Articles by Gina Leishman

Rain! Lots of it… but thankfully a good soaking rain, no wind to speak of, and no massive downpour with consequent flooding. Yesterday was absolutely stellar, hard to believe this was going to happen, but I saw the forecast and battened down the hatches before going to bed – a Good Thing… They say it will go on all week – on and off – so hopefully, after it dries out a bit, next week Sebastian can turn the front part of the huerto field and I can plant potatoes!  The huerto itself is mostly done, just the endless cherry tomatoes at this point – I am making solfregit and freezing it, and hanging vines of baby toms all over the kitchen.  We ate the last of the green lettuce only a couple of days ago, and still have some purple – planting in the shade of the taller tomato plants was a good idea – I’m learning, slowly.  We even had a couple of ears of corn last night, and I made pesto with part of the giant basil bush…

The island is a lot quieter, thank heavens, now that the August crowds have mostly departed – although our little road continues to be overused (damn GPS/GoogleMaps) – and the number of covid-19 cases has sky-rocketed because of the August influx (what did they expect???) –  the majority of them are in and around Cuitadella…  The numbers are as high as they were back in the height of April, only less of the cases seem so intensely severe – more young people getting it, I guess, who can fight it better… but really, how can people be so stupid, having giant family gatherings and parties as tho’ nothing was amiss??  They are not planning a total lockdown this time, allowing each autonomous region to do what they need/want – so we are at the mercy of Palma – but there is a country-wide ban on gatherings of more than 5 people, public or private which puts paid to my idea of an Equinox Concert in the pool field… plenty of space to socially distance, just 20 or so folk, bring your own chair and refreshments – seemed like a great idea, but no… the very day I decided to do it, they put the ban in place…

Happy birthday, Elfin! I daren’t say how old you are because it makes me feel ancient…

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…