IKEA Has No IDEA

Every time I move in my small apartment, I think of the song that goes with the newest Ikea ad: 'Where there's room for two, there's room for three'. Maybe this is true if we're talking about humans, but let me tell you when it comes to animals like dogs who are always stretched out in the most inconvenient places, it sure isn't. At least I'm getting good at long jumps, which is good because there are always puddles to avoid in the park or maybe I could try out for the Olympics. Anyway, I'm getting ready to cross that big pond - the Atlantic - and will miss not one dog but two plus a cat. I only hope the dogs get on okay at the kennel as this will be my friend's dog's first experience in one of these places.

On Monday when we were taking a short walk around the block, I saw 45º C (That's almost 115º F) at 6.30 in the afternoon, and, although I didn't look to see the temperature every single day, the days that I did see it it was never below 40º C at 6.30 pm. This has certainly been the hottest August we've had in a long time. I'm just hoping for some nice cool weather in the US minus the horrible humidity. I don't mind sweating so much though I do like to breathe and humidity doesn't help that. 

Thursday, the 20th, marked the first anniversary of the crash of a Spanair flight at the Madrid airport. Memorial services were held here and also in the Canary Islands where most of the passengers were from. A marker is to be built which can be be seen from the air I suppose similar to the one they erected in Lexington (KY).

I'm not sure if I'll see Post Secret next week as I'll probably be suffering from jet lag. At least for me there weren't any that really caught my attention today. I'm not saying any of them were boring - just not unusual or wacky. Guess what? I got an odd number (yet again!) on the visitor counter: 260,215,745.

Hope those who aren't well are feeling better and that everyone has a good week.

 

Summer's Slipping Away

This week has been nothing but routine - no frying pans on my head or fights in the street - at least not any that I've seen. One of the secrets on Post Secret stated that he/she didn't mind seeing the police roughing up people as long as it didn't happen to family or friends. I believe a lot of people are like that and violence excites them - reminds me of my little sister who came running to get a good view of any of us who were bleeding. However, she became hysterical when she saw one drop of her own blood.

I can't believe it's already the middle of August. Usually around this time the temperature starts dropping a bit to make it easier to sleep. It hasn't so far. I'm grateful that we in Madrid haven't had any heavy rainstorms like some of the surrounding towns. However hot it gets here, it's still bearable because, as I've said before, Madrid has a dry climate.

I've already mentioned Post Secret, but now I have to get my visitor number in - odd number once more: 258,492,933. I had a good laugh about the bathroom and famous people, and I can sympathise with the person who can't stand seeing time left on a microwave. It comes back to why people love seeing violence (some people anyway). People who do can't be bothered to cancel the time left on a microwave or leave a public toilet filthy because they have no respect for others or have never had to clean up after themselves or both.

Welcome back Sandra and Diana. I've missed you two a lot. Poor Diana has been really ill, so I hope she gets better soon. Deb has an important doctor's appointment tomorrow and I hope that goes well.

I'm making this short today. Have a good week all.

A Cupboard, a Cat and a Strange Sight

Last week with the excitement of the street fight, I completely forgot all about the lucky accident I had on Wednesday. I was putting a frying pan in the already overloaded dish cupboard which is for drying dishes (a Finnish invention so says Tiina) when a frying pan fell on my head. And why do I consider this a lucky accident? Well, it wasn't a pleasant feeling for my head but this poor frying pan's handle had been loose for ages and it flew off. That obliged me to fix it and so now it's as good as new and so is my head.

The lovely little lady in the photo is Sami, the cat that I'm looking after while her humans are on holiday. Too bad her lovely raccoon tail didn't get in the photo. I was in a real panic on Thursday because one of the keys to the door broke - fortunately not in the lock. The other person who is supposed to help with the cat sitting is still on holiday and I didn't have the telephone number for the other person who had keys. Thank goodness for mobiles. I texted my friends in Wales and got the necessary telephone number from them and finally got keys that work. I was so upset that I couldn't get in initially. Sami is a little sweetie and I think maybe she only eats when I go to visit her. At least I don't see that the level of food has gone down. I'm sure she misses her humans.

I suppose it's because of the weather or perhaps the small size of flats and apartments that invite Spanish people to spend a lot of time in the street. Sometimes it's almost as if they do live in the street. Today is an especially nice day. I've got all the windows open to the coolness that's coming in. Just before lunch I happened to glance at the window in my 'office' and saw the reflection of a person with a chair in one hand and a newspaper in the other. I thought probably that it was an old chair that he was throwing away. No, he'd brought it out to sit on! Okay, my street is too narrow for benches, but there are plenty of benches just up the road. Could it be that his chair is more comfortable?

Strange were some of the secrets on Post Secret today. The one about ghostbusters was cute though the one where the person justified his/her underage drinking by saying he/she recycles the cans is very, very sad. Odd numbers seem to follow me and today I was visitor 256,797,847.

Here's hoping everybody has a great week ahead.

The Other Side of the Coin

Lots of other good stuff on this page.

The Other Side of the Coin
I am thankful....
For the taxes that I pay, Because it means that I am employed.
For the mess to clean after a party,
Because it means that I have been surrounded by friends.
For a lawn that needs mowing, Windows that need cleaning, And gutters that need fixing,
Because it means that I have a home.
For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot,
Because it means I am capable of walking And that I have been blessed with transportation.
Or my huge heating bill
Because it means I am warm.
For the lady behind me in church that sings off key,
Because it means that I can hear.
For the pile of laundry and ironing,
Because it means I have clothes to wear.
For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day,
Because it means I have been capable of working hard.
For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours,
Because it means that I am alive.
And finally.......
For all the e-mails I receive each day, Because it means I have friends who think of me In places far away and near.

*Taken from http://www.thylacineslair.com/MindsRetreat.htm

Sunday Sundries

I've witnessed a few frightening things in my life but yesterday evening almost found myself in the middle of a fight. I was out dog-walking at my usual time and we were doing our usual route. There were a couple of individuals in a small fenced- in area displaying strange behaviour - squatting in a weird way and then getting up. Suddenly two more men came running and shouting menacingly in a foreign language. One of the men in the field picked up a long metal bar, but at that very moment a car came round the corner, brakes screeching, and all four of them took off running and shouting down the street with the car behind them. And no this wasn't a movie although our area is popular for that. Anyway, we quickly retraced our steps and didn't continue our normal nightly routine. I didn't want to take the chance that they would start shooting if any of them should have a weapon. I know I've remarked that not everyone here has a gun. However, that doesn't mean that they don't exist. It's just not like in the US where so many people do own one or more guns. The ironic thing here is there's a police station just up the street where all this took place (and it all happened in 30 seconds or less).

A couple of hours before we went out, we suddenly got a bit of rain which has cooled things off quite a bit. This is probably one of the reasons I didn't see people sitting out on benches in the cool of the evening last night; another reason is one of the bar that has a terrace has closed for holidays.Today, so far anyway, it's still pleasant but should be up in the 90's (35º C +) beginning tomorrow.

I've just now noticed that I got an even number for a change on the visitor counter on Post Secret. If there's only one thing I can say about this week's PS, then it would be that there's variety and at least one memorable quirky secret.

August is a month of birthdays in my family. Today is my nephew Chris's birthday. Hope everybody has a good week with no harrying experiences.