Trees and Chocolate and Field Trips

I walked up the mountain a little way yesterday afternoon, it was such a beautiful day, and it is one of my favorite spots, there is a lovely view of the town and the sea, and it is comfy, there is always a breeze and it is shady....so lovely....

These trees are pinyon pines, so we have also gathered pine nuts here in the fall, and further down the hill there are many cacti, from which we have picked prickly pears. yummmm.

Last night after the younger one got home, she announced that the nice young substitute teacher would not be going away on this field trip, despite previous announcements to the contrary....that was the nail in the coffin for me, the proverbial last straw, and my Mommy worry meter moved firmly out of the yellow-orange zone into the flashing red lights screaming sound signal zone.

We tucked sweetness into bed, and after she went to sleep, I mentioned this fact to the husband, both the teacher's absence, and my ever increasing alarm about the situation. Turns out that the man was also sitting firmly in the red zone. Seems to me, one of the advantages of having two parents is you have a base mark if one of you is over-reacting. When both of you are thinking that something is an extremely bad idea it seems like time to listen.

We decided last night that whatever youngest said, she was emphatically not going. We both twitched all night, although my side of the bed would have been much much worse if we had not made this decision. Sweetness climbed into bed with me this morning with a worried expression and a command that we were not to think of her while she was gone. (Yeah, sure....) She was worried and doesn't like to think that we might be worried. When informed of our decision, she had a little weep, we talked about it and mostly why she wanted to go was because her sister was going, and for the inevitable sugar....I agreed to a trade, more sugar, a trip to the zoo on Friday - she was really hoping to see animals on this trip - and some movies.

I have now spent the morning with a Very Cheery Little Person. We went to my work. I taught, she watched Asterix and Obelix. We went to the market. I shopped, she ate pastries. We went home, I sorted groceries, she drank water and ate strawberries. We went to the grocery store, she came home and ate sunflower seeds, and shelled and ate fresh peas.....

Then we made these out of her cook book for some of the ladies at work who she quite likes...............

Ok, the photos don't do them justice...melt dark chocolate, mix in corn flakes, and let it cool. They are very good.

This afternoon we're going to go to the library and get a movie, then she will come to work with me where we are doing special workshops...I will be cooking chocolate goop, and then the man will pick her up and they are planning on eating sandwiches in front of the Rocky Horror Picture Show while I work, and before she goes to bed. Should be fun.

You know one of the things I love about Spain? The lunch in the fancy restaurant that I have organised for tomorrow for the women I work with and me......well, I mentioned to some of the them that little one would be coming with us. In Canada at best, with the vast majority of people, you would receive a tolerant smile, and it would have the potential to be a real problem. Here, they looked quite pleased, really genuinely pleased, and when they saw her, they all mentioned that they were looking forward to having lunch with her.

So nice.