Finally:

A tour for all of you who have been asking!

Front of the house:

Once inside, if you look to your right you will see what is supposed to be a dining room. We won't be using it as one, as you can see. Through that door is the butler's pantry and to the right of that is the laundry room.




If you look to your left once you enter the house, you will see this area. We have purchased some furniture to go on/with that rug, but it isn't here yet so the rug is all you get. That other piece won't be in here once we get the other items.




Walk forward from the front door, pass the stairs, and arrive in the living room. Yup. No furniture. It is ordered as well. Methinks the bambina will arrive before the furniture.




Take a left upon entering the living room and you'll find our master bedroom. This photo was taken prior to the movers arriving; we do have furniture in here.




Connected to that is our master bathroom. Oh, yes. It is fabulous. Tile, tile everywhere...large shower...large bath tub...two sinks and plenty of storage and counter space.




Back at the living room - if you look to the right you will see the kitchen.




The kitchen and living room are open to one another as well as this "breakfast" area. We'll be using it as our all-kinds-of-dining area.




The door to the all-kinds-of-dining area opens up to a somewhat covered patio which leads to...




...the garage! All the men go "ooohhhhh" and "aaaahhhhh". I don't get it, but whatever floats your boat.




Here's a shot of the small fenced-in back yard. We have dogs both behind us and beside us. Good times.




Here's the side yard and the entrance to the garage from another angle.




Remember this? Oh yes, we're back to the front!




Okey dokey. So. If you enter and then go up the stairs you might run into my husband eating pizza. This is sort-of a tradition. We did it when we first moved to Houston - ordered pizza and ate it in our empty apartment - so we decided we should do it again.




This time we had our lones with us...which made for an interesting evening...at least for him. HOW EXCITING it was to sniff the whole house and to discover that there are STAIRS in here!



Back to the tour. At the top of the stairs, and open to the rest of the house is what they call a "game" room in Houston. Some might call it a loft, since it is open to everything.




At the top of the stairs, if you take a right, you'll end up in the bambina's bedroom.




If you go left you'll pass a full bathroom and then there are two rooms here. This is one of them (they're practically identical, so no need for more photos). It will be my room to do whatever...and we've painted it a very very light blue color so that it will appear to be lighter in there. Perhaps one day I'll have a photo of that. Perhaps not, so get your imaginations going!




There it is, more or less. Less, really, since these photos were for the most part taken before the movers brought all of our things. We do have furniture in most rooms now, just not the two downstairs that I mentioned. If you come and visit us, you can see it all!

Hope this satisfies the curiosities!!

Super-Cooper

A Trans-Atlantic Doggy Tale

We have the best lones (lone-ess) ever.

A lones is a dog.

His name has evolved over time. It began by Señor CC calling him crazy-pants two-plus years ago when he was younger and, well, more crazy and we were in Houston. Then for a while there I found it HI-larious to call him just plain old pants. I have no idea why.

When we arrived in Spain, I explained that in Spanish, pants would be pantalones. More specifically, since Cooper is so short, he would be pantalones cortos. Señor CC has (had?) quite a knack for butchering the español, and he immediately mispronounced the name as Pantalones Cortéz. This became Cooper's alter ego. You know, the one that got grumpy when we bothered him when he was sleeping...the one that was still testing his boundaries from time to time...the one that got really upset when we first left him alone in the hotel room. HOW DARE WE!

As Cooper grew, and as we moved from small hotel room to slightly larger apartment with a balcony (joy of doggy joys) for viewing his kingdom, he settled down. He learned that he was not allowed to bark at everything that thought of moving, nor was he allowed to fuss just because another animal was fussing or making noise (we had goats and seagulls galore...not to mention cats and RATS of all things...but that is another story). He learned to walk properly and to follow many more instructions. Basically, he grew up a bit and therefore settled down.

This is when I took to calling him just lones. He is my lones, and we see lots of other loneses out when walking or on the television (his favorite shows are The Dog Whisperer and the Humane Society/Animal Police shows that come on Animal Planet). He is quite aware that I am pregnant and that things are a-changing. He is way more snuggly and cuddly and just sweet and therefore he is my lones.

Back to the point.

We have the best lones ever. He is full of character and yet all the good things all in one 17 pound package. Some proof that he is fabulous:

On our trip from Spain back to Houston, we had two flights. This meant Cooper had to be in his kennel for 24 hours. He also had to wear a muzzle (the first airline required it...though they don't remove the animals from their cages - they make you do it for the x-rays). He sat in his kennel through Málaga Airport and barked from time to time when we rolled him. When we were still, he was quiet.

Airline number one decided to tell us that they couldn't guarantee that he'd get on the second airline's plane for our connection. That is called covering one's behind. That I understand. We had confirmation with airline number two, so it didn't matter. Then they decided to tell us we had the wrong papers. That is called they don't know what they're talking about. No, we didn't have an EU Pet Passport. Would you like to know why? Because we didn't need one. We weren't going to the EU, only through it to the US. So we had all of the proper forms for THAT trip. The trip we happened to be on. Imagine that.

Needless to say, it upset me a bit. I imagine things were worse because I was exhausted what with all of the moving of furniture, cleaning, and packing I had been doing to get everything ready. It was just one.more.thing. that I didn't want to even think about.

We had to take him to the other end of the airport to let his kennel go through the x-ray machine. I held him and then placed him back in his kennel...which he wasn't too fond of. We then all went our separate ways. Once on the plane, we asked if he was on there yet. We needn't have asked because once he was on the plane, we could hear him. Apparently he is not fond of the changes in pressure when one takes off and lands, since that is when he was most vocal.

We get to our connecting airport in Paris and collect all of our bags and the dog. Once again, he barks a bit when we move but not when we are still. We get to the second airline and they are perfectly happy with all of the papers we have...in fact, they didn't even check them, just the dog. He must have looked good because off he went with someone and we were off to the plane. We couldn't hear him on the second one, but they confirmed his presence for us.

Everyone sleeps quite a bit on the trans-Atlantic flights, and it is no different for loneses. We arrived in Houston and collected our bags as well as Super Cooper. We then had to wait and wait and wait for a taxi-cab that was a van so that it would all fit. Where were we headed? Like 3 minutes away - to the rental car place. By this time, Cooper was fussing a little more...so the driver got a good tip.

We got there and unloaded everything outside the builging. I stand guard while Señor CC goes to get a car. I let Cooper out (FINALLY) and he immediately finds some grass. Amazingly, he had not relieved himself for the entire trip.

NO POTTY-GOING FOR TWENTY-FOUR HOURS.

Needless to say, it took him a wee bit o' time to finish up.

Then he began licking the wet sidewalk.

Eww.

My poor lones needed some more water. Luckily, we had some left in his water dispenser that was in the kennel. It took some doing (duct tape is awesome stuff), but I got it loose and poured it in his bowl. He then commenced water-logging himself completely.

We finally arrived at our hotel that night and Cooper was re-introduced to carpet. It went something like this:

"Ohhh, carpet, how I've missed thee. Let me rub myself all over you to show you how fabulous I think you are. Also let me sleep on as many sections of you as possible the first night that I am with you to show you how I love you."

The next day, lones had discovered that he could lie down on the window sill:



Apparently this was equally fabulous.

The most fabulous thing, however, is my lones. As I've said, he is the best lones ever.

Noticias, Baby Version 80%2

We are alive! I am sure you've been wondering. We've just been a little busy what with moving from overseas, establishing our lives here and preparing for the baby's arrival.

We now have a house, two vehicles, and most of the furniture we need for the house. We are still waiting for some painting to occur and two rooms of furniture to arrive...oh yeah, and then there's the baby.

I am writing today because I have some news about the imminent arrival. At my doctor's appointment today I found out that I am already 2 centimeters dilated and 80% effaced. For those of you who have not ever had a baby or been involved in the process at all, women have their children when they are 10 centimeters and 100%. So. I am on my way and have only felt a wee bit o' fake contractions Sunday night.

I informed the doctor that my Mom had her children in about 4 hours and didn't know she was in labor - with my brother her water broke at home before she realized she was in labor and then with me she only went to the hospital because she realized that she was feeling just like she had with my brother. Those contractions that peak and fall away and last a certain amount of time, etc.? None of that, really. Not that there wasn't pain, but just not the kind that makes you count them or anything like that.

My doctor's reaction? "Ohhhhhh...."

I wanted to know when I should come to the hospital...or if I would even know at all that I should leave the house...

Since we think I'll be like my Mom, and especially with today's stats on the check, she thinks a more planned delivery date would be better than the very real possibility of having the baby at home or in a car.

What does this all mean?

Well, at this point, I have an appointment next Tuesday, and if I am still progressing, then she is planning to schedule me for a delivery on Tuesday, May 27th. That is about 12 days early. I assume that if I haven't moved along at all then she might change her mind about the date...and if I am even further along than she thinks I will be next week then I guess she might schedule me for even earlier.

For now, May 27th is the new date to anticipate.

Good times, indeed!

Noticias

A.K.A. My Last Post From Spain?

Howdy. I am practicing for our imminent return to the states and, more specifically, Texas. That's right. We're unfortunately leaving the wonderful country of Spain and are returning to Houston. When do we leave?

Ummm....this Friday.

Apologies for the late notice, but we've been a little busy.

How have we been busy, you ask? Well, there was a small thing, that is now a slightly larger but still small thing that began in September called pregnancy. Mine, not Señor CC's (thank goodness). We are expecting this phenomenon to end (the pregnancy), but not stop growing of course (the baby), in the first week of June. Or, at least, that is what La Doctora tells me.

Yes, I am aware that everyone thinks first babies are late. No, I don't need everyone to tell me that the uncomfortable-ness that comes at that point will most likely be extended, thanks.

Aside from that, we traveled a bit. Ha. A bit. We went to Milan in September, I got nauseous for October (what a fine thing to be), we flew to Paris in November and climbed the Eiffel Tower.

Yes, climbed. Pregnant, nauseous, climbing.

Good times.

And then came: The Great Divide

Señor CC was sent home for over a month in November. Oh. Joy. He then came home for less than a week and we went home for Christmas for a week at the end of which he was sent directly back to work away from home for two more weeks.

So, he missed all of my doctor appointments up until January. The Great Divide, indeed.

Since we've been back together, he's been working all hours of the day and night to transition and complete last tasks and I've been slowly but surely preparing for Move Version 2.00.8. We did get to drive up to Cordoba (see last post) in January for a day and we spent this past weekend in Seville for our last hurrah.

Movers came on Monday right after our return from Seville and they finished up today. In total, it took them just under six hours to do everything. We didn't have a lot of stuff.

As for those of you who may wish to contact us or who are waiting for a call from us - not going to happen. Our phones (Spanish and International) have been packed away and all we've got left is internet (woot for that) and Señor CC's cell phone.

Chompy-lones has been reunited with his kennel and has been making semi-frequent trips to it today to practice sitting/lying down in it and adjusting the towels for maximum comfort. He obviously doesn't remember what we are going to use it for...but that is of little importance. He'll know well enough come Friday.

I believe that is all for the news on our end. Was it better than the election coverage and/or Britney Spears fake-news? I hope so! I imagine this is my last post from Spain, though certainly not my last about Spain. I've still got lots to tell you. It should take me years to get it all out now that we'll be so busy.

Oh well, better busy than bored out of our minds.

Adios de España!
~ CC

A Picturesque Day in Cordoba

Senor CC and I spent our final Saturday in January in Cordoba, Spain. We drove up in the morning and came back home the same day. I'd say it took us about two and a half hours to get there and park...you know, if you don't count the required first-time-we've-ever-been-there detours that always apply to our attempts to find a parking garage.

Now of course, we know exactly where to park, and oh boy is it easy-peasy. So if any of you out there reading this...if there are any of you out there reading this...would like directions, then simply email me and I can give them to you!

I should also mention that we had a slight pee-break detour thanks to hubster. It is amazing how incredibly small his bladder is. I wasn't exactly helping things as I have been gifted with the I-just-wanna-get-there-already-so-no-stopping-ness of my father. I have no idea who the small bladder came from, but it afflicts just about every road trip we take together.

People, I had to take the next exit (or else!) and pull over while still on the ramp to let him get out, wearing a bright red shirt, and become a true Spanish man by relieving himself right there for all to see.

Oh, the many joys of immersing ourselves in Spanish culture.

Ha!

Anyway - this post is called A Picturesque Day in Cordoba for a reason, so let's get to it, shall we?




The parking garage we found is on a main street beside the old town, so we simply followed the moorish walls until we found a gateway we liked the looks of and ta-da - we were in the itty-bitty streets looking up at buildings like this one.




We walked aimlessly for a bit and then made our way to the synagogue. There were only three in Spain that were not destroyed during the reconquest and this is one of them.




The upstairs room is where the women would worship. As you can see from the people in the photograph, the area is tiny. The whole synagogue itself is quite small but well preserved.




One of the major tourist attractions in Cordoba occurs in April when the flowers are really blooming. The town has a number of beautifully decorated patios that owners open up once a year for viewing. This one is open all year because there are shops that surround it.




The patio walls are typically covered in pots like these. I am sure that there are many varieties of flowering plants that bloom in the spring...this time of year is good for the geraniums.




We ate lunch at El Caballo Rojo, which was right across from the entrance to the patio or orange trees that serves as the entrance to La Mezquita. The patio was beautiful and the orange trees were heavy with fruit.





In the middle of the patio is a fountain with these fabulous spouts. Water used to flow through small canal-like structures throughout the patio.




The former minaret can be seen here in its covered Christian form. It now houses giant bells to ring the hours of the day.




Finally, we are inside the mosque. This place contains over eight hundred columns above which are two sets of arches made from red and white stones. This set has recently been refurbished and look striking.




Towards the front of the mosque, where the worship leader would have stood as everyone faced him during the service, the decor becomes more intricate. This intricacy includes the ceilings.




The columns in the mosque appear to go on forever. The view would be even more impressive if a section of the place hadn't been torn down so that a cathedral could be built in the center.




Here is where the worship leader would have been during services. This area is called the mihrab and it is the most decorated sections of the mosque. Above it is a large dome that is also decorated.




The cathedral, as I mentioned, is in the center of the mosque. It is a strange juxtaposition of styles. The cathedral seems very out of place and takes away from the symmetry of the mosque.




Another photograph so that you can see the huge difference in styles between the two religions.




The outer walls of la Mezquita are also decorated with colorful tiles and stones. Unfortunately some of the doorways were blocked by the Christians and this is what makes the interior so very dark.




What tourist town in southern Spain would be complete without horses-drawn carriages? I thought these two looked lovely with the building as their background.




We spent a few more minutes wandering the old town and made our way through numerous streets such as this one.




Eventually we came upon this archway that leads from the old town through the Moorish walls. We had but a short walk from here to our car and then we were on our way home.



All in all, a wonderful way to spend a Saturday. We had a good time are are very happy that we were able to see such a building and town before we leave Spain.



Hasta Pronto,
~ CC