Come ride with me through my day today amigos.... M4 to Port Talbot, into shopping centre, already at car park new charges, set the day in motion for 'fail'.... 1.30 for an hour, already five minutes past before my feet even hit the shop floor!

Into Opticians... new glasses bought a month ago, they were impossible to actually see through and I had gone back twice, first time 'they' said see how I go, they are narrow lenses and have lots to do in such a narrow space! Second time, er no... we can't change them now, you would have to buy a new pair... by the by, in the first instance I would have been within my rights...

The day of was off to work a week ago on Monday, picked them up and an arm just fell off... the glasses, not me! Not the hinge the part of the hinge that sticks onto the frame... no screws in these, sooooooo, now I am building the clock, sorry the scene!  In I go.... "No, sorry, we can't fix them here, we can send them off to the factory, did you get insurance?".... I hadn't so, that was that, they need soldering!  I asked if the few times they had had to heat the plastic arm could have had any effect on the solder that had, apparently, been holding the hinge in place, she said "No"... in my experience though, heat does tend to melt solder... er... that's how it works, yes!!!!

Arh.... so out I came, back to the car and off to supermarket... only a five minutes drive, so I thought I would bring my mood with me!  Did my shopping, at the check out I handed the very helpful lady, no sarcasm, she was helpful! lol... I handed her the new card we have recently acquired for this store... she said, "we aren't taking these yet!" What!!!! I had done quite a big shop, a weeks worth of meals and stuff, I had wanted to make sure I went over the limit necessary for the WOW points extra for this new system they have in place!  She said she would check to make sure anyway, she did, it didn't!

I went to customer service and said I had just spent such and such amount of money, purely because of this new card!  That the vouchers I had said they were only to be used between October 13th and ..... about the 2nd or 3rd of November, [without getting up to check!].

She phoned the office and they said that this store hadn't started yet, and it would be available to use the vouchers as of Thursday!

Al final.... out in the car park, one of the 5p carrier bags gave up its goods as I was loading into the car and a beautiful tall glass bottle of sauce hit the tarmac and shattered, its contents beautifully coloring the car park!  I cleared it up best I could and vacated the area!

Beautiful painting of the lakes at Ardales below...

TTFN
Marian

View from La Alcazaba restaurant in Mijas pueblo...

From our roof terrace one evening at the sun was setting...

Having a café con leché in town one evening, very quiet, had gone for dinner but the place I chose already had the kitchen closed! Only 5:45pm!!! Okay, it wasn't exactly Spanish is probably why! lol

This view never ceases to amaze and keep me forever wishing to be here...

This view on the other hand... above, of the Kings walk at El Chorro, the green bridge there on the right, where Frank Sinatra took a bullet in the movie Von Ryans Express!  The walk now goes over the bridge... that's the jagged line running across the mountain, not the cable above that's crept into the shot much nearer where I am standing! lol

From El Kiosk bar/restaurant near the lakes, Ardales, the water was a lot higher than I thought after such a long drought... will have to check out my low level pics!

Whispy red evening skies above Alhaurín from our balcon in the new living room!



Found one!  The lake was dry all the way to the road that runs between the church and the restaurant area... Lowest I have ever seen it!  It was winter too, the  deciduous trees as you can see are bare...

TTFN
Marian

Back from Spain, above glimpse out through La Peña in Mijas pueblo... the day of my return to Blighty!

Had a wonderful lunch in La Alcazaba restartante overlooking the Fuengirola and Mijas Costa coastline, no windows, all pulled back and anchored by metal bars, toldos flapping in the breeze, occasionally being pulled back up due to high winds... which is why I got sun burnt!

I had murluza, [hake], with mussels and shrimp aplenty, in a beautiful salsa verdé, two glasses of wonderful Rioja, a desert of flambé bananas and ice cream... Beautiful lunch beautiful day...

Above during a visit to Fuengirola... not sure what was happening in the church square, but became a great pic!

Great prose written on bar window, very good for how I feel just now with work...
Not quick sure how my camera came out like it has with the pavement jutting out like this, but hope it comes out on my Blog the same as I can see it just now!

Our barrio.... at our home in Spain...

Had a great two weeks, should have been a week, but extended it to visit with my aunt Rita from New York, who was on a trip with two of her friends, I had never met the two gals before, they are so much fun, two great ladies I wish I had known longer.  These three could fill a book or ten with the most amazing stories and lifetimes of tales!  I got see them the day they arrived, actually there awaiting they're arrival into the hotel they were staying in which was great!  Then on the Sunday I spent the whole afternoon and most of the evening with them, for the next couple of nights I arrived after they got back from they're trips out and about and had had dinner...

I rented a car, twice... Which was strange, keep thinking I still have the car and have left it back home in the car park behind the house!! Didn't did I!!! lol... I saw loads of friends and neighbors and people of the town who know me, just randomly, like the girl from the lotteria shop, others stores and passersby...  Was so nice driving about the countryside, trips to the coast, lunch with my neighbor from the apartment down at Calahonda, La Trocha car boot sale, the lakes at Ardales and El Chorro... the Kings walk is finished now, and you can get over the railway line now instead of via it to gain access to the amazing ravine.  Breakfast at Torremolinos a couple of times at a friends restaurant, the end of season for him now.  A couple of visits to Ikea!  And Primark in Miramar!!! Home from home eh!  Now I wish I hadn't brought things with me I didn't need to from the UK!!  A trip to La Cañada and of course Malaga... The Picasso museum was closed! Mondays!! Must remember to never go on Mondays again, the Thysson too was closed!  Even the Teteria was closed....

Was so sad leaving, again... I even made a deal with the lotteria girl, for me to win the 100 million euro I would give her 1 million... I have changed our home about there, moving the lounge upstairs in the front room so we have the big doors to look out through, from the sofa we can now see the mountains and the Guadalhorce valley, from first thing in the morning with the sun rising over Malaga, through the changing colors of the day to the sun setting from the direction of Cadiz....

TTFN
Marian