12/2/13 Vivians Life & Travels ENDING TRIP TO SPAIN IN THE ISLAND OF MENORCA, BACK TO TENNESSEE & HAVING KNEES REPLACED: Sunday, we left our hotel and went to airport to fly to the Spanish island of Menorca. Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea owned by Spain. We took a small plane from Barcelona and flew to Menorca. From the small airport at Menorca, our bus took us on about a 20 minute ride to our hotel. Our hotel was located in a cove with a few restaurants and gift shops. Our hotel was the Hotel Audax. It was a nice and a pleasant hotel in a pleasant cove area. Once we were checked in at our hotel, we were free to roam around the area. So that was what we did. We went in many shops, we stopped to have a drink and just leisurely enjoyed ourselves. I bought myself a bright beach bag with vivid reds and yellows which I still have. It was inexpensive so I bought one for Tracey and Janice. The next day we met in the lobby to paint locally. No bus this day. The following day we took the bus to an attractive touristy spot one cove over from where our hotel was located. There we situated ourselves on a wide walkway where we could look down on a cove far below which was surrounded by rocky cliffs. This was an interesting spot with a variety of things in the vicinity that we could paint. I choose to paint a large sailboat way down below in the ocean in that small cove. While I was painting, a German couple came along and looked at my painting and said “You are painting our boat”. They were impressed with my first attempts and asked me if I would be selling it and then how long it would be before I was finished. I told them a couple hours and they said they would be gone by then. I was flattered that they were even interested in my painting. Our bus took us to another little village on the Island of Menorca called Ciutadella. This was a large cove with rocky cliffs leading out to the open waters of the ocean with a few sailboats on the waters. Across the bay from us there was a white lighthouse out on the point and beyond it the remains of an ancient wall and an attractive village of white houses with red tile roofs with a few palm trees and a scattering of deciduous trees. On the other side of the cove was a walkway where you could walk around the cliffs. I tried to capture the scene on paper. On September 17, we went to Fornells, which was another small village on the Island of Menorca. It was a little village with a few restaurants and gift shops with lots of palm trees and mountains in the distance. There was a wide street lined with street lights separating the buildings from the water’s edge. On the water side there was just one small white building on the edge of the water. There was a low embankment where you could go down to the water’s edge. Along this area there were many small boats anchored. That scene was what I painted this day. On our last painting day in Menorca, our bus took us to the all-white town of Binibeca. It was reminiscent of the Greek Island of Santorini. Someone other than Shirley did a demo that day. After the demonstration, we were all free to paint and take pictures. In this all white town, the shadows were all important and made the pictures more interesting. It was fun painting here and even though all the buildings were white there was a variety of architectural styles. We had lunch in a local open air restaurant. My attention was drawn to a baby crying for its Mothers Coke. Goes to show that whatever the nationality babys desire a drink of Coke. There were many tourists here in Binibeca but not American tourist other than our group. I heard Spanish voices and German voices. After our painting day, our bus took us back to our hotel. There was no seminar that night because we had to pack for the flight home. After dinner, I went to the hotel lounge with some of my friends. At a point, they said they had to go to their rooms to finish packing. Since I had already finished my packing, I decided to stay in the lounge. It was pleasant there with a band and a girl singer singing a lot of American Country songs. After my friends left, an English couple came and asked if they could sit with me and I told them yes. We introduced ourselves and just enjoyed the music. At a break, the girl singer came around to our table and asked where we were from. She seemed surprised when I told her I was an American. When she got back up to her band, she announced where everybody was from and when she came to me she said. We have one American in our midst tonight and she is Vivian Howard from Tennessee. I felt elated at being singled out as the only American in the audience as everyone clapped. It appears that Americans are rare in Menorca. It is mostly a vacation spot for the Spaniards, English and Germans. The next day, we flew out of the airport in Menorca and landed in Barcelona. From the Barcelona Airport, we boarded our plane to travel back to the United States. AFTER SPAIN HOME AGAIN TO TENNESSEE My painting trips were always fun and getting to experience the beauty and cultures of each country was such an interesting experience not to mention the satisfaction in being able to paint there. But, it was always good to get that embrace from Kenny when he met me at the airport at the end of a trip. He was so special and we had such a good relationship of love and trust. He was my rock and my support and I always needed to get back home to him. After several years of knee pain, with family encouragement, I finally decided to have knee replacement surgery. So in January, 1998, I had total knee replacement of both knees at one time at the University of Tennessee Hospital in Knoxville. I had an excellent surgeon and he fixed my knees just fine. However, I had complications in that my bowls became impacted which was very serious and made me have to stay in the hospital eight extra days, therefore, I was unable to go directly to therapy which was the normal sequence. Finally, I was well enough to be released from the hospital. I was glad to leave the hospital and get back home. I was sent home in an ambulance which made me very nervous. So nervous, in fact that the young medical attendant held my hand to calm me down. I sure was glad to get home to Kenny. I was a bit helpless in the beginning; and was just so thankful that I had a wonderful husband who dressed my wounds and did everything necessary for me without even one complaint. I thanked God for him every day. After learning to walk on a walker, then crutches, then a cane, I came full circle and came back to almost better than new. At least I no longer had pain and I could walk. My wonderful Kenny took care of me in all ways and never once complained at dressing my terrible bed sore wound or anything else. How lucky I was to have such a wonderful caring husband. I always thought I could never repay him for all the attention he gave me during this time in my life. But, I could not know what lay before us and how he would one day need all the attention I could give him. Happy times came on May 5, 1998, when our granddaughter, Holly Noel Howard, was born. What a beautiful baby and what a wonderful blessing she has been to me ever since that day. I continue to thank God for such a wonderful granddaughter. Today that beautiful baby is now a beautiful teenager. Our life in Tennessee continued to go well as we relaxed in our little house on Watts Bar Lake, lived the relaxed life of retired do what you like people, and enjoyed taking our boat out on the lake occasionally. I would paint a lot in my cheerful art building and Kenny would continue to stay busy with Legion and Veterans work.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 19:24:54 +0000
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