Vamanos!

Or is it vamonos? Even Google seems to be unsure, and Jorge is off watching football with a friend, so I have no reference...

Ah well - you get the point....We're off! To South America! Don't get too excited folks, it's just a holiday, we'll be back at the end of the month. Tomorrow we fly to Johannesburg for the night, then on Friday we catch the non-stop flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. We plan to spend a week in Buenos Aires, then we will travel to Iguazu Falls in the north for a bit of jungle time, then it's off to the northwest, where I'm hoping to see lots of beautiful landscapes and picturesque little towns, and maybe pick up a few good bottles of Malbec...

Then we have another week that we haven't figured out what to do with, but hey, we'll get it sorted. At least we're not planning our itinerary on the flight there, like we did for Portugal.

So ciao for now - I'll try to post with photos as I get the chance.

The party of the year

It was a big weekend around these parts. Construction crews have been working at a frantic pace for weeks to get the city ready. There were dignitaries, convoys, road closures, speeches, lengthy news coverage, and work crews everywhere trying for a bit of last-minute spiffying. Robert Mugabe (or Uncle Bob as he’s affectionately known around these parts) flew in from Zimbabwe with his wife. The former presidents of Mozambique and Zambia came too, along with Prime Ministers and dignitaries from across Southern Africa.

So what happened here this weekend you ask? Well, Milo’s birthday party of course!

Oh, and the president got married. Yeah, there was THAT.

Yes, dear old Bingu got hitched on Saturday, in a big ceremony officiated by the archbishop, with a reception (or was it two?) for some 4,000 of his closest guests (and those intrepid Malawians who were able to get a spot in the Lilongwe stadium).

The former first lady passed away several years ago, so, after waiting a respectable length of time, the president has chosen a new bride, Callista, who, while no spring chicken herself, is still a good 30 or 40 years younger than the old man.

Ah, but that wasn’t really the big event, though, was it? While the president and his entourage celebrated his recent nuptials, an even more momentous and exciting engagement was underway just a few miles away.

Yes, my little guy is TWO. And showing his age, I must say. We had a terrific party at our friend Marisol’s house on Saturday (celebrating her daughter’s 4th birthday as well), complete with two cakes, lots of food, a bouncy castle, two kiddie pools, goodie bags, and the most awesome home-made robot piñata you have ever seen, whipped together in 15 minutes by my dear husband (who failed to leave an opening through which we could tie the thing to a tree. It was OK, though, all it needed was a little robot brain surgery). Basically, it was heaven for toddlers. Milo had a great time, and he and his friends are still singing “Happy Birthday dear Milo!” all this week.

So I think I made the right choice in terms of social activities this week. I bet Bingu didn’t have a bubble machine at his party. Or the cutest, sweetest little two-year old you ever did see.

E.S.L.

My husband says the darndest things. The other day over dinner, he looks at me with a puzzled expression, and asks me: "What do you call whale fat in English?"

"You mean blubber?"

"Yeah. That's weird." Then he starts singing the tune from one of the songs from Milo's favorite music CD. Only the words don't sound quite right: "Blubber, blubber, in the trees..."

Umm, no, honey...the song is about bluebirds, not blubber!

I am just adding this to a long list of wonderful song misinterpretations. Some of my other favorites are when he sings "Let it Be." For years he thought the song was actually called "Letter 'B'" and was some sort of odd homage to Sesame Street. He still prefers his version, even after I corrected his mistake.

And just the other day, I had "Rockin' the Casbah" stuck in my head. I hollered out "Sharif don't like it!" and Jorge responded with "Rocking the cash bar! Rocking the cash bar!"

::Swooning with joy over my choice in a mate::