Antidote to British Weather

Having missed my last chance to ride with my Amigos because of an appointment with my Spanish tax accountant; I decided to reward myself with a ride around the Embalse de Pedrera.  It was a beautiful sight and I drank it in, storing up sunshine in anticipation of snow, fog, drizzle and sub-freezing weather-all of which we're told await us in England.  Temperature was around 23C and I got my second light sunburn of the year.
Iave  looked up gyms in Luton and found one that has six spinners that provide "virtual cycling".  You know, the computer & tv equipped excuses for a bicycle that show you a film and program resistance to match the terrain on the program selected.  GBP16/month sounds alright-if the machines aren't booked up solid except for zero-dark-thirty.
Today's lunch was an overdose of foods I'll sorely miss:  Toasted slices of pan de pueblo, rubbed with raw garlic, topped with grilled tomatoes, toasted garlic, basil, chorizo Iberico and cheese, drizzled with olive oil and served with semi-bitter purple and green olives which had been prepared in a brine containing bay leaf, thyme and rosemary.  Had to have ice-cold pilsner and not tinto as it was lunch and I didn't want my siesta to last too long.  Get thee begone, bangers, mashed and mushy peas!

Packing winter gear

Today, while Is was at her Spanish class, I sat outdoors at Cafeteria Badulake on the plaza in Algorfa; talking painting, politics and all sorts of stuff with Johannes.  His wife Susanne is one of Is' classmates and Johannes and I meet to have coffee and wait for them.  The sun was blazing, and there was a cool breeze to counteract, so it was very pleasant; especially since Johannes had picked the upwind table and we were free from the emissions from the cancer ward.  I know, there's nothing worse than a reformed smoker.

So, anyway, back to the winter gear...As spring washes oveer the Costa Blanca, we are heading for  Luton, England to prepare her house for sale.  I just checked the weather there and was dismayed to see that the temperature is -1C, and the wind is at 24 km/hr.  Who cares from where it's coming?  It's still bloody cold.  I brought no boots to Spain, the worthiest shoes I have are a pair of Canadian brogues, but they won't keep out any significant snow-It's expected, I'm told.  My suitcase contains an eclectic mixture; wool sweater and socks, cycling jerseys, water-sports shoes, windproof vest, tropical-weight travelling shirt, bottle of Tequila, two kilos of garlic-ed peanuts and a large chorizo.  I'll be damned if I'll do without the necessities of life.

I hope to be back here in about three weeks.  Hate the thought of wasting away in the fog, rain and snow...I've gotten used to sunshine.  Better go pack some lemons to go with the Tequila. Next post will probably be from the east side of the big pond.
"Talogo", which is the local slang for "Hasta luego".

GregLocsin'sArt is up and under construction

I'm still in the throes of developing the site, so any constructive suggestions would be appreciated.  Bear in mind that my background in  web-stuff is so basic that I just learned what an URL is, though I can't tell you what it means.
Check it out at http://greglocsinart.blogspot.com.es/

greglocsinart.com

Mid-March in Costa Blanca has been cold and windy with a few days of moderate rain.  That's kept us indoors painting and working on cataloging our work.   Many were the nights I stumbled off to bed bleary-eyed and talking to myself.  Cycling took a back seat due to cold, wind and wet.  Ultimately, I decided that I'm too old to be breaking bones, or catching pneumonia on a bike.
We've started the process of setting up a joint exhibition and are waiting for confirmation and a date.  It looks like November will be the earliest, but that's a good thing since we'll be returning to Spain in mid-October.  Corollary to this project, I have been wrestling with the idea of building a website or starting another blog with which to display my artwork.  The first step was to buy a domain name to use in the event that a website is the final outcome.

Now to sift through and try to decipher all the website-building blather then weigh the expense and bother versus the potential gain.