Our first ten days was quite relaxing, family over on the coast... so lovely seeing them so many times! They really need to be here all the time to be honest!! :-) And friends from Calahonda also over, and saw them three times!!
Taken at Fuengirola....
We had the rental car for only a couple of days, and found a couple of cars at a local garage, we decided on one of them, kind of, went up to look and he was closed for the week for holidays!! A friend of us was taking us back to town after showing us his new place and took us to a car sale lot on the Coín road, we have seen this place for years, no prices on the cars and always wondered why? I must admit we had gone there previously, but he was closed for afternoon siesta... this time he was not, and not afraid to ask prices in we went... only to find the prices were there all along, just not on the road side... makes sense, less people slowing down and causing accidents maybe! Used to happen outside Pentagon all the time, people would slow down to look at the cars and bam! Car behinds driver hadn't been interested in the Mercedes!!
After a wedding party behind our house...
So, there we found our car! And really beautiful little C3, we think she is an upmarket model, and when we get the paperwork we'll know!! lol.... another one similar in the car park does not have the extras ours does! So, anyway, due to buying this little beauty we have been able to get out and about and visit family and friends and she is perfect for visiting the bins on a regular basis!!
When we made the purchase we had to go back that afternoon with not just the money, but my NIE number and my empadronomiento, that's my national insurance number and the 'padron' is the the certificate you get when you register yourself as living in your home... My NIE was in poor condition and the padron I took was about four years old, to buy a car it has to be no less than three months old; the garage man let us take the car, we got car insurance on the way home before going back later.... we had to return the following day with the padron and a better NIE, luckily I found a better copy with the date in full and clear, and after an early morning trip to town hall following morning, back to garage with NIE and temporary padron, my name was different than my passport, it was last time I renewed my padron, but it wasn't noticed maybe? So now... garage man told us come back with the updated padron, one weeks time... we did! And 15 days from then we go back to garage again and collect paperwork!!! Phew, I am tired thinking about all that, but its done and dusted and all part of this wonderful place! as long as you keep smiling and looking up to the mountains, and down to the sea....
As I mentioned briefly, we have had many many trips to the bins, we were moving a small wardrobe downstairs, it was going to make a great coat and boot cupboard, only it wouldn't go down the stairs! It got stuck in the stair well!! OMG, it was funny, afterwards! Poor Franco had to climb into it to dismantle it!!! and so, it was left dismantled and broken up in the cave... until it got taken to pieces and taken out, bit by bit to the bins!! So one wardrobe gone and no coat cupboard!!
This has been a problem we have had... our belongings arrived ten days after us! And suddenly we had 60 boxes in the house, we didn't bring all the boxes back in that we originally took, so much sold or given away and yet the house was suddenly so full of so much stuff!! We sold all our storage! Either from here before we left and before we came back!! And unbelievable it has mostly seemed to become one with the house!! LOl its all been dispersed room to room... we need a book case is all... bought a lovely big dresser from the market the other Sunday, a coat stand! Our clothes are hanging from Ikea rails... we bought a new bed... for some reason it was far too long for the normal standard mattress we have so Franco just cut it back to fit! We have organised the roof terrace, we have been given a load of tools to add to Franco's already extensive selection of tools!!!
Even our boxes have gone, friends who are thinking of moving next year have taken them all, all the boxes all the packing paper and bubble wrap! Wonderful, we and them carried it down to their house over a couple of days!
After all the wall fixings and sawing of wardrobe and dismantling of old broken washing machine!! Some of which has already headed to the bins... Our old satellite dish folded in half and the other metal bits all binned, the latter two bits were taken out of bins almost as quick as we put them in! Franco has also been busy painting... He has painted the dresser, some of our dining furniture, TV table and door frames... if its wooden, its getting painted! I can't believe I am even saying this... being brought up how I was, to honor wood, the thought of painting it!!!???!!! OMG!!!
Next project is putting up shelves for the books, I thought I had got rid of dozens of books, dozens and dozens of them, but still I have dozens, and dozens!! We have some brackets and of course we have some wood!! We have walls to paint and the cave to tidy, but really all and all... its like we have left.... Meeting old friends, getting used to seeing all the town people we know, people asking if we're here to stay now, especially when they see Pip...
TTFN
Marian
