free lunch/happy birthday, squirrel!

Very nice weekend with Big Jim, even if the poor guy spent most of it working. We found out sort of last minute that this would be the case, but we thought it best to go ahead with his visit. He looks really well, and it's wonderful to see him back in the work groove, managing complex projects, his brain spinning with new ideas. As I listened to him conducting conference calls with other PMs and programmers in Poland and Austria, I was in complete awe of his technical knowledge. Essentially they were doing a system upgrade to servers for a large ISP in Poland, and to minimize the disturbance to the customers, it had to be done quickly and at night. This was Big Jim's first big task at the new job, and a fairly high-profile one, so we were very happy when the upgrade was completed successfully Saturday evening. The pups were extremely happy to see Big Jim as well, although Mr. Beebs remained suspicious of him all weekend long, as if he knew BJ's return would only be a short one. Saturday afternoon we went shopping on the coast. Big Jim wanted to pick up a large tin of olive oil to take back to Amsterdam and some wine for one of his Spanish coworkers. The price of olive oil is more than double in Holland and not of the quality we have grown accustomed to. We also had a relaxing lunch at one of the seaside restaurants in Caleta. I had very good paella and scrambled eggs with ham, and Big Jim had salad and a mixed fish platter. We were both too full to have dessert, which was included in the 7.60 euro fixed price. J. and M. told us about this gem of a restaurant, and it quickly has become one of our favorites. We had a siesta after our shopping excursion, and then we were off again for dinner with M.A. and J. and M. It was a lovely night in the square, so we decided to eat outside. Good food, good wine, lively conversation.....a very merry evening had by all. Now to the story of my free lunch today. J. and M. offer Spanish cooking courses to guests staying in their B&B. They had a couple booked for one this week. The visitors were to arrive Saturday from Holland, but they never confirmed a meeting time with J. J. and M. waited for them most of Saturday afternoon, even though they needed to do shopping for the cooking course. Eventually, they left a note for the guests and went to the market. When they returned, there was still no sign of the tourists. As M. was unpacking the groceries, the phone rang. It was the woman booked for the cooking course. "We are most displeased..." she began. Turns out they had arrived while J. and M. were shopping....they took one look at the dirt road leading to J. and M.'s house, were scared out of their wits, and decided to just drive back to Holland, even though they had paid more than 700 euros for their stay, which was not refundable. As J. related the tale, we howled with laughter. Admittedly the track to J. and M.'s house is a bit steep, but any car can manage it, from our Peugeot to M.A.'s Ford Fiesta. To cancel a week-long holiday, after driving all the way from Holland, just because the road looked a little scary.....that's mad. However, J. and M. had already purchased all the food for the cooking course, so they decided to have a big lunch today. Because of tourists' silly behavior, M.A. and I will be having delicious seafood and very nice wine in a few hours while the Dutch people sit in their kitchen back in Holland, watching the rain. Well, I must get going. The dogs are restless for their morning walk. I miss Big Jim very much, although in a couple days, when I'm settled back into my normal routine, I know the pain will ease. The days will fly, and then next thing I'll know, it will be time to pick him up at the airport again. Speaking of time flying, today my "little" brother turns 30! Happy birthday, squirrel...the birthday bundle is in the mail. :-) hasta manana, mylifeinspain