Five Things I Can't Live Without!

We've lived in Cuenca for almost five years and most days I feel like we brought too much stuff (and we only came with four suitcases). And then other days, I lament over what I left behind (mostly sentimental stuff -- photo albums). I didn't have time to make copies of all the pictures because we were in a time crunch. In three months, we sold our house, packed up, married a son, and left the country. Not a bad way to do things!

These are a few of my favorite things!

But there are some things that make my life a little easier here and one is not an iPhone. I do not own one and I will not have one. I'm like Gibs on NCIS, I use a flip phone. It does the job. And quite frankly, I can't be bothered with phone calls; I have enough e-mails to answer.

Here's my "I can't live without it" list:
(1) Samsung Galaxy. I read my Kindle books on it, listen to the news, watch movies (Netflix). It's three years old and still going strong.
(2) iPad Tablet for my hubby. He can't live without his iPad like I can't live without my Samsung. I only borrow it when I want to listen to the ocean wave app. Pure heaven!
(3) Good set of earphones. I love the Sony ones that hook around your ears. I listen to music to go to sleep, so they're comfortable. Cuenca can get noisy, especially on the weekends, so the fireworks can pop, the dogs can bark and the roosters can crow and I'm fine with it!
(4) Brita Pitcher and water filters. I've seen them at Supermaxi (grocery store for gringos) and then they were gone. I think they were a knock-off brand. But you know the drill...if you see it...buy it or else it will be gone.
(5) Internet Extender by Netgear. This little gadget makes our life easier by extending our Internet to all the rooms. Our condo has an American set-up, meaning the bedrooms are not all in one hallway. There's the master bedroom and bath on one side of the apartment and the other bath and bedroom are on the other side, separated by the living room, kitchen and hallway. Well, our Internet is in our master bedroom and the other bedroom we use as a study/guest room. You see where I'm going with this -- don't you? Someone in the study isn't getting Internet! Problem solved and now everyone is happy...thanks to Netgear.

The last item(s), I wasn't going to mention, but since we've had an unusually wet "springtime" in Cuenca, I'm so thankful for my rain boots. They're by Chooka and classy enough so they don't look like I've been working in the fields, but practical enough that my feet stay dry while puddle splashing.

And, of course, my Lindsay Phillips ballet flats. One shoe and 30 snap-on pretties.Can you believe it? I've had them for three years and they simply won't wear out. You can dress them up or dress them down and everyone thinks I have 30 pairs of shoes. Not! I call it "jewelry" for shoes and wish I had thought of the idea myself. Way to go Jennifer!

Anyway, it's a short list and everyone's different, but the longer I'm here, the less I miss. Of course, you can find electronic stuff here, you're just going to pay more for it. It's not like we live in a third-world country!

Lindsay Phillips Ballet Flats with Snap-Ons

Chooka Rain Boots

Remember: Less is more!

Until next time...hasta luego!