Aug. 20th
Articles by Gina Leishman
Aug. 7th
Happy birthday, Elfin! I daren’t say how old you are because it makes me feel ancient…
Into the core of the summer anvil – not a breath of wind, but if there were it would be from the south – hot hot hot… sea like a millpond this morning, and almost as warm…
Little did we know how blessed we were in June (actually I did, and appreciated every moment…). July 1st they opened the doors to the world (except the US, of course) and the tourists and the germs have been flooding in… But if I thought July was bad, August 1st saw another massive ramp up – a plane every couple of minutes from sunup to midnight, it seemed – everyone wants to come to the “safe” island – hah! It’s like the. blaring headlines about “undiscovered corners” – not any more… The UK imposed a 14-day quarantine for visitors or returning residents from Spain, so there are much fewer Brits – but that’s more than made up by the massive influx of mainlanders and other Europeans – and it is Madrid and Barcelona that we have to be leery of… go figure…. I do NOT understand the government’s line of thinking – other than “it’s the economy, stupid…”
I am feeling terribly trapped at the moment – I have to change my attitude somehow or I will make myself ill… I desperately need a break, and I am worried sick about losing my life back in NYC, but nephew Chris can’t get here so I can’t leave, and anyway travel to and from NYC right now is not a good idea for MY health, let alone sis’s… She has just started a new pain med, which means taking only a small dose at first, to see how she reacts to it, so she is in bad shape, con mucho dolor… poor sweetheart… I am frequently short-tempered these days, which is hard on her – she understands but it’s no solution… and the cottage is still empty… what an insoluble mess… But fear of the future will destroy the present, so try and try again to BE PRESENT… and be grateful for what is… remember…
Aug. 20 update – well the new meds didn’t work – 3 days of hell, then back to the old one, which tho’ it doesn’t work terribly well, at least she can tolerate it… I wrote a new song to try and turn my head around “just be grateful, now and then”… the past couple of nights I have been sleeping out, wake up at 7, water a few pots while I have a cup of tea, then onto my bike by 7.30 for a half hour/40 min. ride up to Mesquida for my morning swim (across the bay and back) – the Bathtub has been full of crap recently, with the SW wind, and Mesquida is idyllic… Home by 9.30, just before it gets too hot, and in time to make b’fast for me and coffee for the two of us – sis’s favorite daily ritual… it’s the little things…
June 24th, menorca
Menorca June 24th
Midsummer Day and Sant Joan
Well, I thought summer came back in May but I was wrong – right on cue, on the summer solstice, the official first day of summer, REAL summer heat arrived – the anvil… but the nights still cool down, and the sea is still cool and refreshing to swim in… and there are still no people except us island folk – until this coming weekend, when the airport opens to outsiders, and the world pours in, with all its attendant complications… it’s been bliss these past few weeks, to have a virus- and tourist- free island… I actually went to lunch at a restaurant in Mao harbor today with friends – on the terrace, very few people, very little traffic, and the food was great – heaven… No fiesta, no tens of thousands of people coming to celebrate Sant Joan – it’s like the island was 30 years ago… thank you…
I tried, but failed, to get residency here on Tuesday – missing one vital piece of paper, that is on its way from the UK, but the email saying it was on its way was not enough – no actual S1, no permit… it took 3 weeks of incessant trying to get that appointment, I will not get another, and June 30th the portcullis comes down and I’m locked outside… damn…. nothing I can do until the S1 arrives, so I must try and not think about it until then…
Sis is up and down, as ever… more and more dependent upon me, both to do all the chores and to keep her company… hard to carve out time for myself, but I do, and she is good about understanding… I managed to figure out how to get my bike up onto the bike rack I ordered back in January but never got to use – the key was a temporary bar (racks are designed by men for men) and I have taken a few wonderful expeditions, particularly to the north coast during a long spell off heavy south wind that made the sea unswimmable in these parts. I drive to somewhere in the middle of the island, park, unload the bike and take off – fabulous! Opens up a massive amount of new exploration… now something to look forward to doing more of in the cooler months…
Meanwhile Moppet has wrought miracles at the cottage, stashing all personal stuff out of sight and getting the estate agent in for a look-see. Of course there are more complications – fire-proof furniture needed, certificates fro gas and leccy, formss to fill out for the tax man… nothing is simple… I really do wish for a simpler life these days…
But the cat is asleep on my bed, the night is still (I can hear the mosquitoes buzzing, kept at bay by the magic of the plug in the wall) and tomorrow I have no plans, except to finish painting a table, play some scales, and swim in the sea…
Menorca May 21st
