Still raining

Area news reports say that local beaches have lost 20% of their sand in the recent storms. Walkways along the GR 92 have been damaged, and invasive algae has been dumped on the shore. (But the reservoirs are filling! Yay!) We have lightweight hiking umbrellas that we can attach to our packs, but the high winds would certainly turn them inside out today. Combined with the doctor’s orders to keep my chin stitches dry, today is a good day to enjoy the inside of our casa.

Our house would feel right at home in any Andalusian village. It has typical architectural elements such as arched entries, a fireplace, sensibly compact rooms, shutters on the windows, wooden balustrades, ventilated cupboards, and tile floors. Some of these elements were constructed at Gray’s Taller Workshop School of Lebrija where artisans taught the next generation old skills.

Our favorite item at the house is the dining table. It has a flat sheet of glass covering a curved “trillo”. This was a wooden implement shaped sort of like a small toboggan with its front end curving upward. It was used for threshing. Animals pulled it over grain strewn on the stones of an “era”, a circular threshing floor created with paving stones. The trillo had small sharp flints embedded in its boards that cut the grain, thus freeing the seeds. It’s been wonderful to see this implement close up at every meal and to contemplate what a tremendous amount of work had to go into producing the flour for bread and cereal only a few decades ago.Read more