Sunday, February 15th, 2015

We left the finca at 9:10 and as we passed the neighbor’s we were challenged by the doberman.  I turned around and tossed my last full dog biscuit to him.  He sniffed it several times and then gingerly picked it up and carried it into the bushes.

After a 5 minute wait we were on a bus to Caldas.  As I stepped on, my first step took me right below an open window in the roof but when I took another step I hit my head on the edge of the ceiling.  All the seats were taken so I turned around and the driver motioned for me to sit in the area behind him.  Teresa was also standing but was talking to some big busted middle aged woman seated next to her.

We three of us got off the bus together and somehow I understood the 4 mil I paid was for all of us.  We walked together to the center of town and then the lady went a different way.  Teresa and I stopped first at Aymará because she hadn’t had breakfast.  Before the waitress took our order I asked in my limited Spanish, if I bought one of their loaves of bread would they be able to slice it here.  She answered “yes” and after that Teresa told me the Spanish words for thin (delgado) and thick (espesor) although I probably won’t remember them.  I explained to Teresa that the sandwich bread we buy in Exito is too thin for the toaster I want to buy next month.  Teresa had an arepa de chocolo, small meat pastry and 2 cups of hot chocolate.  I tried one of their chocolate chip cookies (same as the US) and I also had 2 cups of coffee.  The total was 10,300.  I told her I wouldn’t mind coming here every Sunday for breakfast and then I would buy a loaf of bread for the week.  Teresa agreed but wanted to add attending mass to the mix.

We walked next door to a small hardware store where Teresa bought 2 quarts of white paint, 2 quarts of blue paint, paint thinner, a 1” wide paint brush, and 2 small packages of wood screws for 81,800.  I tried to tell her I would like to buy a piece of hardware (I don’t know its name) that you would screw into the door and rotate to secure a shutter window from the inside.  I looked around but I didn’t see it, although many things were in plastic packages behind a counter and therefore difficult to see.  We saw some really large light bulbs that might be nice to have in the cathedral ceilings of the kitchen and dining room but Teresa has to ask an electrician if the circuits will support them.

Walter met us outside the shop and drove us a few blocks away where Teresa bought a 55# bag of dog food for 75,000 that should last about 6 weeks.  Then he drove us somewhere else where Teresa bought a 50# bag of cement mix for 24,500.

Last night it rained and I was hoping the road up the hill to the finca wouldn’t be wet and it wasn’t.  Still, Walter only got 2/3 the way up and the car started slipping in the dirt.  I told Teresa maybe I should get out to lessen the load but she said to stay in the car.  Walter backed up about 200’ and tried again but was once again unsuccessful.  He backed down again, got out of the car and checked the position of the wheels.  Finally, he asked both of us to get out of the car.  I tried to ask him if he had front wheel or rear wheel drive and I understood front wheel drive.  Finally, he was able to drive all the way to the top without us.  

At the top we got back in and were challenged first by the neighbor’s dogs and then by the Terriers.  He drove all the way down to where the rock path begins.  I carried the hardware down to the finca, Teresa unlocked the doors and Walter made 2 trips to bring the dog food and the cement.  Teresa gave him 25mil for his trouble.  She made arrangements to have Walter pick up Teresa and I and my brother next Saturday afternoon in Envigado.

Back at the finca I tried to google the hardware I tried to tell Teresa about but how do you find something you have difficulty describing?

I finished taking my eye drops.  They have been looking better since my first application last week.

I thought the Academy Awards were tonight but I see they are next Sunday night.  The only movie I’ve seen that is up for Best Picture is The Grand Budapest Hotel which was very good.

Laura wanted to watch a new Jennifer Lopez movie The Boy Next Door (4.3).  Not only did it look like someone copied it in the theatre with a camera but it wasn’t a very good movie; but they liked it.

I took my sleeping pills at 10:15 and we went to bed at 10:45.

T-shirt of the day: Here comes the son.