Summary of my trip

I am very grateful tho those of you who sent me such supportive messages regarding my grandfather's death.

I'd like now to comment that, in order to visit my family, I keep going back to the same cities over and over: Frankfurt and Madrid. Do I ever get tired of those two cities? Nope! There's always something new going on. I don't feel like writing extensively about all that I did, but here's a brief table with pictures included:

	This whas a temporary exhibit in the Palmengartenin Frankfurt.
	Another temporary exhibit: Picasso and the Theathre in the Schirn Museum in Frankfurt.
	This is the Crystal Palace located in the Retiro Gardens in Madrid. This park is not far from where my in-laws live and I always return for a walk. It is a very peaceful place.
	Another temporary exhibit with more than 130 works by M.C. Escher, in the Centro de Arte Canal in Madrid. A very complete exhibit and entertaining visit. I can't believe they don't have a website. I'm linking instead to an article in the press.
	These looms belong to the Real Fábrica de Tapices, which more or less translates as the Royal Tapestry Factory. This is a wonderful place to visit, especially if you're in love with handmade textiles.
	This is the St. Paul Church in Frankfurt, which was the seat of the first German Parliament. It was almost destroyed during the war. I'd been there before but my husband hadn't.
	A temporary exhibit called "The Painter's Garden" in the Städel Museum, Frankfurt.

There is, of course, so much more that we did that is not included in this table. For example, we visited my sister in law who now lives near Benidorm (she used to live in Guatemala). Also, we spent a lot of time playing with our niece and nephew, and that included sliding down a snowy slope in the Taunus near Frankfurt.

My grandfather

He had a hard life. His parents migrated to the US when he was a very young child. His mother died in Brooklyn when he was nine years old. His father brought him back to  Mexico, only to die a few years later. By the age of thirteen, my grandfather was an orphan with no one to take care of him. Out of pity, a local bishop in the state of Veracruz took him in and tried to give him an education. The Cristero revolution made him flee to Mexico City, where he strived to make a living, mostly as a salesman. He seldom spoke about his past, or about anything else. In spite of his detachment, he was a kind man. He passed away this Saturday, while I was still in Germany.



He will be missed.

Meeting new people

I'm knitless in Madrid, which is normal because I'd rather not bring my knitting whenever I'm traveling. Nevertheless, I went yesterday to a knitting group that gets together in Madrid once a month. I hadn't bothered to check if they were going to meet while I was here, but I had a sudden inspiration and checked their website yesterday, only to discover that they were meeting that same evening. I didn't know any of the members of this group. I had exchanged comments and messages with Urraca in the past, but I knew she didn't live in Madrid anymore. I hesitated, but decided I had nothing to lose and nothing else to do, so there I went. There were about eleven people, all of them very kind and cheerful. Sadly, I cannot remember all their names, but I befriended Marida, Cannela and Alex, who were sitting near me. Thanks to their projects, identifying their blogs was not that hard. I also met Lía, who is setting up her internet business with a very soft alpaca and merino mix. Go check her website, her colors are lovely. I could't resist the softness of the yarn and bought two skeins in different shades of blue. I pulled the pictures from her website because we still don't have a camera.

              

Once more, I could confirm that my knitting method is very unusual, whether here or in the US. I made a small demonstration with Marida's scarf and a swatch from Cannela. Both agreed that it's a fast way to knit but it takes more than one evening to get the hang of it. This was a very positive experience. It's wonderful when you can talk about your hobby in your own language and I'm very glad I went.

A different topic

I try to stick to knitting when it comes to this blog. So first, here's a sock and a half:



I've been meaning to write about something else for some time. Up until recently, whenever someone asked me if I had kids I would say: "not yet", and if they asked me if I was going to have any I would say: "probably". But the truth is, it is very likely that I will never have any biological kids, and little by little I've been coming to terms with this. The process is a little like coming out of the closet in that you have to let people know in order to avoid awkward situations. Since I'm telling my friends and relatives, I thought I should also say something here.

I'm going on a long trip soon, visiting family and friends (one of them 25 weeks pregnant). I'm looking forward to it, because I will be with people I love dearly but I'm also terrified about having to talk about my infertility. We'll be away for a total of three weeks. I sent my pooch back to Mexico with my parents because he can't come with us, and I don't think he can stay three weeks with people he doesn't know well, considering his hunger strike during our Vegas trip.



I miss him already. Luckily, my first stop will be visiting his mom, who happens to live with my sister. I'll soon have another fluffy white pooch to cuddle, even if only temporarily. Meanwhile, I'll go ask my neighbor if I can walk her doggy.

If I stop posting for a time rest assured that it will just be due to a crazy travel schedule, and that I'm certainly coming back to my knitting and my blogging about it.

Happy New Year!

I can't believe time went by so quickly. I'm having a great time with my parents doing things and visiting places nearby that I was not aware of, even if I've been living here for more than a year. Of course, there hasn't been much knitting, but I did manage to finish a sock and start the second one.



I also have a picture of my neighbor's doggie wearing her new blue sweater:


Isn't she sweet? I've taken her for a walk with her sweater on and it stays in place at all times, even after she shakes all over.Thank you for all the nice birthday and Christmas wishes. I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays as much as I did.