Tag Archives: holidays

holidays at home

15 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by in 20th anniversary, holidays, home, sevilla, spain, travel, trips

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Yesterday evening I decided to mix a little business with pleasure and go out to do some research on rooftop bars. I’ve actually had a blog post written on this since June but needed photos. So I went out with Peter and managed to get to five places before sunset (black sky with a blurry Giralda tower in the distance – not interesting!), stopping at the last one for a drink, and then returning to one of the previous ones for another, before heading home for a late snack. And although some work was involved it did feel a bit like being on holiday.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, because of Azar’s health situation I’ve postponed all my 20th anniversary travel plans other than day trips (though I’m still struggling with that one overnight biz trip to Córdoba) and have decided to spend the rest of August “on holiday” in Sevilla. This isn’t to say I won’t be working, just that I’ll be treating myself (and Peter) to going out more, and spending a bit less time in front of the computer. I haven’t had many tapas tours this month, and at first I was stressing about that, but now I’m just going to relax and enjoy the rest of the summer. You know, “this may be my last one” is always in the back of my mind and, especially after Pat’s death and with the next PET scan coming up soon, things feel more precarious than ever. So what the heck. Holidays at home.

what’s with all the scrooges?

18 Sunday Dec 2011

Posted by in christmas, holidays

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First posted on December 18th, 2006 – exactly five years ago!
I still feel the same about the scrooges…

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It seems to be turning into an epidemic.

Lately I’ve been coming across so many people complaining about the Christmas season in various ways, ranging from mild dislike to out-and-out hatred.

It seems that those who dislike/resent/hate Christmas the most are those who feel somehow pressured or obligated to do things they don’t particularly like doing during this time of year, or they dislike/resent/hate the way other people celebrate Christmas.

But surely they are placing the blame erroneously. If one cannot say no to family and/or friends, should they blame Christmas? If they don’t like the manner in which some people exploit the holiday season and the crass commercialism that goes on … why say it’s the fault of the holiday? And if it’s the religious aspect of it that they dislike, well, this is easy enough to ignore.

It seems to me that these scrooges are redirecting their frustrations in order to avoid acknowledging where the real problems and issues lie. Though of course there are some people who just complain for the sake of it because they enjoy complaining. 😉

Another anti-Christmas argument I often hear is that people should always behave with compassion and generosity towards their fellow man, not just once a year. And I quite agree. But like birthdays, anniversaries and such, Christmas is a once-a-year reminder to behave this way and I see nothing wrong with that.

Anyhow, I really love Christmas, though my best Christmases started happening after I left home at age 15. I’ve had a few nice family Christmases since then, but my best ones have involved cherished friends and loved ones. And one quite memorable one when I was in my early twenties, doing my laundry and then going out to the cinema as I was on my own. I reckoned that since I was all alone I’d get all pathetic and do all these sad and pathetic things … but then I saw that I wasn’t actually on my own. There were plenty of other people at the laundromat and at the cinema and it was somehow comforting to be in their company.

So basically, Christmas is what you make it, though it may not always turn out to be exactly what you expect.

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december…

01 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in cats, christmas, friends, holidays, home, sevilla, weather

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I woke up this morning with a definite Christmassy feeling!

This week it’s been much colder, going from “Indian summer” temps to very chilly overnight and then sneaking up to about 16-18º during the day. Still pleasant for walking around, and people are making the most of terrazas that get direct sunlight, but it’s suddenly winter. And December. So thoughts have turned to my favourite holiday of the year.

To be honest, I haven’t had a really great Christmas in many years, for many reasons. And that’s kind of made me sad, and made me almost give up on even trying to celebrate. But this year feels different somehow. So I plan on having a wonderful Christmas this year in my fabulous new home (still feels new to me, though it’s been almost a year). Who wants to join me?  🙂

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on holiday, at home, while working…

29 Monday Aug 2011

Posted by in cats, holidays, home, work

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Since Jessica left last Thursday I’ve been here on my own at casa az and… I am just loving it! It’s like being on holiday but at home. While working.

I get up in the morning and open all the balcony doors, feed the cats, water the plants (look how lush my balcony spider plants are!), make some coffee in my little one-person bodum french press, fire up the computer and just enjoy myself and my apartment and my life.

You see, this is the first time I’ve been alone here since moving in and I think I really needed this week to be able to really bond with my new home and feel like it’s really My Home. I’m not alone all the time as Nog pops over a fair bit and I’m busy with clients, tapas tours and out running errands. It’s just a nice change to have a lot of extra time to myself and get into a whole new routine that feels like how I would live if I could afford to live on my own again. I’m sure I’d get lonely at times, but this hasn’t been an issue just for a week, and I’ve been getting into some good habits that I want to continue with. Nog moves back in on Wednesday and will then – I hope – get into his own work routine starting September.

Well, time for a short siesta and then I have to go out this evening and drop in on a couple of clients. Did I mention that I’m happy?

happy toes 2011

10 Wednesday Aug 2011

Posted by in animals & pets, cats, food & drink, holidays, Malaga, spain, summer, tapas, travel, trips, work

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This morning I took my first beach walk, leaving my sandals with a group of elderly women who were hanging out under a massive colourful umbrella, and it felt great. Though at the water’s edge it’s quite slopey, which makes walking in the waves extra difficult. Will have to go out again tomorrow morning as I won’t have time on Friday.

I still don’t know what’s going on in terms of meeting with Victoria and getting some work done, but as we’d only have this afternoon/evening it’s not looking very promising. Ah well, I’m getting lots of other stuff done.

Meanwhile, I got some great news this morning when Nog called to tell me that Azar had had a BM, which meant he didn’t have to be taken to the vet’s for an enema. And as I’ll be back on Friday, I can “do the honours” then if need be. As for the blood test, it’ll be easier for everyone concerned if I’m there too, so that can also wait until I’m back. I was really starting to feel badly because of leaving Azar all week when it turned out I could’ve come out today and saved a lot of worry, but now that it’s turned out okay I can go back to enjoying myself.

Had a nice day yesterday. Went to a new place for lunch called La Cosmopolitana, which had been recommended by Agustín, and it was great! Then I came home to do a bit of work, thinking I’d go to the cinema in the evening. Well, an extra long siesta took care of that plan, so I decided to just keep on sleeping.

The friends I invited to the vineyard tour are coming in to Málaga tomorrow. Still might nip over to Mijas in the morning as I’ve been invited by cookbook author and personal hero Janet Mendel to have a few tapas with her, so may be able to do lunch there and then have dinner out with the gang. Busy, busy, busy…

What have you guys been up to this week?