30 November 2009

tolosa







This, my blogging buddies, is where I lived my first 8 years in Spain. Tolosa is where I learned Spanish, had a small English academy, my children were born (ok, they were actually born in San Sebastian- the anesthesiologist in Tolosa only worked from 8 am till 3 pm- I couldn´t risk it...), had every Sunday lunch with the in-laws, and walked up a mountain every day. (You should have seen my derriere...)

I shot these really quickly before lunch. But you get the idea...

¡Dos besos!

27 November 2009

kiss and tell friday



Any plans for the weekend?

DIY around the house, Sunday lunch with Jorge´s family.... and rain....

P.S. Daniel wanted to take a picture of me... so I jumped... We didn´t even notice The Cocster... This photo makes us laugh- Hope it makes you laugh too!

¡Dos besos!

25 November 2009

corner view "menu del día"


I find that the majority of restaurants in the Basque Country all serve the same dishes. I always joke that I never have to look at a menu, because I already know what´s on it... Mixed salad, vegetable medley, blood sausages, beans with chorizo, fish, lamb, steak, rice pudding, egg custard, and apple pie.... The locals think that they have the best cuisine in the world, so why bother trying anything else... Even the McDonald´s ended up closing... (OK McDonald´s is a poor example- but you know what I mean...) The following is Daniel´s school lunch menu for this week.... but it could be any restaurant´s menu del día...

White beans with vegetables, chicken breast, fruit.
Fresh peas, steak with fries, yogurt.
Potatoes with chorizo, pork chop, fruit.
Vegetable medley, fish, yogurt.
Lentle soup, fish, fruit.

...My kingdom for some Pad Thai....

Next week´s theme is "corners of your home." I got this idea from Caitlin when she posted corners of her home a while back. So thanks Caitlin for the idea!

P.S. Thanks for all your well wishes! They really made me feel better!
¡Dos besos muy gordos!


23 November 2009

summer rerun





I finally went to Sara´s horse lessons to take some pictures. I usually don´t go, because when I get within a mile of the stable my throat starts to itch, I start sneezing, and my eyes swell up. I convinced Berta to come with me, so we could take double the pictures in half the time. I had only been there for 15 minutes when it hit me, and had to spend the rest of the lesson watching from the car. Thanks to Berta, we now have some great shots of Sara jumping. All in all, we made it out of there unscathed.... That is, if you don´t count Berta freezing her petunias off, me sneezing for about half a day... And Sara getting a little angry with me...(Hey! She smelled REALLY horsey... and making her run next to the car until home isn´t so unfair... My eyes were starting to swell... You´d have done the same thing...;)


20 November 2009

kiss and tell friday



What are you wearing?

Jeans, black turtleneck sweater... and my trusty boots. (Yes, it´s that time of year again...)

P.S. Does anyone know where I can find a good yoga practice online? Thanks!!

Have a great weekend!

¡Dos besos!

18 November 2009

corner view "cell phone madness"







Hi! Next week´s theme is "menu al día." If you were to take us to a typical restaurant in your town, what would we find on the menu?

P.S. Thanks for all your lovely comments! Your kindness is overwhelming... (And I hope it´s not considered cheating, asking a bunch of artists their opinion...)
The contest didn´t have a theme. We just had to take pictures of the town. The winning photo is included in a calendar about Alava.

Thanks again! I feel like I´ve already won! Which is probably for the best, because now I´m even more confused... ;)

¡Dos besos muy gordos!

16 November 2009

help...

Hi guys! Last week I went on a photo walk about contest. Now I have to enter a picture and I can´t decide which one... or if I should even enter one. Below are my favorites. If you could help me decide I´d really appreciate it.... and really, if you think I should wait for the next one, I can handle it... Just let me remove all sharp objects before I post this....






Thanks and two fat kisses!

for cathrine... finally

These were taken a few weeks ago when we were invited to join some friends in Navarra. We stopped in the town Casa la Reina, which happened to be celebrating their fiestas with an open air market, farming competitions, and red peppers...





And of course, no fiesta is complete without some bulls running through the town...

Hope you had a nice weekend. Ours was lazy, filled with movies, naps, eating out, studying for exams, more naps....
and no tattoos... ;)

¡Dos besos!




13 November 2009

kiss and tell friday



Have you got any tattoos? If so, of what, and where? If not, have you ever thought about it? If so, of what, and where?

I´ve wanted a tattoo of three Japanese symbols for the longest time. I just can´t decide where to put them. Their significance would be my secret... OK mine, and another 127 million others....

Happy weekend!

¡Dos besos!

12 November 2009

corner view update



Hi!

I just realized that I left an important detail out of next week´s theme. I called it "cell phone madness," because the idea is to take a random picture of whatever you see, with your cell phone, when someone calls you, and then post 5 of them. Of course if it doesn´t have one, shoot with your digital.

And while I´ve got your attention...

Lisa has been nominated for the "best unschooling blog." Visit her to find out how to vote.
Vanessa is having a journal giveaway. Honestly, if you are not lucky enough to win, you´re going to want to buy everything you see.
And Joanna is holding a little seminar on all things blogging.

Just some things to add to your Thursday to do list.

¡Dos besos!






11 November 2009

corner view "favorite dish"



This week´s Corner View comes from the lovely Joyce and is "your favorite dish... which could be a recipe, a favorite handmade object, or a topic you like to dish about." Of course, I went straight for food... my "shiny object"... I´m posting the very first recipe I ever made. It is foolproof, delicious... and chocolate... your hips will thank me...

3/4 of a cup of really good cocoa (84g)
2 cups of sugar (400g)
1 1/2 cups of flour (185g)
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of hot strong coffee (236g)
1/2 cup of sour cream (or natural yogurt) (122g)
3/4 cup of vegetable oil (200g)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 345F or 190C.
Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature. Sift dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, blend the hot coffee, oil, and sour cream with a whisk. Add this slowly to the dry ingredients while mixing slowly. Mix until blended and then stop. Add the eggs one at a time and only mix until blended. About 10 seconds. (The key here is too not over mix.) Pour batter into greased molds and bake. That´s it.... "easypeasy"...

I thought up next week´s theme on a visit to our resident ninja and it´s "cell phone madness." The object is to take a random picture of whatever you see when someone calls you, and then post 5 of them ... Oh, and it´s also a wordless theme. (I know I´m preaching to a group of writers and poets... but I thought it would be fun to let the pictures tell the story.)

Happy Corner Viewing!

10 November 2009

and we are back...







What does one do in Vitoria on a rainy Sunday? Take pictures in churches that date back to the 15th century... Talk about contrasts...

It has been raining so much here, that when it was time for Coco´s walk, she actually looked at me with a face saying, "can´t someone else take the boy for a walk tonight?"....

09 November 2009

the last of them

What I love most about Philadelphia is that it´s a city made up of neighborhoods which gives it a small town feel. Here are a few examples which are all within easy walking distance of each other.









These are the last of them. I thought I´d be posting more, but the high has gone and now the sadness is starting to set in. I´m starting to miss the walkabouts, food, bookshops, "people watching" and friendliness that makes Philadelphia my Philadelphia... It´s been raining here for the past 4 days, which could also have something to do with the mood I´m in...


I think the Coco has some competition...

¡Dos besos muy gordos!

06 November 2009

kiss and tell friday




An 8 year old Daniel once asked, "mommy if you are invisible, can you fly?" Of course I answered, "yes"... but now I´m not so sure...

If you could have any superpower what would it be?

I´d love to think of a place, wiggle my nose and be able to magically appear there. OK, maybe that´s more witchy than super.... But it would be super to not have to deal with security lines, airplane smell, and turbulence...

Have a great weekend!

¡Dos besos!

05 November 2009

reading terminal market







The Reading Terminal Market is the States´ oldest farmers´ market. It´s packed with a hodgepodge of stalls selling fresh produce, ethnic food, crafts, books and kitchen supplies. It´s a cornucopia of color, smells, people, and slices of life that is a photographer´s dream. I love sitting in the middle of it all and just watching. On my last day I met a friend there for lunch. I had pad thai and he had enchiladas, we met a local artist that happened to be having lunch next to us, spent too much money at the spice shop, and bought some red pepper jam from an Amish farmer ... I think that basically sums it up...

P.S. Did anyone catch the last game? Just a little shout out to the Phillies... Um... go... Phillies....

pink

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