La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
We were brought up to believe that when George Washington, first president of the United States, was six years old, someone gave him a hatchet as a gift and he chopped down his father’s cherry tree (apparently, in the original story he only hacked at it). His father was angry when he saw it and George said, “I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry tree.” George’s father was so proud of him for being honest and said that was worth more than a thousand trees. As if! Years later, I learned that maybe George could not tell a lie, but his biographer could. Mason Lock Williams added the completely fictitious story to the fifth edition of his biography.
Remember the tree growing in the room that was to become my office? Well, yesterday I finished chopping it down. No lie!
We were in a nearby hardware store yesterday and I asked if they could recommend an electrician and a plumber. I was told they could easily help. He took my info and said someone will call me. Do I dare hope?
Wednesday night we returned to La Fabbrica (click here) and each received a hug and a kiss when we arrived. We have fallen in love with the host/server Lucia. And the food was again exceptional. I had spinach lasagna. San Geraldo had cannelloni. And we each finished with a cannoli. The filling didn’t taste like the traditional ricotta cheese and sugar, but it was still very good.
What with the lack of a plumber or electrician, the still messy apartment (but so much better), our backs (improving), and my wait for a local nephrologist, I find myself a bit stressed — often. Still, we’re in Córdoba.
Nos criaron para creer que cuando George Washington, el primer presidente de los Estados Unidos, tenía seis años, alguien le regaló un hacha. Lo que nos dijeron fue que había talado el cerezo de su padre (al parecer, en la historia original solo lo había cortado). Cuando su padre lo vio, George dijo: “No puedo mentir. He talado el cerezo”. El padre de George estaba muy orgulloso de él por ser honesto y dijo que eso valía más que mil árboles. ¡Como si lo fuera! Años después, me enteré de que tal vez George no podía mentir, pero su biógrafo sí. Mason Lock Williams añadió la historia completamente ficticia a la quinta edición de su biografía.
¿Recuerdas el árbol que crecía en la habitación que se convertiría en mi oficina? Bueno, ayer terminé de cortarlo. ¡No es mentira!
Estábamos en una ferretería cercana ayer y pregunté si podían recomendarme un electricista y un plomero. Me dijeron que podrían ayudarme fácilmente. Tomó mis datos y dijo que alguien me llamaría. ¿Me atrevo a tener esperanzas?
La noche de miércoles volvimos a La Fabbrica (haz clic aquí) y recibimos un abrazo y un beso a cada uno cuando llegamos. ¡Nos hemos enamorado de la anfitriona/camarera Lucía! Y la comida fue otra vez excepcional. Pedí lasaña de espinacas. San Geraldo pidió canelones. Y terminamos cada uno con un cannoli. El relleno no sabía como el tradicional queso ricotta y azúcar, pero aun así estaba muy bueno.
Entre la falta de un fontanero o electricista, el apartamento todavía desordenado (pero mucho mejor), nuestras espaldas (mejoradas), y mi espera por un nefrólogo local, me encuentro un poco estresada, a menudo. Aún así, estamos en Córdoba.
• Mi oficina. Tengo más cosas que hacer, pero es agradable y útil. Las cosas están guardadas desordenadamente y hay una cómoda vieja que no se ve a la derecha y que hay que sacar.
• Parece que el último viernes de noviembre dura ocho días, como el aceite de la lámpara en Janucá. Es un milagro.
• Los 8 días del Black Friday. Algunas tiendas tienen el mes del Black Friday.
• Más avances en la cocina.
• Nick loved the lit band in the pavement at the crosswalk. He took video which must be fascinating.
• A Nick le encantó la franja iluminada en la acera junto al paso de peatones. Grabó un video que debe ser fascinante.
• ¿Es eso una pata en el barril?
• En el barrio. Estoy preocupado por este tipo. No tiene buen aspecto.
It’s all looking great!
I hate the fact that everything that was once a “day” has suddenly become a week or a month – like Gay Pride – and don’t even get me started on how early Xmas starts every year! Jx
Jon:
Black Friday outside the USA drives me nuts. I assume it’s still only one day in the US. However, there has also always been Cyber Monday to follow. And Christmas! Oh my god. Before Halloween!
Hi Mitchell, your new apartment is really coming together. The island in the kitchen is perfect. So even in Spain it is hard to get tradespeople! Luckily having an electrician for a husband I have that covered. We recently put in a new ensuite. It started in mid September. We have yet to be able to have a shower in it! Hopefully the shower door will be installed in a couple weeks. Have a good weekend.❤️
Robin:
I suppose we HAVE made progress. The piano has slowed the living area progress because it’s on a wall we want for a tall antique cabinet that needs to be bolted to the wall. So, it’s sitting empty on the opposite wall with all that should be in it stashed all over the house.
I rather like the tree, but that’s just me and my eclectic style, but I love what you’ve done with the space. Your neighbor seems to have the same eclectic style as I when it comes to what to do with our skeletons after Halloween … put them on display in corners by windows, LOL.
Shirley:
I liked the tree, too. But not in my office. It was originally a kid’s playroom. Perfect. That skeleton can actually be seen in the window of an osteopath.
Your comment that Black Friday lasts 8 days like the lamp oil at Hanukah made me laugh out loud! Thanks for all those interesting photos — fun to look at. Your new kitchen is nice and spacious and so is your office. You did a good job “chopping down” your tree!
Debra:
The tree was actually tasteful and fun for a kid’s playroom, but not for us. I was relieved that it was just decal, easy to pull off although a bit awkward at times. We are liking the kitchen. A lot more organizing to do.
You’ve just reminded me…I need to watch that fascinating video! 🤣
Nick
Nick:
I’m dying to know how it ends!
Where do you get your energy? Moving to a new place, decorating…I get tired putting on my socks.
Frank D:
I STILL get tired putting on my socks!
The creeping influence of Black Friday! It’s everywhere, all the time! I wonder if the name seems exotic to Spanish speakers. Boud.
Boud:
I find this Black Friday stuff very annoying. It seems to have traveled all over Europe, and no one appears to have a clue of its origin. Just that it came from America. Argh!
Great ‘pruning’ job on that tree!
Looks like things are starting to fall into place. Your apartment looks bright and roomy.
Jim:
I worry perhaps I went too far with the tree. Still, I hope it doesn’t grow back (although it had no roots). The apartment is more spacious than we realized and very bright. It feels like a mile between our offices.
The office and the kitchen are really nice, great desk. The kitchen is large and bright, that can be hard to find in apartments (our kitchen is inside with no windows.) Dudo looks happy. I love the cello case, maybe there is a music school nearby?
David:
That desk was our dining room table at one time. Dudo is clearly very happy. I think we’re going to enjoy the kitchen. And, yes, there is a professional music conservatory around the corner from us. Many of the university students also go there.
Things are coming together! It’s looking good.
Kelly:
Well, I’m not embarrassed to share photos of some of it!
I was struck by how nice the office and kitchen look too. (And I kinda envy all the light in the kitchen.) Nice job!
wickedhamster:
Things are improving. The light in the kitchen is wonderful. Lots of natural light throughout most of the apartment.
If that’s a leg on the keg the guy has lost his footings.
I LOVE the cabinet on the left in the shot of your kitchen. And I had the same reaction to the miracle of Black Friday as Debra did.
I can only imagine that you are experiencing stress. Plumbers, electricians, and nephrologists are important. So are backs and messy surroundings. But it looks to me like you are definitely making progress on your living spaces and places. Still, we want them to be how we want them.
Oh gosh. I just went back and looked again at your previous post on La Fabbrica and I think you really have found a jewel there. Well, two- the food AND Lucia.
Ms. Moon Who Is Very Wordy Today
Ms. Wordymoon:
Thanks! The cabinet is brand new, too. Yes, La Fabbrica is a jewel and so is Lucia!
I think the quote as I learned it was, “I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my little hatchet.” I have no idea who the source of that quote was, but maybe it was taken straight from Williams’ biography. In any case, congrats on chopping down your tree!
Steve:
Yes, the Weems quote in 1806 was: “I can’t tell a lie, Pa; you know I can’t tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet.” Since Weems made it up in the first place, I suppose we can rewrite it however we want.
Oh, it’s funny that you bring up that cherry tree story, because my husband (Elliot, by the way) and I were just talking about how we grew up with our parents and teachers quoting that, and the idea of it being dishonorable to lie. Now, 49.3% of the parents of little kids, are showing their kids that it’s good to support a leader who lies constantly. (Sorry for the politics 😉 Just interesting that we were both thinking of that story.)
The place is looking GREAT! I love your desk (I guess I must remember you showing it as the DR table, in the past– our DR table is glass with chrome surround and legs, I think it’s from the 1970s…we bought it used), that great desk chair, and your beautiful, big, desktop Mac, just like mine. The kitchen looks wonderful… that is more space than you had in Fuengirola, right? We didn’t see the kitchen very often, just a section.
Judy C:
Yeah, so much for the cherry tree lie. Only my parents didn’t instill those kinds of values in us. We were proper, respectful to adults, well-mannered… but honesty wasn’t something that was even discussed. I don’t know how we knew not to steal! My father used to come home with designer clothes that “fell off a truck.” Somehow, when I was 23, two Henry Grethel suits fell off a truck in each of our sizes! Yes, the kitchen is bigger. The kitchen in Fuengirola was long and narrow and not easy to get a picture of. The kitchen in the elegant place in Sevilla was even smaller, but it was nice to look at.
Who in the hell gives a hatchet to a 6 year old? What a stupid thing to do. I would have chopped down the tree in your office, too. Your office and the kitchen look good. Let me handle your stress. I’m anxious anyway. I might as well carry your anxiety, too. Black Friday has been going on here for weeks. I can’t remember if it began before or after Halloween. I think the thing on the keg might be the tail of the gentleman’s coat.
Love,
Janie
janiejunebug:
He’d be giving his 6-year-old a gun nowadays! The guy on the keg must be riding side-saddle then. I would hate for anyone to take on my stress. You have enough of your own. But you are SO kind… and that relieves the stress a bit!
Anyone who gives their kid a gun is entitled to be an honorary member of the Boebert family. The guy on the keg is, indeed, riding side-saddle. I have determined it is so.
janiejunebug:
Kids and guns, what could go wrong? Thank you for figuring out the guy on the keg. I’ll take your word for it.
I remember a Mad magazine picture of Richard M. Nixon as a boy Washington: “I cannot tell a lie. I DIDN’T DO IT!”
I see Michealangelo’s God is no longer confined just to a ceiling but also is on the side of a wall. This way you don’t strain your neck looking at it.
Kirk:
Oh, yes, mustn’t forget about Tricky Dicky. He wasn’t a crook either. I don’t know why Michelangelo didn’t think of that. It would have saved him a lot of trouble.
Ohhh Everything is looking good!
Love that wall art. And the kitchen!
And like a poster said: I don’t know how you have all that energy! But good food is always a good motivator!!
XOXO
Sixpence
Sixpence Nonethewiser:
Thanks. It’s getting more civilized. Looking forward to having the second bathroom. I hate to share. Maybe next week will see the living room and dining room looking more presentable.
I differ from Mr. Washington that George could not tell a lie. I can, but I won’t.
Urspo:
I now believe in little white lies if it means someone’s feelings won’t be hurt. I can’t say I was as honest as that when I was younger.