Overslept.....
I can't remember the last time I didn't get up later than 6.30 am - I seem to have an inbuilt alarm; this morning however it was 8.15! And on Market Day too! Didn't give Derek time to come round slowly as I usually do, we needed to be up, breakfasted and off! There are never enough parking spaces on market day, you need to be there early, and although we were down there by 9.30 there were only about 30 spaces left in the big car park, which is supposed to hold 1,000 vehicles. However on Fridays the market stalls probably claim 150 to 200 spaces and the stallholders vehicles another 50 to 100, so space is at a premium.
It was lovely and sunny and we did stop for a coffee at one of the refreshment stalls after we'd done shopping - today we bought strawberries, yellow plums, bananas and oranges, potatoes, asparagus, cauliflower, lettuce, enormous spring onions, radishes, cucumbers, mushrooms and tomatoes - I think that's it! No different to what I'd buy in England really, it's just that the size and taste are so much better! Bearing in mind there are only two of us and stuff goes off quite quickly, I think we'll be eating a lot of fruit for breakfast and heaps of salad for lunch! We also bought plants - Derek can never resist the plant stalls and it took two trips to the car to unload all we bought. At last I managed to get a pot of basil - I love the smell of basil! There were bargains to be had on some men's shirts, but I couldn't carry any more stuff!
After lunch and while we were waiting for Michael the plumber to arrive I sorted throws, towels and bed linen, all of which had got into a bit of a muddle in the laundry room, and stashed them away in the bedrooms, ready for visitors.
We've asked for the water filter to be fitted as soon as possible, and for the steps to the drive to be built asap as well. Michael is bringing the builder round next week sometime to refresh his memory about the steps and get a quote for the conversion of the laundry room to a downstairs bedroom and ensuite (it's a BIG laundry room!). We've also asked for a quote for aircon. Then we'll need a new kitchen........ Michael went away with a long list and a smile!
How's this for service?? !! Yesterday I mentioned we were having trouble keeping the pilot light going on the boiler. Michael decided a new thermocouple was needed and said he'd get Junkers (who made the boiler) to call in and replace it. He phoned his office, asked them to phone Junkers to get the service call logged (next week there are two fiesta days when no-one will be working so he wanted the call making today). Amazingly 10 minutes after Michael left I had a phone call (in Spanish) from which I got the words 'ahora' (today), diez minutos (10 minutes) and 'a su casa' (at your house). Sure enough 10 minutes later the Junkers man was here, the boiler was fixed, we parted with €75 and we once again had agua caliente (hot water)! And this is Spain! I am still stunned!
This evening we decided to eat out - back to the Country Kitchen. We are getting predictable - Jan had just about written Derek's choices down before he opened his mouth! We should explore more places to eat but we love CK so much. Maybe we'll alternate - CK one week, a new place the next.
I think the weekend will see us doing a bit of gardening and I'd like to get my kitchen things unpacked. I'm desperate to get some scrapbooking under way, but I won't let myself do it until everything is either unpacked or taken into the basement to be stored. Therefore the sooner I do it, the sooner I can set up a temporary scrap area. The permanent area will be in the basement but it needs tidying up and painting first.
It's late again, off to bed - nighty night all!
It was lovely and sunny and we did stop for a coffee at one of the refreshment stalls after we'd done shopping - today we bought strawberries, yellow plums, bananas and oranges, potatoes, asparagus, cauliflower, lettuce, enormous spring onions, radishes, cucumbers, mushrooms and tomatoes - I think that's it! No different to what I'd buy in England really, it's just that the size and taste are so much better! Bearing in mind there are only two of us and stuff goes off quite quickly, I think we'll be eating a lot of fruit for breakfast and heaps of salad for lunch! We also bought plants - Derek can never resist the plant stalls and it took two trips to the car to unload all we bought. At last I managed to get a pot of basil - I love the smell of basil! There were bargains to be had on some men's shirts, but I couldn't carry any more stuff!
After lunch and while we were waiting for Michael the plumber to arrive I sorted throws, towels and bed linen, all of which had got into a bit of a muddle in the laundry room, and stashed them away in the bedrooms, ready for visitors.
We've asked for the water filter to be fitted as soon as possible, and for the steps to the drive to be built asap as well. Michael is bringing the builder round next week sometime to refresh his memory about the steps and get a quote for the conversion of the laundry room to a downstairs bedroom and ensuite (it's a BIG laundry room!). We've also asked for a quote for aircon. Then we'll need a new kitchen........ Michael went away with a long list and a smile!
How's this for service?? !! Yesterday I mentioned we were having trouble keeping the pilot light going on the boiler. Michael decided a new thermocouple was needed and said he'd get Junkers (who made the boiler) to call in and replace it. He phoned his office, asked them to phone Junkers to get the service call logged (next week there are two fiesta days when no-one will be working so he wanted the call making today). Amazingly 10 minutes after Michael left I had a phone call (in Spanish) from which I got the words 'ahora' (today), diez minutos (10 minutes) and 'a su casa' (at your house). Sure enough 10 minutes later the Junkers man was here, the boiler was fixed, we parted with €75 and we once again had agua caliente (hot water)! And this is Spain! I am still stunned!
This evening we decided to eat out - back to the Country Kitchen. We are getting predictable - Jan had just about written Derek's choices down before he opened his mouth! We should explore more places to eat but we love CK so much. Maybe we'll alternate - CK one week, a new place the next.
I think the weekend will see us doing a bit of gardening and I'd like to get my kitchen things unpacked. I'm desperate to get some scrapbooking under way, but I won't let myself do it until everything is either unpacked or taken into the basement to be stored. Therefore the sooner I do it, the sooner I can set up a temporary scrap area. The permanent area will be in the basement but it needs tidying up and painting first.
It's late again, off to bed - nighty night all!
posted by CaroleW at Friday, October 06, 2006
1 Comments:
So glad you're settling in well Carole. Don't forget, you're in Spain now, it doesn't all have to be done today!!
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