Best laid plans

First proper day trip of new relaxed regime planed for today. But yesterday the dogs dug up the well pipes ,electric and water and ate the mole proof casing! So instead of visiting a monastery, a castle, and a historic church with lunch in a medieval village we will be visiting the builders yard, digging a long trench, and moving enough stone to deter them from trying again. Aaaaaaah!!!!!!

The strangest decision

The summer has been a struggle, too hot, too hard, not enough money (to put it into a nut shell). The reasons are simple for nine months of the year Steve works in an Academy and does some private work, teaching English. The other three months, Academy and school holidays he has in the past taught crash courses for people who need to pass exams or need spoken English for an autumn start at university or job.This year we decided to work on the house so he didn't take on the extra work for the holidays. Bad move as it turned out. Stupidly hot weather hasn´t in any way helped. Either the work or our temper.

By the time he goes back to work we will have finished our bedroom (Complete with en-suite and walk in wardrobe) and he has a nice new study both are fantastic and will make the world of difference. But the stress hasn´t been worth it, so next year no work on the house. Actually I mean no new work, no major project. Of course it would be nice to have the house all finished, but we don´t need more than we have. The new plan is a steady list of jobs that we can do bit by bit, more time for hobbies and more days out. We live in the most amazing place and barely have time to walk the dogs let alone anything else.

So here goes, we have already spent several very pleasant afternoons at the river beach, I so love to swim, If you can call laying on the water as still as possible trying to spot fish swimming underneath me as swimming. Between the so called swims we sit with a book and dry off honestly it is the only thing to do when the temperature is 38 degrees.

Anyway having made this momentous decision and faced with a trip to Ikea (don´t get me started on Ikea trips, I really feel that they should offer in store marriage counselling ) We decided to pack a pic nick and stop somewhere nice on the way back.

The somewhere nice on this occasion was The Parque del Pasatiempo in Betanzos It is amazing.The park was originally 90,000 square metres but sadly less than 9000 remains and some of that is is pretty poor repair. A folly in every sense of the the word, built on a private estate and meant to depict not only the seven wonders of the world but wonders yet to happen.

 I wished that I could have seen in in 1920 but I know that had I been alive in 1920 I wouldn't have seen it either, not moving in aristocratic circles.  Now it is crisscrossed by main roads surrounded by an industrial park and shops. The elaborately build viewpoints make no sense and the quiet spots for reading or contemplation are anything but quiet but I was still in awe.