ONCE A YEAR POSTS HAVE GOT TO STOP

If  there is anyone out there who still reads my blog.. or were waiting all year for my next post...the wait is over.

I have felt since we moved to Paute that we settled into our routine and that our blog was not really going to be useful. I have been prompted by friends and family to "get on the stick" and start writing again. So here it is.

I will back track a bit. As you know we moved to Paute in 2014, we will have been here 2 yrs in April of 2016! Where did those years go?


We have been enjoying our house after we made all the renovations to it, to make it livable.
The dogs have been enjoying all the room in the back yard, as well as the garden area of the lot behind us that also belongs to our landlord.

We are now down to our 1995 Trooper, 1 Vespa 300 cc scooter. It is big enough for both of us to ride at the same time.
We have not many long trips on it ,but  getting around between  Paute and Gualaceo, the next big town over is very easy.

We visited the U.S. in May for 3 weeks. This was Randy's 2nd time returning in 5 yrs. The first was our daughters wedding. My mother who turned 94 this year, lives in Dallas Oregon, and our home town is in Richland, Wa. I stayed 10 days at my moms, while Randy went on up to Richland to visit with our friends until I arrived.

Then I returned to Visit my mom in November to help her celebrate her 94th Birthday. It was a nice 2 week visit, so we had plenty of Mom and Me time.  It was also very special as my daughter drove down from Seattle for the weekend to spend time with us!

Our friends and family are still baffled that we moved, and "left everything" behind. But that was the reason we did leave... not the people, but the things.. and the work and the stress..

Our days now in Paute are even more laid back than when we lived in Cuenca! There is a small community of Expats who live here, but most of us stay to ourselves and we do not congregate too much.

Gathering for my 59th Birthday at the local Pizzaria

So now I will try to show you what its like in a town for 40K, where most live up in the mountains.

Oh and Merry Christmas!

WHAT SEEMED ODD... NOW SEEMS NORMAL

We are coming up on 3 years here in Cuenca, and sometimes I just have to smile as I listen to those who are new, all the changes and unexpected oddities they talk about... what? Those are just normal now.

I was talking to my mom the other day telling her about a few modifications we had made to accomodate an ongoing problem.. She said.. well when I was young I could live like that, but no more.. Does that mean I am young? I hope so.

When we first saw our home, I was aghast at their idea of a venting system in the bathroom..
Now when we have guests I point it out proudly, and state it works very well and it does not use electricity..

 

Yep... its a window kind of thing vented into the attic. The light you see is from the skylights set into the roof itself.

Most all of the lights were just free hanging or just the bare bulb sticking out of the fixture. Randy worked alot of them over in most of the house, but in the bathrooms we chose to just leave them bare.. we don't even notice them now...

Our laundry room has a great glass ceilng over it. We grow nice plants in there because of the warmth.. which comes from the sun, as well as the dryer vent.. yep. It is not vented to the outdoors..
It took me a bit to figure it out, but now we have a nice way to use the heat without lint all over the laundry room.

I knew I would find a use for those old black knee high nylons!

 

In the states there are a bunch of regulations about placement of outlets and what needs to be in a kitchen.. like a vent hood over the stove..and plug-ins not too close to the water...not so much here.. Now these seem normal and I don't even comment on them to "newbies"

 



 





 

 

As you can see in the  photo above.. off to the left is that nasty plug in. We use a tub in the sink cause we cant find a plug for the sink.. also that yellow thing is our dish drainer. Oh and the black line along to back of the sink.. yep.. mold. Water from the faucet splashes on the back whenever we use it, so the water is seeping under the clear calking.. I get a nice view of the mold. The mold will be removed soon... by someone else while I am out of the house.

 

We had an ongoing issue with water coming into the house and POURING down the wall..  and some near our electrical components. That is fixed. But we still have our fix in place... just in case.

Surge protector on a box..

 

While we had guests the water came pouring into the guest bedroom so hard we thought the ceiling tile would break... so Randy poked a hole so the water could come out..we then added this other great idea so we would not have to worry about it when we are not home.. or home for that matter.

 

The hole for the water to escape.

 

A place for the water to go

Being renters we are responsible for small repairs.. like the toilets. This house is about 40 years old. The toilets have never been repaired. Only parts fixed as they broke. Randy had enough and called our handyman to come over and replace all the guts of all 3 toilets. We were so excited. Then the reality set in. These were all low flow flushing components. This is our fix

Remove tank lid, flush while adding one liter of extra water..

 We do love our house.. but I thought it would be fun to point out some of the oddites that we now do not even notice, or just go with. We love our life here and have learned to "adjust as necessary".



OUR ECUADORIAN SALCHICHA

While we were in the states this last month attending our daughters wedding, our friend Manon, received a call.

"Manon, we rescued a black dachschund, and was wondering if you would like to give him a home"? Manon already has two mini long haired doxies, so she thought her house was full up, but knew I was pining for one.. Hold that dog, she said. My friends will be back from the states and I am sure they will want to consider him.

The culture in this country is very different from ours where dogs are concerned. There are many dogs wandering the streets, some are mangy and skinny, others look well fed. We found out that alot of dog owners let their dogs loose during the day.

All the houses here have gated yards with fences, and it is very normal to find that as you walk by some of these houses, a dog will charge and attack the fence like he is going eat you if could get through. At first this scared us and concerned us, but now it seems "normal".

There are a few organizations here that try to make a difference in the street dogs life. One, ARCA takes dogs in and trys to find homes for them. Happy Dogs, trys to vaccinate and neuter as many as they financially are able.

The custom here is to not neuter any pets. So going against this tradition is sometimes a very long road.

One friend said her vet just tied her females tubes.. She ended up going to another vet to get the hysterectomy that she asked for in the beginning.

So now to our little guy Frankie. We came home from the US on a Thursday and on Friday afternoon we went to visit him. I had told Randy whether we wanted him or not he was not coming home with us... today was just a look see.

From the minute I walked in I was a gonner. I have always had a dachschund, and to see this cute, black and tan guy wagging his tail was quite heart melting.

On Halloween day, Ken had been walking his dogs along the Yanuncay river, when his dogs ran up to a bag sitting on the grass. As he called his dogs back he noticed the bag wiggling.. Ken returned home and got Judy and they opened the sack. Frankie popped his head out, hopped out of the sack, walked over and peed on a tree and then came back to them. Judy says poor Frankie was a rack of bones, and so starved that he had no hair on his ears. They looked like black elephant skin.

Ken and Judy took him in and named him Franken Weenie (being halloween and all it seemed appropriate.) They fed him wonderful food, and had some immediate issues taken care of.. His teeth and had him neutered. Looking at him here, 3 months later, you would never know he had once almost been at the brink of death.

Bringing a dog into our home was a very big decision because Randy has allergies to both dogs and cats. He, being the sweet guy he is, wanted me to have a dog and was going to "deal" with any allergic issues. Amazingly enough those have been very minor. The greatest one was that Frankie cannot sleep with us.. way too much for Randys system.

Here is Frankie settling in..

Today, Valentines day, we took Frankie to the Vet around the corner. We wanted to get his teeth looked at and get his vaccinations up to date. As the Vet looked at Frankie, he inspected his ear (the one that has a hunk out of it) and asked me where he was found. I told him and then the Doctor sat down and began to write on his computer. He asked me to read.

Amazingly enough, he knew this dog. This little guy was his brother in laws dog. The brother in law moved and could not keep him any more so had given him away. Frankies first name was Brat. He is 8-10 yrs old and the chunk out of his ear was from a rat (?)

Dr. Juan was so happy that he had been rescued and was being well cared for. He said he would tell him family, as they all loved "Brat" and always wondered how he was. He  then took a bunch of pictures to send to his brother in law and family.

Frankie got all his shots and a new harness type collar. As he knows how to slip out of the other ones. Here is  Randy and Frankie having a little nap, recouping from the tramatic day at the vets.

4 DAYS IN A RENTAL CAR ~ DAY 4

Riobamba... nice town. Not as pretty as Cuenca, but it has a nice main drag that has some really nice stores in it..and restaurants.

After we woke up we all met up fo breakfast at a local place we had spotted the nite before. They advertized waffles, pancakes and crepes. We the waffles were much larger in the photo than the 4 inch across ones that were served. The bacon that we paid extra for was maybe one inch across.. Randy was pleased with his microscopic sausage. We all got a kick out of our breakfast as all of our waffles, pancakes and crepes were served with chocolate sauce on it as well.. sigh.. it was tough but we managed to eat our "dessert" for breakfast.

Again we fired up the trusty Garmin and we were off to find our way out of town.. we did it! First try. Well, kind of. The road was being worked on so we were detoured.. The Garmin lady was not pleased.. "In 50 meters make a U turn".. oh shut up... We were all backed up on a dirt road with cars trying to get up a hill that was all muddy.. Mug bogs anyone? We decided that a local in front of us had the right idea as he took a sharp right and headed off in another direction. We followed and found our way around the steep muddy hill , boucing and bumping along the dirt road out to the main paved (thank goodness) road.

Our 4th day was pretty smooth, considering we hit MAJOR fog. So bad that we were creeping along at maybe 15 km. Then we hit some heavy rain, and one of the areas that we came to was awash in mud from the neighborhood next to the highway.. Randy had to come to a stop and slowly cross through the mud river. Once again... I was so taken over by what was happening I forgot to whip out the camera and take a picture.

Flooded road in a town we passed through..

We found a nice restaurant on our way back and had a lunch. (thought not as nice as the one in Puyo). The scenery was nice, the bath room was horrible.. Remember ALWAYS carry kleenex in Ecuador.

We had planned on staying the nite in Paute, as the rental car did not have to be back until noon on Friday.. but we were so tired. We drove staight through to Paute, dropped off one friend, then another in Cuenca and raced home. Off went our shoes. On when the REAL comfy clothes and back into our comfy chairs... ahhh. I love going on a vacation; cause then home feels twice as nice when you return.

AGOSTO- LIVING THE LIFE

One Sunday we met up with our friend Nancy Hofmeister, and had Sunday brunch at the new California Kitchen location.. wow, what a spectacular setting. While we were there we saw our friend Paul Collins and asked him to join us. During this conversation he mentioned he has a Ecuadorian friend who lived in the states (TEXAS to be specific) since he was 7. He had come back to Ecuador about 20 yrs ago. This gentleman had a huge hacienda type home in Ricaurte (pronounced ree cow tay), and wanted to put on a Texas BBQ... would we be interested..? Fast forward  a week later to the trip to Ricaurte!

Our host provided transportation.. this is the little truck bus he has built. There were about 20 of us packed in the back.. We got alot of smiles and waves as we traveled the 12 miles to Ricaurte!

To the far right is our friend Paul Collins who organized this trip with the owner, who is standing next to him, sorry, I have totally forgotten his name.

Here are photos of the house when he first bought it 20 years ago.

Twenty years later and alot of love and hard work, this is the home that he restored for his family.

OH, and the food was wonderful... so much so that I only got a before picture! How silly am I ?

He was using an old boiler out of a ship as his smoker/BBQ.

Before we left he brought out his prized possesion... a baby Brahma bull. He found him on the coast. These type of bulls are not found very often here in Ecuador so this little guy is going to have a happy life smoozing the lady cows out in Ricaurte!

We had a great time, and met some very nice folks.. all because we happened to go out to breakfast! Yep, just living the life.. stay tuned more to come!



BACK ON TRACK!

I am happy to report that I am well, not truly healthy but well. I still sound abit awful when I cough, but those times are being measured in hours not minutes! Also, the other good news is that Randy did not get sick!

Kelsey, will be graduating from Central Washington University in June. I was just back in the states in Nov.-Dec. for my Mom's 90th birthday, so we have stretched the budget once again and I am going back to Washington for her graduation. Can't miss your daughters graduation!

Last nite I went on the Matrix ITA software site and seached for tickets  from Cuenca to Quito (My main flight is out of Quito). I was very happy to find a reasonable ticket price. $66 RT. Due to the Government lifting the subsidy on airplane fuel the prices of tickets has risen. I printed out the flight details and today walked to a local travel agency nearby (SEITUR) they have a English speaking agent.  Malena was just on her way out the door. She interpreted for us that we wanted this exact flight, and for the agent to search those codes. She did, but their price was a bit more $73. Well I grabbed it, figured that was a $7 fee for the agency. Now I just have to find a good place in Quito to stay on my way to and from the US. Unfortunately the routes I take always leave at 6 am and arrive at 9:30 at nite! The planes here do not cooperate with redeye flights!

We have been out and about a tiny bit. Walking and trying to get back into our normal modes of getting around. While Randy had gout, then his ribs and then my cold... we have really lost our ability to walk like we used to!  I have some pictures too, so I have proof that we are out!

They had to do some removal of concrete that they put in on the new under/overpass construction. OOPS!

Then we noticed some new art work in El Centro. I thought it was very good.. the subject matter was a bit strange, but it was done very well.

Most of the houses in and around Ecuador are red tiled roofs. This is one of the very few I have seen that is not... and I love it. Nice and shiny blue!

today, after almost a year since purchasing them, we hung the wall hangings we bought in Otavalo, when Kelsey was here visiting! Wow, where did the time go? I think they look good! We used papyrus stalks for the "rod" at the top. On one I tied the little strings and the other I sewed the hanging to the "rod".. not bad for a guest room, huh?

Ecuador has been hammered with rain this year. There have been landslides up and down the country. In Cuenca we had a torrential rain and hail storm that over burdened a sewer system, and it collapsed. The neighborhoods affected were flooded up to the second story of their homes, with sewage. The local fire department came in boats to rescue folks off their roofs! I have read that up in the Esmereldas there is fear that the power poles for the main electrical grid may collapse due to land slides. Correa has declared many Cantons as disaster areas and aid is slowling coming. Our local Chamber of Commerce is appealing to the local community of Expats to donate at the Chamber or Red Cross.

 So now I have to say here, my little rant about the water leaking in our house seems inconsequential compared to all the folks who have lost their lives and homes due to this rain.

Hope you all are enjoying your spring weather, keep us soggy folks in Ecuador in your thoughts!