La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
According to my calendar, today is The Assumption of Mary. Every year at this time, I wonder (as I wander) what did Mary assume? And why is there a holiday? And now excuse me while I pull this bolt of lightning out of my head.
Since we’ve been meeting Cristina and on most days Alfonso and María at Mesón Salvador in the morning we’ve had the opportunity to have second breakfast every day (not today though because they had cousins stopping by). I go for my simplifed pitufo, small whole-grain tostada with olive oil and tomato puree. San Geraldo has been opting for English Breakfast #2, which you can see above. Blech!
When we had dinner the other night at Mesón Salvador, José had written our reservation tag for the table. You can see María holding it in the first photo below. After dinner SG gave her a pen (a red, razor point) to draw on the piece of paper. Alfonso and Cristina gasped when they saw it, but María was very careful and didn’t get the ink anywhere but on the paper. Even her white clothes remained white. SG should do so well!
The family came over for dinner last night. We had a gourmet meal of take-away pizza. María was incredibly charming and well-behaved. She also ate enough pizza for two people. San Geraldo pointed to her forehead and said “You get a gold star” (something he likes to tell people when they do well at something). When they were heading home, María pointed to her forehead and said they couldn’t leave yet because Jerry hadn’t given her her gold star. She wasn’t pleased when she was told we didn’t have any. Fortunately, SG had one of his huge flamenco fans that he had planned to give her. So, all was well. But I’ll go to the stationers this afternoon and pick up a sheet of gold stars. It might be good for SG to have them on hand for future encounters. He is after all a gold-star gay. I am not.
Según mi calendario, hoy es La Asunción de María. Todos los años, en esta época, me pregunto (mientras deambulo) qué supuso María y por qué hay un día festivo. Y ahora, discúlpenme mientras me saco este rayo de la cabeza.
Como hemos estado reuniéndonos con Cristina y Alfonso y María casi todos los días en el Mesón Salvador por la mañana hemos tenido la oportunidad de desayunar un segundo día (hoy no porque tenían primos de visita). Yo elijo mi pitufo simplificado, una pequeña tostada de grano integral con aceite de oliva y puré de tomate. San Geraldo ha optado por el Desayuno Inglés #2, que pueden ver arriba. ¡Qué asco!
Cuando cenamos la otra noche en Mesón Salvador, José había escrito nuestra etiqueta de reserva para la mesa. Pueden ver a María sosteniéndola en la primera foto de abajo. Después de la cena, SG le dio un bolígrafo (rojo, con punta de navaja) para que dibujara en el papel. Alfonso y Cristina se quedaron sin aliento cuando lo vieron, pero María fue muy cuidadosa y no manchó la tinta en ningún otro lugar que no fuera el papel. Incluso su ropa blanca permaneció blanca. ¡SG debería hacerlo muy bien!
La familia vino a cenar anoche. Comimos pizza para llevar. María fue increíblemente encantadora y se portó muy bien. También comió suficiente pizza para dos personas. San Geraldo señaló su frente y dijo: “Te ganas una estrella dorada” (algo que le gusta decirle a la gente cuando les va bien en algo). Cuando se dirigían a casa, María señaló su frente y dijo que no podían irse todavía porque Jerry no le había dado su estrella dorada. No se alegró cuando le dijeron que no teníamos ninguna. Afortunadamente, SG tenía uno de sus enormes abanicos de flamenco que había planeado regalarle. Así que todo estuvo bien. Pero iré a la papelería esta tarde y recogeré una hoja de estrellas doradas. Podría ser bueno para SG tenerlas a mano para todos los encuentros futuros. Después de todo, él es un gay de estrella dorada. No lo soy.
• Al parecer, la de la izquierda es María y la de la derecha (la del corazón enorme). Me encanta que tengan la misma altura. María es alta para su edad y Cristina es bajita.
• Snorkelers en el mar Mediterráneo en Fuengirola hace unos días.
• San Geraldo y nuestro sobrino Ryan haciendo snorkel en el lago Oahe, Dakota del Sur, hace más de 30 años.
• SG y nuestro sobrino Matt.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
Well, this Mary assumes nothing. I go by the old adage—to assume is likely to make an ass out of u and me.
Mary:
And to think they have an entire holiday around it!
What a beautiful sight that little María is! A gold star would look sweet on her little face 🙂
Judy C:
I didn’t get to the shop to buy some gold stars. Will go today. She deserves it.
Everyone should keep a sheet of gold stars in their desk drawer. I believe mine also includes silver, red, and green stars. ⭐️
Kelly:
Yep. I figure I’ll come home with a nice collection.
What a beautiful child. My violin teacher would put a gold star on my music when I played well. I was 47, and still wanted my gold star.
Boud here, who else does stuff like this?
Boud:
I don’t think I’ve ever received a gold star. Maybe I’ll give myself one.
Here’s your pedantic comment of the day: Catholic doctrine holds that the Virgin Mary did not die but was physically taken, body and soul, by Jesus up to heaven to live there. Her “assumption” means rising up to heaven. A more modern term might be “ascent.” This unique honour has never been given to another human and marks Mary’s special status as the Mother of God. Because it is a strictly patriarchal religion, Christianity can not acknowledge that any female is divine, so this is as close as they can come without conferring divinity.
Debra:
Oh, I hoped no one would go to the trouble of explaining it to me. I remember looking this up for the first time as an adult. Were you raised Catholic?
No, I wasn’t raised Catholic, but I was at one time very interested in Catholicism as part of my spiritual journey . . . until I realized the problem I had was with Christianity itself and left it behind.
Gold stars all around! I’m pretty sure I’d get a gold star if I ate pizza at your house too.
The picture that Levon made for me for my birthday has the two of us in it and he drew himself quite a bit taller than me. I’m not sure why, but this charms me.
SG is truly an excellent head-stander. You can tell him I said that.
And more of that blue. I can’t get enough.
Ms. Moon Who Is So Proud To Share A First Name With The Mother Of God.
Ms. Moonsigh:
I promise you would receive a gold star the minute you walked in the door.
What a sweetie Maria is! And so deserving a gold star.
I remember as child returning to the city from the cottage to attend mass on the Feast of the Assumption. It was a holy day of obligation and all Catholics HAD to attend mass or else you had committed a mortal sin.
Jim:
Yes, María deserves a gold star (at least one) every day. It’s fascinating how a religion varies from place to place in terms of rules and expectations.
That English Breakfast #2 looks like Breakfasts #3 and #4 combined!
Bob:
And all contaminated by beans!
Christianity is full of assumptions.
Kirk:
All religions are, aren’t they? But I wonder if they all have holidays around them.
Is that breakfast intended for one person? I gained three pounds just looking at it. Wow!
Walt the Fourth:
If it weren’t for the beans, I’d enjoy that. But, yes, it is way too much.
Maria is quite adorable and photogenic! I have never quite understood having those kind of beans for breakfast, but the English seem to really like them. And that breakfast does indeed look quite huge. I can never eat more than a bit of yogurt and some fruit. I guess my stomach takes longer to wake up!
You are our gold star blogger, always. Advice to your readers, try the “pitufo” when you have a chance, simple and tasty. I haven’t been snorkeling in years, looks like fun.
Good planning for the future gold stars! I imagine there’s more to see in the Mediterranean than in Lake Oahe, but I could be wrong.
I don’t mind an English breakfast, but it would need to be about half that size.
Steve:
About half that size and without the beans. Yeah, a bit more to see here.
I had forgotten it was the Assumption of Mary. Back when I attended mass I would go and celebrate her ‘beaming up’ as it were.
Urspo:
That’s exactly how I picture it.
Baked beans! Bleagh and barf! Way to ruin a good breakfast, people of England. Give Maria a second gold star from me.
Love,
Janie