The Nun

Yesterday (October 28, 2018) I had a great time with my parents, we were trying to create a costume for Halloween with stuff that we already had at home. My mother found in her warehouse a wedding dress and some other party's dresses but these were too long and uncomfortable. Then we started to search on the Internet "easy costumes" to imitate some ideas. Later we started to look inside our closets things that we could use to disguise us. We also were so excited about imagining the different costumes that we could create and how would we look like with each one of all those different costumes. After having a lot of ideas, we put together all the elements to improvise a nun costume for my mother and an Inspector costume for me. Finally, when she dressed for the first time as a nun we couldn't stop laughing. We were laughing a lot because she really looked like a nun but in a funny way. Suddenly my father joined us, finding to himself The Death costume, but It was “so scary” for me, so I got from my stuff a camper costume for him. Finally, we were all happy together because for the first time in our whole life we were satisfied with our Halloween costumes. We didn't organize a contest between us but if we had done it, in definitive, the nun would have won the award.

Las tiendas locales

Esta mañana fui a la tienda local para comprar algunas frutas y verduras.  Por lo general las compro en el supermercado mientras estoy comprando otros alimentos pero últimamente he decidido comprarlas desde la tienda local  .  No hay muchas de este tipo de tienda nada más, la mayoría  han convertido en tiendas de comida para llevar. Las tiendas privadas no pueden competir con las empresas más grandes que ofrecen precios más bajos.  La verdad es que estas tiendas privadas venden productos de alta calidad y los productos dura más largo.  Las dependientes son muy amistosas y parecen conocer todos los vecinos y  hablan con los clientes sobre sus familias y los chismes locales.  Al parecer el dueño viaje a Londres todas las mañana (excepto el fin de semana)  para comprar los productos del famoso mercado de Covent Garden.  Siempre cuando compro los productos quiero sabre donde están cultivados y si es posible me gusta comprar los del UK para apoyar los granjeros británicos.  Creo que las fresas inglesas son las mejores del mundo, son muy jugosas y también muy dulces, creo que es debido a la lluvia.  Antes de que la estación de fresas ha llegado, compro las de España, son mejores que las de Marruecas la que son duras y no tienen sabor.    

Afternoon Tea

Hace dos días estuve invitado a tomar té en la escuela de mi nieta.  Es el último año para muchos niños en la escuela y el septiembre que viene empezarán en una nueva escuela segundaria.  Todos los padres de los niños que saldran de la escuela la próxima semana, fueron invitados a tomar té por la tarde (afternoon tea)  Mi hija y su marido no pudieron ir, así que mi nieta mayor que tiene la edad de 18 vino conmigo para tomar té.    Cuando entramos en el comedor, las mesas se veían muy bonitas con  tazas y platillos, sándwiches, pasteles, scones, había crema y mermelada (Cream teas) y en las mesas había tarjetas con los nombres y tuvimos que asentar en la silla asignada. 'También habían flores on la mesa.  Los niños eran los camareros y qué bien trabajo hicieron.  Era como el té en el Ritz!    Mientras estuvimos allí, una profesora se acercó a mi nieta y no podía creer que mi nieta era la misma chica que enseño hace siete años.

Otra curiosidad, cuando hablo con los extranjeros, siempre dicen. ¿Es verdad que se toman té a los  ingleses a las cinco todos los días?  Pues, no es verdad, somos bebiendo té constantemente en

caulquier hora del día.

Mi portátil

Ayer mi marido y yo fuimos a visitar a mi hermana que vive en Cambridge, bueno, vive en las afueras de la ciudad en una villa típica de muchas las que están en el campo del UK Es pequeña muy bonita y es muy tranquilo.  En el centro de la villa hay casas, un pub y otros edificios  típica de las villas antiguas. Me llevé conmigo mi portátil porque últimamente he tenido muchos problemas, parece funcionar muy lento (o puedo decir corre muy lento), y cuando lo enciendo por la mañana, lleva mucho tiempo antes de que está cargado, por lo general lo enciendo y entonces hago té mientras está cargando.  Mi cuñado le gusta reparar  todas las cosas mecánicas como ordenadores, relojes etc.   Él ha eliminado muchos programas inútiles, y me avisó que deba instalar más memoria, también pensó que sería una buena idea para instalar un teclado nuevo debido al hecho no se puede ver las letras en las teclas!  Al considerar que mi portátil sólo tiene dos años está en mala condición!  Había bajo el teclado suficiente migas de pan para dar comida a los pájaros afuera en el jardín!  Bueno, una vez mi cuñado ha pedido las partes nuevas en la red y me los ha enviado, entonces tengo que instalar la memoria extra, lo que me mostró cómo hacerlo y me contó que será como un portátil nuevo.

More Reunion

These seem to be a favourable dates to meet with relatives. Today is the turn to eat out with my uncle Cesar and my aunt Amparo. They have not children. They already are retired and any occasion to gather us seems good for them. Well, really, they are not relatives. They lived many years as neighbors in my mother's house. Since they had no children they loved when we went into their house. When I was a little child spent many hours with Amparo. She was more than an aunt, she was a second mother and I think she loved me like a son. Nowadays we keep the same friendship with them but the frequency of our meetings has fallen.

We have arranged to meet them at two o'clock in the old part of the town. Them we will go to eat at a picturesque restaurant "El Charro" in San Agustín Street.

I will have a glass of Rioja's wine to your health!

By Chance?

Lately I was thinking about my family of Madrid. Time ago that we are not all together. Actually, my cousin Ana called my mother for to meet this holy week and to have a lunch in a mythical place for us, a rustic restaurant in the River Wolves Canyon, near our village in the province of Soria.

Perhaps, it was at an inconvenient time. The weather was awful. It was raining all time. Water and more water. Water everywhere. So much it is like that, that the place, the canyon, was flooded. It was quite an adventure. We have never seen the canyon in this way. Children were wondering where the bridge beneath which other years they caught crayfish was. It was not. It was submerged under the water.   

The meal was a success. A lot of people. Twenty-six people, including uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces. We did not think that so many people would go to the gathering. There were new faces, the boyfriends of two cousins and the two children of my cousin Isaias.

We have agreed that in the second weekend of May all of us will gather again, including people that in this occasion could not come.

Here I put two photos with my children for you can see the water effect.

                                                                   

Grandmother's Birthday

My grandmother celebrated her birthday on Friday. She was born in 1925. On Friday afternoon, she asked me to buy some lottery tickets. In a piece of paper, she wrote two numbers: 2366 and 6623. I recognized the 23 number because her birthday is on November 23, but I was curious about the 66.

I went to the supermarket and bought her lottery tickets. When I returned home with the lottery tickets, I questioned her about the 66 number. She answered seriously, “66 is my age.” I frowned, “No grandma, you turn 87 today.” She looked at me incredulously.

Unfortunately, something bad is starting to happen in her mind.

Telling a fable, a Hindu story

This tale has been taught to many children on Hindu culture. And It is one that reminds them to stick up for others. I’m just going to try telling as fine as I can.

Yudishtra was a wise and compassioned king. He had ruled his people with wisdom and compassion. But He and his family came into a point in which they had to leave their real life to go to live to their “promised land", The Great Celestial city. So, they set off in a long journey towards the city with his beloved wife and his four brothers. In their path, the king found a stray dog alongside the road. King Yudishtra saw its soft, gentle eyes and was moved to compassion and spared its loneliness. During the climbing of a high mountain, all his family found difficult to breathe and, one by one, started to collapsed and died. For the rest of the journey, the king had to continue the journey with no human companion only his faithful little dog.

At last, He and his loyal dog arrived to the gates of the Celestial City, home of the immortals. Indra, the god who ruled that paradise, welcomed him warmly. He said to Yudishtra that all his family were already inside. So, The King asked Indra for the entrance and also had another request: “I can not let my dog outside. Could you let it enter too?” Indra replied: “Yudishtra, You have been a good and soft hearted king. But the rules are the rules, and they are very clear: ‘No animals at all in here’. You must let behind your dog outside these gates”.

So, the resulted king decided returned back. Indra, astonished because of the king’s decision, stopped him and asked once more. Are you keen to give up everything that this special place has to offer? “Yes”, and added: “I live my entire life with these values and I promised myself not give my back to those in need or those who deserve my help. My decision remains, I won’t abandon him”.

Finally, Indra told him: “Well, you, Yudishtra, have passed my final test. Nothing is more highly or more richly rewarded than what you have demonstrated now. As Indra said those words, the king’s dog became into another god owner of all richness and justice. At the end, both were gently welcomed and lived in eternal happiness together.

The camp

The last Tuesday my eldest son who is nine years old went to a camp in the mountains. They are going to stand there eight days. I don´t know if he was very conscious that he was going to spend seven night out of his house. I'm a bit worried for this reason. He has already been one or two night out of house without his family, but, this time, I think it's a lot of time. He is a child very dinamic and active. He enjoy a lot in the nature. I know he will have a great time, but, also I know he will feel the absence of his parents and especially of his little brother. I hope he does not have the opportunity to remind from us a lot. That would mean he only has time to enjoy.