Going to Granada!

This is a picture of the Hotel Plaza Nueva, where I will be staying while visiting MJ in Granada! I just made the reservation for four nights, so this really seems like it is going to happen! MJ suggested this hotel as it is on this plaza and is close to her school IES. We are also going to stay in Seville and Madrid; I am excited that concrete plans are finally being made!

Techno-Travails

I experienced the joy of seeing my grandbaby Avery with Skype yesterday, but I/we continue to encounter difficulties in getting SOUND.

Before MJ left for Spain, she installed Skype on both our computers so that she could see/talk with CB and me while she is gone. On Thursday morning she delighted us by calling: It was wonderful to see her and hear her voice! Using the webcam she and her sister gave their dad for Christmas, we got it to relay the video of CB and me, BUT we never were able to turn on the microphone.

Here is a plea for help: How do you turn off the "muted" microphone? On the computer screen, we see a red picture of a microphone with a slash through it. No matter how we click on it, we cannot UN-mute it. So far we have not discovered how to do this with searches on the internet either.

Finally today I remembered the earphones with microphone that MJ's older sister AE gave me when she went to Korea. Maybe that will work if and when MJ and I connect again. The 7-hour difference and our activities make it difficult to be on the computer at the same time.

However, she just called, and the headphones work!! We'll talk in a little while. Yay!

Waiting

They Are Waiting (in Mesa, AZ)

This sculpture by Nnamdi Okonkwo of Orem, Utah portrays the emotions associated with waiting. The figures do not represent particular people, but humanity. The artist chose women because he likes the fluid lines and the simple, elegant shapes embodied in the female form. In the arrangement of these large, round shapes he finds his ideal of order, balance and beauty.

For more information on this much-commented-on sculpture, please click HERE.

I am waiting for MJ to call or email about her arrival in Spain. She is probably asleep--there, I hope.

~~I waited, but not in vain, because MJ emailed and posted on her blog. She arrived safely and has met some nice people who are also in the IES program. Orientation classes start on Wednesday morning for the 100+ students in this program.

TEXAS --> SPAIN!

Bored Cisco and Maisie, with MJ gone.

Today was the long-awaited day for youngest daughter MJ to leave for Spain. She left Corpus Christi this afternoon, changed planes in Dallas and is now flying to London. There, she will transfer to another plane that will take her to Malaga, Spain!

Last night MJ was "bundling" clothes in her suitcase.

Maisie is kissing MJ goodbye, while Cisco looks on.

After checking in at the gate, MJ is taking her suitcase to security.