Chapuzas

Yesterday, coming out of Angela's little store here in the Malagueta we noticed a very funny announcement posted in the window. Some handymen (first class!) were offering their services. What's so funny is the word "chapuzas", normally used to designate a poorly done job. So it looks as if our eager to work neighbors were offering something along the lines of "Renovations and crappy jobs". In fact, chapuza can mean any little odd job, but that usage is not nearly as frequent as the more common one. (And in Mexico a chapuza refers to some kind of fraudulent transaction, a rip-off.) Unfortunately, there is a lot of shoddy work done here, and not just in home improvement. But today we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany so we'll try to stay positive. We have been discovering there are certainly no chapuzas at Artxanda, the neighborhood Basque restaurant that used to be the 7 de Julio. I may offend some traditionalists and others who felt loyal to Patxi, the owner of the 7 de Julio, and he did run a great place, but Artxanda may be even better. It's pricey, but they deliver the goods. Today we just went in for a tapa after our walk downtown. Excellent. Last night we watched a film about Edith Piaf. I didn't think the film itself was anything special but the actress sure is wonderful. Really convincing. A few random notes for the sake of my memory: today Asun and Daniela go back to Madrid, so now it's just Cristina and me here in Malaga. Alma and Jake are in Barcelona and get to Madrid on Thursday. This morning before having a roscón de Reyes with the girls, Asun and I sat down and went over the calendar for the next few months. Travel is relative, in that what's a lot for some is very little for others. For us the next few months will involve lots of travel around Spain, but mainly back and forth between here and Madrid.