Casa Rosales

Casa Rosales

Tuesday 17 September 2013

Where to start...

This has been an incredibly hectic and busy week. We're all quite exhausted but beginning to get back into some sort of routine.

Here we are again! Looks like we've just arrived.
Last week saw FR and Mateo making the long trip north to Leon in order to bring back all - or nearly all - of the rest of our belongings. They left on Thursday morning, loaded up the van on Friday and drove all the way back on Saturday. Then we all helped unload as the van needed returning first thing on Sunday morning - as a thunderstorm threatened us and huge dollops of rain kept falling...then stopping...then falling...and so on, just to wind us up. (This photo taken on Sunday morning first thing.)




And I don't remember falling into bed or even sleeping that night. Mateo and FR were completely zonked.

But it didn't end there of course. On Sunday, we had to start sorting out the havoc that had descended on our house. Our lovely house, which suddenly felt woefully small, cramped and inadequate. And in a huge mess as though we'd just moved in.


The lounge wasn't big to start with...

We have to ask ourselves why some things have made it this far...

And I'd like you to look very carefully at the object at the back of the table. Yes, it's a baby's bottle steriliser. FR keeps rescuing it and refuses to let me get rid of it! I'm fighting a losing battle.
The giant 'lego' bucket is full of white stones from the beach at Bridlington...they're mine...
Actually, it doesn't look as bad in the photos as it felt in reality!


Inamongst all the books, kids paintings, photos and more books were one or two items that we were really pleased to see.

This bowl was made in Yorkshire, by Eric Stockl, whose son, Mark used to be a wonderful guitarist, but who packed music in to become a boat-builder based in Ullapool. I love my bowl. It was a gift from another very talented artist friend, Mel Davies.





For the artists in our family - we have an easel and paint trays.

This old telephone belonged to my Auntie Gladys. I have this and a beautiful turquoise teapot of hers. 


Mateo had this giant sized poster in his room when he first started high school - I don't think he ever looked at it or if he did, it didn't seem to register...he ALWAYS forgot something.

There are still many, many things to be put away but after several days hard work, we've definitely made progress and FR has done a sterling job in clearing the outhouses to store what won't fit inside the house.

In the meantime, it has been Ruy's birthday today. He's 12 and yesterday, he started secondary school. It's been all go. He showed great skill at archery when he, Romy and Mateo went to do an archery session last March and he asked for a bow for his birthday. Yesterday evening, having spent an age trying to track down a decent starter bow, I found a shop not too far away that had several that we could go and see. Just before we arrived, I had a sinking feeling. I'd spoken on the phone to confirm things with the shop owner, but had forgotten to mention one tiny little fact - Ruy's left-handed. And of course, they didn't have single bow for people of his bent...sigh. However, the journey wasn't wasted as he was able to try out the right size bow for his height and strength and we met some people from the Archery club, so got some very good advice. He has one on order and it looks very impressive. Photos to follow.

This morning was too early to celebrate too much - none of us are at our best at 7am - so it wasn't until later this afternoon that we sang and ate cake.



And we sang and ate quite a lot of cake - a themed one made by a friend who lives quite near and who is doing very well with her new cake business, Golosaria.

We're going to do a little joint venturing as the weather turns suitable for chocolate making...should be good fun!

OK...We're still in quite a lot of mess but at least we found a corner to put the cake down!




And a handmade, zentangle-inspired birthday card from me. I must learn how to make it look as though the name is making the splash...I'll work on it!


My lovely, careful, wise and practical boy. Twelve years old today.
Happy Birthday Ruy. We all love you very much.


16 comments:

  1. Well Annie I don't know how I managed to read this blog because I am not up on that sort of stuff but - it was brilliant thanks and so interesting to hear about your family life xx

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    1. I'm very glad you managed, Lynda - and thank you so much for leaving a comment! It's lovely to hear from you too. You look as though you are managing to keep quite busy! Do keep in touch. Axxx

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  2. A great weekend...if exhausting.
    Sorting through your treasures and a birthday celebration. How adult of Ruy to be happy to have found the sort of bow he needs when he'd hoped to have the a bow on his birthday.
    I do like that bowl...

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    1. It's one to remember, put it that way, Helen! Yes, Ruy was very stoic about it - he's good at stoic but I suspect he harbours the odd grudge too...It just means this weekend will be even better when we go to collect it and he can give it a go for real. Fingers crossed we can get a straw bale from a farmer up the road, otherwise, he might start aiming at moving targets and none of us will be safe!

      I love my bowl...I noticed 'wooden bowls' was one of your Pinterest boards. I once bought my sister the most beautiful one and I've never stopped coveting it yet! I love bowls.

      Axxx

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  3. I'm sure you'll soon find a place for all of the important possessions. Just curious about where will the skeleton poster go?

    A belated happy birthday to Ruy - at least celebrations stopped the work for a whilw.

    My little (read giant) will be 23 tomorrow. I've sent him a cake, and if it gets through Japanese import he'll be eating it!

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    1. We're beginning to find places, Gaynor. The poster - actually there are two - a front and a back view (lovely!) are relics from Mateo's bedroom when he was about six and totally fascinated by the human body. Ruy and Romy won't have them in their rooms, so they stay with Mateo. I hate them now!
      Ruy had a great day and there's more to come at the weekend!

      I can't believe you've sent a cake to Japan!! I do hope it gets there OK - and a happy birthday to him too.

      Axxx

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  4. I'm sure all those family bits & pieces will soon be a part of your new home.
    I love a house full of memories and mementoes - and a lovely family too, of course!

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    1. We're slowly getting there, Nilly. We're definitely short of wallspace though so some of our pictures will not be on show. We've found a few memories and mementoes in the past few days and are all feeling rather the better for it - so I agree with you completely!
      Axxx

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  5. Wow all those possessions , and you have been without them for a long time(or maybe not) .. I agree the baby steriliser has to go , but then if the stones were my husbands , they would have to go too.

    Love your son's cake and card , brilliant that he got sorted at the Archery shop . Love the body poster , my grandsons would like it too. And your beautiful bowl , :-) ,,

    I would love to move , just so that I can have a skip in the garden for my husband's stuff ,, he is a hoarder.

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    1. Oh thank you, Anne! We try really hard not to be a family of 'possessions' but we are all hoarders at heart and we have hung on to all sorts of things that have no value or interest to anyone but us. And we all love the stones....but definitely, that sterilizer will have to go!

      Moving is very hard and requires a tougher approach than we took. I wish we'd dumped a lot of stuff before we came but try as I might, I couldn't part with most of it. Hence a very packed new house...!

      Axxx

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    2. Ok , the stones can stay :-). I helped my mother in law the other week , just clean out underneath her stairs cupboard , what a chore that was!! Have to be ruthless. We did well though. Chuck it, Charity it and keep it. I made her sit in the kitchen and I got everything out and piled it up , it was so funny. She could not believe it. And the Chuck it pile was huge. I am an ex-Raf wife and moved a lot. Not every two years or so , but it was good. Once I had 3 houses in one town . take care Anne xx

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    3. I'm good at chucking other people's things away....:-)
      Axxx

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  6. A belated Happy Birthday to Ruy, may his arrows always fly straight.
    I still have unpacked boxes after 20 months and every time I open certain kitchen cupboards, everything falls on my head, but having transported the bloody stuff between continents, I'm going to find a use for it sometime.

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    1. Thank you BtoB. What I hope is that Ruy's arrows always reach the right sort of target...! FR, pessimist that he is, already visualises a slaying.

      I'm quite pleased with progress since Saturday. Hopefully, by the time Janice arrives, there'll be somewhere to sit down...

      Axxx

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  7. A belated Happy Birthday to Ruy and I look forward to regular updates on his progress as an archer. :-)

    Don't talk to me about unpacking boxes. It's now six years since we moved back to Wales when I retired and we STILL haven't unpacked all the boxes. Sigh.... But I'm not yet at the point of dumping them all unopened, as I'm sure there are some treasures there, if only I can get round to finding them.

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    1. Thanks Perpetua, he had a lovely day and we've still to collect the bow!

      Can't believe you'd have still-packed boxes...and no, you couldn't possibly dump them without checking everything really carefully, even if it's for that 'one last time!'

      Axxx

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