i am exhausted... wish this weather would break, just a little rain would be good, at night would be good too, just to cool things down a little. still no rain inland here at all, was bit cloudy down on the coast over the weekend, and seems storms are forcast for the weekend about here, so we will see.

coming home from work on saturday was a very strange first experience, the sky was blue, clouds were grey on the horizon, but all the way home so for about ten minutes i guess, it felt
like i was walking along near a car wash! felt like over spray... very strange!

although we, i, shouldnt complain, the poor people in greece, all the dead and the loss of homes and land, one couple were found in their home in an embrace, unable to save themselves, and another woman and her children died in their car trying to flee the flames, but had they stayed in their home, the fire didnt touch any in the town at all!


this week is quite quiet in town, lots of shops closed, still bar rosa is shut for holidays, so the very hub of the town is not there, its where we all meet up and everyone is wandering around feeling lost and not sure where to go meet their friends, and of course on wednesday the bar to our left is shut and so with the empty bar seems a very quiet place with just our shop there, well and the realestate offices and the lotteria of course!

three of our customers are on their way back to england in the next couple of weeks... wish them well and we will miss them...

poor pippa has been suffering the last couple of weeks, no way can i walk her in the morning and then spend the next six hours on my feet, so she is lucky if she gets a walk around in the evening, poor little thing, i suppose having three levels in our house gives her a good run, but she will be glad when its back to normal in a couple of weeks.

i have skipped a couple of my tablets the last couple of days, the farmacia is shut on my way in and shut on my way home... and now i am suffering, these are ones to keep my tummy safe from the strong anti inflamatories, it meant today i havent really eaten much.... yet... so i had better get some dinner on and try and eat, eating is ok, its the aches and pains that follow 12 hours later i cant do
...

ok amigos adios for now...

All the world needs
are examples of people
capable of living out their dreams
and fighting for their ideas...

TTFN
Marian

Floods

sorry about the photo above not too good and `borrowed' from the sur in english, thank you sirs! when franco came home early from work due to the months rain in 20 minutes this is what he was in! amazing isnt it, its says here.... "more than 40 litres per square metre pouring down in the space of an hour.... very unusual for august" well this could be because franco´s sister is out this weekend, and more often than not it rains when she is here! oh maria!!



and this little darling above came into the shop the other day, i have heard of chicken in a basket, but never puppy in a basket! how sweet...

been a long busy week, just heard my friend hasnt received any of my emails while she is away in canada, and is wondering if everything is ok!

of course of course.... por supuesto amiga...

Only one thing makes a dream impossible,
the fear of failure...

TTFN
Marian

i would say where has this week gone since i last blogged, a whole week? but i have been helping my friend out while she is away, so not been home till about 3 pm every day, including saturday, and so tired, yesterday i came home, got a bad head to add to the bad neck bad back and aching hips took them all to bed and got up at mid night? slightly at a loss as to where the evening had gone, had a yoghurt and went back to bed again.

its been so hot at night, hotter than normal i am sure for this time of the year, and these last few days so humid, franco came home early from work today as he was rained off, and he thought we would be flooded out up here too, but no rain in alhaurín today, it was torential down on the coast at calahonda and la cala de mijas, impassable in places and lots of accidents on the greasy roads.

this last week with franco on hols, he has been getting dinner ready for me thank goodness, i have been useless after getting home!

sunday we went to la trocha, but the shops are now closed there too on sundays, so no market and no shops, even the restaurants were not open yet!

we went to the garden centre for coffee instead, where i saw so many people i knew it was like a week day!

barry, oldest son, has booked his flight, yipee, he is over when franco is away in october, infact i can take franco to departures, see him off and walk round to arrivals where barry will be arriving! as long as both flights are on time i suppose!

ok folks sorry i am all done in now, my fingers ache so i am off to rest, seems the mornings are coming round much faster these days, and we have not even walked pippa yet today...

Love cannot exist in peace,
It will always come accompaned by agonies,
ecstasies, intense joys and profound sadnesses...

TTFN
Marian

Girls day out!

well here we are, down in fuengirola... aint she cute there above, hair so short we didnt think the clip would hold, but hold it did!



and what a sight we are no? looked like a hen night group gone terrible wrong and still out in broad daylight!

oh well we were having fun and harming no one, stone cold sober and making people smile...

the band is playing now, so we´re off out...

and by the way please remind me next year no star gazing, i have been suffering now for three days with a bad head and my neck is unmovable!

Warriors of light always keep a certain gleam in their eyes.

TTFN
Marian

Fuengirola

yesterday friends and i went down to fuengirola by bus to be noisey! well we were, we wanted to check out where friend is moving to this week, leaving us inlanders becoming a beach babe! we arrived in good time and had a coffee, then back to get a cab to take us there, seemed to take ages and didnt have a clue where we were going to end up, i will have to have a look on google map after this so i can check it out again.

she is moving to los boliches end of town, and seems very near to the benalmadina area, hopefully i will be able to find a good way of getting there by car, i think i have an idea how, just need to see it on the map.

the apartment is very nice, fairly new, and very very different from her very old house she is moving from, she wanted to be nearer the sea, and all the things that make living on the coast so different from living in land.

after we had the checked the place out we made our way back into fuengirola, some walk, but she wont have to do it if she doesnt want to, the area where she is moving to, and los boliches itself of course, is a good community with all the things you need... a small town all in its self.

we stopped in a bar along the beach and sat at a table in the shade right on the beach, we shared sardines fresh off the beach, above photo showing them being cooked next to the restaurant, the heat waves reaching up and making those people look all wobbly!!!

we had salad and bread and some cool drinks, the table to our right was getting fuller and fuller as a huge spanish family came off the beach, and the waitress´s triend to clear our table before we had even finished eating! that i didnt like, up inland, you can take as long as you want, only one group at a table and they dont rush you to fill it up again! and having our plates taken before we had all finished was only annoying and made us stay longer... we had more drinks!

then we carried on our merry way, into the town centre, we were in holiday spirit, dispite the above, and we ended up wearing flower leis, just like the hawaiian ones! and a clip on flower in our hair... ok ok i hear ya´ll laughing now, well you should have seen us!

you could if i posted the photos! i´ll check first and will do... maybe !

when we ready to get the bus home i talked to franco said adios to the others, i walked along to the miramar and met him in there... what a lot of walking, cant believe i did it, but i do today, big time, never mind had a great day...


lil purdy cat above is a friends kitten... aint he sweet, basking in the sun...

today, we went up to the garden centre with pippa, bought a climbing plant, to hopefully make its way up the rock face behind the house!

oh i almost forgot, stayed up late last night to look out for the shooting stars... san lorenzo again... see last years entry for him...

franco was watching tv, he fell asleep, but then so did i! up on the terrace laying down on the floor! just on some chair cushions... but the only way i could look up easily skywards! my neck was hurting from leaning back, so maybe thats also why it hurts so much now....

more luck tonight i hope, staying awake and seeing them too! few more nights i think we have a good chance of seeing the amazing things.

Do not try to explain feelings.
Live everything intensely
and treasure what you feel as a gift from God.

TTFN
Marian

the lakes are not this full at the moment! although they are higher than normal for this time of the year, due i guess to all the rain we had in april!

now what i have been meaning to tell you for a week now, the road up from the coast, down to fuengirola is going to be worked on! totally, not just the usual suspects, those recurring pot holes! its is going to be widened where it can be, to make those dangerous curves safer i hope, the works are going to start shortly.... (?) and will take 18 months mas or menos!

so when its done its going to be fantastico si!

still hot in these parts, 35 in the shade on the terrace today... stopped at bar rosa and had pil pil today with garlic bread, very nice thank you amigas! just what i needed just when i needed it!

yesterday i drove down to get franco from work and i think i havent driven the car since maria was out here back in june! seems strange not driving for so long, never thought the day would come where i wasnt driving every day... bit like the days i couldnt see myself not going clubbing... and i mean dancing by clubbing folks! but those days are long gone... and different ones are here now... ones i didnt expect and so much better!

The warrior of light
plunges unhesitatingly into the river of passions
ever flowing through his life...

(and as usual paulo coelho´words are spot on!)

TTFN
Marian

as you can see we survived the lakes! the first trip out was a bit scary, well for me, i was all brave and excited all week, then got out there in the middle of the second lake and the wind was blowing, the waves... yes there were waves, and a strong undercurrent, we were paddling like crazy against the wind and waves whichever way we went! so the first time i got a bit freaked out... but we got back off the boat, and walked ashore, i went back in on foot to test out my life-jacket! lol... i was walking out slowing putting one foot tentativly out infront as i know the land drops away very suddenly at the lakes... when thats exactly what happened and i was screaming and flapping about like a crazy thing! then remembered i did have a life-jacket on of course! steadied myself, because it was still only chest deep really i had just panicked... i relaxed and leaned back into the water and it held me ok... till i came across some spiky twig things and started scrabling about all over again! hope no one got all then of video!

anyway after that i didnt want to stop... so we did four tours of the lake the final one going into another lake and seeing what was up there! it was a great day, the sun was hidden most of the day by some fluffy clouds and although we had both put sun screen on franco got badly burned, especially his ankles and chins. on our way back we stopped in cartama for coffee and tapas, and then passed and drove back to an ice cream parlor for a huge dish of beautiful cool ice cream!!!

i expected to be in agony sunday, but saturday evening, still no sky tv, we went out with pippa walking, did a big trip up to calle blas enfante, and continued all the way way and down into the centre of town and bar rosa roundabout, we stopped for coffee at bar chaplin and then home!

my arm muscles ached, but good ache, my shoulders were a bit tender, but not too bad and my hips i suppose were fine because i was sitting straight out, not sure, but not more than happy about that.



now photos here... top one is the fountain i have mentioned before, its at the top, well what was the top of riviera del sol, its now at the approach of the tunnel that takes you under the toll road to the huge area of apartments now on the other side of that road too!

the photo cannot really show the exact size of the thing, maybe four or five cars in length... its amazing though the water comes up out of her mouth!

and the photo above is the view of los olivos taken from the road coming down from the toll road into calahonda.

yesterday as we couldnt get the grandprix on our tv, we went down to the beach apartment and we getting ready to watch it there when the box froze! we left it a while and took pippa for a walk along the beach to a bar, had coffee and water, for pip, came back but no good, so back home again!

we turned the aerial so we could get our spanish freeview box to work and watched tv on that for the remainder of the day, even got the chelsea-manchester united match on that! and loads of american sit coms and movies all evening! in english!!!

It is not explanations that carry us forward,
but our will to go on...

TTFN
Marian

El Chorro and the lakes

well tomorrow we´re going up to the lakes on our little boat, blow up boat thing this is! i have all our stuff ready, cool things in the freezer cooling... towels, water shoes, sun screen of course, most importantly my life jacket, i just said to franco should i wear it all the time, he said no i dont think you will need it in the car! ha ha funny man!

we´re going to leave early enough not to be out when its real hot i guess... and i suppose fingers crossed then for the day! neither of us can swim, we´re not taking pippa, who is the only one who can, or at least we guess she could doggy paddle if she had to eh!

and i´ll tell all soon! probably on sunday when we have gone port out and starboard home...

TTFN
Marian