Our day off

 Yesterday was our day together (remember I don't work Wednesdays).  Too often it is a day set aside for catching up on household chores, things that need fixing or errands to be run.  It is also a day we reserve for medical appointments, etc. even though originally the idea was to have one full day a week together as a family. 

Yesterday was a perfect family day.  We did nothing around the house (minimal cooking and consequent clean up) and we had nothing on the agenda other than just being together and having fun.  It was wonderful!

We started off the day by loading everyone in the car and heading up to San Pancracio's ermita to walk Bela.  I just thought it would be a nice place to let Emily run around and explore, as well as the dog, of course; but we were completely and pleasantly surprised to find the whole area in bloom with tiny, beautiful flowers.  It was like a purple carpet had been laid among the pine trees--outstanding.  I immediately regretted not having thrown my good camera into the car, but I think the one on my phone gives a pretty good idea.

All the flowers also meant that the whole place was abuzz with bees.  I had a breif moment of motherly worry--what if Emily gets stung?--but I pushed that thought from my mind and decided to just keep a close watch she didn't actually try to grab any bees.  Our little girl certainly had fun wobbling around over the grass and rocks, picking flowers and grabbing sticks and pebbles for Bela.  The highlight of the morning may have been the butterfly we saw.  We spent about an hour total just enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful landscape.  Lovely.

After lunch and Emily's nap, we got back into the car and headed out to Campillos to get some information about the indoor swimming pool there.  We have been wanting to get back into the pool since Emily was born...and have yet to work that back into our schedule.  The instalations in Campillos are great and they have a smaller, warmer pool for babies.  I think we'll go ahead and buy the "bono" for 20 swims since it doesn't expire and that will force us to get out of the house and into the pool.

 

From Campillos we headed to Antequera with the intention of playing in a really great park they have there.  I have been eyeing this park for at least a year now and Emily is finally getting to an age where parks can be a lot of fun.  This particular park has all kinds of great swings and slides and climbing nets.  It's got a zipline and a little trampoline, too!  Honestly, I kind of just wanted to play myself...of course taking Emily was the perfect excuse.

She was pretty amusing.  For the first five minutes or so she was completely immobile.  She didn't even want to walk holding my hand.  She was completely blown away by the number of kids running around, jumping, swinging, screaming, kicking balls...  It was quite impressive.  And of course the colors and shapes of all the climbing equipment and big, tall slides were strange and new, too. I finally coaxed her to sit on a little, low climbing net and we just observed for a while.  Little by little she began warming up to the place.  By the time we left she was running around on her own exploring and interacting with other kids. :)

It was a cold day yesterday.  Although it was gloriously sunny in the morning, the afternoon was quite overcast and windy.  We were bundled up at the park, but after about 40 minutes it was time to look for something warm to eat/drink.  It is a well known fact that nothing warms you up on a cold day in Spain better than churros con chocolate. :)  So we sojourned up the main street to a churrería for a greasy, but 100% satisfying snack before heading home.

To top off the day, Emily fell asleep rather quickly and Angelines and I were able to watch a movie that's been on our list for about a week or so: Pride.  It did not disappoint and I highly reccommend it.  Not even Angelines, who can never seem to resist sleeping through TV programs and/or movies stayed wide awake through this one.  It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

I went back to work today perhaps not very rested physically, but certainly psychologically rejuvenated.

 

Mamá and Em going down one of the smaller slides.

Our delicious post-park snack. :)

Follow up

I thought you all deserved a quick follow-up blog. I'm back in the 21st century.  As Murphy's Law would have it, as soon as I broke down and ordered my new replacement phone, my old one came back from the dead!  Angelines has a pretty junky phone that drives her crazy so I graciously gave her the one I had just ordered and have happily kept my old phone.  It's good to be back "online".

And other news...

This weekend we're finally getting around to celebrating our "holiday office dinner".  "Business meals" (comidas de empresa, as they're called in Spain) are quite common during the holidays.  Virtually all companies get together for a holiday meal, similar to holiday office parties in the States.  However, in a typically Spanish way, these get-togethers are all about eating (and often drinking, too). ;)

This year, Angelines was inspired to have a comida de empresa of our own, but for various reasons we haven't been able to do it until this weekend.  So tomorrow all of us--Angelines's two main employees during the Christmas season, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and myself (the cleaning crew)--are all going out for lunch.  It promises to be a good time for all.  A change from the regular weekend schedule is always welcome in any case.

And Emily is the most fun and interesting news around here.  She is walking like a little pro, although she's taken a few good falls lately.  At any given moment, she'll grab your hand, walk you to the door and point, shouting "ehhh, EHHH!" emphatically.  She LOVES being out and about exploring.  Going to the park is a favorite.  She likes the swings and she loves picking up strange odds and ends (leaves, rocks, cigarette butts, garbage...dog poop...) on the way there.  Much to her shagrin, we most often don't let her actually get ahold of these treasures; but she just agreeably continues to amble along until she finds another something interesting that catches her eye and bends down to try her luck at actually grabbing it. She is not easily deterred from an idea. (Don't know where she gets that from!) ;)

It is also incredible to realize how much she understands these days.  She still isn't talking, per se, but she certainly knows exactly what's going on around her and is also quite good at making her own desires understood.  She's an expert pointer.  She has several great gestures: palms up = where is it?, finger to lips = be quiet or someone is sleeping, holds nose = she's pooped or someone's farted or the dog is going to the bathroom, hand to the forehead = something's been dropped, smacks lips = I'm hungry.  It's incredible to watch how she learns and changes daily.

Best of all is that I can see her becoming bilingual.  Yes, it's hard, but I really do speak to her nearly exclusively in English.  At home I speak English almost always unless we're playing with mamá, and even outside the home I use English as much as I deem polite to use in non-English speaking company.  Anyway, she responds equally to English and Spanish comands and/or questions.  In the video below you can see her showing off her English.  She knows most of the parts of the face in English and Spanish.  You can ask her, "Where's your nose?" or "Dónde tienes la nariz" and get the same response.  The most amazing thing is that there have been times when I really can't remember having "taught" or even really used an English word with her, and all the same when I say it, she responds correctly--thrilling.  I cannot wait for her to really begin talking.

With that I'll leave you to the video. ;)

Bilingual Baby :)

Here she is, everyone: my brilliant daughter.  My mom took this video on one of our skype calls. :)  We don't do it in this here, but if I ask her any of these things in Spanish, her response is the same.  It's amazing how much she understands at just 15 months.  I am constantly amazed by her...and suspect I will be more and more so as she grows.  She still isn't really saying anything although she does order Bela to "sit". :)  She loves throwing rocks or balls for the dog and, of course, we always ask her to "sit" first.

Enjoy the video:

No Phone

I am not someone who is by any means addicted to my phone; but still, I cannot help feeling something akin to mourning for my slim, black, Motorola G that seems to be permanently malfunctioning since it took the plunge from my back pocket into the toilet Tuesday evening between classes at work.  I hate that an innanimate object can make me feel this way, especially since I pride myself on being independant of my mobile phone. 

Truth is, I am probably one of the few people in the modern world who could lose access to her smartphone's "smart" functions for more than 24 hours and not go insane!  I am not one of those people who is constantly looking at her phone, or discreetly answering a Whatsapp message when in the midst of a conversation with a "real" person.  I don't have facebook on my phone. I have a minimum of apps downloaded.  The most used function on my mobile is probably my camera, but for that I have a great new digital camera just over a year old that takes outstanding photos.  So what is it?

The most annoying thing is that my phone just seems to have lost sensibility--it doesn't recognize my touch.  It turns on, off, has a great picture on screen...but I cannot do a single thing with it because it won't recognize my fingers' touch.  Somehow I think I would feel better about things if I had some real buttons to push (or perhaps pound on), but as is I just sit there stroking my phone like someone trying to resucitate a small dead animal!

And what is it that makes me miss my phone's pressence as if had a personality of its own?  The answer, in my opinion might have tinges of science fiction, but I am affraid it is very true.  Technology has become so overwhelmingly important in our lives today that many people sadly spend more time with their phones than with their friends and often even family.  Our self-images are becoming more and more digitalized.  We strive to be original in our profile pictures; we update the backdrop on our phones, personalize ring-tones, and make all manner of small changes so that these little handheld devices of ours begin to refelect who we are or who we want people to think we are.  Losing a phone is like losing a part of ourselves because we have poured so much of our time into making them more than just a device for communication. 

In my case, as I've said, I have fewer technological ties to my phone.  Usually I can't be bothered to do things like personalize ring-tones, nor do I often change my backdrop photo or profile pictures.  All the same, smartphones help us reach a level of communication, or maybe availability for communication, that would otherwise be impossible, even with computers.  With a smartphone we really are 100% connected to the world via internet 100% of the time.  There are drawbacks, of course, but there are great advatages.  What I miss the most by far is the chat group that my family has on Whatsapp.  I miss the witty quips back and forth with my sisters, my mom's pictures and silly emoticons, and my dad's typically taciturn but spot-on observations of the goings on of the women in the family.

So while I am still resentful of my feelings of loss over this little bit of technology, I guess I can be comforted by the reasons behind the feeling afterall.  It's not some digital narcisism, but love of family that makes me miss my phone more than anything else.

January Re-cap

The three stooges on a walk :)

Oh dear...how has an entire month gone by without a word from me?  It's embarrassing to admit that my first post of 2016 is on February 4th!

Before I begin back-blogging, today is Emily's monthday: 15 months and she is up and running.   Although she technically took her first solo steps before my parents' visit, it wasn't until the end of their time here that she really started walking alone.  And just in the past two or three days she has become so confident that she'll brush our hands away when we try to hold on to her.

It really is amazing to see how quickly babies change at this age.  She is developing so quickly it's ming-boggling.  Of course physical changes like being able to walk and practically run, are most obvious, but it is incredible, too to see just how much she understands of what we say: Spanish or English.  She knows exactly what's going on and is watching every little move we make.

Okay, now for the re-cap of Januaray:

The holidays were a blur.  As I mentioned in my New Year's Eve post, this year was busier than past years--I take it as a very good sign for this new year.  Although we weren't starting from zero when we opened Pub California, it really is a totally different place/venue from the old bar.  We never used to have concerts, the locale itself is bigger, it's much more modern and far better deccorrated; it's a whole different feel.  We have maintained our clientel, but I think we've also gained some new customers. 

They say that a new business needs three years to get stabilized and really begin turning a profit.  This past October was three years at the new place and maybe it's just coincidence, but as I say, this holiday season was the best we've ever seen by far. :)  I am hoping that this is proof of successful business management and evidence that people are able to recognize a good thing when they see it. ;)  Needless to say I have high hopes for 2016.

Emily got snuggled into our rental home's armoire right away.

But with all the craziness of Christmas, New Year and King's Day, there wasn't a lot of relaxing that happend over the winter holiday.  Thankfully, my parents treated us to a lovely four days vacation in Cádiz the second weekend in January.  Angelines closed the bar for some much needed R&R and rest and relax is exactly what we did in Caños de Meca a small coastal village about 2 hours from La Roda.

The beaches in Cádiz are world famous and for good reason: fine white sand stretches for miles along the beautiful turquoise waters of the Atlantic Ocean.  We were on the Western side of Gibralter.  The geography is really quite spectacular because there are beautiful pine forests practically right up to the beach so there is a lot of variety for hikes and easy walking.  Bela came with us too, of course, and so we were especially thankful for the many natural areas to explore with a dog.

This was the beach not half a mile from our rental house.

Aside from short excursions from our rental casa rural (the Torre de Meca, Trafalgar lighthouse), we also explored the nearby ruins of the Roman city Claudia Baelo at Bolonia, another small village along the coast of Cádiz.  Another day we spent exploring a still functioning Roman aqueduct in Santa Lucia and feasting on truly gourmet cuisine in Vejer de la Frontera.  It was a fantastic vacation and just what the doctor ordered after what can only be described as a stressful holiday season.  We came back to La Roda refreshed and ready to get back to our schedule.

Our trip to Cádiz, was unfortunately the beginning of the end of my parents' time here, however.  Their three-month visit last year for Emily's birth will make all successive visits seem incredibly short; and sure enough, their three weeks here this year flew by before we knew it.  I do think, nonetheless, that we were able to take full advantage of our time together.  I was working for the last week and a half they were here, but that provided extra bonding time with Emily, since I think Angelines was happy to have the live-in help. ;)

It is true that after having lived here for three months (that's as much time as a college foreign exchange!), my parents really have an idea of what our life is like and how to fit right in.  The fact that they have both continued studying Spanish was especially helpful this time, and although I am a bit of a brat in terms of helping them with their studies, I could immediately tell how much both of them had improved in the year they'd been home.  I am pleased to report that even they could tell a difference in their level of comprehension and ability to communicate; so often others can see our improvements when we are only blinded by our faults.

The remainder of January was relatively uneventful.  The weather was fantastic on our holiday and although the temperatures have gone down some and it has rained once or twice, we are still having an amazingly mild winter.  Just two days ago it was 27º C mid-day (that's eighties F!).  It's a bit frightening to think what July and August will be like if these trends continue, but it certainly was pleasant to have such perfect, warm, sunny days while on holiday.

I'll leave you with some pictures from our trip--hard to choose just a few! 

Artistic selfie on one of our walks near "home"

Em and Grandma looking for shells and playing in the waves at Bolonia

Cool "painting" setting on my camera: Trafalgar lighthouse

Grandma and Grandpa enjoying the view of Vejer

Happy family :)

...And this is why my mother is Emily's new favorite! ;)