James Blunt - Stay The Night [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]

Above a pic of a cicada I took at some time! We were talking about them the other day at the Boardroom, they are unrelated to the grasshopper/locust, its another family altogether that's gone from my mind! But they are eaten all around the world... Not here, not in my kitchen... yet!!!

Its just gone 5pm, and is still wonderfully warm, hot even, up on the terrace, I had gone up to clear up some mess I had made earlier... and I pulled up a chair, and sat reading for a while, then I put the book down and day dreamed for a while, then started Blogging in my mind, and thought I better come back downstairs and do it for real.... so, lets get shnappy!

This morning I awoke suddenly and late! I'v been waking up almost an hour before the alarm, then just lightly till the alarm... I think it was the anti histamine I had taken, something I ate for dinner last night, has given me a bad rash on my neck, but they always make me so tired, so I woke up badly.... Anyway, went to town, and as the morning went on, I started to get a headache, and neck ache!

It was hot too, too hot for what I was wearing, trouble is when I leave the house you need something, then by 10am I was getting sun burn on my arm... and before long the sun had moved up above the bottom of the toldo and I was mostly in the shade!

When I arrived at Bar Cruz, the Boardroom table was taken! I sat in the middle one, and the two men at 'our' table said, no no, come over here, we're at your table!!!!! Well well well...... We obviously do have a reserved sign on it, even if only us and the locals can see it! muy bien!

Three of us were at the meeting today, and two welcome guests! The syndicate didn't win the Euromillions, again, this week... One friend was expecting someone else to come along, so I waited with him a while, but had to go in the end, I had taken a pain killer, and just wanted to get home...

I went into Mercadona for a few bits, and coming back past the bar, friend was still waiting.....

Once home, I didn't want to just do nothing, I wanted to try and get rid of the bad head and neck, so I baked a cake! Using two of the eggs aforementioned friend had given me, duck eggs! I made a strange cake, using a recipe, but changing a few things, adding others! So wasn't sure how long to bake for and the bottom came out a bit dark... But it tastes very nice, well Pippa and I think so anyway!!

Then while the cake was baking I prepared some meat balls for later, Pippa is annoying me now, she knows they're for dinner and made of mince, her favourite! I seem to be addicted to a yellow spice, my skin will turn yellow soon, if I marinade something before I go out in the morning, I find my hands are yellow once I am out of the house!!! Well I mean they are yellow in the house, I guess, just outside there is better light and I can see it!

Also while the cake is baking... I realised my head ache was gone, my neck ache better... So I put on a CD and was dancing away in the living room! I have always done this.... It was my bedroom when I was a kid, now its all over the house!! And I know I am not alone is doing this amigos!! You know who you are! I was listening to James Blunt, posted here somewhere! ...I know some people think he is depressing!! But I like music where you can actually understand the words, and I like the words he uses... so there it is! But the first one I listened to is the one I have put here before my Blog if it comes out like it should! It is a dance track... I know not every ones cup of tea, but it just does it for me, sends me back to my good old days of dancing the night away.... One friend and I used to go to a club, the dance floor empty, every one intimidated by the large expanse of empty space... except us! There we would be dancing away, and when I opened my eyes... the floor would be packed! Opened eyes yes! We both danced like that, I think, as it was just us, closed eyes, we probably both felt like we were just at home, and just relaxed into it...

Anyway, before I hit the floor again! Not! I think that's enough excitement for one day!

Not sure if its the heat, but I can even move my left leg better than I could the other weeks... Or all the positive thinking I am trying to do now.... After Monday, and getting as bad as I could get, I think, I am trying to think only positively, saying "I have been better" or richer! Someone told me negativity attracts negativity, so I am now only attracting positivity! As best I can, and yesterday I thought, wherever Mom is, she is not thinking about how bad it was for her a year ago, and I shouldn't either, I should only be thinking of all the good times, all the good memories, I know I am going to slip over the next few days, weeks, times in my life.... but Mom walks with me...

So! I watched Thunderbirds movie.... F.A.B. and all that! In between hanging washing, hand washing a blanket, and weeding! The latter was what I went up to clear just now...! The terrace is also washed and clean, looking lovely and red again now, that rubber paint is great!!!

Now to dinner, and the meat balls!

TTFN
Marian

Daft Punk - One More Time

I feel I should have written by now this week... I have having a bad bad week, in the mornings when I am out and about I seem to be keeping myself busy, and my mind thinking of other things, but back home, is another matter...

Monday when I got home, I felt so bad I didn't think I would even be able to get out on Tuesday morning for work, I was upset all afternoon, and getting really anxious and cross with Pippa, we seemed to have a coach party in the car park at the back which the neighbours dog, then Pip wanted to bark at!

I went for a nap, but couldn't really sleep, just felt worse, and I could feel my heart pounding so hard, I felt sick... Tuesday, of course, I did manage to get up, and get out for Pip's walk, and later to work... Although was a struggle there too, busier day, which was good, the sun was out, and so were the people...

Its one helluva beautiful day today, very warm, too many people in town today, and too many clothes on! I had left home with jacket, scarf and gloves on! Crazy that I am! So had to carry all those home, and tomorrow will wear a t-shirt!

I began a Memories page for Mom, around her Birthday back in January, Tony's idea... I have put up some photos, and yesterday I did a story also...

I just am so thankful for my friends in the mornings around our Boardroom table, the days would be very long without them... and for Pippa of course, even though I am snapping at her... a little my poor baby!

TTFN
Marian

The snow globe Mom and I were in... I wish I had had this shot with us in it from this distance, the photo I have of us close up is lovely, but I can remember us in here, above, jumping about throwing the snow, the up air draft thingys making the snow fly about as we did so... throwing handfuls of the stuff in the air...

We had such a great time, a fantastic memory, we followed this with a trip on the merry go round! I dragged Mom onto and inside the Cinderella carriage... It wasn't very comfy, but we waved at all the faces watching us go round!

Just saying to a friend whose Mom passed away four months ago... 'time is a great healer' isn't working for me, a week on Friday a year... I feel as wretched as the day... that day.

The wound is still open, and raw, and I ceaselessly pick away at it, I can't stop, and I don't want to stop. The week, the last day especially, the hug..... the tears, not mine, but seemed to be hers at the end...

Coming up the new road on Friday in the rental car, the first time I have driven the road myself, I said aloud "hey Mom, what do you think of the new road? Isn't it brilliant! make a wish!" I mean really... am I crazy or what? No don't answer that please... Although not sure which was worse, that I was talking aloud in the car to Mom, or that I told her to make a wish!!! We did that, you see, somewhere new, we made a wish....

Then on Saturday, after coming down the road with a friend I said "when Mom and I came up here yesterday......" then I realised what I had said! By her face mostly! I had so felt she was with me in the car!

This morning I was at La Trocha market and stopped at a bric-a-brac stall, there amongst the treasures[????] were two hand painted plates, two girls names, dates and places of birth, one in Chichester, one in Malaga, both early 80's, both had middle names of Muriel... Mom's name.... How strange, we could never find her names of anything, hard enough finding mine, especially spelled correctly, but never Muriel... And just now on a tv movie they were playing New York, New York... I guess the 'signs' I see everywhere, will be many and varied, over the next 11 days...

I better go now, I am not helping myself here, nor am I making anyone laugh... I don't feel very funny....

TTFN
Marian

Deftones - Drive (Cars Cover)

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Me in Florence....

I know, I know, its been five days since my last post... I feel at the moment my only words would be about my Mom, the anniversary of her passing is looming like a big black cloud threatening to push me to my knees, and I don't even know if I will want to get up again after it... I shall be on my own most of the day, that's if I can bear to go out of the house even, if not I may just hole up in bed all day, phones off, tv off... I don't know.

So to what's past up to date then if I can lift myself up and out of this mood, Saturday was back to the vets, for Pippa's second anti infection jab, after her dewclaw loss... she really didn't want to go back, and I can understand her... I had to carry her a bit, but then couldn't, too heavy, and once in there was a huge amount of people, and it was a two hour wait to be seen, some of which sat next to a poor dog, that looked old, ill, and near its last days... the second two things are correct, I spoke with the man about the poor animal when his Mom was away, it was her dog, it hadn't been bitten by a mosquito but they had got into its system none the less and the four years old dog was so sick, it made me so sad... I cannot imagine not having my companion with me...

Anyway, eventually we went in, Pippa tried to make a bolt for the door on the way past, so dragging her through the door not a great entrance! She also didn't like having another jab and only half the fluid got in on the first try and the vet just seemed to jab at her to get the rest in... and not gently pinch her neck, the rest went in muscle on her poor little bottom! And as you can imagine she was not best pleased, and bleed profusely in the reception area afterwards, I went home looking like I had been in a massacre as my hands were both covered in blood!!! Back briefly though, her dewclaw had healed up very nicely, and what had been left of the bandage came off, nothing more put on, she had pulled most of it off in the morning while I was out, clever little thing! And I had taped some more on, which came off on the journey down, but she looked so funny, as she walked she kept shaking the leg with the loose bandage!!

Sunday Franco and I met up with some friends and took them to La Trocha market, they had never been before, we went around it once, then Franco took Pippa to vets, his turn! We went up stairs for coffee, then walked around once more and Franco came back.... after another coffee, we did a last turn of the market before heading off to the Moreno for some lunch... I was shattered, to say the least, agonising trying to keep walking for so long, anyway had some nice lunch, and the place was packed not room for another other people ten minutes after we arrived, people were hanging around like vultures, something I hate, it makes me eat slower, order more, and take s o m u c h more time......hovering over our tables and looking to see what we had left to eat!!!!

Then we were home, and had to go back out about 5pm, so it was a quick rest(!) And down to Fuengirola... and drizzle! Tuesdays rain had come early...

Monday? Monday.... San Valentino! A late Happy Valentines day to you all x

And yesterday came the rain, full tilt! I got soaked getting to the shop, I didn't want to carry spare shoes so wore normal boots which did nothing to keep the water out, both pairs of socks soaked through, so I went to get the coffee's, crossed Rio Cartáma to get them, we had free cakes which was nice! Then I went to the bank, and later back to the panadería for mas café con leché! So all in all, I just stayed wet through, I met up with friends later after work and thankfully got a lift home, and got straight into fluffy things to warm myself back up!

And not using my brain at all, my boots this morning were still damp, I think some crumpled newspaper may have helped! The socks were still wet too, and my coat!

Not down town for long today, we sat at a different table today, better placed if it started to rain, I had my BP done on the way home, much better today, so not sure if I should still see the doctor, about it... will see how it is tomorrow.

I'm glad I came home when I did, we had thunder, rain, rain, and more rain most of the afternoon... Luckily I kept the TV signal, but I was finishing a book I started only on Monday, 3096 days, written by a girl who was kidnapped and that was the amount of time she was held by the kidnapper... All the awful things he expected of her, the mind games, the beatings, and her eventual escape... A brilliant book I recommend.

Ok folks, I'm done, so many words and nothing said at all... That's sometimes how I feel.

TTFN
Marian

Me and my shadow..... Up on the terrace the other day that is! I was sat reading and looked at the wall to see myself shadowed there... Please note the attractive spiky bit of hair right at the top of my head! I didn't.... or it would not be there! There is no top to my hat, I chopped it off a few years ago, and it just sits around my head, keeping the sun off my face and out of my eyes....

I had just sat down to write earlier... when I could hear Pippa up on the stairs, she sounded strange so I went to investigate, she had almost, totally pulled off the nail she did the same thing to a couple of years ago! The dewclaw.... poor little thing, anyway so much blood I could see this wasn't going to heal itself, the last couple of weeks it had been bothering her and now it was.... well lets just say in a very bad state.

So I grabbed her, her passport, and money[of course] switched off anything I could think needed to be switched off, locked up and out we went to the vets.... I actually thought it would be closed so just went to the emergency bit on the side, a vet opened the door and said the main building...

[I'v been away again!]

So into main building and the same vet brought us straight through into an examination room, bypassing two people who were already seated and waiting!!!

He got the nail out cleanly, cleaned, bandaged and two injections for poor Pip!

Yes I was gone for another couple of hours there, and you never even noticed! My friend and neighbour popped in.... we had a sherry! oh how very la di da!

Trying to keep Pippa from tearing at her little red sock bandage now, and tomorrow have to take her back again, for it to be cleaned and more jabs... he is going to clip her nails too, and then next week its her parvo/rabies jab, which is already a month late...

On the way back from vets earlier we bumped into a friend from down the road, with their two dogs... his wife wasn't with them... she had fallen the other day while walking the dogs and broken her hip!!!! I will pop in to see her Monday or Tuesday poor girl!

Just before I go, Tony said today he may phone me over weekend, I think I have been left with a fear of him calling... he used to call to say something was wrong with my Mom... We do speak nearly everyday, on the computer, will be nice to have a normal happy conversation to break my fear.... When we're in the car too, Tony's alarm would go off if I undid my seatbelt too early.... now I wait till we have parked, whatever car I am in!!!!

TTFN amigos
Marian

Above Mijas... the Ermita de la Peña...

Franco and I were saying today, how the amount of records sold is now so much less than when we were younger, used to be a huge amount of sales to reach No. 1, now it seems so few.... I said sadly some of that must be down to illegal sales of music, either by download or copying... In 'the old days' you would never have seen some bloke open his big baggy coat and expose an amount of vinyl records hanging from his inside pocket! lol....

And talking of jacket's.... In the shop yesterday, my short amount of time in there that is, a beautiful jacket came in and I was pricing it up to hang in the shop... I said to one of the girls how lovely it was, and just the sort of type and color my Mom would have loved, the material was soft, the design, everything... I had it spread out on the counter thinking how it really was 'a Muriel' coat.... My friend said, well get it for her!!!! I said oh come on, you know I can't! and she said, well of course you can, just wrap it up carefully and post it to England in one of those bags... I said.... I can't ~ remember my Mom passed away nearly a year ago!!! The poor girl was beside herself! she had forgotten... I said if I could I would get myself small and into the pocket and post it off to my Mom... I don't know who was more upset...

Yesterday the doctor at the hospital gave me a prescription, something to take if my palpitations gone too bad only...I took the script into the farmacia this morning and they couldn't read his bad handwriting! I had to tell them what it was for to give them an idea.... well good luck to me then, think I might not take the medication, I don't have to...

A friend was MIA today from the Boardroom, without a pass! Hope he is all right... When one of us missing, we are very much noticed in our absence!

Just a short Blog today, from me, a short Blogger

TTFN
Marian

Oh, not Blogged since Friday, apart from a little video that caught my attention!

Well Saturday was the norm... Into town, to the Boardroom of course, we won in our syndicate, yeah! Under a tenner, but nearly paid the price of next weeks lottery, so not bad, as in better than nothing!

Nice to sit in the sun... especially as its moved round suddenly, rising from a different position from just one day to the next which is very odd, instead of taking a week or so, 20 minutes earlier than the day before and there we were bathed in sunshine already! So not sure what happened with planet earth to make it do that, maybe someone knows???

I had two or three afternoons on the terrace in the afternoons, reading a book, one I have had for ages, it wasn't that it was bad, or hard going, just not really taking time out to just sit and read, but now I have, and its finished, I was left reading a magazine.... Its funny, so out of the habit of reading magazines, they seem full of rubbish, adverts and general nonsense!

Sunday was quiet, I didn't even leave the house all day!

Yesterday normal meeting of friends and like minds... Then a friend and I went to the local garden centre after he had helped me run an errand... quite a few people there, made they're way up from the coast on our new road I suspect!

And today... I went to work, just for over an hour, then home, bit of a relax before going to the hospital, we got there easily, my friend drove of course, that's why! Went in to see the doctor, who was very nice, it was a bit like an interview, lots of quick fire questions, followed by staring into my eyes... nose and mouth! That last bit, of course, not being like an interview at all I hasten to add!! Then he tried to make my legs go in directions they really didn't want to go!!

I have to make lots of appointments now, we couldn't make them today, as they can only be made at a certain, early in the mornings, so have to go back to make the appointments, then, for the appointments, then go back to see the doctor for all the results....

He also told me to go back to see my doctor, as my BP is still really high, but he was asking me questions throughout both the readings, one at the beginning and one at the end, I said, should I be talking through this? and he said, yes that was fine!!

Think that's it for now, mas o menos anyway...

TTFN amigos
Marian

Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz: THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA - 1964

Well a bit bizarre this evening, a friend told me about a photographic exhibition going on this evening with her photographic club... the Casa de Cultura... So friend and I met up, got there, about five minutes after it should have started... and? And nothing, nada de nada!

The photos yes... but no people but us, so we went for a coffee and went back, and still, nada!

No people, no tapas!!!

So we had a good look at the photos and left the building!


And I thought I would post some of my efforts here, they have all been posted before, but what the heck eh!

Top of the shots here is myself[!] standing next to the cross at the very very highest point of El Chorro, well the highest bit I could ever expect to get to, and this is much much higher than the railway line far below....

Then a shot taken through the cross itself... I don't think many people even know this cross is up there...

The next is our church right here, the Santa Vera Cruz, and a couple of the Roman columns which are in front of the town hall... This was one of the photos used in the town calender a few years ago now...

y el final, is one beautiful sunset from a couple of months ago.... taken from our terrace...

Now let me check, ok was Tuesday my last Blog... Friday now, time flys.... But back to today, knock on the door this afternoon, post woman, she says is this you and says a name, through the open window, Pippa is in the house, and barked, she screamed! She who was outside, in the street, she couldn't even see Pippa, which doesn't exactly have a big dog sound about her, at all! For goodness sake, get a grip!!!

Yesterday I got the bus and back down to Fuengirola to meet up for coffee with friends, actually had churros though con chocolate.... mmmmm muy muy bien, me gusta mucho! Could just eat some now!! Later I had a cup of tea too, well a mug, it was an English cafe... Saw a couple of people we know... they went past one at a time, not sure if the first saw me, but the second did when I called her name! I say it like this as they ripped Franco off, and of course know it!

It's been lovely the last few days, not a cloud in the sky and warm in the sun, very warm, sunbathing up on the terrace earlier reading a book and drinking a cup of té... just there its a real sun trap, and lovely this time of the year, oh sunbathing in jeans and a top by the way... Don't the people in the ayuntamiento to think I am loco![?]

I am in need of chocolate! Wish I had some!

Did I mention the birds are singing now in the mornings when I take Pip out, its still dark, they must know something I don't!

Spring has sprung.... and all that!
TTFN
Marian

Well here we are, its today!

Just Tuesday actually... nothing more, nothing less! Work this morning, and was far too quiet, it gets so... well not boring, I don't ever get bored, in general... but back to this morning, it was slow going! And the weather was glorious, cold, just didn't seem to be the people about, hey I wonder if its the road being opened now!!! That would be funny.... NOT! No nasty people in today, no one fighting and scratching this week, I was dreading that woman coming in again! So we just sorted incoming things, tidied the store, and kept ourselves busy, two cups of coffee, one first thing, another later as per usual, no free goodies today, different woman! ha!

On the way home I popped into a couple of shops, I bought bananas and something I don't like... must have had a mind lapse, all the other shops closed, went into Chollos[something like that], and bought one of smelly things that goes puff when you pass!

Now... been gone for about an hour, had a call from one of my new cousins... I sent her two Moonpig cards, big A4 size with 12 photos on each card front... and the explanation inside!

I sent them... via here of course, late on Saturday, No actually it was Sunday! It was posted from Guernsey yesterday and arrived today!

We have so much to talk about, I wish though I could get them all in one room, so we could catch up together, I have a whole lot of years to tell them about! And of course, they too...

But back to today.... I came home and had to get straight to my hair, it was time dye! I am trying another new color, this says its red! I have pinned it up, and will check it out in daylight tomorrow morning now... Hope its red, but not too red... it should be ringlets too if I can sleep with these bobby pins in... If not I will wake up with lots of holes in my skull!

I also took a little stereo unit upstairs, its almost broken[CD kaput], and brought down the bigger one we have, in the process I dropped the remote, and now it will not work, I tried dropping it again, but that, surprisingly didn't fix it... tried different batteries. I had lost the remote for the other one years ago, and now we still don't have one!!!

Zebra fish on the TV just now, been the 3rd or 4th time I have seen this advert, Zebra fish can self heal their hearts when injured, and the British Heart Foundation are trying to find a way to replica that for humans, how amazing that would truly be...

In my crazy rummage through things yesterday to track down an item.... I came across a small brochure about a road opening.... and there was me thinking it was only here that 'road openings' took place! This is titled Berkhamsted Bypass.... from May 1993, I remember the day, we actually went down it from start to finish, on Barrys birthday, WOW what a birthday treat!!!! It has been opened, now, in three stages, the first was when I was 16, I was working in Tring and used to walk up to see the progress in my lunch break... 18 years later, the next bit, and while I have been here in Spain another part has now opened.... What am I rambling about???

I also apart from the poem from yesterday found another paper I have written before, time for a repeat performance.... It has no title, and no writers name, it just is what it is....
Then adieu...

The sad sad voice in this heart of stone
sings a song of a love that once was known.
This song now changed from its merry key, has,
in its way no dint of misery. For on its way to
composition, joy was known and joy was hidden.

As joy was shown, this sad sad song, sung
with love by this heart of stone, must release
the tears of a joy once known.

If joy was hidden, it must now be shown,
to reveal the treasure locked in a memory of a love once known.

For love once shown is love alone, enduring in this
heart of stone, let not treasures, both known and
hidden be shut in and unbidden.

The sad sad song of joy sings its way from a
misery to a life with sweet sweet memory, for
joys, both shown and hidden, are treasures between us given.

TTFN
Marian