WWW.Workaway.info

This is the company that encourages people to travel; to follow that wonder lust.  We have had 4 girls with us for two months.  They assist us with Spanish, help with sewing, cooking and walking the dogs for room and board.  Two girls ( Paula and Juli) have been friends since childhood, the other two (Indi and Tati) were partners.  They have been the family that I could not share with over the holidays.  I thought I would share some of our work and fun pictures.

On the left is Tati, myself, Paula (wearing one of our designs), next is Indianna and on the far right is Julianna.  

 Pilates were completed at 2 pm, 

we all needed to stretch after sewing!

This is the whole gang including our Project Manager Juan, tough job eh?

Kito our puppy is trying hard to be patient as our Santa pup.  

This is Indi's shirt along with our pin cushion that 

is a part of The Three Wise Men now sporting blue eyes and a pink grin! The girls

had a great sense of humor and I would find things redesigned for me to discover!

This is Paula's sheep shirt, it has a front and back that is wiggly wool... it is so cute. 

Juli calling us all to her Christmas dinner,  

three of the girls had never had turkey before. 

Indianna packed up and is going on her next adventure, she was leaving

for Columbia with a friend to experience Carnival on Jan. 2, 2014.  I  admire

them all for being the women that take the challenge to experience life.  I love them all

because I see some of myself in all of them.  Fair Winds and Following Seas Indi.

We are moving again!!

We have a lovely large 5 bedroom house with a pool and a studio for our "Hot Tin Roof" clothing line. What we did not expect was the leaky roof that we cannot seemed to get repaired without signing away our life for another 2 years on this lease or the electrical issues that are down right dangerous.

We are tired of worrying about house issues, we paid too much for this type of treatment.  We are moving to the Middle of the World on the 15th of January.  We are so excited that the rent for our two bedroom house with studio and pool is $300.00 that is one fifth of what we are paying today and we get to take all our muttlies with us.

The blog has suffered as I have been trying to produce a line of clothing for larger women.  The people involved have been just extraordinary with their help and ideas.  Hot Tin Roof is off and running with lots of cotton clothing that is just so comfortable I hate to take the samples off.

Why a clothing line, well, I am a large woman size 18.  I am tired of not having clothing that fits well and is soft and breathable along with fitting my ever evolving personality.  I also believe that I have an obligation to share how I sew.  There is no feeling that comes close to the one that you get when you complete something that you have designed and it is hand sewn.

I had started with three local women and for three months it was a great relationship.  I spent three months teaching them to producing a shirt, a skirt and dress for themselves.   We then tackled a large size woman's dress.  They really outdid themselves and I felt secure to let them produce the product in their homes.   It was my dream that they could be there for family and still have sufficient time to sew. That type of thinking was a mistake, they were paid but we got nothing back in product.  I am a mother and wife too, but have always worked either in the home or out; needless to say I was disappointed.

It was time to stop and rethink my strategy for producing a product.  Their contracts were cancelled, we paid the compensation and started retooling the product process first.  We were thinking about part time and contractors when Etsy threw us another challenge.  They changed the policy on what was considered "Handmade".   A designer(me) could have their design produced by a company(outsourced) and as long as I designed the product it was considered handmade.  I would have to announce my production methods somewhere in my page that it was manufactured but still my design.  Designers like myself cannot compete with outsourced production and it was so far removed from my dream.
 
It was back to the drawing board for how to compete in the new marketplace.  I understand that there is no emotion in business decisions but it was hard to tell my heart.  I had finally gotten to the place in my life that allowed me to do what I had always wanted and I was still climbing over very high walls to accomplish my goals.

The saying that when a door closes a window opens happened for me too.  I decided to be a host house on a website that allows world travelers to exchange room and board for 4-5 hours of work.  It is called, "www.Workway.info".  We have had 3 young women from Argentina and one from Australia for two months who have learned quickly to sew, design and suggest great alternative designs for clothing.

The collaboration has been awesome for all of us, especially me, who thinks I know what is best.  It has allowed me to relax and enjoy teaching them how to hand sew, allowing them creative freedom on the product line and the relationships we have formed with each other has been precious.  It has been a learning experience from the get-go as only one spoke perfect English so I am learning Spanish as an extra reward.

I recently returned from Cuenca where I babysat for a friend's pets and while I was there learned that there might be an opportunity to have a trunk sale of my items for the expats wives that are hard to fit.
Ecuadorian clothing is small and it is hard to find clothing once yours starts to give up the ship.  I am taking this as another opportunity to make people happy.  I will be selling my clothing with a few smaller sizes and in kits for people who would like to try to produce it themselves.  I am so excited about this new adventure.  Wish me luck!

 Long sleeved lagenlook with applique

 Paula with her sheep with wool applique

This is our clothes line photo shoot with me!

Slow Going

I know, long time since our last post.  Well to catch you up, Ed-doh-gar has announced his retirement date, put in all his paperwork, wrote his farewell letter and been notified that he has a retirement ceremony upcoming at work.  I have to admit the letter he wrote was a tear jerker, very to the point and humbling.  His co-workers responses were just as touching and wonderful.
When we were filling out the pile of paperwork for retirement and struggling through the legalese we had a lot of  numbers and passwords and logins and notary places.  Ed had a moment of brain fart when filling out where to deposit our monies and instead of putting just our bank act number in the blocks, he added our check number to the end, this has been a nightmare to sort out as we are now more than two weeks waiting to see where the retirement funding is, it shows as dispersed.  I am hoping that just means taken out not sent to oblivion or to someone else's account.  I am worried sick over this and Ed-doh-gar is just like, "I'll call them today and see where we are on this."  He mentioned that he might have done the same thing on his Social Security deposit request...he will check.  I am dying a thousand deaths in this transition.  I am the scheduler and we are like way behind on the schedule and soon to be retired with money, but not where we can use any of it... Ed-doh-gar is checking on it.
We have had friends that Ed-doh-gar works with come with their daughter who is starting out on her first live alone adventure come and take things that she needed for her apartment.  We had other friends of this friend come and take more furniture, you would think we would be well on our way to an empty house, but we still have a lot sitting there staring me in the face saying, "Hello, could you find me a home too please?"
My routine is box and load the car one day and donate and do lighter work the next day, slow going but I am seeing more open space day by day.  The pups are loving the room, they tussle and run more now in the living room, they are very happy with  the more open living arrangement.

We have had a lot happen since I started this post.  My father was diagnosed with lung cancer and I flew back home to be with him and my family.  Richard Robert Czaplinski passed away on St. Patrick's day.  I will miss him very much.

I got to be with my younger sister Valerie McFarland and Brenda Niederberger and her fun family.  It was very bitter sweet to see them all.  I was glad of the opportunity but wished it was under happier circumstances.

I also got to see a very good friend that I had lost touch with when we moved to Japan for 10 years.  Claire Rominger was my matron of honor at my wedding some forty years earlier.  I drove to Bethlehem, PA to do some catching up and it was like we had never been apart.  We promised that we would stay in touch through Facebook and to this day we have stayed true to our promise.

The digging out of our house was a long and arduous process,  the memories were dispersed, the junk was trashed and the rest was donated to friends and neighbors.  The rest we packed and took along.

We have been pleased so far with our decisions, Ed though wished he had brought more tee shirts and not so many polo shirts with long sleeves.  We have only been through one small portion of the rainy season, I think he will be glad he brought them, but time will tell.

We landed in Quito on May 15, 2013.  We thought we had been abandoned but 45 minutes after coming out of customs with 10 bags, 4 dogs, two in kennels, and our computer, we were picked up by a van from our hotel.  It was a surprise that it was another $40.00 to be transported, as the hotel advertised that it was included.  Needless to say, we paid and got in.  One hour later we arrived at the Hotel Bonanza.

We were expecting an apartment, we got a room and a window and a bathroom.  We were too tired to argue the morning was arriving quickly and we were exhausted.  We slept like a rock until the dogs wanted to go out.

The hotel had three dogs, the other family there had two dogs and our four made a zoo.  Not everyone had their dogs on a leash and it was touch and go until we figured out when we could take our dogs out without having a ruckus on our hands.

We paid 825.00 dollars for a month and $1500.00 for our retirement visa paperwork to be completed by Nora Minga the owners wife.  We stayed one day past our date because it was the only day we were allowed to move into our rental and it was 75.00 for the room for 4 hours.  I almost died.

We were stuck because we had the dogs and they accepted them without question, but the experience was less than wonderful.

We had breakfast and lunch and dinner provided, the food was great but the flies were not.  The kitchen was full of them and it required us to swat and wave them away as we were eating breakfast and lunch.  I have no idea where they all went for dinner but they were not there for that meal thank god for small favors.

Patrick the owner of this hotel was away in North America our whole stay and his wife joined him for a week.  The staff was left to fend for themselves with a friend helping the Mingas' operate the hotel.

We were glad to move into our house, it was quiet, fly free and our dogs were not attacked everytime they went outside.  I realize that this is a venting, but I needed it.

We have been here for 90 days and love Quito and LaPampa where we are living.  The house has it's problems, but we have painted and cleaned and fixed vertical blinds, repaired the electric and learned how to operate the pool filter all on our own.  We are estatic.

Join us on our journey, our next adventure.

Love til the next time,,

Denise and Ed

Survivor Depression

I have been unemployed for 2 1/2 years.  I thought I would work as a statistician for the movie companies,  watch the movies, watch people, reactions.  I enjoyed the popcorn, the kids sweeping up after each movie, the comments of the people leaving, the ability to see the movies before anyone else.  I enjoyed learning about the demographics of movie goers and the reactions to each trailer.  I enjoyed being part of the counts that I would send in each night  after the movie to the movie companies.

 A single man ruined it for me, a very maniacal  man who dressed up in full combat gear, armed to the teeth with guns and ammunition who shot the people I  watch, shot children and families and friends in   the theater I was suppose to be working in.  

I had the sickest feeling, I now know it was a survivor guilt.  When I go to work in theater 9, I sit in the back row of the first group of seats, the ones you sit in when the good seats in the mezzanine are full, the ones that you have to look up a little,  I use the two closest to the door so I don't disturb the others when I am looking at the reactions and when I leave early.  I didn't go that night because I finally got a chance to get a  better job if I passed the State of Colorado Insurance Certification, so I took that weekend off so I could study.  I know it was lucky that I did, but the feeling I had was relief  and such sadness, a very sick sadness.  I am so sorry for all the families, I am so sad that the kids in  the concession stand that I see each week had to experience anything like that in their young lives.  I love movies, but I now have one more place that I go that is very near to me that I cannot feel safe in again.  I know safety is everyone's responsibility, but how can I be responsible for trying to be safe in this situation?  I am angry that it happened, they have three to four policemen at the theater, they move through the theaters all night long.  How would they know he came in and opened the door and left and returned with the resolve to kill people in theater 9?  ? 

I went to make some sense of it, I saw tire marks where they should not have been, tape and tv reporters like flies around a dead carcass.  Photographers were everywhere.  I was trying to say good bye to my job, to the kids, to the emotions.  I was approached by a photographer and asked why I had the police tape, I said I really didn't know, it just seemed right at the time.  I had a leaf from the tree I walk by each night I worked too.  Something alive and green and something that marked death, it just seemed appropriate, and tears.  Tears still come when I think about it.. it will be some time before I can talk about it without them.  

  

Bid, Bid, Bid

We have started listing items on Ebay,  let me tell you it is a project to do.  From the measuring to the postage, taking pics and then praying that they sell.  Whew.  I am just starting on the collection of porcelain chamber pots that graced our shabby chic home and moved into some of the Aluminum from the 50's.  Wish me luck I loved them, it is just time for them to find another forever home to be clean and dusted in.



I have one bid so far, not earth shaking but exciting non the less. Click on the link to see one of our offers... ebay is one of our avenues for selling our home stuff, and the big stuff will go to the consignment store or Craigs List.  It is funny that it is going back to be sold to the store that I bought it from.

I am glad to start working toward the deadline.  I only get happier each day it gets one day closer to leaving and relaxing.

I think Ed deserves it and so do I.

Here's a pic of my white granite porcelain Chamber pot,, I only bought this one because the person who was  standing near it in the store originally was speaking of the nice soup tureen.  I just had to save her from herself.  I was amazed that they didn't know it was a personal toilet.  Maybe it was the person who was trying to sell it being crafty.  I never thought of that... funny huh?

I wish you peace or the strength to find yours.

                                                            What do you think?  Soup Tureen or Personal Toilet?

Our LearnVest Interview On Our Move to Ecuador

We are interviewed about our move to Ecuador by LearnVest!  We were notified that it was one of the largest commented interviews.  Our surprise was extra nice to see our kids comment on the comments.  They are the true blue behind our family love.  We did the interview because we needed others to know that there are alternatives to worry and stress.  Ed and I worried about the long term care we might need and the fact that we could not afford it in the States.  We worried that we would not have any quality of life and we really thought that we worked hard enough to at least get that in our retirement years so the search went on to find a country that offered amenities, health care, and a quality of life that addressed all the things that Ed and I would like to have.  We found Ecuador fit all of the requirements.

I am working on getting Gabe our youngest settled with his Certificate of Naturalization and passport.  We are working on what we are sellling versus trashing.  The documents that are needing apostile are being gathered along with working on dog paperwork for the importing of pets.

We are looking at clothing, we each have our piles and are reworking them monthly. It makes me feel like there is something solid when I put clothing piles in baskets to be decided on, it makes it real.  We still look at each other and ask, "Still a go, right?"  We are both relieved that the search is over, and are now just working on what we can to show progress until we can go.

Aub loved the car load of goodies we brought to North Dakota, and Gabe was kind enough to leave a web page for a dumpster up on my laptop, just in case.  How cute, right. I think he thought he was helping.

We are trying to sell the items that we will not need after the season is complete, like lawnmowers, and anticipate the other seasons that we have items for sale, like fall and Christmas.  We are trying to maximize our profits and decrease the waste.  Recycling is big in our lives.  

Well, we hope you read our article, click on the Learnvest to follow the link.

We wish you happiness in your life or the will to find it.

Regifting, Destashing, Trashing

Ed and I have acquired quite the collection of "Stuff".  Our children have complained for years that we are border line hoarders.  We are very different generations, we save items for the next use versus going out to buy it again or new when we have a need.  I do agree that we have a lot and we made a huge dent in it this weekend. 

Aubrey Katherine my adorable daughter is graduating from Nursing School this week and we traveled to Buchanan, North Dakota from Denver, Colorado with a car loaded inside and out with items she requested from our stash, we re gifted a few paintings and wool carpets and our awesome massage chair from "Sharper Image."  This is in keeping with our thoughts of usefulness and usability.  They are just starting out and appreciate the items. I told them both that they have to think of us when they are jiggling in the massage chair. 

We have announced our adventure and next steps with our family and we struggle with explaining the reason  why we are leaving to go to another country. We have received positive and negative responses.    They ask us what is wrong with staying here, why so far away, why go to a Third World country.  I think Ed came up with the best response.  We are outsourcing our retirement to a location that we can afford and offers us the best deal for our investment.  It is all about ROI.  I think it is the best explanation.  How about you?

Ed and I are excited and are really looking forward to making this work for us.  The work that is necessary to get there is just part of the adventure. We are working on getting our documents apostilled and get our passports in order per our lawyers in Ecuador's request. We have contacted the consulate for paperwork necessary for the pensioners visa.  We are on our way!

Whoever said, "The journey of 1000 miles begins with the first step." was speaking to us.