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"Do or do not. There is no try." - The Empire Strikes Back - Yoda
I drove for the first time in Uruguay this afternoon. This was my first time in 20 years to drive a stick shift! I was trying to go from our home to the local Almacen - a little store on the side of a man's house - just 3 kilometers away.
Twelve kilometers later I realized I had gone in the wrong direction. I certainly drove more of a maiden voyage than I intended. Once I did get to the store (which is attached to the owner's home), after dodging chickens and dogs, the owner and I both laughed at my driving adventure when I told him his store was the first place I had driven in Uruguay. He rewarded me with a bottle of wine and a good-natured teasing about getting lost. Gotta love this country.
I drove for the first time in Uruguay this afternoon. This was my first time in 20 years to drive a stick shift! I was trying to go from our home to the local Almacen - a little store on the side of a man's house - just 3 kilometers away.
Twelve kilometers later I realized I had gone in the wrong direction. I certainly drove more of a maiden voyage than I intended. Once I did get to the store (which is attached to the owner's home), after dodging chickens and dogs, the owner and I both laughed at my driving adventure when I told him his store was the first place I had driven in Uruguay. He rewarded me with a bottle of wine and a good-natured teasing about getting lost. Gotta love this country.
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“Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller's Day Off - Ferris (Matthew Broderick)
Every time I get sad and homesick, something wonderful happens. Last night - three fantastic and magical moments happened. We were sitting inside at our little table and watching the sunset - it is like nothing I have every seen - the colors are in layers, like a rainbow, but red, orange, and purple.
As the sun set and it became dark, I turned around in my chair and looked out the window behind me. Eno, our neighbor's horse, was standing right outside the window. We opened the window (no screens yet) and he stuck his head inside to be petted! Sam, our Border Collie, went crazy and stood up on hind legs to see the horse. It was so funny! We fed Eno carrots through the window.
The third moment was later on, right before we went to bed. We went outside and looked at the stars. I have never seen so many (even up in the Rocky Mountains) or seen the Milky Way so clearly.
As the sun set and it became dark, I turned around in my chair and looked out the window behind me. Eno, our neighbor's horse, was standing right outside the window. We opened the window (no screens yet) and he stuck his head inside to be petted! Sam, our Border Collie, went crazy and stood up on hind legs to see the horse. It was so funny! We fed Eno carrots through the window.
The third moment was later on, right before we went to bed. We went outside and looked at the stars. I have never seen so many (even up in the Rocky Mountains) or seen the Milky Way so clearly.
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"Laundry day is the only exciting day in the life of clothes. It is. No, think about it. The washing machine is the nightclub of clothes. You know, it's dark, there's bubbles happening, they're all kind of dancing around in there." The Seinfeld Chronicles - Jerry Seinfeld
Today we finally got the washing machine hooked up and the clothesline hung. Notice that I omitted the mention of a dryer! My husband has channeled back to his German childhood and clothes on the line, sweet smells and all that. All the washer directions are in Spanish of course, so I finally just put stuff in, cried a little, and pushed a lot of buttons. It washed! Then it started to rain, so no clothes on the line today....
Our German friend came over to give us a lesson in wood stoves and building fires. We are warm and cozy now. Who knew those big bags of things sold by the side of the highway and at fruit stands were pine cones? And we thought they were potatoes! You use them to get the fire going. Still no gas, so no way to cook other than the slow cooker. My stew was good and this is the last night of it, thank goodness.
Our builder is nice, but is quickly learning my school teacher habits. I make him an list of notes and a plan for each day - always the teacher, I guess. Our house is cozy and when I look out at the hills and the skies, it's totally worth waking up freezing every morning. The high today was only 45 degrees. I had on a t-shirt, camisole, sweater, and down jacket - in the mall!! Uruguay is NOT tropical, as many believe. The winter weather is damp and cold with winds coming from the Atlantic and Antarctica.
Doggies are fine; Gracie is curled up next to me by the fire. My hubby is on his way to the little village store (Almacen) for vino. Life is good!
Our German friend came over to give us a lesson in wood stoves and building fires. We are warm and cozy now. Who knew those big bags of things sold by the side of the highway and at fruit stands were pine cones? And we thought they were potatoes! You use them to get the fire going. Still no gas, so no way to cook other than the slow cooker. My stew was good and this is the last night of it, thank goodness.
Our builder is nice, but is quickly learning my school teacher habits. I make him an list of notes and a plan for each day - always the teacher, I guess. Our house is cozy and when I look out at the hills and the skies, it's totally worth waking up freezing every morning. The high today was only 45 degrees. I had on a t-shirt, camisole, sweater, and down jacket - in the mall!! Uruguay is NOT tropical, as many believe. The winter weather is damp and cold with winds coming from the Atlantic and Antarctica.
Doggies are fine; Gracie is curled up next to me by the fire. My hubby is on his way to the little village store (Almacen) for vino. Life is good!
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"There's a Colonial woman on the wing of the plane. There is something they're not telling us. She was out there churning butter! She was churning butter!" Bridesmaids - Annie Walker (Krisen Wiig)
I really am a Colonial or pioneer woman; take your choice of time frames. We left the bed and breakfast two days ago and have spent two nights in our new little house. We FINALLY got electricity, but we neglected to install light fixtures or buy lamps. We rushed out to a light and lamp store, eager to use that electricity. We have no gas yet - so not hot water and no way to cook.
So - good ole thinking dictated that we buy a toaster and a crock pot. I just put an Osso Bucco stew into the crock pot. Our kitchen cabinets were delivered, but we have no countertops or a sink yet. So Pioneer Woman washed veggies in the bathroom, peeled and chopped them (with no cutting board) while sitting at the table. We do have a refrigerator and a wood stove. Just got the wood stove hooked up last night and were finally warm (after we city folks figured out how to start a fire). The night before we bought an electric heater and it broke about 2:00 in the morning, so we froze - it was 34 degrees outside. We got up this morning and found kindling and firewood and made the fire for the winter day. See? Pioneers!
The doggies are settling in. They've had to spend 2 days in the truck, as we had errands to run and their fenced in area by the house was too muddy from torrential rain. They are freaked out by the horses that wander around our property from next door. When the dogs were in the truck waiting for us one day, the horses surrounded the truck and looked in the windows at the Sam and Gracie. Of course, Sam and Gracie went nuts!
The toilet finally works without having to lift the back and manually push things to flush - ha! It's the little things that are so important.
We found a cute table, 4 chairs, and 2 nightstands last thing yesterday afternoon. Now we have a place to sit, besides the mattress. We cannot find a decent shower curtain anywhere. It's like a treasure hunt every time we enter a store - returning the broken heater was like living a sitcom! We were successful, though and everyone is very nice if you at least try a few words of Spanish.
I really am a Colonial or pioneer woman; take your choice of time frames. We left the bed and breakfast two days ago and have spent two nights in our new little house. We FINALLY got electricity, but we neglected to install light fixtures or buy lamps. We rushed out to a light and lamp store, eager to use that electricity. We have no gas yet - so not hot water and no way to cook.
So - good ole thinking dictated that we buy a toaster and a crock pot. I just put an Osso Bucco stew into the crock pot. Our kitchen cabinets were delivered, but we have no countertops or a sink yet. So Pioneer Woman washed veggies in the bathroom, peeled and chopped them (with no cutting board) while sitting at the table. We do have a refrigerator and a wood stove. Just got the wood stove hooked up last night and were finally warm (after we city folks figured out how to start a fire). The night before we bought an electric heater and it broke about 2:00 in the morning, so we froze - it was 34 degrees outside. We got up this morning and found kindling and firewood and made the fire for the winter day. See? Pioneers!
The doggies are settling in. They've had to spend 2 days in the truck, as we had errands to run and their fenced in area by the house was too muddy from torrential rain. They are freaked out by the horses that wander around our property from next door. When the dogs were in the truck waiting for us one day, the horses surrounded the truck and looked in the windows at the Sam and Gracie. Of course, Sam and Gracie went nuts!
The toilet finally works without having to lift the back and manually push things to flush - ha! It's the little things that are so important.
We found a cute table, 4 chairs, and 2 nightstands last thing yesterday afternoon. Now we have a place to sit, besides the mattress. We cannot find a decent shower curtain anywhere. It's like a treasure hunt every time we enter a store - returning the broken heater was like living a sitcom! We were successful, though and everyone is very nice if you at least try a few words of Spanish.
Cooking with no stove isn't so bad when you have a crock pot/slow cooker! Here's a link to my slow cooker recipes at my cooking website MissCookbook.com:
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I knew there would be rivers to cross and hills to climb, and I was glad, for this is a fair land and I rejoiced that I would see it. -- Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder (Melissa Gilbert)
I love our little house in the campo, but there is still no electricity (after over 4 months of waiting) and so no water. Floors are going in today and I'll paint tomorrow. Yes, more painting for me - after I just finished painting every nook and cranny in our Texas home. We are moving in - at least into the bedroom - electricity or not. We may be buying candles and toting buckets of water.
Today we bought things we need (and have duplicates of in Texas) for our little house - including a bed and a washer. Reader, please take note that I did not mention a clothes dryer. My husband thinks it will be great fun to hang wash on a line. We'll have to see about that. It is strange buying brand new household items - bed, lamps, linens, towels, utensils AND a garbage can. Some "stuff" at our Texas home has been with us since college, so this just feels like living at a bed and breakfast (without the breakfast).
It's beautiful here - 65 degrees with sunny skies. Our little house feels peaceful and happy - even if it is still a construction site. I feel like one of those pioneer women on the Oregon trail or Laura Ingalls Wilder in the Little House books, writing letters back home or memoirs! Guess it's pretty similar. I AM grateful to be healthy and have us all in one place.
I love our little house in the campo, but there is still no electricity (after over 4 months of waiting) and so no water. Floors are going in today and I'll paint tomorrow. Yes, more painting for me - after I just finished painting every nook and cranny in our Texas home. We are moving in - at least into the bedroom - electricity or not. We may be buying candles and toting buckets of water.
Today we bought things we need (and have duplicates of in Texas) for our little house - including a bed and a washer. Reader, please take note that I did not mention a clothes dryer. My husband thinks it will be great fun to hang wash on a line. We'll have to see about that. It is strange buying brand new household items - bed, lamps, linens, towels, utensils AND a garbage can. Some "stuff" at our Texas home has been with us since college, so this just feels like living at a bed and breakfast (without the breakfast).
It's beautiful here - 65 degrees with sunny skies. Our little house feels peaceful and happy - even if it is still a construction site. I feel like one of those pioneer women on the Oregon trail or Laura Ingalls Wilder in the Little House books, writing letters back home or memoirs! Guess it's pretty similar. I AM grateful to be healthy and have us all in one place.