Chimps, laundry, nightmare sailing and a sunburn.

This is an on-line petition to release captive chimps from medical testing. Sign if you will.


As I have posted before, we have to hand wash our laundry. we also line dry it. Everyone here line dries it in fact. Well, I suppose some people buy driers, and apparently you can get machines that both wash and dry. Can't picture that in my future. Line drying laundry has some interesting side effects. We get an view into looking at how people live. There is a major highway near us, running into Barcelona, and when driving along it, I am stunned every time by the people who live right next to it. Really right next to it. I am no clean freak by any definition, but an apartment there would drive me to despair. The sheer volume of filth that would come in all the time would eventually make me weep. The amazing thing is that they hang their laundry on racks mounted to the outside of the building. Here again is a link as I have such bad luck with blogger photos.
Now honestly, by the time it was dry it would be dirtier than it started. When we drove in from the airport the first time, I prayed to not have to live somewhere like that. So far so good.

Now I have an unspoken question in my marriage. Is that the right phrase? No. Maybe it is just one of those things you discover being married. Now you would think that putting laundry out on the line would be a straight forward job, and there would be pretty much one way you could do it. But no. Turns out my husband and I differ on this markedly. We don't differ on clothes peg allotment, or hanging style too notably, we have been hanging out laundry for enough years to have figured out what works in which conditions, but here's the rub. Now I don't want ANYONE to think that I am complaining. Never in all my days am I going to utter the merest peep of complaint, comment or criticism about anyone doing a chore. (I hope) I'm just glad I am not the one doing it. That said, here's the difference, and I find this fascinating. When I go to hang the laundry out, I vigorously wring every drop of moisture I possibly can from the clothing before pinning it up. The husband hangs it up soaking wet and dripping. His way is certainly less work, although the bag must be brutally heavy to carry up to the terrace, but I think my way probably dries faster, but does it? Most of the water drips out of his pretty quickly. Is he onto something here? I may have to run a test on this. Two t-shirts, one wrung one unwrung, and time them. How did we come to the different conclusions is the other question. Now if you live here,






your laundry HAS to be wrung out, or it would be most rude. The sheet like jobs are to keep the pigeon offerings off the laundry. Here is a link to the photo in case bl&%$gger doesn't post it. (I am looking to move away from here...)

It is unusually warm here this year...like every where, and the kids are up on the terrace with a hose and bathing suits washing I think everything down, possibly including the clean laundry that is hanging out to dry, but given the husbands technique with that, it may not matter. They have created a band with the chairs and are serenading the neighbourhood, the little one is a drummer and singer, the elder is singing alone. I have been forced in off the balcony as I think I am getting a sunburn. Go ahead, hate me, I can take it. *demonic laughter* HAHAHAHAHA

Oh, that wasn't nice was it.

OK, here is a type of sailing I NEVER want to do. These guys are racing in hurricane conditions in the southern ocean, cold, wet windy as hell, and thousands of miles from anywhere. If you put the volume on, you can hear them shouting about big waves, and asking repeatedly if they have everyone. Not for me.



Just so you know, all of the guys are firmly tied on with harnesses, and they did not lose anyone, although I am sure they were all quite bruised and battered.

It is getting noisy here. There is a community center, club and general place where people have fun at the end of our street, and every Saturday afternoon, they have about 400 kids there. The three guys who live downstairs help out, taking masses of kids off into the hills or off for treasure hunts or whatever it is that they do. The noise gets quite astonishing, and then diminishes quickly as they head out. Then builds wildly when they get back, all the kids tired and happy, and the parents all asking what happened and chatting with each other. A huge community life that we can't quite make it into. Soon, soon, just need to learn some language. While this was building, there was a buzz on the bell, and two girls were asking for the elder child, who was up on the terrace dressed as an fighting woman, and took a few moments to appear. The girls are now off playing down the street. The little one wanted to go too, and when the husband took them down, they seemed quite welcoming. Hope it all goes well.

Later...it seems to have. They came back fairly content, and we had a peaceful evening. I am feeling a little restless, but we have a long walk planned for tomorrow. I was thinking of something that was worth blogging about at dinner, and now I cannot remember what. Ah well.

Oh, but here's this, from the list of Catalan words designed to drive everyone else nuts. I suspect this list would be longer in English. It's such a dog's breakfast of a language. In Catalan, there is this nifty word, mai. Pronounce it like "my". There on the page all by itself, it looks so innocuous. So, well, kind. But really it is a trap, a ruse, a trick. You know why? It has two meanings. Now you are thinking, there are plenty of English words like that and You're right. But how many of them are opposites? You've got it, mai means either never or ever. HOW are you supposed to figure that out? I mean really!

Here's one little thing more.....

Laundry like we used to do it....

Here's the link for this. We never had quite so much in the cockpit, and no that is not us, haven't a clue who it is in fact, but the link will take you to their site.


This may well be in Nassau. There are guys who live in little boats like that, and while I have never seen laundry out on one of them, it is well within the realm of possibility.

Here's the link should the photo fail