Out With the Old, In With the New

     It is hard to believe another year is coming to an end. On New Year's Eve last year when John gave me my kiss at midnight, he said "we are going to have a very exciting year".  And was it ever.  We seem to be writing our story as we go along.  The adventures and experiences we have had were not always planned, but definitely welcome.  I would be lying if I said I didn't feel any apprehension about moving to Ecuador.  It was definitely outside our comfort zone, but I have to say we have no regrets. 
     Ecuador has a New Year's tradition of burning effigies. It symbolizes putting the year behind you, be it good or bad, and welcoming in the new year.  We plan on participating in this ritual, as I think the meaning is very important. 
     This year we also started our own Christmas Eve tradition. The initial plan was to stay home with the puppies and just enjoy each other's company.  But, we had this awesome Santa suit here and Christmas just wouldn't be the same without somehow using it.  We had talked to our guardian family, Jimmy and Mirian, and asked them if their family would like a visit from Papa Noel (Ecuadorian Santa Claus). They said yes, and also that there were many children in the neighborhood where their family lives.  So the idea just snowballed from there.  John and I headed down by the mercado where there are many little shops and bought a load of candy and cute little Christmas bags to put it in. Our plan was to met Jimmy on a corner near their neighborhood and he would take us in from there.  So we are standing out on the road in front of our house waiting for a taxi to take us.  We weren't having any luck and getting to the point of running late.  People were honking and waving at Papa Noel as they went by.  One very nice couple pulled over and asked if we would take a picture for them with Papa Noel. We obliged.  They knew we were waiting for a taxi and asked where we were going.  When we told them, they said, we will take you there.  They got such a big kick out of having Papa Noel ride in their vehicle.  Thank you to Geovonni and Martha,they saved us from being late. We hope we meet them again one day. 
     Our 100 bags of candy did not last long, as Mirian and Jimmy did not exaggerate about there being a lot of kids in the neighborhood.  Within 20 minutes we had given away all the candy and hopped in a taxi to head home.  Next year we will plan on having much more. The experience was priceless to us and are happy to have started a Christmas Eve tradition here in Ecuador.
     Our house rennovating is moving along.  Our kitchen is about 80% done.  The front gates were finished and installed this week.  The tile is almost done except for our room, which we will be moving out of so that can be completed, hopefully soon.  The bathrooms are coming along as well. the next big project is having all the doors and windows replaced.  Everything we get put in new, makes everything old look... well, older (hence the continued additions to the rennovation). 
     The puppies are growing like crazy, adding so much fun and enjoyment to our lives.  We can't imagine our lives without them, even though they are in their terrible twos right now.  It is very fortunate that we have the time to devote to giving them lots of attention and training them.  We will be building a nice gated area for them in the front side so they have a place to go if things get too hectic.  They already like laying over in that area, so it should be a great place for them.
     I was walking on the beach this morning and I met a lady.  We exchanged greetings and she walked past me.  A few seconds later, I heard her call to me and I turned around.  She walked back to me and started speaking in Spanish something about my feet.  It was obvious to her I wasn't quite getting what she was trying to tell me.  She bent down and took off my flip flops and handed them to me. Then she said "mucho mejor" (much better).  The moral of the story is (my moral anyway), is to take the time, feel what is around you, be it the sand squishing between your toes, or the water lapping over our feet.  May you all have the opportunity in this next year to feel the sand under your feet (or whatever it is that makes you happy). Happy New Year, and may 2013 be the best year ever!

Counting the days...

     We are counting the days for our kitchen to be done.  Not that I mind cooking with a George Foreman Grill, toaster oven and electric fry pan.  But the options are somewhat limited, especially without adequate counter space to prepare anything.  Our cabinets are here and will be installed tomorrow.  Then the granite, stove, dishwasher and refrigerator will be ready to be brought in.  The renovating is actually moving along quite well, if only we would quit adding projects.  The bathrooms were demo'd this week and the new tile purchased.  One of the bathrooms even has some new tile installed in it already.  There was amazingly beautiful tile underneath the old tile they removed (not really).

Victor, one of our not camera shy workers (note the beautiful tile)

New tile being installed already in one bathroom

 

          We learn something new for sure every week and maybe every day.  One thing we learned this week is if there is something at the store that you like and don't want to be without, you must buy it when they have it and buy a LOT!  I have a granola that I have become quite fond of and am very disappointed when I am unable to get it.  The other day we hit the jackpot and were at the store right after they stocked it.  I bought 8 bags of it (I wish I would have bought more!).  We have heard of other items that you must stock up on when you see it (coffee filters, dog treats, etc...).   Why do I have a feeling I could end up on an episode of hoarders one day?

 

      Note the ingredients on my favorite granola (or should I say lack of).  No preservatives, chemicals or anything else nasty.  I feel pretty good about eating it, not to mention it tastes awesome!

 

     The puppies are growing like weeds and bringing us endless joy every day.  We are so thankful they came into our lives when the did.  They are a bright spot of sunshine amidst all the dirt and dust. And so much fun!  They are pretty much poop trained and the pee puddles diminish every day.

Josie whispering toAnnabel, "what kind of trouble should we get in now?"

 

     So we end another week here in Ecuador.  We look forward to the progression of this next week and hopefully I will be able to post some pictures of our new kitchen very soon!

 

 

 



 

 



     

Making Progress

     We are continuing to see our house come together with the new tile.  The first floor (which is the biggest area because it included the large front veranda) is completely tiled and about 75% done with the grout.  The upstairs is about 60% tiled with no grout yet.  The bad news is as we put in the new floor, we see what else needs to be done.  We have now made the decision to redo all the bathrooms as well (that would be 5 bathrooms). Our project now seems to have no end.  Patience, must have much patience.  The good news is it is going to look awesome when it is all finished.
     The kitchen is still being prepped for the cabinets which are scheduled to be coming on Wednesday.  We learned very quickly not to hold to much hope on dates since it only leads to disappointment.  They will get here when they get here.  Meanwhile, we have been opening some of the boxes from our container (even though we have nowhere to put anything yet) and found our electric fry pan.  We were able to have scrambled eggs for dinner tonight.  That may not sound like a big deal, but let me tell you, after sandwiches, granola, etc... for 7 weeks, it was awesome!   We have also been able to make pizza in our toaster oven.  They sell these great little personal cheese pizzas at Hyper Market for $1.84.  And we have been splurging on chocolate filled croissants (which are to die for when heated up in the toaster oven  They are so good, we have limited ourselves to one a week just to make sure we don't get carried away.  We also make sure to hit the mercado up at least once a week to get our fresh fruit and vegetables  The mangos are absolutely awesome.  The large ones run about 4-5 mangos for a dollar and boy are they sweet!  They are very messy and juicy, so I justify eating two of them at once since I already have juice dripping all over my face.  The bananas we got this week were 8 for $.50.  Strawberries are about $1.50 a pound, but they make an awesome treat as well.  We are also fortunate because every once in a while our caretakers, Jimmy and Mirian, bring us over a delicious lunch or dinner.  Mirian's mother must have really been a good teacher, because Mirian is a great cook.  And her presentation is awesome.  I did have to tell her I didn't like pescado, though (fish). John said her ceviche was awesome, too (something else I had to pass on ).
     Meanwhile, our puppies, Annabel and Josie, are doing absolutely awesome.  They are a bright spot in our day, for sure.  They had their first vet visit on Friday and got their first set of vaccines, along with a vitiman shot and an anti-parisite medication (total vet bill was $20).  Neither one was happy about getting their shots.  I hope they have a short memory, because they have to go back again in a month.  They are always playing and cuddling with each other, which just reinforces why we took both of them.
     On Tuesday, our friends Will and Janis had to go to Guayaquil to take care of some business and they asked me to go with.  It was a great opportunity to get a little more shopping done.  We went to a huge mall, which was very modern and a lot of fun to look around in.  Our grocery store here in Salinas is called Super Maxi.  Well, in the mall in Guayaquil they have a Mega Maxi!  It is like Super Maxi on steroids.  We had Pizza Hut pizza for lunch in their foodcourt.  And guess what? It tasted just like Pizza Hut in the U.S.  It was really good!  Nothing like good old American junk food to clog up the arteries. A big thanks to Will and Janis for taking me with.  It was a lot of fun. We stopped and bought some honey at a roadside stand on the way home, too.  The mixture I got is supposed to prevent and cure just about everything- lol!
     As we end this week, I now have a operable washing machine. The dryer, well, not so much.  Something shorted out on it and if we can't get it repaired, we are going to replace it with a gas dryer, as gas is much cheaper than electricity here.  Slowly, but surely, we are getting back to normal (which I have always said is a setting on a dryer- just hopefully not my broken one).  Looking forward to seeing what this week will bring us.

New Arrivals

     This was definitely a week of arrivals.  We had been thinking about getting a Golden Retriever and a Beagle puppy.  I had looked at the ads in the Guayaquil newspaper and even emailed a couple of ads for a Golden Retriever that was advertised. Late Monday afternoon John got a call from someone regarding the Golden Retriever puppies. He said he was going to come to Punta Carnero (a 2 hour drive) that evening and would be bring some puppies for us to see.  We told him we were interested in one female.  Well, they ended up bringing two females, and within about 2 minutes of holding them, John and I decided to take them both.  There was no way we could choose and they were so young we did not want to separate them as they were already being separated from their mother.  They were only 4 1/2 weeks old, which is too young, but apparently that is very common here.  I have to say taking both of the puppies was the best decision we ever made.  We will not be getting a beagle pup, but that is ok.  They have slept through the night every night since we have had them and have not whined at all.  Josie and Annabel are very playful, happy, hungry little puppies. We are very lucky to have them.  They will have their first vet visit on Friday for their 6 week vaccines. 

                                               Josie and Annabel, sisters forever
                                                        

Josie

Annabel in her favorite spot under the cocktail table

 

     The second arrival of the week was our container.  After more red tape and jumping through a few more hoops, the container was scheduled to arrive between 9-10am on Wednesday morning.  John had woke up with a high fever and body aches that morning, so we were ok with the container being late.  Unfortunately it ended up being really late and didn't show up until 7:30pm.  John was not any better, in fact he was much worse, unable to even get out of bed.  Our neighbors, Will and Janis came down so Will could communciate with the drivers and unloaders so we could get started.  I am forever grateful for their help because I felt so lost by myself.   Our caretakers, Jimmy and Mirian helped the unloaders and myself and by midnight we had it all off the truck.  Unloading in the dark with no liftgate, no pallet jack, no dolly (you get the picture) was very interesting.  We did have a four wheel cart and a couple dollies that we had brought along.  Trying to teach them how to use it was proving fruitless, so I finally gave up and just let them carry everything.  The semi truck left and the little truck that the unloaders (also the unpackers) pulled in our driveway and all five of them jumped in the covered back to sleep.  They were up the next morning by 7am ready to start unpacking and unwrapping what we could.  Since our new tile floor is still being installed we were really limited as to where we could go with things. Thank goodness we have the workshop in the back where we were able to put a lot of it.  It may be a few weeks before we are able to really get organized.  Once our kitchen is in that will really help (another 3 weeks or so). 

     Right now, we are just taking one day at a time and getting done what we can. The best part is we are now able to sleep in our own bed (big smile : ).  After six weeks on an air mattress (it was a pillowtop air mattress which I would highly recommend if you ever have to sleep on one), it was pure heaven to sleep on the real thing.  It's the small things. We are enjoying our puppies, the beach, the beautiful sunsets and our lives here in Ecuador.