What's been happening!! 

Friday late afternoon in Cabopino, had a coffee and watched the world go by.. 

Bag purchased from lookie lookie guy, I can count on one hand the items I have bought from them over the decades .. luckily! 

Stayed over, and Saturday was work, but in the evening I walked down to Playa Luna Beach, it was almost closed so continued onto the definitely closed Bar Dunas, sent a photograph to friend I was staying with and she called to say her and her fella were down in Cabopino.. I was almost there, to join them for a drink before dinner.. 

So I did just that! Walked through the port and out the other side to reach them.. had a vaso de vino tinto and walked back ..

It was deserted along the boardwalk.. which was both nice and slightly creepy at the same time! 

Sunday was stock taking and the end of another week .. Soon be halfway through the year... again!

M.

If you start now you will start seeing the result one day earlier than if you wait until tomorrow.

Unknown

Sat here in departures.. 

I wrote two paragraphs of this on Facebook, but way too much information! For having a meltdown!

I got in a strop at baggage drop off first .. when a whole bunch of people thought they'd skip a line we'd all been waiting in for an hour (okay ten minutes!), still!! And yes, very embarrassing I said my thoughts out loud! 

Best bit was skipping through Fast Track! Oh yes!! The very best, although I did have to point out two empty bays for security to the family in front of me who were just standing and staring.. and then once those plastic trays are through I couldn't even get to mine as everyone emptying out theirs on the line...

I pointed out the bays for that very purpose!

I am so bad! 

This is what comes of flying twenty or more times a year for six years!

Patience? Who? No not me!

And that's better.. vented.. 

For your reading pleasure! 

Bet you're all glad you're not sat next to me, or my 'phone a friend.'

M.

Last day in England, another gloriously warm day, been so lucky! 

Didn't get to see the Borealis, but that's okay, I'm a meteor girl... 

More about the stars for me.. 

Some more photographs from Whipsnade Zoo on Friday, a pair of flamingos that became even closer just after this! 

Not an X-rated Blog so, keeping it clean! 

Then the lions.. two females laying down and him, tearing up a piece of meat, appeared to be legs and hoofs of another creature.. but didn't want to look to closely or think too deeply about that! 

Above mom and baby, white Rhinos .. 

And above gorgeous parrots... There were four red and yellows, and I think four amazing blue color Parrots.. stunning!

These followed the eagles, kookaburras three of them.. and a couple of others.. I have forgotten what which! 

Yesterday we went to Stevenage, and M&S at a retail park and then home... Lots of walking and scooting, by babe, not me, this time!

And today we've been to the bakery and home, sat out in the garden enjoying the beautiful day..s

Just reread, always errors.. spell check is a wonderous thing! 

Apparently called spelling because words were for actual spells! Probably more for story's or telling stories!

We should be careful what we say, our words are very powerful and most times we don't consider their strength.. 

M.

Colors are brighter when the mind is open.

Adriana Alarcon - Author

Whipsnade Zoo

Visited Whipsnade Zoo today, after nursery.. Was a wonderful visit as always, it was 2011 the last time I was there... 

And oddly May 11 2008 came up in my memories this morning! 

From a quick look I thought I'd caught the steam from the engine above as it existed the funnel, but it isn't! It's a break in the trees! Optical illusion eh!

Caught this ferret having a nose out of this pipe! So cute!

I didn't seem to take any good photographs today, took lots of goats, and giraffes!

All extremely tired..

Wanted to talk about last evening, like I'm going to forget it..

I'm not but just in case! 

Went to eat at a lovely pub about ten minutes from here, very nice pub, french cuisine, ate there last time I was here, back in October last year..

We were chatting to the owner and waitress..

Oh! Nearly forgot, we walked in discussing what drinks we wanted and lo and behold on the bar.. our two drinks! 

But they were for someone else, but still strange, not maybe two drinks one would normal put together even!

So we, chatting to owner and waitress, we moved seats and it was almost like being with friends more than a restaurant!

She came out and said something about the strong garlic smell and that they were cooking frogs legs! 

I hadn't had them in over twenty years! And my friend, never, so we shared a plate of them! Very very nice... 

Then second course chicken and third I knew what I wanted.. an amazing nougat with glace fruits in a beautiful custard..

My friends dessert was Crepe Suzette, and we enjoyed the performance and theatre of them being prepared at our table..

All evening we talked and laughed with them, and when we came around to pay, the people whose drinks we had shared the same tastes as were sat there now, having come in from outside..

And one of them told me I had an amazing energy around me, have I said that right? Not some spooky thing, he meant, said I had a good energy! 

I guess they had been listening, to my rather loud voice lols.. and the over all conversations going on the whole evening..

It was a nice compliment, made me feel better.. you know.. Sometimes we need a boost, and I'm taking that! 

We forget how we are.. and I always used to be that bubbly live wire ... Lost my spark...

And I've not been feeling that for a while now..

Not meaning to sound weird about this.. 

Do you know know what I mean? 

M.

The power of imagination makes us infinite.

John Muir - 1838-1914 - Author

The bakers near my son's... Always a craving for jam doughnuts and iced buns! 

Trouble is for me at the moment, these items should be far and few between for me! 

Took the above photograph the other weekend down on the coast.. 

My son's Lego, now back in the UK... It's an original from 60's or 70's but the box is still in Spain.. I carried it over in my hold case.. it was mostly all that was in the hold case! 

And going back light, although I have for the first time booked Fast Track, Stansted airport security sends me loopy, and I can't just put myself through that again... It is beyond disorganised chaos! 

M.

Sometimes the universe throws you a rope

Bill Hodges

May the 4th (be with you)

Should have been lots of photographs..

But! I was trapped in the car park, well, not me just my car.. the rockets had started at 22:00 Sunday evening, repeated again Monday and Tuesday evenings, same time...

Then yesterday full force dozens of them repeatedly, the band, the people, always a huge procession for Día de la Cruz, also yesterday of course, Romería, May 1st, workers day.

It was still going on when I went to sleep last night well gone eleven, and began again this morning at 8:00 I was rescuing my car and moving her to the big car park...

They'll be no parking for me after work tomorrow that's for sure! Or for anyone, car park has to emptied and won't open again until festivities end at 04:00 

Great, just in time for my taxi to collect me! 

And I am also thinking not much sleep for me tomorrow night, even though I need to be asleep as soon as I can, maybe 8pm, is it the fireworks tomorrow! I don't think so, I think that's for the feria at the end of the month! 

I can feel an Airbnb visit approaching next year!??

It's not just us humans who suffer throughout this rocket fire, it's worse for the animals, Pippa used to run and hide in the bathroom from the first giveaway whoosh those things make before the bang... She would shake, be sick... It was awful..

I know the parade's are tradicional, and it's good, so many countries have lost their own traditions, but the rockets? They are to call people to action, to wake people up! But we have alarms now, phones, alarm clocks... 

Still, it's not my country, not my place to complain about centuries old traditions and a huge reason why I love this country.

Well, turned out the fireworks were on last night, still feels like tonight!

It's 5:49, I'm at the departure gate, and had not much sleep at all! 

I managed to park okay, in the big carpark, ten minutes away... Lug my bags down and shower and get to bed about 8pm, had a cup of mint tea for my sore stomach..very very bad! 

I can't eat what I ate again, or at least for a longer time, three months wasn't long enough! 

Felt so sick all day, struggled to eat my lunch.. I made myself eat a bit of porridge this morning as I'd not eaten since then.. 

By nine I'd turned off TV and Kindle, eyes closed a Nothing Much Happens pod cast on and bang! Bang bang bang about twenty rockets from behind the house..

Then I could follow the course of the band by the direction of the music as it paraded around the church and these narrow streets..

More rocket fire again and again ..

I had shut the both bedroom doors to give me a buffer, but not much, and still awake at 11pm..

I think I might have drifted off slightly, then at 12:30!!! Fireworks! 

I'll try and get the video in here but I think the file will be too big, I'll try some screenshot..

But just imagine a firework display, and you are standing ten feet away, beneath the display! That was me, us, who live just here in our street.

It lasted maybe ten minutes, it used to be twenty, so thankful for that .

It ended and I continued to hear the band playing as it moved around.. about half one by now..

Then alarm went off! 03:15! Whoop whoop!

I did what I had to do, and taxi arrived before the rubbish collection at 04:20 en punto! 

Driver, although I've never used his cab before, is a familiar face for all the years I've lived here, when going to Bar Cruz he is always at the taxi rank. He speaks good English and we talked all the way .. poor man!

I had to check a case in, self check in, very easy and fast once I actually got to the machines.. then bag dropped and done! 

Security, it's usual pandemonium, like no one has ever flown before, conveyors blocked by people leaving fluids in! Time and time again, it has been twenty three years!! 

A bottle of face cream IS a fluid!! Unbelievable, so, you can imagine my stress levels right now!

At least, I guess my bag to carry on is just a satchel I use for flying and light..

Now I bid españa a farewell y hasta pronto! 

M.

Funny, this morning I wrote this to end my Blog

'Often what feels like the end is a new beginning'

And today's insight 

Reads..

Don't give up, the beginning is always the hardest.

Unknown