Category Archives: change

cooking with gas

22 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in change, home

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I have been waiting for this moment for over nine years, ever since I moved into the previous “casa az” from the place next door. I was lucky enough in the first two apartments I had in Sevilla to have kitchens equipped with gas cookers, but the last two came with those awful electric ceramic top ones that are not only electric but a bugger to keep in good condition because everything stains or scratches them. But it’s really cooking electric that drives me bonkers.

So when I realised a couple of weeks ago that I could no longer live with the crappy taps in my bathroom I decided to approach the landlords about helping me with a couple of home improvements. To my surprise they agreed to spit the cost of both the new taps and the new cooker! And as I have a five-year contract with the option to continue living here after that, it seemed like a good investment on my part too. I think the landlords like that I am interested in not just maintaining the place well but also in improving it. Though of course they are cautious about how much more they want to spend at the moment, after having just redone the whole place before I moved in (last tenant left it a mess). But these two things (taps and cooker) were a constant annoyance and so quality of life at home is now greatly improved.

I still haven’t tried the cooker as it was just installed yesterday evening. It was the cheapest on display at the store so I hope it’s okay. Will let you know…

mira la luna!

18 Sunday Sep 2011

Posted by in animals & pets, cats, change, home, hope

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Say hello to my beautiful girl. It’s so weird to think that a week ago getting a third cat was something I was considering – maybe! – for some time during the winter. Closed balcony doors, less chance of kitten dropping off balconies, etc. Though it had been on my mind for awhile to look for a playmate for Loki. And then I saw that poster last Monday…

Then after much back and forthing I made the Big Decision on Friday that I would take this kitteh, even though it means having to keep her “in quarantine” for a month until she can be retested for feline leukemia, as the test she had on Friday wasn’t “negative enough” for Yolanda to say with confidence that it’s safe for her to be in contact with Azar and Loki. But she has plenty of space to sleep and play, and she is never left alone for long. Plus Nog sleeps with her at night.

I picked her up yesterday after going out to get some proper kitten food and a small litter box. So she is set up quite nicely in Nog’s room with the cushion of my ex-comfy chair as a cat bed, her food and water dishes and a couple of toys. Litter box is out in the hallway. And she also seems to like the “safe hiding place” I left for her – the cat carrier with the door taken off – as well as crawling in behind the big square “reading pillow” on Nog’s bed.

[click on collages to enlarge]

The best part is that she is so affectionate and loves purring away on my lap. And she is also very playful. Yesterday afternoon I settled down to watch a film on tv after lunch and, since the boys were napping elsewhere, decided to risk bringing her out to sit with me. And she was happy as anything on my lap getting lots of snibbles. Azar came over after awhile and didn’t seem to notice her at all, but after the film was over I put her back in her room.

I’ve decided to call her Luna. It just sounds right and it’s a bit in memory of Lua, as she was also a very pretty girl and a siamese mix, and of course both names mean “moon”. I just hope Luna turns out to be less *ahem* cranky than dear old Lua was.

One thing’s for sure – Luna sure is photogenic.

decision time…

16 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by in animals & pets, cats, change, home

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by Thurston Arnold

Today I had to make the Big Decision about taking in this little darling. Fani took the kitteh to see Yolanda this afternoon and there were a couple of surprises. First, she is a girl. Second, she is approximately four months old, which really surprised me because she is so tiny. But apparently all the milk teeth have been replaced by permanent ones and, despite her size, she isn’t as young as we all thought.

The good news is that she seems relatively healthy. She was deloused inside and out when Fani took her to a different vet a few weeks ago, and I’m told she has a good appetite. The only possible bad news is that the test they did for feline leukemia was inconclusive. Yolanda said there was a small “blip” in the test results that meant she couldn’t say for sure that it was 100% negative, and she recommends redoing the test in a month’s time. Meanwhile, the kitten shouldn’t have contact with the other two cats as it’s very contagious and can be transmitted by saliva. Also, although both Azar and Loki have been vaccinated now, this doesn’t offer total protection against the virus.

So, this was all going through my head after Yolanda called me this afternoon. I had already half-decided that keeping the kitten “in quarantine” for a month wouldn’t be too much of a hassle, when I thought it would be a case of waiting for it to be old enough to have the test accurately done. But now it will be a case of retesting because there is a suspicion of disease. Also, I was kind of wanting a male cat that would grow into a robust playmate for Loki. This tiny thing looks like she’ll never weight more than a couple of kilos at most. So I called Fani to tell her about my doubts and she was understandably upset, as the only other option for the kitten at this point is to take her to Greece on Monday, which will be a long 7-day journey by car.

And so… I’ll be picking her up tomorrow morning. What the heck. Worst case scenario is that she has feline leukemia and I have to find another home for her where she would be the only cat. But after getting this involved I couldn’t just walk away.

I’m thinking of calling her Luna.

up and about

01 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in change, health & happiness, hospitals

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Finally got my little office set up here at the hospital and have been getting some work done. I’m really recovering fast from this operation, even though I was slit open from sternum to pubes again. Considering it’s been less than 48 hours since the op I think I’m doing very well.

The doctor said this morning that I should try to be up and about as much as possible and so as soon as they got me off the morphine and removed the catheter I was able to move around. I just have a saline/antibiotic drip to move around with me on a wheelie pole and the icky drainage bag hanging off my belly, but compared to all the tubes I had me when I woke up from the op, this is nothing.

I just caught up on emails and have had more tapas tour requests. Also had to get in touch with the tours I have booked for Saturday, Monday and Tuesday to see if the clients would mind going out with Peter, and they are fine with that so at least they still get a tour and I don’t lose any money. I might actually be well enough to go out on the Tuesday one – hope so!

Feeling okay, but a bit depressed by all of this. Out of the blue I am back in hospital and hating it, worrying about Azar at home (he’s blocked up again) and generally wondering how I’m going to keep things together, including myself. But I’m very grateful for all the company online here at casa az and on Twitter.

Well, think I’ll take a wee siesta now. Not much else to do…

kitchen revisited

04 Thursday Aug 2011

Posted by in change, home

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Back in February I gave you a glimpse of my kitchen on the first day it was actually functional, but what you couldn’t see in that photo was that on the right hand side of the sink the washing machine was sticking out about 20cm (8 inches) into the room because that section of the counter is much narrower than on the other side of the sink, where there was a dishwasher that – I was told – didn’t work very well (I never tried it). Anyhoo, after getting the landlady’s permission to get rid of the old dishwasher I finally got the washing machine moved over to the correct sized spot, and put a small IKEA shelf thingy in the narrower spot … and what an amazing difference. Totally loving the kitchen now!

EXCEPT… I’ve had the dishwasher sitting outside my door for the past week. I tried getting it down the stairs with Nog but there was no way. Then I decided to ask my neighbour Giorgio (owner of Pérez) if he could help out but I could never find him home. So I stopped by his restaurant the other day and Giorgio and Simome both said they would take care of it for me. Still waiting for that to happen (I told them there was no real rush as the other neighbour on our floor is away on holiday) but I’m sure they’ll do it eventually.

Who knows…maybe in another couple of months the place with be in good enough nick to make a new casa az video!