Daily Archives: August 19, 2012

Gratitude

Several of my friends on Livejournal have been trying to post daily a small list of things they are grateful for on that day. I like the idea, though I’ve not given it a whirl yet. It’s hard to think great thoughts when depressed, but:

  1. Air Conditioning: This country is stupid humid; I don’t get along with humidity at all. So on days like this where it is both hot and humid, I am grateful that we have an A/C unit in our living room. For 2 or 3 pounds a day, it is worth it to not be completely miserable in one’s skin.
  2. The Husband Fellow: This one kind of goes without saying, but it should still be said often. He’s awesome and carries the weight of the world on his shoulders to make sure our family gets by. He does this without complaint or falter, and I am continuously amazed that he doesn’t resent my janky ass. He inspires me to try to do things, but not try so hard as to make myself worse off.
  3. The Kidlette: I hate babies. I hated the baby stage of my daughter’s existence, and I don’t look forward to doing it again. But man, I love human-shaped tiny people and their wonder and amazement and absurdity. I love watching her develop and really, she’s a fun little person.
  4. The Physical: I am pleased that my body mainly functions as it should. Oh sure, there’s creaks and groans and I couldn’t do a y-scale if my life depended no it, but my body does the things I need it to do. With my mind usually malfunctioning, I do not take this for granted, especially after years of poor health before having my child likely tied to endometriosis.
  5. Being in a Healthy Place: I love being in a country that suits me. I love that there is health care for all, and that it was possible with a little pushing to get help with finding out what’s up in my head. I admit this is complicated by the fact that I have no idea how to be a patient; we didn’t have money for health care growing up in the States.

So yeah, those are definitely of the every single day variety, but yanno… got to start somewhere.

<3

Magpie’s Treasure

As you may or may not know One of my offspring the 8 yo, is the eqivelent of a Magpie in that she likes sparkly things and will take any treasue she sees that delights her and tuck it away wherever she hides her treasures. When she was little this was on the level, day-to-day, … Continue reading

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Maybe there is something in this whole idea of having a rest on a Sunday, after all.

Last Sunday morning I was beside a motorway, having just witnessed a car crash, and then walking down its hard shoulder trying to avoid another one. Involving me.

And this morning I found myself here:

Having waxed lyrical yesterday about the Galician time warp and all things verdant, this is the view that greeted me for most of the morning after I nipped off the Camino for a quick coffee at around 9am this morning, thinking I could rejoin it a few minutes later.

No such luck.

At 20.6km this morning’s walk from Gontan to Vilalba was never going to be hugely challenging (ooh, get me), but the route I ended up walking did mean that it was also extraordinarily boring.

So boring, in fact, that I thought that the most visually interesting features along the way that I was likely to be able to share with you were not what you might automatically think of as particularly upbeat.

And I’ve got to tell you that, on first impressions, Vilalba  wasn’t a whole lot more promising.

I thought about posting a couple of photos to give you some idea of just how grey and industrial the towns are round here (in bizarre contrast to the surrounding countryside) and leaving it at that.

But I decided to do a bit of exploring instead.

As is fairly obvious from today’s header photo, my first stop was a church.

I don’t want to offend anyone of a religious bent, but you’ve got to admit that Catholicism does involve a fairly healthy dose of kitsch

After which a breath of fresh air of Vilalba’s back streets felt much more appealing.

And which offered a much better sense of what this town used to be like…

And so to bed.

Apart from some very inspiring messages that are posted on lamp-posts nearby.

According to Google Translate, this means:

“Poles de Chaira roads – roads infindos longos – van cancios are salaios and songs that are salouco”

Apparently.

Good night Vilalba.

Filed under: On The Road