And Then the Dam Breaks

Good News, my friends. It’s a day of good news. First off, our visas have been approved. Our lawyer had to write a couple of chapters about why I had NOT left Spain for six months of my previous two year visa. Not the least of which included a pandemic and long Covid. I was ready to flood them with the foot tall stack of medical tests, hospital admissions, and Dr appointments. But I held it in my back pocket, just in case we had to appeal. But that slice of news is not the only good thing happening.

Unlike in Valencia, which took us two months to get an appointment to apply for our new NIE cards, in Lugo it will take just two weeks! Living in Galicia has it’s advantages. We should have our new cards just 4 weeks later. So, by American Thanksgiving we can travel, again. With our freshly minted US passports and shiny new Spanish NIE cards. Like gathering our nuts for the winter, we can take a long winter’s nap knowing we are all set.

Hola! Ruby

Our tractor has arrived. No, not the original one, because we got a bit screwed over by the tractor dealership. It is NOT a 40 hp tractor. But it will do the job we need it to do. And, since we signed the contract last January, the tractor we did get now costs more than the one we were supposed to get. So it’s appreciated in value. Sounds crazy, I know, but we are able to get the jobs that need doing around the farm, done. Just in time for Fall weather to set in. And we did just that today. She is not called Lola. Meet Ruby.

Today, I drove and Jeff filled the bucket with branches. We cleared all the branches we cut earlier and those that have been piled behind the barn for a year. Now, I can put my composting scheme into action. And we can turn over the earth to get the garden ready for planting next year.

Chestnut Season

Cleaning up the chestnuts 🌰 from our 70+ chestnut trees just got exponentially easier.

Pilgrims have begun asking about them. Are they edible? Can we buy some? I hand out plastic bags and tell them to have at it! Free, of course. I’m not yet in the chestnut biz. But, I think when the cabins open we could do a fun activity at the end of the season, roasting chestnuts over our fire pit.

And speaking of our fire pit, Jeff used the tractor to pull out some scraggly trees from near our patio. He’s extending the patio and putting in a new fire pit. I can see us now, snuggled up on a cold night with a fire glowing, looking up at the stars. Perhaps some of our Pilgrim desserts will include S’mores. Chocolate, roasted marshmallows and graham crackers. Seems like fun!

And, Finally…

Ryan gets on his flight to Paris later today. We are soooo excited to see him. His partner caught Covid this week, but they have been isolating from each other and he is negative, so he is good to fly. Talk about a last minute heart attack. We don’t want her to be sick. And we want him to be able to fly here without becoming ill. She is nearly recovered today. Seems its all working out.

We have a jam packed ten days planned with Ryan. A fun-filled itinerary of castles, knights templar, and history. Some of his favorite things. Maybe he’ll deign to help me serve some coffee on a morning or two, after sleeping in. Before the adventure for that day. Even without the tractor, or the visas, just knowing Ryan will be here tomorrow would make this one of the best days in a very long time.