30 September 2009

corner view "white"





When I thought of this week´s Corner View theme, the first thing that popped into my head was meringue. (Thank you Natsumi!) A friend of mine gave me this recipe. It was a typical after- school snack growing up in her home.

It got me thinking about how different our childhoods, one in Spain and one in the US, were...

She grew up in a small town.
I grew up in a big city.

She went to private school and was taught by sweet nuns.
I went to public school and was taught by recovering hippies.

She grew up on produce and milk delivered daily to her home by local farmers.
I grew up on food bought from a large supermarket.

She collected animal trading cards.
I collected baseball trading cards.

Her aunties knitted all her sweaters, made all her dresses, and crocheted all her undergarments.
My clothes were store bought... Day of the week undies.

Our upbringings couldn´t have been more different. I often wonder how we turned out so similar...

Happy Corner View! Epe, do you mind choosing the next theme? Thanks!

P.S. The updated CV list is on the sidebar.

¡Dos besos!





25 September 2009

kiss and tell friday


(Is this a croissant?... Is this a pretzel?... Who cares.... So good!....)

If you could be a fly on the wall anywhere, and at any time in history, where and when would you chose? So many choices. I think I´ll go with Kennedy compound, dining room wall, 1960, any summer day, dinner time, with all the Kennedys...

Have a great weekend!

¡Dos besos muy gordos!

P.S. Tiphaine your link doesn´t work. Can you check it out? Thanks!

24 September 2009

i´ve been tagged



(That was such a fun CV. I loved touring around with you. Thank you!)

I was tagged a while back by Marinik and Finn, two writers whose words flow like poetry. I have to list 10 things about myself. I don´t like talking about myself and am actually writing this while covering my eyes...

1. I do one brave thing about every five years. Move to a new country, start a new business, list 10 things about myself...

2. I met Jorge in Philly while he was studying for his MBA. One of the first things he told me was that, "his father was a famous bullfighter"... I laughed... and haven´t stopped...

3. My children are bilingual (with a little Basque and French thrown in). From the moment they were born I spoke to them in English and Jorge in Spanish. And from the moment they could speak their first word they would say it to me in English and to Jorge in Spanish. I always considered it my gift to them. I´ve also made them promise to continue the tradition. Hopefully my great great grandchildren will also be bilingual...

4. I´m losing my English. (Does that even make sense?) I´m losing my ability to communicate in English. My brain just isn´t big enough to accommodate two languages...

5. And on that note... I´m starting to teach English again this year. (I had an English academy years ago.) It started out as a favor.... help....

6. People tell me all the time that I look like someone they know... I just have one of those faces...

7. Not a day goes by without someone asking me for directions...

8. I have no sense of direction. Jorge and I go to France and we can´t find Spain again... Really...

9. I don´t understand the fixation with Oprah...OK, I´m still here. For a minute there, I thought I was going to be struck by lightening... The last show I saw was of her "learning" that she should sit in her garden and smell the flowers... She got this from a book... Huh? But she does lots of charity work you say. Yeah, and I think it´s great. But come on people, she has like 50 billion dollars.... I know lots of wonderful people who do charity work, with a lot less... and they don´t shout it from the roof tops....

10. I can sometimes be very cynical.... But I´m working on it...



23 September 2009

corner view "out the car window"








This is what I see on my way to the pool. Basically lots of rain and road work. Sorry about all the gloom.... Just another 9 months and then I´m sure the sun will be out...

Next week´s theme comes from the creative Natsumi and is "white". Thanks Natsumi!

Can´t wait to see what you´ve been up to. I hope it´s at least sunnier. (If I miss your corner view -some times I get sidetracked - give me a shout. Thanks!)

P.S. Vitoria celebrates Olarizu to make sure the town´s borders haven´t been moved during harvest time... I think...

¡Dos besos!

20 September 2009

olarizu








Some shots from last Monday when Vitoria celebrated Olarizu. This was the first time I went... and the first time in years that it didn´t rain. We rode over on our bikes, took a bunch of pictures, and ate chorizo wrapped in soft corn tortillas. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon. However, I was cursing the chorizo at 3:00 am... when it hit me...

P.S. I love you guys! Thanks for being such great sports! You crack me up!


18 September 2009

kiss and tell friday



So I had another idea... Wait! Don´t run for the hills just yet. I really liked hanging out with you in August. So I thought we could continue the tradition for a little while longer. Every Friday I´ll post a question and we can learn a little bit more about each other... And, like I´ve said before, if you don´t feel like it, no problem... I´m used to talking to myself...

What´s your favorite curse word? (In your language.)
Mine is "son of a bitch." Just one word doesn´t seem like enough...

¡Dos besos! (the "kiss" part... get it? kiss and tell?)

Happy weekend!

17 September 2009

welcome back!



That was a lot of fun! It was great catching up with your corners! (I´m still working my way around the world.) I´m sending you all a big "welcome back" hug!

P.S. This is an old mirror that I painted with chalkboard paint yesterday.... instead of sewing like a 100 collars... am I the only one that does this....? Keep me away from all shiny objects... I get totally distracted... HaHa!

16 September 2009

corner view september

Welcome back! We hit the road recently looking for evidence of September. Here´s a little of what we found.








Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the changing of the leaves, thick sweaters, black as the new pink, the scent of chimney smoke in the air, and meals that consist of more than just a "lite" salad... Bring on the beans, the roasts... and the pies! I´m ready!

Next week´s theme is "out the car window." Natsumi, do you mind picking the next theme?

I´m off to visit with all of you. I can´t wait to catch up!

P.S. Thank you for your sweet comments from my last post. I´m still smiling.

¡Dos besos muy gordos!



14 September 2009

summer farewell





These were taken on our last day in Zarauz. I had got up early and headed down to the beach with my camera for one last walk. It´s a ritual that my mother started years ago when I was a little girl. At the end of the summer we´d always go down to the water´s edge and say thank you and goodbye. It was always bitter sweet. I would be sad that summer was ending, but also looked forward to the new beginnings that awaited me. Just as I was leaving I saw this...

11 September 2009

just a few more...











I loved Munich. The people were friendly, the shops were gorgeous, the cafes were lovely, and the apple strudel! I wanted to bring some home in my suitcase... literally leave my clothes and just fill it with apple strudel... And then there were the pretzels (bretzels)... pretzels with butter, pretzels with cream cheese, pretzels with beer (only people from Philadelphia can understand the enormity of this discovery...)... And the beer! The best beer I´ve ever tasted... and I´ve tasted a lot of beer. So basically it was a day of eating, drinking, and taking photos... Perfection...
These are the last of them. Thank you for sitting through them with me. I feel like the next door neighbor who makes you sit through 2 hours of vacation slides... And I can´t even offer you a coffee... or a pretzel...

Happy weekend!

¡Besos!

10 September 2009

we interrupt this bavarian jaunt...


Half way there... The past week has been a blur... I remember show tunes (I like to sing when I sew....), and The Smiths (to keep it in perspective), pasta, school books, tennis team (Daniel... I think), horses (Sara... I think)... three new grey hairs... and jellybeans... (thank you joyce!)

¡Dos besos!

09 September 2009

viktualienmarkt











Hey everyone! Thank you for your comments! I received a big order last Friday and haven´t seen the light of day since then. You are my only connection to the outside world. So when I tell you that I really appreciate them... you have no idea...!

So we´ll be staying in Bavaria a little bit longer.... I´ll catch up with you next week!

...Why do you think Jorge has removed all sharp objects... and where are my shoe laces?...

pink

I knew a girl who was blue. So she painted her world pink. xoxo