Sunday, December 31, 2017

Sunday December 31, 2017 Elvis



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Please see more of my artworks for sale at my websites:  http://souvenirphotostudio.neocities.org/ or http://saccc05.tripod.com/
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Sunday December 31, 2017
I am sorry that I haven't been blogging or taking pictures.  In fact, I have begged off taking the photos for Joe's tonight's New Year's Eve celebration because I have to pick up my niece at the airport in Guayaquil in the morning at 6:55am.  I would not be able to do the event justice and I would get no sleep.
Thursday was just a rainy day so I missed a Herederos ride for about 6 weeks straight now.  I am sure that they understand.
Friday I got a recommendation from my friend Graciela and went to get a 2' X 4' For Sale sign, in English only, with my phone number, way the heck up Avenida Loja near the Fatima church.  For the normal banner material they wanted $9, and for the stick-on type they wanted $12.  I confirmed that the stick-on variety would withstand some possible moisture and opted for that.  It is the kind that goes on store windows, visibly opaque on the one side but transparent from the other side.  It would be ready in the afternoon.
I then checked out the van services to Guayaquil for Dec 31 or Jan 1.  The last buses normally left around 11pm, but they were only offering 4pm departures so I passed... who wants to sit in Guayaquil for 12 hours..??
I went for lunch at Bella Cuba, run by my friend Harold and in discussing my problem with him I remembered that he does driving services to Guayaquil.  He was available, gave me a decent price, so that transportation problem is solved, and we will ride or snooze in comfort.
Around 2:30 the skies looked threatening, sprinkling a touch, but it seemed to be moving southeast.  I walked the dogs quickly again and jumped on Buzzer to go retrieve the sign.  There was blue sky to the southwest so I hoped to miss the rain by heading quickly west.  It was not bad getting there, and the sign was hot off the press, but I hit major rain on the way home.  My jacket is waterproof so the only problem is not making any quick moves on the wet roads so I was just very careful and made it home easily enough.
Saturday was mostly spent helping Cristina make waterproof sofa covers.  We have had the material for a long time and she and Christian had already made the loveseat cover early in November.   
I also worked on a few more Elvis photos for sale.  I find it curious that I am still selling a bunch of the original 2 Elvis offerings and none of the new ones....  I have a good selection of styles and poses so I expect a breakthrough soon.  Elvis is still very popular and my designs look especially good on the clothing offerings (probably cheaper on RedBubble than Fine Art America).
So today is New Year's Eve, a Sunday, and many Cuencanos have gone out of the city and most businesses are closed.   We are still awaiting news on Christian's cause of death and on finding a suitable house for us in Tulua, Colombia.  I am anxious for Cristina to make the trek to Colombia with the dogs so I can clean up the house properly for sale.
I hope you enjoy the pictures I am working on of Elvis.  That was the day’s excitement.
Al
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© All my work is COPYRIGHT protected and may not be used in any way without purchase, or without my permission. 
If you want to borrow a picture for sharing with family and friends, PLEASE give me credit for the photo.
NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Wednesday December 27, 2017 Dogs



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Maybe not….  I see that Google is glitching again... Sorry.
Please see more of my artworks for sale at my websites:  http://souvenirphotostudio.neocities.org/ or http://saccc05.tripod.com/
******
Wednesday December 27, 2017
Couldn't sleep Monday night with all the things rolling in my head.  I maybe got 2 hours of sleep on the couch.  In my reverie I missed physio...
Had a few chats with Cristina about the possible planning for the move to Colombia and sorted out a few things.  Apparently her niece's boyfriend can pick her up at the border but there is still a question of whether he drives a big enough vehicle for this.  I have asked some of my usually reliable drivers here for recommendations to get Cristina, 3-5 pieces of luggage and 6 dogs to the border, but nobody has bothered to respond yet.
We also belatedly opened Christmas gifts from our dear friends Mark and Karen who are always so darn thoughtful.  Thank you guys.  Love you.
Today Buzzer was again dead, 3 days in a row, so I checked first at the dealer to see if there was any warranty on the new battery we installed not long ago, and, of course, the answer was no....  Silly me, there is never any warranty worth a shit on anything in Ecuador.  And I did not get a response from my usual mechanic Diego about what to do so I went to Geovanny who is closer anyway.  He pointed me to a nearby bike accessory shop and I got a recommended long life, good starting battery with 3-month warranty... sure...  Then he installed it for $3...
I had to leave it there a few hours while he added the acid and charged it so I walked in the rain down to the 12 de Abril Mercado and bought more corn for the pigeons and caught a cab home.
Then I messaged the brother-in-law in Colombia to find us a rental home with our specifications, big, safe, with a yard, etc.
Later I ran back to get Buzzer and decided I had better get cracking on finding dog crates for Cristina.  I went to the pet store near the mercado but he had none and he referred me to Patas on Paseo de Los Canaris who had a huge selection.  The veterinarian even speaks good English so I got quotes on the crates in the photos.  The more basic small one with wheels is $51, the tougher small one is $64, and the large medium dog crate is $87, so it is a minimum of $327 for the 5 I need (we have one medium size at home).
Then I decided to check the pet store at El Vergel but their prices were double...  Now I have put an ad in GringoPost for the morning to see if there are any resonably priced used ones available.
My niece is coming to visit and help us out, arriving January 1 at 6:15am so I have to arrange to try to be there.
I hope you enjoy the pictures.  That was the day’s excitement.
Al
******
© All my work is COPYRIGHT protected and may not be used in any way without purchase, or without my permission. 
If you want to borrow a picture for sharing with family and friends, PLEASE give me credit for the photo.
NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.

Better quality small dog = $64

Basic quality small dog = $51

Sturdy medium dog = $87


Monday, December 25, 2017

Monday December 25, 2017 Joes' Secret Garden



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Maybe not….  I see that Google is glitching again... Sorry.
Please see more of my artworks for sale at my websites:  http://souvenirphotostudio.neocities.org/ or http://saccc05.tripod.com/
******
Monday December 25, 2017
Merry Christmas everyone and Peace and Goodwill to all men (and women too).
We had a very rare afternoon event at Joes' Secret Garden for the deep-fried turkey Christmas event today, a treat to get decent lighting for most of the photos.
A very large crowd was on hand to enjoy this amazing meal.  I apologize that I did not take more photos.  I am not in very good physical condition right now and it is hard to concentrate on photography when you barely have any feeling in your arms and hands.
Cristina will probably be on her way to Colombia as soon as we can arrange the documents for the dogs, pack her up and arrange transport.  She desperately needs reliable support from her family and friends back in Colombia so we will do everything to try to make that happen.
I hope you enjoy the pictures.  That was the day’s excitement.
Al
******
© All my work is COPYRIGHT protected and may not be used in any way without purchase, or without my permission. 
If you want to borrow a picture for sharing with family and friends, PLEASE give me credit for the photo.
NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.