I don’t think I’ve ever been called ‘versatile’ before so a big thanks to Debbie Vega who has nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award. Debbie has followed this blog for a long time partly, I think, because she misses Spain [she was born in Spain but now lives in Miami]. So, gracias amiga! She is a short story writer and movie lover, check out her blog here.

So I looked up ‘versatile’ in my dictionaries.

In English, it means ‘able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities’, and ‘changeable, inconstant’. I guess that does sum up our life here over the last few years, we have certainly had to adapt and willing to accept change. Not sure about the inconstant bit though, maybe that’s the weather!

In Spanish, ‘versatile’ translates as versátil [person] or flexible [mind].

So here are the rules for this award:-
Include a link to the blog of the person who nominated you.
Nominate 15 bloggers to receive the award, with links to their blogs.
Share seven things about myself.

My 15 nominations are:-
Discovery Walking for guided walking tours in beautiful parts of Europe.

The Birthday Dinner, try her ricotta stuffed baby peppers!

Purfect Kitties, the photos of these two cats make me smile every day.

Crooked Tracks, for beautiful nature photos from Minnesota, USA.

Tiffany Imogen, a British blogger and student who writes about books, theatre and the movies.

Susan at Still Life with Tortillas, who writes from beautiful Alaska, USA [below].

Writer Elizabeth Melton Parsons, who blogs about books, writing, nature, art and gardening.

Another writer, Nithin Purple who wrote Halcyon Wings.

Richa, a food blogger and Rajasthani married to a Bengali. Check out her Indian recipes at Sweet Jaw.

Sophie Bowns, fiction writer and aspiring novelist.

Winston’s Dad, who reviews of the best in translated fiction, including Spanish.

Writer Barry O’Leary at A Novel Spain who writes about daily life in Spain.

You have to try Alice’s recipes at A Life Moment, particularly the Nutella and raspberry cupcakes!

Julie Stock, working on her first novel, blogs about the journey including useful writing tips.

And finally for Rough Seas in the Med, who has been in hospital in Gibraltar and is now convalescing. This is to make her smile!

Now, seven Spanish things about me that you don’t know.

I hate speaking Spanish on the phone, there’s something about being able to see a person’s expression that helps me to understand them;

I love Malaga, the art musuems there are amazing: the Picasso Museum, the CAC [the Centro de Arte Contemporáneo] and the Carmen Thyssen. And now there is to be the Malaga Pompidou [below], located at the city’s Port Cube at Murelle Uno, in what will be the first Pompidou outside Paris. 2000 sq m of art, due for completion in 2015. The big question: which is the best of Mercadona’s fresh fruit juices? Naranja, mandarina, piña or manzana? For me, manzana. We have a promising crop of apples ourselves this year, see two of our applets below. My second novel Connectedness, about identity detective Rose Haldane, is set partly in Malaga. The city is full of inspiration for artists [below], and Rose follows the trail of English artist to Malaga who was an art student in the city. Last night, we sat on the terrace and watched 50 griffon vultures circle overhead as they lined up to land in the trees on the opposite hillside. It is like watching small aircraft lining up for the runway.

I have difficulty pronouncing ‘necessitamos’. It’s all those S’s.

My favourite poem in Spanish is Si el hombre pudiera decir lo que ama by Luis Cernuda.