Eladio has his first cataract surgery, a quiet week, Hamas leader, Sinwar, killed by Israel, the rain has gone, a family lunch and other stories of the week.

Sunday, 20th October, 2024.

With little Juliet yesterday when she came for lunch

Hi again everyone,

Compared to last week I don't have much to tell. We haven't been away and the week has been quiet. Suzy is still with us and stable which is good news. I think she likes being home and we love having her. I also love to see her eating so well.

Last Sunday was the day after being with Geraldine in Madrid when I walked over 23.000 steps. My legs were achy even after sleeping relatively well. So we didn't go for our walk. I made curry for lunch, including a vegetable version for Suzy. I asked her how she felt and she said we felt calm and in peace but a little bored. That was actually music to my ears. 

Monday came and was the day Eladio was having his first cataract surgery. It was a big thing for him but as I had my cataracts removed in 2018, I knew that it wasn't so big. I looked up when cataracts were first operated on, or rather, removed and it was by a French surgeon called Jacques Daviel in 1747, so quite a while back. That proved what I was trying to tell my husband, that this is an operation eye surgeons learn in their first year of residency and is very common. I wonder what Daviel would have thought about the implant of lenses these days which goes hand in hand with the surgery. In the old days, after the extraction people had to wear very thick glasses. Remember seeing that? I do. 

Even so, he was worried but I have to tell you, so far, so good. Here he is after the surgery, with no patch on his eye and hardly any post op instructions except for loads of different drops.

Eladio on Monday after cateract on his left eye

As soon as we were finished, we went to get the eye drops from the chemist. I have been the administrator; i.e. Eladio's nurse and oh my, so many drops are needed throughout the day for a least a month after each operation. 

I drove him home and he had breakfast and then went straight to his computer. I went out on little errands and had coffee  alone that day. Lunch was leftover curry that no one complained about. The highlight of my afternoon was the Monday afternoon Skype call with Amanda. She never reads my blog but gets the full unedited version verbally, hahaha. 

We both sleep badly and commiserate about our lack of sleep and we both take pills. This week I swapped pills to see if I could sleep better and actually didn't notice much improvement. I fell asleep faster with the new pills but sleep lasted less. 

We also talk about the weather and on Tuesday it was wet and cold. I cannot remember a wetter October than this year. I recently installed the Huawei app to measure the yield and consumption of electricity and all these wet and cloudy days gave a very low yield. I wondered if we maybe shouldn't have bothered installing the solar panels. We put them in this May but weren't here at the time so no one gave us any instructions. Just last week we got a call from Repsol to tell us the differential switch had been off for months, most likely after a storm. We didn't even know there was one and were furious to find out we hadn't been yielding any electricity for months. No wonder our bills looked the same as before we installed the panels. I am so cross but now I have the app to monitor the output and consumption and will be able to know if it goes off again.  When the rain finally went this week and the sun came out,  I immediately noticed how much the yield went up. So, maybe, after all, it was a good idea. 

That morning one of the two contractors I have found to do all the stuff the wooden house will need; mainly connecting the water, sewage and electricity but also installing the bathroom fixtures and a small kitchen, plus everything the house needs. The company that sells the wooden cabins only do the wood, so to say. We should get an estimate next week and another one the following week. Only then will we be able to make a final decision. Then, of course there is a lot more to do, the decorating and furniture, etc. A big job, so watch his space. 

On Wednesday it rained too but we managed a walk on the road, my first since Saturday and it did us both good. We managed another on Thursday. The big news that day was the accidental killing of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, by Israeli forces. He was also the mastermind of the 7th October attacks. It was in a chance encounter with Israeli forces in Rafah, in Southern Gaza. This is a big blow for  Hamas but no doubt another leader will emerge. However many leaders Israel kill in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran or Yemen, more will emerge and the war will continue. Netanyahu always says his aims are to destroy Hamas and to bring the hostages back. But it has been a year now and it hasn't happened. Meanwhile, some 42.000 Palestinians have been killed and most of Gaza is in ruins. However, some western leaders see the killing of Sinwar as an opportunity for talks on a ceasefire or even peace. If that brings back any hostages still alive, I am all for it. I'm not sure Netaanyahu is though. 

Friday came and the rain went. Wow, bring back the sun I kept thinking and it happened. Finally we have Spanish sunshine back as we know it and it does perk up ones' spirits. We did the weekly shop which included coffee at Manacor, in the sun for me and in the shade for Eladio whose sight, by the way, is improving by leaps and bounds in the operated eye. That is good news.

Saturday came and we had Oli and the kids for lunch which was a very happy occasion. With Suzy there too, the family was once again complete. I made 40 meatballs to make Elliot happy as they are his favourite food. He is not a good eater in general but loves meat balls. When I gave some to Suzy for him recently she told me he ate 8 of them. We adults usually eat 4 each, so image our little 5 year old with 8 in his stomach, hahaha. 

But before they came we went on our walk on the usual path through the woods and then went out for coffee. We were home on time to put the finishing touches to lunch - meatballs and chips. Tana had prepared everything for me and all I had to do was fry the chips and heat up stuff. Suzy was roasting red peppers in the oven and we had some time together. She plans to stay here a bit longer but doesn't really know for how long. I am worried she is missing her therapy but maybe being with the family is therapy itself. Before long, the kids and Oli were here and I was scooping up little Juliet into my arms. She is so loving if a bit mischievous. But I like kids with character. Elliot has a lot of it and after lunch disgraced himself by weeing on the patio as if his thingy was  a pipe. We made him clean it up with a mop but I'm not sure that will make him learn not to take out his thingy in the garden hahahahaha.

Lunch was a success and we had to stop the kids eating more meatballs but I made sure they had more for later  by giving Oli a tupperware of the rest I had made. Here they are during lunch making faces  hahahaa

Elliot and Juliet showing me their appreciation of my meatballs at lunch today

Soon they were foraging in the deep freeze to find their favourite ice creams - the Biscofs which are mine and Suzy's too. 

Later we all gathered by the swings and I thoroughly appreciated having all my family around me in peace and harmony.

Enjoying having all my family around me and in harmony

It's not often we are all together so yesterday's family lunch was special. They left us to have our siesta and Suzy later told me the kids fell asleep for 2 hours at the park which they both appreciated. Later they went home and made cupcakes while the children played. So a good day was had by all.

I slept much better last night after taking a new pill or rather a supplement called GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid) recommended to me by my friend Andy. It may well turn out to be just a fluke but only time will tell.

This Sunday morning the sun is shining again and I can only envisage a quiet day at home with a walk and coffee out; often the highlight of our day.

Now let me leave you to get on with the day while I wish you all a happy Sunday.

Cheers till next Sunday when the clocks will go back one hour, officially meaning summer is well over. I shall miss the extra hour of light in the evenings and only wish we could always stay on summer time always. 

Masha