Sunday, August 29, 2010

The Weekend in Review

This weekend has been full of surprises: we have met fellow bloggers, folks who have e-mailed us and finally come to see Cuenca for themselves, attended one of our first expat events, shopped for furniture, and are considering adopting a puppy (we think it has something to do with the empty nest syndrome, but we're not sure!).

Saturday: After shopping all day (by hoofing it around town), we finally put the final touches on our new apartment -- minus the furniture that is being made for the living room.  In the evening, we attended our first expat event at the California Kitchen (dinner and a show!). The meal was excellent and we enjoyed lasagna (we're Italian -- of course), and then the FAMA dancers performed. Just watching them made our body parts hurt: Mark's back started to ache and my shoulders were in pain. Neither one of us can remember when we were that flexible!

The entire weekend we have been contemplating getting a dog (Shih Tzu). We fell in love with Fredi (Brian and Shellie's dog) after meeting them this week at the post office. And then we couldn't stop thinking about what it would mean to have our own little "girl." We even picked out a name for her -- Canela (cinnamon in Spanish). We actually practiced saying "Canela" out loud! We haven't figured out the particulars yet, but we know that it may cause some complications in our travel arrangements so we have held off on rushing to the "vet" to put in our order.

To tell you the truth, we miss our kids. This past week we received a package from our son and his wife -- the DVD of their wedding. Mark and I ripped open the package and sat down to watch the video (start to finish). We cried -- no sobbed -- through the entire thing and then watched it again! For those of you who have been following our story, we left for Cuenca just three days after our son's wedding. To make sure that our feelings for a "puppy" are not to be mistaken for "homesickness" for our kids, we've decided to wait a week and see how we feel (doggy wise).

Sunday:  Normally, Mark and I attend church (Centro Cristiano), but this morning we congregated at Parque Calderon to meet with fellow bloggers -- Shellie and Brian (and Fredi!); Clark and Brenda (they have their kids visiting from the States -- how wonderful is that?). After warding off the shoe shine boys, we met with Mike and Kim (they're checking out Cuenca and today was their 40th anniversary!). I tried to find some horrible things to say about Cuenca and Ecuador in general, but I couldn't think of anything -- not one thing! Okay, maybe a couple of things like the "femur breakers" in the sidewalks that make me pay attention to where I'm stepping. Or the fact that the Internet still doesn't work as smoothly as I would like, but those are minor (itsy-bitsy) things. We feel blessed to call Cuenca "home" -- with or without our kids or a puppy (yet!).

Tonight we turned on the Emmy's and found it to be absolutely boring, so I took the time to sort through pictures and write my editor an e-mail. I've been sitting on a writing contract and don't know whether I'm ready to plunge into a six-month book commitment (I'm retired -- remember?). After wading through the nine-page contract and reading the fine print, I don't have peace...I just need more time. I don't even have a sofa or an office yet and with the Internet being slightly unpredictable, my deadline would have to be extended (more on that later...).

Sundays are my favorite day of the week; the traffic comes to a standstill, families take time to be together (picnics in the park or by the river), and life is savored like a fine wine. In fact, on our way home, a young family invited us to picnic with them along the Tomebamba! We thanked them politely, but told them we had just eaten and that our apartment was just across the street. They told us how fortunate we were to have such an amazing place by the river and we agreed...(we are truly blessed!).

Tomorrow is the beginning of a new week and I speak for both of us when I say, "We love weekends!"

Until next time...hasta luego!


Consuelo y Marco

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

We want to get a new puppy too, but with the house on the market and all the logistics of moving we'll just have to wait. Can't wait to see what you finally decide.

Mary

Connie Pombo said...

Yep, it's a big step, but we sure don't want to wait NINE months! ;-)

Karen Kimbler said...

We were in a bus on Sunday and saw you and Mark walking along Primero de Mayo taking pictures of the bridge. I was hoping Mark would look at the bus, we were right there and I was all ready to wave like a maniac, but no.. I was not so lucky... or maybe our company on the bus was not so lucky to see the crazy gringa lady waving and leaping to her feet! P.S. I hope you get a puppy, another one for me to smother in love... Randy has major allergies... darn..

indel said...

I don't know if this helps or not, talking about the book contract. I've read your post through the last line, without skipping any word (do I get a free, signed, first edition copy, now?)
Nicholas.

Connie Pombo said...

Karen, how funny! I wish we could have spotted you; I think I was about ready for the bus at that point! We got in our Sunday walk and I remember that picture exactly because it didn't turn out...(darn!). It was such a beautiful view. As soon as we get our living room furniture next week, we'll have you and Randy over (to hug on our puppy!). ;-)

Nicholas: All that glitters is not gold! I've got the book plotted out, but I'm just having too much fun (not writing!). But I can't sit on the contract forever...I will have to flip a coin -- I think! If I do, you can certainly have a free, signed, first edition!

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