To Shop, Perchance to Buy

There’s something about how rain smells that always makes me tired. Not in a bad way. It’s a scent that I love but somehow the smell of oncoming rain makes me want to take a nap and then wake up, roll over and take another nap before propping up my pillows and reading a book while listening to the rain splash against my window. This could have been why I drank so much coffee in Washington.

Spring has arrived it seems. There is wild asparagus which I cannot identify on my own and a chard like green growing on the terraces and I have been relying on them rather than grocery greens. I now discover that you can turn dandelion leaves into a wild green salad and may try that though I still have hostile feelings towards dandelions for all the weeding they caused me to do as a child. The loquats continue to grow and I’ve taken to watering the ones on this terrace as I’m not convinced that they are getting enough just from rain. Loquats are a rose species just like plums and pears (and they taste rather like a cross between the two) and roses need to be deep watered regularly. I’ve also been told that the trees on this terrace – there are SEVEN – don’t produce good fruit, but rather barely get larger than the seed and are flavorless. The theory was that this was caused by some sort of tree disease but I’ve looked at the plants and only two of them seem to have any problems. However I have noticed that the citrus trees on this terrace have pale leaves. This is atypical for the area and makes me think that the soil needs to be fertilized. That I can do something about… at least for the loquats and a couple of the citrus trees if not for the whole terrace.

I have reached a point where the need to shop is becoming overwhelming. It has been somewhat abated by the desire to take long steep walks that one could call hiking if one didn’t know that I hate hiking. I think it’s vaguely like a disease. I think I caught it from the troupes of German tourists that come here specifically to hike in large groups. I don’t know that I’ll ever want to hike in large group, in fact I’m fairly sure that this prospect will always seem unpleasant. But the desire to take walks has hit the point that I’m actually planning them and doing things like buying trail mix and bottled water and looking at distance and bus schedules so that I can hike into Soller – a 2.5 hour hike, which will probably take me rather longer - and then take the bus back without getting dehydrated or stuck in Soller or anything silly like that. This will most likely be Monday as the weekend bus schedule would require that I stay in Soller far longer than I would actually want to after that long a walk.

I’m going to Lisbon on the 14th. I’ll be in Portugal for a week, three of those nights will be in Lisbon and I’m looking forward to being near at least a movie theater. I’ve heard Lisbon is lovely and I’m sure it is, but right now what I’m most looking forward to is a bathtub. I’ve booked a hotel and while it’s Europe so there is no guarantee of there being a tub I’m hopeful. I’m also looking forward to central heating and things that are open past seven. I might do things like find a salon and get a haircut or a spa and get any number of things done starting with and most particularly a pedicure. I know there has to be a spa here. I just have to find out where. Probably in Palma which is useless to me. I’m going to have to be careful. I have a feeling that when surrounded by real shopping I might just sprain something. Most likely something critical like my bank account.