VOY A VISITAR A MI MADRE POR TRECE DIAS!

I bet you got the gist of that... I am flying out tomorrow afternoon to Quito, then at 6 am on Monday I am flying out to Portland, Or. where my wonderful brother is picking me up and driving me to my mom's house in Dallas, Or.

I will be able to spend Thanksgiving with her and also  attend her birthday party to celebrate her ()th birthday!  Isn't she awesome!




I am a last minute packer.. so I am currently washing some clothes and throwing stuff in the direction of my suitcase.  I live on a limited amount of clothes and most are only presentable in the most casual of places, so that even limits me more! The most important that I am bringing is the extra suitcase for the stuff I am bringing back with me to Cuenca.

Randy has been shipping some items and I have been inviting others to ship small items to my moms house. She has become quite aquainted with the UPS and Fedex fellas (she does love those cute shorts they wear!)

I am hoping that my daughter and son will be able to come to Oregon, as they are both in Wa.  about 5 hrs away. If the Columbia Gorge is not a ice rink they may be able to come to the party and also see me!

I will try to keep you all posted on what is happening in Oregon, just so you folks in the "new country" can appreciate the wonderful weather you are enjoying... while I appreciate turning leaves and maybe snow!

BUS LINK FOR CUENCA

I found this link on one of the expat forums and thought I would just pass along this information for those of you coming to Cuenca in the near future.

We love the bus system here and think its the easiest,and most economical way to get around. This link also even has a trip planner, so once you get an idea of where you want to go you can plan out your trip!

The ITUR office in the center of old town (by the big blue domed church), on Mariscal Sucre is a great place to ask questions and get maps and bus route booklets as well. There is always some one there who can speak English, so that helps as well.

Have fun!

http://cuencatransit.com/

LOST IN PARADISE

Sorry that I have dropped of the face of blogs-ville. Just kind of got busy with every day stuff here in Cuenca.

Our friends Chuck and Nancy Watson have been on vacation in Spain so we have been their condo managers while they are gone. What a fun time we have had! The last tenants were Paul and Gayle from SoCal. How fun they were. We got our feet wet with some really nice people. I think they were happy with us. I know they loved the condo.

We have been happy that the sun has been shining again, we had almost 6 days without a drop of rain, and the sun was just brilliant. Being up high like this we always have some puffy clouds that the sun plays with, but mostly they are nice clouds and wait until the afternoon to rain. Without those clouds we get scorched, it is amazing the difference it makes to just step into the shade or open up the umbrella. WAHLAH! Much cooler. But the air is not hot, it is just the sun temp. It's hard to explain, but it is different from any heat I have ever experienced.

We had a week long art festival here in town, we walked through the stalls each day and did not buy one thing. I drooled alot and whimpered, but we prevailed and held out. I have my trip coming up for the U.S so we are "budgeting" for my spending there. Here is a nice photo of a lady from Saraguaro, EC. they are known for their bead work. Notice her necklace..tiny beads all hand strung.

This is a beautiful tree over shadowing the CIDAP Museum.




A beautiful Cuenca sunset

We have a houseguest again. Jani has returned to wait for her house in Paute to be completed. They hoped to have it done by the first for November, but that feel through, and with the week long holiday its pushed it back a few more days.. but we are having fun with her here. She gives us updates on her house and tags along with us when she is home so she is getting to know quite a few folks in Cuenca and learning her way around. **Jani is from Ellensburg, WA.. just 1.5 hrs away from where we used to live.. small world huh?

Jani on the left, Paula on the right

Our friends Sharon and Jacob had decided they are moving to Kaula Lampur for a test run, so we all went to  El Che restaurant in San Joquin for a last farewell luncheon. We will miss them, but expect lots of updates from Malaysia!


Gonna miss those kids!

 We also discovered a restaurant that has been all over the FB Ecuador groups and locals lips. It has had both rave and bad reviews. We are on the rave side. We loved the ambiance and thought the food was good too.. ok, so WE liked it.. its an old home turned into a restaurant, and the warm feeling we got when we walked in was perfect.. just our type of place.




Inside one of the rooms of the restaurant

During the festival this week was the Orchid show at the airport. We went last year and bought a orchid.. this year we did not go, but we rejoiced that our Orchid finally bloomed!

When we walk along, every once in awhile I take a picture of something that catches my eye, hoping not to insult anyone.. so I figured this car was ok.

Cutest car I have seen in Cuenca



Smallest coke I have ever been served!

 This week is looking like a busy one, we have out new tenants coming tomorrow, another bon voyage to some friends who will be returning to Cuenca in a month or so, and somewhere in there I need to start studying for my Spanish class.. I missed last Mondays as I was sick. so I have to really hustle so I wont be too embarrassed.... and in Spanish, that is NOT embarazada.

ZHUMIR RUM TOUR

Again the Chamber of Commerce here in Cuenca has outdone themselves with arranging a very informative trip. Today they took a group of 20 folks to visit the main bottling and distributribution facility in Paute, a 40 minute bus ride.

When we arrived we were greeted by the two main gentlemen in charge of the facility.

We all were given hard hats and asked to please stay in the group and not wander off. It was explained how the liquid products were brought to the bottling facility and from there put into tanks. We were first shown the stainless steel tanks and told how many gazillion liters they held..

It was explained to us that water is a very important part of making a great tasting product. There are 5 different types of cleaning that the water goes through. The water comes originally from the mountain springs. They have it piped directly to the facilty!

Then the water is run through the clarifier.

Then filtered through sand and then through activated charcoal

and finally a reverse osmosis. And somewhere in there I missed the UV that the water is exposed to

We were taken to the lab and were shown all of their equipment. It was pointed out to us how detailed they are about checking for methanol. We had a horrible incident here in Ecuador with some bootleg alcohol that had massive amounts of methanol in it, so we were being educated on the stringent protocols to protect the consumer of their products. Zhumir did not have any problems with their products. They were very proud to state that they ship products to the U.S., parts of Europe, and Central America. Because of this, the standards for their products has to pass not only their own countries protocols, but also the countries that they ship to. 

We were shown the bottling machines and told that the little pint bottles were bottled at a rate of 60,000 an hour. The larger 750 ml bottles about 12-16K an hour. While we were there they were bottling a specialty Pina Colada bottles, These we were told take longer due to the need for more hands on by the bottling staff.

We all had a great time walking along the bottling lines. We were even let into the juice bottling area which is enclosed and all persons wear face coverings.

Zhumir has a wide range of alcoholic and non alcoholic products. They do a line of juice called Vivant, as well as they bottle Gatorade products. Here are some photos of the different products. Some of these products are specific to the countries they are shipped to.

After our tour inside the factory part of the facility we were taken into the "Cava".. or cave. Here they have a type of Reservado rum that they produce. There were five more rooms like this one.

After our tour we were all offered bottles of water, juice, and tea, as well as some home made Canelaso, and then we were all treated to another product that they make called Tacao..Oh Yum.. look out Baileys, I think you have some stiff competition in Ecuador.

Just before we left we were all gifted with a bottle of Pina Colada!

We were all impressed with how much time and detail they went into with us. It was very informative and fun. My view of the Zhumir products just took a 100% increase in respect.

IKAT WEAVERS TRIP

One of the things I like about Cuenca, is that the Chamber of Commerce recognizes the tiny community of extrajernos and is making an effort to help us become aquainted with our new home. The way they do this is to offer field trips to businesses around the Cuenca area that we might enjoy learning about. The Ikat Weavers is a prime example.  This is the Entrance to the Macana Weavers just between Paute and Gualeceo.

Tiny threads waiting for dye and weaving

Explaining how they separate the threads, wrap groups in a wide plastic tie, and then dye the threads..

These ladies were very busily tying the threads per a pattern

This is a very very old loom that the Spanish brought with them.. it is still used

This is all wool he is weaving. We were told that this material was used as diapers at one time.

He has foot pedals on this loom as well and the shifting on on the top.

In each pot is a different medium to create the colors, bugs, plants and volcanic rock!

Telling about the plants they use for colors

Add caption

 Thread all dyed, waiting to be woven

 

 

 

Original looms passed down through the family

He is strapped in and sitting on a leather "saddle" type seat.

 This is the dress of his Grandmother, she did all this on the loom. No knitting or crocheting to make the open work design

 

These shawls take approx. 2 weeks to weave, scarves 2 days.

It was a great time, I would like to return again.

CRAFTING AND COUCH SURFING IN CUENCA

I have lost myself in a hobby..Weaving.. 

My knitting friend, TOK (the other Karen), said to me.. "I miss you. I have lost my knitting partner." I would think she would be relived.. I run to her when I mess up my current knitting project. Thank goodness I only have to dash across 4 lanes of traffic and down two blocks on the other side!

The infamous PIN (pain in the neck) scarf

So I have been busy most days getting up early, I know you are laughing at that, but yes, EARLY.. like 7:30! Long gone are the days of 4:30 rise and shine for me! So I am impressed at myself! Anyway, I walk a few blocks to catch a #7, and if my friend Brennie is going I hop off at her house, then we continue on the #7 till its time to get off and wait for the #16.. Clarke got us straight on WHICH #16 (yes there are two #16 routes) to take.. " When you are on Solano.. look across the street  towards the bank, If the #16 comes up Solano and around your way... that's the one you want.. don't take the one that comes from 12 de Abril.."  We warily eye each bus that is coming from the correct direction.. (why we dont just go across the street and wait for it over there I do not know..) and when the correct bus arrives we elbow our way onto the bus and find a seat. As early as it is, we usually have no issues with getting a seat. We get off on our stop, walk two more blocks and weaving nirvana begins!

My first project.. the scarf..

2nd project shawl..

A few weeks back, I received an email from a friend in my old home town. Strange as it seems, another friend of hers (Denise) was coming to Ecuador, and would I mind my contact info being shared.. well not at all. Denise was going to go to Montanita, to take TESL classes, and eventually teach when certified.  I contacted my buddy in Olon, and asked if she would mind being put in the loop (No problem), so we were set.. then after about 2-3 weeks I received an email from the Denise. Well to make a long story short, she injured herself and needed to be away from the humidity so her injury could heal properly. We were not going to let a friend of a friend and from our home town stay in a hostel; so we have a new friend and house guest! She is getting settled in nicely, and looks real good in MY chair, wouldn't you say?

The dynamic duo watching a very scary movie.. sans Karen

I think Randy is getting the hang of this social thing don't you.. ?

KIMBLERS DAY TO DAY

Randy an I have found a kind of cadence to our life here. Randy has offered his assistance to a fellow expat and friend. Ed, has a wonderful Wood Art Gallery in the La Esquina de Artes, on Av. 12 de Abril. Ed cannot leave the shop unattended; but he needs to make new pieces for the gallery. Randy goes in for 4 hrs about 3 days a week, and takes command of the shop for Ed. Randy gets to practice his Spanish, and visit with local expats who stop by. It's a win win for everyone!

I have filled my days with trying to learn new skills. I am not doing so well at Spanish, but I am pretty impressed with how my knitting is coming along.  I did some scarves, and then when Kelsey was here, I whipped out that hat for her. It was somewhat of a success. I am determined to make another that fits better. I have a friend who lives down the street.. Her name is Karen as well! She is a wonderful knitter, and very patient with me. I decided that I needed to advance my skills, I have had to hustle to her out 3 times now for her to save my scarf.. but I think I got it now. Here it is in process..

My friend Brenda and I went to a shop months ago to check into Weaving classes.. as in on a loom... not baskets..Well we finally got our time availability together to go sign up for lessons. Friday we signed up and on Saturday we went for our first 3 hour lesson. I think Brenda said it best, " I feel an addiction coming on!"

Brenda's scarf

My scarf

Our other favorite things to do is play cards with our friends. We have a monthly Texas Hold 'em that we go to, and Randy has a Tournament Texas Hold 'em that he attends.. we have friends who stop by and we play Gin Rummy, or Randy and I will play Spite & Malice.. we keep a running score.. I am ahead this week. He is just too nice.

We often stop at Kookaburra's to say hello to Chris and Jenny; and who ever is around while we are there. Sometimes we get a show of Chris's other skills... I have heard him called the "Bee Whisperer"...

He is urging the bee to crawl on his finger.. as I was cringing way

Here little bee.. see we are going on a little sweet trip to the back..

 There was a tragedy to this story.. Chris tried to pacify one little guy, and it ended badly for both.. Chris got stung, and the bee lost his stinger..I had the bees all fired up with my waving them away, so the one little guy was not falling for Chris's sweet finger trick. Sorry Chris for your pain on my account!

When we are not causing harm to the local friend and bee population one of our other pastimes is reading. We have a Book Exchange here in Cuenca, as well as a Used book store but Randy and I prefer our Kindles. We think they were one of our better investments..well that and his recliner...