How Time Flies...

As the saying goes, no news is good news. And that has certainly been the case with me since my last blog post two months ago.

I have been enjoying my time settling into this Spanish life and the day-to-day has been going surprisingly well for us. Oh sure, we've had some frustrating hiccups dealing with various authorities for things like our Número de Identificación Extranjero, or NIE, a permanent number that is assigned to all foreigners who do any kind of business in Spain. We needed an NIE in order to get internet in our apartment. After trying and failing for over a week to get through by phone to the government office that issues the NIE we found Castles, a local English-speaking company that would complete our NIE applications, get all the necessary paperwork together, go in person to the government office the next town over, and secure us an appointment. All this at a cost of €25 each. A week after meeting with Castles, we had our appointment, scheduled for a month later. The actual appointment was over in less than five minutes and the next day we picked up our NIEs. Best €50 we've spent here. 

During that time, we set up a bank account with Banco Sabadell to make paying rent and utilities for our apartment easier. Though a lengthy process, made more so by the fact that they are only open between 10:00am and 2:00pm Monday to Friday, the transaction was done entirely in English and the bank representative was so friendly. Awesome.

One of the obvious benefits of being in Spain is how much easier it is to find the right apartment. I mentioned in an earlier post that the duplex we originally rented in Spain was not as depicted online. After nearly two months there we decided we'd done enough fighting with the shower and lack of consistent hot water, the broken furnishings, the noisy people who congregated outside our bedroom window at all hours of the day and night, and the crusty old woman who glowered or cursed at us each time we walked past her ground floor apartment with Fred. It was time to find a new place. With the help of the property manager who managed the apartment we were in, we went to see four apartments all situated just blocks from the beach. Our criteria was: they would accept dogs, be nicely furnished, quiet, have consistent hot water, at least two bedrooms, an oven and not just a stove (sadly, an apartment overlooking the beach that we loved didn't have one). For €50 more a month, we got all that and more. The place we moved into at the end of December is a block closer to the beach, situated as part of a pretty, gated garden community, has three bedrooms, and is beautifully furnished. There are some detriments, but all in all, we are pretty happy here.

The apartment complex where we live

The astute among you may have noticed that I referred to "dogs" in the above paragraph, and not just "dog" when listing criteria for the new apartment. The reason for that is the addition to our little family of another canine. Lucy (or Andalucia, so named for the region where we live in Spain) was a five or six week old pup when we rescued her from the Sabinillas Sunday market on December 6th. We had left Fred at home that morning because navigating the busy market with a dog, correction, with Fred, is a chore. He likes to eat stuff off the ground and dart back and forth through the crowd, intent on smelling everything. The market is no place for him, or for us with him.

Our Sunday Market Find

Our shopping done, we were leaving the market that day when we heard whimpering and saw a sad-looking pup tied to the gate underneath a scrawled cardboard sign that read "Gratis. Present". My heart broke on the spot and I looked at Andrew with tears in my eyes. Without a word between us, he walked over to the man standing behind the gate out of sight of the dog and asked in Spanish why he was giving her away. Andrew was told that her mother had had too many pups and couldn't care for them all. He walked back to me as I was untying the rope from the gate and inspected her. Chubby belly, well-fed, clean ears and eyes, no fleas. I couldn't manage to look at the man as we walked away from the market with the pup in my arms. 

In hindsight, I know that bringing the puppy to the market and waiting with her was an act of kindness. It meant she would go home with someone and be taken care of. As is too common among the rural Spanish who view all animals as tools, he could have simply dumped her in a ditch or tied her to a tree and left her to die. He chose not to and for that I am very grateful.

I wiped tears from my cheeks the entire walk home and as we walked around the China store getting a harness, leash, bed and toys for her. Andrew consoled us flawlessly. My benevolent rock.

Upon arrival at home, the yet to be named Lucy, and Fred inspected each other. Within minutes they were chasing each other with Lucy hiding under the coffee table to get away from Fred who was just a bit too excited by his new playmate. She would soon grow too tall for that trick and sought out better hiding spots from her brother from another mother. Fred is extremely gentle with her but sometimes he forgets she's a baby and pushes her too roughly into a wall or table. When that happens, Lucy turns into the Incredible Hulk and lunges at him, teeth bared, paws flailing. The killer terrier in her lives just below the surface. For the most part, their wrestling matches sound like Chewbacca and the Adam's Family's Cousin Itt having a heated argument. Hilarious in the middle of the day, but not so much in our bed at 2:00am when we're trying to sleep. 

We originally considered finding a new home for Lucy that would love her the way we would, but after living with this little pack for the past seven weeks, I knew I couldn't give her up. Fred and Lucy really are inseparable, following each other everywhere. Lucy is a sweet, smart dog with a happy nature and clearly loves us all. But there is something special in the way she greets her Andrew. It's all full body wiggles, barks and licks and big smiles. Andrew's greeting for her is the human equivalent. It's very easy for me to say that our hearts are happy here in sunny Spain.

The Family on Christmas Morning in Barcelona

So that is a quick synopsis of what has kept me from writing. I promise to be more prolific going forward because there are just so many things to tell you about this great country. Another day soon. Right now, we're heading to the beach to collect sea glass, chase Lucy and throw rocks for Fred.