Saturday November 30, 2024 BBQ

 

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Saturday November 30, 2024

I had a plan for today and almost put them aside when I looked at the crazy weather forecast which predicted as much a 6mm of rain in the afternoon..

Don't believe weather forecasts here!

Once I finished my chores, I took one glance at the clear blue sky and decided to ignore the "experts" and forge ahead with my plans to fireup the new BBQ.  Since I only had 4 days left here, it was important to show Cristina how to use the new toys...

I contacted cousin Roger, who had indicted earlier that he wanted to bring "the kids" to a BBQ.  We met at the butcher shop 2 blocks away where he recommended their sausages, 15 to a package for $10 Cdn.  We strolled across the street to get a dozen buns and agreed to meet at our place in 1/2 hour, and he was to bring drinks and glasses.

The new firepit is really super!  If we have any complaint, it is that the fire bowl is too far below the grille, which itself worked fantastic.  Cristina had actually bought some charcoal so we added that to the wood embers and we got enough heat to finish the cooking, which took about an hour overall.  

And the wind was cooperative, mostly blowing to the northwest where it would not bother anyone, but the smoke was much lighter than I expected.

Then the 2 kids, Johan and Camila, out-ate us all, having 2 sausages each in the large buns....  Johan is an avid soccer player, so he will work it off, but we are afraid little Camila will be a heavy girl if she keeps up her eating habits.

Then a nice nap was in order to wait for the ashes to cool enough to discard, and then to repair my woodpile.

All in all, it has been a good 2 days.

I spent last evening scouting rental places in Cuenca and am satisfied that there are still lots of places available, should I need a bigger place.  A little wooden house, on the Turi hill overlooking Cuenca is the frontrunner...

Oh, the sky is still blue with little cloud....

I hope you enjoy the pictures.  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 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.

 

Saffron Finches

Fired up, and the wind cooperating

Love the firepit

Camila and Johan watch Roger being chef

Grande was an interested onlooker

None of the dogs got too close thankfully

Johan and Camila, the 2 helpers

..and the 2 big eaters

Closed and cooling down

Repairing the firewood stack

Almost ready to dump the ashes

 

 

 

 

 

Friday November 29, 2024 Martina

 

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

Please see my best artworks for sale at my websites:

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

******

Friday November 29, 2024

We were up early anyway to get Ana off to Zarzal to work, so I did my exercises, brushed and shaved, did my chores, and then got to work.

Today was the day to teach Cristina how to set up, and put away, the new pressure washer.  While I was at it, I washed the whole patio, about 1,000 sq.ft., from top to bottom.  

This got rid of ancient cobwebs under the tile roof and dirt off the stucco walls, and then washed the floor decently.  

I was quite proud of myself that I lasted for the whole term, with required breaks to cool off the machine, which works wonderfully at over 2,000 psi, and I use the weakest nozzle.  One day I will figure out how to use the soap bottle attachment, which appears to have its own nozzle.

Then I needed the shower to get rid of ll the fallen gunk all over me.

Cristina got invloved by phone to help one of the dogs at her sister's refuge which was bleeding from the nose.  Her sister refused to help it...  I have yet to hear the outcome but I believe the dog is OK now.

At 11:40am we had Sofi's Dad, the pirata driver, take us to Wolf and Fabiola's lovely home for a delicious pork chop lunch, followed by Polish ice cream...  Fabiola is a great cook and we spent a nice early afternoon chatting over events, like the small tornado that bent back their roof like a sardine can last year, and an early morning brazen theftabout 6 months ago.  Luckily, their daughter Elizabeth is an insurance agent.

The highlight of visiting there is always Martina, the coquetish parrot that keeps us entertained with her wolf whistles, catcalls, and chuckles.....  She sureloves to be stroked under the chin (only if she knows you, otherwise you get bit!).

And the views going back and forth are worth the trip alone.

I am told Ana is tired and will be overnighting again here.  No problem.

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.

The clean, unfinished patio looking south

The clean, finished patio looking north

The whole patio looks so much better

Still weird construction across the street

Love the scenery almost everywhere

The infamous Martina

With Fabiola

Chin stroking by Cristina

What a character she is...

And a beauty too.