quiet weekends

The weather here the past few days has been full of April showers, although the pups and I did manage to squeeze in a long walk yesterday morning when the sun made a brief appearance. It was the perfect sort of weather, though, to have a "domestic" weekend, and that was exactly what I did. Big Jim's "computer graveyard", also known as the hallway outside the bathroom, is now completely cleared. Finally. :-) And what started out as just putting away the clean laundry for the week turned into a major closet reshuffle and one full bag of clothes to be donated. All good stuff. The dogs also had their annual trip to the vet Saturday. Twas time because with the spring wildflowers also come the nasty garrapatas (ticks), almost overnight. So, the pups are now armed with Scalibor, which keeps away all the nasties, including sandflies, which are the most dangerous of all critters to dogs around these parts. And they had their shots for the year and their passports updated (yes, technically dogs and cats are to carry passports here); therefore, should precious Boo and Mr. Beebs care to take off on a Eurail trip, they are free to roam the EU at their leisure. So, it was a productive yet relaxing couple of days. I spent a good amount of time perusing the freelance job boards and saved a bunch to bid on this week. My energy levels seem to have returned to normal, thank goodness. I can now do pretty much whatever I want without tiring. And I am also down to a quarter of the dose of prednisone that I was taking, which seems to make my stomach much happier---always a good thing. The vision seems to have improved slightly, but nothing too dramatic, although I have another 10 days before I next see the doctors. I have this feeling I may just be a slow healer. For example, almost everything I have read about victrectomies says that the bubble should dissipate in two or three weeks; mine, as you know, took a full nine weeks: mylifeinspain = remedial patient. On the exterior, the eye looks much better. It was still a little puffy a couple weeks ago; now, one would be hardpressed to notice a difference between the two, with the exception that my pupil is still dilated from the drops. Going about my business, I hardly am aware of the lack of vision in my right eye; the left eye has compensated quite well. :-) I had long chats yesterday with my very excellent friend J.A.R. in Wisconsin and my parents. Always nice to talk with J.A.R. and catch up on the family news. My mother is having back surgery next Monday, which is a good thing because her pain has become more and more limiting. Grandmom (who is 93) is doing well; her nurse Lily has her crocheting up a storm....tea towels for my neighbor R. People have asked how the village responded to the death of "Juan Pablo II". C. went to mass Friday night and found the usual crowd of women in attendance. The bells rang Saturday night after El Papa's death was announced. Herb Thief bolted out of the house and down to the church to confirm they were ringing for the pope and not someone in the village. Yesterday, though, was pretty much as usual....Almendena's family was over for their weekly Sunday dinner, the farmers were working, etc. Today is an official day of mourning, and the village school has closed. In the more conservative provinces of Madrid, Galicia, Murcia, the Balearic Islands, and Valencia, a three-day mourning period will be observed. The Spanish Socialist government and the Vatican have been at odds this past year, the Pope condemning its sanctioning of gay marriage and birth control. Despite the fact that people here identify themselves as Roman Catholic, fewer and fewer attend mass regularly. The new pope will have many a challenge here in Spain and elsewhere...of course, the neighbor women are hoping he's Spanish! hasta pronto, mylifeinspain