Back to regular life

That's such a dumb thing to say; the title of this post. I'm still not sure what regular life is.

I am so happy to be re-united with my children, and to have had a really good Thanksgiving break with them. Luckily, they had the whole week off from school. I worked a few days at my new job, and we spent some time at my Dad's farm. The girls also got to have some days and nights with Grandma here in town. All in all, a good break, with much for which to be thankful.



My own life has taken yet another change of course, which is a job working at a wonderful fine craft store. I am surrounded by such beauty, and it is all hand-made art. The women who own the store/gallery (there are 5) and the other women who work with me are all really great women too. I see some potential for several new friendships.



I miss so much about having Sarah in my life, and one of the things I miss most is the art stuff we did together. We were a GREAT team. It was always, "Hey, I have an idea!" and "how about this?" and "how about that?" We always made a really good final product, whatever we were doing. I have felt like I'm only half of an artist in the last 4 1/2 months. I don't have her here to bounce ideas back and forth, and to create with.



So, although it's very new, and these women of course aren't Sarah (although one of them does happen to be her Mom), I am trying to feel positive about the possibilities of being in this atmosphere, with these women. I really hope they'll still need me after the holiday crunch.



I did force myself to do a piece of art though, this week. A lady purchased a gift certificate at an auction, which I had donated. It was for a portrait - in pencil. I HAD to do it. The lady sent me the photo from which to work, and it appeared to be a grandma holding a baby. Somehow, I had a feeling about the situation, and it turned out to be true. When she picked it up today, the lady who bought the drawing, was not the one in the photo. The woman in the photo was her sister, who had died. She was holding her grandson, whom she would not get to see grow up, past 2. When the buyer opened the cover of the drawing, she gasped and through the lump in her throat, said, "Oh, you got her!"



This makes it worthwhile for me. When the people are touched by my work, because it means something very personal to them, that makes me happy. I've even had one of my drawings etched into a memorial stone. So sadly, this was a baby who died about a year after I did his portrait. Talk about humbling...



One of these days, I'll do a drawing or painting of Sarah. Maybe it will be a tiny comfort to me or someone else. Certainly, the many portraits she did of me and my family are precious to me.



Finally, as this post has turned into a bit of a sad one, I'll conclude by telling about going to a funeral visitation this evening. I hate going to these. I really do. By the way, for anyone's future reference, I do not prefer to be looked at while I'm dead. Please just look at beautiful pictures of me. Anyway, I went to honor my family's friend of 40 years. She was my Dad's nurse. (He was a general practitioner in a small town, and she was the nurse in his clinic.) But oh my, was she more than that. I met her somewhere between 1 and 2 years old, so of course, I have no memory of life without Mary. She was a constant, for me. She understood me. She was solid and very, very good. Her life is a reminder to me that ALL little things that we do for others matter.
Be at peace, Mary. I will miss you.

Home...

We're back. A little too tired to give details right now, but all went well. I'll post later about all I'm thankful for, because there is a lot. For now, just so happy to be with my kiddos, and to go to sleep.

Day #12

Complete travel day. Boring.
cab to train station
train to Madrid
cab to airport
plane to London

Just trying to get home to my babies. I've had enough now.

Oh, one last funny Spanish language mistake: today Bald Man realized that while ordering the previous evening's dinner, he was trying to get us a seafood paella, and instead ordered a butterfly paella! That would have been very delicate...

Day #11

Well, I had to sleep in pretty late, as I started a book at about 11:30 p.m. and read the whole thing. (about 450 pages) Anyway, I did make something out of my day. The bald man worked all morning and afternoon, then around 3:00 we were free to do our last day of touristing in Valencia. We went to the modern art museum, which was fine, but I like some that we have in the US better.
Then we walked to the old city gates. Liza Manelli! are those things huge! I couldn't get it across in the photos. But suffice to say, I was nervous and dizzy. Again, I remained brave and faced the things that were definitely too big. They are two towers and an entrance gate/door which used to be part of the whole wall that surrounded the city, and were built in 1444. The holes in them are made by cannon fire from France in 1808.

We walked around the Plaza la Reina some more and found another church to go into. Mass was going on. Of course, no photos, but it was awe-inspiring, to say the least. It almost made me just say, "Okay, I'll be Catholic!" Interesting history here: first Roman (founded in 132 B.C.), then Visogoth, Christian, Muslim, Christian, Muslim, Christian. (or close to that) The architecture of course, has all of these elements.

We were then inspired to eat some paella (obligatory, in Spain) and finished off in a chocolateria (one of my new favorite words) with churros (these light fried long doughnut things) and traditional drinking chocolate to dip them in! Oh my. It was like really good Hershey's syrup, straight and hot. One more thing that actually made me dizzy, but in an okay way.

Night-night.

Day #10

Not many photos from today, but several things to report.
Fears confronted:

• possibility of seeing rodents on sidewalks
• being near things that are "too big" (this is a weird phobia thing I have - things like the Statue of Liberty make me a little freaked out and dizzy)
• walking alone in a city not knowing the language
• ordering lunch in Spanish
• getting through the 10th day without my kiddos beside me
• heights
• walking on glass floors
• vertigo
• being in tiny bathroom stalls that are completely enclosed - granite floor, ceiling and walls, stainless steel door - NO GAPS ANYWHERE
  

Purposes for taking trip/lessons reinforced:

• Being away from kids has positive growth value
• Being alone with Bald Man has positive growth value
• Being out of country - great
• Forcing mind to go in different directions - good exercise (i.e. driving on left!)
• Appreciation of home - my house and U.S.
• Slowing down/ being all alone, breathing/ letting others drive for a while
• Being inspired on several levels

I had an enjoyable time out today ALL BY MYSELF. I saw no rodents, no crazy madmen tried to get me in any way, I did not get lost, I did communicate in Spanish, and I did go through a very huge and extensive museum of science.

Please take note that these gigantic white modern structures are covered in white tile mosaic. I can't imagine people individually sticking down all of those tiles, and I also can't figure out how a machine would do it either. Either way, it's baffling to me. There is so much surface area covered in 1 inch tiles.

A few things I really like here:

• lemons in my coke
• traffic being so "kind" (no one honks, not even cab drivers; car-to-car and car-to-pedestrian interactions are so pleasant and easy-going. I bet people have fewer heart attacks here.)
• Believe it or not...................smaller food portions. Yes, I said it.

One thing I don't like here: (Veggie, if you're reading, stop now! You'll be grossed out.)

• food that's made out of blood
  

Day #9

Full day of exploring! Bald Man began our day with a laugh; instead of asking the cab driver if he was free (esta libre?), he asked if it was a cold day! (an understandable mistake, but funny)

We went back to the market area (from the 1400s), but I was slightly disappointed. The thing was incredible (see photos of fruit, meat and dome), but I was hoping for many booths of local crafts, etc., when in actuality, the booths sold things like socks, underwear and shoes.

Also strolled around several streets worth of shopping, etc. Found a book store, and "yes, they did have some English language books." Just about 5, 3 of which were Harry Potter. Okay, so if forced, I'll read Harry Potter. But I think I won't be forced to stay in the hotel for the next two days while my husband works. I found some different directions to walk. I think I'll be fine.
I will be watching closely for rats, though!

Another happy accident with the language happened at lunch. The bald man was trying to order us a brownie dessert with ice cream to share, and we ended up with the brownie (which had a scoop of some kind of cream on top - very much like butter!) and another dessert of ice cream. Oh well, we managed to eat both.

We tried the local schedule of "quiet time" in the afternoon, which is a fine idea. A nap in the afternoon was great! Who knew? All stores, restaurants, vehicles, everything shuts down in the afternoon, which we kind of knew, but it's really nearly all-inclusive.

Later we spent several hours at the City of Art and Science. Unbelievable architecture. Our whole time was spent in the Oceanagraphic, a whole area of buildings which are aquariums! Many were underground and had tunnels through the "tanks." No good photos from inside, though. Flash is not permitted.

Enjoy the modern/futuristic buildings! I felt like I was in the Star Trek sets.

Day #8

Well, the day began with a walk to the nearest ATM, which is across a couple of streets from our hotel. While standing there getting our money, I saw a rodent. Bald Man says mouse, I say baby rat. It wasn't scared, it didn't run away, it was very fluffy with a big, longish head - probably about 3 inches long-the whole thing. I remained calm, waited for my husband to get the bucks and moved on. It was a weird-looking mouse; a Valencian mouse.

If you know me at all, you know that this was quite an accomplishment for me.

Our hotel, although quite nice inside, is not in the most beautiful part of Valencia, which is a little frustrating for me. It's not safe enough for me to be walking around the area by myself, so I can't just go out exploring while he works. Luckily, we've had these 3 days without him working, and we have one more tomorrow. I'm searching for a book store where I can buy books in English, several. I've already read 3, and numerous magazines.

Anyway, we found some fabulous architecture today, 1400s-1700s-etc. Look closely at the "arch" photo. It seems as though the builders just said, "Hey, guys, over here! Here are some old heads and pediments we can use for fill." Tomorrow, we plan to investigate further - most places were closed today. We also found an old shopping plaza and an open air market that has been in continuous operation as such since the 1400s. Wow.

We walked around a botanical garden which was huge and gorgeous, and it included the greatest children's area. In one photo you'll see some kids riding bikes. But notice their surroundings.........this place has made a very big traffic area for kids - streets, stoplights, everything! Just in small scale. I LOVE THIS! I'm going to take this idea to my own city's parks office. I would have been in absolute Heaven as a kid here, driving my trike or bike all around this pretend city. My kids would love it too! Also, there are orange trees everywhere; not just in the botanical gardens, all along every street - even streets with rodents in them.

Lastly, in a place where English isn't spoken much, signs, etc. are not too often in English, books and magazines are in Spanish, I'm finding it interesting that American music - from all genres, is extremely popular. Tonight at dinner in our hotel restaurant, we heard 50s bop!

Day #7

Better day! I can't help but share some great news. Last night I found out from my Dad that his cancer symptoms are significantly less! Thanks to all who have, and who continue to pray for him!

We wandered in a different direction today, and found better stuff - like the Mediterranean Sea! We did have to get some groceries, and wash our clothes in the bathtub, but even that was fun. Look at the photo of Mr. Clean - he just doesn't seem so strong and tough as "Don Limpio."

The Sea is actually blue, and the sand is fine like baby powder. There are hardly any shells. Well, there might be more, but one would have to wade out into the water, and today, it was pretty chilly. We simply walked and sat on the sand and relaxed - together. This having time with one's spouse thing is really pretty good. He's a nice guy (and I have a bit of a thing for bald.)

We're experiencing a few cultural differences:
women walking on the beach with only bikini bottoms on (don't get too excited...)
general "not smiling and friendly" like we're used to in the US Midwest
one guy sm0king marijuana openly - perhaps legal here?
and the worst thing: asking the front desk person today if there was anything to be done about the continual smoking that's going on on our "non-smoking" floor, and being told that "no, we can't stop anyone from smoking."

Well, we adjust.

Tomorrow, we plan to do a little driving down the coast, so we'll see what that holds.......

Day #6a

Example of bald man's fabulous Spanish skills:

excessive cigarette smoke in the hallway coming under our door
us getting nauseous from it
bald man calling front desk for help
man from front desk promptly bringing us up an ashtray

We opened our window.

Day #6

What a strange day for me. I think I'm suddenly at my limit of missing my kids. Also, while we tried walking around and exploring today, we only found mostly nothing good. I'll not go into all that, and intend to be more focused tomorrow on finding better sights and experiences.

One funny thing that I forgot to add from my uneventful day yesterday, is this: About half way through the train ride, a lady came down the aisle with a basket of something she was offering. The bald man took one. I said, "What did you take?" He had no idea. A mint, possibly? Something tiny in a little package. He got it open, and we found out that it was a teeny, but flavorful jelly bean - one. Weird.

The bald man is really pretty good at speaking Spanish, which is very good. I am not. And, while he's with me, I'm not feeling brave enough to try. Luckily, he's not having to work for a few days. (Well, he's working, but not speaking at meetings until later.) Many times after he's spewed out a long stream of Spanish-sounding sentences, feeling very impressed, I ask, "What did you say?" and his response is something like, "well, I think I ordered a veggie sandwich and fries, but I could have asked for a chest of drawers and a lamp, for all I know." As I always say, "It's all in the presentation."

Anyway, I was feeling so down, that I actually ate an el Big Mac meal. It helped. I think it's better here.

The only thing that really made me laugh today is the name of a fast food restaurant, which I have included for you.

Here's to tomorrow!

Day #5

So not much to report today - just riding in planes, trains and automobiles - sometimes on the right, sometimes on the left, depending on the country. Now, I'm out of balance; I can't remember which is right! (for USA, that is)

I thought I would have an incredibly boring day to report, and I don't like being cramped up in all of these modes of travel, but I lived. However, a couple of interesting moments did happen. As we got to Valencia - finally (I'm in Spain now, for the rest of the time) , and got into our cab (after the drive from Brighton to London, the plane ride from London to Madrid, and the train ride here - not that I'm complaining) we had the most good humored cab driver! He was so friendly and kind, and the Bald Man was awesome at conversing with him. Sadly, I am not, so I stay quiet. Anyway, after we established that we were not from central Europe, perhaps Belgium, and established that we were from the US, he proclaimed, "Obama Wins!" He proceeded to tell us how happy he was about it, and that they (Spain?) knew he had a lot of difficult problems to solve, and that it would take a while, but that they thought he would do wonders for world peace. I do too. He's all over the place in Spain too, as I assumed he would be.

At the end of our taxi ride, complete with many tips on what to do here, he very graciously and happily got our bags to us and shook BOTH of our hands! Nice.

We ate some dinner, washed some clothes, and now we're crashing. I did have an emotional moment earlier when I heard my girls' voices on the phone. I'm about at my normal limit for NEEDING to get back to them. I will be brave, as I know they are. Actually, I think they're having a jolly time with their family taking care of them. Tonight it was out to our favorite burger (slider) place and then to a "scent" store to have a fun workshop on making bubble bath out of things from the grocery store. Good Aunt and Uncle, huh?

Just a couple of shots from today - nothing too great.

Day #4b

What I meant by "too short" - is the man, not the flirting!

I'll add a few more photos that I like and some that make me chuckle. The one of the sign "Homelets" made me laugh because although I realize that it means "homes to rent," I like to think of the word as a new term for my smallish house - a homelet - not to be confused with "hamlet."