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!