The Wayfaring Wordhack

Pottok/pottock: a half-wild pony, emblematic of Basque country, that lives in the Pyrenees. Pottok literally means "little horse" in Basque and is linked to the word pottolo (chubby or tubby), which makes me think of the French word potelé, which also means chubby.

According to a legend*, the pottok inspired the creation of the txalaparta, a Basque instrument. The sound of the sticks hitting the planks is reminiscent of the sound of a horse's gallop. Here is a video so you can hear the sound (with a nifty Basque chant around 3:20. Subtitles in French explaining more about the instrument and its uses/history).

We returned from my mil's on Tuesday to find that we had no hot water. The repairman came on Thursday and said a part needs to be replaced, a part that will have to be ordered and "probably won't arrive very quickly."

Please get it here as quickly as you can, I asked.  Because, yeah, S can fit in a little basin in the tub, but moi...not even one of my feet fill fit comfortably in that thing.  Sponge bathing is not fun.  

I just want to feel clean again!

It has been ages since I did a glimpse post, and I was on my way to bed before I remembered that I had vowed to resume the custom here on my blog on Wednesdays.

This is a true glimpse of something bigger to come.

In the meantime, can anyone guess what is on the other side of this gate?

Back from holiday.  Tired, oh-so-tired. We will never ever again try to fit in so many visits in such a short time period. In fact, next time we go to the States, I'm pretty much planning on saying:  We will be in X for so Y amount of days. If you would like to see us, feel free to come vacation with us.

That will go over like a lead balloon. But tempting, very tempting....

What have you all been up to in my absence?

11 years ago today, I married the love of my life.

What an adventure it has been so far.

Some gushing about the wonderful restaurant we ate at will be coming your way tomorrow...

Almost two weeks ago, I went to a doctor about a pain in my wrist. He took my hand in his, pinched the tendon between my thumb and wrist a couple of times and, when I failed to say "ow," advised me to, and I quote, "Forget about it." This is after I explained that I had already been suffering from the pain for three months. It came upon me suddenly in Albania when I was lifting Soëlie out of her crib one night. For a while, the pain only came in the middle of the night, and I thought I was sleeping in a position that was bad for my arm.  I tried and tried to sleep differently, but the pain spilled over into the day and the sharp lances of quick-fading agony became a lance followed by a dull throbbing pain that could last minutes.

But, according the doc, my best bet was just to forget.  Um, yeah.  OK.

Today I went to see an osteopath, and she said I have a combination of a mechanically-caused pain and tendonitis. She manipulated my hand, wrist, and elbow for a good hour, told me to ice the wrist at least once a day, and to buy a wrist splint to immobilize it if the pain is not gone in ten days. I'm supposed to rest it as much as possible, but having the exclusive care of Soëlie when J is gone (ten days this time) and the cooking and housekeeping...yeah...not much chance at rest.

I hope the rest and ice (and maybe the splint) take care of it because I really don't want to have surgery, which the osteopath said might have to happen if it gets worse. :-/

We've found a rental in Basque country, just north of Spain, and will be moving Monday.  The apartment is furnished, the decor and furnishings outdated and not really our taste, but the advantages of not having to take our own stuff, seeing as how we might move again this year, more than makes up for that.

J and S are very excited to be living next to the ocean again:



Don't know when we'll get the net up and running, so I'll see you all when I see you.

Take care!