roses and buttercups

we have radiators and also a satalite dish but no satalite reciever and now the new wood burning stove is going in, poor Moira shes going to be hear on here own and the house is a building site and it will be for tomorrow aswell, as tomorrow is the day of the dead and its another fiesta. but they should be finished on friday, and then we have to start paying, but moira has bought so money over and we have just been to the bank to sort out residents accounts pick up a visa card and ask about raising cheques for next week apparently its easier if we just get money and its cheaper then a cheque.

so not only am i working, picking olives this weekend, which is going to be a funny one as i will have to speak spanish at all times, but i went into the bar this morning and met a gardener from the village that Pepe gave my CV to and he wants me to ring him when i get back from England. Good old Pepe, we went to the bar last night aswell, as Pepe and Kerry had made us dinner a freshly caught partridge for Moira and stuffed pepper for me it was lovely. Pepe is working all weekend so i think Moira will go round Kerrys at some point and she said she will go to the Cafe colon tonight, so she will be fine.

bought some slug pellets from a very gay garden centre owner, who told me what to do with my slug pellets once i had got them home.

this will probably be my last blog until monday as i doubt if i will be able to get my hands on a computor where im going.

weve got radiators, they are not plugged in yet but they are on the wall, things are happening which is good, weve moved the dinning table into the living room, so we are now pretty much living in one room of the house but atleast we can eat at the table again.

it also looks like ive got some work this weekend down in Tarragona for the carpenter bloke i used to work with, leaving Moira here on her own, but she will be fine as we are going to the bar tomorrow night, Pepe is going to cook her a freshly caught partridge, im getting stuffed peppers, and Moiras been invited round to watch english TV with Kerry while im away.

ive been painting the shutters all today its going to take for ever, the ones i have finnished though look alright.

if im going to Tarragona this weekend im going to have to get slug pellets for while im away.

 

we went to the bank today to set up a residents account for Moira, instead. we bought a DVD player that i have just discovered plays moiras dodgy dvds form hong kong, and we bought a present for Thia and some sand paper for me and then just because we had time we went for a walk barefoot along the beach at Empuria brava, before that though i did check out a small language school in Roses that does conversation classes. after the walk we went to the supermarket that sells cheddar cheese and beer then we went to Aki to buy more paint for the windows, then finally we went to Figueres to order a new kitchen, that took a while, its going to look good and eventually we will be able to rip out the old kitchen and turn that room into a bedroom (as Moira calls it) for old people that cant get up the stairs. next week we will sort out her account.

the walk along the beach was nice, there was one man wandering around with a tshirt on, a hat and nothing else but apart from that.

the chimney sweep turned up, a lovelly chap and he didint leave any dust, apparently we have a rock in our up pipe, he showed me it on one of those cameras surgeons use for key hole surgery except his was attached to a bendy pipe and a screwdriver.

new wood burning stove is now definatly booked in for wednesday.

Well.

today i went to the police station in Girona which holds the officina de extranjeros where i took all the paper work i could lay my hands on in order to become a resident, the Gestor in Figueres told me that was where i needed to go, i was first in the queue, sat down and was told i needed to fill in one more piece of paper then get a photo copy of it then bring them back with a photo copy of my passport which luckily i had, i knew that one was coming. i found the tabac that had a photo copier, she new exactly what i needed. i went back to the police station and got in the queue with the Romanians, brilliant i had all the paperwork and now all i had to do was go to a bank and pay 6 euros 70, did that, the lady in the bank had no idea what i was to do next so i went back to the police station and got in the queue with the Romanians. ive got to return on the 13th November, i dont know why but that was what i was told. fiendishly i photo copied an extra sheet of the initial bit of paper work so moira can fill it in at her leisure.

the chimney sweep didnt turn up, he blamed it on his secratery/ wife, he is coming tomorrow, not to worry because due to me not confirming the wood burner people they are not coming untill next tuesday not tomorrow, we hope he is ringing me tomorrow to confirm.

we are meeting pepe and kerry in the bar tonight.

we might be getting solar water heating, i rang a nice lady who listened politly ( how on earth do you spell politly) to my rehearsed question then asked me to email her, fine by me.

in my spare time i was sanding in and teak oiling the upstairs blinds before painting them.

the reason thereis a piture of the back end of my van is because although you cant see it, the van has new number plates.

2 days into my holidays, i got payed yesterday, just over 600 euros, cash, offcourse, then i came home via the ford garage, who are going to change the oil, filter and sort the brakes of the van wednesday morning, then Rosas to ask a nice lady why someone hadnt been round to measure our pool for a cover. i then came home and chopped down the very dead Almond tree in the lawn, it didnt take very long as it was rotten at the base on one side.

i also popped into the bar to ask Kerry about the language school in Rosas and mentioned to Pepe that i was looking for work, he knows everyone it seems.

today i shredded all the small stems of the almond, they went straight on the compost heap, painted the front gate with the last of the black metal paint, then chopped up the rest of the tree in to bits that we can put on the fire when it gets here, hopefully soon as its rapidly getting cold. Moira spoke to Joe earlier (her x from along time ago, who now lives in france) and he was covering his pool tomorrow and draining it a bit to stop the pipes from freezing, i dont know if i can be bothered with that, it wasnt even covered last year and it was fine, i think.

i texted Angel, having tried to ring but not getting an answer, about whether he new if there was anyone looking for gardeners, as i had been tipped of that he might be looking for someone, but i havent heard back from him yet.

last day at work, atleast i wont have to get up at 6 tomorrow morning.

ive just been and bought the same newspaper i bought on tuesday, because it has jobs in this area within it, i didnt realise until i was half way home, idiot.

we didnt go to the restaurant the other side of the roundabout for jonathans birthday because it was shut, we went to cafe colon instead, even though jonathans been here 4 times it was the first time he had been there, sadly there was no chocolate cake left. the mayor was in there having his tea.

after work yesterday i tried out the village library, its tiny but packed to the cieling with books, i had to leave my name and phone number to borrow a book, that was it and ive got vaguely 15 days to return it. i got out pygmallion which i probably wont read but i couldnt leave without borrowing one of the nice mans books.

i was in Barcelona today in a massive flat over looking a large square, it reminded me a bit of the flat in shallow grave, it was 2 floors up and the owner wantedabout 10 old wardrobes taken to bits and then taken down stairs and away, not much gardening involved there, that is because i have been working for the pergola/ carpenter as his working companion is on holiday this week. im working with him again tomorrow.

im now insured on my new spanish plates, thats it i wont go on about any more.

jonthan and clive are here today and tomorrow for jonathans birthday, i think we a re going to the restaurant the other side of the roundabout for jonathans birthday. i keep bumping into the funny waitress from that restaurant.

with any luck the electrician is coming this evening to look at the lights we have bought and show us a radiator we probably wont like. 

ive just planted my own whysteria in our garden near the compost heap to grow over the front fence and maybe mix with the bourganvillia, who knows.

 

the chimney sweep rang to change the time to 5.30, i told him the new fire place was arriving on the 26th which is the day after he is supposed to have cleaned the fire place, lets see.

Ians wife Dolors, finnished my CV and me and Ian handed it in to the company that maintains all the green areas of Figueres, havent heard back yet.

i was sorting out the ipod and for some reason itunes thinks Jaque berel is japanese folk.

its spains national day, another bank holiday, all the Catalans that slag off the spanish are still quite happy to take the day off. we went for a walk to the castle on the hill but it was on private property, we got quite close to it though. i mowed the lawn aswell, ive decided the almond tree really is dead now the branches are starting to crack and twist, there is no where to put the wood though yet.

end of a saga i now have new number plates ive just got to get insured and i will ring the bloke i spoke to before whose wife had driven for 3 years without changing her number plates and see if he will still insure me, then i will get the oil changed and get the brakes sorted as they were mentioned on the MOT certificate as slightly out. all things i can do after next week, we are also going to try and get residency as i dont think that helped aswell with work as i pay more tax, its going to be another dificult one as im not supposed to need residency as far as the gestors are concerned ( the people who cut through all the paper work for you for a small fee) but it helps especially as far is tax is concerned and not having to carry a passport all the time, in spain you need photographic evidence of who you are on you at all times.

 

the chimney sweep has just rung, he is going to be here on the 25th of october well atleast i hope he said october at 11.00, or maybe a we bit later. atlast things are happening.

we had a look again at the stone radiators we fancied and have kind of decided they could be far to expensive, the electrician hasnt got back to us so we are going to use the excuse that the radiators are to expensive to go round and ask how things are going and if he knows of a radiator shop in figueres, we have found some glass radiators  on the internet though but they need to get back to us with prices.

the vans nearly sorted i handed over the certifacate of enpardroneamento today and hopefuly by wednesday i will have a new number plate, well no, i will have a number which i then have to take to a shop in figueres that will order the number plate for me, but i can get the van insured again after wednesday.

after the gestor i went round ians as he had found the 2 albums that we wanted, 2 albums that i loved when i was a bit younger now im not to sure, but any way ive got them now and they will be going on the ipod, he also has down loaded all of david bowies albums all of the doors and a shakira album, for some reason.

ians wife is going to sort out my CV for me and also take moira to the social security office.

we went to the beach on sunday as it was a lovely day and we had nothing else pressing to do it was quite nice just listening to the waves on a quite beach, as all the tourists have gone home, and then going for a bit of a walk over the cliffs.

i have redesigned my garden again.