Pages

Sunday, 12 December 2010

Bone Tired

And feeling lazy too after my 8-hour stint helping out at a crafts fair for a group that I used to be a member of and my friend Chris is still the president of. For this occasion I always make something sweet and usually I make brownies. This year I decided on a cake and decorated it up for Christmas. I used Mary's (marythatsme) Grandmother's Buttermilk Pound Cake recipe for this. I'd originally tried for an angel food cake, but didn't have any cream of tartar for which I'd read on numerous sites that there is no good substitute for. Now I know this is true, so next year I shall be making the brownies I'm famous for - those, touching wood, turn out always the same. I can't say the angel food cake turned into a devil's food one, because those are divine desserts despite their name. Inedible, rubbery, heavy, disgusting are some of the adjectives I'd use to describe what was supposed to be a delicious light cake.

If you're confused about the cakes, Mary's cake turned out lovely though we really didn't have time to sample it adequately. The fair was that busy! I can't believe how many people attended - very few periods when nobody was looking around. One young man even came back to buy some more things, so I know he'll return next year. This is certainly encouraging given the present economic situation.There were some lovely things and some of them were a bit overpriced I thought. I got quite a few little gifts though and a new cutting board for me, which was the most expensive item I bought. I've been thinking about getting a new board for quite a while. The photo I've included doesn't do it justice. The wood has been worked so artistically.

Anyway, it's busy, busy time for me now as I've started making my famous buckeyes (peanut butter balls). I'm disappointed with the chocolate I've chosen to coat the balls. No matter how long I melt the chocolate, little bits refuse to be melted so there are little lumps. Oh well, extra chocolate I suppose. I won't repeat with this particular brand even though the taste is the same. In addition, I have two Christmas meals this week and work, of course. I'm sure everybody else is doing more than usual too. Hope it's a good week for all.

Wednesday, 8 December 2010

Stolen from Sheila

Subject: High Urinals..... A group of 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders, accompanied by two female teachers, went on a field trip to the local racetrack, (Churchill Downs ) to learn about thoroughbred horses and the supporting industry (Bourbon), but mostly to see the horses. When it was time to take the children to the bathroom, it was decided that the girls would go with one teacher and the boys would go with the other. The teacher assigned to the boys was waiting outside the men's room when one of the boys came out and told her that none of them could reach the urinal. Having no choice, she went inside, helped the boys with their pants, and began hoisting the little boys up one by one, holding on to their 'wee-wees' to direct the flow away from their clothes. As she lifted one, she couldn't help but notice that he was unusually well endowed. Trying not to show that she was staring the teacher said, 'You must be in the 5th grade.' 'No, ma'am', he replied. 'I'm riding Silver Arrow in the seventh race, but I appreciate your help.'    
 
 

Sunday, 5 December 2010

48 Hours

The time the Spanish government has set for flights to again become normalised.  According to my calculations, that is about now.  I doubt, however, that this is true because I know for a fact that many would-be passengers lost their money, not to mention a planned 5-day getaway as some of the airlines, Alitalia being one of them, refused or were unable to solve stranded passengers' problems.  Normality will be something that any passenger unlucky enough to be to be caught up in the wildcat strike on the part of the Spanish air traffic controllers on Friday afternoon is unlikely to ever feel again when planning a trip which involves such a selfish lot of people who had the audacity to claim they were certain they would have the support of the public.  Maybe I don't understand their necessity to strike on such an important date and given the present economic crisis which they have worsened to who knows what extent, probably incalculably, and maybe I'd like to earn nearly half a million bucks a year on average as they do.  I realise air traffic controllers have a lot of pressure and responsibility, but at the same time they're extremely well-paid.  Just like some of the unfortunate passengers who were in the same hotel where the air traffic controllers were, I shout 'Shame on you!' and I won't forget the smirk I saw on one of the air controller's faces.  I only hope that smirk gets punished along with all the others who have caused so much suffering for their benefit.  

Monday, 29 November 2010

The Best-Laid Plans of Turkeys

And me often go wrong. For years now I've celebrated my birthday and Thanksgiving at a Mexican restaurant. As a matter of fact, I've been celebrating there since the last fiasco of a Thanksgiving meal in a restaurant. We've been served such strange dishes as blueberry jam for cranberry sauce, chicken and not turkey (though we were told it was turkey), stuffing that was tasteless because it was just bread crumbs stuffed in the bird and nothing else, etc. etc. These are some of the reasons why we don't look for a restaurant claiming to serve Thanksgiving meals. Besides, I like Mexican food, and we eat so much Chinese that we're getting slanted eyes. No really, I can use chopsticks as well as I can a pencil. But back to the story. When we got to the Mexican restaurant, we sadly discovered it had a private party booked and they wouldn't let us crash! There was a huge turkey on a table, no tacos or re-fried beans! We ended up across the street at the Indian restaurant where we'd celebrated Chris's birthday and where we were the only customers. I was disappointed but had a good time anyway and got some nice pressies. Next birthday I'll know to book!

We're having our first snow of the season today just as the weatherman predicted. The flakes are, or were when I came in, big and wet so nothing has stuck. Hope everybody stays warm. I got some new gloves and a matching scarf as a present which have been greatly appreciated today.

Sunday, 21 November 2010

Nuttier Than a Fruitcake

This is the first fruitcake that I've made for years. I had to wait until all the ingredients like the candied fruit (fruta escarchada it's called here) were made available. Then I had to cut up all the fruit and take the stones out of the dates and chop them up. Sticky work I tell you! The recipe I used called for nuts, and I thought no way was I going to crack, hull and chop any nuts. As it is, I hope I don't drop the cake on my toes, because it feels like it weighs 2 or 3 kilos. If anyone wants the recipe, I'll post it. However, I think most people either don't like fruitcakes or they buy them already made. I used to buy things like that, well Christmas cake really, when we had a Marks and Spencer's in Madrid. I'm still angry at old Marks and Sparks, the British department store, for leaving me without hotcross buns, rhubarb crumble, sausages, etc. I don't live near Gibraltar like Tracy so I can pop over and get some pork pies whenever I fancy them.

It's getting busy time of the year for me. I've had so many requests for buckeyes/peanut butter balls that soon I'll be up to my eyeballs in them. Just hope what happened last year doesn't repeat itself. Zara, ever so sneakily, got into one of the packages that I made up for my friend Chris and ate at least 10! That's not the first time she's eaten chocolate, and supposedly chocolate is dangerous for dogs. Zara doesn't think so! I'll just have to be careful and not leave them where her nose can find them. BTW, the recipe for these is in my recipe file. And the candied fruit that I have leftover I'm going to put in thumbprint cookies for the kids.

Hope everybody who celebrates Thanksgiving has a wonderful day. How I love those smells! I'll be celebrating Thanksgiving and my birthday in a Mexican restaurant as usual. Have a good holiday and week everybody!

Sunday, 14 November 2010

Flying Time

I remember when I was little thinking Christmas was never going to arrive or the day that we could take off our shoes and run around barefoot like the hillbillies we were. Christmas is almost upon us, and now the only places I'll go barefoot are in bed (though I have to wear socks in the winter) and the shower. I was thinking on Friday that the week had gone by without realising it, and that's with having extra free time.

Why did I have extra free time? Two reasons. One, Tuesday was a holiday for Madrid, and, two, some of us were unable to log onto multiply for more than a day, so some of us had to spend more time on places like facebook, farcebook, or facebooger - whatever you wish to call it. BTW, although this has nothing to do with what happened on multiply on Thursday, there are some PM's being sent out with a fake video and a message saying that you look familiar (of course, I do! Lots of people recognise that my favourite headshot/avatar is a bird of paradise). The ultimate goal of these messages is to trick the recipient into downloading something he/she really doesn't want. Be careful! As we say in Spanish 'he who warns is not a traitor'. I've had lots of experiences with meeting people I know everywhere - lots of them former students like the policeman who stamped my passport in the summer.  I even wrote a blog about how small the world is. However, on the internet I try to use precaution, because it is the great unknown. I detest forwards for various reasons, one of which is the sender most usually doesn't bother to hide all the 100's of addresses he's sending to. I only have one friend who does and I open his.

The only exciting, and possibly irritating, thing here this week has been the filming of yet another film in my neighbourhood. Rumour has it that Bruce Willis is in it. The only thing I can say for sure is there were an awfully lot of cinema vans around taking up precious parking spaces and a big crane in the Bullring Square. I just remembered that there was a demonstration of motorcyclists that came through yesterday protesting against the guardrails on the roads, which may provide extra protection for motorists but not for cyclists. One case I remember in which a motorcyclist's arm was sliced off. The promise has been made to modify the guardrails, but I assume nothing has been done so far.

No holiday this week for us. Hope it's a good one for everyone.


Sunday, 7 November 2010

Apple Crumble


Description:
What can I say about this dish except that it has to be my favourite British dessert. I probably like rhubarb crumble more. Alas, rhubarb is non-existent in Spain or I've never come across it. We do have what I consider unrefined brown sugar, but ordinary brown sugar (probably the dark) can be substituted for it.

Ingredients:
Crumble:
300g/10½oz plain flour, sieved, pinch of salt
175g/6oz unrefined brown sugar
200g/7oz unsalted butter, cubed at room temperature
Knob of butter for greasing

Filling:
450g/1lb apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1cm/½in pieces
50g/2oz unrefined brown sugar
1 tbsp plain flour
1 pinch of ground cinnamon


Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Place the flour and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Taking a few cubes of butter at a time rub into the flour mixture. Keep rubbing until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Place the fruit in a large bowl and sprinkle over the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Stir well being careful not to break up the fruit.
3. Butter a 24cm/9in ovenproof dish. Spoon the fruit mixture into the bottom, then sprinkle the crumble mixture on top.
4. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the crumble is browned and the fruit mixture bubbling.
5. Serve with thick cream or custard.

Human Beeings

It's only fitting that I post this photo of my darling nieces all dressed up for Halloween, because, believe it or not, I saw a live honey bee buzzing around when my dog and I went out earlier! I've just checked the calendar, and yes it's the 7th of November and should be chilly, if not cold, here. Sometimes I wish I wrote something every day so I'd know for sure what kind of weather we'd had in previous years. I doubt that that will happen though. I'm just too busy during the day, or too tired when I get home or don't really have a lot to say (like now actually). Anyway, I'll say it now in case I forget: we're supposed to get some rain today and it is cloudy.

My great-niece will be six months old soon. I have her photos from when she was 5 months old that I've been meaning to post. Her mother takes her to Sears to have her photos taken every month and then posts them on facebook, which is about the only thing I like about that place - how the photos come out. Sure wish they were like that on here.

I am wishing a lot today! One thing that I don't have to wish for is another holiday this week. Tuesday is a holiday in Madrid. However, the government would like to take it away if they could I'm sure since it's a religious holiday. The Pope is in Spain, so the President has decided that it's time for a visit to the troops in Afghanistan instead.

Hope everybody has an enjoyable week. I'm going to try and add at least one recipe later on and my great-niece's photos maybe one day.

Sunday, 31 October 2010

Rainy All Saints' Weekend

This is another long weekend for us, and the rain is doing all it can to keep things nice and soaked.  Even if it rains just when I'm thinking of going out with the dog, I'm one of the first to bless the rain.  A few weeks ago it was Blog Action Day and this year's topic was water. I didn't actually participate and I posted not much more than a link to a site dedicated to water conservation.  Wednesday of last week found us, at least my street, without water for more than 7 hours due to what I assume must have been a monumental leak or break somewhere in the area.  We never appreciate things like clean water and electricity or gas until we don't have them. I was in class most of the day, so I wasn't too bothered, but when I was at home I kept trying the taps to see if the water had come back on.  I asked one of my young students if he had water in his house since he lives just around the corner.  They did and he asked me if I wanted a glass of water!

It's been another busy week for me and I'm thankful that tomorrow is a holiday. I'm always thankful when a holiday doesn't fall on the weekend. We all enjoyed Chris's birthday and shared the main course of chicken tikka masala thinking if we didn't ask for too much we wouldn't have anything left over.  We did of course because we always make the mistake of eating too many starters.  Never mind!  Food is never wasted as Chris always takes it home.  The next birthday is mine and it's a combination celebration for Thanksgiving in a Mexican restaurant.  I'm thinking about the margaritas already!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead.  Autumn has definitely come to Madrid to stay for a while.

Friday, 29 October 2010

Everything Under the Pun

YOU WANT PUNS ? YOU GOT PUNS.

...A guy goes into a nice restaurant bar wearing a shirt open at the collar and is met by a bouncer who tells him he must wear a necktie to gain admission. So the guy goes out to his car and he looks around for a necktie and discovers that he just doesn't have one. He sees a set of jumper cables in his trunk. In desperation he ties these around his neck, manages to fashion a fairly acceptable looking knot and lets the ends dangle free. He goes back to the restaurant and the bouncer carefully looks him over for a few minutes and then says, "Well, OK, I guess you can come in -- just don't start anything."

...This mushroom walks into a bar and starts hitting on this woman... She, of course, turns him down. Not willing, to give up, he pleads with her... "C'mon lady, I'm a fun guy..."

...This horse walks into a bar and the bartender says "Hey, buddy, why the long face...

...These two strings walk upto a bar... The first string walks in and orders and the bartender throws him out and yells "I don't serve strings in this bar... The other string ruffs himself up on the street and curls up and orders... The bartender shouts, Hey, didn't you hear what I told your buddy?" String says "Yeah." Bartender says, "aren't you a string?" ... String says, "No, I'm a frayed knot..."

...This grasshopper walks into a bar, and the bartender says "Hey! We have a drink named after you!" The grasshopper replies "Really? You have a drink named Steve?!"

...This baby seal walks into a bar and the bartender says,"What'll ya have..." The seal says, "Anything but a Canadian Club...

...This skeleton walks into a bar and says, "I'd like a beer and a mop..."

...A man walked into a bar and sat down next to a man with a dog at his feet. "Does your dog bite?" he asked. "No." A few minutes later the dog took a huge chunk out of the man's leg. "I thought you said your dog doesn't bite!" he said indignantly. The other guy replied, "That's not my dog."

...A neutron walks into a bar. "I'd like a beer" he says. The bartender promptly serves up a beer. "How much will that be?" asks the neutron. "For you?" replies the bartender, "no charge"

...Descartes walks into a bar, and the bartender asks "Would you like a beer?" Descartes replies "I think not" and POOF! he vanishes...

...A three legged dog walks into a bar and says, "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw..."

...A hamburger walks into a bar, and the bartenders says, "I'm sorry, but we don't serve food here..."

...A termite walks into a bar and says, "Is the bar tender here?"

...A snake slithers into a bar and the bartender says, "I'm sorry but I can't serve you." "Why not?" asks the snake. The bartender says, "Because you can't hold your liquor..."

...Baby seal walks into a club... what a tragedy...

...A guy walks into a bar. "OUCH!" he said...

...Two peanuts walked into a bar, and one was a-salted...

...Two vampires walked into a bar and called for the bartender. "I'll have a glass of blood," said one. "I'll have a glass of plasma", said the other. "Okay," replied the bartender, "that'll be one blood and one blood lite..."

...Two hydrogen atoms walk into a bar. One says, 'I think I've lost an electron.' The other says 'Are you sure?' The first says, 'Yes, I'm positive...'

...Two cartons of yogurt walk into a bar. The bartender, a tub of cottage chesse, says to them, "We don't serve your kind in here." One of the yogurt cartons says back to him, "Why not? We're cultured individuals."

...a man walked into a bar, sat down, and ordered a beer. As he sipped the beer, he heard a soothing voice say "nice tie!" Looking around he noticed that the bar was empty except for himself and the bartender at the end of the bar. A few sips later the voice said "beautiful shirt." At this, the man called the bartender over,"Hey...i must be losing my mind," he told the bartender. "I keep hearing these voices saying nice things, and there's not a soul in here other than us." "It's the peanuts" answered the bartender. "Say what?" "You heard me" said the barkeep."it's the peanuts... they're complimentary."

...Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused his dentist's Novocain during root canal work because he wanted to transcend dental medication.

...Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak got chilly so they lit a fire in the craft but it sank proving once and for all you can't have your kayak and eat it too.

...Two boll weevils grew up in South Carolina; one went to Hollywood and became a famous actor while the other stayed behind in the cotton fields never amounting to much and became known as the lesser of two weevils.

...There was a man who entered a local paper's pun contest. He sent in ten different puns hoping at least one of the puns would win but, unfortunately, no pun in ten did.

...A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One goes to a family in Egypt and is named Amahl while the other goes to a family in Spain and is named Juan. Years later Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother and upon receiving the picture she tells her husband she wishes she also had a picture of Amahl. "But they're twins," says her husband, "If you've seen Juan you've seen Amahl."

...A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing around in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. About an hour later the manager comes out of his office and asked them to disperse. "But why?", they asked as they moved along. "Because," said the manager, "I can't stand chess nuts boasting in an open foyer."

...It was a doctor's regular habit to stop off at a bar for a hazelnut daiquiri on his way home and, aware of his habit, the bartender would always have the drink waiting for him at precisely 5:18 PM. One afternoon as the end of the work-day neared the bartender was dismayed to find he was out of hazelnut extract but, thinking quickly, he threw together a daiquiri made with hickory nuts and set it on the bar. The doctor came in at his regular time, took one sip of the drink, then exclaimed: "This isn't a hazelnut daiquiri", to which the bartender replied, "No, I'm sorry, it's a hickory daiquiri, doc."

...A hungry lion was roaming through the jungle looking for something to eat when he came across two men; one was sitting under a tree reading a book while the other was typing away on his typewriter. The lion quickly pounced on the man reading the book and devoured him proving even the king of the jungle knows that readers digest and writers cramp.

Talented Theresa

There are lots of artists that I'm unfamiliar with and this fabulous voice is one of them.

Friday, 22 October 2010

Anniversary Day

I know lots of people don't know or have forgotten when they first began blogging on multiply, but the date when I crossed over from the defunct Y360  has stayed at the top of my page while other things may have disappeared or changed. Besides, I've had a blogoversity button to remind me. I can't say the same for when I started an account on facebook. The only thing I like about facebook is the photos that my family and friends post. I wish the photos were as nice on multiply. For blogging, multiply wins hands down and I've collected an ever-growing recipe file from friends on here. My own recipe section is a bit sparse, and I'm always saying I'm going to add to it. Well, one day I hope I do. Until then, happy anniversary to me!

Sunday, 10 October 2010

Three Tens Equal Today

I doubt that I'm the only one who has noticed that today's date is 10-10-10. I don't know if that's supposed to be lucky or unlucky. Does anybody know? I know that eight is the most coveted number by the Chinese. They'll even pay to get a telephone number with 8's.

This has been a walking in the rain weekend. Yesterday Madrid was under a yellow alert for rain. So far, it hasn't rained today, but the skies have been mostly cloudy so the threat of rain is still with us. I know it'll probably pour when I'm thinking about going out with the dog - never fails.

 I've spent time this weekend getting my winter things out. I've got a pile that needs ironing and I'll do that later on I promise. I've just got back from taking a few kilos of paper to the recycling bins. There are four near my house - one that I hurry past because the stench of pee is so strong, one where the smell is noticeable and the other one is up a hill. I usually go to the 'noticeable pee' one for convenience; the 4th one I pass by on my way to the supermarket and deposit a few things when I remember or feel like it. Anyway, I've noticed that people aren't ready to let go of summer yet. People are still wearing bermudas and the outdoor terrace I passed on the way to the recycling bin was packed. Of course, there is a bullfight, but I don't think it's 'sitting out on a terrace' weather. It's not cold yet, neither is it warm. I went out in a jacket. I saw the weather forecast (on the Internet) for Cincinnati and Lexington KY and saw that it was supposed to get up to almost 90º F today. I guess there are also places that aren't ready to give up summer yet either. I sure don't miss the humidity in those places.

Nothing much else to say unless I start griping about my neighbour whose life is constantly flashing 12:00, and I don't want to start on that so soon after my holidays. I, and just about everyone I know, was struck down with a cold last week, so I can't say I never get one. At least we could watch a sad, sad film and no one would notice if we cried. LOL. I hope that's the only cold I have this winter. Hope everybody has a good week too.

 
 

Wednesday, 29 September 2010

Back to Work and General Strike

My posts have been more than scarce this past month or so because I've been on my annual holiday in the US and haven't spent a lot of time online. I have flagged some posts to look at later as the FF on the computer I was on (not mine of course) lacked the basic plug-ins and there were things I couldn't see like videos. I'll try and post some photos sometime in the near future. For now here's a photo of the brothers and sisters.

I feel bad for anyone who had planned on arriving in Spain today, because unless they were using private transport they most likely wouldn't have been able to. I know Delta cancelled their flights to Madrid. Today we're having a general strike in Spain and anti-austerity protests in Europe. I'm not sure that the two events were meant to coincide, but the date for the general strike was announced at the end of June so I was able to plan my holidays around it. I know it sounds strange to announce a general strike so far in advance, but I'm glad they did. The only direct effect the strike is having on me personally is that the TV station that I watch the most hasn't been able to broadcast any type of programme, some of the others are showing films, I don't see any changes in the kiddie channels and some say they're not programmed. I think a lot of people will be on the internet for news today if that's what they're after. Of course I've seen rubbish bins overflowing since rubbish hasn't been picked up and none of the street cleaners seem to be out.  I haven't seen any shops or businesses in my area closed. However, I can imagine the problems they're having in the centre because they've had them during the other general strikes. The general rule is people have the right to strike but they don't have the right not to strike wherever there are 'informative pickets' like around the big businesses and public transport.

I knew I was back in the big city when yesterday at about 4 p.m. some workmen started digging up the street right in front of my windows - about time too! That dangerous hole had been in the street for months. I kept thinking that one day it was going to swallow a car or more. I think they've also 'repaired' the part of the pavement where I tripped and fell. I walked past there today and saw that for the next two days they would be filming a TV series there. Wonder which one? This is a very popular area for films anyway. I've seen Almodóvar and even Javier Bardem once in the street.

Well, I only have one more day of 'freedom' as I'm starting classes on Friday. Guess I'll be counting the days until Christmas break and then Easter and then…

Sunday, 29 August 2010

Upstairs, Downstairs

Well, I made it to the US fine yesterday, didn't have to wait too long for my luggage to come up and got through all the people and to my gate for my final destination well ahead of time. I had tried to call my sister when I arrived on American soil but thought my phone wasn't working. Anyway, they knew I was coming, so when I got to Cincy I went directly to Baggage Claim. Nobody was there! Tried calling again and apparently was able to leave a message on my brother-in-law's phone, which he didn't get until we got in the car. I waited for nearly an hour and was at the Information Desk when they came up behind me. They had been downstairs all the time. We had possibly passed one another, me going up and them going down! My great-niece was with them which made the wait worthwhile. She is so sweet!

Thursday, 26 August 2010

Old Dog and New Tricks

This is something that every animal lover knows: You CAN teach old dogs new tricks. Not long before he was shot and killed by some idiot with a bow and arrow (as in some parts hunting deer with a bow and arrow is permitted), my sister taught her old poodle to sit before she gave him a bone. Animals can learn anything they want to.

For a while when I had to take Zara to the vet's, I'd take her to the park and then we would go out this one exit. Well, she learned that trick pretty darn quickly , and now will not go near this particular exit, at least she won't if I'm alone with her. Maybe I've seen too many talking animal films in my lifetime, but I could swear that she knew she was going to the kennels this morning. She did not want to go out. I'm sure going to miss her even though I know she's going to be well looked after. Besides, she'll be in the mountains where it's cool. I'm looking forward to seeing my newest great-niece Lilly in person, and, of course, there'll be more dogs to keep me company at her house.

As much as I'm always quoting old sayings and proverbs, they aren't always accurate. I suppose the author of the old dogs' saying must not have been able to teach his anything new. Perhaps the dogs didn't have the right incentive!

Sunday, 22 August 2010

Ho Hum

Had to put earphones on to hear this over my computer's own humming

Sunday, 15 August 2010

Inconsistencies

Here's something I've been meaning to write about for a long time. I've always found it funny that so often in Madrid when you're supposedly going down the street, i.e. going from let's say number 50 to number 1, you're actually going up a hill.  So, in reality you're not going down the street, just going down in numbers.  I'm sure this sort of thing happens everywhere, not only in Madrid.  Well, I can live with that knowledge but not the quality of the pavements.

There's a Spanish proverb that goes something like this: 'Man is the only animal that stumbles over the same stone three times.' I believe this to be true as I fell in the exact same spot three times in the street where I used to live for many, many years.  I was even half-convinced that there was a candid camera or at least someone having a good laugh at the expensive of my dignity, because thank goodness I only got a few scrapes and bruises from the falls. The above photo shows the place where I had to again stumble and fall the very first night my nephew was here for a visit. This time, in addition to the normal bruises, I scraped the left side of my face a bit.  I'm not bragging when I say that I live in one of the most expensive areas of Madrid.  I live near the street that's known as 'The Golden Mile', not that I go shopping there.  It's a shame that you get out of what is considered the traditional city centre and you find pavements such as this one near my house or worse - it doesn't matter which area you live in.  Every summer Madrid has what is called 'Operation Asphalt,' however, it never has 'Operation Pavements' for those of us who are not motorized. Would the horrible pavements be because of all the hills or the altitude??? Anyway, think I'll start walking in the streets with the cars.

Tuesday, 10 August 2010

Tropical Nights and Firefox Freezes

I can certainly understand Tony's counting the days until Christmas.  I'm so sick of being sticky and uncomfortable, especially at night when there's no breeze at all to cool things down.  I'm sure I've mentioned that the rules of my building do not permit using air conditioners during the night (some do though), or during the hour of the siesta, whenever that is, and fans only help so much.  And to top it all off, Firefoxy has been freezing up more than usual these past days.  Don't know if it's reacting to the heat or if this is something to be expected as the above picture seems to indicate.

Changing the subject completely, did I imagine it or did Donna (darkdecember) not post a blog the other day saying she hadn't been on because she was tired of always writing about the same old same?  I sure don't lead a glamorous life, so I imagine I write about pretty much the same stuff over and over.  You know things like my not favourite neighbour is always stopping by to ask me to make photocopies or type up some document as if I'm a secretary whose job it is to do those things.  Every other day she gets locked out of her flat and comes to me for the keys.Everybody goes out without their keys at one time or another, which is why she has my keys, but not so often I hope.

On a positive note, hopefully Donna, Maria and countless others will decide to make a full comeback and shake things up a bit.  At times it's too quiet around here, don't you think?

Friday, 30 July 2010

Sultans of Swing

Last night (Thursday night) was a deliciously cool night after another summer scorcher (I'm fed up with these 40º C temps, can't you tell?). I'd heard there was a concert in the bullring, but I didn't know who it was until my dog and I went out for our evening walk and then I heard the music and knew. After we finished our walkabout, we stayed out and listened to the concert for free of course. The band didn't have the amplifiers turned up so loud that my dog was frightened by the noise. You can't imagine the noise from the Red Bull X Fighters last week! I was able to hear everything the commentator said from my house and then the fireworks. My dog spent most of the night hiding under the bed. Well, I enjoyed listening to Dire Straits but not to the concert goers who were in the streets until the wee hours.

BTW, my nephew who visited recently said they're always celebrating something in Spain. You don't believe that do you? Zara and I miss him. Oh, and this isn't one of my photos of the bullring. It's from fotosmadrid.

Friday, 16 July 2010

Something Going Round

This is going around - Leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me using the THIRD letter of YOUR name. It can only be one word. Then copy & paste this post on your blog so I can leave a word about you

Wednesday, 9 June 2010

Priceless

Our electricity bills are going up (yet again!) in July as is VAT (Value Added Tax). Did you know that three different ministers (secretary of this and secretary of that) travelled to Brussels yesterday on three different planes? Why couldn't they have travelled together? We've got too many of them anyway! Total price: 45,000 €. The ordinary citizen is the only one who is obliged to tighten his/her belt. I call that priceless!  

Sunday, 6 June 2010

Old Sayings and Missing Things

I know I'm not the most observant person in the world and have known this ever since my university days when my roommate Peggy would ask me what colour socks our hunk of a history professor had been wearing (I had class with him before she did).  I never paid attention to things like socks and still don't unless they're wild and highly-visible.  I do notice things like urban furniture and have been known to quote a few proverbs and sayings.

All too often the past couple of weeks, my street and the surrounding streets have been in total darkness, or they have been when I take my dog out around 10 pm.  Okay, I know it's not particularly dark at this time of night, especially with the lights from the bars and restaurants.Nevertheless, I'm used to living in a very well-lit city where you can see who or what's there.  Is the town council leaving us little streets without light in order to save money,I mean energy?  Not only have we been left in the dark, but all of the rubbish bins in my area have suddenly disappeared.  Again, I've always been able to find one when I needed it.  This morning I had to walk almost to the main street for one.  What plan is this?  Is it, as many people's philosophy happens to be, I'm creating more jobs for street cleaners by throwing my litter in the street?  What will they take away next?

Our famous 40th of May falls on this Wednesday.  This is the day when you can officially put away your winter clothes.  For the past couple of years, this hasn't been true, and this year I've been caught with my summer things still in storage.  We've had summer weather since the middle of May.  May 15th is a holiday in Madrid in honour of its patron saint, San Isidro, except this year it fell on a Saturday.  San Isidro always brings us rain on this day.  Well, he forgot to last year and this one too!

As my granny used to say, what's this world coming to when you can't find a bin for your waste or when the old sayings let you down?  As a child, I always thought she was being old-fashioned.  Now I ask myself the same question about all this and more.  What's more, the weatherman has predicted a high of 20º C (68 º F) and a low of 12º C (52ºF) for Wednesday.  I'll believe that when I feel it!

Saturday, 22 May 2010

Swimming Pool Weather

Walking past an electronic temperature gauge yesterday evening at 7.30, I saw that it was 35º C (about 95º F).  Guess that means that we're heading towards summer even if we haven't reached the traditional 40th of May when we can officially put away our winter clothing.  Someone on here has predicted a cold summer, like the famous year when there wasn't a summer in Europe and America, because of the continuous eruption of the Icelandic volcano that no one's capable of pronouncing. If our recent high temperatures are any indication, it'll be anything but cold here.

I know I haven't been posting much here lately.  I've been busy and having a backache isn't very conducive to sitting in front of a computer for very long. Thankfully the old back is better now - if only everything else were better.  I still can't believe the news that I received the other day. See what you think.  I've been teaching in Spain for over 30 years, and one of my students, who I've taught privately for the last 6 years , has failed English at school.  I'm not exactly sure how many students are in her class, but only ONE person passed with a bare pass and this student I'm told is an honour student. Does it make sense to anyone that out of an entire class only one should pass?  I know my student and I know what she's capable of. I can't speak for her classmates, but I know she doesn't deserve to fail, especially when the university course that she wants to do needs a good mark in English. Besides, until they change it which they're supposed to do next year, the English exam for entrance to university isn't so difficult. She'll be permitted to re-take the exam in September and also do the university entrance exam. I haven't spoken directly to her yet.  I know she was nervous about picking up her exam results, so I can only imagine how unhappy she must be.  I only wish I could see the exam she did!

That's my great-niece up there.  I had put a link to my sister's photo album, but she changed it to 'Contacts Only'.  Not too long ago I saw she'd posted the album on Facebook, and Facebook DOES own your photos. My posts are almost never posted for everyone anyway, so I hope they don't mind if I post one photo. Babies and animals are some of the most precious things we have on this planet!

Sunday, 25 April 2010

Still At It!

Since last Thursday was Book Day, I found a perfect book to give to one of my students, whose whole family love to read.  It's called 'Ten Centuries / Ten Cities'.  It starts with Jerusalem in the 11th C and finishes with New York in the 20th. The reader is given a bird's-eye view of each city and important events surrounding each century are given. For example, there's an excellent picture story of the dreadful Bubonic Plague, along with a written explanation of each picture.  The best thing of all is that I'm seriously getting rid of more clutter. Have I mentioned that this particular book is very big?  Among the pages, I found a drawing of my dog Honey, who had gigantic ears and was appropriately named because she was a honey. The artist is one of my nephews who got his artistic abilities from his mother.

This weekend has definitely been t-shirt weather. It's also the nicest weekend weather-wise that we've had so far this spring - not very conducive weather to staying inside to say the least.  However, I did clean out my freezer and decide on what I should be cooking this week.  For tomorrow I'm going to make pork knuckle, which if you've never had it or don't go to German restaurants, you might say 'yuck'.  I assure you pork knuckle is anything but yucky; it's tender, tasty and all-meat.  It's typical to have it with sauerkraut, but I'm having it with vegetables and maybe mashed potatoes.  I'm going to rub the knuckle with a bit of butter and pour some beer over it, which makes a delicious sauce.  Too bad this dish hasn't got a better-sounding name.  It's 'codillo' in Spanish by the way, and I think it tastes similar to corned beef.

That's all from me for now.  Hope everybody has a good week and I'll post some photos of my newest great-niece when I see some photos myself!

Tuesday, 20 April 2010

Stranded Passengers

Being stranded in an airport, or any other place for that matter, is seldom fun. Having a serious illness such as multiple sclerosis is even less fun. Here's a joke that my friend squiffy2,  webmaster for the Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre (http://www.msrc.co.uk/), posted. I hope lots of people laugh and contribute to this worthy cause:

Gordon Brown has responded to criticisms that the government is not doing enough to get stranded British citizens home.  He has today authorised the dIspatch of Royal Navy vessels to key locations.  Announcing details to the press he said: "We are about to undertake a significant logistical challenge to get our citizens back home.  This will not happen overnight but we have drawn up a schedule starting tomorrow and running through to May 7th.  We obviously need to prioritise cases so that those with the greatest need are repatriated first.  We have therefore drawn up a detailed questionnaire which will allow us to prioritise."

The questionnaire is as follows:

Question 1: Which party do you intend to vote for at the General Election?

Sunday, 18 April 2010

Homer Simpson's Postcard

I just had to grab and post this from last week's Post Secret. It adds a bit of laughter to an otherwise difficult week full of clouds and rain in Spain (Madrid anyway) and ash clouds from the Icelandic volcano over other parts of Europe. Wednesday was the birthday of the mother of two of my students and I took her a little gift. She excitedly told me to guess where they were going on Friday and I said, "Don't tell me you're going to Pepe's!" Pepe's is what we call our local Chinese restaurant, because that's the name the owner has given himself. "No", she answered, "we're going to Paris for the weekend!" It was just going to be the two of them as the aunt was going to stay with the kids. Without thinking too much, I answered that I hoped the erupting volcano wouldn't affect their trip. I felt really bad for them when they returned while I was giving the younger child class on Friday afternoon. When I finished class, I said, "I hope you don't think I'm a witch!" I had little idea that air traffic in Europe would practically come to a standstill. I suppose it was lucky they didn't go to Paris on Friday because who knows when they would get back - by plane anyway and I think the French trains were on strike too!

We've had all of 5 minutes' sun today. Around 2 p.m. it was as if it were at least 8 p.m. and I knew we were in for real drencher. The building across the street has big ledges and when the rain came they made a nice waterfall. It reminded me of when we were little talking about getting some soap and going outside for a shower. I think it was just talk because I don't remember ever doing it. The tree in front of my windows has lost all its blooms. I know at this time last year it still had lots left on it. It's got plenty of green leaves though. There's a saying that claims that a year of a lot of rain brings wealth. One thing is sure: we'll have water to drink.

We have enough economic problems already, so I hope things get back to normal very, very soon in Europe at the airports. If not, there will be disastrous results, not only for the airlines. Hope everybody has a sweet week, preferably with doughnuts. Me, I've just remembered that I'm going to be a great-aunt again any day now!

Sunday, 11 April 2010

Somebody Said

If you don't consider a thing useful or beautiful then get rid of it", and this is what I've been trying to do.  I suppose I'll just probably collect more junk, but I am trying to, at least, dispose of some things, which I know won't be missed once they're gone.  One such item is a textbook, in Spanish of course, on Information Technology from the year dot.  Now, with the exception of those blonde days I've been having lately, I'm quite familiar with the contents of this book.  I won't throw it away, because maybe there's somebody out there who's a newbie and this book could be useful.  Well, I do have a friend who doesn't know how to do most things on the computer, because she's afraid she might break it.  Then another friend has three brothers - one who's a computer technician, one who's quite useless and the youngest one who's completely computer illiterate; the latter I find a bit unusual for someone from his generation.  One day she mentioned to him about cleaning out the computer to which he answered: 'But it's not dirty!'

Why do some of us have more stuff than others?  I hope I never become sick like some people and refuse to throw anything away, including spoilt food. You know the kind of people I'm referring to.  I think there's one, if not more, TV programmes where the hoarders are convinced by professional organizers to part with some of their rubbish.  I can only imagine how unpleasant it would be living in a detached house and having someone like this for a neighbour, but can you imagine having hoarders living in an apartment block?  I complain about the smell when someone's frying sardines!  Anyway, just to make things clear: I don't think I've got a big problem.  It's that I think things like: maybe I'll wear that in the future, or that belonged to my mother or whatever other sentimental reason.

So I've come to the conclusion that there are three things I'm going to pack up today and palm off on someone: the textbook, a jewellery box and a stuffed cat that was my mom's, which I'll give to a child.  If I'm successful in parting with three things today, who knows what I'll throw out tomorrow?  Oh, and an article on Yahoo tells me I shouldn't go to the Containers Store (can't since we don't have any) and buy all kinds of cool containers.  They could have published the article before though as I've ordered some cool boxes from the company Vie (used to be Virgin Vie (I'm sure some of the Brits will know Vie).  One thing that won't go in the near future, and I've had it for years, is this unusual dish/dust collector (see photo).  It's still beautiful to me.  

Saturday, 3 April 2010

Clean Windows = Rain

It never fails or almost never anyway.  I wash my windows and that very night or the next day, like today, it rains and they're dirty again!  Since I've had a few days off work for the Easter holiday, I've done a bit of light spring cleaning (in a month or so I'll think about getting summer clothes out) and washing the windows has been the last thing I've tackled.  All in vain because they're getting dirty with water splotches again.  When are they going to invent self-cleaning bathrooms, floors, windows, etc.  like they have with ovens?

I think today must have been the weather intended for us yesterday - Good Friday.  We had quite a bit of sun then and the temperatures were milder.  I laughed though because I saw that in my hometown it got up to 28º C (83ºF) whereas here we were lucky if we saw half that.  Does that mean that it's going to be a hot summer in the US?

Apart from cleaning and looking around shops without having to worry about the time spent doing so, I've been watching the processions, especially those from Madrid.  With permission, I'm going to put a link to Tracy's photos of a procession that she attended yesterday, so you get the idea, more or less, of what they're like.  If you're ever in Spain at Easter time, you must see one.  They're all impressive, but I think the most memorable ones are those in Seville.  We were so lucky to get accommodation to see the processions there so many years ago.  If you see Tracy's photos you'll see the penitents wearing costumes that will remind you of the Ku Klux Klan.  Actually, I'd imagine the KKK will have copied their costumes from these penitents.  In Tracy's photos they're wearing different colours - it depends on the brotherhood.  The big difference between these masked men and the KKK is that they carry crosses instead of burning them.  I still remember from my days in Seville hearing that they cover their faces because they're shamed by the cross.  For whatever reason, the processions are very emotional parades.You see people walking barefoot, dragging chains - all worth watching and experiencing.

I know I haven't written a proper blog for quite some time.There are times that I'm very busy, and then times when I haven't a lot of good things to say.  I sure don't like always being negative or a whiner.  I must say that there are several people who seem to have given up blogging, at least on multiply, and I really miss them.  I won't delete them with the hope that they'll somehow find their way back from wherever they are.  And I ask again: when are they going to put 'blog' and 'blogging' in the dictionary?  With this, I'll wish everyone a blessed Easter Sunday and a good week ahead.  

Sunday, 21 March 2010

Post Secret Pee Secrets

These are some secrets I saved from Post Secret about a month ago. Now I can sometimes be lazy, like I was on Friday when I didn't have to work, but never this lazy! I don't know how these people have the nerve to justify their toilet habits - well, actually I do because these are anonymous 'secrets'. Although I can't vouch for the accuracy, I'm also including this bit of information, because we all like to think of ourselves as being 'green':

"Number of gallons saved in one year by peeing n the shower daily = 1,157 (4378 litres)."

I couldn't find any information about baths, but have to assume that 'green' people don't generally go in for baths much less pee in the water they sit in. I hope you enjoy these postcards and think about the implications the next time you take a shower. I know I do.

Wednesday, 17 March 2010

A Narrow Escape

Link
Hope I never get stuck on a railroad track like this van!

Friday, 26 February 2010

Especially for Kelly

I found this on Stumbleupon and thought of something my new friend Kelly recently posted. She'll understand why.

Tuesday, 9 February 2010

Questions and More Questions

Welcome to the FIRST EDITION of 2010 getting to know your friends and family.  Change all the answers so they apply to you, then copy and paste into a Multiply Blog.  The idea is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!

01.  High heels, boots Or sneakers?  Boots/Sneakers
02.  What time did you get up this morning?  9.30 as I had a free day.
03.  Diamonds or pearls?  I'll take either or all.
04.  What was the last film you saw at the cinema?  Don't remember the name of the film.  I only remember it was based on a true story and starred Matt Damon.  To sum up, disappointing
05.  What is your favorite TV show?  A Spanish political discussion programme called 'Loud and Clear'.  I don't like TV very much.
06.  What do you usually have for breakfast?  Fruit or homemade jam and toast and coffee.

07.  Do you smoke?  No
08.  What food do you dislike?  I don't like beef very much, but I can't eat organs like liver and such.

09.  What is your favorite CD at the moment?  Anything I'm listening to.

10.  What characteristic do you despise ?  Two-faced gossiping liars
11.  Favorite Clothing?  Jeans and a pullover
12.  Anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?  Australia
13.  Are you an organized person?  In my disorganization I'm organized.  This means I have too much junk.  Unfortunately I know where it all is.

14.  Where would you retire to?  To one of the abandoned villages in Spain or a tropical island
15.  What was your most memorable birthday?  I think when I was about 10 and received a dictionary as a present.

16.  What are you going to do when you finish this?  Probably read a bit.

17.  Furthest place you are sending this?  To my page
18.  Person you expect to send it back first?  If I knew the answer, I'd be a fortune teller.

19.  When is your birthday?  In November
20.  Are you a morning person or a night person?  I enjoy getting up with the sun when the weather's nice.  In winter I like to hibernate.

21.  What is your shoe size?  8 US
22.  Do you own any animals?  One spoilt medium-sized mutt.

23.  Any news you'd like to share?  Wish I did.  I'm not complaining, mind you.

24.  What did you want to be when you were little?  Teacher or a nurse
25.  What is your favorite flower?  Daisies
27.  Do you wish upon stars?  I wish more upon the moon.  Stars are difficult to see in the city.

28.Do you second guess your actions afterward?  Sometimes
29.  If you were a crayon, what color would you be?  Orange
30.  How is the weather right now?  It's getting a bit cold.

31.  Last person you spoke to on the phone?  A friend
32.  Favorite food?  Spanish tortilla - I mean omelette
33.  Favorite Restaurant?  I love trying new places, but usually end up in a Chinese.

34.  Hair color?  A strange mixture - where most people's hair turns white first mine is dark and the rest is white.  Stripey, I'd say
35.  What was your favorite toy as a child?  A cowgirl outfit
36.  Summer or Winter?  Winter
37.  Chocolate or vanilla?  I like both
38.  Coffee or tea:  Both
39.  Umm..  the question wasn't here.  So I'm going to add that this is not the first time I've answered these questions.  

40.  Do you want your friends to answer you back?  If they want and if they have the time.  These bloody things take time to do
41.  When was the last time you cried?  The last time I saw a soppy film.

42.  What's under your bed?  A box of books, sometimes the dog, but most certainly dust bunnies.

43.  What did you do last night?  Not much after a long afternoon/evening of classes.  I started a Patricia Cornwell novel that I've had since September.

44.  What are you afraid of?  Closed places with no windows.

45.  Salty or sweet?  both.

46.  Favorite month?  December
47.  Ice Cream or Cake?  I like ice-cream with my cake.
48.  Are you in love?  Nope
49.  If you could change one thing in your life...  what would it be?  Can I only pick 1??  Okay, to be able to afford a personal shopper.

50.  How many people will you send this to?  Me, myself and I, so 3.

51.  How many will respond?  any that want
52.  Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends?  If I didn't, I wouldn't read it.

Sunday, 7 February 2010

Somebody is Fast on the Draw

I'm sure this is advertising that Toyota wouldn't find funny even though there is truth in this slogan.

Monday, 18 January 2010

Finally Found One Thing I Like

On Facebook, that is. I can view my page in pirate (language) if I so choose, matey! Here's an example:

2 sorry louts think they're yer mates!
1 matey proposed for ye
1(lil) farm life be requestin' permission ta board ship

There be 99 more on ye horizon!

And, of course, when I saw this postcard on Post Secret, I knew I had to grab it, because that's mostly what everyone I'm connected to on FB do. I have enough addictions without adding Farmville to the list. The other day, at the persistence of one of my many cousins, (to keep in touch with them is basically the reason I signed up over there) I tried that family link thing and got a hi-jacking warning, so forget that! Oh, and I didn't forget to check my visitor counter number on Post Secret. I wrote it down and put it somewhere. I remember it was an even number for once.

While I'm writing this, I might well mention two things in the news that have tickled my funnybone lately. As Spain at present has the Presidency of the EEC, a special website was set up, I assume, with orders from the President, Sr. Zapatero. Well, somebody immediately plastered a photo of Mr. Bean on the page! If you're one of those who hasn't seen the President of Spain, believe me he does look like Mr. Bean. I'm not convinced that Mr. Bean doesn't impersonate him sometimes.

 Spanish politicians must have really common faces because the FBI recently found a photo of a Spanish MP (Member of Parliament) on the internet and used it to show what Osama Bin Laden could look like now. As the person whose forehead, hair and jawline had been cut and pasted for Bin Laden's 'updated photo' said, "Bin Laden's safety isn't threatened but mine is." And what can we say and think when a government agency does something like this? Another case of do as I say and not do as I do? I would at least expect more professionalism and I don't mean the photoshopping.


Sunday, 10 January 2010

Sale, No Sale

I'm back on my soapbox today after not having written much of anything during the holidays.  A couple of days ago I was reading the news headlines on the internet when one particular headline caught my attention and got on the one nerve I had left as Maxine would say.  I won't name the two shops involved to anyone who is trying his/her best not be wasteful or selfish.  I'll only say, (and I'm sure you'll know which shop I'm referring to) that there will be few, if no American shoppers, who haven't patronised one of these two department stores.
Paul McCartney's daughter has a line of clothing in the other.  The name of these two shops is not important nor who designs clothing for them.  What is important is what has happened to lots of unsold items of clothing.  Bags and bags of clothes were found with the sleeves cut off and holes deliberately made in shoes so that they couldn't be worn.  What a clever idea!  It probably took all of 30 seconds to reach the conclusion that because these were losses which they couldn't benefit from neither could anyone else! And how long would it have taken to make the things 'ready' to be disposed of?  More money foolishly wasted.

One of the shops has since promised to donate their unsold merchandise in the future, but this has got me thinking.  Just because two well- known shops were named in the article doesn't mean that others aren't guilty of the same crime.  It just means that they got caught trashing perfectly useful (for somebody) stuff.  I've always wondered what happened to all the coats and shoes, etc that weren't sold, but I didn't think about it enough or I imagined they saved these things back to sell in the future.  I imagined!  I can only hope that there's a lesson to be learned here by both businesses and consumers. Donating unsold items to charity is a logical feel good solution.

January is the beginning of a new year for many of us.  It's also the first of the two big sales in Spain.  I don't buy a lot of clothes because my job doesn't require me to spend a lot of money on my wardrobe.  Still, I have too many clothes I'm sure.  However, because winter is finally upon us, I'm contemplating buying one of those puffy trench coats so that I'll be able to face that cold Arctic wind even if I do look like Buzz Lightyear or a poop-coloured rubber raft (that's the only colour the one that is 50% off comes in) - that is, if they still have them in my size. If not, I can, and often do, wear layers and layers.