ok, so i stole a fireball from cayle's halloween treat bag- and now my mouth is on fire and i am too stubborn to spit it out. i will outlast this blessed thing.......i helped ecw pass out candy at the bike shop tonight- there were lots of kids- mostly little ones with parents.....lots of overweight kids this year- i had mixed feelings about giving them more candy than they already had in their bags,,,,,don';t get me wrong- i believe that candy on special occassions is a great tradition- but some of those kids looked like everyday is party time. so sad- i read recently about an 11 year old who fell over and died in her 6th grade class- she coroner blamed her weight- nearly 300 pounds- and attributed her death ot heart failure. the parents do not accept this verdict, and even deny any responsibility (they had never placed her on any sort of a diet- believing that a diet would put too much pressure on her). ecw and i together do not weigh 300 pounds- it is hard to conceive of a 6th grader of this size....so tragic.....

ok, so as of monday, november 4- the dollar amount of goods that us citizens can legally bring into the us doubles- to $800 per person. however, the dollar amount of goods that the mean mamma can bring into the us without upsetting ecw remains the same.........over the years, many customs clearing episodes come to mind- there our honeymoon when ecw and i brought back 9 bottles of wine- mostly dom perignon that we bought at the winery in epernay- we had to pay duty, but i cannot remember if it was on the excess alcohol or if our total purchases were over $400 per person. i just remember the customs agent raising his eyebrows at our wine haul.....there was also the time that i made the mistake of declaring a jar of snails- which turned out to be ok because they were dead and processed and the ban on importing snails referred to live snails....i almost missed my connection over the jar...then there was the packet of seeds that i made the mistake of declaring- mostly because i saw the sniffing dogs- these seeds were also eventually deemed admissable- but not without much discussion and delay. htese days i don't take any chances- and don't buy anything questionable....if i buy goat cheese, i make a point of eating it on the plane.......this treat is often better than the inflight food.......

ok, so the things i want to blog on today are too personal- with regard to my mother- and i cannot bring myself to blog about them.......

ok, so i am back to working on spanish- though iknow know that scw can at least order for me in restaurants......my new strategy is to say yo quiero (so?) pescado- and point to the menu in a questioning manner- and let the waiter tell me which are the fishes....now if only i can learn the word for grilled fish- i believe i could be happy with a vacation full of grilled fishes........speaking if vacation- i dreamed last night that we ran into julia roberts at the bilbao guggenheim- and we approached her for an autograpgh- which she gave us because we called her mrs. modar rather than miss roberts......what a strange thing to dream........

ok, so this talk about game cards has reminded me about playing the barbie game with my babysitter 40 years ago- in the game Barbie-Queen of the Prom- Barbie has to earn money by landing on cash value spots on the game board, and she must use the money to buy stuff for the prom- formal dress, shoes, purse, jewelry, and she must come up with the date of her dreams by drawing the ideal date card- she wants alan or ken, but she might end up with poindexter.........she has to contend with her friends (who also get to draw cards, earn money etc.) who also want rthe dream date, the dream outfit (the black dress with the mink triim......) and the tiara......i always enjoyed when barbie was forced to go the prom with poindexter......

ok, so on the way back from picking up scw from guadaljara (sp!!) we heard an interesting piece on wuky- a show called studio 360- the discussion was about frames- the first segment was about the use of frames in fiction writing- one outer story frames one or more inner stories to give context, etc- the tales of the arabian nights was given as an example- this discussion sequed into a phone interview with architect frank gehry- who first talked of the time he read all of trollope's works in one frenzied series- and how he felt that trollope's works framed the 18th and 19th centuries- he went on to discuss buildings as frames- and how bilbao is a frame for the local culture- and how he is designing a new room for a client who recentlt bought a rubens at auction and wants a room designed to frame the work- the owner wants not only the frame the work came with, but also other frames used in the past included in some way in the room design- quite an interesting discussion- we sat int he garage for quite some time listening to f. gehry- i cannot wait to see bilbao after hearing the architect tell of it's conception as nothing short of a miracle.....

ok, so spirited away was really really bizarre in a cult-favorite kind of way- i can see people starting to dress uplike the really big baby, or the radish, or the swamp-river blob or the twin witches, or the many-armed boiler-guy or the the faceless spirit- i don't get much of the symbolism- but then i am not japanese- there was a lot of water- both at the bath house, and with the rain and the flooded raillines- there were images of greed and gluttony (the same thing?) and a plea to save the earth- of sorts- i can honestly say that at no point int he film did i suspect what was about to happen- there was no formula.......i didn't even see the pig-thing coming........we saw a throng of people congregated down the street- in front of a new building- no idea why they were there in the dark on a sunday night- no protest signs- it was curious. the graeter's ice cream was a treat..........

ok, so here are the top 10 reasons why i like the 'fall back' time change-

1. i get to sleep an extra hour without guilt
2. it was actually daylight when i woke up an extra hour later today
3. i got to reset some clocks that were not accurately set during the last time change...like this computer......
4. the newspapers have cute headlines reminding us about the change
5-10.- ok, so there are not 10 reasons- but the 4 reasons above still count.......

more about the centre homecoming party i worked last night- one of the 'older' reunions- i am still amazed at how much whiskey was consumed- entirely by males, with their wives drinking the more demure white wine........(and plenty of that, by the way) i have never aquired a taste for bourbon- so it was surprising to see grown men reach inside coat pockets for flasks from which to pour out their favorite brand- different from the host's brand- a falsk seems so -prohibition'- which i suppose is the case here- one man was talking about the 'bar in a box' he keeps in his car trunk so he is never without something after golfing or if a hostess doesn't offer bourbon at a party.......another talked about he and a friend brought 200 quarts of beer to their fraternity at centre years ago(?45?) and sold them to anybody but other fraternities.......being one of the few sober people at a party is a curious situation- happily we were in the kitchen and got to watch the uk game on the tiny tv- also got to see all of the score updates- osu beat penn state and michigan lost to somebody- now that is a good day in my book......i hope that i am not working during the michigan-osu game......that is the only football game that i watch as a yearly tradition......

i still cannot get over how much of the univeristy of cincinnati campus i have forgotten since 1980 when i finished my master's degree- driving in- with directions from my sister-in-law- i could barely recognize landmarks that should have been icons- granted- i spent most of my time in the hospital 'ghetto' to the north of campus- and always went to class from that direction. i really never ventured to the side of the law school, i suppose......

ok, so now that this test is over i am free to again think about spain- where to go, when to go there, what to eat and how to order it.......i really need a vacation- and though i will probably walk my legs into nubs i cannot wait.........

ok, so i took the 4 hour test (200 questions- all case studies re: diabetes care)- when i went in- the street was deserted-m when i came out=- there was a homecoming parade- i had to run in front of the shriners in the funny cars to get to the parking garage......

i, too, are am saddened by the loss of senator wellstone- he was a liberal's liberal- in an age when few will fess up to having any liberal leanings........

ok, so mean mamma has missed a few days- she has been studying diabetes care and treatment intensely- the test looms saturday am at university of cincinnati's law school- i will not stay long in cincinnati, as we have 2 parties to cater for centre homecoming saturday night- hopefully i will simply answer all 250 questions correctly, then quietly get up and leave........a trivial note- the law school building may have been designed by michael graves- the guy that designed all the cool housewares stuff for target........

ok, so it has been suggested that my friend would not have bothered to have come by at all had she not valued my friendship and missed it enough to ask why i had withdrawn it.....and that maybe she is also working so much that she feels as if she has no life and is reaching out to someone that she used to do fun things with...now the ball is in my court, and i have to decide what to do next to either make amends or to blow it off and forget her friendship altogether....yes, she is quirky, but that is one of the things that i have always like about her.....gentle readers, sophomore year never ends, no matter how old you get.........hence the presence of the word 'sophomoric' in our vocabulary.......

ok, so mean mamma is quite upset over an unsettling incident that just happened- at 8:00 am in my own place of business.......

of(old friend?)- 'c-w- i just know you are mad at me and i want to know why' - says 'of' as she bustles into the staff door of the restaurant as i am taking off my coat......

kcw- i didn't know i was mad at you- what makes you think that?

of- i think it is because of the incident at church- i have thought a lot about this and i am certain that it comes down to that.

kcw- i recall that incident only vaguely(regarding our daughters sneaking out of choir)- but really- how can i be mad if i don't really remember....

of- i just know that you must be mad because i don't see you anymore....

kcw- you don't see me anymore because i spend all of my time working- i am either here or in the bed......i am sorry if i gave you any other impression.....

of- as she leaves- well- i just wanted you to know that i punished my daughter for that incident, and i just know that you are still mad about it..... (of drives away in her late-model suv) and mean mamma bursts into tears because it occurs to her that 'of' has become 'unstable', and because my work has made friendships hard to keep up with. still, this incident is quite bizarre. i cannot remember a similar one unless i think back to my sophomore year- when susan weller said pretty much the same thing to me with different particulars..........maybe i need a good sign of the curse to ward off the evil.........

ok, so i am finally home from work and face more work- reading either diabetes resources or studying my lesson for eku tomorrow night- we didn't need to have class last week- as the number of chapters in the book and the number of weeks of the semester allowed me to exclude danville's fall break- so i am out of the habit of going to class on tuesday nights.....however- the paycheck from this class allows me to travel so i will buckle down and read the lesson.....i studied the diabetes stuff while the group tonight was eating, including an educational workbook that i wrote for diabetic clients while still at the hospital.....i have noted at least 3 major errors in the text- hopefully those who still work there have caught these errors and have corrected them...i am certain that my name is no longer on this piece in its recent reprints......c'est la vie....

ok, so today was a red-letter day of sorts- i had not one but two naps.........i got a chance to sleep for about 1 hour after an early lunch- while andrew was getting packed up to back to uk- and to work at k-lair, a grill on uk campus. i had to get up and take cayle to her soccer game- at which i was glad to have packed a blanket as well as a lawn chair, and a mug of hot tea- it was so cold and damp at dana.........when we got home, i laid down again, only to wake up at 6:30. i feel marvelous after so much rest- the day is gone but i feel great. still studying stuff like insulin dosages and such- my test is looming next sat am at U.C.law school in cincinnati.....back to work.....

ok, so i am a sucker for elvis costello singing the theme song for notting hill- 'she' i really like that song- so much so that i stayed up last night and watched the movie 'in fast forward mode- just to hear it twice (beginning and end). now i am exhausted and thinking about skipping church so i can have a little nap before cayle's soccer game.....

ok, so i got to cook tonight with a chef in training and a self-trained chef- and i enjoyed every minute.....they made a total mess of the kitchen- and scented the air permanently with the smell of fried grease- but the meal was great and the company was good. i will now stack my food rather than arrange it side-by-side..........

ok, so i got home from work last night to find a cycling/running friend of ecw 'staying over' before the triathalon. presumably someone staying over means that he cannot/willnot stay at home with his wife and family for some reason, which i did not ask about because i did not want to know. i am somewhat troubled by this event- because it appears to have something to do with the triathalon- the time spent in training- running, biking, etc.- some spouses may not tolerate the time spent away from the bosom of the family. it is quite possible that ecw and i have stayed married 21+ years because we encourage each other to persue personal interests and allow each other the space to do so. i don't know that i would like him underfoot everywaking moment.......when he is away doing things he loves he always comes back happy, and a happy husband makes for a good relationship....

ok, so the news at trc today is the movie about the centre/harvard game- Dr. Rousch brought in a dozen or so for lunch including some hollywood types, and they talked of nothing but the plans for the movie- the only part i caught was the analogie between this movie and field of dreams.......no idea when it will film- or if trc has any shot at getting a credit as caterer.........

ok, so i bought andrew another coat- my family is collective in their disdain for this action-......just let the boy freeze- it will teach him a lesson- to pay attention where he leaves his coat.......in reality, i am living with a family of coat-losers- to the point that i am surprised that there is no english surname associated with coat-losing- like carter or wheeler or farmer.....coatloser.......ok, so the boy loses coats........so have scw and ccw- i have not lost a coat to my knowledge- i guess it is the age- the young have less ownership when ti comes to personal belongings.....

ok, so this chicago trip has gotten me prepped to go to spain- i have a clearer vision of what NOT to pack- and a reminder that any suitcase is heavy when it is dragged up stairs...........i was also reminded that i have to be careful about where i store my money versus my passport and ccards and that none of these should be in my actual purse.......

ok, so i forgot my spanish word(s) for the day.....how about the spanish version of ok, so......asi..........

ok, so i have made another reservation with another company at the parador at hondarribia- the little fishing village up next to france. it is pricier than our other hotels, but is it a restored fortress that overlooks the sea, and i just could not resist.....

ok, so i am on the last moments of my 'vacation' and i have not gotten much rest and relaxation- andrew pointed out at lunch today that my vacations have always been more frantic than restful- so what was my point? i attended a workshop on diabetes this morning at st joseph hospital, then took andrew to lunch and for some shopping, then saw 2 clients for dr. hempel, and came home. not bad for my last vacation day.......i got lost trying to find andrew's dorm- and had to park the car and go in to get him because he had not turned on his cell phone........we ate at j.beth- whereupon i bought stephan another book by the fight club guy- called choke- which the salesperson raved about and told me most of the plot, which i will not reveal hwere in that he told me that it might be too risque for a 15 year old boy.........oh well- i assigned the sun also rises to my spanish travelers, which is risque for people of any age......after lunch i bought andrew yet another coat- which he will certainly lose- he has lost more coats at 18 than i have ever owned in 46 years......i cannot imagine losing something as essential to survival as a coat....he has even lost some of my coats, and his dad's coats............but there he was, shivering in a short sleeve shirt, looking all pitiful and vulnerable.....what is a mother to do.....

ok, so already this spanish set is causing chaos with our english set- so many words, so little time...... english is on the front, spanish is on the side......

ok, so i bought one of those magnet sets in spanish for our refrigerator- stephan has set it up and the only things i recongize so far are padre, madre, and jardin......doesn't bode well........now i must make sure that we don't start integrating the english set, with all it's poems, into the spanish set,,,,,,,,,,,my current favorite fridge blog............heave through life deliriously......don't know who wrote it- it just appeared one morning. i kind of like the sentiment,....

ok, so the mean mamma is back in danville, and so glad of it. let me just say this about this trip- it made me appreciate people who share a true passion for travel and all that goes with it- drinking in the sights, taking time in museums to get the essense of the exhibits, trying new foods, sitting back and soaking in the culture- this trip had none of that, alas- i spent most of my time getting cayle to get up off the of the floor, where she would sit in the midst of crowds because she was bored and had minimal interest in actually reading the signs about the kinds of fish in the tank, or the name of the artist and the work, or even to peer inside the mummy's coffer.......so let's talk about what i enjoyed about this trip to chicago-

- discovering that the cta now runs from midway downtown- and paying only $3.00 each way to get us 3 blocks from our hotel
- seeing the end of the chicago marathon- and getting to take a picture of jeff and karen thornton after he finished in boston-qualifiying time
- seeing the picasso model for his unnamed chicago piece that looks like a giant baboon's head- at the art institute
- seeing the desk and chair designed by frank lloyd wright for the johnson building in racine, wisconsin- kidney shaped rather than his signature angular
- seeing the tang horses at the art institute- i wish i could bring one home
- going to shaw's crab shack with the thorntons and having wonderful crab cakes and a nice sauvignon blanc
- leaving cayle's almost full juice bottle for the homeless man going through the trach cans outside of the aquarium
- seeing a tank of chambered nautilus at the aquarium
- seeing the penguin display at the aquarium- one of the best i have ever seen- i could sit there all day just watching
- seeing the special exhibit on pearls at the field museum- so many neat things- marilyn monroe's pearls given to her by joe d. on their honeymoon; -still in the case; mary todd lincoln's pearl necklace and bracelets worn at his inaguration/ his gift to her; washington's gift of pearls to his granddaughter on her marriage; 2 dresses by the french designer worth- all embellished with seed pearls; a faberge egg with pearl highlights; a portrait of queen elizabeth showing her with ropes of pearls on her dress, in her hair, etc; fossilized pearls; morther-of-pearl chalices; pearl ornaments worn by egyptian pharohs; the cultured pearl necklace worn by audrey hepburn in breakfast at tiffany's; a pearl tiara made for empress josphine; pearls worn by marie antoinette; pearls belonging to queen victoria; black pearls, pink and gold pearls; a pearlie jacket from london;
a fabulous pearl necklace loaned by elizabeth taylor; a string of pink conch pearls as big as marbles; it just went on and on- i coveted most of what was on display-
- supper at the chinese restaurant in the lobby of our hotel- a nice shrimp lo mein with a chinese beer
- watching monk on usa network last night on cable- we don't get cable/will never get cable- but i love this show...also watched cribs on mtv-

anyway- so glad to be home, and still off work till thursday morning......can't wait til spain- i feel that this trip was just practice- a reminder of all that is essential to traveling like packing light; researching all of the open days, holidays, hotel locations, special exhibits, nearby great cafes, etc. even down to the nitty gritty about packing my favorite eye shadow rather than what is in a more convenient package- i hate the eye shadow in my travel bag but i never remember to take it out between trips.....

on another note- i am counting on the l.o to bring appropriate travel music- i have fond memories of beck's devils hair cut as a backround to being lost north of cologne.......i will try to find out connector to play a cd player on a car tape player......
-

ok, so the mean mamma is heading to chicago this morning, where the temp is now a windy 58 high and 35 low.......the cta subways now run from midway- so marathon traffic will not be a problem...signing off until tuesday afternoon, unless i come across a cybercafe......pray for us

ok, so for the record, champagne from New Mexico is not a reasonable buy- even at a case price- hopefully the bride and groom love it because there is a lot left.....

ok, so i have just enough strength to write one more blog before i take a nap- i am so excited about jimmy carter winning the nobel prize for peace. he is such a fine man- a principled person who walks the walk not just talks the talk. frankly i don't see w. bush ever winning such an esteemed honor......i like the nytimes article who describe carter as a man who wages peace......

ok, so i am looking up spanish words to describe my current mood-

cansado (tired)
tengo sed (thirsty)
tengo hambre (hungry)
tengo dolor (achy)

i am almost too tired to say cansado...................

ok, so the chicago marathon runs right through my hotel 'neighborhood' on sunday morning about the time that i am due to arrive - who knew..........several from danville are running, including jeff thornton-we may hook up for supper on sunday night.....i have not packed, cayle has not packed, she is not the traveler that stephan is, and i must forgive her for this...........

ok, so I leave for Chicago with Cayle on Sunday morning- early- from Louisville. There are so many things that must be done before I leave- it is tragic- I have already baked 18 loaves of bread and put them in the freezer- as my cohorts fear that it can't be done right by anyone else. I have a rehearsal dinner on Friday night, and 2 weddings on Saturday, and a dinner on Tuesday night that I will cook ahead for even though I won't be there.......I have discovered that the restaurant in Chicago I really wanted to eat at- Berghoff's- is closed Sundays and holidays- and Monday is Columbus Day- so it will be closed......Thankfully the Art Institute will be open, and I have already purchased tickets for the Aquarium..There is a Chinese place next door to our hotel, and a deep dish pizza place down the block- so I won't starve......

ok, so the word of the day is sardana, as in dance- the catalonia national dance........i feel somewhat lacking in that we have no national dance- or national costume for that manner......

ok, so you can see for yourself- our barcelona hotel is listed under www.hotelcontinental.com it has hairdryers in the bathroom, a refrigerator and microwave, and sattelite tv- we may never leave the room if anime is available............

ok, so i have changed strategies on our barcelona hotel- the hotel jardi has never emailed back so we have moved to the hotel continental- with a triple room with a balcony overlooking the ramblas- breakfast included. rick steves says that the wallpaper clashes with the carpet- i will probably feel like i am visiting my grandmother in cleveland.......

ok, so let's learn some of the foods that i can't wait to try, as pictured in my beautiful dk eyewitness spain book-

amanida- a calalan salad with vegetables, cheese, and fish or shellfish
llagosta i pollastre- catalan lobster and chicken in a tomato/hazelnut sauce
truchas a la navarra- mountain trout stuffed with ham and then grilled
vieras de santiago- scallops in the shell covered with tomato sauce and grilled

all these foods words remind me of my first trip to europe- in 1972- the month before the munich olympics- my brother and i knew no french or german- so in order to make safe restaurant orders we would point to the 1/2 on the menu- it always meant half of a grilled chicken and fries. not very adventurous- but it worked for me at the time- i fondly remember my father and my cousin, nancy- who lived in paris at the time, and who traveled with us along the loire- arguing over who got the last order of fried brains in a little place in blois.......as if there was any argument.........i know to avoid anything with sesos in the description.........

ok, so i have studied insulin pens and glucose meters and started to look at insulin pumps tonight, but i am too tired and i have a sinus infection so i am going to bed. by the way, sinus infections will raise your fasting glucose............

ok, so i tried to snack on the leftover hot and sour soup from sunday- and all that remains in the container is the hot part- so hot i choked and spit it out and started to have a coughing fit. the sad thing about chinese leftovers so that everybody else likes them too, and by tuesday the leftovers from sunday are pretty much picked over.....i have taken to ordering chinese on sunday, because by sunday i am so tired of my own cooking that i don't want any of my own leftovers......... my spanish words of the day.....let me see, how about foods i won't order-
cabrito asado- roast goat
cochino asado- roast suckling pig
congrio- conger eel
higado- liver
jeta- pig's cheeks
tortilla de sesos- brain omelet

i believe that i will keep the word sesos with me forever............

ok, so my spanish words of the day involve food equipment:
la cuchara; el tenedor; el cuchillo ( spoon, fork and knife.....) these words may come in handy..... ironically, my darling husband knows the spanish word for beer, from the year he spent in texas as a counselor at a camp for delinquent boys....i guess after a shift with formerly knife-wielding 11-year olds, he needed a cervasa or dos........

I am frustrated because the hotel in barcelona has not emailed back since i requested a reservation on saturday. i have sent my email again- and hope that i can nail down this initial 3 day-stay......

it must be said that these spanish words are part procrastination- as i take my 5-year diabetes educator recertification exam Oct 26-i really should be studying diabetes medication interactions..........

ok, so i am trying to learn spanish food words- some we already know- like huevos (eggs), tortilla (which means omelet in spain), jambon (ham) pimiento (pepper) bonito (tuna) pan (bread) cafe (coffee) aquacat (avocado) languostine (small lobster or large shrimp) calamare (calamari) vino (wine) caliente (hot....) pollo (chicken) - with just these words i can eat something.............most of the vegetables have unrecognisable names.......as do most of the fishes, meats, and beverages.....even beer is a different name from what i thought- cervaces (ther-va-thas) or something like that.....i like biero better but i probably wouldn't get a beer in returno.........good gracious- i hope they do not serve theme beer- like pumpkin beer or pimiento beer in these little tapas places............this could be culinary hell......

ok, so i now have a 6-pack (oops, now a 5-pack) of crooked river special fall brew- made with pumpkin and spices....it defies description............

ok, so it gets worse and worse---------it seems that when my great-grandparents went west to get treatment for my great uncle harold who had polio- they rented out the family farm in cleveland to a group of kkk members who used it for-------rituals and such-my aunt and uncle and mother started talking about it tonight when i asked about the house and it's history as a stop on the underground railroad- yes- that is what the stellar family used it for in 1852 when they built the house- but not what it was used for in 1918 when it was rented out.........i knew that a kkk robe had been found when they cleared out my grandparents things- they claim it was my great uncle albert's robe- he was a one-eyed n'er-do-well who worked for the trash collection group in cleveland and who never bathed or cleaned his house- most of our nicer furniture comes from his house (near to the airport), because he moved to a nursing home about the time that ecw and i got married.......they were my greatgrandparent stephan's round dining table, chairs, armoire and bed.........the other inflammatory incident of the night came when my aunt and uncle were telling stories of the old minstrel shows, and pondering why they don't do these anymore- 'they made so much for charity and they were so much fun......"

ok, so in order to receive emails from these spanish hotels, i must search through my junk mail folder- through the people offering me extra inches, low credit, a quick divorce, and to research the c-w history for free..........the cannons are still firing in perryville, and the republicans- my family- are due any minute for supper. we are eating outside on the deck- whereupon at least 1 person i am related to will complain that it is - too hot- too dusty- to many leaves- too many acorns,,,,,,just too much......we are eating roast pork loin- apologies to the vegetarians i know- but pork is what my family eats to celebrate- for as long as i can remember. this time i fixed spinach artichoke casserole instead of lima beans......what a rebel...............................

ok, do it is quite ironic that i have war hawks visiting, while the reacreated battle of perryville is going on. i can hear the distant thunder of cannon- a reminder that 140 years ago over 5000 men were killed not 12 miles from my house- in a single day. such a waste then, such a waste now.....

ok, so i have spent my morning trying to book hotel rooms on-line. we are confirmed thus far at:

Hotel Europa in Madrid (rick steve's first pick) for 3 nights (a triple room)
Hotel Sirimiri in Bilbao- a 1 star hotel on the metro line and with easy access to freeway for 2 nights- a triple room

We are awaiting confirmation at:

Hotel Jardi in Barcelona (3 nights) near the Ramblas triple room

Parador at Hondarribia- a restored fortress overlooking both the bay and france- right up there in the corner of spain within a few km of Hendaye, France. I could not find anything in san sebastian- this little town is a few miles north along the coast, and appears to be much smaller and less glamourous/expensive yet more quaint.......The Lonely Planet guidebook described this hotel as a 'treat'.

my word(s) of the day are the good words- buenos dias, buenos tardes, buenos noches- good day, good afternoon, good evening...........

on another note- my family is visiting- my mother's sister and her husband from cleveland, and my long lost brother, stuart, who has not visited in 2.5 years......they will be visiting my dad in the va nursing home at lunch- i will be working and will miss this visit. i love these people dearly, but these are my republican kin- and ecw and i sometimes have to bite on bullets to keep our opinions to ourselves-we learned long ago that this is an unmovable crowd when it comes to argument so we save our breath.......i suspect at dinner tonight we will hear all about why we need pre-emptive strikes........

ok, so the word of the day is adios, or goodbye. i like words that i already knwo- it the new words that i struggle with. i sat with ecw last night and finished watching ;open your eyes' the original movie in spanish that tom cruise remade with penelope cruz- he needn't have bothered- it ended up very weird indeed- and they memble their spanish so much i could not make out many words, even with subtitles.....

ok, so it was suggusted to me today, by the l.o.'s mother, that i should adopt winfield frankel's spanish style- add o to the end of all words....... not a bad idea.....if she is the l.o.'s mother, does that make her the mother of all opposition? excellento...........

ok, so the word of the day is ola, which means hello- this little gem comes not from the phrase boo, but from watching sesame street- big bird led a spanish class with some of the kids from the neighborhood.......yesterday's word of por favor....i now have 2 phrases under my belt..........

ok, so i am trying a different approach to learning spanish- word of the day.....

today's word is por favor- which means if you please. i can use it to be nice to wait staff and shop keepers and hotel people. una biero, por favor.......

ok, so speaking of secret hand signal signs, the funniest thing happened today at work- my kitchen assistant is deaf, and the wait staff all hand spell special instructions to him if what they have written on the order may not be clear enough- well, today in the rush of things at lunch, gail started frantically handspelling in sign language her order- to me- which i could not understand because i do not retain sign language in the way that i retain no language but some english.....it was really funny when she realized that she was signing to me.....i apologize for making such a big deal of a sign- but corellia was insistent that she could not hold the ticket.............