Thursday, September 27, 2012

Rainy Days and Thursdays

It's raining in Sevilla! I don't think we've seen rain here since early May. I like it. Temporarily. Rainy days and Mondays do not get me down. Nor do rainy days and Thursdays. Unless there are also rainy days Tuesday and Wednesday. A couple of days of good, soaking rain followed by several days of sun, that's the way I like it and that's what's supposed to happen this week. So, I'm enjoying the wet and shiny streets and I'm going to go take a walk in what has now slowed to a drizzle.

THIS MORNING FROM THE DINING ROOM BALCONY.

San Geraldo needed to do his supermarket shop today, so we decided to grab an early meal downstairs at Dos de Mayo before the lunch rush hit. Most of the seating is outside and, since there was a possibility the patio umbrellas wouldn't protect from the sometimes heavy rain, we knew inside would fill up fast. Our plan worked. We got our favorite table tucked below the front windows. By the way, an early lunch here for us is between 1 and 1:30. The Kid Brother would not approve. He always has "... lunch at noon, ya know!"

We have both begun a routine of returning home after breakfast every day and doing at least an hour of Rosetta Stone Spanish at our respective computers. The daily habit makes an enormous difference. Unfortunately, it didn't help San Geraldo at the supermarket today because he hasn't yet reached the lesson on how to say "boneless." But the butcher understood by hand signals and simply boned a chicken right then.

HIGH AND DRY AT OUR FAVORITE TABLE.

Sometime during the night when the rains started to heavily fall, an alarm in the neighborhood began sounding at regular intervals. Fortunately, it was not one of those intolerable screeching alarms and it sounded like it was coming from inside a building somewhere nearby. It only squealed in very short bursts before stopping for about 15 minutes and then starting again. It was so innocuous I hadn't even thought to mention it. During lunch, we heard it one last time. San Geraldo looked at me and said, "There it is again! Do you know what kind of bird that is?"

DUDO. TRANSFIXED BY THE WATER POURING OFF THE ROOF ACROSS THE STREET.

Be the time we got out of bed, Moose and Dudo were clearly uninterested in San Geraldo's "bird." But, when we opened all the balcony doors, they were fascinated by the rain. Dudo ran insanely around the house for hours, from balcony to balcony, stopping every so often to stare at us with wonder, as if to say, "Oh my God! Do you see it??!  Is that rain?!?" He finally wore himself out.

TOO MUCH EXCITEMENT.
........
P.S.:
The Dowager Duchess let me know that the ruffled gown pictured in my last post ("Ice Cream and Hand-Me-Downs") was, as I suspected, not a hand-me-down. The dress was created for her when she was maid-of-honor at a sister's wedding. (If my father were here, he'd ask her whose shoes she wore. Fortunately, I inherited the smart-ass gene from him. So, Mom, whose shoes did you wear?)

P.P.S.:
Oh my God! It's pouring again. You'll have to excuse me. Dudo and I will be busy for a while. [Dudo! Dudo! Do you see it?!?]

34 comments:

  1. Rain is really a rather magical way to receive our deliveries of water - try telling aliens "oh yes, it just falls from the sky and puddles up, then we filter it and put it in our whisky" ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Owl Wood:
      I'm a city boy. We get the water for our whiskey from the sink.

      Delete
    2. Tsk tsk! At the very worst it should be from a bottle labelled "Filtered through Scottish dinosaurs for eighty million years", and maybe a little jug. Tapwater indeed!

      Delete
  2. Rainy day? Espero habeis ahorrado vuestros duros para este dia lluvioso.

    lol.

    I know you have
    saludos,
    raulito

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Raulito:
      We definitely did NOT save for a rainy day. We spent most of it when it was still sunny!

      Delete
  3. Great rainy day photos! I can almost smell the rain. I adore the shot of Dudo relaxing. I love that boy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ms. Sparrow:
      Dudo is more entertaining every day. I love them both, but he's a real charmer.

      It really poured this afternoon. Dudo, Moose, and I were so excited! I ran downstairs to take more pictures from under the awning next door. Nothing new and different!

      Delete
  4. I really like that first photograph - it travels so far.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Elaine. I'll have to give that a shot one of these days when the light is right and the sky is clear... just to see how far I can get. That street ends at the river, but it gets so narrow at spots that you can never see it.

      Delete
  5. The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain! Right? So much for that song!
    Must be good to hear though, for a change, yes? No? Maybe so?

    Love Dudo! The curiosity of cats never tires me. I miss it.

    I am certain you exaggerate about San Geraldo's faux pas'.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim:
      It really poured later in the day (with some thunder and lightning). I loved it. Right now it's beautiful out and there were people sitting oiut on the plaza a half hour ago!

      I did not exaggerate one iota about San Geraldo. He makes exaggeration unnecessary.

      Delete
  6. The smells of the city when it rains are amazing. Everything gets rinsed down and freshened up. You'll find people hiding under the cover of canopies here and there. Not me. Let it rain. Wash over me. There's nothing like it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stew:
      I agree about the smells of the city streets after a fresh rain. And I also love walking in a warm rain and getting soaked to the skin!

      Delete
  7. I meant to tell you (and the Dowager Duchess, if she's reading:)) that the photo of her in that gorgeous dress was really lovely :)))

    I loved this post! Dudo is a doll, and the views of the rainy street were great.

    I also have been meaning to ask you if you were doing any lessons, or just picking up Spanish from experience. Are you just doing Rosetta Stone? Do you find it helpful? People are allllllways asking me about it, but I have no first-hand (or second-hand) knowledge of it at all. I was so impressed by your comfort with Spanish that it has become so ingrained that you couldn't stop yourself from speaking Spanish to the Iberia agent :))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Judeet:
      Thanks! The Duchess does read the comments and really enjoys them. She will be very flattered and very grateful!

      I'm not doing lessons. I did study Spanish for 7 years, from 7th grade through my first year at university. I hadn't used it in years, but at least I had that base. I use Spanish all the time when I'm out and about and we have friends who speak just smatterings of English, so I have to be translator often. All that and Rosetta Stone are perfect. I love Rosetta Stone, but I like to learn that way (kind of like Sesame Street for adults). Jerry prefers classroom study and likes to be able to ask questions in English about what he's learning. I think it's been found that may not be the most effective way to learn a language (absorption a la Rosetta Stone being recommended), but it's how he learns best. But, he is using Rosetta Stone daily now and is making progress. Even Jerry responds often in simple Spanish when we talk to each other! Anyway, I would highly recommend Rosetta Stone!

      Delete
    2. Great to know--thanks! There's nothing like that immersion situation for finally really learning a language. I think it does help immensely to have had a strong base and understand the grammar -- the different tenses, all kinds of structures-- so, then, when you finally get to be in the land of the language, it reallllly sinks in and makes sense. And, then, if you have some kind of daily learning tool, it seems that whenever you learn a new word, you go outside, and suddenly you see it and hear it everywhere! as if it never existed before *LOL* :)))

      Delete
  8. Don't you just love that smell though, when it rains after a long dry spell? I wish they could bottle it :-)
    Hope you are well and happy.
    Di
    xxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YONKS:
      I do love that smell and I wouldn't be surprised if someone has already created a fragrance. We should do a search! And, yes, thank you, TODAY I'm well and happy!

      Delete
  9. I'm with you and Dudo: I love the sound of rain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stephen:
      It poured late in the day. I loved it. Unfortunately, it was coming down in all directions so I couldn't keep the balcony doors open.

      Delete
  10. Hello Mitch:
    We too enjoy days of rain when they happen providing, like you, they are not too frequent. Perhaps one needs the change after a long, hot summer.

    As for the picture of Dudo looking at the rain - perfect [and no pun intended!].

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jane and Lance:
      After months without rain, I really did miss it and enjoyed its return. Late last night, people were sitting out on the plaza for dinner. Overcast right now and it should be full sun again over the weekend. This is he way I like it.

      Thanks for tolerating all my photos of Dudo. To me, he's so expressive and enables me to tell more stories.

      Delete
  11. Okay rain, but it's still 25 centigrade, that's still better then a 12 degrees rain. Only last week it was 10 degrees warmer.

    Now I'm sure summer is over in the Netherlands.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peter:
      Only 19C right now... and that's wonderful. A 12C rain chills to the bone! (But summer is clearly over in Sevilla... No more 44C for a while.)

      Delete
  12. I love the rain too, but after a terribly dry summer we are now having too much rain and too many really gray days! But I do love the picture of your street in the rain. And the description of Dudo's amazement. Such an expressive cat!

    Your mother is so beautiful in all her pictures. And especially in the beautiful bridesmaid dress, but perhaps even more smiling next to your brother some days ago.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Kristi:
    You are a sweetheart. My mother has never known she's a beauty. That photo of her with my brother warms my heart... and I know hers. It's a rare moment when he not only lets her put her head on his shoulder but when he actually smiles sincerely about it, too!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh how I wish for your rain - sun weather pattern which would be so uplifting after an English summer/non-summer we have just had here, as you may have heard via Spanish media, rain - rain - rain oh and also flooding in many parts can this really be called a weather pattern? Everybody is desperate for the feel of solar warmth on their skin. Dudo would be going crazy here. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. cuby poet:
      So sorry about your awful weather. Even Dudo would get tired of that. San Geraldo and I don't do well without sun. I last longer than he does (he lasts about 1-1/2 days). That's why we've chosen to live the places we've lived for the past 20 years. I hope you have some sunshine soon!

      Delete
  15. Dudo is ONE AWESOME CAT!!! And my, what a gorgeous place you live in. Much as I love my bucolic existence, I do miss good restaurants! It helps that Montreal is an hour away but still...

    I laughed trying to imagine the pantomine involved in explaining "boneless chicken" without sufficient Spanish vocabulary!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Knatolee:
      We do love BOTH cats, but have to admit that Dudo is especially charming and entertaining. (Moose is incredibly affectionate but much more "cat-like.")

      I didn't ask San Geraldo to act out the pantomime for me, but it sounded like he didn't have to do much to make himself understood.

      Delete
  16. I just love your view! What a pretty street. And I love how cats can pay absolute attention to something like rain. We should all learn that skill!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jenners:
      Like the cats, I could sit by a window and watch the rain for hours.

      The only difference is that I start to feel guilty for not "accomplishing" something... as if watching the rain weren't accomplishment enough!

      Delete
  17. Just caught up on your blog! I really enjoy your posts! Last week's rain was definitely awesome. And great pictures! I particularly like the one of the people in the streets with their umbrellas. Hopefully the temps will steadily go down. Sevilla in late fall is my favorite! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittany:
      That rain passed way too quickly. Of course if it hadn't I'd be complaining about that! Today was such a beautiful late fall day -- 32C and sunny! But definitely easier to take than 42C and sunny. I went over to check out the fair at San Sebastian. Fun. But no music or food early in the day!

      Delete

Please visit www.movingwithmitchell.com if you would like to comment or stay up to date. I stopped posting here and reproduced all previous posts, as well, 25 September 2018. Thanks!!!