Winter wonderland!

The weather has been great up to now. We had our first frost on Saturday morning and apart from it feeling "fresh" we have been treated to blue skies with very little wind. Yesterday, it started snowing, very lightly at first and once again with little wind.

Click left on any picture in order to see the full size version.

This morning it is snowing again, very gently and still with no wind.


This means that the snow has landed on the trees, it has piled up on the branches and stayed there just occasionally falling off when there is too much.


All the trees, olives and almonds are covered but in different "styles" as the almonds are just branches whereas the olives retain their leaves.


La ermita de San Juan, which is across the road from us, looks magnificent in the snow.

We must have had at least 10 cms of snow but it is very sparse under the trees as most of it is still on them! Hona, our dog, seemed to enjoy the experience of running in the snow however!

Views to the west.

One of the reasons we live here in the village of Torre del Compte is for the fantastic views, we love them. Although we have views in all directions our favourite is to the west, across the valley of the Matarraña river, towards the village of La Fresneda.

Click on any photo to see it full size.

The view of La Fresneda which we usually see is the one above which I took this morning. On top of the hill in the left hand half of the picture is the village ermita. The highest point to the right is the old castle which has the church immediately in front of it. All three buildings are lit at night so we have the view around the clock.


However, the view constantly changes. A few mornings ago I took the photo above as the early morning mists slowly cleared from the valley.


Later, the same morning when the mists had cleared, we were presented with a different scene.

Yesterday evening, we had a terrific sunset. The sun now has moved from far to the right, where it sets in the summer, to the left of the ermita and it has another 5 weeks to make it's way slightly further to the left before it starts on it's way back.

Here's another sunset I photographed on the 4th November 2006.

And just in case you were wondering what Torre del Compte looks like from the direction of La Fresneda, here it is above.

The new road!

The "new road" from the bridge over the Matarraña at Torre del Compte to the main road, the A231, is nearing completion, having been only 6 months, (so far), in the making. It has been widened, had bends straightened and a major bypass to "dead man's curve".

See it by clicking on the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvPUGZeBOSc

With all this straightening and bypassing the length will have to be changed from 3.5 kms to only 3!

It will be great when it is finished!

Hallowe'en!

"La noche de los muertos" or "The night of the dead", "víspera de Todos los Santos or "eve of All Saints". Whichever form you go for, it's Hallowe'en!

To see the photo full size, click left on it.

15 ghouls, zombies, witches and vampires gathered to celebrate this event in Torre del Compte last night.

I don't know what the neighbours thought if they had seen us gathering.

The grim reaper and Dracula himself turned out for the occasion.

The special ingredients no doubt went into the cauldron for the meal ahead...

...and what a feast it was! This was just during the first course and there was so much food there was hardly sufficient room to put it all on the table but it soon disappeared.

And then the vampires flew off at the end to further quench their thirsts elsewhere!

And because the 1st of November, (all Saints day), is a Sunday this year and is normally a holiday here, don't worry because tomorrow, Monday, is the holiday instead.

Thanks to Floyd for 2 of the photos.

How to Give a Cat A Pill

Since posting the piece about giving Maxxy his pills, a friend has sent us some advice. I thought I should pass this on so here it is...

How to Give a Cat A Pill

1. Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth.

Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa.

Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.

4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger.

Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.

5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.

6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.


7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit.

Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

10. Retrieve cat from neighbour's shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door onto neck, to leave head showing.

Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot.

Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw tee shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

12. Call fire department to retrieve the damn cat from across the road. Apologise to neighbour who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.

13. Tie the little *&#%^'s front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed.… Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of filet steak. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.

14. Consume remainder of scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.

15. Arrange for RSPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

How To Give A Dog A Pill

1. Wrap it in bacon.

2. Toss it in the air.

Easy peasy!!!

A day at the races!

You have no doubt heard of Silverstone, Le Mans and the Nürbürgring. Well this weekend, having been to these other venues during the season, the Renault World series came to Alcañiz, or to be precise, Motorland, which is just outside Alcañiz. Quite a catchy name isn't it?

To see any photo full size, click left on it.

It was so packed out and there were no seating places left in the tribuna, the stand, although we got a good view from the top of the paddock building and saw what was happening just after the home straight as the cars roared off over the hilltop and then returned on the long straight and rounded the hairpin to go up the home straight again.


Also in the photos are not only the formula Renault 3.5 series cars blazing around the track but the many lorries which brought them there. There were people from far and wide and of all ages. Babies had wisely been given earplugs to wear as the noise from the cars was extremely loud.

For more information about the event, click HERE.
It was certainly a day out with a difference.

Maxxy, 12/5/02-13/10/09

We noticed that one of our 2 cats, Maxxy, wasn't well on Monday 5 October and took him to our vetinary practice in Alcañiz that afternoon. After much testing and eventually some x-rays, Olga, the vet, decided that his abdominal organs were not in the correct place and had found their way through the diaphragm into his lung cavity. She immediately contacted another vet in Zaragoza who could carry out an operation to correct this situation.

Click left on any picture to see it full size.

We took Maxxy to Zaragoza for his operation the following day. He was diagnosed with a torn diaphragm as half of his intestines, liver, etc, were in his thorax and his lungs were deflated. This was the result, according to the vet, of an accident such as being hit by a car or being kicked but that is very unlikely around here, so maybe he jumped from too great a height somewhere.


He had the operation where all of his organs were put back in the correct place and his diaphragm was sewn up and we collected him on Thursday. We took him to our vets in Alcañiz for injections on Friday and then on Saturday fed him through a syringe and tried to give him his pills but he was so upset by this that he bit me on the hand very hard! (I am recovering!) This is the only time he has ever done this and I had no idea that a cat could bite so hard!


On Sunday he seemed so low that Margaret phoned the vet and we took him back to our vets in Alcañiz where he was put in an oxygen chamber, given his vacinations again and a feeder drip into his paw. On Monday, a holiday here, Margaret phoned the vet and they said he was OK and eating well.


However, on Tuesday the vet phoned to say that Maxxy had stopped breathing and had died that morning as they were preparing him for further x-rays. The postmortem revealed that he had liquid in the lung and heart cavity and this had stopped his heart. We collected his body yesterday evening and buried him in the garden this morning.

He had a great life here as he had total freedom to come and go as he pleased enjoying the countryside and his favourite pastime of hunting yet always knowing what time his meals were being provided by us. He will be sadly missed.

We've been awarded!

Not much has happened this last month.

Work is gradually progressing on the improvement of the road into Torre del Compte. However, it currently is no longer a "road" - more like a rough track now that the tarmac from the existing road, where it still exists, has been dug up and the new bits, where the bends have been straightened, are being driven on before being finally surfaced. It will be a big improvement when it is completed.

We have enrolled for the Spanish language classes again in Valderrobres but these don't start until after the 13th of October.

I have given 2 of the 4 drawing classes I have offered to do in the village school on Saturday afternoons. Although the classes are for people who can't draw, of which there are many, there is only a handful of people turn up for the classes. Next Saturday there will be no class as it is a holiday weekend to celebrate La Virgen del Pilar. To find out more about Pilar, click HERE.

When I came to check on the blog this morning I found a comment added to the last entry, for the fiesta in August, saying that we had been given an award by The Daily Reviewer of Spanish blogs - here it is below, so thanks to all the people who have looked at the blog and those who submitted it and voted for it. We hope you enjoyed your visit and will return on a fairly regular basis.

Top spain Blogs

San Ramón

For the eve of San Ramón we had another meal at the peña; ham, carved by Pablo, bread, cheese and olives.

Click left on any picture to see it full size.

The bread is not buttered but spread with garlic and tomato.

This morning, Monday, (not Sunday), we had mass in the church at midday. Margaret, as well as others, had arranged to dress in traditional regional costume, an opportunity to try out the newly made outfit.


To see the procession in a little more detail click HERE to see the video on YouTube.



Meanwhile, the paella had been started in the Plaza Mayor.


Below is Margaret and Jordi posing with a member of the village with a 300 year old shawl.

After we had changed, it was back to the Plaza for lunch.

Once again, it was a meal for the entire village in the Plaza Mayor. This is a 180º view of everyone eating! A meat and seafood paella, delicious!

This event signals the end of the fiesta period for the village. Now, all the holidaymakers, relatives and friends who came here for the summer, return to the cities of Barcelona and Zaragoza, (some have already gone), and the village returns to its normal tranquil state. Until next time!

Fiesta day 4

In the ayuntamiento, the town hall, there had been an exhibition of the work produced by the "amas de casa", housewives, in their various enterprises undertaken during the year. Some paintings produced by a course run by the "pensionistas", pensioners, (but not necessarily exclusively for pensioners), were also being exhibited. Some of our first attempts at "still life in oils" was on show - that's ours at the left hand end.

To see each photo full size, click left.

Another course run by the amas de casa was "patchwork" and Margaret had produced 2 cushions, shown below.

Other people had turned their patchwork into bags.

Also on exhibition were wedding dresses as worn by the ladies of the village on their big day.

Our peña meal that evening was a ham with all the trimmings that go with it. A true delicacy.

Margaret is wearing a tiara in the photos above and below in order to get into character for the evening ahead.



Eva, standing on the bench, is explaining the choreography for the activity which we will all be involved in.


32 of us, in addition to the 2 "clocks" above are to be involved in the activity. Have you guessed what it is yet?


After playing the part of the black king for "three kings" in January and Lina Morgan for the entertainment for Santa Agueda in February, it is a small step for Floyd to play a cross between the two - the black queen!


While we dressed as chess pieces, other peña groups also dressed as part of the competition which was to take place that evening.

This was another activity which crossed all generations, (and genders)...

...with groups playing the part of different characters with such imagination...

...and enjoying a carnival like atmosphere.

Spirits were high as each group entered the Plaza Mayor to be judged...

...and others patiently waited their turn.

Our group had put so much work into making the costumes...

...and everyone had a vital role to play.

The result of the competition between the 11 peñas would not be announced until later that evening...

...but we were declared the winners, the prize being another ham! To see the video on YouTube, click HERE

At the end of the day, all the pieces from the king to the pawn, go back into the same box but we came home to our casa majestuoso.