The days are just packed / Los días están llenos

La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.

We’ve been busy around here. Yesterday I hustled myself over to Tynan and Elena’s new apartment. They’re proud homeowners of a great place and they were there cleaning and painting. Elena and I went downstairs for coffee and left Tynan to work (which is as it should be). I don’t know who’s more excited about their new place, me or them.

Luke and Beckett’s mother, Kathleen, phoned to see if we wanted to have lunch… in a half hour. It was a 15-minute walk home and a 10-minute drive to the restaurant. So I hustled back, put on a fresh shirt, and we hopped in the car to meet them. That was a pleasure as always.

Our niece, Sara, her partner, John, and their two charming sons (9 and 13) are here from England for 10 days. We haven’t seen them in nearly 8 years, and it’s a love-fest. I met them for churros and chocolate (and carrot cake for John) in the late afternoon. We can’t seem to get enough of each other. We were supposed to meet for dinner last night but the 13-year-old was under the weather. He just turned 13 on Friday and we had told him it was all downhill from here. He’s fine today.

I was to the point of sick-tired last night, but San Geraldo and I went to Mesón Salvador where we were treated like family and that helped. Today, I’m staying home and definitely plan to have a siesta. We’re meeting the family for dinner tonight.

The desert rose continues to flourish on the terrace. You can even see the flowers from the street. I mentioned the other day that I nearly killed our two orchids by forgetting them in direct sun for an entire day. Yesterday I was excited to notice a new leaf had appeared on one. When I looked at the other, I was even more excited to see a new flower stem. They know I love them.

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Hemos estado ocupados por aquí. Ayer me apresuré a ir al nuevo departamento de Tynan y Elena. Son orgullosos propietarios de un gran lugar y estuvieron allí limpiando y pintando. Elena y yo bajamos a tomar un café y dejamos a Tynan trabajando (que es como debe ser). No sé quién está más entusiasmado con su nuevo lugar, yo o ellos.

La madre de Luke y Beckett, Kathleen, llamó por teléfono para ver si queríamos almorzar… en media hora. Estaba a 15 minutos a pie de casa ya 10 minutos en coche del restaurante. Así que me apresuré a regresar, me puse una camisa limpia y nos subimos al auto para encontrarnos con ellos. Eso fue un placer como siempre.

Nuestra sobrina, Sara, su pareja, John, y sus dos hijos encantadores (9 y 13) están aquí desde Inglaterra por 10 días. No los hemos visto en casi 8 años, y es una fiesta de amor. Los conocí por churros y chocolate (y pastel de zanahoria para John) al final de la tarde. Parece que no podemos tener suficiente el uno del otro. Se suponía que íbamos a encontrarnos para cenar anoche, pero la niña de 13 años estaba enferma. Acababa de cumplir 13 años el viernes y le habíamos dicho que todo iba cuesta abajo desde aquí. Él está bien hoy.

Estuve al borde del cansancio anoche, pero San Geraldo y yo fuimos a Mesón Salvador donde nos trataron como familia y eso ayudó. Hoy me quedo en casa y definitivamente planeé tomar una siesta. Nos reuniremos con la familia para cenar esta noche.

La rosa del desierto sigue floreciendo en la terraza. Incluso puedes ver las flores desde la calle. Mencioné el otro día que casi mato nuestras dos orquídeas al olvidarlas bajo el sol directo durante un día entero. Ayer me emocioné al notar que había aparecido una nueva hoja en uno. Cuando miré al otro, estaba aún más emocionado de ver un nuevo tallo floral. Ellos saben que los amo.

• How the cats greeted us when we returned from lunch. Are we in the doghouse?
• Cómo nos saludaron los gatos cuando volvimos de almorzar. ¿Estamos en la caseta del perro?
• Cactus flowers are fascinating.
• Las flores de cactus son fascinantes.
• For some reason, Moose has a special fondness for our neighbor’s doormat.
• Por alguna razón, Moose tiene un cariño especial por el felpudo de nuestros vecinos.

Click the thumbnails.
Haz clic en las miniaturas.

Calvin: ¿La costa está despejada? Dame un empujón.
Hobbes: ¿Cuál es el plan?
C: ¡Esperamos a que Susie camine debajo de este árbol y luego le tiramos el globo de agua!
H: ¿Y si ella no pasa?
C: Luego nos sentamos en el árbol todo el día.
H: Me encanta el verano.
C: Los días están llenos.
— Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson.
— Calvin y Hobbes de Bill Watterson.

Author: Moving with Mitchell

From Brooklyn, New York; to North Massapequa; back to Brooklyn; Brockport, New York; back to Brooklyn... To Boston, Massachusetts, where I met Jerry... To Marina del Rey, California; Washington, DC; New Haven and Guilford, Connecticut; San Diego, San Francisco, Palm Springs, and Santa Barbara, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Irvine, California; Sevilla, Spain. And Fuengirola, Málaga..

37 thoughts on “The days are just packed / Los días están llenos”

  1. Moose and Dudo, in unison: “You have some ‘splaining to do.”

    t’s especially bad when CATS put you in the DOG house.

    1. Bob:
      And I still think of The Shining every time they align this way… which is often.

  2. I know the feeling all too well Mitchell. Seems like since being back I’ve been busy as hell and I’ve been cutting into my blog reading time! The nerve.

    Boy .. and Dudo and Moose! The way they are standing there like that, they could be the twins in The Shining!! If I was you guys, make sure red rum doesn’t appear on the mirror.

    1. Mistress Borghese:
      Bob and I have shared comments on the boys’ The Shining poses. It’s creepy.

  3. I’ve just copied one of your pics into my ‘Blogpals’ file. ( Was very nearly two). If you’re wondering which – and you’re not – it features no foliage.

  4. I beg to differ! The 13-year old has 10 more years before it all starts going downhill.

  5. Oh, I love that desert rose! Just beautiful. I also enjoyed your cats’ stances and the looks on their faces. Sure does look like you were in the doghouse! Too funny. Gotta love cats and their attitudes huh? 🤓

    1. Kelly:
      We had all the Calvin & Hobbes books but left the behind when we came to Spain. I do wish we still had them. Great as a stress reliever.

  6. It’s such a joy when plants reward you like that – two orchids on their way back to life, and the desert rose looking fabulous! We’ve been out in the garden all day, and there are more and more signs of life in plants we thought the frost had killed.

    Those cats are in a scary mood! Jx

  7. Given Moose & Dudo’s “Eat shit and die, human” expressions, you’d better check your shoes for cat crap, LOL!

  8. The days are packed! Always something that needs to be done. I love the way the boys are looking at you. Shame on you for leaving them.

    Love,
    Janie

    1. janiejunebug:
      Since Covid they have grown so used to someone always being around. Plus, and more importantly, they thought it was long past time for a treat.

  9. Dudo and Moose, sigh. If looks could kill somebody would be smoldering embers now. It’s a good thing your orchids love you 🙂 I don’t care for succulents in general but I love whatever that thingy is with the red blooms.

    1. Deedles:
      I love cacti and succulents. I think because the flowers always seem like such a surprise. The desert rose (Adenium obesum) is a succulent. We had a large one planted in our garden in San Diego that required much less care and was glorious.

  10. The desert rose is just gorgeous! And yes, the days are packed. Yesterday we took the entertainment center (that table where the tv and all the satellite and sound components live) apart and cleaned it, under it, inside it, behind it, and put it all back together again. Spring cleaning continues!

    1. Jennifer Barlow:
      It’s been busy here. And more to come. Oh, how I love Calvin and Hobbes.

  11. I love that picture of the cats, and the desert rose is looking GREAT! I recognized the blog post title right away — it’s also the title of one of the Calvin & Hobbes books.

    1. Steve:
      We had the entire collection of books but gave them to charity before moving here. I miss them. They’re great therapy. I may pick some up the next time I’m in the States.

  12. I like the post by Traveling penguin, from last Sunday the 2nd about blogs. I decided to check all the blogs out.
    It been a while since I been so tired that I’m actually sick.
    Coffee is on and stay safe.

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