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

Ladies who lunch!

today we are off for lunch again, i think its the same 20 or 21 'ladies'!! so i am off out later today, always seems strange to me being in in the morning, i am such an early bird out early and all that.

last night when franco got home we went over to la trocha, did a bit of christmas shopping, we just went to have a wander around really, but came home with some pressies which was good, as i am off to england in less than two weeks now!

saturday though, i think i just went down town as usual, bit of a chat with friends and home, sunday only took pippa for a walk and relaxed the day, except for the bit when pippa got out! a thing i thought would be impossible considering our garden as such is the roof terrace and that is two flights of stairs up, with a small bit of the mountain behind us and houses either side.... but she did! i thought she had been gone to long up on the roof, and that she must be up to no good, and i went up to find out, but she wasnt there, i searched the house and the cave, and back up top! then i saw her, she had jumped onto the wall 3 nearly 4 foot high and was walking about on next doors roof, its a slight pitch tile roof, bit slippy with the weeds growing on it, and of course a big drop down to the street! when she saw me and saw my face! she ran the other way, looked over the next door but ones wall, they have a terrace like ours, but instead she walked to the edge and onto a little over hang they have like we do, only theirs is two tiles deep and she started along there! i could see her falling in my mind, so walked away.... pretended to go back down stairs, anyway, i came back and gently called her over and she came head and eyes downc cast... i grabbed her up by her harness she still had on and then told her off!

and would you belive when i was hanging out the washing an hour or so later, she jumped onto the wall as i watched and i had to get her all over again!

it looks terrible up there now, with what looks like a barracaded wall! chairs leaning, bit of an old fence, brooms! just stuff to keep her away!

we will have to put a little fence on top of the wall now! i think she thinks she is a mountain goat! she jumps so high, when franco comes home she jumps up and down like a kangaroo reaching his face!

yesterday work was good, did a good trade day, and we had a meeting first thing, that none of us realised was on, and only one lady out of all the other 5 days turned up to it, so it wasnt just us, although of course we four would have had to be there as it was 'our' day afterall!

the meeting was a short photo film of the hospice that our shops keep running, the cancer care hospice down at arroyo de miel, down at the coast, it was good to actually see what goes on, and where all the money goes, and how many people it helps, 80% spanish patients, and the rest devided up among other nationalities.

we just wish the local people of alhuarìn realised what the shop was for, most dont know its to keep a hospice running to look after people just like them, a place to go for the terminally ill, and their families. it seems that they think its run by the english for the english, and it just isnt so.

The Good Fight is the one that we fight
in the name of our dreams...

TTFN
Marian

Fire

cant believe i havent spoken since monday! well not not spoken, obviously that would be totally impossible for me, but you know what i mean....

but firstly i cant believe i didnt post my Happy Thanksgiving to you all! to my family and friends! apologies...

ok quicky run through.... tuesday my friend in the shop and i went to coín, she didnt know the town too well and needed a guide, so we went to a shop that is closing down so she could check out any stock etc and shop fittings, then we went to have some lunch in a bar called 'c u jimmy' scots owned... of course, had a nice jacket spud!

wednesday mate and i went down the coast, firstly to the market at la cala, good look around there, lots of holiday makers wearing shorts and vests! looking cool, and i mean cool ... now its down in the lower 20's it feels cool for us! then we went to part of the miramar complex down at las lagunas so i could get barrys christmas present! that was funny, but of course cant tell you just now, you will have to wait, by which time i will have forgotton what happened!

yesterday, friends down the road and i went into town together to take some books into a local store, and we spent about 2 hours in a bar next door having coffee!

today, just into town to meet mate, had coffee, bit cooler here today and a spot of rain, but didnt need my brolly...

but, wednesday night!!! we had a fire! we had switched on a new wall heater we got a couple of weeks ago, just testing it out really seeing how much heat it will give out when we need it, it was plugged into an extension cable, the lead only measuring 2 metres! not even enough to reach the floor never mind a socket! only then, because we have no socket in this house, well hardly, it was then in another extension lead.... i guess by now you know...(excuse the pun) where this is leading..... so, there we sat pressing this and that button on the remote for the heater when two things happened... one the fire! two the electric box tripping off! BANG!! then it was all action we both ran to the fire, a throw i have (had) on this chair flames licking up it, i pulled it off and doubled it over to suffocate them, franco got the flames on the lead out and then ran for the torch with me screaming to hurry! i was more worried about losing the telly than anything!! as you know by now, when the electric goes off in our house it takes forever to get sky channels back on! so we didnt! not till yesterday afternoon infact, and so we missed that nights episode of i'm a celebrity get me out of here! goodness me!

the cables the fire was running about all over was the first extension cable, not able to hold the voltage we now see, but it was plugged in with all my computer stuff, so it was burning about my keyboard, hub, modem, printer monitor! oh everything else here, all those cables, we were so lucky non of them were burnt, only bit sticky where the other cables started melting on them.

so we have taken a couple of things of there now and plugged in elsewhere, and we are even being more causious about the gas, we are turning the on/off valve on both the cooker and the boiler at night, and when were out during the day, not worth the risk is it, and sorry pippa, but the tv is off now when i am out during the day, she will have to sing to herself!

thank goodness it didnt happen when we were out, or mom was here alone and switched on the heater next month...

by luck, as usual todays quote fits quite well does it not!

The path to wisdom is not afraid to make mistakes...

TTFN
Marian

Los Elefantes

hi, came across this photo yesterday, one franco took, this was when we got caught up in a stanpede down at benalmadina a couple of years ago, those elephants were really moving, there they were stuck in the middle of the road, the trucks and vans... oh what excitement!


yeah yeah yeah... really, si verdad! not! of course, i am sorry, but they do look so real dont they, specially the way they got caught on camera! the elephants were placed on the roundabout prior to being placed in the childrens area on the other side of the road to holiday village, a what was new then, complex between fuengirola and benalmadina, and of course the beasts were not flesh and blood! but i still think i should send this in to a local newspaper what do you think!?

today its been one beautiful day, the sun is warm, i came home and went straight up on the roof to sit in the sunshine, need some on my pale skin, and in doors its so cold now! up on the roof it was 22C in the shade, i sad and read for a little while, lovely...

and also today beautiful because i woke up without a headache, again yesterday bad with another pain in the head and neck!

work was very busy, we had a new person start today, didnt know 'he' was even starting today, aparently he decided to come in today! he had lots of ideas on how to change things around, which i had to advise him wasnt really up to us! and some of the prices he thought would be good, would just not go down with our shoppers in the least.... lots to read between the lines here! :-)

tony has left aylesbury now.... :-(

one door has closed and another opened, or at least it would have, had the certificate for the gas in the new place been sorted, but it wasnt, so he is staying with a friend for a few days!

Certain things are so important that they need to be discovered alone...

TTFN
Marian

Urban Legends

just came across.... its good! facts and urban legends!

TTFB
Marian

Friday again...

cant believe its friday already, not been a great week, for me, seemed to have gone through all my pain killers and not found a single one that wants to work for me!

tuesday it started bad, wednesday mate and i went to gibraltor, luckily i wasnt too bad, but then yesterday and now, back with avengence! feel like someone took off my head and then didnt put it back onto my neck quite right!

but then everything from my thumb to those little bones inside my ears are achy so i guess it must just be the change in the weather or whatever, we had rain yesterday again... so much for my forecasting efforts! and there is definately a chill coming up through these marble floors now, but its nice and warm in the sun...

my old childhood dream boy has been on telly today, david cassidy.... arh.... i was a member of his fan club, the partridge family, i still have the whole thing, from writing paper to photos and stickers etc, he looks older now forsure, just like me, but i can still see the boy he was there... apparently him and donny osmond are having a concert together next year at wembly arena, i would love to go to that! sad! what do you mean!!

had a good day in gib, weather was nice there, for a change, although i did take my brolly, and for lunch i had a wonderful morrocan meal i have had before lamb tajina i think its called, beautiful... comes to the table in a little brown dish with a tall funnel like lid with a little chimney on top!

we did a lot of walking too and rushing to get to the local supermarket but not miss the coach home!

tony is moving this weekend... feel so sad, i know i'm just being daft old me, when i last left his home i knew i wouldnt be visiting him there again and was sad, i told myself its not the place i am going to miss but him there of course, but i think too i have to be honest i think what it really is is that it will be strange not having that link with aylesbury anymore, we only lived there for four years, but i had worked there for 7 or so years, and so so many of my good friends, and of course tony was there, a place for me there... and now.... well i'll stay at tonys new place, about an hour away, and at moms, still over in the next county, and it just wont feel the same.

ok, enough of that melancholy...

Sometimes the warrior feels
as if he were living two lives at once,
'There is a bridge that links what I do with what I would like to do,'
he thinks.
Slowly, his dreams take over his everyday life,
and then he realised that he is
ready for the thing he always wanted.
Then all that is needed is a little daring,
and his two lives become one.

TTFN
Marian

La Playa

here is pippa today on the beach, we went first to the market at la trocha, then visited a new store selling english products... bit like the one down at calahonda, drinking chocolate 5€, shredded wheat 5€, crisps special offer one pack for 2.20€, please excuse me, but we dont understand these prices? if you work here in spain and earn euros, say 10€ an hour do they realy think you are going spend 5€ on a box of cerial there, when you can go into mercadona or one of the many other supermarkets and buy the exact same thing for 2 or 3€, and coffee we pay 4€ at the moment, seems to have gone up recently but if your not careful some people will want to charge 6 to 8€ for it! the crisps we have here are called lays, its walkers crisps in england but in the states and europe its lays but it is walkers ok! they are no different and around the euro mark, and big, not one portion size enough for 4 people! not 2.20€ as above, and our friend who sells english products at the market was selling chocolate buscuits today for 1€ a packet, in fact all his biscuits are a euro, but there they wanted nearer two!

i think, or am i wrong, but i think that some people move out here and for some strange reason are scared to just shop as they would in the uk, or wherever, just go into all the normal shops and there are all your normal foods! and some others that are even better, i mean why move to another country if you dont like the food!

ah thats better, that really gets me going that does, up on my soap box again, as usual eh!

anyway, we went down to maria's at the beach and took pippa for a walk along it, ok from september to june with dogs there, and she loved it much more this time, she even noticed the mediterranean this time! big engough i hear you laugh, but she didnt seem too the other two times! she even ran in and came out looking all ratty!



but what a beautiful day and warm enough, lovely...

we stopped at the garden centre on the way down for coffee and bread with iberian ham, jamon serano... en español, wonderful flavour ....

What is the real 'I'?
It is what you are,
not what others make of you.

TTFN
Marian

Sabado

today, franco and i walked into town and got a few bits and pieces! then we drove down to fuengirola, the new road in las lagunas is nearly done now, it will save so much time and so much waiting in line, for now as you approach las lagunas from la vega areas you just have to stop, all the way to the N340 especially when its busy, and this is the main road for us in alhaurín who want to go directly into fuengirola. the new road starts by dunnes/lidl, and by passes all the industrial areas of las lagunas! you see the road, and the round abouts are finished so maybe in a month or so it will open!?!

but anyway we went to aki, a giant hardward store, got some more 'bits'!! then we were going to dunnes to get filters for our water jug but went into lidl first, got home and completely forgot dunnes!

since home, franco got about doing some DIY and i starting sorting out some of the rubbish in the cave, its strange it sort of collects it! empty boxes, broken things and unwanted stuff, so its waiting in the back lobby till tomorrow when we dump it on the way to the market!

little story from yesterday i heard on telly... a vet who specialised in cockatoos, this one had been with its owner for many many years and had a lot of vocabulary, the vet was having to put the bird to sleep as it was in too much pain and his time had come.... the bird just as he was about to put it down... opened his eyes and said ¨thank you, i love you¨ ........ amazing isnt it, of all the things it could have said it said that eh!

before i go just noticed when writing vocabulary... the first few letters 'voca' is very much like 'boca' mouth in spanish! and the v and b are sometimes very hard to tell apart when hearing spanish people speak...

Choosing one path means abandoning others -
if you try to follow every possible path
you will end up following none.

TTFN
Marian

Narnia

now this is strange, i have been 'surfing' and came across this, we all know the stories of narnia, i think i read these books so much i can recount the stories without the books now! and when i was a little child our house, only a couple of hundred years old, my bedroom wardrobe was a wire with a curtain that utilised the corner of the room.... was definatly a direct doorway through to my narnia.... but anyway, i digress... i came across another lucy, in another Narnia... what do you think amigas?

TTFN
Marian

Sunshine

beautiful day today... yesterday when i went out i wore a light jacket but had to carry it once i got into town, time of the year when you never know what to wear! people wearing heavy sweaters and cords, others... some tourists, wearing shorts and t-shirts, and us others! we sat at bar rosa yesterday for about an hour or more, three of us to start, then another friend joined us, she left and another came by... nice day.

our walk this morning was a bit muddy through the wasteland we go through, and it is now the time of the snails! loads of little ones all over the place, and not nice if you dont watch where your walking, but they are so tiny, poor little things!

how is your word a day in spanish coming along? i said to franco yesterday grifo means to bristle, i thought it mean tap, or faucet, depending on what side of the pond you speak! and today it says faucet! another one is strange, gato in espanñol means cat or but gato del coche means car jack!

rather than carry our passports around all the time, a must if your in the car... some of the police here will take your care if you dont have it with you! down at a friends shop they are reducing it down and laminating it, all you have to do is get it's authenticity stamped and then laminated, so off i went to the policia local to do just that, but they sent me up to the town hall, luckily thats next door, and they did it there, so now, when its all completed i can carry this with me instead, much safer, always worry about losing it.

seem to have writers block today... strange that, so will leave you just now...

We are allowed to make many mistakes in our lives,
except the mistake that will destroy us.

TTFN
Marian

Marooned

wasnt marooned here! this is taken from on top of the mountain overlooking my friends house... look down there... beautiful, the camera has caught the sun just right, what a view from up there, you can see... montgo of course! calpe, javea everywhere from all sides, it was a winding journey to the top, specially coming down as i was on the nearside of the car and right on the edge! no barriers there!



and this shot was taken a 5 minute walk from their home, the road ends and its rocks all the way to the bottom, and this spectacular view of the very private beach, if you didnt know this area you wouldnt know the beach was there...



and this view taken from a small area made for taking pictures.... i guess... a kodak spot, wonderful.

but marooned was yesterday, the rain.... all day and so fierce couldnt take pippa out, and nor would she go! we had our own very private flood, on the roof would you believe, and i didnt realise how deep the water was despite pippa being ankle deep and treading very oddly, bit like my cats on snow! so out i went, also ankle deep! only i was wearing my slippers! now ruined, or at least they are still wet nearly 24hrs later, i unskrewed the drain and pulled it up, now at this point i should have removed the stuff causing the problem, but as the rain was starting up again i just let everything go down the drain... which means into the system that runs somewhere through our house (!) so the waters receded, and i saved us all!

my feet were freezing to start but after a few minutes they got warm, all by themselves.... before the cold set in again!?! probably not a good thing, had chilblains once, a long time ago, and i am pretty sure getting wet feet was the cause, still they felt better later, much later!

today we and i made it out for a walk and i managed to get down into town and into friends shop before it started all over again! had my brolly with me and back home ok before it got too bad.

tomorrow forecast is for sunshine, from now till the end of the year! sorry silly mood, must be the damp!

have popped in a little extra there on the right, a word a day of spanish, now i must learn them, si! and as i re-read this i see what hope do i have of learning español when i clearly have trouble with the english language!

funny how paulo's quotes seem to be there exactly at the right time and place...

Sometimes it is imposible to stop the river of life!

TTFN
Marian

Cumbre del sol

couple of photos from my holidays! the one above is from my bedroom, i had to lighten the pic to get more detail, but if you look carefully the line of sea on the left hand side is a bit bumpy.... thats ibiza! about 70K away, it was the only morning i got to see the islands, but i think come the winter and the cool air the view will be better.

and beneath, another photo i have zoomed in and then enlarged... this is montgo the mountain range that stands 750 meters above sea level between denia and javea, can you see how much it looks like an elephant? laying down its head on the right with its truck laying on the gound ahead of it? i can see his eye too, but maybe thats because i have seen him for real, he is amazing! hey look i did a link! i wondered how you lot did it! how slow am i, now i guess i will get real boring and do it all the time!


had good weekend.... sunday franco and i went to the market down in fuengirola, not on! then to miramar shopping complex, not open! so we went to a garden centre, had a look around... back to miramar for kentucky friend chicken! yes we have one here now! the one at the la cañada complex is too far, well almost! i know it sounds daft, craving a take out food like that, but we do sometimes...

on our way home we popped into our local garden centre where the prices are so much lower, the higher up the mountain the lower the prices! and we got four poinsettia plants for our front balcon, and a jasmine for the back wall.

and home!

Good and Evil have the same face,
it all depends on when they cross the path
of each individual human being.

TTFN
Marian

Hollybush

just a couple of photo's today... the hollybush plant.... above a variety we all know, green or varigated prickly leaves and in the winter those wonderful red berries, lots of them and in england it is supposed to foretell a bad winter to come.



now this photo above is one i took near my friends at cumbre del sol, and look its a hollybush, bit scarse of leaves this one, but there were lots of others, the thing i most wanted to get a good shot of were thoses acorns! what is that? i jokingly said at first ¨franco has been here¨the sort of thing he would do, super glue acorns onto another type of tree... but no, no franco there, and too many bushes covered in these acorns, so has anyone anywhere, ever please seen a hollybush with acorns??? we dug up a good root, and i brought it down here and we have planted, and will see if it lives and if it flowers etc, and watch, hopefully as the acorns grow! how weird is this!

TTFN
Marian

All Saints Day

open your imaginations here folks... please! because here is a rather strange photo ... taken during a rather stormy day up in scotland, at my favorite castle, eileen donan, chap in the fore ground goes by the name of 'flep' he is known only by a certain few people... he came to live with franco some years ago, although a close relation of simon a good mate of franco's, he absconded... had enough of the cold weather in wales and came out with franco one time to live here in spain!

on a few occasions si has tried, in vain to re-kindle relations with flep, even involving payments of money, but all to no avail! he, flep, came with us to vegas when we got married, he stood very dangeriously on the edge of the rail on the top of the stratosphere tower!

when we were on holiday in sardinia, asked to stay, but we worried about how the cold winters would effect him! we know si worries about him, so these few paragraphes were to put his mind at rest!


and now to... a different reality shall we!!

above are my friends and i on their balcon the morning i was leaving, very early and the sun was just rising.... a sun i hasten to add i brought back down with me, been lovely since i came back, so looks like the rain they had has all gone now for the time being, lets hope, we needed it, but a week is enough all ready!

we went one day to 'la cova del rull' curly's cave in english, it was found by a man nick named uncle curly! we couldnt take any photos, this is the first real cave i have ever been in, one with stalactites and stalagmites, and such wonderful nature made architecture... will try to hunt down pics from the web, just remembered though have been in the 'rock' at gibraltor, cant remember seeing anything as wonderous as this! we were stood marveling at what appeared to be figures and statues when i got a drop of water on my head! i exclaimed... tengo una jota en mi cabeza! and the guide said i better be careful or i would become part of the fixtures! no good for me, it was 15C and so so cold, its that temperature all year regardless of outside, and the humidity... of course it was 100%! my fingers turned white within about 5 minutes, and took hours to get back to normal... tingling, pain, etc! still glad i have been now!

now have to run, have an ton of ironing to do.... great fun!

Every human being has inside them
something more important than him or herself - his or her gift...

TTFN
Marian

Happy Halloween

Halloween

please here imagine a photo of tony and friend in costume! cant up load photos today!

holiday news later, or tomorrow, firstly today..... Halloween! i dont know why but this day has always been very special to me! almost up there with christmas which is rather strange! although my aunt rita said my grandmother from naples was always in demand of the local people for potions and recipe's.... so my broomstick is ready... yes really, an old boss, as in long ago, for my 30th birthday with a very beautiful cake gave me a broomstick... just like the one witches use to fly by night... only he put on two stickers... first said, dont slam the door and the other.... oh and something else, will let you know!

and yes all my travels and i still have above mentioned broom stick, and here in spain the witch is a very lucky symbol, lots of weather vains have witches on, and lots of other things, regular bits and pieces, like cups and mugs, ornaments etc etc....

anyway, i digress as usual!

went down to the coast today to see my old neighbor, arrived about 10 and left her well after 3pm, we had coffee out and lunch in, beautiful day, checked on roof terrace when i got home and its still reading 32C lovely... 6pm still light! unlike london, dusk and calpe near my friends... strange same country but so much darker!

i went into the garden centre on my way home and got 8litres of earth and a big square pot for a plant i have to pot!

but, once home lots to do! we bought lots of sweets for the trick o treaters for this evening, so i had to bag 'em up, 40 little bags, and about 10 sweets in each, using my little kitchen things so as not to handle them, was fiddly but ok, and i was very good only ate one banana thing and a licorice bullet!

theyre all in a bag i made last year, black with white bones hanging from the front, we have a big pumpkin.... now dont all go crazy on me, but last night we got in from a local shop, its plastic! and has batteries and a flashing light! but it will last forever ok! thats going in the window downstairs, and to hang from the balcon a creapy skeleton... its robed and a bit scary! so that'll be dangling from above!

then i had my little shrine to make, also ditto last year, to welcome any passersby from the other side, friends and family and happy folk only... its a little flower bower, some food to feed them and water to quench... this is something some people here still do, lots, not just me... and aparently moms friend says they do this in thailand also!

in a small try are all the names of my loved and lost ones, on top of them are three little tea lights as we call them, those little whilte candles that burn for about 2 hours, last year one of the names got out of the dish and onto the tray... my dads.....

pippa has tried to eat the pasta so far, so i will have to watch her or it will be tipped up all over the place.

el zoco, still looks about the same, lots of scaffolding, so work done yet, the news agents and sports shop underneath have opened, and the little book shop is opening this thursday to sell off its stock, just for two months and then they are shutting.

oh and mercadona man is due anytime now... hope he isnt dressed up in scary costume! shall i give him some sweeties? maybe i'll open the door and say trick or treat?

ok broomstick says, please dont slam the doors and turbo boost! just went up there as pippa was being strangly quiet, she was laying down in the middle of the back bedroom floor looking guilty, but cant see any damage... yet!

Those who never take risks can only see other people's failures.

Happy Halloween.....

TTFN
Marian

Benitachell

hello from benitachell!

what a trip down... franco and i got the only bus we could that would get me on my coach to malaga bus station, it left alhaurin at 1115, got to malaga at about noon, we had a wander around had some lunch, i had albondigas, or should i say albondiga! is the the worlds most giant meatball, like a tennis ball, so only one, with a few fries...

we kept checking the departure time board, no sign of a bus to benidorm, asked at the desk a few times, and asked a man stood at a bus which was boarding, he said this was the stop and the bus for benidorm would leave at 330pm, he never said that this was actually the bus that he was standing in! so it left and i didnt... lol

i had to get on the 630 bus instead, and had to change the ticket with the self same fella who we had asked standing in the correct bus... how bizarre is this?

so... after seeing franco back on his return bus instead i was left at malaga, lots of tramps and beggers, all pretending to need money for a ticket, then some gypsies... lovely! anyway, on my bus and off first stop granada, got there about two hours to be told i, and only i, out of a bus full had to get off and wait an hour for the bus to benidorm, more tramps here and really dark, and so lonely anyway... it arrived at the wrong stop and i got on a bus to valencia! lots of stops... 10 instead of the six i should have had on the original quick coach... past cave houses, wonderful churches, fields town cities... on and on through the night! got into benidorm at 4am! tanya and andy had arrived only a moment before me, i ran to them... what a trip, and of course, one i have to repeat on saturday, but this time in the light! mucho mejor...

yesterday we went down to their local coastal town, and today here and there! we went into a bodega got a couple of big bottles of wine, 95c a litre... not bad eh! had some lunch, and then a trip to the mountain that their urbanization is built beneath, wonderful vista from there, the sea is on three sides, photos when i am home, if they came out.

and this morning clearer day and we can see ibiza from their house and i think mallorca!

ok folks...

TTFN
Marian

The Last Samurai

well folks i staying up to 10 was ok, bit tired but ok... the movie is fantastic, cant beleive i hadnt seen it yet, if its on ITV must have been out for some time eh! had the half hour break for the news, thanks for that! not! and it restarted at 1230am! hanging in there, really enjoying the movie... it started to rain, heavily about 10 past one, the signal kept breaking down and after a moment i switched on the video... what we do when we get no signal at all to help get it back, i know sounds silly but seems to work, all the coax (coaxial cable) anyway, so i digress, as usual, so the picture get better, then 1.15, only quarter hour to go and bam! power cut! oh woopie do!

fan dabie dozie... hip hip hooray! i dont know all the cheers and things you can think of!

so to bed... still awake at 2am, but of course only just in bed!

so the ending.... was it the love story one?... he goes back to the hill side village, the woman and her children waiting open armed for him and there he remains, the last samurai?

or the one that makes you remember the movie all the more.... he goes back to the hill side village, the white blossom fallen from the trees, the remaining villagers, those too old or young to fight the last fight.... slain where they stood, the woman and her children dead, still with the look of hope in their eyes.... camera to sunset, blossom like pink mist on the ground.... and cruise, the last samauri.... camera fade, the end, el fin, credits roll....?

well? no dont tell me, thank you, i will watch it again, one day....

i am watching the flight arrivals already.... my honey coming home!

by the way, power came on and off all night, so we dont have any signal yet!

Wagers and pacts are made with angels - or with devils!

TTFN
Marian

Miercoles

oh so tired today, couldnt sleep last night either, monday night had trouble sleeping after two days in bed doing not much else but the nightmare sleep that comes with one of my migraines, but usually ok after first night, guess its cos my honey is still away.... home manaña! yeha! cant wait!.... but last night heard the clock click over on the two! pippa was restless too! tablets not kicked in yet!

went to town this morning, few bits in mercadona and home again, and just bits around the house, i wanted to nap today specially by afternoon but have managed not to, just so i am really tired when i go to bed, movie on tv i want to watch with tom cruise, the last samurai, starts at 10pm so will be later finishing... please let me sleep, i have never been one for insomnia, i can sleep any time of day, probably any place! so when my head hits the pillow i'm off, so this is a habit i dont want to get into, i do stay in bed and just try to relax, i have heard its worse if you get up, because then 'aparently' the body will wake up and want to get up at that time the next night, but i suppose different things work for different people... different strokes for different folks!

we had rain today oh my goodness! well sunshine and showers, it didnt stay wet on the ground for longer than half hour each time, but everytime it rained the power went off! so i switched on the computer and un plugged it, the way its connected it comes on whenever the power comes on, and i dont think it does it much good without closing it down properly, feel like i have said this before... sorry!

i have checked the coach i am taking up to benidorm at the weekend, there are a few more people booked on it now, which is good, i didnt fancy the idea of me and a driver for over hours!!! but there is 10 now up, and 6 down, so far! i haved 3 books, two fiction one on spanish verbs! a magazine ok to read, and i think i`ll get a puzzle book or something like that too, i know there will be lots of scenery but if i spend all that time looking right, thats the only direction i will be looking for the rest of the week!

ok... oh the photo... taken when franco and i were down in jerez a couple of years ago now nearly i guess, and the factory of domecq, i guess a place where most of us have sampled their product, its ok you dont have to own up to liking sherry, but actually its quite nice in small doses... purely madicinal... is that what 'they' say?

The warrior of light perseveres in his desire,
but knows he must wait for the best moment...

TTFN
Marian

Martes

just heard about the subway crash in roma... i cant, i dont want to imagine how it must have been for those poor people in there underground, i am a bit claustrophobic and i suppose we have seen so many movies and documentories, the mind boggles about the tragedy.

the photo above.... is a graffiti'd van driving on the street in sardina, so much graffiti there, never seen so much anywhere, all over the trains the vans, walls... everywhere!

had a bad'ish migraine that started unexpectedly on sunday morning at 10! been up a couple of hourse, breakfast, walked pippa and bam! went to bed, got up late afternoon to put rubbish out and food for pippa, who didnt eat it, strange now, she wont eat if i havent! so i suppose now she knows who is the boss eh!

she was company though for me, she never left the bed, moved about lots but never left it, only thing every time i moved, which was alot she thought i was getting up and got all excited every time! i did get up monday morning to phone my friend to tell her i wouldnt be in work, and another phoned me to tell me she wouldnt be in! i made some oats for pippa and pretended to eat some so she would finish it, which she did, then back to bed, and i got up about 430-5 ish monday afternoon, my head still hurt but the pain in the rest of my body for laying down so long was too much to take and i was starting to have bits going numb on me, so too many squished nerves, and after a couple of hours i could use my right hand again... blooming head! i get this awful bit vein sticking right out on my left temple, its horrible and take a day or so to go down, it still hurts now.. never mind i'm ok now.

pippa and i went for a quick second walk just now and a little boy started running around pippa and making to hit her, she is so nervous i had to pick her up, i didnt want her to bite him out of fear, which a dog will do. then he was calling her names as we walked away, my poor little pip! she has started on the calming tablets this morning, so hopefully in a couple of weeks she will feel a little bit better in her self and not so always on edge, the vets gave me homeopathic tablets, bach flower remedies for dogs, though not humans! didnt know they had them for pets, but apparently they work quicker on animals!

enought writing for today... was all over with my spelling earlier, and quote today is one i came across this afternoon i wanted to share with y'all...

The mind is like the stomach, it is not how much you put into it that counts, but how much it digests. A J Nock

TTFN
Marian

More Sassari

this is a view onto the beach through some trees at alghero, the sea is a wonderful color here on this island, a bit like the waters around greece, greens and blues purples, and so crystal clear... beautiful, the sand is fine and the beaches wide....


i absolutly love the above photo! i think it looks a little strange too, but this is sassari! nearly all of sassari looks like this! un lived in from the outside, but in doors... wonderful, well some i guess maybe not eh! but the street from here looks totally abandoned dosent it... and look that cute little fiat 126! could do with that around these streets, infact this street above is wider than ours out here!

this is also sassari, and just out of sight down on the right is a grassy area in a small revine.

franco said last night it was raining in wales and cold! still good here i said! come home.... sorry sad i know, feel like a part of me is missing, was naughty last night, when i went to bed pippa got up on the bed and i put her back into her basket by the side, then after only half hour instead of early morning she crept up on the bed and lay down leaning against me... and i let her stay there....

today is Friday the 13th now thats means unlucky in the uk, and the States? but here in spain its Tuesday the 13th that is the unlucky day... so what does this tell us folks? it means... it cant mean anything! not if its different days all over the place! what do you think!

they had loads of people talking about other things they do, like saluting the maypie birds, i do that! walking under ladders, i dont do that... tried it once and my mom get ill the next day, so not risking that again, i know i know coincedence eh! touching wood... someone told me not to touch wood if it has legs... i said thats new, why not? and they said because then the luck will walk away! oh my goodness something else now!

we went out for a walk last night and was a bit creapy coming home into the empty house, since we had the break in last year i dont like it coming in like that, i went round the house with pippa checking behind doors and the shower curtain!! then we went up on the roof too... but all was well, then its so quiet here at night that you can hear the slightest noise, a bump or a scratch any little thing sounds twice as loud when its so silent...

got some chocolate from friends shop today, we have tried a different one each weekend, she is selling thorntons chocolate now and i am her taster! well thats my excuse for this new habit we have, this weekends is ginger in dark chocolate, the first was orange, last weekend nougat, so far the orange is favorite...

By changing the way you do routine things
you allow a new person to grow inside you...

i like this quote, and its amazing just walking on the other side of the street lets you see a whole new world you dont see every day.

TTFN
Marian

Sassari Hotel

one last try tonight to get a photo on here this evening... here is the photo of the hotel we stayed in in sassari, its the yellow one by the way!

TTFN
Marian

Me and Pippa

well franco is in gales now, or wales in english! we went to malaga airport bright and early this morning, lots of people there already, but we parked easy enough, the whole of the airport is under construction, its awful, there is going to be a new run way, lots more checking in desks, lots more car parking and a new access road, so its just one big building site just now and if you really dont want to drive to the airport... dont! easy coming out though...

pippa will start to wonder where her 'daddy' is in an hour or so, she waits up on the roof for him to whistle to her... ah our baby!

now... had some, well lots of photos done, franco wanted to take some with him and we had four rolls of film just waiting to be processed, now we only use the digital one these had been waiting a long time, infact going by the dates well over two and half years, so they dont look great for having been left just sitting, some of them look a little rosy in color, but then dont we always view the past with rose tinted glasses... well some of it anyway!

here are some photos we took in sardinia back in february 2005... the wonderful beaches, the sand still coming all the way to the road and beyond, the car driving through looking like he is in the desert!



and this is the hotel we stayed in alghero.... we did arrive during the day, but i cant remember it looking so so... so neady! in nead of total restoration or worse! the room was nice enough the shower room was massive and i rember the shower head was broken and the spray went everywhere but down, all the walls were wet the towels on the rail and the toilet paper! what a mess, and it was freezing there, february and cold, the days outside were ok, chilly but nice and bright all but the last day, but all the nights were so cold, we put nearly all our clothes on to go to sleep! and we left the heaters on all day, but you could only feel the benefit of them up close, the hotel rooms were so big, very high ceilings...

photos tomorrow or later, seem to be having trouble uploading, will add later..

now pippa wants a walk so we're off out now...

We are responsible for everything
that happens in this world,
we are warriors of light and, with the strength,
of our love and will, we can change
our destiny and that of others...

TTFN
Marian

Ladies who lunch!

had a good time today when we lunched... and became ladies who lunch! we are doing it all over again in december!

we met in the bar at 1pm and then an hour later all 21 of us walked along to savannah restaurant to have our lunch, three courses for 7€ cant be bad eh, i had a salmon mousse (?) starter, fish for main course and we all had pavlova for desert...

then home about 430pm! only beat franco home by an hour!

sunday we had a really lovely day, very unexpected... franco should have been working, but wasnt! so we went to the market as usual and took pippa, then we dropped her off home and went to mijas pueblo, we had coffee and looked around the shops, franco got a new jacket for going to wales this week, something warm! and he bought me a beautiful dress... i will get a photo of me in it... well sometime!

then we went on our way home, into the restuarant moreno, and had lunch there... i had chueletas cordero, lamb chops, and franco had conejo... rabbit! and nice deserts after... the restaurant is always very busy, its a huge place with dozens of tables outside as well as in, and very good food, always, the workers go there, so thats always a good indication of good food.

this morning took pippa for her usual long walk, then later her and i went down to the vets, i am going to give her some natural remedies for her hipertension, something to calm her down a little, not make her so fearful of every noise and bump, and hopefully she will also walk around with her tail held high and not tucked so far under she looks like its gone altogether! just try it and see, i cant face giving her something strong, my poor little baby!

crissie... if your reading this let me know how your husbands doing, did you make it out here? hope all is good.

Just before a dream is fulfilled,
the soul of the world decides to test everything
that was learned on the journey...

TTFN
Marian

Figs!

figs... my very favorite fuit, i love them, they are so.... just so good, the whole eating experience of eating figs!

about two months ago! the figs were full on a local tree that pippa and i passed each morning, and day by day were left un loved to just fall, in the orchard the tree stands and the path over the road, and every day pippa and i had to negociate round the squished fruit, messing yes and so smelly! i love the smell normally of course, but every day the smell of the poor wasted fruit on the ground got worse and worse, so rotten... then i was working and we had our shortened walk and it was only on saturdays we passed by, by then having to walk on the road itself to avoid the mess and posibility of slipping over, well me, that is!

now all thats left are the dried skins and no smell, but i cant get over the waste! not one was picked, i dont know who the land owner is/was, but such waste of such wonderful fruit...

thank goodness i got round to telling this, every morning i thought to mention it... then gone from my mind!

i am making use of the google 'things to do list' option so now, every time i open the home page there is my list!

today i walked into town, bought some calenders! some, i got 5 of our town, the first calender our town has had, it came out yesterday and i told friends about it during coffee, he went over to get one and there was only one left, i think they had 100 delievered!

i am making stuffed peppers tonight, mince and pasta, should be rice but franco's not a rice man, so i have used the really teeny tiny pasta stars, will be just as nice stuffed into those red peppers!

did i tell you one of my friends was in hospital when i was in england with cellulitus, think thats the spelling, horrible thing ... its a streptococcal bacteria of the skin, he was in for 10 days, i had never heard of it before.

and some fantastic news, moms high blood pressure she had had for years.... has gone! its normal, brilliant news, and i hope thats how it stays!

A responsible warrior is not someone
who takes the weight of the world on his shoulders,
but someone who has learned to deal with
the challenges of the moment.

TTFN
Marian

October

i have to say i think this is one of the best photos i have ever taken...if i do say so myself, of my friends sarah and darren, baby due in 3 months... in costa coffee shop, aylesbury... the look of pure bliss on their faces...

i cannot believe its october already! columbus day on the 12th... where has this year gone, i sent off my cousins 1st wedding anniversary card today off to new york, this time last year mom and i were in queens... with aunt rita.

this year back in alhaurín now and not an estanco in sight! well actually there is one just round the corner!

had another bad head ache on monday afternoon after work, must have done something my neck did not apreciate... not quite a migrane, but went to bed early and tuesday felt better by the evening and wasnt in bed, but felt awful, then yesterday went to town especially to pay car insurance and came home without having done so, very post migranal thing to do, and my memory has been the worse ever over the last few days! so bad i envy a gold fish now... you know... memory of a gold fish is 9 seconds and all that! well... i wish!

i am literally about to do something and forget what! even as i start a conversation the thought has gone! i know i hear ya... age and all that, hormones and all that! just tell me i start to reapeat myself alot, you know more than usual ok? .... i could be funny here but wont be! this is serious!

today i realised that this week i havent worked up a sweat, perspiration sorry.... walking pippa or even going into town... things are cooling down and just checked on the roof... its only 30C today up there and its 420pm... arh thats better, it can stay like this if it likes.... so freezing in here in the winter, getting undressed to go outside in the winter, how funny is that...

i am going to start at the begining of my paulo coelho alchemy diary from last year again, going through the quotes....

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

hello.... hello....hello...hello...hello!

i know what am i? lazy? a bit, tired? very so excuses over, and time to make up for lost time!

above is myself with sarah darren, janette and lenny, out on saturday night in aylesbury.

was a good evening minus a few people who were not out of my mind...

since i´v been home, i had to work for the last three days of the week, to start i thought i only had the three days, then i was asked to do two more weeks and i told myself i could do it... then thursday learnt it was only the three days! confused? i was! nothing unusual there i suppose, but not my fault...

so this promo is over, sad last few days after all that, and last weekend went in a flash, shopping and cleaning and the sunday market, and lots of sleeping, too much, and too much this week, i have been getting up late, between 8 and 830, so giving my self headaches! but i just feel so exhausted i feel i need to sleep, and i should know by now staying in bed does not help!

my friends here in alhaurín moved on wednesday, and i helped, poor car, i have to check the water and oil before we use if again, it was so overheated i had to have the fan on full blast and the heat as high as it would go, and it was 35 degrees outside, so you can imagine how hot i was in the car!

but all done now, they have moved from their one bedroom apartment, that was new'ish the block is still not registered! to a one level house out in the campo, but only just, 10 mintues from the main road, less than 20 minutes from our house, will take some photos next time i am there, and i remember to!

pippa and i walked there yesterday morning, good walk and one we can do more often now theyre nearer.

cant believe its october tomorrow! this time last year mom and i were in the states, staying at my aunts in queens, off to my cousins wedding in fishkill in a few days time... and before we know it halloween will have come and gone and christmas!

on wednesday in the estanco, a lady came over i knew from berkhamsted, we had worked together years ago, about 10 or 11, she had recognised although her husband thought i was a local girl, to spain that is, not england!

i was chatting to maria jose, from one of the estancos before my trip... i said all the english come in and are surprised when i speak in english, and yet the spanish dont think i am spanish, and only talk to me in english.... (have i already said about this? sorry if i am repeating...) anyway maria said its because i just look like a foreigner... a 'giri' in spanish...

monday at cudeca was a long morning, weird as it was only four hours and not the long day i have been used to, and apparently i am still in charge on mondays, even if i'm not in!

alhaurín streets have changed again over the last couple of weeks, a few more closures... with no hope of exists! soon we will neither be able to get in or out of our car park! the top ring road, as i call it, blas infante its name, is now open at last, new roundabout, park waterfalls and finished well, all the blacktop has been replaced from the crossroads as you reach town to the new area, and all the white lining.... looking good! till the pot holes return and white fades to grey!

the famous pot holes on the coast road are back now... franco is whistling from the car park...

All time, said the poet T S Elliot, is eternaiiy present, leading inexorably to an end that we believe results from our actions but over which our control is mere illusion.

TTFM
Marian

Saturday

hello...

well this promotion ended yesterday, was only 3 days left after my holiday to england, but oh so tired... got home just before midnight tuesday and off to work wednesday morning!

good last three days, great week visiting friends and family, lots to tell you, but not today, was up earlyish, did loads of housework, then franco and i went out for lunch about 1230 and didnt get back from shops till gone 4, now i just need to put up my feet and rest a little, cant believe its 630 already!?! how strange is that?

so... normal service will be returning here with me over next few days, will be going into the cudeca store to work monday morning... the old english test card above... thats what used to be on telly when nothing else was, do you remember those days? good night from the BBC and that was it! nothing till 6am to following day....

TTFN
Marian

England

hello friends,

here i am in england now, tony has gone of to work and i hava a few minutes before i have to rush off again...

trip to malaga airport on tuesday was fun in the thunder storm we were having, lots of rain and mud and rubbish all over the road... the flight was an hour later taking off so the storm had passed by the time we left, and as usual, we arrived on time anyway! then had to wait over half hour for our luggage to appear on the conveyer belt... phoned the car people who came and i collected my little auto and off i went!

the M1 motorway had roadworks... no change there, and i got to janettes about 4pm! we had coffee and doughnuts and i left around 530 to go to tony's popped into mom's on way past to say "hello mom, i'm here" and off i went again!

yesterday mom up town, after a quick hello to lisa where she works to arrange seeing her new home, then met mom and looked around the shops had coffee, again, and at 1pm was at sarah and darren's house... had a bit of lunch and went to town with them for coffee at costa's, where we used to go all the time, and then back to theirs again, later to tony's and in the evening he and i went to see the remake of the wicker man with nick cage, was good, but i was so tired... we hadnt had time to eat so stuffed ourselves with popcorn soda and chocolates! uummmm very good, but my body must be wondering what the heck is going on, after all the wonderful fruit juice i have been drinking and am now abusing it instead!


so... phew so far... today the weathers not looking good, its been quite warm here, well for england, so lots cooler than home, but today its wet, mom and i are going to milton keynes which is a big shopping mall, so all undercover nice and dry!

hope your all good, take care,
TTFN
Marian

One day of work to go!

From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere... If you never did, you should. These things are fun and fun is good...

TTFN
Marian

Space Station

oh and it was the Space Station we saw the other night, still waiting in its low orbit for the space shuttle to land on it! it took off today so we will look at for it again now! adios amigos

Saturday

sorry... as they say good intentions eh! was too tired to blog i am afraid... still tired, so again, short and sweet!

above is taken where i have my lunch on a monday along the benalmadina coast line, and there is the view to the marina, the video i took yesterday is from the bench i now frequent on a friday at montemar, the other side of the marina from where we see it above and about 15 minutes the other way!

week so busy busy busy, too long standing, everyday is another miracle i have got through, i dont know how, only that i only have monday and then i am off to england, and on my return have only three days left!

i am exhausted, did i say that before? yes i am sorry, still struggling with the hours drive there and back too, so much traffic and i am like a bear when i drive, an angry bear who growls at everyone who is doing something they shouldnt be, i ran a blog through my mind the other day on my way, all the driving habits of the locals here... well that will be for when i am back to myself!

went to town today, funny how the walk there now is so much harder, i dont really walk now, just stand for hours, and sitting anywhere hurts like heck!

you know i am so looking forward to visiting my friends up the coast, i am going to get on the coach here in malaga, and rest all the way, and the whole week.... b l i s s!

had the usual people in every day, those who buy for others mainly and a few for themselves, people who were happy to talk, those who just blanked me! i still gave them gifts if they bought our brand though...


so friends, i hope your all doing good, cant beleive this is the end of my third week already, miss you all, take care,

TTFN
Marian

Calle San Miguel

home, tired... drove back through the sierra de mijas range, i am getting quicker working my way through the twists and turns... although pulling myself up a bit lest i forget how deep the drop is on one side! along a corner where there are giant concrete teeth to stop cars going over, a motor bike helmit was sitting! no bike or rider? and i was going through the rapid eye blinking thing too like we do when we're tired...

at work today a man came up to me and said why was i promoting smoking! i should be making people stop not carry on! i replyed that i was only promoting the cigarettes, not smoking! he came back with a comment i cant remember but i then said... well you can lead a horse to water but you cant make it drink! well........ it was late in the day :-) he laughed anyway, maybe more at me than with me... who knows!

before i go... last night franco and i watched as the space shuttle atlantis past over head at 17,000 miles per hour, took 4 minutes to come into and out of sight again... it is on its way to the international space station.... fantastic to see in our beautiful dark sky shining like a giant star a big beautiful light....

TTFN
Marain

Septiembre

cant belive its september already! off to the uk a week on tuesday and i cant wait! just hope i can get through next week and a day first! i am so tired... ok sorry... whats been occuring this week, well work yes, all day everyday, finding park benches to sit on for my three hour break has been hard, dont want to sit in the sun and cook, that and that i'm wearing my cut off jeans and a heavy t-shirt advertising the cigarettes i'm promoting!

monday was the first at benalmadina, the estanco near the windmill round about on the coast road, and i stupidly walked to the marina and back, not realising it was quite so far! then the sea mist came in very fast and it disappeared altogether! very spooky, one passerby of age about 4 said to his mommy ¨is the sea boiling mummy?¨ how cute!

a women on tuesday after getting 16 cartons down off the shelf for her, asked about the warning in spanish on the boxes, i said well of course, we are in spain, and she said she would have to phone home to see if her friends/family would buy them if they had the warning in spanish because they could be dodgy! i would have thought had the warning been in english they would have been dodgy, as these with the spanish warning are made in nottingham, england, for export and sold legally to spain and then bought by people from all over on their hols! she never came back weird woman!

70% of the cigarettes smoked in the uk are bought abroad! and i feel a bit of a fraud in a way, i am supposed to get people to change their brand or buy more, but most people already know what and how many they are going to buy, its on their shopping list for other people, sometimes people will try a carton of 'our' brand, or buy an extra carton, but if a friend has asked for a certain type thats what they are going to buy whatever i have to offer gift wise!

tuesday also while sitting in a square reading a man came by and started talking to me about my book, first in spanish then in english telling me how it would end! strange man... he didnt even know what book it was and thought it was romance, i told him it was murder! and added the eeeeer eeeeeeeer noises while making stabbing motions so he got the picture! hope he's not about this week!

still not used to seeing so many people walking about in swim wear in the shops! wet and sandy and undressed! how bizarre! and three of the shops i am in are run by three brothers! los tres hermanos! on thursday down on vial playa at the malaga end of torremolinos maria jose only spoke to me in spanish all afternoon, determined i should go home with more knowledge! i did, my head was swimming in español all the way home and when i got out of my car in the car park here a lady started speaking to me... in spanish and i was just so tired my mind went blank!

driving is still fun coming home so tired, its not getting easier, amazed i have made it through another week... i noticed on last blog it says no comments.... but there are!

yesterday had coffee with mate who is missing me real bad! home and relaxed! oh and mercadona man brought our food, couldnt have coped with a trip to the shops! (sad eh) today, market and home, sorted out my stock of gifts and did a little stock take of them!

at the market we bought a wind up radio for franco for work, we got a free gift with it, a picture frame that has a voice recording thing with it, franco put a message on it to me, it says it will last 100 years... can you imagine, finding the voice of your .... what great great grandparents even maybe saying loving words on something like that! a message through time again eh...

will try to take some photos, and blog a little each day, i will try... hope everyone is good...

Love is not what makes the world go round.
Love is what makes the ride worthwhile...

TTFN
Marian