December 15, 2013

  • Fabric Shopping with Glendon and going to Tecpan

    Friday morning, Oct. 11th--After breakfast,  some of us went fabric shopping.  Since Kendra Lily needed to go to the University to pay her tuition, Vernon took her south of the Periferico while Tiana and I went north on the Periferico with the group going to Zone 1 where all the fabric stores are, planning to meet up later on.  Was I geared up for this!    Any one who has been fabric shopping in Guatemala City knows that Zone 1 is fabric heaven and since I've done a fair amount of shopping there in the past I knew where I was going and what  I was looking for.

    Or so I thought.   Hmmm.  The huge store near the tourist market where I usually found my best bargains was still there but I was very disappointed in the selection.  Oh yes, the store was still loaded with fabric but nothing looked new or fresh.  Why some of the fabric was the same stuff they had 6 years ago when I was there last!  I went into the section where the plaids were, hoping against hope that I could find a piece of the beautiful blue plaid that I had gotten for Susana and Adam but didn't find any.  I really didn't see any that really caught my eye.  The bolts of fabric down toward the floor had a thick layer of dust on it.  ICK.  So I went to the area of the store that was poly/cotton.  I love the Iusaela prints. (aka tropical Breeze)  They do not fade  quickly as they are stamped so well that its hard to tell which is the outside versus  the inside.  Well, there was a huge selection but one BIG problem.....hmmm, I had that print in my store, that one, and that one and that one,  so it went on and on.   Oh granted, there were some that I hadn't had in my store  but those I wouldn't have wanted on my shelves anyway.  They were ugly and/or gaudy!  To say I was disappointed was an understatement.    Oh well, there were a lot more fabric stores around so who cares if you strike out on the first one, better luck next time.

    Glendon Martin from PA was down on a business trip and his wife had asked him to bring a bunch of fabric home to sell to the home ladies.  Now, most men wouldn't be caught dead in a fabric store let alone picking out the fabric for someone else so it was interesting for us to have him along.   This experience of being with Glendon that day made the day worthwhile regardless if I didn't find any thing to suit me. :-)   Time has dulled my memory enough that I cannot remember who all was with us on this excursion but I believe Tim and Rhoda Korver and maybe Larissa Good and a hired girl from the mission.  I know it was more than just Tiana and I but by the end of the day it was just my girls and I with Glendon.

    So, we walked across the street to a nice clean store that I hadn't remember before....oh, that's right, this is where the Pollo Campero ( Chicken) restaurant had been!  Apparently, the fabric store that had been there had remodeled and used up the 2 sites and made a nice new big store.  Actually, there was more there to my taste but the dress fabric that I like still had old prints.  I ended up buying 2 pieces of fabric that my girls had dresses out of when they were 3 and 5 years old back in 1998!

    Melisa and Tiana had dresses like this back in "98

    Melisa and Tiana had dresses like this back in "98

    These girls are now nearly 19 and 21 so you can imagine how old the fabric is.  But since I had really liked those dresses I bought some for Kaity anyway.  It has small daisies all over it.  Melisa and Tiana's dresses were in green and I had one in blue.  I would've bought another blue one for me as it had been one of my favorite dresses but green and lavender were the only colors they still had.  I did find a nice blue plaid for myself but there certainly wasn't much there either.

    I was about ready to give up when I found some tie-dye look in blues and lavender that caught my eye.

     

    This one  caught my eye.

    This one caught my eye.

    Tiana, who's favorite color seems to be orange found a piece for herself.

    Tiana's choice

    Tiana's choice

    Resigning myself to the fact that I didn't find anything much there I paid for my purchases and was waiting on Glendon to finish his buying when I saw some fabric that I had been looking for.

    I like this eyelet look

    I like this eyelet look

    It was only Q10 a yard.  So, I took that roll into the store (it was on a display outside the store) to have some measured off.  I don't know why I didn't just buy 20 yards of the stuff but didn't want to shoot all my wad there in case I found something else I liked.

    Fabric, fabric everywhere but I didn't find any that I liked.

    Fabric, fabric everywhere but I didn't find any that I liked.

    Stacked clear to the ceiling

    Stacked clear to the ceiling

     

    Next stop was at the tourist market up the street about 1/2 block.  That in itself was an experience as you pass by little shop after little shop chuck full of souvenirs.  The moment you pause to give something a second glance you have the owners asking if they can help you and they will do all they can to make a sale.  I wanted to buy Melisa a piece of typical fabric to make a skirt.  I found something I was sure she would like but they only had 2 yards.  I have been bothered ever since that I should've gotten more.

    I got this for Melisa a skirt

    I got this for Melisa a skirt

    I also found a little typical jumper for Lily, our newest grandchild and a little typical romper for Melisa's expected baby.  Since I didn't find the dress fabric for the church ladies, I decided to buy them typical purses.  Also I found some quetzal bird keychains  made of beautiful beads for the librarian ladies.  Tiana wanted to buy a couple of items for her Miller friends here at church.  Glendon was ready to head out to do some more fabric shopping so we went out to the parking lot where we met up with Vernon and Kendra Lily.  Vernon took Tim Korver's back to the mission and we stayed with Glendon.

    I thought we should try 7th Avenue and hit the Pacifico and Continental stores but after making the loop a couple of times and not finding those stores I suddenly realized it was 5th Ave. not 7th.  Even so, we didn't find either of those stores.  Either they went out of business or we didn't go down far enough to find them.  We visited a couple of stores that we did find but didn't see anything we liked.  I did have the girls pick out a piece for Abbey Lattin who was staying with our children at home.

    Meanwhile, Glendon, who loves to talk just kept us entertained.  Story after story.  I am not sure who had the best time that day, us: listening to him or He: having an appreciative audience.  But finally we  were too tired to keep shopping so called it quits and went back to the mission.

    We were invited to Byron and Karen de la Rosa's place for supper that night.  I regret not getting any pictures that night but the meal was delicious and it was the first we had been offered any guacamole.  Avocados were not "in season" at the time but since Byron had 20 or 25  trees( I believe my memory is serving me correctly) which bore approx. 1,000 avocados each season they had enough to serve us the coveted guacamole.   Not just a little dab of it either.  There was a serving bowl....I'd say at least a quart or more of the stuff and plenty of tortillas to eat with it!  Karen is a sister to Stephan Gingerich's wife Brenda, a Canadian, so this was a bi-lingual home which was interesting.  they have 2 young children that are comfortable in either Spanish or English.

    We had quite a time finding Byron's house and ended up turning around several times in San Lucas but it was fun as Glendon was still as entertaining as he was earlier.

    Next morning we left before breakfast and hiked out to the Pan Am highway to catch a bus for Tecpan.  Tecpan used to be the capital of Guatemala many years ago when it was a Mayan empire.  This is also where the people from Palama relocated after we lived in Palama....but these people are still our people.

    We boarded a chicken bus, so called because they haul chickens, produce, etc on top of these buses.  They also cram you in like sardines in a can.  The further you go, the tighter they pack you in.  We were seated toward the back...actually, Vernon and I were next to the last row.  These buses are reconditioned school buses.  Mostly Ford Bluebirds.  The seats comfortably seats 2 persons per seat.   The 4 across the row turned into 5, then 6.  I think there were some rows that may have had 7.  I was wondering how the bus boy would manage to collect all the fares as they don't get the money when the person gets on.  After awhile I saw him squeezing by and he managed to do what he set out to do, although he did end up hurting a little boy standing in the aisle.  The little guy begged the man to get off his foot but the bus boy acted as if he hadn't heard him.  That caused my ire to rise a little....ok, a whole lot but what could I do?

    A full bus

    A full bus

    Oh what fun it is to ride....

    Oh what fun it is to ride....

     

    We finally got off at the Tecpan entrance and hired a microbus to take us over to Doce Cuerdas (Colonia Mennonita).  There was a group of people standing beside the school waiting on Carl Rohrer to take them to Antigua for a church service.  The people stood there wondering who we were when suddenly Alejandro Colo and his wife Emiliana recognized us and made a beeline for us.  This couple was our closest friends when we lived in Palama.  Actually, Vernon and Alejandro were good buddies when Vernon lived there 2 years prior to our marriage.  I love Alejandro's big grin.   I think if they could've changed their plans for the day, they wouldn't have thought twice of doing so but they went with the group soon after we got there.

    We headed over to Timoteo and Romelia Cristal's who happen to live the closest to the entrance and the first thing he said was "Is this Vernon and Kim or is it their angels?"  Had a lovely visit with them too and they served us some tea and something to go with it.  Good thing, as I was getting rather empty.  :-)

    Timoteo Cristal's family

    Timoteo Cristal's family missing oldest son Edgar and youngest son William

     

    Timoteo's were also among our closest friends.  When we were young, we, Alejandro's and Timoteo's often did things together like birthday parties. etc.  We have many fond memories being together with those 2 families.  Our children were the same ages, etc.  (Emiliana is Timoteo's youngest sister and was with John Troyer's when he was killed in Sept. '81)

    Timoteo and Romelia Cristal and Vernon and Kim Martin (Check out her dress fabric)

    Timoteo and Romelia Cristal and Vernon and Kim Martin (Check out her dress fabric)

    our girls with Timoteo's girls:  Mary, Susi and ??? (can't remember her first name.  Her middle name is Eunice)

    our girls with Timoteo's girls: Mary, Susi and Lily

     

    I delivered Romelia's 2nd child, Edwin Jonathan in March of 1986, my first Guatemala baby.  Here he is today.  I should try and find a picture of him when he was born.  :-)

    My first Guatemala baby Edwin Cristal

    My first Guatemala baby
    Edwin Cristal

     

    Next stop was with Angela Colo who is Alejandro's mother.  Her mother Fidelia Colo was old when we lived there in 1985-87.    Now she is ancient!

    Vernon visiting with Fidelia Colo

    Vernon visiting with Fidelia Colo

    Angela thinks she is 110 but no one knows for sure.  Fidelia is a very independent soul and still lives alone although she cannot hear nor see very well.  She was the local midwife for years and years and was wife of  Bro. Jose Colo whom we loved dearly.  By the way, not only is she Alejandro's grandmother but she is a sister to Emiliana's mom....so how does that do for Alejandro and Emiliana? :-)

    Angela always thought Susana was cute and would always say, "Tan chula"  (meaning: how cute)  when referring or talking to Susana.  One day, Susana, age 2, said, "Mommy, there is Tan Chula!" ;-)   Actually, Susana was right....Angela was and still is cute.  She is a very emotional person and of course in the course of the visit she had to shed tears when she talked of days long gone by.  She was sure she would never see us again and she remembers all the good things we did when we lived in Palama.  Especially she remembers when Vernon and another VS boy had to take her to the hospital to deliver Erica after being in labor for a couple of days.  She was so embarrassed  to be in labor in front of these two young men but she says she owes her life and her child's to them for taking her for a C-sec.  Oh how we dearly love that little lady!

    Next stop was with Amalia.  She is Alenjandro's younger sister and one of Anglela's daughters.  Ah, now she is the cream of the crop!  This little girl came to work for me when Benji was a baby.  She was only 13 or 14 at the time, so little that she had to stand on a chair or stool to reach the clothesline.  Actually I hired her to entertain Benji so that I could get some sewing done.  She would play with him for a little then ask me, "Do you have any thing for me to do?"  I would remind her that she was working, taking care of the baby.  "Oh no, that's play, do you have anything for me to do? "  Eventually she stayed on the workforce full time and I wouldn't have traded her for any one else.  We actually started a home bakery so that she and her sister-in-law would have some work to do.  She and Victoria did my cleaning and laundry but Amalia was (still is) one of a kind and there is not one lazy bone in her body.

    Amalia and her youngest 4, Helber, Brenda, Lucinda and Marvin

    Amalia and her youngest 4,
    Helber, Brenda, Lucia and Marvin

    After we left Palama in Oct. '87, she didn't have the same relationship with the people who came to replace us although I cannot understand why.  So she left home and began working for some other people who didn't believe the Bible as we did.  I am not saying they were unbelievers but they disregarded any scripture that didn't suit them so in the next 2 years dear Amalia got so mixed up that she really didn't know what she believed.  That in turn caused us grief...

    So, (forgive my history lesson here) when we returned to Guatemala in 1989, I told Vernon that I wanted to hire Amalia to be my helper in El Novillero if I could.  I wrote her a letter and told her that we were coming back and invited her to come live with us.  We arrived in November but hadn't heard from her so we had hired Juanita Ovalle to help with the housework.  One day when we returned home from the City Juanita told us that Amalia had stopped to see us but we weren't at home.  She was up in Xela helping her older sister who had just had a new baby.  We didn't understand all that Juanita said or maybe Juanita hadn't understood Amalia as she hadn't known Amalia at all.   Anyway, we didn't let any grass grow under our feet, we hightailed it to Xela and had a nice reunion there.  She hadn't gotten my letter until that week and after talking it over with her family they all advised her to take us up on the offer.   We made out for her to come a few weeks later.  She came and stayed for 2 years.  Which in all of our opinion was a very positive decision.   In case you wondered what we did about Juanita.  We offered to teach her to knit sweaters for a steady job.  I taught her to knit and she turned out to be the best knitter I ever could have wanted.  :-)   She and Amalia turned out to be very close friends.

    She got her life straightened out and now is a deacon's wife.  During the time she lived with us, she had me so spoiled.  :)    The first evening she was there, we had been to the City for overnight so we had a suitcase to unpack.  Vernon often teased me about me not getting around to unpack very quickly.  I remember that time clearly as she had the clothes put away before I knew it, then asked me what we were going to have for supper.  I suggested spaghetti and before I knew it she was calling for supper!  I had told her that I wanted her to take charge of the lunches since I was trying to homeschool Susana.  We awoke to the smell of pancakes frying the next morning and she was my cook ever since.  And a GOOD one too.  Her specialty was Chow Mein.  She loved to bake and alway seemed to be making something.  I made a little card with Spanish-English translations such as flour/harina, sugar/azucar, etc.....  it didn't take long until she could take any of my cookbooks and make whatever struck her fancy with very little help from me.  Not only did she cook and bake she did the laundry and kept our house clean.  Often she had baby Kendra Lily tied on her back Indian style.   She got along well with the 3 oldest children too, but they already had known her.  She was also a sister to Lily, Vernon's sister who came down a year later to teach our children.  By far the best worker we ever had.....never did find another Amalia.  :-)

    Ok back to the present.  We went to visit Amalia.  Her husband Juan Cristal and oldest son had gone with group to Antigua but we still had a nice visit.   She teased KL about carrying her around when she was a baby.  Kendra Lily told her she thinks that she could carry Amalia around now.  :-)

    Kendra Lily and Tiana with KL's first babysitter

    Kendra Lily and Tiana with KL's first babysitter

    She extracted our promise to come back for lunch....not that we had to be persuaded much.  No breakfast so I was starving anyway but I was ready for some of Amalia's good cooking again.   Anyway, I was pretty sure it would be her chow mien.

    After visiting with a few others and passing by Sinforosa's gate.....Amalia's mother-in-law, who was also a dear sister but has lost her memory and now stands by the gate and watches the passers-by and doesn't know anyone.....that was sad to see, we returned to Amalia's.

    Ah, we were right!  Scrumptious chow mien.

    After lunch we returned for our luggage which we had left at Timoteo's.  He offered us a ride out to the highway to catch a bus to Solola.  Of course, they had to give me a sweater as a gift and Romelia gave me a piece of corte fabric.  I had been admiring her dress so she gave me a piece of the remanants.  I plan to sew a purse for myself with it.

    Timo's have a sweater factory:

    Industrial machine

    Industrial machine

    Making a sweater on the Brother

    Making a sweater on the Brother

    Knitting sweaters

    Knitting sweaters

     

    This post is getting long enough so I will leave off here.

    Next time will tell about our bus ride to Solola and our time at Pedro Bocel's.  ~to be continued.

Comments (2)

  • I'm finally catching up with these posts. EVERYTHING is so tremendously fascinating. I just love the reuniting with all these people who were so dear to you. I enjoy your "history" lessons too!

  • Thanks. I have to throw in the history lessons to help it make sense. :-)

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