Time Passages ... Like the two years since my last entry. Bobbe (sister) and I visited our friends in Cuenca, Ecuador. We stayed for two months and became quite familiar with this lovely and friendly city, enjoying using our Spanish again and making new friends.

We had contemplated retiring there (our friends, the Keyeses, are completely at home in Cuenca and wish to live nowhere else, ever) but the climate is too chilly for Bobbe and the assisted living too nonexistent for my satisfaction (looking ahead to our old age--and no, we are not "old" yet!).

 I am volunteering once a week at the Democratic headquarters here in Green Valley, Arizona, and I hope to get started soon as a volunteer reading coach with a couple of elementary school children through the Reading Seed Program.

Bobbe has discovered a passion and a talent for making jewelry, specifically earrings, so she is pursuing that activity with great satisfaction.

 It is September, and we've had one fall-ish day ... a hint of coming coolness. The monsoon rains have been generous for the first time in years, so July and August were not as hot as in the past. Still, cool air is just around the corner. Sigh ... .

Springtime in Southern Arizona

Great rain this winter--the best in, what? Twelve years? Result--the worst allergy season I've had since I suffered through seven weeks in San Antonio during juniper season in early 2004. The locals there call the juniper "mountain cedar," and when it comes into season, the allergens waft down from the hills like a fog and settle in like Crockett and Bowie and Travis in 1836!

I thank my Creator that this winter hasn't been that bad, but it's been bad enough.

It almost makes me long for the other season--you know, the one that I hate worse than fried okra and liver--the one whose name we do not say lest we plunge into depression. The one that, God willin' and the creek don't rise, I'll escape from one of these days when Bobbe (sis) and I toodle off to Cuenca, Ecuador, with the two pooches--to that cool, comfortable, pueblo in the Andes known for its beauty, graciousness, and cleanliness.

Ay, Dios mio. Ojala que sea pronto!

Gem of the Andes--Cuenca, Ecuador

Christmas is coming and my good friends Dean & Bill K. are getting ready to make the big retirement move to Cuenca, Ecuador. (I'm envious, but don't tell them!)

Originally browsing the Internet for an economical place to spend their "golden" years, the Ks were looking at Costa Rica when I first proposed Ecuador to them. Years ago I had discovered that this small, yet huge South American country was beginning to surface as a top contender among economical, charming, civilized retirement spots for the international community. It did not take the Ks long to fall in love (via the Internet) with Ecuador.

They were primarily looking at Quito until I suggested that they look to Cuenca, cultural center of the country. That did it! Experienced world travelers, they knew a gem when they saw it, and they recognized the new home they had been searching for. Dean (like me) hates hot weather, so she is particularly thrilled with the "eternal spring" climate of the 8,300-foot altitude of Cuenca, where it never freezes and rarely gets into the 80s. Bill (looking for challenges) is delighted with the endless opportunities for small businesses and volunteer work. And when they read that the Americans living in the country are not organized into expat enclaves, they saw a wonderful opportunity to immerse themselves in a new way of life.

I occasionally read negative comments about Ecuador, but mostly from people who've never lived abroad or people who are looking for Little America abroad. Legion are the favorable comments about Ecuador--Cuenca, in particular--that describe it as cultured, genteel, picturesque, and friendly to Americans; with a people who are cheerful, hard-working, and welcoming.

Personally, I'm making some retirement plans of my own and look forward to my visit with Dean and Bill!

Quest 2009

My sister Bobbe & I left Green Valley on our 4700-mile trek on July 1. After a sad parting with my babies (Zoe and Boomer) at the Creature Comforts kennels in Tucson, we struck out for Palm Desert, CA, to see close friends Mary Anne & Ralph. We took the southern route, turning north at El Centro, so we could take a look at Salton Sea. On the way we enjoyed seeing the big sand dunes near the CA/AZ border--Bobbe snapped a couple of good pictures as we sped past them.

Unfortunately, Salton Sea has died--algae all over the floor of the sea is killing all the fish. There is no more tourism, that we could see from the west bank, which, when you get within 20 feet of the water smells of rotten fish and garbage! It was sad to see such ravaging deterioration in the six short years since I had driven by there.

Mary Anne & Ralph are doing great! They are not only extended family to me, but they are also terrific hosts. We spent a fun afternoon at a casino, including a fabulous buffet dinner, at which we celebrated Bobbe's birthday a day early. Had a grand time! (I'll upload pictures in a couple of days.)

Popped over to Murrieta, CA (80 miles from Palm Desert) yesterday morning (July 3) to spend the 3rd/4th with another dear, dear friend, Carol H. She took us to an incredible Asian buffet for Bobbe's birthday! Wow! She has the most exquisite grandchildren whom we've gotten to know and love in the short time we've been here. It was great to see Carol's daughter Ellen, too--a terrific mom and a lovely and accomplished woman.

I beat Bobbe & Carol at Trivial Pursuits (computer edition) and Carol and Bobbe sailed past me in Perquacky!

Tomorrow morning (July 5) Bobbe & I will be zooming up the 5 to San Jose. More later!

THE HAND OF TIME

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.

-- The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

I think this verse cannot be improved upon as a poetic expression of
the passage of time.

It's been quite a while since I visited my own blog. I've been living
one day at a time, preparing to launch a website that I hope will
be my retirement income. I hope that all who stumble across this
humble blog are finding serenity in not looking back, except to appreciate.

Have a great day! Today!

Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow ... Snow!

Move over Seattle/Tacoma--it's snowing at this moment in Green Valley, Arizona (20 miles south of Tucson)! What a sight! And don't you know those newly arrived snowbirds are asking themselves, "What the ...?"

The Year the Christmas Lights Went Out

After a sumptuous Christmas Eve feast at Trivetti's Restaurant and Piano Bar with my sister, I proposed that we drive around the community and look at the holiday lights and decorations (a traditional Christmas Eve pastime). Never have I seen so much darkness surrounding so many homes at this time of year. I was prepared to ooh and aah over even the most trite and overdone lighting schemes, but I was completely unprepared for the darkness. Not one in 15 homes was decorated. Nay, not even one in 50! And our Lubbock sister reported similar conditions there, too. Surely, we thought, it wasn't because of the pennies one could save on electricity--one could always decorate without electricity for daytime enjoyment. I can't figure it out. Does anyone have any ideas why there was so little outward display of celebration this year? Or maybe southern Arizona and the Texas Panhandle were unique. Was your community ablaze with yuletide cheer, or, like ours, was your community extra somber in its "celebration" of Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa in 2008?

[Comment from author, September, 2021:

In looking back over this entry, I can now see how this condition may have come about. The year 2008 was a disastrous year for the stock market and real estate, among other things. My own retirement account lost about 40% of its value! Little wonder, then, that the nation may not have felt like decorating for Christmas. As a democrat and enthusiastic Obama supporter, however, I found it to be a very good year politically.]