I am shamed into inviting you in for a quick vermut as my dear friend Kim over at The Bodhi Chicklet has been doing all the entertaining these past few weeks and although it’s late I don’t want to seem unwelcoming.  She very graciously always suggests you pop over here and what do you find most weeks? Not a glass in sight. Hardly even a cup of TickTock Tea.
Do go over and see what she is doing – she has a very light touch at the moment as she is transforming into a butterfly and only landing for the briefest moments of nourishment on the flowers in her life

Talking of tea we sorted out our tea shelf this week and now it is possible to reach up and find Earl Grey or Rooibosh or English Breakfast or even PG Tips without the whole lot crashing down on your head.
Out went the various bags of unidentified leaves.
‘When exactly did you get these? Four years ago?  Yes maybe they were a gift but how many guests want to drink something we don’t know what it is nor how long it’s been sitting around?’

How’s your drink?  Actually it isn’t a vermut tonight, its a sweet wine from Falset, the wine and olive region near Tarrogona. It’s one of the wonders of living here to be able to drink wines that are local, or at least not from across the sea.

Here’s a quick resume of my week:
More dog fights between Bonnie and Duna. Duna is the one who launches herself but I have to admit that Bonnie stares and does quiet growling which builds tension. It’s such a worry that I can’t bear to think about it too much.
The pigeon we have living up on the terrace continues to thrive but looks less and less likely to fly as her wing is too damaged. This is another thing to push to the back of my mind – what exactly ARE the alternatives?
Quick – another vi dolç!
Two people in this family went skiing today and another stayed at home to finish off the tortell de reis and look after the dogs!
Actually it was a nice day – it was a public holiday which meant hardly anyone on the streets and no need to do anything more than read and potter and eat cake.
I lay guilt free on the sofa reading PD James and listening to Radio 4.   Sometimes you just have to have surround English language to relax your brain.

I took each dog out individually and that was easier although more time consuming. It is a pleasure to walk along slowly with Blue, letting her find her own pace and I notice more details in the street than I normally would. Sometimes she stops and stares at a passerby, or starts to pull toward them as if she knows them already. This happens to me too – I observe strange things in the people I see, and I sometimes think I see someone I know from Penzance. The brain playing tricks on us. It’s good to know Blue and I share this reaction. Or I think we do!  The only difference is that I hide it while she is totally natural.
Now it’s after midnight and time to put the bottle away – I will try to be here next week with some more Virtual Vermut!