Bela's New Bed

I bought the filling yesterday and my mother-in-law finished sewing this nice cushy bed for my baby:

She LOVES it!

...doesn't even really like leaving her kennel now. :)

Puppy Play-date

Yesterday was Bela's first puppy play-date--she LOVED it! A friend of mine who lives in a nearby town has a little Bull Terrier the same age as Bela. We've been trying to arrange a play-date since the two of them have had all their vaccinations and yesterday was finally the big day.

Everything I've read about having a puppy talks about the importance of socializing them with other dogs and puppies, not only because in the future they'll have less tendency to be aggressive toward other dogs, but because they learn manners from each other. Bela was too young to be taken from her mommy when we got her... but she was the last of the litter and the owners weren't going to hold onto her for us so we brought her home when she was just 35 days old. Usually they're at least two months old and in those two months they learn from their mom and their litter-mates about how to play, when a bite is too hard, etc. So it's especially important for a puppy like Bela to learn to play nicely with other dogs...and in theory it should save me some training in the nippy/biting area.

Mila, our little Bull Terrier friend is a tank! She weighs just a little more than Bela but she's pure muscle, super compact and really strong. Bela looked like a greyhound in comparison--long-legged and fine-boned. I must admit that I was a little nervous about our date because although Bull Terrier's are not listed as a dangerous breed, they are dogs bred for fighting; but in the end, there was no need to worry. Mila is a sweetie and from the very start they hit it off. And as it turned out, my floppy, fine-boned lab was able to hold her own in their rough and tumble around the patio. :) They played hard for about 30 min. while I had a coffee with our friends and then we decided to take them out for a walk.

On walks I don't tend to let Bela loose because she still isn't very good about coming when I call her. However, with a buddy around, I thought there'd be no harm. She didn't do badly...but it was pretty funny to walk these two dogs together because you could immediately tell the difference between the two breeds. Mila, being more protective and territorial stayed close, never wandering far off, and always circling back to us. Bela, on the other hand, was sniffing like mad running hither and thither with her nose glued to the ground. When we'd call them to catch up with us, little Mila would come running as fast as her squaty little legs could carry her and Bela would usually not listen at all. When she'd finally come running, she'd inevitably catch a whiff of something too interesting to resist and spin around to follow the scent! I guess I've got a hunter on my hands, but I need to teach her to ignore all that and pay attention to me. (Wish me luck!)

It turns out, however, that aside from both of them being extremely playful, they also share a love for sun-dried olives! The two of them were tapeando for the entire walk through the olive groves. An hour and a half later we got back to the house and our puppies were just a bit tired. ;) Bela was still up for some play time, but Mila was noticeably cansada. When our guests left, however, Bela was ready for bed. I did my best to keep my baby awake as I heated some water for a bath (she was all slobbery after such a fun date!), but she was nodding off in my arms. I think exhaustion is the key to a good bath experience: she didn't move a muscle, not even when I blew her dry! I brought the kennel inside so she wouldn't be cold and she passed out immediately for the rest of the evening.

At the moment she's asleep in her kennel. I think the magic of puppy play-time is still showing its effects. My friend and I both agreed that this is something we need to do at least once a week...if not for the dogs, then for our own sanity, because it's oh so nice to have a tired puppy!

SOLD!

The sale papers were signed yesterday!

We've finally sold a parcel of land that Angelines inherited from her dad. Somehow, even with the market the way it is, we were able to get a good bit of money from it, so the next step is hiring a contractor and building our own pub. I am optimistic and think all this could happen by Christmas...though, knowing Spain, I'm sure there will be plenty of unforeseen roadblocks. All the same this is REALLY good news. We're moving in the right direction.

It's been a long time now that A has felt completely stuck (and I, too, by extension). She pays quite a lot of rent each month and, of course, since the locale isn't hers, she can't make the improvements she'd really like to. At the same time, without the money from the sale of this parcel, there was no way in the world we could even entertain the thought of building our own place. She's had the architectural plans for four years now and has been paying a mortgage on the land even longer. Needless to say all of this has been a very long time coming...

It's almost too good to be true!

Toast to our luck! :)

A quick note:

Just wanted to send a quick update:

For no apparent reason my knee(s) have been acting up lately. I haven't been running (twice in the past three months...), although I was just getting back into it. Still, my knee didn't hurt at all running or afterwards and then suddenly walking the dog over uneven terrain, I got a sudden sharp pain and had to limp home. That passed, but then yesterday my other knee was suddenly so sore it hurt to put weight on that leg. I took two ibuprofen (400mg each...) and today it feels better though not completely gone.

The American deep within is resistant to go to the doctor. I have to remind myself that there's no money involved in that prospect over here and therefore I really have no excuse. So with my handy dandy sanitation card, I got online today and made an appt. for the doctor's on Friday. I think I will insist that she give me an appt. for x-rays. There is definitely something wrong, although what I might really need is an ultra-sound.

I am worried that this may be the definitive end of running for me. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what comes of all the doctor visits... While it's true that the visits are "free" there is a price to pay with the time it takes for all the different tests, x-rays, etc. So if "time is money" as we like to say in the U.S. perhaps a visit to the doctor in Spain is even more expensive than having no insurance in the States. All the same I am happy as can be that I was able to save some of that precious time with the wonders of technology--www.juntadeandalucia.es. :)

Thank you, internet.

Memory Lane

Just for fun, I looked for a video of the NorCal honor band. Coincidentally this one of Lassus Trombone came up for 2012. It brings back great memories--you've gotta love the glissandos!

-enjoy

The Gift of Music

This week started the new semester. I finished last semester well, though I would have liked to do better on one of my exams (not the one I expected, surprisingly!). I received three notables and two sobresalientes, that roughly translates to three Bs and two As--not bad.

It feels good to be done and starting in on new material. This semester I've only got four classes, so supposedly I'll have more time (such an elusive commodity!) at very least to study a bit more. My classes seem interesting so far although three of them are repeats in my mind: "Living together inside and outside the classroom" (Convivencia dentro y fuera del aula), "Equality and Diversity in schools an society" (Igualdad y diversidad escolar y social), and "Family, School and Society" (Familia, escuela y sociedad)!

All seem to be along the same touchy-feely line dealing with diversity in the classroom and conflict resolution. Having three classes with similar material can either be a blessing or a curse: they can feed off each other and help consolidate the material, or they can confuse themselves with one another and cause a huge mental mess! I'll let you know which is the case come the end of the semester. My fourth and final class will be my favorite I think. Have you guessed what it is yet? That's right, you guessed it: "Musical Education".

It's a lot of music appreciation and basic theory. By the end of term, those students who know nothing about music should be able to read a simple sheet of music, enough to be able to direct kids in a song or on their recorders. This week's reading was an introduction to theory and since I know how to read music and had quite a solid foundation in music theory as an elementary student myself, the only challenge is learning the vocabulary in Spanish! Did you know, for example that they name the notes using Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Si instead of the letters of the alphabet from A-G? Those of you who are musically inclined or remember Julie Andrew's song from The Sound of Music will note that even this scale varies in two notes: "Sol" (So..."a needle pulling thread" and "Si" (Ti..."a drink with jam and bread"); which are the notes G and B respectively! (What a mess!)

Then of course there's the vocabulary involving all the notes themselves: whole, half, quarter, etc. You'd think it would be easy, music is the universal language, but it's actually quite hard to remember these second names! Thankfully, this isn't my first introduction to music vocabulary in Spanish. The first two years I lived here in La Roda I played in the community band and so learning vocabulary like bemol, sostenido or compás (flat, sharp, measure) wasn't too painful since it was in context. However, I never could learn to refer to the notes by their Spanish names.

Some of you may be wondering about my music history. How is it that I have such a grounding in music theory when music and arts programs have been suffering significant budget cutbacks for the past two decades? How is it that I learned to play recorder and auto-harp in second and third grade and picked up the trombone when I could barely reach the spit valve all in a public elementary school? When I tell you that the majority of my elementary education (and ALL of my musical education) took place in a two-room school house with a total of 42 students K-8th grade in a town of only 350 inhabitants and two hours from anywhere, the only explanation I can come up with is that the State had forgotten about us at Junction Elementary School. And it was just as well.

Somehow, in a school so small that we only needed two teachers--one for the "lower graders" (K-4) and one for the "upper graders" (4-8)--we also disposed of teacher completely dedicated strictly to music and dance. Each student had a private lesson one hour a week with the teacher and the bands (beginning, intermediate and advanced) practiced on Fridays. In folk dance we learned traditional Israeli dances along with swing and square dances; we sang Christmas carols in German, Eric Clapton and folk songs like Oh Shenandoah in choir; and also had an hour a week dedicated to music theory and history. We studied the circle of fifths, how to read key signatures, major and minor scales and the great composers. Tina Merrier was the woman who made all of this possible.

She was a tall, thin, proper lady with short grey hair and small gold-rimmed glasses. She loved music and it was contagious. When I think back to my years at Junction and just how much time and energy Tina (never Ms. Merrier) put into her work at the school, I am in awe. Now that I am looking ahead to a future in elementary education, I can't imagine where she got all her energy and motivation from. We had spring and winter concerts and we played for 3rd grade and 8th grade "graduations." Just thinking about the hours of planning, ordering music, and practicing with students one-on-one exhausts me, and yet Tina was always chipper, in her place, demanding our best and making the best of what we gave her.

I loved making music. In sixth grade I took up a second instrument, clarinet; and Emily and I both dabbled with the piano, enough so that my Grammie gave us hers (now sitting at home, out of tune, and with no to play it!). I attended my first honor band in Eureka and I even composed a silly song in my diary (I wrote out the music and everything). I remember telling my parents I wanted to play for "the band that made Disney soundtracks!"

When we moved to the Sierra Valley, I enrolled at Feather River Middle School in Portola because the schools in Loyalton didn't have a music program--a reality that had never occurred to me. At Portola, the concert band doubled as a marching band for the homecoming parade each year and so I got my fill of John Phillip Sousa and pep songs like Wooly Bully and She Drives me Crazy. My junior year the new director created a jazz band--the Portola "Jazz Cats"--Summertime and Girl from Ipanema joined the repertoire. ;)

Music had been an unquestioned part of my life since second grade, but it wasn't until my sophomore year at Pacific University that I decided to join the Wind Ensemble on campus. Music was my anchor. Although I didn't have time (or didn't make time) to practice much, working through the music with the group was therapeutic. Since my first honor band experience, I had fallen in love with the cooperation, dedication, balance and care it takes to make a beautiful piece of music. And at Pacific I rediscovered that joy in the Wind Ensemble. We were a mix of interested students, music majors and community members; but all of us were dedicated musicians.

When I joined the community band here in La Roda, I had a similar experience. I was far from home, in a new country, a new town and it had been at least three years since I'd picked up a trombone, but I found I could follow the music just as well as anybody. My lips were swollen after that first band practice, but I left giddy with excitement and with paso dobles tripping through my head. Although I'm not currently playing , I have no doubt that I will play again. This Christmas there was a trombone-piano duet concert here in town that left me longing to be part of a band again.

When I think about what music has meant to me through the years I cannot help but be excited for this semester and my music class. Although the arts are suffering in the U.S. with budget cuts, etc. it seems that, at least in the music department, we are light-years ahead of the Spanish. Here, the only instruments played in school are recorders as far as I can tell. School concert bands do not exist. If you want to learn an instrument it's up to you to look for a teacher/group on your own time. One of my first conversations with the community band director was about the great music programs we have in the States. I was skeptical, knowing the truth about budget cuts, etc. But when I stop to think about honor band, music camp, marching bands... it's true that there is an emphasis on music in the U.S. that doesn't exist here.

Last night I watched Mr. Holland's Opus (required for the class), which perfectly portrays this exact issue: struggling to balance the importance of music in schools against impending budget cuts. It is the perfect film to start this class--not only is it about music, but about the dedication and struggle required to be a great teacher. I was crying through most of it. And of course, as I watched it, I couldn't help thinking of the incredible role music has played (haha) in my own life and the teacher to whom I owe such a gift:

Thank you, Tina.

El puente de Andalucía

February 28 is el día de Andalucía and the city organized a night hike around town as part of the different festivities. It was 14 kilometers through the olive groves around town with a local guide who told us all about the history of the different caminos and cortijos along the way.

This area was home to bandoleros through the beginning of the 20th century. At the first cortijo we visited, the guide was telling the story of the feared bandolero "El Pernales" when suddenly there was a gunshot in the dark outside the walls of the cortijo. Our group jumped and turned to the big wooden doors of the cortijo to see three "bandoleros" race in shouting and waving their muskets! They took two from our group at gun point and then asked for a ransom. We didn't have any money...so rather than turning them over, they were converted into bandoleros as well! :) It was quite a show, and quite a surprise.

The man in the middle is our guide. On either end are the captives turned bandits, and the three remaining men are the authentic bandoleros.

This was inside the cortijo. It was amazingly preserved/restored...although you can't really appreciate that in this picture. My friend Jesuli and I were drooling over all the antiques and the well preserved structure itself.

You can see the huge cooking fireplace in this picture. The entire length of the wall above the fire was a chimney to keep smoke out of the rest of the kitchen. On the right you can see the iron stove top. The drawer below is filled with hot coals from the fire to heat the stove top. I would love to cook over that fire!

There was another very impressive cortijo on our route. The owner has gone to great lengths to restore and improve upon the existing structure. He's planning to create rooms to be rented as a rural hotel! When he's finished it will be a really amazing place to stay. There's an enormous patio with palm trees and a reflective pool surrounded by arches and flowerbeds planted with rosemary. He has an amazing collection of antiques: huge clay containers used to store water, wine or olives; a wonderfully restored carriage from the 19th century, a piano, old cars and tractors... The cortijo even has it's own chapel that we weren't able to see because we were so many (61 people) and it's a very small space; but apparently he has quite a collection of saints and religious art/sculpture.

The trek was nice since the weather cooperated. It's been unseasonable warm lately and so we weren't too cold at all as we walked from 8pm to 2am! Still, on our many stops we did get a bit chilled and this seemed to be just enough to knock my immune system over the edge: I finally have come down with the cold that Angelines has been fighting now for a week! I seem to be keeping it at bay for the moment so perhaps I won't get all the way sick, but that remains to be seen. All the same, I had a great time on our hike even if I've now got a stuffy nose!

Tuesday we went up to San Pancracio to eat paella with our friends. Bela came along too and had a great time sniffing around and eating rabbit turds! ;) We visited Drew's tree and she promptly fertilized it! What a well-trained puppy I have. The tree looks good despite our dry, dry weather and the nasty cold snap a few weeks ago. I watered it before we left so it is in good shape.

Bela and I with Drew's encina.

Bela was not very happy about being relegated to outskirts of the action...

so we finally gave in to those cute puppy eyes and let her sleep in her favorite place of all: a lap!

It was a beautiful day for a picnic although a little bit windy. We hung up a blanket to block the wind from the fire for cooking and around 3:30 feasted on delicious paella. Food always tastes better out in the country. Even though Angelines and I were both feeling a little under the weather it felt good to get out of the house, spend some time in the country and laugh and chat with friends.