Saturday, March 10, 2012

Spring is in the air, at least according to the displays in the store windows.  The drab greens, brown and tans of winter clothing have been replaced by a rainbow of pastels.  The streets are more animated as more people venture forth in the evening.  Best of all, Linares has reopened.  It turns out that they close down for the winter.

The political turmoil continues here in Spain.  To be honest, the political turmoil in Spain seems to never stop.  In response to the government’s recent changes to labor law, all unions have called for a general strike on March 29 in hopes of getting the government to negotiate some of the proposed changes.  There have recently been a series of suggestions from the private sector regarding changes that need to be made if the economy is to recover.  One suggestion is that Spain cut down or eliminate the number of puentes in the year.  Puentes are long weekends occasioned by the fact that either Friday or Monday is a holiday.  In some cases there are a week or two when there are two puentes.  In addition to the number of holidays, there is the added fact that workers tend to take an extra day to make it a four-day weekend.  Needless to say, productivity goes to hell.  The other suggestion is that Spain’s government do something to cut down on absenteeism of those who work for the government.  The current rate averages around 15%.  In private industry the absentee rate is less than 2%.

Susan and I took a cab to Kosher Best yesterday only to discover that it was closed.  We had to walk four or five blocks to catch a cab in the other direction and it took a bit of effort on my part to traverse what is normally a short distance for me.  Hopefully, my current regimen will help eliminate the stiffness that is causing the problem.

Soon after returning home Susan headed for City Hall to be present for the mascleta and afterwards she caught up with Zahava for lunch and a movie.  I made my way over to La Fórcola for lunch and that ended my activities for the day.  I spent the rest of my day reading and watching past episodes of Antiques Road Show.  Susan is about to head off for a nail appointment and I am giving some thought to getting a haircut.  Later we will give Brian and Ofelia a call to see if they are up for going to dinner this evening.

Here are some of the pictures that Susan took yesterday.  Enjoy!