Kintsugi shirt

This is the shirt I was wearing the day I had my bicycle accident; they had to cut it like that to take it off at the hospital. 

My mum wanted to throw it away but I had a different plan for it. When I told her I was going to fix it she looked at me with a very skeptical look on her face, but I knew better...

After thinking much about it I knew exactly how I wanted to do it, so yesterday I went to Pontejos when I came out of my fisiotherapy and I bought the perfect thread (hilo) for the task. In the afternoon I started sewing (coser) it, and I didn't stop until I had finished.

And this is the result. Cool, uh?

Kintsugi power! :D

How I learnt to ride a bike

This morning I changed the handle covers (cubre manillares) of my bicycle, as they were already a little old and worn out (desgastados)... and, that gave me the idea for what I am going to tell you in today's story; how I learnt to ride a bike.

One beautiful Sunday morning, when I had just turned 6 years old, my family and I went to El Retiro so my brother and I could cycle a little around the park on our orange BH. Actually, I couldn't cycle yet, I still had to use those two little wheels that you put at he back of the bike, but my brother (he was 8 years old at the time) could, so he went first. After he had been riding for a while he said: "Come on, sit on the back of the bike and I will take you for a ride". It was probably not such a good idea, because not long after, we fell over... and to cut a long story short (para resumir), I broke my tibia.

It wasn't until I was about eight that I lost my fear of trying to ride a bike, but by then I felt "too old" to look clumsy (torpe) learning to cycle in front of everyone, so I never did. Whenever my friends at school met to go for a bicycle ride, I would just take my rollerskates (patines) to go with them, but to be honest I felt a little jealous and also frustrated.

Many years later -I was 19- I was on summer holidays in Galicia with my friend Cari. I don't know what got in me, and I suddenly told her looking at some people who were travelling on their bikes: "Cari, next year we are going to come here on our bikes" "But you can't cycle!" -she said. "I know, but I am going to learn" .

I don't think my friend believed me, but a month later I started going to the park behind my house at lunchtime (when there wasn't anybody in the park to see me) with my mum, who had also learnt to ride a bike as an adult... and that's how I finally learnt. 

A couple of months later, my friend Cari and I joined (nos apuntamos) a mountain bike group at university, to go on weekend excursions. At first I used to fall off my bike all the time, and people laughed at me saying: "they say people never forget to ride a bike, but you are probably the exception" I never told them I had in fact learnt two months before. But little by little, I got better... 

Needless to say, the following summer Cari and I went on a trip around Galicia on our bikes... and I have been in love with cycling ever since (desde entonces).

How about you; do you remember how you learnt to ride a bike?

April 28th

Do you know what? I already have plans for Sunday, April 28th. And I have plans for the whole day; from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm and probably even later. Have you guessed (adivinado)? No? Well, I'll tell you; I have been blessed (bendecida/agraciada) with the priviledge of being chosen to take  part in the celebration of democracy that are the elections. At an electoral table. So blessed.

Actually, if I have to be honest it doesn't really bother (molestar) me that much; probably because when I was told yesterday I was still a little ill and my head was not clear, so when the postwoman (cartera) told me she had a letter for me from the electoral table all my head had time to do was to make the connection: "Ah, so I am being called to sit at the electoral table?" "Yes" the post woman replied. And in my head there was no time for more thoughts or calculations.

And now, because I have no choice but to go, I have decided to take a positive approach and see it as a constructive experience. I think we get paid a little too...

Have you ever had to sit at an electoral table?

Daylight savings time

Last Sunday we had the summer time change (also called "daylight savings time"). The first thing I did in the morning was to go through all the clocks I have in the house to turn them forward one hour, happy for what that means; one more hour of sunlight in the evening, and cycling home when it's still daylight after finishing my working day.

Some other people, like my friend Angela, feel very strongly against the time change. She says she doesn't mind so much the summer change -even if it means she has to get up one hour earlier- but she really hates the winter change, when it makes days become "shorter". She says she finds these changes very disorienting and for the first few days she feels more tired, as if she was jet-lagged.

I agree with her that the winter change is not as nice, but to me it is another manifestation of the seasons, it's one more of the processes that we have to go through every year: spring, more light, winter, shorter days. It is like a ritual that we have, and I find it endearing (entrañable) when the Saturday before the change everybody is commenting it: "Remember, tonight we have to turn back/forward the clock" And all the conversations and even the confusion that it brings: "do we have to change the clocks back or forward?" "So does that mean we have to get up earlier or later?" "Do we get one more hour, or do we lose one hour?"

For some reason it always reminds me of one occasion when I was about fifteen or sixteen years old and I was meeting my friend Ana, who was also my neighbour, to go to El Rastro on a Sunday. I rang her intercom (telefonillo) one hour earlier: "No, it's not eleven yet... last night was the time change! hahaha... " And I had to go back home and wait for an hour.

So I feel kind of sad that it has been decided that by 2021 every European country must make their decision on what time they want, summer or winter, and stay there forever. Apparently there was consultation of the public last year that showed that 84 percent were against changing the clock... Really??

And you; how do you feel about the time change?

Conspiracy theories

You have probably heard about the concept "conspiracy theories"; they are theories that explain events in an alternative way to that is accepted by most people, and think that the "official theory" is just a big lie.

The list is as endless as human's paranoia, and includes the following:

• The moon landing (alunizaje) was a hoax (fraude) staged (montado) by Nasa, but it never actually happened 

• 9-11 was an "inside job"; a self-attack prepared by the USA as an excuse to invade Irak. I must confess I find this one plausible... I have read some evidence that seem to make sense (tener sentido), but to be honest, I am not going to investigate any further.

• Chemtrails.This theory states that water condensation trails (estelas) from airoplanes are in fact chemical or biological agents to control the population. I, in fact, have a friend who believes this and says that when these trails appear in the sky he always gets a bad headache! (?)

• Flat earth theory says, as you have probably guessed, that... the earth is actually flat (plana)!! The photographs we have of the Earth as a globe are of course fake (falsas). There is a "flat earth society" and all, that get together to speak about their paranoia.

All of these conspiracy theories are relatively harmless (inofensivas) and even funny, but it gets a lot less funny when you hear about anti-vaccines (antivacunas), who say that there is a causal link (conexión) between vaccines and autism, and decide to not vaccinate their children. Unfortunately we are already suffering the consequences.
.

Unfortunately I recently I found out (descubrí) that my cousin's wife is an anti-vaxxer, and she refuses (se niega) to vaccinate their three-year-old child because she believes this pile of shit (montón de mierda). She told me herself: "I don't vaccinate my child because I am well informed" Aha...

And what did I do? Well, I knew there was no point (no tenía sentido) in me arguing (discutir), so I just listened to her explanations. It was frustrating, but I knew there was absolutely nothing I would say that would convince her, and my dissagreement would only create more distance and mistrust (desconfianza) between us.

As I read in an article not long ago, in an argument it’s not enough to be right—you also have to be kind.

Taking in the good

What a lovely weekend I spent in Valencia! It turned out to be (resultó ser) quite different to what I was expecting, but it was nevertheless really enjoyable.

My favourite part was undoubtfully the afternoon we spent at the beach. To me there is something about the beach that I feel connects me with some primal (primario) instinct, something maybe similar to what our primitive ancestors felt in the presence of the sea and what it probably represented for them; an abundant source of food and maybe of enjoyment too.

When I am at the beach there are two things I love doing above all; one of them is just looking at the blue horizon in the distance and letting myself be mesmerized (hipnotizada) by the waves (olas), seeing them coming and going, hearing the monotonus sound of the ocean.... In those moments I have an overwhelming (sobrecogedor) feeling of complete gratitude to life for allowing me to enjoy such sight (vista).

 

The other thing I enjoy so much is going for slow walks, distractedly looking at whatever there is lying on the sand; shells, insects, algae, pebbles (piedrecitas)... And again, I feel that these "inspection walks" were exactly what the primitive women-gatherers (recolectoras) used to do, maybe looking for some sorce of proteins for their offspring (crías), maybe trying to make a mental map of what kind of life there was in that part of the world...

 

 

___________________

Some years ago I read an article about how to build a happier brain. According to Dr. Rick Hanson, a neuropsychologist, "our brains are naturally designed to focus on the negative, which can make us feel stressed and unhappy even though there are a lot of positive things in our lives (...)"

What he suggests is that "we should train our brains to appreciate positive experiences when we have them, by taking those extra 10, 20, 30 seconds to focus on them and install them in the brain."

The beach is definitely one of those places where I take the time to take in (absorber) the good... How about you?

Procrastination

So, I am quite excited today because tomorrow I am going away for the weekend to Valencia with a couple of friends. We are leaving early in the morning, but I haven't even started thinking about what I am going to take with me; clothes, snaks for the journey, or anything else. And I have certainly not started packing anything.

Well, I guess I am lying a little, because what I know I am going to take with me is my crochet; I have started a new project -a net (red) bag- just so I have some entertainment in the car on the way there and on the way back. Maybe I will even crochet a little at the apartment we have rented, after dinner -I particularly like crocheting at night.

But back to packing my bags... I am a born (nato) procrastinator. Do you know what procrastination is? Basically it is to put off (posponer) what you have to do until the last minute. You have a list of things to do, and although you are very aware (consciente) of them, you avoid (evitar) doing them. Sometimes you even do other things just to give yourself an excuse not to do those things on the list that you really don't feel like (apetecer) doing. That is me.

 

In a way, being a procrastinator can be a little of a curse (maldición); you always see deadlines (fecha límite) getting closer and closer (más y más cerca), and you just can't start doing whatever it is that you have to do... BUT, like everything in life, it also has some positive aspects. In fact, there are two.

I saw a conference about this first advantage; in this conference the conclution of an experiment was that, in creative tasks (tarea), procrastination often gives you the chance to consider divergent, non-linear ideas; to "think outside the box". When the person finally started doing the task, the result was better than if they had started earlier, because while they were putting off their task, their mind was in fact working on the best way to do it.

The other positive aspect is one that I have been able to observe in my many years of experience as a procrastinator: when I put off something until the last minute, I obviously have less time to do that thing... which means that I end up doing things a lot faster and therefore wasting (malgastando) less time. In the case of packing my bags for my trip to Valencia, I will probably do it tomorrow morning, so, instead of taking me a few hours, I will just do it in one, maximum.

And what if I forget to take something? Well, I am just going to Valencia for three days, not on a trip around the world.

Graphic pollution

These days we hear and read a lot about pollution. When we say "pollution" we normally refer to air pollution, but there are other kinds: there is acustic pollution, light pollution... and also visual pollution. Have you heard of visual pollution before?

According to wikipedia, "visual pollution is the presence of any unwanted sight (vista) that can ruin the aesthetic (estética) of an area. It is especially strong in city and urban areas. Billboards (vallas publicitarias) antennas, electric wires and automobiles are often considered visual pollution."

And what are the effects of the exposure to visual pollution? Well, again in Wikipedia, it says "they include: distraction, eye fatigue, decreases (descensos) in opinion diversity, and loss (pérdida) of identity” In my opinion these two last things are probably a bit of an exageration, but maybe there is evidence for this, I don't know.
 
In an attempt (intento) to control this visual pollution, about ten years ago, São Paulo approved a "Clean City Law", prohibiting the use of all outdoor advertisements (anuncios), including on billboards, transport, and in front of shops. I have seen some before and after pictures and the difference is fantastic!

I agree so much with this law! I wish they would do it in Madrid -anthough I know they never will. I think we citizens (ciudadanos) are treated just like consumers. From every corner of every city there are signs shouting at us: "BUY THIS!", "BUY THAT!" When we walk in the streets it is difficult not to read every sign there is... it's a little tiring (cansado) when you think about it! I would call all this excess of letters and words, "graphic pollution"

When we buy something, we also take home all those big and bright letters and words in the products we buy, and from the shelves where we put them, those products are still shouting at us and making us read them, breaking the silence and the quiet in our heads.

Ok, it's true that we sometimes need those words to identify what there is inside, although most times a picture would be enough. So what I started doing a few years ago is -especially in the bathroom- as soon as I put something on the cabinet shelves (estantes del armario) or somewhere visible, I peel off the lable (despego la etiqueta). The shampoo, I just put it in a soap dispenser. No words. No voices.

And my bathroom is a quiet space, all silent, as I like it. 

Naughty sparrows II

Please, if you haven't read "Naughty sparrows" do so before reading this second part, as it contains spoilers (destripes).

Every day after I finish my working day, I spend a little time speaking with Meire, the cleaning lady. We go outside the academy for a few minutes and we just chat about our day or whatever comes up (surgir).

Yesterday she told me that she had had to tell off (regañar) María, the recepcionist, because she caught her opening a window to show some children a little nest (nido) that has appeared in one of the plantpots "A nest??" That's lovely!" -I said. "Yes, -she replied- and you should see it! It's so perfectly made; it's a little piece of art! All the little twigs (ramitas) are so perfectly plaited (trenzado)... it's beautiful!"

As she was speaking I was imagining the little mummy and daddy birds collecting little twigs from everywhere, and working on the construction of the home for their future little birds, and suddenly a lightbulb appeared above my head: OF COURSE! -I said.

"Of course what?" -asked Meire. "I have solved a mystery!" And I told her about my clovers and how they had been savaged (atacados salvajemente) by the sparrows. "They were just picking twigs to make their nest! -I summed up (resumir)" "That makes all the sense!" (tiene todo el sentido) -she agreed.

When we finished our little chat she told me I had to see the nest, and she took me where it was. I took a picture of that wonderful piece of art thinking of you, thinking I would definitely have to tell you on Thursday that somewhere my sparrows have a nest, maybe as beautiful as this one, made with the clovers they took from my plantpot.

Here it is!

Naughty sparrows

 I have a bird feeder in my kitchen window that I made for the sparrows (gorriones) that live on the roof (tejado) of my house. I've had it for over ten years now.

 

At first I started feeding the birds little pieces of bread and breadcrumbs (migas) but then I read about how we shouldn't feed bread to ducks, because it is really not all that good for them. I thought that if it wasn't good for ducks it wasn't good enough for my sparrows either, so I started buying special food for them -bird seeds (semillas) and also sunflower seeds (pipas).

When I have foster cats at home they always loooveee to see the birds when they come to eat -although they can only see them blurry (borroso) through the window. So the cats are another reason why I keep feeding the sparrows; to give them entertainment, it's a bit like "cat TV" for them.

kitties watching birdies. On the right, Lápiz hiding in the sink

When Lápiz and Boli were here, part of my morning routine was feeding the cats and the birds, so that when the cats finished their breakfast they could enjoy the bird-show. But since they left, I very often forget to feed the birds. And I think they are not happy about that, and they have decided to let me know.

I have a plantpot of clovers (tréboles) on the window sill (poyete) next to the feeder, that was looking so pretty; like a fantastic green pompom. Yesterday I saw some of the clovers scattered (esparcidos) on the window sill, and an area of the plantpot was completly "mowed" (segada). I found it strange because it has never happened before, but I thought the sparrows probably needed water and they ware getting it from the plants.... so I put a dish with some water, and I also put plenty of seeds in the bird feeder.

But what I have seen today makes me think there is some other reason for their behaviour (comportamiento) ... the water hasn't stopped them from picking all the clovers-a lot of them are on the patio floor! I have no idea why they are doing it, and to be honest I don't really mind for the plant, I find it very funny... 

...but why are they doing it??? Any ideas?

Kintsugi

Have you heard of Kinsugi? It is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery (cerámica) usually with  gold.

Kintsugi originated when a important Japanese man (a shogun) in the 15th century asked for his favourite bowl to be repaired, and the craftsman (artesano) returned it repaired with gold. He was extremely pleased with the result.

Since then everybody liked this art so much that some collectors even broke expensive pottery intentionally so it could be beautifully repaired with this method and it would be worth (valer) more money.

But I am more interested in Kintsugui as the philosophy behind it; an object is more valuable when it has been repaired, and the repair should not be disguised (oculto); these "scars" (cicatrices) are part of the history of the object.

So when I want to repair something, I always let the "scars" visible. For me, showing I spent time and effort repairing something shows my care for the object, and yes, the object becomes more valuable in my own eyes.

Here are a few examples:

My venecian blinds that were broken by the wind

 

The vase for my hyacinth bulbs -I don't have gold,
so glitter (purpurina) will do :D

Last weekend a friend of mine asked me if I could please mend a tablecloth that he has accidentaly burnt, and I am definitely going to go "the Kintsugi way". I was thinking of embroidering (bordar) a little yellow sun, or a green leave... I haven't decided yet; all I know for now is I won't try to hide the repair.

Spring signs

I like the seasons very much; spring, summer, autumn and winter. Each one has something about them that I like. I guess I particularly like the change, the recurrent change; the cycles. Nature manifests everywhere, even in cities, where people tend to live with their back turned on nature; the temperature, the trees and all the plants, the longer days...

Although I love all four of them and I feel that's how it should be -the same as you shouldn't love one of your children more than the others...- I must confess I do have a favourite, which is spring. Spring is nature at its best; it's the re-birth after the winter rest; all plants start to sprout (brotar), some trees get their leaves back, some start to bloom (florecer) and mild (suaves) temperatures return as to invite you to get out of your home and enjoy the spectacle... and it's all so beautiful.

There is an official date for the beginning of the spring, this year will be March 20th, but nature doesn't care about formalities, and in reality spring starts a while before.

Here are the spring signs that I check to confirm that it is already here, in the order they usually happen:

-The hyacinth (jacintos) bulbs that I buy every winter, bloom

-There are little daisies (margaritas) scattered on the grass in parks, and sometimes there are violets too

-The cherry trees (cerezos), almond trees etc. bloom.

 -Irises (lirios) bloom (there are some in El Retiro that I usually go and check)

-I see my first ladybird (mariquita) of the season

And, where are we at the moment? Have you noticed any of these spring signs? Maybe the cherry trees and almond trees? Well, I have. But I hadn't seen the Irises yet, so last Sunday I went to El Retiro for a cycle with my niece Elia and I took her on an "expedition" to see them... and I wasn't dissappointed (decepcionada); there they were!

 I still have to see my first ladybird; will I see one before the 20th March? I will let you know when I do.

My chestnut tree

I have a chestnut tree (castaño). A very little chestnut tree; we could say it's a baby chestnut tree; it is only about a month and a half old.

Last December I bought a bag of chestnuts at the supermarket. When I was going to roast (asar) them, and I was doing that small cut in them so they didn't explode in the oven (horno), I noticed one of them had a little root (raíz) coming out of it. And then I found another chestnut with a little root too.

I am always a little sentimental when I see sprouts (brotes) coming out of my food; potatoes, onions... so, as other times before, I decided to  give those chestnuts a chance to live. I wasn't sure they would progress, but I optimistically put them in some wet cotton and in a glass, as we used to do at school with beans, do you remember?

Very soon both chestnuts started growing a longer root, so I happily upgraded (ascender) them to a plantpot (maceta) with some earth in it. Since then one of them, the one that started growing faster, has had a bit of an obstacle in its growth, as for some reason I ignore, the top of it dried, but now it's growing some new branches, so I think it will be ok. The other one has already got 7 leaves!

The first picture is from exactly a month ago

At the moment the bigger one is about 25cm tall which I guess is not bad for a two-and-a-half-month-old chestnut tree. I don't know what I will do if they get really big; I will probably try to give them to my brother for him to plant in his garden, or if I see they are strong enough maybe I will take them to the countryside and plant them somewhere where there are more chestnut trees.

But I don't think that will happen for a few years.

Crochet

Today's story started at the beginning of this academic year, in October. I was in class with a group of teenagers, and there was a reading about Richard Wiseman, a psychologist that thinks that good luck can be "learned" and "taught". The text was about a "school of good luck", and it contained some exercises to improve what we call "luck".

He said that "lucky people" always try new things, so in one of exercises the students had to write a list of 6 things that they would like to do but had never done before. Then they had to roll a dice (dado), and whatever number came out they had to do that thing from the list.

While I was waiting for the students to write their list I decided to write mine too. My activity number four was learning how to crochet; I have always liked crochet things; blankets (mantas), jumpers, bags... and although I am quite crafty -I like making things with my hands- I had always felt some kind of mental block about learning how to crochet. Sooo... of course I rolled the dice and I got number 4. Ouch! I really was annoyed because it was the thing on the list that I least wanted to do!

But I decided I would learn. I asked my mum to teach me, and I learned the basics with her. Then with youtube tutorials I kept learning to do more things. First I made a little purse, then a bag for my make up... I was enjoying it so much that every time I finished a project I wanted to start a new one. I found it relaxing, therapeutic.

So I thought: "I need a BIG project that will last me a long time... I'm going to make myself a blanket!" And so I started to make little crochet "granny squares" (that's what they are called) that I would later put together to make my blanket. I was in no rush to finish, because I was enjoying the process so much.

And the end of the story comes, as last weekend I finally finished my very big and fantastic granny square crochet blanket! I am really pleased with it, but the question is... What do I make next?

100 Pesetas

Last Friday I went to Día to do some shopping. I was waiting in the queue, and there was a very old lady before me who was going to pay for some bread and some tomatoes. So, when he got to the cashier she took out... a one hundred pesetas note! and tried to pay with that.

Of course the cashier told her she couldn't pay with that, and the young man behind me in the queue obviously felt sorry for her and very kindly offered to pay for her shopping. The old lady accepted the offer and thanked the man, but she kept asking why she couldn't pay with that note. I explained to her that we don't use pesetas any more, but she could change the note in the Banco de España,but that it would only be about 60 cents, so it wasn't really worth it, because she would spend more on the bus ticket to the Banco de España...

So, I said to her: "What about, I give you two euros and you give me the note, because I would like to have it" The old lady accepted, although she first doubted if I was tring to take advantage of her... hahahaha... but the cashier and the young man told her it was a good deal, and we exchanged currencies.

When I told my family they made me feel guilty for my "good deed" (buena acción) and they accused me of conning (estafar) the old lady; my brother said that the note was probably worth a lot more money now. Fortunately I checked on the internet and I saw that in fact it was worth about what I gave the lady; 2 euros.

A 15-year-old climate activist

And now moving on to the video that I sent you about Greta Thunberg; did you have time to watch it? In case you didn't, it is a speech she gave in the United Nations plenary about how urgent it is to do something about climate change, and that the reason why governments don't do as much as they should is because they are afraid of being unpopular, and because the rich minority want to go on making money. More or less.

I saw an interview where his father spoke about how Greta was very ill for a whole year, suffering from depression. She lost a lot of weight because she was so worried about the future of the planet. Her mother used to be a very popular opera singer but she gave up her career to look after her and because Greta didn't agree that she had to take so many flights to go to other countries for her concerts, because of how much flying contributes to the planet's pollution.

When Greta finally recovered, she decided to go on school strike (huelga) every Friday and sat in front of the Swedish parliament to protest. Now a big movement is starting and lots of children and teenagers in other countries are going on similar strikes, under the name of Fridays for future. Here is a map of all the cities where these strikes or demonstrations are taking place:

I think the only hope for the planet is this new generation of young people that can question how governments are doing things, because we adults are so used to the way things have always been, consumerism etc, that we are more resistant to change.

What do you think?

Lápiz and Boli's adoption

Last Sunday this young couple came to see my ex-feline flatmates. Fortunately there were good vibes between cats and humans, and María and Mikel decided to go on with the adoption.

I put Lápiz in one of the carriers (transportín) but when I tried to put Boli in the other one unfortunately he got very scared and decided he didn't want to go anywhere, and bit me as he jumped out of my hands, scratching me quite badly. Finally, in my third attempt, I managed to get him in the carrier and they both went to their new home. I felt quite sad for the poor cats, to be honest.

Anyway, the problem was actually not the scratch but the bite, as cat bites can get infected quite easily, so yesterday I went to the doctor, and he prescribed me antibiotics.

As for the cats, they are starting to get comfortable in their new home. Yesterday their new humans sent me a video of them, exploring and slowly adapting to their new life.

Lápiz and Boli

So, today I'm going to tell you about Lápiz y Boli, the foster (en acogida) cats I have at home at the moment.

I have already had them for nearly a year, and to be honest I was starting to get worried that we wouldn't find a home for them and I would have to keep them forever. This was starting to make me a little annoyed, and I was starting to resent the little things about having cats at home; hairs everywhere, those little "acts of destruction" in the house... all of that which having a pet implies.

Anyway, the good news is this next Sunday a young couple are coming to see them, and if everything goes right they will adopt them - fingers crossed!

I am, as every time some of the cats I foster are adopted, very happy but also a little sad and worried for them. I can obviously not explain to them that they are going to their forever home and that it will be difficult at first but they will be loved forever and happy in just a few days.

I will certainly miss them too, but I will not miss all their hair in my black clothes!

Of course I will go on fostering cats, but after a whole year with these, I think I need a long break; at least a couple of months, until spring comes and all the cat litters (camadas) are born and the rescue association desperately needs help!