Mark's Birthday Dinner

And of Course it's Sushi!

A Day with the Amazing Gail!

An Inspirational Woman

New Years Eve from the Balcony

Housewarming, Christening & Blessing!

Christmas Eve on the Balcony

Larry's Last Adventure

He always seemed to be up for an adventure - and for making new friends. He was communicating actively with us long before we ever met. As soon as he became involved with my good friend Madelle, I became his friend. It really was that simple.
Many people are shocked and saddened today to hear of Larry's unexpected death. He had many friends in many locations. He was our most active commenter on the blog (often anonymously) and often offered facts or insight that was helpful or amusing.
When I received the email from Madelle titled "Larry's Last Adventure," I knew is couldn't be good news. But I thought it was a great way to look at the passing of such a cool and adventurous guy.
Farewell, my friend. I'm glad we got to know you.

Happy People - Thoughts for the Day

Friends, family, personal goals, acts of kindness, emotional health. A well balanced, happy life  seems to me to require these. Paula Davis-Laack agrees, and has some factual research to support her analysis.

So far this week ...

some things have gone better than others.

The Lighting of the Tree - Magdalena del Mar

There was a great children's choir, a speech by the wife of the mayor, who says we in Magdalena are all one big family, and of course, fabulous fireworks! The park was filled with adorable little kids and lots of big people, too. A fabulous evening!

And finally - by popular request - Photos of the New Place!

Sure looks better than it did on this day!

Cost of Living, Inflation & Exchange Rate

Source: tradingeconomics.com When we first visited Peru in December 2008, the Peruvian Sol to US Dollar exchange rate was about 3.3. For the most part, the cost of things seemed reasonable, if not downright cheap in some cases. Fast forward

Photos of the New Apartment

Art has been hung. A couple of accent walls have been painted. The place is generally put together and looking great. Tomorrow I am going to take photos and post them. I swear. I really am.

Life of the Online Worker!

Oh, my God! This cartoon story is hilarious - long, but anyone who works online has to relate to this!

"Relaxing" at Home

We certainly weren't thinking clearly when we received the call about Uncle Nello and left the next day.  If we had been, we surely would have allowed more than a week upon our return to prepare for the move to our new apartment. Although we have some photos of the move, and of the kitchen disaster, and a few other things (all of which were posted on Facebook at various times) we still don't have

Family - Final Night in Florida

Our final night in Florida was spent with my son Mark, his amazing wife Debbie and my awesome grandchildren Megan and Austin. After a fabulous evening feasting

Friends in Florida

I am sure that Uncle Nello would have enjoyed hearing that we had some fun while in Florida.

After finishing up with Uncle Nello's affairs

It was Tuesday morning, October 16, when we received the call. Gene's wonderful Uncle Nello had died an hour ago . He was a great guy, nearly 99 years old, and had been planning a trip to France to celebrate his 100th birthday. Sadly, he didn't make it.

Why I Don't Blog Much Anymore

I sometimes ask myself why I don't write blog posts more often. I mean, I would like to make at least a post a week on some topic or experience that I find

We're Homeowners!

Drum roll here please! It's finished, ready to move in, and we have the keys! We won't actually move until close to the end of the month, so you'll have to wait until then to see any much more significant photos, since most of you have been watching the progress all along as I've posted regular photos here and on Facebook. But here's just one more, to show you that the kitchen, one of the things that we totally re-designed, turned out really great!

Medical Care in the Amazonian Jungle

This is really important! If you live in Lima, you should attend this event and learn more about this amazing organization which is bringing basic health care to the jungle and training the people to care for themselves. Even if you don't live here, you should read about their work and consider making a donation.