We had a really bad rain storm the other night, heavy rain with thunder and lightening and of course the electricity went out. You might almost have felt sorry for us crouching over a tagine lit by a couple of night light candles. And I have been feeling the cold. In the sun it is still quite warm, but out of the sun and at night I have been feeling rather cold - I suppose it is not helped that our "living room" is in fact outdoors. Up at the house it seems quite scottish with the wind blowing around.
As well as the well (?) we have a large water tanked parked on our upstairs patio/roof and Mohamed has rigged up the electric pump he used while building so that water from the well will be pumped up into the tank which then gravity feeds a small tap in our toilet (or will do when the tap is fixed). So I will have running water! I think the only other thing we need to do for now is rig a plastic sheet over the stairwell so that I don't have too much running water - since we are now in the rainy season. I walked up to the house the other evening with some coffee for Mohamed and about 100 yards up the hill found that Honey had followed me. She skipped along in the fields at the side of the road - more cautiously when she found herself in strange lands (which was quite far up the road actually) and came with me all the way to the house. She had a good sniff round so when we move she at least will be on slightly familiar territory. It reminded me of Taroudant when Honey, Marmela, Elvis and sometimes Martha would all follow me if I went along to the local corner shop (Aretha would stay at home keeping look out for me coming back).
We bought some of the plastic rafia type matting that is very common here to put on the concrete floors as I didn't really want to put our berber carpet straight on to concrete and it will be a while before we can get the floors tiled. Anyway it is starting to look quite homely.
I had to make my monthly trip to the Police Station in Taroudant yesterday to see if my Carte de Sejour had arrived. It had not - that is 6 months now.
I collected Mohamed's mother and some of our things that were in storage in her house. She is staying with us for a few days before heading off to Chtouka to see her brother (and sister probably). I wonder if we will see scorpions as we haven't had any in the house since last time she was here. I have been reading that lavender acts as a deterrent so I am going to have lavender bushes on either side of the door and under any windows..... I have also bought some nasturtium seeds to start growing. I am really looking forward to having a garden again and this time no horse to tempt me away from it.
And that is about all my news. This picture is of the family at the Eid checking out the goat lungs. We still have a fair quantity of goat meat in the freezer - despite eating it at every other meal.....
In the village they have a jolly few days after the Eid with a few of the local youths dressed up in goatskins and touring round the houses playing music and dancing. You have to pay them money and they will hit you with some goats feet which is supposed to bring you luck. The lads all have a big party with the funds raised. I have written a bit about the leather man or goat man or Boujeloud in the blog I write. See the link for "the official blog" on this page. Unfortunately my camera battery died when we got up close to a goat man... here is a far away shot. Will definitely try to get some better pictures for next year.
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