New Year's Eve

It's a matter of a few hours until we say good - bye to another year. I won't bother saying how time flies, but it does. I've finally got my new oven so I can bake until my heart's content. Have you decided what you're going to prepare for your last meal of this year?

In Spain, New Year Eve is a special occasion with most families having lots of seafood (with lots of urea acid), fish or lamb. I don't eat most seafood as I'm allergic to it and I really don't like the taste or smell of it. I'll only eat paella, which is made with seafood, but I pick out the shellfish and eat the chicken and squid. The only thing I'm sure that I'm going to prepare for tomorrow night is bread and I always make a hot fudge pudding cake for dessert. I'll have to decide soon on the meat because it will have to unthaw. Vegetables are no problem. Then at midnight, we´ll each have our twelve grapes - one grape per dong of the clock in the city centre - and then toast the new year with cava (like champagne, but only the French stuff is permitted to be called that). Me, I'll have sidra (cider) because cava always gives me a headache. Then the young people will go out to parties or macro-parties.

I was going to upload  some music from my disco days, but until someone can give me a reasonable answer to my problem, I'll just upload a Spanish song about New Year's Eve (maybe). The problem is the following and I promise it's the truth: I bought a Carlos Santana CD from El Corte Inglés (= The English Court), the most popular department store here. The title of the CD and all the songs comes out in CHINESE and not English or Spanish! My Chinese isn't very good. Seriously, any input about this anomaly would be greatly appreciated.I'm gobsmacked to say the least. Anyway, will try to get around to your pages to wish you a happy night tomorrow. Take care and have fun.
 

The Day After

Hope everybody had a good Christmas Day, and to those of you who opened presents, remember wrapping paper can be re-cycled so take a bit of care when unwrapping even if you're not like me and felt the package before trying to imagine what's inside. That's something I've done since I can remember - feel up the presents. It's not too much fun, however, when you guess exactly what's inside. After all, we all enjoy a surprise.

In Spain, like other countries, we enjoy Christmas until the 6th of January - that's when traditionally presents are exchanged. It's the Three Kings who are in charge of distributing gifts. Santa in recent years has also become popular = an excuse to receive more? I don't know about others, but as children we never got a lot of things for Christmas. Probably the gift I most treasured was a dictionary; my first record player was a red and white mono Mickey Mouse one made of a hard cardboard (it must have sounded tinny but I cranked it up anyway) and my first record was a Beatle single.

As you can see, I've changed my background. Not too long ago I mentioned the fact that in the US I've seen that some people leave their outside Christmas decorations up all year round (don't know about the interior ones), which I find a bit unusual to say the least. Maybe if, like some, they're really intricate it would be understandable. It's not something I saw growing up. Well, I'll leave my  (interior) decorations up until the 6th. I decided to change my background on my page to practise what I preach which is when Christmas is over all  decorations come down.

The following post is one of the few that I had time to read yesterday. If you haven't read it or if you've received some strange invites, here's the link:
http://usersupport.multiply.com/notes/item/2612?mark_read=usersupport:notes:2612
I also reported a message that I received offering 15 free ringtones.

Hoping things will soon get back to normal, whatever that may be. Unfortunately, some of our waistlines won't I'm quite sure and with all the noise around, my dog doesn't enjoy going out as much as usual. A noisy banger has just gone off. She's under the bed, poor baby. Oh well, they'll have to go back to class one day. Enjoy what holiday you have.

Twelve Days of Christmas

***For the twelve days of Christmas, your true love will send you:***


Twelve robots drumming
Eleven christmas trees a-twinkling
Ten gymnasts a-leaping
Nine ladies yodeling
Eight cows a-milking
Seven fruitcakes a-festering
Six Santas a-hohohoing
Five golden coins
Four calling bill collectors
Three French berets
Two Jesus action figures
And a fairy in a olive tree


What Will You Get for the 12 Days of Christmas?
http://www.blogthings.com/whatwillyougetforthe12daysofchristmasquiz/

Busy Time

I'm quite sure that I'll be taking a sabbatical, meaning next week I won't be posting my weekly (if that) blog. Just have too many things on my plate right now. You know things like writing and sending Christmas cards out so that the recipients get them before May. Don't laugh! I got a Christmas card in May once!

The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that it's not a good idea to think too much. A week ago I  was thinking how long I'd had my oven and what good service I'd got from it. This was a countertop oven (not a toaster oven) I'd got from a friend years ago when our houses were being converted from city gas to natural gas, which left me without a cooker and hot water until the conversion was complete. I had an electric kettle, a crockpot, a microwave and this conventional oven so I didn't complain too much about not having gas. Since that time, I've come to rely on this oven because the flat (apartment) that I've bought is all electric, which I prefer until the electricity goes off or my oven stops working, which it did not long after I'd decided to think about it. In future, I'm going to be careful what I think, I think. So no Christmas cookies that I've promised until my new oven arrives, and the other day I got an e-mail saying the delivery is being delayed. I hope it's only a few days' delay, but you never know. I have lots of experience with delays.

Although I won't be blogging anything next week, I'll try to stop by other people's pages to say hi and see what's new in their lives. Of course, I'll be checking out Post Secret to see if there is anything new. I'm not a nosey person, not like some of my neighbours, but I do like my secrets. I miss them whenever Frank decides to take a break from posting. I understand. Everybody needs a sabbatical. Next week at this time I'll probably be saying: why did I eat so much yesterday? That's only one of the Christmas meals I'll be having this season. Well, you know the poem about Christmas time is coming, the goose is getting fat. That'll be me! Have a good week all!

CHRISTMAS EGG

Get your own egg here!

Something in the water???

Don't know if any of you (especially those from KY) have ever seen the geocities page 'unusual Kentucky'. It had a lot more stories before and I keep meaning to request that they add a few of the stories from their original page that are missing from their current page. One of these missing stories is about a hairless wild animal that, according to witnesses who've seen it, is similar to the raccoon (I think it is) but barks like a dog! To this story of strange animals, Ashland can add a couple of more. This is my 'unusual Kentucky'.

One hot day in August of 2007, with temperatures already in the 90's, a young man decides  to experiment with the many uses of duct tape - you know, that's something every home should have and most do. So this young man wraps duct tape around his face, pulls his t-shirt up over his head and goes out to rob a liquor store. When he gets to the liquor store, he finds the owner has his own duct tape which is protecting his baseball bat. The few rolls of coins the young man manages to obtain are spilled onto the parking lot and the young man is detained by the police. For further details of this 'unusual' story, go to You Tube. 'I ain't no duct tape bandit, baby!'

After the 'success' of the 'duct tape bandit', another Ashland man, not dressed in duct tape but wearing a ski mask anyway, decides to rob an ice cream store using a stapler instead of a gun. Now I'm confused. It's cold in November but in August in Kentucky it was as hot as Hades. Why didn't the 'duct tape bandit' rob the ice-cream store and the 'stapler bandit' rob the liquor store? Most people eat more ice cream in the summer when it's hot than in the winter, don't they? Definitely something in the water. That's my explanation and I've just finished reading a novel about some people with no morals who tried to poison the water system of an island just off Venezuela (don't think Chavez was there, unfortunately).

The last 'unusual' story did not take place in Ashland, Kentucky but in CLEARWATER, GA. Clearwater my foot! Here we have yet another young man who is arrested for trying to open a bank account. Yeah, I know people are arrested for trying to rob banks not for trying to open accounts. They are if they try to open an account with a $1 M bill simply because $1 M bills don't exist  - at least not at the present -  which leads me to suspect that perhaps this last guy was a time traveller. Just in case, I think I'll stick to bottled water.

Have a good week all. I've put the cart before the horse today. I've already been to Post Secret. Going to visit some pages now. I saw some delicious sounding recipes out there. Hasta pronto

P.S. Oh, no! Have just remembered. A study was done on bottled water. The results were hardly surprising. A lot of the so-called spring or mineral water is really tap water. Will just have to find a substitute!

Happy Turkey Day

rainy days and tuesdays

We don't have enough rainy days and Tuesdays are not as bad as Mondays to get me down. As a matter of fact, I'm jubilous that it's raining today!  I'm thankful that's it's raining a rain that soaks you but doesn't drown you and destroy. I don't mind that I keep having to check the intensity of it to see if perhaps my dog , the little madame, might go out long enough to do what she has to. If I could, I'd send some of this rain to the places that need it.Yes, I feel lucky to have this rain.

I've just been over to Deb's place (Kentucky Deb's) and she had found an article about taking some time out of our busy day on Thanksgiving to start writing a list about all the things we are thankful for. Thanksgiving isn't a holiday (yet) in Spain and we don't have time to prepare a special meal (you know it takes a lot of planning and preparation) during the week. My friends and I do celebrate Thanksgiving, along with my birthday, though we've given up trying to find a place that does a Thanksgiving meal as we know it. So I know everybody is, and will, be busy the next couple of days, and if you're not on multiply too much, just want you to know I'm thankful that you're here other times and wish all my friends and family a very happy holiday.

See I've started my list early. Tomorrow is one of my busiest days and Thursday I have to make brownies. Well, I don't have to make them. I can make them and I want to. Hugs to all.

the world is a hankerchief

No, this saying doesn't mean the world is a rubbish bin (trashcan in American English, but my nephew, Aaron, prefers rubbish bin) though it might seem that way. Remember the children's song 'It's a Small World'? To the Spanish, the small dimensions of the hankerchief are comparable to each individual's tiny universe. Besides, everyone thought the Earth was flat before it was proven otherwise. We've all experienced this smallness of our planet, and I'm going to tell you about some of mine.

Years ago a couple of friends and I went to Rome at Easter where we saw the Pope (John Paul II) up close and personal - this, of course, before the attempt on his life. Just thought I'd throw this in  even if it has no relationship whatsoever to my experience. We were in the Coliseum  and my camera had just run out of film, which didn't make me too happy when  suddenly  I  hear  'Mama, Mama! There's my English  teacher!'  Sure enough it was one of my little pupils from the institute. I don't know how they had got to Rome, but they hadn't travelled with us. However, all roads lead to Rome, don't they?

I had a similar experience years later in which I was walking down the street that I'd lived in for a long time when I was stopped by a young lady who said: 'Hey, I know you. You were on my flight from New York.' Well, I do go to the bathroom a lot on flights so, in this case, we had travelled together but to Madrid.

Lastly, (I've had others but don't want to bore you with all of them) when I made the move from 360 to here, the very first video I put on my page was a Tangerine Dream one. The person who added his photos to the music did an excellent job. It's almost as if the photos were taken with the music in mind and vice versa. Then I joined a few groups, and do you know what? The author of the 'Tangerine Dream' video posted a response in one of these groups!

How about you? I know you've had your encounters and maybe some of them I know about. I'm off to visit Post Secret and, although this isn't an unexpected encounter, sometimes I read unexpected secrets. Have a good week and Happy Thanksgiving. I don't envy you your turkey and all the trimmings too much.

Cleaning Out My Closet

Eminem did it and now so have I. He cleaned out his closet and I've cleaned all the graphics and long messages out of my guestbook. So I thank everybody who has sent me a lovely graphic message, but that's apparently one of the culprits which is slowing slowing things down on here. They also wreck your page by widening the message box and making everything off-centre. Don't know about anybody else but pictures that are not hung straight really get on my nerves. Have you ever been in someone else's home and found yourself wanting to straighten their pictures, or maybe you've actually done it while their out of the room? I have. As much as I like the cute graphics that I get, I've put a note on my message box asking that you don't post them. Just send me a hiya - that's sufficient. Have a good evening all. 

Happy 19th

Can you believe this young man is 19 today? This photo was taken at our Christmas meal last year. My culinary contributions were homemade rolls and a green bean casserole, which Jesse loves. They always request the green bean casserole (and the rolls too). June, Jesse's mom makes the best mashed potatoes in the world. I've sent Jesse an SMS wishing him a very happy day. Hope it reaches it's correct destination this year.

I'm going to visit some special friends' pages now. They're both vets so I want to wish them a happy day. One is BJ who was recently in hospital and the other is Bill, or olbill as he calls himself on here. I'm not sure if Bill is still in hospital or isn't up to posting anything. I'm constantly checking on 360 in case he's posted there. Remember these two men and the countless others who have fought for our freedom. I hope Post Secret has. Have a happy day all.

Juan Carlos I, King of Spain

This is a post that has come about spontaneously. Many of my friends here know that I've lived most of my adult life in Spain. As a matter of fact, I've lived in Spain longer than I did in the US. I came to Madrid (thanks to my Spanish professor at university) at the time when Spain was making the transition from a dictatorship to a democratic country. It was an exciting and frightening time to be in Spain, not just for foreigners but for everyone.

One of the defenders of democracy was and is the King of Spain. Because of him, Spain averted a coup d'état or military takeover in 1981. There are some who are against the Monarchy,and there have been demonstrations in which photos of the Royal Family have been burned. But thanks to how don Juan Carlos reacted in 1981, they have the right to demonstrate and express their opinions freely.

Kudos to the King of Spain for telling Chavez to shut up, because in doing so he was again defending the freedom that we enjoy in Spain and which under Chavez's rule is denied to the people of his country. Don Juan Carlos is always very polite, very friendly and is very funny in English. This is absolutely the first time I have seen him angry and I applaud him for it. Bravo!

Rainbow Hair

My hair has literally been all the colours of the rainbow.  I remember one summer using this spray from Avon that was meant to lighten your hair. At the time my hair was naturally dark brown. With this Avon spray I was supposed to sit out in the sun, which I did religiously until I'd used the whole bottle. I remember thinking 'This stuff isn't working'.  Imagine my surprise, when one morning I woke up a very platinum blonde. I don't remember how long it took to grow it all out, but it finally disappeared and I was back to normal.

My next colour experience was when I had quite a bit of grey and my hairdresser kept nagging me to cover it up. I finally gave in and bought one of those 'washes out in 7 or 8 shampoos'. I should have known not to believe everything I read. These wash-outs don't take into consideration the porosity of one's hair. So the beginning of colouring my hair. I went from a lovely walnut-colour, which did suit me, to a indigo-like colour to orange when I finally decided to  get back my natural colour to blonde again because my hair was orange and finally all the colours of the rainbow my natural colour - white. Finally, the colour that's me. My hair is a shiny silver and  even earned me a reduced-price ticket at the cinema this summer. Lots of  women, and some men too, cover up their grey until they die. Good for them, but I'll take a reduced-price ticket any day to all that mess and, in no time at all, those horrible roots.
A not so profound thought: a creature of habit is just that. I'm one and I'm going to see what's new on Post Secrets like I always do on a Sunday. Have a good week all.

Fun Way to Learn Spanish

I received this from a friend a few years ago. It's probably the work of someone who had nothing better to do than to make up a phony memo (like one of my sisters). However, believe me these expressions are heard every day, and it's not only young people using them. Hope you enjoy!

FROM: Group Offices London
TO: All Spanish Staff
Subject: Improper Language Usage

It has been brought to our attention by several officials visiting our headquarters that the Spanish staff commonly use offensive language. Such behaviour, in addition to violating our group's policy, is highly unprofessional and offensive to both visitors and the staff itself. Therefore it is requested to our Spanish staff to adhere immediately to the following rules:

Foreign colleagues or visitors should not be referred to as 'mira ese guiri de mierda' or 'passa de ese polaco'.

Words like 'coño', 'hostia' and other such expressions will not be used for emphasis, no matter how heated the discussion is.

You will not say 'la ha cagao' when someone makes a mistake, or 'la está cagando' if you see someone being reprimanded or '¡qué cagada!' when a major mistake has been made. All direct or derived forms of the verb 'cagar' are inappropiate in our environment.

No Project Manager, Section Supervisor or Head of Administration Chief will be referred to, under any circumstances, as 'el hijo de la gran puta', or 'el muy cabrón' or even 'el lameculos'.

Lack of determination will not be referred to as 'falta de huevos' or 'maricoñazo' nor will persons with a lack of initiative be referred to as 'nenaza' or 'acojonado'.

Unusual and/or creative ideas shall not be referred to as 'pajas mentales', in particular when they stem from your manager.

You will not say 'como me jode' if a person is persistent, or 'está jodido' or 'le van a joder' if a colleague is going through a difficult situation. Furthermore, when matters become complicated the words 'qué jodienda' should not be used.

When asking someone to leave you alone you must not say 'vete a tomar por culo' or 'vete a la mieeeeeerda', nor should you substitute the most educated 'Can I help you?' with '¿qué coño quieres ahora?' or 'que te ayude tu puta madre'.

Last, but not least, after reading this note, please do not say 'me voy a limpiar el culo con ella' or 'me paso por el forro de los cojones'. Just keep it clean and dispose of it properly.

P.S. If this note does not achieve its goal to improve the Spanish staff's language, it can always be used as a Spanish course!

KY FACTS

I just received this from one of my cousins from Kentucky of course. I dedicate it to my 360 friends from KY: Sally, Tessie aka Petal and Deb who recently lost her beloved grandmother, my family, and just anyone who loves KENTUCKY or KFC.

• 1792 - Kentucky was the first state on the western frontier to join the Union.
• 1816 (first promoted) - Mammoth Cave, with 336+ miles of mapped passages, is the world's longest cave. It is 379 feet deep and contains at least 5 levels of passages. It's second only to Niagara Falls as the most popular tourist attraction in the US. It became a National Park on July 1, 1941.
• 1856 - the first enamel bathtub was made in Louisville.
• 1883 - The first electric light bulb was shown in Louisville. Thomas Edison introduced his invention to crowds at the Southern Exposition.
• 1887 - Mother's Day was first observed in Henderson by teacher Mary S. Wilson. It became a national holiday in 1916.
• 1893 - Happy Birthday to You, probably the most sung song in the world, was written by two Louisville sisters - Mildred & Patricia Hill.
• Late 19th Century - Bibb lettuce was first cultivated by Jack Bibb in Frankfort, Kentucky.
  
• 1896 - The first (known) set of all male quintuplets was born in Paducah.
• 1934 - Cheeseburgers were first tasted at Kaelin's restaurant in Louisville.
• 1937 - The first Wigwam Village Motel, with all units in the shape of a teepee, was built by Frank A. Redford in Clay City.
• The world's largest baseball bat, a full one hundred and twenty feet long and weighing 68,000 pounds, can be seen at the Louisville Slugger Museum in Louisville.
• Covington, KY (St. Mary's Cathedral - Basilica of the Assumption) is home of the largest hand blown stained glass window in existence. It measures an astounding 24 feet by 67 feet and contains 117 different figures.
• The world's largest crucifix, standing at sixty feet tall is in Bardstown, KY.
• Fort Knox holds more than $6 billion worth of gold - the largest amount stored anywhere in the world.
• The JIF plant in Lexington is the world's largest peanut butter producing facility.
• Middlesboro is the only US city built inside a meteor crater.
• Newport is the home to The World Peace Bell, the world's largest free-swinging bell.
• Pikesville annually leads the nation (per capita) in consumption of Pepsi-Cola.
• Post-It Notes are made exclusively in Cynthiana, KY.
• Shaker Village (Pleasant Hill) is the largest historic community of its kind in the US.
• Christian County is "wet" while Bourbon County is "dry".
• Barren County has the most fertile land in the state.
• One part of Kentucky is completely separated from the rest of the state by the Mississippi River.
• Kentucky has more shoreline than Florida.