What a day today was. First off, I somehow managed to sleep until about 11:30 this morning – two to three hours later than usual. I'd forgotten to set my alarm, and so I guess that in addition to my exhaustion from yesterday lead my body to indulge. Hey, I'm not complaining though! I had a bit of tea and bread, brushed my teeth, threw on some clothes and took Una over to The Alamo to see how things were progressing. Rebekah had driven back into Palencia to get in line early to finish up her health card application.
At The Alamo, James and Sebastien were discussing the orientation of a wall-to-be that Sebastien had started using one of the existing walls as a guide. It turns out, the wall that existed wasn't laid at the right angle for the door that was to go in, so the few layers of bricks needed to be removed and relayed. It's really fantastic to watch two guys try to accomplish all types of measuring with just one measuring tool that's hardly a yard long! Rebekah showed up to see how things were not long after I arrived. It turns out she was pulled over on the way home and questioned because some Cuban she was talking to in the office she'd been waiting in seems to be wanted by the police for some reason. She didn't have the best of experiences with them, but did recount that her Spanish was nearly flawless at her time of need. She's really a lot better than I think she gives herself credit for.
I came back to the house, some drinks were had, and then Paddy made a nice rice, spinach and feta cheese dish for lunch which we had outside in the courtyard being the weather was absolutely gorgeous. We had a nice white wine with the meal and a good helping of tasty Brie. We talked about cheese, and furniture, and plants amongst other things. After lunch we had some fig cake and slices of apple and pear. Fresh fruit here is really wonderful.
After lunch I took a siesta for a half hour or so, but couldn't really sleep, so had some tea with Rebekah and Sebastien. After that Sebastien asked me to come back over to The Alamo to help him start digging some ditches for the plumbing that had to go in this evening. The digger was supposed to have come in the morning but had not shown up. Much to our surprise – and I must say to my relief – the man with the digging machine had come and done almost all of the work. When I saw the extent of the digging that Sebastien had thought we might have to start by hand I was really grateful for hydrolic machinery! We finished off some of the smaller areas inside the house, and then James, Marianne and the kids stopped by. Not long after though the police came by to talk to Sebastien and James, presumably about the scuffle that had occurred on Sunday with Berndt. After taking information from them and asking them to come into the station tomorrow afternoon, the two men in uniform also came by Rebekah and Paddy's place to speak with them and ask them to come in and issue statements. Through the entire situation, my one thought was “Wow, the cops here drive soccer-mom cars.”
After they left I offered to make some Ryan soup (soup my grandparents made when I was little, tomato base with peas, beans, corn, and ground beef for those of you not privy to this wonderful dish) and it turned out fairly well. All the ingredients happened to be on hand in The Dispenser(!!!) so it was a quick prep meal. I ended up using garbanzo beans instead of baked beans like it calls for, but they tasted very good, and were probably much healthier! It's interesting how everything here is just a little different from how it is at home (whoa, unintentional John Travolta/Pulp Fiction moment there) and though it tasted good, it still wasn't exactly right. Much to my grandfather's assumed amusement though, I did add a little of the local beer – an ingredient I'd mistakenly added when I prepared the soup for my French host family back when I was abroad the first time, which to this day we like to chuckle at.
I just finished reading a few chapters of Capote, the book that the biographical film with Philip Seymour Hoffman was based on. I borrowed it from Rebekah and Paddy described it saying, “Well, it's not any good, but it's not bad, it's quite interesting.” I can't pass up a review like that, so I'll most likely make it my pre-sleep reading material. And now that I've gotten some of the clutter out of my head, I think it's time for me to work towards sleep.
Buenos noches!
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