precision barfing

20 Thursday May 2021

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precision barfing

It’s that time of year. I mean, Loki seems to barf up hairballs all year round but once he starts shedding in the spring things get serious. Especially as he has taken to barfing during the night ON THE BED in the guest room. So after a couple of spectacular “incidents” I had to not only wash the sheet and the mattress protector, but also the thick zip-on cover that comes with the mattress. Fine. But you know, getting the foam mattress out and back in again was no picnic, so I decided to opt for a little extra protection.

Hence this old towel that is still quite absorbent, placed over top sheet, protector, cover as it’s much easier to wash. As you can see, the towel doesn’t cover the entire bed, so I moved the cushions up against the pillow and pulled the towel down, so in the end the bed was about 90% extra-protected. And dammit, wouldn’t you know that Loki managed to throw up last night on that 10% sliver of available space. Fucker. Gotta admit he has a talent for it.

charles grodin

19 Wednesday May 2021

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charles grodin

Charles Grodin has died. Cancer. Age 86. And there have been several lovely tributes to him all over the internets, which led to me finding some old YouTube clips of him on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show (omg, so funny) and THEN I discovered that he also had his own talk show for maybe 2-3 years, I think starting around 1992. Which explains why I never heard of it as that’s when I ended up in Spain and didn’t watch any TV for about ten years. And so here I am tonight looking up these old shows on YouTube and they’re just wonderful.

Apparently there was a faux-feud between Grodin and Carson for years, which they both played up for laughs. Below you can watch an example. I will always love his performance as The Duke in Midnight Run with De Niro, which remains one of my favourite movies ever. Also, read this wonderful tribute by his friend Jonathan Alter and find out how amazing and altruistic he was outside his “showbiz” career. Thanks Chuck. xx

it’s always something

18 Tuesday May 2021

Posted by in casa azahar, home

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spring spruce up

So after doing some spring time sprucing up this past week – cleaning the AC filter (don’t ask), storing away winter bedding, stuff like that – THIS happened. Happily my landlord is on the case and not only will I be getting a new water heater this week, but also a bright shiny LED ceiling light for my kitchen, replacing the old horrible fluorescent fixture.

This guy is really the best landlord I’ve ever had in Spain. Something goes wrong, he fixes it. No questions, no problems. And as a bonus he told me last week that he’s happy to have me stay on for another year, and even longer. He was kind enough to put my rent down a bit recently, though now that the State of Emergency is officially over and my contract date is coming up (July), it’ll probably go back to the original rate. Fair enough.

I love this place so much. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s attractive and comfortable, and it’s also the best home I’ve had here.  Fingers crossed I can keep on living here for a long long time.

the amazing alexandra del bene

17 Monday May 2021

Posted by in art, friends, sevilla, spain

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alex mural project

I was so excited when Alex pinged me with a link to this video about her latest project. I had no idea that she was doing this and it’s absolutely amazing. She will be creating 15 gigantic murals themed around the 500th anniversary of the first round the world voyage, the Magellan-El Cano circumnavigation (1519 – 1522). See those buildings up there? Those will be her canvases. Located in Calle Tarfia, facing the river it is expected to set a Guinness world record.

Below you can see virtual depictions of how they will look when finished. Impressive, right?

I first met Alexandra by chance ten years ago when she was starting out here working as a “graffiti artist for hire” painting shop and bar shutters so that they wouldn’t get vandalised by taggers. One day I saw her painting a bar shutter while out for a walk on a Sunday afternoon and stopped to chat and we’ve been friends ever since. She once even joined one of my tapas tours in progress while “on the job” painting the shutters at Bodeguita Romero.

And while Alexandra still does the occasional shutter art, she is now also an award-winning artist recognised both here and abroad. An amazing accomplishment for someone who arrived here from Rome in 2010 with a young daughter to start a new life. I am quite in awe of not only her talent but also her energy and spirit. You can check out her website here…

Alexandra del Bene

alex murals

alex virtual murals Also posted on Azahar Sevilla

sunday song – hands up / wang dang doodle

16 Sunday May 2021

Posted by in music, sunday song, video

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When I was 17 I was given this album as a Christmas present by my boyfriend’s father. He was always trying to broaden my horizons re: art, dance, music, literature. Anyhow, this song is the intro from a live recording of the Pointer Sisters at the Grand Ole Opry (the first black female group to perform there) and it’s wonderful. Enjoy!