A visit to Cuenca

It all started out with a set of dishes I've been collecting. Each week as the budget permitted I'd go by the Artesa Shop and buy another piece of these hand painted dishes. Having heard that they were made in the city of Cuenca, it became my quest to some day visit this delightful place and find some wonderful factory direct prices. One thing lead to another and before I knew it I was part of a caravan of folks headed for Cuenca and some serious shopping. The scenery along the road is always breath taking in Ecuador. Huge mountains and volcanoes sweep up either side of valley where a patch work of plowed fields, forests and interesting homes delight the eye. After a refreshing stop in Riobamba for an overnighter with friends, the nine of us piled into the two vehicles and set off for Cuenca.
The trip went without a hitch and we drove into what felt like a piece of Europe. A winding river ran across the valley, gorgeous homes lined the steep bank and elaborate balconies hung over the streets creating a charming vacation spot. The clean streets, the old cut stone sidewalks and the red tiled roofs completed the picture.








The hotel was the old Spanish style with balconies inside surrounding an open court. Being Ecuador there were plenty of fresh roses and a variety of art and decorations to catch the eye




We went to a lookout on the side of the valley where a gallery had outstanding hand painted pottery by a well known artist. We also were able to visit a town where almost every store had handmade jewelry in local silver and gold. It's interesting how towns have their specialties. One is all leather products, another is mostly colorful woven or knitted souvenirs and another is wood carvings. Quito's specialty is cute little yellow taxis, dodging trolleys and double buses.. :)

Wish you could have come with us. We had such a good time even if the pottery factory was closed for Easter vacation...maybe next time.

Decorating in Quito

It started with an orange sofa and chairs. Mind you orange, isn't exactly my favorite color, but when Patty said a friend had a set she was storing at her house and was willing to let me use, I accepted it gratefully. I had a bed, a desk and a sewing table with which to decorate two bedrooms, a study, dining room and sitting room. I couldn't be fussy about orange. Since I get a kick out of decorating, it became a project to see what kind of combination I could come up with that blended with ORANGE!!! I don't really like fall colors so I thought I'd try crossing the color chart and see what I could do with orange and blue. I did have a blue table cloth I could use... Patty also loaned me a table, frig, stove and bed table and my campus sister got in on the project and started looking for items I could use she might have stored away. Soon she found just the right blue drapes that I mended and hung. My neighbor Lois also loves to decorate and we began foraging local shops for items in my blue and orange. We threw in some green and yellow for accents and had so much fun! You would be surprised how often the Indian artists use orange and blue. I found carved birds, dried flowers, macrame, burlap, paintings, pottery, a rug, inexpensive plants and little by little made the apartment home. My little lady on the corner often has orange or yellow flowers that I put here and there as a final touch.

I've learned that when God puts "an orange sofa" or any other thing in your life that isn't what you would have chosen, you have two choices; you can belly ache all the time which, of course, brings no beauty into anyone's life, or you can see what compliments and brings out the beauty in what you used to find plain or ugly.

Here at the academy we are in a huge change in student demographics. Some of the issues we deal with are not of our "choice" and at time are not very pretty. My prayer is that not only will I be creative in my apartment, but I will be able to bring harmony and beauty among those who would normally clash.

Just add the warmth of the fire place, fill the chairs with people to love and you have changed a sofa you really didn't like into a ministry tool and a fun place to restore your soul.

If you can't find something to
beautify your ugly piece of furniture, come to Ecuador. You'll be amazed at what you find.