Feliz Año Nuevo

ahm... just took this photo a moment ago and it hasnt quite come out as i hoped, sun in my eyes, pippa trying to see whats going on in the street below and franco trying to get a shot through the full washing line!

and on the paper it says feliz año nuevo and happy year... to you all that is!

beautiful day again today as it has been for the last 4 days now, its hot in the sun, well about 19 to 20C, slight breeze, wonderful, its colder in the house of course, but not too bad, we are having a bit of trouble with damp in our bedroom so have borrowed maria's de humidifier to get rid of it, its horrible and smelly and feels so ... well damp!




this photo i took on our way home from mercadona last week, can you see the foot hanging out? its not pippa's... its jamon, or spanish ham if you like, a whole leg of it, wonderful stuff, absolute tummy bliss! we just need a knife sharpe enough to carve it! franco nearly sliced of a finger the other day... and franco, down on the coast working in this sun, his face is so brown again, you can see the little white lines where he is screwing up his face against the brightness of it!

Have a wonderful new year folks, here's to 2007, may it be full of life and joy and peace and harmony for us all eh!

TTFN
Marian

Feliz Navidad

Happy Christmas everyone....

christmas eve already... but this year, for the first time in i dont remember it doesnt really feel like christmas to me, now and again i have had that christmassy feeling, then its evaded me and just gone again!

today we went to the market at la trocha, was quiet there too, and of course nothing opened here in town, the streets are empty, hardly anyone about walking even.

we bought a new telly yesterday, you must think that is all we do, watch telly, well we do dont we! not much for going out, we dont hold up the bar much, and when franco gets home from work, we just want to pull down the shutters and pull up the draw bridge and cuddle up together, with pippa to of course! she has a christmas stocking all of her own to open in the morning, although she wont be getting up at 5am like barry and tony used to do...

well thats it folks, hope you all are having a good, happy and relaxed christmas, take care all of you, i wish you all what you wish for yourselves...
love mxx

Belen

here is the Belen or nativity here in alhaurín this year, i tried to take a photo of a very special bit and bit is the word! lol... its not in this shot as it didnt come out very clearly, and however much i zoomed in, it only got worse!

the er.... bit is a chap on the top of the hill, to the right of that camal, on the right there, he is from the front just crouched down and peering over the view beneath, but and here is the butt from this side of it, he is er well... going to the toilet up there by the bushes! and i dont mean taking a pee!

and there it all is chrystal clear in fact in all of its glory!!!

today we went down into work for the raffle draw, only few of us in and only one customer in the shop too! a saturday girl won... we think!

now the flight back here, as aformentioned, our seats were row 10 seats E and F, and i could see quite quickly someone was already in one of the seats, a stewardess was there as we approached and i said that someone was in our seats and she asked the women to vacate! but the women said she wanted to sit near her dad, her seat was in the row infront, she said he was disabled and needed her next to him, so i said, well if you sit next to him one of us can still have our seat and i will sit in your (her) seat, but she said no, she didnt want to actually sit next to him! just near!?! so people were trying to sit down the stewardess said for us to sit a bit further up for now, we did, till those seats were needed which of course they were, so i just went all the way up to the back of the plane to wait, and see if my sence of humor was up there, although i didnt show it, it really wasnt funny, i had even said, well this is my mom and i want to sit next to her too! apparently they had missed the flight from the day before, (so?) and as i said to mom, they only to get to luton airport early on to get two seats together like we did..... didnt they?

anyway, we ended up at the back of the plane, and very comfortable we were too!

this was as bad as my bus trip of the coast the other month wasnt it, not getting in my own seat, it would have been very well if we had pre booked the seats, i would have demanded that extra money back, or my seat of course!

yesterday i had lost the presents i brought back with me from england, all afternoon i searched and searched, i thought either father christmas had come and taken them till the right time, or a troll in the cave had pinched them! when franco came home i asked if he had seen them, and he remembered seeing a bag somewhere... he said there was one in the bathroom, and i said thats moms toiletries, there was a space there for them, and i had seen a bag and tied a knot in it to stop pippa taking anything out of it, then later on mom said she hadnt used that space because there was already a bag there! ah ha! our presents... thank goodness for that, i was getting a bit worried!

our neighbor gave us two huge bags of oranges and one of lemons the other day, so we're making the most of them, they are a little bitter now, the late pickings make better marmalade than juice, but thats not a plan of action for me i dont think! dont have a pot big enough!

When we putt off the harvest, the fruit rots,
but when we put off our problems
they keep on growing.

TTFN
Marian

hello folks, am back from england by the way, back since thursday last week, my few days away were not without problems! migrane of course! goes without saying does it not! and on the day that should have been up in aylesbury meeting up with everyone, but well there we go, never mind eh, nothing can be done now, or then!

sarah and darrens baby was also not on time! huh! due on the 4th and born a beautiful healthy boy on the 15th, er yes that is correct, after i got back home!

and our trip up to barry in nottingham also went well... NOT! we left home at 930 due to arrive with barry about 11! but no, accident on the M1 at our first junction, so took over an hour to travel that short distance and we had to get off the motorway, they had closed it, now they do all the CSI stuff, and we took various twists and turns and got back on the motorway and off again up north! cant remember what time we got there, was nearly two hours later than we thought though! then it was up into town, took the tram which was really nice, not been in one since san francisco a few years ago with my brother, the day was bright and cold and frosty back down south but up there it was slightly milder, but pooring with rain!

we dashed from store to store trying to keep in the shelter, got a few things and off to eat!
of course by then it was late, back to baz's and off, there was something going on in a gas station on our way out, we were just telling tony's girlfriend about how nottingham has a bad reputation as one of the most crime ridden cities in the uk, and there it was.... a gas station surrounded by police and lots of stuff going on! then it was back down south.... phew! spent the night at some very good friends, well more family really, so that was lovely, hadnt spent quality time with them for far far too long.... thank you 'mom' , i am very very lucky to have this extra mom and dad in my life.



these photos were taken in milton keynes where steph and i went on the wednesday, day before i was winging my way back home... the theme, as you can was peter pan, was really good, they always put on a good show there at christmas time, we were there a couple of hours, then back to aylesbury, lunch, few shops, fly by at lisa's workplace, then steph dropped me off at sarah's, few tears, well me, hadnt seen steph for nearly a year, couldnt believe, friend down in surrey never made it up on the day i had my headache!?! and didnt see another good friend in hemel, she had a cold and my head again! why did i go for such a short time? remind me someone please?

today while walking pippa we witnessed a dog being hit by a car, was awful, saw similar thing when i was 17, so hope enough is enough already! the dog went flying and did get up and run, but however injured they are they do dont they, run till they cant run anymore, his owner went off down the street after him, i hope he is ok.

work was busy enough on monday, christmassy with our cd playing, and we were in a festive mood, one of us brought in cream cakes! and our supervisor brought in a bottle of cava, so that went down well at the end of the day, thank you very much J.

mom and i went to la cañada, shopping centre near marbella, all the beautiful decorations up, mom bought some pants(trousers!!) from C&A! now C&A is a store name that closed its doors many years ago back in england, but seems to have popped up here now, how weird is that!

ok better go, still having pains in the legs etc.... what a pain i am, i know i should actually go and see a doctor now, gone beyond a joke, limping up hill and looking about 110 when i get up from sitting down!

remind me tell you about the flight back next time...

Courage. By beginning the journey with that word
and continuing with faith in God,
you will arrive wherever you need to arrive,

TTFN
Marian

Pippa

can you believe our dog? look at the little rascal, this morning this is where she got herself stuck, well and truly! the shot above i took from below by our back door and looking up, the one below i stood on our roof terrace to take...



she was stuck, bits of rock were falling down onto the two flights of stairs and the sky light below and she was all shivery.... my poor baby, again! so i had to climb up onto the wall and climb down a slope and try to reach her, which i couldnt and no way could i climb to where she was, just short of the railings above, so i got back down and went down into the kitchen and came back up with......... food! i knew that would do the trick, she managed to get back over, but was too nervous to get back down an almost vertical climb she had had no trouble getting up, so it was back up for me and slithering and sliding down the wall bit and i reached up, grabbed her by the harness, which i thankfully had left on after the walk, and i just swung her back and over and hung onto her till we reached the terrace again! so now we cant leave her up there alone now! what to do? dont want to tie her up up there... and not exactly the time of the year to spend hours up there while she runs around!

thursday already! whats happened to the week, i am off soon for a few days, to see my friends baby.... not actually born yet! and bring mom back home with me.

yesterday and tomorrow are big festivals here, the 8th immaculate conception

only the bars and restaurants will be open for business tomorrow, not everything was open today and all the schools closed tuesday for the rest of the week.

work on monday was busy, tuesday just the norm, down to town coffee with friends, and today the same, although i had a list as long as my arm and still couldnt complete a couple of errands, a friend wants me to bring back a particular after shave, on the net i have seen it for only 29 pounds, and i think here its going to be about 70€ minimum about 42 pounds! but he is taking mom and i to the airport very early when we come home so will be his gift for that, just still seems an enormous amount to pay more than back in the uk! he thinks its cheaper here you see!

we have the new heater back up on the wall now, thicker cable and NO extension cables involved whatsoever.... OK!!! heater in the bathroom too, oh the bliss... guys just dont appreciate what is all about shaving your legs in the freezing cold do they? my poor legs looked like they had been massacred before! lovely!

head ok this week... thank you, but seem to have now got a hip problem, a totally new thing going on, and not my fibromyalgia, i am sure its not, its totally different, hurts when i lift my right leg either up stairs or just a steep hill (lots of these here in alhaurìn) and when i have been sitting walking standing... is there any hope for me.... at all?!

past hope i hear y'all shouting at me.... quietly please!

When there is no turning back,
then we should concern ourselves only
with the best way of going forward...

TTFN
Marian

tuesday lunch was good, not as many as last time i dont think quite, and our next date for two months time is all set now! mates birthday yesterday, so we used the lunch to help celebrate her day with her, she even got a candle in her chocolate gateau!

wednesday - migrane, no more to say really, i did get up and walk pippa, but soon realised it was a no go... so back to bed and i got up thursday morning, feeling still very weird and wobbley and all confused as usual after a really bad migrane, cant believe i had one after the last two weeks of head aches to top it off with a real bad one! and halluciations or what! thats one of the worst things the really weird scary stuff that goes on in your mind when the pain is so bad...

anyway, today, friday i am back to 'normal' lol

i did go to town yesterday, and again today, only today i took my brain with me, well mostly, still forgot to get something i especially went down for, but never mind!

last night franco came home with a piece of furniture... so today i have moved and shifted things about, the main piece is still down stairs i havent tried to move that, but it will be good when its in place in our bedroom, although i have moved my wardrobe out, and into the back bedroom, thats the only trouble with living in a dolls house, there just is no room for things we have no storage space at all, not even a loft/attic, nada de nada de nada!

got pippa a new collar today, her old one is out of date for keeping those little ticks away, this is so strong she keeps running away from it! she is so daft she doesnt realise the smell is round her neck, my poor little baby, she sits somewhere for just a moment then runs off! hopefully it will lesson as the day goes by, and i'm sure she will sleep well tonight as she hasnt stopped all day so far!

when we went out this morning i wondered at the fact we havent been hit by a car yet round these streets, the up hill street we walk down has many trucks going up it at that time, and lots of people not necessarily in a hurry but just doing what they do, its a little known fact, and not well documented, but to over take another car, at anytime, for any reason, is fine! even like the one this morning, tearing up the hill over taking cars even though a car was pulling out of a turn into his path, and therefore a junction, and just before a cross roads also! still hey, there are lots of other items not in this highway code, that are just a day to day experience for those of us who learnt to drive in england! you know there... we are not allowed to park on or near to a junction, on or near a crossing, on or near a roundabout! but here? hey!! no problema! or en español no hay problema!

my friends baby is due any day now.... and i am so excited, feel like i am going to be an auntie, i am to my niece and nephew over in the states of course, but i have missed so much of their lives, so so far away... today though i felt like every other store i passed was a baby wear shop! so many here in alhaurín.... i cant wait! i will see her soon...

The great blessing of life is the existence of tomorrow's -
and having dreams to realise.

TTFN
Marian