Monthly Archives: January 2010

moving day

21 Thursday Jan 2010

Posted by in computers, geekiness, internet, rants

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

, ,

Aaaaaack!

I realised yesterday morning that the end of the month was coming up fast and that I HAD to find a way of moving my natural clothing site over to my self-hosted azahar sevilla site. I have been trying to do this for the past couple of years … well, I have asked the guy who designed the online store on several occasions to help me move it. He finally told me I owed him money (say what?) and that he wouldn’t give me “permission” to move the site until I paid up. Jerk. I mean seriously, I’m embarrassed to admit how much Nog & I had paid for this thing five years ago and then the guy kept my domain name. I don’t actually want the name back, but now I can’t access the other host site because it’s in his name, not mine. Grrr…

If I were doing this again now (and in fact I will be doing soon, with the Seville Store) I’d just make my own. But back then I didn’t know anything about all this website building stuff. And so… spent all day yesterday trying to make back-ups and installing a content management system (Joomla) and then trying to figure out how to upload the back-up until my shoulders felt like they were in a vice grip and I was speaking in half sentences (Nog says that when I get intensely involved in something I start sentences and then drift off, never finishing them …).

I really hope that after some industrial strength coffee this morning that I’ll be able to see things more clearly.  After having spent so much on this I would hate to lose it, especially as I hope to be able to use the site again some time in the future.

And although it was very frustrating, I’m actually quite pleased about how much I learned yesterday. But I’m still not there yet. Wish me luck! And if anyone out there knows how I can upload my backed up files to the new CMS on FTP, I’m all ears.

Add to FacebookAdd to DiggAdd to Del.icio.usAdd to StumbleuponAdd to RedditAdd to BlinklistAdd to TwitterAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Yahoo BuzzAdd to Newsvine

milk

20 Wednesday Jan 2010

Posted by in rants, restaurants, sevilla, spain

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

, ,

I’ll never understand UHT milk, or why it’s so popular in Spain. There is only one supermarket here in Seville that stocks fresh milk and even then it doesn’t always have it. And up until recently there was only one bar I knew of that made coffee with fresh milk – the Horno San Buenaventura. So when Flor invited me out for breakfast one morning after yoga class I was very pleased to discover that the new Italian restaurant across the street from the gym also makes their coffee with fresh milk. That’s TWO.

Seriously, there is something about the taste of UHT milk that makes me gag. But most Spanish people have never had any other sort of milk. I guess there isn’t such a huge dairy industry here or else they use it all to make cheese.

Anyhow, this is what good coffee in Sevilla looks like…

Add to FacebookAdd to DiggAdd to Del.icio.usAdd to StumbleuponAdd to RedditAdd to BlinklistAdd to TwitterAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Yahoo BuzzAdd to Newsvine

Continue reading →

tapas tours

19 Tuesday Jan 2010

Posted by in food & drink, restaurants, sevilla, spain, tapas

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

, , ,

My latest biz idea (and one that I’ve been kicking around for quite a while now) is to give tapas tours. Relaxed and informal, taking small groups of 2-6 people out “tapearing”, much like I did with Alejna and her mother in September. A typical tour would  be about 3 hours long and would include going to three different tapas bars and sampling a couple of tapas at each place. I’ve already announced this on the usual places (azahar sevilla, twitter & facebook) but I was wondering if I could get some feedback from you guys on this question.

Would you prefer an “all inclusive” price and have tapas & drinks chosen for you at each place, or would you prefer to pay a set fee for the tour guide (me!) and then pay for any food & drink you choose yourself on top of that? I’m actually thinking of offering both options, but would like to get an idea of what might be more popular.

You can read Alejna’s excellent post about her tour with me here:
Sevilla Tapas Tour

Add to FacebookAdd to DiggAdd to Del.icio.usAdd to StumbleuponAdd to RedditAdd to BlinklistAdd to TwitterAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Yahoo BuzzAdd to Newsvine

two months

18 Monday Jan 2010

Posted by in animals & pets, cats, change, home, love

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

,

Sunny in a sunbeam…

It’s been two months since my beautiful Sunny died. I am often haunted by those last awful hours that he lay dying in my arms, but more often I remember how much I love him and how wonderful it was having him in my life. Sometimes I have dreams in which I can see and touch him again, and I wake up with a terrible ache of longing. Just to hold my Sunny bunny one more time. Even now when I have to get up in the middle of the night I find myself being careful not to disturb him in his usual place at the foot of the bed, and then I realise he’s not there anymore.

Sometimes, like now, I cry because I miss him so much. Other times there is a happy/sad feeling, knowing how lucky I was to know him and love him. Because I know that I’m a better person for loving him (present tense – that love is still alive). A couple of days ago I mentioned that I have a very high pain threshhold, but it seems this only pertains to physical pain. I’ve always been crap at dealing with emotional pain, especially having to do with separation and loss, and the pain of losing a loved one really is beyond anything I could have imagined. It still takes my breath away sometimes. But that’s part of the deal.

Add to FacebookAdd to DiggAdd to Del.icio.usAdd to StumbleuponAdd to RedditAdd to BlinklistAdd to TwitterAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Yahoo BuzzAdd to Newsvine

25 meals

17 Sunday Jan 2010

Posted by in change, food & drink, friends, home, hope

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

,

It came as a shock when Nog & I realised it was time to do our monthly “big shop” at the supermarket the other day … and then also realised that there wasn’t enough money! Nog has lost some students over the past couple of months, and I have not yet been able to rebuild my student client base since starting back to work – I only have 2 classes a week. In the end I had to use a credit card I keep for emergencies only (my other one is maxed) and we were able to stock up for the next while or so. And it got me thinking it would be better to stockpile some meals, also using what had been in the freezer … so two days and many hours spent slaving over a hot stove later, the result was about 25 single serving meals. How cool is that?

Yeah, I know. I should have used the gift donations over Christmas for more practical purposes, but as they were given for the explicite purpose of going out for tapas (and I also wanted to get more photos for Sevilla Tapas) that is what I did.

Anyhow, check it out. Clockwise from upper-left: spicy chicken burrito sauce, bolognese sauce, pork & veg stew, pork & spinach garam masala, and chorizo & prawn risotto. Of course, by the time all this was made neither of us felt like eating it, so last night I made some beer-battered prawns and chips with the left-overs …

Add to FacebookAdd to DiggAdd to Del.icio.usAdd to StumbleuponAdd to RedditAdd to BlinklistAdd to TwitterAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Yahoo BuzzAdd to Newsvine

Continue reading →