Have you ever had one of those weeks in which nothing of importance or interest happens? I didn't arrive an hour early any place or cause a scene that I'm aware of. One of the neighbours, who I suppose isn't speaking to some of us or maybe just me, held the door for me yesterday because I had two bags of shopping and an umbrella. I thanked her (for not letting the door slam in my face). The joys of living in a block of flats! I suppose living in a house with other houses close by could also be problematic. I intend to continue greeting her whenever I see her just to bother her and demonstrate that my mother taught me manners. She's always been a bitter person, so her attitude doesn't surprise me.
While I was wondering what photo to post for my boring blog, I read a funny news item about the police being called to an apartment in Sweden late at night to check out a loud disturbance. They encountered an extremely angry couple, who were cursing loudly and throwing around bits of furniture, and their baby, who had been woken up by the noise and who was screaming. Yes, the frustrated pair were trying to put together a piece of furniture they'd bought in IKEA.
I just wonder how long they'd tried to put their piece of furniture together. Years ago I wanted something for all the videos I had and saw in a catalogue the answer. It was like an open bookcase that revolved so you could use both sides and still see all that the videos you had. I tried all afternoon one day to put it together, and, after it fell apart the 100th time, I decided to give up. I'm usually patient and don't give up easily, but this time I did. Finally a friend was able to, with much difficulty, get it put together. It came only with photos, which were obviously not in the correct order, and different types of 'screws' for the planks of wood - wooden ones and metal ones. I have this piece of furniture to this day. It's where I keep a lot of my course books and too many papers. It's covered up for this reason, and also for the gaps that there are in the sides due to different screw types and lengths. I know this is the example IKEA uses for their furniture! They should declare 'how not to assemble your furniture'.
We've had a rainy weekend, especially today when it hasn't stopped yet. Not only is it raining, but it's cold and I have some clothes drying over the radiator. It's funny that we're further south and it's warmer in Edinburgh and Helsinki today (and yesterday). I have no plans to go out today. I do have some paper and a box from Amazon I need to take to a paper bank. However, with the street cleaners' strike, the banks are overflowing. Thankfully in my area, things aren't as bad as some in which cars have been burnt along with the containers.
Here's hoping everyone has a good week. I don't know about you. I, for one, don't need for exciting things to happen as long as bad things don't. Happy new week!
I guess I'd have to say I'm still not used to the time change. It doesn't matter that we in Europe turned our clocks back the week before others. I confess my kitchen clock has yet to show the new time, but that's not its fault the same as it isn't its fault what happened to me on Wednesday evening. Wednesday is the day that I have 4 classes one after the other. Believe me, it helps that 3 of them are in the same house. What I wasn't expecting was for one of the kids to be ill, so after giving class to their mother, who has incorporated into my list of students, I went home.
Since one of our regulars hasn't been able to join us for our weekly dinners at the Chinese, Chris asked if we couldn't change it to Wednesday night instead. I don't finish until almost 9 pm, but she works in the centre and arrives at about 9.30 pm. I don't have a problem getting to the Chinese on time because it's near my house. I'm usually the first one to arrive anywhere anyway as I believe in being punctual. On Wednesday night I was so punctual that I arrived an hour early! When I went in I thought it was unusual that the family and the chef were still having dinner. I went in and sat down at our usual table. I looked at my phone to see if Chris had sent a WhatsApp (she usually does to say she's about to arrive). The penny dropped when I saw the time: 20.35 (8.35 pm). How lucky I am to live nearby so I didn't have to sit there or walk around for an hour!
Obviously I need to blame someone for this week's embarrassing events. One student I told I'd see her on Friday when I only have class with her on Tuesday. As a teacher, I'm always reminding students to read the instructions carefully. Reading the wrong questions for a text on my part didn't demonstrate I could follow instructions correctly. So I'm going to place the blame on whoever decided we have to change the time (it gets dark too early) and the weather. This weekend has been quite sunny, but this past week was mostly cloudy and foggy.
Madrid is at present suffering a street cleaners strike. I hope and pray that my area doesn't get as bad as some areas where pickets have burnt containers, even catching cars parked near the containers on fire, and scattered rubbish everywhere making walking difficult and doing little for the image it gives to tourists of Madrid. There are minimum services, and those working are protected by a police escort. I haven't seen anyone cleaning the streets like this in my area. However, in other areas sometimes the businesses and schools have taken care of cleaning the streets. Striking is everyone's right and those of us who aren't on strike are the ones who pay for this right.
Nothing much left to say except I'm glad my week is over, hope this new week brings better experiences and is a good one for everyone.
there were only 7 more shopping Saturdays until Christmas, and I also saw a post warning Santa off because its Thanksgiving month (and my birthday, may I add). My photo shows some of the things I bought last Christmas for decoration. Those lovely bags I got to hold the goodies I always make as gifts at Christmas. As a matter of fact, I've made a pact with an artist-writer friend to make him some teacakes in exchange for one of his pictures.
Unfortunately I won't be able to go to the Christmas fair where I bought the items you see. The venue where it's always held, an Anglican church, is booked for all the Saturdays when the group could have the fair. Some of them also sell at the American Women's Club and at the British Ladies Christmas fair. I've been to the American one a couple of times and it's always crowded - the same with the British Ladies fair. I don't enjoy being in crowds any more, so I'll give these two a miss and hope to attend the one in the church next year. I used to do baked goods for this group, but it got too much for me.
My friend Chris's birthday falls on Halloween. The person whose birthday it is always chooses the restaurant. Chris always chooses Indian, just as I used to choose Mexican until our favourite Mexican restaurant started being rented out for Thanksgiving dinner. My choice has been changed to Greek. This was the first year we'd celebrated Chris's birthday so close to where I live (10 minutes walking). It seems I'm the social secretary for our get togethers because I book the tables and send out the e-mails and WhatApps or if necessary telephone. Anyway, the food was good, although one of our friends complained that it would have been less expensive had we shared dishes. We usually have leftovers which are always taken home. I know when we go to the Greek, I'm not sharing my moussaka, because they've made the portion smaller. One of the big problems is we start eating so late. The one who complained about the expense can't get there until 10 pm, which is a bit late for me, but don't think you're going to have dinner in Spain before 9 pm unless you go to McDonald's or one of the other fast food places.
I hope everyone enjoys their extra hour this weekend if you didn't get one last week. I sure have enjoyed my 3 days off. Have a good week everyone.
Here's
another photo from my summer visit to Ohio. There's a picturesque
little town near Cincinnati called Glendale. The first time I visited I
took photos of the pub with the British name of Cock and Bull and lots
of squirrel statues scattered around the town. I posted these on the
innovative but sadly defunct social site Multiply, so some of you may
have seen them. Now when I visit, we have dinner in the pub and watch
trains. I don't usually take photos. However, I'd never seen a black
squirrel before, and this little guy seemed to be digging for China. How
many black squirrels have you seen?
Before I leave this quiet little town,
let me tell you a couple of interesting facts about Glendale, Ohio. It
started out as a holiday resort for the rich of Cincinnati, especially
in the summer. From a commemorative plaque I saw this summer, Glendale
was also famous during the Civil War for the 'battle that never
happened'. Morgan's troops, who had arrived in Glendale, had expected to
run into Union troops because of the railroad. Well, a trainload of
Union soldiers did pass through the town. Lastly, the only actress who
successfully committed suicide by jumping off the sign when it was still
Hollywoodland is buried in the cemetery here. Her father lived in
Glendale.
This morning I was somewhat confused
when I turned on the TV expecting to watch the 'Victims Of Terrorism'
demonstration and speeches. The demonstration was in protest against the
European Court's decision to overturn the 'Parot Law' in Spain which
states that terrorists and other dangerous criminals, such as rapists
and serial killers, are to be kept imprisoned the maximum number of
years. In other words, the seriousness of the crime dictates the
sentence. The European Court has ruled this is against 'human rights'.
One such terrorist was set free just hours after the decision was made.
She is responsible for over 20 deaths, one of them being an American
businessman who was in the street when the bomb went off. There are over
100 terrorists who will be able to benefit from the Court's decision.
The mother of Sandra Palo, a young girl who was raped, run over by a car
and whose body was set on fire and burned, was also attending the
demonstration, so now her daughter's murderers can be free too, thanks
to the Court. What about the rights of the victims? As for my confusion,
I'd forgotten the time change. Woe is me! Now I have to get used to
another timetable change.
It's probably good that I get an extra
hour this weekend, because I've been quite busy. I did some baking
yesterday, so I'll have homemade bread for a few days. I'm a messy cook
though and had to clean the kitchen floor 3 times! Then in the
afternoon, I finished getting all my winter things ironed and into the
wardrobe. I often envy people who have wardrobes for winter and summer
clothes. I used to, but now things from the past season have to go into
bags or suitcases. Touching wood, it's still not too chilly out and I
haven't put on the heating yet.
Hope everyone has a good week. You can
be envious of my extra hour this weekend and Friday off, and then I can
be envious of you next weekend and your time off at Thanksgiving for
those who celebrate it.
Or in my case: perejil,
salvia, romero y tomillo. This summer while we were looking for my Chinese spider, I saw a spice carousel and got it for my sister as her spices were on a shelf in a kitchen cupboard all piggly wiggly if you know what I mean. This is my spice carousel that I've had since the 80's. Although sometimes I have to search for a particular spice because it's not out front, they're all here. The easiest ones to find are the ones from the Simon and Garfunkel song. For some inexplicable reason, I have to arrange these specific spices in this way. At least I'm not like Anne Tyler's 'The Accidental Tourist' in which 'the accidental tourist's' sister had everything arranged in alphabetical order in her kitchen - the ant killer was next to the allspice. Hope I'm not so neurotic! How about you? Have you got any unusual quirks that you wouldn't mind sharing?
Being less selfish and taking responsibility are two things that many have yet learnt to share. One afternoon this past week, the neighbour across the hall warned me that there was oil on the floor and steps. Why the person who'd spilt the oil didn't clean it I can't say, or why this lady who told me about the oil didn't. Perhaps because she rents and doesn't own her flat, she thinks she doesn't have to. As I was going to class, I quickly wrote a warning about the oil and put it on the bulletin board. When I returned from classes, no one had bothered trying to clean, so I got out my bucket and mop and cleaned the steps and floor of the entrance. It's always a feat to clean without having someone walk through where you've just mopped. When I finally got the hall mopped and dry, I put up a different message on the board saying that I'd only cleaned that part and was unsure if there was oil on the stairs leading to the other flats. According to my frequently annoying neighbour, there was oil from the second floor, so I'm sure they also spilt some on the stairs. How dangerous is that dripping a slippery liquid like oil throughout a building and leaving it? Would the person who left the trail of oil feel guilty if someone had fallen and really hurt themselves? The least this person can do is apologize for being selfish and not taking the time to clean up the mess. We all have things to do and places to go.
Wow! This sort of turned into a rant post, but then that's something some of us need to do from time to time. I know I do. However, my favourite way to end such a post is wish everyone a good week. Have a good week all.
Homemade laundry detergent was another thing I'd placed on my summer projects list. This is a joint effort between my sister and me. It seemed to me that just about everybody was making their own, and I wanted to see if it was really that good before I committed myself to getting the ingredients to make it. The recipes call for washing soda and we only have baking soda, so I thought I'd have to buy that in the US. Since our venture, I've read that you can make washing soda by baking baking soda. Maybe a bit more complicated making it, but I'm used to finding substitutes. When I run out of what I brought back, I'm going to use Lagarto soap, which is a very mild soap with lots of uses. It's a soap I'll use for washing my face.
As you can see from my label, I've written two tablespoons per load. I've seen some recipes that suggest one tablespoon per load, so if you want to use only one, I imagine that's sufficient. The important thing is you're saving money and not harming the environment with harsh ingredients. You also feel good about having made something useful. One of my friends' birthday is at the end of this month and I'm going to give her a tub as part of the package I'm making up.
Having said I'll be making more when what I have is finished tells you I really like it. Do you make your own laundry detergent? You can find the ingredients in the detergent aisle of the supermarket. We used Fels Naptha soap, but I've seen other brands mentioned and even Ivory soap. We made a big batch and used 3 soaps. The recipe we used is as follows:
- 1 cup finely grated Fels Naptha soap
- 1 cup washing soda
- 1 cup borax
Next I'll be making dishwasher tablets.
Autumn is definitely here. I haven't put the heating on yet, but I'm thinking it's a wonderful afternoon to do some baking. I'll hold off on the washing soda until I need it though. Hope everybody has a good week.
Well, I can finally cross something off my 'gadgets' list on Pinterest as something that I've acquired and find super useful. It's popularly called a Chinese spider (because of the metal basket which looks like a spider web) and can be used for taking food out of hot oil, as it drains off the excess oil effortlessly, or for draining pasta. In case you don't know by now which gadget hanging up there is the Chinese spider, it's the one with the metal basket and the bamboo handle. I initially was going to order mine from Amazon, but I checked prices on the internet and saw that it was 2 dollars cheaper at Bed Bath & Beyond. It always pays to compare prices as we all know.
One day this past week I got a phone call from my neighbour (the one I'm always happy not to see) saying her handbag had been stolen from inside her flat and she had to go to the police station to report it. She owns two flats in the building - one on my floor and she lives in one on the first floor. At the moment the one on my floor is empty although she's just told me there's a possibility that she was going to rent it out soon. Anyway, she's always going up and down from one flat to the other and she leaves the doors open in both places. Although I think she left her bag downstairs with her bag of art supplies, she thinks she left it upstairs. I suppose it was someone from the building who took it, because later that same evening she told me she had found her bag minus her wallet hanging on the door downstairs.
Last week I posted on facebook a story about a wallet that was hindering a door of one of the trains from closing properly. Inside the wallet the mechanic, whose job it was to repair the door, found a check for $2 million written out to someone from California. So far they haven't been claimed, which makes me wonder. Yesterday morning, I was again helping my friends from the language institute, only this time it was to unpack the books we'd put into boxes in July. As soon as we got into the underground station afterwards, we were warned about pickpockets by a guard. That's life in a big city!
My first week back to work was hard. I'm adjusting to the time change and routine more or less and sleeping better. Hope everyone's week is a good one.
