La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
Out for a walk in the beautiful sunshine today, I passed a building in the neighborhood that last week and the weeks before had beautiful bananas on their tree (although the residents had been regularly removing those nearly ripe). I walked by today and the building’s gardens looked bare. Tree trimming.
I took a photo of what a sugar-free sweetener looks like here as opposed to what is offered in the United States. Being much more practical, we are given just enough for what we’re drinking. If you want more, you ask. It keeps people like My Mother the Dowager Duchess and my Aunt Sylvie from dumping the entire supply in their purses (click here).
Dudo and Moose have had treat #4. When it was time, Dudo sat on the dining room table and waited. No, they weren’t allowed on the table, but they’re just so damned cute when they’re up there. Moose is now napping and Dudo is staring through a drain hole on the terrace hoping a monk parakeet will fly through (although monk parakeets are so aggressive and noisy that I have a feeling Dudo would hide under the bed). Dudo just brought the battery powered mouse into my office. It’s show time!
And I’ve finished today with a hypnotic look at the sun-dappled Mediterranean Sea.
Hoy, mientras salía a caminar bajo el hermoso sol, pasé por un edificio en el vecindario que la semana pasada y las semanas anteriores tenían hermosos plátanos en su árbol (aunque los residentes habían estado quitando regularmente los que estaban casi maduros). Pasé hoy y los jardines del edificio parecía desnudo. Poda de árboles.
Hice una foto de cómo se ve aquí un edulcorante sin azúcar a diferencia de lo que se ofrece en los Estados Unidos. Siendo mucho más práctico, nos dan lo justo para lo que estamos bebiendo. Si “Quieres más, preguntas. Evita que personas como mi madre, la duquesa viuda y mi tía Sylvie arrojen todo el suministro en sus bolsos (haz clic aquí).
Dudo y Moose recibieron el regalo número 4. Cuando llegó el momento, Dudo se sentó en la mesa del comedor y esperó. No, no se les permitía subir a la mesa, pero son tremendamente lindos cuando están allí. Moose ahora está durmiendo una siesta y Dudo está mirando a través de un agujero de drenaje en la terraza con la esperanza de que un periquito monje vuele (aunque los periquitos monje son tan agresivos y ruidosos que tengo la sensación de que Dudo se escondería debajo de la cama). Dudo acaba de traer el mouse con batería a mi oficina. ¡Es hora del espectáculo!
Y terminé hoy con una mirada hipnótica al mar Mediterráneo bañado por el sol.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
We Americans like choices. Unfortunately, they never seem to have my choice of sweetener, so I bring my own (Stevia, the brand Walt used to poison that woman in Breaking Bad).
Shirley:
I love how you associate Stevia with Walt’s poison.
Boud here. People still use sweeteners despite all the health risks? I use either sugar or nothing. Hot tea and coffee are good without, hot chocolate needs help. The fact that I’m allergic to the sweeteners definitely helps me avoid them.
I’m always impressed to see bananas growing. So tropical. But I wonder what happened to the green ones when they pruned.
Boud:
For a diabetic, it’s better than sugar (I think). I used to use nothing, but I guess I’m not as sweet as I used to be. I’m sure the bananas were close enough that they could be left sitting somewhere until ripe. Our portero had a huge bunch that size last year that were still greenish. He left them on a chair by the pool and they were eventually all edible.
Oh! Just seeing the tropical plants and the sparkling Med has really got me in the mood – two weeks on Saturday and we’ll be there! Jx
PS Bananas are incredibly fast growing herbaceous plants – by autumn there’ll be some massive growth again, no doubt.
Jon:
And now it’s 2 weeks! Those banana plants get trimmed regularly (not every year) and always come back enormous and fruit laden.
That looks like some major pruning! It’s what many folks do to crape myrtles, something our state extention agent always called “crape murder”.
Kelly:
What a waste of a beautiful crepe myrtle. Bougainvillea are usually treated the same. Let’s just cut off all the flowers.
We cut back our bananas every year. They always come back but it looks so bare before they do.
Okay. I will take hotel toiletries if I truly like them. But I would NEVER take a towel or mug or a salt or pepper shaker or- well- anything that’s not mine.
I knew a lady, probably about your mother’s age, who absolutely carried plastic bags around in her purse to put food in. Like the rolls on tables. “Is anyone going to eat that?” she’d ask, and then dump whatever she was talking about into one of those bags. I mean, she did this at wedding receptions! Otherwise, she was a perfectly normal, lovely, liberal lady. She did grow up on a farm and then raised five kids on her husband’s not great salary. So I can understand the quirk.
How can you tell that pretty cat to stay off the table?
Mary
Mary:
These get cut back most years and you can see how they come back.
The rolls!!! My mother’s line was: ”Well, they can’t serve them again.” She had a point, but it was still embarrassing.
I started off training the cats that they couldn’t go on tables. We trained our California cats. One always behaved (he was very unusual). The other just waited until we left the house (which is what I expect from a cat). But, one look at Dudo’s face and it was all over. These guys call the shots.
Dudo’s just too damn cute for his own good… and he knows it, LOL!
It must be lovely to live in places where you can harvest your own bananas, oranges, lemons or even apples in your neighbourhood. Bananas have just been successfully grown in university greenhouses here in Saskatchewan, but I have no idea why they bothered… it’s not as if they’ll ever be grown commercially anywhere in Canada!
Tundra Bunny:
Oh yeah, Dudo knows it.
When we had our hotel in Palm Springs, we planted all kinds of citrus trees (lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange) in the back garden. It was a delight… and man did it smell good everywhere when they were blooming.
Oh, Dudo’s treat-pleading eyes!
Debra:
Dudo has “woe is me” perfected.
Dudo IS damn cute!
Kirk:
He’s irresistible.
A sunny day in paradise, enjoy.
David:
It was. Today has been quite a mix.
Dudo is so funny, looking through that hole!
Steve:
The first thing he does every day is run out on the terrace and check the drain hole. There are drain halls in our back hallway, too, from before windows were installed. Dudo checks those daily, too.
Funny the joke around these parts it is the Abuleas who snatch all the sweeteners.
Urspo:
Is abulea Phoenician for abuela?
LOVE this picture of Dudo. SO adorable!
Sassybear:
He just can’t help himself.