the suffering Florida economy...

Flew LAN back and were not disappointed.  Our dear friend Noshy arranged for a van to meet us at the airport, take us to see the cardiologist in Guayaquil who has the equipment to read Jack's pacemaker.  Got a good report there and then home.  We were greeted by Noshy and family with roses and a great dinner.  Sarah and Rubin had been house and Iggy sitting for us while we were gone and did a great job.

The latest additions to our family arrived yesterday!  Rubia and Chiquita, seven week old Poodle/Schnauzer mix puppies.  We had planned on one but they were so cute we could not choose so now there are two!  They also have a brother and sister waiting adoption so if you are interested let me know!!!!



Iggy checking the new girls out




Making themselves right at home for a nap.

Another note: things are still blooming here... my rose bush has not stopped since we moved in last November.  Have you ever seen aloe bloom?  It does.

Having some wet weather today.  I am off to see the new chiropractor in town...too much luggage moving last week.  Jack will probably try him too as he fell in the Miami airport at the beginning of our trip and messed up his back.

Hope this finds all of you well!  Take care.  Chao!

Still Here - Really!

Where to begin?  I can't believe, again, that so much time has gone by.  Life has been so busy I can't remember everything to share to catch you up.  As I said, we got word that our visas were approved so off our passports, old and new, went to Quito for the visa stamp. Two weeks later the new visas, with the official visa stamp affixed, were returned. The old passorts were not included for some reason.  We then got our censo, a little hang up there as the visa number we entered the country with was not the same as the one we presented and the fellow had a hard time getting the computer to let him change the number....in the end all was well, censo - national ID card obtained from the police, in hand.  Next stop off the Quito for the cecula.  We took the morning flight, $6 taxi to the Civil Registery where we were met by a great gal who had us in and out of there in less than 2 hours, I think a new record.  After lunch, we went to a notary with the attorney to have a power of attorney written and signed so the Quito attorney could pick up our cedulas and mail them to Gallo, our attorney here in Cuenca.



Sarah and two friends



We hosted a great 16th birthday party for a friend of ours daughter, Sarita (Sarah).  She was so surprised! 

New visa, censo, and cedula in hand I made a quick trip to Oregon for my Mom's 86th brithday and Mother's Day. Jack and Iggy held down the fort.  Four days of travel and four days of visit with mom, kids, grand kids, and dear friends. The time was sweet but all too short, did not get to see many I would have like to have seen, and the travel a killer. Did manage to bring back good crushed chili pepper, chedder cheese, cayane pepper (although I just found some at SuperMaxi), real semi-sweet chocolate chips, and a few other hard to find things.  Iggy and Jack did well I guess.  I came home to a new refrigerator and TV.  Better take Jack with me next time!!!

Karen, Ken, Mom, Shawn and Amy, Richie, Elizabeth and Me

Now back home in Cuenca, airplane cold and all, we are trying to settle down and develop a routine.  We have started Spanish classes at the Chamber of Commerce, now on Wednesdays, it's a good group and Deek is great teacher.  Friends who have been here for years say that it takes about a year to find the rythem so we are over half way there!

Been baking, now that I have a supply of baking soda (bicarbonato) from Coral and good chocolate chips.  Thought I would share my High Atlitude Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with you:

1 c shortening or butter

1 c white sugar

1 c brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 c flour (iIused 1 c white and 1 c whole wheat)

1 tsp soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1-2 c chocolate chips (if you can's find semi-sweet, try cutting up chuncks of bar chocolate!)

2 c oatmeal

Cream shortening and sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat. Mix the dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture. Stir in chips and oatmeal.  Shape into balls with spoon and drop on ungreased cookie sheet (I use parchment paper).  Bake 190 c (375) for 12-15 minutes.

 Hope you enjoy these.  Not sure what adjustment for sea level is!  Cuenca is at about 8100 feet!

Take care and I will TRY to be more current with posts!!!  As a friend here says "Life is Sweet".  Come see us!

Happy 25th Anniversary Week!

It's been a week of celebrating and many other events.  On our anniversary (Tuesday) we got the call from our attorney that our passports with the permanent residence visas applied were back from Quito!  The process has taken since November 30th but at last we officially have permission to live here as retirees, sort of like a Green Card in the USA.  The next step is to get our censo, which is a national ID card, and essential for re-entry when traveling out of the country.  We get the censo on Tuesday and then the following week we fly to Quito for the cedula.  That number is used for ID for all purchases and also for seniors, like Jack, to receive a refund of the some of the tax charged on purchases. There is a 12% sales tax on many items here.

Our Anniversary dinner was wonderful.  We dined almost by ourselves at the Mansion Alcazar in the Casa Alonso a gourmet restaurant. 



Fountain in the center of the hotel portion of Mansion Alcazar

 

Claudia at dinner



Jack at dinner






Wonderful Pork Tenderloin



Complimentary dessert from the Chef for our Anniversary

Celebrations continued today with Noshy, Alfredo, and kids over for dinner and they brought a fabulous fruit arrangement which we all enjoyed.

Celebrations will continue next week with dinner invitations for other friends, but I guess you only celebrate 25 years once!  One thing Jack promised me when we got married was it would never be dull, and he has kept that promise!

In case you noticed the background is changed.  I just got bored with the other one.  One of these days I will get a great Cuenca picture and use it.

A little too much excitement this week included Iggy jumping off an exam table and spraining his hind right-leg.  He was told he is 10 pounds overweight and to get the weight off now.  So he is on a strict diet and hobbling around on three legs, but he should be better soon and I will start taking him on some of my walking travels to help expedite the weight loss.

Tomorrow begins Holy Week which is very special here.  There were already parades today, one in front of our house, but we were busy trying to get a humming bird out of our garage before it wore its self out and I did not get a picture.  Poor thing was bumping into the opaque skylight, so Jack had to prop it open with a board so the little guy could get out as he did not want to fly low enough to go out the garage door.

We think the 3rd International Cuenca Marathon will pass our house tomorrow.  This is a very big marathon with competitors from all over the world coming.  The altitude provides an added challenge for competitors. 

Well, take care.  Have a blessed Easter!

April Showers -Abril Agua Mil

River in dryer times

Today

Looking up stream to the Max Ulhe Bridge

The rainy season has finally come in full force.  This week has seen rain every day and not just the light rains of the last few months.  The rivers are really swollen and it's a sight to see for us who live beside the river.  There is no fear of flooding, but familiar rocks are gone from view.  Of course with the heavy rains comes roof leaks.  The landlady has had someone out before but the tile roof seems to have a mind of its own and I have to go into the attic with a couple more buckets until the rains stop, so the tiles can dry, before  a repairman can come and readjust the tiles.

Our other adventure this week was looking for a new vacuum (apriradora).  When we arrived we bought a small canister vac as most of the house is parquet floor and the carpet in the bedrooms is old and with little nap.  Well, it just was not doing the job on the dog hair on the carpet so off we went to find a good old upright vacuum (aspiradora vertical).  Checked, Corral, not uprights, went to the Electrolux store . . . oh my, is it made with pure gold I wanted to ask but my Spanish was not good enough, then she told me the one from Italy was even more.  But to give you an idea of how helpful folks are, the young gal working there said they had what I needed at Sukasa down the block.  She walked us down the block, took the vacuum off the display shelf and demonstrated it...we bought the Eureka with the power brush roller.  Now that thing can really suck!

On my list of things that are not readily available has been Epsom Salts and pectin. I started asking at farmacias for magnesium sulfate, one directed me to Botica Olmedo on Juan Jaramillo and Borrero.  I asked for magnesium sulfate and they gave me Sal Inglesa, English Salt, makes sense since Epsom is in England.  They also had pectina!  Both were spendy but at least they can be found like so many other things we had heard were not available.  You just have to ask and expect to be directed to an unlikely place...

This week also held many wonderful meals shared with friends in their homes and out and about.  We laugh that if I reported all the great dining you would ask . . don't they do anything but eat?  Well, actually we all eat three meals a day.  Here you are just more likely to share it with friends! 

We are still waiting for our passports and residence visas to be returned from Quito.  Nothing happens quickly we have learned...

Take care and  have a great week.  We began celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary last night with friends Jim and Carolyn in their home and plan a date night at Casa Alonso on Tuesady.  I will look like a tourista and take pictures to share!  I understand it is a beautiful and special place.  More to come! Chao!!!

I Can't Believe It's April!

They say that time flies when you are having fun.  So it must be true:  We are having fun!  I said to Jack today.  You know I have not updated the Blog in almost month.  He said, no you just did it the other day . . .yea, Carnival.  Oops.

Life for us in Cuenca just seems to roll on like the four rivers for which the city is named.    My only complaint, and one that no one can change, is the beauty of the rhythm of life, daylight and darkness.  You see, in case you have not figured it out, living just below the equator means that there is very little variation in day length.  I think the sun rose about 6:18 AM today and sets at 6:24 PM.    This varies little over the year.  The problem is I still seem to be one Pacific Daylight Time after almost 5 months and so I find myself and my Kindle still up at midnight and then the sun comes up before 6:30 and I am awake.  Oh well, small sacrifice for living in the beautiful country.

The month has been filled with many great outings, dinners out, friends over to share meals, meeting new folks, some just kicking tires others short and long time residents.  Jack turned 75 last month and we had a house full of people to share the event . . no pictures as I thought I lost my camera . . . but I told you that already...

Gringo Bingo got kicked off in March.  The event is sponsored by the Cuenca Expats Benevolence Association.  Idea is to raise money for worthy projects and the first is a little boy who was hit by a bus and had his leg severed.  It was successfully reattached but the family has been hard hit by the rehab process and recently even had the roof of their house collapse!  Anyway, Gringo Bingo had its first night DiBaccos March 22nd and a great time was had by all.  There were big prizes and money raised.  The next Gringo Bingo by the CEBA will be a Saturday afternoon event on April 9th at DiBaccos (Tarqui Y Gran Columbia), hope you can make it!!



Debby and Dean signing in happy players

Intense number searching



Happy players

Another night we went to one of the best restaurants in Cuenca, Tiestos.  The food is fabulous and a must visit if you are in Cuenca.  Reservations are actually needed at this place!


Fillet Mignon in a blue cheese sauce that is out of this world

Other events included a birthday party for our dear friend and wonderful helper Noshy.  If you need anything she knows where it is, she translates, takes you to places, and can teach you how to shop for the local foods and even teaches cooking classes!  If you want to contact her please send me an email or leave a comment and I will be sure she gets it!


Rubin, Noshy, and Mateo

Other activites have inclued shopping for local handicrafts to decorate the house.

Friends, Gary and Sue Gaither, have returned to the US to get their possessions sorted out and return to live in Cuenca.  Stover, their four-legged child, has been keeping Iggy and us company while they are gone.  He is quite the character.  But we enjoy him so much.



Stover waiting patiently under the table for dinner scraps to fall . . .

Our attorney told us our permanent resident visas were approved to we gave him our old and new passports and the government fee to send to Quito to have the visa stamped in the new passports . . still waiting for their return...good thing we have no plans to leave the country soon!

Today the weather started out hot as we headed to church at Calvary Chapel. 

By the afternoon the rains came we are stettled in to get things caught up.  Chicken soup on the stove, with fresh peas and carrots bought at the giant open market yesterday (that is a whole blog post in it's self), and life is good.

Take care and thanks for reading!

Carnival: Food, Fun, and Family

Last week was Carnival in Cuenca.  The whole town comes to a stop for four days to celebrate before the beginning of Lent.  Kids are out of school, taxi's and buses take a holiday, parties in the park and family outings.  We were invited to share a day of Carnival with friends at the family farm in the country near Deleg on Monday.



 

Looking toward Deleg and part of the farm

Part of the lunch was cooked in the wood kitchen

Summer is in full bloom.  One of the bees that makes its home in the farm bee hives

Kids of all ages playing Carnival  

Carnival, as you have probably read elsewhere is "played" by throwing water balloons and squirting foam on each other, a wet game of tag.


Mateo wet and foamed



Big brother Rubin ready to strike again



Dad on the run from Rubin and Mateo



Sitting down for a huge family lunch



First course was a soup with beans and hominy, grown on the farm, that was cooked in the wood kitchen above, fabulous!



The family enjoying lunch



There was more food than could be consumed, three salads, chicken, pork, rice and corn, hominy, fresh fruit and gelatin dessert.  I must admit we went home after lunch and slept for two hours!  It was a lovely day in the country.

The balance of Carnival we tried to stay in and stay dry.  We visited new friends who live east of town in their beautiful home on Tuesday for a BBQ lunch, Wednesday was my cooking class, I thought I had my camera to take picture of the empanadas we made but . . . then I got distracted with having fun cooking. . . next week?  Thursday was English classes and dinner at friends, and Friday was Jack's 75th Birthday.  At this point I thought I had lost my camera and rather than ruin his day by telling him it was gone, there are just no pictures of the event.  I had an open house for the birhday party Friday evening, food and cake of course...high altitude baking is turning out to be no big deal!  So many new friends came to share the big day.  We were truly blessed.

Saturday were got to know more new arrivals to Cuenca who may rent the house next door, then out to special dinner.  Had a great Skype call to "family" in Grants Pass and then turned in.

The good news is today, Sunday, I found my camera, in my LITTLE purse.  Getting blind in my old age, so pictures will be forth coming for the next weeks events.  Take care.  We had a lovely 75 degrees in the shade day today....