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| Donaukanal |
Antonio the painter is now part of the family. He
had some of my key lime pie yesterday and I am thinking of getting him to give
me Spanish lessons. He comes from Mexico.
Today he is perched on a very high ladder doing the
outer reaches of the stairwell ceiling.
I love to watch him paint. He can make straight
lines with a brush – does not end the day covered in paint – does not drop
paint covered brushes onto the carpet - and has never stepped into a paint tin
when getting off his ladder.
Watching him has convinced me that I should never
paint again.
I am going to start learning Spanish because we are
thinking that this year at Christmas we will go to South America – possibly
Argentina.
There are still cold places we should see but after
the Polar Vortex we are taking a break from blizzards.
We have received a notice from the Department of
Homeland Security that we must attend an interview so that they can ‘capture
our biometrics.’
This is the next step in the excruciating process
of being allowed to stay here. The good news is that if we pass our biometrics
examination – and eventually get green cards - we will be eligible to enroll
for the TSA Known Traveler program.
This would mean that would not have to through all
of the ghastliness involved in getting out of and into the USA. Sure it would
still be horrifying – but this would cut out the immigration step which –
depending upon the time and the airport – can take hours. Cate’s record in
Washington is three hours.
This is why they don’t allow people to have guns in
airports.
Yes indeed, Big Daddy has a Global Entry and he put me in for the TSA pre-check back when it was in it's infancy. It is wonderful. It is worth any amount of money to limit your time with that crowd.
ReplyDeleteThere was a teleBision sit-com caLLed Murphy Brown that had a painter like yours.
ReplyDeleteI semi-constantly and slowly learn Spanish by osmosis, which I am far from listening fluency. I just now realized I am an ESL instructor to Cooper, or maybe I am his student in Whine As A Second Language.
ReplyDeleteWhile making coffee I laughed when I realized I should caLL Cooper's voice Canine Whine. It doesn't bother me in the least, but it can irritate Tamie and my sons.
ReplyDeletefmcgmccllc: I certainly agree. I remember when traveling used to be fun.
ReplyDeleteesb: I remember it well!
esb: Apart from Antonio - I have not met any Spanish speakers in Indy - so will have to take lessons. Our cats originally meowed in German but now have an American accent - with of course an Australian twang.