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SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER |
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Hello again from our home in Spain ... |
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September is a month of great
change
in this part of Spain. |
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The summer heat was broken at the
beginning of the month by the approach of ominous red clouds
bringing the Sahara sand over to us. |
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This was followed by a short
sharp shower (about 1 mm), which was just enough to bring the
sand down and coat cars, windows, houses, terraces and pools
before baking solid in the heat of the day. The queues
outside the car washes were like Tescos on a bad day! |
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The weather then returned to
normal ...
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although we have been tempted to
put a lightweight duvet on the bed |
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and indeed socks on our feet! |
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OUR SPANISH GARDEN
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In the garden the approach of
winter is becoming apparent |
with the passionflowers going
into decline, the morning glory is up and trimmed,
as is the
Jacaranda tree. |
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Palms, Agaves, succulents etc
have been cut back but the Lantana is back in all its glory
after its summer trim..... |
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The autumnal equinox : |
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This created a dramatic change
(Spanish weather tends to obey the calendar) and we had a week
of fairly heavy rain, which was most welcome.
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Straight down and steady so that
the gardens benefited greatly
...and hopefully
so did the reservoirs.
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After 4 years of drought it may
not be pleasant but it is most welcome. |
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MEET OUR CATS ...
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Here are
ZOO-ZOO & CHOO CHOO
respectively -
enjoying a Siesta together
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... a feature of rain is
that it creates behavioural differences in our cats. |
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Choo Choo
(Chattannooga) has been with us long enough to see sense ...
and comes inside |
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Meanwhile
Zoo Zoo (Kalamazoo) disappears - but comes back for his meals
totally dry !
Where does he go we ask
ourselves?
“If that cat could talk, what a
tale he would tell”. |
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ZOO ZOO
Enjoying the
Good Life! |
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Although it is hot by Northern
European standards we are fantasizing about
Cornish Pasties etc
but it may still be a little
early yet. |
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The next three days are forecast
to be rainy
but we will live with it. |
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Mike's Soapbox ...
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*THE NEW CAR* |
I took delivery of my new car
last Friday
(a Fiat 500) so I now look Green
even though it has a 1400cc engine! |
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It is a smashing little motor and we are
very pleased with it, as it makes shopping so much easier;
we don't have to find a parking space
-“just pop it in a bag and
away you go”.
In the present climate it probably won’t do any harm to
the bank balance either. |
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Mind you ...the process of buying and
insuring a car in Spain does not run smoothly
and England is not
the only country with a complex bureaucracy. |
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INSURANCE
First one has to present a
certificate to prove that you are on the voting register (The
Padron) which only lasts for a year and costs a massive 1 Euro
for renewal - |
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Then another hour’s drive to the insurance broker
who informs me that the car model does not exist, well at least
not on his computer...
So he insures me for a different
car, back to the garage to take delivery of the new one which
involved 3 or 4 phone calls to the insurance broker before I
could actually drive it. |
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One good thing about Spain is
that they are very advanced in the use of high technology with
faxes and e-mails being accepted virtually everywhere. |
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I don’t know whether this is in
any way a reflection on the Spanish postal service or not! |
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 Incidentally
the car was delivered three days late, as the road tax couldn’t
be issued
due to the inevitable Fiesta and
Bullfight in the town of issue!
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ELECTRICIAN |
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A slight hiccup during the month
was when we lost a power circuit in the house,
but it made us feel better when
we called the electrician on Saturday night.
He arrived on Sunday morning to
spend 2 hours locating the fault
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and returned on Monday morning
with new parts to repair it in the course of about an hour
...and the bill was 49 Euros |
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so there are distinct advantages
in living here apart from just the weather. |
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FAMILY VISIT/BIRTHDAY
We are looking forward to my
brother, his daughters and their respective partners and our two
great nieces coming out for a week towards the end of October,
which will make a nice birthday treat for me.
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Spanish Customs |
FESTIVALS |
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click for
BIRD WATCHING |
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Sue says click
for more in her
Spanish Garden:
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RECIPE (TAPAS) FOR
SEPTEMBER
is
CHAMPIÑONES CON JAMON
(Mushrooms with Ham)
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REMEMBER! To find
a DIARY MONTH from our Newsletter,
just click
DIARY DAYS IN SPAIN
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And
see more recipes at
MIKE'S TAPAS BAR |
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©
PLUS
2006