As you know, I have been very frustrated by the unpredictability of photos showing up in my blog, and blogging and not having it publish. Therefore, I have made a change. My blog continues on http://36keys.wordpress.com./ This site has a lot of bells and whistles which I still have to figure out, but I´m hoping will be more reliable. I´m sorry for any inconvenience this poses to my readers. I do hope you will follow me to the new site. If you have any problems, please e-mail me at 36keys@gmail.com and I will help you get there.
Karen
Friday, October 1, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
30 September 2010
Doug was quite sociable today. He had invited the local doctor for a horseback ride this morning. The doctor has a young woman staying with her from Germany; she will shadow the doctor here for three months before starting medical school in Germany. They both really enjoyed riding the horses.
The two women then came to the house for lunch. Doug gave them the tour while I prepared seared tuna with rice and broccoli and cauliflower for lunch. We had a nice lunch and visited in English as both of our guests spoke excellent English.
Sanchez became ill today. He said his stomach started cramping and aching at about 2 o'clock this morning. By 1o this morning he was very uncomfortable. After lunch, the doctor spoke with Sanchez and thought he had eaten something bad; so therefore he had cramps and a lot of gas. She prescribed some medicine for Sanchez which Doug picked up for him. However, by about 6 o'clock this evening, Juana came to ask if we could take Sanchez to the clinic in town. It is now almost 8 o'clock in the evening and they are still at the clinic. No word as to what Sanchez's condition is. It is so unusual for him to complain about anything, so we know he is hurting.
I added some things to my mural today; a dalmatian in snorkel gear and three seahorses. I felt like the tuna, (yes, the tuna....the problem child) was too big and the dalmatian was too small. So, these two got white paint to erase them and tomorrow I'll draw them in again. I've also got the background paint so I can start finalizing the mural. I didn't take any pictures today because the pencil drawings just don't show up.
I have begun working on a new site for blogging. Once I figure out all the bells and whistles I'll change over to the new site. There have been so many problems with pictures posting and even the narrative posting that I think a change might be good. I will keep you informed on this; I still have a lot to figure out with the new site.
Thanks again to all of you who read my blog.
The two women then came to the house for lunch. Doug gave them the tour while I prepared seared tuna with rice and broccoli and cauliflower for lunch. We had a nice lunch and visited in English as both of our guests spoke excellent English.
Sanchez became ill today. He said his stomach started cramping and aching at about 2 o'clock this morning. By 1o this morning he was very uncomfortable. After lunch, the doctor spoke with Sanchez and thought he had eaten something bad; so therefore he had cramps and a lot of gas. She prescribed some medicine for Sanchez which Doug picked up for him. However, by about 6 o'clock this evening, Juana came to ask if we could take Sanchez to the clinic in town. It is now almost 8 o'clock in the evening and they are still at the clinic. No word as to what Sanchez's condition is. It is so unusual for him to complain about anything, so we know he is hurting.
I added some things to my mural today; a dalmatian in snorkel gear and three seahorses. I felt like the tuna, (yes, the tuna....the problem child) was too big and the dalmatian was too small. So, these two got white paint to erase them and tomorrow I'll draw them in again. I've also got the background paint so I can start finalizing the mural. I didn't take any pictures today because the pencil drawings just don't show up.
I have begun working on a new site for blogging. Once I figure out all the bells and whistles I'll change over to the new site. There have been so many problems with pictures posting and even the narrative posting that I think a change might be good. I will keep you informed on this; I still have a lot to figure out with the new site.
Thanks again to all of you who read my blog.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
28 September 2010
We bought these lamps from a ceramic artist near Cusco by the name of Semanario. He has so many fun and whimsical designs for all kinds of ceramics. I also have a mirror of his where the frame has various tiles of his various designs. We also have a light cover of his that is located out by the pool. Google Semanario and
enjoy his work.Doug and I had another kite surfing lesson today. We met our instructors, Rein and Renzo on the beach at Los Organos. When we arrived, the wind was perfect. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. Doug's kite ripped open a seam and burst a bladder, so he had to swim it in and pack it back up the beach. Rein and I did a body drag with the kite in the water, but our kite had an air leak, so the struts and structure of the kite became rather mushy. We made it back to shore and I walked the kite up the beach. This entailed keeping the kite at about 9:30-10:00 o'clock as we walked up the beach. I felt like I had a good handle on things but the wind and the kite taught me a lesson. The kite got overhead and past 12:00 and I did a face/chest plant into the sand! I bonked my head and had the air knocked out of me, but I survived to tell the tale. Hopefully, I now know what I did wrong and won't repeat the mistake. We stopped at the pharmacy on the way home for some cream to relieve pain in the muscles. It isn't like the icy-hot we get in the states, but hopefully it will have the same effect.
While we were on the beach, one of the fishing boats washed up to shore. It's anchor had lost its purchase and it came in through the waves onto shore. Another boat came to rescue it and tied a line to its bow in an effort to tow it back off-shore. The beached boat was well mired in the sand. Two men off of the rescue boat swam ashore to try to push it back into deeper water. Doug soon went to help them. Shortly there were three other men that came to help. They were able to push and maneover back into deeper water and safety. This is the kind of stuff Doug does; and he makes friends in the process.
Chairman Meow and Stormy have tenuous
lines drawn for cohabitation. Most of the time, Stormy is very intent on the kitty. She will, however, come and sit by our sides when asked to do so. It's the kitty that seems to want to stir things up. Stormy settled into her kennel, but the kitty still needed to antagonize Stormy.
Monday, September 27, 2010
27 September 2010
I began traveling to the US on September 8 to visit Doug´s mother. Doug´s mom passed away about 2 am on the 9th, so I was not able to see her. Her quality of life had deteriorated rapidly after being diagnosed with liver cancer six weeks ago. She had said she didn´t want to live if she couldn´t have a good quality of life. She was not afraid of dying. Thankfully, she didn´t suffer long and is now at peace.
I returned from my trip to the US Saturday morning. I left Denver early on Thursday morning and was in Lima at midnight. Friday I took the bus north. It sure felt good to be home.
The day I left I (the 9th) we were in the village of El Ñuro with the elders of the local church. We had been approached a couple of weeks prior to this by the president of the church. He was soliciting help in building the addition to their church. The current population of El Ñuro exceeds 1500 and the church is too small to accomodate their needs.
We went up to see the church and get a feel for their needs. The church itself was a simple structure with steel trusses spanning its width. The windows along each side displayed stained glass windows and it was very beautiful-even though it was much simpler and less ornate than most catholic churches we´ve seen here. The last wind storm we had had taken a small section of the corrigated tin roof off.
Outside, they had begun construction of their addition. There are four walls in various stages of completion with a doorway. There is no floor and no central columns. They didn´t have a plan for the construction, but had ideas for what they wanted. For example, they wanted the roof to slope away from the entrance so the rains could be channeled to a causeway carrying it away for the village.
Doug immediately began to take measurements and to ask questions. Did they want steel trusses in the addition as well? What was their thinking about the roof? What kind of structure did they envision? I translated as best as I could but pretty soon Doug and the elders were using a brick to draw on the outside wall. In relatively short order, we had a general idea of what they wanted. Doug said he´d think about it, draw up a plan and run it by an engineer.
It was nice to interact on a personal level with the residents of El Ñuro. We are hoping to be able to contribute and support the community and become a part of it. Looking at the village and their homes-compare them to ours and you´d think we live on different planets. Hopefully it won´t be us and them, but we can find some common ground to share.
Here a few stories to catch you up on what has been happening here.
Doug was in the kitchen one evening while Juana was cooking. Doug noticed she was sawing away at whatever she was attempting to cut. He asked to see the knife and put an edge on it with the steel. She took it back and was quite pleased to feel the difference. Sanchez came in at that point and inspected the edge of the knife and then promptly disappeared. He was soon back with a handful of knives from their kitchen; all in need of a good edge.
Koki and his family were here for a few days. They all enjoyed the beach, the pool and the house. Their peaceful visit was interupted when Doug stepped off a rock into the water at the beach and was stung by a sting ray in the arch of his foot. It was extremely painful, and Doug just wanted to put his foot in a bucket of hot water. Koki thought he needed to go to the clinic. He consulted with Sanchez who suggested they go to the home of the president of the water for the village. He cut open a lime and spread the juice all over Doug´s foot. He didn´t feel any appreciable difference in the pain level, so they went to the clinic. The doctor at the clinic immediately put Doug´s foot in a bucket of hot water! As long as he kept his foot in hot water the pain was tolerable. He kept it soaking for the rest of the day and wrapped his foot in hot rice bags for the night. By the next morning the pain had disappeared.
Stormy and the kitten have made huge progress toward a peaceful existence in the same house. Doug would make Stormy sit by his side and stay when the cat was around. He would make her stay and gave her lots of praise for doing so. I´ve actually seen them nose to nose without any hissing, spitting or barking. It looks like a stand-off, and eventually the cat will look or wander away. On occasion Stormy will still nip at her when the cat isn´t paying attention. They certainly aren´t friends, but not total enemies anymore. The cat initiates some of the drama when Stormy is quiet by jumping at her with her back arched, hair on end, and hissing. It´s a quick attack, instantaneously over and the cat is off to other things.
I returned from my trip to the US Saturday morning. I left Denver early on Thursday morning and was in Lima at midnight. Friday I took the bus north. It sure felt good to be home.
The day I left I (the 9th) we were in the village of El Ñuro with the elders of the local church. We had been approached a couple of weeks prior to this by the president of the church. He was soliciting help in building the addition to their church. The current population of El Ñuro exceeds 1500 and the church is too small to accomodate their needs.
We went up to see the church and get a feel for their needs. The church itself was a simple structure with steel trusses spanning its width. The windows along each side displayed stained glass windows and it was very beautiful-even though it was much simpler and less ornate than most catholic churches we´ve seen here. The last wind storm we had had taken a small section of the corrigated tin roof off.
Outside, they had begun construction of their addition. There are four walls in various stages of completion with a doorway. There is no floor and no central columns. They didn´t have a plan for the construction, but had ideas for what they wanted. For example, they wanted the roof to slope away from the entrance so the rains could be channeled to a causeway carrying it away for the village.
Doug immediately began to take measurements and to ask questions. Did they want steel trusses in the addition as well? What was their thinking about the roof? What kind of structure did they envision? I translated as best as I could but pretty soon Doug and the elders were using a brick to draw on the outside wall. In relatively short order, we had a general idea of what they wanted. Doug said he´d think about it, draw up a plan and run it by an engineer.
It was nice to interact on a personal level with the residents of El Ñuro. We are hoping to be able to contribute and support the community and become a part of it. Looking at the village and their homes-compare them to ours and you´d think we live on different planets. Hopefully it won´t be us and them, but we can find some common ground to share.
Here a few stories to catch you up on what has been happening here.
Doug was in the kitchen one evening while Juana was cooking. Doug noticed she was sawing away at whatever she was attempting to cut. He asked to see the knife and put an edge on it with the steel. She took it back and was quite pleased to feel the difference. Sanchez came in at that point and inspected the edge of the knife and then promptly disappeared. He was soon back with a handful of knives from their kitchen; all in need of a good edge.
Koki and his family were here for a few days. They all enjoyed the beach, the pool and the house. Their peaceful visit was interupted when Doug stepped off a rock into the water at the beach and was stung by a sting ray in the arch of his foot. It was extremely painful, and Doug just wanted to put his foot in a bucket of hot water. Koki thought he needed to go to the clinic. He consulted with Sanchez who suggested they go to the home of the president of the water for the village. He cut open a lime and spread the juice all over Doug´s foot. He didn´t feel any appreciable difference in the pain level, so they went to the clinic. The doctor at the clinic immediately put Doug´s foot in a bucket of hot water! As long as he kept his foot in hot water the pain was tolerable. He kept it soaking for the rest of the day and wrapped his foot in hot rice bags for the night. By the next morning the pain had disappeared.
Stormy and the kitten have made huge progress toward a peaceful existence in the same house. Doug would make Stormy sit by his side and stay when the cat was around. He would make her stay and gave her lots of praise for doing so. I´ve actually seen them nose to nose without any hissing, spitting or barking. It looks like a stand-off, and eventually the cat will look or wander away. On occasion Stormy will still nip at her when the cat isn´t paying attention. They certainly aren´t friends, but not total enemies anymore. The cat initiates some of the drama when Stormy is quiet by jumping at her with her back arched, hair on end, and hissing. It´s a quick attack, instantaneously over and the cat is off to other things.
Friday, September 10, 2010
9 September 2010
Feedback tells me these pictures didn't come through last night, so I am uploading them again tonight.
I had a bout with diahrea last night so laid low today.
I will be traveling to the US starting tomorrow night. I'm going to visit Doug's mom and family.
Then I'll take off for Denver to visit my two sisters. I'll be gone for about two weeks.
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