15 Thursday Sep 2016
I’ve noticed The Dude keeping company with this pretty tabby girl for awhile now, but usually when people approach she runs off (typical street cat behaviour). But this night she stayed put and even let me sit beside her and stroke her head. Must be the cool abiding influence of her boyfriend…
Time to name her, I think. 🙂
06 Tuesday Sep 2016
03 Saturday Sep 2016
This makes me SO SAD, because I have so many memories tied up in this place. Although this wasn’t the original Horno San Buenaventura (that one is over on calle Carlos Cañal) this was the one I first knew and kind of “grew up” in when I first came to Sevilla 24 years ago, where I made friends with the staff and was treated like family. It was where I’d go for coffee and tostada on my way to teach English classes in the morning, where I’d set up meetings (my first “office”) and frankly, where they had the best damn coffee in town.
I have to say I haven’t been there much since I moved over to the Alfalfa barrio (though there is also an Horno San Buenaventura there) and this location did seem to be sliding a bit and looking a wee bit shabby. But it’s like saying goodbye to an old friend. And there’s been too much of this lately, for various reasons. Landmark cherished shops and bars closing down. Sad.
29 Monday Aug 2016
Whenever I come home from a trip I can’t imagine how I ever managed to leave these guys. Everyone was so happy to see me – even Luna! Now that it’s the end of August and “back to school” time, I don’t think I’ll be travelling again for awhile, except may the occasional day trip. Of course, you never know…
18 Thursday Aug 2016
13 Saturday Aug 2016
Posted in home
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A couple of months ago I spoke with my landlady about the possibility of installing a split in the living room, rather than using the central aircon/heating system, which costs a fortune (and frankly, I don’t need to be cooling and heating half the apartment that isn’t used most of the day). I offered to go 50/50 with her on the price, but she told me that if I wanted to do this then I’d have to pay for it myself and – I quote – “you can take it with you if you move”. Huh? So I decided to forget about it.
Then a few weeks later water started dripping from the kitchen ceiling (well, false ceiling – the heating/cooling unit is up there) and eventually it was discovered that the old machine was low on gas, but because it was so old the type of gas it used is no longer made. So now the landlady had two choices: replace the entire central system or get a split for the living room. She chose the latter, though not without trying to go for the 50/50 deal again. Too bad for her she didn’t take me up on my original offer at the time.
Anyhow, here is my new split, somewhat oddly placed near the balcony door instead of the centre of the room (landlady wasn’t going to spring for an extra 50€ to install it further inside) and I’m not sure if it’s actually powerful enough for the space (I’m pretty sure she went for the cheapest unit she could find) but hey, it works well enough and should save me a lot on electricity. Also, it’s good to have aircon again. While I was away in London poor Peter had to suffer through 10 days of 40º temps because they weren’t going to install the machine until I got back.
Have to say though that this latest incident with the landlady makes me want to move more than ever. She went on and on about all the “expenses”, how she couldn’t afford to pay for a new split, etc, etc. Give me a break. She and her husband are both lawyers and her family owns this entire building. And when I met with her to talk about this she brought up other “expenses” from 3-4 years ago, as if they were my fault. Meh. Luckily I don’t have to deal with her very often. But if they put the rent up in February then I’m outta here.
02 Tuesday Aug 2016
23 Saturday Jul 2016
Posted in home, retail therapy, sevilla, shopping, spain
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I always like to take advantage of the summer and winter sales here to stock up on basic stuff like sheets & towels, so today I went out to see what I might find and ended up with a whole whack of towels and one new set of sheets for me. I thought I was being quite decadent until I checked back on the blog (so handy that) and saw that the last time I splashed out on new sheets was in 2013 (I honestly thought it was much more recent). Then I was shocked to see that my last new towel purchase was a year before that! Well, judging by the state of my towels I shouldn’t have been that shocked, but whatever. Now I have lots of everything, though I still want to get a second set of new sheets for me.
What’s weird is that for at least the past 25 years or so, I have never bought patterned sheets. Or coloured towels. I’ve always had a thing for white or off-white when it came to sheets and towels (and nightdresses too, come to that). Okay, a little embroidery was fine, but no colours, other than in quilts and duvet covers. And suddenly today I wanted these happy bright poppies on my sheets and deep blue for the “guest” (actually roommate) towels. Roommate also got new sheets along with the new bed in May, so I am feeling totally up-to-date in that department.
So what to do with the massive pile of old towels and sheets? Well, what I always do with old clothes and such. I wait until after 8 pm and leave them next to the bins up on the main road near me, in unsealed bags so people can easily see what’s inside. And they are usually gone within an hour or so (municipal rubbish pick up is long after midnight).
I don’t even know what’s “normal” when it comes to stuff like this, buying new sheets and towels. Once a year? Every two years? Three? Also, as I said in another blog post, this has never been a huge priority for me. I always prefer to spend my money on experiences. How about you?
21 Thursday Jul 2016
18 Monday Jul 2016
Last night I got home late and was getting ready for bed when I took a step back without looking and landed full force on poor Luna’s tail. Her response was to sink her very impressive teeth into my calf – TWICE – before tearing off to hide under the sofa. Well, there was blood everywhere and I had to get into the bathtub to rinse off my leg, and then staunched the bleeding with a betadine-soaked cloth. After the worst was over I spent the next 20 minutes trying to coax Luna out from under the sofa. She finally came out, visibly shaken, and let me pick her up, rub her belly, kiss her head, all that jazz. When I saw she had calmed down I went back to my wounds. The two massive vampire bites on my calf had started to throb and I was reminded of the last time this happened (it was pre-blog or I’d link back) about 15 years ago.
My friend Jim had left his pretty siamese girl Echo with me for a week in the hope that my handsome burman Sunny would get her pregnant. Well, that bit didn’t work out, poor Sunny didn’t seem to know what to do, even when (castrated) Azar demonstrated by mounting Echo several times. Meanwhile, Sunny’s mother Lua was not pleased with having company and one day Echo strayed too close and got a serious whupping. Because I’m stupid I got between them in an attempt to break things up at which point Echo clamped her teeth onto my ankle and Lua walked off in regal disdain.
Then I saw the blood, and so with Echo still attached, I made my way to the bathroom. Finally Echo released her jaws of death grip and ran off, leaving me to bleed all over the bathtub for a good while. That ankle still bears the Mark of Echo to this day. At the time I didn’t think much about it, other than the next day when it hurt so bad I could barely walk, and a friend said I should really get a tetanus shot. Let’s just say it was quite an adventure trying to get a tetanus shot on a Sunday in Sevilla in the summer.
Fast forward to waking up with super painful vampire bites and wondering if I had to get another tetanus shot just in case. Quick call to my doctor confirmed that it was probably a good idea, so off I went to my local medical centre. But when I got in to see the nurse she told me it probably wasn’t necessary (it’s not like in the old days! she said) but since I couldn’t remember my childhood vaccinations, or even when the last booster shot was (other than about 15 years ago) she gave me the injection. I really liked this nurse – she was the sort of no-nonsense and clearly knowledgeable person I like to have in charge of my health. Very likely I won’t need another tetanus shot before I die, which is a good thing because my arm hurts almost as much as my vampire-bitten calf.
When was the last time you had a tetanus shot?
One of my problems with taking a siesta (which I almost never do) is feeling groggy afterwards. Morcilla does not have this problem. She goes from fast asleep to wide-eyed and alert in a split second.
The night I got back from Madrid I was welcomed by all the cats, but it was clear that Morcilla was especially happy to see me. I’ve been wondering how to tell her I’m leaving again on Sunday…
Last morning cuddles in bed with Morcilla… for a WHOLE 10 DAYS.
Slow news day, so here’s Morcilla being cute. Also, it’s 43º and the air-con broke down two nights ago, but this is happier.