Gearing Up for New Year's Eve

Dear Family and Friends,

We have had a wonderful 2011 and are now getting ready to send it on it's way! 

Our whole holiday season has been so much fun.  Christmas day Chuck and I had friends over for a brunch that lasted the whole day.

Just a few days ago, Myrna and David (who are renting our condo this week) invited Chuck, Bruce, Charlie and I over to the condo for her delicious home made pizza.

She made some great drinks and here we are enjoying the terrace and the sunset.  Her pizza was terrific!

Yesterday and today we have been getting ready to usher in 2012.

Here is Chuck buying some fireworks....OMG!

We now have an "effigy" in our living room. I've named him LeRoy!

He is quite a guy!  Here is a close up. Notice that he is wearing a "Panama" hat. 

Last night I forgot he was in there.  I went through the living room about dusk and almost died of fright when I saw him out of the corner of my eyes.

Tonight, LeRoy (representing 2011) will be burned up.   We'll miss you LeRoy!

We are looking forward to 2012!

Love,
Nancy & Chuck

Reflections

I was going to do a post about looking back at this past year. But in looking back at this past year I found myself looking back at our entire married life. Chuck and I have led a charmed life.  Well, charmed for us, others might find it too unpredictable.

Since we first knew each other, until even now, we do about half our adventures on impulse.  One of us says “wouldn’t it be fun to…..” the other of us says “why not?,” and our course is set.

We have traveled the world many times.  Probably half of those trips were taken on a whim.   

I can remember a trip to Hong Kong we took over the July 4^th holidays, several years back, because we discovered an extremely low air fare on Cathy Pacific.  It was a wonderful trip, booked 5 days before our flight, with no time for pre planning.  

Chuck is by far the most adventurous soul I know.  He has a wonderful enthusiasm for life.  I have learned over the years to be careful about what I say I would like to have or to do.   Chuck makes things happen. 

Actually our discovery of Ecuador was on one of those whims.  Our whole adventure has been pretty much on a whim.  

We have our travel schedule for 2012 filled through the first half of next year.  Before we left for Spain back in October, none of these plans were even thought of.  Come to think of it, our trip we just took to Spain was on a whim.  Chuck found an incredibly cheap cruise from Spain to Panama and booked it.  Since we had to fly to Spain to board the ship, he built a month long vacation in Spain and Morocco before we started the cruise.  

We are starting to see ourselves change…getting older.  Somehow this is creating an urgency in us to travel more while we can.  We have a few places on our bucket list that we have not yet experienced.  Whether experiencing them all is possible we do not know.  But having the goals out there is good for us because there is always something more to strive for.

The only word I can use to describe how I feel at looking back at our life is gratitude.  

So, for you my wish is that your reflections are filled with gratitude and that your tomorrows are filled with adventure. 

Have a wonderful new year and a wonderful life.

Love,

Nancy

Paseo de Ninos

Dear Family and Friends,

Our favorite day in Cuenca is Christmas Eve.  This is the day when children parade through town.

We share these pictures with you and send you our love.  Hope your Christmas day is filled with joy!

Feliz Navidad!

Nancy and Chuck

From Our House to Yours...

Can't Hardly Wait!!

Dear Family and Friends,

This sweet angel is just a hint of what is in store for us on Christmas Eve, here in Cuenca.  Lourdes, our housekeeper, told me that this little one is dressed as "Mama Negra."  She is representing citizens of Ecuador  who live in Esmeraldas.

We, Chuck, Rich, Nancy and I, got a hint of things to come when we were on our walk last Sunday.  Of all the days to live in Cuenca our favorite is Christmas Eve.  Christmas Eve is the day when children from all over parade through Cuenca.  They are celebrating the "The Traveling Nino"

The origins of this religious festival is in the early 1960’s when a statue of the Christ Child was taken to Rome to be blessed by the Pope. When the statue returned, someone in the watching crowd called out, “Ya llegó el Viajero!" ("Now comes the traveling boy") and the statue became known as the Niño Viajero.

This little girl was a spectator, but it is obvious that her popcicle is getting a lot more attention than the parade.

By the way, Chuck got all the slats painted and reassembled the outdoor chairs.

They are looking real nice on the terrace of our rental condo.

Needless to say, he is very glad this job is complete.

We are now gearing up for the holidays ahead.

Love,
Nancy