Norte

 When Bela died, I thought it would be a long time before we were ready to have another dog in our family.  The pain was too raw, too fresh and she was and is irreplaceable, for sure.  Still, our routine was totally thrown off when suddenly we weren't going for our twice daily walks; and although not having a dog was (I am ashamed to even admit it in writing) liberating to some extent, all three of us were in need of canine company.

Toward the end of my Christmas vacation we began talking seriously about getting another dog.  At first we thought maybe we'd adopt an older dog to avoid the hassle of puppyhood...but the more I looked online and the more we thought about it, the more it felt as though getting a big dog, would actually feel like trying to replace Bela--it would be like putting a band-aid on a gaping wound.

We decided that a puppy would ultimately adjust better to our family because it would really be a part of the family rather than ours just being another home.  Don't get me wrong.  I am all for adopting animals and I know plenty of people who have adopted great pets.  I love the idea of giving abandoned animals a second chance in life, but it can be risky to a certain extent.  You don't know the animal's history or what might trigger agressive behaviour (towards humans or other animals), and with a small child, we decided that risk was too great.  Besides, getting a puppy would mean that it would grow up with Emily.  Bela was great with Emily, but she sort of treated her like a piece of furniture: she was totally indifferent to her presence.  A dog that grows up with Emily will ultimately be a better friend and companion for her.

So at the beginning of January the search for a puppy began...

We wanted another lab, but decided that we would get a completely different dog from Bela: a yellow male.  Little Norte (we vetoed Emily's name ideas: "Mari Paz", "Cocodrila", "Prince Tree") came home with us on January 11th.  He's almost three months old now, but it turns out that even though he'd had his first shot before we bought him, the breeder had given him such a bare bones vaccination that he may as well not have had it at all!  That means we still cannot take him out on walks where he'll be in contact with other dogs because he's highly suceptible to viruses that are common among grown dogs and can be fatal for puppies.  We gave him his first "real" shot on Wed, because he had a bout of diarrhea after we first brought him home and we didn't want to overload his little system.  As it is it'll be nearly March before we can take him on walks because his little body takes about 15 days to build up the immunity after the shot and he needs still another one before he's all covered!

Thankfully, he's a very agreeable and fairly calm little fellow.  Of course, as he gets older he's going to need to spend that puppy energy...so I think we'll be just very narrowly avoiding disaster with his vaccination schedule.  At four months we'll finally be able to wear him out among the olive trees. :)  For now, though he's happy to be inside and really spends most of his time sleeping on his bed.  He has a few toys and so far limits himself to playing/chewing them.  And after just two or three days of mopping up puppy pee in the house, he's learned to go outside in the patio.  I am only a little worried that because he needs to be quarantiened for so long that he'll develop the unbreakable habbit of taking care of his "business" in the patio--yuck! :(

Emily was a little luke warm about Norte at first because puppies are so different from adult dogs and he has very sharp teeth and claws. If he nipped at her or her things she'd begin to cry saying, "I want a big dog!  I don't want a puppy!"... but she's warming up to him now and learning to be patient and also assertive with him when he bites her ballet tutús. ;)  This will be a good experience for her, and I know that in the end Norte is going to be a really great buddy.  So there you have it.  We are officially, once again, a family of four. :)

Christmas Vacation

Emily was pretty into it.

I am pleased to say that I feel I've been doing a pretty good job of balancing things this vacation.  My time off is drawing to an end...Monday I'll be back at work, but I've got some good work done (nearly all caught up) and also managed to have lots of play time.

 The Thursday after Christmas I finally got the gingerbread made. :)  I had really been looking forward to making and decorating cookies with Emily this year because I was sure she'd be into it.  And to make the event more fun/festive, I invited our young cousins to come over too.  In the end there were a total of six kids ranging from 3-12.  Thankfully, Angelines' cousin decided to stay and help maintain order because it was a little bit crazy with  dough-rolling, cookie cutting, hot cookie sheets in and out of the oven, decorating, etc.  We had a nice evening and when the kids got tired of decorating, Sonia and I did a few ourselves while the cousins turned off the lights in the living room, dug into Emily's new dress-up box and had a dance party with flashlights! :) 

New Year's was a crazy rush for Angelines as it is every year, which means that for Emily, abuelita and I there was plenty of cleaning to be done.  We had New Year's Eve dinner at my sister-in-law's house as we have now for the past four or five years.  This year it was just our two families and abuelita, though.  It was a small gathering, but I think that made for a nice, more relaxing evening.  At 11:59pm, Emily dragged her tita into the bathroom with her and so tita Toñi missed the grapes thanks to Emily's timely bowls! 

In fact, we all missed the traditional twelve grapes that are eaten with the tweleve strokes of midnight on New Year's Eve to usher in the New Year!  We had the TV on a channel we don't usually watch and they did some weird electronic boing sound with each second, rather that bell tolls...  We all just sat there wondering what was happening until about the seventh boing, we realized we were behind and started cramming grapes in our mouths like crazy!  I'm not sure how that bodes for the new year... ;)

I interupted the dance party for a picture. :)

Angelines ended the "night" at 9am.  Needless to say we were all glad when Tuesday, January 2nd rolled around!  We spent the day being at home and relaxing, but then headed out in the evening to see the Christmas lights in Puente Genil. 

Emily has taken to not napping.  Or perhaps I should rephrase that, I have decided to stop wearing her to sleep in the middle of the day.  Since she was a little baby, I've put her in the back pack and nursed her to sleep for her nap.  She is quite heavy now and so partially for my back's sake and partially as a step toward weening, I have decided not to use the back pack anymore.  This means, however that afternoon naps are out the window.

Cousin love on New Year's Eve

We are making a switch to "quiet time" (my mom will laugh at that inherited tradition) during which we read and stretch or chat in the bedroom and try to generally relax and be quiet.  She doesn't fall asleep though...  This means that come 8pm she is so tired that everything provokes tears.  It hasn't been much fun, but it is true that getting her to sleep around 9:00-9:30 gives A and I lots of time to ourselves before heading to bed.  Last night we watched a whole movie (without falling asleep) and were still in bed by 11pm!

Yesterday was our last full day together as a family before I head back to work because Angelines is working today (Thursday).  We woke up and despite cloudy skies in La Roda, decided to head to the beach.  Abuelita came along too.  On the coast it was sunny and warm without even a wisp of a breeze--a perfect day.  We brought along Emily's bike and strolled along the waterfront for about half an hour then played in the sand and waves and had a seafood lunch.  It was wonderful to get out of Dodge for a bit and abuelita was so happy to have a day out with her granddaughter even if she couldn't play in the sand or wade. :)

Today Angelines wasn't planning to open, but rain is predicted for tomorrow and Saturday which means that the city decided to move the King's Day parade up to the 4th of January.  This year the parade started on abuelita's street so after "quiet time" we went over there to be pelted by candies thrown from the floats and watch the Kings go by.    It's such a terrible waste because more than half of it just gets swept up by the street sweepers that go behind the parade.  Emily was pretty excited about the candy though; I tried to see it through her eyes. ;)

Christmas lights

Little cyclist

What a beautiful family I have!

Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas. Santa made a visit to our house last night and left some real treasures for Emily: a dress-up chest to keep all her tutús and fancy clothes in, a PlayMobile doll house, a basket for her bicycle, some yellow (her favorite color!) tights and a few other treasures.  She's been playing all morning.  The gilttery shirt/dress was something my mom brought over here for her, but didn't get a chance to give...so Santa took advantage to "give" a little something extra in her dress-up box. ;)

Christmas has been really nice this year.  Last night, Christmas Eve, my mother-in-law was the only one to come over and eat with us.  She arrived around 4:30 in the afternoon, just right after Emily had gone down for her nap and so ended up sweeping my whole patio looking for things to keep herself busy (bless her, she cannot hold still!) until her granddaughter woke up.

When Emily did wake up, they headed out to the park and then abuelita and Emily entertained themselves in the living room for the remainder of the evening while I got dinner ready and whished a Merry Christmas to several friends on the phone.  I was even able to chat with my dear Miriam for about an hour and a half.  It was wonderful to be able to get things ready with no rush and without Emily getting her hands into everything.  I was so inspired, I even decided to whip up some brownies for dessert...at that point Emily came into the kitchen and when she saw the bowl of batter, there was no way she'd go back to the living room with abuelita! ;)

Angelines came home for dinner around 10 o'clock and then stayed home.  In past years, you may remember that she has a shower and heads back to open for the night...but Christmas eve night is not such a big bar night as New Year's Eve and for the past few years she's been saying that it's not worth it to open and "next" year she'll close. This was finally the year.  I set the table with our good china and we had a lovely salmon dinner with mashed potatoes and veggies accompanied by the customary jamón and cheese.  There were brownies and whipped cream for dessert.  Delicious.

This morning was especially fun since Angelines had been able to get to bed "early" and so wasn't totally exhausted.  She was really able to enjoy the magic of discovering gifts under the tree and in stockings with Emily. :)  We played for a while then had breakfast and headed to the bar to clean up before making our way to Tita Toñi's house for Christmas day lunch--another seasonal tradition.

Now I'm getting a few chores done around the house and will probably do a bit of work for my Montessori classes.  I am a bit behind and I need to use these days of vacation to get caught up and so must do a little bit every day or you know what will happen...!  I also want to make gingerbread, but maybe that's not in the cards for today.  We'll see.

It's so wonderful to be on vacation!  I feel like I've needed this break more than I've ever needed a break from work before!  I am basking in this moment of looking ahead to two whole weeks stretching out before me full of possibility... I know that inevitably the time will speed by and I'll be back to work all too soon and probably without having done even half of what I'd like to have done, but for now I am content to sit and contemplate all the many possibilities...and if I feel like just sitting and blogging, that's a perfectly wonderful way to spend an afternoon as well!

Memories...

Some of you will remember this video.  Bela was just a year old here... We cried when we took that snowman out of the Christmas box this year.

A Prayer for Bela-Rooskie

For three weeks I've had writer's block... but not for lack of things to share.  November 30th our dog, our first baby, Bela, died.  I haven't been able to write about it; but writing about anything else seemed like ignoring the elephant in the room and a disservice to her importance in our home.

She's left a huge hole in our hearts and home.  I tear up when I throw away the cheese rinds I would normally have given to her, my schedule still feels strange without two daily walks; and when I do get out to the campo I swear I can see her running through the trees just ahead of me--I expect her to come panting up to me with her pink tongue hanging out, her Dobby ears pulled back in little half moons on either side of her head and her lips curled up almost into a smile.

I cannot push the button to open the garage door without remembering how she'd wriggle out before it was even a foot open to come bounding out and greet the car.  I expect to see her spread out in the sunny spots of the lawn on nice days and when I get up at night for a drink, I still automatically look to her corner by the fire hoping to see her curled into a sleeping ball.

We are very slowly beginning to heal.  She was hit by a train.  I am comforted slightly knowing that it was very quick and I'm sure she didn't suffer at all.  Angelines and I burried her by the tracks, something for which I am also very grateful because we have a place near home to be able to visit and mourn.  She was such an extraordinary dog that even other people have taken flowers to her grave.

This has been Emily's first introduction to death and it's been very interesting to watch her go through the mourning process.  We told her right away that Bela had died.  I am not a fan of those who hide death from kids with euphemisms or avoid the subject altogether.  She spent the first days saying that she missed Bela and asking where she was and why she wasn't in her house.  Then she started calling herself "heaven" and many of her animals die and are burried under blankets.  She happily declares that they're dead and then says she's visiting the grave and taking flowers...  She still gets sad, like we all do.

I am amazed by how deep her feelings are and how well she expresses herself.  The day after Bela died, we took Emily to put flowers on her grave and say "good bye".  She didn't want to say good bye, of course and I think was a little confused by the pile of rocks we were calling Bela; but before we left she bent down and gently stroked one of the larger stones saying, "Goodnight, Bela. Goodnight".  And then as we held hands on the way home she stopped and said, "I don't like missing Bela."  "Neither do I," was all I could answer.

Today I was going back through old blog posts and looking at videos and pictures from when Bela was a puppy.  I don't like missing her, but it feels good to remember all the wonderful times we had together and the pure joy and energy she brought to the home.

We love you Bela.  I will always remember you like this:

Emily was "painting" Bela's "fingernails" with chalk!

My girls: ready for adventure

Last year in the snow...

At Home

So as you've seen, our exchange student's stay has been a great excuse to get out and about sight seeing, but there have also been some changes on the home front.  Most notably, the addition of a new car to the family!  Yes, we now have two vehicles.  For some time now we have been considering the convenience of being a two-car family, but living in such a small town it seemed excessive to my mind.  Plus you have to think of expenses like maintenence and insurance, etc. 

Anyway, we had been holding out; but as winter draws nearer (short days and the posibility of a little rain) having another car for when one of us is at work really began to feel like a necessity.  Angelines especially wanted another car to be able to ferry her mother to and from the house--she has a very bad knee and shouldn't walk so much, but is a help in the afternoons when Emily and Angelines are home alone.  It will also be really nice for me on weekends because this way Em and I can go exploring without inconveniencing Mamá (in the past she'd have to ride her bike home at 3 or 4 in the morning!).   

We are pleased with the purchase: a four-door, five-seat, 2001, Citroen Xara.  It's bigger than we were originally looking for and the price was slightly over what we wanted to pay, but it's in very good condition with only 150.000 km.  Angelines knows several people who have the same car and are constantly singing its praises, so it is also supposedly bomb-proof.  So far, so good. ;)

Aside from the big purchase of our second car, we've been stocking up on and stacking firewood.  Every year we get caught mid-winter with no wood for the fireplace and so have to buy green wood from this year's olive trimming...yuck.  The green wood doesn't burn well, as you know, and also really gunks up the fireplace.  So we've bought three cartloads of wood this year plus what was leftover from last year's mid-season purchase.  We have A LOT of wood.  Being the good little mountain girl that I am, I set to stacking it neatly...no small task when you're talking about uneven, usually round olive branches/trunks as opposed to neatly split pine or fir!  I was so pleased with my work that I decided to take a picture, because I knew that my dad especially would approve.  So here it is:

 

Emily saw the camera and jumped in the pic. ;)  Yes, she's wearing a tutu on her head. 

Now the question is, "Winter, where are you??"  The nights are getting chilly and we've got frost a few times, but day time temps are still quite often reaching the low 80's!  ...And we have yet to have a good rain. :(  But Spanish homes are extremely unequipped for cold and so even when it's warm outside, the house remains cold.  We have been lighting the fireplace nearly every night for a little over a week now.  I'm sure we won't regret having stocked up on firewood.

Granada

I'm a bit behind with posting (surprise, surprise...), but here I am diligently back-blogging and playing catch up as it seems I am with every other area of my life at the moment.  Work has been crazy, perhaps I'll get to that in another post.  For now, however, I would just like to focus on the wonderful, beautiful day we had in Granada two weeks ago.

Our cousin Montse came along, too!

The day after Emily's birthday we had booked tickets to see the Alhambra, it's become such an attraction that even in the low tourist season you must book several weeks in advance because there's just no way to get day-of tickets unless you're in line at 6am (out of the question in our situation).  This was actually Natalie's second trip to Granada since we went once in October naievely believing that we'd be able to get into the Nazari Palaces arriving at the ticket booth around 12am.  That day we ended up just enjoying the city, getting ice cream in the center, tea at a typical tea house, and souvenir shopping in the medina next to the cathedral.  It wasn't a wasted day by any means and in fact it meant that this second visit was less rushed (to an extent).

Saturday night had been unexpectedly crazy at the bar and Anglienes got to bed around 6am!  We woke up early and even Natalie came to clean with us, but it was so filthy that we took much longer than expected.  Angelines, having fallen asleep so late/early, also over-slept some and so by the time we got out of the house we were about 40min behind schedule. 

View of the Alhambra from the Albayzín.

Our plan was to mean up with my host family from Granada.  Their American student was away for the weekend and so they had no obligations at home.  I had hoped to have tapas and wander around a bit with them before heading to the Alhambra for our scheduled entrance to the palaces at 5:00.  However, my plan was thrown off course somewhat, when I decided to check in at the ticket booth to get our tickets printed (the ones I'd printed online had got water spilled on them in the car!).  The woman informed me that the entire Alhambra closes at 6 and so we needed to be there sooner if we wanted to see the gardens of the Generalife and the Alcazaba. :(  That mean we had precious little time to eat and be with my family because we didn't end up meeting up with them until around 1 o'clock.

Our lunch was a little rushed and in the end we had to go quite quickly through the Generalife and skip the Alcazaba altogether, but every minute with the family was 100% worth it for me, and I think Natalie wasn't too disappointed to miss the Alcazaba (it's the least impressive in my opinion--just some great views of Granada).  I hadn't seen Isa, Baldo or either of the boys since last March!  "Little" Isa is home now from a year living and working in Czech Republic and we met up with her on our first visit to Granada in October.  This time she brought along her boyfriend. :)  They were all duely impressed with our little Emily, and she in turn was very impressed with Fernando's ponytail and Antonio's long dreds.  That evening back at home she began calling herself "Princess Fernando".

As I mentioned, our table talk over lunch was cut short and I was sorry to say goodbye so soon.  I think though that little Isa is planning a surprise for her mother now that she has a driver's licence and is going to just put her in the car one day without telling her where they're going then show up here in La Roda.  I think it's a fantastic idea!  We hugged and kissed and said (as always) that we really must see each other more often.  Then we hit the narrow cobbled streets of the Albayzín heading downhill to the center to catch a bus back up to the Alhambra (you can only walk so much with the whole family in tow).  On our way down the hill I realized I hadn't taken a single picture with my family!

Emily and Montse LOVED the fountains.

With the time change the sun goes down so much sooner.  The wind was picking up as we waited in line for the palaces and we were thankful we'd brought our coats.  This was the first time I'd been back into the Alhambra since my exchange.  I think I went around ten times that one year, but I haven't been back since--it was as amazing as I remembered it and more.  They've, of course, continued to do so much restoration on the plaster work, painting and wood work.  The Patio de los Leones was running and I'm pretty sure that wasn't the case on my exchange, in fact, I think on one of my visits the lions were "fakes" as the real ones were being restored. 

 

I had a great time pointing our the shapes and colors to Emily, showing her the intricate tile and woodwork and marvelling at the architecture.  She was most impressed by the Generalife gardens since she loves to smell flowers.  We walked into the Patio de la Acequia and she just took a deep breath through her nose and sighed. :)  Indeed, the moors planted their patios with all kinds of aromatic herbs and flowers to make them a sanctuary for the senses.  Once again, visiting with Emily was a whole new experience.

All of us, especially Angelines were worn out by the end of the day, but poor mama came home and had to go to work at the bar.  The rest of us climed into our PJ's grubbed up some dinner and went to bed early.

Typical Islamic geometric decorations...the center of the star has been replaced by Emperor Carlos V emblem "Plus Ultra"

The time of day made for amazing shadows through the celosías (decorative window shutters).

I don't remember so much painting.  They've been restoring this little by little--amazingly intricate.

 

Is it any wonder this city stole my heart?