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Sunday, January 27, 2013

Time to Pack Our Bags Again

Dear Family and Friends,

Chuck has been planning and scheduling over six months for us to go to New Zealand and Tahiti.  This is new territory for us as we have never been to either.  Before we return to Cuenca we will be visiting family and friends in the U.S.

Larry and Karen Shunk, local expats, have been kind enough to share photos and trip ideas with us.  They have been to New Zealand many times.  Looking at their pictures just made us more excited about this trip.

Here is an overview of our schedule:

Trip to New Zealand for several weeks.

Tahiti - We will be passengers on a cargo freighter.  This boat supplies the Marquesas islands.

U.S. - We will visit family and friends. We will return for a couple of weeks to Cuenca with our grandson, Joshua.

U.S. - Then we are off to the U.S. again.  This time we will share a vacation with our son, Matt.  This year he has chosen to do a train adventure across Canada.

We will be returning to Cuenca toward the end of May.

As you can imagine, the logistics for this trip are enormous but Chuck has done a wonderful job of scheduling airlines, hotels, rental cars, the freighter and the Canadian train trip.

We welcome you to join us in this adventure.  I will post pictures as often as possible.

We are leaving Wednesday morning.  Our bags are not packed, but we have our staging areas.

I am staging in the spare bedroom.


Chuck is staging on the patio.


We are really looking forward to this trip but at the same time we are going to miss our friends right here at home.

Oh, one other thing....if you are not aware, there is a Cuenca Daily News that you can subscribe to that comes directly to your email each morning.  It is just getting off the ground but I have hopes that it will grow and grow into another good network for expats. If you are interested here is the link

It is time to load the suitcase....better get busy.

Love,
Nancy

Friday, January 25, 2013

FOTO FRIDAY - 1/25/13

Dear Family and Friends,

Chuck and I met Audrey and Jim (Chuck's sister and her husband) in Florence, Italy around 2001.

Here is Jim in the window of the flat we rented that week.


Would love to return to Florence one day.

Nancy

Friday, January 18, 2013

FOTO FRIDAY - 1/18/13

Dear Family and Friends,

Today's photo was taken on one of our trips to Japan in 2005.


Our response was "No Thanks."

Love,
Nancy

Friday, January 11, 2013

FOTO FRIDAY - 1/11/13

Dear Family and Friends,

This week's photo is from the Water Market near Bangkok, Thailand.  (2005)



Love,
Nancy

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Remembering Mom on her Birthday

Dear Family and Friends,

Today is mom's birthday....she would be 91 years old.

The day after Christmas I had several Skype messages on the computer from my brother and sister.  After returning the call I learned that my mother had passed away in her sleep during the night.

I flew back to Columbus, Georgia for her funeral, which was held this past Monday.

It was difficult to lose my dear sweet mother.

However, my mother has returned to her original state of being...bathed in light and unconditional love.

Today, on her birthday, I am celebrating her life. 

Here is the earliest picture I have of my mother and me. 


Here is the last picture I have of mother and me.  It was made this past Mother's Day.



I have so many wonderful memories tucked into my heart.  I am spending this day celebrating her birthday and being close to her.

Love,
Nancy


Friday, January 4, 2013

FOTO FRIDAY - 1/4/13

Dear Family and Friends,

Starting in this new year I want to try something different.  In addition to our posts about our daily lives living in Cuenca and our travels elsewhere, I am going to share a photo with you each Friday.  I have many photos that I have taken over the years that I have not had the opportunity to share on our blog.  Many of them have nothing to do with living in Ecuador, they are photos that I have taken in the last 10 years or so.

I will try and identify the photo, where and when it was taken.

This weeks photo is from our very first trip to Ecuador in 2007.  This picture was taken in San Vicente, which is located across the river from Bahia, Ecuador.

Love,
Nancy