Wednesday, January 18, 2012

And We Were Swinging...Just a Swinging

Hey all,

No, I don't mean anything naughty by this blog's title.  LOL  If you know me at all you know I only write about committed relationships where two, and only two are involved.  But I love the song, Just a Swinging, by John Anderson, and when I decided to write about getting back into the swing of things, this is what came to mind.

Since I last blogged, that's exactly what I've been trying to do.  And it's been surprisingly easy to pick back up the writing, sight seeing, and making the house as I did before.  I expected to have trouble, but I haven't really.  When Jonathon goes into work, I am up and doing stuff like emails, blogging and such.  I exercise a little, then shower and really start my day.

My goal is to write a little every day, so I can slowly get back to my ten to fifteen page norm.  But I don't only write.  If something else comes up, I give myself the freedom to do that whether it's organizing pictures, cooking, doing a craft or just wandering around town.  I'm disciplined, but not so much I choke from it.

At least that's the goal.  LOL

Take this last weekend for example.  Jonathon and the crew are setting up the show here in Barcelona (it opens on the 20th) so his hours are kind of screwy.  I don't now when he'll be off, so I don't plan anything.  If we get together, great, if not, that's okay too.

On Friday I put my house together.  We have several items we carry from place to place to remind us of our lives together.  Amongst them we have a velvet poster from Singapore and a faerie wind chime from Ireland.  I have a Twining's tea box from England and a beautiful fan I used in Malaysia.  I have a quilted wall hanging from Amish country in the USA and wooden China dolls I bought on the Great Wall.  And don't forget our newest additions, my Gargoyle, Sebastian from Notre Dame and Jonathon's Knight in Shining Armour we found at Les Invalides (Paris' war museum and Napoleon's Tomb) Jonathon is my KISA after all!

Our stuffed animals, HC or Highland Cow and Bruce the Badger (he was in our Gretna Green wedding if you'll remember) sit at the end of our bed, and of vital importance is my can of LOVE... Spice for Living.  I was given this tin on my wedding day and it's gone everywhere with us.  I don't consider my house finished until it sits next to the stove in my kitchen.

Putting a little of ourselves up wherever we are truly makes it a home away from home.  I believe it is absolutely necessary to do this.  Otherwise you're just living in hotel rooms.  And part of my job and my joy is to make a home for my man.  Even if it is only a temporary one.

The weekend found me hard at work.  I wrote for several hours straight getting close to twelve pages done.  I did some blogging.  I tried to promote a little and I answered some emails.  (Still have a BUNCH of that to catch up on )  Then, when my imagination had waned, I went out and wandered.  

I spent one day down my the seaside enjoying the ocean air.  I wandered up and down the beach and filled my lungs with good fresh air.  Then I turned inland and explored the neighborhoods, finding fun places to sit and have a drink and Tapas. (more on those later)  Then next day I was told of a mall that had a big supermarket, so I strolled down to have a look.  I'd been told the store was like a big WalMart, but I have to say, three Wally Worlds wouldn't fill up this Alcampo hypersupermarket!  Two stories that took up one entire side of this gianormous mall!

I checked out the mall first, finding tons of restaurants, shops and even a movie theater (no English movies though unless you want to see Gato con Botas in Spanish.    Can you figure that out?

I found several inexpensive clothing stores that I'm going to head back to this next week to pick up a few necessary items, like slippers. (Bloody cold marble floors) and a sweater, plus some work shirts for Jonathon.  It was fun elbowing through the crowds trying to find a bargain, and I usually hate that type of thing! 

When Jonathon got off, we met and went and saw a movie.  No...not Gato con Botas, we'd already seen that one in the states.  We found a theater that did show English movies and went and saw Protocolo Fantasma, which in English is the newest Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol.  It was fun and while the size of the screen wasn't anything to write home about, it was better than some I've seen in the states, so we were content.  (It was a great movie.)  Next time we'll see the new Sherlock Holmes one.

And the double batch of both salty and sweet popcorn was AWESOME!!!  LOL

So, as you can see, I'm trying to do a little of everything.  Live, love, laugh.  Work, study and play.  And if I can keep doing this, you should see my FREE READ sail along swimmingly plus all those stories I've been working on will make their way to a publisher near you! 

Now I'm off to meet my sweet baboo and find some dinner.  I'm writing this on Sunday and here in Barcelona NOTHING but some restaurants are open.  So much for me running over to the gianormous hypersupermarket to get me some dinner.    I guess it's a Tapas and beer night.

Oh well...somebody's got to eat them. 

Hugs and see you next time,


CJ

 

6 comments:

Phylis said...

You have to tell what a tapas is. It's got me wondering! lol Thanks for the updates. It must be the supermarket with EVERYTHING you would ever need. ; ) Looking forward to the next installment of your adventures and the free read!

Ray said...

It sounds like you are having a wonderful time. If you like cheese let us know what you think of Manchego. I used to get a bocadillo Manchego every time I was in any city in Spain. Manchego is a cheese made in La Mancha. I got a little tired of it though when I asked the chief steward if he could buy some for the officers mess. Instead he gave me the entire 25 kilo wheel. I didn't have room for anything else in my refrigerator.

I absolutely love Spanish coffee. If I were still working instead of retired I would probably be somewhere in the Mediterranean now.

Ray

CJ England said...

Hey Phylis,

I will. Jonathon, our roomate Ian, and I are going to go out for a night of Tapas hopping next week. I'll do a whole blog on that, I promise you. LOL

CJ England said...

Ray,

You know, I was glad to go to Spain since we'd never been before, but I didn't think anything special about Barcelona.

But now that I'm here and walking around, I LOVE it. What an interesting and quirky city. I'm so glad we have two months here.

desitheblonde said...

well that sound like you a re busy lady and hope you can in joy and let us now when the books is done and ready

CJ England said...

Will do, Desi.

I'm working on them as soon as I'm done checking my blogs! LOL