Sunday, December 30, 2018

Mary Poppins Returns, our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Boxing day farewell dinner, Suzy left for Bali and other stories

30th December, 2018
This year's official Christmas Day photo with my husband Eladio
Good morning all. I hope you are all enjoying the Christmas holidays and that you had a great time on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. As always our festivities were en famille, just as I like it, but more about that later.

Let me rewind to last Sunday. I woke up to the news of a volcano produced tsunami in Indonesia between Java and Sumatra. It killed many people. The death toll last Sunday was about 220 people but it would go up. Thank goodness Suzy was safe here with us although Bali was not affected. I don't like the fact that she lives by the so-called "Ring of Fire" an area associated with continuous tsunamis and volcanoes. It was just 14 years ago, on Boxing Day,  when the biggest tsunami ever hit the country and surrounding countries and killed 167.000 people in Indonesia alone.

The girls were still away in the small village of Olmedo de las Fuentes but would be home for lunch. I spent the morning cooking, preparing the trifle and potato salad for Christmas Eve and made lunch too. There was time for a walk with Eladio before lunch, so off we went in thick fog. It's been very foggy recently and we didn't encounter a soul on our walk. Later in the week though the fog disappeared and was replaced by the sun.

We had a humble family lunch with mostly leftovers but didn't want to eat too much, knowing what was coming at Christmas.

That afternoon the girls and I had tickets to see the much awaited Mary Poppins Returns at the Princesa cinemas in Madrid which is only one of two that shows films in their original language. You can see the official trailer here .We drove to the nearest metro station and then took the tube to Plaza España which is only 5 stops and walked about 300 m to the cinema.
The girls and I on the metro last Sunday on our way to the cinema
Both the girls and I were and are avid fans of the original version. I thought back that day to when my Mother took my brother and I to the premiere in 1965, I was just 8 and 57 years later I was about to see the premiere of a sequel made by Disney with the girls. The sequel is based on JL Travers' books which I really think I must read. It's a different story in a similar setting and I do like the new Mary Poppins, Emily Blunt, but she is a bit too strict, not very smiley and although she has a good voice it's not a patch on Julie Andrews.
Official poster of Mary Poppins Returns
The film lasted just over 2 hours and we were out in the cold and foggy street by about 6.25. From the cinema in "Plaza de los Cubos" we walked the short distance to the Plaza de España metro and took the tube to our nearest station and then picked up our car. We were very quick, home in about 45 minutes. We decided against taking the car into Madrid to avoid the traffic and I think it was a good decision.

Eladio and the dogs were waiting for us at home and to quote Suzy "it was nearly time for dinner". We made it and ate it together around the kitchen table. It was early to bed for us all at about 8.30 pm. Eladio and I watched the news and then the Jordi Evoli programme. We both fell asleep through it which comes to show it wasn't one of his best.

I didn't have a good night's sleep. I had forgotten to take my sleeping tablets and was awake many times in the night and kept thinking about food hahah, or rather all the food I had to prepare for our Christmas Eve dinner.

Thankfully I was up at 7 instead of 6 and was soon joined by Oli and then radiant red haired Suzy. Oli was going off to work and Suzy would be singing in the choir again for a concert organised by her old choir master, Javier Blanco. I would have loved to have joined her but had too many things to do.

One of the first things I did in the morning, surrounded by the rest of my family making their breakfasts, was to put the finishing touches to the trifle I had made the day before. This is what it looked like. Great right? Well, it tasted even better.
Home made trifle, our desert for Christmas Eve dinner
I had done most of our shopping and Christmas food preparations but still had to go out. First we went to pick up the croissants, etc we would have for breakfast on Christmas Day. Last year, naughty Norah ate nearly half of them. This year I would put them on top of the fridge well out of her way. Our next stop was to Mercadona for yet more humus for Suzy, our vegan daughter, and a few things I had forgotten to buy. It was then I suggested to Eladio we go and have coffee or chocolate with churros. After all it was quite early in the morning and it was Christmas Eve. I had been on a diet since 9th November and I was going to enjoy them immensely. Amazingly, we bumped into my best friend Fátima and joined her and her family at the local "churrería". There we greeted her mother Gloria, her brother Manuel, her beautiful daughter also called Fátima as well as her niece Gloria and husband. It was a nice unexpected meeting and lovely to see them on Christmas Eve. Here we are around the table at the cafe.
Meeting Fátima and her family for churros on the morning of Christmas Eve was a lovely surprise
After drinking a cup of coffee and eating 2 whole "porras", the thicker and longer version of a churro and taking the photo above, we wished them all a Happy Christmas and made our way home.

Lucy helped me unload everything. She made lunch that day - vegetable soup and lentils, bless her. I then went on my walk alone with Pippa in the sunshine. Eladio, nursing his cold, stayed behind poor chap. The walk was something I needed that day as we would eat so much I'm afraid.

It was lunch alone, just Eladio, my Father and myself. Lucy went off to spend Christmas with her family and at about 2.30 Zena, our Ukranian carer, came to take her place. Thankfully she celebrates Christmas on 7th January so we had someone to look after my Father while Lucy was away. In any case, Zena feels like family. She has worked for us for probably 20 years and we love her.

Having slept so badly the night before, I was in need of a siesta and slept right through the news. I woke up at 5 pm!!! Suzy and Oli were back and both girls helped me prepare the rest of the food for dinner, mostly the "bacon rolls" which Eladio calls "Rolls Royce" and a vegan variety for Suzy made with courgettes. It was lovely cooking together. Meanwhile, Eladio lit the fire in the library lounge and Zena brought up my Father to enjoy it. While cooking, the girls and I sang Christmas carols in harmony with 3 voices. Mine is pretty croaky what with my cold and lack of practice but it was a lovely moment. Even Eladio joined us with his baritone voice also affected by his cold.

For that very special Christmas Even dinner, called "cena de Nochebuena" in Spanish, we all dressed up in Christmas outfits. These are outfits from my Yoigo Christmas party days that are very useful. Here are Eladio and me getting into the spirit of things haha.
Eladio and I in our Christmas outfit.
Even Zena and my Father got dressed up hahaha. Here is a selfie of the 5 of us. I'm afraid my Father wasn't looking at the camera.
The 5 of us on Christmas Eve all dressed up for the occasion, even my Father
The table was groaning with all our favourite Christmas fare and on that night we had to be extra vigilant with Norah after our experience when Julio and Fátima came for dinner. Even so, she managed to get a pie from the table. After that she was locked out outside hahaha.
Our Christmas Eve dinner table with all our favourite fare
Eladio was keen to get started but I insisted on more photos, of us, of the table and of course to make a toast before digging into the delicious food that had taken so long to prepare. Here are the 4 of us in our Christmas outfits.
The 4 of us on Christmas Eve
There was a lot of choice on the table and we all had a bit of everything. I had made perushki (Russian pies), bacon and courgette rolls, lobster salad with mango and avocado, some croquettes which were badly fried I'm afraid, a plate of salmon and the piece de resistance was the home made potato salad covered in giant prawns. Then we had the delicious trifle as well as Spanish turrón, a sort of nougat that comes in all  varieties, including almond, marzipan, coconut, chocolate, etc. I ate far too much of it and my stomach complained

It had taken days of preparations to make but soon we had finished our dinner during which we listened to the King's speech on my iPad. Zena took my Father down to put him to bed and the 4 of us cleared away. We spent the rest of the evening by the fire in the lounge, enjoying being together, all of us very conscious that we only had a few more days with Suzy until she went on the 27th December.

It was relatively early to bed, at about 11 pm. We watched part of the Cleopatra film with Elizabeth Taylor, perfect for falling asleep through for me at least. Eladio watched most of it. He loves films about the Romans, so I left him to it.

On Christmas morning I was woken up by Phoebe our cat who must have stayed inside all night. It was 6.25 and I was the first up, thus I fed all 4 pets. I had lots to do before everyone got up on Christmas Day, the most important being preparing our family breakfast. All the girls had to do was wake up, open their stockings and come down for breakfast. I, more or less, always organise our family Christmas single handled and I felt very tired by the end of the day. I think it's the endless planning, shopping and cooking. On the bright side there would be no more cooking for days as for the rest of the week we would be eating the delicious leftovers.

Pippa and I joined the girls on Suzy's bed while they opened their stockings, full of little gimmicky things, a tradition I inherited from my paternal Grandmother. And here they are in bed surrounded by stockings and wrapping paper with Pippa looking on. I was told not to publish this picture but I suspect they only skim through my blog so won't see this one. If they do, I'll be in trouble. 
The girls opening their stockings
We had to hurry a bit on Christmas day as Suzy had online lessons to give to her Chinese pupils from 11 to 14h. They don't celebrate Christmas so she would have to work.

The breakfast table was groaning with the Alveran cafe pastries, mostly mini croissants which were delicious. Here is my soon to be 100 Father about to enjoy his Christmas breakfast.
My Father at the breakfast table on Christmas morning
From the dining room table we moved into the lounge for the highlight of Christmas, the opening of the presents all piled up under the tree. Here is the family, including Miguel, Ol's boyfriend, all expectant awaiting that most pleasurable moment of the year.
Photo of the family just before we opened the presents on Christmas morning
Before we could start opening the presents, it was photo time. I had to have a photo of Eladio and I together taken by Miguel, our traditional Christmas photo. I have chosen it to illustrate this week's post but here is another, more fun one, of the two of us with some silly glasses and of course with little Pippa by our side.
Photo of Eladio, Pippa and I with the silly Christmas glasses from the girls' stockings
There was more quantity than quality but we were all pleased with our presents. I got a beautiful Swiss key ring knife and pink Adidas trainers from Oli, some lovely rose essence from Suzy which came from Bali and then presents from Eladio and my Father  which I had bought and wrapped up myself  hahaha, the most important being one of my favourite perfumes, Daisy by Marc Jacobs.

Once the present session was over, everyone went to do their own thing. Suzy, of course had to give her online lessons from the dining room. She used lots of the Christmas stuff for props. I could hear her teaching from the kitchen and could appreciate what a good teacher she is. Most of her pupils are very young, starting from about 4 years old. Here she is, in her element.
Suzy teaching on Christmas Day
 I had to make the lunch, Turkey, well rather "pularda" (a fattened hen), and all the trimmings. It took me about 3 hours to make and it was all eaten in about 25 minutes!!
Christmas Day lunch
I ate too much and felt so full for the rest of the day I didn't want another morsel. Part of that was because of eating the delicious Swiss chocolates Oli had brought back from Zurich. They were divine. 

We all had a siesta after that, apart from Suzy who had to do her follow up evaluations of the lessons. I have to admit I was tired and very full and woke up at 5.30 when it was nearly dark. The girls agreed to join me on a late walk with the dogs and we had the path completely to ourselves. I felt so much better when I got home; lighter to say the least. The girls went out to see friends while Eladio and I read in our festive lounge. Eladio had some of the Christmas Eve leftovers for dinner but I all I could face was an orange and a few cherries.

We went to bed feeling tired but happy and watched another episode of La Verdad until we fell asleep before midnight.

Boxing Day dawned, Suzy's last day with us. Oli and Miguel had returned to their flat as my younger daughter had to go to work that day. Boxing Day is not a holiday in Spain. I spent the morning with Suzy. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with her before she left on Thursday evening to return to Bali, oh so far away. I had no obligations of any sort that morning. I didn't have to work or cook and it was a good feeling to be free to be with Suzy. We were out and about on various errands and had lots of time to talk to each other, mostly about her future and what she wants to do with her life. Thankfully, it seems, she will be coming back to Spain in June but is not sure what she wants to do.

We had lunch with my Father who was sad to hear it was Suzy's last day with us. She came for 2 weeks and time has flown as always. We had a siesta while she packed and then the 3 of us went for a walk with the dogs. It was curtailed by a flock of sheep, thus we only got 45 minutes exercise versus 1h 15 minutes. Home again, Suzy got ready to go out to see a school friend, Pili, the last social engagement during her time here, apart from dinner with us that night. Meanwhile, I prepared lots of our leftovers to take to Oli and Miguel's flat for a farewell Boxing Day dinner for Suzy. We were there by about 9.15 and soon Suzy arrived and the family was complete. We sat down to a delicious dinner but before anyone was allowed to dig in, we had to have a family photo. Miguel, as usual, was our photographer. This is the lovely photo of the 4 of us that night. We don't have many photos together and I treasure every one of them.
Photo of the 4 of us, courtesy of Miguel, on Boxing Day night with Suzy
It was very sad when dinner finished or rather when it was time to go because it meant that Suzy and Oli, our two daughters had to say goodbye to each other until June, a separation of 6 months. Both girls cried while I looked on and shed a tear too. Oli made Suzy promise to come back.

I went back in my car with Suzy so as to have more time together, while Eladio drove the Volvo. We were home by just before midnight and went straight to bed. That was when I got a sudden reservation from 5 Mexicans who would be coming to stay from Friday to Sunday, the day after Suzy vacated her room. I would far rather have had her to stay longer.

Thursday 27th December came, the day of Suzy's departure. The good thing was that her flight wasn't until late at night. I would be taking her to the airport at about 7 pm. I was conscious all day that it was her last day with us and hardly left her side. I accompanied her in the morning to do a routine blood test then took her to the hairdresser for a trim. On our way home we stopped at the Chinese shop for her to buy more educational props for her online teaching lessons to small children.

Once home, Suzy gave her last lessons while here and was dressed for the occasion. She loves her lessons and seems to be a good teacher - I listened to her a lot while in the kitchen.
Suzy teaching on Thursday morning
We waited for her to finish at around 2.15 to have lunch together. It would be her last lunch with her Grandfather and I know he was sorry to see her go. She is so sweet and attentive to him.

Suzy then had to pack her huge rucksack and a smaller one. We took a siesta after which Eladio went off to a routine doctor's appointment. He said goodbye to his beloved daughter. I was more fortunate and was able to be with her during her last hours at home. Her room was a mess but I prefer it that way with her in it rather than any guests. At about 7 it was time to leave and for Suzy to say goodbye to the dogs, to Lucy and to my Father. Dropping her off at the airport nearly broke my heart. She was going across the world, so far away from us and although she has promised to come back in June that's still 6 months without her. Our family is never complete without Suzy.

As I was driving home I got a phone call from her. There had been a hitch checking in. They nearly didn't let her fly to Bali as she had a one way ticket only and her visa expires there on 3rd January. Thankfully, in the end, they let her fly. Once in Bali, she would be joined by her London girlfriends who would be spending NYE with her and would be there for 12 days. Her main mission after that is to find an apartment or flat with a good wifi connection. The latter is crucial for her online lessons. Her other mission is to increase the number of lessons from only 6 hours a week, preferably to 6 hours a day. She needs that to be financially independent.

Meanwhile, Oli was working, editing her latest programme on Switzerland.  Here she is working hard to finish the editing.
Oli working on editing her programme about Switzerland on Thursday which would be her last day with Madrileños por el Mundo,
I came home to an empty house without Suzy. Her charisma fills it and her absence was very noticeable. Eladio and I had a light dinner together after which we went upstairs to bed to watch the news and the last 2 available episodes of La Verdad.

I had a bad night coughing and had to take 2 sleeping tablets. Thus I woke up at 8 am on Friday morning. Friday was the quietest day of the week. It was also Spain's equivalent of All fools' day, called all "los santos inocentes" here (innocent saints). We didn't play any jokes, neither did I recognise any in the news. I really missed Suzy's company on Friday, the day after she left. She would be travelling most of the day and arrived in Bali at 11 pm local time, about 4 pm our time. An hour after her arrival, her friends from London would be landing. We haven't heard anything since she landed but I'm sure she's very happy to be with her friends.

I spent the morning cooking. We had finally finished the Christmas leftovers and were back to normal food; vegetable soup followed by grilled fish, roast peppers and green beans. I'm afraid I had some chocolate after that. You see there are still chocolates in the house and they are difficult to resist.

We had a siesta and I coughed through most of it. My damned dry cough after my cold will just not go away. We spent the afternoon reading quietly together in our festive lounge. At around 8.15, 3 of our 5 Mexican guests arrived. The other 2 would apparently be arriving the next day. We greeted them and showed them their rooms. They are a family from a town on the border of the US near Texas. Naturally I asked them what they thought of Trump's wall and they told us they were disgusted with him and with North American in general. I can sympathise with them.

We left them to it, to sleep off their jet lag, and we had a quiet dinner together before going up to our quarters to watch the news and the last available episode of La Verdad on Amazon Prime.

Saturday came and it was shopping day. Believe it or not we were running out of supplies and had to go out to do the food shopping at Mercadona and Carrefour Market. There was no sign of our Mexicans and we wouldn't see them until the evening. After unloading the shopping, there was time for a glorious walk in the sun. We then came home to a quiet lunch with my Father. The house feels so empty without the girls.

Last night we had dinner out with Oli and Miguel at a new restaurant for us; Origen Gastro Bar in Majadahonda. Poor Oli had a bad throat and had completely lost her voice. She even brought along a mini black board and chalk to communicate with. It's funny but she has never lost her voice before and for her, a TV reporter, her voice is her biggest asset. We urged her to go to A&E today. The restaurant was not our type but it was lovely to go out, get dressed up and put makeup on. We hadn't been out to dinner for a long time so yesterday was a treat.

And today is Sunday 30th, nearly the end of the year. When I write next it will be 2019. Fancy that. When I look back on 2018, in general life has treated us well. Some of the highlights of 2018 were our trip to Yorkshire and Manchester in January, Sandra's 60th in Lombardy, Suzy's stay in the spring until she left in June for Bali, the Cousinade in La Teilée in France, our various stays in our beloved Montrondo and Santa Pola, the visit of Kathy and Phil but more than anything I will remember 2018 for being a peaceful, happy and prosperous year and for all the enjoyable time Eladio and I spent together. He is my rock and my life would not be the same without him. He is aslo my partner and it is the little things we do together, such as preparing dinner, going for our walks, etc. that bring us so much joy and togetherness.  This year too has been the consolidation of our Airbnb  "business". We have earned a lot of money, much of which will have to go to pay taxes in July but we have also met some lovely people from all around the world. I especially remember Esteban, the Argentinian rally driver, Rania who is Lebanese but lives in Brussels, Lorena from Venezuela, our Jewish judge, Amiram, my dear English family including 7 year old Brody who told me he wanted to move in with me and of course the lovely French family from Pas de Calais with their delightful daughter Marianne. It was Marianne who inspired Oli and I to take French lessons.

I wonder what awaits us in 2019. I can only ask for the new year to be as good as 2018. I don' need any more. I wish you all too a prosperous and happy 2019.

See you next week - or next year. Cheers till then,
Masha

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