Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 1am, seemed like I never fell back asleep, finally getting up at 7am.

I left the apt at 8:30 and completed my workout in Smartfit. I had a latte in Ganso y Castor before returning to the apt at 10:45.

Once again, I tried ordering that chess book from ThriftBooks.com, this time to be sent to my son, but again got a billing error for some unknown reason. I found it on Amazon and added it to my cart.

I see on July13th there was a Budget.com prepayment to my USAA credit card of $758.22.

I see Microsoft is charging me $1.99 a month for an MS Office Basic subscription but I purchased MS Office 2021 back on November 17, 2022 so I cancelled the subscription. From my MS account I can see it is aware of the existence of my new HP laptop.

Teresa returned just after noon and I think she’s going to try to make broccoli cheddar soup later.

Since my Capital One card hasn’t worked I’ve been forced to use my USAA debit card but I now see USAA refunds up to $10 of my ATM fees. 😊 I’m tempted to switch my cards and use my USAA debit card as my primary and my Capital One debit card as my savings/backup. Naw, I’m not going to change anything right now.

Teresa finished making the soup and we had it for lunch with some croutons on top. It wasn’t exactly the same as Potbelly’s but it was still very good, and very filling. I couldn’t find sharp cheddar cheese in Exito the other day so I got mild and Teresa substituted whole milk with 2% so there’s that difference. Next, she wants to try to make creamy chicken rice soup.

I can’t believe the 2^nd rate plumbing they have in this country. In our master bathroom the outlet hose/pipe from the sink isn’t attached to the wall. I think some plumber’s putty might do the job, at last until it dries out, which should be years. While we were under the sink, I also found the tube of Vanos topical cream that’s been missing for years.

Teresa approved Barcelo Bavaro Palace for our end of the year vacation in the Dominican Republic, but for 10 nights, Booking.com wants $4,654 and the hotel wants $4,282. Wow!

I reminded Teresa she needs to have her breast implants changed so we’re going to do that in lieu of going on a nice holiday vacation.

Yahoo says, “Your email storage is full.” In fact, it’s at 142.4%. I spent some time deleting emails but once I got below 80% Yahoo stopped making it easier. I finally got it down to 15.9 GB used of 20 GB.

I finished reading Ken Follett’s The Man from St. Petersburg on my Kindle.

Tonight I only took ½ of a Diphenhydramine with my Zopiclona.

 

FUNNY

Tuesday, July 28, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, finally waking/getting up at 6:15.

The street is wet so we must have had some rain overnight.

The plan for today is I’m going to work on the computer this morning then after lunch we will go to Alcala to sign the new apt rental contract then I will go across the street to use the ATM.

Some years ago, I purchased Microsoft Office Professional 2021 and I have the 25-character license code to prove it. I asked ChatGPT how to move it to my new laptop and it first suggested I uninstall it on my notebook. I guess I’ll hold off on that for now. Time to move ChessBase 16 to my new computer first. I sent an email asking them how to do that. I got Outlook and ChapGPT set up.

I found the all-inclusive resort Barcelo Bavaro Palace for a possible December 23^rd to January 2^nd trip to Dominican Republic.

Teresa returned at noon.

I left the apt at 2pm and walked to the mall. I printed a copy of my new laptop configuration, withdrew 2,000,000 pesos from the Servibanca ATM, and deposited 3,000,000 pesos into Alejandro’s bank account (a loan to Esmeralda to be paid back December 1^st) and 100,000 pesos into Teresa’s bank account (to pay for Netflix).

I was having a latte in Urbania when Teresa called just after 3pm and asked me to meet here in Alcala at 4pm to sign the new apt contract.

I left at 3:30 and walked across the street and a couple blocks away to Alcala where Teresa was waiting for me,

A young man had her repeat into his cellphone her name and cedula number then a code. Then he took a photo of her. Then repeated the same with me. After he moved to another desk, I took Teresa’s phone and looked at the sim card and strangely it had a Movistar sim with a phone number I didn’t recognize. I told Teresa something doesn’t look right and I need to look at her phone when we return to the apt. It turned out to be the young man’s phone, he left it on the table and it was black with a red cover like Teresa’s. 😊 That sounds like it should have only taken 5 minutes but it was at least an hour.

We walked 2 blocks to Wilson’s Bocados Bar where MT was waiting for us. I went through my cellphone while Teresa chatted with her mother. I mentioned we might be able to find hash browns in Philly Steaks in Manila, Poblado. Eventually, Teresa and I had a chicken breast plate and a Coke while MT had soup and the check came to 84mil.

In response to Wanna Move’s comment: I don’t have allergies so my runny nose is probably just a cold coming. Other than Bendaryl (Diphenhydramine), what are the safer options? I mainly use it to stop my mind from working when it’s time to sleep.

 

FUNNY

 

Monday, July 28, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, was awakened at midnight by someone across the street repeatedly yelling “yahoo”, got up again at 4am, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

During breakfast Teresa got a call then informed me that the water will be shut off at 8am but didn’t know when it will be turned on again.

I packed my gym bag so I could shower in the gym but I couldn’t remember the combination to my padlock. I did a quick search on my computer but it wasn’t easily found so I took one of our small TSA locks. I left the apt at 8:45 and in the garage I could see them working on our plumbing.

I completed my workout in Smartfit without incident only problem being after my shower I could only find one clean sock so I had to put on one shoe sockless.

I had my usual latte in Ganso y Castor for an hour before returning to the apt. I asked our portero if we had water and he said by noon, so we’ll see.

I found the missing sock, had it been any color other than white it would have been easy to spot.

I was still being charged for Illinois tolls for my rental car so I called Illinois Pay by Plate and got my rental car and credit card numbers removed from my account. (I would have to send a letter to receive a refund for the $4.10 in mis-paid tolls so I’ll eat that.)

It seems I forgot to pay our Claro bills so I’ll have to take care of that soon.

It’s 1:15 and we’re waiting for the water to come back on so Teresa can finish making lunch. We ended up having a simple lunch.

I left the apt at 2pm and walked to the mall. I stopped in Exito’s tech area looking for a MS Bluetooth mouse. I found a HP Bluetooth mouse for 124,900 that was on sale for 69,962 pesos ($14.50) that I paid for with my Capital One debit card. I went up to the banking area and of course my Capital One debit card didn’t work. I switched to my USAA debit card and withdrew 2,000,000 pesos but when I tried to make another withdrawal it was denied. I tried it again at a Davivienda ATM but got the same result.

I went in Claro and paid our June & July cellphone bills for 390,000 pesos.

I bought a muffin in Starbucks and took it to Urbania where I ate it with a latte.

I left at 4pm, bought a few things in Exito before returning to our apt.

I paired my new mouse with my new computer so that’s one step closer to my goal.

I logged in to my USAA account and increased my debit card daily limit for ATM withdrawals to $1200 so now I should be able to make two in the same day.

Teresa got a massage from Kelly between 5pm and 6pm.

I used Samsung Smart Switch to move most of Teresa’s data from the old phone to her new one. One thing I can’t figure out is when I call her, it rings on the old phone but not the new one. The old phone has no sim card but still shows her phone number (as does the new one with a sim card) but won’t allow me to delete it.

Running water finally came back on at 5:45pm.

 

FUNNY

Sunday, July 27, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, woke up at 6am and got up at 7am with Teresa.

The plan for today was to go to Santa Elena. Teresa said it would be colder there so I put on warmer socks, my hiking pants and brought a jacket. We left the apt at 10am and hadn’t gotten a block when Teresa informed me she forgot her cellphone. I waited on the bench outside the porteria while she retrieved. Outside a not very crowded Smartfit we quickly caught an Envigado bus. On the eastern edge of downtown Medellin we got off (I think it was calle 43) and walked 4 blocks east. A block south and we encountered a large crowd waiting for a bus to Santa Elena.

While Teresa was talking to someone I noticed a bus pull up which looked already full but the doors opened and a few people got on.

Teresa reported, as I suspected, that this was not going to work. I commented that if the crowd is this bad now, how easy is it to return to Medellin.The crowd is this big and Feria de los Flores doesn’t begin until August 5^th. We walked back to Avenida Poblado and caught a taxi. We were on our way to the castle museum when the driver reported something about a marathon and the museum road would be closed. We ended up at Jardin de Botanico for 30mil. We used a side entrance and entry was free but they were still checking IDs. There were 4 youngsters in front of us and two had Mexican passports. I, a foreigner, had my Resident Cedula with me but Teresa didn’t bring her cedula. She was quizzed and then let inside. There was some type of a presentation going on with a few food booths set up. We sat down and eventually had a few small chicken shish kebabs that cost 4,000 pesos ($1) each. When the presentation ended and everyone left we took a couple of their chairs. They had a DJ playing music and a few people were dancing.

We walked to the pond where we saw this large iguana.

The iguana eventually walked away and climbed this tree. Soon another larger one arrived – maybe it scared the small one?

Some people got awfully close although they aren’t dangerous unless you harass them but if they bite you their saliva can be harmful. Eventually some one came by with a dog and the iguana moved very quickly into the pond.

We walked around a bit more and I finally convinced Teresa to check out the restaurant near the main entrance. It’s called El Bosque and wasn’t crowded so we took a table. Teresa ordered a chicken breast plate that we shared with a couple Cokes.

Teresa talked to a water and as I understand it if we show up right at noon we can order food to go that we can eat in the park.

We left at 4:30, walked across the street to the metro and returned to Envigado.

I finally got a response from Inter-Col, their charge for renewing a passport is $285 and Teresa notified MT that it would cost 1,200,000 pesos to renew it. Smartly, she decided not to renew it because at 88 years old and not in good health she shouldn’t be flying to the US anyway.

 

FUNNY

Saturday, July 26, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, woke up at 6am and got up at 6:45 with Teresa.

I forgot to mention our package arrived yesterday. Teresa got a small pack of bracelet clasps and I got a couple chess books I’d ordered and a Chess Life magazine.

We’re out of eggs so I only had an English muffin for breakfast.

I met Marcos outside Tostao at 9:30 where I told him about our trip to Chicago and he told me about life in Phoenix with temps of 110-115 degrees. He thinks the Arizona Cardinals can win 10-11 games this year. He asked me if I’ve seen any of the colorful birds called Guacamayo flying around; I told him I’ve only seen Macaws. I found out later it’s the same bird, just the Spanish word for them vs the English word.

Marcos left at 10:30 and I moved to Peccato where I had a latte while starting my new chess book on The Pirc defense. I left at 11:30 and returned to the apt.

It’s 1pm and its raining and I haven’t heard from Teresa about meeting for lunch.

Teresa called at 1:15 and asked me to meet her for lunch at Casita Parilla. I agreed but couldn’t find them on my Didi app. I checked google maps and found it’s called Mi Casita Parilla not La Casita Parilla as I originally thought. I found it on Didi and my ride was only 5 minutes away. When I arrived, Teresa was already eating her lunch. I had the chicken breast, same as Teresa and we both had Cokes. I don’t recall the total check as I didn’t understand so just handed Diego 2 50s and he gave me my change.

We walked down to MTs apartment and she handed me a little paper bag with her 3 passport photos. (I thought that was where we were headed next but she had already taken care of it.) I gave them to Teresa to hang onto. They headed to the little café named Perinto while I went across the street, printed the broccoli and cheese recipe in Spanish and bought a large carton of eggs in our favorite brand. I met them at the café and MT and I had lattes while Teresa had a granizado. We had another brief downpour while we were there.

We left at 4pm, walked MT back to her building and returned to the apt by taxi.

I managed to sign in to my Microsoft account 😊 and got Windows 11 set up. Still left is to make sure all my apps are on my new computer and how do I move my data from the c: and d: drives to my new computer?

While my new computer was getting setup, I finished watching the first 6 episodes of Critical on Netflix.

Dang, a couple lesions have returned.

 

FUNNY

Friday, July 25, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 3am, finally waking up at 6:15 and getting up at 6:45.

I took an extra 25mil with me, 18,600 pesos for bagels and 5,000 pesos for a bag of milk.

I left the apt at 8:30 for Smartfit where I completed my workout but in a different order than usual as machines became available.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor but left early just after 10am.

I stopped in Eduardo Madrid, no bagels ☹ but I found 8 English muffins 😊. They were 20,000 pesos which is exactly what I had brought with me for bagels. I stopped in Ara and bought a bag of milk for 3,900 pesos.

Back at the apt Teresa was getting ready to leave.  She said MT might want to go to El Tesoro instead.

The chicks are exercising their muscles:

They create a real mess on the balcony (poop) so we probably won’t repeat this experiment.

Teresa left at 11am.

I tried signing in again to my Microsoft account with the same result. ☹

Teresa left me a voice message to meet outside Zara in El Tesoro at 1pm.

I left the apt at 12:30 and took a Didi to El Tesoro mall. I texted Teresa when I was seated outside Zara. She replied she was in H&M and to meet in Valentina’s café for lunch.

The ladies each had half a chicken sandwich and I had a whole one. MT and I had lattes and Teresa had a granizado. We were in no hurry to heave and the café wasn’t busy. At one point I went to the copy desk and printed a recipe for broccoli cheddar cheese soup, in English. I edited it and now its ready to translate to Spanish. I paid the check of 131,111 pesos ($32.25) with my Capital One card and we took seats outside H&M for a few minutes. That’s when MT asked about renewing her passport. The same one I asked her about last year and last January and she wasn’t interested.

We returned to Envigado by taxi and MT went in to get her passport. I see her expiration date is August 17^th so that gives her a few more days.

I renewed my passport 3 years ago and Inter-Col charged me $265. I passed this info on to Teresa and told her MT will need a new passport photo so she could start with that. I texted Inter-Col and asked how much they charge to renew passports.

I read that ChessMood has unlocked their courses again through July 31^st so I started doing a few exercises.

I translated the recipe to Spanish and it’s ready for printing.

Kelly was supposed to come give Teresa a massage which would give me an hour to finish setting up Teresa’s cellphone but she never showed up.

I watched another episode of Critical on Netflix.

 

FUNNY

Thursday, July 24, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 3am, finally waking up at 6am and getting up at 6:30.

Teresa got up at 7am.

It looks like the baby pigeons’ eyes are open. They’re barely a week old and I see signs of them grooming themselves.

I arrived at Tostao just before 9:30 and texted Marcos I had arrived. He texted me back, “OK.....the delivery is happening now. I thought Sat we were meeting up.” I checked my old messages and I had seen this message, “Terry, the furniture store thinks that it will happen before 9.30. So let's plan on mañana. I want to hear about your trip.” But not the one he sent a minute later, “Sat his perfect.”. My bad!

I left and stopped at Mercado Madrid to buy eggs, unfortunately all they had were the small packs of 4, but I bought one.

I received an email that my new Capital One debit card has been delivered.

I turned on my new HP laptop for the first time, completed HP’s setup (including connecting to my Terry Plus Wi-Fi network), thought I added my Microsoft account information correctly, but received this message

Well, I guess I’ll try again later.

We both had an hour nap after lunch.

At 3pm Teresa came out of her shower then informed me the Alcala lady isn’t available to sign papers today but she’ll be there all-day Monday.

Teresa also said something about her mother being lonely so maybe she would go visit her. Then she had the great idea of taking her to Crepes & Waffles for ice cream. I told her we could also buy a large carton of eggs while we’re there. She called MT and what she told me was MT has 2 doctor’s appointment tomorrow. I understand the first one is around 11:15 in Comfama in Envigado and the second one a little later in Poblado. Teresa suggested I meet up with them in Santafe mall later.

I received this email from the Illinois tollway:

I started watching a new series on Netflix named Critical.

I’m happy to report I haven’t had any new skin lesions in a while.

Just before going to bed we checked on the chicks and the parents were both on the fence watching over them. They seem to be leaving the chicks alone for longer periods of time. One chick is noticeably larger than the other, a male?

 

FUNNY

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 3:45am, finally waking/getting up at 6:15.

I had some nasal dripping so I took a cold pill and went back to bed.

I left the apt at 9am and completed my workout in Smartfit. It’s still not easy after being a month away from the gym, even though I’m using reduced weights.

In Ganso y Castor, I was going to listen to Caleb Williams first Chicago Bears press conference when I learned my new Galaxy A36 cellphone doesn’t have a traditional 3.5mm headphone jack. ☹ I had to listen to it through the speaker.

I left at 11:15 and returned to the apt.

I received a text message from Innovation Corp to pay $26.08 for my delivery using Paypal. Interestingly, this time they didn’t ask for an itemization of my orders 😊 and I paid it right away.

I used my VPN to log into Illinois’ Pay by Plate and used my USAA credit card to pay $14.30 in unpaid tolls ignoring those that occurred after July 15^th. (Confirmation# 023788)

I left the apt about 12:45 and stopped at the copy center. It was closed but the sign said they would reopen at 1pm so I waited the 5 minutes then printed a 17-page article about “replacing my Microsoft account password with a passkey”.

I continued on to Classic Diner where I had a burger, fries and a Coke but next time I’ll order it without the sauce. It’s just too messy.

Actually, I probably won’t order it again as the quality of the meat is bad. I paid 34,307 pesos ($8.50) including tip, and returned to the apt to await Teresa’s call.

Teresa finally returned just before 6pm. She never got to Alcala, our real estate agency because her friend needed her to go to El Tesoro to pick up some facial cream post surgery.

I started watching 1992’s Patriot Games on Netflix.

I was about 85% through Maggie O’Farrell’s This Must be the Place (TMbtP) on my Kindle when I borrowed my next book. I exited TMbtP and downloaded the new book then was unable to get back in to TMbtP because my loan had expired. ☹

 

FUNNY

Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, finally waking/getting up at 6:15.

After breakfast I went back to bed, fell asleep and got up at 8:15.

Teresa left at 8:45 for her gym class and I left at 9:30 for the mall. (We’re going to meet up for lunch in Crepes & Waffles in Santafe mall.)

I walked to the mall, recycled 3 plastic containers then went upstairs to Claro. The guy at the entrance gave me turn number T13 and they were serving T06. Forty-five minutes later I was called and I asked the clerk to register my new cellphone. She read the IMEI code off the box (I can’t read print that small since my vision correction surgery) and entered it into her computer; it took less than a minute. I showed her one of the Leidy Claro Hogar messages I receive daily and I think she fixed that too in little more than a minute.

My Capitol One card was denied at 3 of Davivienda’s ATMs

(I think maybe I’ve worn out the magnetic strip.) but my USAA card worked and I withdrew 3 million pesos.

I went downstairs and had a latte in Urbania. I left 45 minutes later and walked across the street to Metrosur and at the Gana kiosk paid 383,251 pesos for our DirecTV bill. I confirmed I could pay my Movistar bill there. Just as I finished, Jose Avendaño showed up. We chatted a bit and he said Superman is 10* and Jurassic Park only 5*. I told him I’d see him later and he asked me to text him.

I walked back to the apt while listening to music on my iPod.

I soon left again at 12:30 and took a Didi to Santafe mall. Teresa soon caught me in line at Crepes & Waffles. The line moved quickly and we were sat after a 5-minute wait. Teresa had the Mexican chicken and I a Cesar salad with chicken. We didn’t order drinks and the check came to 61,150 pesos ($15), including tip. (So much cheaper than the US.) I paid with my Capital One card because “tap and pay” still works.

This is what the atrium looks like

set up for Feria de las Flores. All the bright colors you see on the floor are fresh flowers.

We went down to Valentina’s where we had drinks and shared a slice of cheese cake. I wrote Teresa a note reminding her to call DirecTV to either have them repair the coaxial cable that Movistar cut or cancel our service.

We left at 3:30 and Teresa bought a few things in Medipiel and swiping my Capital One card didn’t work so I used my USAA debit card.

We returned to the apt by taxi.

I called Capital One (confirming my identity was a little challenging for reasons I won’t state here) and requested a new debit card and it should arrive in 3 business days. (In the meantime, my current Capital One debit card still works (for tap and pay)).

Teresa talked to Esmeralda about DirecTV then she told me we shouldn’t call DirecTV we should call Movistar to come and repair the cable they cut. I told her if she doesn’t want DirecTV then just cancel their service.

I received an email from the Illinois Tollway that my credit card has been declined. Not sure if that’s something I need to worry about since I believe I’ve paid all my tolls. (Strange wording though, “The credit card registered to your Pay By Plate service has been declined and needs to be updated. To avoid fees or violation, please update your credit card information on your account.” Maybe one of my attempts to cancel their service actually worked. And now I can’t even get to their website. Ah, probably because I’m in Colombia; I’ll try again later with my VPN.

I told Teresa when the baby bird’s eyes open they might imprint on us meaning they will think we are their parents and might be attracted to us in the future. She told me a couple stories that sounds like she’s been through this before at the finca.

Teresa shared with me her plans for tomorrow. Gym in the morning then she’s going to meet up with a lady she knew from Amaga that is having facial skin surgery and wants Teresa to be with her. They will have lunch then Teresa will be with her for her surgery. So I’ll be on my own for lunch tomorrow but in the afternoon we’ll meet up at Alcala to sign the new apt rental contract.

I put the ProFoot Super Sport arch supports, I bought at Ross for $5.99, in my moccasins. My feet in the moccasin feel a little tight but at least there’s no heel discomfort.

 

FUNNY

Monday, July 21, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, took a while to fall asleep, woke up at 5:45am.

The street is a little wet so we must have had some rain overnight.

It’s 6:45am and I’m waiting to see, when Teresa gets up, whether she’s going to head right to the gym or wait and make me breakfast.

She got up at 7:15 and made me breakfast.

I left the apt at 8:30 and walked to Smartfit where I completed my workout. My mantra is “do no harm” so I reduced the weight on each of my exercises by 10-15# and only completed 10 minutes on the treadmill.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor for an hour before returning to the apt. I noticed these banners above the park.

Looks like it’s the 250^th anniversary of Envigado.

Teresa asked me to find an email in her email account containing the new apt contract the agency sent us. She didn’t know her email address or password but we figured it out. I texted the agency both our email accounts and I told her we’ll figure out again how to look at her emails when she knows the agency has sent the contract.

At 11:30 the male pigeon arrived and relieved the female.

I had had a little nap after lunch, not sure how long because I didn’t note what time I laid down.

We left the apt at 2:30 and took a Didi to Pricesmart. It’s disappointing when they don’t have everything you want. I was looking to replace the container of garlic butter but they didn’t have it or the brand of eggs we usually buy. Still, we bought 1,143,764 pesos ($286) of groceries including renewing our membership then returned to the apt by taxi.

On Netflix, I finished watching season 2 of Quarterback then I watched Hunt for Red October.

 

FUNNY

Sunday, July 20, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, quickly fell asleep, got up once 1am, again at 4am, couldn’t fall back asleep, finally sleeping from 6:30 to 7:30.

I took my shower, dressed and walked down to Mercado Madrid where I bought a medium-size carton of eggs for our breakfast.

The babies were left alone for about half an hour. The mother arrived just before 10am. Even with my headphones on I can hear when they arrive, those wings are powerful.

We left the apt at 10:45 and took a Didi to the Exposiciones metro station and there was a bus to El Retiro already there.

There was already a number of people on the bus as I followed Teresa to the back of the bus. There were two young men occupying the window seats, Teresa took the middle seat and I took the one to her left. A metro train must have just pulled into the station because soon a group got on the bus. The bus was nearly full when the guy to my left pulled out his cellphone and started playing something loud. I soon moved to Teresa’s other side.

It was a little after we left the station I figured out that today is July 20^th, Colombia’s Independence Day. A few people got off at Indiana Mall and before others got on, I moved a couple seats toward the front. The guy with the cellphone must have given up his seat to one of the elderly because next thing I know he’s standing right behind me. Every time the bus veered to the left he must have braced himself against my seat (with his cellphone in his right hand) as I heard the noise right next to my ear. Me occasionally putting my finger in my left ear didn’t faze him. As others got off the bus I moved toward the front until finally two seats became available and Teresa and I sat next to each other.

When we arrived in El Retiro we walked uphill the four blocks to Lomo Fino and were surprised there wasn’t a line and there were tables available. Teresa had their chicken breast and I their teriyaki steak. My steak was good but with so many mushrooms that I gave to Teresa. I also had a Coke and the check was 116,000 pesos ($28.88). When we left there was a line to get in.

We moved across the street to the plaza where we found some entertainment:

I got a little video of the first three groups but then I messed up and took photos instead of video:

We walked down the hill a block and Teresa found these inspirational purses in a store:

We stopped in El Retiro Café and were surprised to get a table. Teresa ordered a granizado but didn’t like it so she switched to a maltiada while I had a latte. I downloaded a note taking app called Easy Notes, to use until I can get KeepMyNotes moved from my old cellphone to my new one.  Later we each repeated our drink orders and shared a slice of apple cake with walnut pieces.

We left at 5pm, walked down to the bus station and got right on a bus back to Medellin. When traffic got backed up our driver pulled off onto what looked like a frontage road then took back streets finally joining Las Palmas just before San Diego Mall.

We got out at Exposiciones station and took a taxi back to Envigado. We got out at Tienda D1 and bought a few things before returning to the apt.

 

FUNNY

Saturday, July 19, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, quickly fell asleep, got up once during the night, woke up at 4:30, couldn’t fall back asleep, finally getting up at 7:30.

About 9:15 I noticed the father pigeon was gone so I took this video; appears to be 2 babies, no?

I rested from 9:30 to 11am (not sure I slept) and during that time the black/blue/white pigeon returned and appears to be feeding the babies.

Teresa left at 12:30 to get her nails done.

Just before 4pm the large brown pigeon took its nesting turn. I’m guessing the larger brown pigeon is the male and the smaller black/blue/white pigeon is the female.

I tried using Samsung Smart Switch to just copy the apps from the old phone to the new phone but it still didn’t copy KeepMyNotes. I give up; maybe Alejandro can help me do that someday.

I finished watching the series Untamed and started watching season 2 of Quarterback on Netflix.

Well, I was originally planning on going to Viva Envigado today but Teresa wanted to go to El Tesoro in the afternoon. In the end we didn’t go anywhere and we don’t have eggs for breakfast tomorrow.

 

FUNNY

Friday, July 18, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, quickly fell asleep, got up once during the night, finally waking up at 6:30 and getting up at 7am.

I took my TENS 3000 machine to Chicago but never used it. I still haven’t used it since I got back but leaking has been minimal. We’ll see how it goes after my longer walk today and I start going back to the gym on Monday.

I left the apt at 8:30 and walked to Sao Paulo Plaza. Our usual table was taken but I found Glenn at a 2-top on the other side of the restaurant. His health is the same except for a small scar on the side of his nose. I thought it was from another skin cancer surgery but he said it was from rough play with Bianca. He believes Medellin may have finally exited from the rainy season. I gifted him the bag of 5 frozen bagels, 2 almond cookies and 1 small carabiner and he paid for my breakfast. I told him a lot about our Chicago vacation. I left at 11am and walked back to the apt. Some noticeable leaking.

This is the clearest photo I’ve gotten of the nest. It looks like 2 (opened) eggs but can’t tell if that’s 1 or 2 baby birds next to them.

I’m still struggling to copy my notes from Keep My Notes on my A52 cellphone to my A36. I’ve got a backup of the .kmnb file on my USB memory stick but I can’t import it to my A36.

I googled, “how do you tell a mother pigeon from a father pigeon” and (part) of Google’s answer, “both parents incubate the eggs, but the female typically does so overnight and into the morning, while the male takes over during the day.”

Today the pigeons switched places at 4:30pm.

At 6pm we took a Didi to Wilson’s Bocados Bar & Restaurante. I gave Wilson “saludos” from my brother and Teresa gave her mother the pair of Nikes we bought for her. MT thought they were a little tight, after Teresa assured me she was the same size and they should fit perfectly. Teresa told her she needs to try them on with socks. We all had the pork dinner and it was very good. We left at 9pm and returned to the apt by Didi.

 

FUNNY

Thursday, July 17, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, quickly fell asleep, got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7:15.

I had 2 scrambled eggs with the remaining half of my onion bagel.

My calves are really tight but they loosened up during the morning.

I arrived at Daniel’s barbershop right at 9am but it was closed. I texted him and he arrived 10 minutes later and apologized for his lateness.

After my haircut I took a Didi to Todo Drogas where I purchased packages of: 1 Atorvastatina and 2 Zopiclona for the month for 114,000 pesos.

I walked to Ganso y Castor where I had a latte until about 11am. I stopped in Eduardo Madrid and bought a sleeve of 6 sesame seed bagels then stopped in Ara and bought Teresa 6 Granny Smith apples.

For lunch we finished our supper from last night plus some lentil soup Teresa made.

I received an email from the Illinois Tollway re: another payment of $15.80 that they charged to my USAA credit card. That should be the last of them.

I left at 1:30 and took a Didi to Torre Medica in El Tesoro. Dr. Rendon arrived right on time and we decided to gamble on the easier and cheaper option of a repair instead of going for the more time consuming and more expensive crown. It took about 45 minutes and cost 390,000 pesos (about $100).

I had a latte and slice of carrot cake in Valentina’s before returning to the apt by taxi.

I’m trying to copy my Keep My Notes files from my old A52 to my new A36 cellphones but it isn’t going well.

About 5pm the pigeon parents switched duties: one staying on the youngsters while the other goes for food. I can definitely see movement from at least one of the hatchlings. Still a long way (days? weeks?) from them being strong enough to fly.

Interesting that neither my car rental nor Airbnb rental payments have appeared on my credit card.

My daughter had another ultrasound and all is well. They said they can even see my granddaughter's hair. I knew that was coming, just not this early.

At 6:45 Teresa got off the phone with her mother and wanted to visit her at Wilson’s bar then have supper in McDonald’s. (I think MT is in a hurry to get her present, a new pair of Nike shoes.) I nixed that idea for tonight.

My calves are really tight again as I went to bed at 10pm.

 

FUNNY

 

Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Well, it’s officially a new day as we were in our seats to take off. I think our flight was delayed because at least one passenger couldn’t find overhead bin space and had to check his carry-ons. A 2-year-old in the row in front of Teresa screamed for the entire take off and landing but was quiet throughout the entire flight. I took a sleeping pill but couldn’t sleep because I couldn’t stretch out. They served us chicken enchiladas on our flight which Teresa found too spicy (probably only in one bite) but was still challenging to eat with bamboo silverware in such a confined space.

We arrived on time, made a trip to the restroom, then she got in the Colombian line and I got in the line for seniors. We were both through in about 5 minutes. (The normal foreigner line wasn’t very long so they probably got through in 20-30 minutes.)

Outside we quickly caught a blue and white airport taxi to take us to our apt for 140,000 pesos.

When we arrived at the apt, Teresa asked the portero to turn out water and gas back on, I moved the 5 of the 6 bagels to the freezer, we used the bathroom and went to bed at 6am just as the sun was coming up. I fell asleep immediately and Teresa woke me just before noon.

We started unpacking and getting the apt back in order.

We found our balcony very dirty with bird excrement and we found we have a squatter:

For supper we ordered food delivered from Chiclayo, ate half and refrigerated the remainder for lunch tomorrow. I was relaxing on the recliner trying to finally get the piece of food out from between 2 teeth that has been bothering me for a week and a tooth broke. I text Dr. Rendon for an emergency appointment and he gave me 2pm tomorrow.

 

FUNNY

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, quickly fell asleep, woke up at midnight feeling overheated, fluffed the duvet, found a cool part of the bed and fell back asleep, finally waking/getting up at 8:15. Yeah, I know that was about 10 hours, but Teresa only got up a few minutes later.

I tried to check-in using the United website but kept coming back to “you haven’t been checked in”. I guess we’ll have to complete it at the airport; we’ll certainly have enough time for it.

We left the apt at 10am and had our last US breakfast in Kathie’s Kitchen. Teresa talked to the bus boy and learned he’s 40 years old (he doesn’t look that old) from Mexico and has been here 24 years without papers. Teresa had the avocado toast with 2 eggs medium and sausage patties and I two eggs over easy, hash browns with sausage links and an English muffin. We both had coffee for a total of $40.51 and I left a $6.30 tip. I paid for it with my credit card from our table. I asked the cashier and found they get a message when the bill is paid.

United oversold our flight and was taking bids around $450+ if you would move to another flight but I ignored it.

We stopped at a nearby gas station and I filled the Toyota Corolla with gas for $27.36.

I stopped in Walgreens to see if they had the pill container like mine that Teresa wants. They didn’t have it, will probably add it to my next Amazon order, but I bought a Chicago Sun-Times.

We returned to the apt for final packing. In some ways it’s easier this time because we just take everything that’s here. On the other hand, we’ve bought a few things that will take up space and add more weight.

We’re washing the clothes we considered dirty so everything packed will be clean and we won’t have to do laundry when we return to Envigado.

The plan is to leave here at 3pm and have soup in Omega. I was a little worried that my 5G plan might expire as I’m on the way to the car return place so I wrote down the address. We left the apt at 2:30 and decided to skip Omega. Waze guided me right to the car return location and it was just a matter of following signs from there. We dropped off the car and left the keys on the dashboard as instructed and headed for the airport train. We took it to Terminal 1 where I used a machine to print our luggage tags but I think I goofed and didn’t continue with the next step which should have been the boarding passes. After waiting in line, we checked our bags and then realized I hadn’t printed our boarding passes. A United worker at the machines completed the process for us. Back at the counter, our bags went through but I had no idea how much they weighed in at.

We went through a line that took us to immigration first, no problem there, then through the TSA check. I had to take out both computers and put them in a separate bin. Didn’t have to take off our shoes though so that was nice.

We had time to spare so we stopped at Rick Bayless’ Tortas Frontera in Concourse B where I ordered a guacamole salad and a Coke for Teresa and a Cuban sandwich and an iced tea for me for a total of $51.13. The whole process, ordering and receiving, took about 45-minutes but a table came available just as I was picking up our food. I liked my sandwich but Teresa found her salad too spicy (no surprise there from a Mexican restaurant even though I had them hold the jalapenos). I gave Teresa the other half of my sandwich and I finished most of her salad.

I received a message from T-Mobile that I’ve used my 5GB plan. (Talk about timing.)

We moved to Concourse C and found our gate with an hour to spare. We found a couple free chairs and collapsed in them. Teresa heard them call for Group 2 so we got in line. When they checked us in at the gate it turned out only Teresa’s boarding pass was for Group 2, mine was for Group 5 but because we were together they let us pass.

Our 3-hour flight left 10 minutes late but still arrived on time. This time we didn’t have to claim and recheck our bags in Houston we just had a long walk to another Concourse. We stopped at a self-purchase stand and bought, credit card only, a sandwich to share for $16.40. ☹

We still had an hour before our flight and found seats near the gate. This time when we got on, nothing was said about our boarding passes.

 

BURMA SHAVE

 

Monday, July 14, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 9:45, took a little while to fall asleep, got up once during the night (still dark out), finally waking/getting up at 6:30.

We left the apt at 8:30 and drove to Batter & Berries in Chicago where we met up with Jimmy. He’s been there before and had their Banana Belgian Waffle, I had their Blueberry French toast and Teresa had a Spinach Omelet. Jimmy gave me the okay to stay with him for a few nights in September when I see my granddaughter and I can drive him to school and borrow his car for the day. We gifted Jimmy a Caleb Williams #18 jersey, hoping he (Caleb) will be worthy of the purchase. We all had coffee and I paid the check of $75.12 in cash and left a $15 tip.

We said goodbye to Jimmy and drove to Corey’s NYC Bagel Deli on North Avenue and parked across the street in a strip mall parking lot. As we walked out of the parking area, I noticed a sign that said we would be towed. There was a Lululemon across the street so we stopped there and I asked about me parking across the street. They said I would get towed so better to move to their parking garage which I did. While Teresa continued looking around the store, I went across the street and bought 6 onion bagels for Glenn. (I was a little surprised how hard they are.) Back at Lululemon, in the end Teresa didn’t buy anything but I got my parking ticket validated, saving me $16.

It was a slow drive out of Chicago on the Kennedy Expressway that was out-bound under construction. We stopped in Oberweis again and shared a Banana Royale for $11.04.

Using ChatGPT I got some advice on what we can do in the airport between noon and our 7:30pm flight. In Terminal 1 we can stop at Tortas Frontera Concourse B near gate B11 for lunch then go to Beaudevin Wine Bar in Concourse C for coffee and/or dessert.

We returned to the apt and I called Budget and got permission to return the car between 3-4pm. I contacted our Airbnb host and got permission to check out later also. Now we can have a leisurely breakfast, fill-up the car with gas, finish packing, return the car, check our bags at United and have a late lunch before our flight.

Teresa received a phone call from the owner of our apartment in Envigado. The Administration (probably like a Home Owners Association) is raising his monthly fee so he wants to raise our rent from the current 2,486,531 pesos to 3,000,000 pesos. He likes us as renters because we always pay on time so he would like to keep us. I hear rents have gone up higher than that so I’m okay with paying that next year (I think it starts October 31^st). That’s like another $125 and my SS COLA the past two years covers that. We still should have money left over for travel.

I texted Innovation Corp. and asked them to release everything in my locker.

We left the apt at 6pm and drove to L. Woods in Lincolnwood where we met Jeannie & Jacob for supper. Jeannie has gotten noticeably bigger in the 4 weeks since we’ve seen her. She said she feels more movement inside and can’t imagine how she will look/feel in the remaining 2 months.

Jacob had fish & chips, Jeannie had the baked chicken and Teresa & I had the turkey plate which came with mashed potatoes, dressing, and green beans. The green beans were nothing special but everything else was delicious. We shared an order of peach blueberry cobbler topped with ice cream for dessert. I picked up the check of $147.65, plus $30 for tip.

I told Jeannie when I come in September for a visit, Jimmy gave me the okay to crash on his couch for a couple nights and I can borrow his car if I drive him to school first.

We said our goodbyes, returned to the apt and got ready for bed.

 

BURMA SHAVE