mylifeinspain

around the dinner table earlier today

Christmas 2006 Big Jim spoiled me rotten and gifted me this, which included a one-year subscription to the magazine. When I finished reading the first couple of issues, I passed them along to our neighbor R., but asked that he please return them afterward. Two months and several reminders later, the magazines were still MIA, and I wrote them off but made a mental note not to lend any more issues to him.
This afternoon I was at R.'s house for lunch with a couple of friends, and midway through dessert he jumped up and said, "Oh I have to show you all these old New Yorker covers I just had framed." He goes upstairs and a few minutes later returns with two beautiful frames, which had been hanging in the bedroom. The illustrations looked vaguely familiar, and then I noted the dates, late December 2006 and early January 2007. Of course, they were the covers from the two issues I had lent him over a year ago.
I smiled, admired the pictures, but said nothing of their origin (although I immediately called Big Jim when I got home because I knew he'd be amused). R. went on to say how the first, of three guitar players sitting on short wooden chairs in the middle of an otherwise empty and darkened room, seemed to be musicians at an Italian restaurant playing for themselves after hours, and how the second, of a whimsically decorated salon, reminded him of an apartment back in San Francisco. Clearly these two magazine covers have brought him pleasure and found their way into a home where they amuse and delight their new owner (and his friends), more than they would have done had R. returned them and I would have filed them on the appropriate shelf on the bookcase (in chronological order of course).
Admittedly for a second or two, I thought to myself "the bloody cheek", but I can't be angry with the man. Although he can remember with great deal the interior of a flat he visited more than forty years ago, he called the host of a party with both attended Sunday evening three times to find out what time it started (and still showed up 30 minutes late---for a surprise party to boot). He forgets entire conversations sometimes and often confuses details of news events and articles he reads.
After Big Jim and I had a good chuckle, we wondered what it must be like when your brain seriously starts to let you down. Does R. even have an inkling? Would it be better to know or not if it was happening to you? We debated but found no real answer. Big Jim said, "Just shoot me," like he always does when we discuss the downsides of aging, and I rolled my eyes like I always do when he says such things. (And I am sure he felt the roll even though he was sitting on a train in Frankfurt.)
But I suspect when Gabriela delivers next week's New Yorker, I won't just carelessly throw it into the reading basket next to our bed without giving the cover a good, long look.

hasta mañana,
mylifeinspain

3 years ago: Domingo de Ramos
2 years ago: Whose turn to walk the dogs?
1 year ago: No entry.

marked

The last 10 web pages I have bookmarked:

1. Dollars Tough Sell on the Streets of Amsterdam

2. Director Anthony Minghella Dies :-(

3. Venice Travel Guide

4. Stuffed Peppers with Tomato Sauce

5. The Apple Store

6. Postcard from Provence

7. Ink Provoking

8. NY Times

9. Men's Dress Shirts

10. GOOD Magazine---Where's the Beef?

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

3 years ago: Keep on truckin'
2 years ago: No entry.
1 year ago: No entry.

my week in fotos....

It's been crazybusy about these parts, so just a few fotos for now. Commentary to follow when life becomes un poco mas tranquilo. :-)

Appears to me someone aspires to be a criminal mastermind (as he is dressed just like one in Sims 2).

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

3 years ago: Out of hibernation
2 years ago: Comeuppance
1 year ago: No entry.

tgif

I don't know who I feel more sorry for:

1. Juan the vet, who had to drain the precious Boo's anal glands today.

2. The precious Boo, who had to have her anal glands drained today.

3. Me, who had to hold her back end up so that Juan the vet could drain the precious Boo's anal glands.

Yeah, big TGIF. :-)

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

3 years ago: Monday monday
2 years ago: No entry.
1 year ago: No entry.

ipod shuffle

1. Today Is the Day by Yo La Tengo

2. She's Crafty by Beastie Boys

3. Quality of Armor by Guided by Voices

4. Just 14 by Original Sins

5. Certain Stars by Superchunk

6. Music When the Lights Go Out by The Libertines

7. Ace of Spades by Link Wray

8. What's a Simple Man to Do? by Steve Earle

9. Sweet Forgiveness by Iris DeMent

10. Spiritual by Johnny Cash

on the reading pile

Currently on my reading pile (mind you, this is just the reading pile in the bedroom; we won't even discuss the stack to read on the bookshelves...):

1. Mustn't Grumble: In Search of England and the English by Joe Bennett

2. Red Sky at Sunrise by Laurie Lee

3. Miss McKirdy's Daughters Will Now Dance the Highland Fling by Barbara Kinghorn

4. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

5. The Olive Season by Carol Drinkwater

6. The Jeeves Omnibus #1 by P.G. Wodehouse

7. Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo

8. Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

9. Diary for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe

10. The Grilling Season by Diane Mott Davidson

11. Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

3 years ago: Spring cleaning....
2 years ago: No entry.
1 year ago: No entry.

excuses excuses

Reasons I did not post this past weekend:

1. Had a work deadline Friday, and then

2. Big Jim arrived home for the weekend.

3. Big Jim arrived home for the weekend.

4. Big Jim arrived home for the weekend.

5. Big Jim arrived home for the weekend.

6. Spent Saturday on the coast. Ate shrimp and added many pieces to my sea glass collection.

7. Worked most of yesterday getting the garden ready for the arrival of la primavera.

8. Monitored the Spanish election results Sunday (in case you have not heard, Zapatero was reelected :-). And then,

9. Big Jim returned to the Hague this morning.

But to make it up to you, here are the latest Bode pics. :-)

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

fave podcasts

currently on my iPod:

* BBC Africa Today

* Garrison Keillor's The Writer's Almanac

* CBC The North This Week

* BBC Excess Baggage

* NPR Wait Wait Don't Tell Me!

* PRI Selected Shorts

* The Rachel Maddow Show

* The Archers

* This American Life

* BBC Profile

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

a vent in two lists

Ok, I need to vent and there is no one to vent to because:

1. It is siesta in the village and it would be rude to call anyone

2. Big Jim is off doing important work things

3. My mother is not answering the phone

4. The dogs just want to kiss me and the kitten just wants to bite me

So I went back to the doctor today, and the kidney infection is all healed, yay! However, at both visits my blood pressure was elevated, very strange for someone who historically has been a steady 100/70 and whose only vice is cheese. True, there is a genetic link that cannot be overlooked, and several people in my family do have high blood pressure. Which is where my doctor remained focused and thus scheduled another appointment for me next week, at which time he wants me to wear a monitor for 24 hours to eliminate any possibility that doctor office nervousness is causing the high BP before prescribing me meds that I will have to take for the rest of my life.

Now I am not saying the doctor is not right, but both Big Jim and I are natural-born skeptics, and on the bus ride back to the village I went over in my mind anything that had changed semi-recently that could also be a reason. The mobile vibrated as Big Jim SMS'd me with exactly the same thought I had just had---the eye drops I have been taking for glaucoma for the past year.

As soon as I greeted the pets, I googled the brand name of the eye drops, and lo and behold what is their most common nonocular adverse effect: hyperFUCKINGtension! I have suffered some of the ocular side effects of the drops---overgrown eyelashes and occasionally puffy eyelids---so why wouldn't I also possibly be affected by some of their other nasties.

Ok, now I want to know:

1. Why didn't my ophthalmologist ever ask me about my family history regarding hypertension? Come to think of it, I don't know that he ever inquired about my own BP history....

2. Why didn't the doctor today look into possible adverse effects of the glaucoma med? I listed it on my medical history form.

3. Why, as a result of #2, do I feel that I can do a better differential diagnosis than my doctors?

4. If I indeed have to stop taking the glaucoma eye drops, can I qualify for a medical marijuana prescription? Just curious.....

And geez, if I didn't have hyperFUCKINGtension before, between this and Brett Favre's retirement (tears have been shed), I sure do now!

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

3 years ago: 105,16€ AND Snow snow snow
2 years ago: What's new
1 year ago: March garden

in season

For the past eight months or so, I have been buying much of our produce from JL, a Spanish organic farmer who delivers orders to the village every two weeks. All of the fruit and veg have been amazingly yummy and fresh, the carrots and beets full of dirt from just being picked that morning. And to boot, the bio produce often costs less than the inferior tasting stuff grown under plastic with the chemicals. It's crazy, but even crazier, it has been impossible to find more than eight people in the village to consistently place orders. People always seem really interested when I tell them about JL, but when it comes down to buying anything, everyone has excuses: "I don't cook enough to justify buying a kilo or half kilo of anything," "I can't be tied down to a set pickup time," and "That's a funny looking tomato" when I showed a neighbor one of the juicy beefsteaks in my bag. There are also those who can't understand why beets are not available in August or mangos in January. It is incredibly frustrating I tell you. But anyway, here is the list of produce available for the first week of March:

FRUTAS Y VERDURAS

-Lechuga malagueña------------------------0,90e/pieza
-Lechuga hoja de roble---------------------0,80 e/pieza
-Aguacates-----------------------------------2,20 e/kg
-Naranjas-------------------------------------1 e/kg
-Limones--------------------------------------1 e/kg
-Tomate---------------------------------------1,60 e/kg
-Rabanillas------------------------------------1 e/manojo
-Nabos-----------------------------------------1 e/manojo
-Acelgas---------------------------------------1,20 e/manojo
-Guisantes-------------------------------------3 e/kg (FRESH PEAS, HOW GREAT IS THAT!)
-Habas-----------------------------------------1,20 e/kg
-Coles------------------------------------------1 e/kg
-Coliflor----------------------------------------1,30 e/kg
-Zanahoria------------------------------------1 e/manojo
-Remolacha-----------------------------------2 e/kg
-Apio------------------------------------------ 1 e/manojo
-Cilantro---------------------------------------0,65 e/manojo
-Perejil-----------------------------------------0,65 e/manojo

My huge bag of veg this week cost a measly €6,80, which is less than the kilo of leeks and red peppers I bought from the Saturday market a few weeks ago. And now my stomach is growling, so I am off to make dinner. :-)

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

spanish lesson

Not an original list I'm afraid (lifted from here), but amusing nevertheless. :-)

Top 10 Spanish expressions that do not translate well

10. A otro perro con ese hueso.
(You're putting me on.)

Literal: To another dog with that bone.

9. Antes que te cases mira lo que haces.
(Look before you leap.)

Literal: Before you marry, look at what you do.

8. Cada quien tiene su manera de matar pulgas.
(There's more than one way to skin the cat.)

Literal: Everyone has his/her own way to kill fleas.

7. Como el burro que tocó la flauta.
(By pure luck.)

Literal: As the donkey played the flute.

6. Salir de Guatemala y meterse en guatepeor.
(Out of the frying pan and into the fire.)

Literal: To leave Guatemala and arrive in worse cornstalks.

5. El hijo de la gata, ratones mata.
(Like father, like son.)

Literal: The son of the cat kills mice.

4. Entrada de caballo, salida de burro.
(Don't start something you can't finish.)

Literal: Enter on horseback, leave on a donkey.

3. Tener más lana que un borrego.
(To have money to burn.)

Literal: To have more wool than a lamb.

2. Yo tengo una tía que toca la guitarra.
(What's that got to do with the price of tea in China?)

Literal: I have an aunt that plays the guitar.

1. Ir a donde el rey va solo.
(To powder one's nose.)

Literal: To go where the king goes alone.

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

3 years ago: No entry.
2 years ago: Clinging to youth.
1 year ago: No entry.

bedding and bags

Big Jim is a horder and I am a purger, and it is as simple as that. Ok, I have amassed a collection of magazine and newspaper clippings, but the file folders in which I keep them (semi) organized PLUS 10+ years of journals could all fit into a medium-sized Rubbermaid tub, and thus I don't see it as a problem.

Today I spent clearing out our washroom/storage room, and my main mission was to inventory the suitcases and what was being stowed away in each of them. This should be a relatively easy task, considering we are two people, but the job took hours to complete. Here are the bag stats:

4 super-sized "overseas" suitcases

2 garment bags

2 mid-sized suitcases

1 small wheelie case

2 large duffle bags, 1 of which converts to a backpack

4 assorted other "carryon" bags

3 large cotton zipper bags

(+ god knows how many suitcases Big Jim has with him in Holland)

Of these bags, precisely three are mine: two of the supersized suitcases and one of the large duffle bags. Always one to look on the bright side, however, if Big Jim did not have all of this travel gear, we would have nowhere to keep our extra bedding! To give you some idea, here is a tally of what I found in the cases:

6 euro-sized down pillows

2 standard pillows

2 twin down duvets

2 twin duvet covers and matching pillow shams, sheets, etc.

2 silk full-sized bed covers

1 cotton and silk full-sized bed cover

1 full-sized Nordic duvet

1 tapestry-type full-sized bed cover with matching shams

1 queen-sized Amish quilt

1 full-sized comforter

Note that this list does not include the duvets, covers, sheets that we use regularly. For example, Big Jim bought the silk numbers in Pakistan, and as beautiful as they are, I can't see us using them in our own bedroom as long as it doubles as a bedroom for the pet menagerie. Perhaps they will eventually find a home in a guest room..... Also not included is the large shopping bag of sheets and duvet/pillow covers that Big Jim finally agreed I could give to the charity shop because I hate them. BJ buys bed things that are superbright red, royal blue, gold, and black. I need muted tones in the bedroom, so these perfectly good matching sets have not been used in the past six years. Therefore, they are being shipped out to new homes where they will be appreciated. Besides, if we were going to keep them, that would mean having to get another suitcase for their storage, and THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!

:-)

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

3 years ago: Customs nightmare
2 years ago: No entry.
1 year ago: No entry.

the lost week/more nablopomo

Posting has been pretty infrequent of late I know. But I do have a good reason for this past week's absence. Meet my new BFF (or at least until next Tuesday):

Now normally I do not embrace pharmaceuticals warmly, but Floxie brought me back to my normal chipper self from one infection I wouldn't wish on (almost) anybody, the evil kidney infection, and for that I LOVE her. After two days of Floxie battling the creepy bacteria, while my temperature bounced between 38 and 39C (look up the conversion, Americans), I awoke Thursday morning feeling almost human again. Seriously, there should be a way to bottle that feeling of "normal" again after a bout with a particularly nasty bug because I don't remember when I felt so GOOD. Just to make sure I wasn't delirious, though, I reached for my another BFF of the moment, the thermometer, and took my temperature one more time. 36.4C: indeed I was back! :-)

But kidney infection aside, I have been slacking here in Blogland, and perhaps other bloggers have been as well because the folks at NaBloPoMo have a new challenge going for March: to post some sort of list every day for this month. And so I have, perhaps foolishly, signed up mylifeinspain for another month of blogging-mania. I can make up whatever list topic I want, but if you have any ideas of your own, feel free to email them or post as a comment. Just keep them relatively clean because my parents are readers. :-)

To stick with the sick theme of the day, today's list is my top 5 most memorable illnesses. I recommend those unable to stomach discussion of body functions, and dysfunctions, to sit this one out. :-)

1. The Great Kidney Infection of February 2008. Obviously.

2. The Way-Overshadowed Dysentery of October 2005. During the afternoon of October 7, Big Jim was off fly-fishing, and I was in our cabin, reading my Pakistan travel guides and looking forward to the next part of our holiday. But in the early evening, my stomach started cramping, and I had to admit that the inevitable bug had finally got me. Big Jim and Nasir were well-prepared, and I was given little packets of mixed spices wrapped in newspaper to stir in with water and then gulp down. Of course, the real earthquake struck just 12 hours later, and suddenly my little tummy troubles became a nonissue (except that Big Jim had to loan me a pair of his underwear). A week later, though, back in Islamabad, I do remember saying, completely exasperated, to BJ, "I just want to be able to tell the difference again between when I am peeing and when I am pooing! That's all I want!!!!" That took another week.

3. Walking Pneumonia of September 1998. This started as a cold after a visit to San Francisco in late August and then stream-rolled into something that erythromycin couldn't tackle. Eventually my doctor brought in the big guns, azithromycin, and I slowly began to get well. But not after 3 weeks of one of my favorite months of the year were gone. :-(

4. The Possible Salmonella Poisoning of November 1995. An old boyfriend (OB) and I had driven out to Colorado and New Mexico on vacation, and we celebrated Thanksgiving at one of those buffet places near Taos. All was well until the drive back, and I started to feel sick in Oklahoma City. We couldn't find anywhere to eat but a Cracker Barrel, and all I desperately wanted was a bowl of broth, and of course the only soups on the menu involved a boiled-up ham hock. We were on a fairly tight schedule to get back to Philly, but there was one stop left on our tour, Graceland. As usual, we stayed at a Motel 6, this one just off Elvis Presley Boulevard. I was still unable to eat much of anything, but OB did his best to get me plain toast and biscuits from the nearby Bob Evans'. We were up early the next morning to make sure we got in on one of the first tours. But as we perused the official gift shop, I was overcome by stomach cramps unlike anything I have ever known. I curled up in a fetal position on the floor, which lessened the pain for some reason, and told OB there was no way in hell I could see Graceland. He agreed and helped me to the rental car, and we carried on our way home. But I am pretty sure he never forgave me.

5. The 24-Hour-Bug of Christmas 1978/1979. This one was obviously a standout because of the holiday, although the bug was also pretty nasty (the kind where one sits on the toilet while holding a basin for vomiting). I was also devastated because I somehow managed to get diarrhea on my brand new Christmas raccoon slippers and was so grossed out I don't believe I ever wore them again. To boot, the rest of the family went off to my grandparents' house, LEAVING ME HOME ALONE! (Clearly, I need more therapy to help put this behind me.)

Fortunately, I don't get sick very often, but I suppose that is why each bloody virus and bacterium remain finely etched in my little brain. :-) A lighter list topic tomorrow I promise.....

hasta luego,
mylifeinspain

3 years ago: Getting ready
2 years ago: No entry.
1 year ago: No entry.