Thursday and Friday (been off line again, sorry)

Friday 20-4-2007
It just shows that the weather forecasters get it wrong over here as well as in the UK. Today has been warm, not hot, and we have been in ‘short sleeve order’ all day.
We met up with Carlos (electrician, joiner, plumber and general house factotum) this morning at a bar near his office (a good way to do business). We got to grips with the technicalities of the kitchen design and layout. He is such a nice guy and we covered lots of small points that needs to be tackled by the time he moves in to put all the interior electrics, plumbing and fitments together. He thinks that we will see him on site next week. We now have to go out, in a determined manner next week, buying the complete kitchen set of white goods (cooker, hob, microwave, fridge- freezer, extractor, washing machine and dishwasher), and that’s just the ones that I know about. It is a funny coincidence that whilst we were out today we had two phone calls. One from the place where we are buying the lounge soft furniture and bed. The other was from the place where we are buying the lounge hard furniture. Both calls were to say that the goods are now in stock and when can they deliver them? We had to put them both on hold for another few weeks yet after which it will be all ‘hell and no notion’ with deliveries and guiding lorries from Lentisco’s car park up to site.
The builders have been finishing off part of the tile work today although Elayne spotted some off colour tiles, in the hall last night, so we have asked them to remove them and replace them with the correct shade and batch match tiles. So the hall tiling is at a halt until the correct tiles can be brought up. Anyway the builders have also today fitted the small window rejas, they look superb. They really give the house some Spanish character which we wanted, we are so pleased with them.
Thursday 19-4-2007
After a rude awakening this morning, following a late night last night, by the builders wanting even ‘more agua’
( we are not sure why they can’t come and ask for it at night before they leave, hey ho) we went off to the bank and then to the fireplace, place. We are now ready to kick start the installation of the fireplace and wood burning stove. The guy down at Albox, where we are buying the fire, said that it would probably be late next week when they could come up to site. He will ring me the day before to arrange a time. I offered to pay him the full amount (the reason for the bank visit) but he said that he didn’t want more money until the job is complete, great confidence booster.
When we had completed this task, and as we were in the locality, we called in at the ITV centre (MOT central testing station) to make an appointment, bearing in mind that the car is due for it’s first ITV in May. The girl behind the desk, via a Spanish speaking Englishman who was helpfully standing by, said we can have a test done in fifteen minutes time, gulp, if we wanted. Well thinking relevant local thoughts, I thought ‘lets take the bull by the horns’ and said ‘si’. We paid €34 and went around the end of the testing hall to await being called. We waited no more than three minutes and were then signalled to drive into the testing hall. The examiner spoke good English and he had us half open the drivers side window and placed a microphone on the window by a clip. He was then able to shout instructions to us, like turn your lights on, as we sat in the car. The examiner was training a young lad, which made us quake a little. We spent about ten minutes doing various things at different stations down the long test hall including the rolling road brake tests and emission analysis. We even went over an inspection pit and he was able to instruct us to turn the steering wheel this way and that whilst he was under the car. Finally we popped out of the end of the testing hall and another guy looked under the bonnet and under the carpets for signs of rust. This all completed and after a huddle in an office with our documents we came away with an ITV certificate valid until April 2009. All over in a flash and a two year certificate costing only about £24. Now that’s what I call a good deal, what a relief.
We then went to the most amazing antique centre come garden centre near Zurgena. The place is like a long series of old greenhouses into which is stacked and stored some wonderful real antique Moorish and Spanish furniture as well as some reproduction stuff. We took about an hour to browse around the furniture and the plants. We will return, probably more than once, later when we are in the house. It’s a real treasure trove sort of place that claims to have over three million pictures and prints for sale.
Yesterday the builders on site completely tiled the floors of the family bathroom, the entire lounge (thus we were able to organise the fire installation) and half of the main hallway. It looks wonderful and we can foresee that when we move in we will be able to push back the furniture and hold dances in the log burning warm lounge in winter and out under the stars up on the solarium on hot Spanish summer evenings.
Today the weather has taken up and we have been able to sit out in the very warm sunshine. We are told that the forecast predicts rain tomorrow again so we are making the best of it whilst we can.