Easter Day. Madrid, Sunday 5th April, 2026
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| Pistachio and wine time by the pool on Friday evening |
Good morning everyone and Happy Easter. It is Easter day and as always I shall make a roast meal. I am happy to tell you we will be joined by Suzy who was discharged from hospital yesterday. That is the best news I have this week.
Not such good news is the fact that the war with Iran has entered its 6th week and it is pretty much stale mate at the moment. 2 US aircraft were shot down by the Iranians and one of the pilots is missing in Iran. Attacks intensified on Iranian infrastructure and the economic crisis has worsened, as has the humanitarian crisis. What seemed an easy war to win for the Israelis and the USA is turning out not to be as easy as Trump thought. He is furious that his partners from NATO are not helping out and threatens to leave the Alliance but who, by now, believes his threats?
Our lives continued in peace for which I am thankful. Last week was
Palm Sunday, the day the clocks went forward. I would have slept an extra hour if one of my guests hadn't rung me at 7 am, the old 6 am. I did not need that. I didn't really notice it was Palm Sunday but certainly remember it from my childhood. I loved getting a palm leaf in the shape of a cross at the church in Ruskington, in Lincolnshire, where we lived when I was little. Eladio reminded me of our once being in Reñaka in Chile on Palm Sunday. On the Pacific Ocean, Reñaka is near Viña del Mar where we ventured by car from Santiago in about 2003. We got given the most beautiful woven palm cross we kept for a long time. Wow what a trip. I was there on business for Nokia and Eladio came out and we spent Easter there. Being in the Southern Hemisphere, on the other side of the Equator, it was autumn then while it was spring in Spain. The things we remember. I remember another Palm Sunday with Eladio and my father in Granada in 2008 where we got to see "La Boriquilla" (little donkey) procession. It represents the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on a donkey. None of that would be possible today in Jerusalem. With the excuse of the war, many Christian celebrations have been completely scaled down. Jesus would not be happy and I am not either.
A very little baby was born last Sunday. Oscar Archie, grandson of my great friends Kathy and Phil was born 2 months early while his parents were on holiday in that lovely hotel, Gleneagles where I have fond memories of trips to Scotland with Motorola. Their daughter in law gave birth in Dundee and thus their grandson is Scottish, hence the names he has been given. I heard from Kathy they would be transferred to their hometown in Manchester but could never have imagined they would be taken by helicopter. What an amazing gesture. Finally my friends met little Oscar on Saturday. I am very happy for them all. I know my Yorkshire friends will be tickled pink to have a Scottish grandson. Hi there Oscar, welcome to the world.
It was on Sunday that Olivia and family drove to Montrondo to stay at our lovely house there in my husband's village for the Easter holiday. They have been very lucky with the weather and the kids have had a grand time with their cousins, firstly Luna and Camilo and then some of the others. We got sent various photos during the week which I want to share. I especially love the one of the kids hanging round the bread van which comes every other day and is quite an event for people who live in the city.
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| Olivia and family in Montrondo this week |
Monday came and Eladio and I went to buy new flowers for the garden to replace the dead geraniums which surround the pool. We also got a couple of rose plants and lots of different types of soil and fertilizers. My husband is a good gardener when he puts his mind to it.
Tuesday was a quiet day with not much to report. I had a bad night but that is not news. That afternoon we visited Suzy as we have every day since she was admitted to hospital.
Wednesday was 1st April and in England it was All Fools' Day and turned out to be a pretty complicated day for me. It started off well. Eladio did the gardening, mostly planting the new flowers. Here he is about to start. In the background you can spot Tana who I think was cleaning the outdoor loo.
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| Eladio the gardener |
I was happy that morning to receive our new toaster, a beautiful red Smeg to replace our Russel Hobbs which literally set on fire last week. This is it next to the Smeg kettle. I am in love with that brand and I am not usually a person who is interested in brands.
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| Our new Smeg toaster - red of course. Love it |
I did the shopping alone while Eladio tended to the garden. It was while we were having lunch I got calls from Santa Pola to tell me the gas wasn't working so our guests there could not cook. At more or less the same time our new guests in El Cuetu were also complaining the house wasn't clean enough and to get rid of a clothes horse with clothes in the garage. I had to deal with everything while more or less standing up to have my lunch. At that moment I felt like giving up hosting and selling those houses. By the end of the day everything was sorted but what a headache. It turned out too that the party of 6 in El Cuetu was actually a party of 8 people as seen by my sweet cleaner Andrea who suspected the complaints were to try and get a refund. Oh the lengths some people go to. I am now dreading this guest's review on Booking. As a host, you are a slave to guest reviews and have to bend over backwards for all of them to be happy. Wednesday was my "dies horribilis".
While I was having these little issues, the spacecraft, Artemis II took off for the moon. It is not actually going to land on the moon but is a test flight. From 1969 to 1972, a total of 12 Americans have actually set foot on the moon. I only remember Apollo 11 in July 1969 and will never forget when Armstrong stepped on the surface of the moon and said those words "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind". I wonder why no one else has stepped on the moon since 1972? So, for today's generation Artemis II must be very exciting but far less so than the Apollo 11's mission was for my generation. I was 12 at the time and remember watching the crucial moments while my mother stayed up all night glued to the "telly". The next day I was going camping with the girl guides. I read that this 4 crew mission is a test flight to ensure the spacecraft and launch system are safe for future moon landings. They will not land but will have amazing views. The distance from the Kennedy Space centre to the Moon is about 385.000 kilometres. Their speed varies from several thousand kilometres per hour. To leave the earth's orbit and reach the moon they will travel at nearly 40.000 km per hour!!! I just wonder how they wash themselves or change clothes or maybe they don't. Hopefully the mission will go well.
Thursday was a much better day for me and thankfully problem free. I went out shopping to get the ingredients for 2 recipes I had seen on Instagram. The first one was a chicken based recipe which I think might be from the Middle East but I am not sure. This is the
link I used and this was the dish that I served.
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| A new chicken based recipe |
The ingredients are chicken, onions, cherry tomatoes, spinach, veg stock and cream to which I added almonds. We had it with Tana's amazing rice.
My second dish was another apple dessert and again from Instagram. This is the
link and this is my result.
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| A new type of apple tart I made this week. |
I made such a large tart I gave some of it to my guests. When I was with Suzy in the afternoon I told her about my cooking and trying out new recipes. She will be helping me next time, now that she is back. Isn't that great?
Friday of course was Good Friday. It was the first time in many years I hadn't stocked up on hot cross buns or made any. I used to but couldn't be bothered this year. Instead, I raided the deep freeze for a packet of crumpets I had bought at Quicksave in February. Oh how I love crumpets with lots of butter. I naughtily added some Golden Lyle Syrup. I don't like honey but I love syrups. We finally went for a walk that morning and oh how you notice spring is here. Everything is so green and lots of flowers are blooming. I love this time of year.
We had leftovers for lunch and just afterwards our new guest Dan arrived. He is from Romania and has been traveling round Europe in his own car, a splendid BMW. Our other guests are from Brazil but live in Sacramento. They are here to see their son who is living at a football academy very near us. They have been before and are a pleasant couple. In the afternoon we went for the last time to visit Suzy. It has been tiring but more so for her of course. We came home and as the weather was so lovely and it was light outside, I suggested we have a glass of wine and pistachios by the pool, a tradition of ours in the good weather. It was a wonderful way to wind down after a difficult week. I got Eladio to take a photo of me for this blog, for lack of another one, with his new Samsung S26 and I have chosen it as this week's feature photo. It was a happy moment together with my wonderful husband with whom I could never envisage being without. Thank you Eladio for the good times and being there for me during the bad times. It is our unity that keeps us going. Writing that reminds me of our wedding vows which we have both kept since we got married on 21st August 1983. We used the text from the Common Book of Prayer. These were: "'I, (), take thee, (name), to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth". I remember we did them in English or maybe I did mine in Spanish and Eladio his in English. He had trouble saying "thereto I plight thee my troth" which had me in tears and the wedding had to stop until I was able to compose myself. Again, the things one remembers.
Saturday came, the day was Suzy was being discharged. Poor girl, she hadn't seen the light of day since being admitted on 18th March. It was a lovely day and I had my morning coffee by the pool while Eladio got out all the outdoor furniture. I had to take a picture. This is it.
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| The pool looking good and so lovely to sit by in this good weather |
I made our lunch before leaving for the hospital. It was for the last time and so good to see Suzy come out. We rushed home and she was greeted warmly by little Pippa. Tana is off this Easter weekend and our guests were out so we had the house and garden to ourselves. Lunch was eaten outside at Suzy's request.
The day ended with the three of us having wine and pistachios by the pool. Another pleasant end to the day. Today is Easter Sunday and as I said at the beginning I shall be making a roast meal - lamb and all the trimmings; my favourite. You will hear all about it next week.
Meanwhile, let me wish you all a Happy Easter. Until next Sunday, cheers
Masha.
