Buenos Aires

My first stop in Argentina was the capitol city of Buenos Aires. This is a HUGE city (roughly 80 square miles) with well over 3.2 million people, a population density of about 34,800 people per square mile. Pictures are of the Capitol Building and the city itself as I fly over on my way to the next part of my trip.

I got to visit my good friend Marina, whom I met on one of my previous Earthwatch expeditions. She showed me all around her city, taking me to all her favorite spots and showing off the amazing architecture & history of Buenos Aires. Pictures are of Marina in the cemetery and Me at the Obelisk.

I had a great time and am so thankful she took time out of her busy schedule to entertain me!

Sunny Miami

My recent travel plans gave me a 10-hour layover in Miami, so I took the opportunity to visit my friend Sarah! You may remember that last year I got to attend her wedding down in the Florida Keys.

Sarah and her husband Dave picked me up at the airport and took me to a really cool bookstore. We browsed the shelves for a while, then sat down to a light lunch – I had the best quinoa bowl with kale and chickpeas and all kinds of good stuff.

Then they took me to a park where we walked along a beautiful trail by the ocean, ending up at a restaurant where we had some drinks to cool off.

We finished off the evening with a scrumptious dinner at an Indian restaurant they love. Unfortunately we were a bit pressed for time so had to rush through our meal to ensure that we had enough time to get me back to the airport to catch my next flight.

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I just want to point out that the Miami Airport has vending machines for CAKE!

How cool is that!!

We Got A New Furnace

We’d been having trouble with our furnace for months, culminating in eventually having to manually turn it on every two hours. So, we finally just bit the bullet and had it replaced. It cost a pretty penny (and then some), but Paragon Mechanical came through for us again – completing the job in just under a week, getting us back up and running in time for the cold weather. 

First, they had to remove both the old furnace and both hot water heaters, one of which was in the Laundry Room. That was quite the job and resulted in a huge pile of copper pipes that we will now sell to a recycling company. I believe Bryan is planning on buying some new fancy thermostats with the money we get, to be placed in Mother’s side of the house so she can more easily regulate the heat to her comfort levels.

Then, they installed the new furnace and all the associated pipes and valves and whatnot as well as the new hot water tank. I love that the installer was just as OCD as we are – he did a great job of making it all look “pretty” as well as being quite functional.

We now have several holes in various walls that need to be addressed – Bryan is working on that as we speak. The Laundry Room will get new shelving for our canning jars, and the garage now has a bit more room for the snow blower and various shovels, brooms, and whatnot.

Overall, I’d say it was a Job Well Done!