Today is all about hailstones and sunshine!  Lots of both, some at the same time!  Big pieces of what look like sugar candy off the top of Chelsea Bun!  Hard to catch a photograph of before melting quickly as the sun comes back out!

Missed the bit in the song that says "April 'snow' showers bring forth...."

Some beautiful blue bells, my favourites... in the garden here near a few of the last daffodils... They are on the wane now!

This song thrush is bringing a tasty, for a chick, worm home to feed his family...  Not a great shot really...

This one much clearer!  This poor chap was behind a curtain all night it seems and I walked him onto the paper, we left the house and I walked him off it again onto a plant, hope he has found warmth before the snow came, maybe I should have just shared the honey pot with him in the kitchen!

I do have a really great shot of three lambs, but although I have downloaded it on here... it is eluding me at the moment!  I will do so again now... and delete this bit!

These little babes were newly born!  They are so beautiful, I have never held a lamb!  And now I really want to!  Milked a cow, fed the chucks... ridden horses bare back!  At Hatchers Farm, that was... MMmm, just checked it out, it looks like its still called that, and for sale!! Anyway, my step-dads friends owned it a long while ago and we used to go there a lot and have fresh from the cow milk on the table, and freshly made bread and cakes by auntie Mary...

TTFN

Marian

Prince

I couldn't believe it on hearing the news Prince is dead, he was the soundtrack to my life in the 80's and 90's... and from then on, on hearing this track especially its radio up and no talking!

Purple Rain....

I truly am knocked back...

I must have told you the story of staying with a friend in Kings Langley, above an Italian restaurant there one evening, the summer, warm weather, we had just finished watching Princes Purple Rain movie, and in through the huge open windows flew in 3 white doves.... as if on cue... The weirdest thing imaginable...

And who didn't play 1999 on the last day of the 20th century as the last millennium flickered out?  Okay, maybe not all of you... But I did.  Me the quiet Prince fan over there in the corner, tapping my heal to his music before getting up and throwing caution to the wind!

A sad sad day... This news coming in amongst British TV full of the Queens 90th birthday celebrations... Why do so many brilliant musicians die so young, I know,

I know, candle at both ends lives... This year alone the most amazing actors, musicians, our great comedian Victoria Wood only the day before... I sure as hell hope they are having the very best days and nights in partying of their lives wherever they may be now, they will live on forever with us, but too short a time for those generations coming now who could have had the opportunity to see and hear these people for real and remember them also, lives cut short, exceptional talent...

Rest in piece young man, although, we will never let you rest, never be forgotten, so tune your guitars, exercise those amazing vocal chords and lets get started, (I guess I have to write in case some people do not realise a 'comma' stands for 'not the end of anything'),

Marian

Me, Orphan Black!

Here I am back in Blighty, Wales to be a little more exact, although still vague!

Been back in placement for nearly a week, weather has been good, and spring is definitely in the air!  I am surrounded by new born lambs, bleating away day and night, they sound so different! I didn't realise! Just like us!

For the first time here I have seen a squirrel, little chap who came up below the bird feeders, then had a drink from the bird bath... So I put some nuts on the veranda and on the window sill, but he didn't come back...

The pair of Jays still taking lots of food, although a crow got top marks today, he picked up four crusts in a row and flew off to eat them, won't make that mistake again, small crumbs from now on!

The woodpecker is still hanging onto the bird feeder unable to get a thing from it and too fast for me to get a photograph!

The Builth Wells bull!

When I arrived here last week I was shattered! Up at twenty to four, at the airport for five am, and landed in Cardiff at 8:30am!! Bus to Cardiff city centre and a coffee! Had a wander about, but was so tired already! So I got a bus here... It had taken 2hrs 30 minutes by air to do about 1500 miles, and it took 2hrs and 35 minutes to do 63.5 miles! We stopped maybe 3 or 5 times only I think! A long journey but beautiful scenery...

Our nearest park

Can almost see our terrace from here!

Once in the nearby town I got something to eat and drink, then dragged my case and myself the last part of my journey... About half hours walk!

The customer I am supporting was pleased to see me, I think now she is settled in the routine of our month on month off rotation

Today she looked at me and said I was surrounded by blue, all around my head and shoulders... my aura?

Writing captions to photographs... my reference to the Orphan Black on mine is apart from I seem to have morphed into her! I have been catching up and watched the whole of the 3rd series... How did I not know it was available??? And yesterday went straight into Series 4... only to find... they are adding one episode at a time!!! Arrrrhhhhh! Did you hear me scream....

TTFN

Marian

This morning we, Franco Pipster and I had our walk about the local area, then headed off out in the car, we went to Mijas Pueblo, they have been working on the lower plaza for some time now, seems to be at the stage where it looks like it will never be finished... the stage that comes just before the... Wow! its done por fin!  If I start dropping more Spanish into my sentences its because I seem to be actually understanding people speaking Spanish! lol er yes, long time coming, and maybe after being back in the UK and back to work after a week I

might not again! Feels like I have past a threshold, thats been my problem in learning Spanish really, I remember what I read, what I see, I can spell every word I can speak... I just don't seem to have 'the ear' for it! Like I am deaf to the Spanish language... until this week, just in random passing, hearing people speak amongst themselves I know what their saying! Cool!


Anyway!  We had a coffee down near the 'new' parque, and then

walked up to the upper plaza, where there were a group of Flamenco dancers and singers performing, it was lovely, seemed very impromptu, although there was a wooden floor put down, they were just very relaxed and going with the flow... great to watch and listen too... We sat a while and did so, before walking around the gardens, as we always do, always have and will always...  A fantastic view across the Med to Africa, the mountains over there clearer than my camera has made out!

 You could see miles of the African coastline, all the way along, from Gibraltor to Malaga... Fantastic!  Then in the little pond a great noise of small toads, probably calling for a mate, and this little chap here got more than he bargained for when a dog jumped in!! Not sure who was the more shocked, him, me or the dogs owners!!!  Then Franco saw this wonderful butterfly, it was huge!  Beautiful... there used to be 100's of butterflies in these gardens, and over the years they had gone.

But now they're back! and so wonderful to watch... As was this great locust!  He was huge!  He seemed a bit sluggish!  He was actually walking step by step towards the edge of the wall, when he reached it he tried a jump and landed with a thud, almost!  on the path beneath, and so he didn't get squished Franco picked him up and put him in the grass!

There were beautiful freesia everywhere too, gorgeous, flowers everywhere, spring has sprung and summer has followed on its wing... the swifts, swallows? Whichever, I can't remember again which

is which, but they are visiting here again, by our house sweeping and performing aero-acrobatics!

The car park in Mijas Pueblo is only a Euro now, which is great, brings people into town instead of forcing people out!  So the place was buzzing, I love Mijas... we didn't eat in the town though today, we stopped in a little road-side bar on the road home, we got in just in time we had almost the last table!  and for just over €10 we had four tapas, a

coffee, a glass of white wine and a Pepsi!  The tapas were of good size too, I had paella and meatballs, not together, two separate tapas, both came with bread and there was a spare rib in the paella along with shrimp and chicken...!  Franco had spare ribs and curry tapas!  We sat outside, watching the world go by, which meant only a few cars, bikes and bicycles! a view down over Voltocado...  where Pippa was born and down to the Fuengirola coastline...  Sat in the sun and appreciated how very very lucky we are indeed!

TTFN
Marian

Face the Sun, and let your shadow fall behind you...

I deleted an earlier post, it was full of horrible unlike me rubbish, I don't feel better yet about the reason for my venting so publicly, but the need to share was short-lived... I apologize to those of you who had to read such a sad and angry post...

Time to move on, forget and release... like I used to say to the girls during training on my switchboard "and release..."

We had our cars ITV today, that's the Spanish MOT, motor vehicle text, we had dropped it off yesterday and we got a call to collect today, the test was about 8:30am in Malaga, where the local ITV station is, there is another in Estapona, I have a thought they were opening one in Fuengirola, not sure where that thought has come from lol...  anyway our car is fine, passed for another year.

And after a week of not using the car we were out and down the coast soon after!

Am presently while eating, very unusually eating in bed! Never do, feels like a picnic! Rice crispness and strawberries! Bought a punnet of straws in the supermarket yesterday, a 1.4 kilo punnet no less, for less than €2, made a strawberry trifle last night, added them to my porridge this morning, a Greek yoghurt after dinner this evening and nibbled on throughout, that's my fruit five a day taken care of I hope!

Hope to be out relaxing tomorrow, got to make the most of next few days before I return to work placement next week... we, or rather Franco was busy when were home today, between getting car and coast shopping, he built a bbq area up on the terrace, we have a two burner gas stove top up there, so now that and an electrical hot plate have a permanent home, metal and glass candle sconces are up, and they looked very pretty with their little tea lights twinkling in them earlier... With the cream privacy curtains it's like a Bedouin tent up there now, lovely, just need some comfy seats and we will be well away!

TTFN
Marian

I have been a very poor example of a Blogger recently my friends... Been home going into four weeks nearly now! And not Blogged!!  Infact up until yesterday I hadn't even turned on this lap top at all!

The first week of being home Franco and I were out and about, a lot! Local and down to Fuengirola... Then the second week Franco was back home with his mom and family for a week, I was out and about, again! Local and La Canada, Torremolinos... Miramar! And time out just relaxing at home with the Pipster...

Also the week Franco was away was the Semana Santa week, so very noisy and busy around out house, the parades, the people, the parades.... and more parades! LOL

Franco arrived back in the evening of last Sunday, and we stayed at the airport to pick up daughter of a friend who was coming in quite late and staying further down the coast with her friend, so we had a good run down the A7 to drop them off, and home eventually.... We got to bed quite late and felt like we had jet lag when we got up last Monday morning!

We should have got the car ITV'd but something came up on Thursday and by the time we got the car to the garage it was too late, so we are staying close to home this week until we can get it back into the garage for its check up and paperwork on Friday!

Now on the mountain from a week ago last Sunday, shame about that tin sided 'thing'... we had a great view across to that mountain range until a neighbor decided to cover up the whole of his terrace with that delightful tin monstrosity!

Yesterday we had wild wild winds all day, they came with rain and cloud cover so deep even when it wasn't raining you got wet just being out side!  Last week sun burn, yesterday ground level cloud!  I suppose being half way up the mountain doesn't help!  Today is better, still windy, but more sun than cloud, and none of the wet stuff!

We went into town this afternoon, and for half an hour I stood where I used to, when I worked in the papeleria there, people coming in and out, thankfully a quiet half hour for me!  I had trouble working the photocopier! Worked it out in the end!  As a man patiently waited I said "its making a lot of noise with nothing much happening, a bit like me!" he laughed I laughed... my last resort, comedy if all else fails!

Sunday, we as in the town, had a motorbike fest!  Thousands of bikes all on display in the local feria ground, demonstrating this and that, and driving around the town, a lot! Old bikes, new bikes, road and mountain, from the oldest to the youngest, one small boy, must have only been about 7 or 8 on his motorbike!!! Seemed a bit dangerous to me!?!  The police came round on the first circumnavigation of the town with their sirens blaring to warn people motorbikes were coming through!!  We could hear them from here, even on the upper road, this coming weekend is the bicycle... there is always something going on in town, so often we miss things though, seeing it on the local television channel the next morning... Not sure how accessible it is outside of Spain... RTV Alhaurín....   We always see the film crew about town...

Franco has been painting up on the terrace, bright white, tiles back on where they have fallen off, looks great up there now, real bright!!!  I moved a huge lavender plant, it was small when I planted it in the big trough up on the terrace, but it completely took over half the area!  Dominating the rosemary so much it lost its rosemary smell, which is weird!!  And a little succulent I planted months ago, that had disappeared underneath its huge shadow!  So lavender is down on the back terrace by the skylight, its looking a bit sad for itself since the move, hoping it will pick-up eventually, planted a nice new climber near the back wall and we're going to get some flowering flowers for the trough to just be small and look pretty!!  The fig we had there before would have been lovely, but when we weren't here it perished...

Since Semana Santa Pippa has been a bit nervous to go out, slightest noise and she won't go anywhere... some days we have gone out the front door, turned right and left and Pip just pulls to go back into the house, despite wanting to go out initially, or we have been out and she has heard something that makes her think a rocket is going off, like the sound of a persiana being raised or lowered and she refuses to go further and its a question of trying to find a way to get home without her trying to back out of her harness and bolt!  One day a little dog followed us out of the car park by the house and was with us all the way home to the front door!  He would not go away, he was on her tail the whole way, and on some busier roads it was a nightmare!  Pippa is getting very irritated by other dogs now, her patience is as slow as it could be with smaller dogs, she is fine, well better maybe? with bigger dogs, but little things running around her feet get her crazy, and of course me knowing this probably makes it worse if she senses my thoughts!

Okay rambling now time to go!

TTFN
Marian