lemons!

I have always wanted a little lemon tree -- or any citrus really... grapefruit, clementine, yuzu, ooh, or kumquat!  They're so cute!  I had no idea that all of my fantasies were going to be realized on this trip!  I was so pleased to see this sweet little tree in our front garden:

 

We're all so enamored and have taken lots of pictures of it!  Matthew works while looking out on it, I wrote a little poem about it, the kids have made lemonade, and I'm making lemon chicken for dinner tonight.  Perhaps we should name it.

 

 

 

 

 

 



An Ode to Lovely Lemons

sometimes
plain glasses of water
need a zingy zest --
a burst of golden
sunlight
to make lips pucker
and tongues tingle;
an injection of glowing
effervescence
to water eyes
and energize

without you,
whether sour or sweet,
everything
is a bit
more

flat

Sunday Speculation

We decided that we would attend church while we are in Spain, how about that?  So we looked up the relevant information and headed that way for a starting time of 1:00 only to find on arrival that the meetings had actually started at 10:00 AM and were soon going to end.  We were all so bitterly disappointed!  Haha, not really.  I've had my share of sitting at church for three solid hours with zero comprehension happening so one less time is probably fine.  We were able to meet a few people who were all very friendly and welcoming and then we were able to leave.  Fifteen minutes in and out.  Practically drive-thru church!  The church building is in Cartagena which is about 30 minutes from our house so we decided that we would do a little exploring in the area with our suddenly free afternoon.  We had passed the Mar Menor on our way so after a tiny bit of getting turned around and lost we made our way to a little town called Los Urrutias.  Everyone tumbled out of the van for our first encounter with the sea.  The kids went for a short jaunt along the coast while Matthew and I took a little jet-lagged nappity nap.  They came back with sand caked Sunday shoes and happy, wind-blown faces.  Next we made our way around Cape Palos and down a very very narrow strip of land called La Manga (I just looked it up and it doesn't mean "Japanese cartoon" but means "sleeve" which is what it looked like!)  It was lovely having the sea on both sides of the road, but the towns were a little strange.  I imagine that they are bustling in the summertime, but at this time of year there was a definite apocalyptic feel -- abandoned buildings, boarded up windows, graffiti everywhere, stray cats...

 

It made me suddenly grateful for our soft landing, as it were.  Our search for suitable habitation began last Spring with our only requirements being "somewhere along the coast" and "enough beds."  There was a seemingly endless supply of available houses, but when push came to shove, there was always something wrong and by October we still hadn't found a place.  I was always open to the possibility of us not making the trip at all, if that was what was "supposed" to happen, but I never felt strongly that that was the case so I kept looking.  Someone asked how we picked the town where we ended up -- it was completely random!  It was literally the first one that finally fell into place.  We had never heard of it and even as we were making our way through the extremely arid landscape last Thursday I was second guessing our choice, wishing we had gone to Galicia instead.  But!  Our house is really great!  There is such a nice energy and flow to it.  Everyone found their little spots and seems happy -- well, Archie has mentioned about 5 billion times that the house is too small, entitled American punk that he is, but I think that even he is coming around.  The neighborhood seems really nice with parks and stores nearby.  We drove down to the local beach after dinner last night and it is clean and lively.  And the weather has been absolutely gorgeous!  It has gotten into the 70's every day since our arrival -- we were expecting temperatures more in the 50's range.  And the sky!  Stunning.  No cloudy north for me, I am convinced.  And like I said,  so very grateful. We are right where we belong.

¡Estamos Aqui!

We have arrived and are getting settled into our new spot on the Earth.  I don't want to sound like a whiny, spoiled brat because 1. it didn't take us six months to cross the Atlantic, and 2. we're in Spain! But I will admit that it has been a bit grueling.

The last few days were quite busy with preparations, but we were pretty much on schedule and woke up on Tuesday morning with a list of things to do that could only be done at the last minute.  I decided to go ahead and go to the gym even though my stomach was hurting.  I chalked it up to nerves since my stomach likes to be involved in all of my major decisions and worries, but was alarmed to find  when I returned home that three other family members weren't feeling well either.  Not good.  But we pushed through and were able to leave the house in sparkly, pristine condition for Charles' friend who will be staying there and keeping the cat company (he has a name, I will refer to him as Kyle hereafterandforever).  We rented a 12 passenger van to accommodate the abundance of people and baggages -- Ella's lovely friend Rachel was staying with us for two weeks and was flying out a few hours after us -- and enjoyed an uneventful ride to the airport.  Matthew dropped us all off and we checked in while he returned the van.  Then we were able to stand in an interminable line for security!  Okay, it ended, but not soon enough.  Yada yada yada, we've all been in airports so I'll move on.  The plane departed at 9:00 PM and they were serving dinner at 11 so I decided to try to keep the boys awake until then so they wouldn't be hungry later.  We flew on Turkish Airlines and it was so nice!  I must admit that I was a bit worried, but those fears were completely unfounded.  There were screens at each seat with a variety of things to listen to, play, or watch. 

 

They gave the boys little goodie backpacks and everyone else was given a set of supplies as well.  And the food was good!  And the employees were pleasant.  They even served us Turkish Delight!

We were finally able to settle in around 1:00 AM and fitfully sleep for a few hours. Breakfast was served around 5:00 and arrival at 7:00 AM -- 3:00 PM local time.  We then had four hours in which to enjoy the Istanbul airport!  I found some ramps and moving sidewalks for the boys and everyone else seemed to be napping at one time or another.

The flight to Madrid left at 7:20 PM and took four hours.  The boys finally fell asleep toward the end so it was hard to get them up and moving to get through immigration and fetch our bags.  We caught a shuttle to our hotel and were able to sleep a good 4 1/2 hours before going back to the airport to get some breakfast and catch a bus south.

The stomach bug that I had been trying to ignore caught up with us again and Charles was throwing up in the morning, I felt totally bus sick, and now Phin has been vomiting for hours today.  But back to the bus.  It was long -- over seven hours, with only one 15 minute stop and no toilet on the bus.  I cannot believe that we made it, but we did.  Archie kept telling me that he really just wanted to get off.  Yep, me, too, buddy.  Along the way, the bus would stop at large bus terminals, but when we arrived in San Javier we were let off on a literal street corner.

 

Ella, Ibby, and I stayed with the bags while everyone else scouted out some food.  They found some Kebabs!  Our favorite!  And a playground to boot, so we made our way over there -- very loudly, I might add, as our suitcases rumbled through the cobbled streets.  We're basically just a spectacle wherever we go.  Throughout the whole trip the words, "Because we are too many" kept going through my mind, haha!  No murders were committed, but sanity was questioned periodically.

 

We ate our first dinner in Spain, on the street, whilst Lucy and Matthew caught a taxi to get our rental car.  We were probably there for about 2 1/2 hours, but it was a nice little square with a play area, a church, and an amazing nativity scene.

 

 

Phin got right down to business making some friends, which was really cute.  I guess he doesn't talk much anyway, so what is a little language barrier, right?

 

 

Matthew and Lulu returned, we had our first encounter backing down a very narrow European street in a van, we got very lost, but eventually found our way to our new house where we were meeting our landlady at 7:00 PM.  The GPS said we were there, the house looked exactly like the one in the picture from the rental website, the view across the street was exactly the one we had seen on google maps, but the gate was locked and no way to get in.  We walked around a bit and I found a side gate.  We went to the door and could see an old lady inside knitting and watching TV.  She didn't move when we rang the bell so we rang a few more times and she finally got up and told us to go away.  Matthew kept asking her if we were at the right address, but all she would say was that it was nighttime and that we should get off of her property!  I returned to the car with the sinking feeling that we had been totally scammed and that we had come all this way with nowhere to stay!  I decided we should look for a hotel and regroup, but Matthew started wandering down the street and soon came back with a smile and a new friend -- our landlord.  There was an identical house two blocks away -- welcoming, inviting, clean, well-lit, full of beds to lay in, closets in which to put our necessities, bathrooms for bathing, cupboards for food... and even a dishwasher.  All of our dreams had come true.  The couple was very nice and showed us around the house and neighborhood.  Archie immediately began telling me that he wanted to go home.  Hey, we are home!  After they left, Matthew and I ran to get some groceries (well, we walked and then very haltingly came home, putting the very heavy bags down every few feet) while the larger children put the smaller ones to bed -- they are very worthwhile at times.  We came home and had a snack and tried to settle ourselves down by 11:00 since we had been going for 50+ hours at that point, but it was only 4:00 PM Illinois time, so it wasn't easy.  The kids keep telling me to stop talking about what time it is at home, but I think it's okay for one day.  It's topical.

 

We've spent the day getting unpacked, trying not to sleep, taking care of a very sick boy, and buying more supplies -- this time with the van.  We have already produced copious amounts of laundry and the latest crisis has involved the house's lovely blue rug that was vomited upon and belatedly learning the Spanish word for bleach.  It's lejia, by the way.



Take Flight

Take flight!
Release the bands of Earth...
To transcend the very clouds;
Journey like the gods,
Defying both time and space,
Truly a miracle!

I'll be repeating this mantra ceaselessly
Through the 46 hours from point A to B;
Standing in lines and security checks
With children who just might be total wrecks;
From Chicago to a stop in Istanbul
And a long bus ride through Iberian hills
We'll eventually land at our new abode,
Kick up our feet and throw off our load.

And it's going to be wonderful, dammit!

Bonne Annee!

Happy New Year! Enjoying our holiday repast... and Sun! So happy to see you again! 🎆🎇🎉⛅🌞

 

 

Two Sides

there are two sides ...
to every coin

pelting rain and furious winds
create crystal coated prisms
luminous, tinkling
shattering

holiday delights,
disguised saccharine layers
of cozy nostalgia,
bequeath blurred thoughts and
peevish indispositions

true recognition,
so rare yet familiar,
that empathic voice and touch
breach our defenses
until
we're
split wide open