We arrived in Zahara the day of the virgen just as we did last year, and of course the virgen was out in the streets with an entourage that was formidable. Her name is Carmen – and how appropriate that Tin’s summer love was Carmen as well. Meanwhile, we took an excursion to Cadiz and arrived the day before Spain was celebrating its patron saint, Santiago. We hit upon a reenactment of the saint procession…
If you have not read A Woman In Berlin by Anonymous then drop what you are doing right this minute and order it and read it. The author is believed to be the investigative reporter, Marta Hiller, and her capture of the plight of German women left to deal with the Russian soldiers as they invaded Berlin is gripping, insightful, and unflinching.
Tin’s horoscope said as a pisces he would encounter a profound love interest and not to let himself get too stuck. Well then there was Carmen – or rather Carrrrrrr mennnnn, the vixen – the first of his cougar girlfriends to actually rebuff him, that is up until he met the trio of blonde, brunette and redhead girlies of a similar age (6) on the same day he thought Carmen was headed to Italy so…
The survey that I put up before I left for Spain sent me results that were interesting. Here is a sample – I will collect the rest later: 30 people started the survey, 22 completed it. 48.3% said that life was better than they had expected, 37.9% said it was more challenging. 51.7% put love over anything, while 41.4% said health mattered most. 41.4% were somewhat close to living their dream, while 27.6% hit nirvana…
Anna – “When we sold the house in France, I cried and cried and cried, till I ran out of tears. Then I said I would never cry over a brick again in my life.” Sonia – “Mi abuela, que le encanta ginebra, dice siempre que la agua es para ranas.” [my grandmother, who loved gin, always said that water is for frogs] Felipe – “Cutting your hair is like getting a tattoo, you can’t…
I loaded up my Ipod with Ram Dass, playlists for the beach and summer, and several children’s books on tape for Tin and forgot the damn thing here in New Orleans. No matter, Tin was able to be our musical and comedic entertainment for the entire trip.
Tin was handed a toy clarinet by friends Alejandro and Ivan in Madrid and within minutes found a street band to join – a group of Romas – later in Zahara, a friend called Tin a gypsy performer – very fitting.
We’re headed across the pond to unplug and recharge. While gone, I have crafted this survey to check in with you and see where you are at this point in life. Please take a few minutes to answer the questions in this survey, it’s totally anonymous, and I will share the results when I return. Bon voyage!
I was plunging into my to do list today that made it seem like someone had turned up the treadmill by about 1000 notches. Seriously. I couldn’t catch my breath because the big rock on my chest felt like a boulder that an elephant was sitting on. Victory lap – there is a good chance I will be able to refinance the house (check), I was able to use a free ticket for an upcoming…