Better started posting some more of my photos from holibobs!  Me above!  On the roof terrace shaded from the sun reading me book!

These next few shots are all from the Gibralfaro on the top of the world... well, okay, just the highest point in Malaga! And it is seriously high up there!  Not a journey for the feint hearted, or weak of body! lol  If you want to check the history the castle is from the 10th century...

Hmmmm says there is a way through from the Alcazaba, but I think not at the moment, but please feel free to visit and let me know when that changes... would have saved some time, and not just a little bit of confusion all round!

It also says there are plans to build a funicular railway up the hill to the castle, I am guessing that would be like the wonderful one in Hastings... 

Can you see Malaga port in the pic above?  How small it looks from up here!! Impossibly small, having been in the port and looked back up to the castillo, and the Parador here...

And a panoramic view!  From my phone also, oh the wonders of technology, just think what I could have done if I had actually brought my camera with me!  Will do on our June trip! If I look like a tourist I just will not care a fig!

Oh yes, another flight of stairs, just one more level up to highest point of the highest point!

TTFN
Marian

This is for my mom, four years ago today in a couple of hours she passed...  Can't believe how fast the time has gone, in a way... how far away I am from then now too, so many changes.  Changes I still want to tell her about constantly, still wanting to phone her, to hear her voice...

The bowl above is hers, I have placed a set of lit dragonflies in amongst some dried flowers I bought today... Last week I visited the home where my mom went into for the last three weeks, the same home my step dad passed away in too... when I was in Berkhamsted I was on my way to visit one of my moms friends in Northchurch and was just drawn across the lights at Kings Road and found myself up the road where the care home is... I used to live up that road too! Who would have known eh!

There were road works and the road was closed so I had to park and walk the rest of the way, was just like four years ago as I struggled up the steep hill, I was just gong to look at the house, maybe just as far as the drive way, but again, I found myself walking straight up to the building and the receptionist waved her arm at me and buzzed the door open.... and in I went, she remembered me, not my name, but just me, came around the desk and gave me a hug... got me a cup of tea and they had just baked some cookies... so there I sat chatting, like I did before, cup of tea, biscuit... and after a while I left.  They had said there to come back anytime, and I must admit I had often thought of it, but then time went on, now I might go back again... next year...

Portrait above is on my step dad, trying to remember when he had it done... maybe in the 1980's sometime...

And in the picture above....some of his war medals and some other random medals, I think from his footballing days...

Got an idea yesterday, so having a go!  Have stuck some random pages from a book onto card and going to stencil, will buy the stencil cards tomorrow and think of what to put on them, and then frame up! [did check that although it is a very old book, its not a first edition!  Hope it wasn't a rare 3rd eh!]

TTFN
Marian

My step dads palette above and below with his brushes, there is such an enormous amount of paint on the palette not sure if there is even a palette beneath it now!!

On the table too some of his oil pastels, he used these after his stroke, he couldn't use his right arm/hand anymore, and it took a lot of persuasion by us and his occupational therapist, but at last we got him to draw again, and he did, and he could, just goes to show that whatever our talents they can and will continue because they are one with us...

This morning everything, so far, has been assimilated into the house, looking a little crowded in places, and a little like just moved in all over again type of feeling about it all, will take a bit of time, some things will go, some will stay... I have left out all the photos and letters and papers, and will go through them all over again soon, lots of photos to scan, safest place for them, I guess and easier to publish, like the invitation for Wednesday 9th July 1851 on the occasion of Her Majesty Queen Victoria honouring the corporation with her presence at a ball, given to celebrate the opening of the Great Exhibition...

Wonderful drawings by my mom... oh dear, the hoarder next door just previewed on TV, I better watch myself, keep getting rid of things, the more I get rid of the more comes back to me... that law of attraction eh, give and receive!

And there are still another nine boxes still to collect from my sons...  I think they could be the boxes full of miniatures and books, and of course have a case full of Tony's things to take back to him that I bought by mistake!! lol only me eh!

TTFN
Marian

Been a funny week all round... unexpectedly free for two and half days, I traveled up? Across? Well definitely over [the bridge], to England for the purpose of catching up with friends and collecting my mom... and nine boxes of her... of her life, god how awful, is that what it comes down to when we are gone?  That we are numbered by how many boxes we have, or haven't?

Above one of my step dads paintings, its of the George and Dragon in Northchurch, Herts, how it used to look, some time ago by far!

I took it into the pub on my way back home on Wednesday mid day, the land lord has said he is putting it to auction and bidding himself in the hope of keeping it in the pub... I will be checking to see if it remained in the pub, I do hope so, it was my intention, my step dad was a very local artist to the pub, both he and my mom had their wakes there, I had my first alcoholic drink there, without my parents being present!!  The pub sits opposite St Mary's church, where my great granddad William Randall and my great great granddad James Randall were sextons; my step dad restored a painting which still hangs there and, where I as a small child helped my gran Rosetta to clean the pews and tidy the flowers, lots of family connections going on there...

Between Tony's and the pub, was a drive down memory lane... Dagnal, Ashridge Forest, Northchurch common... I passed by our old home with my step dad, and then our home when we first came to England, the school of course, we mom, me, and my boys went to!  After leaving the pub I wanted to get some cash, [for the bridge], but couldn't part so had to do a drive around to get back onto the main road, only choice was the road my mom and step dad moved to after his stroke, not been around there a while...  Even the Tesco in Aylesbury, just before I started the long journey, I remember once when I was surprising mom and told her my Spanish house phone wasn't working, and I would call her the following day from my mobile, I did, from outside Tesco!  Bless her, Tony picked her up for dinner that night and suddenly I was there too! Surprise surprise!!

Popped into Milton Keynes for a coffee, well it had to be done, not been there for sometime, no big changes, in fact felt like only yesterday, a bit like meeting up with my friends, a day a year four years, all as one between real friends isn't it...

And today, emptied out the nine boxes! Was only going to do a couple as before long, a couple of minutes I became not just a little melancholy, how come I can spell that now without the spell check! lol, not good sign maybe...  The dining table now is covered with mom!  If you remember it was hard to choose between this n that, keep this or lose that... time was short and my moms life long collection had to be dealt with, I wanted to keep moms favorite things, her soap in the shape of dog, from where she was a child, he is cracked and only still in one piece due to the plastic wrap!!

And the photos, and letters... have made tonnes of notes to go through on my Ancestry pages, letters from my great grand parents to each other, letter from my gran to my mom and back, letters from me to my mom... I wish more had been written on the back of most of the photos... using a magnifying glass I peered at their faces and clothes, clothes from Mr Selfridge and Downton Abbey! A huge family connected to Bar Harbor... a family, photos of my mom and her parents, the family they stayed with, letters from them to my mom, even books and a tankard... I know who they were, but not the whys and wherefores... time to get cracking and search search search away now.... a pile of stick notes to get through, the past is waiting for me and I need to sink into it, got a bit upset, of course, going through everything...

TTFN
Marian

 View from the gardens at Mijas... this 'tree' is less than two feet high, its just the way I took it! Looks huge doesn't it...

Great shot of this tree... Looks like a couple of things, depending on your view point of course, maybe a huge foot with a giant abscess! Or a dog... or a bear!!

I love the gardens at Mijas, so many beautiful memories... I am always full of emotion there, to over spilling!

In side the little restaurant where we had breakfast this particular morning on our holibobs!  I have eaten here on many many an occasion since 1989...

View from our terrace on the morning of leaving, again....

TTFN
Marian

My friend in the states is in true dire straights after cancer has left her with enormous medical bills, here is a link to her site, any help would be very gratefully excepted readers...

GiveForward...

Back from holibobs.... above in the plane on the way back to Welsh Wales....

Was a bit of a bumpy ride now and then... the most part me feeling bumpy, hate leaving my little house in Spain, a part of me is there at all times, my mom is there... and I could even see glimpses of Pippa there, a sound of her clicking toes, feeling her nearby at all times... thank goodness she was here when we got back, I missed her so much!!

The morning before we left, snow on the Sierra De Las Nieves... the snowy mountains for those of you who might want to know! And yes, they were weren't they! Although it had melted before nightfall...

Down at Fuengirola these Lions heads proudly displayed upon the wall of the main post office in the street...
They remind me of the Lions mouth in Roma, The Mouth of Truth its called there... similar to the ones in Venice, but built for an entirely different reason!

Churros con Chocolaté, I had to eat these on several occasions, just to check they tasted good, everywhere I went! Maybe I should just get back on that plane right now and check some more too!!! Soooo nice, that the té Americano I drank everywhere that I could! Found a most wonderful place in Malaga near the Picasso Museo called La Tetería... hmmmm The Tearoom, my search engine wants to call it, I must prefer its real name... I really wanted to bring home a tea pot from there, with a deep filter to put my ingredients into, we bought one elsewhere, okay... although on reflection it would have been even better had I actually brought it back with me!!!  Didn't leave it intentionally, and will now have to purchase on elsewhere... Tonight I made a pot of Chai tea... very similar to the té Americano, but without the lime, as I didn't have any!  In-fact so nice, I will have another any moment now!

And above the smallest church in Alhaurín El Grande... I have never posted a picture of it before, as I have never taken a photo of it before!!!

TTFN
Marian

On holibobs! At home? Yes holibobs at home in Spain!

Took some time to get internet active, last trip was all okay, so not sure what occurred this time, but have Spanish Sim for calls and internet, great download... Just a bit late!!!

This visit so far... Of course visited the `office`, was early and only `office` people there! Been to Fuengirola, Benalmadinia, Mijas, Malaga... Been out with friends one evening, I was slightly worse for wear yesterday, trouble is alcohol makes me less able to feel pain, and therefore the next day my neck is always sore...

This morning I thought I would take myself for a walk before going out for a lunch date!  Walked up the hill past a friends, not sure if they're out at the moment or not! Got up to the top road and continued nearly all the way to the veriante hill! Took the road before it and wound my way down... Got to the main high street and our little town is bustling, couldn't move for people! Good to see, the sun has brought everyone out!

Will upload pics when WiFi, if that ever happens here? Or back, don't want to use all my download!

TTFN
Marian 

Clyne Gardens Swansea

This morning such a lovely day, came back after work, loaded Pippa into the car and off to Clyne Gardens we went! Not been there before, lovely place, well worth the trip and we will again, parked in the Lido car park, not cheap, although got an extra hour parking from what the machine said it would have been, and walked the wrong way for a short while, thought the path up from the Lido would go that way, it didn't seem to, so we retraced our steps and back to the Mumbles road and into the gardens the correct way it seemed!

These cut trees above look like something from a horror movies, looks some thing scary hunkering down under the leaves, waiting to pounce!

I think we walked around the gardens a little too quickly, I had an alternate reason to go there, something Barry has got me started on, not a game, but it does make you go to places you wouldn't normally go to, and hunt down interesting statues, places and all sorts of buildings...

This above is the Fairy Tower, there was a tree here with a face... I couldn't find it!!! I know I was within 20 meters of it, but just couldn't see it!!! Will go back to get a picture forsure!

This fallen tree got caught luckily by his neighbor!

I thought I could almost go live in this tree! Or at least camp out in it!

This is the Swansea Eagle!  Is it a Bonelli Eagle do you think!!!

Beautiful day today....

TTFN
Marian

cue music....

Past the point of no return, no backward glances

The games we played 'til now are at an end

Past all thought of 'If' or 'When', no use resisting

Abandon thought and let the dream descend

What raging fire shall flood the soul?

What rich desire unlocks its door?

What sweet seduction lies before us?

Past the point of no return, the final threshold

What warm unspoken secrets will we learn?

Beyond the point of no return

You have brought me to that moment where words run dry

To that moment where speech disappears into silence, silence

I have come here hardly knowing the reason why

In my mind I've already imagined our bodies entwining

Defenseless and silent and now I am here with you

No second thoughts, I've decided, decided

Past the point of no return, no going back now

Our passion play has now at last begun

Past all thought of right or wrong, one final question

How long should we two wait before we're one?

When will the blood begin to race

The sleeping bud burst into bloom?

When will the flames at last consume us?

Past the point of no return, the final threshold

The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn

We've passed the point of no return

Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime

Lead me, save me from my solitude

Say you'll want me with you here beside you

Anywhere you go let me go too..... that's all I ask of you....

I still would very much like to go and see the second opera... Love Never Dies... Mom and I enjoyed the Phantom of the Opera so much, I have it booming in my car just now... almost enough to make my ears bleed some might say!!  The sequel is based in Coney Island, rather than the Paris Opera House... its in my bucket list!

TTFN

Marian

Ten years a Blogger!

Thank you, I have purloined the above picture, a day late too... working yesterday, then headache to follow, so there we have it amigos!

Aforementioned picture above taken from a Blogger friend, Veronica, whose Blog I enjoy greatly....

A reintroduction briefly if I can, although knowing me, I don't know how to be brief! A lady asked me where I came from the other day, I said did she want the pocket book version?  She didn't understand me, so I just carried on by saying, born in Los Angeles, moved to England when I was small with my mom, grew up, schooled, worked etc there; then moved to Spain where I lived for ten years, before moving here to Wales... final destination as yet unknown of course!  Although my little house in Spain waits patiently for my foot steps there, and my crazy singing and dancing when no one is looking!

I started a Blog with another site back in 2004, then came to Blogger in 2006, ten years a Blogger! WOW!

I am here because of these two beautiful people, my mom and dad... both born in NY NY, dad first generation American Italian....

And my gorgeous boys, wish I could pop back into those days above...

And very proud of them now as men....

What do I do? Too many jobs to list in the past... Now I am a Support Worker, new for me, since June 2013, loving every minute, challenging, difficult at times, lots of enjoyable learning on lots of varied courses, I am starting some volunteer work soon too...

And I have a passion for books/art, I have published well over 50 books now in eBook formats, primarily for one author, and now for three others, also published 20 books in paperback versions for same authors; I love editing and getting a book formatted in whatever form it needs!  I have designed covers, using only basic art/photo shops on my lap top.  Also written myself now, and one in [slow] production! My book site is PublishedByMe... I have my virtual art gallery too, Art I love for Art Sake... And... yes, another And! The T-shirt shop! PublishedByMe shop!

I have started doing lots of craft work now too, thanks to one of the people I look after and one of my colleagues, paintings, crafted pieces of work, in different mediums...

And finally our baby...

Pippa!

Thank you for being with me on my journey friends, family and strangers who I will never know, we only part to meet again ... I hope you enjoy my ramblings, my concerns, my sometimes crazy silly musings... my journey on my ever so colorful tapestry of life....

I am the girl who flies with her own wings...

TTFN

Marian

 Some very random photos from my phone! Just switching off and thought I would check on here... and checking something else I found that the photos on my phone are easily accessible from my lap top!  The more I understand about technology the more the amazed I become... Just amazed!!

The photo above was taken in Waterstones in Swansea, the most beautiful flight of stairs travel up though the building from floor to floor and up towards heaven I am guessing! Next time will take a shot from above! If you see what I mean!

Below is the blackberry bush in garden, still in bloom and maybe fruit will follow, but I don't think it will make it?  What plant continues to bloom in late December?  The Periwinkle is still blue with flowers too, some different type of eco system goes on in this garden forsure!  But luckily its a mild one!

Rhossili below, again, beautiful Rhossili... Even on a dull day, maybe a short video next time? Yes, that's what I shall do! It does make me think of Wuthering Heights.... always blowing a gale there, even when its hot, okay, warm then!

“Be with me always - take any form - drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I can not live without my life! I can not live without my soul!” 
― Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights

TTFN
Marian

Margam Country Park

When Pip and I went out the other day, Margam Park was the walk of choice, for one I believed dogs to be kept on leads and plenty of refuse places, if necessary... Turned out wrong on both counts!  No matter, beautiful walk and that's the point...

Some beautiful carvings too, the giant mushroom below,  was about seven foot high!!

Shame the day wasn't a bit brighter... First time I had taken Pip out in my car, had the back seats down and covered up with old duvet, I attached her to a bracket so she couldn't get up front with me!

Below the cottage in the woods... Could build a great story around this place!

Amazingly beautiful trees fill the park, there are notices all around telling people what unusual varrerities to look out for, nature trails, and puzzles...

Above is a sweep of the Orangery... Conservatory, to me, or greenhouse!! And in the very olden days, and maybe not so well attached to a house, it would have been.. the lean to!!

TTFN
Marian

Seriously? No Blog since last year?? Ooops sorry, have been working, and working oh and working some more and inbetween on breaks... oldest son came to visit with his girlfriend, just over new years and we had a great time, stayed in new years evening, but out and about over the two days... down to the sea and along the coast, the norm... Rhossili of course, and Porthcawl.... went back to Porthcawl storm chasing another evening with Franco, and it was stormy, no rain, but plenty of sea spray coming in, highest tides for decades and there we were hundreds of lemmings out and about risking life and limb along the road! Only two walls and some metal rails to keep us from the foamy roaring seas!

Should be writing this with more difficulty on my phone where the photos are... bare with will upload now... and now we will wait for them to come through??

Now I have used my phone to Blog maybe I should do that more often because now, nearly eleven pm and after a day spent on my ancestry site my mind is empty, my hands are tired and my eyes are slowly closing for too much work on here, had the day off unexpectedly, and now find tomorrow also the same!  Wish I had known could have had a short trip up country to visit the family.... I have to bring down some of my moms things, so much to go through which I would very much like to do so, and sooner rather than later too!

Spent some of last couple of days free times sorting though clothes too, if I haven't worn them for a while they are outta here, I have kept things for sentimental reasons too, how absurd, I get worse...  So they are going along with some ornaments that have been malingering about in boxes, things I have had for over 30 years, and are the sort of things people would say, well well, haven't seen something like that for decades!! So they too will be leaving the building shortly!

No moss gathering here folks, or dust, so watch out I say!

Photos here and I must say not my best at all!

A beach scene from Porthcawl above...and below, not great pic again but does show the very unusual rock formation hereabouts!

An old sign on the wall here as you enter the beach area, they have built a large area where there was only sand into cement, to act as a toughened protection against the seas on the sea wall itself, so bathing down there wouldn't be too bright anyway!

Although as you can see below on the night of the storm chasing... it was a lot worse, this photo doesn't even look like a photo to me! I could hardly keep hold of my phone let alone take a picture with it! Both tried to take videos but couldn't get a grip on anything to keep still long enough!!! Still though I am sure will try again during the next never before known highest tides next time they pay a vist!

TTFN
Marian