Rocking Your World 2019; Week 28

We continue to swelter in the summer heat so I do not have the energy to do very much, but I do try to achieve something each day. I am extremely grateful for the air-conditioning in my car, and also for the unit in the bedroom. We don't sleep with it on as it dries out your eyes, hair and skin, but it does a grand job of cooling the room right down the hour before we go to bed, which makes it so much easier to fall asleep.

It has been a wee bit overcast some days but that doesn't stop the temperature  rising, and wise folk stay in the shade especially in the afternoons.

Last Friday night was our 'Open rehearsal' night at choir and as expected the audience was smaller than usual, but those that did come really enjoyed it, and we enjoyed singing for it, and that is what really matters.

The photos are poor because we had  big picture windows behind us and the sun was still up high enough to make photos difficult. Hubby did try to get one of me singing while the ladies only were doing a number. You can probably see how hot I am.

We have now finished until September when we will  be back, raring to learn some new Christmas music. That does mean I am not as pushed for time as I usually am on a Friday.

After a rather 'muggy' weekend, Monday dawned bright and clear so we drove down to Mojacar. There is a good pet shop there where I can buy the special dietary food two of the cats need, as well as bulk sacks of ordinary cat and dog food, so I made the most of a strong man to do the carrying and stocked up for at least a month for the Perry Zoo. None of the animals eat as much in the heat, but sometimes they come in and make up for it at bedtime.

We went on to the main post office in Mojacar as I had a few birthday cards to post, and then on to a garden centre further along the beach, which is the only place I can buy a liquid fertilizer for our three citrus trees.

All the tasks completed we went to a lovely little bar on the sea front for a drink. We sat up under the shady trees but there was a lovely view of the beach though the gateway in front of us. I must say it did look very inviting, but I can't sit on a sunny beach these days, especially when I have no beach-wear, sun lotion etc with me.

So we moved on again stopping at the port end of Garrucha where we had tapas and drinks for lunch and then drove home to cool off in the pool.

Yesterday evening I went to our back railings to look out over the green zone which is decidedly not green right now.

The olive trees have been neglected and are taller than they are usually allowed to grow, but even the orange trees have lost many of their leaves, and I am not sure the pomegranate has survived this year either.

There was a heat haze over everything making the mountains look misty. Some of the haze is caused by dust, and our outside furniture and the cars are always dusty.

The temperature has reached the right height for these little chaps to start singing. It's actually more like screaming. Just one of them can make an ear-piercing electric whine, and when they all join in they sound amazing. They are of course, cicadas.

Some people are surprised, expecting them to be more like crickets, but they have a quite different mechanism for making their sound. They are quite hard to spot as they stop singing whenever anyone or anything comes near them, but sometimes in the evening they will rest on our fly screen, or the warm bricks of the walls. By late evening they fall silent and almost immediately the night crickets start chirruping instead. But cicadas are definitely the sound of the summer out here.

They are not the only sounds we will be hearing this week as tonight is the start of the village fiesta. Yesterday this was the scene from our back railings. 

The long dark construction is the bumper cars, and to the right of this, if you look closely, about half way down the right side, you can see a frog with a colourful crown, just peeping over the slanting roof. This is the centre of the biggest ride in the fairground. It spins round and goes up really high amid clouds of coloured smoke. Not for me at all, but the youngsters love it. After that there is a dragon roller coaster. The fair gives me nightmares as it is set up on slim metal legs that rest on wooden blocks. I don't think they would pass health and safety checks in UK but you don't hear of any accidents on them. There are also kiddies attractions, bouncy castles, trampolines and ball parks, all around a plaza of tables and chairs, served by a temporary bar all along the wall. More bars surround the main plaza, and there, they erect  a big stage where there will be dancing and music throughout the five days of fiesta. Each day the music goes on until around 7.30 the next morning so we go over and enjoy it for a while, and then shut the windows and try to sleep through it! Roll on Wednesday when it will be quiet again!

Most afternoons I have opted to stay indoors with the fan on, and my own little personal air condition cube by my chair, and if I don't fall asleep I do manage a little crochet. I am making the small squares ready for my next blanket, as they are easy to hold and don't put any hot drapes on my lap as I work. These are the ones I have made so far.

There are 26 different designs and you make two of each. Last night I finished the second long purple one. They are colourful and fun, and I think they will make a bright, cheerful blanket. There will be some in red, orange and turquoise as well, and they all have the dark navy contrast, and will be joined with it too. They are nice little bits of work for the summer and there is no urgency to get it done, so I can just do a few rows when I feel like it. I probably won't be doing much next week as our son Ben and his partner Dave arrive tomorrow night. I have warned them about the fiesta so they know what to expect.

You will gather from the above that Ben is gay, so I was happy to see our Town Hall in Los Gallardos acknowledging gay pride month by hanging a rainbow flag from their balcony. The Spanish word for Pride is orgullo (or-goo-yo), and this month is gay pride month and it is celebrated with parades in many of the towns around here, just as it is in UK.

And on the same subject I am going to end with something that my friend shared on facebook today. I hope it doesn't offend anyone. It really made me chuckle.

And on that note I will link up with Annie's Friday Smiles, and Rocking Your World. Next Friday will be the last day for Ben and Dave, but I will try to get some sort of post written.