Friday, April 30, 2021

Friday April 30, 2021 Flood

SUBSCRIBING ON THE RIGHT  stops in July ??   >>>>>>>>>>

To be safe, PLEASE bookmark this page and check daily.

Please see more of my artworks for sale at my websites:  http://souvenirphotostudio.neocities.org/ or http://saccc05.tripod.com/

******

Friday April 30, 2021

Yesterday the dog walk was cut shorter because of steady drizzle.  It is not good to get caught outside when it decides to pour.

I did some changes with my investment counsellor in Canada and transferred some money here because the exchange rate is the most favourable in many months.

Aram decided that he needs to fly to Bogota from Armenia on Monday and wants me to drive him, about 1hour 10 minutes each way, 4 tolls and a tiny airport.  They have to wait to buy a ticket because people on the road are still affected by strikers and guerillas on the road...   I thought that foolishness was over by now.

So I spent all Thursday afternoon working on photos again.  I don't know what I would do if I didn't have the photography here.

My car insurer wants some kind of information and security update but their system keeps kicking me out.  I don't really care.  It's their problem.

Thursday night we had a super heavy downpour.  When I finished watching my movies (Maltese Falcon and The General) I realized how bad it was as we had leaks through the ceilings in 4 places, including the edge of the big bed.  The lavanderia had 1" of standing water that we had to shoot outside onto the patio.  We moved the bed and put pails to catch the major drips.  The rest could wait until morning.  So, instead of counting sheep, I counted drops, 12 into one bucket, then 1 in the other, like precision.  I might have to try that again as I did fall asleep quickly.

Today was drizzling again so the dogs only got a short walk again.  I then walked to the Gym only to find it closed which was odd, it is not a holiday.   Later, Alejandro responded to my query saying that it is because of the new lockdown, which he figured I should know....  Not.

I grabbed the mop and soaked up all the water in the living room, hall, lavanderia and bedroom.   We get leaks at different places depending on the direction of the rain.  Claudia is going to refer us to a roof tile specialist to inspect and rearrange the tiles once they dry.  Apparently this can't be done when they are wet (and softer?)..

The lake is as big as ever in the backyard so I am again putting up lakefront property for sale, lol.  The birds and the dogs are liking the new addition.  Judging by the amount of water in the birdbath tubs, we got more than 6" of rain last night.

Then, as usual, after a heavy rain, the water is shut off because the dirty swollen river overwhelms the water treatment plant.  Grrrrr  Thank God for our emergency tank, again.........

For lunch I cooked up 1/2 a package of Cheddar Smoked Sausages that I bought at PriceSmart.  They can be cooked a multitude of ways, microwave, broiler, fried, but the best is still over an open fire...  Some day....  I used the microwave and we all had a nice feast,... better than any local sausage by far.

Aram asked that I check online for flights Monday from Armenia to Bogota.  I gave him 2 sites to check but naturally they did their own thing again.  They found some obscure EasyFly airline that isn't even on the radar of any of the travel search engines which only show one Avianca flight.  They reserved a ticket, unpaid, until they could be sure via friends that the roads would be clear.  A fireman friend of Liliana's brother was making the same trip this morning so they awaited his findings, then they called me.  They needed to buy the ticket, at 1/2 the price that Avianca wanted for a Monday one-way flight (he can't be sure when he can come back).  So they came over by 2:30 because this ticket had to be paid for before 3pm...  After much trial and tribulation, I got into the EasyFly site, used their reservation code, and finally managed to get to the payment area.  Their Credit card is maxed out so we tried their Bancolombia Debit card, same as we have, but those stupid things do not have the 3-digit security code, so they are rejected...  So, very grudgingly, Al to the rescue once more, hoping my newly acquired CIBC credit card was indeed activated, and would work... it was our last hope...  Relief to all when it did go through..  We printed the eTicket and they paid me in cash.  So I guess I am making a trip Monday morning 9am...

Aram says he is coming back for a movie tonight.

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 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.


 

Lakefront lots for sale again

Lots of rain to overflow this tub

Vermilion Flycatcher

VF

VF

VF

Golden Silk Spider

Nina 2, Princesa, Nina 1

Salvador, Negrita

Nene

Saffron Finch

SF

Mrs Vermilion Flycatcher

Mrs VF

Mrs VF

Tom Thumb

 

 

 

 


 

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Wednesday April 28, 2021 Strike

SUBSCRIBING ON THE RIGHT  stops in July ??   >>>>>>>>>>

To be safe, PLEASE bookmark this page and check daily.

Please see more of my artworks for sale at my websites:  http://souvenirphotostudio.neocities.org/ or http://saccc05.tripod.com/

******

Wednesday April 28, 2021

I walked the dogs and then went to the Gym.  My machine was in working order but no longer swiveled like before, which it is supposed to do, but I didn't want to interrupt Alejandro who appeared to have his hands full.  I manage to do my exercises in spite of its rigidity.  I encountered the black dog Negro on my exit which was nice.

Our multi-coloured roses continue to bloom unabated as I try to keep them trimmed from going over 6' tall.  I notice a hint of buds on the peach rose again so we await those too.

Our newest little man, Salvador, has been responding incredibly to his chemotherapy treatments and his tumours are drastically reduced, hardly noticeable!  I am now a believer in chemo for dogs, it has worked on several of ours, but I doubt that I would ever allow it on myself.  Salvador is in such vigor the he and and Nene seem to be competing for Turi's affection as she may be be having a touch of heat, even though she has been spayed.

We had no water again from before 10am to 2:30pm.  Grrrrrrrr

Cristina wanted to go to Rio Frio to visit and I had agreed because it is not the weekend when traffic is crazy.  We had both forgotten that there was a massive Union-sponsored strike today and roads are blocked everywhere.  Omaira had been to Tulua on her scooter and said it was chaos, and to stay away.  Gladly!

I took a chance and did something a little different today, chancing my focusing, hand-held, to take 2 roughly one-minute videos of 2 different Golden Silk Spiders actually spinning their webs, absolutely fascinating stuff.  They are both quite clear so we can see how this incredible creature works.  Have a look please:

https://youtu.be/ecvSu5lp3x8

https://youtu.be/mlCU-g4_Vt8

Aram came again today to get final? documents printed that he needs to go to Bogota on Monday to get his medical to get him travel documents to the USA.  The poor guy has so darn many emails and documents floating round, I don't know how he can possibly keep it all straight.  He would have been absolutely lost trying to do this without my help for the past year.

I tried to find a Season 2 to "Black Sun" that I finished watching last night and it is not available.  Season 1 tied off most loose ends quite nicely so it would be interesting to see where another season would lead.

While I was looking in my movie file, I saw the frustrating copy of "The Searchers", said to be John Wayne's best movie??!!  It was in a strange MKV format that did not want to play properly, freezing the image while the sound carried on.  I took a chance, and it took a while, because it is a huge file, but I used my "Any Video Converter" program to change it to an MP4 format.  This was still running while I dealt with Aram's documents.  I checked it briefly and it appears wonderful on the computer so I intend to watch it with Aram tonight when he returns at 6pm.

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 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.


 

How gorgeous is this?

And look at the new buds coming.

Mrs Saffron Finch

Another shot

Love those colours

Common Ruddy Ground Dove

Our Nina

My stunning Grigi

Lorena and Lina's Nina

Golden Silk Spider at work

and another

Mr Vermilion Flycatcher