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Writing Christmas Cards

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments
Some people hate this job but I have always loved it – it’s one of the highlights of Christmas for me.
I don’t like the consumerism and I get anxious buying presents for people when I don’t really know what they would like.  Christmas dinner with someone else’s family can be awkward for a foreign vegetarian and although  I try to stop myself I can still get a bit panicky and buy too much food on Christmas Eve even though I know there will always be shops open the day after.
What I like about Christmas is not easy to find in Catalunya.
  • Singing Christmas carols with other people
  • Opening Christmas stockings in your dressing gown in the morning
  • Celebrating with a delicious vegetarian meal on Christmas day
  • Spending a few precious days with good friends, playing games, preparing meals, reading in front of a log fire.
  • Being with my dog as it is her Christmas too
  • Going for a country or seaside walk on Boxing Day
  • Doing nothing much on Boxing Day
  • Celebrating something called Boxing Day rather than Sant Esteve and remembering my parents who got married on this day

Last year we came close to this ideal when we went to Sant Nicolau in the Emporda.  Just the three of us and Bonnie.  It was great for me but the Catalan family were not too pleased that we opted out. So this year it is back to the old routine and family visits every day from the 24th to the 26th.

But nothing and no-one can stop me making and sending Christmas cards.  It is not a tradition here so I don’t expect to receive many unless they are sent from the UK.  Being abroad also changes your friendship patterns and every year I get fewer cards in the post. But I still continue to send them out to everyone I feel warm towards and want to keep in touch with.  I like going through my address book and thinking of each person as I write the card.  It gives me a chance to stand back and take a look at my friendships and my family.
What changes are there this year?
Some people have drifted off. Some have sadly died and I can take time to think of them as well. There are people from many different areas of my past – Scotland, London, Cornwall, Barcelona, internet friends, old lovers, tango partners.  Some of them are people I hardly ever see any more but they still are woven into the fabric of my life and my heart

This year we made our own cards and for the first time had them printed more professionally at Marc the stationers down the road. They look much better than usual for which I thank Nuria for her wonderful and inspiring painting classes, Pep for helping me with final tweeking on the computer and Marc for doing such a good job with the laser printer.

I wish I had kept copies of past years productions.
But then again, better to live in the present and let go of what has gone before. This year I have written 34 cards, most of them heading off to the UK, a few for friends here in Catalunya and the rest off to Germany, France, Italy, Holland, Canada and the USA.  Tomorrow morning I will be at the Correo offices in Granollers before heading off again to Sant Nicolau with Bonnie for some more fresh air and country peace.

Anyone fancy a chocolate caganer?

Seen in a bakers window in Sant Celoni.

Christmas lights

~ Kate Wilson ~ Leave a comment

The Christmas lights are up in our street.

They start at our house and go all the way into the centre of town

I like them although I know that they probably use up a lot of electricity and, of course anyone anti-xmas will scowl and mutter about waste and hypocrisy.
They make me feel happy when I come out of the house with Bonnie.
I wonder if they will do the usual piped Christmas carols this year blaring out from the lampposts?

It’s hard to believe it is December  10th already. I have done nothing at all to prepare except buy some Turrons to send to the UK and book a cottage at Sant Nicolau to retreat to for the festive week.

I will send out cards even though I know they will arrive late – I haven’t even started making them yet!
It is  something I love doing but this year I’ll cut down on numbers – I think after three years here I should begin to accept that there are people who have slipped away out of my life, leaving only memories.  It does make me sad but perhaps it is the natural way. I hate losing people and only today was searching yet again on google for three old friends who have ‘disappeared’. No luck though!

What do you think?  At what point do you just let go?  Can you ever really stop missing old friends who disappear?

Politics Shmolitics what about collies?

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

Today in the park we were trudging round the same old same old when suddenly….. over on the other side…… a border collie!
Bonnie stopped in her tracks, tail went up, nose sniffed the air.
Everything froze in time and space.
The other collie – black and white –  was doing exactly the same.
Border collies know each other – there is no doubt in my mind.
They both started to run and met in the middle of the path.
Bonnie went down into play-with-me position. He bounced at her. She bounced back.
It was magical because I knew that since her bad experience with Duna she has not felt confident to play with other dogs.  She has been avoiding any approaches and feeling nervous if another dog comes close.

But this was not just another dog, it was a border collie.
Collies know each other for sure

They played ball for as long as I could stand still without freezing (there is snow on Montseny)

He had a friend with him who was very nice too but Bonnie didn’t give her a glance

She only had eyes for Azlan – her first Granollers friend!

Life is But a Dream

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

Sorry! 
I’ve had a blog block.
And some lovely friends here to stay, with lots of chatting and adventures but less time for hovering over the computer.

But I’ve got a fresh approach now to writing here – not quite the ‘I’m doing this for me so who cares if anyone comments or not’ but more of a ‘there are people out there who enjoy reading it but have their own reasons for not writing anything in the comments section’
So, if at least I can relax and stop worrying that I am getting it wrong, perhaps I can find my way back to writing about what I find interesting in my life here.

However, now it is late and I want to sleep so here is a photo of Granollers where there was no Thursday market due to the General Strike

 Some shops were open and others were closed. It was sunny and there was a large and peaceful demonstration which we watched for a while before taking all the dogs out into the countryside. We all had a lovely day walking in the woods and eating in the little restaurant at Santa Fe

Back home everyone helped me prepare for my singing group tomorrow by singing Row Row Row Your Boat in four parts.  We were wonderful.

 And if life is really just a dream, let’s make it a beautiful one!

Tapas with friends in Barcelona

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

Two friends from Penzance arrived in Barcelona for the weekend to celebrate their 7th anniversary. What a good opportunity to pop up to town once more for tapas. We went to La Bodegueta on Rambla Catalunya but don’t tell anyone as it’s hard enough to get a table as it is.

Here are the floor tiles – a little dirty but so beautiful that I didn’t notice until I saw the photo.
Congratulations John and Erwin and thanks for the tips on using the camera!

I always wondered what those black grids were for…..