Moving on

The lyfe so short, the craft so long to lerne..

2012-02-14T09:29:00.001+01:00

From The Parlement of Fowlys by Geoffrey Chaucer - image via Plantagenet A familiar line, penned by Geoffrey Chaucer as the opening lines of The Parliament of Fowls, written in 1382. Life is short - so much to learn, especially about love. Although Saint Valentine, the Christian martyr dates back to the fifth century, it is generally believed that Chaucer's work was the first to link St.

Frozen waves

2012-02-08T22:03:00.000+01:00

I had just posted birthday wishes to my friend and fellow blogger, Janice, on her Facebook page and she told me how joli cold it is in France too at the moment - and her next comment really made me think,.... and then google, as we do these days. She said there were frozen waves in Narbonne. Did you get that... frozen waves! And so that's what I googled. And I found these amazing photographs

Noche de lumbre

2012-02-04T12:33:00.000+01:00

The turning of the calendar wheel; the passing of time; celebrations - pagan, Celtic, Christian and secular. Many of these share common dates and the beginning of February is one such time. Here in Spain, the 1st February is traditionally a night to light fires - lumbres - and here in Alcalá la Real, on a bitterly cold evening, the glow and warmth from many fires was both welcome and

{this moment}

2012-02-03T11:41:00.001+01:00

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember. :: Idea from :SouleMama: If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Go Faster Stripes

2012-02-01T22:13:00.001+01:00

One of my favourite bloggers was doing some important musing and wondering recently. She was particularly intrigued by how Alice's chocolate had achieved its stripe. I was almost overcome with excitement - because I KNEW. Yes, I know how the stripe was placed so elegantly in Alice's chocolate. And this post is to demonstrate to MPM (and anyone else who may be preoccupied by the problem) how it's

{this moment}

2012-01-27T09:43:00.002+01:00

Extra Virgin or...........?

2012-01-24T10:50:00.003+01:00

Pure or not quite so pure. You can't tell just by looking. Looks can be deceptive and you may already have preconceived ideas that could lead you into erroneous judgement. You've got to get close and sniff. A good deep inhalation. Do you get green? Do you get grassy? Maybe even something a little fruity? That's a good sign. Take a sip...yes, a sip...can't face that, eh? I understand, though

Dangerous free radical?

2012-01-20T12:07:00.000+01:00

I have had a request from my husband. He wants me to remove his name and all pictures of him from my blog. This is going to be a big task and I'm equally sure that once I start, he'll have a rethink and decide it really isn't a problem after all. However, he has asked me to do it and I will respect his wishes. I will therefore refer to him as FR from now on. All will be clear. These past few

Acceptance Speech

2012-01-16T12:54:00.005+01:00

I've just been listening to the the radio via the internet - Radio 4, one of the few English things we really do miss, especially lying in bed either late at night or early in the morning. We were talking about this the other day and Cesar had the excellent idea of setting the laptop up on the bedside table next to him just for this purpose - still to be put into practice - I'll remind him when

Return to the old obsession

2012-01-14T19:50:00.002+01:00

I haven't been able to blog recently. I've been too busy - eyes peeled to the computer screen every available moment of the day. Damn it all. Before Christmas, we thought we'd found 'the' house. FR went to look at it one Sunday after we'd spent all day Saturday looking at other houses - which drives the children mad - so he went alone. He liked it very much and we decided to go immediately

Well, well, well

2012-01-11T21:06:00.001+01:00

This is a most strange sensation. As far as blogging is concerned, I appear to have - like the proverbial well - dried up! I so missed writing my blog whilst away in England. All the usual blogger things were happening to me during our stay there - such as thinking up titles, putting into words what I was seeing and doing, turning a single little event into a storyline, mentally adding little

First post

2012-01-07T12:33:00.002+01:00

Of 2012 that is. It's just about a year since I wrote 'The Last Post' from the house of los abuelos in Valladolid with little real knowledge of where we were going or what we were going to do. The year that has passed has brought about such a difference. The children and I spent the first week of 2012 in England with my family and friends and we had a wonderful time...more of which in a moment..

Anticipation and reflection.

2011-12-28T10:14:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow evening we go to England - the children and I. New Year with my family. We are excited. Christmas has been wonderful - 'quiet' is the wrong word as mis suegros, my in-laws, are lively people. They talk incessantly, to each other, to everyone else, to themselves and always with the television or the radio on - loudly because mi suegro, also mi padrino (godfather) is rather deaf. And

2011-12-25T14:19:00.000+01:00

It took us until Christmas Eve to put up our tree. It was worth the wait to refind all our favourite baubles and decorations. Let me help! Darwin's view Finished Table laid for supper on Noche Buena Oh look! They must have been good - Santa's been Ruy happy - with everything, not just (another) gun! How lovely - a houseful of little pieces Hope Christmas

Just to say...

2011-12-24T00:05:00.000+01:00

I wish you all a Very Happy Christmas! And a special mention to Jo, Scarlet and Harriet (love you!) who haven't been reading so have no idea what we've been up to. Hope to catch up very soon! Much love Axxxxx

Just lovely - share the moment

2011-12-20T17:36:00.000+01:00

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook today to wish her friends a Happy Christmas and I have stopped many times during this busy day, preparing for my in-laws arrival, just to watch it again and feel the peace descend. Enjoy and share a moment of chill and simplicity (OK - I have NO idea how they do it!) at Christmas time with me. I suspect that once my in-laws arrive, there will be few

Packing a lot in..

2011-12-18T14:35:00.010+01:00

Diary entry. 9.00 : Packed picnic, washed hair, nagged Mateo to have a shower; wondered why he didn't look much better afterwards and discovered he'd inadvertently washed his hair in conditioner. May need to nag tomorrow too. 10.30: Left home to go see a house - for me the second time; for FR the third and for the children, the first. Hmmm. Loved it the first time but today...not sure. No more

Pudding - ho, ho, ho!

2011-12-14T21:15:00.000+01:00

It's not only Christmas Pudding that brings about a 'Ho, ho, ho'. Mention the word 'pudding' to any of my Spanish students studying English and they fall about laughing. So much so I became suspicious that it had some very rude double meaning. But no - they assured me - it's just a funny word. Usually pronounced 'poodin'. Isn't that lovely! And here is the lovely rice pudding (hysterical

Chocolate Christmas Forest!

2011-12-13T14:12:00.000+01:00

I have been making one of my little specialities - Chocolate Christmas Trees. One for each of my students plus a few possibly for my own children. I think they are so cute! (The trees are rather sweet too.)

{this moment}

2011-12-09T13:12:00.000+01:00

Nativity, Belen and Chocolate

2011-12-07T10:26:00.000+01:00

The trial of Father Christmas - 1686 Sadly, Spain has now capitulated to Santa Claus and the commercially-driven Christmas of other European and Western World cultures despite having no historic background for this. And as I say this, I do realise that Santa Claus's past is not exactly a clear-cut and murk-free story for those of us who have known him all our lives! However, I really hate

Feathers, breath and voices

2011-12-04T18:57:00.002+01:00

I've just read 'Strong Words' on a fellow blogger's post and had the pleasure of listening to an excerpt from the Messiah which has sent me spiralling back into nostalgia and thoughts of 'when I was young'. I had a Methodist upbringing in the loosest sense - meaning I went with my grandparents to a Methodist Chapel every Sunday, where I thought the Vicar was the most wonderful man and whose words

{this moment}

2011-12-02T09:15:00.000+01:00

The tearing of hair...

2011-11-30T23:35:00.001+01:00

I have just almost completed - twice - a blog post about FR, his month-long project in Granada, the importance of this project and how good it has felt and how proud I am and all sorts of other things. And both times, Mozilla Firefox crashed out on me and didn't save what I'd written! I give up on that one for today. And as tomorrow is December, I'll leave my hair alone and continue on a

La Sierra Nevada at last

2011-11-27T13:44:00.000+01:00

Since first visiting Granada, we've said, "We MUST go to the snow in the Sierra Nevada". Well, during the earlier part of the year, the snow came and went and we never got there. But this weekend - a beautiful, crisp, clear time - and we had a snow-capped golden opportunity. What a wonderful experience it was! Now we keep saying, "We MUST go again!" This is where we only paused in our

Time out

2011-11-20T13:39:00.001+01:00

Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy. (Guillaume Apollinaire) Image And now and then, I find I have said all I want to say. (Annie Taylor)

Where to go on Sunday

2011-11-14T14:48:00.001+01:00

... if you live in Jaen, it's a little overcast and you've already put a chicken in the oven for lunch... A simple decision like - let's just pop into Jaen for an hour or so this morning - is an option only because just about one year ago, we came and spent a week in the province of Granada. We came to investigate whether it was an area we wanted to live having spent six months planning (and

{this moment}

2011-11-11T11:47:00.000+01:00

Me 'n' Pru

2011-11-07T13:30:00.000+01:00

I met Pru early '90s - I can't remember exactly which year but it was the year that I went on holiday with my friend Annie and her husband. Two Annies and a Pru together in France! Gosh, our menfolk were brave to take us on, I can tell you. I didn't know when I met her that she had a chequered history; a dodgy past; that she was, very probably, a split personality. I just know that when I first

The Versatile Blogger

2011-11-04T17:43:00.000+01:00

Oh joy of joys! I've been nominated for something I confess to hankering after for a while now - a Versatile Blogger Award!! Thank you, Perpetua for this lovely nomination - I am so pleased you thought of me. Perpetua is that most wonderful of bloggers who makes you really feel you know her - through her posts, her comments and her responses to comments left for her. She makes the world wide

Long shadows and Halloween

2011-10-31T22:35:00.000+01:00

Halloween has been a funny old occasion this year. I've spent the whole week talking about it to my students, from the history going back to the pagan celebration of Samhain to playing Hangman with only spooky words allowed. Romy's class dressed up at school on Friday because Monday 31st is a school holiday and they didn't want to miss the opportunity to make masks and go around making loud

Is it me..?

2011-10-29T16:12:00.000+02:00

..or do some weeks take longer than others? It's a phenomenon that many of us notice. Some days seem to fly by in a blur of business or a haze of laziness whilst others seem to drag on interminably. It seems to happen to weeks too. This week has been a long one. It seems an age since Monday, when I went to look at a couple of houses - interesting ones, ones that pricked the imagination with

Looking east, looking west

2011-10-24T15:57:00.000+02:00

From our roof terrace on Saturday night. Sunset in the west Rainbow in the east. Lovely whichever way you face. Today, however, it is raining and so miserable that I'm not even going to take a photograph. It may be what the farmers wanted but I do hope it doesn't last long.

Fancy this and fancy that

2011-10-23T15:43:00.000+02:00

I think I've established that the knitting bug has started to bite me as the temperatures here in Alcala begin to drop. The big blue box has been dragged down from the store room upstairs and I've been sorting out my stash. But nothing has grabbed me. Sad face. SO, after a couple of hours teaching (and a few euros in my purse) I decided to investigate the local mercerías - which are like

{this moment}

2011-10-21T09:23:00.002+02:00

Soy una iglesia

2011-10-20T00:45:00.001+02:00

I've had a lovely week switching between Spanish and English classes. I've just started back at the Academia, where I do a few hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and have also this week taken on some adult Spanish learners - by which I mean, of course, adult Spaniards who want to learn English and not 'adults who want to learn Spanish'. In English, I think the hardest thing is to teach

Sweet air

2011-10-15T20:29:00.003+02:00

Sometimes, things happen that make you stop and think a bit, don't they? And sometimes, despite the busyness of every day, taking time to think is really important. I have been thinking that the term 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' is just so true. I realised that for more than a year, FR and I have been living and being together for almost every hour of every day. Now, for some couples,

A few days..

2011-10-10T23:24:00.000+02:00

A few important days, in which my mum got to know her grandchildren a bit better. Up until seven and a half years ago, we saw my parents fairly regularly either at their house or at our own. My dad - an electrician and 'handyman' to the roots of his being - came and did various jobs that needed doing and my mum loved to play with Mateo and Ruy - who were still very young - as well as chatting

Sometimes,

2011-10-08T09:18:00.002+02:00

life is too busy chatting to your mum to find the time to blog. Especially if she's on a flying visit and leaves tomorrow.... (Picture by Veronica Holland, called Flying Visit, part of her collection of wonderful whimsical paintings.).

On an up

2011-10-06T00:13:00.000+02:00

It's been a fraught few .. I was going to put weeks but in comparison to the last few days, weeks is excessive - so, days; the last few days have definitely been fraught. But we've all survived them and happily to say, we've come out stronger as a result. Cesar Snr underwent surgery on Monday and had a quadruple cabbage (coronary artery bypass graft) and the surgeons and medical team are pleased

Highs and lows

2011-10-02T12:00:00.002+02:00

I wonder why it is that life has a habit of throwing more than the usual at us from time to time? For me, almost every day has its own ups and downs with little peaks and troughs of mood, pleasure and frustration. (Or, when the hormones are really playing up, wild swings between harridan screeching, teeth-clenching rage and tears of hopelessness... moan, moan, hormoan.) But every so often,

{this moment}

2011-09-30T19:45:00.000+02:00

All the fun of the fair?

2011-09-29T00:30:00.003+02:00

We went to the fair last week - three times - and yes, I cheered and waved at the children as they whizzed past on whizzy things or crashed into each other in dodgem cars. I even went on a ride myself - in a spinning teacup - and screamed as the world blurred, my stomach churned and the music blasted. FR did really well to capture us, we were going REALLY fast!! Throwing coins onto

Sunday morning.

2011-09-25T10:55:00.002+02:00

After last night's noisy fiestas - when the streets were packed and the music went on and on and on...this morning has dawned quiet, calm and beautiful. My photograph can't capture the sense of peace that exists on our little street or the feeling of pure tranquility I have as I sit on the roof terrace with my coffee and look up towards La Mota. The crane - still, silent today - merely serves as

{this moment}

2011-09-22T23:37:00.002+02:00

A pain in the...

2011-09-19T15:54:00.001+02:00

Late Saturday night, after we'd NOT gone to a lovely Aqua Park for the day for Ruy's birthday (cos the website didn't announce it was closed from 4th September until 16th September...but never mind)...start again. On Saturday, we spent an unexpectedly lazy and rather quiet day celebrating Ruy's 10th birthday after our original plans had been scuppered changed at the eleventh hour. Ruy was very

Rainbows, Parsley and Ruy

2011-09-17T11:41:00.002+02:00

After the drama of 9th September 2001, where all our attentions were focused on what was happening in the United States, I think I forgot that I was due to have a baby. We spent days pined to the television watching the awful images over and again as the disbelief turned to something else - not understanding but something more stark - realisation. As I think back now, it was an otherwise very

Fruits of my labour

2011-09-14T22:14:00.000+02:00

Been busy, busy, busy these past few days. We'd already stopped on our way back from a lovely day out in Valdepenas de Jaen and picked several bags of green figs, which I turned into our favourite fig and orange jam with walnuts. And there's only one jar of that left...it is so delicious. And on a walk in the countryside, we found a tree of plums - (a plum tree) - which were too sour to eat so

This day, 10 years ago

2011-09-11T10:29:00.001+02:00

Almost three thousand people died, thousands more injured, millions shocked beyond words. More than one hundred babies lost fathers they'd never see on this day. It's the day my second son was due to be born. Out of shock, I think, he waited another week before he emerged into a world that had changed. 11th September 2001. A day etched on minds for one big reason and many, many smaller ones.

Exploring Jaén- la Sierra de Cazorla

2011-09-10T13:21:00.002+02:00

Yesterday, being the last of the school holidays, we decided to go on our last summer day out. I voted against the beach and surprisingly won. I have wanted to go and see the sierras and natural park of Jaen since we arrived here but it's quite a drive from here in Alcala and the sea has always had a stronger pull. We set off in reasonably good time - for us - managing to get away before 11

Blubbin' in the sun

2011-09-07T19:42:00.000+02:00

San Juan, with houses built into and around it - part of the community On Sunday evening, I walked up the hill to the church near La Mota - La Iglesia de San Juan - where the local residents and many more from Alcala la Real came to see the Cristo de la Salud brought out for a procession around the steep and narrow streets. We'd been awoken early in the morning by a series of loud explosions.

A little {moment}

2011-09-03T11:09:00.000+02:00

This is a today {moment} - one to which I would like to add a few words, so not in the {this moment} category. Today, the weather is chillier and somewhat damp - a novelty after the months of hot, sunny, Andalucian Spanish summer. Today, I wanted my coffee hot - not long, cool, iced and in a glass. (I never thought I'd drink coffee in a glass - having watched, with an element of near-disgust, my

{this moment}

2011-09-02T13:10:00.000+02:00

Celia and the jellyfish

2011-08-29T19:12:00.001+02:00

My lovely friend Celia, with whom I shared an office at work and a huge chunk of my life some years back, left me a message on Facebook after reading my Rambling post. She said how my memories had got her thinking about her own family, her childhood and her holidays in Ireland...and some of those memories came flooding out into the comments box. And they were wonderful! I dropped her a comment

A sanctuary for reptiles

2011-08-28T14:33:00.001+02:00

The body language says it all. Our darling Darwin is not the great explorer and adventurer that we supposed he might be. Taking him for a walk can be a bit of a drag. This is a refusal at the second bend in the climb up to the reptile sanctuary. I explained the saying 'making a rod for your own back' to Romy at this stage. The boys took my advice and kept on moving. Romy provided

Rambling

2011-08-27T12:20:00.000+02:00

My grandpa, who was a wonderful man, took up playing the piano, appearing on television, travelling and painting after my granny died. He was in his 80s but still sprightly and full of energy and enthusiasm. He returned from a trip to Italy with a less than positive image of the place - declaring he didn't think much of their idea of style as they all wore the same sort of clothes, all of which

{this moment}

2011-08-26T01:03:00.002+02:00

Tuesday is...

2011-08-23T22:53:00.000+02:00

Market Day! The market in Alcala is always on a Tuesday and is nearly always well-attended. In recent weeks, we've had some of the best and most delicious fruit and vegetables we've ever tasted. Today, for some reason, known best to the Alcalainos, the market was particularly busy, particularly bustling, with much shouting of wares by store-holders. I went to get some fruit to take to the

A hostile environment..

2011-08-21T11:36:00.003+02:00

... for a puppy's first walk. How guilty is it possible to feel when you set off with great excitement to go out for a proper country walk with your new puppy, only to hear him yelping and whining withing 5 minutes of setting off? Well, double it. Darwin had his third injection and the all clear to go walkies in 'el campo' last week. As it's been just too darn hot to go anywhere in daylight

{this moment}

2011-08-19T22:02:00.001+02:00

Escape from the heat?

2011-08-18T20:01:00.000+02:00

Average temperatures in summer are at their highest in Spain in the region of Jaen. During the past week, parts of Jaen have been well into the 40s - degrees centigrade - and Bailen, just north of the capital of the province, is officially the hottest town in Spain with temperatures reaching over 30 degrees on average in August. Here in Alcala, at almost 1,000 metres above sea level, the

Fiestas in Alcala la Real

2011-08-18T00:24:00.000+02:00

This weekend has seen fiestas in Alcala in celebration of their patron - la Virgen de las Mercedes - with the usual processions, bands, traditionally dressed Spanish girls and women of all ages, many candle-bearing worshippers and everyone out in their finery. And we had the additional pleasure of spectacular fireworks on both Sunday and Monday evenings. I love fireworks! On Sunday, I

{this moment}

2011-08-12T13:35:00.006+02:00

Castilla y Leon - our take

2011-08-11T20:06:00.002+02:00

A world apart from Andalucia, Castilla y Leon has big skies and flat plains. It has pine forests. And lagoons. It has fearsome beasties. Our children played like puppies in the garden. We stayed in the old, old house in Leon where many grandparents, aunts and uncles were born and raised. New pleasures in rediscovered toys. Spending time with family

Hello everyone - we're back!

2011-08-10T12:50:00.000+02:00

We're back from the 'north'. And as the north should be, it was distinctly cooler. Chilly even in the mornings and evenings. And it rained! I had forgotten about rain. And it's no big secret that we have - by a process of natural selection (ha! thanks Andy) - given our puppy the name of 'Darwin'. I don't honestly know how it happened, so the lovely pun is just perfect. There will be photos

Not Bumble....

2011-07-29T11:59:00.001+02:00

All will be revealed when we return from a little holiday. We're going where the modern world has not yet reached, so no postings for a little while. Thank you for all the lovely suggestions we've received but I guess most people will be bored of the subject by now - I know Romy is. When I asked her opinion again this morning, she replied, 'Oh I'm getting fed up of this subject - you decide and

Bumble. Probably.

2011-07-28T14:58:00.000+02:00

Chosing names is so complex. Before Mateo was born, knowing I was having a boy did at least half the choice that was available. Quite early on in my pregnancy, I had a dream that insisted my son would be called Orlando - choice didn't come into it. This was before 'Pirates of the Caribbean' too, so it was an out-of-the-blue name at the time. Cesar didn't like it. Then I decided he would be

A very warm welcome to..

2011-07-27T13:50:00.000+02:00

Our puppy who has no name. First view at the 'Animals in Distress' centre near Coin, Malaga Our thanks to the wonderful José, who looked and spoke like an Englishman but who is originally from Spain and could switch seamlessly between the two languages, and who rescues and looks after dogs that are abandoned around the province of Malaga. I said that 'Rolly', as he was named temporarily at

At least for today...

2011-07-25T18:16:00.001+02:00

Transformation Mandela In the past few days, I feel as though I've undergone a complete transformation. I don't say this lightly. I really mean it. On Thursday, I decided to take someone up on a rather nice offer. One of the English people who comes to my conversation classes is a lovely lady called Valerie, who I think has had an interesting life thus far - she's married to a Dutchman and

Decision made

2011-07-23T10:55:00.000+02:00

For a long time now, we have been promising the children that once we'd settled in Spain, we'd get a dog. We thought we'd solved the situation perfectly when we offered to take the little dog that lives with Cesar's parents - Nemo - particularly as he seemed quite sad living in La Flecha. He only didn't come down to Andalucia with us in January because it would have been wrong to bring him to a

A letter to her brother on his birthday

2011-07-18T20:40:00.000+02:00