¡Global Nada!

I am sure you are tired of all the Coco pictures but he was just so stinkin cute. A very lucky family adopted him and now he lives in Madrid with 3 kids over the age of 12 and two parents. I am sure he is very loved and that he is providing heaps of entertainment for the whole family.

This is how Coco let us know he needed to go out for a walk.

He became quite the toy hoarder.

This orchid was given to Quinn and I from our friends Sam and Austin after Ethan died. It blooms beautifully every year around October or November and the flowers last well into the spring. This will be a hard plant to leave in Europe when we move.

Meanwhile, Quinn and I went to another paint night. These are always a good time. This one was a pastoral scene which ended up being significantly more difficult than I expected.

Then we went to the Seabee ball. The Seabees (CBs) are the Navy Construction Battalion and every year they celebrate their anniversary with a formal ball. I had one week notice to find a ball gown. Turns out many people are willing to lend out gowns. I had 6 to choose from. Thanks to Claire for the gown and Iria for the shoes. Also a big thanks to my make up and hair artist, Christina who is pictured below.

Here is one of my pottery projects I have been working on for a while. This started as a way to test out different glazes on little bowls but I wanted to make it into something more fun so I created a fish. Quinn helped me attach them all together with wire and then demonstrated the appropriate way to display a prize fish. It is a gift for my mom.

After Coco left we immediately took in Kino, his brother. Usually, I like a few weeks between fosters but this little guy really needed a bit of rehab before he went to his new family. He was so scared of everything. Luckily someone wanted to adopt him right away so we didn't end up getting as much time as we normally like to allow him to become super comfortable before he left, but he definitely made some gains. He was very cuddly, soft and cute but he was terrified of life. Walking him on the leash was quite the feat. Now he lives with 3 dogs who are all 11 years old, a chihuahua, a lab, and a medium sized mixed dog. He is the baby and I expect he will be treated like the previous baby that he is.

We packed up the crew (Quinn, Coco and I) and we cruised off to Portugal for a little 3-day weekend adventure. We have been hearing about Silves for quite a while now because our friends named their son after the town and we were eager to explore it. We stopped at our favorite roadside Portuguese lunch spot on the way out there. Yes, we have a favorite roadside lunch spot in Portugal. Everyone who lives in Rota and travels to Portugal has their favorites.

We happened to visit during their orange festival and it was fun to see all of the decorations and stroll through the stands in the indoor market set up for the event.

This town has historical sites, a beautiful river walk, gorgeous hill top views and hiking trails, and also many, many delicious restaurants. It makes for a perfect little weekend adventure and the price was right for a winter trip. Our little apartment had a rooftop garden and with the help of some wool sweaters and a little blanket we were able to enjoy the rooftop until after sundown.

The Algarve is known for its cork. It is common to see many trees that have been harvested. It is also common to see storks. We had one particular stork that was looking down at us, and our friend used AI to capture the feeling that the picture doesn’t quite convey.

Coco is really fast for his relatively minuscule size. We got to see him speeding along the hiking trails. He really came out of his shell on this trip.

He was also quite the traveler, he slept the whole way there and back. He cruised along the city streets and he demanded to sit behind me in all of my chairs while we ate dinner. So all in all a successful little trip.

Then when we got back, we had a visit from our friend David! We know him from our time in Italy and he is one of Quinn's cycling buddies. Quinn and him turned right around and they went on a trip back to Portugal to see the Tour de Algarve. I stayed home because it was going to be a mostly bike filled weekend and I have had my fill of bike races for a while. I will let Quinn add some commentary here.

Quinn’s inputs:
I have been to a number of major cycling events, quite a few of them with this same travel partner. He is quite easy to get along with and always happy if he is riding or watching others ride bikes, and this particular weekend we left the bikes behind. The Tour of the Algarve is a smaller, early season race. All of the major pro teams are represented, and there are some big named riders here. That said, it is one of the most low-key races I have seen, and it was really easy to get right up on the team buses, and there wasn’t any competition to get a good position at the start or finish. We caught the start of a time trial stage, which was great, because we watched rider after rider rip around the first couple of corners while descending at high speed. I threw in a pic of one of the follow cars cutting the corner tight. It’s hard to get a sense of the speed they are hitting these corners. I also saw one of my favorites, Wout Van Aert getting warmed up and he pulled up to greet his family right behind me. Bonus: check out that cameraman on the platform of 4 tables zip tied together.

I let Quinn go to the shelter without me and of course, what does he come home with? A chihuahua. This was not the most convenient timing since we were heading to Naples for a work trip for Quinn but luckily we have some friends who like to back up foster so they took Coco for the week while we scampered about Naples and Sorrento.

Look at this guy! He was just the cutest. He weighed about 4 pounds and started out as a terrified little mush. He just cuddled under blankets and hardly even moved. As he came out of his shell, he became a sock thief, beach explorer, and ballerina on his back legs. He was just really a ball of laughs and such a good little pup. He was only 10 months old and was already house trained and learning tricks.

Quinn had a week long training in Naples and I went along for the FOOD!!!!!!!!!!! (Quinn’s note: notice she never says she is coming along for me?? :/)

We went on some tours with his colleagues and also went in the underground of Naples including the cisterns. It has a very interesting history and I greatly enjoyed the tour, except for the part where we squeezed through a tiny slot connection between two cistern and I freaked out and made everyone back out so I could go a different way. Oopsie. Claustrophobia hit hard!

After the work portion was finished, we tacked on some leave and took a ferry to Sorrento where we spent the next few days. We also took a ferry to Capri. We went to Capri on our first trip out of the USA to Italy back in 2006. Almost 20 years ago. WOW.

You know those reels and memes where they show how the woman takes a picture of the man and then how he takes a picture of her? Well here is my example. Apparently, Quinn is a supermodel and I hold my body super awkwardly as soon as he points the camera at me. After this we got lost in this lemon orchard and thank goodness the owner found us and told us how to get on the right path. We all had a very big laugh. Next time you see us, ask to hear this story.

More flowers, food, and scenery pictures.

Yeees, those are different bowls of seafood pasta, and both were delicious.

This was the walking day in Capri. I am guessing at least half of these steps were stairs. That island is no joke.

Another fun trip to Italy in the books. Also, next time I am booking a bed and breakfast, remind me that those are not my favorite. No matter how nice they are, it is just weird eating in someone's living room or kitchen when they are just on the other side of the wall eating their breakfast. I feel like I am intruding. It just feels off to me.

Who wouldn't want to come home to this? Coco is awesome.

We were so lucky to have a couple of different visitors this winter. Our friend Kepa from Hawaii came to visit and he and I had some adventures in the local area. We got the best pictures on our adventure to Cadiz. We took a nice stroll of the fort and around the lighthouse and enjoyed some tapas and drinks with a water view. I think Kepa enjoyed the beach bar at the end of the paseo as much as I do. We had a relaxing visit this time, unusual for us because typically we are off hiking, climbing or swimming. Crazy Kepa did get in the water but winter swimming is not for me. Apparently on this visit we didn't get a picture of the three of us but Quinn was here.

Next up Bernd and Doris! They were our neighbors for 5 years in Germany and we haven't seen them in about 3 years, since we went to the wedding of their middle son. They were on a journey through Spain and Portugal in their camper and made a stop to come and see us! It was so fun catching up with them again and showing them our little beach town. Bernd was excited to eat all the Spanish food and Doris was happy to take in the sun and ocean breeze.

They also made the trip out to the dog shelter to help us volunteer and walk dogs as well as feed the donkeys.

Proudly showing off their first grandbaby! You can travel with a framed photo when you have an RV. Felix enjoyed the warm patio sun.

Bernd and Doris always made us feel so welcome in their home we were so happy to have a chance to welcome them into ours.

Fall was filled with warm days, volunteering at the dog shelter, doing ceramics and basically just being in our little routine. It feels good to just live the rhythm of life without too many plans.

I really can't say enough about Merche and David and their commitment to the abandoned animals of our community. These two have hearts of gold, endless energy and exude joy. Volunteering with them has become a weekly event I look forward to.

We also welcomed a new little foster Copito "Piti" into our home. Oh boy was she a cutie pie and a challenge. She had a lot of fears, didn't do stairs, didn't know how to walk on a leash and couldn't really figure out the point of going on walks. She was the queen of butt drops when she didn't want to do something and she ruled the roost around here. Many different families fell through until we found the perfect one for her. It was HARD giving her up. We really got attached to her stubborn, silly little self.

We also did some little hobby projects like making a crap ton of soap. Best soaping view ever.

And I got the fun experience of going to my ceramic school holiday party in Jerez, in the heart of Flamenco district where people burst into song as we chatted and enjoyed each other's company. Spain is such a unique place to live.

My pottery teacher Heyssel and I having a fun time.

A project for Quinner. He loves his new mug. This is before it was fired.

We heard from a friend about a group participating in a period wedding with costumes to match. We got the drop on their departure location and managed to pass by as they were gathering. It was fun to see everyone's creativity. A local seamstress made many of the outfits.

I am playing catch up here with the blog. This might be the most far behind I have been. I think this wedding happened in November. Whoopsie.