Happy Anniversary Honey I Bought You Something

The Brennie and I have been married for 28 (holy sh*t!) years now (never an angry word).

Soooooooo .......... I went out this AM and bought her a really special anniversary gift.

It's a Kawasaki KLR 650!
Wow honey ....... you are sooooo lucky!

She loves it!
(I knew she would.)

Gee honey ..... it even comes with bags.
Pretty  special, eh?
You're worth it!

It's a lot bigger than the bike I got you for your birthday.
You can keep them both.

That old Brennie sure is a lucky girl to have such a swell husband.

For a look at the BIG DAY 28 years ago:
CLICK HERE FOR CLARKE'S MEMORY OF IT.
CLICK HERE FOR BRENNIES PERSPECTIVE.


Life is Sweet,
Clarke

PS:  For those that are a little slow on the uptake ........ it is unlikely that the Brennie will ever ride either of those bikes.  Although she did have both a Harley and a Honda Shadow back in the states.

Cuenca to Oregon to Cuenca

GONNA HAVE A LITTLE RANT GOING HERE.

Brennie and I spent the last 2 weeks in Oregon visiting our son and daughter.  There are no words to describe the joy in seeing them.  

But, HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!  Expensive!  I knew this up front.  It was no surprise.  I wasn’t shocked.  But, still it was shocking.  But that is not the subject of the rant.

- - - - - - - - - - 

The return trip to Ecuador was ‘interesting’.  We had a real sucky itinerary to begin with  ..... and that is our fault.  For many reasons, we had trouble pulling together a feasible and reasonable flight plan.  Everything was a moving target.  Finally we just pulled the trigger (reservations had to be made) and we had our (less than perfect and very expensive) flights.

But then on the way back home to Cuenca ........ with our cobbled together POS flight plans ....... the wheels started coming off the cart.  


It started when Delta cancelled our flight from Detroit to Miami.  They pieced together a couple other flights to get us to Miami, but this left us less than an hour to gather our bags (checked, but not checked through), go to the LAN counter to get our boarding passes and  check the baggage, go through security, etc and be on our connecting flight to Quito.  As everyone knows, gathering the bags alone can take 30+ minutes and security can take another 30.

So, best case scenario, not likely to make it.  Possible, but not likely.  One can always hope ........ 

So, anyway, it turned out to be impossible, because our bags did not fly with us.  

So, according to the the folk at Delta Miami:

..... “Don’t worry about your bags.  Run to the gate.  Fly to Cuenca.  Fly without the bags.  We can have them to your house in Cuenca in a day or so.”  This seemed really, really hard to believe.  I suspect it was an intentional lie just to get us out of their hair.

OR

..... “If the bags are not here, all you have to do is to put in claims for them.  Getting them on the planes to Ecuador (international flight) takes some extra paper work, but it shouldn’t take over 2 weeks.”  I am NOT making this up.

OR

..... “Don’t even think about flying international without your bags.  Between TSA and us (Delta), you will just have to fly back here to Miami to eventually pick them up.”  Actually, I am not sure exactly how this went, but it was basically, wait for your bags, don’t fly without them, etc.

As it turns out, three of the bags arrived in Miami an hour after our LAN flight to Quito left.  The fourth apparently flew (for free) from Detroit to Atlanta to Minneapolis to Atlanta to Miami.  Not making this up.  The lost baggage guy in Miami traced it for us. This bag arrived in Miami hours later and with lots of frequent flyer miles.  

So, we 

- spent the lovely hot humid night in Miami at the Regency Hotel, 

- paid rebooking fees for the last available seats on our next 3 flights and 

- arrived home only 1 day later than we should have.  

How exciting.

Delta did give each of us a $6 food voucher for airport food.  This too is exciting.

But, this is not the topic of todays little rant either.

- - - - - - - - - - - - 

ON TO THE RANT ......

Who are the Kardashians?

Why are they so important to Americans?

Are these people the latest representatives of American morals, values and ethics?

Why is it that everywhere I went, there were magazine cover stories on these people?

How could anyone possibly care what these people think or do?

Has any Kardashian at any time had a newsworthy thought or contributed any thing of any type to this world.

What is a Snooki?  Is a Snooki a Kardashian?  They seem to be cut from the same cloth.

Truly folks.  If the Kardashians are representative of what is ‘important’ in American culture ........... there is no polite way to end this thought.

Sad.  Desperate.

And THAT was the rant.

Life is sweet,

Clarke

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Here is another take on the Delta Screwup and the night in Miami;

“Because of a small problem with a connecting flight, we were able to spend a glorious night in Miami soaking up the heat.  I was enjoying a cigar while enjoying a sauna-walk in the evening and walked up to an iced-latte-to-go place.  A complete stranger at the walk up window was there with his family.  We made small talk as best as I can in Spanish.  He and his family had just gotten back from the Dominican Republic and he had bought some Dominican cigars.  He gave me a couple cigars. (Remember, I was smoking a cigar.) When I smoked them later, I could reflect on the fact that the world has much kindness and generosity in it.  Every cloud has a silver lining.”

Living in a Chemistry Experiment

The Brennie and I have been married for about 100 years (September ‘84).  

In most ways average, average, average ....... common as dirt.

Recently, the old girl has gone nuts, total bonkers, barking mad.

Back to this in a minute or two.  

We were as average as could be:

- teacher (me), program development in disabilities field (the newly crazy woman)

- two children, one of each gender

- always had a dog

- mini van / SUV

- summer vacation at rented house on lake .... same place every summer 

- bought my first Harley when in my 40’s

- every 2 - 4 years a major vacation (Disney World, Mexico, etc)

I mean we were average.

Well?  What does this have to do with my lunatic, wack job bride.

What does this have to do with ‘living in a chemistry experiment’?

Well, I’ll tell you what.  

If I could remember.  

When I started this, I had a transition in mind for ..... 

average --> nutbag -->  life in a chem lab.

If you are guessing that she has started cooking up batches of meth alongside the lasagna ...... WRONG.

So what HAS happened?

The Brennie has become some type of Ecuadorian Martha Stewart ...... that’s what!  

H*ll I don’t even recognize her any more!

A few minor examples before I get to the Mad Chemist part:

- I suggest that I go out and grab a pizza to go.  The Brennie goes to the kitchen and makes TWO pizzas from scratch (even the crust).

- A couple times a month she makes (2 again) quiches.  From scratch.

- She made curtains.

- Green smoothies (look it up)

- Making a braided rug.

- She just bought a LOT of different polka dot fabric (20 kinds?)  A quilt, maybe? 

She is in the kitchen all the time.

Right this very minute she has both the (new electric programable) pressure cooker and crock pot going .... I don’t even ask anymore.  

I have no idea what the plan is for today’s creations, because I know for a fact that we are going out to dinner.

By the way ....... little miss cuckoo bonkers doesn’t really eat leftovers.  

I am having to eat 5 times a day (hungry or not) just to keep food from going bad.

I am not sure why she did the whole pork thing (5 - 8 lbs) a couple weeks ago.

She is basically a vegetarian.  Maybe one small portion of meat,

Now ..... The Mad Chemist

She is into ..... I really don’t know what to call it.  

Live cultures?  

Bacteria?  

Fermented food?

Examples:

- a batch of sauerkraut is busy bubbling away(?), fermenting(?) whatever.

- experimenting with creating sour dough cultures

- making her own yogurt

- she has ordered a BUNCH of cultures for some other stuff (again ..... I don’t ask)

- threatening to make cheese next

Braiding for a rug.
I have put a padlock on my closet
so she doesn't cut my clothes in strips.

A lot of food now includes .....
raw cold pressed coconut oil.
And, they don't just give that sh*t away!

A new crock for making sauerkraut.

The new fancy pressure cooker.
We could dine out for a month on what this baby cost.

Sauerkraut.
Busy bubbling away.
Smells good.

Experimental sour dough bread.
Not bad.
I think she has ordered some new cultures (or something).

Sour dough starter?

Home made yogurt.

I'm a little scared.

Who is this woman?

But, she sure is cute.

Glad we don't drink.

If we did, I suspect she would have a still up and running.


Now, if I could just get her to do some ironing!

Life is sweet,

Clarke

Sounded Like A Good Idea At The Time

“It sounded like a good idea at the time”?

You just gotta lower your expectations with an opening like that.

You just know it's going to end badly. The conclusion, outcome, ending, the finale ….... not much hope. It's just the specifics that bear telling.

First …...... understand that this too is the fault of Ms. Karen Kimbler. Back to that later.

Nobody wants to read a bunch of boring details, so here are the main points.

- 69 km bike ride advertised on Gringo tree.

- Charity fund raiser type of thing.

- Giving away 2 new mountain bikes at destination.

- Promises to use secondary roads …..... not main roads.

- Does suggest that participants be in good physical condition.

- Destination is a mountain top lake.

- Mountain top lake is a couple valleys over.

 -You know what separates valleys ….... right? (Hint …... really big f*ckin Andes hills.) You see, if there weren't big hills separating the valleys ….... it would be the SAME valley. Anyway a couple valleys over and then UP even more.

- First stop is Turi …... if you live here you understand the joy of that little bike climb.

Weather:

- Day before: beautiful

- Day after (today) : beautiful again

- Day of the ride :

     Starts out cloudy and overcast.

     Many days start that way and often end up beautiful a couple hours later.

     A couple hours later (and the rest of the day) – RAIN

See below for a pic of secondary roads combined with rain.

Yeah, that is an ambulance on the left.
Yeah, it was for the riders.
Yeah, I saw it used ...... twice.
Once a few miles down this road.
(some gal went to fast downhill on a windy, muddy, slippery road ......what did she expect?)
The other time some old turd (my age) was laying down and being examined.
I didn't look too closely.

TAR? 

Once at the destination, it became obvious that we had all (200 of us) ridden through tar. It was everywhere! How the hell do you ride through tar when you are on mud/rock roads. Someone mentioned that the really rich looking patch of black muddy earth in the road….. oh, I get it.

I wondered if I had a big blob of tar on my face. There was one guy that had a tar smear on the seat of his pants that would have looked like a skid mark if the color was a little different. I guess that was funny.

So, mainly, I was:

cold,

wet,

muddy,

splattered with tar,

tired.

AND, I did not win a mountain bike.

Okay, so you may be wondering exactly how this is all Karen Kimbler's fault. Frankly, I am wondering myself. (As far as I can tell, she had nothing to do with it.) It must be Dan Maloney's fault. After all, he loaned me his helmet. A helmet was required. (Not everyone was wearing one.  Duh.) Without a helmet, I might not have gone. AND I still have to clean the tar off Dan's stupid helmet. So, yeah …....... this is Dan's fault. Maybe it was partly the Brennie's fault too ….... I wanted to win a mountain bike for her.

Life is Sweet (and muddy and sometimes cold and wet)

Clarke

PS: This ride was for a good cause.  I will probably go on the next one in about 6 months ...... or maybe I will just mail in a donation.

Why I Haven't Been Blogging AND Why I Am Back At It

FIRST:

Why I Haven't Been Blogging ......

It is that whole Galapagos thing.  

It was so cool.

There was so much more to say/share.
So many cool pictures.
Like the pic of the baby sea lion sniffing my leg.
Actually I didn't get that pic.  The last pic that camera took before going belly up ...... the baby sea lion's nose was just a couple inches before it touched my leg.
The camera hasn't worked since.

Anyway there was so much more to say and show about the Galapagos..........
Well........

It started to smell like work .......
So I avoided it!


SECOND:
Why I Am Back At It .........


Well, (like so many other things)  it is Karen Kimbler's fault.  
According to  Randy,  there's a lot of stuff that is Karen's fault.  
But that is a whole different story.


Anyway, yeah, it is Karen's fault.


So ............
About a week ago around 5:00 PM, old Karen calls me.
Randy just got back for the SuperMaxi (grocery store) near their house.
He saw 3 jars of JIF peanut butter there.  
There were only 3 jars ........ one 28 ouncer and two 18 ouncers,
He snagged them for me.


HOLY SH*T!!
There hasn't been JIF on the shelves since September (2011).
So, I told Karen that I would be right over ..... cash in hand.
But FIRST......... 


There are 2 other SuperMaxis.
Lots of Gringos shop at them.
BUT, very few gringos:
1)  have a car
2)  live anywhere near the SuperMaxi out by the airport.
BUT, we have a car.
I figure that if any store will have more JIF, it is the one by the airport.


SOOOOOOO ........
Brenda joins me and off we go.
Holy Mother of God!!!!!
We hit the jackpot!!!!
They had 8 jars of 28 oz. and 8 of 18 oz.


The Brennie was embarrassed to be seen with me and a cart of 16 jars of JIF.
So, she left the store.
I was pretty proud.
I even got a jar of jam, some milk and imitation ritz crackers.


So, who knows how long JIF is back?
It is uncertain.
So, I have 26 jars in the pantry.
Yeah, the '26' above is not a typo.  I have bought more.


Now I know what our folks felt like in the 50's as they were provisioning their bomb shelters.


Life is Sweet (and Sticky and Gooey),
Clarke  

6 Days & 5 Nights

Okay now ....... You see the title and are immediately thinking " cheesie pre-packaged tour" or cruise or whatever ......

And, well ...... You're kinda correct.  

Pre- packaged, cruise & tour thing ....... yes.

Cheesy ......... not cheesy.  Or maybe very cheesy and I am just a no-taste kinda guy.   You be the judge .... here I am the day before we left.  Testing to see if my ear plugs can double as nose plugs when we go snorkeling.  Pretty classy.

Ear plugs as nose plugs?
NOT a sign of genius.

Back on track here ...... we found it to be the perfect way to see the Galapagos Islands.  Everything was taken care of (meals & lodging on the boat), we got into places and did things that would have been difficult if not impossible for us to arrange.  Everything was paid for up front.

Going to the Galapagos was never high on my priority list.  I was wrong in this.  It was great.  I never could have guessed what an experience it could be.  It was super-bob cool and bitchin' !

Our plane as seen after landing.
We landed on Isla San Cristobal.

A word about the wildlife:

- ‘Innocent’ is the best description.

- For the most part they have no fear of man.

- They can touch you, but you can’t touch them.

- Supposed to stay 6 feet away from them unless they approach you.

Examples -----

- Sea lions in the towns

- Sea lions on the beaches ..... just walk around them.

- Birds everywhere.

- Iguanas and lizards (sea and land type) don’t scamper away from you. Actually nothing avoids you at all.

- I had a baby sea lion come up and sniff me.  It’s whiskers and nose felt just like when Bugger or Wanker sniff me.

Our first surprise!

A little about the ship and crew.  

- The ship basically cruised from island to island and we did different things on different islands.

- We were on the M/V Santa Cruz. In Spanish it is the M/N Santa Cruz ...... do you see the difference?  Owned by Metropolitan Tours.

- The Santa Cruz has passenger capacity of 90.  There were 39 on the cruise.

- The staff was fabulous ... so good that I did not even balk at the suggested tipping guidelines.

- Every time we went ashore we had a naturalist with us.  The naturalists were amazing.

- A small cruise ship does not have all the amenities as a large ship ........ but I much prefer it.  Very personalized.

- About half the passengers were English speakers and half were Spanish speakers.

- The organization and attention to detail was great.

- She ship was 35+ years old and was showing it’s age a little on the outside, but not on the inside.

- We upgraded to the best cabin we could (junior suite) because it was roomier and had a couch ...... I like to read late and hate reading in bed.  There were 2 master suites, but they were already taken.

First sighting of our little ship.
Always got on and off from the Zodiak rafts.

A little about shore excursions:

- A naturalist/guide was with you for every trip out .... and they were VERY GOOD.

- Some excursions were wet - beach time with snorkeling or snorkeling off the zodiak rafts in deeper water.

- Some excursions were dry - guided tour of the restricted ares and the wildlife.

- We had a couple opportunities to be in towns and see wht they had to offer (not really too much).

- Some level of tolerance and ability for physical exertion was necessary.   

- Some excursions were more demanding than others.

- There were usually  2 shore excursions a day.

- One excursion in the AM.

- Back to the ship for lunch and siesta.

- Another excursion in the afternoon.

- All excursions in groups of 8 - 12 (basically you were with the same group on all excursions ....... could be good or bad).

On the first day.
We arrived at the boat in time for lunch and an orientation to the ship.
That afternoon, we went on an excursion back into town to see the interpretive center. 

A little about the weather:

- Hot

- Humid

- Hot with humidity.

- Humid with heat.

- We did get some relief with some clouds.

- Lots of sun screen was used.

- But basically .... hot and humid.

About the Galapagos National Park:

- If you are a tourist, you must pay a national park fee to enter the islands. ($100 or $6 depending on if you have an Ecuadorian Cedula.  We have a Cedula, so ours were $6 each)

- 97% of the land and 100% of the water are a national park.

- The islands (and water) may possibly be the most highly restricted land area on earth ...... and that is good.  It is so unique.

- The beauty of our package tour is that we got entrance to everything ...... but, STAY ON THE PATH.  Very restricted and regulated .... as it should be.

MORE TOMORROW (OR THE NEXT DAY)

For all the pics from DAY ONE

CLICK HERE.

Life is sweet,

Clarke

A Timely Little Rant

THIS PLACE REALLY SUCKS.

I MEAN ..... IT SERIOUSLY SUCKS.

OR IS THAT ‘BLOWS’?  ‘SUCKS’ OR ‘BLOWS’?  Those two words mean the opposite things ..... blowing pretty much being the opposite of sucking ....... like breathe in and breathe out.  Yet blows and sucks convey the same concept?

Anyway ......... this place blows too!

Anything in particular make me say this ....... about blowy / sucky Cuenca?  You bet.

I hate to re-beat this drum (kick a dead horse?) ....... but really and seriously ..... what the h*ll is gong on here?  Why can’t the stores stock JIF peanut butter?  Every *&>%$#@ day?

When we did our recon mission here in June/July 2009, SuperMaxi had JIF creamy on the shelves.  It was a little spendy, but that is fine.  If gas can be $1.48 a gallon and monthly water and electric about $30, then who cares how much JF costs as long as it is available.  Right?  Anyway, it was available all of June and July of ’09.

So we arrive June 1st of 2010, and ever since then, JIF has been available less and less.  It will be on the shelves for a couple months and then not available (at any price) for god knows how long. It is unavailable more than it is available.

For instance, the last time I saw it on the shelves was last September ...... over 5 months ago.

Now I have learned to compromise and have learned to live with Peter Pan although it is a far distant second to JIF.  JIF is good, it can be eaten with a spoon directly from the jar.  Peter Pan has to be eaten on a cracker with jam ..... because it is just not good enough to eat straight from the jar ...... it needs the cracker and jam to hide it’s ‘not-JIFness’ flavor.

Anyway, I am willing to settle for Peter Pan (crunchy or smooth).  I haven’t complained about this.  I have been strong. I really don’t want to be a whiney little b*tch.  But even PP smooth is hard to get now and the stores haven’t had any of it for almost a month.  They do have Honey Roast and Low Fat.  But they are horrible!  Bugger and Wanker do like it (our little Pekinese beasties) and it is so fun to watch them try to eat it.  But then they eat dog food and dead stuff on the street too.

Movin’ on here ...... So I get on my moto today.  I have a mission.  Find some Peter Pan (JIF would be too much to hope for).  I ride from one side of town to the other and back again and can tell you that there is none to be had ...... except for the aforementioned Honey Roast and Low Fat.

There is some local peanut butter available and the Brennie says it is perfectly fine.  She says that ..... but back in the good old days, if we had JIF on hand she would eat MY JIF and ignore the local cr*p.  So I don’t think she really does like the local stuff that much.

A friend of mine put a case of JIF creamy in a shpping container for me a year ago.  The container has been sitting (packed) in the states for a year now.  Currently the JIF is frozen in the container.  Last summer it was cooked.  Can’t wait to see what it is like if it ever gets here.  Freeze - cook - freeze - cook - freeze - cook.  Now JIF does have their mix of additives, stabilizers and preservatives down to an art ....... so maybe the freeze / cook cycle won’t be a problem.  Yeah, right.

I can buy JIF at amazon.com and have it shipped.  The shipping is $50 for a 2 jar pack (TRUE ...... I checked it out).  But ‘food and beverages’ are restricted items for shipping ...... along with guns, ammo, explosives, drugs, etc.

I have brought  it down in my checked baggage before (along with cigars) and it is no problem.  However, when in a carry-on ..... no dice ..... it is confiscated. (The dreaded peanut butter bombs we have been repeatedly warned about?)

WOW.  WOW.  WOW.  Just this very second, I got a phone call.  Dean is bringing me a jar of JIF creamy when she comes back from the states  God love her!  No kidding .... I just got the phone call .... this very minute!  Holy Sh*t!  Gotta tell the psychic friends network!

I was going to close this blog entry with ‘Life sucks / blows’. but now I can close with .......

Life is Sweet,

Clarke

PS:  It is a bad idea to look up the number of rat hairs allowed by the FDA in peanut butter.

PPS: MADE FROM ROASTED PEANUTS AND SUGAR, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: MOLASSES, FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, SALT ...... and I suspect some other lovely stuff too.

PPPS:  Maybe I will move back to Topeka so I can pick up some JIF an my way home from work?  Then again ...... maybe not

A Little Holiday Trip

Went down to Loja and Vilcababma for a few days.  For those of you that don't know, Loja/Vilcabamba is still in the Andes, but about a 4 - 5 hour drive south of Cuenca.


Loja is another interesting city in Ecuador.
Someone told me that downtown looks like it was built in the 50's and I must agree.


Vilcabamba is Another Story:
It is a small town in what is known as the 'valley of longevity'.  Brennie calls it the 'valley of stoneheads'.  I will explain both.


The Valley of Longevity:
From what I have been able to glean (not necessarily accurate) the whole longevity fiction was kicked off years ago by an article in .... some sources say Readers' Digest ........ others say National Geographic. (Who knows?) This was followed by a bunch of pseudo-scientific studies that supported the longevity claim.  From what I can tell, the main factor had to do with either the 'special ions' in the air or the mineral content of the water or something.  I suspect that this is still touted as fact by some folk.  These might be the same folk that subscribe to pyramid power, the healing power of crystals and magnets, bermuda triangle, phrenology, and various other 'sciences' for the desperate.  (Oopsie ...... might have lost a few readers there.)


The Valley of Stoneheads:
We have been to Vilcabamba twice and will most likely go again.  It is peaceful and very beautiful.  And we just kinda like it.  But back to the 'valley of stoneheads' concept.  I am pretty sure that the Brennie is not referring to some type of Easter Island archeological thing here.  Think of another meaning for the term.  I don't know about most of you, but I kind of think that I outgrew recreational use of drugs and alcohol long long ago.  (Probably loosing a few more readers here too.)  Anyway, it is an interesting place to visit and we will surely return.  For Cuenca High Life articles on Vilcabamba ........ CLICK HERE.  


LOJA:
Unfortunately, we only spent a day in Loja.  We plan to return and do a better job of seeing what it is all about.  Next time, we will make it our number one priority to get some of that fabulous pottery they do there.


But we did go to the botanical gardens and I took some wonderful pictures which I will share below.

There were LOTS of beautiful flowers there. 

And, I did take pics of them.  

I am a horrible photographer.

These are the pics that came out the best!

Life is sweet,

Clarke

Scorpoppers and Snurms

Some of you may remember (the oh-so-forgettable) post I did on the famous goat-dogs (dog-goats?) of Cuenca.  As some of you may know, this was the style of engaging, in-depth and thought provoking writing that resulted in this humble blog being awarded the coveted 'Dorkie' for 2009..  Recently this humble blog was  awarded the 2010 and 2011 Dorkie.  The two years were awarded simultaneously (that means at the same time) because the award committee was in rehab for most of 2010.


Anyway ........ on to the Scorpoppers and Snurms ..........


Snurms:

Snake or Worm?
Snurm, Snorm or Wake?

This 'little fellar' would have been a good 8" long if I had straightened hm out.
Brennie told me not to touch him 'cause he might have had fangs hidden in there.

Scorpoppers:

Scorpion or just a scary littl grasshopper fellar?
Scorpopper or Grasspion?

I was told that ...'yeah it has a stinger back there, but it is not poisonous.
Opted not to test it.

Life is Sweet,
Clarke

Alzheimer's and Retirement?

You know what 'they' say about holding back the dreaded Alzheimer's?  


'They' say that getting plenty of exercise helps ..... both mental and physical.


So ............


Learning to Play Bridge:  Bridge is the king of card games.  I have always wanted to learn to play.  Just never had the time or opportunity before.  So ....... at age ______ (fill in blank), I am taking it up.  It is much more complicated than __________ (fill in blank again with just about any card game).  Anyway, it is great mental exercise.  It is fairly complicated and I count myself lucky if I can grasp one new concept each time I play.  


I have heard/read:
- That it takes a year to learn how to play and 5 years to get any good.
- That it takes 10 years of playing 20 hours/week to get good.
- That I don't stand a chance.  (This kinda hurt and I don't think the Brennie should have said it.)


My mom was a very serious bridge player.  I think that she and her friends played for 1/4 or 1/2 penny a point.  She played right up until she passed away in her mid 80's.  She was sharp as a tack.  We also found a bag of (bridge) money in her condo.  It had 100's of dollars in it!  It was either her bridge money or she was hoarding pennies, nickels, dimes .......... 1's and 5's.  She wasn't the hoarding type


Learning to Speak Spanish:  Holy Mother of God!  You want to see if anything is working upstairs?  Try learning a new language at my age.  I have always had trouble with languages.  They do NOT come naturally to me.  


I flunked German 2 years running in high school.  Well, I didn't actually study much.  But I didn't think that I really should have to.  German was (mostly) the first language I spoke.  And I spoke more German than English until I was three and a half.  I (wrongly) figured that just being exposed to it every day in class ....... and it would float back to the conscious surface.  I was determined in this passive approach.  I am using a different approach with Spanish and it is working (a little ..... but not much) better.


Physical Exercise:  Cuenca is a walking city.  That is one of the reasons we moved here.  I love to walk and ride my bicycle around town.  My preferred modes of transport are (in order of preference): walk if there is time, bicycle (going by myself and am in a semi-hurry), bus and motorcycle (a tie for 3rd and 4th depending on circumstances), and last is taking the car.  So I think that I am covered on the exercise thing.


Uh ......... I forgot what I was going to say next.  Gotta question if this mental and physical exercise BS is working all that well!  OR.  Maybe it is just too late.


LIfe is Sweet,
Clarke


PS:  Who is the 'they' that are always saying what is what?  I think that 'they' are just a convenient construct when someone wants to back up their own 'opinion' with some type of bogus authority figure or expert status.  It is my opinion that 'they' say that for a harmonious and happy house, at least one cigar should be smoked inside each and every day.  That's what 'they' say!  (That is the demi-rant for the day.)


OMG!  The Brennie just walked in.  She is eating a raw turnip.  We have plenty of chocolate bars in the cupboard.  What is wrong with her?

Holiday Reflections

I have to admit that over the years, I truly came to hate Christmas and so much that it represented.


Bah and Humbug!


Many years ago, the Christmas Season followed Thanksgiving.  In more recent years, the commercial madness started with Halloween or even before.  All the hype, advertising, commercialization, the often overdone decorations, the plastic Santas lit up everywhere and the PRESSURE.  There was never any doubt as to how many more shopping days until Xmas.  Christmas became Xmas.  Xmas became this monstrous, horrid thing.  The poor children.  They were deluged with all the advertising ...... brainwashed, driven to a frenzy. Truly victimized.  The total insanity of it all.  God, I grew to hate it.  


Christmas became Xmas and Xmas belonged to Madison Avenue, Hasbro and Toys R Us. (Sorry, can't get the 'R' backwards.)


I could go on and on about the perversion of what should be a lovely time of year ...... but I won't.  You should get the drift by now. 


Switch Now to Cuenca:   


You want to know what Christmas is about here?  (I can only observe from my standpoint .... only give my impressions.)  But Christmas here is about F-A-M-I-L-Y.  Yep, family!  Wow, what a cool concept.  Take a look at the pictures from the prior post.  It is the Christmas parade of the children!  There are still parades almost daily.  NOT the Parade of Roses.  Not the Macy's Parade.  FAMILY parades.  Funky ..... not grand.  The parades are full of children and parents.  Oopsie, can't forget to mention the fireworks.


You gotta love it!  It is like it might have been long ago in the states.  You know ...... 'the good old days'?  I don't know for sure what it was like 100 years ago in the states.  But I suspect it was more like it is here now.


I am not totally naive.  I know that Christmas is a commercial event here too.  But, it is a far cry from the perverted insane nightmare that it has become in the states.  


Okey dokey.  All done with my little rant.


Life is Sweet,
Clarke