Author Archives: azahar

caturday november 7th 2025

08 Saturday Nov 2025

Posted by in casa azahar, cats, caturday, home

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , ,

What a week with Luna. Last weekend she got a bit floppy… wasn’t up to much, didn’t want to eat, was obviously out of sorts and even walking a bit wonky at times. On Monday I arranged an appointment with Vet Sonia but, after some “emergency” feeding of Luna’s favourite paté she was suddenly much perkier so we left the appointment until Thursday. Fine. 

And she seems to be fine. Blood work looks good for a girl her age (14) but she also has a cyst under one nipple, which we have arranged to have removed in December when she goes back for a revision (vets think it’s benign, this is just to make sure). Meanwhile she will be taking omega 3 supplements for slightly elevated cholesterol… and that’s it. Given that her last blood test was over a year ago it seemed prudent to do a proper check up at her age. 

And she was good as gold. Even in the taxi! The first driver at the stand actually refused us saying he had allergies “to both cats and dogs”. Luckily a second guy showed up and no problem. When I said we had a gatita he said “no problem, I have two of my own”… later I told him how the other guy told us he had allergies and that I didn’t believe it, and he said “no way, I don’t believe it either”. Anyhow…

Part of the major stress of bringing the cats to the vet is all the howling and wailing that goes on the minute they are put in the carrier and especially once they hit the street. All those scary sounds and smells, can’t really blame them. But after a bit of complaining at first, once we got in the taxi she was quiet as a mouse. And at the vets… 

I know it has nothing at all to do with me but all of my cats – always – have been easy to work with at the vets. Blood tests? No problem. Xrays? Okey-dokey. Prodding and poking, looking at teeth etc… they just go totally limp. And I love them for it. I mean, I know it’s because they are terrified, if I tried any of that shit at home it would be NO FUCKING WAY but the minute they are out of their realm they lose all their sass. Bless them.

Part of the reason this appointment was moved to Thursday was because there would be two vets on duty that day (for blood extraction etc) and I was all like… but it’s Luna! Anyhow, it’s done. And we’ll see what happens in December. 

polka dot poncho

07 Friday Nov 2025

Posted by in health, knee saga, knees, sevilla, weather, welcome

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

,

Enough already. I cannot walk (in the streets) without crutches (since August 2024). And I cannot use an umbrella whilst hobbling along on crutches, for obvious reasons. Last winter (rainy af – yes, much needed but still) made me realise how much this limits me. So… hello polka dot poncho! Not quite a famous blue raincoat but let’s see if this helps. 

sound recycling

06 Thursday Nov 2025

Posted by in computers, gadgets, music, technology

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,


So anyhow… back in January 2023 I somehow ended up with a “free” LG soundbar and woofer (Movistar client gift thing) and dutifully set it all up when it arrived (omg it made IKEA beds seem like a walk in the park in comparison) and once everything was connected I turned on the TV and, well yes, everything was much louder than before, and also way more boomier. In theory it was supposed to enhance my listening pleasure while watching television. But after a couple of months I ended up disconnecting it and went back to the TV speakers (which are just fine). I dunno, it just felt like TOO MUCH SOUND for just watching TV, you know?

And then today I was on (in?) a zoom meeting with my Gastro Guías and suddenly I couldn’t hear anything. Later the sound came back but it was all crackly. I thought it was the connection with the chat but later on when I put on some music it was still crackly. Well fuck. My lovely Galga is just over a year old and so, in theory, still on warranty. But the thought of having to deal with all that – taking her in, being computerless for god knows how long, etc – made me think of my poor rejected and neglected soundbar. 

I did actually try listening to my music connected to the soundbar and woofer when I first set everything up, but the TV setup is at the other end of the long space that is both living room and office and so it felt like the sound was filling up the whole house, not just my workspace. But today I thought… well what if I move the soundbar over to my desk? Duh. 

Can I tell you? I am so happy right now. Turns out the soundbar is the exact length of my desk, so it fits perfectly behind my laptop box (which elevates the screen to eye-level) like it was always supposed to be there. Takes up no extra space at all. And the sound! So much richer, deeper, fuller… but also easy to keep to myself in my little personal corner of the house. 

Nick & Jim

05 Wednesday Nov 2025

Posted by in friends, sevilla, spain, substack, tapas

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Jim & Nick at Manolo Cateca

Mexico-based food writer Nick (Nicolas Gilman) and I first met ten years ago in London during a mad whirlwind gastronomic weekend hosted by Jeffrey Merrihue (formerly Foodie Hub now Xtreme Foodies) though we barely remember as there were so many people and so many places. Anyhow, we reconnected this year on Substack and this week he and his partner Jim are in town so we got together for a little sherry and a snack at Manolo Cateca. It was lovely meeting them both and I hope we can get together again before they leave.

fred & susan are back!

04 Tuesday Nov 2025

Posted by in food & drink, friends, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

I’ve known Fred & Susan for years now (first via Twitter), then we met up in person about a year and a half ago and had a great time together. And this week was no exception. Suddenly they were back in town and so of course we had to meet up. We started off with a glass of cava at Catalina El Bar before heading for a fabulous lunch at Amara. Then it was time for a penúltima. On the way to my first choice (El Cairo) I decided to pop into Augurio because Fred & Susan were planning on eating there during their stay and I thought it would be nice to make the booking in person and introduce them to the girls. 

Imagine my surprise when the last two tables having lunch there were also friends of mine! In fact, the last time I was at Augurio (for an amazing sherry & dinner event) Elba and Bill were also there and they had joked when they saw each other that the only one missing was me. So we ended up having our penúltima there and it was a lovely finish to a very enjoyable afternoon.

Elba (seated) with Fred, Susan, friend of Bill and Bill

Fred & Bill