15 June 2025

Not much news from the last couple of weeks. I’ve been spending some time at the beach when I could.

I got my Spanish taxes done for 2024. That turned into a more complicated ordeal than I expected. (Silly me! Everything is more complicated than you would expect.) I had asked my attorney about it months ago. Taxes are due June 30. At the beginning of May, I reached out and received a reply that she would start on it the following week. At the first of June, I reached out again. She responded that she wouldn’t be able to help me. What?! I wrote back and asked why she said she’d help me a month ago and not now, if she’d make an exception, and if not, could she refer me to someone who could help me?

She replied that if my only income was from my investments, that she could help me, after all. Whew! So, we scheduled a meeting for last Monday. She was very helpful. But for some reason the system wouldn’t accept my TIE (identity number) and so I needed to go to City Hall to get a “Digital Certificate” of my identity. She was able to get an appointment for me for Tuesday! It’s not usually that easy to get such an appointment!

So on Tuesday, I left class early, went to my appointment. Their systems weren’t working correctly, so he gave me a paper copy of my “digital” certificate! Crazy!

I went back to the attorney’s office. She got everything entered correctly and said she’d send me an email with the details so I could log in and see my “digital certificate.”

Of course, when I got home, I couldn’t log in. So the next afternoon, I went back with my laptop. She patiently helped me log in. We got things settled. I owe a lot more in taxes than I expected. (This is Spain, after all). But it’s all taken care of for this year.

My Spanish classes are going well. I have days where I feel encouraged and days where I feel absolutely stupid. But I’m embracing it all, practicing and even praying…especially on the toughest days. I think I need to start praying in Spanish. God does meet us where we are. Right?!

I had a delightful Couchsurfer here this weekend. Sebastian is a film instructor at a college in Quito Ecuador. I love meeting interesting people from around the world and hearing their stories.

And this weekend is six months since Vicente and I started seeing each other. To celebrate, I baked him a cherry pie.

On Saturday, we went to the beach. On Sunday, we took Cooper on a hike at a river just outside of the city. Unfortunately, it was an area that was severely damaged by the flood last October. What was once a beautiful river park, with biking trails, trees and open space, is now tree stumps, rocks, dust, and debris. They’re still working to repair and restore it all.

Afterwards, we went for Almuerzo. In Valencia, this means a midmorning brunch of a sandwich, a beer and a coffee. I chose the local specialty, a horse meat sandwich. It was tender and tasted a bit like beef. Even so, my brain had to make a small leap over the fact that I was eating horse meat.

It’s Monday morning. I’m off to Spanish Class.

Padre Dios ayúdame a aprender español mas rápidamente y correctamente. Amen.