Lunch in Buenos Aires

Since Andreas hadn't been processing pictures, you all never got to see these.  Back in October, we spent a weekend in Buenos Aires.  Here, how the Argentines make provoleta.  It's a bit different from the Uruguayo version.  Much more stuff on it.  And the weekend we were there was also Mother's Day in Argentina.  Yes, in October.  The restaurant gave me a rose for it. 

Ornamented

 This little piece was just needing a little bit of finishing for the past three months.  It's been sitting on my desk waiting to be sewn across the top and have a hanger added on the top.  I did it in less than a half hour last week.  Finally able to put it away!

Why I Still Buy from the States

These two pictures are from one of the local grocery stores.  See the way they have Ziploc bags?  They've been broken down into packages of no more than ten.  Now notice the prices (easier in the second picture).  A dollar is worth approximately 18-19 Uruguayan pesos at the moment.  Yes, you too can come here and buy four gallon sized Ziploc storage bags for more than two dollars! 

Why, you ask, is the price so high?  There are a few reasons.  Uruguay has a general tariff.  This tariff adds at least 50% to the price of everything imported from anywhere other than Brazil or Argentina.  On top of that, it has an extra eco-tax on everything plastic that gets imported.  It adds even more.  Uruguay does not have a real plastics industry.  There aren't even more than a couple of molding shops.  This means that everything plastic here costs a fortune.  So.  I order my Ziploc bags in bulk from Amazon.  Most other things, I do the same with.  It's rather sad.  In trying to protect its economy, the country is hindering it severely.  Consumers here have such artificially high prices that they cannot buy more than the basics, and end up unable to add much to the overall betterment of the country.

All Four Done

I got all four leaves done!  Now it's time to go to the background for a while.  It feels good to see such significant progress every time.

Not Very Blingy

I decided to make an un-blingy temari.  This is the result.  It's a dark green mari embroidered with two strands of Bravo from Rainbow Gallery.  The pattern is on a C8 and is six interlocking kikus.  The pictures really don't show the subtle color changes unless you enlarge them.

Another La Pasiva

 The La Pasiva in Montevideo Shopping is much better than the one in Punta Carretas Shopping.  These two items were from lunch at Montevideo shopping.  The pizza is the Uruguayan equivalent of a thick crust.  It's called a pizzeta.  On bottom is a tableta, one of Andreas' favorite things. Basically, a tableta is a meat and cheese tray with olives.

Ribbons!

Betsy found a beautiful bag of remnant ribbons at Hancocks.  I'm the grateful recipient of the bounty!  Now I get to add them onto my things.  I'm already plotting uses.