Rocking Your World 2020; Week 4

I am sure many of you have seen pictures on the TV of the problems Storm Gloria has caused in Spain this week. We are fortunate that we live on the edge of the affected region, but it has still been bad enough for us to 'hibernate' for most of the week, so I don't have too much news today.

Monday was just cold but on Tuesday we needed to venture out for a doctor's appointment and a little bit of food shopping, so we ended up at the big Lidls near Garrucha. We decided to drive home along the coast road as far as Mojacar, and we soon discovered that the wind was already getting up and there were some big waves. I love what I call a 'lively sea', so I persuaded Chris to park up while I tried to take some photos. Trying to catch a good wave at just the right moment is always difficult, especially as I now only use the camera on my phone, but here are are few of what I managed to take. I love the way the wind catches the top of the waves and blows them back like spray.

It was a very cold wind so we didn't stay long and were happy to get home to enjoy the warming casserole I had prepared in my Instant Pot.

It all went a bit downhill from there, and that night the promised rain started and fell fairly persistently all night.

The next morning we were greeted with some distant thunder and soon we were directly in the path of a series of electric storms, with brilliant flashes of lightening and almost instant crashes of thunder that rattled the doors and windows, and killed our internet and TV for most of the day. The rain was torrential and as we have no gutters on most of the older houses here, there were water spouts from every corner which just added to the noise. Then the sound changed and when we looked outside we found it was heavy hail stones that drifted and layed on the ground like snow in the all the corners of the yard, and round the pool.

We have never seen our yard looking like this before.

We stood on the covered part of our porch and watched as the hail slid off the roof onto the fly-free netting, leaving a heap of ice under the corner, and a pattern of little 'v' shaped under the edge of each tile. It took until yesterday afternoon for this to melt, and it has left behind horrid piles of dirt and debris that came down with it, so Chris will need to get the pressure washer out to clean it all off once we are sure the weather has cleared.

So we spent all day Tuesday and most of Wednesday sitting in front of the fire, surrounded by the dogs and cats, who also didn't fancy going out in it.

But as I say, we were the lucky ones, as some parts of Spain were much more badly affected. High winds and waves caused a lot of damage along some sea-fronts, heavy rain caused flooding in towns just down the road from here, and traffic was brought to a standstill on roads that have not had snow on them in some folks living memories. We certainly don't expect to see it down on the coast but this photo was taken just a short way east of here. There is something very odd about palm trees dusted with snow, and a layer of white covering the sand.

So I just count our blessings that we have a house we can warm up in, enough food and clothes to cope when the unexpected hits us, and nothing urgent that means we have to go out in it. But I feel so sorry for the many homeless people who live on the streets in places that are totally unprepared to cater for them, though I am sure many organisations and individuals did provide temporary shelter and food for many. Sadly the death count is 13 for Storm Gloria so far, but it is now moving towards France and losing its intensity, so hopefully that won't rise any further.

I am sure some of you are thinking that this is nothing like as bad as you experience in UK most Winters, but I think we are feeling it so much because it is a very rare occurrence here. Our houses are not designed for it, and our roads do not get cleared as fast, the mountains around us send down more water than the drainage in some villages can cope with so there is flooding, and it takes us all by surprise. But of course, as suddenly as it comes, so it also goes, and I am sure the sun will be as bright as ever quite soon. 

Of course, further inland, and higher up, some snow is expected each year. I am sure Lisca will be telling us about her area where it is quite normal to see the white stuff, and I am sure she got out and enjoyed it.

Chris and I are not lovers of the cold, and one of our reasons for moving to Spain was to escape from the British weather, and we both have arthritic joints which react to cold and wet somewhat negatively, so Spain suits us better.

On a happier note, the sky is clearing and there is a watery sunshine. As I walked across the village to get my hair cut yesterday, I spotted the first almond blossom, and that really lifted my spirit. It is the first sign that Spring is on the way.

One advantage of forced hibernation is that I got a few things done. My friend gave me another big bag of bitter oranges so yesterday I made a further 35 jars of marmalade, I completed a set of eight Christmas cards made from recycled elements saved from cards I received this year, (these are for a blog challenge tomorrow so I can't post a picture here), and I have also done some more of my crochet. My hands are getting worse, so I can only do an hour or so at a time, but I am no good at just sitting idle so I find myself reaching for hook and yarn quite frequently. I have made good progress and here is my latest project so far.

The design is based on the idea of a rose window in a church, and I chose the colours to represent the Aurora Borealis. I love how they are working out. There are a few more rounds to do and then it has square corners added and a further design worked across the lower edge. I think it will just about be a single bed size when it is done.

And that is it for this week, so I will now link up with Annie's Friday Smiles and Rocking Your World.