Out to lunch

We went out to lunch yesterday with Mike’s old friends from Wales. They were both chefs and owned a hotel in Swansea. We met at a roundabout so they could follow us to the restaurant. At first I was annoyed because I told Mike to motion to them from the car and we could wait to say hello at the restaurant. Instead he got out of the car which meant everyone got out of their cars and we did hellos by the side of the road. I wore black and I had duck confit. I eventually relaxed and we had a great time. Afterwards they came to the house for (more) drinks. In the evening my business partner came by, so I basically drank all day. Later on Mike and I ended up having a ridiculous argument on whether someone we know should or should not be referred to as Prince________. Mike is against it because France is a republic. I’m for it because I think it’s a matter of heritage and history. I told him I get to refer to people any way I like and I don’t need his permission. In hindsight, we both behaved like idiots- but he admitted he started it and apologized this morning. It’s true I escalated it, but I’m not admitting it to him. Human capability for behaving foolishly never ceases to astound me.

Tonight we’re going out again. A friend who’s in the process of separating after a 7 year marriage (and two children) is visiting from England… The same one I mentioned a while back when his wife told me she was having an affair. That set off a chain of events that’s been terribly unpleasant. I don’t however regret telling him. Mike agrees it was the right thing to do.

Is Islam Evil & Why Does Muhammad Look Mongolian?

Muhammad depicted leading Abraham, Moses, Jesus & others before they stop, drop and roll and clock in at Genghis’ Mongolian Grill

As expected after the Boston bombings, Islam is back in the news. The story is more or less the same as all the others. Not particularly well-adjusted people find religion and KA-BOOM. Is Islam responsible? There are no two ways about it, it’s certainly part of the equation. The Koran is an allegedly holy book that in over 100 passages calls for Muslims to engage in violence against non-believers for the sake of Islamic rule. People like to say, because of political correctness, that there’s great debate on whether the Koran calls for violence or not. That’s entirely disingenuous. The only real debate is whether the call for violence is defensive or offensive. As monotheistic religions have proven, worldwide, the line between defensive and offensive is a moveable feast. Many religious people interpret the lack of submission to their ideology as an attack. That’s not unique to Islam, it’s been the case for Christianity as well. Catholics and Evangelicals in particular. In fact when fascism was de-riguer in certain parts of Europe, Catholicism wasn’t far behind pushing its nefarious agenda to secure its power. However, it’s much more widespread (today) in the socio-cultural world of Islam. Not too long ago Bassem Youssef, Egypt’s outstanding satirist, was arrested and questioned for allegedly insulting Islam. The problem is, of course, religion- but more so, it’s the lack of separation of religion and government.

All that being said, the Tsarnaev brothers seem to fit a profile that comfortably overlaps with the profiles of so many others involved in similar incidents. A perceived (or real) sense of exclusion leads them to religion which then leads them to find justifications for violence. When people feel they’ve got nothing more to lose and on the other side is paradise- why not go ka-boom?

Now if you want a more thoughtful perspective, Prof. Coyne’s is a good choice.

A Quorn Review & Mondays

I’d forgotten to mention that a month ago we tried Quorn. We haven’t found it in Spain, but it’s available at Morrison’s in Gibraltar, so Mike went and got some there. I was pleasantly surprised. It’s the only meat-substitute that we’ve liked thus far. The ‘beef mince’, ‘chicken pieces’ and ‘lamb pieces’ work perfectly for a variety of dishes, the sausages are also good if heavily spiced. I’m still experimenting with cooking times and sauces because the recipes available online are quite limited, but it’s a keeper. We’ve been alternating Quorn and sea-food since, leaving red meat only for special occasions or when we go out to dinner. Curries, Indian or Thai, work beautifully. The mince works for Moussaka, Empanada, Bolognese etc. It’s a bit more tender than real mince beef, but if you mix it with a bit of pre-cooked couscous, you get a good texture that quite satisfactorily passes for meat.

Today I went food shopping. The local super-market was empty, which was excellent. This week is going to be busy. A lunch on Wednesday and a dinner on Thursday. I’m not looking forward to one of them. Mike told me that one of the hosts said ‘He must come too! I’ve told everyone about him‘. He is me, and that usually means I’m expected to be entertaining. Being entertaining requires energy that I’m not always in the mood to expend. It’s probably my own fault because when I was young(er) I was a bit hyper, more interesting and considerably more glamorous. I don’t put even 1/10 of the effort I used to into presenting myself or being a part of social encounters. I haven’t been to this or that party, I don’t know about what this or that person is or isn’t doing- and I’m not interested in gossip anyway. These days when I’m quiet, people from my old days ask what’s wrong with me. Anyway, I’ll do my best.

The project I’m collaborating on is coming out nicely. I didn’t like the look of the terracotta in the patio, so I suggested it be covered with the same marble gravel we have out front. It completely changed the feel. The place is in a development where all the houses are exactly the same and two nosy neighbours are now copying the idea- which is annoying, but that’s life.

Before

After

It was one of those days. Respect & the value of other people’s time

From the time I can remember I was told to respect other people’s time. Not just the CEO’s time, not just a company director’s time- EVERYONE’S TIME. Even when I was little, I remember my mother telling me not to get in the maid’s way because the faster she finished her work, the sooner she could go home and she had her own children to tend to. This notion of respect for our fellow human beings is being lost. Telemarketers (their bosses, actually), feel they have the right to interrupt people’s days at any given time. Recently I’ve even received calls at 8 in the evening- WHEN WE’RE EATING. Religious people feel they can come to your door, interrupt whatever you’re doing, no matter how important it may be, because their right to bother you is less important than your right not to be bothered. This week a real-estate agent lied to me to get what she wanted- an appointment at short notice. Lied through her teeth because she was lazy, incompetent or entirely lacking in respect for other people’s time and money. Since I don’t expect anyone to be 100% efficient, 100% of the time, I’ve learnt to ask questions to avoid situations like what happened to us this week.

“Have you qualified the client properly?”

“Does the client know the area?”

“What’s their budget?”

“Have you made it clear we’re flexible on a payment schedule but not on price?”

Getting a house like this ready for a viewing is not easy. On the ground floor alone  there are just under 40 double glass doors, windows or picture windows (all together). Cleaning them all well, takes quite some time. Polishing furniture, cleaning silver, vacuuming then mopping 500 square metres of floors. Raking leaves, putting up the shade sail, wiping down the outdoor furniture. Making sure all the bathrooms are spotless. Having fresh flowers in the main rooms. Every visit costs us hundreds of euros, plus our time. When it’s a visit on short notice we need to hire people to assist with the work. People buying in this price-range expect a certain degree of perfection- as they should. So when 30 minutes before an appointment, an agent calls and says their client isn’t coming because she decided she wants to buy in ANOTHER CITY, expect me to be furious. I explained to her that actions have consequences and the same way I brought her various clients, I can also tell people she’s unfathomably disrespectful- and trust me, news like that spreads quickly in communities like this. Anyway, we went out to dinner last night to blow off steam. On a positive note, the place looks nice.

Randomly Thursday

We’re cleaning the house because someone is coming to see it tomorrow. The garden looks great (Mike’s work, mostly), but everything inside is a horrible mess. I wasn’t expecting people to be visiting while the economic crisis is still so unresolved, so I’ve let things go- a bit. Our current favourite house in France looks like this:

Might I be there in a few months? It’s much more to the South than I was planning, but it seems Mike doesn’t really want to face very cold winters. The house hasn’t been touched since around 1940, which is amazing. It has every possible period feature someone like me could hope for. Great bit of land, walking distance to the shops, and of course, an amazing restoration project for ME. Fingers crossed!

 

Pat Buchanan: Christianity isn’t homophobic, but gays are the enemy!

Pat Buchanan has made a fool of himself (again). In his column this week he attempts to demonstrate that (his version of) Christianity is not homophobic. He starts with an attack on Dan Savage and then stumbles with:

“No true Catholic church can preach that Jesus hates gays. “Love your enemies” is the message of Christ. Hate the sin and love the sinner is taught as gospel truth in Catholic schools.

This has been Catholic doctrine for 2,000 years.” Pat Buchanan

The obvious subtext is that gays are the enemy. That sentence cannot mean anything else. I’m not in the mood to give Mr. Buchanan a history lesson, hopefully he has a great-grandchild who can show him how to use google, and he can do a bit of research regarding how, for 2000 years, the Catholic church has persecuted and marginalized any and all groups that did not submit to their ideology. Oh yes, that includes gays. Perhaps what he means is that the Catholic Church isn’t just homophobic. They’re also against women’s rights, religious freedom, they’re against people making their own decisions, they’re against the use of condoms (hence for the spread of disease), they support(ed) totalitarian states as long as they were given a role in government and subsidies… Shall I go on?

Would you leave your children with this man?

Just yesterday, Cardinal Rouco Varela, aka the Devil’s Fascist Uncle, was telling a crowd which included Spain’s Prime Minister that government should illegalize same-sex marriages and ban abortions. Do you want to know why? Because the Catholic leadership has always known that the product they sell is substandard. It doesn’t bear close inspection.  The result is that since their unfortunate inception, they’ve needed (and used) the strong arm of the law to impose their ridiculous, if not imbecilic, policies. They’ve always known that without the law on their side, mentally balanced, educated, people will sooner or later leave them. Of course I don’t mean the opportunists of the political variety. Those are religious merely for profit and power.

 

Vintage Jewelry Fridays & Making Wednesday Part of the Weekend

A friend brought me a ring yesterday. “I’ve got this old ring my mother used to wear on her little finger. I don’t really wear that sort of thing. Do you think I could get something for it?” I asked to see it, and it was brought over last night. My eyes twinkled. It actually fits my finger.

It’s a whopper. A single diamond, set in white gold, 1cm diameter which is roughly 3 carats. Some visible inclusions, but very bright. A slight yellow tint. I’m not a jeweler, or an antique jewelry dealer- I just know this sort of thing. It’s part of my endless mental archive of generally useless knowledge. I think she shouldn’t sell it. It’s lovely. Simple & discreet. The art-deco ring which also happens to be on my finger is mine. It’s 1940′s Cartier, platinum and diamonds. It was a gift from Mike’s mother. She got it for her 16th birthday and never took it off- and since I got it, I never take it off either. I love how modern(ist) it looks.

I’ve decided I don’t like the 5 day week. I’m going to make Wednesdays a day off.

 

My baby is all grown up

As those of you who follow this blog know, late last year we decided to put the house up as a location for photo shoots, movies etc. A financial consulting firm with offices here in Sotogrande and Seville was our first client… the ad came out this month in a society magazine (which is amusing). You can see it below. I covered their name and text as I don’t know that they’d want to be associated with me personally Anyway, I think it looks nice. It’s funny seeing the house this way, attached to other people’s names. It’s like it’s grown up and is making its own way in the world.

Gay attack victim in France becomes cause celebre, as senate debates same-sex marriage law – The Washington Post

PARIS — The shocking photo of a homophobic attack victim in Paris that went viral on social media this week and caused the French interior minister to weigh in was used as an emblem in a pro-gay rally Wednesday evening.

The bloody image of Wilfred de Bruijn’s cut and bruised face was brandished by gay groups during a demonstration of several thousand people as evidence of their claim that homophobic acts have tripled nationwide over opposition to a law legalizing gay marriage.

Gay attack victim in France becomes cause celebre, as senate debates same-sex marriage law – The Washington Post.

A bit of everything: Sara Montiel, friends & politics. Fourteen years, and then there was silence

✰Sara Montiel died this week. She was the first Spanish actress to really make it in Hollywood. Her big break was Vera Cruz with Gary Cooper. After that she became an icon of Spanish cinema. She was very much a gay icon and a popular choice of character for Spanish drag queens. Including Almodóvar’s choice for Gael García Bernal’s character in La Mala Educación.

She was absolutely stunning:

✰My oldest friend of all time sent me an email yesterday. Her name is Bianca and she’s really solely responsible for me having made it through adolescence. I was very much detached from my family and unwilling to integrate with the world. Her company and support kept me sane. She’s exceptionally intelligent and always made a point of making me feel like I was a worthwhile human being. We used to communicate on a very regular basis no matter where we were even after we were both married. Then she got pregnant and I had an emotional hissy fit when I realized that her son would probably have priority over me I think I may be over the jealousy, as about five years have passed- but I’m not 100% sure. I may one day tell her son that he stole her from me! Usurper.

✰Good news on the banking/mortgage crisis in Spain. At least here in Andalusia. The autonomous government has passed a law to discourage evictions. It goes quite far in that the government has the right to ‘temporarily expropriate’ a home for up to 3 years in the cases of evictions of families that are at risk of social exclusion. I’d note that most people being evicted are probably at risk of social exclusion… It’s a start and might make the central government think about the issue in a more compassionate way. It will also make bankers think twice since up to now, it was in their interest in some cases to go for an early foreclosure, keep the money paid and then hold on to the property to re-sell it when the market improves. A win-win-win that was incredibly unfair.

Okay, maybe I didn’t do it on a canoe.

✰I ventured out into the world on my own when it was first legal for me to do so, at the age of 21. That was fourteen years ago. Every year since, there have been attempts at contact from my family around the time of my birthday. Methods vary, although it’s invariably unpleasant. Recriminations, resentment, guilt-trips, drama- all things I generally try to avoid. This year is the first ever in which I’ve been granted respite. Peace in the form of silence. I remember having a terrible argument with my father when I was a boy:

“Too bad you don’t like it. I’m your father and I’m going to be a part of your life until the day I die”

I grinned, somewhat knowingly.

“No you’re not. Once I’m an adult, I will be able to choose who is and isn’t a part of my life.”

I was right.

Morrissey: ‘Thatcher Was a Terror Without an Atom of Humanity’ – The Daily Beast

 

I don’t agree with every point, but much of it!

“Thatcher is remembered as The Iron Lady only because she possessed completely negative traits such as persistent stubbornness and a determined refusal to listen to others.

Morrissey and Margaret Thatcher. (Getty; AP)

Every move she made was charged by negativity; she destroyed the British manufacturing industry, she hated the miners, she hated the arts, she hated the Irish Freedom Fighters and allowed them to die, she hated the English poor and did nothing at all to help them, she hated Greenpeace and environmental protectionists, she was the only European political leader who opposed a ban on the Ivory Trade, she had no wit and no warmth and even her own Cabinet booted her out. She gave the order to blow up The Belgrano even though it was outside of the Malvinas Exclusion Zone – and was sailing AWAY from the islands!  When the young Argentinean boys aboard The Belgrano had suffered a most appalling and unjust death, Thatcher gave the thumbs up sign for the British press.

Iron? No. Barbaric? Yes. She hated feminists even though it was largely due to the progression of the women’s movement that the British people allowed themselves to accept that a Prime Minister could actually be female. But because of Thatcher, there will never again be another woman in power in British politics, and rather than opening that particular door for other women, she closed it.

Thatcher will only be fondly remembered by sentimentalists who did not suffer under her leadership, but the majority of British working people have forgotten her already, and the people of Argentina will be celebrating her death. As a matter of recorded fact, Thatcher was a terror without an atom of humanity.

MORRISSEY. ”

Morrissey: ‘Thatcher Was a Terror Without an Atom of Humanity’ – The Daily Beast.

One year on… a thank you note.

So here we are. I’ve been blogging for about a full year now, somewhat consistently except for the last few months In the next 10 days or so, we’ll have our 100,000th page view! That’s the Royal We. You’re welcomed to call me HRH.

My opinion of blogging has changed (and still changes) depending on which day of the week it is/was. Sometimes productive, sometimes pointless. Sometimes an outlet, sometimes a lightning rod for other people’s discontent. Fortunately, I’ve met some very nice people. I’ve also met a jack-ass or three. I’ve been attacked by interesting characters, one of which was the real-life version of Kendra from the Cleveland Show! I think her name was Maggie, or some such. In all, it can be fun, so for now I’ll keep doing it.

 

The Palm Trees Arrived!!!

It’s fantastically sunny today. Feels like Spring is finally here. The palms that are substituting the pampas grass arrived!!! They’ll be planted on Monday. A crane needs to come to do it. I’m excited! The trees I planted on the North side of the house are starting to flower. We generally ignore that side entirely because the land is a different level to the South garden, which is big enough already- but I’ve decided to clean it up. Maybe some haphazard landscaping with succulents etc… We’re cleaning up the terraces, 14 days of sun are coming

UK changes hate crimes statute and doesn’t get it entirely right.

I have a problem with the way these laws are written everywhere. By listing specific potential victim groups, lawmakers leave the door open to the tired conservative arguments that certain groups have ‘special rights’. As an aggravating circumstance to a crime, a hate crime should be any crime that is committed based primordially on prejudice, hostility or hate of any group or category of people. Isn’t that easy and simple? All inclusive? Easier than amending the list every few years to include the latest group that’s being victimized?

Wouldn’t having had started with that concept have avoided each small group having to fight to be included in the list?

And before the anti-hate crimes people start piping in- don’t waste your time. The law is ALL ABOUT aggravating and attenuating circumstances. Hate crimes are just one more. There’s a difference between manslaughter, second degree murder and first degree murder. In each and every case intent is considered.

Keeping the wolf from the door? I have enough trouble keeping him from the refrigerator.

It’s been creeping up on me lately. If anyone has/had depression, you know what I mean. Irritability, impatience, skin crawling, I don’t feel like eating. General discomfort. I know what’s going on, so I’m fighting it- as one does. I have no good reason to be depressed. Repeat: I have no good reason to be depressed. Repeat: I have no reason to be depressed. My unpleasant mind is playing its usual unpleasant tricks on me. It’s not going to get away with it.

I had to send a birthday card today. To my mother. I had a terribly hard time choosing one. I almost settled on one that said “Mother, you made me who I am” in big letters- and in smaller letters underneath “whether that’s good or bad is a matter of opinion“. I decided it was unnecessarily provocative, so I settled on one that just said “Wishing you a lovely day on your birthday“. I know it’s unlike me to be this indiscreet and talk about how I feel. I’m generally more comfortable talking about facts and events- not feelings. Feelings are annoying- and talking about them is somewhat undignified (for me, not for other people- I have these rules in my head).

I have to get a few things to London for auction. When I say I, I actually mean Mike, fortunately he knows I don’t have the energy to organize the logistics of those things (packing and dealing with shippers). Two sofas for my client’s terrace arrived today. They’re beautiful. I left the house twice in the past 10 days. Once to the supermarket and today to my client’s place to receive the sofas. The delivery people were late. I made them unpack the sofas as revenge for the delay. They were actually very nice, even though as I waited, I was convincing myself they were horrible people who had no respect for my time.  It was only 15 minutes, but when I’m in this state, everything seems a bit overwhelming. I need to add things to my routine. That always works.

A lovely man died. Did they perm your hair???

It’s usually Beguiling Hollywood that has pictures like this. Today it’s me.

Richard Griffiths died (you might know him from Harry Potter if you’re young, from other things if you’re my age or more). He and Mike were friends and colleagues. I have a funny picture of them together in a Royal Shakespeare Co. production for which Mike’s hair was permed. They all look a bit funny. Richard Griffiths was genuinely (and competently) funny. If you follow me, you probably recognize Mike as the first guy on the left, despite the absurd hair, and Richard is wearing the helmet (the other two are irrelevant to my story-sorry boys!).

Excuse me- that’s rather personal.

I was looking at google earth this week and thought whoa there, people can see straight into my garden and terrace. Shouldn’t they have to ask me for permission to do this? What if someone was sunbathing in the nude? In the case of the second house to the left of us, if their French windows were open upstairs we could see into their bedrooms.

we’re identified by the red arrow

I was also looking for good pictures of Sotogrande today because I’m helping a friend put together an information packet as she wants to rent her place here during the summer holidays and as I scrolled through google images, suddenly, there was a picture of our house in a forum called burbuja (bubble) about the real estate market in Spain. I couldn’t resist reading it- after all, what the hell is a picture of my house doing there??? It’s ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS. These people are arguing over whether prices have or not gone down in Sotogrande- which is particularly amusing since none of them seem to live here. It begins with someone saying they saw a report saying prices haven’t gone down. Then someone says they hope prices have gone down and that the rich people are now forced to live alongside people who work for a living. Then someone says they saw a report saying prices had gone down- then it gets REALLY FUNNY.

“A ver un segundito que me parece que no sabemos muy bien de lo que hablamos.

Hay DOS Sotograndes, uno al Oeste del rio Guadiaro (ese es el Sotogrande verdaderamente exclusivo y allí no hay apartamentos de lujo, sino mansiones de una media de 5 kilotones de Euros, que no te sueles comprar, sino que te compras un terreno y te la construyes), y la parte del Puerto de Sotogrande, al Este del rio Guadiaro que se construyó creo recordar en 1986, que es para una especie de clase media alta que son los que no les alcanza para el casoplón en alguno de los hoyos del golf. Éstos segundones suelen ser renombrados profesionales liberales y pijos. Los de la orilla Oeste tienen tanta pasta que no parecen ni ricos.
Las propiedades del Este del rio caen en picado, como buen engañabobos que siempre han sido y las del Oeste se mantienen. Hay veces que alguno de los objetos de decoración que se encuentran dentro de esos casoplones pueden costar más que el casoplón en sí.
Es Tostóngrande porque no hay ocio y esparcimiento de copeo y puterío, sino que se organizan grandes fiestones en los casoplones y si mal no recuerdo solía inaugurar la temporada la familia de Garrigues Walker con una fiesta en su casa. Gente eso sí muy conservadora.”

If you don’t speak Spanish (which is a shame since his choice of words is priceless), he’s saying there are two Sotograndes. The exclusive one to the West of the river and the other to the East of the river which “was built for a certain upper middle class who can’t actually afford a casoplón” (funny word for large home). Then he says the ones on the East are pijos and/or part of liberal professions. Cultural note: A pijo is a middle class person who tries desperately to appear upper class. This generally requires a full Ralph Lauren wardrobe, gucci loafers and sweaters draped around the shoulders, apart from wristwatches that are comparable in size to tumours on Discovery Channel documentaries. 

Then he ILLUSTRATES the difference. He says these are the sort of houses on the west that don’t go down in price

Yes, I was flattered to be chosen as the first example. Then it gets even funnier:

“Y ésto es el bódrio invendible que han construido y gracias al cual la desembocadura del río Guadiaro y el parque natural de su estuario se ha ido yendo a tomar por culo lentamente desde aquél aciago 1986. Y además se ha llenado de pijos fosforito disfrazados de jugadores de polo, que no hacen más que el ridículo vestidos así los pobrecitos, y que pagaron un pastón por un apartamentucho en el puerto, sólo porque un própio le levanta una barrera por llevar una pegatina en el coche que le identifica como propietario. Lo que fue un retiro dorado de viejos millonetis a los que se les mejoraba el reumatismo mientras les daba el sol al echarse unos hoyos depués de currar toda la vida en países fríos y húmedos, se ha convertido en una pesadilla fosforito que ha degradado un paraíso ideal como el Campo de Gibraltar.”

The East isn’t that bad…

He now tears everything to the East to shreds- but in a  very funny way- in the event you don’t live East of the river :)

It ends with someone saying they’d rather rent than buy. I don’t get the fascination with other people’s house prices. Why in the world does it matter how much someone else’s home is worth?

Lucy Meadows Transgender Teacher Suicide: Sack Richard Littlejohn Daily Mail ‘Monster’ Columnist, Petition Demands – IBTimes UK

An online petition has been set up demanding that Daily Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn is fired in the wake of the death of a transgender primary school teacher.

Lucy Meadows, 32, was found dead in her home in Accrington, Lancashire. Police confirmed her death was not being treated as suspicious.

Meadows previously taught at St Mary Magdalen’s School as a man, Nathan Upton, and was due to return after gender reassignment surgery. School authorities wrote to parents to tell them of the plan and that children should refer to her as Miss Meadows at the start of spring term.

via Lucy Meadows Transgender Teacher Suicide: Sack Richard Littlejohn Daily Mail ‘Monster’ Columnist, Petition Demands – IBTimes UK.

It’s cloudy today

The sky is grey. We finished re-painting the pergola and braiding the stephanotis onto it. My landscaping project down by the stream is starting to have a bit of an effect. It still looks wild, just a bit more organized wild

I should start moving down the hill now to do the rest. I’ll get to it, eventually…

 

Lines, Moments & Compliments

There’s a new gay couple here in Sotogrande. They own a parrot that is now missing. I have nothing to do with the disappearance of said parrot in case you’re wondering. I’d heard rumours about them. Apparently, when news spread they’re gay they got a number of invitations, including one from someone with whom I no longer socialize. Also apparently, she was horrified. “They didn’t notice my dress was Chanel. They didn’t mention anything in my art collection. Their clothes were awful. They’re nothing like Edouard!!! They’re probably not even really gay.”

I’m not going to lie. I love the idea that they didn’t fit into the local gay stereotype- which is me.

Today Vickie Lester said my grey hair suited me- which is lovely, since she’s right and it fixes things since yesterday someone actually touched my hair and said: “Your hair is SOOOOOOOOOO GREY”. I was slightly annoyed, so I said “But my house is worth about three times what your house is worth”. It came out automatically, like when you put a coin in a slot machine. She got the grand prize.

I worked in the garden today despite the bursts of rain. The anemones de Caen are coming out in force. I’m pleased. The other day I was gardening wearing old boots, old jeans and an old tight t-shirt. As I approached the house with my dirty hands, Mike stared and said “wow, you look just as good as you did when we met all those years ago”(somewhere between 10 and 13 years, details don’t matter)- very clever, he knew that if he said I looked better he would have faced an inquisition as to ‘why better?’,'what was worse about me then?’.

We decided to get rid of the pampas grass in the front half-courtyard. We’re going to substitute them with two 4 metre tall palm trees. Like a mini palmeraie. Now with new gays around I have to make sure they have no chance whatsoever of encroaching on my territory. Say goodbye to the pampas grass:

In My Skin

In My Skin by Michelle Sank

These images are from a project called In My Skin about young people under 25 in the UK who are challenging their body image. I am looking at those who have had or are considering having cosmetic surgery in order to become more acceptable to themselves and achieve their ideal of being ‘beautiful’. Social consensus in Western society today is particularly focussed on physical beauty and achieving and maintaining the “perfect” face and body. Intertwined with this I am also documenting body dysmorphia as young people try and conform to this social expectation resulting in eating disorders and body transformation. Lastly I am documenting transgenderism and the struggle young people have to live within a body they were born into but have no affiliation with.

In My Skin.

It’s annoying when other people are right.

acflory acflory.wordpress.com

Submitted on 2013/02/21 at 11:43 pm I love your gazebo but if it were mine I think I’d build a second retaining wall around the first using local stone and then I’d fill it with those white flowing plants you mentioned – to tie the gazebo to the plants and the plants to the ‘natural’ surroundings.

In my business you need to have a filter- one that zones out what’s merely opinion and only lets through ideas that are well reasoned. Needless to say, when something didn’t cross my mind, but crossed someone else’s- I’m annoyed. Anyway, the local stone thing is too complicated because of the sprinklers and electricity that allows for light in the pergola- but yesterday we planted the whole thing with Stephanotis (Madagascan Jasmine). It does incredibly well in this part of Spain. Still deciding if I should plant something between them to cover up the brickwork that forms the base of the pergola. Or perhaps grow moss on the bricks (yoghurt method is quick and easy). Here’s how it looks with the ‘just planted’ jasmine. There’s one for each pillar.

What you get in the South of France for €6,760,000 € (US$ 8,777,879.01)- and blogging

A Lovely house in Aix en Provence that I cannot afford

Yahoo Real Estate, about once a week, does a what you can get for 250,000 or 500,000 etc- It’s usually terribly depressing, so I’m doing my own (classier) version.

I’m not sure about this whole blogging thing any more.  I thought it was fun and somewhat productive at first because I had the opportunity to share information and put ideas out there for discussion and thought. I’m noticing that for the most part, that’s not the general intent. I find the whiff of desperation somewhat unpleasant. Desperation for validation/recognition/attention/(love? money?) etc. Not that we all don’t need those things, we do. I just think that seeking it in certain ways is a bit of a waste of time. At least, as I see it oft done on wordpress. My facebook experiment on my house continues. As of this week it has over 700 “friends”. I’m re-thinking the whole experience, and how to go forward, if at all. If blogging is about the same sort of futile and illusory sense of community and friendship- it’s not really for someone with my temperament and inclination to practicality/pragmatism.

Nube Gris- because it’s cloudy today, and I’m home alone

A stunning rendition of Nube Gris

Less than a month before my mid 30′s

On the 23rd of the coming month I’ll be 35. I’ve been saying I’m in my early thirties for the past few years, but from next month onwards, I can’t say it any more… I plan to take as many pictures (of myself) as possible in the next few weeks which I’ll still be able to label “early 30′s”