Friday, January 09, 2026


Snow arrived last evening, at last! Looks like it'll stay all day! Just had a yellow weather warning for ice until midnight tomorrow!

Did I tell you one of those small lights that a lot of us have around the house these days to cover those dark spots at night.. it came on a few times at the top of the stairs.. 'In the night, in the dark!' Sorry, can't resist a movie quote! That's from The Haunting.. 1999 movie.

And a completely different one I have in a different place, it's flashed on at least the twice I've caught it doing so! It inside a tallboy cabinet, the top lifts up for makeup stuff, well, it's in there.. 

I know, of course, it's just a fluke, I mean it could be triggered by a fly, a night fly? Or moth? Maybe, but not the one in the cabinet? Surely?

A week today I'll be flying south, like the birds.. so excited, although already thinking of having to leave and that thought makes me sad.. 

Going home, being home, is such a mix of emotions, of being happy, of being sad; of what was found and finally, of what was lost..

Of course I really feel those decades were definitely my glory days...

What was found...

Days of driving to work along the coast road with the many advertising boards saying 'Living the dream.'

Working on beautiful golf courses like the Rio Real, Cabopino, the La Cala courses.. and so many others.. was very damp underfoot, and occasionally I would end up wearing crocodile shoes that needed replacing at regular intervals!

But good days..

Living a very lucky life, up in our house in Alhaurín for the week, and sometimes staying in my sister-in-laws apartment on the beach..


A life of amazing mountain ranges, stunning ranges, colored bronze and purple and greens, different times of times of day, different weather and temperatures.. Those mountains never look the same.. The sea; the sound, the calm or the stormy.. the energy we can draw from the wide expanse of the Mediterranean..

The bars, for coffee and tapas, the thousands of dropped napkins, the warmth of the sun, filling us to our bones.. also, of course, the overwhelming heat of summer searching for cool spots in the supermarkets, walking in the shade, needing the shade of a tree for the best shade and some cooler air.. Keeping the persianas closed in the house all day when out, to keep the cool in and heat out! 



Our garden centre, Casa Las Flores, for coffee and the best fries in Andalucía! For a walk around the beautiful plants, the pond with the tortugas, Pippa enjoying it as much as us, of mom tripping over in there once!! Of Father Christmas, when not on show at Christmas time, he is hidden away in one of the areas, once I spotted him, every year afterwards I would check he was still hidden there! 


Don't forget the lakes, well, the reservoirs up at Ardalas, again, the coffees! The food there.. the walks, the Kings Walk ending at El Choro and railway station..

Too much, too many, many many years of living a different life, a full life.. That changed, not by choice, but by life.

M.

Embrace what you don't know, especially in the beginning, because what you don't know can become your greatest asset. It ensures that you will absolutely be doing things different from everybody else.

Sara Blakely, Entrepreneur

(Todays insight of the day, seems to work well with today's Blog).

Thursday, January 08, 2026


Forgive me if I'm repeating any photographs here... The cool Ford Anglia and the Dalek were by a lovely cafe in Matlock, best coffee! And cream tea.. very yum! Lumsdale Tearoom, definitely go in there next time your in Matlock.

Just over the road from there... Just realized I didn't Blog about Matlock, due to flu!! 

So over the road is a wonderful antiques market, fairly big.. was a wonderful look around history and old familiar things...

I have two family samplers, 1859 and 1876, both made by my great Grandmother.. maybe because of them I always check out others I see higher and thither.. 


This caught my eye, albeit up near the ceiling! Which meant people had to help, ladders, chairs, moving other things around, because me being an awkward girl, wanted it! 

It's the words .. I love the words ..

And just now, starting series 2, episode 2 of The Change, a great series.. this piece of music came up, love these words too!


And! More photos from before Christmas, the Dalek near the cafe...


More from Matlock tomorrow friends..


... and Christmas elf footprints at my son's! Same elf as the year before, she came home December 1st, left some floury footprints it seems! How do we know it was flour? Grandson licks the white stuff to see what it was!

M.

The truth is rarely pure, and never simple

Oscar Wilde 

Wednesday, January 07, 2026


Few more photographs from Sherwood Forest, and the shopping area before you enter the park, filled with eateries and craft stores...


Heard the word 'Paxes' the other day in a TV show, I hadn't heard the word in decades, in fact probably hadn't used it since school days .. 

It's a good word, maybe we should use it more, instead of talking around in circles, just agree to paxes, and move on! In British school slang, it's a call for a truce or an end to fighting.

Tattoo! Monday morning had an appointment in Nottingham with Gerry Carnelly

Only had two last year! One in January in Bewdley and the second one in Fuengirola.. 

I had been thinking of a scarab beetle, another Egyptian tattoo... Another link to my mom's father.. 

It is beautiful! He did an amazing piece of art work on my body, very very pleased...

I am slowing down now with the tattoos, I want one more large one, then maybe a few more smaller ones, then, I guess, I'll have to call it a day on my tats! Maybe eh!?!

Snow ice cold.. but only a few flakes of snow, some ice hung around on the ground for a few days, but after last night's rain that's all gone now... Or so it seems... I was so scared walking on Monday, after falling over in November it'ls made me so nervous! I got the train into town, and a guy was gritting the steps and platform, he told me he has to take photographs of the grit on the platform, because some staff say they're gritting and don't?? What the hell? Why wouldn't you do this it job? I don't understand at all!

I had such a beautiful dream earlier, just taking a siesta, was watching something on tv, and feeling incredibly tired .. (must sort out this problem!)

In my dream I was in my old childhood home of my stepdads, I knew he and my mom were somewhere nearby, I was in the living room, talking with someone, and a piece of music started playing, Maña, Vivir Sin Aire..  And then we were dancing, close and happy, and all and everything was right with my world.

M.

Sometimes the best memories are the most painful


Isn't this the truth... They really are..