Well - yet again it seems time has flown by since I last update the blog site....
I've called this one swallows and amazons - why??
Well Amazons because the weather has been so bad we've had a river running down the hill and across our land. There have been ponds and pools created by the amount of rain that's been falling here - and all whilst those of you in England have been having spanish sunshine! The result of the rain is a very green view at the moment and lots of lovely wild flowers round and about. This must be good for the birds and the bees!! Speaking of birds - the Swallows part of the title refers to 'swallow and amazon' our pair of pet swallows. Clearly they aren't really our pets but they come every morning and rest on the window bars chattering away and trying to get into the house. Last year the house was somewhat more derelict and they used to nest indoors - obviously they can't do that any more but it doesn't stop them trying!
One other result of the weather is that we have used up all our wood - you can see from the attached photo just how much we started with and we are onto our second order it's been that chilly here! Still we have got in good practice and Nigel is now a really good fire-starter!!
As well as the issues with the weather we had a fun day on Monday as I the clutch went on Snowy car - just in an awkward spot. I had to jump out of the car - don my fluorescent jacket (a legel requirement here) and lay out the two hazard triangles that you also have to legally have. I called the cavalry which came in the shape of Nigel - to confirm that we needed a breakdown tow truck. Just as we're on the phone to them along come the Guardia Civil (Police) - they stopped the traffic and made us roll the car back down the hill to a safer parking spot from where it was retrieved by the breakdown company. One day later and it was all fixed by the mechanic so there were no real issues but what an adventure. We've also found out that it's illegal to tow cars in Spain so you have to be rescued by a tow truck in the case of any breakdown (just in case you wondered!!)
It's snail season here too - every morning we see Spanish people wandering the land with carrier bags bending over...it looks really odd and we wondered what they were up to! It turns out they are out collecting snails for their tapas and meals - they are pretty standard fair here at the moment and are on offer in most of the bars and restaurants. It's just one of the Spanish gourmet ingredients we don't tend to rush for!!
I've got a few days back in England now whilst Nigel enjoys a Spanish Fiesta in the local town this weekend - I've spoken to the mayor to keep an eye on Nigel during the festivities as I won't be here - but knowing Victor and our friends here that won't make any difference at all!!! We'll have to give an update next time on the first Fiesta of the season!
Hugs for everyone,
Sarah.
