Not too appealing, but for sale

In Uruguay, a bottle (or traffic cone) on top of a car indicates it’s for sale.

In this case, the contents of the bottle – and much more of the same – might have better served the owner beforehand.

Fishy calendar

I got my first 2022 calendar recently, from the fish guy. It’s notable for a number of reasons. First is that I never knew the place actually had a name, since it doesn’t display it anywhere. Regardless, I can barely make out the name on the calendar. And they are definitely not open every day of the year, despite the claim. And interesting to note—though certainly understandable—the foods pictured do not include fish.

It does have moon phases, though, which may prove useful.

Hornero feeding chick

I heard a repeated chirping in the front yard, and saw it was an Hornero and chick, then realized they were in the back yard, and quickly closed the sliding glass door before the dogs figured it out.

What’s the thinking here?

Who could possibly have thought this design was a good idea?

Background: when we moved here, we installed a wood stove, and I went out of my way to find newspapers for starting fires. Not an easy task. Even cardboard was rare then (it’s abundant now).

Then I discovered blue alcohol, and that was the end of needing newspapers to light fires. I bought my last bundle in 2018, and use them mostly now for cleaning paint brushes. Which I did recently in a fit of spring cleaning.

Inside of each newspaper is this glossy (and thus useless) magazine.

And every time I see it I have the same question: who could possibly have thought this design was a good idea?

Nothing to see here….

(That’s a dog, not a tree top, in the center dune.)

Bigfoot seagull

I guess I’ve never thought about how big gulls are. My hand from pinkie to thumb tip is around 23 cm / 9 inches. Yikes!

The industrial house next door

Our neighbor’s industrial remodeling became a little more industrial over the weekend with the addition of a very industrial-looking carport.

Pavers along the side lead to the back,

where most of the yard is now tiled.

Colorful seeds

Spotted on the dog walk today.

Industrial chic

Construction update: the neighbors on the corner have almost completed their [whatever] with parking for 3-4 cars. And painted everything gray.

This is what it looks like from our bedroom porch. Note the three flagpoles in the upper right. Obviously a business proposition of some sort, but what?

The neighbors on the other side have erected a fence around the front yard that can only be described as industrial.

From our upstairs patio, we can see the front yard has enough pavers—the workers told me they were for the Jacuzzi—to pave most of the yard.

Here is the warehouse-like addition. Look closely: they’re…

…painting it gray.

And here’s their lovely industrial stovepipe, obscuring the view of the neighbors’ weather vane.

The Elusive Mexican Restaurant

It should have been fairly straightforward: after my wife’s eye appointment, head down Blvd. Artigas, left, right, left, and ta!

After that first left, Google clearly shows a one-way street. No problem. However, here’s the view inside that rectangle:

It is quite clear that you are not to make a right turn here. We did go a couple streets further and found some guys who seemed to know exactly how to find the restaurant. But the maze of one-way Montevideo streets seems designed to prevent you from getting back to where you started, and in the dark of night it only took us a couple blocks to give up and head home.

I suspect anyone who has attempted to find things in Montevideo, especially at night, has a similar tale.