Lovely Valentine’s dinner at Luna Rossa…

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Tom’s rigatoni bolognese, which he said was mediocre and dry without enough sauce.

It was a lovely evening at Luna Rossa. It was a good thing we had a reservation since the Italian restaurant was fully booked. We didn’t have a window seat, which we’d have preferred (I forgot to ask when booking the reservation), but we had a lovely little table for two away from the service areas. I am a real stickler for avoiding tables near a service station or kitchen door for the staff. The commotion detracts from the experience.

Tom had one beer, and I had one glass of Malbec wine, which I liked while we were in Argentina in 2018, where Malbec is produced. For our entrees, Tom ordered a rigatoni beef Bolognese, which he said was mediocre, stating their red sauce was nowhere as tasty as mine, which I make from time to time…a nice compliment on Valentine’s Day.

With only a few dishes on the menu that were suitable for my way of eating, again, I ordered the mussels and clams in a delicious soup-like sauce. It would have been great to soak chunks of delightful Italian bread in that sauce. Instead, I ate it with a spoon, like a soup. I had asked twice for a small spoon but was ignored twice and given a tablespoon.

Neither of us prefers to eat soups, sauces, or desserts with a tablespoon. A teaspoon seems much more appropriate and contributes to savoring the item more slowly than gulping down a tablespoon at a time. After all, there are three teaspoons in one tablespoon. Getting a server to bring a teaspoon to the table always seems challenging.

In any case, we had a good evening. When we returned to our condo, we streamed another episode of The Chosen on Amazon Prime and cntinually enjoy this profound series. We’ll finish the three currently available seasons tonight and look forward to when more seasons are released in the next several months.

My mussels and clams in a tasty broth.

We always prefer to stream series with every season available, but many streaming services dole out their seasons periodically. When the new season returns, we’ll often watch the last episode again in order to catch up. A perfect example of this has been Yellowstone. Many of us loved the first seasons and have waited for them to return. With the recent writer’s strike, future episodes of many series were postponed for as much as a year or two.

Yesterday was my best day of walking since I began again three days ago. I’ve picked up the pace even further and look forward to increasing the pace and distance as time passes. Right now, I am focused on being able to walk further for the upcoming event for my birthday, hosted by Richard on February 21, the day after my birthday. On the actual day of my birthday, with his season tickets for the Las Vegas Golden Knights hockey games, there is a game on the 20th, so we are happy to go the following day.

Today, I booked a pedicure appointment for the 21st at a nail salon down the one flight of stairs. Today, Tom will book a haircut appointment for himself, also down the one flight of stairs. He hasn’t had a haircut in two months.

Tonight, I am cooking baby back ribs for Tom with rice and salad while I have my favorite coconut flour pancake, which I love. Often, when I mention recipes we’ve made, I will receive countless email messages from our readers requesting the recipe. We are always happy to share those recipes we find worthwhile.

Otherwise, today will be another low-key day with only some food prep on the horizon and lots of walking in the corridor. I do better walking in the long corridors than using the treadmill. For now, this is working for me.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, February 15, 2014:

This is a Golden Tail Woodpecker, which we were thrilled to spot yesterday afternoon. For more photos, please click here.

Avoiding political views on our site…Not always easy…

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View from our front porch while we stayed in Falmouth, England, in August 2019.

We both agree that each individual has a right to their opinions, regardless of how controversial their preferred topics may be today. At one time, we could sit around a dinner table, sharing our views while others listened attentively. But no more.

Times have changed, and we are best to keep our controversial opinions to ourselves to avoid offending others and appearing to impose our views on those with conflicting views. Then again, there are situations in which we may find ourselves in the presence of others whom we know think as we do, creating an open forum to discuss our views. But, in today’s world, these situations are few. Instead, many of us keep our opinions to ourselves.

I often review the world news, searching for a topic for the day’s post, but I find most stories reflect a viewpoint that may be construed as political and contrary to the views of many of our readers. As a result, we avoid such articles and subsequent stories to maintain our stance of staying neutral in our posts over 11 years later.

It’s a challenge avoiding expressing our views when most topics in today’s world are considered to have a political bent of one source or another. Each time I sit down to prepare the day’s post, on many occasions, I start to write, only to find myself abruptly stopping and deleting everything I’ve written so far, feeling the topic is too controversial for our site.

Over the years, we’ve promised our readers we’d stay neutral and have strived to maintain that stance. When talking in a group about our site, we often say we avoid discussing politics, religion, and sex, three taboo topics in this type of venue.

In 2020, while India was in lockdown, varying views about COVID-19 and other topics became more glaring than ever. We were at a loss for content. After all, we had no exciting activities during that time. The highlight of our days consisted of my walking the corridors for exercise to the tune of 5 miles, 8 km each day, while Tom ran up and down the stairs to the parking garage.

During that time, I perused Facebook for longer periods than I’d ever done in the past. But, during that period, I found many Facebook posts that consisted of hateful opinions and vitriol. Sure, we were all confined and frustrated, but I couldn’t justify hatefulness regarding the views of others, especially those who disagreed with the opinions of many others.

It was during that time I was bursting at the seams to express my views on seeing hateful posts on Facebook, and I prepared one of our posts  on March 30, 2020, with the heading reading,

“Please “unfriend me” if…Social media during lockdown…”

(Click on the above heading to read that post).

I don’t promote adding more friends to my Facebook account. Overall, I preferred to keep the number of “friends” on my profile to a minimum to avoid it becoming overwhelming, keeping up with many people I didn’t know, their photos, and their birthdays. However, I have welcomed some of our readers who have invited me to become a friend.

Uploading that post during that problematic time brought me considerable relief to have expressed my views on this topic. As I’ve mentioned, we seldom run across any “haters” and prefer to keep it that way. Subsequently, we keep many of our views to ourselves.

Thank you to all of our readers for keeping our site kind, friendly, and considerate, with pleasant and meaningful comments and email messages. We promise to continue on the path of keeping our site neutral and unencumbered by contentious and controversial opinions.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, January 18, 2014:

We ducked our heads under Casper’s chin. Our faces hurt from smiling while we were with the two Elephants at the Elephant Sanctuary. After our experiences the prior day in Kruger National Park, learning more about these massive animals was timely. For more photos, please click here.

Correction in yesterday’s post about Medicare, Plan G for foreign travel…

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This restaurant, Luna Rossa, is about a one-minute walk once we get down one flight of stairs.

I made an error in yesterday’s comprehensive post about supplement Plan G, which I chose as an adjunct to Plan B enrollment. My insurance agent, Janet Mueller, at jmueller@teameip.com, noted the need to make a correction, which I’ve done on the post and noted today. See below for details:

  • Maximum annual $50,000, with $250 deductible, which pays 80%, on emergency medical services for foreign travel outside the US. Air and ground ambulance are covered. Here is a link with information on ambulance and air ambulance services for Plan G.

  • Tom sure loves bread.

Now that the Medicare information is posted and hopefully clear for those interested, we’re moving on to other topics, such as our first evening out to dinner last night in The Village, one flight down an outside stairway from the hallway on our floor.

We had a lovely time in the restaurant. We went to the Italian restaurant Luna Rossa, a one-minute walk once we got downstairs to the ground level. We’d thought of going to the Mexican restaurant but, at the last minute, decided against it when I’d planned to make beef enchiladas on Monday.

Tom’s delicious lasagne.

Only a few items on the Mexican restaurant’s menu appealed to Tom with some modifications. Most Mexican restaurants serve Spanish rice and refried beans with each entree, neither of which Tom will eat. Taking those two items away from a plate may leave little to eat. As a result, he only likes taco salad with beef, not chicken. Of course, he could ask for meat instead of chicken, but he doesn’t care to ask for special adjustments when he orders off a menu.

On the other hand, I’m always asking for special adjustments for my orders to ensure they are gluten-free, starch-free, and sugar-free. I always tell Tom, “We’re the customer paying the bill. It’s ok to ask for changes, especially if we’re willing to pay for upgrades that may increase the price.”

My mussels and clams in a tasty broth.

Oh well, we each do it our way. He’s a picky eater due to his taste buds, and I am picky only to ensure I don’t eat anything that isn’t suitable for my way of eating. If I didn’t eat this way, I pretty much like everything.

Once seated at Luna Rossa without reservation on a Saturday night, we felt at ease at the table for four with a crisp white tablecloth and lovely table setting. The service was fast and friendly, primarily by older Italian gentlemen with experience. More servers were in the restaurant than customers, but about half of the tables were occupied, which surprised us.

I can always find something to eat in Italian restaurants even when most of the dishes contain pasta, none of which I’ll order. Tom had the delicious lasagne, a good-sized portion, made to perfection. I ordered the mussels and clam in a delightful broth that I finished with a spoon. We each ordered one drink, a brandy and Sprite for Tom and a lovely Merlot for me.

The restaurant was surprisingly busy. We didn’t expect the eateries in The Village to be busy.

The wine glass was huge, and there couldn’t have been more than four ounces of wine in it, typical for somewhat fancier dining establishments. But the drinks and food were plenty for us. Tom enjoyed the basket of bread, which only came with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, neither of which he’d eat. He started eating the dry, unbuttered bread but didn’t ask for butter. When the waiter passed, we asked for butter, and Tom dug into the bread.

Our dinner bill was $98, including tax and tip. We could have easily had two nights’ dinners at Jabula for this amount, including drinks, tax, and tip. At these prices, we’ll only eat out once a week.

The short walk back to our place was refreshing in the cool air at only 40F. As I write here this morning, it’s only 46F, typical for the winter cool desert temps. I love this cool weather in Las Vegas, especially when it’s sweltering in the summer months.

I’m off to take the bedding to dry in the laundry room using the handy laundry app on my phone. As mentioned, we have a washer in our unit but no dryer. We dry everything else on the portable laundry rack we purchased at Amazon.

Today will be a football day. Last night, we watched an exciting game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins. No spoilers here if you haven’t watched it.

Have a wonderful Sunday.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, January 14, 2014:

Baby warthog is sleeping in our yard, while mom and three other babies munched on vegetation. For more, please click here.

Thanks for all the good wishes for Tom and for our early exit from Ecuador, three weeks ago…

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There’s nothing more exciting in Kruer National Park than seeing an apex predator crossing the one paved road.

It was a busy morning for me. I had scheduled a call with my dear friend Karen in Florida at 8:30, which we’ll finish later today. I did a load of laundry, hanging it on the drying rack, and emptied the dishwasher, which Tom always does each morning. Yesterday, he vacuumed the entire condo.

The plan was for me to do the remainder of the cleaning today while he was at the pulmonology appointment in Chicago, Illinois, after a more than three-hour red-eye flight. I had to dust all surfaces, clean the bathrooms and kitchen, and wash the floors using the Swiffer wet mop.

After coughing most of the night, I slept very little, aware of where Tom may be at any given moment. Early this morning, we texted back and forth. We talked on the phone after his 11:15 appointment in Arlington Heights. I could tell by his voice he was exhausted.

He wasn’t able to tell me much about his appointment. The doctor and staff were all wearing face masks, and with Tom’s lousy hearing, he was used to reading lips and didn’t know what they were saying. Hopefully, we’ll get a written report soon. If not, we will call and ask for one.

We only chatted for a few minutes. He was back at the airport waiting for his return flight, which wasn’t until tonight, and was going to find a quiet spot for a short nap. It’s not easy sleeping in a chair, but he’s not one of those travelers (neither of us are) who will sleep on the floor. He won’t return to our condo until around 10:00 or 10:30 pm. I bet he’ll need to go right to bed.

After I finished the bulk of the cleaning and talked to Karen, I got back to work on the rest, and now, I’m sitting here content that everything is spotless, and I can relax and focus on today’s post.

Sure, I wish we had a housecleaner here in Nevada, But when we heard the cost for a few hours is $150 per week, we couldn’t justify that expense. It didn’t make sense for every other week or even once a month since we’d still have to clean and do the bedding once a week since we like to be in a clean and tidy environment. We could hardly wait for a cleaner once every other week or monthly.

Since we’re both beginning to return to feeling well again, cleaning once a week will be fine. It’s hard to think of Tom sitting at the airport feeling so awful from his cough and not having slept in over a day. So often, in our travels, we’ve spent a day or two traveling, failing to sleep on the plane. If we have three seats in a row without any other passengers, it’s possible to lie down and sleep for a few hours. That wasn’t the case for Tom last night, and it probably won’t happen again tonight.

Las Vegas is a popular destination, and most flights, including red-eyes, are often totally booked. The crowd is often boisterous and excited to reach their destination in fun-filled Las Vegas. But, for some, like us, Las Vegas is another pleasant city in the desert where we have plans other than gambling and the lights of the Las Vegas Strip.

I’m counting the hours until Tom returns. Tomorrow, we will share his experience here and anything we’ve heard from the doctor in more detail. Thanks for all the love and support. Hmmm…maybe a short nap is on the horizon for me, too.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, January 10, 2014:

When it comes to Mozambique Spitting Cobras, their size is insignificant compared to the dangerous, life-threatening venom they inflict upon their victims. This snake was approximately 1.5 to 2 feet long, 45 to 60 cm, and came within inches of Tom’s bare feet. What an exciting scare! For more photos, please click here.

We got out of Ecuador just in time…Nationwide State of Emergency declared….

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Photo from Reuters. Police are armed and ready.

Yesterday, our dear friend Gerhard sent us an article he stumbled across. After further research, we discovered the news was broadcast worldwide about the country of Ecuador declaring a “nationwide State of Emergency” as of January 8, the original date that we were leaving Ecuador.

Had we stayed until our rental contract ended, there’s no doubt we could have faced delays with added security, police, and military presence, all with rifles in hand, on the highway and at the airport. We are grateful we got out when we did.

This situation further exemplifies how dangerous the country has become when we assumed that Ecuador was considered safe for tourists only a few years ago.

Here is information from this site, one of the many articles we read online.

“January 09, 2024 — 08:51 am EST

Written by Alexandra Valencia for Reuters ->

QUITO, Jan 9 (Reuters) – At least four Ecuadorean police officers have been kidnapped by criminals, the police said on Tuesday, and explosions occurred in several cities, a day after President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency.

Noboa, a former legislator and son of one of the country’s richest men took office in November on promises to fix the struggling economy and stem a wave of violence on the streets and in prisons, which has been growing for years.

Noboa declared the 60-day state of emergency– a tool used by his predecessor to little success – on Monday, enabling military patrols, including in prisons, and setting a national nighttime curfew.

The measure was a response to the disappearance of Adolfo Macias, leader of the Los Choneros criminal gang, from the prison where he was serving a 34-year sentence and incidents at six prisons, including hostage-takings of prison guards.

Police and prosecutors have given scant information about Macias’ disappearance.

Three police officers working the night shift were taken from their station in the southern city of Machala, the police said on social media on Tuesday, while a fourth missing officer was taken by three criminals in Quito.

“Our specialized units are active with the goal of locating our colleagues and proceeding with the capture of the perpetrators,” the police said. “These acts will not remain in impunity.”

The explosions, including on a pedestrian bridge in Quito, resulted in no injuries, but the capital’s municipal authority asked in a statement for reinforced security amid the “unprecedented” crisis.

Noboa has said he will not negotiate with “terrorists,” and the government has blamed recent incidents of prison violence on Noboa’s plan to build a new high-security prison and transfer jailed gang leaders.

Prisons agency SNAI has given no information about the guards who are being held hostage.

Noboa plans to hold a plebiscite focused on security efforts.”

We can only imagine how difficult it may have been had we not left Ecuador on December 14, 2023, only 3½ weeks ago. We certainly consider the $190 fine we had to pay when no crime was committed on our way to the Guayaquil Airport from Mirador San Jose to be a drop in the bucket compared to issues we may have encountered had we tried to leave on January 8.

As mentioned above, we are very grateful we got out of there when we did for more than one reason, as our regular readers know so well.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, January 9, 2014:

After diligent perusal of the book, “Newman’s Birds by Colour for South Africa,” loaned to us by Louise, we were thrilled to spot the White Fronted Plover that we’d captured from the banks of the Crocodile River. This morning at 8:00 am, Danie stopped by on his motorbike to say hello and to tell us that a male Lion was spotted by a ranger at 3:00 am close to the river. Danie told us that occasionally, lions make their way from the bordering Kruger National Park into Marloth Park, protected only by a few strands of wire fence. Over the years to come, many lions have been living in Marloth Park, and curfews remain in place to this day. For more, please click here.

Today, I won’t be talking to Tom…

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One year ago, Hal was looking around the side of the house to make sure we were on the veranda. When he saw we were there, he approached, looking for pellets.

Oddly, I feel fine but cough quite a bit at night, often awake for a few hours. The only help I’m getting is from Hall’s sugar-free cough drops, which surprisingly seem to help quite a bit. When I tried to talk to Tom this morning, I noticed I had lost my voice. I sound like Minnie Mouse, very squeaky. I suppose it’s best not to talk and strain my voice further.

Many times in the past, I’ve lost my voice. It usually happens when the illness is nearing the end rather than at the beginning. I’m hopeful that this cold/flu/virus is nearing its end for both of us. Tom is a little better today but still coughing and napping throughout the day.

Today, he’ll take the third dose of the Z-pack antibiotics. Most often, it seems to take three doses to see improvement. We’re up and about; neither of us is bedridden, and we can eat and hover around the living room as we did when we felt well.

On Tuesday night, we couldn’t get the TV to turn on in the living room, which we use for streaming shows to keep us entertained, especially now that we are laying low. I am more adept and patient in figuring out digital problems and have spent hours trying to get it to come on. Finally, yesterday morning, I called Dish Network and spent no less than two hours on the phone with them and Samsung, the TV brand.

Neither company could determine what was wrong, and Dish Network implied the account wasn’t active. That was ridiculous. The TV in the bedroom was working and wired from the same satellite box. After two hours on the phone, most people would have given up trying. Not me. I was persistent, but neither company could offer any assistance.

I started playing around with the remote settings and got the TV monitor to come on. From there, I called Dish back, and they said it appeared some update came through and caused the dysfunction. They walked me through the fix from there, and finally, we were back on.

Last night, we streamed a good movie on Amazon Prime, the “Sound of Freedom,” Right now, our only streaming services are Netflix, Hulu, and Prime. Amazon Prime sent a message a few days ago stating that members must pay an additional $2.99 monthly if they’d like commercial-free content. We aren’t interested in paying more and will live with commercials. At least they didn’t make it a mandatory increase.

We often use the perks of Prime, including free shipping (in the US only), often same-day or one-day, excellent new content streaming, and free monthly books (we don’t read many books these days), and when we’re in the bush and don’t stream much, we enjoy Amazon Music while sitting on the veranda in the evenings.

I canceled Paramount Plus this morning since we’ve already streamed everything we wanted on that service. From time to time, we’ll add a streaming service to watch a specific series.

It may seem as if we spend most of our time streaming shows. We do not. In the evenings, when we aren’t out or with people, we stream a few hours of movies and TV series. During daytime hours, we are busy with work on our laptops, planning for the future, and reading news and information relative to our lives. Also, we listen to several podcasts during the day while we are researching.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, January 4, 2014:

Like the main photo in this post of December 14th, we again looked toward the driveway to discover giraffes coming our way. What a glorious sight! For more photos, please click here.

A pleasant weekend at Lake Las Vegas…

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The entrance to the building where our condo is located is in Lake Las Vegas, Henderson, Nevada. There’s a parking garage we’re using on the lower levels.

Note: Today’s photos were from a few websites promoting the property. After today’s delivery of our final batch of groceries from Smith’s Marketplace to get us through Christmas, we’ll be done shopping for a while. It’s always quite an ordeal to settle into a new place when we must buy many staples and ingredients we regularly use in cooking, along with meats, cheeses, eggs, cream, sour cream, Greek yogurt, butter, and tons of vegetables.

Adding soaps, cleaning supplies, laundry, and paper products, we had quite a lengthy grocery list. It took shopping at Walmart and Costco, eventually finishing with an online order from Smith’s. As for today’s arriving order, we’ll be in great shape for the next few weeks.

With that project almost entirely tackled, we can relax and enjoy our time in this lovely location. I have unpacked all the clothes and miscellaneous items I will use here, but Tom is unpacking now and will be done soon. Right now, the condo is looking neat, clean, and orderly.

The pool is for the exclusive use of residents. It’s cold now, and I doubt we’ll use this unless it warms up.

Speaking of the clean condo, I hoped to find a house cleaner for every week or every other week. Yesterday, I contacted the cleaner the owner uses, but we were shocked when we heard the prices. The cost is $125 a week for weekly cleaning and $150 for biweekly cleaning. We are not willing to spend $500 monthly for weekly house cleaning or even $300 monthly for biweekly cleaning.

Tom assured me that we could do this ourselves. He’ll do all the floors, and I’ll dust, clean, and do the bathrooms. We are very good at cleaning the kitchen daily, so there’s nothing to do there other than wipe the glass shelves in the fridge every few weeks.

Of course, we didn’t expect the rates to be comparable to what we paid in Ecuador, $20 plus a tip for three hours, cleaning an entire two-story house. But, here, we were expected to pay $65 to $80 for cleaning this two-bedroom, two-bath, one-story condo. Thus, we’re on our own. It’s good exercise for both of us!

The second-floor lobby. A lobby on the ground level is staffed during business hours.

Today, around 1:00 or 2:00 pm, the owner will stop by to change the kitchen’s reverse osmosis water dispenser filter and bring us a microwave. We are appreciative of him doing this. He and his wife don’t use a microwave due to their choice for health reasons.

I told Tom that I’ve never been without a microwave since the day Elvis Presley passed away in August 1977. It was presented to me as a gift from a guy I was dating then, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled amid my tears about Elvis. Since that time, I’ve never been without a microwave. Every holiday home we’ve rented in the past 11-plus years has had a microwave; some were old and worn, but many were newer models.

There are multiple meeting rooms in the building, but also comfortable seating in public areas.

Most recently, our first microwave in Ecuador bit the dust, and Sylvie brought us another used model. That second replacement model, which was also old, had the wrong glass turntable that didn’t sit properly. Whenever we turned it on, with whatever we had inside, it caused the glass turntable and the food container to bang on the sides. I do not doubt that Zoltan, our landlord, will bring us a lovely new microwave.

After all, since we’re the first tenants to occupy this lovely unit since it became a holiday home, everything is new and of high quality. We’d highly recommend this place if you ever decide to come to Las Vegas for a short or long stay. The information regarding the rental may be found here at this link.

It is only a 33-minute drive to the strip and 28 minutes to the airport. There are many restaurants here in Lake Las Vegas, many of which we can access right outside the building. We can see a  vehicle-free boulevard from our veranda with shops and restaurants, which we’ll soon explore. That will be fun, especially after the holidays are over.

The building’s fitness center is where I will work out.

Last night, after dinner, I walked down the long hallway to the fitness center to find an excellent facility, as shown in the photo above. I will start slow since I’m not in the best shape right now, and I look forward to improving my gait and stamina for longer walks.

That’s it for today, folks. Thanks for your patience while we didn’t post for a few days. It’s terrific to see many of our readers with us again.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, December 17, 2013:

This photo was taken a few years ago by Louise and Danie. But the house’s condition has remained constant, and this photo is exactly as we expected. For more photos, please click here.

Five days and counting…Packing and cooking…Fun chat with friends…Awful offal…

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At first, when this huge platter arrived, we anticipated it would be divine. I tasted almost everything, but I didn’t care for it.

Note: Today’s photos are from the post on January 14, 2018, while we were in Palermo, Buenos Aires. See the story below for details.

Before I meandered downstairs to start my day this morning, I packed all my clothes. I left out a few items for the next few days and a little pile of clothes and compression socks I’ll wear when we travel to the US. I didn’t pack as neatly as usual, but I will put everything away in neat piles once we arrive and settle in the condo.

Tomorrow morning, I’ll start packing the miscellaneous items upstairs, toiletries, etc.. Then, by Tuesday or Wednesday, I will finish everything upstairs and begin to work on the items on the lower level. There’s not a lot on the main floor, just odds and ends we use each day.

These stuffed pig intestines, “Chinchulin,” were the least desirable items on the platter.

Tom takes care of all the adapters and cords for the digital equipment, packing some in his suitcase and others in the leather computer backpack in case our luggage gets lost again. We don’t want to go through that again after those two incidents we had a few years ago.

When I came downstairs, I made my decaf coffee, adding thick unsweetened coconut cream, and took a moment to sit down to load my failing laptop to savor my coffee before I got to work in the kitchen.

Tonight, we’re having beef tenderloin stir fry with large chunks of green peppers (so Tom can pick them out), celery, onions, mushrooms, fresh ginger, and garlic, seasoned as well as I can with my limited supply of seasonings. I’m making a huge batch, which should last for three dinners, taking us to Tuesday when I will eat my remaining frozen fish, and Tom will have steak for the last two nights.

The few pieces of beef ribs were fatty and chewy.

On Thursday, we depart. It’s great we’ve been able to use most of our food on hand, but we will leave a few items for Maria, the house cleaner when she does the final cleaning after we’re gone. As always, we’ll leave the house in good order.

Yesterday, we chatted on WhatsApp with our dear friends Rita and Gerhard. They are in Buenos Aires right now, staying in the same wonderful area where we stayed for a month in December 2017 and January 2018. We loved hearing they were staying there after our fantastic time in the Palermo district. As we did, they can walk to any of the countless restaurants and pubs and savor the delicacies of Argentina.

We told them not to go to any restaurant that advertises “Authentic Argentinian food” since they usually offer the most unappetizing dishes, mainly consisting of offal. When we tried such a restaurant in Palermo, every item on the menu was offal, with almost every body part of a cow or pig stuffed with something fatty and greasy. We left without eating our meat, besides the few tastes I tried and didn’t like.

I cut the blood sausage in half for this photo. I could tell it contained some grain, but I wouldn’t have cared for it anyway if it hadn’t. You should have seen Tom’s face when he took a tiny taste!

I am much more adventurous with unusual dishes but couldn’t stomach (yes, that too) the feel and look of the dishes in my mouth, as shown in today’s main photo. I took a few bites of everything, but Tom gagged when he took a few tiny tastes of the offal. He did eat the bread, but they served margarine instead of butter. After staring at his plate, he lost his appetite and didn’t bother to eat the fries.

We paid the bill and left, our plates still full of the gross-looking meat. The total bill was $45.72. That was one expensive loaf of bread. Rita and Gerhard got the drift, and they won’t be trying a restaurant offering such foods. They were glad we had an opportunity to warn them!

The bread was dry without butter, and this little pat was definitely margarine, which we don’t eat.

The delightful phone call continued for over an hour. We were thrilled to hear they are taking a 22-night cruise to circumnavigate the partially South American continent in the opposite direction of a cruise we took in 2017, ending in Buenos Aires, where we waited for our next cruise, the Antarctica cruise on Ponant Cruise Line. What an adventure that was! Please see our photos of this stunning expedition cruise if you’d like to see our archives on the ride side of our home page for January 2018.

We are so happy for Rita and Gerhard. As mentioned in the past, we met since they’d been reading our blog and ended up in Marloth Park while we were there. Instantaneously, we became fast friends. After our time in Nevada, we hope to meet up sometime in 2024.

That’s it for today, folks. Have a fantastic weekend, and be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, December 9, 2013:

As we entered the bush braai site, Danie was on the left with a raised arm, and Louise was on the right. They worked hard to host this event, cooking, setting up, and cleaning. Everything was to perfection. To top it off, they appeared in our driveway this morning to inquire about anything we may need. Their hard work and dedication are evidenced in every activity they host and property they manage. This photo and the next were taken before I realized I needed to clean the camera lens. For more photos, please click here.

One week and counting…

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Male tree frogs fertilize a foam nest that a female frog made overnight. Nature is amazing! The photo was taken in December 2013.

A week from today, we’ll be on the road to Guayaquil Airport, 3 hours and 22 minutes from our location. We’ll likely head out the door around 8:30 am for our 2:53 pm flight to Panama City, with a 1-hour 33-minute layover, and then on to Las Vegas. Our flight arrives at 10:40 pm, and after going through immigration, getting our bags, and picking up the rental car, we most likely won’t arrive at the condo until around 1:00 am or later.

Of course, we won’t unpack that night, only taking out toiletries and clothes for the following day. I hope we get at least six hours of sleep since we’ll wake up to a busy day. First on the agenda is the trip to Costco to purchase my much-needed computer and pick up a few groceries, enough to last a few days.

Once we’re settled, most likely, we will do an online grocery order from Smith’s, where we’ve shopped in the past and been pleased with their products and service. Initially, I’d planned to buy a lot of food at Costco, but I have found some of their prices on groceries are not necessarily better than prices at a grocery store. Plus, Smith’s will have a better selection of miscellaneous items we use. Large sizes of many products don’t work if they end up spoiling.

Then again, how much we buy at cost depends on how we feel if we don’t sleep enough. Costco is not fun when one is exhausted. It may be challenging to recall prices on items that may or may not be a good deal, especially since we haven’t grocery shopped in the US since we were in Florida last summer.

With inflation, prices have crept up over the past several months. We are in for a rude awakening of increased costs since we left Florida at the end of July. And most likely, prices will be as high in Las Vegas as at The Villages.

If my medication arrives, we’ll head to our mailing service the next day to pick it up. This morning, when I checked the tracking number, apparently, the package had arrived in the US from Singapore, where many prescription drugs are manufactured. Often, Americans assume their medications are manufactured in the US, and many are not.

Here is an interesting article about where prescription drugs are manufactured worldwide. It’s a fascinating article that may surprise you. As for the world’s manufacturing countries, here is the list and percentages:

The USP Medicine Supply Map analysis (Chart I) counts the number of active API DMFs by location.

  • India accounts for 48%
  • China accounts for 13%
  • U.S. accounts for 10%

We are deluding ourselves by assuming that most drugs are manufactured in the US. Surprisingly, buying them from a US pharmacy costs so much. The cost for the blood thinner I must take, Eliquis, buying from Singapore through ProgressiveRX is $95.49 for 56 pills (almost enough for one month), compared to buying it at a pharmacy (without a pharmacy plan) is $599.97. Who can afford this?

I realize I’d mentioned this in a past post, maybe more than once, but if one of our readers sees this after missing that post and is paying these high prices, it would have been worth posting it one more time.

We’re bracing ourselves for higher prices on most things in the US. But, while we’re in the US, we look forward to a broader selection than most other countries.

One reader wrote and asked how long we’ll be in the US. If all goes well, we’ll likely return to Marloth Park in June as planned. However, we won’t stay more than 90 days this time. According to many reliable sources, South Africa’s immigration department still cannot process extensions due to a lack of staff. We won’t be applying for an extension again.

We’ll be back with more tomorrow. Be well.

Photo from years ago today, December 7, 2013:

While walking in our neighborhood, Tom spotted this ostrich that had wandered into a homeowner’s driveway and appeared fascinated by looking at himself in the window. For more photos, please click here.

Eight days and counting!…No more streaming shows until Las Vegas…

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The waves were high as they are in Ecuador, on the Big Island of Hawaii, while we were there in December 2014.

As I write here, the temperature is only 77F, 25C, but the humidity is 80%. To be respectful of the owner, we don’t use the aircon on the main floor during the day but turn it on in the evenings when we stream shows to get the moisture out of the air for a little while. It feels good to cool off in the evenings.

As Tom has aged, he gets cold while sitting in the living room at night, and he goes upstairs and puts on jeans and a sweatshirt. It’s not that we have the aircon set too low. It’s perfectly comfortable for me at 72F, 22C. I tease Tom that he has the “old man syndrome” of always being cold, especially since he’s lost about 20 pounds in the past several months. He doesn’t think that’s funny, but I can’t resist teasing him.

Speaking of streaming shows, our steaming nights are over here in Ecuador. Last night, while I attempted to plug our HDMI cord into my dying laptop, the cord metal plug fell apart in my hand. We tried to use the owner’s HDMI cord on the back of the TV monitor, but the metal plugs were severely rusted. From there, we couldn’t stream shows from the apps on my laptop.

Thus, we’ll spend the rest of the time here, looking at whatever shows appeal to us on our laptops. It’s nowhere near as enjoyable as watching something together. But, in the realm of things, it’s no big deal. Last night, I watched a mediocre science fiction movie on Amazon Prime and then watched a fascinating documentary on Netflix, “Bad Doctor,” a series well worth watching.

I’ll finish the series tonight and see what other documentaries I can find on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime. Tom sat on the sofa across from me, watching sports stuff on YouTube. He was also entertained, which I’m sure he’ll continue to do until we depart. Last night on Amazon, I ordered a new 10 ft. HDMI cord that wil be waiting for us when we head to our mailing service in Las Vegas.

It’s hard to believe we’re leaving next Thursday, a mere eight days from today. I often say these exact words, but more often, regarding not wanting to go having enjoyed where we were at any given time. There’s never been anywhere in the world over the past 11 years where we were “chomping at the bit” to be on the move as much as this time.

I wrote to the owner and told him, in diplomatic detail, some of our experiences here, explaining we wouldn’t be writing negative reviews. Most tourists come here for three or four days, and many of the issues we’ve experienced wouldn’t be noticeable to them.

Also, those tourists may have been willing to eat at the roadside lean-tos about 30 minutes from here, where the food would never be appropriate for my way of eating. If that were the case, the grocery shopping in the little store would be sufficient for them to get essential supplies on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, the only days the little store is open, from 10 to 3.

There was no way I was willing to write a bad review and perhaps prevent those visitors from coming here. The owner, living in Montenegro, has been very kind and responsive to us from afar. We have no complaints about him and his service. As I’ve mentioned, the house is fine, although there’s daily wear and tear from the high humidity and salty air. Anything metal is rusted, as in the case of the HDMI cord mentioned above.

This morning, I found myself smiling while getting ready for the day. Feeling well and looking forward to Lake Las Vegas, knowing it’s only days away until we arrive at our new home for the next 107 days, the smile is easily explained. We’re looking forward to the future.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, December 6, 2013:

On our first game drive in Marloth Park with Leon (one of the owners of Jabula and our dear friend) in 2013, hippos usually hung out together in herds (called pods, bloats, or dales). For more photos, please click here.