For Madeline

It's her fatter, blue eyed kitty twin!

España Kelli

I just returned home from 8 glorious days in Madrid - had to check in on Will and take in more sights. I snapped dozens of shots each day but had no way to post a single one. Tomorrow is February and the start of a new month of photos, so here is the last week in curated form. 

A week in a carry on! Nothing but black pants and turtlenecks and boots for the next 8 days.

17 Calle Zurita in the neighborhood of Lavapies. This is the view from my perfectly situated apartment - just down the street is Plaza de Lavapies, metro, supermercado, bars. Will is one metro stop away in Embajadores.

The perfect day. Cafe con leche and chocolate croissant for breakfast, paella and cava for lunch, street tacos and margaritas with Will for dinner. 

Reina Sofia museum, home to Picasso, Dali, Miro, so much more. The museums are free every night from 7-9.

To make the inner second grader in Will very happy. A great exhibit. 

Day trip to Segovia with Allan and Will. Segovia is home to a massive cathedral, a royal palace, and Roman aqueducts. Stunning.

I know the Dance of the Merlitones from the Nutcracker and had to try the real thing. Washed down with sangria, of course.

Botin is the oldest restaurant in the world. Their specialty is colchinilla (roasted baby pig) but the wine cellar looked most interesting. One word - ancient. 

view of Madrid from the 9th floor of the department store, Cortes Ingles. 

View from Will's apartment - the elementary school across the street had just dismissed and the army of parents had descended upon the front door. Mothers in Spain shlep their children's stuff, too. 

Perfectly sized kitchen 17 Calle Zurita. Washer included, no dryer...

My lucky day - the plane home was only half full and I had the ENTIRE row to myself! 

Simply Simple!

I LOVE Simple shoes! Made from 100% recycled material, including the tire for the sole that will never ever wear out, I discovered these little gems in Santa Barbara and fell instantly in love.  Love really isn't a strong enough word, though, and when I found out a few years ago they were no longer in business - well, I cried. And held on to my ancient pair. The ones that have been with me to Italy, Israel, Holland, France, Texas. No shoe lining left, faded to a sad grey, but well loved - I held on to my good friends...hoping, hoping. Imagine my surprise, relief, happiness! Simple shoes are back! Available online only, so I ordered mine over 3 months ago and yesterday - they came! One of the happiest days of my life, and just in time for an inaugural trip to Spain on Tuesday. 

Gustave Caillebotte and Friends

I had an appointment in Fort Worth and had some time on my hands, so I wandered over to the Kimbell Museum of Art. What a fun surprise! Not only is it a free museum (except special engagements like the Caillebotte exhibit), it is home to a number of beautiful works of art. First, The Cheat With the Ace of Clubs by Georges de La Tour. I had seen The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds at the Louvre a few years ago and this is the variation piece. Next, I was off to see the Castiglione exhibit. Brilliant collection from the early Biblical depictions to the later and darker monotypes. He was a bit of an erratic character and some of that turbulence is evident in his work. Much of his work is quite small, so the museum provides magnifying glasses to see the strokes up close. Brilliant!

The real draw to the Kimbell was the special collection of Impressionist, Gustave Caillebotte. His friendships with contemporaries Monet, Renoir, and Pisarro are reflected in his art and his collections.  His work is full of light and often very photographic in nature. Highly recommend...

Georges de La Tour

Kimbell Art Museum

Castiglione

This little woman needed SO much help to take the photo!

I'm a Caillebotte! (In front of a reproduction specially set up for selfies, etc - hats and umbrellas provided!

What Route?

Siri tells me to "proceed to the route".  What route? I'm LOST! Believe me, if I could somehow proceed to the route, I could beat my dependency on Siri.  She treats me poorly, but I keep going back because I can't read a map to save my life, I have no discernible sense of direction, and don't get me started on N,S, E, W - no clue. In Texas, I have no ocean or mountains to help me out. 

Proceed to the route? Please, I'm happy I'm on an actual road. 

Now With Vitamin R

"Ow! My bones are so brittle! But I always drink plenty of ...Malk?"

Thanks, Bart Simpson

Available at Central Market

Tudors Help with Taks Preparation

Maybe you should find another tutor for your kids.