Battening down the hatches and cooking

Omg, after some glorious near-summer days, it's been raining in earnest for the last three, with at least three more rainy days forecast. This means that the usually dry ramblas are intermittently running with torrents of water, the earth's been washed away and there are huge ridges and holes in the ground making driving along them near impossible unless you have some kind of monster 4-wheel-drive.

People living down the ramblas (there are many) can be completely cut off for days on end. Not much fun if you are struck down with toothache like one mate of mine (pleased to hear he managed to get out to the dentist today). And even those of us in the relative comfort of the village are likely to get our feet soaked by the water cannoning down the hill.

Tonight, almost everyone has decided to stay home. There are quite a few of us on our own.  One is lighting a fire, reading a book and perhaps putting on a DVD. Another is snuggled up on the sofa with his pellet burner blazing. As for me, I decided to get out my Jamie Oliver recipe book and liberate some veggies from the fridge. Ended up with gourmet carrots baked in white wine, thyme and cumin; pasta with aubergine, peppers, corriander seeds, black olives and basil; and steamed spinach with nutmeg. Wow! For someone who rarely cooks, I think I have impressed myself. YouTube is doing its thing, good and loud and the white rioja is going down nicely. There's something quite cosy about being on your own when you know half your mates are are on their respective tods, too.

So, today's music is just one of the playlists I've been enjoying tonight. Thanks, Warrior F!