Rocking Your World 2021; Week 25.

It's Thursday night again and I am trying to get ahead as Friday always seems so busy. I have had a busier week than usual, but mostly a good one. The weekend was relatively quiet though I did have some nice video chats with the boys.

On Monday we made yet another visit to the phone shop where one problem was resolved (our error, not theirs!) but I am still not connected to the new provider. It seems my old provider is reluctant to make the transfer, but the new company are on to it, and I am hopeful it will be all sorted out next week.

We then moved on to Mojacar to have photos taken for our new ID cards, They had to be so tiny - about half the size of a passport photo, so it was easier to get them done at the shop. The man was very efficient, and after we had been to the post office just around the corner, to post a small package to UK, we were able to pick the photos up. We also had to go to the Town hall to collect a copy of our 'Padrons' which are sort of proof we are on the village electoral roll.  We can get a copy at any time but it is only valid for around three months.  Back at home we sorted out a folder each of the papers needed for our ID cards. (Correct name, TIE cards). As well as the padron and photo, there was our residencia, a bank receipt to show we had paid the fee, a form we had to download and fill in in advance, a printed copy of our appointment confirmation and our passport. The Spanish really like their paperwork, and it pays to have the right documents with you or they just send you away, but as long as you are properly prepared, they are very efficient.

Monday evening we set out again, this time to Huercal-Overa for my hospital appointment. I was glad I had asked a translator to come with me. It made everything much easier. I came away reassured that there was no need to worry, but I have to have a CAT scan, and then go back to discuss the results.

So on Tuesday morning we set out in good time to go to Almeria, to the 'Officina de Extranjeros', (Office for Foreigners). We arrived in good time and had to queue for a while. To enter we were scanned and so were our folders, bags etc, like they are at the airport. We typed our ID number into a machine which issued a ticket and then it was just a matter of waiting until your number came up on the screen and going to the assigned table. I think there were around 40 tables each with a computer and a worker who checked the papers, told you where to sign and took digital finger prints. Then he issued a new appointment for a couple of weeks time when we have to return to collect the new cards. They are credit card size so much easier to carry around then the old A4 residencía papers we had, and they can be used for identification in any situation, and also to prove we live here if we travel out of Spain and want to get back in!

Because we left home early the sun was not quite up and there has been early morning cloud most days though the sun does break through with some force by mid-morning. I saw that the sun was behind a dark mass of cloud but trying to break through so I took these photos through the car window - apologies for any smudges. The windows are always a bit dusty! As you can see it did turn into a rather beautiful sky.

As we drove along the motorway I took a few photos of the lovely flowers. These are oleanders and they fill all the central reservations and along the outsides of the motorway. They are in full flower right now and look beautiful. Some stretches have dark red or white ones, but mostly they are these pink ones and they looked so pretty, and brightened up the drive no end.

Where we live it is a fairly rural area and there are no really big towns or cities, so no big super stores. Of course, Almeria being the capital of our province is a bit different. The office we had to go to is not in the city centre, but to get to it, it is easiest to go to the parking area of a big shopping mall and walk the short distance to the office. So while we were there I had to take the opportunity to have a brief look at the shops. We didn't have much time, but I managed to pick up a couple of small items I needed, and I found a C&A where I bought a simple cotton sun dress, so it was a good visit.

Then we had to get back home and a bit further to a restaurant near Albox where we were going to a lunch to say 'Good-bye' to some friends who are returning to UK tomorrow. They came out here a couple of years before we did so they are some of the first folk I got to know. Janetta was the warden at our church, so the meal was organised by the church and it was good to meet up with so many old friends, who I haven't really seen for over a year. I have not yet returned to regular services as we still have to wear masks all the time, and I find that difficult, even more so now it is getting so hot.

The restaurant is run by English people, and they had opened up their dining room especially, and exclusively, for us, with social distancing of course. There were 49 people there, and the tables were laid for 2,4,or 6 people. Of course we were allowed to take our masks off for the meal though most people put them back on to walk around and chat. They did an excellent meal for us, one of the best we have had out here. Of course there were some speeches and gift giving, and the church leaders all gathered around the couple to pray for them, and their future. Len and Janetta are the couple sitting against the back wall.

This was our table. Just to be awkward we were a group of five! The top one is not the best photo but a friend took it just as I was preparing my camera to take some myself. The lower one is my husband and my friend Chris' husband, having a good old chat. They always get on very well. Sadly they will be the next couple to leave us as they too hope to return to UK before the end of the year.

I think it was last year that I posted about a bird called a Hoopoe that I had been wanting to see ever since we came here, and last year one did briefly visit the green zone behind us though I never caught it on camera. This year I have heard it calling most days but did not know where it was, but as I got into the car this week I spotted something on a roof that I could see was an odd shape. So I zoomed in with my phone and there he was. Sitting on the far corner of the white house across the road from us. It was too far away to get a good photo, but these were the best two I took. It has such a distinctive shape and is a good size too. 

Because my photos leave a bit to the imagination and don't really do this beautiful bird justice, here are a couple I took from the internet. One showing his lovely colours, and one with his crest and wings open.

The day we went to the Town hall which is at the top of the village, we drove up there so we could go straight on the Mojacar. We parked by the railings that go all along the rambla at the top of the village and once again they were covered with these lovely purple-blue trumpet flowers. They look a bit like the convulvulus or bindweed that can be such a nuisance in the garden, but their leaves are the same as Morning Glory. I love them and they flower so freely. I have collected their seeds and tried to grow some on our railings, but so far without success.

This little visitor is quite a common sight in the garden, but they are not often this big. It is, of course, a gecko, and I disturbed him from behind a window box when I had the hose out to water the flowers. I love their little hands and feet with a sucker on each finger and toe, enabling them to shoot rapidly up a vertical wall when they need to. But this one sat on the ledge and posed for me. They catch flies and other unwanted bugs so they are always welcome.

I have had quite a lot of other projects on the go recently, but in between working on  them, when I need a change of eyesight, I have continued to crochet my squares, and this week I finished another set of three made with a ball of wool called Turkish Delight. I prefer the ones with the more gradual change of colour like the first two in this set, rather than the last one where a light colour, quickly changes to a very dark one, causing the speckled effect for a few rounds. But like the others, they will all work together. These all have one round of a dark teal to finish them, like all the others have, and that will also be used to join them together. I have one more ball of wool to use. I really only need two more squares but I think I will make all three and discard whichever one fits in least well when I come to arrange them all.

Last night we had a spectacular thunder storm that lasted for nearly three hours. As usual we didn't get it as bad as some folk around us, but it was still quite amazing and it was followed by very heavy rain. Today started very grey but eventually the sun broke through and we had another really hot day. It is all very strange for mid-June.

And finally I spotted this little cutie this week. It is not our baby but it was in the public domain so I thought I could share it. It made me smile and I sent it to my son and daughter-in-law who have just had a new baby, and it made them smile too.

And with that I will link up with Rocking Your World and Annie's Friday Smiles, and get ready for another week.