Yup, we´ve had it. We have just more or less completed operation blitz clean (after only 8 days of solid scrubbing) and we are absolutely pooped. The last time I felt so worn out was when we moved out of the Old Ship seven months ago. I still haven´t managed to unpack my clothes yet but that´s this morning´s little job and then … we can finally start living again. To tell you what we have done in and around this house would make this blog entry endless, so I´ll simply let you know what we haven´t accomplished so far and that´s to sit down and relax.
If you were expecting a detailed description of the area and accounts of walks or visits to villages and towns, I´m afraid I have to disappoint you. For the past week we have been working around the clock to get the house ship shape, often skipping lunch and not having our dinner until 11 o´clock at night, each balancing a tray on our lap whilst watching the BBC News at Ten. Our only respite from our chores was a trip out to a nearby IKEA store (to purchase a double bed, so that tall visitors will be able to get a good night´s kip), a visit to the bank to pick up our new cash cards and a couple of supermarket shops. Exciting stuff, huh? The cats have been most helpful in their own little way by giving us dirty looks whenever we moved a piece of furniture on which they happened to be snoozing at the time and also by honking up furballs just as we had taken off the Marigolds and put away various other cleaning utensils. Cheers girls.
We have not met our neighbours yet who must think we are unsociable misery-guts. We have, however, become acquainted with their dogs: a gorgeous black Spaniel called Chica, a fluffy Bobtail type dog whom we have named Dulux (well, I have but Ian calls him/her? – not sure, there´s too much fur to see any clear evidence as to its gender - Boris as he/she? reminds him of Boris Johnson) and a big ginger dog with pointy ears whom I call Wolfdog whereas, yet again, Ian has his own nickname for him, refering to the four-legged creature as Nicholas (as he reminds him of Nicholas Witchell, a BBC News correspondent). They really are delightful animals and luckily don´t seem to take the least bit of notice of our cats, something which had me slightly worried at first. Much to my delight, they are far more interested in cuddles and titbits than in wanting to chase after two cats which hardly move anyway – understandable really.
The one thing that has made being cooped up inside the house slightly more bearable was the awful weather we´ve been having of late. ´En abril aguas mil.` as they say here in Spain which basically means that it tends to rain a lot in April. Now that we´ve cleaned the house from top to bum, I´d like the weather to pick up though. I´m dying to try out the tempting-looking sunloungers, I want to gather almonds and herbs, enjoy BBQs and al fresco dining, explore the area with our friends Pat and Sue who are coming out this afternoon to visit us for ten days and, of course, play with our new friends – the dogs. Besides, the house is far too clean now to get it all dirty again, so could someone switch on the rays please?
Hasta pronto.