Dennis Hollingsworth

Passing Storms

Thanks for the messages on the blog and otherwise guys. I promise to reply to everyone once I get the internet hooked up at the house. Right now, it?s a furtive drop into the internet cafes whereever I can find them.

Weather report: Low pressure zones passing to the North and South of us shot a lot of cold nasty weather by. Temps dropped to the low fifties but now the sky?s blue and we are moving upwards of sixty. There was not as much rain as before, but alot of wind and great stormy surf. It was a good time to watch the sea break on the rocks. The heavy winter coats are back in the closet and I expect them to stay there until October.

Too bad that Tomio & Naomi missed a stay here in Tossa, their schedule was too tight and they had to leave Barcelona for Paris a day after I discovered his message on this blog. Although our house?s accomodations here in Tossa is not much to compete with their room at the Gran Hotel Havana smack in the middle of Barcelona. We were able to talk on the phone and I could hear their amazement at the wonders of Gaudi.

Living here in Tossa sans auto leaves us with the option of dropping into Barcelona for a day trip via autobus at eight Euros each way. For friends visiting us, I?d recommend that a day trip is enough as the bus drops you off at the North terminal which is to the East of the old city center, plenty close to walk to whereever you want to go. I?ll be interested to hear John Chappel?s (Ibrian Notes, in the soup of links to your left) advice about the night life action in Barcelona. But Tossa is pretty nice... pretty too, and a good respite from a pedestrian day in BCN.

The bus thing is a bummer for going to the art openings, everything opens around seventhirty for a couple of hours and I imagine that if we meet the right people, we?d want to hang out for the late night action. The last bus leaves at nine-ish, which leaves me with a geeky feeling, but whatever. A car won?t be an option until the exchange rates gets closer to parity (late summer, according to the BBC, but what do they know).

Yesterday was the first work in preparing the first panel for painting. I?ve glued the first linen to the panel and wrestled with a pathetic stapler (grapadora), tossing it into trash in the process. I miss my tools stateside... but I?ve got to adjust to the reality here. I?m also testing the latex prep with several swatches, which I should finish today. The rest of the afternoon is going to be about work on paper, tiny sizes prepped long ago, I have to wait until our boxes yet arrive (other studio gear) from the March 15th shipment from Houston.

Last night, I had dinner with Joan, Rosa and family (Anna, Josep and the kids Pau and Marta). Delicious food, two kinds of tortillas, peas and ham and pemientos, pan Catalan, salad, strawberries (fresas) and coffee and wine. Armed with my pocket Franklin Larousse dictionary, it was hours of brain wracking Espa?ol... fun and gatifying (these people are so generous and loving), but my brain throbbed as I walked home near midnight. Mi espa?ol is mas de menos en lat ma?ana y menos de mas en la noche.