Cómo hacer una guirnalda de navidad

Para decorar tu casa esta Navidad aprende a hacer esta sencilla guirnalda de papel. Esta es una manualida muy fácil que puedes hacer con los niños. Puedes colgar tu guirnalda del árbol de navidad o utilizarla para decorar los paquetes de regalo.
Materiales: Papel metálico (o de regalo), tijeras, pegamento y un hilo o cuerda.
Sigue los pasos que se explican en el video para hacer tu adorno navideño.

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Cómo doblar servilletas

Para que las cenas de Navidad y Nochevieja sean perfectas aprende cómo doblar servilletas de modo elegante y sencillo. Sorprende a tus invitados con una mesa de lujo y dobla tus servilletas en forma de espiga siguiendo las instrucciones de este video.

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Como hacer un farolillo de navidad

Diviértete realizando esta manualidad con los niños y decora tu árbol de navidad.
Para hacer un farolillo o una decoración navideña sigue las instrucciones que te dan en el vídeo.
Necesitarás:
Papel de vinilo, o metalizado (puedes utilizar papel de regalo). Unas tijeras y pegamento.



Más manualidades de Navidad aquí.

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Como hacer disfraces de Halloween

Este es un ejemplo de como hacer un accesorio para un disfraz de Halloween. Disfázate de diablillo con esta diadema, te explicamos como hacer los cuernos del disfraz con una cartulina.

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It's Hallowe'en, (again!)

I'm sure there's nothing that says Hallowe'en parties must be on the 31st of October so we had one last Saturday at Rosi and Pablo's house. We were met at the door by this group of ghouls...

Click left on the picture to see it full size

...here's one of the extras from the Scream movies and friend...

...and a very pretty pumpkin modelled by an old crone...

...and finally, Count Drac himself - fangs for the memory!

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Como hacer flores de papel fáciles

Una forma sencilla de hacer unas vistosas flores de papel que puedes utilizar como decoración o para adornar tus regalos.
Necesitaras pliegos de papel de varios colores. Recorta la forma de flor varias veces sobre el papel, lúego úne dos o tres flores unas sobre otras combinando distintos colores y si quieres distintos tamaños. Une las flores por el centro con un poco de pegamento o utilizando un pasador metálico. Decora el centro de las flores pegando un poco de brillantina, unos abalorios o un strass adhesivo.
Cuando envuelvas un regalo puedes colocar las flores para decorarlo, también las puedes utilizar para hacer tarjetas de regalo o para adornar tus cuadernos.
Pide a los niños que te ayuden a hacer esta manualidad, seguro que les encanta.
Este video te enseña como hacer las flores de papel.

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Como hacer un árbol de navidad de fieltro

Para hacer un árbol de navidad como esté necesitarás unos trozos de fieltro verde, unos botones, hilo, aguja y un poco de algodón.

Instrucciones para esta manualidad:

Dobla el fieltro y recorta dos árboles de navidad iguales.

Cose unos botones y decoraciones en un lado del fieltro recortado.

Empezando por la parte superior cose el abeto por los extremos, deja un trozo de hilo para poder colgar luego y al final deja una parte si coser para rellénalo con un poco de algodón.

Termina de coser y ya tienes tu árbol de navidad de fieltro.

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Welcome to sunny, er, snowy Spain!

We have been having a mixture of weather for the last couple of weeks. It has been nice and fine and then we have had a couple of wet days. But now it has turned colder and although we haven't had snow or frost here yet, there was snow on the mountain range in the distance and it has turned very windy.

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Peaceful it´s not...

It´s not a JCB, it´s a Fiat-Hitachi and here it is outside our front gate this morning breaking up the concrete between 2 lines which were cut last week.




The concrete outside of our house seemed harder than that further down the road and needed a lot of effort to get through.




After the digger had chopped the concrete it then went back down the road removing the broken concrete. More to come no doubt.

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It´s really peaceful here...

We knew that work was due to start on the ermita and last Friday and Monday we had this little vehicle, a "bobcat", clearing the site at the front and back.


Also due to start was the replacement of the water pipe from the water tanks to go down the road and into the village so another digger started at this end today.


Meanwhile, a rather larger JCB is making it´s way up the road towards us and cutting the trench for the new pipe - it should be right outside our door tomorrow - can´t wait!



Meanwhile, it´s time for the farmers to collect their almonds in the fields. This video shows the easy way to do it. The attachment on the front of the tractor grips the tree then shakes it. Almond trees don´t need much shaking - the same method is used to collect the olives in December only olive trees need to be shaken vigorously, so everything around shakes.

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The 7th plume...

The last pampas plume is out, and it´s pink! (It´s the one on the left.)

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What´s his game?

On a trip down to Cambrils we came across these gentlemen playing a version of "petanque/skittles" in the park. The chap playing was throwing his clubs at his opponent´s clubs, the aim being to knock them over.

If you want to play "spot the skittle", just click on the picture to see it full size - it is there. Also, if you know the name of this game, then let me know.

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Pampas plumes

The pampas grass we put in 2½ years ago has produced 6 plumes with a 7th on the way.

Click left on the image for a larger view

It looked so nice with the ermita behind, I had to take a photo of it. By the way, it´s not snow on the ground - as part of our work on the garden this summer we had all the earth covered in pebbles with porous membrane underneath to stop weeds growing through.

Around the trees is white and then the remainder of the garden is covered in rosa pebbles, pink, although they look "pinker" when they are wet. It seems to work though and means no more muddy paws for Hona.

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Our leaky pump

Sunday 31st August. After the meal in the Plaza Mayor we could all see the very dark clouds over the mountains to the south and hear the rumbles of thunder, indeed in the evening, the lightning was quite spectacular, but it didn´t rain very much because we were just on the edge of the storm. Then, at around 2:00 am, Monday morning, there was an almighty flash and a crack of lightning followed instantaneously by a boom of thunder, no rain, just the 1 thunder bolt hit the village and then it moved on and we heard rumblings in the distance. The electricity tripped off and was easily reset but the telephone line was dead so Telefonica came out on Tuesday and fitted a new bit. Unfortunately, the modem had also blown so that was replaced on Thursday.

Another casualty of the lightning strike was the water pump which gave up working early on Monday morning. Our house is just a bit too high in relation to the village water tanks although we have a water supply to the ground floor so the pump is needed to provide water on the first and second floors. The plumber took it away to be repaired but when it had been repaired and was refitted on Thursday, it leaked so the plumber took it away again. The only problem then was that the shop in Alcañiz couldn´t repair it before closing for their fiesta which lasts all of next week. So the plumber brought the leaky pump back yesterday and fitted it up as shown in the photo below.


The pump is at the top left of the picture and the drip is being "funneled" by the yellow container and down the blue tube into the bucket on the ground. We just hope that this system will be satisfactory until Monday the 15th when the repair shop in Alcañiz opens after the fiesta. All part of life in Spain! It's great!!

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Sunday 31st, the feast of San Ramón

This afternoon at 14:00 everyone is in the Plaza Mayor for the paella seen here whilst being made by the special cooks.


We all sit in our peña groups for the meal which lasts for the remainder of the afternoon...


...after which it´s home for a well deserved siesta and that´s the end of the fiesta for this year. We should be given a t-shirt which reads "I survived the Torre del Compte fiesta, 2008!"

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Saturday 30th, San Ramón´s eve.

It´s time for another meal for the peña but this time it´s at our house and Margaret has made a giant lasagne. Before the meal, people from the group help prepare the salads and starters...


...and Floyd does a splendid job setting the table, so good in fact, that here´s a photo of it before the group got to it and made the usual mess.


At midnight, there was a group playing in the Plaza Mayor - the lead singer also played lead flute!


Just what you need to get rid of some of those calories!

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Como hacer manualidades con fieltro: alfiletero

Me ha gustado mucho ese alfiletero realizado con tejido de fieltro, es una manualidad sencilla y original, fácil de hacer siguiendo los pasos que te dan en el tutorial con fotografías.

Materiales:

Necesitarás un tapón de plástico de una botella

Unos trozos de fieltro en dos colores

Aguja e hijjo para coser

Un poco de algodón para rellenar.

Tutorial aquí.

Más manualidades con fieltro

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Como hacer ganchillo: círculo de ganchillo

En este video podrás ver paso a paso como tejer un círculo de ganchillo. Es una forma fácil de aprender a hacer punto de ganchillo. Uniendo varios círculos podrás elaborar todo tipo de objetos y manualidades.



Más manualidades de ganchillo

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The circus comes to town!

Thursday, 28th August - the Circo Badín is in town, not so much a circus but 2 young guys who are funny, one who is an acrobat and juggler, the other accompanies him on the keyboard.


Press play on the video to see what actually happened.

Click left on the picture to see it full size.

These guys were naturally funny and did some great improvisation aimed at the people in the audience as well as playing their own "instruments".

This was another of those events where you had to take your own chair if you wanted to sit down - the children of course, just sat on the ground.


Everyone seemed to recognise the tune, except us, and could sing along.

Margaret took these photos - can you spot me?

Even though it wasn´t windy, this is very difficult.

The entainment appealed to people of all ages.

An original way of playing the drums.

Audience participation with Duke.

A thoroughly entertaining experience!

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It's fiesta time again!

Saturday, 9th August and we go down to the peña with 14 others to clear the weeds and generally make the place habitable in preparation for the fiesta activities which will take place there. Breakfast for everyone of sausage and fried eggs follows.

Saturday, 16th August and we go with 6 others from our peña into Alcañiz to buy food and drink for the festivities.

Monday, 18th August and we have the first meal, cooked by Rosi below, which is the traditional hearty dish of rice, potatoes, bits of bone with some meat on and of course caracoles. Because the summer weather has been so poor in the UK, snails are abundant and on a TV programme people were asking how to get rid of them. It's simple - eat them!

Click left on any photo for the full size view.

Tuesday, 19th August and it's the customary small bonfires to cook the sausages which are then eaten in chunks of bread. Everyone is there, young and old and some of the more organised elderly people have taken their tables and chairs and are making it a true picnic.


This year, there is a live band and they add to the carnival atmosphere.


They are wearing their orange polo shirts which just happen to be exactly the same colour as the t-shirt of our peña so we blend in with them.


Later in the proceedings, a couple of characters run around and chase the children.


By this time people are dancing to the music and having a great time. In the UK gangs of youngsters hide their identity by wearing hoodies - here, they have their name on the back of their peña t-shirt.


Wednesday, 20th August. It's that time of year when San Ramón gets carried around the village towards the end of the midday mass.





We follow virtually every street in the village, thank goodness it's small and then back to the church via the Plaza Mayor.


This year we have a proper group of singers in the church to lead the service and they finish off with a spot of dancing.


Once the service is over, those who dressed in traditional costume gather for a photo shoot.


As the young girls explained, the costumes look good but are more suited to the colder months.


Lola daringly shows her authentic hosiery.


In the evening, we had a display by a group of 10 dancers. Click the "play" button to see them in action.



The dancing took place on the school yard in front of the school building. The school no longer operates as a school as there are insufficient children in the village. You may have noticed in the videos the people going in and out of the doorway - they were preparing a chocolate drink with a toasted breadstick for everyone after the entertainment, at least 250 people.

That evening there was live music by a pop group in the Plaza Mayor from 21.00 - 23.00 and from 1.00 to the early hours. The entire population of the village is there, dancing. They might as well because the music is so loud they couldn't sleep through it!

During the break, Lola cooked pork escalopes in a delicious sauce, here assisted by Eva with Rosi in the background.

Friday, 22nd August. This evening the weather was against us and the pop music group booked to perform were unable to. At least people in the village would be able to choose at what time they went to bed. For part of the downpour it was as if the village was surrounded by thunderstorms with lightning going off in every direction. However, that did not dampen our spirits and prevent us enjoying another meal at the peña.


We all managed to get undercover while we ate apart from Pablo and Manolo who were sitting at the more exposed end of the table.

Sunday, 24th August. This morning we have been cleaning the peña and stacking all the sofas and chairs so they will be ready for next year. Next weekend, there is to be another peña meal on Saturday and then on Sunday, the official saints day for San Ramón, another mass in the church followed by a meal for the whole village in the Plaza Mayor...and then everyone goes back to their homes in the cities and the village returns to its normal tranquil state.

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What's at the bottom of this garden?

Sunday, 10th August and we are invited to celebrate Floyd's birthday with Jordi and Emelia at Marc and Andrea's house which is down by the river and used to be the original olive mill.

Click on any picture to see it full size.

Over the years Marc and Andrea have done a lot of restoration on the mill but it is a huge project as can be seen from the photo above.

First we had Andrea's tapas on the terrace.

For the main course Margaret had taken a whole cooked salmon.

As the meal progressed and it drew darker, we realised we were not the only ones eating al fresco.


Yes, it's a civet and although we only saw one, there is likely to be a breeding pair. Not everyone has a pair of these at the bottom of their garden!

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Cómo hacer pulseras de macramé

Ya os hemos enseñado como hacer pulseras con hilo, con nudos y también pulseras de fieltro y de abalorios.
Aquí tienes las instrucciones paso a paso para hacer otra pulsera de macramé.

El macramé se hace tejiendo varios hilos o cordones mediante la realización de nudos que crean un diseño.

Instrucciones pulsera - paso 1
Para hacer la pulsera, primero elige 8 hilos de colores, intenta que sean hilos gruesos para que puedas hacer mejor esta manualidad y para que quede más vistoso.
Puedes elegir hilos de distitos colores para crear efectos diferentes.

Empieza haciendo un nudo con el primer hilo de la izquierda sobre el segundo de la izquierda. Luego haz un nudo con el primer hilo de la derecha sobre el segundo hilo de la derecha, como se indica en la foto.
Repite este paso haciendo avanzando hacia el centro: haz un nudo con el primer hilo de la izquierda sobre el tercer hilo de la izquierda, y con el primer hilo de la derecha sobre el tercerdo de la derecha.

Repite sobre el cuarto hilo de cada lado y para terminar anuda los dos primeros hilos de los extremos juntos para crear el punto central como en la imagen.
Ahora los hilos azules que eran los primeros de los extremos quedarán en el centro y sólo tienes que repetir este paso para hacer la siguiente fila: anuda el primer hilo de la izquierda sobre el segundo de la izquierda, etc..

Espero que vuestras pulserasqueden bonitas, esta es una manualidad sencilla y muy divertida para los niños también.

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My 60th!

Saturday, 2nd August, (the day before my birthday), and 24 of us celebrated my 60th with a superb meal followed by some entertainment.

Floyd was the photographer for this occasion - click on the image for a larger view.

We had the fountain working which is on the new terraza where the swimming pool was, (more on this feature later when the jacuzzi is finally installed).

Our friends brought a dish of food, either starters, salad or postre and we provided the drinks and fish and meat.


Beatriz and Miguel also brought their 4 week old son, Martin.


After the meal, we had "entertainment" in the form of a rendition on the keyboard by myself...


...and another by Floyd. Enjoyable stuff!

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