Faux planting

 We have been having a cold snap, gets right through you, but the Almond blossom doesn´t seem to mind and its popping out on the trees around us, ranges from dark pink through to white. We have lost quite a few of our own trees, age, drought, pests but we have quite a few saplings establishing themselves again. Not always in a suitable place I have to say, but the olive trees do the same thing so unless you want a tree suddenly growing in the wrong place you have to be vigilant.

I´ve had these Gerberas for 3 seasons now and they seem to be determined to ignore the cold weather and are flowering away. Definitely on the shopping list again for this season.  My cyclamen, bought for a couple of euros back in November are doing well too.

The area at the bottom of the stairs is a trifle dark, I have tried several plants but have found nothing that will tolerate the conditions. So I decided to make a Swiss cheese plant, using felt and florist wire, I fashioned leaves into something which resembles the plant, used one of my Dad´s stained glass pots and gravel and planted it. With a little imagination it fills the brief and at least it won´t die.

Last week we were collecting Theo from nursery every afternoon as his Dad was away on business and Mum was working. We took him home and played, but on Friday we brought him up here with us, great fun playing and exploring. We had visited a local charity shop and found 3 huge bags of  wooden train set parts, with trains and cars and accessories, all for 10e, which made great tracks and a good deal of fun. I also bought 30 books, all for 10c each, so the book shelf was quite enticing. 

At last I´ve found the photos of the jumper and throw

That time again, dinner calls

take care

xcx

History

Oh my gosh, we were 19c last week, this morning at 8.15 it was 4c, bright skies and sun shining but so cold. We have become acclimatized to the weather here so cold to us is cold.

We seem to have a few problems in the house too, one of the drains is backing up, yuk! but with the help of the magic whip thing, very technical lol, that was sorted, then we could smell electrical burning, luckily this was isolated to a plug, now the question arises, is it localised or wider spread into the circuit, further investigation from the qualified is necessary.

I do love a bit of history, I was brought up on all sorts of old sayings, even used today as a family, including the London rhyming slang, but I always wonder as to the origin of these sayings. This afternoon whilst knitting another jumper for Theo, I had the TV on in the background, it was a Victorian Farm. This project had been going for about 10 months and I caught the last programme, one of those where they immerse themselves in the project and live the life. Rather them than me, creature comforts like a bathroom with hot water, is far better than boiling water for the tub before a fire. Anyway, wrong end of the stick came up, now how many times have you said to someone, oh you´ve got the wrong end of the stick, presumably meaning what you said has been taken the wrong way. Apparently this originates in the printers environment, where capital letters were stored in a case, the lower letters were stored underneath, hence upper and lower letters. The wrong end of the stick comes because the letters have to be put in a certain way so when printed they appear correct. So if you start at the wrong end it´s all back to front. There you go, a bit of useless information, but a bit of fun too.

Still trying to sort out the photos, then suddenly whoosh lol

take care

xcx

slack

Well, nearly a month since I posted, how´s that for slack!

Theo rallied enough for Christmas day which we all enjoyed, but it was obvious he wasn´t really feeling it. Then boxing day he flopped, by the 27th, I was well into what ever he had and this one went on the chest and was a nasty, no wonder Theo felt so poorly, its taken over 3 weeks to shift for me, but I think Theo is getting topped up at nursery by the bugs. 

It was Theo´s 3rd birthday on the 10th and I baked a Batman cake as requested, I managed to get fondant icing but only in white, adding black food colouring only made it go floppy and discoloured. So we improvised and printed out Gothum city and the batman logo on paper, made bats and stars on cocktail sticks, added a candle and he was happy.

Theo´s party was at the weekend and this time he wanted Paw Patrol, he loves cooking and wanted to make his cake with us, he was expert at cracking the eggs and enjoyed the measuring out and mixing, best bit of course was licking the bowl lol. A 10" square cake was requested, years ago I bought a multi purpose square cake tin, basically 12" which can be made into oblongs or any size. When I looked at the price it was 8.99 with a price tag from Boots, Nottingham. I must have had this since about 1985, really....certainly 1987 when I made my grandparents their 60th wedding anniversary cake.

Photo of the second cake have gone awol, never mind.

Party was at a soft play centre, took him awhile to get going but then it was fun, a family friend was doing face painting which went down a storm, so a good time had by all.

I managed to finish the throw/blanket requested, double bed size and another jumper for Theo, (just realised these photos are on my new phone and not linked yet, watch this space.)

We are on duty all next week as one is away on business, the other working, so evening pickups and playtimes

take care

xcx

Happy Christmas

 Our plans have gone a little array, poor Theo has gone done with something and is feeling very under the weather, so they may not come up tonight, but the most important thing is for Theo to feel comfortable and happy in his surroundings. These things happen with little ones, but hopefully if not tonight then we shall see them tomorrow. It´s only a 15 minute drive up so not a long journey

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas with lots of love, health and happiness

take care

xcx

Quick trip

 Wrapped some presents, made some gift tags and finished off the cone christmas tree, Theo started to help and I was astonished at the dexterity he showed after being told the pins were sharp, especially when he added the sequins, alas his attention didn´t last but he did very well.

On a very last minute decision, they decided to pop back to the Uk to see Antoni´s family in Nottingham for a long weekend. Flights were not too much and reasonable times too. They rang on the Saturday whilst waiting for a bus to take them into town, they looked like frozen peas, Theo was Not impressed by the cold and was slightly mollified by the chance of a nice hot chocolate. 

Sunday was the fourth anniversary of Rose´s birthday, I had already given them a card and little pressie to take with them, then lit a candle whilst preparing dinner. 

Yesterday was Chris´s birthday so we all got together for a nice meal, I did a loin of pork with rosemary, garlic breaded crust, along with all the veg. Rebecca and Theo had made some lovely chocolate chip muffins which we had with custard and a couple of birthday candles. Chris didn´t want a fuss so it was a nice way of finishing the meal off.

Few things left to do, but at the same time if it doesn´t happen it doesn´t matter, the joy of being together is the main thing.

I remembered to book a delivery slot early so the main groceries are coming tomorrow, saves time and energy and so worth the little that they charge for delivery. especially up here.

Time for dinner prep

take care

xcx

Christmas decs

 We retrieved the Christmas tree and decorations from the loft all ready for Theo to help. He enjoyed putting the tree together and sorted out all the colour coded branches. His face was an absolute picture as we opened boxes and he found the goodies. He was careful in his selection and very gently placed them on the tree, I suggested a few but no, he had his ideas and rejected them. Lift me up was his cry when he couldn´t reach.

I then gave him a box of baubles or various sizes and a metal stand, he spend ages, quite happily arranging them to his taste, using them all up. At first I thought it a little over the top, but on a second look it was really well put together with the tiny baubles on the outside, really artistic for a 2 year old.

I´ve been making little Suffolk puffs for Theo, I bought a small polystyrene cone with the idea he can use them to decorate it. I´ve made baubles in the past using these and they are quite pretty.

Most of the decorations are hand made over the years, quite satisfying to see them each year. This one is a patchwork star, made several years ago.

Have fun with your decorations

take care

xcx

Advent time

I have mainly been concentrating on making advent drawstring bags for Theo. Everything has come from the stash, I brought all the craft stuff with me when we left the farm years ago, which has proved to be very useful.  I´ve topped up some things like ribbons but all the Christmas material has come into it´s own.

I asked hubby to print out some luggage labels with all the dates on then glued them to red card, I did contemplate making felt ones but decided there wasn´t enough time and I couldn´t be asked lol. Had to lay them all out and divide the gifts so they made an interesting find on opening. Decorated a wooden box with tinsel and wrapped the gifts carefully mixing them up so Theo has to find the right number. Thought it would help with his numbers and also learn patience with only one a day.

I made a special one for the 18th using Christmas Rose material as a remembrance for baby Rose.

I left it on the table ready to take only to find that Sashi had made herself very comfortable in the box, should have taken a photo, but I was more concerned in getting her off.

So yesterday we visited Theo, we explained the concept and he looked in wonder that there were so many bags in there. Last year Rebecca bought a set of advent books, so he was in his element of choosing which wrapped book he wanted, which was read twice at bedtime, then as a treat he was given a little chocolate one, lucky boy with three. 

He has been finding going to nursery a bit of a struggle and we have been trying to uncover why. Last weekend he said "Mummy, I have a problem" aww bless, not even 3 yet. Turns out a new boy is being a bit of a bully and upsetting him. Hopefully the calendars will be a bit of distraction for him.

I decided to treat myself to an early Christmas present too.  The cold temps badly effect the Fibro so to save energy and the fact that trying to bend and do low jobs like wainscoting, edges, mopping etc are very difficult for me, I decided to organise a cleaner to come once a week for a couple of hours. I still find myself thinking, I should be able to do this, but we have 5 reception areas, clockroom and kitchen downstairs, plus 8 cats, so to have some help is going to be marvelous. So instead of beating myself up, I´m thinking of the nice things I can do with the energy saved, grateful that the hard jobs are being done and enjoy a fresh home. Defiantly a Loreal moment, yes I´m worth it. Also the person enjoys cleaning and gives her a little pocket money, win, win.  We have a friend coming to stay at the weekend and she is willing to do the guest room, remake beds so that will be a relief.

Our front bell is ringing which means the groceries have arrived, better go and get that sorted.

take care

xcx

  

Jinxed it

 Hmmm I think I jinxed it, had the log burner going now, our lounge is on the north side so doesn´t get much sun, lovely in the summer but chilly now. It used to be the donkey stable, which was ideal for them, but I like warmth. It´s also on a lower level than the garden, about 5ft, so a sunken patio, so we have cut the shrubs back on the top to allow a little more light. 

We have had some lovely play days, but poor Theo succumbed to yet another tummy bug on Friday, with Antoni doing a viral presentation in the afternoon to about 65 people he was unable to do child care, so Rebecca had to ask, very nicely, to take a half day holiday to be able to care for Theo. Oh gosh, I really wanted to help, but these tummy bugs get me 100% so in the view of self preservation I had to honestly say I couldn´t help. Rebecca insisted she wouldn´t have asked me anyway, but I still feel mean. Luckily by late Saturday all was well.

Theo has suddenly been taken with his little kitchen, using his play food to cook pizza and cookies, he so enjoys his stints in the kitchen making muffins, pancakes and biscuits, I think this has spurred him on to use his imagination. So I decided to get all my felt out and make him some additions to his fun food. Some were really easy, some were a little challenging, but he was so pleased and identified all the food, even though Yayo struggled on the tomato slices lol.

I did expand it making different pepper slices, more carrots and would you believe I was actually dreaming of how to make Oreos. Made several more of the tomatoes, it will keep him going for a bit. When they came up on Sunday he was thrilled with them.

I made felt Christmas tree shapes and kept all the little cut offs from the food, and we had fun gluing all the bits together making a picture.

Chris decided to paint a picture of our original girls, Tammy and Lucy, he doesn´t have a dedicated studio, just up in the Naya, so is exposed the the weather conditions, although under cover, too warm and the paint dries on the brush, too windy and it blows the pollen and dust, plus the furries want to help too, any way here is his latest picture

Just taken our car down for its ITV, (MOT) Rebecca kindly collected Chris to bring him home and will do the return to pick up. Quite strange to be without transport up here but there we are, collection Wednesday, hopefully.

Time for dinner

take care xcx

Jungle

It´s been very warm and mild here, haven´t even thought about needing to light the log burner, probably jinxed it now. Managed to get out into the jungle for a while each day, so it´s gradually getting clear again. We will have to wait until there has been substantial rainfall before the town hall will issue a burning license.

The Moroccan holiday wasn´t quite what was expected, mainly French spoken, they were on the second floor without a lift, which made it quite hard with Theo. Rebecca had a couple of massages which she enjoyed and although the water was quite cold the various pools were tried and enjoyed. They did a couple of excursions which they enjoyed, one to a crocodile park and another to a little place that produced Argan oil. They had a go at  grinding, all done by hand and hard work. No wonder the oil is so expensive, but the moisturizer had a wonderful texture and absorbed very quickly. They brought us back a little gift which was so thoughtful, a hand painted scene, painted on stretched goat skin and a couple of pretty coasters.

  

They had a trip to the local market but found it to be too pushy and expensive, they purchased some spices but realised they were being ripped off when the stall holder tried to charge them 70e for not very much, and got cross when they refused the amounts he was pushing and settled for a much smaller amount. Took the fun out of it. They did enjoy all the different tagines though.

First week of November nearly gone so I must crack on with the advent calendar I want to make for Theo, little drawstring bags to pop in a little gift, they can be used over the years then. Although it´s quite hard thinking of  so many items that will fit.

Right, out into the wilderness again

take care

xcx

Blue Peter

At last we have taken delivery of our new back/lounge door, we ordered this in June, it´s taken so long, I know every thing stops for August, but even so. Then we were given an installation date with the warning if we had to rearrange it would be another 4-6 weeks before another appointment. Really! This door was beyond repair, it was so ill fitting with an inch gap at the top and the rest deteriorating day by day. It was single glazed and let the elements in. Now double glazed, snug, triple locks and doing its job.

I painted the kitchen door today after the repairs , needs another coat, but so much better, on the hunt for the right paint hubby found the wood preserver for our double front door, so that was applied. The sun and wind dries everything out so much. So nice to get these little jobs out of the way and preserve what we have.

We were given an old drinks trolley which I think I mentioned, but now its finished so Theo can use it as an outside kitchen/work area. A good dose of Blue Peter, as in sticky back plastic for the storage bottles and the tops.

Mentioning Blue Peter, I actually appeared on the show in the mid 70´s, we were interviewed by John Knokes, who kept fluffing his lines, but I was part of a girls weight training team, we rehearsed, then went to recording, eventually we got there. On our way to our coach we met Dick Emery, who immediately went into his acting mode of Mr Lampwick playing with our weights and causing great fun, hilarious. I then met John Knokes again when we visited the ponds at Elstead in Surrey and he was walking his dogs, very nice, cheerful man. Many years earlier I was sent a Blue Peter badge as our guinea pig had given birth to 8 babies and I asked if it was a record, they couldn´t confirm but that was my first badge.

Continuing on with the blanket and here are the little stockings I´m working on.

More to do, 

Rebecca took some amazing photos of the decor in Morocco, I´m hoping at some stage they will provide some inspiration.....you can always hope lol

Dinner prep now

take care

xcx

  

A month

 Not quite sure where the month has gone since the last post. 

We´ve had lovely play days which I thoroughly enjoy, Theo is very inquisitive and loves to find out how things work, he loves his trucks that you can take apart with his plastic screwdrivers and reassemble, keeps you on your toes.  I bought some little scoops and more pom poms to go with our sparkly ones, he so enjoys sorting, transferring and filling the containers that I save, like the plastic herbs tubs etc. he does this with dried rice too, great to focus on dexterity. I´ve taken to adding a little something to his toy area for him to find, I wait until he explores rather than give it as a present. He is also in tune with his surroundings and offers kisses and comfort if say you knock yourself, its so adorable to hear him with his please and thank you. Yesterday we showed him something and he just said one word, ámazing´, he makes me smile and chuckle.

Antoni was all set to go on his company cruise, just around the Med, but then he tested positive for covid, then Rebecca did too, so that was that. It´s manifested itself to heavy cold with us. They are over it now and winging their way down to Morocco for a few days as I type this.

Several ´jobs´have been tackled, panels replaced in our en-suite, only waited 2 years, but whos counting...we investigated replacing our kitchen door, rain had got into the cat flap and caused some rotting, and the door was a nightmare as it caught everytime you opened it, after a quote of 2000e, Chris tackled the worst pieces, replaced the rain deflector, trimmed the door, now it opens like a dream, just needs to be painted inside and out and saved a fortune in the process.

We have some pretties in the garden, the Spanish rose and Bougainvillea making a nice display.

  The Gerber´s are still flowering too, along with the begonia, I bought some cyclamen from the chino at 2.50e a pot, well worth it.

I´ve been working on the crochet blanket, having shown Rebecca, checking for size, she asked for it to be at least double bed size... so that´s on going. I finished a jumper for Theo that I started ages ago but it wasn´t a priority as it was too hot, quite plain but give another jumper

The photo has made it quite dark, but it is really a pretty blue

I´ve turned my attention to Christmas items, you always think you have ages left to make things then find the time has all disappeared, I wanted to make some decorations that Theo might like to put in his room, so a couple of little  felt stockings and some sweet bobble hats. I thought Theo might like to make some too, obviously with lots of help, but for an older child these would be ideal, no glue and with parental prep easy to make. Just cardboard tubes, a little yarn and patience

Still more to go but at least I feel a little more creative 

Also been playing with ideas for napkin rings for the Christmas table, not sure at this point...I like to put a little gift beside each persons plate, so maybe some more little stockings.

We are having a mild time at the moment, warm winds from Africa drifting up to us and wrapping itself in a little cocoon, lovely

Well take care, thank you for reading my various ramblings

xcx

Something different

R, A and T had some friends over from Reading, they are Argentinian, a lovely couple and so nice for them to all meet up whilst they were over here for a month, with a little boy same age as Theo and a little 6 month old girl. 

We were invited to join them on a sunset cruise leaving Calpe, Chris has sea legs, I don´t, too many horror stories for me in boats, not my thing, we all met up at the port and I waved them goodbye. It was my intention to sit on the beach or rocks and take in the gentle surroundings and chill, however the weather decided against that, it was blowing straight off the sea and was rough, after walking to my spot I gave up and sat in the car with my crochet to continue with the throw.

Getting out passed the rock was apparently rough but smoothed over once round, very interesting to see the other side of the rock and take in the scenery. 

Theo wasn´t doing too well on the boat and kept asking to come back to me, bless, so when they were disembarking I was waiting and he ran straight into my arms for a cuddle, special. We then walked to one of the fish restaurants on the quay side for a bite to eat. 

These restaurants have all sorts of fish menus, obviously right by the landing area, but gosh some of them were eye wateringly expensive, 160e for 4 people or 190 for 6, these dishes  have everything though, but half the time you wouldn´t know how to tackle the variety of fish. Rebecca had monk fish and it was delicious, very meaty and filling. It is the most uglist of fish you can imagine when you see it in the supermarket and I wouldn´t know where to start to fillet it, glad they did it for us lol 

Tiny little shell fish as a starter, can´t remember the name but not very filling, bit like tiny clams.

The children were getting very tired so we made our way home but so nice to experience something different.

Moments to treasure

take care

xcx

  

Gently does it

Last week was so different, no Theo and his Mum popping up after nap time, but we did meet up for a nice meal in Calpe, the service was so slow, but Theo was very good and his reward was riding his bike along the sea front afterwards. The routines are quite different now Rebecca is working full time, bit sad, but life changes.

Spent a lot of the week making anklets and girls bracelets for my board at Maria´s. I also made some flower hair slides. I revamped the board to make it more aesthetically pleasing, have to wait and see if it works.

I started this post  a couple of weeks ago, but various things have got in the way before finishing it. I had an early morning call for help on the Friday, as Theo had been unwell in the night. With R & A both working full time I went to be with Theo for the day, he was fine, had a lovely day playing and having fun. Saturday afternoon I was feeling rather unwell, then it hit me, the usual tummy bug had been going around the nursery and I got it full blast. Oh what a pickle, desperately unwell, couldn´t eat a thing and even cooking smells were awful. On the Monday I managed a little bland white fish, then very carefully added to the diet, the fatigue was horrible and I am still not feeling 100%. Didn´t even want to read let alone do anything else.

Gradually I have been pottering, a bit of tidying in the courtyard and doing the crochet blanket. This Saturday Rebecca and Theo came up late afternoon and stayed the night, something they haven´t done for a while. I was so tired when they went home, Theo is a complete ball of energy, very inquisitive and full of go, but it was lovely to spend time together.

We had quite a rain storm at the weekend which the garden has been very grateful for and I can already see the plants perking up. Just hope my huge rosemary and sage bushes recover.

Well not much is planned, just taking things easy, an ideal opportunity to start on the garden tidy and pull weeds after the rain, to be honest, it can wait, they will still be there next week, just a bit bigger lol. It´s just rather a pull of getting started that I must and will resist.

take care

xcx

  

Busy

 There are still a few hot spots appearing from the fire, they have been using thermal imaging drones to detect possible problems then dealing with them, so grateful for technology

A busy week, we suggested that R & A could store their belongings in the casita, thus saving them 90e a month from being in storage, so we had Theo whilst they borrowed our car to move as many boxes as they could, then we had great fun cooling off in the pool, still more to do before the end of the month

I bought some cat litter trays only 2.95 each, we then used one for dried rice, using tubs and scoops for fun, hardly any spillage and the other I put in lots of sparkly pom poms of various sizes which was great fun for  sorting, colours, counting and then incorporating cars and lorries as transporters. That kept Theo entertained for ages.

Theo has been doing potty training for the last 3 weeks and he has taken to it so well, hardly any mishaps, he was ready and now he accepts it as the norm.

During our call tonight he said the car had a broken light because it hit a tree, I asked who hit the tree, "Oh Daddy did" lol out of the mouths of babes eh, lol

I have been making beaded anklets for my board at Maria´s, we haven´t been there for ages so it was nice to go and catch up, we came away with 80e from my board and post cards, wow, incentive or what to update and continue

Keep forgetting to take pics, must rectify that, anyway keep safe

take care

xcx

Update

Gosh what a week, constantly monitoring the situation, seeing the fire expand, licking its flames onto some of the larger towns. People rallying round to help others with accommodation and pet rescue. Then it suddenly spread sideways coming nearer, but that was hit with plane upon water plane and helicopters.

Then out of the blue, a weather front appeared and saved some of the towns with 43mm of rain in a couple of hours, it certainly helped the progress but not enough to extinguish it. Our valley didn´t get any rain, so we are still parched. When you consider the weeks on end we had so much rain earlier in the year it all just evaporates

Hot spots kept appearing and it would flare up again, apparently due to the ground being so hot  that flares keep appearing. 

There are 4 stages to the fire according to the authorities, stage one has been raging all week, but thank goodness, news has just come in that its reached stage 2, so under control but not out. 

The forest area will take ages to regenerate but as we know the seeds lay dormant then with rain they will spring back and start to spread, nature has it´s ways 

I suppose you could say life can be complacent, so never under estimate nature and enjoy today just because.

take care

xcx

Very scary

We had a thunder storm on Sunday, mainly in the next valley to us, only a little rain though, but the horrific part of natures storm is that it started a wildfire. This area is mainly campo with animals, forests and farming.

I woke Sunday night to smelling smoke in the bedroom then hubby said the lounge was filled with smoke too.  Then Monday came the news that the fire was out of control and spreading. We have access to a fire watch site which allows us to see what is happening. The air was acrid with smoke, our valley was filled with it and we could see the amber glow of the fire away in the distance. Unfortunately, August is when we have a lot of wind, not helping at all.

Again Monday night we had smoke hanging in the air in the house. Today it was reported that there are 26 plane and helicopters in the vicinity, 65 personnel, the fire was covering over 65km and so many town have been evacuated and over 1200 people displaced. It´s heartbreaking, on the site there are people people volunteering transport and housing for animals along with requests for housing.

This evening it is reported the fire has widened, encompassing more towns, villages, with more evacuees. Back in 2016 the area around Javea had huge fires, which were frightening and horrendous, but this one is 11 times bigger.

The advice is to prepare evacuation bags containing essentials, medication, documents etc, so scary, we only have a normal car so how would we transport 8 furries in their carriers also where would we go. We have two ways out, one is through very wooded  twisty road, the other our normal is similar. 

Imagination running riot at the moment, it spreads so quickly, the dedication of the personnel dealing with this are too be applauded, these brave people continuously bringing the water planes and those on the ground, they are amazing.

We are safe at the moment, wind change or mishap, I just ask for protection from the powers that be, all we can do is wait 

xcx

Fiesta

I am so pleased for Rebecca, she has secured a new position, Monday to Friday which works with nursery, although a few Grandma duties needed here and there. It means weekends are relatively free for altogether time and a few adjustments into menu planning etc means it should work out.

Well, a week has passed since the fiesta, where it went I don´t know, the numbers attending were vastly down on previous years, to be honest I didn´t make an appearance for one reason or another, Friday I needed to get some rest ready for Grandma duties the next day, although the band was so loud that was very difficult, then Saturday I was pooped, luckily they band wasn´t so loud enabling me to sleep. They didn´t finish until 3am. Sunday with not so many attending they finished early. The charengito was collected, along with the extra bins, the bar was dismantled, all the bunting removed and you wouldn´t have known anything had occured.

Sunday morning church service where Santa Barbara is paraded around the plaza followed by the congregation 

This is the little church were we had our wedding blessing

I hope you are all finding ways to keep cool in these high temps, we are up again today 38.5 with a hair dryer wind, grey water being used for plants as usual. I´m so pleased that we have our new taps as it´s much easier to turn them off whilst teeth cleaning washing hands etc.

Theo has been doing his potty training, he took to it straight away, very little mishaps, marvelous 

He has gained so much confidence in the water that pool time has been great fun.

Keep cool, enjoy the weekend

take care

xcx

Not a lot

Been keeping our heads down as our temps have been quite high. Several occasions reaching 40c but mostly between 34-36 now. Consequently the temp in the pool is a very pleasing 30c, no cold water shocks, bit of a wimp with cold water. Managed to increase the lengths to equate to 400m, not every day but every little helps. Theo has been enjoying the pool too, he loves to jump off the side and is gaining confidence in the water, with that and the trips to the beach, he is quite the water baby.

Rebecca has been looking for a job, always a difficult search but in the mean time with Theo going to nursery every day for full days she has taken what she could which has mainly been villa cleaning. Not a particularly pleasant job, especially in these temps so I take my hat off to her. I´ve been doing Grandma duty for the times when work and nursery conflict. She had an interview yesterday so we are keeping our fingers crossed for her.

It´s been quite busy in the plaza, they are having the annual fiesta weekend again, first since covid. trimming, strimming, freshening up. They delivered the charengito on Monday, basically a portable lock up bar, although beer is free, or rather comes out of the funds collected,  other beverages help pay towards the bands etc. At the risk of sounding like a wet blanket, I have not missed these weekends as they party on till 2 or 3 in the morning so sleep is out of the question as the plaza is just below us. The furries are not happy either as we have to round them up and keep them in especially during the evenings and the Sunday morning church service. It goes from being sleepy to probably 5-600 people 

I have tackled a few indoor jobs, like clearing out the bodega and shelves, finding little treasures and things like the citronella night lights tucked away. I used cut down 8l water bottles to give storage solutions, cheap and cheerful, but they work. It´s tidy and free from items that we really do not need any more

Started another crochet throw, great to keep fingers busy but not too taxing.

Off to download a book, hiding in the cool in the lounge 

take care

xcx

Little pleasures

At last the plumber arrived, we gaily showed him the new taps we had purchased and left him to it. He fitted the bath/shower taps but found that the taps in the double wash basin had rusted so badly he couldn´t release them. New basin needed! so we trot off to choose one but because designs change we could only have a single basin. Didn´t really mind after all we have never used the dual one in 15 years.

The plumber returned, quicker this time and fitted it, the delight in having a tap you can 1. turn and 2. water comes out has been quite exciting.

Next changing the taps in the clockroom, he found the same problem, rusted in, but after much huffing and puffing and brute force, he managed to free the old ones, I thought we were in for yet another trip and delay. Shiny taps not only look pleasing but ultimately will save water as they are much easier to regulate. It´s the little things that give pleasure

I was sorting out some linen, including some old linen that my Mum had collected, unfortunately some were passed saving, but I came across a couple of crochet cloths that I remember Mum having on her dressing table. There were a couple of age marks on one which I couldn´t remove, but after a careful wash they came up as good as new. The best part - the colours, the same green as I had painted the bathroom mirror and cabinet and the soft pink that goes with the fabric lined walls

Trying to keep in the cool of the house I started the bunting for Theo´s room, so whiled away a couple of hours piecing it together.

Still keeping up with the swimming, but we seem to be sharing the pool with the swifts, they build their nests in the roof of the naya then come swooping down to drink the water. It´s usually between 5 and 6 we go out there, obviously cooler for them too at that time. Then a couple of days ago I noticed a black splodge on the inside of the pool and discovered a very bedraggled bat, probably a piperstrelle , we carefully scooped it up and left it to dry off safely, a couple of hours later it was no where to be seen, so hopefully it returned to its colony. 

Right, off to play with pentagons

take care 

xcx

Mish mash

I found some photos from the Moors and Christians festival 

 

This wolf gently came toward Theo and touched him, let just say that Theo was not the slighted  bit impressed.

We have hit 38 a couple of times already, but have learnt (the hard way) how to manage the heat. lower expectations, jobs early in the day, etc etc, seems the Uk are making heaps over the expected heat wave, as that slogan says you just adjust and carry on.!

Rebecca has been building up clients for a villa clean etc, hard, hot sweaty work but bless her, she is game to crack on and make something in the season. She leaves the boys at the beach of a Saturday morning where they have great fun, then joins in with them to share fun too, except she was very badly stung by a sea anemone, the red cross patrol said it was not as bad as a jellyfish sting, bet they were glad not to be on the end of it cos it hurt like billyo. Having been stung by jellyfish in my youth I can feel for her, it hurts like 100 x nettles being wrapped round you, go to the chemist for some cream. Luckily its gone down, but then working today she was stung by a wasp, poor love not her week at all.

Just done 40 lengths of the pool, equates to 304m, quite chuffed, we are earlier this season for the pool with the higher temps quite early. Surprising how much evaporation from winds and heat occurs, so we need a top up for the pool and one for the house, hopefully he will come tomorrow.

Need to start dinner,

take care

xcx