La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
WHEN I WENT TO BED last night, the humidity was 86 percent. When I got out of bed this morning, it was 89 percent. It’s down to a still unpleasant 74 percent. Given the sad state of our world — variants, violence, the environment, fundamentalists, ignorance — if humidity and my dashed plans to visit The Kid Brother are all I have to deal with, I’ll shut up and will simply try and distract you with images from the neighborhood.
This morning, San Geraldo and I were on the terrace because I wanted to show him the exotic hibiscus that might actually bloom, when he gasped and said, “The yucca is blooming!” Not only that, we had already entirely missed the blossom on the other major trunk. I’ve been so busy looking down when I water and when I pick up fallen buds from the hibiscus that I hadn’t even noticed. A former therapist told me, it helps your mood to raise your head. I should have listened. My mood needs the help lately. We checked the other two yuccas, but they just grow taller. I never expected any of our yuccas to bloom because we have to top them off every few years or they hit the ceiling. I’ll share better photos of the entire plant when the new flowers are more advanced.
I received a message and a video from Cristina today. They’re home and took Maria to the pool. A 5-year-old boy was in the water at the pool’s edge playing with a small plastic dinosaur. Maria walked over to him, reached down, took the dinosaur out of his hands, and then went down the nearby steps where she made the dinosaur dive and roar (well, she roared).
Cristina said, “Maria, you have to give the boy the dinosaur. It’s not yours.” Maria sweetly replied, “He should share.”
Maria’s current understanding of the word share is “what’s yours is mine and what’s mine is mine.”
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CUANDO ME FUI A ACOSTAR anoche, la humedad era del 86 por ciento. Cuando me levanté de la cama esta mañana, era del 89 por ciento. Se ha reducido a un todavía desagradable 74 por ciento. Dado el triste estado de nuestro mundo (variantes, violencia, medio ambiente, fundamentalistas, ignorancia), si la humedad y mis planes frustrados de visitar The Kid Brother son todo lo que tengo que enfrentar, me callaré y simplemente intentaré distraerte. con imágenes del barrio.
Esta mañana, San Geraldo y yo estábamos en la terraza porque quería mostrarle el exótico hibisco que en realidad podría florecer, cuando jadeó y dijo: “¡La yuca está floreciendo!”. No solo eso, ya nos habíamos perdido por completo la flor del otro tronco principal. He estado tan ocupado mirando hacia abajo cuando riego y cuando recojo los capullos caídos del hibisco que ni siquiera me había dado cuenta. Un ex terapeuta me dijo que ayuda a levantar la cabeza a su estado de ánimo. Debería haber escuchado. Mi estado de ánimo necesita ayuda últimamente. Revisamos las otras dos yucas, pero simplemente crecen más. Nunca esperé que ninguna de nuestras yucas floreciera porque tenemos que rematarlas cada pocos años o se van al techo. Compartiré mejores fotos de toda la planta cuando las nuevas flores estén más avanzadas.
Recibí un mensaje y un video de Cristina hoy. Están en casa y llevaron a María a la piscina. Un niño de 5 años estaba en el agua al borde de la piscina jugando con un pequeño dinosaurio de plástico. María se acercó a él, se agachó, le quitó el dinosaurio de las manos y luego bajó los escalones cercanos donde hizo que el dinosaurio se lanzara y rugiera (bueno, ella rugió).
Cristina dijo: “María, tienes que darle al niño el dinosaurio. No es tuyo.” María respondió dulcemente: “Él debería compartir.”
La comprensión actual de María de la palabra compartir es “lo que es tuyo es mío y lo que es mío es mío.”
• A esta maravillosa mujer la llamamos Abuelita. Se enamoró de María durante una de sus visitas y nos enamoramos de Abuelita, a quien SG y yo vemos regularmente en Mesón Salvador. A María le gustan sus joyas, así que Abuelita le trajo esas dos pulseras en su última mañana antes de regresar a casa.
Maria is so cute, she can get away with snatching that dinosaur!
I remember my folks used to read humorist Jack Smith’s column in the Los Angeles Times every day and he often wrote about his grandkids. One of them would grab the other’s toy and shout “Dis mine toy!” That became kind of a useful catch phrase for us.
TexasTrailerParkTrash:
I love that catch phrase. I’m going to use it.
I have decided to take that whole second paragraph as a filthy commentary full of dirty euphemisms 🙂 I need to.
Deedles:
I reread it and I can see why. Thank you.
I do what I can, Scoot, I do what I can. I was just shocked that I spelled euphemism correctly!
Deedles:
And here I’ve been spelling it youfamizem!
Abuelita looks to be a lovely woman.
Th humidity here is once again very high. Like you we are not venturing too far.
Thanks for sharing that ‘double print’ emsemble…….I thnk.
Jim:
Abuelita makes any day better and makes me feel the world isn’t all bad. We’ve met two of her daughters. Today we met a son-in-law. ALL kind and interesting people. The son-in-law said he’s heard so much about us, he’d love to meet for a drink or coffee once the summer crowds are gone and Covid is becoming a memory. I look forward to that day. (Besides, Abuelita thinks I’m really handsome.)
Our humidity hovers around 100% in these months. Oy.
Love the blooms.
I kinda like Maria’s sense of sharing.
Lastly, I’m not mad at the plaids.
Bob:
I really shouldn’t complain about our humidity except that our bodies have adjusted to this normally wonderful climate. I remember those days of 90+ temps and 90+ humidity! I really did think of you when I saw those plaids. I thought, Now this is something Bob would like. And the model was well under 30, so the look has to be cool.
Dew point of 78 yesterday (anything over 70 is considered god-awful). Even the weather geeks were retching. Real feel at the moment: 104. No plans to step outside. Completely understand your feelings about things the moment.
Love the look on Maria’s face at she watches the Abuelita.
The Plaidiator is wearing a mixed metaphor of fabrics. He also appears to be wearing someone else’s shorts, too. About four sizes too big for him.
Mary:
Oh, your weather. As i just told Bob, I really shouldn’t complain. I remember those days in NYC and Washingon DC. Temps and humidity over 90. You’d love this. 73 percent humidity and dew point is only 22˚, and temp feels like 88F. Everything’s relative. Maria is so social and so expressive. I love her and miss her. We hope to visit them in Madrid before the end of the year. And they hope to be back here soon. I love the Pladiator! But he’s well under 30, which I think means this outfit is trendy… doesn’t it?
Well, of course the bright red hibiscus flowers distracted you from the yucca flowers! Even so, we could all do with looking up more often.
Very sweet image of Maria and Abuelita.
Wilma:
SG and I were both told to look up when we’re feeling down. I was astounded it actually works to some degree. However, sometimes I’m so down I simply refuse to look up. Not this week. Maria and Abuelita immediately fell in love. It warmed our hearts. I have to get more toner for my printer so I can print some photos and frame them for Abuelita.
Well, to be fair, the flowers on the yucca are a bit inconspicuous, at least in terms of color. I could see how they might get past you if you’re looking down! We have a yucca too but it never crossed my mind that it might bloom. Something to watch for!
Hooray for the generous Abuelita. I’m laughing at Deedles’ comment. 🙂
Steve:
The yucca flowers are much more extravagant when they’re open. I’m keeping an eye on this stalk. The flowers are beginning to open today. Deedles makes my days better.
Beautiful blossoms, and I love the Abuelita story, and seeing Maria again!
Judy C:
More blossoms today. I’ll keep sharing. We also saw Abuelita at Mesón Salvador this morning and met one of her sons-in-law. Her family is as kind and warm as she is. As for Maria, we ALL wish we lived closer to each other. SG and I are hoping to visit them in Madrid, before the end of the year.
I needed a little pick me up the other afternoon, so I went google earth driving down the Paseo in your town, pretty place, look up there are many wonders to see.
David:
I’ve thought of doing a video walking tour. I DO look up when I’m outside. But not when there are birds overhead.
Beautiful photos!!!
We are already at home… Madrid! Time runs very fast. Missing you a lot!!!
Cristina:
We miss you so much!
I have no idea what the humidity is here in SE England. It isn’t something that is much thought about. The temp. at the moment is apparently 16C. The perfect temp. for a morning dog walk.
Like Steve, I had no idea that a yucca has flowers. I have got 3 around the house, but they are not huge ( yet). They were little ones on the side of a much bigger one that I took off some years ago when it got too old/big ( can’t remember why). Steve lives only about 20 miles from me so perhaps the climate isn’t conducive to flowering!
Frances:
I really have no right to complain about the heat and humidity here. We used to tolerate high 30sC and over 90 percent humidity in NYC and Washington DC. We’ve gotten soft! My mother had a yucca that would flower in her apartment, but she also had to lop it off when it hit the ceiling. At least our ceilings are higher. Where we’ve lived, outdoor yuccas flower all the time. But I do wonder how well they do in your environment.
Maria is adorable, although I’m sure the 5 year old didn’t think so. So sorry about your cancelled visit with Chuck.