Up On The Roof!

Up on the roof!  Last night, that is exactly where we were, upon our roof top! Oh, we had been invited to a pizza party by our friends, we could have gone there. Our neighborhood restaurant had a big blow out that we could have gone to. No, instead we choose to climb the stairs or rather the ladder, up to our roof and watch the moon rising, to watch the Milky way stars spread out before us and of course to watch the fireworks!

Last night, was Christmas Eve (December 24th) in Uruguay and here they have huge displays of fireworks during that night. It's like they do in the USA, on July 4th! We don't celebrate Holidays but everybody had the day off, as is typical with any holiday, although as a side note Uruguay is the least religious, Latin American country there is, unlike in the USA, we didn't hear anyone say "Merry Christmas", Whew! What a relief! No, "in your face" excess commercialism, no, 24 hour a day holiday music but before you can say "Bah, hum bug"  having the day off from work (it was a Friday) meant people could enjoy the extra day with family and friends. Our sweet-heart friends tried to include us in their plans. However, it's been really hot here (high 80's)! Yes, I know it's December and your cold up there in the north but remember it's Summer time here!

We wanted to stay home this gorgeous, hot clear summer night. Remembering my favorite song "Up on the roof" Written by Gerry Goffin/Carole King and made popular by 3 different groups, The Drifters, Carole King and my favorite; the James Taylor version, we climbed up on the roof.

Here is Wally, setting up our Costco double folding chair (I'm glad, I shipped it when we moved here). While, I don't like flat roofs for possible leakage problems having one is great for viewing purposes. Of course, Wally made Wine coolers to bring up with us. You can see the tip of my glass.

Here's a picture we took of ourselves enjoying the night together. Our next door neighbor (I guess) doesn't have a sound system so he played the one in his car and we enjoyed listening to that while up there.
Wally won't like that I'm adding this next hard to see picture but my camera doesn't take night shots well (Yeah, it's the photographers fault not the tool) I wanted to show the moon rise, it's in the center. You can see we are looking out over the neighborhood. We have one neighbor 2 streets away who lights his house in a cascading bright green light shown on the left. Wally likes that most of our neighbors have lights that "shine up" and highlight various trees. The up-light effect is rather cool but hard to see here. At midnight, there was a crescendo of fireworks going off in unison in the distance we saw what was a great display up in the city of Atlantida but we had a great night together here at home, up on our roof and we managed to safely climb back down again.

The Uruguayan Way

Denise wanted me to call this "The Foundations of Friendship", or I could have called it "Cementing the Bonds of Friendship". I chose the Uruguayan way, because this is how people build houses here- with a group of friends.

This morning, at around 7am, a group of Hugo and Carolina's friends and family gathered at the site of their future house. We would have done it last week, but the weather did not permit it. This morning, however, was fresh and sunny.

Having purchased the lot, some time ago, and recently having dirt delivered to offset the low elevation of the lot, Hugo and his father-in-law spent the last few weeks digging the footings for the foundation and tying the steel that would go into it. This morning the group was going to mix up the concrete and pour the footers.

We had a small mixer (which Denise forbade me to sell) and it was able to be used, thereby shortening the process. Everyone pitched in, filling up buckets and buckets of sand, gravel, concrete and water and before noon the job was finished. Now the walls and interior will be put up during the coming months, by the family. Then, when it comes time for the roof, there will be another group effort to get that done. It probably will take a year to finish, since the funds for the project will only be available from a monthly salary. But when it is over, the young couple will own their own home (mortgage free) in a nice location, just blocks from the local Kingdom Hall. Now how many young couples in the US can boast that?

It is not that mortgages are unknown, here. It is just that they are infrequently used. Most financial support comes from family, of which Uruguayans have a lot. On the site today were cousins and mothers, as well as friends. Carolina's mother had run a 10K race, yesterday, but was one of the hardest workers. While I worked hard, I will probably be laying around complaining for days. About 20 showed up to finish the day out, to make short work of this stage of the project.

An a side note. After selling the motorcycle (we will pause a moment and take our hats off for a brief moment of mourning) last week, we arranged to buy a couple of used bicycles. I used one yesterday to run to the store for milk. Sadly, it was not as much fun as ramping up a nifty motorcycle, but it was practical and as much as I hate to admit it, it probably will be good for our health, as we ride during the summer. And, as I turn 65, this month, I also have to remember that while the motorcycle was fun, it was never a safe way to travel (sigh).

They Come In, They Go Out.

Yesterday, I said, 'Hello, glad to meet you, now tell me, when do you leave?" 









I met a lovely British woman named Sharon yesterday. She was easy going and had a sense of humor similar to mine. Within a few moments we were finishing each others sentences and smiling knowingly at my husband when he just didn't get or couldn't keep up with the flow of our conversation. She could have become a great friend of mine if, it weren't for the fact that she's leaving Uruguay!
 She's going to go back to the mid-west, back to the USA.

The funny thing is that she has been here in Uruguay for 2 years and I never knew that or her. We came to Uruguay only two months apart from each other. She lived only 1.5 km away from me and shopped in the same small town of Salinas as I do. So what was her story?

Sharon, her husband and their daughter were tired of running a busy restaurant in the States. Her husband is German and they owned a German food/dinner establishment in a small town, just off of an interstate. The town they came from only had a population of 3000 but it had 3 hotels in it. It was located on a long stretch of state highway, a road where weary travelers had to stop for the night before continuing on the rest of their journey. At one time, Susan and her husband had had a 32 bed hotel there themselves but it was too busy and too much work, so they sold the hotel and just kept the restaurant. 

Why am I telling you all of this? It's because they are the third couple, I've met, who after only two years of living here in Uruguay have had to return to the USA for business reasons. All 3 couples have been in the food related industry and their clients have suffered in their absences.  All three couples have made it to the 2 year mark then said enough. The thought of turning a client dependent business over to someone (seemingly trust worthy) and hoping that they can keep it running, sending you the income so you can live on it, here in Uruguay doesn't seem to be working out in reality. Even when the business IS successful, the danger is that it will need to expand and a hands on, owners being physically present, seems to be what is needed (that happened to one couple). As a side note 2 years seems to be the deciding number as I know of 2 other couples (not in the food industry) who have also left Uruguay after that amount of time to return back to the USA.

I guess, this post is just a reminder to all of you thinking about moving here (to Uruguay) that it can get pretty expensive to move here, bringing pets and containers of household goods, buying property, fixing it up, only to turn around and have to sell it all again after only a couple of years. So don't say I didn't warn you.

So, how did I meet this Sharon on her way out of Uruguay? How did I find myself searching for her house on an unknown back road, looking at lovely cattle herds that I never knew were just around the bend from me? Why, it was through her "For Sale" ad. I guess for me her leaving was helpful as I bought a good (expat quality) dresser for my bedroom from her.


 Hey, on second thought go ahead and bring your containers full of stuff here. However, as I only have a few dollars left to buy anything else with, I would rather have had Sharon and the others stay here in Uruguay. Money can't buy friendship!
   

End of An Era

Well, today was the last day I will sit on my fancy-schmancy motorcycle. After almost a year of trying to sell it, a friend (who has been admiring the bike for over a year) finally bought it. Of course, I have only owned the bike for a little over 2 years, so I am not sure if I could call it an "era".

Originally, we had planned to have a motorcycle as our only means of transportation. As it works out, that was not practical and once we bought the VW bug, the motorcycle was just for fun, anyway. I loved the "looks" that I would get whenever I rode it. People would stop and talk about the bike. Everyone would say "Great Bike". It was like being a Rock Star- but that is over now (sad face).

To be honest, I will only miss it for a few more days. Almost all of last year, it was sitting in front of a pharmacy on the main road, where the owner sells cars on consignment. He sold Denise's moto almost immediately, but was unable to find a buyer for mine. I actually only saw it a few times over the last year. I have had it back for over a month and it mostly just sat in the little storage shed. So while it would have been nice to have a moto, it wasn't used much, anyway.

So, on this rainy day, I waived goodbye as the little taillights winked on at the bottom of the driveway.

In Search of Free Golf

Like Ponce de Leon's search for the Fountain of Youth, Pizarro's search for the city of Inca Gold and Indiana Jone's search for the Crystal Skull- I am in search of free golf. Yes, rumor has it (and several people reported on it) that there is free golf at Montevideo's municipal golf course at Punta Carrettas on Mondays. It is said that the course is open on Sunday for the public to stroll the grounds and that on Monday, you can play for free.

I would probably amend that to most Mondays. After getting up, getting my golf equipment in order, locating the golf course, I enjoyed the 24 mile drive into town to the course, taking the coastal route on the rambla. At around 9 in the morning the last few miles were stop and go traffic, due to the morning rush hour, but before and after that small bottleneck, it was smooth sailing. I even found the course entrance, easily.

However, it was not to be a day of free golf, today. I was informed that the course was completely closed for maintenance. Normally, some of the holes are closed, and you just play around them. But I was told the whole course was closed. Before I left, I noticed someone boldly walking through the gate, past the guard with clubs and a cart. Then I remembered you are just supposed to go in. So I loaded up the clubs and boldly started through (they had changed the guard and I thought it would be my chance). The new guard informed me that, sadly, the course was closed. So I packed everything back into the Fusca and headed home. Next week (because I have to try), I'll email or call first, before making the trip.

Dia de Noqui, The 29th of the Month!

Today, I finally had a plate of noquis, (also known as gnocchi) a fresh potato and flour pasta, on it's rightful day! The 29th of the month!

For those of you, not in Uruguay, you are now wondering what I'm talking about! Well, the tradition in Uruguay is that restaurants offer and most people at home eat, these little pastas on the 29th day of each month. Why, that day? Well, by way of illustrating the reason for this, back in the states it's not uncommon to get a semimonthly pay check at your place of employment. I used to work at a job where I loved getting a weekly pay check because right when I was getting low on cash Voila!, another pay check would arrive. Now, imagine a once a month Pay period. You can see how your money might, begin to wear a little thin, by the time, the end of the month rolls around. Tradition holds that on the day before payday, the 29th the only thing people could still afford to eat were potatoes and flour for pasta making. Along with eating the noqui the tradition consists of restaurants putting a little coin (peso) under your plate of noquis to symbolize prosperity ahead.

The term Noqui is also derogatorily used here (but with a knowing smile) to describe a civil servant. Government jobs are highly sought after here, as they offer job security. Firing, a government employee is unheard of! It's like a professor getting "tenure", up until then, you are always under review but with tenure you're safe!  There are "Urban legends" of some "noquis", just showing up to work on one day, at the end of the month, only to pick up their pay for that month. Most government jobs have a sort of lottery that if you're in the winning group THEN you can be interviewed for the job. We have a friend who got his job when his friend, unbeknown to him, put his name in the contest. You still have to qualify through written tests but the contest gets you in the running! Getting back to the subject of the edible kind. Every month as the 29th approached I would think about ordering some noquis, since everyone offers this meal it would be extra fresh on that day. However, I would only remember the tradition on the 30th always missing it! This time we bought some to celebrate our new purchase.We stopped into a little hole in the wall deli (of sorts) in Salinas to pick up some media lunes (croissants with ham and cheese) and some Noquis! This time we bought some to celebrate our new purchase!

As you'll recall from an earlier post, I said that Monday Morning (now thinking about a "Mamas and Papas" song) that we would again, try and meet a delivery van on the outskirts of Montevideo. Well lo and behold after only 2 hours of waiting, we met up with Amando and our new bar stools!

We love them! We received 2 bar stools, for what we would have paid for just one at several other expo Hecho Aca vendors' stands. Also they are custom made (for our larger buttock proportions)


The seat bottoms are 17" or 43cm. The maker did question us when we gave him the measurements saying that most bar seats weren't that large but we assured him that is what we wanted! As a side note I looked at an online catalog and noticed that 17" was a standard North American size and NOT the largest by any means. So that made me feel a little better!

The cost of the bar chairs? Only $1200 pesos each (about $60 US). The finished project looks right at home in our new kitchen.

One last kitchen feature left to do is a small backsplash tiling job and some touch up paint. Then the heart of the home will be truly complete!

Down On The Corner, Out in the Street.

Okay, It wasn't early in the evenin' just about supper time, nor were we near the courthouse but that song by John Fogerty and Creedance Clearwater revival kept playing in my head. I found myself this morning "Down on the corner, out in the street" with Wally (not Willy) waiting at the corner of Avenida Italia and Avda Bolivia (near the Portones mall) for a van to show up and drop off our newly built bar stools. The man assured us that we WOULDN'T be able to find his shop, Hence an arranged meeting was set up. So after driving to the outskirts of MVD we waited and waited. Neither of us knew, which direction the truck would come from, at that very busy intersection. We didn't even know what the truck would look like. Wally and I choose different corners to better stake out the place.

As you recall from a previous post we ordered these bar stool from a vendor in the Expo. Hecho Aca (Made here), that means we had never been to the maker's shop. Normally we ask for things to be "envio"(sent) to our house but it would have cost about $1000 pesos ($50 US) to have this done as we live past the toll bridge ($100 pesos  in tolls {$5 US} round trip) and a 40 min drive from MVD. Since we are trying to keep costs down we decided to pick it up our self. (We only pay $20 pesos Rt) and saving $45 IS a big deal for us!



Did I mention, that we waited and waited and yes waited for this drop off (No, we hadn't paid yet! so don't worry). With that song in my head and me whiling away the morning. (Oh I forgot, Wally didn't have our cellular phones loaded with any minutes) So while we waited I took some photos, so you can now wait along with me! (no I don't hate you), I just thought you'd like to see my hangout spot.

 I decided to check out this Lioness sculpture that I had often driven passed but now had the time to fully examine! Two cubs are at her feet ready to eat the kill she has provided for them (a bird) It's a cool stature but someone has sadly "Tagged it". Graffiti is very much a trendy expressionist art form as I came to learn about after seeing the movie "Exit Through  The Gift Shop"                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

However, defacing the art work of another is just wrong! Hey, what ever happened to finding a blank wall? (not endorsing that method but at least I could understand the blank canvas mentality) Painting a few initials on something is lazy and mean (in my opinion)!

While waiting, I looked around and thought how nice this one section of side walk near the lioness was. It was cobble stoned, so I took a photo of that.  Then being bored, I remembered how the leaf cutter ants leave such deep trails in their pursuit of denuding in a day any plant they set decide to go after, so another photo to show you that! The 'leaf cutter ants" are very much a topic among expats so a trail pic can help you be "IN the loop" on that discussion.

I then remembered that, I should be looking up in case I saw our delivery truck. I decided some people watching, was in order. Here just like in NYC (New York City, USA) vehicles are often asked if they want their windshields washed while they are waiting for the light to turn to green. Two such glass cleaners were working on adjacent corners dashing out into the street on red lights and soliciting such jobs. They looked like brothers, both tall, thin build and surprising dark as Uruguay doesn't have a large black population at all! One washer was a little more sedate than the other one wearing brighter attire, two people different but alike! I always find the many motorcycles here interesting. Most expats will mention this as well because of the number of people/children/ladders/business ventures carried on them. I once saw 2 riders holding a lawn mower and a ladder whizzing by me all on one motorcycle! Today just a little cart motorcycle combo can be seen in the photos.

Finally, I crossed the street to look closer at this rather large iron work of art and try and figure out what it was. I decided on a triple shot so you can read the sign that accompanies the piece! It says it's the tree of life depicted and of time? Then I saw an iron Apple near it so that depicts the Garden of Eden tree although the exact fruit was Never Named in the Bible An "Apple" was just traditionally added by word of mouth.

In case your wondering, I asked Wally to call the company to see how much longer we had to wait! He gave me some money I went to the nearby gas station (see Wally standing under it's sign in photo). I brought a calling card used their payphone and found out their truck had BROKEN DOWN! They couldn't reach us by phone to let us know! Note to self bug Wally to keep minutes on his phone! After letting them know we didn't feel like hanging around until 4:30 when they thought it make get fixed! We arranged for a delivery on Monday Morning, at which time I'll be again "Down on the corner, out in the street! (We'll call first, however!)