La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
I haven’t shared an hucha photo in a long time (the word means piggy bank and doubles for simply a slot, and is slang for plumber’s butt, carpenter’s crack, etc.). We don’t see many of them here because people are usually more fully dressed than where we used to live. (Click here.) The same guy first caught my attention because the tag was sticking out the back of his T-shirt. I was tempted to tuck both in.
Other than that, I have nothing to complain about. Life is good here for me. I live in a country I love in a city of endless possibilities. And yet… I’m going to complain. I deserve no sympathy and maybe even a slap and a “Snap out of it.” But here it goes.
Today was Merchi day. She used to be here at 11:30 but now comes at 10. So, I get out of bed at 8, early for me, make the bed, pick up anything lying around the house, empty the dishwasher, have first breakfast, do morning ablutions, and make sure to get out of the house by the time she arrives. San Geraldo, although not quite as busy (he’s even told her to ignore his office these last two weeks), hustles a bit as well. This morning, the owner of the apartment was texting me about the leaks in the bathroom ceiling (currently dry). That was about 10 exchanges. Then I sent her the bill for the repair of the electrical short in the dining room and for replacing the fan in my bathroom.
For some reason, SG had a lot of questions this morning. Nothing earth shattering, but still distractions. Then my digestive system started to act up. Nothing to do with my stress level; I’ve been fine for two days, so I was overdo for a bout.
While I was on the pot, the insurance company plumber phoned to schedule a visit tomorrow morning.
At 10:46, Merchi arrived. She had lab work done this morning so was ready earlier than usual. SG was in the shower in one bathroom. I was on the pot in the other. At opposite ends of the apartment. I yelled to her to come back in 15 minutes.
Merchi returned and SG left for coffee and second breakfast. I took two pills and left a few minutes later. I’m glad this cafe has a clean, pleasant bathroom. I wasn’t finished. I took two more pills. I enjoyed my coffee, but didn’t even have second breakfast.
Then I got a message from the owner of our apartment. She’s raising the rent. Less than 2.5%, so we’re not complaining.
The dentist wrote asking if it was OK to change my appointment Thursday from 12:15 to 11:15. I said, yes.
Oh, and my hip hurts.
Otherwise, I feel fine!
Hace mucho que no comparto una foto de una «hucha» (término que se refiere tanto a la alcancía como, coloquialmente, a la raja del culo que se asoma cuando alguien se agacha, típica de fontaneros o carpinteros). Aquí no se ven muchas, ya que la gente suele ir más vestida que donde vivíamos antes. (Haz clic aquí.) Ese mismo hombre llamó mi atención al principio porque tenía la etiqueta de la camiseta asomando por detrás; tuve la tentación de meterle tanto la etiqueta como la camiseta por dentro del pantalón.
Por lo demás, no tengo ninguna queja. La vida aquí es buena para mí: vivo en un país que adoro y en una ciudad de posibilidades infinitas. Y, sin embargo… me voy a quejar. No merezco compasión; tal vez incluso merezca una bofetada y que me digan: «¡Reacciona!». Pero allá va.
Hoy tocaba el día de Merchi. Antes venía a las 11:30, pero ahora llega a las 10:00. Así que me levanto a las 8:00, temprano para mí, hago la cama, recojo lo que haya por la casa, vacío el lavavajillas, tomo el primer desayuno, hago mi aseo matutino y me aseguro de salir de casa antes de que ella llegue. San Geraldo, aunque no está tan atareado (incluso le ha dicho a ella que no toque su despacho estas dos últimas semanas), también se mueve bastante. Esta mañana, la propietaria del piso me escribía mensajes sobre las filtraciones en el techo del baño (que actualmente está seco); intercambiamos unos diez mensajes. Luego le envié la factura de la reparación del cortocircuito en el comedor y de la sustitución del ventilador de mi baño.
Por alguna razón, SG tenía muchas preguntas esta mañana. Nada trascendental, pero aun así, distracciones. Después, mi sistema digestivo empezó a dar guerra. Nada que ver con mi nivel de estrés; llevaba dos días bien, así que ya me tocaba un episodio.
Mientras estaba en el inodoro, llamó el fontanero del seguro para concertar una visita mañana por la mañana.
A las 10:46 llegó Merchi. Esta mañana se había hecho unos análisis, así que estaba lista antes de lo habitual. SG se estaba duchando en el otro baño. Yo estaba en el baño del otro lado; estábamos en extremos opuestos del apartamento. Le grité que volviera en 15 minutos.
Merchi regresó y SG salió a tomar café y a hacer una segunda comida. Me tomé dos pastillas y salí unos minutos después. Me alegra que esta cafetería tenga un baño limpio y agradable. Aún no había terminado. Me tomé otras dos pastillas. Disfruté del café, pero ni siquiera hice la segunda comida.
Luego recibí un mensaje de la dueña de nuestro apartamento: va a subir el alquiler. Es menos del 2,5 %, así que no nos quejamos.
La dentista me escribió para preguntar si me venía bien cambiar mi cita del jueves de las 12:15 a las 11:15. Dije que sí.
Ah, y me duele la cadera.
Por lo demás, ¡me siento bien!
• Si su objetivo era sacarme de quicio, lo logró.
• Hace varios días. Ese calor parece haber quedado atrás.
• Entrada a la escuela de artes aplicadas de la universidad de Córdoba.
• Antiguamente el Palacio de Los Hoces (de los duques de Hornachuelos), un palacio privado construido a mediados del siglo XIX. He leído que hay unos jardines preciosos en el centro del edificio. Tendré que verlos.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
Of course the landlady raised your rent. You sent her a bill for repairs and scheduled more. Somebody has to pay for it. I guess Merchi didn’t realize how close you and SG cut it.
ellen abbott:
Thankfully, the landlady is wonderful and has done a lot for us. Our rent just happened to hit its renewal 1 October. She didn’t raise the rent last year, after buying a new washing machine, new refrigerator, new water heater, new cooktop, and more (all top of the line and selected by me). The increase now is less than we had a agreed to for our yearly renewals when we signed the lease. Now, our landlady in Fuengirola was another story! As for Merchi, I tell her everything.
Sounds like you have a great landlady.
ellen abbott:
She’s a pleasure. We’ve been very pleasantly surprised.
So we are on our last days in Barcelona today, Wednesday we’ve had a great time here. The weather though was a little spectacular on Tuesday with this incredible rain we got soaked, but so what the afternoon was much nicer. Love the restaurants here and the food and everything it reminds me so much of our time living in Europe I wish I could convince Will to move here. we went to the Farmacia, found the product we needed. It was right there on the shelf and the pharmacist spoke five languages. I was beyond impressed with the service. Thank you again Mitchell for your help with this item we needed.
larry:
I’ve seen the news on the rain in Barcelona. What timing. I’m glad you still enjoyed yourselves and am especially happy to have been able to help you get what you needed. Happy sails!
I was thinking the same thing as ellen abbott about timing of the increase. That’s pretty clever of landlady to reimburse you for repairs, then recoup her money in a rent increase. I’ve never had a Merchi, so I don’t know the rules so tell me ….. is it customary to be absent when a cleaner comes in and if so … why?
Shirley:
I’m happy to say our landlady is nothing like that. It just happened to be renewal time and we had agreed to a specific yearly increase. She didn’t even raise the rent last year and this year it’s less than it’s supposed to be.
Many people leave the housecleaner on their own. My mother never did. When SG and I worked, the cleaner always let her/himself in while we were at work and we came home to a clean house. With Merchi, we simply like to be out of the way. (And she’s a bit of a whirling dervish when she cleans.)
You are allowed a moan dearHeart xxx
Anonymous:
And a whine? Thank you.
The stained glass through the open door at the school es muy bonita, muy linda. I don’t like an early start to the day and being rushed.
Love,
Janie
janiejunebug:
Isn’t that stained glass view beautiful. Maybe I’ll go back tomorrow and go inside and also check out the gardens. I rushed out of bed this morning and I’m now sitting and waiting for yet another plumber to arrive to look over the leak in the bathroom ceiling. I hustled and he’s late.
Wow, you sure had a busy day! And I am glad that is finally cooling down. 104 is no fun.
Michael:
And 104 had been an improvement. It was a hot summer. 89 is expected today. Similar for the next several days and then another drop to high 70s. I’ll take it!
High 70s is perfect!
Oh…that stained glass really draws one in. Lovely.
Jim:
Isn’t that beautiful. I have to go back and explore inside.
As RoseAnn RoseAnnaDanna used to say, “It’s always something.”
Love the stained glass and the walkabout, though.
We warmed up a bit but mid-to-high 80s is not high 90s so I will hush up!
Bob:
We’re also high 80s now. A huge improvement. And, yes, I was thinking of Roseanne Rosannadanna.
I kept thinking the jumprope guy was going to trip. It really bothered me. I’m glad he didn’t. He REALLY wouldn’t have been fine then.
Hey look- some days everything and anything is enough to set a person off. And who knows why? Besides that, those types of gastric issues often rule and ruin the day. So go ahead and complain. It’s all right.
Mary Moon:
I’m still complaining today (well not really). Except I was up early because the plumber is coming to check out the bathroom. He’s late.
I don’t like having to move faster in the mornings the cleaners come, even though I love the house when they’re done.
That’s awkward, having sudden bathroom runs, makes life tricky. Certainly grounds for complaint. Boud
Boud:
I normally don’t mind the morning rush because I get to go out for a relaxing time at a cafe. But the rest of life needs to stay out of my way when I’m getting ready. Yeah the digestion problems can be inconvenient. Still waiting for some tests to be scheduled.
My my….plumbers crack here today, coin slot, you sitting on the pot…..thrown in some dirty seas shanties and it would be like happy hour at the Crab House on the Jersey Shore.
Mistress Borghese:
I’m such a class act. Is Crab House on the Jersey Shore a euphemism or is it just simply where you get crabs?
Both!
That’s really what I thought!
“Today was Merchi day…So, I get out of bed at 8, early for me, make the bed, pick up anything lying around the house, empty the dishwasher…”
Sounds like it takes a bit of housekeeping to prepare for the housekeeper!
Kirk,
As my mother used to say, “We don’t want her to think we’re uncivilized.”
So that “fixer-upper” from the other day is looking a little better…?
There is no escape, Mitchell. We own our home outright, and every year, the town raises the property taxes. This year, husband provided his military information to the town clerk, and next year, we will get a slight discount (about $200). Otherwise, it just don’t stop.
Rade,
No increase last year although we agreed to a percentage every year. And this is lower than what we agreed to annually. So, nothing to complain about. It’s a great place and the owner has been a pleasure. We’re lucky (this time around).
Maybe today’s plumber was briefed on your sensitivities, and is making sure his shirt is long enough to cover should he need to bend over, and that the tags are secure. I have never understood why people are disturbed by a little but-crack. We all have one, some of them are kinda cute.
David,
Well, his shirt did ride up, but no butt crack displayed.
Well, I know I read this post but I don’t know why I didn’t leave a comment. I must have been suddenly called away on some urgent business of national concern or something. Yeah, that’s it.
Debra:
Life in the eternal service of HRH is very demanding.
That Sesame Street cartoon was MADE for this post! LOL!
I’m sorry about the setbacks and the health stuff. And the rent — even a small rent hike is an annoyance. (Ask me how I know!)