Charli reigns.

 

Saturday afternoon Nov 8, 2025

 

I didn’t walk today. Instead, I was determined to study Spanish all morning.

 

Ahem.  The best laid plans of mice and men…

 

The only problem is that Charli decided she would proclaim a (click here for video proof) morning Cuddle Session.  So, she (click here, too) parked herself on me, and then on my study notes. Immediately thereafter, she took a nap on my  notes, so I was (sweetly) delayed getting out the starting gate.

 

When it comes to my adoration of Charli, I am only slightly less religious about it than the king of olde who cut off the arm of his royal robe rather than depose his sleeping cat during its nap.

 

It took his royal robe maker 2+ years to make that robe for him

 

Did that stop him?  Nope. I completely understand!

 

Charli makes the rules.  I live by them. It works for both of us. LOL!

 

“In ancient Egypt, cats were worshipped as gods.

Cats have never forgotten this.”

But not to worry. I made up for lost time.  I spent hours going back through MADRIGAL’S MAGIC KEY TO SPANISH and picking up the things I hadn’t already committed to memory  during the first two run throughs.  I’m halfway through it again and only have about 20 pages of new notes and exercises. In sharp contrast, the other two times I went through it I had more than 120 “reminder” pages of notes each time. So, I’m feeling pretty darned  proud of myself.

 

I understand every word, every Spanish sentence, and all the rules of engagement.

 

Sunday morning Nov 9, 2025

 

Good morning!  Buenos Dias!

 

I’ve walked 6,958 steps so far today, so I will certainly reach 7K steps by day’s end. That has been my chief accomplishment until right now. Finishing this blog post will be the final one, because it’s Sunday and I feel like vegging!

 

Charli is being very clingy

 

Charli is sticking to me like velcro this weekend. I don’t know what that portends, but it isn’t too far out of line from the way she  has been acting.

 

The weather is fine (bright, cool, and quiet), so that isn’t what has her hovering. (Loud, nearby thunderstorms send her under the bed in her room, not to me.)

 

She has been more clingy since our move to Costa Rica.  In Tacoma, she had a big back yard and numerous fields to wander, so she was outside a lot. Here, she has plenty of running room, too, but Mikey (the neighborhood grey cat) harasses her (tries to smack her around) as often as not whenever she goes out, so she doesn’t wander as much as she usually did in Tacoma. And I’m pretty sure she has probably gotten drift of the boa constrictors that live around here (they hunt at night; she’s inside then) so she’s very hesitant to wander through the foliage that surrounds the place on all sides. She moves like a sloth whenever she goes anywhere near that, testing every millimeter of progress…

I reckon I’m her security blanket here.

 

The Radio Is On

 

For the first time in weeks, I turned the radio on again last night, so I could hear Spanish language music while I sleep.

 

At first, before I fell asleep, all of the words of each song sounded strung together.  When I awoke this morning, I discovered that I can hear the spaces between the same words now (the songs repeat every hour or so), so my ear and brain are attuning themselves to the cadence and rhythm of Spanish while I sleep.  That’s good! That’s what it’s going to take to immerse myself when I’m here alone.

 

And I love Latin music. That’s a good thing!  But every so often, they play an English language song (sometimes with a Spanish accent!) and that cracks me up even as it reminds me that I’m not (thankfully!) in the United States anymore!

 

I can also watch Spanish language programs on the TV, but I’m so used to not having the TV on (I haven’t watched TV regularly since the 1980’s!) that it’s easier to listen to the radio. TV is too much stimulation for me. It keeps me from thinking my own thoughts and paying attention to the very real life I’m alive to experience.

 

My present goals in life are maintaining my robust health and vitality, being truly present in my life, and enjoying the quiet, tranquil peace that surrounds me here. TV doesn’t promote any of that! Music can — and often does.

 

One of the best things about living where I am now is how quiet it is. I’m well off the main road (Calle Los Angeles) which is a two-lane country road, but in some spots it is just barely two lanes wide, one in each direction. I hear an occasional bark, or birds, or rain. There is no traffic noise at my casita except for the occasional, slow-moving motorcycle that passes by on Calle Esteban Salas. There are no airplanes or helicopters in this airspace at all. Nearly all of the sounds I hear are natural, except for when the landlord trims his lawn with a weed whacker or mower, which takes all of ten minutes every couple of weeks.

 

The lawn at this altitude isn’t grass; it’s a native plant that is much nicer looking and better for the environment. I’m not sure what kind of permaculture it is but it’s definitely perfect for this microclimate. It doesn’t need watering. It gets enough moisture from the humid atmosphere and frequent afternoon or evening downpours — at least during the rainy season, which is more than six months long. (I may have another report on the lawn when the dry season comes around if Im still at this location to observe it!)

 

Yay!  Charli ventured outside again! 

 

Mikey must be far enough away to give her enough leeway to enjoy the afternoon outdoors.

 

Update: Charli stayed out about 45 minutes. That was plenty for her for this time. She meowed through the screen at me, asking to be let back in. And as you’re well aware of by now, Charli’s meow is my mandate! (They didn’t call female cats queens for no reason at all, you know! LOL!)