Spanish Love Song - The Sequel

¡Buen trabajo, muchachos!

If only!

A closer look at the excavation revealed hidden treasures!

The Destruction Phase

The destruction phase has begun. On Wednesday while we were at school, they brought in the backhoe, took out part of the fence and a bunch of trees and bushes. It has dug a deep pit under the dining room window, and there are big piles of rubble from the patio and patio extension that it busted up. Things sure look ugly before they get to look pretty again.

We take the dogs out now. Gidget needs to be on a leash, because she's a wanderer and doesn't have any car sense, but Rocky just pads along beside us. He never goes far and isn't tempted by the gap in the fence. He knows his limits!

Out With the Old

Today the workmen started removing the glassed in patio on the side of the house. They ripped off the covering under the balcony and found lots of soft wet wood up there. The whole thing has to come off . . . every home owner's nightmare and a cash cow for the renovation business. Who gets to be lucky and find that their old house isn't falling apart? I'll be updating this as the work progresses. Today, they removed the glass, side walls, insulation and ceiling of the patio enclosure. We can see now how nice it will be when it is just an open patio with a slight overhang from the balcony. Something to look forward to. Must go back to work now and earn money to pay for this. Tomorrow they are bringing in a bulldozer. Why do I keep seeing images of this enormous carnivorous plant saying, "Feed me Seymour, feed me!"?

Bernkastel

On Saturday I had a lovely lunch in Bernkastel-Kues at an Indian Restaurant with what's left of my NLU master's cadre: Keri, Judy and Stephanie to my left and our mentor, Sue on the right. We had a long, leisurely lunch in an Indian Restaurant, then did a walkabout and finished up with ice cream.

Steph found the "little house in the middle of the street" that she remembered from her childhood.

We were reminded to say "käse" instead of cheese and saw some really nice metal garden sculptures, which we decided we could NOT afford at the current exchange rate. The frog fountain that spit out water at regular intervals was much nicer than it sounds!

Good food, good friends, good conversation and a little bit of shopping thrown in on the side.

Alles gutgeschmeckt!

Until next year, ladies!

Magnolia Magnífica

The magnolia in front of the house was magnificent for a few days this year. The most and most glorious blooms ever. I took a plethora of photos, of which this is my favorite, looking up through the blooms to the sky.

My Visual DNA

Read my VisualDNA™     Get your own VisualDNA™

Thinking Outside the Box

A recent Spanish exam featured a Mexican fable involving a jaguar and a cricket. The jaguar was offended by the cricket's croaky creaking and wanted him to be quiet. He challenged the cricket to a race. Whoever reached a rock first would win and decide the question. The cricket, being smarter than the jaguar, jumped onto the jaguar's tail and then worked his way forward until he reached his head. Just before the jaguar reached the rock, the cricket jumped onto the jaguar's nose and from there to the rock, beating him by, er, a nose.

One of the questions the students had to answer about the story was to explain the moral of the story (in English). Those who successfully translated the story and understood the events, typically gave answers similar to these:

•Never underestimate your opponent.

•Don't judge by size or appearance.

•Don't be overconfident.

•If your opponent is bigger or faster than you are, use your brain.

But, today, a student who was retaking the exam in an attempt to raise his grade, earned the chuckle award, because his answer made me chuckle:

"If you want a cricket to be quiet, you step on him."

Sure, he missed the point, but his strategy would have worked better than the jaguar's.