spring cleaning and the search for shelves

Big Jim and I have been busy little beavers the past couple of days. Wednesday we went to the coast to do some shopping, primarily gifts for people back in Pakistan. We also need to buy shelves or a bookcase or something similar to hold our current overflow of DVDs and books. In addition to our overstuffed bookcases, piles of reading material seem to be sprouting up in just about every room in the house these days. The search came up empty, so we are off in a little while to check out a few more furniture places. We did find the perfect curtain to hang in the lounge, in front of the door. We have been looking for this for almost two years, so it was very exciting to finally find one the exact size and weight we needed. Big Jim hung it yesterday, and the difference in heat retention is amazing. We may actually be able to use the lounge, which has always been the coldest room, in the winter now. Big Jim also had a major cleanout of what I refer to as the "computer graveyard". There are still a couple of CPUs and monitors that need to go to the basura, but the numerous old hard drives and seemingly endless meters of cables have either been trashed or neatly packed away. This makes me very happy. :-) Last night M.A. had us around for dinner. She made a really nice beef stew, perfect for a chilly evening. Tonight we are going to have a drink with C., and then Big Jim and I will have dinner by ourselves. As he is leaving for Pakistan tomorrow afternoon, I am being selfish and keeping him all to myself (and the pets of course). It has been a truly lovely 11 days.... Thanks to everyone for their recent comments, and I am glad people are enjoying the pictures. With such beautiful landscapes everywhere around us, it is difficult to take a bad photo. Despite my occasional whinging about expat life, after three years Big Jim and I still find ourselves looking at one another as we drive up the mountain road, breath-taking vistas around us, and saying, "Can you believe this is where we live?" We are very lucky indeed.
From our drive last Saturday hasta pronto, mylifeinspain