Winter thoughts

It is Winter.
I have not been warm since ... oh ... February.
It is bleak and dreary and even when the sky is blue, it is cold and windy.
No matter what I wear or how many blankets I put on the bed or how many pairs of fleece clothing and socks I wear, I am still cold.

And we are going to move to the NorthEast USA when we sell this apartment.
Upstate New York or possibly Connecticut.
Are we crazy or what ??

The difference :
A house in the US has "central heat" .. with a thermostat. Fireplaces and insulation. Windows that usually fit tight.
You drive in a car to the market if it is cold, raining, miserable. Cars have heat.

We walk everywhere here. If we take a taxi, we still have to stand out on the street and flag one down.
Sometimes they have heat, sometimes not.
Worse... in the summer when they don't have A/C.
Oh the traffic jams we have sat through in a taxi with no air conditioning on a hot summer afternoon.
(actually, I am remembering them fondly right now)


Walking fast for miles is easier when it is cold.
Today we walked but no one felt that energised .
A bench in the sunshine called to us, but after a while, the cold from the stone bench started to work its way to my brain and we walked a bit more.
Coming home meant warm blankets to wrap myself in, hot tea, scones ... I am eating too many scones these days... and being cozy.
The thing I will remember most about this winter is the Coziness.

We stay snug. We have blankets and chenille throws all over the house. Wherever you go, you can throw a blanket across your lap, roll yourself in it and watch television.
I haven't tried cooking while wrapped in a blanket, the stove and oven manage to keep me comfy.

This morning I sorta wished I could get in the shower with my warm pyjamas on though .. did I tell you about our bathroom ?
The ceilings are the same as the rest of the apartment, 15 feet high.
The floors are marble, the tiles are porcelain, one wall is all mirror and the other is a huge bathtub .
Except for the towels and little rug, it is a cold and shiny place.
Perfect in the summer.
Not so warm in the winter.
The towel warmers can only do so much.
I have considered draping myself over the towel warmer but so far have managed to just dry off and get dressed in record time.
I would win a race if they ever have one ...
Although I don't know who would agree to be in a race of getting out of the shower wet and naked and getting dry and dressed before judges. Not my best idea, is it ?

Pup used to be the best Warmer.
At night when watching television or reading, somehow without anyone noticing ... he just ended up next to me.
On the bed , wherever I was .. we would both end up snuggled warm and cozy with his blanket and I usually had a hard time staying awake. I miss that.

If we sell the apartment soon, we will be going back to the US as Autumn and Winter begin.
This will mean that we will live through a year long winter.
I have to think about this some more.

Winters Last Gasp .... I hope

It is cold out.
Really cold.
I look out the window and it is sunny with big fat clouds skidding by and I think, let's go out and take a walk. Hang out at the Feria, buy something fun and very Argentine.
So eventually after many cups of coffee and scones to keep us going, we walked outside.
We made it as far as the corner.
Where the wind blows the most.
We walked back towards the building, discussing the pros and cons of Being Out or Staying In.

So we are inside now, warm and snug with some very nice music on.
Classical music played loud.
I used to worry about that, even though it is daytime and the walls are thick, were we disturbing the neighbours ?
The woman above us clomps around in high heels / riding boots ? late late at night and she doesn't seem to worry about bothering her neighbours, so I figured loud pretty music in the middle of the day can't be too bad.
The lady next door saw us one day and said something about the Musica.
I worried for a moment then realised what she said .. she told us how much she loves the music we play.
I picture her, waltzing around her apartment, humming the tune to what we are playing.
Today is Mozart, bet she likes it !

The town is quiet, everyone is hibernating or out at the country house.
I like weekends when the town is quiet but summer is not far away and that will be good too.
Everyone goes away then too, sometimes for months so we will have stores, parks and restaurants to ourselves again.
If we are still here.

For now, we snuggle in and enjoy music and tasty food and enjoy the fact that we don't have to go out and we don't have to do anything unless we want to.
This won't last forever so we will appreciate it now. . while Winter winds down ... I hope.

Impatiently Waiting

The US welcomes you back with open  slightly judgemental arms ..

My favorite quote of the day , no ... of the month !
We are waiting for our buyer to show up.
The realtor emails me and says, Today at 3, I come with a buyer. If Only !!
They come, they look, they smile and chatter away with the realtor, discussing this and that then they leave.
Never to be heard from again.

We have sold 2 homes before this .. they sold fast and easily.
Of course, the President of the US didn't decide to change the laws and rules and way of doing things forever, just to suit his/her mood .. or the mood of her friends who are Presidents of other countries.

So we sit and we wait.
The mover sits and waits.
The House in the Country in the US,  with a fireplace and lots of property, that I have not seen yet, sits and waits.

I shop, I go to the doctors and have various things cut off of me, stitches put in , stitches taken out, new things for doctors to look at.
There is Shopping to do .. I am sick of winter clothes.
I bought a pair of beige ballet flats. If we move back to the US in the next couple of months, those shoes will have to wait another year before they see Summer or get to be worn.
What a depressing thought !

I wanted to have some kind of summer back in the US.
But now it looks like we will just have    2 winters in a row... and that is if we are lucky !

Be prepared for lots of whining.
It is the price you have to pay.....

We had big storms last night.
The sort that come with thunder so loud, the television could not be heard.
The sort that the lightening lights up the rooms.
The sort that goes on and on and someone falls asleep counting the seconds between lighting and thunder to see just how close it really was.
I was again happy that we have no car, there was a hail storm in the night also.
Lots of new dimples in some cars today.

We took a walk and I took photos
What I would like to be doing is shopping and going out to dinner ... in a warm New York.

I was never famous for being patient.
Just to show you that it was not altogether a wasted day ...
We walked here ....

And I briefly contemplated the possibilities of Me wearing This...

Let's hope someone comes to buy this week... or you might have to live through more whining ..

Friday Photo

                   Winter in Buenos Aires

Perhaps ...

A cold grey winter day in Buenos Aires should only be spent doing one of a couple of things.
Shopping or staying in  and being cozy with warm drinks and good music.

Not one to be satisfied with making a  choice , I am enjoying my hot tea and good music while I admire my new shoes.
Let us not forget that I can do many things at once, this is a talent I am proud of.

Looking out the windows, I see that the sun gave up and just said, Here, Cloud, you can have it today but I get it tomorrow.
Let's hope Señor Cloud doesn't get all selfish and want to stay around for the whole week !
Although I appreciate Señor Cloud much more than Señor Rain who came around the other night    and didn't stop  .
So let it be cold and grey and raw, I can listen to nice music, keep my new shoes company and plan on when I will get to wear them.

Perhaps the lady that came to see the apartment today, who is coming back again with her husband, will be the ones who will fall in love and move in to this lovely old apartment.
Perhaps my husband and I are getting that little bit closer to packing up our belongings and memories and shoes and moving back to the US.

Perhaps, dinner will be delivered since we all know it is a bad idea to cook when someone might come look at the house.
You don't want it to smell of cooking and what if I miss cleaning up a spot ! ??
No, Take - Out might be the way to go .. only for the sake of the sale of the house, you understand.

A Case of the Drearies

We are seriously  into the real Winter Drearies here.
Everything is grey.
The sky, the clouds, the people.. well, some of them ..
Some of them are blonde and wear red lipstick to feel like there is still color somewhere in the world.

Spare time is spent online- looking at Real Estate in the countryside .. New York , Connecticut, France.
France ?
Hey ! I can daydream !

Copious amounts of hot tea are sipped, scones don't last long in this house and pasta seems to be the favorite dish ... at least for the cook.
She seems to have lost her inspiration, her will to cook.
It happens .
This is why there is Take Out.

On weekend nights, you can see the delivery scooters and bikes buzzing all around the neighborhood, delivering Pizza, Chinese, Pasta and just about anything else you want.
If they don't deliver, you can pick it up.

Our favorite pizza comes from Dominicos .. delicious and the crust is tender and flaky.
It took us a long time to find pizza we liked here.
Our pasta comes from Quiero mas ?
I have rigatoni con putanesca .. it is so hot and spicy that the first bite sort of stuns you and after that, it is a matter of time before your tongue is numb and you don't notice anymore.
Then the thirst kicks in.
The next day you have a round face, your tongue is sort of numb and floppy and you have to wear elastic waist pants.
But it is worth it.

Chinese food here is delivered in odd little dishes wrapped in plastic wrap and everything spills out .. the soup is ridiculously hot ( but delicious) and again, the MSG count is high enough to put some people in a swollen stupor for days.
Unfortunately, there was a reaction last time that was scary so no more Chinese food for me in BA.

We got a menu today , we can get sushi delivered.
I considered it for a minute.
I think I will wait on that one too.. maybe being there is part of the fun.
So here we are , huddled in the apartment, music is on, we were watching Funny Videos of drunk people.. don't ask.

We read and some of us blog and make tea at the same time.
This is because some of us are more talented than others.

So before this gets too dreary, I will just say that you appreciate the sun and blue skies much more when you have an occasional dreary day.
So next time you have one, enjoy it.
Order Chinese food.
Read a good Murder mystery and fight over the last chocolate bar...

It won't be so dreary, I promise.

Time to Go

It is raining here.
This is August.
When we arrived in Buenos Aires ( to live) , it was April  .... sunny, bright, dry and cool.
I thought this was the place where the weather would not be as cold as New York, not as hot as Florida and not as wet as Oregon.
I was sort of right but .... the Summer lasts for about 6 months ( or so it seems)  and Winter can be as dismal and grey as any London winter, complete with damp.
Bone chilling damp because we live in a great draughty building with high ceilings and big high French windows and doors that are never really air tight and the radiators just never keep up ..

But there is so much charm, when I am really fed up with wearing all my sweaters at one time, I just sit  down and look around the room and remember how I fell in love with this place the day I walked in the door for the first time.

How my dreams of living in France, in an old building with high ceilings and French doors came true .. all but the living in France part.

My neighbours continue to warm my heart each day, with their shows of concern, their friendliness and making sure we actually understand the notice they slipped under our door.
Like the one we got yesterday.

The one telling us that the tree that houses my doves outside my bedroom window, is going to be cut down. Soon.
The tree has roots that are growing under the building next door, causing trouble.
And you know what that means, a tree that causes trouble, has to go.

No more naps in the summer with the windows open and being lulled to sleep by the sounds of doves cooing.
No more shade and calm green outside the windows.
Now there will just be the other building, with windows.
So my windows will always be closed, the curtains closed.
It is time to go.

Our days have a routine that is lovely, it is so pleasant not having to be somewhere, not having to do something that one would rather not do , not having any obligations.

But this is only good for a certain amount of time.
Then life intrudes and that is good.
You don't want to look back on time and say you Drifted that long !

A small bit of drifting is good .. what comes  next will be anything but ... packing, arranging movers, packing, flying, hotels, cars, reunions with loved ones, shopping, real estate .. decisions .

But for now, we are in a lull.
And I am enjoying it while I can... before it is time for us to go.

Hobbling

You can see me a mile away.
If you don't know me, you can pick me out with a small description.
She is the one that is hobbling along ..


The bandages are off, things look much the way things like that look, shortly after being cut open then sewn shut ... not the prettiest of sights but happily, hidden under socks and behind protective leather boot tops.  With  my sweet husband   there for me to hang on to for dear life, I can march down the street and no one would know.
Almost a week ago I was so nervous about what was coming, hoping this time it would be easier and not look so bad.
It was not easier and looks bad but the outcome is what is good.
It was bad, it is gone, all is well.

It is cold. I mean ridiculously cold.
I am in South America.
Where , in my humble opinion, I should not need  to wear a tee shirt, a heavy turtleneck sweater, jeans, socks, boots, wool coat, gloves and scarf.
And still feel chilled.

We went to "our " cafe where we sat under the heat duct and I was toasting quite nicely.
The cafe is all windows and on a corner so I love sitting and just people watching, crazy driver watching, cute little children walking from school watching and funny people with dogs watching.

From that little cafe on that corner, for the cost of a cup of coffee, your afternoons entertainment is all there.

Then it was time to hobble back home, get off the foot, plan dinner and read a good book.

Tomorrow, someone might come look at our home.
Tomorrow someone might fall in love with it and buy it.
I will be so glad.
I will be so sad.

Oh Baby It's Cold Outside ~

 The skies are grey, there is a light rain, no one is out on the street and only the truly insane decide they have to go buy groceries today of all days.
Although, once a person has bought some interesting , tasty things at the market, they can warm up the house with things cooking in the oven, the house will smell homey and cozy with all those delicious scents and one could even hang out by the oven , pretending it was the Fireplace... if one were to be that needy for fireplaces, warmth and that sort of thing.

What always makes me happy about Buenos Aires is that there are actually seasons, each one is great and they all seem to last a longer time than Back in The Other World.
Spring and Autumn are blissfully long, the most beautiful times of year ( in my opinion.)
Summer starts out great but by the end , you just want some cool dry air and the chance to put on a sweater.
Autumn is so wonderful because the air is crisp and fall-like ( for someone coming from a location where Fall is fabulous) , it is long enough also.
But then winter hits and the cold gets old fast.
At least the sun usually shines.
The parrots are having a good time in their parrot condos ( nests) up at the top of the highest palm trees in the parks and all the little birds are hopping around, grabbing any goodies a person with a scone in their hand might want to share.
It snowed once in 97 years.. we were here for that.
I am hoping, judging by the damp, cold we are feeling right now, that it won't snow.
I can definitely wait until I am back in the NorthEast US to see more snow.

So f or now, where is that Big Ole Mr Sun ?

Baby, It's Cold Outside !

The daily temperatures are around 8º C and 16º C.. that is a bit much if you ask me.
Argentina, Buenos Aires to be exact, gets cold in the winter but it hadn't snowed for 97 years when they had a bit of a flurry on July 9th, 2007.
We were here for that.
We did not expect to be here for more.
We did not expect to need serious winter coats.
Today I wore 2 pairs of socks , high leather riding boots, a wool coat, lined leather gloves and a big scarf with a wool sweater over a cotton sweater ... I was still cold.

Something about this just isn't right.

source

The Merry Merry Month of May

Today is my daughter-in-laws birthday,  tomorrow my daughters birthday.
How lovely is that ??
It is also the beginning of Autumn here. . where I live ... down at the Bottom of the World..

The days are bright  with blue blue skies and the sun shines and it is cold.
The nights require a bit of heat and a down comforter.
No droning of air conditioners, no tossing the covers off then searching for them in the night ... just quiet, soft, warm cuddly sleep .

I admit that getting up in the night or early in the mornings is a bit of a shock .. why did I choose marble for the bathroom floors ?
Why didn't I get the big ugly gas heater in the bedroom instead of the modern electric thing that has to be on for hours before it warms things up ?
With ceilings at least 15 feet high, all the heat goes straight up there ..
I need to raise the bed .. a few feet.
Several feet.

I find myself thinking about cooking.
So far, just thinking.
Soups and pasta dishes , things that go in the oven, like brownies or cookies.
Then I sort of lose that thought and we call in something warm and spicy instead.
But I will bake something chocolate this week, really.

I have some winter clothes out and all my summer things still out so the dressing room is not my favorite room right now.
I want everything neat and in its place.
But I didn't quite figure out how to do this and think of packing if someone buys the apartment this year.
So far, we have not had one looker in 2 weeks. Depressing.

So I have summer clothes waiting to be put away and winter clothes waiting to be out and I still stand there and stare at the closet and tell my husband that I have nothing to wear.

I think a visit to the shops is needed.
Then I won't worry about finding things, the new things will be waiting.
I am thinking of odd shoes that I see everywhere here. Sort of clog/Birkenstock-ish things in black suede that have big platform bottoms and look very comfortable and will make me tall.
I like that.
And then there are the boots and the cute ballet flats , I want to stock up on shoes before we leave.

Tomorrow , my daughters birthday and then let's hope someone sees the apartment and says I have to have it now !
This will be my wish for May.

Happy May to you  !

I am freezing

Winter seems to have arrived.
I didn't notice that Autumn was very long, we hardly had time to enjoy it, it was very warm then , now   it is very cold.
My blood has thinned since living here.
I am freezing.

We went for a long walk today, wandering farther in areas we don't spend much time in.
I had the cell phone in case ... In case someone is still in the city and not out in the countryside  , after all, it has been something like a 5 day weekend, recently declared by the Presidenta.
With much honking and ado, everyone left town last Thursday and I imagine later tonight , they will all arrive back .. hopefully with less honking.
Some people do love their horns.
Some people should be thankful I have no paint balls handy.

My feet are frozen.

It really was nice, walking on Santa Fe, a huge street that is generally jammed with people .. shops and stores and offices and markets side by side.
I try not to go to Santa Fe, I dislike getting knocked around by people seemingly fleeing a fire or at least a dragon, knocking people aside in their rush.
I always seem to be the one getting knocked aside.
I should gain some weight, that'll teach 'em.

There was plenty of room and time to stand outside various windows and look at .... Shoes.
I see a few pairs that I guess I will just have to bring back to the States with me.
I have no idea if they are wearing them there yet but I will bring them anyway.

Suede.
Black of course.
High platform, picture the Birkenstock clog , 1970's,  with just a front , they are open backed.
Everyone wears them and they look comfy and they will make me taller.
Nothing wrong with that.

And people will say, Oh where did you get those darling shoes ?
And I will shrug and say, Buenos Aires ... how worldly I will seem ~
And then there are the boots .. soft leather, a pair of short boots with metal bits on them, a little Rock 'n Roll looking and a few pairs of soft leather Ballet flats..
I have 2 pair, I think at least 2 more should do it.
One has to be in a leopard print, I think .. maybe the others cream with a black toe.

I am cold.
I think a cold day like this calls for pasta for dinner.
Sorrentinos .. filled with chicken and green onions.
Good, that is settled.

Let's all cross our fingers that when everyone gets back from their holidays, that they all have this sudden urge to buy an apartment !