Living the Life

Do you Remember

The European Cup of the champions and the inter-city Fairs cup both started in 1955 and are awarded in?

Soccer,    Hockey,    Volleyball,    Cricket,

Did you Know

To help keep mosquitoes from getting in your house plant near the doors Basil or Tansy, as the smell is  repellent to mosquitoes.

Look out for the construction

SUNDAY BRUNCH

# POACHED EGGS BENEDICT # HUEVOS ESCALFADOS BENEDICTO SMOKED SALMON & SCRAMBLED EGGS
SALMON AHUMADO & HUEVOS REVUELTOS HOMEMADE WAFFLES WITH MAPLE SYRUP & ICE CREAM WAFFLES CASEROS CON ALMIBAR DE MAPLE & HELADO GRILLED CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD WITH BACON ENSALADA CESAR CON POLLO A LA GRILLA Y TOCINO TRADITIONAL ENGLISH BREAKFAST DESAYUNO TRADICIONAL INGLES # QUICHE OF THE DAY WITH GREEN BEANS SALAD # QUICHE DEL DIA CON ENSALADA DE VAINITAS EGG OMELETTE WITH MUSHROOMS, CHEESE OR HAM OMELET DE HUEVO CON HONGOS, QUESO O JAMON CARROT CAKE & ICE CREAM TORTA DE ZANAHORIA & HELADO COFFEE OR TEA INCLUDED / CAFÉ O TE INCLUIDO NOTE: TO INSURE AVAILABILITY R.S.V.P. FOR ITEMS WITH #. THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOYAL SUPPORT.

Under construction but open for business 

When	Sun, 29 July, 10:00 – 14:00 GMT-05:00
Where	BIG RALPH'S RESTAURANT

What do you do all day?

     A question that I have been asked a few times is, "Now that you are retired, what do you do all day?"

     Well, there are things that I would do if I were still working. I still get up in the morning and go to bed at night, I have breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we take the dogs out, we both enjoy reading and socializing.

     The big difference is that we have the time to enjoy those activities and can devote additional time to them.

     We still enjoy going to the cinema, and visiting new and different places; and again, we have more time to devote to them. The one thing that I have not been able to work out is that I would fit all of that in when I was working; but now, I do not seem to have enough hours in the day to fit it all in.

One thing is for sure. Down here, everything takes much longer to do. After I get up in the morning, I  go for a swim in the pool and then have breakfast; after that, I get on the computer and look at the news and read my email. Reading one's email can be a task. Here in our house, we have the local phone company internet service which is the best. On average, the system is down 3 times a day and the speed can vary so much that downloading a video from Netflix is just impossible.

      Do not come to a place like this and expect it to function like or even close to where you have come from.

     The simple act of employing a contractor is, even with recommendations, frustrating. Here is an example.

     We wanted to get some work done and needed to hire a contractor to carry out the work. We drew up an outline and presented it to the prospective contenders.

     The first one came in and we went over the outline (our Spanish is not the best, most people like us make the mistake of believing that we understand what they are saying). He said that he can start in the morning. We asked what would be the cost, and do you not want to take measurements?

His answer was three weeks and $100.00 a day plus materials.

The second one came with several friends and was happy to start that day.

The third one pulled out a tape measure and asked for a pencil so he could write things down on what looked like a receipt from a store.

     Since we have lived here, we have made many mistakes in who to use and what to pay for things. Here is an example of what is called 'gringo pricing'.

     We looked at an apartment, not with the intention of buying, but to give us an idea of what is available for some friends that are interested in moving here. The apartment has three bedrooms, four bathrooms, maid's quarters, pool and BBQ. We looked around and asked what the price was and we were told without hesitation that the price was 87K.

Now, to be honest, we both thought that this was a good price and left thinking that it may be a good investment.

     The next day, we had a friend, who is a native of Ecuador, visit the same property and she showed interest in the property. When she asked how much the property was being sold for, the answer was 60K and that is open to negotiation.

     Sorry, went a bit off track there, but what else do I have to do all day?