Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Mas Gouchos!
They go at a full gallop towards a tiny ring not much bigger than a wedding ring and try to catch it on the end of a stick ths size of a pencil! all at FULL SPEED.Really close to where we were stitting never seen very fast horses very close before. If they get the ring they give it to a girl of their choice and exchange kisses. Maureen, of course, was one of the chosen.
The other skills involved two gouchos, each, leading a group of 12 or so horses around and never confusing their horses with the other goucho's horses. The horses all follow the "godmother" horse - who wears a bell round it's neck. When they want to change horses they tie the godmother's back legs together and she does not even try to move and they all stand dead still behind her.
They also played musical chairs - wherein when a bell rang they had to jump off the horse and grab a seat.
Sorry the pictures are library but I can't download anthing into this "work" computer of M's.
She is off on a tour of local hospitals today. I am going on a tour of leather jackets.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Buenos Dias Buenos Aires
Beautiful city and it really does have, as the name suggests, good air.
Drove 100 Km north today and actually rode a horse among cattle on an Estancia. Even better than pony trekking in Wales. Saw gauchos - the traditional horse rider rancher trader of Argentina centuries ago.
Tons of huge grilled steaks at every meal and good Malbec (red wine)
Had an unexpected 24 hour overlay in Washington DC because of some imaginary snow somewhere but it has been in the 30's C all the time here.
One tango show down and more to go. Have discovered Carlos Gardel - a forerunner of Astor Piazzola (my long time tango favorite) by 50 years or so with wonderful tango music. Some of it sung. An Argentine composer won oscars for both Brokeback Mountain and Babel apparently.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Tim and Katherine
I think she looks like her dad!I am one of the few who never said that about Tim!
What a gorgeous baby and she already knows how to sleep!
Good Moring and Goodbye
Do you think I could make a living as a flower arranger?
Here are the flatirons this morning taken from the roof of the house. More snow tonight but we will be in Argentina tonight. A week there and then a week paddling up the Amazon then home on March 13th
Unfortunately I have lost a battle and M is planning to commence rebuilding the house soon after we return.
New bathrooms, new floors, new kitchen. Those planning to visit might want to re-think - or bring tents or wait till it's over. They say six months work I say "yea right!"
Will keep in touch as much as I can from the southern hemisphere.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
From Underneath!
That's how pineapples grow - not in Colorado but where they DO grow - in this case Malaysia! - still grazing on THOSE photos!I would like to show you photos of Katherine Poppy - the latest Millard but they re not available to me yet.
At birth she weighed 8.5 pounds and mother, baby, brother and husband are all doing fine!
I am frantically trying to get everything ship-shape before leaving, for South America on Friday and hoping not to return to leaks and bursts this time.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Let it be known throughout the land
That Katherine Millard (maybe with a middle name and spelt differently) was born unto Ben and Elaine today February 18, 2007 thereby breaking the endless run of boys in our lives.Can't wait to meet her!
Clever girl Elaine good luck and all the love in the world to you, Tim, baby and Ben
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Appeal!
William (little) when you constructed a family tree, years ago at Shustoke School, you discovered the famous chemist in your lineage I think. Back me up here if you can!I need forgiveness from my son for not teaching him to repair burst pipes - I must have fixed a lot at Shustoke when we first (stupidly) tried to reinstate the "laundry" for its original purpose and piped hot water from the kitchen. the pipe used to burst every time there was a frost.
Problem is in these days of soldered joint you can't get the water out of the pipe sometimes so you cant raise the temperature high enough to melt the solder. Old style compression fittings were easier and sometimes they just slipped off and could be replaced (with a new ferrule or olive as the Brits call it)
As to plastic pipes they are the worst of all and split even without frost. I had the 50mm main to the house break in California and the lost water cost me $250.
It is so interesting the different forms of comment one gets from a blog. Sometimes direct and everybody sees it - often wishing they couldn't see it.
Sometimes people email me privately and support me and condemn other commentees
Sometimes I know people read the blog but never comment - like Shira my hairdresser and Cassie my (step) niece.
I love you all. We are all looking in Elaine's direction - to Oxford - seat of learning and childbirth.
If You Thought THAT One Looked Scary!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Is it a bird?
No its a plant 
Birds are for next time - along with butterflies
Balmain Bugs
As the ozzies call them or Morton Bay Bugs as they were called in this KL restaurant. They are small lobster type things and wonderfully tender. They came in the Mason Jar (Kilner Jar to the Brits!) with a lovely broth.On the Helium thing I believe you can fractionally distil liquid air to get the various inert gases. I feel it only fair to point out that Gill's reference to Noble gases is somewhat esoteric since not everyone knows that she is called Gill Noble (since she divorced me!) hence her joke about the ancient uncle. I believe Gill is actually related to Priestley (the chemist not JB) I think of the phlogiston theory fame.
I have comments from people by email who are always saying how friendly G sounds and "doesn't her husband mind her taling to you like that or doesn't Maureen mind? Fact is, I suspect they don't even know let alone care!
Some things don't change!
Burst pipes for instance!I fixed four of them today. Not sure if I left the heat on too low or if there was a power outage (power cut for the English!)
Fortunately not much damage as it was in the pool room.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Back (at the front) in Action
In Langkawi the monkeys spread all over the face of the hotel building at the slightest sign of motion. We were not supposed to feed them but some people did. There were grey ones like this and black ones with white around the eyes like pandas.There were crab-eating monkeys too, near the rivers lifting stones to look underneath them for their breakfast.
One of the more photogenic residents of Kuala Lumpur bird park.
The main reason for my absence was that I have been reading the many many comments on my watch picture blog which seem to be heading towards inter-necine violence!
By "esoteric" I just meant that only a few of my readers would likely understand the comment about Helium. There is not much helium in the atmosphere so it is not a problem for watches unless you are a diver.
Divers going deeper than 600 feet (200 meters) have to breathe a mixture of helium and oxygen instead of the usual mix of nitrogen and oxygen (which we call air) because the nitrogen boils as they come up from the depths and causes "the bends"
Helium is a much smaller molecule than nitrogen and can diffuse through the gaskets of waterproof watches and cause enough pressure to push the glass out of the watch.
So Omega have this little release valve to let the gas out. Ben has an omega with such a valve and probably understands the whole thing better than I do. William is a watch freak like me and might understand it too.
I suppose their science-teacher mother might understand it too especially since her husband is a diver. Incidentally I presume when they are breathing Helium they have squeeky voices - I once saw someone breathe helium/oxygen and play wind instruments and they too produced a higher pitch. The pitch depends on the velocity of sound within the gas which is vibrating to produce the sound.
I will try to keep future comments more exoteric!
Meanwhile I have several burst pipes to deal with here at the front in Boulder before leaving again next week.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Lankawi - Indonesia
Life was hard here all day! - slihtly to the right of what you can see is a view of an uninhabited part of Thailand.
Walk through a real rainforest with real monkeys to the beach!
The view through the keyhole!Helium Anyone?
Sorry that is a very esoteric joke for the Omega owners of the world.
Sometimes dreams come true.
Greetings from Lankawi - a tropical paradise in Malaysia.
I will try to show you pictures soon.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Another Morning Mile
The only things that change are the shape and temperature of the pool.
This one is lovely and warm and triangular. I just did 100 lengths - about 2,000 meters I think.
Durian fruit was mentioned by Gill in a comment - I first tasted it a long time ago in London and did not like it actually at the Thai Restaurant we took everyone to after William's graduation - Bahn Thai in Soho.
Rambutan, Dragon Fruit, Jackfruit, papaya, longan (90% seed with a thin layer of sweet slime on it!) Mangosteen are all nice.
The best local delicacys, though, are the watch shops!
Off to Penang tomorrow and then Langkawi. Temperatures in Boulder, I hear, are MINUS 17 today.
Just finished Mark Hadden's new book " a spot of bother" - his last book "the curious incident of the dog on the night time" was brilliant I thought. Written in the voice of a highly intelligent, autistic child. This one was a newly retired old man. I was going to recommend it to Elaine but the homosexual details were a bit vivid for me so I just mention it.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
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