¡Hola España!
AndalucÃa, 20th of February
From where
I'm sitting at my computer I can see the hillsides bathed in early evening sunlight and the Mediterranean beyond. Fred
is painting the bathroom walls with gloss in an attempt to stop the damp coming through the walls and I've just given up
on pruning grape vines for today because my back can only stand a couple of hours. I think you could say that life has
changed in the last 10 days.
Arrival
It's just as well that friends who live nearby had offered to put us up for a few nights. We had arranged for electricity to be installed in January and knew that wiring for fourteen power points and eight lights would have made a mess of the place but we weren't quite prepared for the extent of the damage. This is how the living room looked when we arrived. Everything was filthy but we soon set too and made it much worse by sanding down every inch of wall and ceiling by hand.
Here
is Fred ruining his good jeans and T-shirt because we hadn't brought any old clothes with us. We had hoped to paint all
the walls whilst the place was empty but the lorry holding all our worldly goods arrived two days after we did and so
there we were in a dirty, dusty house full of boxes with no hot water and no cooking facilities feeling very sorry for
ourselves at times. But even in those first few days there were blissful moments including wonderful views and sunsets
and neither of us has yet had any regrets.
El tiempo, the weather
¡Hace mucho frio! It's very cold! The biggest problem by far has been the weather. It's absolutely freezing here! I can't get warm and am wearing at least four layers of clothes most of the time. It's the coldest winter here for 20/30/50 years, depending on who you talk to. Two days ago we drove through a hailstorm as we came up the mountain from the coast and yesterday it hailed and snowed, settling on the roads and covering the hillsides. Often during the day it can be very warm in sheltered spots but at night I have never been so cold. We have a log fire, three convector heaters and hot water bottles but it's never enough. I guess in a few months I'll be complaining about the heat instead.There are lots of stories of electricians and plumbers to tell but they will have to wait until next time!
Sent by: Sue
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