The Gift of Seven Roses



Sara and Helen went out for a "walk" this morning.  When they came back, they slipped a bouquet of roses to the waiter who brought them to our table as we were sipping our coffee.  Wow!  Seven roses -- red, pink, yellow, violet, white tinged with red -- they dazzled like fireworks, one for each decade.  What a way to begin a very fine day.  (See photo below.  I cannot for the life of me figure out how to move the photo over here to this text!  All the photos here are in totally goofy order.)



The Mother of Creation



Helen Findley with Rachel Bowers-Sword at Restaurante La Fornace



Just a few of the fabulous stained glass windows inside the cathedral





Rachel, Ace Peace Corps Volunteer in Ambato



The famous cathedral in Ambato, built on the site of the old cathedral which was destroyed in 1949.  We found the inside to be very beautiful, with exquisite carvings of the stations of the cross and lovely stained glass windows, very tastefully done, in contrast to the garish display of Spanish gold we've seen elsewhere.





Ha Ha!  We took Rachel to lunch at a great pizza place, La Fornace.  Somebody told the waiter it was my birthday.  Before the pizza arrived, strains of "Happy Birthday" came over the music system and the waiter delivered this gorgeous piece of tiramisu to my place at the table.  This was a first!  Dessert before pizza!  (Truth is, we had stopped for ice cream before lunch.  When you're 70, you can do anything you want on your birthday!  Especially if you're with Sara and Helen!