American in Spain

A Damp Spring Walk

April 7, 2010
Eighteen Petals

As a result of working six time zones away from where I live, I have the mornings off to spend with my daughter, but it also means that I have pretty late nights. It's not uncommon for me to go to bed after midnight. The problem with going to bed after midnight is that you have to be very careful about using the concepts "today" and "tomorrow", especially when looking at the date on your computer. Last night, before going to bed, I remembered to look in Nora's doctor appointment book because I knew that she had a regular checkup this week but could not recall the date. It said "April 8, 10:00". I looked at the date on my computer and it said "April 7", so my sleepy brain said, "Oh no! That's tomorrow!", and I preceded to set my alarm clock with plenty of time to get Nora up and dressed and to the doctor. And so it played out... We got up, got dressed, and headed to the doctor's office. When we got there, there were three confused pensioners pulling and pushing on the locked doors. Finally a sickly teenager came by and rang the doorbell, and the emergency doctor came to open the door. She explained that the health center was closed except for emergencies. "Excuse me," I interjected indignantly, "but I have an appointment. See?" Her face and mouth communicated how unlikely my claim seemed to her as I showed her the appointment book. "Today is April 7th," she said, "That appointment is for tomorrow." I apologized and slunk off, secretly pleased that my daughter didn't yet have the cognitive awareness of the situation to laugh at her father. There will be plenty of time for that later. By the time we got back home, the rain had stopped, so I picked up the camera and we went out again for a photo stroll.

Morning Rain

On a whim, we decided to go see the ducks in the pond near the town hall. Boy were we surprised when we arrived and saw that the pond was gone!

The Duck Pond Is Gone!

Missing pond. View large to fully appreciate the anatine absence. I hope that they replace it with an even better pond, but I fear that they might have more profitable ideas about that precious land. Time will tell...

Tulip Pots

Potted tulips.

Quaint House

I love this little house behind the town hall. I'm guessing they use that table more than the car.

Flowered Cross

Our Christian roundabout.

Yellow and Lilac

Flowers in front of the town hall.

Bicycles To Rent

This is new. The town hall will rent you a bicycle. I shall have to investigate this.

Working in the dark

A builder works inside a brand new apartment building where there is no electricity yet.

Fruit Stand

Mmmm... Fruit!

Wet Metal Table

Rain puddles on a metal table.

Eighteen Petals

Eighteen petals. It's quite pleasant large.

Sunny Cactus

Cactus in the sun.

Handlebar

Handlebar with a bell.

Time to go set my alarm to get up for the doctor's appointment tomorrow...