We saw the new year in with the extended faimly. The photo is my son, going mad with what the Spanish call “mother-in-law killers”. They always have fireworks here at New Year. We weren’t very close to any displays, but the house is built on the side of a hill, and we could see lots of displays from a distance: La Polvacera, San António, Zumacal, Santa Cruz, Concepción, Palmasol, and…
Inocente, inocente
No, that’s not a spelling mistake, it’s Spanish. December 28th is Holy Innocents’ Day, when the Catholic church remembers the babies slaughtered by King Herod. There’s a long tradition of pulling people’s legs, much like April Fool’s Day in England. I forgot all about it, until my friend’s kid mentioned it in the evening. So when I went home, I decided to tease my husband, Carlos. He’s 51, but looks…
King Kong
This is my son, Julio, with two of his Christmas presents, karate clothes (he’s been doing karate for three months) and enormous King Kong gloves. In Spain the big party is Christmas Eve, and we went next-door-but-one to my brother-in-law and family. We had a nice meal and chatted until midnight when we found that Father Christmas had left presents under the tree for us. Julio got a microscope, my…
Identity
This is my id card on the left, and this is a recent photo of me on the right. Quite a difference wouldn’t you say? The dreadful photo on the left is the one on my id card. It was taken three years ago, when I finally managed to get out of the house after having a broken shoulder and broken ankle at the same time. I couldn’t use crutches…
We Wish You a Messy Christmas
A friend just emailed photos of the decorations in her house. My goodness, her living room is tidy! Mine always looks like a tornado just passed through. Several years ago, one of my friend’s got burgled and of course the police came round. One officer said sympathetically, “My goodness, they made a mess, didn’t they?” She had to admit that she hadn’t even noticed anything odd until she tried to…
The singing cereal box
It’s been a busy weekend. I put the Christmas tree up in the living room, and the little Nativity scene in the hall. Julio had a ton of homework that had to be supervised. On Saturday afternoon Julio went to the observatory kids’ Christmas party and had a great time. We got home at 8:15 and I went straight back out again to meet my friend Norma in town. Then…