It's been one of those days, another one of those days, when you think it's Monday but it's actually Wednesday, when you think it's eleven in the morning but it's four in the afternoon. Before you know it, the clapping party has started and you're watching the Big Bang Theory in Spanish and polishing off... Continue Reading →

Dear readers, It has come to my attention that a few of you have been replying to these blog posts directly. Unfortunately, I haven't received any of your messages as they instantly disappear into the do-not-reply-WordPress ether. My apologies if you thought I was just ignoring you. I would never do that. You are very... Continue Reading →

This morning began like most others, with me wondering if I could hold my pee long enough to keep sleeping for another hour. But, after a mere 20 minutes, my bladder won. Then it was time to feed the seven stray cats. Much to my annoyance, their inner breakfast clock knows when I've slept in... Continue Reading →

When I saw the cloudless sky this morning, I knew it was time. Time to wash the curtains. After nearly half a century on this planet, this was something I had never done before. This is mostly because I'm not a big fan of curtains, and have a thing for natural light. Galicians, on the... Continue Reading →

I have a confession to make. It's my birthday. I was going to just keep sitting here, feeling sorry for myself, but then a friend wrote and told me to envision, for 17 seconds, what I'd like to have in life rather than dwell on what I don't have. Seventeen seconds is a long time... Continue Reading →

Saturday night. The sixth Saturday night of Spain's lockdown. But, don't worry, we're keeping busy over here. Débora has started watching snail documentaries. Her interest was piqued by the army of snails who invade our hillside community every night, especially after a good rain. Débora tells me they aren't just attracted by the dry food we... Continue Reading →

Just 24 hours ago, I was wearing a black sundress and sunglasses, watching frozen blueberries bob in a glass of cold white wine. I sat in a patch of grass between the lavender bush and the lemon tree, alternately admiring the buzzing bees and the perfect yellow orbs ablaze in the late afternoon light. Leaning... Continue Reading →

"Every day I have less and less to say, or think, or do," a friend from Canada writes. Another friend sends a list of "Plague Season" quotes published in today's New York Times:  "May I kiss the hand that wrote Ulysses?" a fan asks James Joyce. "No, it did lots of other things, too," he... Continue Reading →

I have a confession to make. Every night at the eight o'clock clapping party, I shed a few tears. Who knows why I become so emotional. Maybe it's because this town, tucked away on the Atlantic coast more than 600 kilometres away from Madrid and the epicentre of the virus, still bothers to clap after... Continue Reading →

Warning: Don't start divorce proceedings before a pandemic locks down most of the world. Oh, and maybe think twice about going to what will become one of the hardest-hit countries and getting stuck there, alone, quarantined in a stone house on a hill. While the rest of the world starts posting couple photos of dressing... Continue Reading →