Allie in the South of Spain

Jose and I have really just enjoyed a great weekend. It all started on Friday when we attended a trivia event put on by the American Women's Club of Seville to raise money for its charities. I belong to this club but unfortunately am unable to go to a lot of the things they organize because of my schedule. I was excited to be able to go support a good cause, spend time with our friends (who I talked into coming) and to participate in a trivia contest in a English speaking bar. We didn't end up winning but we did pretty well considering we were the youngest people there. Saturday brought us some beautiful weather so we took Cooper out for a long time before coming back up to our apartment to have lunch out on our balcony. So far my flowers are looking okay, except the yellow ones which for some reason are a bit sad. Any idea why???? On Saturday we went to meet Alberto, the son of one of Jose's co-workers. He was adorable, as all new babies are and was super go...

For the last week or so the weather has been amazing here in the south of Spain. Sunshine, great temperatures and days that are getting longer can only mean one thing: spring is here. Spring can be a fickle season for us; it doesn't usually last very long (before the heat starts to tighten its grip) and tends to be rainy. That means we are trying to take advantage of this perfect weather while it lasts! This weekend we decided to get our balcony terrace ready for use. We have a pretty small space outside our apartment and last year we bought a table and chairs to go out there. During our first warm season in the new place, we didn't take advantage of our outdoor space because we get A LOT of afternoon sun which meant that things were pretty bright and steamy exactly when we wanted to be outside. Now that the association has been established in our complex we can finally get a retractable awning put up so that we be outside without getting burned. This awning will also allo...

The second half of February was pretty blah in that other than work and normal everyday life stuff there wasn't a whole lot going on (which helps explain the lack of posts here on my blog). The last few days of the month were a holiday here in the south of Spain, Andalucia Day, so Jose and I had a couple of days off work. We took advantage and went to Portugal for the long weekend where we relaxed and recharged. When we arrived home this afternoon we went to check on Skittles, our canary. His cage usually hangs out on our terrace, unless it is raining, in which case he stays inside our laundry room. This weekend predicted good weather so we had left him outside to enjoy the sunshine. He had just begun to sing again for us, something he hadn't done in a while. Life seemed good for our little bird. Jose ended up finding Skittles in his cage, dead and pretty mutilated. I would first have guessed this was done by a cat but we live on the 9th floor. Instead we figure he...