Finally, the end of 2020… my fervent prayer is that this time next year we don’t find ourselves looking back on 2020 with nostalgia. ….
Sis is home (she came home Dec. 1st, and has been making slow but steady progress ever since). Chris has gone. We are bereft. Two and a half months of the most buoyant company and support – Saint Christopher indeed… Now comes the hard part… but we will manage… and we have so much to be thankful for…
The Queen is home, finally… yesterday, on our third attempt… first try was Nov.18th, but the bathroom renovation wasn’t finished; then Thanksgiving, but there was a knock-on problem with the kitchen plumbing; and finally Dec. 1st – and a beautiful day it was, she even took a slow (assisted) walk around the garden and sat out on the patio for a while, before retiring to her new “cama articulada”… And now it’s raining – but we’re all home and snug… Sis even took a short walk outside this morning in the cold and damp (with the aid of the walker, and Chris) – after two and a half months of recycled air, she has a new appreciation of fresh air!
I had a bit of a ghastly morning: we got home to find there was only one oxycodona pill left, so I got up early and went to the farmacia for more, only to be told that the prescription had run out, no more refills – what? How could they not have told me?? So I walked over to the hospital (in the rain) where luckily the doctor who had taken care of sis had just come in. She said it was a controlled substance and I’d have to take it up with Diana’s personal doctor. I explained that it took 3 or 4 days to get an appointment, and meanwhile what were we to do? After a lengthy to-and-fro, she finally wrote me a prescription. I walked back (in the rain) to the farmacia, only to be told that the doctor had made a mistake in the precise wording of the prescription, so back I walked to the hospital (in the rain) to. find that luckily, again, the doc had still not started her rounds. She amended the scrip and I walked back (in the rain) to the farmacia. Third time’s a charm… But really… And I hadn’t even had breakfast…
On a more optimistic note, the “new” bathroom is a great improvement – really quite good. The shower is fabulous, tho’ it does make you want to take a lovely LONG one, which is so against the rules here… But it was definitely worth the trouble (I haven’t seen the bill yet – I dread to think…). In reality all ‘we’ (Sebastian and Chris) did was take out the bathtub and replace it with a walk-in shower, but this ended up taking FOUR WEEKS – Jesus me beads, as my mother used to say… old houses… you disturb one thing and that leads to another and another and another…. the whole waste pipe had to be replaced which involved digging through a 6-foot-thick stone wall into the pozo negro, aomngst other things… then there was a knock-on problem with the kitchen plumbing, after an old metal pipe in the back of the house was accidentally punctured during the bathroom work (nephew Chris finally solved the kitchen problem with a little extra piece of rubber washer – after Sebastian spent TWO DAYS trying to figure it out…). But meanwhile, much other necessary work has been done: Chris bleached out all the mould in various bits of ceiling, and we have taken care of a lot of the noisy outdoor work – cutting wood, weed whacking all the tancas (and little bits of the gardens – the oxalis is really taking over), getting rid of all the porqueria in the lane from the bathroom excavation, also all the old irrigation tubing lying about in various fields, and a few of the smaller bathtubs that used to provide water for sheep and horses, etc…) – so that all might be quiet and peaceful for the Queen’s return… On Monday, the day before she came back, the cleaner bailed, so I had the joy of cleaning the house as best I could, plus doing. a massive shop, while Chris got hold of Sebastian’s hedge-trimmer and went to town on the plumbago, setos, and many other things – if we had our own (hedge clippers), there would probably be no vegetation left on the finca! But the place looks really spiffy and cleaned up – thank you St. Christopher…
We finally had a half day of rain last Saturday, and another today, with more on the way – the garden is sooo happy, after almost two months without… The bad news is that the potato plants have the blight – damn! It seems the best thing to do is just cut them down, burn them so as to not pass the blight onto the soil, and dig up what potatoes there are – wah! it’s way too soon… but I took out the last plant on each row a few days ago as an experiment, and some more this afternoon, and garnered a pretty good crop of decent sized tatties – so the blight hasn’t reached the roots yet, only the leaves… the Menorcan reds, which came up much later than the rest, are still not too bad, so perhaps I will try the organic “fungicide” – a solution of bicarbonate of soda and water, with a little oil to make it stick to the leaves and a little washing up liquid to emulsify it… if it stops raining for a few days…
Thank heavens for Chris – not only is he great muscle to have around. for a myriad jobs, but he is such a sweetheart, so kind and considerate and loving, and good company, and gets on better with his mom than anyone else in the world – me included! I’m atually writing this in my studio – where I’ve not been in months – safe in the knowledge that he is in the house cooking up a big batch of pesto lasagna, while sis is tucked up in her room, and the fire is blazing in the sitting room. All is momentarily good with the world – tho I know things can change in a heartbeat – kenahora, kenahora – surrounded by white light etc etc…. I must take a short walk before it gets dark… Saludos to one and all…
Dear friends,
I may have spoken to some of you, maybe not, it’s all a bit of a blur…
It’s hard to believe it was only 3 wee,ks ago… The day after I posted the video of me singing contentedly under the olive trees (sept. 20th), my sister had a bad fall and has been in hospital ever since, flat on her back, with 2 fractured vertebrae in her upper back. Added to the broken lower back of 15 years ago, it’s extraordinarily bad luck… she was frail before this, but now… I don’t know… She spent 2 weeks in the local hospital, flat on her back, waiting for a medieval torture device that she has to wear for 3 months – it runs from her ears (the top of her spine) to her sternum, and she has to wear it anytime she is not flat on her back – and I mean flat… they call it a corset – if only it were just what that word conjures up… She is drugged up to the eyeballs, which is good on the one hand, not so good on the other…
Last Monday they transferred her to a private “hospital”/clinic (blessedly free for the first few weeks) where they will try to get her accustomed to the corset (sort of) and hopefully strong enough to be able to walk again, at least a little, so she can come home. This place is not designed for the infirm… Meanwhile I am researching the purchase of an orthopedic hospital bed, and all the bathroom trimmings, plus spending 6 or 7 hours a day with her at the hospital – the spanish system expects the family to do 90% of the nursing… and trying to figure out how to run this place single-handedly as well as take care of her. I am of course looking for help, I will not manage alone (just getting the corset on her in order to get her up to pee takes two people), but the social system is stretched very thin and it will be very expensive…
My wonderful nephew Chris is trying to figure out how to get here to help, but of course US citizens are persona non grata, so he has to apply for special permission through the Spanish bureaucracy, which is endless – with the ultimate decision being made by the border police – so I don’t hold out much hope… Meanwhile friends here are doing my food shopping, feeding me lunch a couple times a week – I am not comletely alone!
If I think too far ahead I grind to a halt, so I am just trying to get through this day by day… Every day brings fresh and unique challenges – just when I think I’ve figured things out for a little while, something else crashes. – I’m told Mercury is in retrograde and will be for the next two months – fuck Mercury, and fuck 2020!
Forgive me if I don’t write too often, but I will try to give you updates whenever possible… I know that I need to take care of myself if I am to manage this, so if anyone has any bright ideas of how to teach me to compartmentalise? The few hours of down time I get each day are still torpedoed by the ever-churning brain….
Hoping you are all safe and well…
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…
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…
Summer has arrived with all guns blazing, exactly a month early. Over night, it seems, we are in full summer mode – hot, hot, hot… Any exercise has to be taken before 11am or after 7pm… Swimming in the sea is still prohibited, I think because it means crowded beaches – I would just go down to the sea, swim, and come home, and if this keeps up I will try that next week (really don’t want a fine – a 600 euro swim is not enticing). Meanwhile, I walk with my sis for a half hour every morning and again in the evening, then ride my bike down to the sea and put my feet in for a minute…
The real exercise of the past few weeks has been the Major Work around the place, all essential and overdue… First the cisterna (I have sent off a sample of the drinking water to be analyzed – all fingers and toes crossed) and then the coach house. The old coach is long gone – sounds terribly grand but wasn’t, just a lovely old horse-drawn carriage that is now in the local museum after having having been lovingly restored… It (the coach house) is where all the tools and wheelbarrow and summer furniture and butanos etc etc are kept, plus the washing machine (quelle luxe!) and it’s been about 30 years since the place was emptied and painted. We replaced three of the beams this past winter (totally rotten), and last week we emptied and cleaned and repaired and painted the inside, and got rid of a lot of old junk in the process (still plenty there!). We also discovered woodworm in three of the “new” beams in the entrance hall of the house (again, not as grand as it sounds!), so that had to get emptied while the rot was scraped out and the beams were painted with gas-oil – the only effective remedy, it seems – the place stank for days. But everything is now back where it should be and we have a semblance of normalcy – only to discover that the old tree trunks in the front garden left from the 4 pines that died (just after mum did) are the breeding ground of some truly horrible insects, so those stumps are going to have to come out as soon as I can get Sebastian back here to help – it never ends. God only knows how I’m going to pay for all this, but we live in hope… Sis has dealt with the discombobulation quite well, really – she’s on a new med which seems to be working, for the moment at least – she is still in constant pain, but dealing with it better…
Meanwhile I am dealing with running out of my prescription meds and supplements, and the vagaries of Spanish customs. A dear friend kindly sent a care package (via Fed Ex, at VAST expense) of health supplements and my mail (prescriptions not ready til next week), only for it to be held up in Barcelona – I have been told I have to either hire a customs broker (??), fill out a million forms and pay a bunch of money, or it will be sent back to NY. Nothing is simple… Except the beuaty of this quiet island, and the vegetables growing in my huerta – thank you thank you thank you…
It’s a rainy Sunday afternoon (first rain in over a month) and I am attempting to make marmalade. This is a first for me so it’s a grand experiment. I noticed on one of my walks that one of my neighbours (who is stuck in the UK unable to come here) had a Seville orange tree groaning with fruit, and it just seemed such a waste… So I emailed him and he graciously gave me permission to pick them… I’ve used but a fraction of the oranges – if it works I will make more – unless it proves too complicated, which is quite possible…
The rain is blissful – it started yesterday afternoon, about an hour of gentle mizzle just to soften the earth, then this morning just before dawn it began in earnest, but still pretty gentle, pretty much straight down, with pauses to let it sink in and not flood – the land and gardens are supremely happy (I have not gone out to check to see if the huerto plants are still upright but I can only hope – the tomato plants already have flowers, which will not be so happy, but hopefully they will survive…)
We have a cleaned and repaired cisterna, and a new water filtration system, including an osmosis filter, a UV light and a special drinking water tap at the kitchen sink… Oh the joy of good water, and the prospect of not having to buy all those plastic bottles! I watered the garden to a fare-thee-well on Tuesday, to drain the cisterna as far as I could (about a foot and a half of water left), and the following morning Sebastian and I spent two hours bailing out the remaining water by hand – oy! Then he cleaned it with a pressure hose, let it dry, painted it with a mixture of cal and cement, let it dry, we refilled it, bled the pipes, and voila… the miracle was that he figured out how to keep the water running in the house during the 3 days of work by running a hose from the neighbours’ house into our system – very clever, and it made such a difference – 3 days without water would have been very tricky for sis…. And we are now finally drinking our own water again, after decades off not being able to – hallelujah!
All things being equal, on Wednesday next week we empty the coach house and paint it – another 3-day job (hopefully not more) – and then all the major jobs will be done. I have decided that on May 22nd, the day I was due to fly to CA for BIRD rehearsals and performances, I will go into the studio and spend the next 6 weeks – when I would have been working on the piece in CA – really finishing it. Seems like a good idea. Hopefully I can do it… I will certainly try… I am still totally enamoured of The Park, all I want to do is sculpt trees, but my shoulders and hands are starting to object very strongly and I need to listen to them. if I ever want to be a musician again…
On May 1st I started swimming – bracing but wonderful… “Hooray hooray the 1st of May, outdoor swimming starts today” is the new updated mantra…. the huerto grows apace, as do the malas hierbas – this rain is meant to be over this evening, so tomorrow I will do a massive weeding – insh’allah…
They say that as of tomorrow we will be able to start socializing in groups of up to 10 people (with the usual 2m distancing) so maybe we will have a few friends over for an outdoor lunch – wow… I think the re-opening of everything is happening too quickly, but money talks and they desperately want to reboot the economy… I would prefer that we stay locked down until the end of May, then very slowly open up to maybe letting folks in from outside by August, but then I’m not in charge… Also, as long as we’re locked down I don’t have to think about what the hell I’m going to do…
Exactly 6 months later… and such a different world…
It seems only right that I pick this up again, as the world tilts on its axis into a whole new reality… for the moment, I am blessed with being in this beautiful, peaceful place, relatively unscathed, tho’ I have been out in “the world” only twice in the past month (since I have been here, with the first 2 weeks in full quarantine…)
To recap, I share the email I sent my friends after landing….
“I am in Menorca. I was in New York, but I realised this was going to be a long haul and I couldn’t leave my sister on her own, so through many, many cliff-hangers, I finally managed to get on the last plane allowed into the island from outside Spain…. I am now in quarantine for 14 days, so as not to endanger the very person I have come to protect! Luckily a friend has a little house that’s empty just up the road from our house – very basic, and yesterday even without water (today I have it, for now). When I’m settled I will write longer, but for now I just wanted to let you all know where I was, and that so far I’m fine (unfortunately I have been on 6 planes, in 8 airports, in the past 2 weeks, so I’m counting the days…). There’s a complete lockdown here (even if I weren’t quarantined), no walking or biking, going anywhere for pleasure, only trips to buy food or medicine (or tobacco – this is Spain!), no more than one person in a car, etc…. but I plan to start planting the vegetable garden next week, once the field has been cleared… I knew there was a reason I learned how to grow food! I feel incredibly lucky to be here, to have been able to get here, both for my sister and myself. Leaving my apartment in Westbeth was really hard, but I know it was the right thing to do… Please keep in touch and let me know how you all are… far flung we might be, but you are all important to me.”
A month later, and I am still in the “wee hoose” down the road – much as I’d like to be in my own house, it’s good to have my own space – living with sis 24/7 is challenging, and who knows for how long this will be, so I’m happy to be the recipient of such hospitality – thank you, Judy and Caroline, for your generosity… sis and I walk every morning (totally against the rules, but the rules are made in Madrid, and our back lanes here in the country are rarely policed, thank heavens), and often times in the late afternoon. I do chores around the house, then spend hours in the garden and fields, plus time in the studio – but I wake up and go to sleep alone… the 2 weeks of quarantine were overhung with anxiety, waiting for the axe to fall, but I seem to have managed to come through unscathed, in spite of the numerous airports and airplanes… Since then, I have been out into the world only twice, and both times were deeply unsettling, ever since it was pointed out to me that as a cancer survivor with a heart condition I am a “high risk” individual… what, you mean I’m no longer 35 and and invincible?? So food is ordered and delivered, and we keep to ourselves out of choice as well as necessity… thank god for the garden and our fields…