Sunday, 20th October, 2019
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| All together with little Elliot - oh how he unites us and oh how he has changed our lives totally and in such a positive way. |
How has your week been? Let me tell you about mine.
This time last Sunday we were still in Santa Pola but rushing around the apartment getting ready to go. I hate the arriving and leaving part as it always involves washing and cleaning and takes a good two hours. We left in full sunshine with a temperature of 28ºc, the perfect day for the beach. But a week away had been enough to recharge batteries and it was time to go home, time to see Elliot who was now just under a month old and who had grown in our absence. I was dying to see him.
We were in the car with all our stuff and little Pippa in the back by 11.15 for our long drive back - it's 420 km away so quite a way. I took one last look at the view of the bay of Alicante from our flat vowing to come back again soon while the weather is good. I never tire of the view.
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| View of the Bay of Alicante from our apartment, a view I never tire of |
We stopped for lunch at around 2 at one of our favourite places, El Mesón de los Rosales where unfortunately we had to leave Pippa in the car with the window slightly open and in the shade I should add. We like this place, one of the better choices on the road to and from Alicante, the A3 and have been many times. Eladio loves it because of the big choice of Spanish style stews made with pulses. I too like pulses but went for lamb chops and salad.
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| Eladio sitting down to lunch at Mesón Los Rosales on our way home to Madrid last Sunday |
We were soon on the road again. I read my kindle in the car while Eladio drove - he always prefers to and I'm happy to let him - and we were outside the gate to our house in the early afternoon. All was quiet. We had 4 guests staying but only saw Andy our semi permanent lodger. Suzy was out with her friend Sandra at a lunch with Oli and their friends so the house was quiet. I was happy to see my father who I know must have missed us as a week is quite a long time to have lunch on his own every day. Facebook reminded me that 8 years ago that day, on 13th October 2011, my father, aged 92, had had his hip replacement operation. He recovered well but very sadly never walked again poor man. My father had walked everywhere all his life and I know it must have been very hard for him. I greeted him while he was watching the BBC news in the ground floor lounge which is his lounge and our study. The first thing I did when I got home after that was to print my blog as he is my most avid reader. I also gave him his treats; the polos, bounty bars and toblerones I had bought for him from Quicksave the British supermarket across the road from our house. He was delighted and his blue eyes lit up. He has a very sweet tooth which I, fortunately or unfortunately, have inherited from him.
It took me a while to unpack and settle in again. Eladio, meanwhile cleaned the pool as we found out there had been a huge rain storm the day before which we had been unaware of. It was good to be reunited with Elsa and Norah too who I know had missed us and their daily walks of course. I read for a bit outside enjoying the weather and my peace and soon it was time to get ready to go out again. Eladio and I were off to dinner to Oli and Miguel's place. Unfortunately Suzy couldn't join us as she was entertaining her friend Sandra on her last night. I nearly didn't see her.
I was excited to be seeing Elliot again and so was Eladio. A whole week without him in the first few weeks of his little life seemed a long time and my had he grown. He has such long legs and a lot of his newborn sized baby clothes are too small. He is now wearing size 3 to 6 months.
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| Elliot had grown in our absence |
While I was away, two more parcels had arrived for him, one from our darling Pernille from Denmark, the girls' adored au pair and another from our very special friends, Kathy and Phil from England. I also had a present, a pretty baby grow I had got at the Santa Pola market. It's amazing how many presents have arrived for Oli and so many of them from my friends. Later over dinner she opened them and loved them. Pernille's was a very Scandi looking striped baby grow which was perfect for him and Kathy and Phil's was a lovely little outfit themed "Royal Baby", striped too and rather naval in style. I couldn't wait to see him in his new outfits. He has so many. Thank you Pernille and thank you Kathy and Phil. The presents came with sweet cards too, a very non Spanish tradition. I suggested Oli kept them in the photo album I started for Elliot for him to see later in life. I still have the ones we got when our girls were born.
We found Olivia in her usual position, with Elliot at her breast. She told me he had been restless most of the day. Soon he was in Eladio's arms. It's wonderful to see the soothing influence my husband has on his new born grandson. It must be his calm nature. Here they are together, little Elliot happy in his grandfather's outstretched arms.
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| Grandfather and grandson reunited |
Soon it was my turn to hold him and here I am reunited with my grandson.
While we looked after the baby, Oli and Miguel rushed around making dinner for us. We had a vegetable based lasagne made by Oli's personal chef. The dessert was a chocolate concoction he had found from a Masterchef recipe which, despite my diet, I couldn't resist. It was a lovely lovely evening but of course had to end.
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| Delighted to be reunited with little Elliot on Sunday night |
We left at around 10.30 and were home to a very silent and dark house with everyone seemingly in bed when we arrived. Little did we know that just after we left, Pippa had run away into the street, something she never does. She must have slipped out as we drove our car out of the gate. Suzy told me the story. She arrived shortly after we left. She didn't notice our little dachshund was not at home until some neighbours arrived to say they had seen her on the main road but that she wouldn't let them near her - she never lets anyone near her except for family. They had seen her come to our gate and rang the bell but when she saw them she ran off again, this time into the bushes. Suzy came out and tried to find her but she had disappeared. Thank God I wasn't there when this episode happened as I would have panicked. Luckily the couple who had spotted her, saw her again, rang the bell again and this time she was waiting by the gate and when Suzy opened it she rushed in. She had had a big scare and I just hope she never runs away again. In any case I will be much more careful in the future. If I lost Pippa, I can't tell you what that would mean to me as I love her so so much. Dogs are not "just animals", dogs are part of our family and Pippa is the most special dog I have ever owned. I love her so. I'm so glad I heard the story afterwards and that it had a good ending.
We were in our own beautifully comfortable bed with its soft memory foam mattress and feather pillows quite late. I insisted on putting the TV on mostly to help me fall asleep but the film "Loving Pablo" with Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz about Pablo Escobar was on and I had to watch it even though I've seen it before. In a way I prefer it to Narcos, the more well known version of the story of Pablo Escobar, the Colombian drug trafficker.
Thus I didn't get my shut eye until very late. I was awake at 4.30 and had to take another sleeping tablet. Even so, I was awake again at 6 am. I decided to get up as I had lots to do on Monday. I'm glad I did as I coincided with Suzy and Sandra getting ready to go to the airport. Thus I finally got to meet her great friend and confidant, the lovely Angolan nurse with whom she lived in London before leaving for Bali. I only saw her for a few minutes but thought she was lovely.
On Monday the weather changed for the worse. Gone were the high temperatures. It was cold for us with the highest temperature being under 20ºc, it rained on and off and there was lots of wind. I was busy in the morning for at least 2 hours, gathering, scanning and sending all the invoices for the third semester to be sent to my accountant Pilar who deals with my self employment tax issues. I had to skip our walk and only hoped we would get one in the afternoon but that was not to be owing to the weather.
By the time I had finished it was midday. Lucy was in the throes of cleaning the house bless her, one of our Airbnb guests had been and gone and we never saw him - David. I had a young student, Jefferson David, arriving from Ecuador the next day and who would be staying for 17 nights. But the poor chap's travel plans were thrown askew due to the troubles in his country, most of it, in his words, paralysed. He kept asking to change the reservation but I can't as I have new people booked. I'm not sure how I am going to accommodate him but I shall try. It's amazing to think that such far away events could affect my little Airbnb business but I felt for him. It wasn't his fault. He's not arriving now until Tuesday.
For the first time in a while I wore long trousers - well jeans - and a fleece top as it was really cold outside. Joy of joys, Oli, Miguel and Elliot were coming for lunch and it was up to me to feed everyone, 7 people excluding the baby of course who will be fed entirely on his mother's milk until he is 6 months old. With not much food to choose from as the cupboards were running bare, I had to be creative and make the most of what I could find. Our meal would consist of broccoli and mushroom soup (a bit repetitive I know, but we love it) followed by baked salmon, mushroom sauce, red cabbage, red peppers, artichokes and rice. I think you could consider that quite a healthy meal. At least Suzy agreed. We waited for her to finish her lessons at 2.30 as I wanted us to be all together.
Oli and her little family arrived quite early and as soon as I had little Elliot in my arms I went downstairs to my father's room to show him his great grandson again. He was delighted, touching his little head and saying "he's not bald". He again wished him a happy life and when he cried he said "poor boy". We got Miguel to take a lovely photo of us, 4 generations in one picture. I wondered as it was taken whether Elliot would inherit his great grandfather's genes and luck in life and also live to be 100. To think a hundred years separates them in age. Here we are together. I was happy to see him wearing the size 3 to 6 month blue baby grow I had bought at the Santa Pola market last week. I just love the tender look on my father's dear face.
It was Eladio who later coined what has happened to us all since little Elliot's arrival; he has changed our lives in a way we could never imagine. He has brought so much joy and has slipped into a family who will love and cherish him always. I'm not a baby person like Oli is, but I can't take my eyes off him. I just have to look at him to feel wondrously happy and content. He has also united our family even more if that is possible. Thus Monday was a lovely day again when we were all together. I said that to my father and out of nowhere, he quoted a line from a song which we all clapped at. I can't remember the exact words as I haven't inherited his amazing memory but it was something along the lines of "the more we are together, the merrier we will be". He couldn't have described our time together on Monday in a better way.
Lunch together was a lovely drawn out meal. At one stage Elliot needed changing and we did so on the dining room table - big mistake as he peed on us while being changed hahaha. My mobile got wet but thankfully no one's food. It was not a good idea. Oli had brought along the new clothes from Pernille and Kath and Phil to take photos of him in them to send. He was first changed into Pernille's lovely Scandi striped body suit which was lovely. We then had a photo of the 5 of us with Elliot which is the one I have chosen to illustrate this week's post. In it you can see him wearing the Danish body suit which looked too big but it isn't. He is so tall now for his age, just one month old.
After lunch the sun was shining and we decided on more photos outside. The best place for the photo seemed to be the benches by the garden hut so that's where we sat. Suzy wanted a photo to show how the family has grown and later she remembered we had taken a similar photo in May. She dug it out and believe it or not we are sitting in the same position and both Elsa and Pippa are in it too. We decided to do a spot the difference collage which you can see below. Out of sheer coincidence we sat in the same positions as we had in May. Here is the funny collage. Love it.
We all went to have a siesta later, including Miguel and Oli who need their sleep. Suzy took Elliot off their hands and lay down watching her series "13 reasons" with him tucked against her body while he slept peacefully with his Auntie Suzy.
On Monday the weather changed for the worse. Gone were the high temperatures. It was cold for us with the highest temperature being under 20ºc, it rained on and off and there was lots of wind. I was busy in the morning for at least 2 hours, gathering, scanning and sending all the invoices for the third semester to be sent to my accountant Pilar who deals with my self employment tax issues. I had to skip our walk and only hoped we would get one in the afternoon but that was not to be owing to the weather.
By the time I had finished it was midday. Lucy was in the throes of cleaning the house bless her, one of our Airbnb guests had been and gone and we never saw him - David. I had a young student, Jefferson David, arriving from Ecuador the next day and who would be staying for 17 nights. But the poor chap's travel plans were thrown askew due to the troubles in his country, most of it, in his words, paralysed. He kept asking to change the reservation but I can't as I have new people booked. I'm not sure how I am going to accommodate him but I shall try. It's amazing to think that such far away events could affect my little Airbnb business but I felt for him. It wasn't his fault. He's not arriving now until Tuesday.
For the first time in a while I wore long trousers - well jeans - and a fleece top as it was really cold outside. Joy of joys, Oli, Miguel and Elliot were coming for lunch and it was up to me to feed everyone, 7 people excluding the baby of course who will be fed entirely on his mother's milk until he is 6 months old. With not much food to choose from as the cupboards were running bare, I had to be creative and make the most of what I could find. Our meal would consist of broccoli and mushroom soup (a bit repetitive I know, but we love it) followed by baked salmon, mushroom sauce, red cabbage, red peppers, artichokes and rice. I think you could consider that quite a healthy meal. At least Suzy agreed. We waited for her to finish her lessons at 2.30 as I wanted us to be all together.
Oli and her little family arrived quite early and as soon as I had little Elliot in my arms I went downstairs to my father's room to show him his great grandson again. He was delighted, touching his little head and saying "he's not bald". He again wished him a happy life and when he cried he said "poor boy". We got Miguel to take a lovely photo of us, 4 generations in one picture. I wondered as it was taken whether Elliot would inherit his great grandfather's genes and luck in life and also live to be 100. To think a hundred years separates them in age. Here we are together. I was happy to see him wearing the size 3 to 6 month blue baby grow I had bought at the Santa Pola market last week. I just love the tender look on my father's dear face.
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| My father, getting to know his great grandson |
Lunch together was a lovely drawn out meal. At one stage Elliot needed changing and we did so on the dining room table - big mistake as he peed on us while being changed hahaha. My mobile got wet but thankfully no one's food. It was not a good idea. Oli had brought along the new clothes from Pernille and Kath and Phil to take photos of him in them to send. He was first changed into Pernille's lovely Scandi striped body suit which was lovely. We then had a photo of the 5 of us with Elliot which is the one I have chosen to illustrate this week's post. In it you can see him wearing the Danish body suit which looked too big but it isn't. He is so tall now for his age, just one month old.
After lunch the sun was shining and we decided on more photos outside. The best place for the photo seemed to be the benches by the garden hut so that's where we sat. Suzy wanted a photo to show how the family has grown and later she remembered we had taken a similar photo in May. She dug it out and believe it or not we are sitting in the same position and both Elsa and Pippa are in it too. We decided to do a spot the difference collage which you can see below. Out of sheer coincidence we sat in the same positions as we had in May. Here is the funny collage. Love it.
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| The spot the differences photo - the above photo taken on Monday and the below photo taken in May just after Suzy arrived from Bali for my father's 100th. The family has indeed grown. |
While we were sleeping peacefully there was huge unrest in Catalonia as that day the Spanish Supreme Court sentenced nine Catalan separatist leaders for their role in the illegal independence referendum two years ago. The sentence has been described as "harsh" but it was for sedition and not rebellion which would have seen them jailed for 25 years. Instead they got from 9 to 12 years which in real terms means they will get off very lightly and will most probably soon be in a semi free regime spending only 4 nights a week in jail and the rest of the time free to be with their families. The sentence sparked off huge protests from radical separatists who, I suspect, would have behaved the same way whatever the sentence had been. They were just waiting for the moment and they took it vowing to turn Barcelona into Hong Kong. Well, they certainly caused chaos on Monday when they took over the entrance to the airport and more than 100 flights were cancelled. Although the separatists or their leaders have always promised a non violent behaviour, there was a lot of violence this week which is no help to their cause. If it goes on, the only thing the Government will be able to do is apply Clause 155 from the Constitution again and run things from Madrid which is quite the opposite of what the demonstrators want. There is little way out of this mess. As I said last week, this is Spain's Brexit and it is looking ugly.
We watched the events unfold on the special news programmes and then turned our minds to little Elliot. It was time to try on Kathy and Phil's "Royal Baby" (Royal Navy) outfit on which they bought from Next (love that shop). He looked a treat and had a photo session afterwards. This photo below is perhaps the best of him so far. He looks so awake and aware with his great big staring eyes. He's adorable.
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| Elliot in his "Royal Baby" outfit |
Oli then had the great idea of making a fun video to thank our friends for the outfit. We all dressed up and played out a scene inspired by the Royal town crier, not sure who he is, who dresses up on the streets of London to announce royal baby births. We looked up the words he uses and took his cue. Oli and I came on with a bell, she crying out "oyez oyez" which means "hear ye" to which I added the words, "a royal baby has been born". That was the cue for Suzy to come on to announce his name to huge laughter and to his little hat coming off. What a laugh. This is the video. It's silly but was a lot of fun and I hope Kathy and Phil liked it.
The day was drawing to a close and soon it was time to eat again - yes dinner time. Together we made tortilla which we had with a salad and with Elliot feeding from his mother's breast. She has become adept at eating with one hand only hahaha.
They left at around 10ish after which I spent some quality time with Suzy on her balcony talking for a long time. We have done that a lot while she has been here and I will miss our closeness and our talks. She will be going so soon, next week on 24th of this month and our time with her is running out.
So it was late to bed and we watched a debate on the latest crisis in Catalonia until we both fell asleep.
By mistake I was up at 5.30 on Tuesday morning. Bleary eyed, once again I had misread the time on my phone. Well the dogs were happy to see me so early as they were hungry for their breakfast.
It was sunny with a nip in the air on Tuesday. Eladio had a routine doctor's appointment which meant I went on my walk alone. Pippa came with me but not the other dogs as I can't handle three. I felt sorry for them.
Oli was coming for lunch with Elliot as Miguel had some errands to do. It would be the first time my daughter had ventured out in the car alone with her new baby and we wondered how it would go. We were going to do the food shopping together but she arrived late so Eladio and I went instead. We weren't home till nearly 2 which meant lunch would not be on schedule. That's another way Elliot has changed our lives. It meant though that Suzy whose lessons didn't finish till 3 pm could join us.
That afternoon I had planned to go and see my friend Fátima. She has cancer as you probably know and has just been in hospital for 3 weeks after a rather invasive treatment on her liver. Oli and Elliot came with me and it was to be a surprise for her. She needed cheering up I know. My friend lives in the same neighbourhood but it's a good 25 minute walk. As the sun was shining we decided on walking there but we had to go slowly as poor Oli is still recovering from giving birth. We also had to stop to feed Elliot on route hahahah. I was delighted to push his pram, the first time I had done so. It reminded me of when the girls were babies and we first took them out in the pram. Here I am with the pram on the way to my friend's house.
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| Walking Elliot in his pram for the first time - the proud grandmother |
I had forgotten the difficulties of steps and we had problems when we got to Fátima's house. Luckily I caught the attention of two men who would help us. I had no qualms in asking them although Olivia was a little embarrassed. When Fátima opened the door to let us in, she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw little Elliot in my arms. I was bringing him to show to my best friend and first friend to see him. She was overjoyed and I was so happy to bring her some joy after all her suffering, especially the 3 weeks in hospital. We sat down and of course little Elliot needed breast feeding or comfort feeding immediately. He just wants to be at the nipple all the time hahaha. Finally when he was satiated, Fátima was able to hold him in her arms. It was a wonderful moment, a moment of pure joy, deep friendship and complicity, a moment when I realised from her smile that she loves him too. Oh how I love my friend. We have been friends since 1990 when she joined Motorola shortly after me. Very soon afterwards we both went to the Catalonia cycling race together. Just a few days together forged our friendship for life. We were in our early 30's then and now when we look back we can see we were both good looking in our own ways - she tall and dark, me short and blonde - but we were totally unaware of it.
We have a lot of history together and part of that history is her having met little Elliot, her best friend's first grandchild for the first time this week. We have been through a lot together but for me, Tuesday was one of the best moments of our friendship. Here we are with little Elliot and great big smiles on our faces.
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| Two good looking young women - Fátima and I at The Tour of Spain in the early to mid 90 s when we worked for Motorola |
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| Fátima holding little Elliot and me beside her smiling from pure joy |
We were at her lovely flat for quite a while and didn't leave until past 7 pm. By then it was cold outside and none of us was wearing the right clothing. I knew that poor Elliot would be cold so instead of walking home, I rang Eladio to come and pick us up and rescue us which he duly did. Later Oli and Elliot left, Suzy was out teaching and Eladio and I were left on our own with no sign of any guests either. Noel was out somewhere, Andy hadn't come back from work and my poor young student from Ecuador was waiting at the airport for a new flight. He was supposed to have arrived on Tuesday 15th but now won't fly until tomorrow. Poor guy.
Eladio and I had dinner together and then went upstairs to watch the news or rather how the clashes and violent demonstrations were unfolding in Barcelona and other big towns in Catalonia. They were pretty frightening to watch. There was no news programme that night as Spain played Sweden in another qualifier that ended in another draw (1-1). If Spain can't beat Norway and Sweden, then they can't be playing very well. Thankfully though they have now qualified for the European Cup and are top of their group. In any case I fell asleep quickly as I had been up at 5.30 that morning and I was soon dead to the world.
Wednesday came. The sun was out although there was quite a nip in the air. In this house and in most houses in Spain the central heating goes off on 1st May and comes on again on 1st November. It's rather a silly rule as it can be cold at the end of November. Eladio sticks to the rule religiously unless I protest strongly. Like most men he doesn't feel the cold as much as women. There is always a fight to turn the heat up and down. It was the same at home when I was a child. It wasn't really cold enough for the heating to go on although at night the temperature dropped and Wednesday was the first time since spring that I wore a coat, albeit a light one. Finally I got him to turn it on on Thursday arguing baby Elliot would be cold. That did the trick hahahaha.
There's not much to report about Wednesday; the usual really. In the morning we went on our walk and what a glorious one it was in the sunshine. Eladio combed poor Elsa's molting hair which would save a few hairs from straying onto the carpets at home. She molts twice a year and abundantly. It was on Wednesday that my contract with the publishing house in London, LR Price Publications, finally arrived. I was beginning to suspect I might have been duped but I haven't. Later in the week my publishers posted on their social media sites, twitter, instagram and facebook, the news of my being their latest author to sign with them. It was unexpected and made the whole thing come true.
The frustrating thing though is that their speed in publishing the book is not mine. In the contract they give themselves a year. Thus I have to be a little patient. I still have not started work on my next book on my mother's incredible story. I think that's partly because there hasn't been closure on my first book but I'm sure it's mainly to do with the birth of Elliot who is the centre of my universe at the moment. But I shall write it for him and promise to start soon.
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| My publishers, L.R. Price Publications announcing I was their new author this week . I was as pleased as punch |
We get news on Elliot every day of course. Oli always sends us a report on his night with a photo. He had slept quite well both on Monday and Tuesday and there are signs he is now beginning to realise the difference between night and day. The photo I got on Wednesday morning is of him wearing one of the Mothercare baby grows I had bought for him - size 3 to 6 months once again.
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| My little angel all in white on Wednesday morning this week |
He likes movement and that day he tried out his baby bouncer for the first time. I got a photo of that too.
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| Elliot in his baby bouncer for the first time |
Unusually that day Eladio was out for lunch with his friends Roberto and Juanjo. They met to celebrate his birthday and the birth of Elliot. Eladio was joining a new club of grandfathers as they both have quite a few grandchildren between them and he treated them to lunch that day at the Vinoteca restaurant near us.
Thus I had lunch alone with my father although as we had it late, Suzy joined us. For some reason I was very tired that day and had a lot of wind for no known reason which is quite painful. So I had a long siesta from 3.30 to 5.30 and didn't hear Eladio coming in. Afterwards I went with Suzy to a big shopping centre for her to buy some vegetable protein powder (hahaha) from a health shop. We then went to see Elliot again but had to manage with a lot of traffic on the roads. We finally got to their place at around 7 pm. And there was our little boy feeding once again. He is always feeding hahaha but when he was finally satiated Suzy held him lovingly until I quietly asked for my turn. Elliot at one month is now very alert and can even smile, bless the little angel.
I took with me yet another present from friends; this time from Roberto and Mari Carmen. They had given him a lovely baby product set, coincidentally of the same make Oli and Miguel use. They were delighted. This is it.
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| Yet another present for Elliot |
We didn't stay for dinner as neither of us was very hungry. We came home to find Eladio had already eaten so I just went for a bowl of fruit and then it was time for bed. The news was on and the stories of violence and sheer hooliganism coming out of Barcelona were horrific. Barcelona was literally on fire. Do the protesters really have to burn rubbish containers and innocent people's cars to show their opposition to the judges' sentencing of the separatist politicians who they call political prisoners? They are not political prisoners, they are politicians who are in prison because they broke the law and they broke it big time. Apart from setting fire to containers and cars, they threw acid bombs and bricks at the police in the third night of violence. Earlier in the day they had sabotaged the high speed railway line, blocked roads and joined marches coming from other cities to Barcelona. The local government President, Quim Torra, refused to denounce the violence although he did so reluctantly the next day and while the city he presides over was burning down, he himself was on one of the marches. Authorities are investigating phone calls between him and the instigators, so he is very possibly involved in the violent developments. I think it is time for the government to step in again and to impose direct rule as at the moment what is going on in the Catalan city and region is downright violence, sabotage and hooliganism, all in the name of democracy. What sort of democracy is it when people burn innocent people's cars and throw acid bombs at the police?
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| Barcelona on fire on the third night of hooliganism on Wednesday |
I was disgusted at the images I saw and very saddened. This is not the image to portray to the rest of the world for a city that is so popular with tourists. It's frustrating also to see that the international press are more influenced by the Catalan's story and so-called lack of democracy. Can you imagine a big province in the USA or the UK calling for independence and rioting on the streets? What would happen then I ask you? Well the same as here, the leaders would be judged and sentenced and the police would not put up with any violence. But for the international press it's the same old story; this is undemocratic Franco's Spain bearing down a repressed area of the country. I can tell you it is not repressed at all. Catalonia is one of the most autonomous regions in the world. They want to be an independent country but unlike Scotland, to whom they often liken themselves, Catalonia was never ever an independent country and what they are doing is completely unlawful. They are also giving Spain a very bad image. I for one am fed up of them.
I woke up on Thursday morning, Elliot's 1st month "birthday" at 6.30 to rain. Rain had been forecast for the next few days. That's probably a good thing for dry Spain but not for our walks. Thus I missed my walk again. If I think about it I didn't leave the house once that day. Oli, Miguel and little Elliot came for lunch again as they had been nearby at the pediatrician. He hadn't put on as much weight as he was supposed to and the nurse recommended extra feeding by extracting milk and feeding it to him in a bottle along with the normal breast feeding. He's not very good at latching on and when he does it seems he has to work too hard to feed and then constantly falls asleep. He was asleep when he came and for once let Olivia eat with two hands hahaha. I did the bread and fish miracle once again and that day served fish - yes - along with lots of different vegetables.
Oli and Miguel couldn't stay long as Miguel's parents were visiting later that day. Suzy had to go off to give a lesson after which she was going out to dinner with friends. Thus Eladio and I went to have our siesta. Once again and very unusually for me I was feeling very tired and had wind. All I wanted was to go to bed which is what I did. I slept again until late. When I finally got up it was to realise our latest guest, Carmen, had arrived. She is a physiotherapist from Almeria who had driven here and it's more than 500km from where she lives. She will be doing a masters degree in pain management or something like that and will be staying here each time she comes for the course which will be once or twice a month from now until June. She seems a delightful girl and she loves the house and the dogs.
Eladio and I had a quiet dinner together watching more violence coming out of Catalonia, the fourth day of troubles before a general strike would take place on Friday. The other main news was of course the new deal with the EU which Boris Johnson would be putting to the Commons on Saturday. Frankly it seems just the same as Teresa May's except for the Irish question. I can't pretend to understand what the new situation is to substitute the backstop as it seems so complicated. If it is that complicated in theory I dread to think what that will mean in practice. I dare you to understand it too if you read this article from the BBC, The end to the backstop would be replaced by a border of some kind but only for goods. It would be something like a legal customs border between Northern Ireland and Eire but in practice the customs border would be between the UK and the whole of Ireland with "goods being checked at points of entry in Northern Ireland". Saturday would be the key day when Parliament would sit for the first time ever on a Saturday to vote on the new deal. However, as you will read later, there were surprises in the Brexit development that day that would delay the vote.
Friday came and it was raining again. Thankfully I woke up to a warm and cozy house. I went on my walk with Pippa in drizzle because I needed the exercise. Eladio stayed behind to wait for the "central heating man" to come and fix some valve. There is always something to fix in this great big house. Friday was a quiet day at home, not so in Barcelona.
That day a friend of Suzy's, Paula, who lives in the Catalonian capital, came to stay. She confirmed what we are seeing on the TV and reading in the news; the complete and utter division of the region which she says is frightening. People never know what other people's opinions are and thus exercise caution when interacting. That reminds me of Brexit, it reminds me of the Basque question and of wars of all kinds. In Barcelona what was happening was street warfare instigated by the worst sort of individuals. At the same time there was a peaceful demonstration of up to half a million people but it was the images of sheer hooliganism that hit the headlines, hooliganism that had taken up the heart of the city and it was sickening to look at. Spain's Minister of the Interior, said Barcelona was completely safe to visit and urged tourists to go there but there have been many cancellations. Of course there have. Who wants to see that violence around the main landmarks of the city?
That day a friend of Suzy's, Paula, who lives in the Catalonian capital, came to stay. She confirmed what we are seeing on the TV and reading in the news; the complete and utter division of the region which she says is frightening. People never know what other people's opinions are and thus exercise caution when interacting. That reminds me of Brexit, it reminds me of the Basque question and of wars of all kinds. In Barcelona what was happening was street warfare instigated by the worst sort of individuals. At the same time there was a peaceful demonstration of up to half a million people but it was the images of sheer hooliganism that hit the headlines, hooliganism that had taken up the heart of the city and it was sickening to look at. Spain's Minister of the Interior, said Barcelona was completely safe to visit and urged tourists to go there but there have been many cancellations. Of course there have. Who wants to see that violence around the main landmarks of the city?
I got on with my day, taking care of my new Airbn guests and managing new reservations of which I have a lot. I made our lunch - coq au vin - and read in the afternoon. Gone are the days of sitting outside by the pool I'm afraid.
The highlight of Friday was dinner out. I took Eladio to a Moroccan restaurant, "Tuareg Arab Restobar" in the old part of nearby Villaviciosa de Odón. I had heard about it from Fátima and read the reviews. It seemed very authentic with typical Moroccan decor as well as Moroccan staff serving, low tables and rug type curtains as well as the lamps so typical of that north African country. I love Arab food and maybe Moroccan isn't my favourite - I far prefer Lebanese, but I was lured by the offer of a dish I adore chicken"pastilla" or "pastela" as it is also known. If you don't know it, let me try to describe it. It is basically a pie made with layers of filo pastry filled with soft roast chicken, almonds, cinnamon and sugar. We once had a home help, Fatima, who made it very well and I saw her doing it. It took her a whole day as it is very intricate to make. This is the portion of pastela I had that night.
This is what it looks like on the inside.
Eladio and I often have very different tastes for food and he is not keen on pastilla or pastela. But we shared humus which we had with warm pita bread which we both love and a tabuleh salad. This was the humus.
The two other possibly flagship Moroccan dishes are couscous and tajin but I'm not keen on either of them. Eladio doesn't like couscous but he likes a stew so he went for the lamb and honey tajin. I tried it and found the meat hard. But the best was still to come; the mint tea accompanied by Moroccan pastries. I went for one which is generally known as baklava in the Middle East.
My mother and Auntie Masha used to adore baklava and my aunt even bought a pastry machine to make it. It's actually very similar to pastilla except for the chicken. They had eaten baklava when they were young and lived in Bulgaria where it is fairly common thanks to the Turkish influence on that country. I went for the pistachio flavoured pastry, my favourite. Eladio not having the sweet tooth I have, ordered a boring plate of melon hahaha. I think it was me who really enjoyed the Moroccan restaurant and food, not my husband so much. I know my daughter Olivia will love it so hopefully there will be a chance of returning there soon.
We came home to sort the dogs out and put them to bed in the kitchen - as if they were children hahaha - and then went up to bed ourselves. Friday was the fifth night of violence in Barcelona and perhaps the worst so far this week. We watched a special programme reporting on the live events and the picture was not pretty.
Saturday came and it would be a big day for British politics. It was being called the Super Saturday Parliamentary session when MPs would vote for or against the new deal. However a spoke was put in the wheels of Boris Johnson when an MP called Sir Oliver Letwen proposed an amendment, the Letwin amendment, that was intended to ensure the PM would comply with the terms of the Benn Act, forcing him to request an extension to leaving from the EU. The amendment called for the Brexit deal to be on hold until legislation to implement it is in place. The amendment won the day and frustrated Boris had no other option than to send a letter to the EU, albeit unsigned. All this means is that the vote for or against the new deal will now be postponed until next week. Meanwhile outside Big Ben, a demonstration was going on in favour of a referendum. If only I thought.
Life continued as normal here. I was going to prepare a huge lunch for us all when Oli, Miguel and Elliot would come and Suzy would arrive with 4 of her friends meaning I had to make lunch for 11 people. Do you know what I did my friends? I got out of it by suggesting to Oli that Eladio and I go to their place for lunch. Suzy wouldn't arrive with her friends until much later and ended up ordering pizzas. As I write this Sunday morning, she has just come back - about an hour ago - after being out all night with them. Hopefully they will all be asleep when I make our lunch today hahaha. I can't wait for time out when we go to Montrondo where we will be joined by our friends Phil and Kathy next Friday.
We spent quality time with little Elliot. As we arrived we found him lying peacefully in his baby bouncer. It appears he has just discovered his little hands and keeps looking at them. I was rewarded with a stare and the odd smile.
Oli and Miguel served us lentils. The poor things are exhausted looking after their baby who is rather a cry baby who wants to be fed constantly, sometimes every 20 minutes. No wonder they are tired. We were there for moral support. I well remember the times we went through when our babies were small. I was alone at home with my new born babies and thankfully Oli has Miguel. But even so they are hard times.
We came home late and went to bed to read. We both drifted off to sleep only getting up to make our dinner and were soon back in bed again watching the news. We could hear Suzy and her 4 friends getting ready to go out. I wondered how on earth they would sleep as all the rooms are full of guests apart from Oli's. Well, they are young so no doubt that would not be a problem for them.
Today is Sunday, the end of this week and rain is forecast again. What a difference from the 28ºc we experienced in Santa Pola last week.
I shall leave you now to get on with the day. All that remains is to wish you all a great week ahead and to hope that you have enjoyed this week's missal.
Cheers till next time,
Masha
The highlight of Friday was dinner out. I took Eladio to a Moroccan restaurant, "Tuareg Arab Restobar" in the old part of nearby Villaviciosa de Odón. I had heard about it from Fátima and read the reviews. It seemed very authentic with typical Moroccan decor as well as Moroccan staff serving, low tables and rug type curtains as well as the lamps so typical of that north African country. I love Arab food and maybe Moroccan isn't my favourite - I far prefer Lebanese, but I was lured by the offer of a dish I adore chicken"pastilla" or "pastela" as it is also known. If you don't know it, let me try to describe it. It is basically a pie made with layers of filo pastry filled with soft roast chicken, almonds, cinnamon and sugar. We once had a home help, Fatima, who made it very well and I saw her doing it. It took her a whole day as it is very intricate to make. This is the portion of pastela I had that night.
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| The chicken and almond pastilla I was served at the Moroccan restaurant on Friday |
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| Pastilla pie as seen from the inside |
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| Humus at Tuareg on Friday |
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| Baklava, a Middle Eastern sweet pastry delicacy |
We came home to sort the dogs out and put them to bed in the kitchen - as if they were children hahaha - and then went up to bed ourselves. Friday was the fifth night of violence in Barcelona and perhaps the worst so far this week. We watched a special programme reporting on the live events and the picture was not pretty.
Saturday came and it would be a big day for British politics. It was being called the Super Saturday Parliamentary session when MPs would vote for or against the new deal. However a spoke was put in the wheels of Boris Johnson when an MP called Sir Oliver Letwen proposed an amendment, the Letwin amendment, that was intended to ensure the PM would comply with the terms of the Benn Act, forcing him to request an extension to leaving from the EU. The amendment called for the Brexit deal to be on hold until legislation to implement it is in place. The amendment won the day and frustrated Boris had no other option than to send a letter to the EU, albeit unsigned. All this means is that the vote for or against the new deal will now be postponed until next week. Meanwhile outside Big Ben, a demonstration was going on in favour of a referendum. If only I thought.
Life continued as normal here. I was going to prepare a huge lunch for us all when Oli, Miguel and Elliot would come and Suzy would arrive with 4 of her friends meaning I had to make lunch for 11 people. Do you know what I did my friends? I got out of it by suggesting to Oli that Eladio and I go to their place for lunch. Suzy wouldn't arrive with her friends until much later and ended up ordering pizzas. As I write this Sunday morning, she has just come back - about an hour ago - after being out all night with them. Hopefully they will all be asleep when I make our lunch today hahaha. I can't wait for time out when we go to Montrondo where we will be joined by our friends Phil and Kathy next Friday.
We spent quality time with little Elliot. As we arrived we found him lying peacefully in his baby bouncer. It appears he has just discovered his little hands and keeps looking at them. I was rewarded with a stare and the odd smile.
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| Little Elliot yesterday, discovering his hands |
We came home late and went to bed to read. We both drifted off to sleep only getting up to make our dinner and were soon back in bed again watching the news. We could hear Suzy and her 4 friends getting ready to go out. I wondered how on earth they would sleep as all the rooms are full of guests apart from Oli's. Well, they are young so no doubt that would not be a problem for them.
Today is Sunday, the end of this week and rain is forecast again. What a difference from the 28ºc we experienced in Santa Pola last week.
I shall leave you now to get on with the day. All that remains is to wish you all a great week ahead and to hope that you have enjoyed this week's missal.
Cheers till next time,
Masha
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