Friday, April 28, 2017

Rocking Your World 2017; Week 17


Hi folks. I am starting today with a photo of my 'little' lap-dog Kim. He used to only be able to get his front feet up on me and kept his back legs on the floor, but we have changed our furniture this week, and the new settee is lower so he has discovered he can climb right up now! He just wants cuddles all the time - such a softie! With all 40Kg of him on me, I can't let him stay there for long, but we usually have a little cuddle time before I turf him off again.

So the week had a good start when we took delivery of a new set of furniture for our sitting room. This is what it was like before.
We had two big, leather, recliner chairs which had cotton throws on them because of the animals, only hubby can never sit on one and keep the throw in place! I find the chairs too big as I am only short, and last year he bought me a smaller recliner which suits me much better, but we really needed a couple more seats, so we have ditched the two big chairs, moved the little extra one out onto the porch, and replaced them with two two-seater settees and one recliner for Chris.
It does look a lot better and is very comfortable to sit on. I still need to cover the seats and for now I am using two cotton single bed spreads which seem to stay in place better. I have kept my little recliner which I really like, but now I have the option of putting my feet up on a settee; win-win.
It also suits me to have my little chair right by the patio doors so I have plenty of light when I sit there to do my crochet etc.

I was pleased when Saturday dawned bright and sunny, because that afternoon we had a new initiative by the Town hall, to run a trade market on the plaza to promote local businesses. There were stalls from a wide range of businesses from clothes and shoe stands, to baby-wear, books, and even heavy machinery and car repairers.
Plenty of village folk turned out to support them, and as many stalls were offering a discount for the day, they were doing a good trade. 
It was an opportunity to meet with friends for a chat.
Here I am greeting  the mother of one of my Spanish friends. She lives in Barcelona but visits her daughter several times a year, and always remembers me and greets me with a hug.
There was a cordoned off area where Town Hall staff provided entertainment and then table activities for the children.
I love the needlework this young man was doing. He was working with gold thread on beautiful red velvet.
And there was a stall where you could sample locally brewed beer.
The market was officially open until 10.00pm but business was slowing down before then, but early evening a group arrived with their instruments and played for us until well after it was dark.
I think it was a very successful day for the little shops etc that operate from the village. They are always in competition with the larger stores in the towns so it was a welcome boost for them.

The rest of the week has been fairly quiet. On Monday I went for an extra alto choir practice and on the way home my car 'died'. I managed to coast onto a garage forecourt where a nice young man helped me enough for me to make it home, but now it is not going anywhere until our mechanic friend has given it some attention. Unfortunately he can't look at it until Monday, and as that is a Bank holiday, he will not get any parts until Tuesday, so it could be later next week before I am mobile again. As there is no public transport from the village we are very reliant on our car, and it is hard being without it. Fortunately I keep a well-stocked larder and freezer, so we won't starve until I can get to the supermarket again!

I have arranged a lift to our choir concert tomorrow and for church on Sunday. Today we had the technical rehearsal for the concert so again I needed a lift from a friend, but normally I take her to our practice every week, so I didn't mind asking her. The concert is in a theatre that is part of the Town Hall in Albox. We started by unrolling our new banner, which is very smart.
Then there was some discussion about seating, and placement of risers for the back line to stand on. The man in the purple jacket is David, our Musical Director. At least everyone is smiling, so I guess it went well.
Finally we did some singing so we could do a sound check. It was hard at first because we practice in an big, open room. Here on the stage, we were surrounded by a lot of layers of curtains which deaden the sound so we really had to sing out, but we soon got used to it. I am in the photo below, sitting on a chair, dead central, so I am completely hidden behind David. We have some members of the choir who are unable to stand for  the length of the concert, so they have a row of chairs at the front. Being one of the shorter ladies, I was asked to move forward to keep the altos in a block, so I now have to sit with the others as I can't be the only one standing in the row. It is much harder to sing sitting down, but as our MD always says, "If you are sitting down, you are sitting up", so I have to stretch myself, and do the best I can. I love taking part in the concerts and am looking forward to it tomorrow. We then have another concert in Mojacar on Friday night and a matinee performance next Saturday, so I will have to try and do my post a bit earlier.

We have ended the week with two days of steady rain, and a severe drop in temperature again. I don't know what is happening to the weather. Half the world seems to have been unseasonably cold and/or wet this week. Fortunately the sun is supposed to be shining again next week, so here's hoping!

So for now, I am off to link up with Rocking Your World and Annie's Friday Smiles, and hopefully I will manage to visit some of you to share your happy moments too.

6 comments:

Lisca said...

Oh the weather is awful here too! We have lit the fire and I have put on warmer clothes.
What a bummer about your car. I hope it is not something serious that is going to cost you an arm and a leg. But it is inconvenient to say the least.
What a great initiative to promote the local commerce. I am impressed with the young man doing the gold embroidery. Beautiful!
Your new furniture looks great. It gives the room a totally different vibe. The small chair is ideal by the patio door and you will have many happy hours crocheting.
It sounds you are having fun with the choir and your friends are happy to pick you up now you are without a car. That is nice to know.
Well, it's a bank holiday weekend, so I wish you a good one,
With lots of smiles too,
Lisca

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

I don't know about a little cuddleLol! he must feel like a ton weight on you, he's more than three times the weight of my Stan and he feels pretty heavy. I think he may be enjoying the cuddle more than you! The stichwork that young man is doing is amazing! How talented is he. This week in the UK has been interesting weather wise. I went to see some friends on Wednesday at a café we like and it snowed really hard for about ten minutes then the sun came out and it's been a bit like that on several days. But that's April for you! Have a great weekend, Angela xXx











Annie said...

I love the new furniture Kate as does Kim it appears :-) it's so lovely that he still feels welcome enough to come for a cuddle.
All the very best with the concert tomorrow.
Hugs,
Annie x

Jean said...

I like the colour of your new chairs, and they look nice and comfy.
The gold embroidery looks amazing, quite unusual to see a young man working it.
I hope your concert goes well tomorrow and that you get your car fixed quickly.
Jean x

Virginia said...

Hope you get the car sorted quickly, when you are so reliant on something as essential as that I can imagine the difficulty when you don't have access to it! Glad your friends are able to rally around and provide lifts! I hope your weather improves soon, ours was freezing at the beginning of the week, with the odd flurry of snow, but thankfully it has now subsided and it has warmed up a little, albeit that it is very overcast! I hope your concert goes really well. I loved seeing the local businesses, in particular that gold work embroidery was amazing! Hope you have a brilliant weekend and week ahead.

Hugs

Elizabeth said...

Another lovely post, Kate. I like dogs that like cuddles - much nicer than the ones that snarl - but 40kg is a lot of dog to have on your lap. The gold embroidery being done by the young man is stunning. I hope your car is now repaired and back on the road. After a very cold, freezing, snap we are now basking in hot sunshine. However, we've had very little rain for the last month which means our gardens are so dry and only the Mediterranean herbs are benefitting. Not that I'm praying for rain, just a wall tap that works - ours is broken at the moment. Hopefully it will be repaired tomorrow. Anyway, I hope the weather has brightened up for you by now and you're enjoying sunshine too. Elizabeth xx