We had a great newcomer's lunch but I forgot to take a single photo. I met a lady there who asked me to help with an animal shelter. I told her I really couldn't help right now because my book is late, but I would introduce her to some people who would help. Well, of course, I had to go see the facility right?
In the meantime, another friend told me about another facility. To be honest I prefer the second facility. And I found a little guy that I just had to bring home with me. My Katie doesn't much care for being an only dog and she is very happy to have a brother. So I introduce to you, Picasso and Katie.
He's been a fun addition, but I forgot how much work a second dog can create. And he's just so snuggly.
My friend and poet Barbara Snow helped me finalize the arrangement of my first poem, written about my Earthquake experience for a cross-cultural arts exchange program taking place in mid-June.
We had another Spoken Word event. It was a great evening with several new faces reading. I read the first chapter of Zero Mercy, and the first scene from Terror on the Bluff and they were received well. If you would like a free copy of Zero Mercy:The Evolution of Pierce Wellington III, the backstory of Pierce, a career military man, sign up for my newsletter and you will receive an email link to the story.
Memorial Day weekend, of course isn't celebrated in Ecuador, but as American's we still remember. For my family, the celebration included the announcement of the arrival of my grand-niece who will arrive in late October. We're pretty excited.
And it's Corpus Christie in Cuenca! If you want an explanation of the event you can read all about it in last years post here but last year I didn't have photos of the parade or the fireworks. I hope you enjoy these.
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| The trademark of the Cuenca Corpus Christie celebration are streets lined with tents selling sweets. (This photo is from last year.) |
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| This year's newest treat is a handpainted sugar coated chocolate Cuy- or guinea pig. Cuy is a delicacy in Ecuador and are spit roasted. |
The evening's activities began with a solemn candlelit procession to the cathedral.
And for your reading pleasure four of my friends have new releases, give them a try! Click the author's name for a link to the book.
D.B. McNicol:
The Lei Crime Series: Paradise Down (Kindle Worlds Novella)
Aloha Nicholás! But will this be a hello or a goodbye?
When Lucia Santerez returns home to Hawaii to help her brother
Nicholás with his new dive shop, she learns Nicholás has
disappeared--and someone doesn't want him found.
Enlisting the aid of hunky vacationing firefighter, Jared Stevens,
gets them the wrong kind of attention. They discover what lies under the
water off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kaua`i could make you
rich or get you killed.
For readers of the Lei Crime series, this story occurs shortly after the Lei Crime Series book, "Fire Beach".
George Weir:
Mexico Fever (The Bill Travis Mysteries Book 12)
Former Governor Dick Sawyer may be dying, but he has one final mission for Bill Travis. Bill has to fly to Piste, Mexico, to find Walt Cannon, friend and retired Texas Ranger who disappeared while on the trail of a man named Sunlight, a ruthless killer, drug lord, revolutionary and cult leader. Sunlight wants to return Mexico to the rule of the ancient Maya, but between the jungle and the ruins of a civilization long dead is the most dangerous animal of all--the Mexican Army. With the help of a Mexican police captain, a little girl, and an ornery donkey, Bill Travis must go toe-to-toe with his most dangerous enemy yet in order to save a friend.
Russell Blake:
The Day After Never - Purgatory Road
In the second volume of The Day After Never series, Lucas must make an impossible choice and risk everything in order to save those closest to him. As he crosses a wasteland in search of a phantom, Lucas discovers that his adversary will stop at nothing when the hunter becomes the hunted. An epic saga of survival and redemption set in a near-future wasteland, written by a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author
Nick Russell:
Return to Dog's Run
In the summer of 1951, Elmhurst, Ohio was shocked when the small town's war hero police chief, Lester Smeal, was killed putting an end to the bloody rampage of a rogue cop. It was the last violent act in a chain of events that began with the discovery of the body of Wanda Jean Reider, a beautiful young woman from the wrong side of the tracks. Fifteen years later the chief's son and daughter, and the sister of the murdered woman, are young adults, each living with the legacy of the past as they try to make their own ways in a world torn by war and social change.
~*~Scarlett, Loving life in Cuenca!
Love the guinea pig. I would have problems with all those sweet things available. Have you eaten guinea pig yet? I understand they are delicious.
ReplyDeleteThe sweets are not my favorite. I love chocolate and there isn't much good chocolate there, so it's not too dangerous for me. I haven't eaten cuy. When the locals ask me about it I explain that for me a cuy is a pet like a cat or dog and to eat one would be like eating a cat or dog. They accept that explanation and don't seem to be offended. Maybe they all read the story about the Ecuadorian guy that was cooking a guinea pig in a New York park last year and all the hoopla it created. Most people here say they are tough, but tasty. For me they are eerie looking on the spits. They look more like rats I think. Glad to have you back!
DeletePictures can never do the fireworks justice. And you can get so close to watch them. Celebrations are truly spectacular in Ecuador.
ReplyDelete