My dog, Tara

As you might have heard, we have a new cat in our blog world, so I wanted you guys to meet my dog, Tara. I suppose, if she was blond, she would look just like me....

We adopted Tara 5 months ago. She's a spoiled brat, she chews anything she can get hold of, sleeps more in all the beds in the house and rarely in her own , hates any kind of water which includes the sea...going to the beach is just for digging holes in the sand and chasing other dogs!

We were able to achieve 'SIT'....but I'm afraid that's about it!

Copper, how do you like my baby? Isn't she just adorable!

Just a thought...

Interesting story, historical fact, legend...what ever...but makes one think twice...or more.

(taken from the web)

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day

an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said,

"Socrates, do you know what I just heard about your friend?"

"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything I'd like you to pass a

little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."

"Triple filter?"

"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a

good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. The first filter is Truth.

Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the

second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend

something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not

certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the

filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to

me?"

"No, not really."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor

even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

This is why Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

(...and on a much lighter note.....It also explains why he never found out his best friend was scre*ing his wife...lol)

I don't know what date it is....

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)

Happiness (?!)

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).

Fiesta de Los Almendros

Almonds in blossom and a Fiesta in our small village in the Canaries

.

Happy New Year to all my Y360 folks

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."

Christmas - New Year customs in Spain

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)

.....but we add a baked suckling pig for the New

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!