A Pretty "Crabby" Day!

Mark and I paid our electric bill today at “Punto de Pago” and the man on the street selling crabs pretty much summed up how I felt. It’s hard to have a bad day in Cuenca, after all it’s paradise and even the worst day here was my best day in the States.

Instead of waking up to the usual sun, blue sky and white fluffy clouds, it was raining. And then I got an alert e-mail that my Kindle book was under review and would be held up for 4 to 28 days! At first, I thought Kindle was running behind and their “24 hour window” had suddenly expanded. On further investigation—in my stupor the other night/morning—I hit the “send” button twice! They had two titles by the same author. Hmm…I wonder who that second author could be? I had to go through the whole process again. It was painful—very painful! That pretty much sums up the publishing world—hurry up and wait!

So to get me out of my “crabby” mood, my hubby said, “Do you want to go pay the light bill with me and stop by Maria’s (aka -- “the German pastry place)?” Paying the light bill never looked so good! Now that we have everything all straightened out, we cut our electric bill in half.

We were paying commercial rates for residential (long story), but we fixed that up on Monday. It turns out that Ecuador actually rewards you for saving electricity. They have three rates: country, residential and commercial. If you go over a certain amount of “watts,” you get billed the higher rate which also affects your garbage bill (don’t ask me why?). So the less you use, the more you are rewarded and the less you pay on everything, including “basura”—the garbage. I started to feel better when I realized we cut our bill in half just by not using the electric dryer.

Maria’s Alemania was a sweet spot in the day as we read “El Tiempo,” sipped coffee and munched on cinnamon rolls—the size of "hubcaps"! Just think, a little bit of Germany in Cuenca. The sky started to clear and by the time we left, the sun was shining. And to make me smile, Mark bought me roses at SuperMaxi (a dozen for 1.79)—20 percent off on Wednesdays for produce and flowers. They’re my absolute favorite--“Fire and Ice.”

It’s the little things that can turn a day around and it doesn’t take much for me: beautiful sky, white clouds, sunshine, a river full of white rapids and a sweet puppy to welcome us back home.

Later in the evening we met up with some friends who invited us to the Inca Bar and Tavern for “A Nite of Fly Fishing.” No kidding…there’s a fly fishing club in Cuenca! The Inca Lounge and Bistro has the best French fries, more like thinly sliced potatoes, puffed up, and sprinkled with the perfect amount of salt. We didn’t even have to ride the bus to Inca—Jim and Angie—took us in their SUV. And we learned some interesting tips about driving—you need to tip the guy who watches your car while you dine!

The food was great, the fellowship was superb and I’m no longer in a “crabby” mood. There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not grateful for life in paradise. The night ended with both my sister and my brother calling us—at the same time. A pretty "crabby" day sure turned out sweet!

Until next time…hasta luego!