The funny thing about Taiko

My son Luca and I have started taiko classes. More specifically osuwa daiko. This is a mixture of Japanese drumming with some martial arts movements. It is quite a challenge for Luca being Deaf, but I think it is important for him to learn about music as it will help him develop his ability to listen and appreciate sounds better. The fun thing about this class is that is for both of us. The parents do it then the children do it. I can tell you something, I did it 2 days ago and I can feel my arms. It is some serious exercise if you do it right, and when all the drummers are synchronized it is so awesome! For Luca on the other hand, it is hard and it is difficult both to hold the bachi (sticks) and to follow the rhythm. But we don't give up, I never did, why should I do it now? Challenges are challenges and once you conquer them, you feel so great. Luca will conquer this one, and we will both celebrate. On his second day, initially he didn't want to go, but then he decided that when he grows up he wants to be a drum player and give performances. How cool is that?

  Mi hijo Luca y yo hemos empezado clases de taiko. Mas en concreto de osuwa daiko. Es una mezcla de tambores japoneses con algunos movimientos de artes marciales. Es un desafio para el al ser sordo, pero creo que es importante que aprenda sobre la musica ya que le va a ayudar a desarrollar su abilidad de escuchar y apreciar mejor los sonidos. Lo mas divertido es que la clase es para los dos. Los padres lo hacen entonces les toca a los ninhos. La verdad, lo hice hace dos dias y lo noto en los brazos! Es un ejercicio muy fuerte si lo haces bienm y cuando los que tocan estan sincronizados es chulisimo! Para Luca en cambio, es dificil tanto sugetar los bachi (palos) como seguir el ritmo. Pero no nos rendimos, nunca lo hice, porque hacerlo ahora? Los desafios son desafios y una vez los conquistas, te sientes muy bien. Luca conquistara este, y lo celebraremos los dos. En su segunda clase, al principio no queria ir, pero luego decidio que de mayor queria tocar los tambores y hacer espectaculos. Que chulo no?

 Changing subjects, these past weeks have been full of grief. A lot of lost lives around people that are close to me. It is easy to relate, unfortunately, and so awful to remember how painful it is to lose someone you love so much. Another reminder that life is just a short dream, and that we better make the best of it. This, we tend to forget easily and we continue to believe that we are immortal and everlasting. I tried to teach Luca about life and death, with his new friend Jack, the goldfish, but only tears came out of his eyes. Well, it is better to learn about this concept that is so natural all around us at an early age, so that he has it present and he is conscious about life, good choices, and the joy of living. I'm not trying to traumatize the kiddo but I am just not scared to talk about it. Death is part of life, I think it is OK to cry and grieve the lost of someone we miss, that is natural too, but we cannot pretend that death doesn't get to us....because it will one day.

  Cambiando de tema, estas ultimas semanas han sido bastante dolorosas. Muchas vidas perdidas de seres queridos de gente cercana a mi. Es facil sentirme identificada, por desgracia, y terrible recordar lo doloroso que es perder a laguien a quien quieres mucho. Otro recordatorio de que la vida no es mas que un corto suenho, y que mas vale disfrutarlo al maximo. Esto, lo solemos olvidar y seguimos creyendo que somos inmortales y eternos. Le intente explicar a Luca sobre la vida y la muerte, con su nuevo amigo Jack, el pececito, pero nada mas que le salian lagrimones. Bueno, es mejor saber sobre este concepto que es tan natural en todo nuestro entorno desde bien temprano, para que este presente y sea consciente sobre la vida, las buenas decisiones y la alegria de vivir. No quiero traumatizar al enano pero no me da miedo hablar de la muerte. La muerte es parte de la vida, esta bien llorar y sentir dolor porque echamos de menos a los seres que nos faltan, es natural, pero no podemos desestimar que la muerte no nos llega a nosotros...porque un dia lo hara.

 And these are some of my latest pics...I have been lazy lately, the crummy weather doesn't help, let's see if the sun will decide to come out to take more pics.

  Y aqui van algunas de mis ultimas fotos...he estado un poco perezosa, este tiempo medio chungo no ayuda, a ver si el sol se anima a salir para hacer mass fotos

Thai pants

I have always liked pants for me to wear, I have always like wide pants of different kinds, and when I saw somewhere in the internet about these pants that reminded me to my hometowns festival, I though I should go and make some. The problem here is that fabric is expensive and they require lots of it. I then saw that a store was closing and went and of course the color I had to buy was mustard yellow...for these kind of pants. Anyways, I made them, I like them, I have worn them just once, but I feel very comfortable with them and I still have fabric leftover :)

Siempre me han gustado pantalones anchos, de diferentes tipos, y cuando vi en internet unos que me recordaban un poco a las fiestas de mi pueblo, pense que deberia hacerme unos. El problema es que aqui la tela es muy cara y estos requieren bastante. Cuando vi que cerraban una tienda de telas, fui y claro esta me tuve que comprar la tela de color mostaza...para estos pantalones. Bueno, los hice, y me gustan, me los he puesto una vez, pero me siento muy comoda en ellos y aun me sobra tela :)

Fishished!

Ha! I made a mistake writing the title but then I laughed and left it as is because we did get a fish this weekend and so I am a bit obsessed about it ad it even comes out when I am trying to say something else. Jack is the reason why I have been out of most other things these past couple of days. He is a goldfish that came from a fair, poor thing traveled in a plastic bag, and went to the pet store, where we could buy him some food. There I was told that he wouldn't live much, unless I had a huge tank and I changed the water frequently because they are dirty fish, get the water dirty quickly and usually die because of fungal disease derived from the dirty water, this is specially true for small aquariums. So I decided to buy him the best affordable aquarium I could get, small one, because I have no room for more, and all the accessories and when he moves on to a better life, then we can get an easier fish. Luca treated him like one more member of the family, he talked to him and showed him his car and asked him if he could buckle him in the car. Very funny, and very strong feelings! When I told him that sometimes fish die because they might not be happy in their new house, he cried and cried and tried to figure out how to make him happy. He wondered of it was his fault for shaking the bag all the way home, he cried about 10 min about it even though I assured him that in the sea it was shaky as well because of the waves. Well, he had a sad couple of day but he seems to be doing fine! He is still with us and I am learning a bit more every day about how to take care of him. Let's see how he does! For now, we have this whole new learning experience!

Ja! Me he equivocado en el titulo y me rio porque la verdad es que puse "fishished" queriendo poner "finished" pero esque como tenemos un pececito en casa se ve que estoy un poco obsesionada con eso y es lo que me sale. Jack es la razon por la que he estado en otra en estos ultimos dias. Es un pececito de color que vino de una feria, el pobrecito viajo en una bolsa de plastico, y fue a la tienda de animales domesticos, donde le fuimos a compar comida. Ahi ya me avisaron de que no duraria mucho vivo, a no ser de que tuviera un tanque mas grande y le cambiase el agua a menudo porque son peces sucios, manchan el agua muy rapido y suelen morir de alguna enfermedad u hongo derivada del agua sucia, sobretodo en peceritas pequenhas. Asi que le compre la mejor pecera dentro de mi presupuesto con todos sus accesorios y cuando pase a otra vida, compraremos otro que sea mas facil de criar. Luca le trato como uno mas de la familia, le hablaba y le ensenhaba nuestro coche y luego le queria atar al asiento. Una risa, y com mucho sentimiento! Cuando le comente que a veces los peces se mueren porqeu puede que no esten contentos en su nuevo hogar, lloro y lloro y empezo a pensar como hacerle feliz. Se preguntaba si era culpa suya por menear la bolsita al traelo a casa, lloro como 10 minutos por esto aunque yo le convenci de que igual el mar se menea con las olas. Bueno, tuvo un par de dias tristes pero parece que ya esta mas contento! Aun esta con nosotros y estoy aprendiendo cada dia algo mas de como cuidar de el. A ver como le va! Por ahora, es una experiencia nueva!

 

But what that title was really referring to was the quilt that I made for Luca. He designed the part with the logo and the colorful part was my idea. But I did use his own drawing of Batman. He is happily using it in his bed now. I am glad to finish a big project yipiii!!! Pero a lo que el titulo se referia realmente era a que acabe la colcha que empece para Luca. La disenho el, la parte del logotipo y la parte colorida es mi idea. Pero use su dibujo de Batman. Esta feliz durmiendo con ella en su camita. Estoy contenta de haber tenminado un proyecto tan grande Yupiiii!

Volver

  And here we are again, second try. Will this last??

  Y aqui estamos de nuevo, la segunda vez. Durara??

Castle

Luca loves going to the library. We go so often that it has become something really special for both of us. We used to get 3 or 4 books and maybe a movie but now we get out of there with at least 10 books for him. It is so much fun to read random books that you really don't even know what they are about. Sometimes they are too hard or too long or too abstract, but sometimes we love them, they are funny, easy to follow and interesting. At school, they also have a library, and now once a week, they go get a book to take home. Luca told me took a book about "making". It was a book about constructing things out of recycled materials you would find at home. He had his eyes on this humongous castle, and his aunt to help him. They worked hard all weekend, didn't get out of the house for 2 days, but this is what they made. Amazing isn't it?

  A Luca le encanta ir a la biblioteca. Solemos ir tan a menudo que se ha convertido en algo muy especial para los dos. Soliamos traernos 3 o 4 libros y alguna peli pero ahora nos volvemos a casa con al menos 10 libros para el. Es tan divertido leer libros que no sabes ni de que van. A veces son demasiado dificiles o muy largos o muy abstractos, pero a veces nos encantan, son divertidos, faciles de seguir e interesantes. En el cole, tambien tienen una biblioteca, y una vez por semana, van y cogen un libro para llevar a casa.Luca me dijo que habia traido un libro de "hacer cosas". Es un libro de manualidades usando cosas recicladas de casa. Ya le habia puesto el ojo a este tremendo castillo, y tenia a su tia para que le ayudase. Trabajaron duro todo el fin de semana, no salimos de casa en 2 dias, pero esto es lo que hicieron. Increible no?

Espejito espejito

I love to try new things, create new things, and of course I am most of the time to anxious to start a new project before I finish the ones I have started....I have been trying to finish up, and with some deadline, I have finished some things that I had around here. Of course, I keep on starting new things, so it is the never ending story. But this week, I finished something I started a week ago. It took me a while to figure out the details, but once I had it all measured and the back cut, then it was a matter of using the hot glue gun and putting it together. And the funnest part, spray painting it. Now I want to spray paint more things....here is my project, which I got from an idea in pinterest....really cool and easy to make. My new mirror!!

  Me encanta probar cosas nuevas, creas cosas nuevas, y por supuesto siempre estoy con ganas de empezar otra cosa cuando aun no he acabado con los proyectos en los que estoy trabajando...he estado tratando de acabar algunos y con algo de presion, he acabado algunas cositas que tenia por aqui. Claro que, como sigo empezando cosas nuevas, esto es la historia de nunca acabar. Pero esta semana acabe algo que empece la semana pasada. Me llevo algun tiempo decidi como iba a hacerlo, pero una vez que tenia las partes medidas , y cortadas, solo era cuestions de usar la pistola de pegamento caliente solo era cuestion de montarlo todo. Y lo mas divertido, pintarlo con pintura de spray. Ahora quiero pintar toda la casa asi...aqui esta el resultado, que saque la idea de pinterest...muy chulo y facil de hacer. Mi nuevo espejo!!!

The advantages of being deaf and wearing CIs

  Luca told me yesterday that he wished he could hear like me. He said this in part because I think he is learning to use the expression "I wish" and of course his mind has been going to places these days and has come to that conclusion. But to that I said "naaaaa!!!! don't you like your implants?" and he said "oh yes, yes, yes...I like them!". We talked about about how cool and useful his implants were and that was about the end of our conversation. I have been thinking about elaborating more about this with him, I don't want to just accept that he has to love his implants, which he naturally does, but I want him to understand all the advantages he has over people like me.

  Luca me dijo ayer que le gustaría poder escuchar como yo. Lo dijo en parte porque creo que está aprendiendo a usar la expresión "desearia" y, por supuesto, su mente ha estado divagando ultimamente y ha llegado a esa conclusión. Sin embargo, yo le dije "noooooo!! No te gustan tus implantes?" y él dijo "oh, sí, sí, sí ... me gustan!". Hemos hablado de lo chulos y útiles que son y eso fue el final de nuestra conversación. He pensado en elaborar más sobre este tema con él, no quiero que acepte sólo que le tienen que encantar sus implantes, que naturalmente le encantan, pero quiero que entienda todas las ventajas que tiene sobre la gente como yo.

 Today, while we were having dinner, I explained to him about our senses. About how we were able to perceive things. I told him to close his eyes and to tell me what things were. I made him touch a book, and flapped the pages, and he quickly guessed what it was. I explained that when we are lacking one sense, we make better use of the others. He definitely does, he is very intuitive, and has an amazing capacity to imagine how things are built, or how they would look in 3D and can guess what people want to express even without hearing a single word. He knows what I tell him in the bath when he can't hear me, he can read my expressions really well. Well, I said, you have all those abilities and on top of that, you can HEAR pretty well with your implants! So he is not missing much on what people are saying or what is happening hearing just environmental sounds. And of course, I didn't want to continue because he was getting bored, but I know that this is just the icing on the cake. Really he is fortunate for many other reasons as a consequence of his hearing loss. He has met wonderful people, hard working kids, hard working professionals, amazing role models. He has been exposed to the discipline of hard work at a very young age, and I see that as a privilege, because later on, hopefully, working hard will be easier for him that he is used to it and feels it is just easy. He has had wonderful experiences, traveled all over the place, and he is able to sleep at night without any sound in the world to bother him. Overall, his hearing loss makes him a better person, more compassionate and smart. And of course I get some of those advantages along with him as we travel together in this amazing journey.

  Hoy, mientras estábamos cenando, le expliqué acerca de nuestros sentidos. Acerca de cómo somos capaces de percibir las cosas. Le dije que cerrara los ojos y que me dijera lo que eran las cosas. Le hice que tocara un libro, y movi las páginas, y rápidamente adivinó lo que era. Le explique que cuando se carece de un sentido, se hace un mejor uso de los otros. Definitivamente el los tiene, es muy intuitivo, y tiene una asombrosa capacidad para imaginar cómo se construyen, o cómo se verían en 3D las cosas y puede adivinar lo que la gente quiere expresar, incluso sin oír una sola palabra. Él sabe lo que le digo en el baño cuando no me oye, puede leer mis expresiones muy bien. Bueno, le dije, tienes todas esas habilidades y encima de todo eso, puedes ESCUCHAR muy bien con tus implantes! No se pierde mucho de lo que la gente dice o de lo que está sucediendo sólo con sonidos ambientales. Y, por supuesto, no quise seguir porque se estaba aburriendo, pero sé que esto es sólo la guinda del pastel. Realmente es afortunado por muchas otras razones, como consecuencia de su pérdida auditiva. Ha conocido a gente maravillosa, niños que trabajan duro, profesionales que trabajan duro, que modelos a seguir increibles. Ha estado expuesto a la disciplina del trabajo a una edad muy temprana, y lo veo como un privilegio, porque luego, con suerte, el trabajo duro será fácil para él que está acostumbrado a eso y sentira que es fácil. Ha tenido experiencias maravillosas, viajó por todas partes, y es capaz de dormir por la noche sin ningún tipo de ruido en el mundo que le molesta. En general, la pérdida auditiva le hace una mejor persona, más compasiva e inteligente. Y por supuesto, algunas de estas ventajas tambien las tengo yo, junto con él a medida que viajamos juntos en esta aventura increíble.

  And what is a life without challenges, I believe challenges just make it more interesting and enriching.

  Y que es la vida sin desafios. Yo creo que los desafios hacen la vida mas interesante y mas enriquecedora.

 And speaking about challenges.... I always make some if I don't naturally have them, and these past two weeks, I spent hours visiting stores looking for the right ingredients to make a healthy whole wheat bread. I read lots of things on the internet, and after a lot of planning and thinking (and money spent) I baked two loafs of healthy bread!!! I was so happy because even though the first one didn't come out of the pan without breaking apart, I have to say, they are quite fluffy and tasty! I have more ideas for the next time I try. But for now, I get my cereal bread in the morning with a big smile on my face.

  Y hablando de desafios....siempre me pongo alguno si es que no lo tengo ya naturalmente, y en estas dos ultimas semanas, pase horas visitando tiendas buscando los ingredientes necesarios para hacer un pan saludable. Lei muchas cosas en internet, y despues de mucho planificar y pensar (y gastar dinero) hice dos panes muy ricos!!! Estaba tan contenta porque aunque el primero no salio enterito de su molde, he de decir, que salieron esponjositos y sabrosos!! Tengo mas ideas para la proxima vez que lo pruebe. Pero por ahora, desayuno mi pan de cerales por la manhana con una gran sonrisa en mi cara.

Anniversary

All this week I have been reminding my friends and family about sharing the road, so that cyclist can ride in the road with cars without any harm. Today it has been 5 years since my husband was killed by someone driving motor-vehicle who crashed with him while he was safely riding his bike in the bike lane. It is surreal to think that 5 years have passed, that he is no longer living, that we still miss him so much, that it's still so hard to think about what happened and about not having him in our lives. It is surreal to think about how fragile our lives are, and about how much we suffer when our time or our loved one's is up. In a way it feels good to feel sad, it's strange to say that, but reminds us how much the one missing was loved, how powerful that person was towards others and how meaningful the relationship was. It's an acknowledged sadness, a calm one. Melancholy maybe.

Toda la semana he estado recordando a mis amigos y familia que es importante compartir la carretera, para que los ciclistas puedan ir por la misma via que los coches sin danhos. Hoy hace 5 anhos desde que mi marido muriera porque fue atropellado por un coche que se choco con el mientras el iba seguro dando una vuelva en bici en el carril bici. Es increible pensar que han pasado 5 anhos, que no vive ya, que le echamos tanto de menos, que es aun tan dificil pensar en lo que paso y no tenerle en nuestras vidas. Es increible pensar en lo delicadas que son nuestras vidas, y pensar en cuanto sufrimos cuando se nos acaban los dias o a algun ser querido. En cierto modo ensta bien sentirse triste, es estranho decirlo, pero nos hace recordar cuando quisimos al que no esta, lo importante que fue esa persona hacia los demas y lo significativa que fue nuestra relacion. Es una tristeza reconocida, tranquila. Quizas sea melancolia.

And the day arrived...

And the day arrived...the day Luca asked me who was going to take his implants off so he can hear like me. I thought he had to be a bit older to come to this common conclusion in deaf children, but we talk so much about so many topics that he figured this one out pretty quick. I had to break the bad news, in a good way, or at least I tried. I told him that he would ALWAYS have those COOL (his favorite word) implants, just like I need to wear glasses sometimes, and maybe if new ones come out he might have them too, who knows. He is always a happy camper and when he doesn't know what to say or is not the kind of answer he was hoping for, he changes the subject talks about something else. But he did mentioned that maybe his abuela might get a hearing aid and then they will be the same, he was excited to be like her, to belong to the abuela group.

Y el dia llego...el dia que Luca me pregunto que quien le iba a quitar sus implantes para que pudiese oir como yo. Pense que tendria que ser algo mayor para llegar a esta conclusion comun entre ninhos sordos, pero hablamos tanto de todo que creo que ha averiguado esto pronto. Tuve que darle la mala noticia, de la mejor manera posible, o por lo menos lo intente. Le dije que el SIEMPRE tendria esos implantes tan CHULISIMOS (su palabra favorita), igual que yo a veces tengo que usar gafas, y quizas si unos nuevos salen al mercado pues puede que tambien los tenga, quien sabe. Siempre se conforma cuando no sabe que decir o le doy una respuesta que no es la deseada, cambia de tema y habla de otra cosa. Pero dijo que quizas su abuela se ponga un audifono y entonces seran iguales, estaba contento de ser igual que ella, de pertenecer al grupo de la abuela.

And this is the way he will conquer the world with his implants, just like superman, diving into life.

Y asi es como conquistara el mundo con sus implantes, como superman, sumergiendose de cabeza en la vida.

Blogging slacker

So it seems like I have really lazy around here. I feel proud that I have been able to do other important things in my life but a little bit of updating around here for all my friends , cyberfriends, and nice people who follow my blog would be nice.

Luca is back to school. He is in primary school, which means the real thing, kindergarden. He is still at an oral school for the Deaf, because even though a lot of people think that he is doing so awesome that he would be ready for a mainstreamed school, the truth is, he is not. Only when you pay attention you realize that he would struggle with a lot of things still. But he is making great progress and he is getting great education, so what else can I hope for! He comes out of school and tells me everything about everything, which is great because I can have continuity and show much more interest on his things knowing what these are. More opportunities to learn at home. He was so tired after 2 days in school that he was hoping number 3 was a holiday, but that wasn't the case. Toady he had school too and by the time dinner time came around, he begged me to let him go to bed without dinner because he was soooo tired. Poor thing, his brain is going full speed!
And I leave you here with a picture of him on his second day of school (because I forgot to immortalize day 1) and another picture of one of my creating over the summer. Since I don't have enough hobbies and plenty of space to keep my materials, I decided to start a new one. Necklaces! Enjoy!
Por lo que parece estoy realmente perezoso por estos lares. Me siento orgullosa de haber sido capaz de hacer otras cosas importantes en mi vida, pero un poco de actualización por aquí para todos mis amigos, ciberamigos, y buena gente que sigue mi blog no estaria mal.
Luca ha vuelto al cole. Esta en la escuela primaria, lo que significa ya parvulitos de 5 anhos. Todavía está en un colegio oral para ninhos sordos, ya que a pesar de que mucha gente piensa que está mejorando tan impresionantemente que estaría listo para integrarse a una escuela regular, pero la verdad es que no lo esta. Sólo cuando uno presta atención te das cuenta de que le costaría mucho todavía. Pero está progresando mucho y está recibiendo una gran educación, así que ¿qué más puedo esperar! Cuando sale del cole me lo cuenta todo acerca de todo, lo que esta muy bien porque así puede tener continuidad y yo puedo mostrar mucho más interés en sus cosas sabiendo cuáles son. Más oportunidades para aprender en casa. Estaba tan cansado después de dos días en el cole que estaba esperando que el día 3 fuera un día de fiesta, pero no fue el caso. Hoy hubo cole también y sobre la hora de la cena, me rogó que lo dejara ir a la cama sin cenar porque él estaba taaaan cansado. Pobrecito, su cerebro va a toda velocidad!
Y os dejo aquí con una foto de él en su segundo día de cole (porque se me olvidó inmortalizar el día 1) y otra foto de una de mis creaciones durante el verano. Puesto que no tengo hobbis suficiente y un montón de espacio para guardar mis materiales, me decidí a empezar uno nuevo.... Collares! Disfrutad!

Summer

Can you tell I've been busy? No time for anything. Still now I can't believe I found a moment of peace! We have been having fun with our family, getting spoiled, and for that, one needs to do nothing, that's what part of my summer has been. The other part is making up for all the rest and good relaxing times I got before ha! It is fun to be with my nieces and sister but it is exhausting! Well, I have to say, I think we get better and better at this as years go by and we appreciate more and more what my mom and aunt did raising so many kids.
I have enjoyed some time at a farm and that was a different experience for both Luca and I. I have also seen lots of friends and it has been good. Luca is reaching the point of wanting just his regular normal life, but then, one he gets it, he will be missing all of this. We better enjoy it while it lasts because it's going to be over very soon!

Se nota que he estado ocupada? No me da tiempo a nada. Aun no me creo que tenga un ratito de paz! Hemos estado pasandolo bien con nuestra familia, que nos han mimado, y por eso, no he hecho nada, y asi ha sido parte de mi verano. La otra parte esta compensando por todos esos dias de descanso y relax que tuve ja! Nos encanta estar con mis sobris y hermana pero estamos agotados! Bueno, la verdad, es que creo que mejoramos con los anhos y somo mas eficientes y aprediamos mas a mi madre y tia que criaron a tantos ninhos juntos.
Hemos pasado un tiempo en una granja y esa ha sido una experiencia diferente para los dos. Tambien hemos visto a muchos amigos y ha estado bien. Luca ya se esta cansando y quiere su rutina, pero cuando la tenga, echara todo esto de menos. Mas vale que lo disfrutemos mientras dure porque sera por poco tiempo!

Headbands

I like making headbands. They are easy and quick to make. The tricky part is deciding the design and the fabric...but once you have it....it is a piece of cake! These are the new ones, Luca gave them as a present to his friend from school.

Me gusta hacer diademas. Son faciles y rapidas de hacer. Lo unico complicado es decidi el disenho y la tela....pero una vez lo sabes...esta chupao! Estas son las nuevas, Luca se las regalo a una amiguita del cole.

Swimmer

Now that it is already so hot and we have several pools available, we've been enjoying going to them. Luca still doesn't swim by himself when he cannot touch the bottom of the pool, he gets nervous and starts swallowing water. But he can actually swim when he feels comfortable that he can touch the floor. I hope he can soon learn, so I can worry a bit less when we are at the pool.

I like this picture of him, all wet and shiny.

Ahora que hace tanto calor y que tenemos varias piscinas a nuestra disposicion, hemos estado disfrutando de ellas. Luca aun no nada independientemente cuando no toca el suelo de la piscina, se pone nervioso y empieza a tragar agua. Pero la verdad es que si que sabe nadar un poco cuando esta comodo y sabe que puede pisar. Espero que aprenda pronto, para que me tenga que preocupar un poco menos cuando estamos en la piscina. Me gusta esta foto suya, todo mojado y brillante.

Elegant babies

The other day I went for a walk around shops that were selling handmade products and I just wanted to start sewing! I got inspired! as a result, I made these 3 things, and I'm not stopping!

El otro dia me fui de paseo por unsa tiendas donde habia articulos hechos a mano y me entro el gusanillo de ponerme a coser! me inspire! como resultado, hice estas tres cosas, y no paro!

Sewing

I have been sewing lately; I have so many projects around my desk, unfinished or ideas hanging around...that I decide it is time to organize and sew. I started organizing my fabrics, they were all in the wrong places plus I had forgotten how many I have. It is good to take them out and look at them once in a while. I have also started creating a new bag. A friend lend me her bag so I could make one like it, and it proved quite easy. Although as I was putting it together I really didn't know how was I going to make it so that you could hardly see the last seam. Well, I just did it, and it turned out quite cute. I have cut two others that I plant to sew one of these days...

He estado cosiendo ultimamente; tengo tantos proyectos por mi escritorio, sin acabar, o ideas que me pasan por la cabeza...que he decidido que es hora de organizar y coser. Empeze por organizar mis telas, estaban todas puestas en lugares qeu no correspondian y ademas se me habia olvidado que tenia tantas. Esta bien sacarlas y verlas de vez en cuando,. Tambien he empezado a crear un boldo nuevo. Una amiga me presto el suyo para que hiciera uno asi, y la verdad es que salio facil. Aunque mientras lo montaba no sabia muy bien como lo iba a acabar y donde iba a cerrarlo. Bueno, al final lo hice, y salio mono. Tengo otros dos cortados y los pienso coser uno de estos dias...

I have also been quilting Luca's new quilt...it's looking good.

Tambien he estado haciendo el acolchado de la colcha nueva de Luca..me esta quedano chuli...

501

501, that's how many posts I have posted so far! wow, so many years of doing this...and how much longer to go? who knows? I guess as long as I have time and things to talk about. I have lots of things going on these days. Photography, that has kept me busy and keeps on being something I like to do...I have been learning tricks, or rather, playing with photo editing and photos I took. I have been trying to convert regular pictures into model looking images. This is my first attempt. I didn't even do it the way I was supposed to because I didn't have the tools for it, but I made an attempt with what I had. I hope you also think it kindda looks like a model image...

501, esas son las veces que he escrito en esta ventana de momento! guau, cuantos anhos haciendolo...y hasta cuando? quien sabe? Supongo que hasta que deje de tener tiempo y cosas de que hablar. Pasan muchas cosas por mi vida. La fotografia, eso me mantiene ocupada y es algo que me encanta hacer...he estado aprendiendo a hacer trucos, o mas bien, jugando con edicion de fotos que hice. He estado intentando convertir fotos normales en fotos que parezcan maquetas. Este es mi primer intento. No lo hice como debia porque no tenia las herramientas adecuadas, pero lo intente con lo que tenia. Espero que tambien penseis que se parece un poco a una maqueta...

4th of July

Now that I am an American, and the 4th of July is around the corner, what an opportunity to celebrate my newly adopted citizenship with the red, white and blue colors!! Luca did his part at school, they were so cute...yelling "red white and blue!". Now it's my turn, lake party, fireworks, concert...a packed weekend ahead! Happy 4th of July!

Ahora que soy Americana, y el 4 de Julio esta a la vuelta de la esquina, que oportunidad para celebrar mi nueva nacionalidad reciend adoptada con los colores rojo, blanco y azul!!! Luca hizo su parte en el cole, tan graciosos...gritando " rojo, blanco y azul!". Ahora me toca a mi, fiesta en el lago, fuegos artificiales, concierto...un fin de semana lleno de actividades! Feliz dia de la Independencia Americana!

Crepes

The other day there was an open house in a cooking school around here. I drive by their building everyday when I take Luca to school. I see the chefs and students walking out of the building so often and I always wondered what it looked like inside. Not only did we get to see the whole facility but we also got a chance to learn to cook a couple of things. I had made crepes in the past, but couldn't remember the recipe anymore, so I was glad to know that we were going to try and also that we were getting their recipe. I made them today at home...mmm...they were good. Too bad Luca only eats one, cause I had 5 and there are 3 more left...and I only prepared half the recipe! I will have more crepes for breakfast another day I guess!

El otro dia habia un dia de puertas abiertas en una escuela de cocina de por aqui. Paso por delante de ese edificio todos los dias cuando llevo a Luca al cole. Veo a los cocineros saliendo y caminando por fuera del edificio y siempre me pregunto como sera por dentro. No solo pudimos hacer un tour de todo el edificio sino que ademas nos ensenharon a cocinar algunas cosas. Yo ya habia hecho crepes hace anhos, pero no me acordaba de la receta, asi que me alegre de que nos ensenhara y de que nos pasaran la receta. Los hice hoy en casa...mmm...que ricos. Que pena que Luca solo se coma uno porque yo me zampe 5 y hay 3 mas que sobraron...y eso que solo prepare media receta! Creo que tendre mas crepes para desayunar otro dia!

Recipe:

4 oz cake flour (used all purpose)
8 fluid ounces of milk
2 whole eggs
1 fluid oz clarified butter (used regular)
1 Tb sugar
1/2 ts salt

Mix well, strain and then pour a small ladle in a non stick pan. Cook until it loosens and then turn and turn once more until lightly brown.

Receta (1 onza = 30 mL o 30 mg)

4 onzas harina
8 onzas de leche
2 huevos
1 onza de mantequilla clarificada (use la regular)
1 cuharada sopera azucar
1 cucharadita sal

Mezclar bien, colar y poner una cucharada de servir pequenha en una sateen de teflon. Cocinar hasta que se mueva y dar vuelta y volver a cocinar del primer lado hasta que se dore.

Ciudadana

rumbo

I feel I have been lazy about writing, about doing a lot of other things. I really have just been relaxed. I got to visit a lot of good old friends, and the time spent there with them, made me feel that I was back at home, that I still have a lot of good friends in one place, and that there are lots of wonderful people around the world that I miss. That trip made me go back to a more laid back moment of my life, and relaxing with people that feel that everything is great and that make you feel like at home, made me lose my perspective of my regular life for a little bit. It is a strange feeling, but it happens. You realize things about your present life that you knew but didn't really pay much attention to before. I am happy with my life, but sometimes is good to have a check point and make slight adjustments to it to continue going the way you really deep inside of you want to go.

Siento que estoy un poco perezosa ultimamente escribiendo, y haciendo muchas otras cosas. La verdad es que he estado relajada. He ido a visitar muchos viejos amigos, y el tiempo que he pasado con ellos, me ha hecho sentir que estaba de vuelta en casa, que aun tengo muchos buenos amigos en un lugar en concreto, y que hay muchisma gente maravillosa repartida por el mundo a los que echo de menos. Ese viaje me ha hecho volver a un estado mas sencillo de mi vida, y relajandome con la gente a los que todo les parece bien y que me han hecho sentirme en casa, ha hecho que pierda un poco la perspectiva de mi vida cotidiana. Es una cosa rara, pero pasa. Te das cuenta de cosas de tuvida actual que ya sabias pero a las que no habias prestado mucha atencion. Estoy contenta con mi vida, pero a veces es bueno tener un punto de referencia para hacer unos pequenhos ajustes a la vida y para poder seguir yendo por el camino que realmente quieres tomar desde dentro de ti.

We also spent a few days with Luca's best friend, his aunt. We went to our now proclaimed annual camping trip, and enjoyed spending the night in a tent at a campsite (not so much), and going down the river with a raft, making fires, cooking, getting rained on, and catching bugs and fish. I felt great when I took a shower at home, like Luca likes to put it, he and his aunt like cool stuff, and I like pretty stuff. To which I disagree, but who am I to disagree with what's in his creative mind. I did have a great time with my two camping partners and hope to repeat again next year. Thanks J for bringing coolness to our lives!

Tambien pasamos unos dias con la mejor amiga de Luca, su tia. Fuimos en la ya proclamada acampada del anho, y disfrutamos pasando la noche en una tienda de campanha (no tanto), y bajando el rio en una lanchita hinchable, haciendo fuegos, cocinando, mojandonos bajo la lluvia, y cazando insectos y peces. Me senti muy bien cuando llegue a csa y me pegue una duchita, como Luca dice, a el y a su tia le gustan las cosas chulas y a mi lo bonito. Con lo que no estoy de acuerdo, pero quien soy yo para llevarle la contraria con toda esa mente creativa que tiene. La verdad es que me lo pase super bien y espero repetir el anho que viene de nuevo. Gracias J por traernos lo chulo a nuestras vidas!