Tuesday, October 2, 2012

The first of October? Already?

This entry in last year's parade was a huge hit with the kids!
It will time for the festival and ferias (fair) in just two weeks... and I am moving out of my little casita in mid-November, partly because the owner wants it back and partly because I am heading back to the U.S. to the twins in Seattle.

Yesterday my friend Isabel was working with some local folks to raise money for the Casa de Cultura's float for the festival parade. I have been invited to help the team paint it and assemble the floral parts (done in papier mache) so I will keep you updated on that particular adventure.

One of the views over the garden looking eastward; I'll have morning sun.
I have found a much smaller place to store the stuff I am not selling or shipping back to the U.S. It is unclear how much time I will be spending here for the foreseeable future, but I am not quite ready to close the door entirely on either Barichara or exploring more of Colombia as time allows. This new place is just three rooms and a kitchenette, but it is on property owned by a historian, and he has been gracious enough to tell me I don't have to worry about moving anything again as long as he is living. Leaving it there costs about the same as a storage unit, but it has a lovely view in three directions and will be a quiet retreat when I am back here. (The pipes in the picture are for the owner's new house up in the hills with an even more majestic view, he said. They are in the early stages of construction.)

Sombrita isn't crazy about moving either... but
During the past two years I have lived in three different places, four if you count this next (final?) move. As I dislike intensely moving, I am truly both frustrated and unsettled with the living arrangements here and cannot afford to buy land or even a mud shack to solve that, so I am incredibly grateful to my friends for their help. I will miss the little casita, but frankly coming back this time and knowing I have to move again, it hasn't been all that relaxing.

Although the cats will have to adjust, it won't be  too hard since it is only over one block from where we are right now. And Ultimo was found on the day of the visit to confirm the location and price to be hanging out there anyhow... must be a sign! I will be assured of their contentment knowing that along with a huge garden to explore, there are several bright parakeets in an outdoor cage for their entertainment...

Ultimo already hangs out at the owner's house!
The news about having to leave the house came while I was in the U.S. and I received it with mixed feelings. So I was really ready to just sell everything and consider my adventures over in Colombia, except that my friends urged me not to do that and helped me to find this solution. Thus I'm downsizing and preparing for both the move and to travel again... the photos and news I get about the twins is enticing, but other information is worrisome... hopefully resolving itself before I arrive.


11 comments:

  1. Oh, Sandy! What a journey you have been on. We wish you the best luck in your new place, as well as safe travels to spend time with the precious twins! (I'm crazy about your cats)

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    1. Oh, Nan, you're just a silly cat lover like me.... did you vote in the national pet campaign yet?

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  2. dear sandy,

    well, a lot of changes afoot, yes? i am glad you have such lovely, helpful friends to help you and give you good advice and support. and i know that even with having to face that rotten moving, you will be able to rest a bit easier knowing you have a place to store your things and to come back to. and having such a grand situation for your sweet kitties to be comfortable and be able to explore must be a great comfort as well. ah - being invited to work on the float for the festival - nice. keep us posted on how working with paper mache goes. i saw a little children's shop in bar harbor, maine called, "raining cats and dogs", with the storefront window decorated with life sized paper mache cats and dogs, hung with clear fishing line to truly look like they were raining down. gave me the itch to revisit my favorite schooldays' craft.

    i sense a thread of alarm in your last lines of this post. please know i am thinking of you, sending you my most powerful vibes for all to be well. as always, you are putting forth your best effort to see all that's swirling about these days in a positive light, and i find that so inspiring. be well, my friend, and know i am pulling for you and wishing you all of your heart's desire.

    love and warm hugs,

    karen (s.)

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    1. Thank you, Karen... egualmente, as they say here in the jungle. You know that MM is like a green deadly snake in the grass and one must step cautiously to keep it from awakening... as if we really have any control in this matter.

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  3. I have been commenting on several of your earlier posts but they don't seem to appear. Don't know why... so I try again here.
    Going back to the twins would be an exciting proposition, they are so adorable. Go where your heart wants you to be.

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    1. Don't know why your posts aren't appearing... as long as it isn't spam, I post comments.

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  4. dear sandy,

    your reply - i get it. dammit. the feelings of trepidation and helplessness. one wants to scream it isn't fair, especially now. it's a normal knee-jerk reaction, but i wish so much IT could be squashed, pulverized, then vaporized into non-existence. but tilting at windmills gets us nowhere. hopefully, it will be feasible to have IT nipped in the bud.

    as you know, i am a rookie intender, but i have a powerful desire and feel with all my heart that minds, hearts and souls who align with one another can bring about good outcomes. did you know that our darling paula was the one who reached out to you on my behalf, asking you to intend for hugh and me when i was dx'd? i think it would be wise and perfectly appropriate to ask her to intend for what you are hoping for. i just visited her blog page to leave a little message for her earlier this evening, and would be honored to leave another (discreet one) on your behalf if it's okay with you. meanwhile, please know i am thinking of you with a heart filled with hope for all to be well.

    much love,

    karen (s.)

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    1. Please let me know if she replies.... I like that you are going to a Higher Source (LOL) and she would, I think, appreciate being thought of as "being close".

      I do intend healing is going on and accept your offer to align with this outcome, as I continue to align with positive results for both you and Hugh... we have to stick together on this, don't we?

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  5. dear sandy,

    oh, you darling thing - your words make me smile, even chuckle thinking of the lovely paula as she peers over your shoulder, being referred to as a Higher Source. don't you think she might have a field day with that?! love it.

    yes, i agree, we do have to stick together on it all. i am so touched at your generous and kind words to align together. and i am so happy to tell you that today i was officially declared to have achieved N.E.D - no evidence of disease. this is the best outcome that i, as a st IV metastatic breast cancer survivor, can ever hope for. i'm so grateful, and thank you with every fiber of my being for intending for me, and for hugh (who remains in CR). i'm jumping into our new life reinvented with both feet and keeping my senses honed in on the power of hope, love, and believing - in numbers. now i am off to leave a message for miss P for you know what. love, xoxo, karen (s.)

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  6. Sweet Karen... wonderful, wonderful news!!!

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