Saturday, April 12, 2008

Life goes on, …..the sun comes and goes


Susi enjoying the sun after lunch last weekend
Hi again

I haven’t written for a while. That’s not because I have nothing to write about but because I have been pretty busy and on all fronts actually.

At work I’m at a preparatory stage for all sorts of activities. I’ve also been interviewing new employees, which is something I have come to enjoy. I try and portray them how they come across but add some fun and also some deep questions into the interview. I am sort of happy with the results. I know now more than ever before that I should have been a journalist. But, of course, it’s too late in life.

On the family side I have some rather sad news. My dear Aunty Masha, my Mother’s youngest and most beloved sister, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, that most cruel of all diseases in the elderly and the one I actually fear and dread most for myself. She doesn’t know what it is, thank God, otherwise, of course she would be terrified. She will, of course, be well looked after; of that I am sure.

At home life goes on. We have been doing the usual things. Last weekend we had dinner with our friends, Roberto and Mari Carmen and this weekend we will go out to dinner with José Antonio and Dolores, whose birthday it was yesterday. Happy birthday dear sister-in-law and friend from here.

Yesterday Eladio and I did something different and went to see Cavalia.

I had bought tickets well in advance as it is only going to be in Madrid for a short time. It is a show inspired by some of the founders of the Cirque du Soleil. It is difficult to describe as it is a mixture of the exhibition of horses and their extraordinary beauty and their relationship with man in a multimedia setting of wonderful music, light and image. A better description comes from this horse magazine:

Cavalia is a must-see extravaganza created by Normand Latourelle, one of the founders of the famed Cirque du Soleil, which will take your breath away. Directed by Érick Villeneuve, Cavalia celebrates the relationship between horses and humans, in a way you have never seen before. Horses frolic with acrobats, aerialists, and entertainers in front of a constantly changing background, projected on a 200 ft wide screen, transporting the spectators to dream-like virtual settings. The audience is only feet-away, seated theatre-style facing an enormous 160 ft wide stage which allows the horses enough space to gallop and play – at times completely unfettered by bridles or halters – at full speed.

It has been raining all week and has been quite cold. However Spain needs rain as it is becoming a bit of a desert. But and, to quote a reader from The Daily Telegraph, I would also like someone to switch back on a bit of global warming as we have had to return to wearing winter clothes this week. Funnily enough, last weekend, Susi and Oli began to sun bathe, as you can see from the picture illustrating this week’s post! I wonder when they will again.

Suzy is going to Tunisia tomorrow and was hoping to sunbathe there. Unfortunately the “global warming” is also switched off there with temperatures not forecast to go above 23ºc next week. Sorry Suzy! She was so looking forward to this trip which is supposed to be a celebration of her graduation; except that she still hasn’t graduated!! When she is going to finish is a bit of a mystery at the moment. We can just expect it to be “one day” and whether that is this year or next remains to be seen.

I have also revisited the past again this week. I decided to scan the photos from my school days which I had shown Amanda and co on their visit a few weeks ago.

Amanda and I at school in 1974 or 1975.
I also scanned some family ones and came up with a great one of my parents on New Year’s Day in 1974!!!

My parents at home in Bradford in 1974
I am now on a mission to scan the best photos in all our family albums. There are more than 20 so I shall be even busier from now on. I love photos and I can see that they are a pretty important part of our life. They are in albums, in frames all over the house, my pc has hundreds of files and, of course, they illustrate this blog in a sort of diary of our life. Maybe I should do a course in photography. I’ll have to think about that.

This week coming up will be important for me as on Monday I get the results of the super scan and will see my Doctor, perhaps for a final diagnosis of the spondylolisthesis - which I had to look up to know how to spell again.

Meanwhile, cheers everyone,

Masha

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