Back in the days of being a "proper" expat, and when we lived in Oman, there was an irregular phonomenon they called "saharan rain" which was when the clouds became saturated with red dust and eventually fell as "dirty red rain" - which made an incredible mess of any white surfaces, especially cars. Well, the spanish have it too and call it "calima" - and today we have it in spades (or maybe a Diamonds or Hearts analogy would be better).
I actually tried to take a photo on the kitchen patio as everywhere looked so biscuit-coloured (like just before a thunder storm). Pretty.
Patio - Warmed up, but still too pale
Unfortunately, Apple have played with the iPhone camera controls to such an extent, that the shot ended up looking normal - and I had to add "warm" filters to make it look, well, real. Seems like you don`t need fancy apps to make things (ie you) look better - Apple does it by stealth. Altered reality indeed.
Note how all the (freshly-oiled) furniture had been moved to the side in preparation for the downpour predicted for yesterday - a downpour which actually came to pass. The weather app regularly predicts catastrophic levels of rain which will hit the following week, but as the day approaches, the rain gradually disappears. However, this time it happened and we had 80mm (3" in old money) on Monday. Now today we have the mucky stuff* to mess up everything which had been washed clean. Rain forecast for the next 10 days, just hope it is heavy. It´s a tough life here.
In general news - not so much. The government seem intent on getting rid of all covid restrictions before Easter (processions, churches, tourists - what could possibly go wrong?) This despite the fact that the overall number of cases seems to have plateaued and actually rose a little last week. Anyway, it will not be possible for me to monitor and record what is happening (I believe in actual numbers not statistics) as I have been doing, as they are changing the way the record and report cases. Fait accompli. Everything is ok because our (new) figures say it is ok. The tourist requirement (=money) is obviously uppermost in their thinking.
Work has been progressing on our new neighbour´s house - to the extent that there is only a shell left. I can´t fault him as he was happy to let us cut back the trees between our patio and his guest house (you can actually see the result in the `photo above - and were it not for the saharan clouds, you would see the sea as well).
During thr pruning, hopefully we didn´t make refugees of any of the wildlife which mainly roosts in the larger trees. Wildlife which now includes a couple of chaffinches. Very pretty, but a noisy call. The birds don´t seem to bother Bobo (the hobo) who is now on a regular schedule for his biscuits.
The other morning, he actually sat on the bench where his bowl should be and waited for me to serve him (from a 5 foot distance, but we are getting closer). Still has not uttered a single sound though (other than the crunch of his biscuits cauht on security camera.
Talking of bears, the two new lime Bearss are starting to blossom, so I have high hopes of (another) good crop, and even the lemon which I butchered a couple of years ago is now showing some blossom. Lots of G´s bulbs out now too, with a good crop of fresias and daffs - plus the jasmin, both yellow and white.
G back in the hospice on a daily basis as one of "her" patients is in for respite - and doesn´t have many / any visitors. Apparently a couple more patients who speak english are in too, so G "making the rounds" (something she volunteered to do, but they are so "spanish-centric" now they tend to forget they have patients who are not spanish speakers). G is happy doing it, thus I am happy too(!).
I am chief cook (not bottle washer yet) and making buckets of different soups. G has shown a liking for my (vegetarian recipe) cream of mushroom soup (the lentil / dal was a bit too strong for her) - with the "cream" being achieved by use of blanched cashew nuts and a bit of blitzing. Culinary highlight was last weekend when I was in the Niño having a coffee and chupito and I noticed "alitas picante" (spicey chicken wings) on the menu. G loves these, and they also had tuna steak for me) so I prevailed upon her to come for lunch on her way back from Cudeca. A rare lunchtime outing, but very enjoyable.
*PS that bloody blood rain, well the dust in it, created an incredible mess. I actually had to hose down the walls on the east side as it had stuck to vertical surfaces, the rejas look like they are rusty and any flat surface is filthy. The pool - well don´t mention the pool - it looks similar to the river mersey that I used to cross on the way to school - in the days before they started to clean it up. G spent 3 hours scrubbing the top patio pillars an, rails and tiles att the weekend and I vacuumed the pool just to make a start on it. We just hope the heavy rain predicted for next week will be havy enough to wash it all off (and that the saharan dist has headed elsewhere too).
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