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~ my life in sevilla

casa azahar

Tag Archives: home

so demanding…

23 Friday Aug 2024

Posted by azahar in casa azahar, cats, home

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

cats, home

wet comb (2)

I have created a little wet-combing monster. Have to admit that since I first discovered wet combing a few years ago (thanks to FB pal Nancy in Paris) I’ve become a bit lax with regular combings in summer. That was until last month when Morcilla horked up two massive hairballs (and accompanying ick) all over my bed twice in one week. This led to DAILY wet combing and malt twice a week and… can I tell you? It has become such a routine that now I’m not allowed to not do it. At first I would wet comb Morcilla around noon, because if I am going to go out it is usually shortly after that. Initially she looked decidedly put out with me rousting her from her favourite spot on my bed pillows (the big ones up against the wall, not the ones I sleep on) but once I got going she clearly enjoyed it.

Then one day when I wasn’t going out I lost track of time doing something or other on the computer and suddenly there was Morcilla doing the meowing equivalent of WTAF?? I checked and it was about an hour after the usual combing time and omg it totally cracked me up. Then she jumped up on the office table giving me THAT look until I got the comb, ran it under the tap, and got to work. And it’s been like this ever since. If I ever slip up, miss the appointed hour, Morcilla lets me know about it. Cats sure do love their routines.

Below is what I get off her EVERY DAY (and she’s tiny). Since starting the daily routine Morcilla hasn’t had a hairball (fingers crossed) but it still feels prudent to keep her out of my bedroom when I’m not home. What about Luna you ask? Well not only does Luna detest the combing (but loves the malt) I have never known her to hork up a hairball. I have no idea why. Could be that she’s not an obsessive groomer like Morcilla? No idea.

wet comb (1)

new lease on life

23 Tuesday Jul 2024

Posted by azahar in casa azahar, home, sevilla

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

home, housing, sevilla, spain

lease

So, you may or may not know about the housing situation here in Sevilla. Over the past ten years or so we have lost so many of our neighbourhoods to tourist apartments and boutique hotels taking away from us what used to be our homes. I moved here in 1993 and after 18 years in Barrio Santa Cruz I was forced to move. Ended up in a place with all-night bars which meant five years of no sleep… then in 2017 I happened upon the place I live now. It’s smaller than my other apartments (had to down-size, got rid of lots of STUFF) but that was fine because it’s just so cosy and charming here and I love the neighbourhood. And I damn well know that now – in 2024 – I would never find anything even remotely similar in the centre of Sevilla at a price I could afford.

Right now I am on a year-to-year contract. And omg this gives me so much anxiety. Because what if one year my landlord decides not to renew? Here rent increases are based on the annual IPC, which varies from year to year and this year the percentage is 3%. Given the scarcity of dwellings many landlords choose to oust tenants and get new ones in at a much higher rent. So far this hasn’t happened but I always worry that it might (because it has before).

Today I signed my new contract for the upcoming year, same as last year, but with a significant bump in the rent. I know it’s not within the legal guidelines but I also wasn’t about to argue, because I really don’t want to lose my home. We can just about afford the increase, at least better than the cost of moving (both financially and emotionally). And so this Casa Azahar will continue for another year, and hopefully many more to come.

new towels!

17 Wednesday Jul 2024

Posted by azahar in casa azahar, home, sevilla

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

casa azahar, home, towels

nre towels

I’m on a roll here. After checking how often I should replace pillows (FYI turned out to be every 1-2 years and I was way behind) I decided to check towels and – eep. Same. Well okay, not as bad as the pillow situation as it turns out I last bought new towels in 2021 and google says it should be between 2-5 years so I’m still in the running. You see, there is a reason I keep this fascinating blog going! How else could I check back on this stuff?

Anyhow, found these lovely towels at 50% off at El Corte Inglés and they are now freshly washed, sun dried, plump and soft and hanging in my bathroom as we speak. Goodbye old loofah towels! How’s your summer going, but the way?

breathing

15 Monday Jul 2024

Posted by azahar in casa azahar, home, life stuff, sevilla staycation

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

health, home, staycation

breathing

I usually scroll past these “mindfulness quotes” when they pop up on my social media but for some reason I stopped to read this one and… ufff. Over the weekend I’d been starting to panic that the first week of my staycation was almost over and what had I done with all that TIME? What did I have to show for it? I was already feeling like I was letting myself down. So even though I know it’s corny, this helped remind me to take time to breathe. It’s okay.

new washing machine!

01 Friday Mar 2024

Posted by azahar in casa azahar, home

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

casa azahar, home

new washing machine 24

Back in October 2022 (while I had Covid) the washing machine that came with the apartment suddenly flooded everywhere so I called the landlord and he showed up with a replacement machine the next day. Except it turned out the problem wasn’t the machine, it was a backup in the drains. But by the time we realised that they had already swapped machines so I ended up with a different second hand one that frankly didn’t work as well as the original one. Boo.

Fast forward to January this year and suddenly the machine was making a noise during the spin cycle like a 747 about to take off. Landlords didn’t seem too keen to do anything about it as long as the machine was still working but then a couple of weeks ago it started leaving grease stains on our clothes.

Long story short… got this brand new machine installed this morning, after agreeing to pay half. I just wanted to get the crap one replaced asap rather than wait for them to do something (or maybe bring another crap second hand one) and I didn’t want anymore clothes/sheets ruined. So that’s done! I’m hoping this means they plan on keeping the apartment (with me in it!) when the contract has to be renewed this summer. And now I just have to figure out why an “Eco Wash” takes over 3 hours…

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