La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
I think my cold symptoms are gone. I haven’t sneezed, coughed, choked, or blown at all today. Other than that, I feel like a limp dishrag. For some reason, I slept terribly last night. Not edgy. Not unwell. Just not sleeping.
San Geraldo had an appointment with his new dentist this morning and all went well. He absolutely loathes the dentist (and tells each one of them so). To have his teeth cleaned, he’s been known to have four sessions, doing a quarter of his mouth at each visit. Today, he had an exam and X-rays and he returns tomorrow for his first cleaning session. He did careful research and liked the dentist and her assistant and the office is less than 5 minutes from home. There’s hope. I’ll make my own appointment next.
I love the dentist and will have everything done at once. My favorite thing (well, maybe not my favorite, but I enjoyed it) to do when I was working was to go to the dentist at the start of the day. I missed at least an hour of work and didn’t have to speak to anyone nor do a single thing. Bliss.
After the dentist, we went this morning to Roldan for coffee and second breakfast. I find that so relaxing. I have no idea what I’ll do this afternoon. Maybe a wander. Maybe shopping. Maybe some history. After the cats and the cold, I feel like I need to return to the living. It’s been a slow time around here. So grateful for Lulu’s visit, her love, and her energy.
Today’s photos are from evening at the charming and excellent Restaurant La Viuda which means The Widow (named in honor of the owners’ mother), the exceptional place Lulu chose near the Seville Gate in the neighborhood San Basillo. OK, Merchi just left. Time for lunch.
Creo que mis síntomas de resfriado se han ido. No he estornudado, tosido, ahogado ni sonado nada hoy. Aparte de eso, me siento como un trapo de cocina suelto. Por alguna razón, dormí fatal anoche. No estaba nervioso. No me sentía mal. Simplemente no dormía.
San Geraldo tuvo una cita con su nuevo dentista esta mañana y todo salió bien. Él odia absolutamente al dentista (y se lo dice a cada uno de ellos). Para que le limpien los dientes, se sabe que ha tenido cuatro sesiones, haciéndose una cuarta parte de la boca en cada visita. Hoy, tuvo un examen y radiografías y regresa mañana para su primera sesión de limpieza. Investigó cuidadosamente y le gustó la dentista y su asistente y la clínica está a menos de 5 minutos de casa. Hay esperanza. Pediré mi propia cita la próxima vez.
Me encanta el dentista y me haré todo de una vez. Lo que más me gustaba hacer (bueno, tal vez no lo que más me gustaba, pero lo disfrutaba) cuando trabajaba era ir al dentista al comienzo del día. Me perdí al menos una hora de trabajo y no tuve que hablar con nadie ni hacer absolutamente nada. Una maravilla.
Después del dentista, esta mañana fuimos a Roldán a tomar un café y un segundo desayuno. Me resulta muy relajante. No tengo ni idea de qué haré esta tarde. Quizás un paseo. Quizás ir de compras. Quizás algo de historia. Después de los gatos y el frío, siento que necesito volver a la vida. Últimamente ha habido mucha calma por aquí. Estoy muy agradecida por la visita de Lulu, su cariño, y su energía.
Las fotos de hoy son de la cena en el encantador y excelente restaurante La Viuda (llamado así en honor a la madre de los dueños), el excepcional lugar que Lulu eligió cerca de la Puerta de Sevilla, en el barrio de San Basillo. Bueno, Merchi acaba de irse. Hora de comer.
Compartimos este plato inusual llamado Flamenquin con rabo de toro.
• Mi excelente bacalao
• El restaurante se llenó, pero pronto volvió a haber bastante gente.
• Los pasteles de chocolate de San Geraldo son tan buenos que normalmente no pedimos ninguno en los restaurantes. No se comparan. Dijo que este sí.
• Mis cordobés pastel (pastel de Córdoba) rellenos de cabello de ángel (mermelada en hebras elaborada con las fibras confitadas de la pulpa de calabaza de Siam). Uno de mis postres locales favoritos.
• San Geraldo en algún otro lugar.
• San Geraldo regresa. Es hora del postre.
• Chupito de patxaran, un licor tradicional vasco elaborado macerando endrinas en licor espiritoso con sabor a anís. Es exquisito. Elena lo prepara (haz clic aquí) con endrinas que recibe de su prima en el País Vasco. Ahora no bebo nada, pero decidí que tres sorbos no me harían daño (al menos eso creo).
Look at those smiles! A tell-tale good time was had by all.
Now, that cod dish looks interesting….not to mention those desserts!
Jim:
Lulu is one of those people who light up a room just by entering. The cod was excellent, as were the desserts.
The bacalao! Well, everything looks wonderful. Glad it tasted as good as it looked. Patxaran, you say?
Bacalao is one of the first words I learned in Spanish, since it was labeled that at our supermarket. My mother said what we were seeing was a heavily salted filet. Maybe it would have used in a more stewed dish. Olivia
Olivia:
Yes, bacalao is salted and dried cod. I love it although it can be way too salty for my tastes. This dish was not at all salty. And, ooh, patxaran is so good.
Oh my God that restaurant…it and the food looks amazing. I be there in a minute.
And I agree 100% with what you said about a dentist. It’s very important to find a good one and one you’re comfortable with. Otherwise I wouldn’t have had done what I just went through.. My oral surgeon was phenomenal.
Mistress Borghese>
Everything about La Viuda was wonderful. The staff and service, too.
Food porn! Again…
Strange that they would have a variation on Flamenquin (that I’m pretty sure you showed us here before, with rolled ham and cheese in breadcrumbs, fried) that consists of oxtail and gravy – doesn’t that sort-of defeat the object of frying it in breadcrumbs to create a crispy coating? Anyhow, you enjoyed it, so that’s the main thing. Salt cod/bacalao also looks and sounds delish. I have, I think, had it before, but I can’t remember what kind of dish it was in – what was yours cooked in? looks like some kind of batter, with tomato and a white sauce.
Hark at me going on about food – can you tell I’m hungry? 😋 Jx
PS Note to self: must try patxaran (if ever we can find a bar or restaurant that serves it)!
Jon:
The flamenquin was a surprise. They had traditional flamenquin (with cheese), Córdoba style (without cheese), and this one which really bore little resemblance. But it was delicious! The bacalao was a special and I couldn’t tell you how it was prepared. Still, not at all salty and excellent. And, yes, try patxaran. (And I hope your first try is good quality.)
I used to be very nervous around the dentist until I found the one I’ve gone to for many years. I went as a second opinion for a dentist who wanted to do a lot of expensive work and had a tantrum when I went for the opinion. This dentist said the work was totally unnecessary. I’ve been going to him ever since, and sent him at least half a dozen patients including my family. Calm atmosphere, friendly staff and very good work. So yes, worth searching. Boud
Boud:
So important to find a good dentist. I’ve had mostly good. First one in Fuengirola was like yours who wanted to do unnecessary, expensive procedures.
I just consider going to the dentist a necessary evil. Your dessert looks delicious!
Kelly:
I admire SG for always taking such good care of his teeth considering how much he hates dentists. Others I know just won’t go.
Mr. Moon has taken on the project, at long last, of dealing with his teeth. I am very proud of him. As he said, “I didn’t think I’d live this long.”
He also said, “I hate spending money on myself.”
After I caught my breath from laughing so hard I recommended my dentist. He saw her. He liked her. He had a tooth pulled today. Onwards!
I love these pictures so much. Your photos of food are nothing short of porn. It’s almost painful to view them. But the pictures of the people are the best ones.
Ms. Moon
Ms. Moon:
Good news about Mr. Moon. He’ll be so much happier. Still, too bad about the pulled tooth.
I laughed at SG doing his dental work in sections; I am no fan of the dentist, though ours is quite looker, but I’d prefer to get it done in one sitting.
I am also not much of a sweets person, but that pastel cordobés looks interesting!
Lastly, glad you’re feeling better, now I have the Springtime cold. Oy!
Bob:
I had one “looker” dentist. He was a triathlete. Sadly, he spent too much time admiring himself in shiny surfaces. I hope your cold passes quickly.
All the food looks great. Did SG have a bad dental experience in the past that made him hate dentists? My dad had to see a dentist when he enlisted during WWII. The dentist pulled out some of his teeth with no anesthetic of any kind. My dad didn’t see a dentist again for 40 years or so. I had a terrible childhood experience with a dentist but got over it when I saw a very gentle, old dentist in Bloomington, Indiana.
Love,
Janie
janiejunebug:
No bad dental experience for SG. He just doesn’t like pain. (Did you know it hurts to have your teeth cleaned? I did not.) My father also saw a dentist when he enlisted and had a hellish experience. He didn’t go back until he was in his 50s and his doctor told him to.
I guess the military dentists are real assholes.
janijunebug:
Or at least they were 80 years ago. Maybe they’re better now.
Love the pics!
I am like you: one visit to the dentist and I’m done! Love bacalao. Yum!
XOXO
Sixpence:
I love bacalao and this dish was especially good and not at all salty.
I just this morning got a reminder of an upcoming dental appointment, and I’m with SanG in hating going, except I like my dentist and her office staff. I do have to steel myself for the visit, tell myself it’s a necessary evil and consider myself lucky when I see quite a few of my neighbors who, for one reason or another, did not have access to dental care and now have missing teeth, crooked teeth, rotted teeth. We even had one resident who bit into gooey candy, teeth got stuck and came out in the candy. Like you, I prefer to get it done in one fell swoop. (Shirley)
Shirley:
I see so many people who don’t take care of their teeth. So many are afraid of dentists. I admire SG for going even though he hates it. Your smile shows the care you’ve taken. Good for you!
I want to give you my perspective on yesterday’s topic: ADD and you.
During my 40 years as a teacher, while also having a niece who definitely has ADHD, I have studied and observed this and thought about this and tried to work with it in my students, on a daily basis.
I can say this:
1– Many of my students with ADD were able to hyper focus on art things… while unable to keep their attention on people who were talking to teach them, unable to comfortably dig in and analyze topics if it meant listening and keeping track of what was being said. They typically couldn’t be comfortable following more than a few sentences of anything written, either. But… draw draw draw draw draw… that captured them completely. Many of them just couldn’t function if they were not able to be drawing. Their papers and their notebooks were filled with drawings all over any blank space.
Now…I’m just assuming that these kids had ADD, because of the inability to focus and follow people talking at them…but, I wonder if this isn’t just something that is a product of some really especially artistic, creative brains. There seems to just be an imbalance there, that pulls from one area of focus, to allow them to be extraordinary in a different area of focus.
That may be your situation.
2– To me, the students who really struggled from what appeared to be ADD, were the ones who just could not complete any tasks they started, because their focus would easily be pulled away by another thought, about a different task, and they would drop what they were doing, and hop onto the other task… leaving the first one hanging. Then another thought of another task would come to mind, and they’d maybe try to do that one, and also remember that they had the first one hanging, so they’d pick that one back up, and so on and so on… which, to me, would fit in with the concept of maybe being more accident prone, if you threw in the hyperactive element. These kids usually also have incredibly disorganized and messy desks (at home), book bags with everything literally just jammed inside it without the slightest thought of taking a moment to pull out a binder, open it, and carefully put away the papers or handouts or packets of the day. Their lockers were usually an unbelievable mess. They would regularly lose important papers and homework that they had actually done, because of all of the above. Life was a never-ending struggle of disorganization and lack of ability to focus enough to follow through on anything. These kids (and adults) seem immune to the chaos of clutter around them. They don’t need a clean, organized desk with everything put away… it doesn’t even occur to them that there are organizational tools that can help them, like bins and desk organizers and pretty colored folders, etc.
These were not the kids who could hyper focus on drawing. And, these kids were often very bright, but they did struggle so much with organization, that they couldn’t apply their above-average thinking ability, to get much of anything accomplished. I think that these were the kids who truly had a need for medication. I know that several kids like this, who did go on medication, told me that it changed their lives in a very good way, to be on medication. They then did not have different circles of thoughts twirling in their heads at the some time allllllllll the time, and they were then able to accomplish things.
3–I’m pretty sure that this is not at all a straightforward science. The two types of people I describe above, are living vastly different lives, with their attention issues affecting them in pretty different ways. But, sometimes, some people may have both issues going on, to some degree.
4 — The last thing I’ll say is that educating humans with attention issues, is pretty difficult. So, if you had that hyper focus on creativity, and a lack of desire to have to deal with mind-numbing talking and sitting, there wouldn’t be any easy fixes for addressing that … unless, maybe, you were in a one-on-one teacher-student situation, where the learning experience could be totally catered to your learning needs. In an ideal world, it would be fabulous to be able to provide that for every learner, but the reality is that not only is that kind of personalized learning situation not really feasible for the general public, but it would also require, in each instance, an incredibly creative teacher, who could constantly turn on a dime and change course to come up with a different approach to teaching/learning whatever the topic is at hand, for that particular learner, at that particular moment.
I say all of that, to say that your learning experience might not have been much different, even if someone had diagnosed you with ADD along the way… because the standard special strategy that is prescribed for our students diagnosed with ADD, is simply to give them extra time… yup, that’s about it (or medicating them, but that is not something that teachers and schools can get involved in… we just are told to use the strategy of extra time, to try to give the kids a chance). It doesn’t necessarily help, it’s just a way of trying not to penalize them for needing more time to focus…but, it usually doesn’t really help, because they still lose their papers or forget to bring in finished assignments or get lost in drawing, instead.
My guess–from years of observing different kinds of learners, and from observing your experiences that you talk about here– is that you just have a highly creative brain, and maybe that causes you to be pretty quickly intolerant of things that bore you, that don’t have any creative aspect to them. And, maybe that is one form of ADD (kind of like how autism has a spectrum, ADD likely does, too), but your best learning experiences might have just happened with teachers who were also highly creative and had a need for providing learning activities that included moving around, producing things, varying activities, having choices in activities, and that felt like they were in color, so to speak. Other students really prefer a very straight-line approach, and would be very uncomfortable with all of that movement and variation and creation… those students like, look for, and thrive with a teacher who presents things in a really organized, methodical, maybe even predictable manner, because their brains click right into that.
Teaching is both a science and an art, and it’s seriously difficult to address the needs of a whole classroom of kids whose learning needs are very different. This is why class sizes are such an issue.
I think you just have a beautifully creative, artist’s brain that functions on a higher level in some ways, and just isn’t tolerant of boring things.
And, lots of people puncture their eardrums while cleaning the bathroom …. Ha! I mean… the distraction that comes from having the ability to think of several things at once, could cause more accidents, sure.
Judy C:
Thank you for this. It explains so much of what I’ve been wondering about.
San Geraldo’s mood certainly brightened from one picture to the next.
Kirk:
Who knows where his brain went. Glad it returned!
I don’t hate dentists. I just hate the bill I receive afterwards.
Margaret Butterworth:
Bills aren’t as bad here. But I liked it better when we had dental insurance.
My last visit to the dentist was because a crown on the last molar upper left came off while eating. That tooth is so ground down on one side that there is nothing for the crown to grab and he said I needed to go to a specialist and have some of the gum carved away. I declined. If it gets terrible, at this point in my life, I’ll just have it pulled.
Dinner looks fabulous, especially the desserts.
ellen abbott:
I have no crowns, just a peasant. I don’t blame you for declining. Carving away gum does not sound pleasant. I hope the missing crown doesn’t cause any problems. Dinner WAS fabulous and so were the desserts.
I wish I liked the dentist; I used to anyway. now it feels like a con job viz. always coming up with expensive things I supposedly need done. Just for once I would like a simple teeth cleaning without feeling I am being looked on how to be fleeced.
Urspo:
That’s a common story about so many dentists. My last one in Málaga was nothing like that and SG says this one is good, too.