My abuelita (grandmother) often told me, “No hay mal que por bien no venga.” That translates to something like, “Bad things happen for good reasons.”

Before Rosemary died on 9 November 2020, the orange man was president of the US. At our breakfast in bed, she with her iPhone and me with my Galaxy 5 would check on his latest stupidities. Every day at 6 we would watch Rachel Maddow on MSNBC.

Our time was occupied with reading and viewing everything related to happenings down south.

I would like to point out now, how positive my life has suddenly become. I like to relate that to the overdue library book syndrome and my Maserati Biturbo (the worst car I ever owned). I would escape the worry about the book by putting it into a drawer. “Out of sight, out of mind”, people say. For 9 years my Maserati, everything wrong that could happen to a car had happened, was inside our Kerrisdale garage. I could not see it. The problem did not exist.

Now I realize that I don’t want to watch the news and there is now little in my daily delivered NY Times that I want to read as it no mi piace (Italian for it does not please me).

Suddenly, after yesterday, I am enjoying reading for pleasure. I am not reading heavy duty books. I am currently reading this Colin Dexter book. I had read all his others years ago (no memory in my mind about them). It is now a pleasant discovery what a lovely writer he is.

With time in my hands I will read books. What fun! And Niño and Niña on the bed heartily approve.