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!