Part of our plan was always to get a dog. It is six years since our Golden Retriever 'Lucy' passed away and this is the first time since then that we have settled somewhere and where we plan to stay for at least a few years. Last Sunday morning we drove over to see who was available at the municipal dog pound in La Oliva. 

Almost the first dog we saw was this black Labrador cross. He had been given the named Google, though one of the volunteers had called him Mancha (which means 'stain' in English). He was bouncy and lively but we fell in love straight away. He is a bit rangy and awkward and the name Goofy came to mind, so that is his new name. Poor thing had been found wandering along a road and had already been in the dog pound for three weeks. After 21 days they are automatically killed if not adopted by someone. 

He had to be lifted into the car as he was very unsure of us, but he quickly settled down and took great interest in the view out of the window.

Once back at the finca he was given a guided tour (outside only until he has settled down) and shown his new home. At the dog pound they were sluiced down in their cages once a day and walked three time a week.

His home is the Wendy house. I replaced the door with a metal grille so he can see and hear us. We let him off the lead quite soon as he would readily come to us when commanded. He has been roaring around the fields at full speed this afternoon, probably the first time he has had this freedom in at least three weeks.

This past week has been very very windy. OK so I know there is a clue is in the name of this island, but it is unusual weather. Windier and colder than usual. And we had more rain last night. The wind has been making very strange noises in the windmill. First of all a banging noise which I solved by fixing more steel guy wires to anchor the sails to the ground. Then there was the low frequency moaning and rumbling which I fixed by putting draught-proofing around the windows and doors. This has considerably improved the sound proofing and made the windmill warmer at night.

We are in - finally! And so far everything seems to work. Hot water, electricity, gas fire, electric gate, tv. The best bit is the bed. Left by the previous owners was a four poster, a tad too large and not to our liking. I attacked it with a saw and and a few tools and turned it into a rather nice king-sized pine bed. The mattress they left we added to with a comfy mattress topper making a super comfy huge bed to wallow in.

It is two weeks since my last post and we have achieved quite a bit in that time. The solar water heating panels have been installed. Unfortunately since then the weather has been anything but sunny so the water has not yet reached a decent temperature. It was therefore vital that the back up gas boiler was tested to ensure it worked properly. And of course it didn't, being Spain. It would work now and again, which is not much use really if you were looking forward to a hot shower in the morning and it may or may not be hot. Lots of phone calls later with Berna describing the boiler as a 'cabron', or a large goat, we had the plumber back who discovered that our cold water feed was at too high a pressure. This was solved with the addition of appropriately placed valves and now it all works splendidly. Here is the solar water heater.

While here the men from Solarland replaced the burnt out inverter. This converts DC to AC current at 240 volts and does lots of other things besides, I am told, which apparently justifies its price tag of €2450. 

I struck a deal with Berna whereby he removes the old diesel generator (a real pain as it had to be craned out) and as compensation he blocks in the covered area where the generator stood to make another storeroom. 

The kitchen is more or less finished. It looks good if you don't look too closely which is when you discover draws and shelves which do not quite fit and gaps which need dealing with. Ho hum, Spain again. Anyway, the carpenter is coming back to fix the problems and the new kitchen is a definite improvement on the old one. From old to new....

Choosing furniture anywhere can be challenging, but especially so on a small island. So, for the lounge furniture we took the easy option and went to IKEA. There is a shop on Fuerteventura where items can be ordered and collected after it has been delivered from Las Palmas. Needing some warm bright colours we went for the full monty - bright signal red.

On our trip to Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) just after Christmas we found a lovely aquamarine blue rattan style dining set. We had it shipped over and, like the IKEA sofas, it all had to be assembled.

Meanwhile, the builder has been busy building the car port. This is where the container used to sit. It will be a white wall with decorative stone along the base, and dark timber rafters in a pergola style. Eventually, when we pluck up the courage to build a swimming pool, the wall will also serve as a windbreak.

It is a great relief now to be sitting here in the windmill. Now I can pop outside and get on with any job that comes to mind, without having a 20 minute drive each way. We are off now into Antigua to sample the delights of the Italian restaurant which serves up the best lasagna and pizzas this side of la bella Roma! And when we come back it will be dark and this is how the windmill looks at night.