Saturday, February 15, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 1:15am, finally waking/getting up at 6:15.

Saturday breakfast means blueberry pancakes with real Canadian maple syrup. Yum!

I planned a sequence of moves vs ONEIPAMETATO1453 but then I omitted one of them on execution. I’m still up a pawn but I no longer have the momentum. ☹

I left the apt just before 9am and walked to the mall. In the basement I recycled a Smucker’s glass jar then cut through the parking area (nearly full) to the furthest escalator and up to Urbania. I had a latte while I waited for Teresa. She called at 11am to inform me she was on her way. Fifteen minutes later I met her in H&M where we picked out two sleepers and a set of 3 socks. Across the street we had lunch in La Bahia for 19mil each. Back in Exito we found the perfect baby shower bag but it was slightly ripped. We found another but it was a bit too large, then I got the idea and we bought tissue paper to line it with. We checked out and Teresa called Pepo’s Cake and reserved a cake. We caught a taxi outside and he dropped me off at the cake store where I bought a 10-slice (supposedly) tres leche cake for 35mil. Back in the taxi he took us to our apt for a total of 9mil.

ONEIPAMETATO1453 and I agreed to a draw on the 53^rd move lowering my rating to 1568.

I tried Didi and Uber for the address we were given – suffice it to say it’s high in the mountains (Lomo de Escobero) of Envigado.

We left at 3pm and soon there was a taxi outside the porteria for us. (Daniela had called ahead and ordered it for us and gave him directions.) It was a 40-minute drive up the mountains, well passed Donde Albiero restaurant and I think our driver filled Teresa’s head with the dangers of using Didi, Uber, and InDrive on the way. I paid the driver 32mil and we got out in a light drizzle.

The party was at the grandfather’s house in an area where we had to be allowed in by a security guard. (His son’s Juan and Jorge have houses nearby.) The house is 30 years old but has been recently renovated, I think they covered over the exposed brick with drywall. Teresa and I took a seat on one end of a couch. We were brought a drink, our choice of wine, Coke, or water.

Lots of talking, joking and laughing.

Here’s Laura, Albiero, and Daniela sitting together.

This is Daniela’s 9-year-old daughter Amelia

Later Juan and his older brother Jorge took me on a tour of the house. At the end of the house we looked out a door and they told me what it looked like when they were kids. They had a pond that they stocked with 500 trout – fingerlings? that they would feed every day until they were large enough to fish for. They talked about climbing through the forest and up the mountain. Jorge’s English is much better than Juan’s, later Teresa told me he works in the Maintenance Department for Avianca.

They had a contest, everyone was given a long piece of string and you had to cut it to the size that would fit around Laura’s waist and her large stomach.

I cut back my piece 3 times and when Daniela wrapped it around Laura’s waist it fit perfectly. Beginner’s luck! My reward was a shot of aguardiente, Colombia’s hard liquor. My first taste of alcohol in many years.

Here’s Juan and Jorge

They had different colored pieces of paper cut into about 4” x 4” squares and everyone wrote a note to the new baby girl, Valentina.

This is Teresa’s:

Laura opened presents and this is video of her taking out the socks and second sleeper (first one already on her lap)

Everyone was given a plate with three meatballs, some potatoes (au gratin?), something else I don’t recall, and a little salad.

We finally left at 8pm (still raining) and another couple at the party who live in La Frontera gave us a ride as far as Smartfit and we walked the last couple blocks back to the apt. It’s now about 9pm and time to get ready for bed.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY