Sunday 30 June 2013

Garage Sale

Garage Sale 

Well, for the first one, it went quite well. We had a good number of people turning out to sell stuff and an equal number of people showing up to buy stuff.
The bar was open and food was available, so I think everything was covered. There were people making connections, and with all this going on, it set the stage for a repeat in a month's time.
Here are some images from the Garage sale at the Sin Bar.

Art in Glass

From the Sea

Making a sale

Bloody Mary special

Four

That is just my size!

Came in a truck, left in a box

Such a deal!


  

Thursday 27 June 2013

Entertainment for July 4th 2013

Sin Bar 


SIN 1st ANNUAL 4th of JULY PARTY

Open to the Public

Thursday, July 4, 2013, 6:00pm - 11:59pm

Come on down 
SIN will be serving hamburgers & hot dogs.
Hamburgers $2.50
Hot Dogs $1.00
Both come with chips.

PANIC HOUR STARTS @9:15pm.-10:15 pm.

$1.00 BEERS
$1.00 SHOTS
$1.00 special cocktails

See you at 
THE FAVORITE PLACE ON THE PENINSULA!!!


Make room this Saturday for the guest Chef
             MARCO LIAO owner of DOLAR PIZZA.

 Saturday, 6:00pm - 11:59pm

He will be serving;
Pork,chicken,salad and fugazza bread from his two ancient neapolitan masonry ovens and Chinese duck.

All this great food for $6.00 a plate.

DINNER STARTS @ 6.00p.m.until he runs out.

 NO RESERVATIONS are REQUIRED.

SIN has the

        friendliest bartenders and they will be serving drink specials all night.

SEE YOU AT THE FAVORITE PLACE ON THE PENINSULA!!!!!!




Do not Forget the garage sale
 Saturday June 29th 2013



"Please bring change, small bills, and plastic bags to the garage sale!"



Garage Sale

Saturday June 29

Sin Bar

09.00am to 12.00n

For those that have brought the kitchen sink here with you, here is a chance to get rid of the stuff you do not need and buy stuff you still do not need.

The first garage sale in Salinas

Bring the stuff you can carry. If you have stuff that is too big or you have no way to get it to the Sin Bar, take  a photograph and print it with all the info.

your name
contact number
what you want for it 
a description 


And bring it down to Sin Bar and make it a social event! 

Wednesday 26 June 2013

Local Events and places to eat.

Winter Solstice 

Here we have just passed the winter solstice. This year we were treated to a full moon that was at its closest to the earth  for 5 years. On the night of the solstice, the sky was cloudy; but 2 nights later when the moon was at its fullest, the sky was clear.
Out came the telescope and the camera. Trying to take photos of the moon is not as easy as it looks. Using a tripod and a long exposure can show you just how much the moon moves in a second or so. The images that we were able to get through the telescope were crisp and clear, even to the point that we could see a man waving a flag up there.



In Ecuador, the solstice celebration is for the returning of the sun from the north. There were a number of places that had a three day festival; I was not able to get there this year, but I hope to next year. 


These are the images I was involved in many years ago before the fences went up at Stone Henge. I lived just a few miles away and would picnic there in the summer.




Dance Dance Dance

If you are interested in learning Salsa, Merange, and other Latin dance moves, then check this out.
This is a chance for those in Salinas to swing those hips.






Not long ago we had a new Chinese restaurant open called Wang, located on 1st street next to Budget rent a car.
So three of us went in there and had three different dishes. We were glad that we had tried this place because the food was very good. I cannot say the same for the service, but they did have a party going on  at the time we were there.
We tried to order drinks, but they had no water and no ice. We were limited to cola and OJ, but as I said, the redeeming point was that the food was very good and the cook came over to help us with the menu. So I would say, give it a try.  








I am sure that there will be activities at both Sin Bar and Score Bar for the 4th of July. I have asked them to email me as far as what is going on, but I have not received any word yet.
Last year, most of the activity was at Score Bar. But, this year, I think that it will be shared between Sin Bar and Score Bar.
On a different note, although not in time for the 4th, two new gringo hang outs opening soon, one on the Malecon, and the other by the bus terminal in Salinas. Kevin has said that he will email me information on the food and opening. The other has gone through a name change before it has opened and will be serving breakfast and have ribs as a special. More news when I get it on these new hangouts.



Just in

Ok, here is the scoop on the street:



Gary and Kathryn Van Horn Kelly are opening a Texas Barbecue Restaurant, on the Malecon, in
August.  The property is wide and long enough to host many guests and provide a  view of the playa.
Down below are photos of the interior as you enter...right...standing table area, the closed door on the front  will be opened to provide a view of the playa.

Opposite this area is the  intricately decorated bar....hosting all our favorites.  It doesn't look like
much now, but Look Out..the word on the street to me is.
What is Texas BBQ?  In Espanol
Que es BBQ de Texas?  
There is excitement from the locals that someone new is in town.

The vastness of the restaurant just keeps going.  Brick wall work here..and over there a nice look
of tile.  Oh yes, another nice touch is the standing tables and side seating.  Banos will be large and
accessible.

But, it's more than that.  The restaurant will have a bar off the entrance.  A little further up is the breakfast
area..nice size area to move around in.  I like the whole layout of the restaurant.  It feels like where I
would like to hang out and eat such tasty food. 
 Speaking of tasty food...there's a large barbecue pit out back....
mmmmmmmmmmmmm I personally like their baked beans...first time in my life to confess that...but
the food is really good, and I'm from Philly.

I like the architecture, movement of the space and total ambiance to have a spot on the Malecon to
just hang out eat, drink and enjoy each other's company.  The place has nice flow..good karma.

It's a welcome site for new businesses to appear. This will provide locals with employment and training that will enhance your visit here.

Smokin Texas BBQ June 2012 025.JPG
BBQ pit
Smokin Texas BBQ June 2012 002.JPG 
Smokin Texas BBQ June 2012 010.JPG
viey from the Melecon
Smokin Texas BBQ June 2012 013.JPG
Inside view



This month



June 26
June 26, 1893 - Illinois Gov. John P. Altgeld issued a controversial pardon for three anarchists convicted after the Haymarket Riot. The riot had occurred in Chicago in May of 1886, after 180 police officers advanced on 1,300 persons listening to speeches by labor activists and anarchists. A bomb was thrown. Seven police were killed and over 50 wounded. Four anarchists were then charged with conspiracy to kill, convicted and hanged while another committed suicide in jail. Three others were given lengthy jail terms, then pardoned by Gov. Altgeld in a move that likely cost him his political career.
June 26, 1945 - The United Nations Charter was signed in San Francisco by 50 nations. The Charter was ratified on October 24, 1945.
Birthday - American author Pearl Buck (1892-1973) was born in Hillsboro, West Virginia. She became a noted authority on China and wrote books including The Good Earth which revealed the mysterious Chinese culture to Western readers. She received a Nobel Prize in 1938 for her many books.
Birthday - Champion athlete Mildred "Babe" Didrikson (1914-1952) was born in Port Arthur, Texas. Nicknamed after baseball legend Babe Ruth, she won two gold medals at the 1932 Olympics, setting world records in the javelin throw and high hurdle. She then took up golf, winning the 1946 U.S. Women's Amateur Tournament. In 1947, she won 17 straight golf championships and became the first American winner of the British Ladies' Amateur Tournament. As a pro golfer, she won the U.S. Women's Open in 1950 and 1954. She also excelled in softball, baseball, swimming, figure skating, billiards, and even football. In 1950, she was named 'woman athlete of the first half of the 20th century' by the Associated Press. She died of cancer at age 42.
June 27
Birthday - American musician Mildred J. Hill (1859-1916) was born in Louisville, Kentucky. She composed the melody for what is now the world's most often sung song, Happy Birthday to You.
June 28
June 28, 1862 - During the American Civil War, the siege of the Confederate city of Vicksburg began as Admiral David Farragut succeeded in taking a fleet past the Mississippi River stronghold. The siege continued over a year.
June 28, 1914 - Archduke Francis Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Austria and his wife were assassinated at Sarajevo, touching off a conflict between the Austro-Hungarian government and Serbia that escalated into World War I.
June 28, 1919 - The signing of the Treaty of Versailles formally ended World War I. According to the terms, Germany was assessed sole blame for the war, forced give up Alsace-Lorraine and overseas colonies, and pay reparations of $15 Billion. The treaty also prohibited German rearmament.
Birthday - Flemish painter and diplomat Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) was born in Siegen, Westphalia, Germany. Regarded as the greatest of Flemish painters, he was considered the master artist of his day. He was also skilled in science and politics and spoke seven languages. Among his masterpieces; Le Coup de Lance and The Descent from the Cross.
Birthday - Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) was born in Geneva, Switzerland. His book The Social Contract stated that no laws are binding unless agreed upon by the people, a concept that deeply affected the French. In his novel Emile he challenged harsh child-rearing methods of his day and argued that young people should be given freedom to enjoy sunlight, exercise and play. "Man is born free," he wrote in The Social Contract, "and everywhere he is in chains."
Birthday - German-American physicist Maria Goeppert Mayer (1906-1972) was born in Kattowitz, Germany. She participated in the secret Manhattan Project, the building of the first atomic bomb. She later became the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize, sharing the 1963 prize for physics for works explaining atomic nuclei, known as the nuclear shell theory.
June 29
June 29, 1972 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled (5-4) that capital punishment was a violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibiting "cruel and unusual punishment." The decision spared the lives of 600 individuals then sitting on death row. Four years later, in another ruling, the Court reversed itself and determined the death penalty was not cruel and unusual punishment. On October 4, 1976, the ban was lifted on the death penalty in cases involving murder.
Birthday - Social worker Julia Lathrop (1858-1932) was born in Rockford, Illinois. She fought to establish child labor laws and was instrumental in establishing the first juvenile court in the U.S. In 1912, President Taft named her to head the newly created Children's Bureau. In 1925, she became a member of the Child Welfare Committee of the League of Nations.
Birthday - American surgeon William Mayo (1861-1939) was born in LeSeuer, Minnesota. He was one of the Mayo brothers, pioneers of the concept of the group clinic, bringing together specialists from a number of medical fields to better perform diagnoses and treatment. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, became an internationally known medical center.
June 30
June 30, 1971 - The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was enacted, granting the right to vote in all federal, state and local elections to American citizens 18 years or older. The U.S. thus gained an additional 11 million voters. The minimum voting age in most states had been 21.
June 30, 1997 - In Hong Kong, the flag of the British Crown Colony was officially lowered at midnight and replaced by a new flag representing China's sovereignty and the official transfer of power.


   



Wednesday 19 June 2013

Garage Sale

Garage Sale

Saturday June 29

Sin Bar

09.00am to 12.00n

For those that have brought the kitchen sink here with you, here is a chance to get rid of the stuff you do not need and buy stuff you still do not need.

The first garage sale in Salinas

Bring the stuff you can carry. If you have stuff that is too big or you have no way to get it to the Sin Bar, take  a photograph and print it with all the info.

your name
contact number
what you want for it 
a description 


And bring it down to Sin Bar and make it a social event! 


Friday 14 June 2013

Sunset Cruise



Sunset Cruise
The last time we were at Sin Bar, Edison came around with a flyer touting a sunset cruise. He said that it would be leaving next Viernes ( Friday), we were to meet outside a local bank on the Malecon, and he would be able to take 25 people, no dogs.
Edison came around to the house to drop off the tickets; we asked how it was going, and he said that it was oversubscribed.
It is Viernes, we are outside the bank at the time stated and no boat and no Edison. Just then, when everybody was getting concerned, I get a call from Mary saying that the meeting place has been changed. So, we all marched down the Malecon and met up with the crew and the rest of the passengers, where we were presented with a glass of mimosa each.
As I suspected, the boarding was to be a wet landing. This means that we wade into the water, get on a small boat to take us to a larger boat. Well, this is all part of the fun of doing something different! It took the small boat 3 trips to bring all the passengers,crew, and the entertainment on to the boat; there was a brief word from Edison, and then we were on our way.
No sooner were we on our way, then the drinks and food were on offer, the music was playing from large speakers, and we were leaving Salinas behind. Spirits were high and conversations were in full gear.
The sea was not rough, and the waves were close together, so very little pitch and roll. As we moved away from the shore, it became clear that we were not to be treated to a spectacular sunset as the clouds rolled in and the sun fell away without notice. That did not dampen the high spirits on the boat. The one letdown was that the entertainment was not able to play due to the generator not working, and all of the instruments were electric.
The food that was offered was very good: pizza, empanadas, ceviche, postres and no shortage of drinks to wash it down. This was a great opportunity to meet new people and catch up with friends whom you have not seen for a while. The whole thing lasted about 3 1/2 hours at a cost of $35.00 per person. I thought it was a great value. If you think you would like to try this type of event, contact Edison Salinas at 081400900 in Ecuador.
Below are some images I captured while on the boat. Enjoy!



























Public information 


Subject: Requirements - Visiting Galapagos Islands

Galapagos Island

From Monday 20 May 2013 the Governing Council of the special regime of Galapagos is implementing the new system of migration control to the Islands. The institution requesting permanent and temporary residents approaching Control of residence of San Cristobal and Santa Cruz offices during office hours to register your personal details and your fingerprint. It is estimated that this process takes between three and four minutes. On the other hand people, who are outside the Islands, must register at the airports of Quito and Guayaquil. The registry consists of read fingerprints of persons and completes your details. The process will allow storing the information of citizens and improving the immigration control of the province.

Record fingerprints and fill out an online form are new mechanisms for the control of the tourists and residents of the Galapagos Islands. This new system began to be used this week (May 20-2013) and users must go through this control if you want to get to that province.

The first step is to login to the portal www.cgg.gob.ec, the Council of Government of Galapagos.

There, on the top tab of residence you must Access the service for tourists and start the pre-registration. A series of basic data, such as names, identification and civil status must be filled. But there are also others that indicate the site where you will stay tourists, the day of entrance and exit, number of flight, airline, among others. After filling these data will be a pre check certification. This process takes between two and three minutes. Certified call, the day of the flight, at the counter of the Government Council, Galapagos, in the airports of Quito and Guayaquil, to register the fingerprints and digital registration. This, according to the authorities, will allow a better control among those who enter the Islands and those who inhabit them. On Tuesday, second day of the process, users had to wait longer than usual to go to the waiting room at Quito's Mariscal Sucre airport. According to officials from the counter, checking fingerprints and record took about 4-5 minutes per passenger. Those who were unaware of the process online had to wait a little more, since on the same site the data record was made. Pre check-up should be performed between 24 and 48 hours before the flight. This will allow shortening the waiting time at the airport. Anyone with any kind of impediment to travel, it may be by having exceeded the number of days of stay as tourists, you will not get the permission. In that case call to the offices of the Council of the Galapagos to fix the situation and obtain a new permit. The tourist operators and airlines inform travelers about this new procedure. The same process of registration of fingerprints is arriving at the island. The system online system was tested for a few weeks. Now on the web registration is faster. If there are problems you can contact phones of the Government Council of the Galapagos. The register of immigration control, which is delivered at the airport, has a value of USD 10; you must cancel the moment of recording fingerprints. With this certificate you can get boarding pass at the airline ticket was purchased. The new system of registration of passengers is aligned with the Civil Registry, to obtain personal data with the fingerprint reading.

Jorge Torres. President of the Government Council Galapagos fingerprint registration is mandatory for all what is the objective of implementing this system of registration by Internet? As Council is incumbent upon us to do immigration control. All who live in Galapagos, temporary, or permanent civil servants, passers-by and visitors (165 000 entered last year) must register at the entrance and exit. So your registration is controlled by this system. What it is? After registering on the Internet page www.cgg.gob.ec, airports fingerprints are taken and when you leave Galapagos will be the same procedure before you submit a credential of residence (for those who live there).

In the next few months we want to merge this information with the identity card so that they only load a document. We have spoken with the Civil Registry to make this merger. All those who live in Galapagos should register their mark? All have to go to the Council of government offices operating in the Islands to register their fingerprints and only for persons over 12 years. Not taken to minors, because their footprints are not developed. In this way, the control is more effective and allows us to check the status of entrants to Galapagos, with precise details. With this new system we have footprints for controls portable readers, we no longer use libertines. What does make the system reliable and not manipulated? The system is managed by the technological equipment and of immigration control, under the structure of the technical secretariat of Government. In a second stage, we will incorporate the faces to know who visit Galapagos. Does advice to visitors? They have to register on the website before going to airports. So they will not lose time and avoid queues. She has trained to travel agencies so that they can help to tourists and avoid that they delay.

Reported by ElComercio.com





This Month

June 14
June 14, 1775 - The first U.S. Military service, the Continental Army consisting of six companies of riflemen, was established by the Second Continental Congress. The next day, George Washington was appointed by a unanimous vote to command the army.
June 14, 1777 - John Adams introduced a resolution before Congress mandating a United States flag, stating, "...that the flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation." This anniversary is celebrated each year in the U.S. as Flag Day.
June 14, 1922 - Warren G. Harding became the first U.S. President to broadcast a message over the radio. The event was the dedication of the Francis Scott Key Memorial in Baltimore.
June 14, 1951 - Univac 1, the world's first commercial electronic computer was unveiled in Philadelphia. It was installed at the Census Bureau and utilized a magnetic tape unit as a buffer memory.
Birthday - Photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White (1906-1971) was born in New York City. In 1936, she became one of four original staff photographers for Life Magazine. She was the first woman to become an accredited war correspondent during World War II. She covered the Italian campaign, the siege of Moscow and the American crossing of the Rhine into Germany. Her photographs of Nazi concentration camps stunned the world. She later photographed Mahatma Gandhi and covered the migration of millions of people after the Indian subcontinent was subdivided. She also served as a war correspondent during the Korean War. Her best known book was a study of rural poverty in the American South, You Have Seen Their Faces (1937).
Birthday - American writer Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) was born in Litchfield, Connecticut. She wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, an anti-slavery novel containing vivid descriptions of the sufferings and oppression of African Americans. The book provoked a storm of protest and inflamed people in the North against slavery in the South. The names of two characters from the novel have become part of the English language - the slave, Uncle Tom, and the villainous slave owner, Simon Legree. During the Civil War, as Harriet Beecher Stowe was introduced to President Abraham Lincoln, he reportedly said, "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war."
Birthday - American editor and compiler John Bartlett (1820-1905) was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Although he had little formal education, he created Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, one of the most-used reference works of the English language, which today contains 22,000 entries.
Birthday - German psychiatrist and pathologist Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915) was born in Markbreit am Mainz, Germany. In 1907, he published an article first describing 'Alzheimers,' a degenerative disease, usually beginning at age 40-60, affecting nerve cells of the brain and leading to severe memory impairment and progressive loss of mental faculties.
June 15, 1215 - King John set his seal to Magna Carta, the first charter of British liberties, guaranteeing basic rights that have since become the foundation of modern democracies around the world.
Birthday - Pianist and composer Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) was born in Bergen, Norway. He incorporated the rhythms and melodies of Norwegian folk music into his songs and instrumentals includingPiano Concerto in A Minor, Peer Gynt Suite, Norwegian Peasant Dance, and Ich liebe Dich.
June 16
June 16, 1963 - Valentina Tereshkova, 26, became the first woman in space as her Soviet spacecraft, Vostok 6, took off from the Tyuratam launch site. She manually controlled the spacecraft completing 48 orbits in 71 hours before landing safely.
Birthday - Film comedian Stan Laurel (1890-1965) was born in Ulverston, England. He teamed up with Oliver Hardy as Laurel & Hardy delighting audiences for more than 30 years.
Birthday - American author and photographer John Griffin (1920-1980) was born in Dallas, Texas. He darkened his white skin using chemicals and ultraviolet light, then kept a journal on his experiences while posing as an African American traveling through the deep South. The journal was published as the book,Black Like Me.
June 17
June 17, 1972 - Following a seemingly routine burglary, five men were arrested at the National Democratic Headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. However, subsequent investigations revealed the burglars were actually agents hired by the Committee for the Re-election of President Richard Nixon. A long chain of events then followed in which the president and top aides became involved in an extensive cover-up of this and other White House sanctioned illegal activities, eventually leading to the resignation of President Nixon on August 9, 1974.
Birthday - Russian composer Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) was born near St. Petersburg. Among his best known works, the ballets The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913), and the choral work Symphony of Psalms (1930).
June 18
June 18, 1812 - After much debate, the U.S. Senate voted 19 to 13 in favor of a declaration of war against Great Britain, prompted by Britain's violation of America's rights on the high seas and British incitement of Indian warfare on the Western frontier. The next day, President James Madison officially proclaimed the U.S. to be in a state of war. The War of 1812 lasted over two years and ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium on December 24, 1814.
June 18, 1815 - On the fields near Waterloo in central Belgium, 72,000 French troops, led by Napoleon, suffered a crushing military defeat from a combined Allied army of 113,000 British, Dutch, Belgian, and Prussian troops. Thus ended 23 years of warfare between France and the other powers of Europe. Napoleon was then sent into exile on the island of St. Helena off the coast of Africa. On May 5, 1821, the former vain-glorious Emperor died alone on the tiny island, abandoned by everyone.
June 18, 1983 - Dr. Sally Ride, a 32-year-old physicist and pilot, became the first American woman in space, beginning a six-day mission aboard the space shuttle Challenger, launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Birthday - British explorer George Mallory (1886-1924) was born in Mobberley, Cheshire, England. When asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, he simply answered, "Because it is there." He disappeared while climbing through the mists toward its summit on the morning of June 8, 1924. His body, perfectly preserved due to the cold conditions, was discovered by climbers in 1999, just 600 meters (2,030 feet) from the summit.
June 19
June 19, 1953 - Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed by electrocution at Sing Sing Prison in New York. They had been found guilty of providing vital information on the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union during 1944-45. They were the first U.S. civilians to be sentenced to death for espionage and were also the only married couple ever executed together in the U.S.
Birthday - Baseball great Lou Gehrig (1903-1941) was born in New York City. He played in 2,130 consecutive games and seven World Series for the New York Yankees and had a lifetime batting average of .340. He contracted the degenerative muscle disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, now called 'Lou Gehrig's disease,' and died on June 2, 1941.
June 20, 1782 - The U.S. Congress officially adopted the Great Seal of the United States of America.
Birthday - American military hero and actor Audie Murphy (1924-1971) was born in Kingston, Texas. He was the most decorated American soldier of World War II, awarded 37 medals and decorations, including the Medal of Honor for single-handedly turning back a German infantry company by climbing on a burning U.S. tank destroyer and firing its .50-cal. machine gun, killing 50 Germans. He later became an actor in western and war movies and made 45 films including; The Red Badge of Courage (1951),Destry (1954), and To Hell and Back (1955), based on his autobiography. He died May 28, 1971, in a plane crash near Roanoke, Virginia.

Wednesday 5 June 2013

Our Best friend passed on

Monty




      Monty was one of those dogs who was truly unique.  When we first heard about him, a friend introduced us to his first family, who said they could not keep him since they had 4 dogs already.  We were looking for a dog as a companion to our first dog, Tammy.  Monty was 3 months old when we introduced him to Tammy.  Tammy gave Monty a hard time at first, but then seemed to get used to having him around.  
       We found out in a short time that Monty liked chasing balls, something that Tammy did not like as much.  Monty liked adults and children alike, he had a great personality, unlike Tammy, who just liked Jodie and me, nobody else.  And her personality was very different from Monty’s.   Monty loved to tease us with the ball, which most people found comical.  
        When he was 9 months old, he was bitten by a female German shepherd, who took a chunk out of his side.  The German shepherd’s owner said his dog was at fault, so he paid the vet bill, which consisted of surgery and stitches.  Monty survived that very well.  When he wanted something, he would try to speak and then we had to guess what he wanted at that time.
          His favorite activities were eating and chasing the ball.  Once, he got up to almost 110 pounds, so we put him on a diet.  He lost weight- wound up at 80 pounds, which was his ideal weight, according to our vet.  All of the girls and guys who worked for our vet loved Monty.  They said he was no trouble when we put him in the kennel when we left on our vacations.  
         When either of us got sick, he would stay with us at the bottom of the bed for long periods of time. When we came home from work, he would greet us like he had not seen us for months.   He was stubborn and became a lot more so in the last 2 months.
          As he celebrated his 11th birthday in January, 2013, he was starting to show signs of arthritis, especially in his right hip.  So, we gave him pills for his arthritis, which helped him somewhat.  He still loved to go to the beach and chase the ball, and you could not tell when he chased the ball that he even had arthritis.  But, as time went on, his legs were getting more stiff, and he moved slower than before. 
           So, on Tuesday, May 21st, we took the dogs as usual to the beach, but Monty walked very slowly and could not even retrieve the ball.  Whereas before, Monty would be the first one up and to the door if someone rang the bell or knocked,  now Cleo, our other dog, would be the first one up and Monty would just stay where he was.  Monty depended a lot on Cleo the last 2 months, whereas Cleo had depended on Monty a lot before then.  They took care of each other.  
            By Thursday, the 23rd of May, Monty sat out in the front garden for 4 hours, not getting up. Jodie and I decided that on Friday, the 24th, we would bring him to Dr. Pizmino at El Pibe and have him put to sleep because he was in pain and we did not want him to suffer anymore.   That was one of the hardest decisions we have had to make.  Monty had been our best friend for over 11 years, and now, we would not have his company to share.  Needless to say, we were basket cases on our way to the vet office, and also during and after putting him to sleep.  But, Dr. Pizmino, Jorge, and one of the assistants were very gentle with him and I am glad that Jodie and I were the last ones he saw before he left this world.  One of the things I read afterward that gave me comfort was the note from my sister-in-law, Terry, which said, “take comfort in the fact that you gave him a good life”.  Yes, we did give Monty a good life, and I believe that we will see him again when we leave this world.  Monty, rest in peace, my friend!