Winter Landscape

I love these winter colors.

Baby Squirrel

My next inspiration for a Christmas card?  I think I must try harder. 

Christmas Cards I

I have been playing with different ideas for this year's Christmas cards. This is my first attempt.

Hope you like it.

Italian Villa

I was in this Italian Villa two years ago buying some wine and sightseeing. It is located in the Chianti wine region (Tuscany). It has 215 hectares of land characterised by expanses of vineyard, olive trees and woodland. Villa Calcinaia belongs to a nobel family, the Capponi.  More information about Villa Calcinaia here.

Desk And Reindeer

I was tidying up my desk when I found a precious reindeer that I made last year inspired by Pinterest.

Christmas Decoration

I picked up some pine cones last weekend when I went to the mountains, and inspired by Pinterest, I decided to make the above mason jars. My very first Christmas decoration at home.

Materials:

• Two mason jars (you can buy them at a dollar store, or use recycled ones)
• 2 Ikea tea candles.
• 4 small pine cones
• Some pine leaves
• Cooking salt
• Fake snow (in dollar stores/chinos in Spain)
• Doillies (in supermarkets)
• Brown thread
• Glue
• A pair of scissors

Instructions:
1) Clean the mason jars very well and place some cooking salt at the bottom.
2) Put some glue on the pine cones and dip them in the artificial snow.
3) With the brown thread, tie two pine cones around the top of each mason jar.
4)  Put some glue on the thread.
5)  Cut out a piece of  the doily to cover the thread with which you tied the pine cones. Press hard so the lace paper doesn't come out.
6) Place one candle inside each mason jar.
7) For a final touch, insert some pine leaves in between the pine cones.

First Snow

I made these pictures in Navacerrada last weekend. Do you want to know more about Navacerrada? Check here.

Oh, I long for a white Christmas in Holland....Would that be the possible? Who knows...

A New Member Of The Family Day 15

So this was the story of how thanks to a mosquito I became a heroine.

sou dis wass de sstori of hau zanks tu a moskitou ai bikeim a heroin (Approx. Pronun.) 

səʊ ðɪs wɒz ðə ˈstɔːrɪ əv haʊ θæŋks tʊ ə məsˈkiːtəʊ aɪ bɪˈkeɪm ə ˈherəʊɪn (Phonetics)

Esta es la historia de cómo, gracias a un mosquito, me convertí en una heroína.

&&&THE END &&&

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A New Member Of The Family Day 14

My mother found out that the baby had been bitten by a mosquito.

mai mader faund aut that de had bin bitn bai a moskitou (Approx. pronun.)

 maɪ ˈmʌðər faʊnd aʊt ðæt ˈ/ðiː/ː hæd bɪn ˈbɪtn baɪ ə məˈskiːtoʊ (Phonetics)

Mi madre descubrió que al bebé le había picado un mosquito.

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A New Member Of The Family Day 13

But then she realized something was wrong, and we both went to see the baby.

bat den sshi rialaissd samzing wass rong and wi bouth went tu si de beibi.

bʌt ðen ʃiː ˈrɪəlaɪzd ˈsʌmθɪŋ wɒz rɒŋ ənd wi bəʊθ went tə siː ðə ˈbeɪbɪ.

Pero luego se dio cuenta que había un problema, y ambos fuimos a ver al bebé.

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A New Member Of The Family Day 12

At first, she didn't pay attention to me.

at ferst, sshi didnt pei atenshion tu mi (Approx. Pronun.)

ət fɜːst ʃiː dɪdnt peɪ əˈtenʃən tə miː (Phonetics)

Al principio, no me prestó atención.

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A New Member Of The Family Day 11

I rushed to the kitchen to tell my mother that something was wrong.
ai rashd tu de kitchen tu tel mai amder dat samezing wass rong (Approx. Pron)

aɪ rʌʃt tə ðə ˈkɪʧɪn tə tel maɪ ˈmʌðə ðæt ˈsʌmθɪŋ wɒz rɒŋ (Phonetics)

Me apresuré en ir a la cocina para decirle a mi madre que había un problema.

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A New Member Of The Family Day 10

One day, when my mother was busy in the kitchen, I saw baby David crying. 

wuan dei, wen mai mader wass bisi in de kitchen, ai so beibi deivid craing.

wʌn deɪ wen maɪ ˈmʌðə wɒz ˈbɪzɪ ɪn ðə ˈkɪʧɪn aɪ sɔː ˈbeɪbɪ dɑːd ˈkraɪɪŋ/

Un día, cuando mi madre estaba ocupada en la cocina, vi que el bebé David lloraba.

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A New Member Of The Family Day 9

So, I felt sad and neglected.

sou, ai felt sad and neglektid (Approx. Pron.)

səʊ aɪ felt sæd ənd nɪˈglektɪd (Phonetics)

Así que me sentía triste y abandonada.

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A New Member Of The Family Day 8

They didn't let me come near the baby because they had the silly idea that I wanted to climb into his crib and smother him.

dei didnt letmi kam nir de beibi bicoss dei had de sili aidia dat ai wantit tu klaim intu his crib and ssmoder him. (Approx. pronun.)

ðeɪ dɪdnt let miː kʌm nɪə ðə ˈbeɪbɪ bɪˈkɒz ðeɪ hæd ðə ˈsɪlɪ aɪˈdɪə ðæt aɪ ˈwɒntɪd tə klaɪm ˈɪntuː hɪz krɪb ənd ˈsmʌðə hɪm. (Phonetics)

No me dejaban acercarme al bebé porque tenían la estúpida idea de que yo quería meterme en su cuna y asfixiarlo.

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A New Member Of The Family Day 7

Then baby David was born.

den beibi deivid wass born

/ðen ˈbeɪbɪ dɑːd wɒz bɔːn/

Entonces nació el bebé David.

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A New Member Of The Family Day 6

Fortunately, I didn't have any parasites so my life went back to normal.

forchunetli, ai didnt hav eni parasaits sou mai laif went bak tu normal (Approx. pron.)

/ˈfɔːʧnɪtli aɪ dɪdnt hæv ˈenɪ ˈpærəsaɪts səʊ maɪ laɪf went bæk tə ˈnɔːməl (Phonetics)

Afortunadamente, no tenía parásitos así que mi vida volvió a la normalidad.

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Mountains

A short commercial break. One of the purposes of this blog is to share beauty. So I decided to take a little break from the story "A New Member Of The Family" and show you the above pics. I made them last Sunday on the mountains of Madrid, near a town called Rascafría.  As you can see, autumn in this area is breathtaking. I enjoyed very much watching the water flow, the leaves covered with water drops, the yellow trees... Just simple, plain beauty everywhere.

A New Member Of Family Day 5

So, they took me to the vet to get a blood sample. It was horrible.

so, dei tuk mi tu de vet tu get a blod sample. it was hórribel (Approx. pronun.)

soʊ ðeɪ tʊk ˈmiː tuː ðə vet tuː get ə blʌd ˈsæmpʌl. ɪt wʌz ˈhɔːrəbəl/(Phonetics)

Así que me llevaron al veterinario para obtener una muestra de sangre. Fue horrible.

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A New Member Of The Family Day 4

They thought I had a parasite that might affect the baby.

dei zot ai had a párasait dat mait aféct de bébi.(Approx. Pronun.)

ðé θɒ́t áj hǽd ə pɛ́rəsɑ̀jt ðǽt májt əfɛ́kt ðə bébi. (Phonetics)

Pensaron que tenía un parásito que podía afectar al bebé.

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A New Member Of The Family Day 3

Suddenly I looked suspicious.

Sadenli ai lukt sespishos. (Approx. Pronun.)

sədənli aj lʊkt səspɪʃəs. (Phonetics)

Repentinamente  yo parecía sospechosa.

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A New Member Of The Family Day 2

I found out my mother was pregnant.

ai faund aut mai mader wass pregnant (Approx. pronun.)

aj fawnd awt maj məðər wəz prɛgnənt. (Phonetics)

Me enteré de que mi madre estaba embarazada.

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A New Member Of The Family Day 1

I was used to being the Queen of my house until....

ai wass yustu biing de kuin of mai haus antil (Approx. pronun.)

aj wəz juzd tu biɪŋ ðə kwin əv maj haws əntɪl....(Phonetics)

Estaba acostumbrada a ser la reina de mi casa hasta que...

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A New Member Of The Family Coverpage

A new member of the family.

a niu member of de famili (Approx. Pronun.)

ə nu mɛmbər əv ðə fæməli (Phonetics)

Un nuevo miembro en la familia.

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Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15 The End

Visiting A Cave

Have you ever been in a cave? The one above is very interesting, I visited it last summer. A lava tube created 3,000 years ago in Lanzarote. I love the colors. Want to know more about it? Read here.

A Street Cat Named Bob

Today I wanted to share with you a video I saw yesterday. It's about a street cat that goes out busking in Covent Garden (London) with his owner. Amazing story, and amazing cat. I love Bob and the way he behaves, not being scared by the noise, traffic or people, it's so impressive.

Rainy Days

 

I went out for a walk to capture the beauty there is in every tree, every leave, every corner on a rainy day.

On A Polka Dot Duvet

Acrylic Painting. Size 24 x32cm (A4)/9.4 x 12.5 inches, weight 370 gr/13oz. Papel Basik

Gifts

As some of you know, I'm not an illustrator or an artist, I'm a lawyer and a teacher. So, when Tita's owner commissioned my first drawings some months ago, I was totally flattered: somebody, for the first time, was believing in my drawing skills. It worked miracles. After trying, and trying (watching videos, tearing apart lots of papers, making lots mistakes) I came up with something much better. I made two pictures of Tita, some tags, wrapping paper and stamps. I really hope she likes them.