Unhappy Kids

Honey Bunny and Brown Bear are very unhappy these days because there have been no new posts for their adoring fans. Sorry HB and BB, but Elyn and I are very busy finishing Elyn's new book and there just hasn't been time. We'll do better soon, so hang in there, HB and BB fans.

The Morning After

“We had a grand time last night! Although I was so disappointed I didn’t get to go to the hairdresser’s before we went out.”

“We did indeed have a great time, Honey Bunny. New friends, a marvelous house concert by Adam—“

“Lots of attention for me! But I wanted more! More!”

“You always want more. The more you get the more you want. You’re never satisfied.”

“Of course. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?”

“Not really.”

“Oh, come on, Brown Bear—when you have a pot of honey, is that enough for you? Don’t you want more?”

“Well…. Sometimes, but then I reach a point when I’ve had enough and more would just make me sick.”

“That’s ‘cause you don’t have enough drive and determination! What a wimp! More is never enough. It’s just not. Trust me.”

“So you’re always unsatisfied, aren’t you?”

“It’s the American Way, Brown Bear. More is better. And excess is even better!”

“I think we’ve seen that attitude causing a lot of economic problems these days, what with greed and graft and bad loans…. Don’t you know the US is in a recession?”

“You just don’t get it, BB. The real problem is that people aren’t buying enough. They should go out and stimulate the economy! It’s their patriotic duty.”

“But they don’t have enough money to do so.”

“Charge it! That’s what I say: charge it!”

“Enough already. Last night was delightful. We went to Rebekah and Paddy’s house in Moratinos and had dinner. Well, ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ had dinner while we watched. They had two visitors, Adam and Marta. Americans studying in Madrid. He’s on a Fulbright scholarship and is studying contemporary Spanish guitar playing and guitar composers, and she’s teaching English in an elementary school and studying voice. She’s an opera singer! Adam gave a great concert to the six of us.”

“Six?”

“’Mom’ and ‘Dad’ and Rebekah and Paddy and us.”

“Gee, Brown Bear, how’d you learn so much about them?”

“I just listened. Bears are good at that.”

“Not bunnies. We have more important things to do--like to talk a lot.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“Well I noticed that Marta’s very pretty and she rubbed my ears and admired my hand-knit sweater. What more matters?”

“Honey Bunny, you are incorrigible.”

“What’s that mean?”

“You never change. It’s always about ‘you you you.’”

“Well, duh! What else would it be about?”

(Brown Bear turns away in disgust and takes a nap.)

La Gripe

Here we are, ready to defend ourselves against the dreaded gripe.
I never gripe, so what is all the fuss about?
Well, I won’t comment on that, but it is not the gripe as in “to complain,“ it’s la gripe, the Spanish word for flu. Dad’s been down with it and Mom is taking protective measures, so I thought it would be best to be prepared with a box of Sudafed, just in case.
So, what’s the flu? I don’t know about such things.
Well, another of the many advantages of being fuzzy kids is that we seem to be protected from many difficulties that humans face. I guess the flu must be one of those difficulties. At least Dad has been complaining a lot (hmm, I wonder if that is what the gripe is all about?) for the past day.
Well, Mom is complaining too. Something about her work I think--she's editing her manuscript on the French Chemin. Does that mean she is getting the dreaded gripe?
Let’s all hope not. We need someone around here who is able to do things like cook and shop. If they both got sick we’d have to take over and that would not be easy. Take your vitamins, Mom and hang in there. We are depending on you.
Yeah. Yesterday Mom went out in the morning and the whole world was frosty! Dad says it’s called “hoarfrost.”
Watch your language!
What did I say?
You know very well.
Hey kids—it’s spelled differently than you think.
Oh.
I never was much good at spelling.
And although we didn’t get to go with them, Dad’s photo-shopped us into the scene so you can imagine us there.
Thanks Dad, but I’d really rather have been there.
You would have frozen your tusch sitting on that park bench, Brown Bear.
What's a tusch?
The part you sit on. I think it's time to sign out and take care of Mom's gripe and my gripe....

Now We Are Royalty!

Aren't our crowns beautiful? We got them at the Three Kings' celebration.

Well, they are wonderful, but I don't know why you deserve one. I'm the princess in this family.

Well, HB, Brown Bear got a crown for being a prince of a bear. He is thoughtful, tolerant, brave, clean, and reverant.

Well, Dad, but I'm true royalty. It is an inherited position—nothing required from me.

And that is just what you provide—nothing but inflated ego.

Well, Brown Bear, that was not a very thoughtful comment do you think?

Oh, sorry about that HB. Just a momentary lapse on my part.

Lapse, Papse. You aren't as special as you think.

Now kids, let's have some peace in our family. You could both do a little better in the thoughtful department.

Well, I want to wish ALL our adoring fans a Happy New Year.

I second that!

And so do your parents. Happy New Year everyone!

After the Holidays

It's VERY cold here in Sahagún and all the festivities are over. Life settles into a routine and we watch local television. Not that we understand very much, but the pictures are interesting.

Speak for yourself, Brown Bear. I've told you before that I am multilingual.

OK, HB, whatever you say.

“What a party we had last night!”
“You said it, Honey Bunny.”
“We didn’t get to go to the Cabalgata, but Rebekah and Paddy came over and ate great Spanish cheeses—“
“So they said. After all, we don’t eat cheese. The fragrance was quite, uh, impressive.”
“Yeah, Cabrales blue cheese wrapped in grape leaves and a Manchego sheep cheese rubbed with lard and brandy and a couple of goat cheeses—“
“And organic chorizo sausage with no preservatives! Not that we ate that either.”
“And the piece de resistance—the roscón de Reyes—a big donut-shaped sweet roll filled with cream and whipped cream—“
“’Mom’ couldn’t decide which she wanted, so Amparo suggested half and half.”
“And covered with sugar and candied fruit. And best of all, inside, a present!”
“’Dad’ got it—a little ceramic figure of one of the Three Kings.”
“And there were more things hidden inside, but nobody got them.”
“Maybe Paddy and Rebekah will later, since they took the rest of it home.”
“And then there was the Cabalgata tractor and float procession of the Three Kings and their attendants, which we didn’t see, but we looked at pictures afterwards.”
“'Mom' remembers seeing the cabalgata 26 years ago—the Three Kings came riding on horseback out of the fog!”
“Way cool!”
“’Mom’ was so happy watching the Three Kings get off the train and then go to their thrones in the floats pulled by four big farm tractors.”
“And Piedad and Angel’s younger son, Marcos, was one of the centurions, walking at the front of the procession carrying a blazing torch. He's on the left, toward the back, in the photo.”
“The folks on the floats threw candies to everyone and the kids—“
“And their parents—“
“Don’t interrupt, Princess. The kids and their parents scrambled to pick up caramelos from the street.”
“Then they went to the Plaza Mayor where the Three Kings gave presents to the kids.”
“But ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ and Rebekah and Paddy came home instead. It was kinda cold. Way cold.”
“And then they talked and talked, and we got to see the roscón, and I got to wear the crown!”
"This is 'Mom' talking. I'm posting this blog in La Codorníz this morning, and suddenly the Three Kings and their entourage walked in and gave us candies! I asked if they'd been up all night, and they said of course--they were giving out gifts!"
"Whata life. Boy are we having fun!"
"And don't forget to check out Rebekah's blog, http://moratinoslife.blogspot.com -- she's got great photos and more info about the cabalgata. Felíz Año Nuevo!"

Settling in, in Sahagún

“Well, it’s about time, ‘Mom’! Our public is getting impatient!”
“Sorry kids, but we have been very busy and we don’t have internet or wifi in the apartment.”
“It’s okay, ‘Mom,’ I understand. Maybe you can tell our friends about what we’ve been doing?”
“Thanks, Brown Bear. We arrived in Sahagún last Sunday and were very warmly greeted by our ‘Spanish family,' the Luna-Tovars. I met them in 1982 when I was doing fieldwork for my Ph.D. in anthropology. They welcomed me and my then-twelve-year-old son, Jesse, into their family. And when Gary and I returned here in 1997, they took us in again as family—just as they have this time.”
“Oh, enough already! Tell everyone what you’ve been doing while you left us behind!”
“We settled into a lovely new 4-star hotel in town (only 65 Euros a night) for a few days. Monday we went with Piedad (the 50-year-old daughter of ‘our’ family) to Palencia (about 45 minutes away by car) to finish the application process for our Spanish identity cards. She has been wonderfully helpful! We were afraid it would take months but they should arrive within 25 days. But we can’t leave the country until we get them, so we asked Piedad, her brother, Pedro, and her mother, Paca, to help us find somewhere to stay in Sahagún for a month. Miracle of miracles, they found us a three-bedroom, furnished apartment on Tuesday for 325 Euros a month. We moved in on Wednesday morning (New Year’s Eve)."
“It’s been such a whirlwind! Who would have believed how busy we’ve been!”
"We?"
“It is hard to believe how much we’ve accomplished. New Year’s Eve we spent with Rebekah (an American) and Paddy (her British husband), who live in a very small town nearby called Moratinos. Then the four of us came back to Sahagún to celebrate New Year’s with everyone at the plaza mayor. Only—nobody was there!”
“Nobody was there?”
“Nobody was there?”
“Nobody was there. Even the bars were closed.”
“Unheard of!”
“So the four of us ate grapes (a Spanish tradition) under the old clock tower as the bells struck midnight. And then we wandered the streets wondering where everybody was!”
“They were at home, weren’t they?”
“Right on, Brown Bear.”
“Of course. Spaniards celebrate New Year’s with their families, just as bears do.”
“But then they go out and party, just like bunnies, right, ‘Mom’?”
“Indeed. Piedad and her husband, Angel, and the visiting cousins and everybody went out after 2 a.m. and partied for hours. I’m told the bars were full of people.”
“Oh, why didn’t I get to go!”
“We didn’t go either, Honey Bunny. There was something wonderfully iconic about these four ignorant foreigners wandering the empty streets crying out, ‘Where are all the people?’”
"Well, you didn't know better. You'll learn."
“Indeed. There is lots to learn. We went to Piedad and Angel’s home for New Year’s Day meal, complete with gambas (shrimp with their heads on)--"
"'Dad' photoshopped us onto the edge of the casserole!"
"clams, mussels, free-range chickens from their backyard, salad with pomegranate seeds and escarole from their extensive backyard garden, homemade flan contributed by one of the aunts… It was a multigenerational affair, ranging in age from Angel’s 99-year-old father to Angel and Piedad’s thirteen-year-old son Marcos, a gifted flute player and actor. Their other son, Alvaro, is fifteen, and loves to play Spanish football (soccer) and work in the garden with his dad. Everyone ate amazingly tasty, high-quality food, drank wine, and then, later, played cards for hours.”
“We missed it all!”
"Sorry. We just want to take it slow with introducing you to people."
“You haven’t introduced us to anyone yet!”
“Yes we did—you met Rebekah today when she came to show us around town and shop at the Saturday morning market.”
“Harrumph.”
“All things in good time, kids.”
“I hope so! Otherwise we shoulda stayed home!”
“And didn’t you go to León Friday?”
“Oh right. We’ve done so much… We took the train to the capitol city, León, and searched out health food stores, etc. to see if we could get such things here. And we can. Organic coffee and veggies, almond milk (in powder), organic teas—the selection is much smaller and you have to go to lots of stores to find everything, but we got everything on our list, including beeswax candles and tea tree oil. Amazing. And there’s even a Pilates/Gyrotonics center, and an acupuncturist, and Tai Chi… Our needs our met! And this Monday evening we’ll go see the cabalgata, a horseback procession (well, it used to be—maybe now it’s on tractors!) of the Three Kings.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“Can we go? Please please?”
“We’ll see. What do you think, Brown Bear, have I written enough for now?”
“I think you’ve caught everybody up to date. So, until later--"
"Wait--there's more! If they go to 'Dad's' blog, http://havingfununtilIdie.blogspot.com, they'll see photos of the whole dinner party with our family! So don't waste a minute, friends--check it out! Hasta la vista---"

And Now Spain!

Here we are in the depths of Spain. Mom and Dad haven't had time to take our picture here, but we promise one soon. In the meantime, here is another for our fan club in the USA. It is one of my favorite US costumes (new wardrobe to come here in Spain!) Feliz Año Nuevo to all our adoring fans!

Well, HB, you are over the top, as usual. How is it that you always get the top billing here?

More photos to come, we promise.