¿Cómo Fué? - How Did It happen?

... no sé decirte, como fué..."
Dos viernes al mes Rennea canta
en Pica Pica, en el Valle de Napa.

... can't explain how, how did it happen..."
Two Fridays per month Rennea sings
at Pica Pica in Napa Valley.

with David Pinto, bajo y Ray Martinez, percusión

No un DICHO... Un Hecho

(English version with addendum below)


--¿En qué piensas?
--Nada, en la inmortalidad del cangrejo.

Mmm jmm, es justo lo que hago cuando no puedo dormir
a pesar de estar requete cansada
y me despierto en el medio de la noche
y se me ocurren dos mil cosas,
todas relacionadas con cangrejos, por supuesto.

Y esto no lo escribí anoche cuando no pude dormir
porque la idea es tratar de dormir.

Ya se que me pasa por lo menos una vez al mes.
Pero lo bueno es que ya tengo tema:
La Inmortalidad del Cangrejo, un tema muy importante
acerca del cual pienso escribir un libro
ya que tengo horas y horas pensándolo.





"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing. On the immortality of the crab."

Mmm hmm, this is exactly what I do when I can't sleep
even if I'm extra tired
I wake up in the middle of the night
and I think of about two thousand things
all related to crabs, of course.

And I did not write this last night when I couldn't sleep
because the idea is to try to sleep.

I know this happens to me at least once a month.
The good thing is that I have already a theme:
The Immortality of the Crab, a very important theme
on which I'll be writing a book
since I've been thinking about it for hours and hours.



Thinking about the immortality of the crab (Spanish: Pensar en la inmortalidad del cangrejo) is a Spanish idiom about daydreaming. The term is usually a humorous reference that one was not sitting idly, but was engaged constructively in contemplation or letting his mind wander.(Wordreference.com)

The phrase is usually used to express that an individual was daydreaming, "When I have nothing to do I think about the immortality of the crab" (Cuando no tengo nada que hacer pienso en la inmortalidad del cangrejo). It is also used to wake someone from a reverie,"Are you thinking about the immortality of the crab?" (¿Estás pensando en la inmortalidad del cangrejo?) (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Reaching Friends

To all our common friends,

A toast in gratitude for a great friend
on his birthday March 4, 2010
(picture courtesy of John and Janet)

robert's blog

Paseo con Didi - Walk with Didi

En las vacaciones de Navidad Didi y yo íbamos a pasear casi todos los dias, aún cuando hiciese mucho frío. Nos manteníamos calientitas la una a la otra y luego de llegar a casa a mi me tocaba chocolate caliente y galletitas de polvorosas con jenjibre y a ella leche de mamá.

During the Christmas holidays Didi and I would go for a walk almost every day even if it was very cold out. We kept each other warm. And when we got home I would get hot chocolate with ginger shortbread cookies and she would get mother's milk.

Jugando con Nieve - Playing with Snow

El 21 de diciembre Matt y yo fuimos de compras y en el camino .... ¿nos desviamos?

On December 21st Matt and I went to the store and on the way we .... got sidetracked?

25 de Diciembre

Despues de abrir muchos regalitos, los cinco fuimos a caminar por Henley.

Navidad con Didi • • • Christmas with Didi

(for English scroll down)

Edita Marie, Didi, 2 mo, in her one and only pink outfit.



Hoy 24 de diciembre Didi y yo
fuimos a pasear por las tiendas,
nos tomamos un té con unos amigos, compramos regalos
y ahora me está ayudando a escribir correos de Navidad.

Feliz Navidad y próspero 2010
a toda la familia y amigos.



Today, December 24th Didi and I
went to wall around the local shops,
we had some tea with friends and bought a few gifts.
Now she is helping me to write Christmas notes to you.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2010.
(or how they say here: Happy Christmas)

Las Tres Gracias y la Perica

Rennea, Susanna, Josefina y Elizabeth fueron a comer a un restaurante en Caracas. La comida exquisita y la conversación entretenida. Susanna capturó la acción de la parlanchina mayor entreteniendo a las Tres Gracias. Mamaquerida sale espectacularmente bella en esta toma. Mmmmmmm! Detalles inolvidables: La Perica



Rennea, Susanna, Josefina and Elizabeth went to a restaurant in Caracas. The food, exquisite. The conversation, amusing. Susanna captured the action as the chatterbox entertains The Three Graces. Mamaquerida appears specially beautiful in this take. Mmmmmm! Unforgetable details: La Perica (The Parrot)

Muerto Muerte- Calavera Calabaza

Me muero de hambre, me muero de sed
calavera calabaza - ¿de donde salió usted?

Muero de tristeza, me mata de risa,
calavera calabaza- brindame tú una sonrisa

Muérete que si, muérete que no
calavera calabaza- esta noche, el muerto soy yo

Muero por ti, me muero de amor
calavera calabaza- ¿solamente a mi esto me pasa?

¡Buh!

Scary Story: Crazy Mother Eats Her Own Babies

Rennea Josefina, 47, native of Caracas Venezuela,
allegedly gave birth to a pair of twins:
4lbs. each, one green, one yellow,
after intense hard labor that may have driven her insane.

According to children in the neighborhood,
they peeked over the fence after hearing strange noises
and claim they saw a lady in an empty horse-trough
laboring. They ran having seen such horrific scene.

Parents of the frightened kids
immediately reported the
out-of-this-world event to the authorities
who visited the scene a day or two later.

When investigators arrived
they only found green and yellow carcasses
on an abandoned compost pile.
They also found a picture of the alleged perpetrator
(see below) with her twins before she ate them.

All evidence indicates she was a victim
of a rare variation of post-partum blues
that affects young grandmothers
who give birth at the same time than their daughters
and common only to people who live
in bright colored houses.

Scientists are studying these rare cases.
If you have any information
that can help us clarify this mystery,
and find the dangerous fago-babytor
please leave your clues
in the comment section of this article.

Frutos de mi Huerto (y de otros vecinos)

acelgas, lechuga romaine, aurugula, vainitas verdes y moradas, peras, manzanas, moras, cebollitas, zanahorias, romero, cilantro, papas, calabacín verde y amarillo

La Casa Rosada (por dentro)

Cazando en Caza

-a los cazadores de ratones que conozco

dos trampas = 3 ratones ¿que les parece?
con mantequilla de maní (voz taína)
o crema de cacahuate (voz náhuatl)

me siento mal que no me apetezcan
porque de ser una delicadez para mi paladar
no tendría remordimiento alguno de las capturas

(menos mal que estaba lejos
en mi casita de atrás,
así me perdí del doloroso SNAP que los capturó)




pero NO... ¡no fuí yo la única responsable!
a victor una victoria mas, (de allí el nombre)
nótese la marca bien grabada y en rojo que dejó
(hacer doble-click en la foto para ver ampliación)

sara, entrenaste bien a tu amo (r)
cuarto elemento, ¿donde estabas cuando te necesitaba?
victor, sara, cuatro elemento, la familia ratona es grande

¿quien de los tres se viene?

Walls

After 6 days hiking/ backpacking with Graciela, Carlos Eduardo y Luis Alejandro, Mountain Man and me went into Tuolomne and stayed another week for a perfect routine of climbing, swimming, eating and drinking and being merry. Here are some pictures with little explanations for the non-climbing crowd.

If you double click on the pictures you can see A LOT of detail. Enjoy!



1. dark dark night
This picture is NOT a mistake. It is the full moon night landscape before the full moon. We drank gin cocktails and swatted moskitoes and froze our butts off just to enjoy this fantastic view. mmmm



2. waking up
It is nice to wake up with the warmth of the day, 9am or 10? I get to hear the creek that runs by and see the trees. Is someone making coffee?






3. not only coffee but also lunch
Monsieur Francis est un chef magnifique. Tous le jours il prépare un formidable petit déjeuner avant que nous entreprenons notre aventure.








4. walking to gumpy wall
I have no documentation of Easy Money or Zig Zag walls that we did in Mammouth area. forgot the camera? but once in Toulomne we started easy again... of course.





5. rapel from gumpy wall
a bunch of **** climbs (four star climbs) whoopee! We were warming up after a year on no climbing: rough granite, polished granite, knobs, little edges, sticky shoes, fingertips.



6. coyote hills from the distance
Later that evening (after hopelessly looking for the Guns of Navarone climbing wall) we scoped our next day's climb: coyote hills.






7. steep approach?
It did look like uphill. It was.






8. who brought the machete?
We wish we had either a machete or snow-shoes or big feet-paddles so we could walk over the bushes. The rock was a pretty sight. Only a few feet more to this island among manzanita.






9. coyote hills rapel
After climbing the front we rapelled the back and then climbed up the back again. Many, many places to put hands, feet, and dub-doo-roo up to the top. Who wants to go down and bush-whack again? NO ONE






10. stately pleasure dome- 2nd pitch crack- (I think)
Next day we did a 5 or 6 pitch climb up South Crack, 5.8 **** R


11. and now what?
After the crack dissapears then comes the challenge of where to go next with not protection.




12. OK lets try this way
You have to just go for it and hope for the best.




13. runnout
Runnout means that there is no place to put protection. I other words you either make it or fall!
He already went across, which makes it infinitely easier for me. Nonetheless I'd like not to fall so all I have to do is trust my feet and of course, I do.



14. now down
Hours later we part rapel/ part walk down. For experience climbers walking down may be easy. For me, I do my Vincenzo-steps, meaning, little turtle mini-steps watching the granite, the veins of the rock and any loose sand. I'd say that this is more dangerous than climbing up with ropes.




15. but first.... look at the view (view dome-to-lake)
From here we can perfectly look at the beach we are aiming to swim at. See? Way at the end by that crooked tree.







16. and later after we enjoy a swim (view lake-to-dome)
And here it is the crooked tree and a perfect slab for Yosemite beer, rice and bean sandwiches with greens, wasabi mayo, aminoacids and yeast and dark dark chocolate with orange rind.





17. two gentlemen enjoying a shallow seating area in Tenaya lake
We enjoy reading, writing, making comments about the father and son scene we can see right in the middle of that lake or a casual conversation with a 1o year old child veteran of the park who I compared with a cat after I saw him jumping with great agility from rock to rock and he confessed he hated water.





18. half dome from olmstead
Every afternoon as we made our way back to Porcupine Flat #45B we enjoyed a walk on Olmstead Point, we picked up firewood for the night blaze and spring water for the next day's food and solar shower.




19. lets try a little of this.... now your turn!
A walk would include observing tourists as if they were wildlife; or getting another lesson on technique on cracks or lay-back; or trees, perhaps.



20. beautiful juniper
Trees, of course. I've had plenty of lessons about bark, shape of the trunk, pine needles or cones. Now I hope to recognize one tree: a juniper, anywhere I see one. Pine, redwood, hemlock, EVERY TREE, to my untrained tropical-eye looks just like a Christmas tree. Just add the fake snow and voilá.




21. River wall
As it's name describes, this wall was edged by a creek were all the rope falls and gets wet. We did this particular one last day before we left and proved the most challenge. I saw it and I decided that it would be just impossible for me.





22. the knobby side
On this part of the wall there are lots of little super secure feet positions. Even though I try to just balance over my legs I end up holding onto those little knobs so tight that I skinned my fingertips. No fingerprints anymore? Dangerous.




23. a harder area
I was pretty positive I wouldn't be able to go up this one. I was surprised with myself. Although I don't think I did any absolutely clean ascent, on the parts that I did well, my breathing, my balance, my feet and my focus was so in tune that it was a blissful experience to me. Hmmmmm, I needed a rest for my body after but, oh! How much I'd like to be back there again. (sigh)






24. to my pro-leisure companion
I am inmensely grateful to have found a friend to share this experiences with. We seem to have the same harmonious smooth and easy wave-length when spending "pro-leisure time". When climbing, you NEED a climbing partner. What a better gift than finding one you can spend a week or two with?





25. that's all folks!