Soap Box

today is one of my soap box days i'm afraid! yesterday i went to our bank to put in a cheque! errr no! not possible here she said, well in spanish of course! por que i exclaimed! not your account office she said... arh i said. its just crazy here, they take cash but not cheques, can you imagine if that was the same in england! the country would come to a stand still, the same with the car registration, which i know i have mentioned at least a hundred times here before, in england when you get a new car the registration document is sent off to the only place that deals with it, DVLA in swansea, wales, they take the old details off and yours on, and in a week or maybe two, its back in your hands, the old owner, if there was one has sent his bit off to, so he is no longer eligible for fines etc, it costs nothing more than a price of a stamp, and its done, well not here... here the old owner has to take the new owner to change all the details over, either direct to the nearest 'traffic' office, here its malaga, 25k away from us! or to an office where they do it for you but charge about 200€ for it! you have to send your NIE number, passport or residencia details, proof of where you live either the escritora/deeds, or your rental agreement! and it takes a long long time, maybe a month or two even! you can drive in your new car, with a special document incase la guardia stop you.

then for your yearly tax, in england just pop down to your nearest post office and pay, thats it, no more, but here, you can only pay the tax in the tax area on the address of the registration, so if you move, or buy the car and its not been paid, actually not possible, as you would not be able to change the registration without it having been done... but we did! so it does happen, so you have to go to that towns tax office, we only had to go down to fuengirola, but what if the car had come from madrid!!!

this has all come from what has wound me up today as i decided to try again to get my empradromiento certificado, this is just to register in the town where you live, i did go there back in november last year, having moved here in the june! but the man wanted my original NIE certificate, (at my lawyers office), an NIE is like a national number everyone has to have to live here really, to buy a car, a house, register at a doctors, anything, its always asked for, i had at that point bought two places here and two cars, never even had the original, never mind been asked for it, the man spoke only in spanish, fair enough as we do live in spain, but i had to struggle, and then when i got up to go, he spoke in fluent english! huh! what a whats it eh!!

then today, i only spoke to the lady at the desk and although she moaned and exhaled heavy during the whole proceedure, she did it, and didnt even look at the originals i had with me!

i have to pick it up next friday... i think!

i want to shake up the whole system, computers are these fantastic things, no need to mke people go hither and thither, just connect to a branch and away you go! its done in england and everyother country west of here at least! i can go on here and move money around from accounts to visas and back again, well i could if i had it to do so! but you know what i mean, if we can do it from home, you would think they could do it here!

well shall i get down now, off my box?

i just have to keep reminding myself that its not been that long here, the technology is still catching up in spain, fast, but for us, not fast enough, you can see why lots of people just dont bother with some of it, its just so frustrating!

and of course, maybe its harder for those of us that dont speak spanish fluently, or and more likely as we're foreigners, imagrants, mom and i were imagrants in england but did we look like it? only to some, i used to get asked if i was italian or spanish, but here... i dont know, is it the way we walk and move, we do stand out like sore thumbs, i can spot an english person at 100 paces! it was only in sardinia that i looked just like all the other women, the same big hair! LOL

thing is in england in all my jobs, most of which were customer facing types, i never treated anyone any different, color or creed, if i was helping someone who didnt speak english i never got cross or frowned at them and refused to serve them or ignore them...

ok... off the box maz... now!

The wonderful things about friends is that
they can grow separately
and yet not grow apart...

TTFN
Marian

Alhaurín golf

took a few times to get this downloaded, definately a problem on here last couple of days... but, so this above is what is now alhaurin golf! this was when all the works began, must have been back in 1998 i think, full of houses now and golf courses! over on the hill in front is a sort of local folly, will get a better picture for you, its an old water tower thats been built around and now looks like a strange castle, around that side of the road they are trying to get permission for another 5, yes five golf courses and 100's of houses and apartments! cant believe it.

work was quiet again today up until the last hour when it went crazy, think everyone in town came in, goodness knows why we dont have air conditioning there! anyway, had a good day and only with two of us in today.

we went to the market at la trocha yesterday morning, i had taken pippa out earlier so we left her at home, and after the market we went down to miramar in fuengirola on the coast, and to the supermarket there eroski its called, we did nearly a weeks shopping, trouble is when you get used to a supermarket then visit another you can never get everything you want, or maybe its finding it thats the problem! it took me ages to get used to mercadona, infact i used to get moody everytime we went in there! so much so that franco now says i'm having a mercadona if i get moody about anything at all!

today would have been my dads birthday, feels like i only said that last month, but that was my step dads birthday, this would have been my real daddys'.

Love is like quicksilver in the hand,
leave the fingers open, and it stays.
Clutch it, and it darts away.

TTFN
Marian

Coffee in Alhaurín el Grande

here is a short vid from us this evening... and i'm sorry my mom was moaning about the heat back in england today, well its 44C on the roof 111.2F and its ten to seven in the evening, too hot to walk in the sun and air feels like its straight out of the oven!

Love is not measured by how many times you touch eachother,
but by how many times you reach eachother...

TTFN
Marian

White horses...

this is me... well on my very first birthday, what a little california girl i look with my bright blond hair! strangely that went when mom took me to england to live two years later, i guess it would have turned dark anyway... or was it the lack of sunshine! and would you believe... yeah maybe you would, but i still have this dress, mom saved it and i have been carrying it around with me now for the past twenty years or so! i would say its the oldest item of clothing i have but its not, i have two tops of my moms from before that, and you know they still look new! how weird is that!

bunch of things i forgot to mention during my ketchup the other day!

sunday i fell down the stairs! the ones that go up to the roof terrace, i knew it would happen, pippa always is round my feet either running down beside me or trying to nip my toes or shoes or pants, and i went down four steps, landed with my elbows and tushy and backs of legs all in one go, luckily sharing the load i suppose! my hands were full so i couldnt put my hands down to catch me, although maybe i would have hurt them if i had, the bruises have been coming out all week on my legs and arms!

i heard a noise the other night and our spot light came on outside so someone must have got too near to our fense behind the house... so it works! franco and pippa went out to patrol! there were people in the car park and they got in their cars and left! it will be a year this sunday that we had the intruder, now every house in the street has those window alarms, thanks to our misfortune...

and we use a phone card here, it really makes a difference, telefonica is expensive as is spantel, they are supposed to charge per second, but are still billing per minute, so its very expensive, we got a card that gave us 800 minutes to phone anywhere... europe, the states... really good, we were using a number that still charged for connection so it was 6€ for the card and about 10€ from telefonica, which was fantastic compared with the 40 to 60€ bills a month from spantel, this card though we are using totally on the freephone number and seeing how long it lasts, dont really phone many people its for phoning my family in the states, and of course my mom daily.

well, my friend also uses this card and her phone bill came and it was double! over 80€ instead of 40! so she went to her phone supplier, conecta4, an aerial system for the campo or people who cannot get telefonica, and theyre line supplier had charged for the free phone calls! one of which was a 13 mintues call costing over 22€! so that has to be sorted out a 900 number here means its free, so she shouldnt be paying a penny, or should i say a centimos!

now your probably wondering where these white horses are in my title? just saw this morning a clarks shoes advert on tv, and they were playing a song i hadnt heard in years and years, when i was a child a tv program had this as its title song, its so beautiful.... here it is....


white horses

on white horses let me ride away
to my world of dreams so far away
let me run
to the sun

to a world my heart can understand
its warm and gentle wonder land
far away
stars away

where the clouds are made of candyfloss
as the day's born
when the stars are gone
we'll race to meet the dawn

so when i can only see the grey
of a sad and very lonely day
that's when i
softly sigh

on white horses snowy white horses
let me ride away...

TTFN
Marian

Coinsedense

was just talking about a coinsedenses... what do you think of this?

a few years ago, when i was working in my favorite job of receptionist at a mercedes-benz dealership in aylesbury... i arrived into work, early as usual and was doing all my normal first things, opening up the show room, filling coffee machine tiding up etc and a man came in to see someone, who wouldnt be arriving into work for another hour! so i got him a coffee and went back to my desk, he came over and we started talking, about how he shouldnt have been in our place at all and had had to drive for a long time to cover someone elses customer, us, we talked about this and that, as you do, not even sure now how we got onto coinsedenses and spooky type things, i mentioned a few that had happened to me over the years since i was a child... another time here... he mentioned his wife was the same, then i said something else and he said his wife too! and that she had fibromyalgia! i nearly fell off my chair! i knew lots of people had it, just never met anyone, i know this was her husband but close enough! he said his wifes psychic things started when theyre son died, he had had a good job, happy in all parts of his life, young, and he got stopped one morning going into work and failed an alcohol test, he lost his job, his life, literaly his life, he got into drugs and later was at rehab, but went AWOL got on a train and in his mixed up mind he climbed out of a window while the train travelled at high speed... the rest you can imagine... now his mom and dad didnt know he was missing and she started having strange thoughts about him and things he was saying to her... then they found out what had happened.

in the week leading up to his funeral his mom received messages from him, in the form of poetry, she at first tried to ignore it thinking it was her mind playing horrid tricks, or that even she had lost it! one late night she couldnt take anymore and her husband called out a doctor, they had to wait a long time, theyre local doctor was not available and they awaited a locom, who arrived eventially, and at the door commented it had taken him over an hour and had to drive nearly 30 miles to get there! very strange... her husband explained what had happened to theyre son and now how his wife was reacting and that he thought she had lost her mind, the doctor said why? why dont you belive she hears these things from your son? believe her have faith... he didnt even see the wife and just left, he said she dose not need drugs or therapy, but to write down what she hears/feels.

so she did every day until the funeral and at the funeral she handed out the poems to the people that her son had told her to! things she didnt know about, words only spoken by him to these friends of his, and every single one of them were amazed she knew these things, that theyre son david had been the only one who could have written these poems...

question... why did that doctor end up coming to them from afar?
question... why did this man come to our dealership instead of where he should have gone

things are so strange arent they, fibromyalgia is said, in part, to be connected to extra electrical energy going on in the brain, which is why we never have restorative sleep, and only dream dream dream all night, awakening as tired as when we laid down our tired and heavy heads the night before... does this energy have something to do with receiving other things? or am i going complety off track as usual! or am i on my way to the looney bin.... hang on is that the men in white coats a knocking at my door!

Ketchup

lots to do today... catch up!

saturday, sunday, monday, and tuesday! well saturday, just up to town during the day to meet with friends, after franco came home in the evening we went down to el corte tienda down on the coast, we did go down for a new juicer, but came home with a new phone for me, my old one was broken, no really, it kept switching off all the time, and franco got a new steamer!

sunday to the market at la trocha, half empty, always like that in summer, people have more things to do than wander round a market, whereas in the winter its good to have some place to go, and this one is out of the cold and rain which is good, thats if its still there this winter coming of course! it was the grand prix in the afternoon and i think we just pottered about the house...

monday.... my birthday.... yeha! and i worked... how bizarre, never actually gone out of my way not to work on my birthday ever before, although i had quite often in the past, back in england, planned holidays around my birthday so i wasnt at work that week anyway! but this year not only was i not on hols, but the only day i do work was my birthday! still it was a very good day, bit better than last week, so i wasnt so achy afterwards, its standing that dose me in, and after we all went to the bar for a drink, well i had coffee! and i got home about 330 i think! the rest of day was just usual really... but a good day with cards through the post and lots of texts and emails... missed my boys, heard from them but would have been better to have been with them, which again made me wish all those years back of being away on hols i had stayed at home to share with them instead, well whats gone is gone and its only me who feels this loss.

tuesday! yesterday my friends grand daughter went back home, so i did the airport run with them, left home at 830am and got home at 230! long day, four buses and lots of standing around! but i wouldnt have missed it, she is such a lovely little girl a real credit to her family, she didnt really want to go either and was sad...

now todays quote is from a movie, one of my favorites, although not on my list, i forgot to add it when i did my profile thingy, but 'the english patient' is so special, its not everyones cup of tea! on reading a friends profile i saw it there and wanted to write this from it...

how long is a day in the dark, or a week - when we die, we die! we die rich with lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have entered and swam up like rivers, fears we have hidden in, like this wretched cave.....

TTFN
Marian

Pippa!

pippa thinking she is getting dinner at our table! those big ears! she is an andalucia podenca breed, i think maybe something else mixed in there too! and she is small for the breed too, and they are normally used for gun dogs, when the hunter goes out with a new dog and fires the gun, if the dog bolts or crys out they just leave out there all alone to fend for themselves... thats why there are so many stray podenco roaming the sierras here, her mom was found giving birth on someones land and they then tried to home the 5 pups, the dog homes here are awful. in malaga it was the custom until only this year to put the dogs down once a week in a gas chamber, a horrific drawn out death, a hundred or so dogs at a time.

Love is something that begins when nothing is looked for in return...

TTFN
Marian

Star Burst

today i feel really positive and motivated, i have been a bit down on myself recently what with my aches and pains, although i hope this coming mondays work wont put me back there again, i suppose i really will have to think twice about continuing there if i then spend the next 24hrs trying to get any ooomph back!

i have been thinking of phoning up a telesales job, but unsure about what theyre selling or buying, specially here on the costa del sol, so today i started looking around the newspapers online, and some job companys and i applied for one job and enquired about another, and have put my cv up for show, so we shall see, maybe having a 'proper' job again is really what i need, i suppose the less i have been doing, the less i feel like doing, which cant be very good for me, although my age is now a bit of a down factor, i may feel younger than i am, well in my self, young at heart and all that, but that date when you write it down... OMG it looks sooooooo bad! still lets see eh! i must admit i feel better just having done something towards getting a job.

this morning while pippa and i were out i was also thinking of getter a scooter again, again as in thinking about it! and told pippa she would have to have her own seat and wear a leather biggles hat and goggles! can you imagine! i will have to get tony to make up a photo for me, he's clever like that!

on tv just now a lady walked over hot coals to get her motivated and her diet and life back on track, i remember my stephanie doing that not so long ago, i am so proud of her, amazing to have done such a thing, and i told her if you can do that, you can do anything girl!

Love is not gazing at each other,
but looking outward together in the same direction.

antoine de saint-exupery

TTFN
Marian

Rain in Spain

i cannot believe it! rain? here in july? whats going on, malaga had a huge thunder storm yesterday morning and some rain down in fuengirola, only a drop or two here literally as i was hanging up the washing, no more than that, and now today half hour past, thunder lots of it rolling in over the mountains... and some rain, still not much just a few drops or as franco would say its picking! i still laugh to myself the first time he came home saying it was picking outside! picking i said! who is picking what? no its picking he said? turns out picking is the same as spotting or few drops of rain, mind you spotting sounds silly now... who is spotting what!

market day today and i met up with friend and her lovely grand daughter, we wandered down and back, i was a lucky girl and got an early birthday present, a beautiful long kaftan, its only a house dress if you know what i mean! would be downright outragous to wear in public, the fabric is so fine and cool and its the most beautiful olive green color, to match my green eyes... lol...

a neighbor just came home and can see pippa on the front balcon and her and her little boy were calling pippas name to her and her tail was wagging so hard i could hear hit hitting the window and the bed at either shake of it... she loves to spend time up there now i have taken away her chair from the window, she can be as nosy as she wants to see who is about theyre business on our street!

yesterday was my honeys birthday! franco had a good day and we just did what we always do in the evening, down with the shutters and up with the draw bridge!

Love is the greatest refreshment in life...

pablo picasso

TTFN
Marian

July 12th We're the Americans

my mom reminded me of a meal we had in sevilla a few years back now, we were with a day tour up from the coast... lunch time at a table with a family of three, mom dad daughter, a couple, a lady on her own and us two... conversation was passing around well and during the second course the 'dad' said to the couple are you americans? and they almost leaped from their chairs saying no we are canadians! see here are our maple leaf pins! there was a bit of normal chit chat for a while, some a little detremental to us americans but i let 20 mintues go by then casually said, actually our accents can be a little misleading, but we are the americans at this table!

naughty i know, but i couldnt resist, everyone but the canadians thought it really funny! i'm cheeky!

that day was in a february and it was a freezing 10 degrees, couldnt wait to get back down to the coast away from the cold and drizzle we had had all day, it was a better 19 down there!

feeling much better today, more my usual self, leaving home at 930 and getting back around 3pm 5 to 6 hours on my feet is really doing me in these days, takes another 24 hrs to get over it!

pippa met a new friend today on our walk a little boy dog from down the street, but he is moving soon down to el faro down on the coast! pippa was also freaked out by a hub cap this morning!

Love is a friendship caught on fire...

TTFN
Marian

Italia

see how tired i am! memory failed again! first thing i meant to say today was well done italia! what a game eh! shame about the head butt! thought zidane was going out of football a hero, but instead he looked like a common thug! not sure what racist comment was said to him, but these guys have to raise above all that, at least when the world is watching... and even when its not!

Ciao

Hair Extensions

just heard the most terrible thing on tv, the hair from hair extensions, most of it comes from india, and most of that is temple hair, as in the hair is given by women in the temples for prayers, they think it is in the temples, they dont know its being sold to be weaved into rich womens hair over here! some are paid a pittance for thier hair and have it completely shaved off, men women and children, some are just given sweets or lucky charms for it!

i must admit i had never even thought where it came from! when i was waiting for a friend in the hairdressers a month or so ago, i watched hair extensions being put in and thought how beautiful it looked and all the girls in that store all have extensions.

after its been cut its taken to be processed... ie, alot of it has lice or fleas, and people work 15 hour days for hardly any money there also, and suffer from severe resporatory problems due to working with fine hair.

well i think i would think twice now about this!

work was hard going yesterday for all of us, was quite quiet, which makes the day go slower, infact the slowest day i have had there, maybe because the heat was putting people off, exhausting, and exhausted is how i feel today still! franco says i should stop going in, but although its hard going its good to be out with people in that work environment, i know under normal circumstances i cant stand up for more than half hour without needing to sit down, and it must be adrenalin that keeps me going at work, its really doing me in, just holding my coffee cup is hurting this morning, and keeping my head up is a struggle, its not made better by the fact that i dont feel i can go to my doctor, he says, i think i have said before... he says my fibromyalgia does not exist! he also thinks RSI and ME dont either! i have recently contacted the fibromyalgia assoc, back in england and think maybe i will give them a call today. its sad i know, but even after 17 years of having this, or does it have me? i still keep hoping there will be a miricle drug or plant or anything really that would help me! i have tried so many over the years.

ok, sorry folks having a bit of a feel sorry for myself moment!

probably just going as far as the chinese at the top of the street today for a new washing line! yesterday it broke completly and all the clean clothes being half damp still landed on the floor! the line had been braking all over, must be the heat! so its up there today only, pippa had her walk already of course, we were out at 730am this morning, while its still cool enough, dont want to burn her little paws on hot pavements later in the day either!

i need my paulo coelho quotes again... so am starting from the begining of the diary once more...

The glory of the world is transitory,
and we should not measure our lives by it,
but by the choice we make
to follow our personal legend,
believe in our utopias and fight for our dreams.

TTFN
Marian

Saturday

came across these two photos this morning, first glance its just the shops at el zoco, well the shops that were of course... a burnt out shell now since the other week, but what i was aiming at are the war ships! the first was taken without zoom and you can see two ships out there on the med, and on the zoom above two more, they were so close to the beach as you can see, and i counted 17 of them! this would have been about two ago now i think.

last night we went out for dinner to a local chinese, yes a restuarant that is, not a bazaar! my mates sister is, has... gone to england this morning, then she is traveling around a bit more till she returns to canada where she now lives. she has been here in alhaurín for nearly 2 months, cant believe how quickly her time here has gone.

awaiting the mercadona man now, and only taken pippa out this morning for a walk, have tooth ache, well not my tooth as such, i think i tore my gum a piece of fresh bread i ate yesterday lunch time and the gum is swollen, and so is my face now! glands i guess coming up to protect, i have taken a couple of fantastic pills, one last night and one an hour ago, they take the pain away quite a bit, but have made me very groggy! cant take these for my joints though i dont think!

the points system is in full swing here now in spain, taking on mobile 3 points, no seat belt 3, lit cigarette from window 4, taking over a crossing while someone halfway acrosse 4 and parking on a street corner 2 points, you get a year in jail for drunk driving or high speeding! the day they came into force some people got 16 points in one day! and we can only have 12 like back in england! they are starting in the main cities, but it wont be long before it spreads to everywhere, for us driving here from the uk, this makes sence, the driving here is some of the worst i have seen! so everyone beware!

so many streets now here in the process of being dug up! there are hard hat areas everywhere! lots of people take no notice... just like in their cars, and they lift up the no access tape and walk around the holes and huge machines digging up the streets!

Love is that which can be divided endlessly and still not diminish.

TTFN
Marian

Return of the Ants

did i mention those huge ants that pippa and i were having to negotiate every morning had just disappeared! i dont think i did, it was about a week ago.... well they are back and now no longer earthbound they have taken to the skys! only more at head level! blooming awful things flying all over the place and very clumsy, never saw flying ants like these before, i did wonder where they had gone, i nievley thought they had gone to ground in this heat... not the opposite!

41C/105.8F this afternoon at 430, its starting to hot up now...

today just a walk into town and back, got caught on film in the high street, although as i'm sure it will be on spanish telly i wont get to see it!

goodness only knows how franco can bear to work in this heat, we moan and run to the shade, seaking out the shady side of the streets and air conditioned shops hanging around the freezer sections, then there are the holiday makers sitting on the beach then put up their parasols for shade, but there is no relief for people working in it! he is the color of mahogony, then says ¨do i have a tan yet?¨ ¨am i brown?¨

Friendship doubles your joys, and divides your sorrows...

TTFN
Marian

Gibraltor... well nearly!

hello, phew its hot, nearly 730pm and just home, its saying 39C/102.2 in the shade up on our roof! really should have an image here, i took some pics but not sure if they came out and am too exhausted to find out this evening!

bed late last night after that fantastic match, talk about last minute, or second! gooooooooooo italia! now tonight to find out who they play.

up early this morning, picked up friend from other side of town, such a small town, and to walk is about 20 minutes or so, but to drive now with all these roads either closed or changed direction! took nearly as long by car! got to dona lola for collection and the big coach came, a double decker and we were up top, near the front, good views, we were so high up! about an hour and half later we were lining up to go through passport control still in the coach, and friend joked saying she had forgotten her passport, yeah funny girl! then found that she had her husbands passport, well whatever day of the week she cannot pass for him! or him for her! so she had to get off at the boarder! i went in, got what we needed, although something for her i couldnt as it turned out, and i was back at the border about 1215, an hour after going in, she saw me, well couldnt miss me in the long green and purple dress i had on today, and we went for a cold drink, its a long way to walk back over the run way, on my approach to it the barriers were down and a plane was coming in, then when i was half way over the run way the siren started up again and the barriers came back down, we were all wondering what the heck to do, go on, turn back, lay down!!! then they stopped and the barriers came back up? how bizarre!

we went for a walk towards the town of la línea... the line, in english, i said how nice a market would be right now, somewhere to look round till the coach came back about 330, and there one was! as if by magic! i guess its always there on a wednesday, but we didnt know, so we walked around the market, got a few bits and pieces, i got a nice pair of summer shoes for 8€ and a new pair of big spongy flip flops for the house for 3€! we went into a bar on the way back to the border and arrived there about 230, early i know, but we didnt want to miss the coach!

well the law from going from gib to spain is, as its not in the EU either one carton of cigarettes, or 50 cigars, or a 250grm of backy and one litre of alcohol, well we watched a group gang whatever walk back and forth with cartons of cigarettes! there were ten in the gang minium, and they went through in pairs one time, alone another, a mother with pram went through either with her mom and or sister, they changed hair styles, and clothes! in that hour they must have come and gone a minimum of four times each! so a minimum of 40 cartons of fags! now i thought you could only have that one carton each day, not keep coming and going all day! they were all giving it to a man who didnt go though, we called him limpy, as he was (limping)! after a while they were watching us watching them! maybe they thought we undercover agents, well we were begining to feel like it!

then our fun was over as the coach came and drove us home, well as far as calahonda, where we had a drink and awaited francos arrival to carry us home!

what a day, none of it planned, totally strange, another one for the memory pot! and.... dont forget your passport, or should i say your own passport!

cómo va esta vida... how this life goes

TTFN
Marian

Happy Fourth of July

what am i thinking! happy 4th of july everyone! lots of amercian clubs are having parties here this evening, i havent ever gone along to one... maybe i should!

and.... buona fortuna! viva italia!

ciao

code 3! must be code 4 here then!

code 3 alert in england! wondered what my mom was on about last night, now i have seen it on tv this morning! well i have just put the guage out in the sun on the roof and will go back up when i have finished this, its reading 33C/91.4F in the shade at the moment, of course we havent reached the hottest part of our day yet, usually about 3pm, but it was already 26 at 830 this morning, dont know why i am trying to justify it really? they were also talking about heat exhaustion, i think the symptoms were those i suffered last july and august, our first summer inland, no sea breezes here, hope i dont have it as bad this year, hopefully i will get used to it, cant be doing with that virtigo feeling, room spinning, heart racing, all that stuff only drinking water after all!

also on telly this morning... a bit about blogs, why people do it, saying about how like a diary etc, and a play is on in london all about us bloggers! a new blogger every second somewhere in the world begins his journey on the WWW... tony who started his, back in the last century dosent seem to do anything on it now! he wanted me to put tonys awsome site in my link section, well its getting to be like watching paint dry! come on tony!!! pleeeeeeze!

work was good yesterday, hot and tiring though too, had to remove every single price tag from every single garment for the sale we started yesterday, everything a euro! anyway a hard but good day, followed by our now habit of visiting the bar over the road on leaving! un coca cola para mi!

and home, how the house goes from an oven in the summer to a freezer in the winter! if only i could save some of this heat! and our small and narrow street over the last couple of days! its one way, and everyone is going up and down like crazy people! the road at the end of our street is up! like almost half the streets here in alhaurín this week! but people think they can dodge the road works by skipping up ours the wrong way! and then well blow me down if they dont get to the other end of our street thinking they can go left... pero no! darecha solomente! and then its back and right only again and again bringing them back past the end of our street again! taking them full circle! they could turn off into the jungle above our house, its negotiable, but for someone already lost! well they could end up in the sierra de mijas! and who wants to end up there this side of a full moon!!!

ok... brb... its 38C now thats 100.4F, will see what its like at 5pm this evening and up date! humph!

ok... its 720pm and its still 38C but now thats in the shade! it was raining this afternoon where tony works just outside of london when i spoke with him, bring it on!

The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love,
and be loved in return...

TTFN
Marian

Portugal Win

franco says....

Some days your the statue, some days your the pigeon...

Dodo Diary

yes i suppose i do write like one would in a diary here dont i! mabye a little more than... lunch with P or appt with M, but sort of diary like, but one i wish to share with all my family and friends who read my daily chit chat... that includes of course friends not yet met... cos if anyone is (a) strange(r) then that must be me!

dont know how world wide the Dodo diary is, but thats what i used to write in when i was a teenager, its a big ringbound diary, with lots of querky type things in, and i noticed last december back in england they still are for sale, i also remember a long long time ago now one day completly distroying the whole lot! nothing really awful in them but for one reason or another i had to let them go... the reason i did obviously didnt realise my memories were not just written down! cant remember when i started writing in diarys, i have one still from 1970 when i was 10 going on 11, and i think the only thing in it is the day my dad died. oh so long ago but still a day i remember as if it were yesterday.

right ok, change subject me thinks to football! hey viva italia! at last a fantastic match, well played by both italy and the ukrane, 3-0, fantastica! and england are playing now... well we know who franco wants to win dont we?! well yes we do!

and to end today with a spanish proverb...

How beautiful it is to do nothing, and rest afterwards...

TTFN
Marian

El Zoco, Calahonda

two pics of whats left of what was our local commercial centre, el zoco, down at sitio de calahonda, in mijas costa...

it looks so awful, seeing the sketaton of the buildings, all i hope now is they get it fixed soon, nothing worse than leaving it looking like that, and dangerous too of course, the amount of tourists that come to this area i am sure some 'younger' people will try to get and see whats going on inside, only natural, but not safe.

and my video of the day is taken from our roof just now, its not too clear is it, i guess maybe the camera fault, i know i am blaming the equipment, cant be me, but its just a small camera with no way to change focus or anything... so there it is, looking like an old movie from the 60', but then this view probably hasnt changed much since then!

taken pip out for her walk this morning, and she had an extra two last night! as we patrolled the car park, going by the small piles of different colored glass four cars have been smashed up there now! i wonder if the policia did come visit up there last night...

Love life! don´t hold back,
let it out!

TTFN
Marian

Old Photo!

here is me... well was taken back in 1994! not sure how much i'v changed, i guess my friends could comment on this statement! i had 'won' one of those photo sessions, you know the sort, you win the session which is faboulous, and one photo, but who can resist buying more more more, well obviously not me forsure!

i think i bought about 8! cost me a small fortune, but glad i did, its a small dream of most girls to have a day as a model isnt it? well, i never wanted more than that, never even crossed my mind till the day, and after that, that was enough for me, a trip to london, the shoot and then back later to pick photos, and then a return in a few weeks for collection! glad i didnt live to far away!

now, what have i done so far this week!

tuesday... walked pip then we went to go down the coast, i was, did go down with franco to spend the day with maria, his sister, and her friends who are all over for a holiday, well we got to the car and the passenger window had been smashed in! the radio taken! what a mess, and the radio is useless to anyone else as we have the face of it indoors! they left everything else that was take-able! old pair of sunglasses, few cd's etc. we had to drive down with me sitting in the back and the wind howling round the car, and the return journey was up in the truck while we left the car for it to be fixed.

the day though after that was good, walked from our old place down to marias, and when everyone was up and ready we went out, did some shopping had a bit of lunch then down to the beach, it seemed hotter up here because the wind was blowing down there, sending the sand up into our faces and the waves were crashing, but i paid for it when i got home and yesterday... the burn! i was still in the high 30's when we got home tuesday evening, so was pretty hot on the beach after all i guess!

yesterday my friends granddaughter arrived and so we went to malaga to meet her from the plane, she was flying over with neighbors who are here for a week somewhere on the coast, but she is here for about 4 weeks i think, scotland brake up from school earlier than england, she goes back mid august. had a bit of a headache last night from all the bus travel, although we did get off the bus before it got into malaga, seeing as it goes straight past the airport before going into the city, its an hour before you get back by the aiport bus otherwise, so we got off, had to walk up and over the bridge, but then we were stuck in the triangle bit between the exit road from the airport and the enty road from malaga! we could only cross over the later, so over we ran! and then had to negociate the drainage gutter on the edge of the road, that was funny us four legging it over that! NOT! then i trod on some weird things growing near the verge, they were pod like, plum shape and green and furry! and i didnt notice them till i trod on them and they squirted me from foot to head! ugh! i screamed! horrible! dont know what they were!

and today! market day, went first to the guardia to report the car brake in, wasnt sure weather to bother, but another car had been smashed this morning when we walked through the car park, so i thought it best, and they said they will drive around the car park at night to check it out! erm.... well we will see i guess.

i think i heard last night window being smashed, i heard a noise and thought it was pippa, but she was on the floor by the bed, and after last years brake in i just sat there listening, but heard no more and thought it must have been out in the street! this vehicle was parked in full view and near the entrance, the place we thought would be safe for ours now! wrong again eh!

we're going to get it alarmed, its old but looks like we will have to do it for saftey sake.

no more to report today and thats enough writing for today! made up for lost time i think!

now todays quote is from the a book by Dean Koontz today, i know a horror writer i hear you say! but he is quoting Thomas Jefferson so so shall i!

Friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life. And thanks to a benevolent arrangement of things, the greater part of life is sunshine.

TTFN
Marian

video from last nights festivities

not too clear as it was nearly 2 in the morning! and it took up the whole width of our street, hope you can see even a little of this wonderful sight... of christ carrying the cross surrounded by hundreds of lamps all in gold, carried above by 100 men, who walked 4 abreast in 4 lines of 25 men, shoulder to shoulder...

TTFN
Marian

Monday

oh tired tired tired! bed late friday from walk in the sea on the coast at midnight! up early saturday with gun fire... bands all day passing in the street, lovely to see and hear, they carried on round the streets and the final with jesus carried by 100 men as before at easter, passing our house around 2am, fantastic to see and really feel apart of the whole thing... then sunday morning it all began again... and so we didnt get to bed till about 2am again this morning and up as usual by 7am! feel like i havent slept in weeks, making more typos and going backwards rather than forwards to day with this!

work this morning too of course, only two of us! so called in el jefe, she arrived around 11, so for first hour we were closed and made the most of the time to tidy the shop up and get it to how i like it! looking good... and everything like an army all facing front, with hangers all straight! i multi tasked today, keeping shop tidy, on the till, pricing garments - didnt brake the gun! settled the till and did the banking! oh and even sorted some of the things out that had been brought in over the weekend, well brought it in as much as someone had forced it through the grill at the front of the shop! nice! lots more came in as usual as the day progressed....

i got home and called friend from shop to tell her the days news, 10 minutes, then call from a buddy back in england, 40 minutes, my mom then called 15 minutes.... phew ear burn out...

now thats it, washing must be dry by now, so will bring it in as i´m sure it resembles emery board by now and those towels will be just soooooooo lovely and rough! exfoliate tonight i think!!

oh, i did a little movie last night as they carried the beautifully lit cross with jesus and all the many lamps everything gold, but it didnt really come out very well, a 'you had to of been there moment' ...

A kiss rejuvenates the heart and cancels out age...

TTFN
Marian

San Juan y día de jesus

this photo by no means shows last night down on the beach to its full advantage... last night we went down to fuengirola to celebrate the night of san juan, when the people of the towns inland, and all along the coast celebrate the begining of summer, some of the things are quite pagan in a way, flowers thrown into the sea, bomfires burning all along the coast, different rictuals of jumping of the flames and covering yourself in different oils etc... last night it was just people having fun with bar-b-ques all up the beach, cooking sardines, every bit of beach was full of familys with their own style of cooking going on! chairs and tables, the maritimo pasado was full of people walking and talking and drinking and eating at bars or just on the walls watching the beach parties and people passing, we had icecream and sat with our feet dangling over the wall watching the beach people, it was already dark when we got there and seemed so strange to see sooooooo many people there in the dark!

we had a coffee at luiz´s bar first and i commented how his english has improved so much since i moved to spain! i think this could be the wrong way round, but he said my spanish was getting better! humph!

just before midnight we made our way down the beach my shoes in hand, and joined the hundreds of people waiting for 12 0'c ... and at 12 we all, well lots of us walked into the sea! the water was warm and lots of people had full swimwear on and just leaped in and swam about! fantastic! then around 1230 fireworks were fantastic, and on our journey home via mijas pueblo they were still lighting up the sky... beautiful evening.

we were home about 130am, and bed about 2am i guess, i had made francos lunch for him so i could have a lay in, i need more sleep than that! well the alarm went off at 7 and franco got up, and then the cannon fire started! of course here all week has been the celebrations of corpus cristi, and now this weekend the final! so from 7am the firing went off, 4 or 5 at a time, till about 8am when the band came up playing theyre wonderful tune... i do mean that though, i love the music they play, love listening to them practice behind our house in the evenings, and now they have been playing down at the purple church all week, san sebastian, and this morning made their way up to our green church, santa vera cruz, and played for us up here tambien! well, thats nice! oh and the cannon fire is still coming and its 10am now, and i am going to get ready to go down town and see what i can see!

my tonys 24th birthday today on the 24th! dont think he will be awake just yet, he was going to start his celebrations last night and stay over near work! wow 24 years... OMG! impossible!

before i go just wanted to share with you... through the open windows the smells from the local panaderia are glorious.... oh what a smell, making my tummy rumble and i have already had my breakfast not long ago... oh what an aroma.... its a wonder we dont all file down there in various states of undress with our hands outstreched and mouths open like little sparrows to fed wonderful pastries and cookies!

Add life to your days,
not so much days to your life!

TTFN
Marian

pippa vid part 2

have looked at pippa video a couple of times, sometimes it comes on by itself and i can click the arrow on the left at the bottom and it works fine, then tried again and the screen is black or it starts and freezes everything! try a couple of times it should work ok!?!

will put another up soon, now i have the hang of it, theyre only 15 second movies as thats all our camera can manage! although its a good thing i cant get our webcam up there or they would go on all day... just like me!

ttfn
m

video of pippa

hello,

put short video i took of pippa last night on here, looks like it takes up a lot of room, so will only leave it on for a few days i think, or untill i find a way to link to it instead, thought i was quite clever getting this far with it, considering...

of course it was with tonys help as he gave me a site to download my vid on and then was easy to transfer to template thingy, i phoned tony to say thank you and as its his birthday tomorrow and i have spoken to him live i now feel sad and my eyes are leaking...

going now.

That love is all there is,
is all we know of love.....

TTFN
Marian

fuego a tienda de mobel

this is a photo i took yesterday morning! already looks different! the furniture shop on the extreme left has gone! well up in flames at about 3am this morning it started and my friend called the fire department at that time, the shops on the ground floor a level down from those you see there were two newsagents come souviener shops, a sports shop and a huge restaurant! all gone, nearly reached super sol the supermarket there, and on this level it went through the card shop a second hand charity book shop, and then the next floor up a mens hairdressers! lots of peoples livlihoods gone, people we know.... dont know what happened yet , i expect we will hear a few fairy tales before the truth comes out!

the states lost their game today... they lost a penalty by fouling... although it seems only the ref thought it was one, no way, and i am not just saying that, our guy jumped for the ball along with a ghana guy and there was no bad moves going on and he made out a foul...

so now italia.... you won today boys! and we're holding out for you now fellas!

watched the states play round at neighbors place, their son came in with a pot of candy floss! sugar candy... what ever you call that pink sweet yummy stuff.... ummmm good, its in the sweet shop at the bottom of the street, but i think not for long!

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows,
but only empties today of its strength...

TTFN
Marian

The longest day...

this is the view from our old place, our apartment was a duplex, this was taken from the balcon but the view from the bedroom was a full sea view just that little bit higher, and from the back rooms we had mountain views, although they are getting less and less mountain and more and more concrete jungle now since we have moved a year ago.

i went down to the coast with franco this morning and had coffee with my old neighbor, got the bus to fuengirola and then the one home to alhaurín, i was home by 1.45, so not bad really...

today i got up early to take pippa for a walk before going out, otherwise its a long day for her, and no way can you go walkies in the afternoon in this heat, so i was up by 630 and we went straight out, it was still only dawn, its very different here than in england where its broad daylight by about... what? i cant remember? help, today is the longest day so i think about 4am or so at this time of the year, and one time when my cousin tim was over we went to milton keynes one evening and it was still daylight gone 10pm at night think the sun set that day nearer 11pm! or do i have rose tinted glasses on, i´m sure i have that right! will have to check a web cam or two later in england and see when it gets dark eh!

remember the warewolf? well other people are now coming forward about having seen it! y'all thought i was losing my marbles didnt you! well one guy thought he had an indruder on his land and then realised the legs were more like a huge dogs and a dogs head, human torse and once again, no tail! there is something in those there woods on the sierra de mijas! who knows what it really is, but to run like a dog happily on all fours, then walk like a man... getting spooked again, more people are telling what they have seen now others are, i suppose fear of being laughed at, or just thought plain crazy might put you off telling the world what you have seen, although me? i would tell everyone, as you all know i guess! laughed at something i heard recently somewhere, aparently if a women will tell you her age, she will tell you anything!....

i love the trip up through mijas in the bus! i always sit on the same side as the driver and he drives like a crazy man (perhaps he has seen the warewolf!) and we get so close to the barrier which is way down there.... and no way the on coming cars could get through the little gaps he leaves, and the bloke today was blarring his horn before the turns, not sure if he was warning people or just liked to make a lot of noise!

very hot today... let me look... phew its 95f/36c on the roof in the shade right now and its just gone 4.36, no breeze here although down on the coast this morning there was a nice breeze blowing in off the sea...

i always wondered why we couldnt wear anti mosi bracelets etc, like the dogs and cats, and i even suggested it to those i said it to, well in the farmacia today.... yes you guessed there it is! an anti mosi bracelet! fantastic eh, well i always knew i was full of great ideas, just a shame i didnt patent the idea i suppose!

And when i think about it,
I guess it is true..
that people always arrive at the right moment,
at the place where someone awaits them.

TTFN
Marian

Tuesday June 20th

hello, work was so busy yesterday, i arrived about 940, and as i approached the shop i could see donations were piled up all the way from the door up the street taking up the path almost as far as the little shop! that would be about 20 foot of stuff! loads of black bags fulls, 4 or 5 big boxes, a giant suitcase i couldnt lift at all, had to ask some poor bloke who was passing by! and he dragged it in the shop for me, only afterwards did i find out it was full of books! cant believe he lifted it! i guess he couldnt not after he had said yes... wonder if he did himself an injury? i hope not! and all the books were in alaman (german).

me and kip spent from 10 till 145 unloading the incoming things, more came in during the morning too, but i was really pleased with how we had done, only two small carrier bags left when we left! we also i am sad to say had to get rid of a load of things we were waiting for a man to come who takes things we cant sell or are badly torn/stained etc to another country for materials, he hasnt been for so long we had over 25 bags, and no where for them, so we had to carry them away to recycle bins nearby, and further as we were filling them up too! we had a bit of a relay going, two of us over the main road, one bringing down to half way girl and another bringing down to the street! and all of us in our lovley green tabards! a-hem!

sunday franco pippa and i went to the market, see there made a mistake in the picking order already, should must come last! i have received some instructions on how we should be bringing pippa up, her role in our family, seems we have left her become the alpha, when it should be me!! she must not go throught doors first, must ignore her when i get home till she has quietened down, feed her after us, and loads of other things, actually when you go into it, these ideas are right, she does act as though we are her babies, and she has to look after us, leading the way on walks and always going anywhere first puts her in charge, she even barks when we go in the cave and she thinks there is something in there... probably just a lizard this time! and the last couple of days she has started barking at the stove? so last two nights i have pulled the whole thing out and let her get in behind it to check it out? maybe another lizard, nothing else can fit in there, but its the way she worries about us being in there or near the stove, so concerned about our safety, thing is she has to be our baby, she cant be responsible for us afterall, what a responsiblity to put on such a small dog who has no hope of going out and bringing home the bacon! so i time i hope, we can change things around, it is up to us, we have to train us first and then she will follow!

amazing what you can get at the market isnt it! we also got a small tomato plant, cherry toms, which is now in our garden!

pippas ticks have gone, done a runner, actually they will have died! but now her neck is sore where the collar sits, i have had to loosen it, must be very strong... my poor baby!

footy is doing good, spain won last night... almost didnt think they would, leaving it till the last moments... and saturday usa v italy, i know i couldnt choose between them, so it was a 1-1 draw! was a good game, but too many fouls and that awful elbow in the face by the italian! he should be sent of permanantly! did you see that program on telly last night? apparently there are ten extra women killed by their husbands during the world cup games in the uk alone! the football, losing or winning sparks off even more abuse in the home, alot caused by alcohol, those poor women... i never realised. and staying with crime for a moment, in the paper yesterday it said spain has now overtaken the uk with amount of criminals in prison, per 100,000, cant remember the percentage exactly, but the thing is alot of these criminals here in jail in spain are british!

Life has more imagination than we carry in our dreams...

TTFN
Marian

USA V Italy

here is the view from to the right of our house, and there is that narrow wall with the big drop behind i was telling you about!


before i forget we have our baby pippa on sky news... on the net! she can be found on www.sky.com/living then scroll down i tiny ways to the phpto section and click on Yappy Snaps, the fourth and last one... and pip is on photo number 10! aint she sooo cute!

not feeling so cute right now though, she has two horrible tics! the vet gave me, well not gave of course but you know what i mean! a new collar for her, to flush them out, i think it kills them first then the horrible thing drops off! poor pip she has already had a parasite last year now these things, we dont have any grass but aparently the mountain wall contains these things, they feed off whome ever they have got into, then when gorged full drop off, and can remain dormant for up to three years, before they find an unfortunate host to repeat the process again!

although i didnt need telling tony has just informed me i have bad grammer... well how on earth will i ever learn spanish if i cant even get english right!?!

this walked into town, after pippas walk of course! trying to dodge any insects that might be hanging around on overhanging grass or leaves! now thats an easy job isnt it!

bought some new net to put on the velcro over the back window and completely cut it wrong!? was trying to do it too much of a hurry, me as usual, slow down... thats what i have to do, but its not easy when you have rushed about all your life, think i need to seriously rethink my habits, then change them, am i too old to change my spots!?! the words relax and take it easy are hard to do, even typing and house stuff, i rush around and i have no need to... think thats why my shoes keep braking... think i said that already didnt i! rush about in my head too so much i dont remember anything either!

ok... big match today between my two teams! so i will running around cheering for them both somehow!

If you never never go, you will never ever know...

TTFN
Marian

Home Hunters Spain

i have added a link to my good friends who live around the corner from us, this is their business, definately worth having a good look at ok... and i am not just saying that, they said the money was in the post! just kidding...

adios amigos...

Friday June 16th

the sun setting on our roof terrace the other evening... now we haved moved our peach tree! was over in the right hand corner over there but pippa kept on at it all the time, out of the five peaches last year franco and i ended up cutting the last in half and sharing... while pip had the other four! at various stages of growth... her and the peaches!

yesterday was very tiring! we went to malaga by bus then to fuengirola by bus, first one was half hour late, then a twenty minutes wait at malaga bus station, so left friends house at 10 and arrived down on the coast at 1245! and its only 20 minutes direct by car! still always an adventure and lots to see from the bus that you cant by car... and on our return we got the direct bus which only took half hour via mijas pueblo!

thank you forget me not... yup cerveza it most definately is! didnt have any yesterday though, once we got to town we went to have lunch at an old favorite of mine, the europa restaurant, its around an area called fish alley! ummm, sounds attractive dosent it? its not fishy honest! its just a whole area full of restaurants of all nationalities, and a great place to sit during the day to eat and watch all and sundry go past! and they do!

we had a little walk around after and friends were using a camcorder to take memories back home with and we were having a laugh with that, was a beautiful day on the coast, was a bit humid in land, its normally the other way around as you get the damp and sometimes strange fog stuff that comes in off the sea and hangs low over the beach and 340(coastal road) swirling and making its way through the apartments and hotels... then just dissapears! and inland is usually cleaner air, dryer and rains less! it cant get over the sierra de mijas!

have to take pippa to vets today, i have an awful feeling she has another parasite... or two even, there are two horrible looking things that seem attached to her... ugh! she has a collar on too to prevent them, so i am not sure, and i got bit last night again! no not franco!!! really!!! why do bugs always bite me on my knuckles? its so painful!

ok my friends... ¡hasta luego!

It does´nt matter how the wind blows.
The only thing that matters is how you set your sail.

TTFN
Marian

Our house

taken last year, not long after we had moved in, we have had the front painted now, and have persianas on the windows... yes ours is one of the little chocolate box ones further down the street from the blue one! our little castle... its quirky with no straight walls, not even one room is the same width at one end as it is at the other, or length for that matter! widens when you get in, like the doctors tardis, then small again on the way out the other side! and that wall on the right.... there is a twenty thirty foot drop on the other side, no one can see that and when people drive down from the town hall behind our house they come close too close to it sometimes, its been hit, if only they knew there was only four or five inches of old brick and plaster between them and that drop! down in that drop is a bit of cleared wasteland, land locked by the houses and bakers on the next street down, and there is a sparrow hawk, kestral type of thing there which flys during the day and makes an unusual scary noise, and at night apart from the bats that fly from there, there is a huge white owl that flys low over our houses, also making a pretty scary noise!

talking of noises i forget to mention the other morning, there is a small lake at the crematoriam which we pass on our walk sometimes, its only a foot deep maybe but long and wide, built out of concrete and the waterbed is big round beautiful rocks... two frogs were making a helova racket the other morning as we passed, its such a strange noise, no rib-it rib-it sounds more like a bird call than anything, and pippa and i stood and listened and watched for a while as they swam and called to eachother...

ok... i am off out now with friends, down to the coast, i think via malaga as we will have missed the one to fuengirola, i´m still not used to this bus travel thing! i know what a snob i hear y'all shouting! i have had a car for so long ok?! and as franco is using it and i want to get out and about its public transport... and its cheap here too, into malaga bus station its 1.60€ for about a 25k journey i think, well back in old blighty that would cost about 4pounds... 6€ mas o menos!

anyway, bye for now...

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful,
we must carry it with us,
or we find it not...

TTFN
Marian

Wednesday June 14th

well es la una now already, didnt go out yet... remembered i am supposed to go into the about half past, two of the girls are leaving but not sure if i´m up to it now, think i need to rest this stupid hamstring... it has to be a sympathy thing with the footballers just now!

but... i have sorted out a few things on here, at last done my profile which had been the first thing i had done on my old blog site, and have been asking tony for help with finding out how to put in the links bit, all the ones i used to have... including his! but i know... he is busy getting paid to help people who ask the same questions... but look i have done it myself now instead and am very proud of my self... lol.. yes it was easy ok just couldnt see it for the trees if you know what i mean! and he does help me alot on here at other times i must hasten to add! he did tons of things on my computer when he was here... and all have helped... thank you tony!

have an extra link thing up there though at the moment which i hadnt planned but i guess i may leave it there for now anyway... have spent too long on here today, maybe another reason my leg is not getting better my feet dont fully touch the floor when i am sitting on this chair, my heels are just about 3 inches off the ground so thats making the back of my legs ache alot and putting a lot of presure on the muscle, need a little platform so everything is flat dont i?

how can anyone just talk about nothing for so long? i must know its me who is doing it today! must be as i havent been out today and pippa is sleeping... she had a bath last night as she was so dirty, now she is soft and whiter than white, she loves her dog brush i got her yesterday and just sits there loving it!

by the missing phone call i think my friends didnt get to change the flights home from malaga either, you know two people could have used those flights, even i could have used them i suppose... two trips to england and back! what a waste, the grand prix was on in england at the weekend and he always goes to it, franco wondered if that was actually the reason the trip was cancelled! so i will mention that... truth will out!

and now españa are playing this afternoon.. so adios amigos... hasta manaña!

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity,
an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty!

TTFN
Marian

For Maria

hi maria,

i know its a hard one for the football as usual with each world cup, too many family connections! i must suport the states first and foremost, being a proud american, and my dad would come haunting me if italy wasnt next on my agenda! then... well i live in spain now, so of course wanting to intergrate as much as possible i must support my adopted country... and brazil well i have some family there, ones who probably dont even know about me, my grandfather had two brothers who moved there a very long time ago, may have not even stayed there of course! i know i should support england, having lived there for, so far, most of my life and my two boys live there... too many choices... its when they start playing eachother i will be in trouble running from one side of the living room to other and cheering both sides on till i explode! lol!

good to hear from you, was nice to see my name amongst your list of ´keeps´its been a strange time following paulo on his journey hasnt it, felt like a real big learning curve for all of us, and meeting so many people who sort of feel like friends, just ones we havent actually met yet! and everyone sounded so worldly wise.

your story was sad at times, but your move to another country and your new life... thank you for sharing that, so many of us have moved such great distances, my husband is sardinian, and speaks both sardinian and italian, and i am ashamed to say that although my grandparents came from naples i no parle italiano!

speak to you again and take care,
marian

ps ¡viva italia!

be back later with my blog too!
TTFN
Marian

Tuesday June 13th

arh now i see... its tuesday 13th! here in spain thats the same as a friday 13th in uk, which i suppose makes the whole thing senceless if it can different in different countries... but... on our way out this morning my beach shoe sandles i have been wearing to walk pippa last few days started to fall apart, first the back end of the sole became detached, then by the time we reached the wasteland only the toe bit was still holding on, so i pulled it off and carried my sole! well the big spongey bit, leaving me with a little hard bit and the straps, which are glued on inbetween the two bits, so as i walking they started getting loose and by the time we got to our street were coming away! OMG nearly had to finish the walk barefoot! on these streets!! ugh!!

and too, those bullet ants we have here are really coming into their own at this time of the year i think, they probably dont come out when its too hot either so pip and i see them at party time and you have to walk around them... i know theyre not THAT big, but big enough... thats the bullet ant at the top of the page, the one on the right of course! big little devils arnt they!

got a nice piece of material from work yesterday, i think it was meant to go over a low table or one of those posh footstall things, anyway, now i have halved the length of the drape to the floor it covers the box in our bedroom beautifully, dont really sew much, hurts too much, but it had to done, although i made it worse by turned it up and rough stitching it the wrong way to start with, so after cutting off the excess then had to rough stitch it the other way round, did all that while the italy game raged! yeha!! gooooooooo italia!!!!

trying to relax a bit today, but before i went down town i moved stuff about, things out of box things in... washed the floors after i got home from friends, and now i really must stop, i just cant keep still, i think i better try though cant be good for me, i think thats why my shoes keep braking, the ones i usually wear broke and franco fixed them, then on my way home coming into our street they became unglued, so someone is telling me to slow down by all my shoes falling apart!

this next one is good for me today, especially if i end up walking barefoot!

Life is too short to feel every bump on the road!

TTFN
Marian

Monday June 12th

cant bare to watch the states playing czech republic! losting 2-0 at the moment, so ironing done and now sewing something i bought ealier in the shop for the big hope chest i have in our bedroom, had that since i was 15, but lots older than that, its lined with newspapers from 1909 i think, will check and let you know, but not now!

work was good, sorted out lots that had been waiting outside all weekend going by the road dust all over the bags, two bags of cuddly toys... someone must have decided enough is enough, and the czechs have just scored again so i think enough is enough on that too! flipping heck! have been wearing my italia vest all day, should have on an american for this afternoon i guess...

saturday i emptied the bed of water... and sunday refilled, we had a water shortage here in andalucia i know, well know its drastic! not helped by us washing the roof terrace down either at the end of yesterday evening, franco did a lot up there moving plants and putting up some fencing, looks really good now, and the peach tree is safe from pippa at last... we hope, was good to be back in our bed last night, after a week on the blow up bed, was ok, just a bit near the floor for me! and pippa found it very easy to walk from her bed onto ours! much higher a jump now, but as soon as it was remade last night she was on it, getting comfy little darling!

finished our phone card last night! was 800 minutes talk time, and it lasted five weeks... not bad eh for only 6€, not bad at all...

There is a keystone to every arch,
and a combination to every lock...

TTFN
Marian

Sunday June 11th

today just a poem from a birthday card i bought and gave my step dad some years ago... it would have been his 90th birthday today! and this is for him once more...

The world is always changing
and many things seem new,
but the values that you taught me
helped me as i grew.


In many ways were not alike
but, dad, it is still true
the things i value most in me
are things i learned from you.

hpaay birthday dad, love your daughter marianxx

Friday June 9th

st basils... was looking for a photo of the church where i was baptised, but the church burnt down it seems, and was rebuilt and reopened about 1969! there are two names onmy certificate... god parents, but i never saw them again after that day, i wonder if they are still alive and/or if they ever wondered about me!

the st basils church above of course is not in los angeles, but in russia i believe... what a fantastic place it looks, like a fairy tale castle...

the world cup is just begining on tv now, the opening celebrations... i dont go out of my way to watch football normally, but when the wold cup rolls around every four years i am hooked on it! shouting and jeering at the telly and keeping tally on who is where in the competition! weird eh!!

today, just pottered about the house... doing nomal housewifey things, plus a little time reading on the roof, clive barker has my attention for now, a book i started a month or so ago and had forgotten about sorry to say, but will finish it tomorrow i think.

still doing stuff towards moving rooms, i have thrown away a few things we dont use anymore today too! some clothes and a couple of videos, i am watching bits first to make sure, and put a couple back on the shelf, but two are in the bin...

thought after i had spoken to friends yesterday and phoned to tell him so... they can still swap the flights they have booked from malaga to luton for next week! not like the old days where you bought a package deal and lost everything! so he has time to go and change those flights and redeem a little of the money at least eh!

a friends sister said something yesterday i must pass on... i was talking about my heels! how rough they are exposed to road almost from march to october at least, barefoot sometimes but always just out there as it were... and she says she treats her feet like she does her face! and you know that makes sence dosent it... i mean i do paint my nails, like i put make up on my face, but unlike my face i just wash my feet and go! and i have a tattoo on my ankle, not exactly drawing attention away from them am i!! well she moisturises hers! no rough bits there all baby soft! and look what we do to our feet... on them for so long of the day, relying on them to carry us about yet i use and abuse them! so no more thats it, time to look after them as they look after me!

To love is to admire with the heart,
to admire is to love with the mind...

TTFN
Marian

Thursday June 8th

this is the steppes, as mentioned in paulo coelho book the zahir, i have now finished it, i both wanted to finish the book, of course, why read it otherwise, but i also did not want to come to the end of it! and now paulo´s blog of his 90 day journey is also at its end! to lose both at the same time... lost and bereft! sorry i guess only another of his readers will understand this! so i will move on!

went to the local market this morning met up with friends as arranged and had a drink after to cool down! spent a little time sun bathing this afternoon, and came down about an hour ago, it was 37 on the roof, in the shade, and is still that hot now, at well gone five, doing some washing now and will put out and take down this evening, if i put things out to dry when its too hot things dry like a bit of board, towels like rubbing down paper! ugh!!

while i was sunbathing and reading i had so many things i thought to say now, but now my mind is blank!?! had a call on my way down and it turns out my friends did not get to change their flight and it is now lost! i suppose the return flight is still a possibility... yes of course it is! bet they have forgotton that! maybe i will take a trip to malaga airport to see if i can do something about it before tuesday!

i am still moving furniture about here, and bits and pieces, i said to franco last night if i have moved something and he cant find it, dont ask me! goodness knows where things are now!

Closure is the gift
that we give to ourselves when we are ready to live in complete detachment,
and know that every ending is simply a door opening to a wonderful begining...

TTFN
Marian

Wednesday June 7th

view from maria´s apartment, of a bunch of bananas! and very nice they look too!

have i mentioned the trip i have been trying to change for some of friends to come out here? they were due to arrive here yesterday, stay for a week, well two weeks ago i attempted to change their flights that i had booked on the net, but, as they were now wanting to move it to a winter timetable their web site couldnt allow it! i emailed them and said it was urgent, the mrs was unwell and time was now tight, the automated message back said i would hear within 20 days! there was only two weeks to fly date at that point! at the weekend i tried again to email them using the technical email address also, and copied it to the original help centre! my friends did try to change the flights over the phone but as i had booked it, i had to change it the man said, and he also said he would not phone spain! it was paid by my friends, in their name and would not do it!

well the time has come and gone now, they were unable to drive to the airport to do it in person, and have lost their money, as i said on the email, lets hope people in spain dont have to change flights seasonally or we will lose ours too! naming no names... it has not been easy as it should have been!

didnt do much today, trying to rest my legs! goodness knows what i have done now, i know its just this fibro thing i have, the bit behind my left kneecap and uwards a bit is too tight and sore, almost ok walking on the flat but uphill and even downhill a bit hurts like heck!

tony helped me with pic earlier, ta tony, and now i just have to work out how to put links on, on the help section i followed i went into the html and put what i wanted in, but it dosent seem to have worked! will have to work on it!

When things get rough,
listen to the voice inside your heart,
it already knows the answer...

TTFN
Marian

Monday June 5th

up close and personnal with these bulls on saturday in coín! the farmers fair i think it was, we had one a month ago on the 13th san isadoro, if you remember...

did go to work today, but no keys... so no work as we couldnt get into the shop! lost money there, we ususally do well on a monday, as probably the other days of the week, loss of incoming things too, i expect people will have either left it outside and it will be taken, or they will just dump it in the nearest bins! we did go have a coffee and waited till nearly half past ten, but no one showed up with the key and we left!

i went up to friends for coffee, then home, did a big change round at home and we are going to sleep in the other bedroom tonight and see how it works out, lots of moving and shifting stuff, did have all our clothes out, now some are packed away, the winter stuff that is.

Real riches are the riches possessed inside...

TTFN
Marian

Sunday June 4th

this was the top of our high street over the may day celebrations, all the rosemary on the streets...

today was no market in la trocha, something else was going on, and yesterday franca and i went into coín and had a wander about, there was a celebration going on there, lots of old fashioned carts, with bunting and flowers, pretty girls in flamenco dress´s and handsome men in traditional flamenco wear... as in tight black pants white shirts and black hats etc etc, only some of the carts were being pulled not by horses but by tractors and making a right racket! some of them had huge stero systems on board blarring out music at a volume you wouldnt believe!

took a photo or two will publish tomorrow...

franco and i went down to marias apartment today, make sure everything there was good, took pippa, couldnt walk her on the beach now, will have to wait till september now...

and last night we were down on the coast at francos bosses bbq... was a good evening, he cooks a good dinner, and lots of extras with it prepared earlier by his mrs and family i think, we just outside in a big circle and ate and talked and drank and did that over and over and over again! we bought them a really lovely pressy for their 30th wedding aniversary we were all celebrating with them, a big urn type thing for the garden, one that lays down with a flat bottom! anyway, turns out it was just what they wanted!

i am still reading paulo coelho blog of his 90 day walk, will miss it when he come to the end of this journey of his, seems like we who are reading it are also with him in our own ways...

The glory of the world is transitory,
and we should not measure our lives by it,
but by the choice we make
to follow our personal legend,
believe in our utopias and fight for our dreams...

TTFN
Marian

Friday June 2nd

this morning walked upto friends place, or is it down, anyway the other side of town, her and her sister went to tangiers yesterday and found out they had not completely enjoyed the trip, a taxi down at 630am, coach trip to algercieras the boat ride over in rain and winds! narrow streets with women sat in the gutters selling their fruit and veggies, carpet factory visit! men trying to sell carpets for hundreds of euros, four course lunch of various non descript articles, only the desert sounded nice... a sweet pastry thingy!

then later home the way they came!

i have yet to visit and still want to, just to experience all the above for myself!?! i guess though everyones trips are different, neighbors went on their own, no coach party and had a really good visit, although i am not sure i would want to go it alone!

wanted to get some more storage bags from chinese on my home this morning, but was gone two by the time i left and then stopped and chatted with a couple of other friends, but its nice, makes such a difference, i remember how isolated i felt when we first moved here, i think i went out most days, walked into town, and straight back home, gone about an hour, that never happens now, if i leave at ten i´m lucky to be home by two! today i past the gaz man and asked if he was coming to our street today and he said yes, i had to run the last bit as he was coming up the street behind me! i dont think he was coming to us at all, he picks and chooses!

got in a bit on sunbathing today just now, an hour on the roof, its nearly 40 today! and yesterday was a bit of rain on the coast where franco was working, but up here on a moment of drizzle, then all dry again!

had a meeting at work yesterday, so we all turned up on time, well nearly just the boss lady who arrived 45 mintues late! hey ho! after i had coffee with one of the monday girls and her husband and then went to their apartment, on my route home, theyre home is nice, a big three bedroom place with a balcon overlooking the high street, in a quietish area...

its going to be a full moon on june 11th did i tell you? so i will be watching those mystical mijas mountains, along with 100´s of others i now imagine! but like we were saying the other day, here people still misunderstand some deformaties and maybe families moved into the hills when a baby was born not exactly as they thought was normal out of fear and have just remained there always. on telly the other months a family in poland had two children who only walked on their hands and feet together, not upright, so who knows what people are up there, the area is so big i´m sure people must live there out of sight from the rest of the world.

Sometimes i think i understand everything,
then i regain consciousness!

TTFN
Marian

Thursday June 1st

hello everyone,

i hope you have joined me on my new blog site, i have kind of got used to yáll being with me as i blog, and i dont want to lose anyone while i am on the move, again, seems my whole life i am on the move, countries, houses... etc! some very important people in my life are not in transit anymore and i am staying put!

well will take me a while to get used to this site and find my way around it, shame about having to move, but thats life!

let me try a photo while i am here eh! well its there at the top though, never mind its worked so maybe it wont be so bad, despite all my moving and changing, i hate change, hate it! like right now i am trying to throw more of my stuff out, things i dont wear and wont, things i dont use and wont, but its just so hard, feels like a part of me goes with each thing i let go... they all have bits of me and my life in their weave... silly arnt i?

ok, going to put to print, see how this is and go to old address and put this address in now... i dont like to be limited in things, and they keep telling me i am over the limit now, however much i empty it out! and now they are charging for all the new people and the free blogs are so small i guess they want money or your out!

so...

Destiny is not a matter of chance,
it is a matter of choice!

TTFN
Marian

ps anyone who missed my last few blogs on old site i will leave it as it is..

http://ultreya.blogspirit.com