I’ve begun sorting out the balcony for summer. It’s a great spot to sit, or at least it will be again with a bit of work. I have a nice patio table and chairs, lots of plant in plant pots, and there’s an amazing view. The trouble is that the junk does collect over the winter.
This year I bought some shelves so that I can store all the empty plant pots and stuff relatively neatly. I could only find wooden shelves, so my husband painted them dark green to approximately match the aluminium trim around the windows. We installed them this morning.
This made enough space to start moving things about. I’ve thrown out a bunch of dead plants, made a pile of my husband’s stuff for him to go through, and finally, FINALLY moved a small tree that’s been in temporary accommodation slap in the middle of the balcony in everybody’s way for months.
Suddenly there’s space. Once we’ve cleared off the table and bought a parasol, it’ll be really nice. It’ll be even ncer if I give the plants some love, putting some in bigger pots and removing dead leaves and so on. But I’m hoping to have a nice cup of tea out there in the next week. Amazing!
On Wednesday I had a great walk with my friend Petra around Llano de las cuevas, between the Caldera visitor centre and El Pino de la Virgin. Llano de las cuevas means “the plain of the caves”. It’s pretty flat by Palmeran standards, but I have no idea where the caves are.
I sent off two more queries to agents this last week. Each one takes almost as much work as a job application, so I’m pleased that’s done. I have nine out there now, which is good because it can take them four months or more to reply.
Plotting the next novel isn’t going so well though. I’m happy with the romance subplot and three big scenes, but I’m really not happy with my baddies. This is a pretty serious problem. I hope I can find some inspiration in the next week.
