read more books

normally, i don't read much but this year i will try to read more. i read books in english and in spanish. 

i read in english because if i don't, i know one day i will forget it completely. actually, i'm starting to forget my english. for example, i have problems in writing posts for my blog. maybe you notice some grammar mistakes in my posts, therefore any correction is welcomed.

moreover, i should also read in spanish to practise and to improve my vocabulary. at the moment, i'm reading ¨La elegancia del erizo¨. for me, this is such a hard book to read; too many complicated words. i hope this book is worth reading. 

the next 5 more books for me to read:

-¨To kill a mocking birds¨ by Harper Lee

-¨The right attitude to rain¨ by Alexander McCall Smith

-¨The great gatsby¨ by F. Scott Fitzgerald

-¨En lugar seguro¨ by Wallace Stegner

-¨The miracle at speedy motor¨ by Alexander McCall Smith

any other suggestions perhaps?

let's go to the beach

there are so many beaches in cantabria but we always go to liencres beach. if the weather is nice and we feel like walking then we go there, just like today. after lunch, we decided to go to the beach.
we were playing with timi. we threw the stick to the water so he would run for it. apparently the waves were quiet strong, so timi had problem on swimming back. pascual almost jumped to the water to catch him, but lukily the waves slower down and timi managed to get out from the water.

market day

we went to the tradional market in the city to buy fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and fish. i brought my camera with me and took some pictures. apparently they were not good then i've decided not to post them. the only picture from the market is the second picture where the mother and her two daugthers looked so fashion. the other two pictures i took in the way to the market. the lady was enjoying the sunshine while reading and the girls were enjoying the ice creams.

authentic spanish food dinner

just a little interruption:

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yesterday we were having dinner with a special guest, inga, in our friends' house, polo and carmen. we never ever say no to their invitation. first they are very nice people, they have a lovely house and most of all they always prepare marvelous food for us. polo is a professional cook. for him, cooking is a serious business.

the menu items were:

-tortilla de patatas (spanish omelette) 

-jamón serrano  (spanish ham)

-pimientos del piquillo (piquillo pepper)

-anchoa de santoña (santoña's anchovy)

-ensalada de tomate (tomate salad)

-queso de hoja / queso picón (leaf cheese / picón cheese)

-oranges with walnuts and honey sauce

-sobao with cream and caramel

photography course

yesterday i attended a short photography course in Bilbao. the lessons we got were the basic information of SLR. for me this was useful since i know very little about it. thanks to this course i've discovered where the focus is on my 18-55 lense and how to use it. it's silly of me, the button marked ¨autofocus¨, that's why i couldn't move the focus so i thought ¨where's the focus?¨). 

it's a pity that the course was really too short.  i should join more photography course, it's fun!

HAPPY MAGIC KINGS DAY!!!

most of children in Spain are playing with their new toys and many adults are enjoying their presents. last night ¨the Three Magic Kings from the East¨ came to their house to drop some presents for those who have been good during 2010 and some coal to those who have been bad. Surprisingly they came to our house and brought a present for pascual and me. 

this morning, as typical Magic Kings day, we enjoyed a delicious ¨Roscón de Reyes¨ with a cup of hot chocolate. there are llittle figures inside this cake. it could be a toy, a figure of a magic king, or a bean. if you get a piece of cake with a king inside, it means luck. however, if you get a bean, it means that you have to pay the cake.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

these are some pictures that i took during my christmas and new year holidays in Arenales del Sol, Elche. as usual, we had a great time and great food too. 

as you can see in the pictures; 

-some of them were taken in Catral and La Romana, Alicante. 

-the horses belong to the interesting carpena's brothers. florentina is the female horse, dallas and chulo are the male and the little horse is bartolo. they are spanish horses.

-abuelita with baby maría, and javi with paulita.

-the famous paella by tía mari carmen.

on the 31st of december we went to ¨The Saint Silvester Road Race¨ (La Carrera de San Silvestre) in Elche. this race is held yearly in most cities in Spain on december 31.  a lot of people joined the race with  their unique custome. it's funny watching superheroes, santa claus, the pope, or the cowboys running.

Indonesian mother's day

today is ¨mother's day¨ in Indonesia. it is celebrated every 22nd of december since 1938 when Indonesian Women's Congress came up with the idea and later on 1945 this was confirmed by the first Indonesian president, Sukarno.

when my grandfather and my grandmother were still with us, we always celebrated mother's day in their house. all family member were gathering to celebrate this day in a special way. all children crowned their own mothers. for example; in a picture below, my mother were sitting in the middle while my little sister and me crowned her. then each one of us did a speech. we said sorry for things that we had done wrong to her, we thank her for everything and most of all we said how much we love her. even if you're not a family member but you were with us in this celebration, you would burst into tears. for me it was always such a precious moment. 

ps: mama, i miss you...