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Now it’s a fact that, in many ways, I am ‘living the life’.
I chose to become a writer to make my living.
I chose to move to Spain from the UK.
Those two are at least partly connected by the fact that, whereas life in the UK was bankrupting me, for the most part, you can live well in Spain on not-a-lot, so a lot of the risk associated with my career choice evaporated overnight.
My home is in a wonderful spot, in the heart of rural Spain. My mountain casa is set in a real-life Paradise. And if I choose, which I often do, I can work pretty much anywhere, on the move, in any spot of my choosing.
In these days of thumb-typing on a mobile phone, a lot of what I write is put together while I’m staring into space over the sea, or at the spectacular mountain views in my area.
But of course, nothing comes without a price.
Dodgy electricity is one problem. An internet connection relying entirely on my phone signal is another. As is water on a hardness scale you could use to plaster walls.
I’m not on mains water, so one of my next much-needed purchases is a water-softening plant. Perhaps then I can run the boiler without it packing up after delivering three and a half minute’s worth of hot water.
Hot baths drawn by turning on a tap are a half-forgotten dream. If I want to soak in steam and bubbles for an hour or so, I first have to spend three hours heating water from the hob and the electric kettle.
*sigh*
Said hob is run from butane bottles. Pretty much everyone around here runs on bottles. I did hear-tell that some years ago, the Spanish government tried to install mains gas. Unfortunately, it proved so expensive that the locals rebelled against it, demanding that the installed supplies be taken out again.
So…
Yesterday, my last gas bottle runs out. So, I want a replacement and a spare. For this, it’s a seven-mile drive down the mountain to the nearest petrol station.
My own car, a tidy little Peugeot 107, is off the road right now, which leaves me with HIS car. His Boys’ Toy – a classic MG sports car. Good steering. Great cornering. Fantastic road-holding on our winding, zig-zagging mountain road.
And terrible for containing anything larger than a mouse cage. I get in and out of it in sections. I’m tall, long-legged and also long-bodied. So, I have to fold up like a deckchair to get in and out. And if I sit upright, my head bangs against the roof over every bump in the road and my boobs bounce like a frog on a pogo stick.
So, my sister’s with me. “Can I borrow your car for an hour?”
“Course you can.”
Sis’s car is parked at the bottom of my side lane. So, I muscle two empty gas bottles out from the kitchen and the naya, down the steps to the outside, then another twenty yards further before I dump them outside the gate.
Then, I stroll down the lane to collect Sis’s car, turn it around, drive it back up our single-lane mountain track, turn it around again a hundred yards up the mountain from my house, then stop at the gate to collect the gas bottles.
I tend to think and walk. So the pleasant stroll down to pick up the car sets me off on what I’m writing right now – ‘Cold Blood’.
“The skirt next,” I say.
Blinking, her hands slip down to the zipper-clip at the back of her skirt. Nonetheless, her colour is rising and she moves with more confidence…
Yes… This is what she needs
My lovely Elizabeth
My beautiful submissive
Not just beautiful, but lively and honest and just plain god-honest smart. Her intelligence is such that she needs no guiding hand through life for that. Nonetheless, she is deeply, and to the core, a submissive. Emotionally, she needs a Dominant.
So, Master her…
The zipper clicks down and she wriggle-drops the skirt down from her hips then steps neatly out of it…
Collect car.
Start up. Set off. Drive…
Five miles down the mountain…
Gas bottles!!!
Still sitting outside my gate…
Oh, F**k!
Next turning point, another mile.
U-turn on the roundabout. Return to home. Collect gas bottles…
Still got a 14-mile round trip to get replacements and back home.
***
Buy me a coffee?
We have a cabin deep in the forest on a high mountain lake in Washington State USA. There is excellent fishing. However, getting to the cottage means a 10-minute boat ride from the parking area after a 1/2 mile walk through the woods to retrieve the boat. All our facilities run on propane. We have a propane range, propane refrigerator, and several propane-fired heaters. The lights are LEDs that run on power from a 1000-watt Goal Zero, which we charge using a gasoline generator. The water comes from the lake which we boil. We have a wood-fired stove but we do not use it. It is a quiet place because fast boats are not permitted.
Sounds gorgeous. This is a holiday home I take it? Rather than full time living. Or am I making assumptions?
Loved to hear about the MG. A friend of mine in high school/college had an MG. I often rode in/dove that little gree/magic machine and wondered how it held two women over 5’6″ and a 1000 lbs of textbooks!
My mind boggles. I’ve no idea how they would manage that 🙂
I can totally sympathise. I live in rural france. My cooking has to be butane bottles and heating propane bottles. Our nearest supplier is 10 km away so whenever the car is off the road I’m stuck. My neighbour will occasionally help out bit she only has a sans permis car, so 1 bottle on its side fills the boot . Luckily the hot water, thanks to a versatile dad is now provided through a tank that heats up by electric.. though that can be known to be temperamental in high usage periods.
lol! it sounds deeply familiar. Enjoy! 🙂
Hang in there I love how your brain works, fid you come up with that bit of storyline walking to your sisters car. Maybe get all steamed up then take a cold shower. Or how big is the shower you can shower with your hubby.
lol! how big is our shower? Right now, it’s just the hose over the bath. But as money allows, we have plans for a proper wetroom and a hottub. ‘course, that means getting the water supply sorted out first 🙂
Next time when you are in that gas station, put some fuel in the car too so you would not be left out of the fuel too, driving around. Love you girl and enjoy life as you do, even there are some obstacles.♥️♥️♥️
Oh, I take good care never to run out of fuel. Truly not an option living here. 🙂
Love how you can make light of the trials and tribulations of life. Even though it sucks dealing with it at the time. It is the only way to approach life right? Hope all else is well.
Thank you. And yes, it’s annoying. But it’s the annoyances that put the good things into persepctive. Yes, life is good. Take care 🙂
So sorry about your gas bottle and water plight. I just got back from Spain – did a Globus land tour of Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla and Portugal. Was fabulous! Spent one week in London then headed home to Miami. Good luck with Hot Water and continue with your lively/lovely life. Be safe and keep the books coming
Thank you! Sounds like a great holiday you’ve had there. Working on the next book now. Have a safe trip home Simone 🙂
I am curious to know what model of MG is giving you such difficulties. We had a MGB when our 2nd child was born. Rode to the hospital in it. Delivered 45 minutes after arrival! 5’7″, and overweight. Miss that car, but always longed for a TD or a TC. At 75, I am driving a 6 speed Mustang, with lots of room.
It’s an MGTF roadster and the love of His life lol!