Spain in lockdown Phase 1 - Day 62

We got up pretty promptly as we knew our morning was going to be full on learning how to groom the dogs.  And it certainly was!  My goodness, we have two but they aren't that big - both are Lhasa Apsos (very slightly larger than a Shih Tzu) and weight about 9kg each - so given that they'd both been bathed yesterday, how long can it take?  The answer is ....... ages!!  I doff my cap to all dog groomers because it's just epic.  Our dogs are non-shedding which means they don't moult and are wonderful in terms of no dog hair around the house and given that it means they're also hypo-allergenic, useful as Ian is allergic to shedding dogs.  So they do get very hairy, even between the pads on their paws.  It seems that a relatively small dog is divided into parts consisting of body, legs, skirt (don't ask!), chest, bum, tail, ears, head, undercarriage (a sort of short strip, a bit like a Brazilian but in reverse 😳😂).  It was never-ending!  I videoed, photographed, made notes, asked questions, you name it.  Clippers with different lengths, scissors for this, scissors for that.  By the time it was over, I needed to lie down in a quiet room for about an hour afterwards just for my brain to process everything!  And respect also to our two fur babies; they're always really tired after they've been to be groomed and now I totally get why as it's a tiring process for all concerned.  Here they are on the grooming table as we were about to learn how to do their heads.  Epic stuff 💪

In other news, my jigsaw habit is definitely well-established now; I will definitely buy some from the charity shop in the Port when it re-opens (and I've seen some great ones there) but my first action will be to count the pieces first as I'm not sure I could cope if I was a piece or two short at the finish.  That isn't the case with new ones but I must admit, I'm currently absolutely convinced that certain pieces aren't there - hmm, we'll see....

We went out this evening again, respecting social distancing, and had a lovely time.  It is so nice to see people and chat face to face even if it is from a distance.  Everyone is still so happy and smiley and I just get the impression that we're all so grateful - grateful to be here, grateful to have made it thus far through a weird shared experience, grateful to be able to talk to people other than those we live with.  Whether or not there will be a 'season' at all this year is the talk of the Port - of course no-one actually knows what will happen but people can't help but speculate.  With good reason to be fair because so many livelihoods here depend on tourism either directly or indirectly.  None of the hotels in the Port are open and I'm not sure any of them will find it viable to do so.  I'm a teacher but am indirectly affected - currently furloughed  - and whenever the language school re-opens who knows how many will be able to afford to attend?  It just boggles the mind though that just about every country in the world has been affected economically in a major way and that this is the stuff of major events in history in a seriously global way.  Our somewhat dubious claim to fame 😱

Tomorrow is a Lidl trip day which is still an exciting event as I get to drive our car.  But this is tame compared to going further afield.  Apparently if you drive to Al Campo you line up on marks on the floor in three areas at the one open entrance and when a security guard blows a whistle - boom! in you go and "get wild in the aisles" as per Rylan's entreaties in Supermarket Sweep.  I'm almost tempted to go there just for the craic 😂

Stay safe and hasta mañana!