This was not a good day. And not JUST because I had to go back to IKEA 😉 , but because things got off to a weird start and then got positively exhausting.

Woke up with tons of things to do in the new Casa Azahar, and also had errands to run before a lunchtime biz meeting. Errands such as going back to Emasesa (the water company) to change the contract to my name… FOR THE THIRD TIME. I had kept forgetting this or that document, but finally I was all prepared and got the deed done. While I was there I was told that there was a last-minute opening to “empadronar” (register for the census) which is necessary to prove how many people live at my home, and which is also important because the more people living at a dwelling means you get a cheaper water rate. BUT, I had the biz meeting planned so had to forfeit the appointment – next opportunity won’t be until September, and so until then I’ll be paying a higher water rate.

Got to the meeting point early and – not having had breakfast – ordered a tapita to keep myself going. But when the person I was meeting arrived, I was told our meeting was cancelled. So I not only didn’t get the meeting, I lost a chance to “empadronar” (and save money on my water bill!), and also ended up on a bus to IKEA at the worst possible time of day (for taking a bus – HOT).

Finally got to IKEA and somehow it took ages, even longer than my previous visit, when I bought half the store. I think I was just so disheartened about how the day had been going that everything felt like like a massive chore. There was no joy in any of it. In fact, I ended up forgetting a couple of the things I’d gone there to buy, but at least I got the most important thing – a nice storage unit to act as a pantry for the extra stuff that won’t fit in the kitchen cupboards.

Then home again… blazing heat… long wait at the bus stop… was EXHAUSTED when we finally got back to Sevilla. And so on the way home we stopped in for a snack at a place near the new house that I hadn’t been to in years, and that cheered me up. The guys were so friendly, the food was nice, we had some wine…

Anyhow, I also took this photo while at IKEA, which I found amusing. A dressing room display replete with feria flamenco dresses. So very Sevillano that it made me smile. They say that moving house is right up there STRESSWISE with having a death in the family. God knows it’s been a crazy few weeks, and at times I’ve felt stressed beyond what I thought I could handle. So it’s important to find those little things that make you smile.