An uneventful, cold and rainy week in January, all eyes on Iran, Greenland, Venezuela and Minnesota and other stories of the week

 Madrid, 18th January, 2026

Coffee at Alverán this week

Good morning on another wet and cold day in January. Oh how I long for warmer days. Don't you? I must have the post Christmas blues. When my 4 year old granddaughter,  Juliet, came this week she wanted to know where all the decorations were and I had to tell her that sadly, Christmas was over.

As I sit down to write about my week I'm just wondering what to tell you. But perhaps a week with no news is good news. When nothing bad happens we have to count our blessings. My heart goes out this week to a very close friend who is battling a loss; something no one should have to go through and my mind has been on her all week. I wish I could be nearer to comfort her. Bless you, my love. Anything I write now pales in comparison but I must soldier on. That is something my father always taught me although it is not always easy to do so. 

So let me commence. Last Sunday we were alone until Houssam, the Lebanese seafood lover who lives in Dubai, and his son, Alex arrived. He left this morning and was  a pleasure to host. Elliot, my 6 year old grandson who has an obsession with the world's tallest buildings, met my guest and when we told him Houssam was from Dubai he said that's where the Burj Khalifa is built. He went on to draw it, perfectly I must say,  and told us falteringly that it is 829m high. In May Oli and Miguel are taking the kids to Paris. It will be their first time on an airplane  and Elliot is dying to see the Eiffel Tower. This week he told me all about the World Trade Centre and what became known as 11th September. Bless him; he asked if it had happened when he was born. I patiently explained he was born in 2019 and it happened as we all know in 2001. I love his enthusiasm for learning, that earnest little face of a boy who this year will turn 7. When did that happen? 

Of note that day I slept a 2 hour siesta, something unheard of but I have to grab my sleep when I get it. My entertainment that day and most days this week has been re watching Season 1 of The Night Manager and starting on Season 2. I can highly recommend both if you like good old British made spy stories. 

Monday, like most days this week was cold and rainy. It was not cold and rainy in Iran where the streets were bloodied from the Revolutionary Guards striking down  protesters. The protests began at the end of December over the economy and have turned into calls to topple the authoritarian strict Islamic government. Since then  3000 people have been killed and over 10.000 arrested. Some activist groups estimate these figures to be far higher. Meanwhile the Ayatollah regime has more or less cut off Internet and Trump threatened to attack the country. He then went back on his word after hearing the government would not go ahead with planned executions for some protesters but urged the people to carry on demonstrating.  I don't think anyone knows what is going to happen next.

Neither do we know what is going to happen to Greenland which Trump wants to get for the US for their "security" by hook or by crook. This can't be happening but it is. The US already has military bases on the island which he says will be taken by Russia or China if he doesn't take it which is bullshit. The whole issue is a bullet in the heart of Nato which was set up by the USA in 1949 when Truman was President. This week a commission from Denmark and Greenland met with Trump's Government in Washington. They got nothing out of it and once outside the White House I saw the Danish Foreign Minister, Lars Rasmussen light up a cigarette. He was quickly joined, in solidarity, I imagine, by Greenland's Foreign Minister, Vivian Motzfeldt. That moment went viral. As a fellow smoker and great admirer of the Nordic countries, they had my solidarity too. The Danes are very pragmatic and easy going, reserved but friendly and have a deep sense of justice and equality as well as a wonderful sense of humour. But they will not be laughing about Trump wanting Greenland. They will be appalled. It's like WW2 again with Trump at the helm. The Greenlanders may have their issues with belonging to Denmark but they have made it clear this week they do not want to belong to the US and would prefer the status quo. Since the meeting, Copenhagen has increased its military presence and small units of troops from other NATO allies, including Germany, France, Sweden, Norway and Finland and Holland, have also been deployed. The Danish PM warned Trump that any US move against Greenland could end the Atlantic Alliance. Unfortunately the story won't end there. Trump is on a mission and he gets what he wants. We are in the hands of an autocratic dictator who has now threatened those countries with troops in Greenland 25% on tariffs for goods sold to the US. 

Life continued for us and that day saw us taking the train to the Principe Pío station to get a replacement senior citizen travel card after mine was stolen in December. I don't know when I will be using it again but it's nice to have. I was out again in the afternoon, this time to see Conchi, my hairdresser. I had my hair cut and roots done for a paltry 16 euros. I don't care if her salon hasn't been refurbished since the 70's and is quite shabby, she does a great job and is fast and cheap. 

On Tuesday I had a complicated morning. I had problems with my digital certificate and then spent useless time trying to find out more about the latest obstacle to Airbnb owners in Spain. Apparently the government wants us to submit a list of all our guests and what they came for their statistics and our headache. It is supposed to be complied with by 1st February but I cannot find anything to fill in on the Land Registry website. What a pain. It really got me in a bad mood but I cheered up when we went on our walk and decided not to let it bother me. I will cross that bridge when it comes to it. Spain has a huge housing crisis in that young people cannot get on the property ladder for love or money and they government wants to put the onus on Airbnb hosts which is a drop in the ocean. The real problem is that they don't have enough affordable housing and never have. The government also consistently tries to intervene in the rental market; mostly second homes hard working Spaniards have invested in but that's not on either. The only solution is building more affordable housing and that's what they have to do dammit. 

Wednesday came and I was up at 5 in the bl**** morning. I was bushed all day. At 10 am I had an appointment with the eye specialist for a general check up. I don't do many of them but because Eladio has degenerative macular disease which is age related, I thought I should have mine checked. After all the tests I was happy to hear all was well, my corneas and optical nerves were fine as was the macula in both eyes. Great stuff I thought. 

I came home to find a group of South American gardeners trimming and pruning the garden which has to be done once a year. They were to come back on Saturday but it rained so heavily they will be coming again next week. Oh how desolate the garden looks at this time of year and after the trimming and pruning.  Most people pay them in cash. No one wants to pay tax and the workers who are probably illegal don't want to declare their earnings. Spain's submerged economy which is about 18 to 20% of its GDP, significantly higher than in other EU countries, apparently  just a paltry 200 or 300 billion euros. Is that bad I ask myself? I imagine my hairdresser doesn't pay her taxes either but as salaries are so low here and housing so expensive, sometimes there is no choice. And if you are officially self employed even if you don't earn anything one month you still have to pay taxes. I was self employed for 2 years and the tax was horrendous. 

Thursday dawned and I slept a bit better. Oli had the day off and came to study some French and then make more perushki. She spent quality time with Suzy but not with us as we were about to go out and do the shopping when she arrived. I came home to make the lunch which would be the boeuf stroganoff, one of my favourite dishes all time. This was it.

The boeuf stroganoff I made this week

It's always known to be a dish fit for the tsars and its origins come from the wealthy Stroganoff family from St. Petersburg. However, they had a Fench chef so maybe the origin is more French than Russian. Today it includes onions, mushrooms and wine but originally it was just sauteed beef cubes with a mixture of mustard and smetana (sour cream). The beef has to be the best and most tender. In Spain that is "solomillo" which is tenderloin or filet mignon which cost me a small fortune. But it was delicious.

While we were enjoying the stroganoff, this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado was on her way to the White House to meet Trump. She took with her her prize to share with Trump. There was much news about her giving it to him this week but it cannot be given to another person. No way. She had to butter up his ego I suppose though if she is to have any say in the future of Venezuela. Just before the meeting Trump, the de facto leader of the country, praised the new President, Dency Rodriguez who has stepped into the left wing dictator Maduro's shoes while he fests in a cell in Brooklyn. Meanwhile very few political prisoners have been released. The world seems to have got used to the news that  Trump intervened in Venezuela and applied the "Monroe Doctirne" which seeks to have power over the whole of the American continent. The US has consistently tried to quash the threat of communism over the years in its "back yard". Remember Nicaragua supporting the Contras against the Sandinistas, Chile, the coup against Allende and putting Pinochet in power, Brazil, Bolivia, Guatemala and now Venezuela. And if the right wing President Milei had not won the elections in Argentina, he would have intervened there too. The world looks on and can do nothing. 

His own back yard is also Minnesota where thousands of his  thugs from ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) have been seen cracking down on protesters after the unlawful  killing of Nicole Good last week. Scenes coming out of Minnesota are very similar to those we are seeing in Iran. Trump is just as bad as the autocratic dictators he wants to eliminate elsewhere. Where will this lead us to. Some say to a police state where he will be able to enter a third term of presidency in three years time which is fundamentally against the US Constitution. It is happening now and no one has the power to stop the man who says he needs no international law but relies on his own morality. 

Friday came and it seems as if January is whizzing past. I did lots of cooking after our big shop the day before. By 10 I had ready to make or already made; a chicken noodle soup, a cocido stew, waldorf salad as well as stuffed shoulder of lamb which we had for lunch that day. Some of the rest was just batch cooking and some was for serving for dinner that night when Oli and family were coming.

Dinner with them was the highlight of the week and joy of joys Suzy joined us. We had a grand time eating and enjoying their company. It was good to have them over; a real tonic.But it didn't turn out well for Suzy who was sick that night and couldn't go to work yesterday. I think it must have been eating rich food after a week of fasting. 

We didn't leave the house on Saturday as it rained all day. I was a bit bored really as I had no cooking to do nor any admin work for my rental business which is very quiet at the moment. And today, Sunday,  Houssam will be leaving and we won't have any new guests until the weekend. I suppose it is  a respite. I am rather fed up of this cold and rainy weather and Eladio and I are trying to decide what to do for my birthday. He even suggested a few days in the Canary Islands. I don't think we will go but I have been looking at the temperatures there and they are not that great either. Anyway, watch this space.

And that's it from me my friends for this week, a very quiet week in cold and wet January. Here's hoping next week will be better.

All the best till then,

Masha

Trump's own morality is the only thing stopping him, the origins of "trifle", quiet Kings' Day at home, Christmas is over, Oli and family in Santa Pola and other stories of the week

 Madrid, Sunday 11th January, 2026

Kings' Day with my grandchildren, Juliet and Elliot

Good morning friends and readers. 

I don't know whether I am reeling from the end of Christmas or from Maduro's abduction in Venezuela and Trump's threats to Greenland, Mexico, Colombia and Cuba. This week he said something along the lines of "I don't need international law, my own morality is the only thing that can stop me". That is very worrying to hear as we know that he lacks morals. He loves the world's attention of his frightening actions and seems to thrive on what people say about him, be it good or bad. It's obvious we have a psychopath in the White House who won't stop at anything to get his way. It's obvious too he doesn't give a damn about international law as he showed when he ordered the abduction of dictator Maduro. So when he says he wants Greenland, this time I believe him. We are living in a new world and it is not a brave one. The west is frightened of Trump, worried about trade, when Europe should get its act together and stand up to him. But we don't and so he carries on. The world is in the hands of psychopaths in Russia, China and the USA and where does that leave Europe and the rest of the world? I don't know. All the rules have changed and I cannot guess; only worry.

Last Sunday was a day to remember. Oli and family were with us all day and the children were looking forward to Kings' Day when they would get even more presents. 

They were coming for lunch on Monday 5th, traditionally "Kings' Night" as on the day itself,the 6th, they would be spending it at Miguel's mother's place. For the occasion I made a "cocido"  - a well loved chickpea, meat and vegetable concoction and then a very British dessert, a strawberry trifle. This was it.

My trifle

It's one of my favourite puddings and as I was making it I wondered why it's called trifle. AI told me it comes from an old French word, trufe or trufle meaning something of little importance and that's because it was made of humble ingredients such as old sponge cake. Trufe or trufle also means something easy to assemble which this pudding really is. The name might point to easy to make origins but modern day versions are much grander with jelly and cream and fruit. However, I would question AI's answer because trifle in English means the same, a trinket or something of little value. Whatever its origin, we all enjoyed my trifle on Monday and over the next few days too as, as usual, I made far too much.

I was up at 6 that morning making the dessert and cocido, wrapping King's Day presents and only when I finished could I go out to do more errands. They are never ending. I also accompanied Oli to a routine doctor's appointment. We parted ways and I went to get 2 roscones (Kings' Day cakes), one with whipped cream and one without. Spaniards traditionally make or buy a roscón for the 6th January. This is what the cream filled one looks like.

Spanish "Roscón de Reyes" - Kings' Cake

Panettones have caught on in Spain but will never replace the far tastier roscón which is steeped in tradition. Inside there is usually a hidden bean and a hidden king. Who finds the figure is considered lucky and who finds the bean must pay for the roscón the following year. This is part of the magic of the 3 Kings tradition in Spain. 

Once home I went for our walk with Eladio. My head was full of the things I had to do to put the cocido on the table for lunch, I probably wasn't looking, stumbled and fell flat on my face; thankfully on my side so I didn't hit my head or my back. Oh dear I am so clumsy always falling. Eladio somehow got me up and I arrived home covered in mud and soil. After cleaning myself up I was back in the kitchen putting the finishing touches to our lunch which everyone enjoyed. 

The kids didn't stay long as at 5.30 they had to be at the Kings' Parade, a lovely event hosted by nearly every town and village in the country; the arrival of Melchior, Caspar and Balthasar. That brought back memories of our taking the girls to the parade when they were small. We once went with Elliot and Juliet but no longer - we are getting too old for such things I am afraid.

Instead we watched Nicolás Maduro and his wife being taken to court in New York. It's as if Trump wanted to show off his prize and what a spectacle was made of their transfer with hands cuffed and cavalcades of security cars. Maduro chose the same lawyer as Julian Assange and as predicted, pleaded not guilty. The trial won't begin until March so he will have to stew in a small cell at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn. In Venezuela he lived in 8 different luxurious locations and lived off the money his countrymen were deprived of, in obscene wealth which coming from a communist leader does not sit well. I think it will do him good to see how the other side lived, or rather how the people he jailed, those who opposed him had to live, except that conditions in Venezuelan jails are even more frightening and include torture chambers. This will be torture for him I suppose. He has certainly got his comeuppance. However, his countrymen are still just as badly off. He has been deposed but the regime remains intact, the same cruel regime he led. Now it is his second in command, the notorious Delcy Rodríguez who is the President but she has to kowtow to Trump if she wants to continue in power. He, meanwhile, says he is in charge albeit remotely of the country and has grabbed the oil which is the main reason he wanted Maduro out. Venezuela has tons of oil but it's bad quality and the infrastructure is decades old. He wants the big US oil companies to invest there and then see the gains but they are reluctant and I tend to understand them. 

Tuesday 6th January was Kings' Day and the last day of Christmas in Spain. It was very quiet at home as Oli and the kids wouldn't be coming until the afternoon. We heard from her that they got up at 5.30 in the morning because of the excitement. They spent the rest of the day at their other grandmother's where they were plied with so many gifts I doubt they even know what they had been given. I noticed this Christmas that what they like best is just tearing off the wrapping with hardly a look at what is inside. Knowing this, I only got them 2 presents each and pretty small ones. 

It was just Suzy, Eladio and I for lunch and I made a Chicken Waldor Salad which we had followed by more trifle. We had hardly touched the roscones and I now have one in the freezer for next year as in the afternoon Oli brought yet another one:-( 

They arrived at about 6.30 and we were waiting for them around the Christmas tree. I managed to get  a couple of photos with the kids before they pounced on the presents, hahaha. I chose one of them for this week's feature photo and here is one with little Elliot.

With Elliot on Kings' Day

And here is one of my girls with Oli showing her present. I realised later I had given jumpers to everyone and 3 of them were striped. I do love my stripes hahaha.

My girls on Kings' Day

When they left, that was Christmas officially over. It had been the quietest Kings' Day ever. 

I didn't have the heart to take down the Christmas decorations on Wednesday 7th, which by the way was Russian Christmas. We left it until Thursday.

 Oli and family left that day for Santa Pola to relax there after Christmas until their return today. January is not the best time to go to the beach but the weather was kind to them and they even ventured into the sea. Just look.

Juliet and Elliot playing in the waves in Santa Pola

While they were there they made the most of their time. They visited the castle in Alicante, went to the beach, to the Museum of the the Sea in Santa Pola, the palm tree park in Elche and also the railway museum there. Here are some photos to remember their stay.

Oli and family having fun in and around Santa Pola this week

I am glad they had a good time. They will have gone to the weekly Saturday market yesterday and bought local fruit and veg . I hope they bring us some oranges. 

Eladio and I went out but not to the sales which started on the 7th January and which I nearly always ignore. We had a coffee at Centro Oeste and went to get a prescription after which we came home for our morning walk we never like to miss.

I must not forget to mention something terrible that happened on Trump's own turf that day in Minnesota and happened thanks to the bully tactics he has allowed his feared ICE agents to apply to immigrants. A woman called Renee Nicole Good, a 37 year old US citizen and not an immigrant but  an ordinary mother of three was shot and killed by one of his ICE agents  who did so in cold blood. Trump's stooges claim the woman was an agitator who tried to run over the agents with her car. She did no such thing and they had no right at all to kill her. What is happening in America reminds me of the beginnings of Nazism. Freedom is being slowly eroded in the US. There, I have said it. 

On Thursday Eladio wore his new striped jumper with its fashionable quarter zip. I had to have a photo of my handsome husband. 

Eladio looking smart in his new jumper from Zara which was his Kings' Day present

I got another one after he taken it off when I took a photo of him with the empty Christmas box about to take down all the decorations. This is it and it signalled the end of Christmas.

Taking the decorations down  means Christmas is finally over

Our peace was over as a family as that day our first guest of the year arrived; Mar. Then Leonardo arrived on Friday and a Lebanese man called Houssam is arriving today from Dubai to install his son at the local University. His wife who is from Belarus made the strangest request I have ever had from a guest in my 8 years as a host. She wanted to know which all you can eat seafood restaurant I could recommend in the vicinity as her husband is crazy about seafood. I was stumped as there are no all you can eat restaurants that I know of in Spain, never mind seafood ones. Probably Dubai has lots, but not so here. For once I couldn't help. Airbnb recognised my efforts that day when they awarded me with Superhost status for the 34th quarter in a row. Wow. I got 4.9 out of 5 stars which is great but last year I got 5. The score went down because of a nasty retaliatory 1 star review from a nasty lady from Ecuador. But I was still pleased. 

It was on Thursday that the Venezuelan government, probably prompted by their new owners, the USA, released some of their 800 political prisoners, but just a few. 5 of them were Spanish. It was big news here but journalists were thwarted when they were scuttled out of the airport and sent straight to their homes so they could not be interviewed. I think that might have been part of the deal with the Venezuelan government. Meanwhile, Trump has intervened quite a few oil tankers in the Caribbean with sanctioned oil destined for China probably. He intends to keep the oil. 

Friday was another quiet day in January after Christmas. I don't like the beginning of January and I never have.  We did the food shopping and then our walk. The highlight of the afternoon was my Facetime video call with Amanda who I hadn't spoken to since I left Devon on 15th December. There was so much to catch up on. Lovely to talk to you my friend.

Saturday came and saw me spend part of the morning at A&E at the private hospital Monteprincipe in Pozuelo. I had a sore tongue which was really bothering me. Turns out I have oral thrush which I wouldn't wish on anyone as it's very hard eating. Hopefully it will get better soon with the treatment I have been given.

We had lunch on our own as Suzy is fasting after Christmas and Tana was not around. She was supposed to be leaving for her weekend off but isn't feeling too good. I hope she gets better soon. We then watched the news which we always do and apart from Trump reordering the world, there is big trouble in Iran. Demonstrations have been going on for weeks. The people are fed up with the government - who blames them? It all started when the local currency crashed but it has developed into something so big I think the Ayatollah Khomeini may well be planning to flee the country. The government has literally turned off Internet - ah but some people have Elon Musk's Starlink - has killed 48 people and detained more than 2000. Trump has threatened to intervene if the killings continue. So we have a big issue in Iran. I honestly hope the regime is toppled. But I'm not sure I want the Sha's Peacock Emperor son returning to rule the country. Apparently he crowned himself in Egypt not so long ago. I feel for the people of Iran, especially the women for whom life must be very limiting.

Today is Sunday and I have come to the end of my tales of the week. For us it was a pleasant week. For the world it was a worrying one. I shall leave you now to get on with the day. 

Cheers for now, Masha. 

Outing to the centre of Madrid with Elliot and Juliet, our quiet New Year's Eve, lunch with Julio at El Filandón, Trump attacks Venezuela and captures President Maduro and other stories of the week.

 Sunday 4th January, 2026

On the tube with Juliet and Elliot this week

Good morning everyone and thank you for reading my first post of the year. 

 I hope the New Year has started well for you. It has for me in many ways, not so for those who lost their lives in a bar in Switzerland on NYE when it set on fire, nor so for Nicolás Maduro, now ex President of Venezuela and awaiting a trial in the US. Wow! That is huge but let me come to it later

Our Christmas continued quietly and last Sunday was not much different. It was  the day Brigitte Bardot died, the famous French actress and pro animal activist. She would not see in the New Year and neither would many others who lost their lives this year. Names that come to mind are Robert Redford, Claudia Cardinale, Giorgio Armani, Pope Francis, Diane Keaton, Marianne Faithful, Jane Goodall, Frank Ghery, Boris Spassky, Gene Hackman, Richard Chamberlain, Jean Marie Le Pen, the Duchess of Kent, Aga Khan, Frederick Forsyth, Joanne Trollope, Tom Stoppard, Jilly Cooper and Mario Vargas Llosa. Neither did our friend Benito who died on 23rd December and my heart goes out to his widow Loli. 

I cooked a lot of veg that day as after so many carbs, my body was crying out for healthy food. It's terrible how badly we eat at  Christmas. In a way I look forward to back to normal on 7th January when Christmas is officially over in Spain. Suzy had lunch with George who gave her a bottle of wine for me - thank you George. 

While I was watching the BBC Call the Midwife Christmas Special, Zelensky was in Mar A Lago with Trump for a peace meeting. It may sound good on paper but Putin won't back it so we are back to square one. 

On the bright side, that day we got a wedding invitation from our goddaughter, Alicia, who is getting married at the end of August. That will be another lovely family wedding to look forward to.

My cough continues, mostly thanks to my smoking and that night was one of the worst. I  was up later on Monday morning. We had lots to do that day. The Volvo was towed to the garage to get a new battery, fuel came for the central heating and only then could we venture out. We went to do the Kings' day present shopping and now I have everything ready for Kings' Day on 6th January. It's a big thing in Spain although they also have Father Christmas. 

Tuesday was the highlight of my week when I went into Madrid with Oli, Miguel and the kids. We left the car at the metro station. Taking the train into the centre was very exciting for Juliet and Elliot. I have chosen a photo of me with them on the train as this weeks' feature photo. I love it.

We got off at Plaza de España and joined the crowds walking up Gran Via to the Puerta del Sol. The place was very crowded. The kids don't usually venture much further than Boadilla where they live so Tuesday was exciting for them and us. And here are the four of them in the Puerta del Sol where the next day people would be ringing in the New Year to the chimes of the clock in that most famous square.

Oli and family in Puerta del Sol this week

From there we took the kids to the Plaza Mayor to the Christmas market to buy them joke items from the stalls there. They were in their element, especially when Miguel bought them bangers from the street sellers, who looked as though they were mostly from the Indian Subcontinent. 

Oli and family in the Plaza Mayor 

Miguel did the typical thing people do in the Plaza Mayor and that is buy a "bocadillo de calamares" - a sandwich filled with squid. Sounds awful but it's tasty. It was then that I bumped into Carmen, or "Carmencita", a lovely girl, now aged 50, who used to be my intern at Nokia. How lovely to see her again. We spoke for ages and Oli took a photo of the two of us. 

With "Carmencita" who I bumped into this week in Madrid

Carmen left Nokia to set up a music school with her partner Mupi, called Marand. They had huge success and it is now an academy that feeds Madrid's "Broadway" with young singers. Very sadly, Mupi passed away last year which must have been a huge set back for my friend. But she is soldiering on. It was lovely to see her.

We came home for lunch and all ate spag bol which I had prepared before we left. 

Wednesday 31st was the last day of the year. I did lots of food shopping as we were hosting the New Year's Eve dinner at home. My contribution was perushki and Chicken Waldorf Salad. Oli came with bags of food to make at home. And thank goodness we had Tana to help. She made two lovely dishes; little red peppers stuffed with prawns and mushrooms and phyllo pastry rolls stuffed with some pork creation. It was lovely to cook together and the table looked divine when we sat down. Only missing was Suzy who rang in the New Year with her friend Copi at a small dinner party nearby. 

New Year's Eve dinner this week

As usual, Oli borrowed one of my dresses to wear that most important of nights and she looked lovely. Here is a photo of her with her beautiful children just before we sat down to eat.

Olivia and her gorgeous children Elliot and Juliet on NYE

We are not great fans of celebrating New Year's Eve and I think if Oli and family hadn't been coming, we would probably have gone to bed early. In fact, for the first time ever, we did not stay up until 12 to watch the New Year come in and thus we didn't eat the grapes. Oli and Miguel took them home to eat at 12 midnight. 

Thursday was the 1st of January and the first day of the year. It was to be just the four of us for lunch that day and I made roast lamb with all the trimmings which even Suzy ate with gusto. But first for our walk in the cold. I can't wait for better weather and longer days. Once home I got my lovely iPad out to watch the Vienna  New Year Concert while creating our wonderful lunch. I was soon joined by my two daughters and we watched it together. And this was our lunch which we were still eating yesterday, hahaha.

New Year's Day lunch, roast lamb and all the trimmings including Yorkshire pudding and mint sauce.

As we had no one to take a photo, we took a selfie. 

Our New Year's Day lunch with the girls

Dessert was apple crumble made by me which we are also still eating. Oh dear, this has got to stop.

Oli and Suzy later went to be with Copi and her mother while we had our proverbial siesta. I was going to watch more of Line of Duty when I spied The Sound of Music on the BBC iPlayer. It's such a Christmas thing to watch.

Friday came, 2nd January, the day of our second Christmas lunch engagement with Julio. But first for a walk and this time I naughtily took Eladio to have some churros except that only I had them  - well, a "porra" with coffee actually. 

We left for the lunch just before Oli came with her family as they were going to have theirs with Suzy and eat all the leftovers from NYE. We drove to El Filandón, a restaurant we always love going to. Julio was there waiting for us and we had lots to talk about while eating the delicious food this popular and upmarket restaurant has to offer. Afterwards we exchanged Christmas gifts. I bought a three piece outfit for Julio from Zara and he got Eladio a wonderful bottle of wine and a new perfume for me by Guerlain. It's Aqua Allegoria Forte Florabloom. I usually use their Mandarin Basilic but wanted to try their more flowery version. I love it.

As we left, we got a passerby to take a photo of the three of us outside El Filandón which is so beautifully decorated at Christmas.

Lunch with Julio this week at El Filandón. Superb

We came home to find Oli and the kids here and all their usual mess, hahaha. We had hoped for a siesta but Elliot and Juliet weren't having it. It was lovely having fun in our bedroom with them. Eventually Oli gathered them up and took them home and we resumed our siesta. Would you believe I slept until 7 pm? Wow, I needed it.

On Saturday we woke up to the news that Trump, as he had threatened, had attacked Caracas. He had also captured or kidnapped Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Weeks before Trump had urged Maduro to resign which he didn't but I didn't think he would have the nerve to attack a foreign country and kidnap its president, even if he is a despot and fixed the elections to continue in power. Trump wanted his guts for garters. In a huge military build up, not seen since the Cold War, the US President threatened him, accusing him of narco-terrorism and of filling the US with lethal drugs and of course immigrants. Since he took power, 8 million Venezuelans fled the country - the population is 28 million. Over a million of them are in the US and half a million in Spain. I don't like Maduro but I don't like the way Trump did this with no international legal backing. We had our eye on the news all day and it was only in the afternoon when we learned that Maduro and his wife were on a US military ship on their way  to New York. Trump published the first photo of the ex President with his eyes covered and in handcuffs. What a picture.

First image released of Maduro in captivity

In a press conference held from Mar A Lago later in the day, Trump confirmed the couple would be tried in New York  for Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, cocaine importation, among other crimes. He will probably live the rest of his life in an American prison. Not nice. We watched the press conference and my conclusion is that Trump wants his hands on Venezuelan oil or rather that this was hi main objective. He also wants to make sure the whole of the American is under his control. The US will be governing for the moment until a transition can take place. Does that mean the Nobel Peace prize winner María Corina Machado will take his place? You would think so but when answering one of the journalists, Trump said she didn't have the support of the people and that she had been put there by Maduro.  If it's not her, who will it be and what does all this mean for Venezuela and its people? Time will tell but I am still reeling from this news of another American invasion. How Trump gets away with everything he does, astonishes me. He may also have other objectives  in mind in the region. So look out Colombia, Cuba or Nicaragua or even Greenland. Trump went against international law invading another country. He calls himself a peacemaker but he isn't. Worryingly, I wonder if this venture could open the door to China invading Taiwan. The whole geopolitical scene has now changed and the future is very uncertain.

Our life continued normally yesterday. We didn't go on our walk though because of the rain and instead went to have coffee out. While out we also cashed in our El Gordo lottery winnings - a paltry 120 euros which Eladio spent on  6 tickets for the Kings' Day lottery.  I doubt we will win anything but there is always hope.

I agreed with Oli to have our Kings' Day lunch a day earlier, so they will be coming tomorrow 5th January. Thus I bought the ingredients for a trifle which Suzy has been at me to make this Christmas. I shall do that for her. 

Today is Sunday and promises to be quiet and we shall be following the news from Venezuela as most of the world will be too.

Cheers then until next Sunday when Christmas will be over and the new year just begun.

Masha

2025 - on the whole a good year, annual dinner with Julio, a magical Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, unexpected correspondence from my father and other stories of the week.

 Madrid, Sunday 28th December, 2025

Christmas Day with our grandchildren, Elliot and Juliet and of course Pippa.

Good morning to you all this last Sunday of the year. 

2025 is coming to a close and on the whole it has been a good year for us. It's incredible to think that a quarter of a century has already passed. 25 years ago I was not much older than my daughters Suzy (41) and Oli (40) and in 2027 I will be 70! Time flies and old age creeps up on you. Old age is cruel but thankfully both Eladio and I are still in relatively good health. Thus we have enjoyed 2025 as much as we could. Most of our trips this year have been on home terrain apart from my two journeys to Devon to spend quality time with Andy and Amanda and our wonderful visit to Paris in July. We have been many times to Santa Pola to enjoy the sun, do work on the apartment or to take friends, as well as to El Cuetu and to Montrondo as is normal. This summer we chose Galicia to celebrate our wedding anniversary but we did not go on a road trip this year. We didn't want to leave Suzy alone. Her journey has been better than I could have envisaged a year ago today. March was the most awful moment of the year when she was taken into hospital for mental health reasons. And the highlight of the year was a family lunch at Honest Greens to celebrate her getting a job as a nutritionist with Sodexho, the French food service management company. Her sister Olivia has been by her side all the time. Bravo darling, bravo darlings. Olivia has to juggle her life as a TV reporter getting up at the crack of dawn and at the same time look after Elliot and Juliet who are still so young (6 and 4). She is exhausted but is doing a sterling job. 25 years ago I was in a similar position and know just how difficult it is. As our grandchildren grow, we get older but it is a joy to watch them develop and become little human beings themselves with their own quirks and personalities. What I love most about them is their enthusiasm. When my dear departed father met Elliot for the first time, he told us he hoped he would have a productive life. I wish that for both of them. I do hope we are still around to find out just how productive they become. 

On the world scene, 2025 has been dominated by the Gaza and Ukraine wars. Peace in Gaza is on hold and I don't see much hope for Ukraine. I hope I am proved wrong. 2025 was the year Andrew Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of all his royal titles owing to his connections with the paedophile Jeffry Epstein. One young woman, Virginia Guiffre, who took her life this year, brought the former Prince down after accusing him of being sexually trafficked by Epstein. The Epstein files are now being released and even after heavy redactions, it is obvious there were many more like Andrew who abused young victims just because they could. It makes me sick. 

The most significant event for me in Spain this year was the day of the blackout which coincided with Suzy's birthday in April. Never did we realise just how dependent we were on electricity until that day. The other was perhaps the fire in Montrondo, one of so many forest fires this summer which was the hottest on record. I doubt 2026 will be any better but I do hope we are more prepared for such catastrophes. Personally for me I think I did quite a good job with my Airbnb and Booking business which has its headaches but keeps me busy. My big news this year was the successful operation on my bladder which I am so glad I did. It was also taking Mounjaro to lose weight which I did successfully but of course am putting it all back on this Christmas with so much overeating. Christmas is all about food but then food is glorious so I can't win. I shall have to go on it again in 2026 I suppose if I can persuade my GP to prescribe it. 

Before I think about the new year let me rewind to last Sunday. It was 21st December, the Winter Solstice and the shortest day of the year. That was the day I caught a cold from Eladio who caught it from Tana but it's  not a bad one, thank goodness. 

I was busy cooking that day as Julio was coming for our annual Christmas dinner. I went all out and tried my hand at Beef Wellington which is actually one of my favourite dishes. I made coleslaw to go with it and dessert was a Kings' Day "roscón" filled with whipped cream. 

I created magic that night for our dear friend Julio who has been coming for dinner every Christmas since we first met at Nokia in 2001. Our other friend Fátima  used to come too until her untimely death on 5th December 2019 and we always miss her. The lounges and dining room looked so festive with all the lights and candles on and Christmas carols playing in the background. Here is a photo of the dinner to show you.

With Julio who came to dinner last Sunday

We had such a good time I voted it THE dinner of the year. It's not often we host dinners and I wish we did it more often. We shall be seeing Julio again on 2nd Jan when he invites us out for lunch. I love these Christmas traditions we created so long ago.

Monday 22nd was the day of the draw of El Gordo - the Spanish Christmas lottery on which Eladio had spent so much money. Oli was in Palma de Mallorca to cover the news  if anyone won there. They didn't but she brought us back a lovely "ensaimada" pastry. She was the one to tell us it had been won mainly in villages in León, the province Eladio is from, and some winning tickets had been sold in Villablino where we do our shopping. I had one ticket from there I bought this summer from Manolita in a group village purchase. But I only got the 20 euros back. On the bright side we won 100 euros from a ticket Miguel and Oli gave us. Eladio wants to spend it on the next lottery - El Niño which is drawn on 5th January. It was all big news in Spain and many humble people won a lot of money. Good for them.

On Tuesday I invited Oli, Miguel and the kids for lunch and made it extra special as they wouldn't be with on us Christmas Eve. For Oliva it would be the first time ever not spending "Nochebuena" with her parents at home. In Spain the Christmas Eve dinner is the most important of all the festive meals. So I knew she would be missing us and wanted to make it up to her. Elliot came bearing his chess set and immediately got me sitting on the carpet in the lounge to play with him. I haven't played chess since I was taught it as St. Joseph's College Bradford probably when I was about 10; so 58 years ago. I managed after a few basic questions. What a moment. The other great moment of the day was a make up session with Juliet in my bathroom which we both enjoyed. I have to say I really loved the company of my grandchildren that day and at Christmas. They add so much fun to everything, despite their odd tantrum. In our pre Christmas Facetime session with friends Kathy and Phil I told them all about it. It was good to catch up and I know they will be having a great Christmas in my beloved Yorkshire.

Wednesday was Christmas Eve and the day our last guest of the year left  and thank you Guillermo, father of Joaquín from Perú, for your 5 star review. After cleaning his room and making lentils for lunch as well as doing the preparations for our star dish that night, my grandfather's potato salad, Tana left too. That meant we were alone finally and will be until tomorrow when Tana gets back. It has been glorious. 

I got a Christmas card that day from a former pupil of my father's. In it he included a letter my father had written to him in 2002 from Bradford and a Christmas card dated November 2006, shortly after we had moved to this house from Río Tajo in Boadilla. I read both the letter and the card over and over again and so loved reading them. I especially loved the bit where my father wrote: "Life is very comfortable and the family make me feel really at home". He adds " I am not missing life in England all that much and I'm lucky at my age to be in a reasonable state of health. So roll on 2007". My father loved Christmas as we do and all my traditions come from spending Christmas at my English grandmother's house in Ickenham when I was a child. So he would have loved dinner that night. It was only Suzy, Eladio and I so when I walked down the stairs after my siesta to finish preparing the dinner, I knew I had to perform magic again and said so to Suzy. And we did it between the two of us. Eladio also took part when he lit the fire in the library lounge. My father used to love it when he lit the fire at Christmas time.

Eladio always lights the fire at Christmas and it creates a lovely atmosphere

And here we are about to dig into the lovely food we prepared; just 3 dishes: potato salad, bacon rolls and perushki pies followed by too much chocolate, most of it from M&S.

Christmas Eve dinner with Suzy

Suzy insisted on having an early dinner at 7.30 as she has had to work every day since the 24th. Thus we were in bed just before 9 and on time to watch the Spanish King's speech. It was very institutional with hardly mention of Christmas and of course not a word about the corruption in the government. I far preferred King Charles' which I watched a couple of days later.

Of course I was up early on Christmas Day which fell on a Thursday this year. As a special treat I had crumpets with Golden Lyle Syrup both purchased at Quick Save in Santa Pola. Because Suzy was at work we changed the order of present giving and decided to give the kids' theirs when they got here and the adults' after lunch. I had plenty of time to prepare the big lunch and we didn't have turkey this year either as we don't really like it. I did a chicken to which I added 3 thighs as everyone here prefers the brown meat. I had all the trimmings thanks to my purchases at M& S where I got the sage and onion stuffing, cranberry sauce and Christmas pudding. 

When Oli and family came everything was ready for them. I loved watching the kids opening their presents. But they get so many I think they only really actually like tearing the wrapping off. We had to stop them opening ours after lunch and show them that you open one at a time and not all at once. By the time they got to our house, they had already opened theirs at their house and there would be more on Boxing day at their Grandmother Merche's house. On top of that they have Kings' Day presents on 6th January, so it's all a bit too much. 

The children opening their presents on Christmas Day

Amid the chaos we somehow managed to take the annual official Christmas Day photos, thanks to Miguel, our in house cameraman. I have chosen the one of us with the kids for this week's feature photo and here are two more, one of us with Pippa and then one of Oli and family. It was difficult to get Elliot to stop making faces. But there you are.

Some of this year's official Christmas Day photos.

Lunch was divine as it always is on Christmas Day. Here is a photo of just the food. 

Christmas Day lunch

After lunch was the exchange of presents for the adults which was great. I love the present giving moment at Christmas and always have. I  usually go for quantity rather than quality but try to get it right with everyone. I got an electric hairbrush and a dish rack from Olivia, a wonderful lipstick from Suzy and stuff I got myself at M&S. I have to point out how wonderful it was to get presents from Suzy now that she can as she has a job. 

I could have done with a siesta afterwards but didn't want to spend my afternoon in bed on Christmas Day so made the effort. We had given Juliet face paints of all things and I had to give in to having my face painted by her and Suzy by Elliot. Imagine. 

Having our faces painted on Christmas Day

We had a lovely time all round  but we also had very sad news that day. Loli wrote to say that Benito, her husband, had died on 23rd December. They have been our friends since before we married and even though we only see each other once or twice a year, we consider them good friends. What a shock. That night I spoke to Loli to say how sorry we were and to find out what had happened. Aged 85 Benito had a stroke on 11th December from which he never recovered. May he RIP and courage to Loli to carry on as he would want her to. 

Friday was Boxing Day and Oli came to join us after work while Miguel and the kids were at his mother's house. It was wonderful to spend Boxing Day just the 4 of us. Unfortunately I forgot to take photos. We all enjoyed the leftovers of which there are still some as I always make too much.

Saturday was very quiet. We enjoyed our morning walk together and lunch with Suzy when she came back from work. Today, Sunday, will also be quiet with not much to report. But often no news is good news.

All that remains now is for me to wish you all a very Happy New Year. I hope 2026 is at least as good as 2025 and that we all maintain our health. That is the most important thing at any age. So I wish you all a very healthy 2026. 

Thank you for reading my blog and all the best until next year.

Masha

Last day in England with Amanda and Andy, Marks and Spencers, Sunday roast and more ludo. Flight home, preparing for Christmas and other stories of the week.

 Madrid, Sunday 21st December, 2025

Sunday roast with my dear friends at The Linney in Coffinswell

Good morning again.

Here I am at home with only a few days to go to Christmas while just last Sunday I was still in England enjoying my final day with Amanda and Andy. 

That day we woke up to the news of the mass shooting and killing of innocent Jews celebrating Hanukkah on Bondi Beach in Australia. Two gunmen killed 15 people including a child. Killing for the sake of killing. It's horrible. 

Far away in Devon, I went to M&S - my favourite store in the UK - with Andy for one last trip. It was to get some M&S perishable food I wanted to take home. It opened at 9.30 but you couldn't start paying until 10 am. There was already a queue at the Torquay store when we got there.

I had to have one more visit to M&S on my last day in England

This was that morning's stash.

Last purchases at Marks and Spencer 

It was only when I got home to Madrid,  I realised I had left my prized sausage rolls in my friends' fridge and that instead of the delicious salmon paté I had bought 2 packs of prawn salad which expired the next day. Silly me.

Next on the agenda was a brisk walk with Amanda before our lunch out. It's very steep where they live and there was quite a hill to climb on the way back which Andy refuses to climb. I see his point. Soon we were in their lovely new Volvo again and on our way to The Linny at Coffinswell. We had gone to have a proper British Sunday roast and had chosen the right place. If I said last week that a trip to England is not complete without fish and chips, it is not complete  without a Sunday roast either. I was in for a treat. Well, we all were. Here are some photos of that lovely lunch and pub with its thatched roof.  I chose the one of the three of us for this week's feature photo, just before we dug in. 

Sunday roast at The Linny with my dear friends last Sunday

My only problem was choosing between roast lamb or beef and went for the former. The roasts came with all the trimmings, including a very well presented Yorkshire pudding. Dessert was a delicious strawberry pavlova with the meringue just right. 

We came home bursting full and we all  decided to watch the latest Downton Abbey Film, the Grand Finale. Unfortunately we all started falling asleep so we gave it up and Amanda and I played our last games of Ludo - well, Parchis, the more strategic Spanish version.  We played so often we got Andy to take a photo for the record. This is it.

Playing Ludo (parchis) with Amanda

Later we had some dinner as I couldn't resist the M&S food on offer and played more games of Sevens before we retired to bed.

Monday came, the day of my departure when my poor friends had to drive me  to Bristol airport and back which was a 4 hour drive for them.

I packed, hoping that everything I had bought at M&S and mostly food, would fit in my suitcase and not go over the 23kg limit. I had 12.5kg free space but when Andy weighed my case it was 26kg so I had to offload quite a lot of the food into my PC bag which would prove unbearably heavy. I also took a large carrier bag of food which I would put into a Duty Free bag at the airport so as to be able to get on my 
Easy Jet flight without infringing the rules although I was of course flouting them.

It rained  when we left but I didn't mind as we had had great weather. My flight was at 13.45 and we were at the airport well on time. It was sad to say goodbye to my wonderful friends and hosts who I hope to see again soon in the New Year.

I got a trolley for all my things but had to give it up when I went through security which was strict although I wasn't searched again. Once in the departure lounge, in need of a Duty Free bag to carry my M&S stuff on board, I had to buy some more chocolate (hahaha). Then I grabbed a sandwich, some water and a coffee at Starbucks and with no hands free walked the tortuous way to my departure gate with my unbearable load.  I didn't realise it but I nearly missed the plane if it hadn't been for two kind cleaners who handed me a wheelchair to place all my stuff on.  I think I was the last but one on and asked two Chinese boys to carry my stuff on board which they kindly did. 

The flight was smooth but once again I had the challenge of walking at the airport in Madrid with all my stuff and no trolley. I am now determined to buy a small suitcase that can go in the cabin free of charge and that has wheels. My back is still suffering from carrying that awfully heavy PC case. But I made it. I had ordered an Uber for the first time to save Eladio driving to the airport. It was an ok experience as I didn't know where the pick up point was and the driver was late. He was called Volodymyr so I guessed he was Ukrainian. He was and we had an interesting chat on the way home. He settled in Spain in 2016 so wasn't caught in the war nor did he sign up but who can judge him. 

And there was my wonderful husband waiting for me in the street as I hadn't taken my keys with me. He is always there, my steadfast partner. It had taken 8h door to door. I unpacked all the food and the Christmas presents I had bought. Suzy joined us for dinner and I offered them a splendid spread from M&S. It was good to be back, to be with my family which includes dear Pippa.

I slept so so but it was nice to wake up in my own bed on Tuesday morning. It was pyjama day at our grandchildren's school. They were delighted as you can see in the photo Oli sent me. 

Pyjama day at school for Juliet and Elliot on Tuesday

Meanwhile, Eladio and I had work to do; that is put up the tree and all the Christmas decorations. Here is Eladio bringing the big box.

Eladio bringing up Christmas from the garage haha

Eladio did the tree and the lights and Suzy decorated it while I put up all the other decorations, including my mechanical toys, in the lounges and dining room. As we put everything up carols were playing in the background as is the tradition in our house. I think it took us less than 2 hours to have everything done and dusted. Finally Christmas had come to our house. 

Our little tree with its 10 or more year old lights which are still going, at least some of them, hahaha.

Apart from putting up the tree and decorating the house, it was quite a lazy day. This year all my Christmas shopping has been done at M&S and here in the comfort of our home on Amazon. Parcels arrived all week and now I have everything ready but in a cupboard. We can't put the presents under the tree because Juliet and Elliot still believe in Father Christmas and would be surprised to see them before the big day. I got Eladio to wrap everything up which took him a while. Poor man has had a cold this week which he caught from Tana. I am waiting to catch it from them  any moment but so far, so good, I'm ok. Let's hope it stays that way. 

On Wednesday morning I had an appointment at the Spanish Treasury office to renew my digital certificate, a sort of digital ID - the one I have to use online especially for filing income tax returns. It was a bore to go but had to be done. Later at home I downloaded it on my PC and managed also to get it to work on mobile. I am now good for another 3 years. 

We did most of the Christmas food shopping after that although I had to go back a couple of times to get ingredients for new recipes I tried out this week. 

Suzy had to go to work that morning as during the festive season they will be working in a different hospital. She later came back bringing a huge Christmas hamper that Sodexho gave to all their employees. We were all very impressed and congratulated her. This was the content of the big box she brought home.

The contents of Suzy's big Christmas hamper from Sodexho

She is a bit down these days and I'm not sure why. It's maybe because she finds herself once again alone after her recent trips to see friends in Vitoria and Castellón and the visit of her friends from London which took place while I was away. I think she is feeling a bit flat but I do hope she cheers up for Christmas. She told me she doesn't care much about life these days which I hope is only temporary. She works at the weekend and bank holidays so will have to work on Christmas and New Year's Day but that's good for her. 

That night I did a very silly thing. I wanted to free up space on my lovely Samsung S25 and deleted over 1000 files. It was only later One Drive - the cloud storage I use from Microsoft - sent me an email directing me to my recycle bin. I checked on my PC and realised I had nearly deleted everything on my PC, including my father's book and all my Airbnb stuff. Thankfully I was able to restore everything but had to do it file by file as you can't see the content of the files in the bin. That was a shock but all is good now. I hate to imagine what would have happened otherwise.  Oh I do hate tech sometimes.

It was on Thursday that Eladio woke up with a cold. Thus I went on our walk alone but with Pippa of course. That morning was Juliet's class Christmas show which I wish Oli had told me about as I would have gone. I only knew when she sent the photos.  Here is one of my cheeky, smiling 4 year old granddaughter, Juliet enjoying her moment of fame.

Juliet during her class Christmas show this week which we missed. 

I didn't see Juliet but I did see Oli who was working afternoons this week. She came to make a French quiche pie as her entry for this year's language food competition. She had made a trial run and baked her final entry at our house. Suzy later took it the Language school and "cor blimey", Oli later found out she had come first. Well done Oli.  This was her quiche.

Oli's winning quiche for the language school food competition this week which she won. 

She made a small one for us which we had with coleslaw made by Suzy. 

Coleslaw made by Suzy and Olis mini quiche which we enjoyed for lunch this week

I, meanwhile, made a dish I love but have never made before. Called "fideua" it's like paella but with vermicelli. I got the recipe from Instagram which you can see here. This is what it looked like on my plate at lunch that day.

Fideua made by me this week

We were rather stuffed but pleasantly so as it was great to eat different food, or not our usual. I made quite a few different dishes this week to add to my rather limited range of dishes we normally eat.  

I spent most of the afternoon watching comfort TV. Finding nothing on any streaming platform, I dug into my collection of favourite DVDs and watched The Inn of Sixth Happiness with Ingrid Bergman which I have watched countless times and never tire of. It was made in 1958 and I still love it. 

That night one of our last guests of the year, Laura, arrived but I didn't see her as she is a repeat guest and picks up the keys herself. 

Friday came and it was Elliot's class Christmas show this time which we only got to see in photos again. He did his part well and I loved his green jumper with  pompoms on it. 

Elliot during his class Christmas performance on Friday

I did a lot of cooking that day. In the morning I made a chicken curry for us and a vegetarian version for Suzy both of which we are still eating. I only went out to get a prescription and some ingredients for dinner that night. Oli and family were coming for dinner and I wanted to make a special one. For the first time ever I made a creamy  "bisque soup" which Eladio always chooses if it's on the menu when we eat out. He later told me it was restaurant quality. I think it was and it's a pity I didn't take a photo. Once again I got the recipe from Instagram which you can find here. I also served them some of the coleslaw and fideua as well as our famed perushki pies for the kids and the amazing M&S duck parfait. For dessert I made mini fruit tarts as we all love whipped cream. But there I had a problem as my Kenwood has broken down. Eladio helped me whip the cream with my trusted English hand whisk. If you don't know it, it's like this.

My old fashioned hand whisk with which we were able to whisk the cream for my mini fruit tarts

And these were them.

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My mini fruit tarts which I served for dessert on Friday night when Oli and family came for dinner

Oli and family will be spending Christmas Eve with Miguel's mother; I think for the first time, so I wanted to make Friday night's dinner something to remember. We had such a good time that night, I forgot to take photos. The only damper was that Suzy didn't join us. She doesn't usually eat dinner and was a bit down. Before they left, we opened the old oak chest in the hall which is full of our collection of disguises and Christmas hats, etc. The kids had a field day. That chest has been in our family at least since 1860 odd which we know because it is papered inside with newspaper with that date. Imagine. Just as they left, our last but one guest of the year, Dani, arrived and also picked up his keys.  

Saturday came and Eladio was feeling better so joined me and Pippa on our walk. He also had a decaf with me but we didn't go out. Suzy was at work and joined us for lunch which was, of course, leftovers. The fridge is groaning with food and the furthest thing from my mind is Mounjaro and a diet now that Christmas is here. I will think about that in the New Year when I can't get into my jeans. It's the same old story all my life.

It was yesterday that the much awaited but very redacted Epstein files were released. Images of the sexual predator's friends such as the former Prince Andrew, Michael Jackson (no surprise) and Bill Clinton, without being totally compromising, lead me to understand they all took part in his obscene behaviour and were a part of it all. 

It was just before lunch that our very last guest of the day, Joaquín, a student from Peru, arrived. He will be here until 24th when we shut shop for Christmas. It has been a very good year, not quite as good as last year but I'm not complaining. 

And today is Sunday and we wont' be doing much. It's four days to Christmas so let me take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas. I made a photo for the occasion which I am happy to include here.

Happy Christmas from Eladio and I

I think I chose the best photo of the two of us taken this year. It was at a dinner in the summer with our friends Gerardo and Irene, their spouses and Andy and Amanda, at Quënco, the restaurant where we had our wedding reception. My husband, though, was much more creative and sent a lovely festive message to our friends. This was it in Spanish and below a poor translation: "Queridos amigos, la Navidad aviva el recuerdo de todo lo bueno que nos ha pasado en la vida y vosotros formáis parte de ese todo, que ha resistido el paso del tiempo.Feliz Navidad y feliz año nuevo.Un abrazo grande. Masha y Eladio" . translation: Dear friends, Christmas rekindles memories of all the good things that have happened to us in life and you form part of it which has stood the test of time. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year". He couldn't have worded it better. 

That's it from me for this week. Enjoy Christmas.

Cheers Masha

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