Rhyolite, Nevada

Just want to share a few pics of our past year's travels.

Death Valley

Rhyolite, Nevada

Doorknob on house built of bottles. circa 1900

Bank building, and store. Rhyolite, Nevada, circa 0900

Storefront of Jewler's in Rhyolite, Nevada. circa 1902

Who lies here?

Rhyolite flourished for a few years due to mining and eastern money. When the mine played out, the investor's did too. Once home to about 8000, is now home to the ghosts, wild burros, lizards and the occasional curious traveler.

We spent the better part of an afternoon exploring the town, cemetery and surrounding desert. Truly a haunting and desolate landscape.

To learn more about this ghost town, go to this page.

Hello Again

It seems like forever since I have written anything. I often get the urge and say I will write later. Then I don't. Always busy with something else like petting my dog, spinning some yarn, knitting something that may or may not get finished. Always something.

Because there is always something maybe I should talk about it here. In the past that seemed to be the thing to do. Why not now?

So, some of the changes since 2018...

The BF and I are living in and traveling (well, not right now) in our RV. We began this little journey in February of 2019. Since then we have been from New York state to California and back again. The COVID pandemic threw us back to our starting point for the summer. Hope to be on the road again by fall.

Because we can't travel, hobbies have come back to the forefront...cooking, spinning, knitting and writing of all things.

Have been working on a few new recipes that I will post in my cooking blog soon. Fun stuff.

As far as the others:

Purchased this amazing silk to cable ply with some equally amazing sure alpaca. Spinning silk is an art. Not one I was familiar with until a couple of days ago. Spinning silk is like trying to tame a kitten by holding it in the palm of your hand while it struggles to get away. You have to find just the right grip to keep it (the kitten) from jumping out of your hand. Silk needs a gentle hold, but not so gentle as to allow the twist to creep up into the gently held sliver. It takes a bit of practice. But, once mastered, silk can be spun into the finest wee bit of singles!

If you can see it, the single is so fine that it falls between the b and the e in Liberty. I didn't notice this until I saw the photo!

As for the Suri, it was a challenge because of the VM, second cuts and noils in the fiber. Made for slow going in the spinning process. But, it is finished and N-plied into a beautiful, soft 3 ply.

Really curious as to how the finished product will look. Have never cable plied before. Should be interesting.

 

Take The First Step

If you would have asked me two, three, or five years ago what I would be doing, living in Ecuador would not have been one of my answers.  Not because I didn't want to live in a foreign country. Not because I was afraid to travel. Not because I hadn't dreamed about living an unusual life. I just thought that it was a dream and was financially unobtainable; something only rich people do.

The second half of my life has been blessed with dreams. My BF has helped with that. Every dream I have had, he has helped make it happen.  

On my 30th birthday I was alone. Raising 2 daughters. Looking at a future of hard work. I lived in fear and I wasn't happy.

Then I met my BF.  I never dreamed of someone like him until he was "stalking" me at Torrejon AB in Spain (that was a dream too). I think I fell in love before he did, but it doesn't matter. We are together now, still best friends after 30 years of play and laughter.

Flash forward ten or so years. Ever since I was a child and I saw the Disney movie about the dancing horse, I had wanted a Paso Fino.  On my 40th birthday - I had one.  And not just any Paso, but a granddaughter of a world class Paso. She was amazing!  She was a dream come true. She won ribbons and even won a class at the Rocky Mountain Regionals.

I raised sheep, llamas, and had an organic egg business for about 10 years. Why?  Because I wanted to and the BF made sure I got to.

Then we moved to central New York state and another dream fell in my lap. With the help of my father and the BF, I was able to open a yarn shop. A yarn shop? Why? Same answer, I wanted to. It was fun. I made many good friends and miss them all so much.

But as with all good things, there comes a time when you have to let them go and focus on the next dream.  The next dream was the BFs rather than mine, but that is alright. It was something we had been tossing around for almost 20 years. We had looked at Costa Rica back in the early 90s. My fears stole that at that time. The fear of change, the fear of not having enough money. Oh, and don't forget the fear of having young children and "What would they do?" It was all crap and I robbed my entire family of what may have been the greatest adventure of their lives.

When my BF mentioned vacationing in Ecuador I was puzzled.  Why Ecuador? Well, he preyed on my love of all things Spanish. My love of the Spanish culture was the carrot he dangled in front of my nose. 

"It is less expensive than Spain." he said.

"They speak Spanish there." he said.

"The U.S. dollar is the currency, so no exchange rate." he said.

"Buy the tickets and book the hotels and I will go with you." I said.

He did. We went. We went again. We sold everything and came back. To stay.

Now, we are living not only his dream but mine as well.  I love the differences in the lifestyle, the ease of each day, the new sites and sounds and tastes. 

Looking back at my life I see a trail of dreams fulfilled. Some by chance and others because of the wonderful man that I married. He helped me overcome my fears (there were many) and truly live. He helped me live out loud and be joyous. He allowed me to dream and never told me that dreams don't come true, no matter what your age.

They do!  All you have to do is take the first step.  Oh, and don't forget to take the next one as well.

This post was inspired by Cindy Wood, and her FaceBook post this morning.  Thank you Cindy!

My Little Ecuadorian Dog

Thought we had lost our little Ecuadorian dog this morning. We (the BF, my little Ecuadorian dog, Tessa, and I) were out walking near the mouth of the river as the tide was going out. Tessa loves playing in the water and fetching things that are tossed in. This morning, she saw a coconut floating on the current and jumped in to bring it to shore. The combination of the river current and the outgoing tide was so strong that she could not make it back. I thought about going in to help her and was thigh deep before my husband told me to stop.

"I would rather lose a dog than my wife." was his reasoning.

He was right. The current was so strong that we would both have been swept out to sea. All I could do was watch helplessly as she struggled to make it to shore. Then struggle to keep her head above water. Then I held my breath as I lost sight of her beneath the waves.

It was a horrible thing to contemplate - her drowning. I could not watch. But, as we turned to walk back up the river, my husband spied her on a wave, being washed ashore on the other side. A wave or two later and she was out of the water and running along the opposite bank looking for a way back.

Then, the silly girl, jumped into the water and began trying swim back! Again, as I watched, she was caught in the current and pulled toward the sea. Again, as I watched, she struggled to make it back to shore, to us. Again, I saw her, in my mind's eye, being pulled under as the tide joined with the river to produce a current so strong.

But, this time, she was closer to the sand bar so the current was pushing in her favor. I held my breath as she struggled toward the safety of the shallows. I watched as she appeared to be carried out into the main part of the river and out to sea once again. But this time she made it. Her little feet touched solid ground. She struggled with the current still, but she was almost home free. Then, she jumped and bounded across the shallows that were chest deep for her. She had made it!

I wanted to grab her and hold her close. She wanted to stay just out of reach but close enough to know safety.

She is downstairs now, lying in the warmth and safety of her yard. I am happy she is there. My little Ecuadorian dog.

Dreams For The New Year

I am sure that everyone is looking back at the past year; thinking about the changes, the successes, the losses, the happiness, the sadness.  All of that is a part of life.  And, being human, I will do the same.

The past year was a gentle one for me - sort of.  I lost my father shortly before the beginning of 2017. We are always told not to make big changes after the loss of a loved one.  But, I didn't take heed.  The BF and I sold everything (except the house my father left me), packed what clothing we needed, grabbed the dogs and moved.  We didn't just move a little.  We moved a lot!  To Ecuador.  Do I regret it?  No.  It is different.  Although it is far from my children, it is alright.  It is quiet.  It is relaxing. It is liberating.

After that, not much more happened.  Every day has been just like the last.  The tide comes in, the tide goes out.  Life is simple.  We want for nothing as we don't need much.  We have a few friends and each other.  We eat well on fresh seafood and veggies taken from the earth that very day.  I feel as though I am living in a movie - I just don't know what the plot is yet.

We got our Visas without a hitch.  Then, the next milestone occurred when we headed to Guayaquil for our Cedulas - Ecuadorian I.D.  Now is is just a waiting game until we have our residency.  We cannot leave the country for more than 90 days a year for the next 2 years.  But, that isn't difficult.

What are the plans for the next year?  Not much.  Exploring our new country is the top of my list.  There is so much to see that I don't know where to start.

The top of my list is visiting Mindo. It is one of Ecuador's most visited locations; very touristy, pay for everything, must see.

Then, I want to take a train tour  to the last stop on the line, wherever that may be. 

Seeing the countryside from the train will make it fun to choose the next trip, the next adventure.  We will see the volcanoes, the lakes, rivers, valleys, villages - all that cannot be seen from main roads. We will see the country from a wonderful vantage point.

I want to swim in the ocean every day that I am home.  I want to walk the beach every morning and evening and enjoy the tranquility. I want to savor fresh seafood daily - until I tire of it and want nothing more.  

Yes, 2018. A year of tranquil living.  A year of stress free existence. A year to look forward to.

Life Is Crazy

It has been so long since I have posted.  It has been so long that I seem to have forgotten my voice.  Which person blogged here?  Is she still around?  Does she still think the same way?  View the world with the same eyes? Or has life thrown a few curve balls and caused her perspective to change?

Me. Yes. No. Only one of them. And Yes.

I haven't posted a thing here since 2012.  Holy Mackerel Andy!  That is a lifetime!  Since then, I have closed the yarn shop.  My dad passed peacefully, at home, surrounded by his children and grandchildren.  Hijo Primero graduated from college with a degree in Bio-Chemical Engineering (where in the hell those brains came from I will never know).  Hijo Segundo graduated from college with a BA in Political Science (Magna Cum Laude, again with the brains).  Hija Primera is living in New Hampshire with her husband and son. The BF has retired from the Air Force after reaching the rank of Chief Master Sergeant. And Hija Segunda is living with her dad and I in...and this is the Crazy part of the Life is Crazy...Ecuador!

Yes.  We have kicked everything we knew to the curb, packed a few belongings, bid farewell to our friends and family and left the country!  We bought a guesthouse, Casita Las Mareas on the Pacific coast, in the province of Manabi' in the village of San Jacinto.  It doesn't keep us very busy.  Life is simple. Life here is idyllic.  It is still so new. 

Casita Las Mareas

There are days that I feel as if I live in a movie.  The sun is shining, the waves are out there - in my front yard no less - doing what waves do and making the most peaceful background noise, the locals are playing their music that makes me want to dance and life is unbelievable.

I do miss my friends and my family that we left behind.  There are days that I miss them terribly.  But, the show must go on and life must be lived - even if it seems crazy at times.  

I hope I can keep coming back and put new life into this little corner of my world.  Maybe it can keep me sane.  Or maybe I can just get back to sharing the insanity as it happens.  Who knows.  Who really cares?