Much needed rain but Jesus enough now!
It’s been 4 days, OMG of rain and storms, and we have loved it! BUT, they have forecast it for another couple of weeks and I have formerly gone back into winter mode.
I was at the beach 2 weeks ago!
Derik, and Simon the storm watcher, have loved every moment and the lightning strike app on his mobile phone (Simon’s phone, not Derik’s) has been pinging off the hook with notifications!
Being high up a mountain in a storm has its benefits and I’m so grateful Derik is either slightly special, or very clever, in not being at all bothered by thunder and lightning.
They spent the day building a new, one dog, dog kennel and pen for Dezza in the rain!
The guests we have in from Austria, said they have rain whenever they go on holiday! So its their fault and we can thank them on behalf of all Spanish residents for the badly needed waterfall. They have not let it stop them and being one of the very few bookings we have had in 4 years, of a 10 day or more stay (our common stay is 2-4 days), they are gathering up their road miles. Seville, Cordoba, Granada, and Malaga botanical gardens in the 4 days they have been here so far. I feel exhausted just speaking to them! They have managed to book tickets onto the Caminito del Rey as well as many apparently have cancelled due to the weather. I’m not sure I would walk that rope bridge in the rain however, but I’m an English Nancy at heart and the rain stops me doing anything apart from snuggling up and binge watching any series or cooking.
Talking of which I have mastered focaccia. It’s been like lockdown all over again this last 4 days and my self-induced home stay has made me look at different recipes to try. No knead focaccia seemed like a perfect accompaniment to the spag bol “not on the menu” comfort food, and the fact that I had no idea how temperamental homemade bread is to the damp weather meant I needed a solution. We serve the irresistible homemade white bread as a little smackerel to enjoy with homemade garlic butter when you eat an evening meal here, but garlic and rosemary focaccia is not as fussy with the damp air and is way more schmancy. The house smells ridiculously good (if you like garlic) and we can confidently expect no vampires within a 5-mile radius.
Some wonderful repeat guests did not let the weather stop them for their pre-booked cream tea and although they arrived cold (dressed in shorts and t-shirt), they soon realised the mountain was no worse than the coast. They soon warmed up and enjoyed the reputable cream tea I serve. I have though realised the cake selection has got out of hand and having to choose from the stock of strawberry crumb, lemon drizzle, shortbread, victoria sponge, fudge brownie, carrot cake, or orange and almond cake, I had to give my assistant his best news ever, telling him to eat some cakes. I have got a bit carried away...
Focaccia bread doesn’t count.
The Austrian guests we had checking out were delighted with the gift of 2 freshly made scones and jam to have on their onward journey after telling me they hadn’t had an English scone for 20 years! We have been given some delightful gifts ourselves lately and I know how touching it is to get a thoughtful present. Some guests brought us 6 fresh duck eggs from their home in northern Spain that we loved and some gave us new mugs to have our morning brew in on our Monday hola faceache post was so thoughtful.
Its nice to be nice eh
We had our grandchildren for the night on Saturday and, without our Bailey bear, I must be honest, it was a lot easier to be able to have them overnight. Tino and Ellie and Derik get on so well and despite Ellie-bellies delight in everything around her, she was well behaved and the morning walk of 3 dogs plus me and Simon was something to wake us all up for sure!
I am still laughing at the podcast we recorded stating "….we have the grandchildren for the night, but they are constantly whining and pissing Simon off sitting at his feet so we locked them outside….". We didn’t realise that we hadn’t mentioned they are the furry non-human kind…. too funny!
Of course on checking the pod before its uploaded to channels I didn’t remove the potentially shocking and child abusive statement! Let’s see who doesn’t know us and listens and thinks we are actually talking about real babies, considering certain keyboard warriors love to take time out of their pitiful day to email us their opinions I’m sure they will have a field day with this .
Have guests checking in from Estonia today and that’s a first for us. I am wondering whether to get a map and pin all the guests countries where they come from. It would be a fun thing to do. We know from data who listens and from where, on our podcast and website traffic, and to have 3800 people visiting our website from Russia …… simply blows my mind. But actual real life guests here sharing their stories and becoming friends and then to pin where they come from on a map would be a great, unimportant, and irrelevant piece of data. If you know anyone in Papua New Guinea…….can you pass on our details because I would love to meet them!
