La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
Sorry to be such a misery yesterday. I’m much better today despite the fact that yet another plumber has dropped the ball. The plumber who had trouble parking (or so he said) never responded to my follow-up texts. I phoned yesterday afternoon and he told me he was off next week and didn’t know about the week after. I said forget it. I then phoned the plumber recommended by the electrical store. He phoned me last week after I had already spoken with this latest plumber. I asked if he was still available. Yes, was his answer. We’ll talk again Tuesday. (He also does electrical.)
I didn’t go to urgent care yesterday. I realized I have enough of my 1-mg pills (and a new prescription for them) to compensate for my lack of 3-mg pills until I see the nephrologists next week. Problem solved.
Dudo is fine. Eating, running around the house like a kitten, ordering us around. We’ll monitor him closely, but hate to take him to the vet if it’s not necessary. It’s so traumatic.
San Geraldo told me Monday he planned to get the piano disassembled down to the harp that day. I laughed. He then said he would do so every day of the week. I laughed. Well, it’s Saturday and it is very possible today will be the day. I’m managing to get things done despite the piano laying on the floor between the living room and dining room. Update: SG just discovered the harp is glued and screwed to the soundboard which is multiple layers of hardwood. We are about to slide the assembly under the bed and will forget about it forever and ever amen.
Yesterday afternoon, I decided to go for a walk. I needed to return a computer cable to the department store El Corte Inglés and thought I would see how the Christmas decorations were doing around town. Yesterday was Constitution Day. Kids were off from school and many people had off from work. Streets, cafes, and restaurants were mobbed. Remember the elegant apartment we first looked at that was wonderful except for the awful kitchen? The beautiful avenue is now home to a huge Christmas kiddie fair. Rides, trampolines, blasting music. Lots of fun. But awful if you live there. The street is still open to cars, but drivers were clearly in hell. I’m sure there are fairs at other times of year. Meanwhile, our street is calm and we have a nice view of a Christmas tree on the plaza.
I almost forgot! I saw a churros kiosk near home that was selling chocolate-dipped corn on the cob. Who ever heard of such a thing? While I was telling San Geraldo about the corn and showing him the pictures, he asked if the corn cobs were hollowed out and filled with cream. How ridiculous! If they hollowed out the corn cobs, the corn would fall off. I then realized, there were no corn cobs. Just churros.
Lamento haber sido tan penosa ayer. Hoy estoy mucho mejor a pesar de que otro fontanero ha fallado. El fontanero que tuvo problemas para aparcar (o eso dijo) nunca respondió a mis mensajes de seguimiento. Llamé ayer por la tarde y me dijo que no trabajaría la semana que viene y que no sabía nada de la semana siguiente. Le dije que me olvidara. Luego llamé al fontanero recomendado por la tienda de electricidad. Me llamó la semana pasada después de que ya había hablado con este último fontanero. Le pregunté si todavía estaba disponible. Sí, fue su respuesta. Hablaremos de nuevo el martes. (También hace trabajos eléctricos).
Ayer no fui a urgencias. Me di cuenta de que tengo suficientes pastillas de 1 mg (y una nueva receta para ellas) para compensar la falta de pastillas de 3 mg hasta que vea al nefrólogo la semana que viene. Problema resuelto.
Dudo está bien. Come, corre por la casa como un gatito y nos da órdenes. Lo vigilaremos de cerca, pero no nos gusta llevarlo al veterinario si no es necesario. Es muy traumático.
San Geraldo me dijo el lunes que planeaba desarmar el piano hasta el arpa ese día. Me reí. Luego dijo que lo haría todos los días de la semana. Me reí. Bueno, es sábado y es muy posible que hoy sea el día. Me las estoy arreglando para hacer las cosas a pesar de que el piano está en el suelo entre la sala de estar y el comedor. Actualización: SG acaba de descubrir que el arpa está pegada y atornillada a la tabla sonora, que es de varias capas de madera dura. Estamos a punto de deslizar el conjunto debajo de la cama y nos olvidaremos de él para siempre jamás, amén.
Ayer por la tarde decidí ir a dar un paseo. Tenía que devolver un cable de ordenador a los grandes almacenes El Corte Inglés y pensé en ver cómo iban las decoraciones navideñas por la ciudad. Ayer fue el Día de la Constitución. Los niños no tenían clases en el colegio y mucha gente no tenía trabajo. Las calles, los cafés y los restaurantes estaban abarrotados. ¿Recuerdas el elegante apartamento que vimos al principio y que era maravilloso salvo por la horrible cocina? La hermosa avenida ahora alberga una enorme feria infantil navideña. Atracciones, trampolines, música a todo volumen. Mucha diversión. Pero horrible si vives allí. La calle todavía está abierta a los coches, pero los conductores estaban claramente en el infierno. Estoy segura de que hay ferias en otras épocas del año. Mientras tanto, nuestra calle está tranquila y tenemos una bonita vista de un árbol de Navidad en la plaza.
¡Casi lo olvido! Vi un quiosco de churros cerca de casa que vendía mazorcas de maíz bañadas en chocolate. ¿Quién había oído hablar de algo así? Mientras le contaba a San Geraldo sobre el maíz y le mostraba las fotos, me preguntó si las mazorcas estaban ahuecadas y rellenas de crema. ¡Qué ridículo! Si ahuecaban las mazorcas de maíz, el maíz se caería. Entonces me di cuenta de que no había mazorcas de maíz. Solo churros.
• ¿No parecen mazorcas de maíz? (¿Excepto el relleno de crema?)
• El arbol de la plaza que vemos de nuestras ventanas. Alguien necesita arreglar las luces superiores.
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I guess that even with the piano you chose the right apartment … except for the piano … so the street fairs aren’t a nuisance.
I was a bit frightened about chocolate-covered corn on the cob. I mean would eat such a thing?
Glad that Dudo is back to being Dudo.
Bob:
I was astounded by the chocolate-covered corn on the cob. And then I was disappointed it was only churros!
Studiously ignoring all double entendres about those churros, I’m just going to say that Spain has such gorgeous Christmas lights. Glad Dudo has perked up again!
Debra:
We have seen some amazing light displays here.
Corn and chocolate with a Nutella filling, would be a challenging combination, there are parts of the cob that are difficult for even cows to eat. I guess you would eat the corn off the outside and suck the cream out of the center. I think that would be a pass, glad they did it as a deep fried pastry, you should buy one for SG.
David:
In Sevilla, we used to love to go to a Valor Chocolate cafe. Perfect churros and the best chocolate.
Oh, my goodness, I hadn’t seen yesterday’s post with so many frustrations and worries… I’m glad you’re feeling better about all of them.
The chocolate-dipped churros are quite a treat, I imagine!
And, WOW… so glad you didn’t end up living with the fair outside your window! I love the tree you get to see, instead. Last year, we spent the night at a nearby park lodge (CCC built, logs and stone like you never see, now), and ended up with a room overlooking the indoor pool complex… holy cow, it was SO NOISY, until 10 pm. Nowhere to go to relax. This year (we went for Thanksgiving eve), we arranged for a quiet room on the other side of the building. So… a fair like that every day!?!? Nooooo.
Judy C:
We prefer fresh churros and a cup of dark chocolate. But we avoid indulging. Yes, what a relief we didn’t take that apartment. We had an experience like that at a lodge once. And they kept the pool open until after midnight. Awful!
It occurs to me that if I want to brush up any Spanish I could do worse than study the Spanish section of your posts. I mean, look at today’s title. Who knows when I might need to say that? So many possibilities occur to me.
I wonder if there’s a vocational school that would send students and equipment to dismantle the piano as a teaching experience???
That was me, Boud, making annoying and useless suggestions there.
Boud:
The thought of making the calls to find a school to send the students and THEN the idea of having a bunch of strangers in the house working on the piano. I’ll just call another plumber.
I’m just getting caught up on blog reading, and it sounds like you’ve had no end of annoyances in your life at the moment. I’m so sorry! But on the flip side, look what a beautiful, vibrant city you get to live in. These things will all get sorted out soon.
Those churros really do look like corn on the cob! They also look delicious. Have you tried one yet?
Jennifer:
We love churros and chocolate, but don’t allow ourself the indulgence anymore. We had too much enjoyment when we lived in Seville. Anyway, I prefer fresh churros dipped in really good quality chocolate.
They’re about the size of a corn cob – how the hell would you eat one without getting filling/chocolate/crumbs all over your clothing? Jx
PS WTF are those shadowy silhouettes on the balconies all about? They look like snipers!
Jon:
They do look like they’d be a mess to eat. You cracked me up with your silhouettes comment. I thought they looked like snipers, too!
In Cozumel there’s a man everyone knows as The Churros Man who rides a bicycle around selling the churros he carries with him. He makes them himself. They are good churros but he is the reason people love to buy them because he leaves each customer feeling lighter and happier than they were. He’s sort of a Zen Churros Guy.
Yes. Probably a good thing you didn’t get the apartment on the street with the festival. Now here’s hoping they don’t do a Penitents Parade during certain times of the year down the street where you live now.
Glad you’re feeling better.
Ms. Moon
Ms. Moonsigh:
Seeing a procession go down our street would be fun. It only takes a moment. Having the street blocked off regularly for fairs. Uf! But I don’t think we’ll see either here.
Happy you are in a better mood. Good thing you have this forum from which to share your feelings/moods. Better than keeping it all inside to stew.
Good choice you guys made re apartment……..all those festivals/etc would get tiresome really quickly..
Yay Dudo!
Jim:
We didn’t know the neighborhoods well enough to know about the fairs on that street. What a relief we didn’t choose it.
Ha! That’s funny about the “corn cobs.” They DO look very corn-like.
I guess serendipity really worked for you in not taking that other apartment!
Too bad about the plumber. I guess it is a rule in every culture that plumbers are flaky.
Steve:
You’re right about plumbers. Fuengirola was the first place we lived where we had a reliable and cheap plumber. After nearly 12 years, we got spoiled. I am so hoping this week will give me my own bathroom! And, yes, I can’t believe our luck with that apartment.
If you knew the things that go through my mind when I see the titles to your posts! Oh, wait… you DO know. 🙄🤭
Glad to hear Dudo is back to normal.
Kelly:
I’m not sure I DO know. Can you explain? In detail?
The town is so festive!!!! And the churros look amazing!!! I’d gorge on them.
Mistress Borghese:
I prefer the churros cafes with their high-end dark chocolate for dipping. There’s one a few minutes away and it’s taking all our self-control to stay away.
Intrigued by the idea of corn cobs covered in chocolate I looked it up and found two recipes. One recipe covered the cob with chocolate, stuck gummy bears on top. The other did the same, except stuck coco chips on top. I’m going to try it with just plain chocolate on top. I imagine the results will be salty and sweet, which sounds yummy, but I’ll let you know.
Shirley:
I can’t wait to see your results. It just sounds bizarre to me!
I have to ask that question for a friend, Is there an option to have Kraft Velveta drizzled on the corn churros?
larrymuffin:
Oh, he would not be a friend for long! Even the color of Velveeta turns my stomach. And I’m sure there’s a Velveeta option.
Hurray for Dudo — that lucky feline has avoided both Pawshank and the vet in less than a month! Too bad about the harp assembly (poor SG did his best) having to be shoved under the bed — may there be no stubbed toes in your future! If I could really teleport it out of there for you Star Trek style, I would, LOL!
Tundra Bunny:
SG worked so hard on that frickin’ (as he says) piano. But at least we could slide the remains under the bed — although now we have to figure out what to do with the plastic tubs that were already there.
You and San Geraldo must have been looking at the churros from different angles.
Kirk:
Yes, I was looking at them through my eyes and brain. And he was looking at them through my photos which told the real story. He missed out.
Oh, and now I want Churros! Yum!
You did dodge a bullet with that pretty apartment, huh? I’m not against street fairs but I don’t want them out my door. Nope.
I have started seeing the xmas madness more and more. Saw some when I met with Mads in Philly and now Chi is bursting with them. I’m planning on going to the Zoo to see what they did there. It’s always so purdy!!
XOXO
Sixpence:
I enjoy street fairs, just not on my street. I have behaved myself and haven’t had a churro in a long time. Spanish churros can be so different from what I had in Mexico and California, and dipped in gourmet dark hot chocolate, they’re addictive.
The shadows on the terraces are unsettling. Oooh Valor chocolate! I miss it. Olivia
Olivia:
I also thought those shadows were creepy. Like snipers. Sevilla had a Valor chocolate cafe. Heaven!
I am presently taking spanish lessons involving plumbers and electricians and such. Most of the sentences are along the line the plumber isn’ here/did you call the plumber to see if he is still coming. Very practical Spanish to know when dealing with servicemen!
Urspo:
Those Spanish lessons should have been what I focused on!