Between U.S.A. and Spain.

SUNSHINE FROM SPAIN 2

 

A special thank you for my son in law, Raul,

who knowing it was gloomy around Auburn, Georgia,

sent me some sunshine from Spain. 

***

A DAY IN AQUOPOLIS

Two little brothers, Alberto and Gabriel,

were replenishing energies 

after some serious water-playing time at Aquopolis when...

Alberto, the oldest of the boys, spotted the intruders taking over their large,

yellow floater. He said to his brother with a mouthful of chicken sandwich,

"How dare they!! Hey bro, let's hurry- those two are taking what is ours!" 

Gabriel, nodded while slurping his juice. 

 

"Dad!! Yayo!! Don't you think you are acting a little childish here?

This is the kiddy pool and Gabriel and I want the floater back!!

Ummm....... please!!"

 

Well, Dad and Yayo said, "We're not giving it up without a fight!"

What!!

 Oh, dear! The determined little boys summoned their super powers and...

 Gabriel, tackled Yayo while Alberto took care of business with their dad...

There was some serious splishing and a-splashing going on when

Mommy Mayra came over to calm the waters

and said, "ENOUGH!!! NO ONE is going to have the floater.... BUT ME" 

Well... they sure weren't going to argue with her!

After all she sure deserves a relaxing moment...

and  little Gabriel even gave her a hug. 

 At the sight of this tender family moment,

Yayo Pepe, decided it was time for a nice family photo to remember this day by...

 

But the first shot was a flop...

Then came another shot, but Mayra's arm and part of Raul's face

just didn't quite make a good family photo...

He tried once more and got Mayra and Raul

but... uh... the kids well... no comment. 

They all thought a more conventional photo would be easier. 

And Mayra started by organizing the kids by size...


Anyone else would have given up, but Mayra kept up the hard work...


Even when some wanted to abandon the "ship"!

 

But by golly they finally got it...

Yes, they got the "good enough" family photo to remember

a fun day at Aquopolis!!!

***

WEEK 77 & part of WEEK 78

 

August

WEEK 77  Thursday 11 - Wednesday 17

WEEK 78 Thursday 18 - Wednesday 24

 

Have you ever felt broken? I hope you never do.  It’s a horrible feeling. I hope life

spares you from it. It hasn’t me.  And so I will be honest, because I don’t want to

pretend that all is well. What is the point of writing if you lie to everyone, including

yourself?  I feel broken. And I have the right to feel that way, as you have the

right to stop reading this very moment. At least I think so.

WEEK 77 & WEEK 78 STINK.

I HATE THE OUTCOME OF THESE PAST TWO WEEKS.

YES, I DO!!! I HATE IT. I HATE IT. I HATE IT!!!!!!!

These past weeks were so promising. I was working on FOOD STORIES and

getting ready to visit my sister, Hilda, in Florida. I was thrilled because I needed a

change from this dreadful Auburn-Winder monotony. Yes, a little Florida sunshine,

a little sisterly talk at the beach, and we were even going  to Rob Deck’s book

signing in  Orlando on Friday so I could meet him personally and thank him for

reviewing my book. 

However,  while preparing for my mini-vacation, my world is turned around after

an argument with my daughter, Sandra, leads to: No beach, no sisterly talk

and no book signing. What I got instead was: Lots of anger, tons of hurt,  and

an ocean of tears. 

 

Today is Alonso’s birthday. I should have been celebrating it. I should have been

able to say Happy Birthday to my grandson. I should have been able to hug and

kiss a child I have helped raise. Instead, I have re-played a vivid dream I had last

night, over and over again, as the day went along to feel him close to me.

I saw him so clearly in my dream. It went like this… I got home from work. Parked

in the driveway. I look up to my house thinking about how awful it was not to be

even able to wish him a Happy Birthday because I feared stirring things again

between my daughter and I. Then I get out of my car and walk up the stairs to

the door. I look for the right key and I opened my door. I find my house empty. I

find my house lonely. I stand in the foyer and think about how much my house

and I have in common. We've certainly seen better days.

I go upstairs and close the white children’s safety rail behind me. At the sound it

made, Alonso, peeks his head out from my bedroom's door fram.  I see him

come out of my room and run toward me, dressed in blue jeans and a red t-shirt,

full throttle down the hallway with a big smile that said how much he missed me.

Can you feel your heart beating fast in a dream? I could. And I felt his warmth 

as I bent down and those little arms wrapped around my neck. Then, I saw myself

grabbing his hands and separating him from me for  a brief moment so Icould

look into his precious face. His big brown eyes were filled with light, and he was

smiling in that way that makes my heart melt.  We hugged again and I caressed

his soft dark hair. I swear I could smell the baby shampoo scent as I kissed his

head. That moment lingered.  I remember wanting to say so many things to

him... but instead we just hugged in silence. And that's all I remember. 

 

I know... things will get better. But for now, allow me to feel the way I do. Broken.

WEEKS 72, 73, 74, 75 AND 76!



WEEK 72   July 7 - 13

WEEK 73   July 14 - 20

WEEJ 74   July 21 - 27

WEEK 75   July 28 - Aug 3

WEEK 76   August 4 - 10

I believe I have never been so absent from my blog. And not only have I been absent from mine, but

from my friend's blogs as well. I do apologize to you; Barbara, Fiona, Jillsy, Jan, Jen, Tipper, and Robert.

Please know that as soon as I finish FOOD STORIES I will be back to all your blogs. I have missed you

dearly. But this little venture of mine has absorbed me to the point of not having a life. And the reason

behind it is: DESPERATION for a new life. So, I am pushing myself to the limit, even if it means taking

away the little joys in my life, and concentrating solely in the book. I hope you understand. 

 

I can not imagine the toll it will take on me if this book is not published. I don't know. I am guessing

I could go into the deepest of depressions. But then again, I might just shrug my shoulders. Very

soon I will find out. I only have a couple of stories to finish. Christopher and Mayra are working on the

illustrations. Is that not a mother's dream? I think I am more excited for them than for myself!

 

And when all is written and done this little piggy will be eating lots of salads... and will have a life

again. The only adventures i am living are the following kind:


At work I was helping a customer find canned pork and beans when I heard, "Miss!Miss!" Then I felt a tap

on my shoulder. When I turned around a hunched-back, four-toothed, old man was grinning and holding

out this...ummm.. stem out to me. He said to startled me, "For you!".  Well, you CAN'Timagine how

confused I felt. I really didn't know if to chuckle or cry. But hey, I think Imade his day by kindly

accepting the...umm...stem, and wishing him a great day. Not to mention "the moment" made the lady

I was helping out laugh when he merrily rolled his shopping cart away from us.  And as for me, I got a

chanceto stop and smell... the half dead mums!! 

I believe this has been the most excitement I have had in the past five weeks. The rest of my time I am

either cooking,  taking photographs of  the food I cook, downloading the photos, writing, flattening my

butt in front of the computer as I write, and of course increasing my waist line in between writing

"breaks".

  

This is Cuban picadillo, but actually I haven't written the story yet. I might not included.

Decisions, decisions...

 


This story is dedicated to late, late night host Craig Ferguson.  He is the other man in my life. 

I love him because he cracks me up, and I need that to keep going. His story is titled,

Craig Ferguson's E-mail Eggs. He is so proud of having changed his nationality from Scottish to

American, that I thought a typical American food, such as wieners would be great. But then I thought...

Craig Ferguson's Wiener didn't sound too good. Uuuhhh, no thank you!

Aha, more eggs! These I loved when my mother made them, and it's one of my children's

favorite dishes. 

This hummus belongs to "Agent Lames Blond's Hummus" . 

 

And these yummy ribs are for an old story, Sherlock Holmes Ribs. What a sacrifice to cook

and eat them...

 



Another photo re-make. This time for Angry Bride Cauliflower... 



And this one is one is for one of my new stories, The Princess and the Peas. 

 

Sandra loved these turnovers and the story titled, Neptune's Tuna Turnovers.

There is a very interesting centerfold photo in this one... 

And of course I couldn't leave out that Mexican dessert that Maricela showed me how

to make. Ititled that one, Juanita's Cantina South of the Border Jell-o.

 

This is another re-make of Amnesia Flan. Unfortunately, I have to make another one

because I don't like any of the photos I took. I think it's because I was hungry when I got

home from work and just wanted to eat it.

I don't know... I can't rememember!

Potatoes for Suckers...  yet another re-make 

 

But this is for a new story- Juana Mae's Chicken Croquettes.

 Cute story if I may say so myself! 

For Crying Out Loud Salad, always makes me think of my sister Maribel...

she taught me how to make it. 

Ummm... not too sure I will include these mushrooms. It's a shame because I love the Italian

$1.00 plate I found at a thrift store!!

Identity crisis here... Spaghetti a la Silent Killer became Lethal Linguini.

ALL the photos were changed for this story also!!! I ate linguini for a week....

Chef Gordon  Ramsey & My @%#*! Corn Risotto. A new twist to an old favorite of mine

And of course a family favorite... No Shovel Required Hawaiian Kalua Pig. Sandra doesn't

like this photo... I am not to sure either. But, gosh I don't want to have to cook it again even

though I love it. It's 5 lbs of meat for just two people!!

Alright, no more photos for the rest of the new stories which are:

Cavemen Roasted Duh-Duh Bird,

Over the Phone Leg of Lamb

The Onion and the Beet; A Sad-lad Story

$18.00 for 8 Red Peppers Salad

And there you go!  Ten new stories and four more on the drawing board, plus all the revising

and changes going on constantly...Which is really not bad for the issues surrounding me 

with my daughter, Miss "Confused".

Oh, an update on Alonso's speech before I go! He has improved tremendously and even says 

"Eeeeww!! That's nasty!!" when he doesn't like his food. I know... not very nice. But to

us it sounds wonderful!!

I don't think I will be back for a while.

Hopefully this will all be over soon.

I miss my blog... and I miss YOU!!!