Souvenir Photo Studio, by Al Bourassa

Saturday, May 9, 2026

Saturday May 9, 2026 Condos

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Older Blog: https://cuencaupdates.blogspot.com/

Please see my best artworks for sale at my websites:

http://souvenirphotostudio.neocities.org/

or https://pixels.com/profiles/al-bourassa

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Saturday May 9, 2026

Tuesday, I organized my thoughts on balancing access to the James Patterson "Private" series, between the Library and Don's offerings.

And Dawn brought me a fantastic supper of ribs and baked potato... It is truly helpful to have friends who love to cook and share meals.

Wednesday I worked on pics all day and made salad for me and Dawn.

Thursday was my lovely wife's birthday and I had sent her a Jacquie Lawson card that I forgot she can't open down there.... I ended up videoing the card here and sending it via WhatsApp....

Then Dawn again made an incredible supper of shrimp fettucine which she shared with myself and Don... How can a person refuse such delicacies...??

Thursday and Friday were horrible days to get any work done as our Telus internet would keep dropping signal several times per day. I am quite adept at contacting them normally, and our Manager, when this is so prevalent. They would not answer my last call, so the problem must have been widespread.

Friday, I began further research on possibly buying a small condo here as a hedge against an expected economic downturn. I got referred to a very knowledgable and attentive realtor but my needs are a little unique because of the Gio.... I have almost given up on buying property down in Colombia, but who knows what time will bring.

This morning I got a call from Telus saying they hope they have solved the Internet/Wifi problem and,... so far so good....

And I got messages from my wife that she has yet another baby bird she has rescued in our backyard. Cristina is truly a saint!

I went out on the Gio this afternoon to eyeball a couple of condos in my price range. The first is only a maybe if it is vacant, as it looks... The second one is very tempting, kitty-corner from a police station because the area was once very bad. It is a ground floor, 2-bedroom in pretty decent shape, but there are 3 for sale in that small building, so what does that indicate??? But again, the problem is having safe parking for the Gio, especially over the winter when I am gone..

Since I am in no particular rush, and I am not a fan of condo boards having sway over my lifestyle, this all may be for naught....

I hope you enjoy the pictures. That was the day’s excitement.

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If you want to borrow a picture to share with family and friends, Facebook or whatever, at least PLEASE give me credit for the photo.

NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.

I hope this is vacant, and for sale

The whole bottom floor to the right...,,,

Close to a good shopping ctr, and police...

Monday, May 4, 2026

Monday May 4, 2026 RIP Bob

PLEASE bookmark this page and check daily.

Older Blog: https://cuencaupdates.blogspot.com/

Please see my best artworks for sale at my websites:

http://souvenirphotostudio.neocities.org/

or https://pixels.com/profiles/al-bourassa

******

Monday May 4, 2026

Saturday, I paid my rare-usage house cleaner, Pam, to clean my floors and the bathroom. It was worth the money to get such a good job completed. I am very happy that the humidifier, using the distilled water, is not spitting out white dust like before... Pam used to clean for Bob and lived in the same building as him for one year.

Sunday, the plan was to meet Dawn and friend Tracy at Blues On Whyte at the Commercial Hotel. But a neighbour of Tracy's had a fall and she stayed to look after her, so we put off the rendezvous until next weekend. Hopefully it will be warmer and a lot less windy.

Today, a neighbour, Felix, came with me to the funeral service for Bob. Dawn brought her neighbour, Lynn, (who also knows Pam, my house cleaner..).

It was nice that 2 other neighbours, Terry and Lorraine also showed up at the amazing Sacred Heart Church Of The First Peoples... Apparently the church was completely renovated for a visit by Pope Francis..., even installing an elevator... The church has interesting indigenous touches, such as a native Jesus in the Stations of The Cross. and a teepee-shaped tabernacle!! The large teepee poles surrounding the altar was a given...

The Metis priest was really wonderful and a person would have thought that he actually knew Bob.

The sad thing is our little group were the only people besides the family. I was shocked and saddened that people like Pam, Gaetan, Andre, Gary, Rob, Bernie and Roy, all good friends of Bob, did not attend as expected, and no others from our building, as well as no others from his new building where Bob spent the past year... I know Marie and Don had uncancellable doctors' appointments, so they are excused. Still, it is absolutely awful that so few people came....

During the service, the priest mentioned that Bob was a master at Maple Leaf Scrap Metal where he scrounged scrap metal and made big, big money for many years. Next to me, the lightbulb went on for Dawn, and she confirmed to me that her hunch that she had met Bob before was true. She had been a full weekday housekeeper for Bob's family 25 years before.... More Twilight Zone "Small World"stuff...

Once home, I gathered my tools and Gorilla tape and wheeled Bob's old Air-conditioner (that I had inherited from Ash's uncle) and installed it in Dawn's suite. Her apartment faces south, so she will get use out of it for sure. And I brought her distilled water to power the humidifier that I had gifted to her. She gave me homemade baked beans to take home... a good trade...lol.

I hope you enjoy the pictures. That was the day’s excitement.

******

If you want to borrow a picture to share with family and friends, Facebook or whatever, at least PLEASE give me credit for the photo.

NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.