Look….. just take it as read it’s hot and sunny…… I’m not going to mention it again. It just is.

Bob’s jobs for the day were firstly to tackle the cracks in our traditional wood oven. The heat inside is extreme and it does crack the surrounding plaster every year. So, much like the Forth Road Bridge, Bob fills the cracks every year and then paints over a coating of masonry paint. We LOVE the wood oven so it is well worth the maintenance. Next week we will christen it with some pizzas.

Next he went down to remove the stuck non-return valve, clean off the scale and see if it would close. The descaler worked a treat and it seemed to be working so he put it back on and then hit a bit of a problem. We don’t have a very large wrench and Bob’s got a bit of arthritis these days in his thumbs and hands and he couldnt get it tight enough to stop it leaking. By then, Rick the Pool Guy had been and gone – today is his chem testing day and all he does is add any chemicals necessary. None were, so he was in and out in five minutes. He’s not back till Tuesday so it would mean not having the filtration system running till then. Bob had a look online. Don’t you just love the internet?? And there was a guy showing how to improvise a strap wrench. Bob made one from a cut up diving weight belt and it worked a treat and the leak stopped and the pool is running perfectly.

I did loads of watering of pots, plants with buckets and with hoses. I also washed down the outside tables. Dust is still falling a bit. Got some washing on. 2 loads. We don’t have a tumble drier. They dry really fast on our clothes airer or on the line in the carport.

This afternoon we lay out by the pool. Swam quite a few times and read with our kindles. Tonight, I made a chicken curry with rice. Oh… gosh… I must comment on my bread from yesterday. It had fermented overnight but not risen that much. Nonetheless I baked it and it has produced a nice loaf but not a tall loaf. I think the issue is that the flour that Marion bought me is not bread flour, its plain flour and that’s not really strong enough for good bread. Nonetheless, it is edible particularly out here where you are really looking at a bruschetta or dipping sort of bread. When I can get out to the shops myself on Monday, I will get some proper bread flour.

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The garden is looking particularly lovely at the moment. The shrubs – bougainvillea, jasmine, oleander and the rest are in full bloom, all billowing colour. The geraniums are never ending. And most excitingly our jacaranda trees are beginning to bloom, their exotic purple blossom. The lemon tree has masses of lemons coming on it. Hopefully that robbing bird won’t like them. We need them for our evening g&ts….

Beginning to get some social things organised for the next month once we are free. And hopefully next week we can meet with the surveyor and the notary and get the land partition finalised. Soon… soon… says Ahmet the Surveyor……