Merry Christmas!

Happy Halloween-a little after the fact!

Ivy's Nemesis

There are about 20 large trees on the property where we live and they are full of squirrels. Ivy would like to get hold of at least one of them! She spends her days in front of the sliding glass door or on a chair in the eating nook watching the squirrels. The squirrels know she is there and I honestly believe at least one of them enjoys teasing her. This squirrel sits on the patio swing or suns himself on the privacy fence around the patio. The picture on the bottom was taken after I watched him sleep in the sun for several minutes. He finally woke up (top picture) and proceeded to the lamp post to sit and munch on some flowers in a pot. All the while, Ivy is inside whining and running from window to window to try to find a way out. At least it gives her something to do!

Ivy and I leave tomorrow for a little trip north. We hope to visit family and friends in Ohio as well as visit Iris (a friend who was in Spain with me) in Detroit, maybe a cousin in Maryland, and my kids in New York City. We'll see how tired of traveling we get. I am beginning my quest for a spot to settle down come June when the Johnson's return to their home and I move on. This decision is proving to be very difficult! Please pray for me in the weeks ahead. I send you all my greetings and love!

Ivy's Agility Class Video

This is a video of our 5th class and our first introduction to jumps set up in a zig-zag. We had some better runs than this one but this is the only one I got on film.

My Little Dog, Ivy, and Woofstock

This has been such a busy week. Ivy and I had our last class in Introductory Agility and are going to go to the Intermediate class next week. I had yoga, went to the Singles Bible Study and today, Saturday, we spent the better part of the day at the county park at an event called Woofstock.  It is an event designed for dogs and their owners and benefits the Humane Society. There were about 15,000 people there with their dogs. Ivy was a little overwhelmed! They had booths with free samples of dog food, treats, and merchandise. There were activities like a Fun Run, sheep herding, agility and costume contests. We did the agility and the lady overseeing it asked us to come to the Wichita Dog Training classes as she felt Ivy has some talent! We're discovered!!! As for Ivy, she likes nothing better than trying to get at the squirrels right here in our own yard. There are about 20 trees in the yard and most are huge. The squirrels climb up one and jump to the other. This confounds Ivy no end. Tomorrow is Sunday and I'm planning on visiting the Iglesia de Cristo, a Spanish-speaking congregation affiliated with Central Church of Christ. It's been a good and full week!

Sounds Great to Me!

Well, I wanted to embed a video from MSNBC about very small houses but I never could get it to work. Any advice? I put the web address on my comment if you want to see the video. It isn't really that earthshaking.

Old Friends

I just got to visit with old friends while traveling to California for Matt's wedding. I saw Beth's high school friend, Shannon Nason and his wife in Santa Monica and the Jackson Family (fellow workers from Spain) at Lake Arrowhead. I also got to see many people from John Paul's family which was nice. I haven't seen any of them since our divorce. It was also great to see so many of Matt's friends from high school and college. Finally, it was fantastic meeting Matt's wife, Kelli's family, Mark and Patti Seley and their daughter Colette. They are from Bellevue, Washington and actually knew Matt before he graduated from high school!

To the Johnsons, with love

My Welcome Home

I have been humbled by the welcome home my family has given me. The day I returned, Matt and Kelli sent a fresh fruit bouquet to welcome me back. It was ten times better than flowers, with the most delicious fresh fruit that included chocolate covered apple wedges! Matt called to welcome me, I got to see Jason and Allison and the babies, and  I have talked to my dad, sister and youngest son. Brandon and Beth have hosted me in their home for TWO weeks, and friends have written to say hello. Thanks, everyone, for a wonderful homecoming!

Too busy to post-enjoying babies!

   Levi (age 4)        Zeke (12 months)   Mom, Allison  (ageless)

Irish Music!

Final night in Westport

We enjoyed our final night in Westport at Hoban's Pub, a spot

frequented by the locals. The traditional Irish music

was a treat and the crowd was totally into the experience.

I have decided that I have finally found "my people!"

Tomorrow we take the 7:15 AM bus to Galway,

the 10:40 bus to Shannon,

the 14:40 plane to Glasgow, Scotland,

the first available train to Edinburgh and

a tram to our hotel.

We'll be scouting Edinburgh for Ian, who wants to

visit Scotland someday!

One Check Off My Bucket List!

Croagh Patrick

We did one of the hardest hikes we've ever done! We climbed Croagh Patrick!!! We were the only ones of our group who made it to the top. Here we are sitting behind the church that is built at the top of the mountain.

Beautiful Ireland!

We went on our first Ireland walk today in Galway County. Beth and I are standing by Killary Fjord, the only fjord in Ireland. We walked over the grounds of the Kylemore Abbey before setting out on a 7 mile hike around the south side of the fjord. It was beautiful pasture land with free-roaming black-faced Connemara sheep,  ruins of old houses and dry stone fences. Fishing for salmon and sea trout and raising mussels are all very important to the economy today. The trail we walked is called the famine trail. So many people were starving during the potato famine but Queen Victoria would not allow food to be given away. It had to be earned. The men who were healthy enough to work made a stone embankment so that a path could be created across the sides of the mountain. At the end of the day they were given a bowl of watery soup for their pay. No money was given to them.

Red Light District

Amsterdam is famous for it's so-called Red Light District.

You aren't even supposed to take pictures. 

Well, I did take a picture of the Red Light and I don't really know what all the fuss is about.

Here it is...

A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

A picture can be worth a thousand words...

                    ...or even just one big long one!         Chew on that...

The Subtleties of Language

Amsterdam:

 You've all been to a "Stop and Go" for a soft drink or some chips, right? The Eindhoven Airport, Netherlands has a similar shop called the "Take it...and Leave."

Why does that sound so much more hostile than 'stop and go'? The subtleties of language are what make language study so difficult. Remind me to tell you about a favorite missionary game, "My worst language bloopers." It's really funny!

Exploring with Merry & Stephanie

     Yesterday I bid farewell to one of my favorite spots in Spain. It is just an hour from Camarma and I often take others there for refreshment and renewal. This time I stopped at another little town which I had never been to, so it was fun to get to complete that desire. First we stopped at La Cabrera, the town I had not been to. It is nestled in a little valley with the Rio Dulce (Sweet River) running through the town. They have diverted the water in one area to make a side stream and have a trout 'criadera' or nursery.

     Next we went to my favorite little town, Pelegrina. It is situated on a hill overlooking a beautiful valley. The ruins of a 12th century castle stand guard over the village. There are sometimes sheep grazing the hills, the fields are full of wild flowers in the spring and early summer, and on a hidden trail you can walk down to a little glen where a farmer has cherry and apple trees, a stream and the most beautiful vegetable garden I have ever seen. I want to live there!

     We drove on about 8 kilometers to Siguenza, a medieval town with quite a history. They were having a medieval faire which was an unexpected treat. We ate from the various stands and tried everything from sausages to crepes! Yeah, I feel a little queasy today.

     Finally we drove through the countryside to Medinaceli, another small medieval village where we took pictures of ourselves by a 2nd century Roman arch, an Arab arch from the days the Moors ruled this part of Spain, and saw Roman mosaics from the first century. We bought candy, bread and sweet butter, something this area is famous for. (I'll take any excuse to buy butter.) We had such a wonderful time, met some very friendly villagers, and felt like we had spent a 5 star day! That is saying a lot since Merry has lived in Spain for 30 years and Stephanie has been here for 4 or 5 years. (By the way, Merry is from Bothell for those of you who know the PNW and she is an expert on Spanish history. A great travel companion! Stephanie is a dear friend and is from Boulder, Colorado.)

Picnic at La Pedriza with TEAM

Yesterday I was included in the TEAM mission groups' picnic to one of my favorite local spots. I thought I'd include a couple of pictures but there are a few more at my Picasa site: http://picasaweb.google.com/bisbell if you'd like to see more. We had a great time talking, eating and enjoying the refreshingly cool water in the stream. So cold!

Centering-Where I'm Headed

Hi from Spain! 

     This is to answer the question many of you have asked me, "What are you going to do now?"

Well, I have decided to set up house in Wichita, Kansas. (Seeing green from envy?) Fellow missions workers here in Spain want someone in their home while they are here next school year. I currently have no home. It was a match made in heaven! So, my new home for the coming months of September through May will be in the CENTER of the country. This is good because my family is so spread out over the United States I cannot possibly be near everyone. By living in Wichita I will be fairly equidistant from all of them. Depending on whether you are a glass half-full or a glass half-empty person; it will either be close to everyone or far away from everyone!

Here are some "distance from Wichita" stats:

Bay City, TX (Dad, sister)                           680 miles          10 hrs 40 min

Woodsfield, OH (near cousins)                  977 miles          15 hrs 11 min

Cleveland, OH (aunt, uncle, cousin)          992 miles          15 hrs 15 min

New York, NY (kids & grandsons)          1,398 miles          22 hrs

Santa Monica, CA (kids)                           1,504 miles          21 hrs 21 min

Bellevue, WA (Ian, sister)                        1,834 miles          26 hours

Frankly, now that I look at it, it's a little depressing. (Maybe I shouldn't have looked up those stats.) However, when I think of Wichita I think STEAK, clean environment, good people and a highly rated city in which to live. So I'm looking forward to the experience and to the new people I will meet. And, I will get to continue some friendships I have made here in Spain. Besides, I love people from the Midwest. (I sorta' am one, yea Beautiful Ohio!)

The plus side is that if I drive to see family and you live on one of those routes, I will stop and say hello. Well, that's a plus for me, at least. Hope to see you soon!

Summer Begins with VBS

Hi everyone! Summer has come to Spain and I spend most of the day sitting in my apartment in front of the fans. We don't have air conditioning here and there is a fine art to keeping your house cool; an art I have not mastered. It involves shutting all the blinds and windows to keep out the sun, which makes me feel like I'm in a cage. You can only really work physically at night or in the early morning-reading and television seem to be all I'm up for and I don't even really want to travel around Spain as it is so hot. I am a sissy from the Northwest!

Vacation Bible School was fun and we had several students from Baylor studying Spanish here in Madrid who helped during the morning sessions. They were a great bunch of kids and were very much appreciated. We all think we can speak Spanish until we actually have to talk to real Spaniards-then it all falls apart! Especially with kids. They are very hard to understand.

Here is a picture of my "pit crew" who were mostly Spanish speakers. Our theme was "The Incredible Race" and we had a great time! The other picture is of a little 3-year-old boy who made me cry! He reminded me so much of Ian at that age it broke my heart!

Other things going on besides a week of VBS:

* Tonight I am going to a flamenco concert in Madrid with a friend from school. I love flamenco music and dance so I wanted to go one more time before I have to leave Spain.

* Sunday night I went to a friend's house to watch the Eurocup 2008 futbol (soccer) finals where Spain was the victor over Germany 1-0. If you heard a loud noise on Sunday, it was the din of Spain rejoicing over the win! It was crazy!

* Last Saturday a friend and I spent a wonderful day in Madrid shopping for an upcoming missions conference. (Gifts for the speakers, etc.) I got in a few things for my grandsons, too. They are never far from my mind.

I have just a few more days in Spain and feel very sad about ending this wonderful experience. I have to focus on what lies ahead, and the joy of being home again with family and friends. I leave Madrid for a trip to Holland, Ireland and Scotland on July 15th. I return to Madrid July 29th to get my luggage and Ivy and then fly to New York to visit the kids there. After that, I have a blurry image of the future! A little unsettling but this is all I can handle for the moment.

Hope to hear from you and hope to see you soon!

Posting and Packing and Taking Care of my Ant Problem

Actually, I don't have an ant problem but SOMEONE does!

Greetings everyone and blessings on your heads. You are all so dear to me! Even though I am not a good writer or blogger-I think of you all often and treasure your love and friendship.

My former blog was a "paid" subscription with Apple which I was given when I bought my computer. Well, the subscription runs out in 5 days and I am not renewing as it is a little expensive. This is my new blog and my only email address is now bisbell@gmail.com. Don't write to me at the mac.com address.

Yes, I am packing to return to the states sometime in August. With every item I stow in a suitcase my heart feels a twinge and I wonder if I am doing the right thing. I have loved being here but I also miss my family and have some things I need to attend to before I decide what to do next. There is a possibility I will return to Spain but I not sure about that yet.

Yes, my alias "The Wrangler" continues to be appropriate as I don't yet know what I will be doing when I return. I only know what I WON'T be doing. I don't think I will be settling back in Duvall, Washington (at least for the moment) and I know I won't teach next year unless it is simply substitute teaching. I am taking a sabbatical while I search for my next adventure and maybe take a few fun classes. The summer here in Spain will be filled with teaching Vacation Bible School at Immanuel Baptist Church, working a little at jobs around the school, and taking some day trips to places I haven't seen around Madrid. I also need to finish packing, sell some stuff and paint my apartment for the next person. So you see I'll be busy. It isn't all work though as Beth and Brandon are treating me to a one-week, mother-daughter walking tour of the western shore of Ireland. They got the trip at a charity auction and I get to go if I can get myself up to the Emerald Isle. I am so excited, not only for the trip but to spend some time with Beth, my incredible daughter.

Ivy has had her hair cut short (to the skin) for the summer heat and to enhance the possibility of riding inside the plane with me when we go home. She looks much smaller without all that hair. She really enjoys our balcony now that summer is here and she can sit out there and warn people not to come into our apartment as they walk by. There are no less than eight Yorkshire terriers on our street and they and Ivy have a continuous conversation when they are all out. I am proud to say Ivy is quieter than the terriers, however she does get in her two cents.

For those of you who haven't heard, Matt is engaged to Kelli Seley, a wonderful girl from Bellevue who now works in the Los Angeles area. They will be married in Los Angeles on September 20. (Another reason I'm going home.) We are all so excited and happy to welcome her to the family. No one is complaining about a trip to LA either! Matt is still modeling but is phasing out as he develops his career in real estate. He works for Sotheby's International in Beverly Hills. Needless to say, I will not be buying a house from him! A little out of my price range.

Ian completed his internship at Oak Hills, San Antonio, Texas this summer and is now the youth minister at Eastside Christian Fellowship in the Seattle area. He is living with his dad, driving his dad's extra car, and hoping to save enough money to invest in a house. I am so proud of him, he is such a great man and committed Christian.

Jason and Allison have two boys now, Levi (4) and Zeke (almost 1) who are really the cutest and smartest kids ever. I'm not just saying that because they are my grandsons-they REALLY ARE! Allison and Jason are my heros as she has been working to get her master's degree and he has been an incredible support for her. Having two little ones, being youth ministers (yes, if he is a youth minister then his wife is, too), and going to school is a busier life than I can even imagine.

Brandon and Beth have gotten to travel this past year-almost too much! They visited me in Spain but also have done some traveling to Great Britain and the Netherlands for his job at the New York Stock Exchange. He finished his MBA at NYU and has developed some financial courses for their Bible class and for the at-risk kids involved with Shiloh. He has also been installed on the board of Shiloh and is a great help to that organization. If you don't know what Shiloh is, go to their website at www.shilohnyc.org. Jason was director for several years, all my kids have worked there as counselors, Allison has worked for them, I have worked there as laundry director : ) and 'mom' for the homesick, and my two nieces have also been counselors there. (One is there this summer.) It is something our family is very excited about.

Well, this is rather long so I will sign off.  I send my love and ask for your prayers as I prepare to leave Spain and some very wonderful friends. Knowing I am returning to family and some more wonderful friends is a comfort and an exciting thought. I hope to see all of you sometime in the next year.

Love,  The Wrangler, aka Bobbi