FROGLEGS

We went to the Feria again last night with some more friends. Went to three more casetas we’d never been to before and had a great time.

We took LOADS of pictures, I will try and get some up on the web when we have internet at home again.

Also, if you pray, could you pray for our financial situation this month? Money is gonna be REALLY tight and I am not sure we are gonna make it to the end of the month. We sent out a newsletter at the beginning of the year and were hoping that it would lead to a bit more financial support. Seems like the opposite has happened which is a bit discouraging. I am starting to wonder if I need to get a part-time job to supplement our income… Email me with words of wisdom if you want!

The house is shaping up… Took most of the afternoon yesterday and part of the morning today to do a few things.

We are supposed to be getting rid of this massive desk that I have used for the past couple years. It is a massive wood/metal mass that measures about 2 metres by 1 metre and is about as impractical as… i don’t know what. But it has got to go. The thing is that I had about 2 years worth of filing stuff in there, loads of techie residue (you techies out there know exactly what I mean… tech crap that you accumulate over time that has become either outdated or broken. You always decieve yourself into thinking that you’ll do something with it someday.) I had to sort thru all that and seperate it out to recycle what I could. Ugh.

Jim and I put together a wardrobe yesterday. The guest room is pretty much ready for visitors. Good thing, cause we have some arriving this weekend! Then the guests don’t stop til we leave for Ibiza in July! Agh!

The boxes are beginning to disappear. We still need another bookshelf. Where did I get all these books?!?!?

We went to “La Feria” yesterday. Two words: HOT and FUN! It had to have been at least 40º C in that place yesterday…

It is amazing how much people will laugh at your bad jokes when it is really hot and the only thing around to drink is beer and “rebujito” (sherry mixed with 7up and ice)…

It is difficult to really explain what Feria is. It is what it sounds like: a fair. But it’s not just ferris wheels, rip-off games and cotton candy (candy floss for the british out there)… it is much more. It has the typical fair-faire (adequately called “Hell’s Alleyway”, but that isn’t the main focus. All over a large section of the fair there are streets (with names) on which there are “casetas”. These are the structures that you see in the picture. Inside the casetas there is a bar with food and drink. This takes care of one of the three principal activities at Feria: eating and drinking. Then there is the dancing. Folk dancing, called “Sevillanas” is the overall focus of la Feria. You get dressed up in special dresses (Flamencas, see picture), the women do anyway, and you dance the night away. Don’t even ask me to explain Sevillanas. If you haven’t grown up doing it, you need a 6 month intensive dance course to be able to make sense of it. It is great fun to fake that you know what you are doing though! So the last thing you go to la Feria to do is socialise. It’s all about being with friends and family and having a good time together.

There are a load more things to know about it all, but you’d best just come on over and try it out sometime!

Although the picture that I put up this last week of the patio at the new house is pretty idyllic, we still have a lot of mess inside the flat. It is starting to grate on both my nerves and Heather’s. We can’t really finish the process of moving in until a few things happen:

1. We need an office for Triburbana (our Cultural Association that is also sort of our version of church). In the meantime, we have loads of computer boxes, files and books strewn around the house. Plus massive desks that we can’t really put to any good use.

2. There is still a need for more furniture. We have a sofa in the works (with room for 10-12 people… wicked!), but that won’t be ready for at least another month. And I need at least one more bookshelf for all my books. I just got one a month or so ago from Ikea, but it doesn’t hold everything.

We’ve also gotta go thru about a bazillion boxes and just try and (responsibly) get rid of some things. If you pray, it would be nifty if you could throw up a few for us this next week. It would really be nice to feel at home instead of sitting amongst boxes and mess.

Everyone should head over to Are Blogs Lovely? and help out our friend Fingal by telling him what you think of blogs.

I’ll be filling out his questionnaire meanwhile… be sure to email me a copy of your answers… I’m curious.

About 6 people came, it was interesting to meet new people. Some of them were a little to serious and intense… Maybe I am too laid back.

One gal said that she hated blogs. I didn’t feel like getting into it with her.