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Showing posts from May, 2014

He's leaving me! Just kidding...somewhat

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Stu leaves tomorrow to head back to Maryland for the birth of his youngest's baby girl. She is due June 4th, hoping she can wait for him to arrive LATE Sunday night. I can't wait to see little Waverly, so glad we have both Facetime and Skype working. He plans to stay about three weeks but that is open ended until the baby is born and both mother and daughter are okay. He'll see the rest of his family and friends while there. He's already "muling" back a lot of items that we have ordered, including my laser printer . Lots of long sleeved shirts, a few fleece vests, some food items we can't get here, etc. Last night I read about a $200 off special on the 13" MacBook Pro and we pulled the trigger on TWO of them. Not sure he'll be able to bring both back but we hope so since we have read we can bring one new and one used computer back into Ecuador. The nice thing is for $300 more, each, than the base model I was going to buy, we get twice t

Perfect day for a walk....

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Yesterday was a perfect day for a walk and now that the construction on the new bridge is done, we can walk all the way to Solano, about a mile. We are about in the middle between Solano and Las Americas Avenidas, approximately a mile in either direction from our house. Stu has been walking this the last couple of days and today I was ready to join him, my "frozen" spots no longer bothering me much. The sun was out, there was a little breeze and we headed off. Stu kept a good pace while I stopped for flower sniffing and photos. The river was running rapidly but that didn't stop a lady from doing her laundry. There were families in spots here and there, relaxing, fishing, cooking and "spooning". Lots of bicycles enjoying the trail as well as dog walkers. About 2/3 of the way to Solano there is a park with exercise equipment for all ages. Stu made the rounds while he waited for me to catch up to finish trekking to Solano. On the way back I took even more p

May 25 2014: Sunday Sundry Photo

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Ecuador's Version of the Fuller Brush Man

First Cuenca doctor visit....Dermatologist

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Our health has been good so we haven't taken time to make any doctor appointments although we have chosen a primary care physician for when that day comes. His name is Dr. Anthony Guillen and he speaks excellent English, with a New York accent (according to the expats that have used him). But due to 30 years spent living in Florida with over 20 of those in pre-sunscreen years, I have a few spots that needed looking at. I've had several excisions, biopsies and freezings done in the past few years so was pleased to find a dermatologist here in Cuenca who came recommended AND speaks English. Today was my appointment and I arrived about 10 minutes early. His office is at the Hospital Santa Inés , a quick $2 taxi ride from our house. A beautiful facility, I walked to up to the reception and asked directions. I even understood them - well, except for the part about going up the stairs so when I got to the end of the hallway, I had to ask again. There is a nice waiting area, a h

A new bus experience...

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Every bus trip is an adventure but some are more so than others. We had heard about the phenomenon of young folks getting on the bus to entertain, asking for tips, but we hadn't seen it. We had seen the street jugglers, dancers (Argentine Tango in the middle of an intersection at a red light), unicycle riders and more, all wrangling for tips.. But last week we got serenaded...very nicely, too! A 20-something man accompanied by the same age woman who was carrying a small dog got on board and said something loudly in Spanish. He then proceeded to play his well worn guitar with her occasional accompaniment. We enjoyed it and did give them a small tip before they got off a few stops down the road. Always something interesting here....

Keeping You and Yours Safe From Fire, Smoke, Carbon Monoxide and Flammable Gas

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Keeping You and Yours Safe From Fire, Smoke, Carbon Monoxide and Flammable Gas while living Cuenca, Ecuador (or anywhere on the planet) I'm talking about some of the things you can do to protect your family in case of fire, gas leaks and carbon monoxide exposure (CO). I will discuss these items from my perspective as a US Fire fighter. I spent 31 years working for the Anne Arundel County(MD) Fire Department, retiring as a Division Chief. Two of those were spent overseeing the The Office of Fire Safety and Injury Prevention Education. While much of this information will come from that perspective and lacking any readily available Ecuadorian resource, all this information is highly applicable to our living situation here in Cuenca or anywhere else for that matter. There are 3 things you can do to reduce your exposure to a hazardous condition: Isolate the hazard - If it is far away the chance of injury and death is reduced. How far will depend on the hazard. Protect or shi

May 18 2014: Sunday Sundry Photo

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Otavalo Market Back Door Entry Vendor Area

More MUNDANE things and more FRIENDS!

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As we headed to the bus stop yesterday, we saw the local dog walker. He does an amazing job with his variety of pups. We've seen him with a wide variety of dogs, the first time he had four Siberian Husky pups! On our way to meet folks for lunch we had time to spare so stopped in a little artisan shop, one we had been in before. The wife runs it and her husband is the artist. There is something for everyone there...we bought this gorgeous plate, all set for hanging. The name of the shop is Cerámica Galaxcy and it's on Calle Large 5-42 y 5-44. She is delightful, speaks very slowly to help us understand, told us that touristas were her main business. We were still early for lunch so I waited for our friends to arrive and Stu walked down to Nucallata for more dark coffee beans. Lunch was where we met two more folks, Tom and Mark, on their second exploratory visit to Cuenca. I think they are pretty close to making the leap into early retirement! We met at a little s