Busy in Cuenca

Finally my life is starting to get busy and guess what? I miss the days of taking it easy. I don't miss being bored but I miss not having things scheduled so if I wanted to stay in I could.

Last Tuesday my friends Craig and Lucy were having their soft opening of their restaurant the Windhorse Cafe on Calle Larga y Hermano Miguel. Steve and I walked in to the smell of breakfast cooking and people chatting it was great. Steve ordered oatmeal with brown sugar, bananas and nuts and a coffee. I ordered a fruit salad with yogurt, granola and a tea. We enjoyed or meal and the rushed off to the hospital ( it's not what you think).

We had taken our friend to Monte Sinai hospital on Sunday and they were admitted and on Tueday they were being released. We got there at 10:30 just in time I thought, but sadily they still had to remove the IV. Steve and I waited with our friend for an hour and a half longer and finally someone removed it and we went down to pay the bill. We couldn't believe how inexpensive it was, it was only a little over $600 for 2 nights and 3 days in the hospital. Wow!

After taking our friend home Steve and I went on a search for a new panini maker for Moca. Ours has broken twice now and we have had it fixed both times (they can fix anything around here) so we think we should have a new one on stand by. One of friends told us of a restaurant supply store so we went there to check it out. Wow they had some nice panini makes with really expensive prices, but they are restaurant grade. We also went to the normal places Coral and Super Stock and had no luck finding what we were looking for at the price we are looking for.

We took on a new property to manage for Cuenca Flats that has a tenet in it for the next two years, so pretty good we thought. Well, in between all these errands on Tuesday we also got a call from the tenet that the hot water wasn't working in one of the bathrooms. So in between helping our friend and looking for a new panini maker we went by the apartment and checked on the hot water heater. Oh my did I miss my apartment and being bored :). Steve played witht the water heater and found a temporary solution until we can get a plumber there.

Through out the rest of the week we feel as if we are on the move non stop. On Wednesday I had to go in to Moca in the morning to work since Steve and Courtney had to try to get an extension on Courtney's Visa since our lawyer apparently didn't file the paperwork in time again. On Wednesdays it is also ladies lunch day at noon, where a group of women pick a place once a week and we meet up talk and try out a new restaurant. We also started doing a donation fund for ARCA a foundation to protect animals. This week it was supposed to be at San Sebas so I told another friend about it and she was going to head there and then at 2pm head to a NEW weekly scrabble game. At 12:45ish she appeared at Moca and said the taxi drove her around for 45 minutes and couldn't find the cafe or the park that it is next to. So, she had lunch at Moca. It was great to see her. Wednesday nights is reserved for Book Study. Every Wednesday night we meet some friends to talk about a book. The book we are studying at this time is "Shambhala the sacred path of the warrior". It is a great book. Some of these people also meet on Sundays for meditation. I started a new Facebook group for Meditation in Cuenca in case others were interested in meditation.

Today is Friday and about 6 weeks ago I started Afternoon Tea at Moca a Ladies Social hour where ladies can get together have tea and coffee for FREE and chat. I have also set up some guest speakers. This week was supposed to be a cosmetic surgeon but he had to cancel last night due to a emergency surgery that he is doing today. On the 22 of June, I have a lady coming to talk about Essential Oils.

As you can tell I am not as bored anymore as I was in my earlier posts :). What do you plan to do when you get here? or if you are here already what do you do?

New apartment

We have moved to our new apartment. We had more stuff then I thought a person could accumulate after only 7 months, I think it just multiplies.

On our second day here while sitting out on the balcony I looked up and noticed a rainbow in the sky. Normally the rainbows that I've seen the ends seem to touch the ground but not this one it was circling the sun. It was very beautiful and it made me happy about all the things I do have in my life.

Steve had to take a new way to Moca, which seems to be working out well.

Nick had to learn how to take the bus on his own. He and I set out to learn which busses to take. We found that he would need to take 2 busses to get there and we would have him take a taxi home from there. Save a little bit of money. So the next day he went out on his own to catch the bus. I thought he had caught the bus then all of the sudden I heard someone at the door. I thought it was Steve returning home, but it wasn't. It was Nick he was so upset. He had waited for the bus and saw several with the same number that he needed but none with the appropriate title on the top. He finally got on one after four busses went by and then the bus driver was able to communicate that he was going the opposite direction then the way Nick need to go. He was very upset. So he calmed down and we both headed down to find the bus on another street that won't have the same bus going to two different places. Now it was my turn to get upset.

We were looking for the bus stop and kept walking until we could find when all of the sudden there was our bus. I flagged him down in normal Cuencano fashion (we ride the bus often so we know how it's done), but he wouldn't open his door. He had stopped because of the traffic but he wouldn't let us on. Ugh! I understand we weren't at a marked stop but that was never a problem before but this driver was not interested in letting us on. So, we walked and found the next stop and we waited and we waited and finally the bus came. Nick and I rode together to the next stop and there he and I went our seperate ways. Steve was waiting for me across the street at the stop going towards home so we could ride together and Nick was waiting for the next bus to get him to spanish. At that moment rain started to downpour. I felt so bad that Nick was waiting on a street corner and Steve and I were waiting at a covered stop. Oh, did I feel like a bad mom, but I must remember he is fourteen and he can do it. He had his rain protectant jacket on...

In the next few months we will try to design/find furniture that we want built and get what we want. We are currently borrowing our friend Trish's excess stuff that she brought over in her container.