Hey, just to thank you all for your best wishes and to tell you or rather show you, I'm doing fine....for the time being......took 5 ( they'll kill me) ...just to post a couple of pics and I'm off to the disco or what ever, I have to change first...............I'll be back on Saturday....I hope...!!!!!!!!
.Now....have I not stopped at 37?????????????? Don't you dare say NO.............(I turned 50 on the 21st of May 2007, just for the record)
I don't really have time to go through all the daily magazines and newspapers, except
reading the headlines, the only time I do more then headlines is when I'm at the hairdresser.
One particular article caught my attention, it covered more then 3 huge pages, about
the happiest man on the planet, Matthieu Ricard. A 60 year old French man, molecular
biologist, who gave away all his possessions in his 30s, and decided to dedicate his life
to Buddhism . His father was a well known philosopher, author of many books and
member of the French Academy which unites the intellectual elite of the Gal country.
His mother, dedicated most of her life as a surrealist painter, with great exit, and spent
the rest of her life as a Buddhist, herself.
So, this happy guy, is the only European who reads,speaks and translates the Tibetan
classics, acts as the right hand of The Dalai Lama, his compassion has converted
him in to the most influential figure of the Buddhist world, which conceded him the Order
of The French Nation by the French Government, his book The monk and the
philosopher sold more than 500.000 copies, only in French......
Yeah...
So, most of you, who know me, also know that I react to such stories, and my reaction
is usually : 'what the hell makes him more happy then all the rest of us', !!!!!??? The
guys at the University of Wisconsin, did not only rate his happiness, but also left all the
rest of us on the 'mistaken side'..huh?
Well, the rest of the article was his advice on growing old, death, solitude, identity,
conflicts within couples, family, physical deterioration, social relations and (of course)
happiness.
Now, sitting at the hairdresser while not paying attention at all to what he's up to, and
reading such an article, made me furious. I mean, this guy, 'left' this everyday world in
his 30s and he's talking about conflicts within couples (????), family, social relations,
and having the nerve to tell me as well as all the rest of us that we are all left in the
darkness of the 'mistaken side'....common!!!!! I bet he doesn't even know what a blog
is, not to mention that the 'other guy' having his way with my hair has by this time gone
too far with his damn scissors!
Maybe, a glance or two, over my glasses towards the mirror made this reaction more
evident, or was I suppose to go 'BALD, HAPPY and BRUNETTE for the rest of my
life'??????
The last drop were the words of my 'dear hairdresser' who 'HAPPILY' announced that
I was, NOW, NEW, MODERN, and MUCH YOUNGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, now, now, why do people think they can get away with 'what they think is right for
me'(?????????)....and stay calm or even worse, be happy with what they just
achieved with MY HAIR???!!!!!!! I wasn't sure at the moment, wether I should react to: NOW, or
maybe, NEW, MODERN or MUCH YOUNGER, first!
You know what, THIS IS WHAT WILL MAKE ME PERFECTLY HAPPY :
- next week, Tuesday, to be precise, I'll go back to my dear hairdresser and trash his
happy a**, make him do what I WANT with MY hair ( for what ever it takes) ....and tell
the bloody son of a bitch that I do not want to read any magazines or newspaper while
his having his way with MY HAIR.
Now, THAT is precisely what keeps me happy, for the time being.....
...and guess what, happiness was all about 'I'm so blogging this shit' (tx KJ).
Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!!!!!!!!
...... I would like to end this year ...with a song... and a favorite quote...lots of love to all of you!
Yours truly,
Lila
"It is always surprising how small a part of life is taken up by meaningful moments. Most often they're over before they start even though they cast a light on the future and make the person who originated them unforgettable."As we travelled and moved around the world, we adopted different customs according to the country where we lived, and combined them with some of our traditional customs. For the past 8 years, living in Spain - Canary Islands, we adopted to some of their traditions during the celebrations of Christmas and the New Year. One of the things that always stays the same is the Christmas tree.
During the month of December we start sending ( and receiving) a lot of Xmas hampers to our friends and business partners.
Food and drinks are essential, ofcours, and in Spain, during this season, every household gets a Jamón serrano .
*the cut of that Jamón is very wrong...but who cares...as long as you get a slice of it* What's Jamón Serrano, well, take the link: Jamón serrano definition
Another very Spanish tradition is eating various Turrones in large quantities... Turrón definition
The Spanish are very proud of their champagne, it's usually either Freixenet or Codorniu (but a box of Moét will do as well)
We adopted to Christmas stuffed turkey (dates way back to the years living in London)
Year's Eve ....just for the sake of our own tradition.
I don't really know who adopted smoked salmon, king prawns and caviar, but it seems to be an over-all tradition, everywhere!
During the New Year's Eve, the Spanish eat 12 grapes, one each with the sound of church bells (campanas) counting the last 12 hrs....it is a bit difficult, and I do not recommend it....but tradition is tradition....something to do with your wishes coming true for the coming year (...or something to do with choking....oh, well)
meaning of grapes (uvas) and campanas (bells) at New Year's Eve
While we shop-and-drop, we have many parties, but Christmas Eve stays always just for the family, and New Year's Eve is a gala party...somewhere 'out'.....the bottom line to all of this said, according to my youngest son, Georgio,
are the PRESENTS
although he 'suspects' the story of Papa Noel, Santa Claus, Reyes (the Kings) St. Nick...etc...etc, somehow as the holidays approach, he starts believing, again and again.....and whether in Spain, UK, USA, or any other country, the magic of it all is in those nicely wrapped boxes.....
....well, the food, family, friends and parties, too! ....OK, plus a couple of fancy evening dresses, shoes, bags.....well,....you get the picture 
...then when we're stuffed with all the holiday food, a week at a Spa....just to get rid of all those extra kilos...would be highly appreciated 
navidad latina for spanish speaking friends
for non-spanish-speaking-friends
P.S.
I don't know how I could forget about Spanish famous Queso Manchego, but thanks to Carol, here it is!Molesting statues in Gran Canaria
( let's just say this is Part I, I might do some more...I like it!)
Yeah I'm late, but better now than never, so today was either staying home and playing dead, not exactly, but as I was a bit down, cought by a flue, I decided to go out and give you a glimpse of some interesting statues in my village...
See, this guy, keeps watching my beautiful mountains, only I chose a bad day...not only for molesting 'him' but for my flue as well, as it turned out we've got CALIMA. What's CALIMA...well, let me put it this way...it's hot...the haze you see is not actually haze, but a lot of dust - sand in the air...all from Africa. It happens quite often, here, and it lasts for a couple of days...so not a very good idea to go out, but as the dust is everywhere, as well as in the house, I decided to ignore it.
Now, that's a close-up of 'him' ...see, he's got a dog, too....
...and now, let's see what's he looking at
Well, that would have been a beautiful view, but due to CALIMA...it's not! So I proceed...
'You shouldn't be out, staring at the mountains on a Calima-day...why bother ...'
'I'm talking to you...can you see, now?'
...hmmm, I think , he likes me!!!!!
Now, a couple of blocks away, we've got these two kids...
...and YES, the boy is The Canary Pis ( Belgian Manneken Pis is not the only one, hah!)
A couple of molesting ideas came to mind, but as tomorrow is market day in my village, I would rather go to the market with a clear conscious, and not give the locals any gossip material on how..'esa loca estranjera...tsk tsk tsk!'
Now, prepare yourselves for the next one. This is just amazing! Only 7 km down from my village to the 2nd 'city' in Gran Canaria, Telde....and voila..
YEP...IT'S JOHN LENNON !!!!!!!!! Can you imagine that....Strawberry Fields ...in some God Forsaken place...lost in the Atlantic
OK, sure I had ideas on molesting statues...but common guys, this is The Man, after all, so out of respect.....I held his hand...awwwwww
...Yoko, eat your heart out!
