012. Turning 35, an unmitigated disaster, and animal farm
I had a birthday! On Sunday of last week, I turned 35. Whilst there was no formal fiesta, I did spend the day hiking, eating, and catching up with friends and family. We even secured a birthday tiramisu, and - quite truthfully - I couldn't ask for more.
So far, 35 feels exactly the same as 34. Nothing of note to report as yet.
Birthday celebrations aside, we've spent the week continuing our efforts on the water tank foundations (with a longer spirit level), chopping wood, digging trenches and connecting hosepipe for an extension to the irrigation system, and trying to bond with various animals.
The unmitigated disaster I mention? On Tuesday evening, Ke was taking the toilet bucket to its designated compost heap when...the handle broke. He came back to the mesia pale as a sheet. It's not all fun on the finca.
The weather has continued to be weird, with two or three nights this week calling for full thermals and fleeces in bed, and one night even causing us to light up the wood burner. The burner made the mesia smell like smoke, get cosy as hell, and gave me a small panic about carbon monoxide poisoning which, according to Kes, is my pet fear. (Little does he know, I have many).
We've also continued our cowboy cooking efforts which have been pretty good considering we're working solely off two gas hobs, one saucepan, and one and a half frying pans. Our dinners (and stomachs) are supplemented though by Julie and Simone's outstanding lunch provisions - if you think you can't get tasty, and satisfying, Vegan food off grid, you would be wrong (the cheeze is never quite right - everyone admits - but you can't have everything).
This weekend we've been promoted to Lord and Lady of the Finca, while J & S get some big city respite in Valencia, and see friends. It has been....an experience. The animal care has been fine (fourteen hungry animal mouths in total), but the dogs last night barked until 4am, and one of the pack - Elton - is a two year old rescue who is terrified of more or less everything. This fear has typically manifested as quite aggressive barking, incredibly skittish behaviour, and a general aversion to us in general. HOWEVER, aided by more than one Cesar Millan YouTube video and his “fifteen years of dog ownership - you make it sound like I’ve never had a dog before”, Kes has been making significant in-roads. As I write this in fact he is currently down on the lower terrace playing ball with Elton - and Elton has brought the ball back to him twice! When we consider that on the first day Elton barked at us continuously for just existing, and wouldn't be within 20 metres of us, this is huge progress.
Anything else? I have a splinter, Babette (dog) stole my trainer, Margot (cat) brought a lizard into the house, and the word of the week has been 'bocadillo'.
