A bizarre photo today, for my Blog which more than likely may well be the last in this year 2012, not as many postings as previous years, sorry for that, strange writings from what may sometimes sound like a strange person, who now puts a picture up of herself at 14yrs old and now speak in the third person!!

Yup, that is me, aged 14 years underneath mom and 'step' dads horse-chestnut tree, sometimes wish I was only 14 again, but with the me inside now, you know the old "if I knew then, what I know now" type of thing, still we can never go back, the present only pushes us forward...

Its been some year, a change of country, again, my third, so far, although my 'foot' could still be said to be in Spain, still having the house there, my little town house, asleep there on its own, but its not only my 'foot' in Spain, my heart too... I lost my heart to that country back in the 1980's, and now its firmly fixed there and neither will, or can, ever leave... its being held in captivity!

Now here to Wales, its still hard sometimes, especially the not knowing anyone, in Ahlaurín it took only a matter of a month for me to become friends with so many people, and then working in the newsagents brought the rest of the expats to me! After arriving from the states mom and I lived near Berkhamsted, so of course, even now I can walk around there and know many many people, from school, from jobs, just from living in the area... Even in Hemel Hempstead I can usually see someone I know, because of its close proximity to jobs, homes I've in etc.  Then Aylesbury too of course, again through living and through work...

Although I can walk into town from here, I cannot walk back, up hill all the way, and I would have to time arrival at a bus stop with arrival of a bus to not have a headache the following day!  Even so, walking around on my own really isn't great fun, I know lots of people do, I've seen them, heads down, going from A to B, but not really pausing to actually take a look around...  I do have a couple of good friends here, one I already knew, and a new friend!  I suppose I just feel a stranger in a strange place!  Which would be the same I hasten to add, in any 'new' town in the world of course!

A job would do the trick, getting to know lots of new people in one place, you always make friends at work, there is always someone who wants to go for coffee, someone who you have a connection with somehow, it will just have to be a very special job right now, or one that's very giving!  I will have a cardiologist appointment in January, hopefully [she says] living with the heart probs is do'able, its the cysts on my spine that cause the pain thing which is what's more difficult!  So I need a job preferable where I can move about lots, but not standing or walking far!!!  I've been applying for loads of jobs, and I'm not saying they're being ageist, but I suppose it could be coming into it unintentionally!

I've always been very, very lucky with work in the past, so fingers crossed eh!

All the Christmas cards we received this year was amazing, especially after last year when I had to cancel cards! I've stretched lines of cord from one wall to opposite one,  and they are all full, from end to end, and card to card, apart from some which have made they're way onto the mantel piece its so nice not having them all over the ornaments etc, where I can't touch from a month or so!

The pop up Christmas tree is cool too, and will be very easy to just lift and  flatten down afterwards, not sure if it will make it to 12th night, probably not, we'll see...

We went to Franco's mom for Christmas dinner, there were ten of us for dinner!  The turkey was enormous, and we had about ten different types of vegetables, or more!!! We had one plate of food, then we all started again, with second platefuls... phew, I couldn't even rest my arms on my stomach without feeling extreme pain, over eating I think that's called!  Cleared up, washed up, put everything away, watch a bit of television and five hours later we were back to Pippa! I think I fell asleep then!

Yesterday we had a huge leg of lamb, for dinner, but had turkey for lunch!  Today, the last of the turkey, and I won't be eating again today, what with the tonnes of chocolates, Turkish delight pieces covered in the most lovely dusting of icing sugar, and still not eaten the Christmas pudding!  Probably tomorrow, with the remains of the lamb!  Well, of course, not actually with the lamb but afterwards!!!! Silly me!!!

Tomorrow is a full moon.... So I will have a quick spin around that tomorrow night!  I can't promise presents for everyone though!

Allure of a Full Moon


Shinning Silver while the sun sleeps.
The moon begins her silent creep.
A glowing disk that entice the tide.
Dancing with the sea as waves collide.
She comes to me most every night.
Bringing with her dreams of flight .
But must depart with the coming day.
She Walks in Beauty and can not stay.
Fear not We'll meet once more.
As the sun goes down She'll be at my door.


Brett http://www.fullmoon.info/en/fullmoon-poems/brett.html


TTFN amigos
Marian