aprendiendo a hablar español

 Today I’m in college and I’m staying late to study in the library, so todays post is an early indulgence 

Allesandra Fortuna is a cook who tucks her tea towel down her bra straps before getting stuck in making pasta from scratch. don’t you adore her? My plan is to visit Italy with my friend Nige in 2026

Our trip to Madrid seems real now as I’ve booked our tickets to see the lisping choir and Metropolitan Orchestra of Madrid. I’m also looking at booking a Spanish cooking afternoon “experience” too which sounds great fun ( sparked by the Italian video) , so it won’t surprise you that I’ve also decided to learn Spanish when I complete my counselling diploma . I will start that in September 

This impressed me too

And finally this , shivers up the spine 

The best mini series Anne with an A

Bluebell

 

Bluebell is in the garage having a pre MOT service. 

Like most old ladies, there are several worn out bits that need attention and she’s in for the full day which will be expensive. 

She’s been a good friend to me over the past seven years

A very good friend. 

Another year or two together will be great, but I suspect, as she’s around the clock

I will have to start saving for a replacement.

She has been good to me and good for me

And I shall miss her

When her time comes

Red Letter DAY

 

A first in the cottage.

Bun on my knee, Mary next to me

Snowdonia

 

I cooked lots of creamy mash and mini roasts even though I was good and didnt have any myself. 

I ve missed cooking dinner but did cheat with the bought cake

Snowdonia looks beautiful in the sunshine but i couldnt live up here, I prefer the rolling hills of Eastern North Wales

Stand Up

 Affable Despot Jason came with me to the Storyhouse last night. 

I hadn’t seen him for an age, but quite typically we left off when we last started and had a giggle.

He’s a natural storyteller who laughs at his own tales, a trait which is both endearing and infectious, and at times during the first stand up comic ( who was truly atrocious) we found ourselves giggling like schoolboys.

The main act was a young doctor, whose observational humour about his work and his relationship with his mother was both amusing, poignant and clever.

A nice way to spend a Friday evening.

Tomorrow I’m driving up to Rhiwlas in Snowdonia to see my friend Ruth who is recovering from a knee replacement. 

I’ve bought and will be cooking her a roast dinner and as it’s her birthday, I’ve invested in a cake, candles and party hats, 

Clarification

My favourite picture of Finlay leading Meg, and little George on the beach in 2006

 Yesterday’s “ Finlay” post wasn’t just about the grief for a dog as most of you thought it was.

It was the written acceptance and understanding of a shared love for something that was in all intense purposes,  a child. 

A child with red/brown curly hair and a wicked sense of fun.

The craving to have your own offspring isn’t just the domain of women.

I have had to own my long term desire for children and unexpected as it was, the counselling room has been the safe place in which I’ve explored and accepted the fact. 

It’s a gift to be able to explore your motivations and your drives

And to acknowledge what makes you tick as a human in this strange collections of experiences we call life.

I would have been a good dad

I was a good dad to Finlay, albeit an over protective one

Realising that, and acknowledging it

Is important

Escandalo

 Out for Breakfast...will leave you with the lisping bass section on cracking form

Blurry but good 

Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars

In my personal counselling this week my counsellor asked me when my heart was broken last. 

She qualified it as being a question not associated about my ex husband 

And I answered her quickly and without a pause

It was the death of Finlay

My first dog.

He was five when he died, 

A brain tumour robbing me of a dog with a heart of a lion

And a nature that endeared me to Welsh terriers for all of my life

Chasing Cars was playing on the radio every time I took him to the vets and the animal hospital 

And when I remembered him in my counselling room , I cried like a baby at his loss

The son my husband and I shared that was “only” a dog

He was so much more my counsellor observed kindly and with insight…

And tearfully I agreed with her

His gravestone lies in the front garden right next to the agapanthus and Jews mallow

Finlay Christmas 2004