Today is my sister's birthday. Hi, Alina! Happy Birthday! She shares this day with our cousin Ricardo, who still lives in Havana. Sometimes their birthdays coincided with Mother's Day and the frenzy of celebration was mind-boggling. In this picture, Alina and Ricardo get center stage, although being older, he was quick to understand and act ...
Worth a thousand words…
I don't have a picture to post today which kind of weirds me out. And I don't have wireless access, so I'm sitting in a public lobby typing away. And they have me on a 15 minute timer - can you believe it?? This is so not my life! Ah, but it is today and for the next couple of days. Let me paint a picture. The temperature is a balmy 80-ish. ...
Marking time
We've converted the garage space in our home so it serves as our office/classroom/studio. We spend most of our waking hours here doing all the stuff we do. And it's a perfectly habitable space, carpeted and painted a pleasantly neutral off-white, but I decided it would be much more fun to paint the walls all different and really bright ...
I try. I swear I do.
It's Thursday. Which means I have a new recipe posted over at Babalú. Today I made Carne con Papas. It's really a huge crowd pleaser here in our home. And ok, I'll let you in on a secret. It is so much better on the second day. If there's any left over. ;-) I confess. I am pretty proud of knowing my way around the kitchen and being able to ...
Salvador y Coca-Cola
This was how we celebrated birthdays back in Cuba. These are my sisters and me at different ages. (If you're really curious, just count the candles on the cakes) There was always a big, beautiful, almost-too-perfect cake from a fabulous bakery.We always got a fancy new dress (think linen, satin, ruffles). By the time I turned four (in the last ...
245 miles apart – but, we share a brain. . .
They opened a Panera Bread bakery in the town of Hanford, California last year. Wait. I forget. Is Hanford an actual city? ;-) Hanford is in central California. (Notice I didn't capitalize central. The inhabitants of central CA are not snobby like Northern or Southern Californians who think our state should be divided like the Dakotas or the ...
Why I go to the dentist – an essay.
My mom spent the weekend with us. And that means that I've been speaking in Spanish for 48 hours. Which means that I was also thinking in Spanish. Which means it was pretty taxing on my poor bilingual brain. =( I am delusional enough to think that I express myself pretty well in both languages. ;-) But sometimes I just can't find "the ...
A Conundrum
There's nothing I love more than looking out my kitchen window and seeing my roses in bloom. Nothing. (Okay, well, maybe the smell of garlic and onions cooking. But that's not important right now.)When we first moved into this house, I would look out at nothing-but-green and picture colorful roses along the side and back fences. I ...
Grounded?
Yes, we homeschool.And yes, of course, we leave the house. I know that sounded a little snotty. Sorry. But there are people who still think that homeschooling means we are terminally grounded and my kids never interact with other people - ever. So I guess I was a little defensive there. I'm over it now. Our days are pretty predictable for the most ...
From my point of view
The year we moved into this house, we planted roses. They each have names and a story to tell. The names and colors all have meaning for me. Much like everything else that decorates my home. That is really important to me. Sure I like stuff that is fun and colorful, but if you were to ask, I would have a story to tell about ...
