Month: October 2023

I know it seems a bit early but I do love this time of year, when Autumn is everywhere and you just know that right around the corner is Christmas, or Yule, with all that it entails. It is always a very long summer here in Spain, and while it is wonderful to have continual sunshine and warmth, this year has had higher than usual temperatures, and it’s not easy keeping cool when it’s over 40C in the shade. After a while we find ourselves looking forward to the shorter days and colder nights when we can light the big log burners and snuggle up on the sofa.

So, it’s preparation time now for the incoming season. Peter has checked the two big chimney flues and he is now going to clean them properly. He has great chimney brushes and is also able to borrow a chimney vacuum, once again thanks to our lovely builder friend Nigel. The log burners themselves need a new coat of blacking so that will also be done shortly. The first lot of logs have been delivered, and Peter has been busy stacking them in order of size…OCD, anyone?!

Another similar load will see us well through the winter, now that we have two big log burners to feed. My job is to make sure we have enough firelighters, I get the easy bit! Peter thinks I’m quite good at laying and lighting fires – don’t be letting on but I can’t be faffing around too much with it so I give them quite a few firelighters and a good dose of BBQ lighting fuel and they go up with a very satisfying whoosh!

With the shorter days it’s still nice to have a bit of colour in the garden, and the bougainvilleas keep “flowering” and looking gorgeous at the front of the house.

All three plants are now starting to come forward from the open beams on the verandah making what will be a colourful show through the winter. My favourite plant, the hibiscus, also just seems to keep flowering, so I’ll leave it alone for now to just to its thing.

The other thing that’s coming back to life after looking very sorry for itself all summer is the strawberry tree, or Arbutus Unedo. Now I have to cheat a bit here and show you what it looks like in full flow, but at the minute we only have one “strawberry” though there are hundreds more ready to ripen!

Here’s our wee valiant tree getting ready to burst into fruit, not exactly overloaded yet!

For colour at night you just can’t beat these “dandelion” solar lights. I buy a couple every month, with the result that we now have a verandah and terrace covered in them. They are gorgeous to look at when we’re sitting ouside on summer evenings, and equally gorgeous to see coming to life in the long winter nights.

We have them in all the plant pots and beds at the front of the house, and I’m continuing to add more until the place is a riot of coloured lights!

With the cooler nights coming now it’s time to rethink the food we enjoy. For so many months when it’s hot we eat cooling foods like gazpacho, salads and so on. Now that winter’s approaching we’re leaning more towards meaty casseroles and fruit crumbles. My favourite winter dinner at home is carrilladas (pork cheeks) done in the slow cooker, with carrots and onions, and a good glug of Pedro Ximinez sherry for added zing. There are lots of good recipes for this online, have a go, utterly delicious! Slow cookers are the best thing ever, I love to just load everything in, switch it on, and head out to wherever we’re going for the day. Coming home, a match to light the two log burners, and very quickly the house is warm and dinner is ready – couldn’t beat it!

Another winter favourite, of course, is curry of almost any type. Peter is a great cook, and particularly enjoys making different curries from scratch. He’s a bit fond of the spices as well, as you can see! The lovely chap who made and fitted all our new windows also made the wee shelves for the spice jars, as a present for Peter – how kind was that!

                          

While Peter is finishing off a few more “tidy up” outside jobs this week I’ll be concentrating on getting the art room into shape. We need to paint the walls and then sort all our art materials into storage boxes/baskets/containers so we know where everything is. We have a big plain white storage unit to build then the baskets or whatever can slide in to the shelves and at last we will not be scrabbling around looking for things. I’ve started making glass pictures, inspired by my daughter’s work. She used to make lovely pictures…before full-time work and three young children took up too much of her time. These two pictures are about to be reframed at last!

I have lots of bags of different sizes of sea glass all over the place, and with new storage in our art room it will be lovely to know where everything is. My mother used to say “A place for everything and everything in its place”, and though I never paid much attention to it at the time I realise now how right she was. So, this week will see the art room finished and ready to use. We are very lucky to have a big house with enough rooms to allow us to have space for an art room and a separate study, as well as everything else.

Finally, I’m very aware that we are heading towards Remembrance Sunday, and I’m remembering my grandfather who lied about his age to join up in 1914, and spent time as a prisoner of war in Germany. He was very, very lucky to have come home. So many did not.

“Did we die well?” those soldiers say

Their bones still resting where they lay

                           “Will you recall the price to pay?”

                            They knew when they had gone away

                            That most would die in fields of clay.

                            And looking up, to skies of grey

                            And here below in screaming fray

                            Are boys and men, all forced to slay

                            To fight the fight that others say.

                            Let guns be silent now, we pray 

                           Around the world on Poppy Day.

K.K.

The husband got home safely from his dental appointment in Skopje, North Macedonia, via Rome, and all in one piece! It still amazes me that the total cost of flights, hotel etc was less than having a new bridge made here in Spain, so it was well worth it. He only had one day to recover as we then had Ariane and Edgar to stay via the Workaway cultural exchange scheme. Having them here for 10 days was absolutely wonderful, not least because they are great workers and they ate everything we offer, even my cooking – not fussy at all! They were so busy helping Peter with many of the heavy outside jobs round the house, and it has made a huge difference. Lots of garden bags have been filled, I think the total is 37, waiting to be taken to the town recycling centre, so we’re now looking at how to get them over there! The town hall might be able to help, otherwise we’ll find someone with a van or truck big enough to take everything away. Some day we’ll aslo be able to sort out the terracing below the walled garden to make it easier to reach the figs, olives and almonds there.

The lower, walled garden is now clear of all weeds and of all overgrown extraneous “stuff”, and looks twice the size it did before. We’ll get a few more fruit trees planted soon, I think clementine, lemon and blood orange are top of the list so far as well as a couple of seedless grape vines.

The terrace walls right round the house have all been painted brilliant white and look fantastic. Everywhere just looks so much better than before, and I can’t tell you how much we appreciate the hard work that Ariane and Edgar have done here.

We’ve done a bit of baking too – we’ve had wheaten loaves and shortbread, plus banana and raspberry porridge breakfast muffins for a little taste of Ireland. They are delicious, and very easy to make.

The recipe is as follows:

Blender muffins  (in a blender or using a hand one)

1. Two and a half cups of oatmeal
2. Small pot of plain yoghurt
3. 2 eggs
4. Tablespoon of honey
5. One and a half teaspoons of baking powder
6. Half a teaspoon of baking soda
7. Two large ripe bananas cut into chunks.

 Blend until smooth, pour into 12 hole muffin tin. Bake at 200C for about 30 to 35 minutes. You can add berries, seeds etc to the mix, whatever you like! I usually put a wee plop of mixture into the tins, then add a few frozen raspberries, put more mixture in and then top them with sugar pearls. The ones in the photo without the sugar pearls had fennel seeds added to the mix, by special request of the husband. You can add whatever you like, they’re so easy to make and are a very filling and healthy portable breakfast option.

Ariane travels with her guitar, and plays really well! We were able to indulge in a lttle jamming session or two, mainly fuelled by rather delicious vino collapso which made the playing and singing all the sweeter!

This experience with Workaway has been absolutely brilliant for us, it exceeded our expectations by a very long way. We just LOVED having Ariane and Edgar to stay with us, utterly delightful people who were so easy to get on with. Before they left, they gave us gifts they had made for us. We all share a love and fascination for the stars, and Edgar made us a little clay dog gazing up to the heavens, so beautiful. Ariane had bought a little plain wooden box from the todo shop and she hand-painted a fabulous humming bird on it. Absolutely exquisite gifts, both of them, which we will treasure forever.

So if any of you feel you’d have something to offer the Workaway scheme have a look at what it’s all about, at http://www.workaway.info and check out the information about signing up as a host. The variety on offer is huge, and we really landed on our feet with Ariane and Edgar, who were just such a brilliant help to us as well as being such lovely people – friends for life!

I thought I’d give you a bit of a laugh from something that came up in my Facebook memories, indication that we are all getting older. There was a time when, if I said, “I’m going for a shower now”, the husband would say “Wait a minute and I’ll join you”. I said it again this evening, and he replied with “WATCH YOU DON’T FALL”. Sigh!

This week’s lovely lunch was in the Gastrobar Puerto Rico, in Monteagudo, on the outskirts of Murcia and not too far down the road from us. The restaurant (and pension) is owned by Maria Angeles, who always greets us warmly with a hug.

The food is exquisite, a fantastic range of tapas as well as the menu del dia every day. Everything is freshly prepared and very, very tasty, no wonder we keep coming back for more!

From scallops to mini burgers, from steak to huge prawns in panko breadcrumbs, everything is a delight. Not surprisingly this is one of our favourite places to eat locally!

From the “sweet” to the “sour” now.The end of September saw the introduction of new laws safeguarding animal welfare here. In brief, there will be severe penalties, including huge fines, for people who keep animals (mostly dogs) chained up, leave them alone for long periods, and who fail to register them with the relevant authorities, amongst other things. These laws have been widely welcomed, especially regarding the hunting dogs used by the Spanish. It pains me to say it but often, when a hunting dog has outlived its usefulness, it is shot or hanged by the owner, and is rarely, if ever, kept as a pet. In the campo, or countryside, there seem to be many owners with many dogs, if the barking across the valleys all night is anything to go by. Thank goodness for effective double glazed windows! Numbers of pets are supposed to be limited from now on, to five, though the chap about 300m across the “sheugh” has about 11 at the last count! How on earth these laws are going to be policed and enforced is anybody’s guess. The whole issue of the change in the law is to try to redress the abuse that some animals have to endure. We know of one person who is apparently being taken to court by a neighbour for shooting their cat. The person concerned actually boasted to us about shooting the cat – that probably tells you nearly all you need to know about what kind of person they are, not really someone you’d want to be around too much!

As ever, there is far more “sweet” than “sour” about life in Spain, thank goodness, which makes living here so worthwhile.

Here’s a couple more favourite websites for you:

https://www.facebook.com/TheAntrimRambler/

Check this out on Facebook and other social media sites – Nicky McBride is a fabulous photographer who is now making some of his iconic images into calendars. I have ordered mine, can’t wait to get it!

www,workaway.info

Everything you need to know about the Workaway scheme!

At the minute it really IS a slow slide, as we’re well into the first week of October and the daytime temperatures are still topping 30C. We’ve been making a list of the projects (sounds better than “chores”!) we want to do over the autumn and winter, and trying to get a bit better organised.

At the minute we’re concentrating on the outside jobs as it will be easier to be indoors in the colder weather. We have quite a big plot, completely surrounded by a wall. I’m not sure that wall has ever been painted since it was built, but it’s getting painted now! We have a dozen houses in our little part of the village, almost all of which are currently being renovated. When you drive up the road towards our house you can see the brilliant white paint on the other houses, while our garden wall looked like it had been sprayed with mud. So,while the husband was away in North Macedonia last week our wonderful builder Nigel came over and spray painted as much as he could in the time available. He’s always very busy but I’m so grateful he made time for this as it was a fantastic surprise for the husband when he came home! I can show you a little bit of the wall which we need to finish, compared to the work Nigel has put in. It’s amazing what a coat of white paint can do.

It’s amazing how easy it is to please old people! Anyhow the husband was well and truly surprised, as well as delighted. We will be able to finish it now and the whole place will look so much brighter.

The garden is the other main project we need to tackle. Most of the garden area needs very little doing, it’s terraced and is quite a big area and there’s not much we can do about it at the minute until we can arrange for proper landscapers to sort the terracing to make it safe – it will involve a bit of heavy machinery! That part of the garden has almond, fig and olive trees. For now we are concentrating on the lower, walled garden, which has grape vines, orange and lemon trees. It’s a really good place but has become terribly overgrown so needs a good clear out.

Now, here’s the thing – we heard about a scheme called Workaway, which is a cultural exchange programme. The idea is that you get matched, as hosts, with people who are maybe backpackers or general travellers, who are keen to see different parts of the world and learn about different cultures. In exchange for board and lodgings and learning about our cultural differences they will help you with work around the place. For example, there are some heavy things that we really can’t manage, but younger and stronger people are more than willing to take on for you. So, at the minute we have two utterly delightful people, Ariane and Edgar, who are doing a fantastic job of clearing all the overgrown weeds and bits in the lower, walled garden, and already it’s looking great! They’re also going to help us finish the painting of the garden wall, and get the metal garage door prepped and painted with Hammerite, or whatever the equivalent is here! Our house is going to look fantastic, and it’s so, so good to have help in getting things done! In exchange, we’ve so far taken them to a tour of a local bodega, which shows you the process of wine making form planting the vines to storing the bottles. The bodega is huge, and the tour is wonderful – also they give you each a bottle of wine and a beautiful Bodega Luzon engraved red wine glass to take home. Definitely worth a trip, as it’s a huge part of the Murcian culture.

Ariane is a registered nurse and is French Canadian so we’re getting the chance to practise our French, it’s starting to come back again. Edgar is from the US and has a background in construction, they both have extensive travelling experience and really enjoy meeting new people and sharing their experiences. I think we’re in for a feast at the weekend – Ariane is keen to make some cookies using the figs from our tree, and also some brandy biscuits. I might make some raspberry and chocolate chip cookies – a little something to enjoy when watching the rugby on Sunday!

It is a real joy having them here, they have made a huge difference to our lower walled garden, it is beautifully clear and looks twice the size now.

I think the next task is to prep the garage door now that the walls are a brilliant white we really need to paint the door. We haven’t decided what colour yet. Well…Peter hasn’t decided what colour, I’ve decided it will be British Racing Green. We’ll see, place your bets now!

I read recently that the “in” colour this season for interior design is cobalt blue. Hah! Beat them all to it, we painted one of our guest rooms just that colour and added a silver headboard, nothing reticent about our design skills. The bedrooms are not huge, so we just went for what we wanted. Well sometimes you just have to make a statement!

We’re having a bit of a bake-in later this afternoon. As I said above, Ariane is keen to make cookies with figs, and I’m going to make wheaten bread to eat with the new lot of lemon curd I made this week, as well as some Paris buns. A bit of a way to celebrate the Ireland rugby team’s terrific victory over Scotland!

We’ll be taking Ariane and Edgar to have a relaxing afternoon at the Roman spa here in Fortuna, then the following day Peter will take them on the tram into the city to show them some areas of interest. They will be moving on from us soon and we’ll really miss them…more about that next time.