happy birthday, m.a.!

Today our good friend M.A. turns 73. Last evening Big Jim and I went out to find a present for her. We decided on a grape leaf windchime. I hope she likes it....it's difficult to tell sometimes with M.A....she may just think it makes a whole lot of noise! We'll give her a call in a little while and invite her out for a celebratory drink this evening. Woke up this morning to find the power off, the strong winds last night the most likely culprit. I didn't sleep well because of it. All the banging about and the pots rolling kept the precious Boo from settling properly, so she was in and out of the bed every five minutes. Which wouldn't be so bad except that she knows that she needs to be invited into the bed; therefore, every time she jumped down, she would then wake me up to ask to come back up. So much for a well-trained dog. We watched a crappy movie last night, Rules of Engagement. Big Jim even fell asleep it was so uninspiring. We did get a kick out of watching the extras though, especially the bit when I believe the producer referred to it as a "very important film....one that will generate many conversations at the dinner table." The only conversation Big Jim and I could imagine involved people sitting around discussing what a crap film it was. Disappointing, though, as the screenplay was written by the same man who wrote "Traffic", which was a great movie. Played with my new camera on the goat track this morning. Must actually read the manual because it does all sorts of neat things, takes short videos, has sound, etc. Will try to post the pictures later today or tomorrow. The dogs had good fun this morning. Our friend A. was on the trail with her dog Cassie, so all three had a great time playing, chasing sticks, etc. I love to watch dogs just hanging out and socializing. Big Jim is filling in at J. and M.'s gallery this morning, and I need to get to work. Who knows how long the power will stay on....the wind is still howling and rain is in the forecast for later. hasta manana, mylifeinspain