Cabopino Beach..

Today someone said he thought he had seen me on beach, back home, I guess my spirit or soul sometimes goes a wandering...

Had my flu shot this morning, arm aches already! Usually the next day but this was quicker.. then few hours later blood test taken, different arm!! If that even makes a difference eh! 

So tired again today, I was out for an hour and a half this morning, also defrosted and cleaned the fridge freezer, and cleaned the bathroom floor, whoever put black mirror type tiles down on a bathroom floor never intended to have to clean them! Nightmare!

Been having bad dreams as well, adding insult to injury with my bad sleeping.. 

Had one of those weird moments this morning, listening to Harry Potter on my ear buds, just coming home from flu shot and Asda, and the narrator is saying 'October 16th.....' and I stop in my tracks!! Today is October 16th!! Weird eh? Coincidence.. yes!

Been trying to decide whether to get a car or not! I miss driving, I want a car, but do I need a car?? 

M.

Fall in love with moments..

Not really a quote, but, certainly something to think on...

Moments like when I took the photograph above.. snapshots of our lives

Cake! From my local panadería!

Need to catch up with myself as usual, I'm so spasmodic in my writing!

Let me begin with Christmas Eve working all day, but dressed as Mrs Santa Clause!!

Was good fun, the customers loved it! And I enjoyed it too! That's it now for dressing up until Halloween comes around again! 

My feet hurt, wearing inappropriate Boot-Ware!

Reminds me afterwards how I don't even notice my feet during work! Thank you Sketchers!

I stayed up to do the Harry Potter challenge! Had to start watching Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone at 22:33, so that Ronald Weasley would say 'Happy Christmas' at exactly 00:00 in the movie and for real!

My playback wouldn't work and Christmas Eve came four minutes late in the movie! Can't believe I'd managed to stay awake! And miss it! 

I had a couple of gifts under my tree which I opened and went to bed! Was about one before I switched everything off though...

Christmas day I got up when I was ready, and headed down to the coast and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon and evening with a family who adopted me for Christmas! Was so lovely, I am so lucky, dinner was amazing, absolutely fantastic..  thank you thank you thank you!

Back to work yesterday, the 27th and in today..

Yesterday driving home, I dropped off two colleagues and came up the usual mountain road home, there's a right hand turn once around our side of Sierra de Mijas, the road changes back to one lane, and there was a two car accident.. the line of traffic going back towards home went down into the dip, ours, luckily, not so bad .. 

It's always tricky when two lanes become one here... It seems to be a race for some drivers to beat the car in the inside lane, it's not a race, and of course... No one wins...

I drove up the dip from there, and was on the wriggly bit of the road before Casa las Flores on the left, and the window down, hadn't turned back on the radio since the accident, it was dark, and no one close in front, no one behind, and a light caught my eye, up high in the sky, a bolt of fire like a meteor then zap, out and gone! No noise, no firework type of explosion! 

Very, very strange!

Driving down as usual this morning to work, such beautiful amazing views, sunrise over the Med... And looking towards the area behind La Cala de Mijas, and onwards towards Rivera and Calahonda, what used to be undefined can now be mapped out by yellow street lights... 

Used to just be green and gray rock .. now, civilization is creeping inwards.. 

I wonder if one day it will just be mass all the way to Alhaurín El Grande.. and I hope I do not get to see it!

Mmm interesting thing I just noticed, I meant mass as in larger/large, and of course, Spanish word 'mas' means 'more' muy interesante!

M.

And before I knew it, the time has flown! 

Photographs of sunsets above and below.. taken from my terazza..

And below walking down into town on a morning this week past..

I went to Gibraltar on Wednesday, photographs tomorrow! 

It's been another good week, not sure where I fit time in for working!

Walking into town early, coffee at Bar Cruz, chatting to friends in the Papeleria I used to work in.. then coffee with my vesina about ten.. 

A walk and wander around town.. maybe a jaunt out here and there.. 

Below last two sunsets for this post!! 

It's just especially at this time of the year, they are extra special.. 

The month of the cigar clouds.. maybe into October.. not seen many yet!

The sounds of tires screeching around the streets is a sound we hear more at seasons change also.. 

Saturday today, been nice weather.. cooling down now, and yesterday was rain rain and rain.. not all day but enough! Already!

The plants are happy and green, I have flowers on a few of the succulents, and a climber.. just wish the climber would climb! It's needs to grow first, and each year it nearly dies off in my absence..  it survived the long time I was away this year, more by luck than anything else.. there was rain now and again, just enough apparently!

I have flights booked for travel for work, I had to change them.. of course, nothing goes to plan.. the first two flights were covered by credit from Ryanair.. then it cost me more to change them.. and then I booked a whole new flight for only 7€ so cheap! A one way to Bristol.. 7€!! Incredible eh!!

Oh and I filled out a new claim form for another cancelled flight with Ryanair.. two days later, money back in my bank account.. thank you very much! 

The plan for work was set, then changed so many times I felt my head was spinning! But it's sorted now, 14 days quarentine, visit with family.. work,visit with family.. work! And home! 

Everything is so different, everything so not what we're used to.. 

Here we have to wear masks, everywhere outside, so I will continue to, even in the UK where you don't have to.. Seems silly to risk not doing so!

In Gib some people were others not.. so I did; although around the botanical gardens I unhooked over one ear, but if people came past it was back over again!

Half midnight now, and today has become tomorrow... 

TTFN

Marian

Need a poem or quote... Okay here's one!

Inspiration comes from within yourself. One has to be positive. When you're positive, good things happen.

Deep Roy - Actor-Stuntman-Puppeteer

Mmmm very difficult being positive sometimes.. I really try, but the smallest thing can send me crashing down still.. 

I was randomly watching my saved stuff on YouTube, a piece on mindfulness.. I was also learning Spanish on an app on my phone and Candy Crush on my Kindle!

And I wonder I can't concentrate!! 

I need to spend more time in the present, the right now right here, because really, this is all we can guarantee we have.. isn't it.

Sunrise on the road...

A beautiful sunset... Always the sunsets... Never the sunrises... I can't see them from the terrace in Spain, and here not so much either... I have always wanted to see the sunrise in Petra, not a safe place now I guess, but something I have always wanted to do... on the bucket list!

I haven't fiddled with the photograph above, the way the picture is in the roof of the hay barn? That just happened, and I don't know how, so don't ask me... fluke!

Nearly Christmas 2016

Sunrise Alhaurín El Grande

Well, what haven't we done since last posting... We had Francos first phsio session, some good ideas to help with his back and shoulder pain, and also an appointment with the nurse from our local clinico, two full hours with him, amazing length of time, an interpreter on the phone too, the doctor wrote notes while we were answering his questions, so I know he does understand much of what we say, exactly as we understand much of what he says, but to make sure, and no mistakes... better to be safe.

He also made an appointment immediately for more x-rays, the date was for about two weeks time, but he got it changed and we had the x-rays two days ago already!  He called in the morning to say he had brought it forward and to collect paperwork from clinico and then go up to Coín to have them done, we did, and they were!

Sunset Alhaurín El Grande

I can't think where we have been!! To Mijas Pueblo the other day, Monday it was... photographs below, not sure what had happened over the past weekend, there were these statues down in the new Plaza, miniature versions of Paris' Eiffel Tower, Londons Big Ben [St Stevens Tower] and Rio's Jesus the Redeemer...

We've been to Fuengirola, Miramar.... The Sunday car boot sale at La Trocha...

Christmas cards coming though the post, thank you.... I'm sorry only the boys and our grand daughter have cards this years, and my lateness in sending them, via Moonpig means they probably won't make it before Christmas at all!

We got one card yesterday, no, yes or the day before?  It had no envelope, Franco said maybe they delivered it by hand!  Although not sure if my cousin and his 102 year old dad popped over from UK to do so without knocking on the door!!!  The idea was nice!

My confusion is because I had a migraine yesterday, a bad one, it started int he middle of the night, been having a lot of nighttime headaches recently but they faded with the day, this one didn't.  And I got up in the hope, fed Pippa and had to get back to bed, I got up another time in search of the meds I shouldn't take to cure the pain, couldn't find the one I knew I still had left... that was I don't know what time, but I got up again early evening and found it, took it and went back to bed, so two hours later I more myself and got up, watched a movie with Franco which stated about ten pm and then went back to bed until six thirty this morning.  I am lucky, not had a bad one like this for such a long time now, maybe once this year before it? Franco and I can't remember, it used to be we couldn't remember a week when I hadn't had one!! Hate missing days.

Have a good Christmas everyone, make it a good one, make everyone the best one...

TTFN
Marian

Went through a plethora  of photos.... these are not the first I uploaded by any means, then had to do a tonne of deleting, gone from Sea World in Benalmadina, to the mountains surrounding the Guadalhorce valley, the Grand Union canal in Berkhamsted, to the snowy mountains overlooking Coín.... but here in the end are a couple of beautiful sunsets from our roof terrace back in Spain!

Yesterday I had another headache, I need to get out more!  And did!  Walked to town to meet up with a friend and we walked back to her house, had a chat and a couple of biscuits, then off to Aberavon beach via the car wash!  We had chips from the famous Franco's fish & chip bar right on the beach, well almost!

Then back, slept for a few hours and felt a bit better, not sure why the headache, my normally high bp dropped dramatically for ten minutes the day before, and I had trouble putting my words together with hardly any blood flow! hahahaha!!!  Almost okay now!!!

Today, back to work.... hate it when I get behind, I know I'm not really, but like to be more ahead if you know what I mean, I don't seem to be making any sense today!

Lovely day again today, washing dried on the line, light when I got up, and still light at 6pm!  Spring is on its way! 

The only day this week when the weather has been bad was the day we went to Cardiff actually! It rained, it poured and the wind blew and howled!  Nightmare weather!  the train journeys were okay, but I do wish people would take down their tickets when they use the booking system, some people must just get off, and to all intents and purposes it looks like the seat it still booked, and you have to go through them, read them, and then sit.... or not!! Apart from of course, if the people didn't even use the booked seat!!! [like I did on a return journey getting an earlier train!!!] Ummm, oh well, you get my jist!

In Cardiff we went to the National Museum...

Wish this had been the weather on Wednesday!!!  Beautiful building eh!  And huge, I only managed some of the art galleries, and I think a map would have been a good idea, so many separate rooms, leading one into another, you could easily get lost, definitely a guide next time, and it won't be too long either, spectacular art, a huge amount thanks to the Davies sisters...

Had lunch in a Mexican restaurant in St Davids shopping centre, not that Franco was too impressed with his, but I had the Mexican paella, and it was great!  The options weren't great as it was late and there were queues in nearly all the other restaurants!

For some reason, although I have been there a few times I kept losing my way!!!  Went into one shop and came out onto the street by a different door and my bearings were gone, completely!  I am normally so good with directions and knowing where I am, it was strange, not helped by the fact though... that on seeing the castle Franco said, "that's not the right way!" So we turned around, then passing everything we had already seen a few times, still not going the right way!!  Ended up asking a stranger, who led us like children back into the centre and pointed the way to where the restaurants!!!

And afterwards, with my bearings back in place, I knew exactly where we were, and where we had been earlier, and the mistakes made!!!  Must have been the wind and rain, and battering by umbrellas held too low and threatening to poke my eye out!

Okay, washing up to do!

TTFN
Marian