Long time no post!

Well doesn't the time just fly out here. Kept meaning to pop on and make a post but somehow there were always other things to do. When did we ever find time to go to work?

We have been busy getting the work room up and running which meant trips to DIY store and deliveries of worksurface so they could be fitted. A couple more days and I can start moving my craft stuff in there and sorting - that'll probably take me several months! In the meantime I have a commission to produce 100 Golden Wedding invites for friends for later in the year. Still in the planning stage but am looking forward to getting going on that and getting my crafting mojo well and truly into gear. I have been able to keep going with birthdays and such like for ourselves and friends.

Have undergone quite a bit of treatment at the dentist. The surgery is very modern and well run and the dentist speaks very good English and his American wife runs the reception so it is easy to make yourself understood. Last Friday I had to have 3 teeth taken out as they were causing problems and very much beyond their useful date. Have spent the weekend eating soup and soft foods and am still awaiting them to settle down completely then I have to go back in 2 weeks for some fillings (5) and then a clean which takes nearly an hour for a full set (about half that in my case) and my smile should be restored to it's old self in no time.

Spanish lessons still continue on a Monday evening and I think we are both seeing a certain amount of progress - we have managed several Spanish conversations over the past couple of weeks and although we do not speak anywhere near good Spanish we can at least make ourselves understood and understand reasonably providing people talk more slowly and that is what it is all about. Once we have some more basic conversation the rest will no doubt follow on. Our young male teacher is only with us until the end of this school year unfortunately as he is quite good and teaches English to the younger children - they are probably more receptive than we are!

The weather has been atrocious some days although the temperature is quite good. We had very heavy rain 2 weeks ago on the way to the dentist and the roads were 6 inches underwater and in places roads were washed away along with some parked cars. We had taken the dog to be clipped just along the road to the dentist (4-5 km) and they couldn't finish her cut because the electricity was taken out so we had a half cut dog. They didn't get electricity back until the next day and we had to wait until Friday to have her finished off. Mind you they did a brilliant job on her. We had problems getting home as several roads had been cut off and we just about made it home across our rambla as the water was flowing quite fast across the road. When we got home we were without electricity until the evening but some places were off for a couple of days. They eveacuated the school in Mojacar and some hamlets were cut off for a couple of days. Yesterday we went into Arboleas and there was quite a lot of water flowing along the rambla there, part of which was due to the fact that in the mountains the rain had fallen as snow and there was 3 feet of it over 2 days - because this last few days have been warm (27 on Saturday) the melt has been finding its way down to the lower ramblas.

Well folks I must away to cook lunch so we are ready to wend our way to our Tuesday afternoon quiz. In the meantime we await the beginning of the visitors season at the end of the month. I will try and update the blog more often but life gets in the way. But what a life....

Here we are again

We have been blessed by good weather for several days now and had a lovely warm weekend. Today we even sat outside to eat our dinner before going off to Spanish class. Days seem to merge into each other out here. Saturday we went to Arboleas market and sat outside a cafe with friends drinking coffee, decaf of course!

Michael finished the planned shelves in the garage and we have decided to add another lower shelf along one wall so we went to collect some more brackets and wood for Michael to work with. We also spent some time rearranging Alex's room to take his double bed and gradually sorting through items we should never have bought out with us but ran out of time to sort them before we left. We went to the kitchen showroom to look at worksurface for my workshop to replace the odd pieces I have had for the past 10 years.

We went along to yet another quiz on Saturday night and again came 2nd winning 5 euros and a bottle of wine. Michael has weeded the gravel over the past 2 days - quite a task but once done lasts for quite a while and less work than mowing the lawn at Colchester. He also won an ongoing war with the pool steps. The ladder style ones at the deep end had thus far refused to move to be cleaned but a little time and a drop of WD40 finally saw them removed from their fittings to enable the treads etc. to be cleaned of calcium build up and also the wall behind them to be cleaned.

I have finally plucked up the courage to make an appointment with the dentist. Well it was a bit spooky really as after having lost my 4th filling since arriving I decided I needed to find one and phoned one who had been recommended to me by a neighbour. I was greeted by an answer machine message saying they were closed until 11th for the holidays. On 11th I waited for a while and finally plucked up courage to pick up the phone - as I did so it started to ring and on answering it found out that it was the dental surgery ringing me back after the 'missed call' that I had made the week before. Very spooky but the receptionist was very nice and I am now due to go in next Monday to see if they can sort me out. Well that will be a first anyway!

This morning was taken up with a trip to pick up a new gas bottle for the hob ( our first new one for that since we moved in so that hasn't been expensive). Gas bottles are much cheaper out here despite having just had an increase to 11,05 euros and are used on bothe our hob and our water heater. We picked up our post from the village on the way. After having dropped the new gas bottle at home we then went to the DIY shop on the motorway to get the next lot of shelving. Having stopped to have a chat with a neighbour we ate dinner and went off to our Class then returned home for a relax in front of the tv. A typical day in the world of the Woolnoughs.

It is now time for supper and then it's off to bed for a good night's sleep to face another day tomorrow when another set of chores becomes an adventure in foreign climes. I don't think a day goes by when I don't stand and look at the magnificent views we are faced with each day with a certain wonder - I just wish I could share it with all our friends so they would understand why we chose this particular place for our retirement.

We are still not having any luck uploading photos but we will keep trying... until then Hasta luego..

That's more like it....

Another busy week in Espana. We restarted our Spanish classes on Monday and Tuesday we came 2nd in the quiz evening and bought home 3 bottles of wine. Wednesday we had a load of logs delivered. Well we shared a full load with Lyn and Jean so spent a fair amount of the day moving logs from the road outside out houses onto our log piles. The weather stayed with us and by the last of the moving we were in our t shirt sleeves. We now have enough to see us through to Easter when we hopefully we won't need any more until next winter. Ended the day with a trip to change one gas cylinder then off to the shops to top up the food stocks. Have started the New Year gentle diet - aiming to lose a bit but at 1-2 lbs per week so the swimsuits will fit better this year.

Thursday we were hit overnight by the high winds amd a bit of rain, the winds continued all day and into the night again. However today we awoke to the reason we moved here. We managed to get some work done then I went with Lyn for an hour and a half walk with Tiffy down the local ramblas. It was perfect walking weather - we wore t-shirts and came back with our first glow of the year having caught the sun on our journey. The weather was beautiful, not too hot, not too cold, with blue skies and 18 degrees. My thoughts were with all of those in England still facing the ice and snow. If we get no more such days for a week or two then today was enough to see us through.

One week into the new year

and I hope that you are all sitting warm and comfortable indoors and not fighting the present cold which appears to be the lot of the UK at the moment. We appear to be getting the tail of the weather that has swept down from UK but as it is generally warmer down here we are having rain. Today has even been cold and there is snow on the mountains but nothing like the UK. Glad to be away from it although I know there are some that enjoy the snow - the only thing it is good for is skiing. Hate driving in it and feel sorry for anyone who has to do so. Mind you I expect the kids are all enjoying themselves.

Anyway keep safe until the weather improves.

Meanwhile we have had our usual hectic start to the New Year. A party at out neighbours which we thoroughly enjoyed followed by visits to and from other friends and neighbours has made it quite a good start to the year. We missed out on going down to the 3 Kings celebrations which we hear were very impressive - perhaps next year.

Michael has managed to make a good start on fitting the shelving into the garage and we are starting to sort the stuff which remains packed. I have also started to resort my crafting stock hopefully making it easier to find what I want once it has been put into garage craft room. Well that's the theory anyway.

On Wednesday morning we went on the first of our 2010 organised walks, which showed us some of our local nooks and crannies. We shall be exploring more throughout the year, hopefully accompanied by some of the visitors we are expecting to spend time with. Tiffy is always game for a walk and knows her way around better than we do after accompanying Jean and Lyn on their walks so often.

Next week also sees the start of our Tuesday Quiz so we will soon be back in our routine again.

Keep safe