Monday, November 8, 2010

Halloween 2010


Ramon's nursery class...with star teacher Miss Tori :)


Ramon's guagua de pan.


No trick or treating here. But they do celebrate the day of the dead and visit relatives grave sites and party there. Kids decorate bread shaped like babies, called guaguas de pan. Here is an explanation from the internet.

"The Ecuadorian Day of the Ancestors isn’t quite like the Mexican Day of the Dead, nor is it like American Halloween. El día de los difuntos is a time to celebrate one’s dead ancestors. In the small country villages, families dress in their finest clothes and carry a meal to the cemetery, where they dine on top of the grave of their ancestors. One plate is always left for the dead ancestor. This traditional meal includes guaguas de pan and the colada morada.

Guaguas de pan are bread babies. (The word guagua, pronounced wa-wa, is Quechuan.) Some families make their own guaguas de pan at home, but most buy them from the panaderías, or bakeries, which only make them during this time of the year. These bread babies can be up to 12 inches long and are shaped with a ball of dough for the head and a long, tapering ball of dough for the body. They are decorated with icing and may have jam or some other sweet inside."

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Carla turns two

Carla turns 2 today-Four recent birthdays




Carla had her birthday party this morning, as Maria has to go up to Quito today.

Papi Ramon turned 86 last week in Pasto. We spent 4 days out there. I tried to ride my bike there, overnight....340k, but wimped out after a 100k and took a hotel in Otavalo at 9:30pm and took the bus to the border the next day.


Cindy turned 17...on the right. Carolina, the 2nd grandchild, on the left.



























Maria turned 40 on the 10th, but I don't have any photos. Waiting for relatives to send a few.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Burn updates

3 weeks later...


Carla's burns have mostly healed...a bit of discoloration, but no more scabs.


Dad's still "wounded" from the frostbite.

Gardening in Ecuador

I hated gardening as a kid....probably b/c mom sent me out to do the weeding. I don't recall planting or harvesting. Well...I thought it was time to give it another go...esp since we won't be able to transport food such great distances in the future. Time to eat local. Al's fine garden in Calgary also inspired us and he has provided some of the seeds that you will now see sprouting. The 1st 4 were planted about a month ago. Overall it's not growing as fast as hoped....maybe the soil is not as rich in this new corner of the yard.


The garden after its first weeding a few days ago. Except of the cilantro on the left...I left that for Maria as I couldn't tell the Cilantro from the weeds.

Kale from Canada...they don't produce it here.

Swiss Chard...Canadian version. Doesn't seem to do as well as the local version.

Wild mountain spinach from the kootenay's. So far so good!

City of Calgary lettuce.

Parsely gone wild from 3 months ago.

Now for the rest of the "garden" that we don't have to do anything to....it just produces. Bananas...about 10 big "trees"

Mandarins

Ovos...local fruit

4 avacado trees

Peaches all year...the tree is always in bloom.

Lemons

Lulo...another local fruit...very acidic...used for juice.

Resident gardener guarding his baby mango tree.

And a few flowers to round it all off.