It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new.
But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful.
There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
Alan Cohen
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx
The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

He was a Good Boy

He was so good at waiting.
He was patient. Not many dogs are patient.
You know how they get all squirmy and hop around and wiggly.
He might have squirmed a tiny bit, might have sat when I told him to , maybe he scooted a bit closer .. but he waited when I said Wait !
I tried to never make him wait long, how could I ? look at that face !
We were just getting our furniture delivered, from the shippers, here in Buenos Aires.
We had rented 2 temporary apartments, renovated this apartment and finally living here with a bed and the kitchen appliances sitting in the living room. But then things started to move quickly and he was seeing toys come out of boxes and a bed that belonged to him... a bed that still smelled a bit like "home" ..
He was patient, he knew if he sat still and waited, something good would happen.
And so it did.
He liked living in Buenos Aires.
Who wouldn't ? when you walk down the street each day and people stopped to tell you how beautiful you are and to give you a kiss ?
Who would complain about that ?
He certainly didn't .. he loved the parks, he loved the people he met and they loved him.
I am glad his last years were fun, filled with good doggie things to do and with people who showed him every day how special he was.
And I am glad he was with us. He made it all that much easier for me, to have him with us, to meet people with him, to settle into a new home in a strange land , just the 3 of us.
We all made a nice little snug family.
He was a good boy. It was all that much better because he was here.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Is Winter Leaving Soon ?

This will not go down as the Winter that I loved, or even liked.
It might be one of the Worst Winters, if I had that list.
But I am pleased to see and hopefully not silly to hope, that it is winding down.
The temperatures are still low at night and we still need heat in the apartment and we are still wearing coats but Monday I wore a lighter jacket and the temperatures flirted with 61ºF.
Mostly it is just the pleasure of the blue blue skies and white puffy clouds and lots of sunshine, that cheer a person up.
Enough of the August Drearies.. day after day of clouds, damp and cold.
With a stormy day thrown in and winds that cut right through you.
I am well enough able to sit in a room and be dreary and cheerless, I don't need the weather to match it !

Monday we walked from our home through the parks to a neighborhood that I dream of living in.
Then on to the big mall where we flitted through the shops, not being that interested and ended up in Carrefours where I bought only things that I remember from the US.

I bought French's Yellow mustard, Campbells Cream of Mushroom soup , M&M's , Salsa from Louisianna ..
I can only think of what to do with the Salsa and M&Ms, the soup and mustard I got just because .
Yes, it was one of those days.

Soon I will begin the yearly Seasonal torture of buying spring/summer clothes and all I really want is shoes and new handbags.

If the weather remains nice, we will venture out of the neighborhood and go to the Mercado de las Pulgas ( flea market) and or San Telmo ..
I feel like walking around looking at old junk.
And both places are packed with just that.
Some of it overpriced, some of it actually okay .. as long as the weather allows me to go out without freezing anymore!
Here are a couple of photos from where we walked Monday.
If I were in the mood to change addresses in BA, this would be the area.

So I hope soon, it is Chau to Winter and Hola to Spring ..


Monday, August 29, 2011

Monday .. Look at This Blog !


Sense and Sensibility

I have just discovered this lovely blog.
The photos ! Oh, my, the photos .. and I enjoy reading about anyone who is trying to learn to speak another language. She lives in Paris and drinks too much coffee, how alike we are !
Look at this lovely blog and tell me how much you like it !

chau, au bien tôt ~

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Sunday wanderings

Taking a walk on a Sunday, through the parks, used to mean having this character along with us too.
He loved a good walk in the park, meeting the people at the feria and making sure that the grass was thoroughly sniffed in all places.
It was difficult today to take that walk through the park.
In fact, I couldn't do it, I had to leave the park and feria and go down a street and keep my mind on buildings and not missing pieces of my heart.
I had the camera with me as I have been doing now, a habit that is enjoyable..
I grew tired of wishing I had remembered the camera when I would see something unique or something that needed to be shared.
Now the camera goes with me just about everywhere.
It was a beautiful day today.

Bright and sunny, a bit cold and wool coats are still needed but you can tell, things are showing signs of blooming, there are buds on the tree outside of our living room window.
There are bright green leaves on some of the trees, it is only a matter of time before the Jacarandas bloom and the city will be spotted with trees covered in intensely purple flowers.
I looked at buildings as is my habit and imagined What if we lived there ?

All the shops were closed, but it made my window shopping/peeking easier.
Not so many people getting in my way .. especially when I am trying to decide if I really need a bag of Macarons to bring home ..
I am pleased to say that I did not even go inside.. today .. but you know what they say, Tomorrow is another day.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Winter weekends ...

We are having a grey, cold, wet Winter day in Buenos Aires.
So far, copious amounts of coffee are being enjoyed .. no plans have been made beyond the idea of buying some scones at the bakery. A good beginning to the weekend.



Thursday, August 25, 2011

An Artistic Mix


What is there to do on a cold winter day when you know you need to get out of the house but have nowhere to go that really appeals to you ?
Walk to the park, go to the Cultural Center and look at the Art exhibits.
Admire the blue skies and be glad that you are not having to stand outside too long, the wind is cold!

We walked around inside the Recoleta Cultural Center and today, personally, I enjoyed looking out the windows better than I did looking at the exhibits. They are always changing and almost always interesting.

Back out into the park where the new flowers beds are doing well, the new sidewalks are nice and the new cobblestones look good. The very old twisted trees looked pretty good too.

Thank goodness for the skies that are mostly blue here, summer and winter. It is not so depressing as it could be.


At the Palais de Glace Museum, we wandered around the downstairs, bored by the exhibits but then went upstairs and look whowas there !

and many more photos by Argentine Photojournalists .. great photos of President Kirschner and his wife who is now President Kirschner and criminals from the days of the dictators and bloody photos of police and rioters.
It was an "artistic" mix today. I liked that ..

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Lost & Found


Of the two words, Lost and Found, I much prefer Found.
Loss/lost , especially at this time, brings too much pain, too many tears.
But then, if I had not experienced Found, these 12 years since would not have been filled with so much Love and Joy and Laughter.
Which only makes the Lost hurt so much more.

So I think I just like to stick with Found !

I had 68 followers.
That thrilled me. I have seen blogs with 3,000 followers .. yep, Three Thousand people follow that blog.
Mine ... 68 people read and laughed or snorted or just yawned at my blog.
Imagine my .... I don't know if you want to call it surprise .. perhaps dismay ? how about consternation ? when I looked one day last week and saw that there are 66 followers on my blog.
Where did those last 2 go ??
What was it that made them not only quit reading but go to the trouble of taking themselves off my Followers list ?
Was it something I said ?
Something I didn't say ?
Did I talk about the Pup and Loss too much and here they were hoping for some Tango and Steak chat ?

Perhaps it is the way of the Blog World.. some people come and some go .
Kinda like Life.
But I think if someone gets to the point of wanting to De-Follow on any blog, it might be nice if they sent the Blogger a note and said ( NICELY) the reason for leaving .. it might be helpful.. it would certainly solve any mysteries that some Bloggers might start building in their imaginations.
So if you find yourself Lost in my blog, loving the photos, the stories and want to tell me, please do.
And if you find yourself Hating the stories or the photos and want to Un Follow, would you please tell me also ?

In the meantime, I have been Lost in my new world of Tumblr and enjoying the photography.
I share mine, they share theirs, it is all very nice and time passes too quickly when you are there.
So visit there too if you Find the Time ~

A House Might Be Nice

Behind the gates, behind the great , carved wooden doors, there is a world that I would love to see.
I live in an apartment building, 10 apartments in an old mansion.
Two to a floor.
We see our neighbors, we hear our neighbors ( only sometimes and not too loudly, thank goodness) but we have neighbors under us and over us.
My new fantasy is to live in a house here in Buenos Aires.
A single family, unattached house.
A Casa to call our own.

Why ? I don't want to hear my neighbors ... ever.
There are times that I just don't want to see people , when I walk in or out of the building.
I want to just go about my business without having to say hello, goodbye or to get sympathy for our loss.
I pretend as often as possible, that there is no loss.
That he is just not right here, he will be back soon.
I don't want a sweet and solicitous neighbor reminding me that he is gone forever.


I would like to have a backyard.
I would like a fountain or small pool.. Spanish style.
I like gates.
I would probably make an excellent Recluse.
I have all the qualifications.

We would not be lonely. I could garden and there would be birds.
A neighbors cat might drop by for a bit of lolling in my garden where the sun shines just so, in the afternoon.
My family could visit and stay here with room to spare.
We would have a barbecue grill in the back, or as they are called here, a Parilla .
We would have family cook-outs South American style.

Tango music would play late at night and we would not worry about any neighbors.

Yes, I think if I plan to stay here for a long long time, like Forever, a house might be nice.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Monday .. Look at This Blog !


madonna del piatto

It is winter in Buenos Aires. It is a freezing cold day. So where better to lose myself for a few hours than in Umbria , Italy ?
This blog is full of the most fantastic photos and recipes and happens to be a perfect place to lose yourself for a while, whether it is freezing cold or too hot to go out ..

Have a Happy Monday ~


Sunday, August 21, 2011

Otherwise ~

There are days that my imagination sort of wanders off on it's own and ends up in places that I had not really planned to think about ..
It is very cold here right now.
It is winter in Buenos Aires.
Many of the trees are bare, the wind is sharp and while there is sunshine more than clouds, it is cold and windy and most people are happy being inside, warm and snug.

Two of those people are right here, enjoying the sun coming in the french doors and windows and the pretty color of the 100 year old wooden floors that glow in the sunshine, the wobbles in the glass in the doors, that shows up when the light hits it just so.
The radiator is working hard, the room is warm and toasty.
Leave the living room and you step into cooler temperatures and less sunshine .
The sun rises in the morning, outside our kitchen window, setting outside the living room at the front ..
Every room in our apartment has windows and there is always some amount of natural light coming in.
For those who live in cities full of apartments buildings, high rises etc, you know how valuable this light is. Especially in Winter.

But I am looking forward to warmer temperatures.
In a few months I will be here whining about the heat but right now, I think I have had enough cold weather.
I am tired of my coats.
I find myself daydreaming about living somewhere else, somewhere more familiar, somewhere that has no ghost of a Pup walking around.
And then you will find me in the real estate websites.

I found a house.
It is too big, it has a large property and it is just the two of us now.
But I want this house.

This is the stuff of my new daydreams.
Living in a house in the country, gardens, farmers markets, driving a car again, having company for the weekend , sitting out in the evening and watching fireflies and listening to the crickets and little creatures that make all that noise on a summer night.

It had better warm up ..

Buenos Aires still holds a lot of unexplored territory for us and I want to get started.
Otherwise ~


Friday, August 19, 2011

This makes me smile ...

This makes me smile. I even laughed once. I hope you have the same reaction.

We went to the cinema today, bought sheets and a blanket and scurried home because it is not only freezing cold but it decided to rain while we were walking to the shops.
Good thing we also went to the bakery and picked up a sweet thing or two.

We are just waiting for the weather to be a tiny bit warmer before we hop on a train for a little day trip.
Until then, we are snug in our home, which still echoes with the absence of a sweet pup.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Sunday -

These are the stairs that lead to the park that Pup loved so much.
They just about do me in every time I go up them, but there was a time when he bounded up them and didn't even get out of breath.
Then one day he stopped halfway up and said, OK, that's it for me and we didn't go up those stairs with him anymore.
At the top ( out of sight in this photo) is the British Embassy and behind that building there is our little private park where we sat on benches in the sunshine and enjoyed the (relative) peace and quiet while Pup did his sniffing of everything in sight and always ended up lying in the grass near us.. enjoying the quiet and fresh air too.


Sunday, we left the house and went away from the parks and walked down the big avenue where shops and stores and cafes mix with all sorts of businesses and apartment buildings.
With small and large parks here and there. We walked for miles it seems.
Saturday we were in Palermo Soho.
Every time we are there, we wonder what it would be like to live in a house in that neighborhood.
It is very tempting but then, when we come home, I am so glad to see my apartment that I remain content with our choice of neighborhoods and buildings
This does not mean that I will never move again and that I will not live in a house instead of an
apartment, but after 4 years in this apartment and with these neighbors, we are At Home.
We love our neighbors, they seem to like us a lot and they take care of us.
In those small ways that mean so much, those who speak English will speak to us about Building business, work to be done, answering our questions, etc.
We had a consortio meeting and everyone came to our house.. it was great.
We were right there in the middle of it all, a part of things.
So the idea of starting over in another place does not appeal at all.
Then on the other hand, everywhere I turn I see the ghost of my Pup and his absence is that much more profound. Perhaps new surroundings would be better ..
Perhaps Paris? ... I might have to give it more thought.

We are taking some day trips while we consider our options for somewhere to go for a longer period of time..
Maybe we will just run away, for a bit of healing of broken hearts.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Saturday in Palermo

We needed to get out of the house, away from the neighborhood, somewhere to look at different sights and hear different sounds.
Palermo was the place to go ... browsing through shops in Palermo Soho, I saw a few handbags but couldn't make a decision. Browsing through one of a gazillion shops having end of winter sales, I could not think what to look at first, so I just kept wandering.
This is not decision making time for me .. I am more able to just walk and look and stop to drink some coffee now and then. I think I am in a Low Maintanence phase !!
Don't expect it to last too long though ..
One of the things I really like is the variety of architecture and the colors.
Mixed among the ordinary apartment buildings will be examples of great ultra- modern buildings, old South American style buildings and then behind gates will be private houses that I always wish I could go inside for a look.
It was a good day for walking around. The dreary days finally ended and it was sunny and bright, although still cold, it has been a typical beautiful Winter weekend here.


Monday, August 15, 2011

Monday .. Look at This Blog !

Closet Cooking




I found this blog purely by accident and sometimes that is like being given a present !
Not that the sight of that beautiful soup didn't grab me, but the idea of "Closetcooking" grabbed me also.
I have spentquite a bit of time, reading recipes.
While it is cold and that is a perfectly reasonable thing for someone to do on a cold afternoon .. while trying to think of What to Have for Dinner ... I chanced upon this blog .. so here, I am sharing.
Go, look, enjoy, tell me how you like it.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Tate 1999-2011

No dog was so well loved and so treasured.




He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours, faithful and true to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.

anonymous

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Doors




Follow your Bliss and the Universe will open doors where there were only walls.

Joseph Campbell

Monday, August 8, 2011

Monday .. Look at This Blog !


Zsa Zsa Bellagio

I have spent too much time, lost in the amazing, beautiful images here.
Take a minute or two ( or an hour or so ) and enjoy .. tell me how you liked it ~

MOVE ..

3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage... all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ....into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films.....
= a trip of a lifetime.
move, eat, learn
Rick Mereki : Director, producer, additional camera and editing
Tim White : DOP, producer, primary editing, sound
Andrew Lees : Actor, mover, groover





I don't know, maybe it is just me but this gave me goosebumps ~

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Sunday - God's Blog Here Today

I took the day off to be with Pup and my husband.
God kindly allowed me to post His blog here instead. Enjoy.

God's Blog

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Lazy Saturday


This is the way we walk home from the market. I want to live on this street. It is a dead end street with very nice buildings and lined with Mimosa trees.
It is relatively quiet all the time.
Which for all you City Dwellers, you know how important that can be ..

We took Pup to the park today and it was a hit. He walked there and back with a little of his old energy and we all got to enjoy the sunshine. It is not quite as cold as it has been and the sun is blazing away. The parks were busy with tourists and families with children who were no doubt also happy to be able to run around and vent some of that energy only children seem to have .. funny thing about energy, we must be born with a limited supply.. we don't realize this as young ones, we just use it all up ... and then along comes the day when you are older and you are sitting on a bench in the park, conserving what little energy you have left, while watching young'uns running around, getting rid of some of that energy.



Friday, August 5, 2011

Why I Love Buenos Aires .. Reason Number 1,580


The old saying was that Men Don't Make Passes At Girls Who Wear Glasses.
But for some time now, I have been seeing a lot of girls, women, boys and men, wearing glasses, nerdy glasses and everyone is still looking and I imagine, there are passes still going on.

I am sure it depends on the glasses and of course, the girl .. or boy.
But overall, I don't think that saying works anymore.

I have new reading glasses.
My old ones ( which have been rehabilitated, more on that later) are nerdy, tortoiseshell , clearly reading glasses, not pretending to be anything else.
And I love them. They feel good and what is better, I can see !!
Here they are ... like them ?

Now the old glasses that were not so different, smaller and more perfect perhaps, fell apart after years of wear.
I asked the Eyeglass Man if he could just glue the little thing that goes over your ear so I can use them around the house... "Let me see what I can do" he said.

I got them back today, a week later .. they rebuilt my old glasses ! You can hardly see where they drilled holes and replaces hinges and whatever ... I am wearing them now, I can see !!
He refused to let us pay him anything.

Why I Love Buenos Aires .. Reason Number 1,580 ..

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Cold but Cozy

Another freezing cold day !
I am glad not to be living in one of those places where it is constantly summer, but this kind of cold winter is more suited to the Northeast US..
If someone were to ask me.... which no one has, but if they did .. I would let them know how I am not that thrilled with this sort of cold , day after day !
Of course I am not so cranky about it when riding in a taxi .. it is when I am walking for blocks in the wind that I get a bit cranky.

But it is so beautiful here in winter, I can control my whining.
I am glad to have Summer , I love the Autumn and Spring here is breathtaking.
So Winter can hang around a little longer and be a little colder if it wants to be ..
At least we are not buried in snow.
We walk a little less and take more Taxis and Pup takes very short walks now.
I am thankful for all those wonderful warm coats and clothes that I brought with me.
I never thought I would need a shearling coat here but thank goodness I have it, it has been worn quite a lot lately.
Pup has his own shearling and while he is desperate for a haircut, he must be quite cozy inside that nice warm coat of his.

We had to buy some goodies to have around the house while staying in out of the cold.
Our favorite French bakery was the first stop, the cupboards are full of chocolate croissants and french bread for all the sandwiches I will make to go with the soup I am making.Tonight - Mulligitawny soup and Salmon sandwiches.
Pup had his dinner already .. a blend of kibble and roast chicken ... he said something like .. "Delish" .. but his mouth was full so I could have been mistaken.

Walking through the neighborhood, I am constantly charmed by the architecture..
I just wish I could go inside and take a look around. Maybe I can talk someone into doing those Home tours where you get to see how they decorated .. I just have to perfect my Spanish .. ha !




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