Madrid, 9th August, 2020.
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| Eladio and I - celebration dinner on Friday night |
Good morning everyone.
How was your week? Let me tell you about mine.
This time last Sunday we were still in Montrondo with plans to leave at around midday. We went on our walk, the "secret walk" up the "Camino Valle" to avoid wearing our masks - oh how we hate them.
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| On our walk in Montrondo last Sunday shortly before we left |
We were back at about 11 and it took an hour or so to get ready to leave. The house was left in perfect condition for our next stay. We had been there for 9 nights and were sorry to leave but know we would meet again. We had lunch on the way at a run of the mill roadside restaurant where we had a not too bad "menu of the day", half of which we brought home as a doggy bag. As our journey progressed it got hotter and hotter. If we left Montrondo with a temperature of 23ºc we arrived in Madrid to 36ºc and it was boiling.
The kitchen was a bit of a mess, the French family had totally invaded the house with friends and they had brought the grandmother to stay for two weeks which I was not really aware of. As I unpacked the food, all their stuff was in all three fridges and I had no idea what was ours or theirs. I calmed down after unpacking everything and went down to the pool to take a dip and of course greeted the family and their friends. Suzy was home too but in the garden with her friend Juli. Not long afterwards, Oli arrived with Elliot after taking Miguel to the train station as he had to be back to work this week in Valencia. The house was very full. Before hitting the pool, I printed my last two blog posts for my father and went to greet him. I got the warmest welcome ever from him. His words amazed me and warmed my heart. He said "It's you, my beloved daughter. I've missed you. It's great to have you back" and then added an amazing "I love you". It's one of the very few times he has said that to me and I was overwhelmed with love for him. Usually he is not at all demonstrative so these words were very special to me. I gave him the printed blog posts and tried to tell him we had bought a house in Asturias, known as part of "Green Spain", that lush green area on the coast in the north that goes from the Portuguese border all the way to the French border near San Sebastián. If you don't know the Green Coast I recommend it highly. Forget the costas in the south; the north is much more beautiful and so unspoiled in comparison. Ah, but don't tell too many people as we don't want to see it see it overcrowded too.
We had a makeshift dinner that night out of what I could find that I thought was ours in the fridge. It was great to have Elliot with us again and after some initial shyness he was soon in his element, laughing, clapping his hands, crawling all over the place as well as cruising. He was the centre of attention and he loved it. Here he is playing with the fridge magnet in the kitchen - photo courtesy of Juli.
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| Elliot standing and playing with the fridge magnets he loves so much. |
The house was so full - I counted 12 people including Elliot - poor Suzy had no bedroom for herself and had to sleep on the inflatable mattress in our gallery. We slept with the windows open and the fan on and it was just about bearable. I slept quite well and was awake at 6.30 in the morning. I woke up to find another reservation for our apartment in Santa Pola, my 6th this summer. That lifted my spirits.
After breakfast I got down to writing the document for the exchange of contracts for the house in which we commit to giving a deposit. It's the first time I have ever drawn up a document like this. As there is no estate agency involved, we are responsible for all the paperwork before the signing of the deeds. Mari Paz had sent me all the details I needed and that's when I saw her website for the 3 houses she rents in Asturias. They are amazing. One of them is ours, the most modest, but still lovely. She and her husband, José Manuel, started their hospitality business 22 years ago after having been farmers tending a herd of cows. They have gone from strength to strength and I can only admire them for what they have done. This is their website which is quite impressive. Shortly afterwards I sent her the contract which she approved with one change. Instead of moving in on 1st October, we can now move in on 15th September. We plan to go together as a family although Oli will only be able to join us at the weekend. Once the contracts were signed and exchanged we sent the deposit. There is no going back now and we are delighted.
Feeling happy, Eladio and I went to do the shopping as our cupboards were nearly bare. My husband only accompanied me to Mercadona as one of us had to be home to look after Elliot once his mother had gone to work. These days she leaves at 12 and returns at 9 at night. I continued the shopping at two other supermarkets I got to; Carrefour Market and BM but also did a couple of errands going to the chemist and the bank. I sneaked in a coffee too at my favourite café, Alverán. I came back to help Lucy put everything away. We now have the large fridge to ourselves (sigh of relief). It was nearly lunch time by then and we had to feed Elliot who ate well. My father enjoyed his great grandson's company or rather watching him crawl on the floor around the dining room hahahhaha.
After lunch Suzy took charge of Elliot and amazingly he slept a one hour siesta. Later the three of us convened and kept him entertained as he needs to be watched all the time as he is so active. Eladio came down, Suzy played some songs on her ukelele and I quietly watched the scene thinking what a lovely family moment it was. I recorded it on my phone and you can see it here.
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| Family moments with Elliot |
I was relieved of grandmother duty for half an hour while I had my weekly Skype call with Amanda. She was delighted to hear about the house in Asturias and I invited her and Andy and their dog, Tess, to come whenever they want. At the moment they only go out for walks for fear of Covid and my friend told me they avoid the beaches where people are going in their droves. Elliot interrupted our call a few times so I had to cut it short until next week.
Elliot needed more entertaining so Suzy and I took him to the pool for a swim. I was very careful as it was the first time in the water with him on his own and used his special float which I never let go of in case it capsised. He loved it and we spent quite a while in the water where he enjoys splashing.
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| Elliot had a great time in the pool with us on Monday |
These days there are water proof nappies for babies which would have been very handy for when our girls were small. It's amazing how much new stuff there is for babies. Miguel, his father, buys all the latest baby gear and anything to protect him from getting into harm's way. When Oli brought Elliot on Sunday night he was wearing some leather shoes. I commented why did he need them if he can't walk yet. The answer was they are special shoes for beginning to walk! As if babies need shoes to learn to walk. Think about all the barefoot kids in the world. Suzy and I were shocked to learn they cost 40 euros! My elder daughter remarked that that was the equivalent of one month's rent in Bali!!!! I thought they looked cumbersome and immediately took them off him. But, of course I am British born and going barefoot is often a form of life in the UK or it was when I was a child.
We later watched his mother on TV although I am not sure he realised it was her. He didn't seem to miss her during the day but she got the warmest of welcomes when she came home at 9 pm. We were in the middle of giving him his dinner and as soon as Oli arrived all he wanted was her breast milk hahahaha. We had another lovely family dinner and had two things to celebrate. One was the new house of course and the other was news I can't yet reveal but it made us very happy. We were up late, Suzy singing for us again to which Elliot bobbed up and down as if he were dancing, then it was time for bed.
We missed the news that night. The top subject was not about corona virus for once but was the story of the sudden exile of 82 year old former King Juan Carlos I of Spain. No one knows for sure where he is but it is rumoured he is staying with rich friends - of these he has many - either in Portugal or in the Dominican Republic. Since the elephant hunting scandal in Botswana, a few years ago which led to his abdication in June 2014, his behaviour has gone from bad to worse. Once upon a time he was revered for his role in the transition to democracy after the death of Franco. In Spain, criticising the royal family was taboo but that has now changed. Yet we all knew about his womanising and it was vox populi that he and his wife, former Queen Sofia, led separate lives. It is rumoured he has had more than 1500 mistresses. Poor Queen Sofia I always think. How could she put up with him? The name of his latest mistress, now estranged, Princess Corinna Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, came to the public eye when he had the accident in Botswana. It came at a time when Spain was in a deep financial crisis. There was a public outcry and the King had to apologise on TV. They are no longer together but it is her revelations about his finances that have brought about this latest scandal, the final straw that broke the camel's back. He is alleged to have received millions of euros from shady deals for Spanish high speed train contracts with Saudi Arabia and other deals with countries like Brunei. Most of the stories have been reported in the international media but now the pressure is on him in Spain. Investigations are taking place even though he is immune to justice for the years when he was King but the question is whether he still is immune after his abdication; probably not. That night a letter addressed to his son King Felipe VI was published by the Spanish press informing him of his decision to leave the country. The current king issued a response and at the end of the text thanks his father for leaving Spain. It must be a very sad moment for his son King Felipe.
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| Ex King Juan Carlos I and his son King Felipe VI together before the scandals that have estranged them. |
He had already left when the letter was published in which he explains that he is leaving the country so as not to taint the royal institution. Well it is already tainted. Maybe instead of leaving the country he should own up to what he did and in my opinion he should have renounced his title of former King of Spain. His whereabouts are not clear although there are reports he is in Abu Dhabi. He no longer deserves it. It is a very sad tale to the end of what could have been an amazing story of a wonderful reign but he spoiled it all by greed. He went from being feted for restoring democracy in Spain to this. I ask myself, why did he need all these millions of euros when he had everything he could possibly want? King Juan Carlos was born in exile, in Rome, like my mother, and he may now retire in exile too and all because of his greed for money. The Spanish monarchy was given a hefty blow this week and I wonder how it will emerge from this crisis. In Spain affairs of the heart are tolerated but affairs of the wallet are not and this time the ex King has gone too far and cannot be pardoned, however much he was admired before his downfall.
That night we started watching a news Spanish series called "Inés del alma mía" loosely based on the story of Inés de Palencia in the time of the Spanish Empire and set in the "New World". I am loving it.
Tuesday came, our second day of grandparent duty. I got away with some of it as I had to cook our lunch and also made batches of food to freeze. I had a little helper in Eva, our 7 year old guest who lives in Paris. She follows me around like a little lamb and we have long conversations. My little guest told me yesterday she never wants to leave. I suggested she writes me letters and she proposed we talk on skype. I didn't expect her to have skype but her mother told me that she does now after lockdown. So I look forward to calls with her after the family has left. At some moments this week I didn't know whether our home was a zoo with all the animals, a creche for children including Elliot or an old people's home including my father and Eva's elderly grandmother. For sure the house was full and the dogs are always under our feet in the kitchen. Eva helped me make a batch of "bitki" (Russian hamburgers), a batch of salmon and leek pies and also the fish we had for lunch that day. She loves her grandmother and asked me to keep a pie for her and one for her "abuelita" (granny). If I were her grandmother I would be a little upset that she is spending so much time with me.
Eva missed me when I went to the hairdresser that afternoon - a welcome escape from grandparent duty (hahaha) but once home I had to be hands on. I took over from Eladio and kept Elliot entertained in the air conditioned dining room where I was joined by Eva, Suzy and Pippa. Suzy took a cute photo of us which is a nice memory of this summer. Here I am with Pippa, Elliot and little Eva.
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| With Elliot, Pippa and Eva on Tuesday afternoon |
Eva loves our dogs, especially Pippa. It took a while for Pippa to accept her and her younger brother, David but now they are the best of friends. I was feeding Elliot some fruit and asked Eva if she wanted to feed him. Her reply was no, adding that it was her job to feed the dogs and mine to feed the baby. She loves feeding the dogs and keeps on asking for permission to give them their treats. They are happy about it but I'm worried about Elsa the lab's weight hahahaha.
I got down to bathing Pippa and brushing her teeth (her mouth stank😀) and Eva enjoyed the show as it was a sort of show. Dog bathing always is.
Later we convened to the pool where Elliot had a bit of a splash. We had a fun moment when we took his nappy off to let him go "skinny dip" only to find it soiled. We dealt with the situation and then he enjoyed splashing in the water. We later watched his mother live on TV and I'm not sure he knew it was her that day. He certainly knew who she was when she came home that night at around 9pm. We were finishing feeding him when she arrived and I loved the huge grin of joy on his face when he was reunited with his mother. We had a long leisurely dinner consisting of the pies I had baked and some home made coleslaw (yummy). So it was another late night.
On Wednesday I was up at 6.30 and had a busy but pleasant day. It was day 3 of grandparent duty and between Eladio, Suzy and I we managed well. I have to say that he has behaved very well with us this week and was a little angel. Oli says he is a little devil at night!
I spent part of the morning working on my Airbnb listing for our new house, "La Casa del Cueto" which we are estimating we can begin to receive guests from 24th September. I spoke to the the owner that morning to arrange for the signing of the deeds and lots of other details needed for it to be made ours. This is the listing by the way where I have included wifi that it doesn't have yet but will as soon as we move in on 15th September. The area has a great mobile signal but as friends pointed out people want wifi. Wifi is as essential as water these days and I have to agree. We would love to welcome you as our new guests and by the way the first 3 sets of guests get a 20% discount. So, if you are interested please reach out via a comment on this post. Of course, you can also book via Airbnb using the link above.
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| Our new house, Casa del Cueto, which will be ours from 15th September. Already on Airbnb! |
I also had to make the lunch while Eladio entertained little Elliot. We should have been taking him for walks in the mornings but it was just too hot. Suzy took him off our hands at siesta time something we much appreciated.
We haven't followed the news so much this week as we have been busy with Elliot. The biggest news that day was the explosion at a port side warehouse in Beirut. It caused the death of 137 people and injured about 5000. The head of Doctors without Borders compared the damage of the blast to the destruction of the Lebanon in the civil war which lasted from 1975 to 1990. Some compared it to the Hiroshima nuclear bomb. The only similarity though is the shape of the smoke caused by the explosion. At first I was sure the explosion was caused by terrorism but it seems not.
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| The blast from the Beirut explosion |
Later in the afternoon we convened to the garden by the pool where we were joined by Eva and all three dogs. The dogs were there as Suzy was feeding Elliot some fruit. I had to capture the image on camera as it was another lovely moment.
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| Suzy, the children and the dogs. |
As my friend Sandra pointed out, Suzy is a natural with kids. She later entertained us all singing and playing her ukelele which we all love. I had to have her on camera too.
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| Suzy singing and playing for us on Wednesday |
I had to have her on camera again when she took little Elliot into the pool. I joined him too taking care not to get my hair wet; after all I had been to the hairdresser the day before and didn't want to spoil it hahahaa.
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| Suzy and Elliot having fun in the water on Wednesday |
I sent the photos to Oli and Miguel to show them that Elliot was doing well in our hands for which they were extremely grateful. Meanwhile Oli was getting ready to appear in the studio and sent us a photo of the look of that day. She was wearing red and looked spectacular.
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| Oli ready to go live in the studio on Wednesday |
Eladio joined us later after doing some gardening or I think it was repairing a leak in the irrigation system. Elliot always goes ecstatic when he sees his grandfather suddenly and the admiration is mutual as you can see in this photo.
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| Grandfather and grandson, mutual admiration |
He was all smiles too when his mother returned that day as he is every time she comes back from work and I had to have them on camera as well. I took lots of photos on Wednesday, perhaps realising that this week has been a very special one in that the 4 of us have been together every day. I should say 5 to add Elliot of course.
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| Elliot ecstatic to be reunited with his mother at the end of the day on Wednesday and every day this week. |
The reward for grandparent duty this week has been lovely family dinners where we have enjoyed good food and talked until late in the evening. I then helped Oli to bathe Elliot and was finally able to relax in bed and watch something on TV with Eladio before falling asleep feeling quite contented. I felt very happy that night with all things good or as good as they get. Of course we have the underlying fear of corona virus which is not going away and seems to be coming back. It has changed all our lives so much but on Wednesday it didn't feel like it as we spent the day at home in our little bubble without venturing out.
I was up later on Thursday morning and was soon joined by little Eva. The only way to get some privacy in this house is to go down to the garden and read under the trees or work at the picnic table on the patio outside our study but even there we still get found.
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| Suzy working at the picnic table where we both try and find some privacy in the mornings |
After Oli left for work at midday, mot of the day was taken up with grandparent duty. Thankfully, Suzy took him off our hands again at siesta time.
Thursday 6th August marked the 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb attack. The pilots of the first ever nuclear bomb were Paul Tibbets and Robert Lewis and the bomb was known as "Little Boy". It was no little boy though that let out a nuclear bomb that caused hell and damnation in the form of a mushroom like cloud. The fighter plane, Enola Gay, dropped the five ton bomb in a blast the equivalent of 15 thousand tons of TNT which reduced the city to ruins and immediately killed 80.000 people. It is estimated that that figure nearly doubled within a year. Even so, the devastation caused was not enough to convince the Japanese to surrender. Surrender came when two days later, 75 years ago today, a second bomb, named "Fat boy" was dropped on Nagasaki causing similar death and destruction to Hiroshima.
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| The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki |
In quick research on the subject, I read somewhere that the co-pilot Robert Lewis was horrified when he saw the destruction the bomb caused and is claimed to have said "Oh God what have we done?" Indeed. I wonder how any of the crew members could have lived afterwards with their role in such destruction on their conscience. If God had anything to do with this and I doubt it, thank Him there has never been a nuclear attack ever again. I sincerely hope there never will be. At lunch that day, my Father mentioned it was the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombs in Japan and I commented that he would have been 26 at the time and would remember very well that most terrible of attacks. He nodded sadly that indeed he did.
That was not the main topic in the Spanish news that day. Spain, of course was not involved in WW2, so that's probably why. Again the main topic was corona virus and the ascent of newly infected; over 1700 that day. We are seeing similar figures in France and Germany and in countries still in the middle of the famous curve, the statistics are frightening. I refer to the US, Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa, Mexico, Peru, Chile and Colombia, the countries at the top of the table.
We continued life in our little bubble. We didn't go out much this week and don't see many people which is a good safety precaution. We didn't go for our walks either as it was just too hot. That day mercury rose to 38ºc and at 9.30 pm in the evening the temperature was 35ºc. Elliot didn't need any clothes, just his nappy or his waterproof nappy for going into the pool. We had to keep him occupied again while his Mother was at work and when Suzy couldn't. Again she took him off our hands after lunch so we could sleep a siesta but we were in charge in the afternoon. Eladio and I did our best to keep him occupied with his toys in the garden, on the swings or crawling around the air conditioned dining room when it got too hot.
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| Elliot on the swings with Eva. Eladio in charge. |
The pool was the only place to be outside and I took many dips. I took Elliot in with me too but was very worried he would slip out of my arms as he moves so. His mother, meanwhile, was getting ready to go live on TV and we would watch her at around 8pm reporting on the ever increasing number of contagions from corona virus. Here she is all made up and looking spectacular.
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| Oli ready to go live on Thursday evening |
I kept wondering why we had so many little bottles of water at home. It turns out they come from her dressing room where she is provided with bottled water and fruit; perks that come with the job of being a presenter. We watched her with Elliot who gets agitated when he sees her on TV. His mother was back at around 9 pm to a laid table in the dining room with the air conditioning on as it was too hot to eat outside. As usual he got ecstatic when he saw her and left what he was doing to be swept up into her arms and then breast feed. I love their reunion moments every evening.
After helping Oli to bathe him, Eladio and I, relieved of grandparent duty at the end of day 4, turned our attention to a special programme about the exiled former King of Spain and then to a documentary never seen before. The only new thing I learned was that his exile, a decision made by his son, the King, was punishment for his behaviour. It is claimed he has said this is a temporary measure but in the programme we learned it was to be permanent. Again I thought, what a sad end for once a glorious King.
I fell asleep before the documentary finished and was awake and up at 6.10 on Friday, our last day of grandparent duty (sigh of relief). It was a quiet day and again we didn't venture out. It was just too hot with the temperature reaching 39c again. In the UK too the weather was sweltering, all because of some Sahara wind apparently. Thankfully the mornings are slightly cooler. While I made our lunch, Eladio took care of Elliot. That morning saw him riding the red car that belongs to the French kids. I think he only sat in it but he loved every moment. No doubt, his father, will invest in a miniature car for him when he is a little older. Lucky boy.
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| Elliot in the French kid's miniature red car |
I think Elliot has been well entertained during our grandparent duty. Our only problems were at siesta time as this kid just doesn't like sleeping. He was rather frisky as you can see in the photo below where he is playing with our pillows rather than lying down to go to sleep.
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| Frisky little Elliot not wanting his siesta on Friday |
Thankfully, at 3.30 (after the news he wouldn't let us watch), Suzy took him off our hands and later he did sleep from 4 to 5. I was having my afternoon decaf cuppa of tea when they came down and then it was time to convene to the pool; the only place to be in such heat. I had to persuade my husband to put on his swimming trunks and take a bathe - he hardly ever does - but that day he went in the pool and I had to have a picture to remember the moment. I think it was the second time he's been in this summer. It was very clean thanks to the pool maintenance man who comes every Monday and Friday to clean it.
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| Eladio in the pool on Friday, an unusual sight |
He was soon joined by Elliot who adores his grandfather so I had to get another picture, this time of the two of them together in the water.
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| Eladio and Elliot in the pool on Friday afternoon |
Who were probably at the pool by our apartment in Santa Pola were my latest group of Airbnb guests there, two couples from Valencia. I'm so lucky to have someone to manage the apartment and guests. Lucy, our next door neighbour there, is doing a great job.
We had a dinner date that night, a celebration family dinner and Olivia would join us coming straight from work. We just about managed to see her on TV in between showering and dressing Elliot as well as ourselves before setting off. We had booked a table at El Tinglado. It's probably the nearest restaurant to us and one of my favourites. The food is just divine and right up our street.
Elliot hadn't been out for a while and I think he likes restaurants as much as we do. We were in the middle of feeding him the pure I had made for him when his mother arrived; looking beautiful I must say as she had come straight from the studio without taking her make up off. She couldn't breast feed with the dress she had on, so both sisters went to exchange dresses; Suzy's being looser. I thought that was a lovely moment and, no, I don't have a photo of them changing into each other's dresses. But I do have a photo of them together with Elliot during the meal and I love it. I love it so much I printed it and is now in a frame on my desk.
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| My girls and Elliot at dinner on Friday |
We had a great big round table far from other diners and again it was quality family time spent together. The only person missing was Elliot's father, Miguel, who won't be back until tonight or tomorrow morning. He will be relieving us of grandparent duty for which I am very grateful. Oli was very grateful to us for taking care of Elliot this week but we were three and it was not too difficult. If it had only been me, I would have found it very tiring. We all enjoyed the food and shared various dishes. My favourites are the artichokes, the croquettes and the foie. It was all washed down by delicious Albariño white wine. Eladio and I both remarked what a lovely dinner it was and just how lucky we are. We also spoke about the new house we are buying, thinking that, on the whole, we had made a good decision. Only time will tell if it was and I refer to getting reservations to help pay it back. In any case, it is an investment in bricks and mortar, something I far prefer to dubious financial products and it is a house where we will enjoy spending time.
We were home by 10.30 or so and soon fell asleep watching some rubbish on Prime Video. I was awake at 6.50 on Saturday which would be another scorcher. I went shopping that morning with Oli and we were accompanied by Elliot. Midway we went to have a coffee at Alverán and the poor lamb fell asleep so we took him home, dropped off part of the shopping and continued to Carrefour Market for more provisions. Just as we were returning our French family's guests were arriving for the day. I don't normally allow guests to bring non booked guests but have had to make an exception a few times with our current guests who are here for 42 nights. That day we felt totally invaded and I vowed no future guests would be given the same permission. It was a blisteringly hot day and normally we would have spent the afternoon by the garden part of the pool but they had even invaded that. There is an unspoken rule that no one invades that part of the pool side so I was annoyed to see it occupied. Eladio preferred to stay inside the bedroom watching a documentary with the air conditioning on and was joined with Pippa. One of the reasons I don't like guests bringing other guests with children (this was a family of 4) is that Pippa takes a while to get used to kids and I have to lock her up. I spent the afternoon with the girls and Elliot at the end of the garden while we heard our guests splashing in the water which annoyed us. In any case we had a lovely time together. Suzy played and sang music and Oli had a go at playing the ukelele which she soon got the hang of. She said it was because she used to play the guitar but I marveled at that as she hasn't played a guitar for about 20 years. When Elliot got bored I showed him parts of the garden, pointing out the names of trees and flowers. I was amazed to find a huge grape vine with lots of grapes hanging; albeit not yet ripe. I have no idea if they will ever get sweet or even propser but loved the sight of them. I also discovered a large blackberry bush the other day I had no idea about either.
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| Grapes growing in the garden |
It was getting late and it was so warm I decided to take Elliot up and give him a bathe in the pool, despite the guests. Thankfully they were no longer in it. When I returned to the garden the sprinklers were just starting so we had to leave. We then had the pleasurable task of making our dinner together, always the highlight of our days. The girls managed a quick dip before we sat down to eat. I wished we could skinny dip but of course that is out of the question when we have guests here. It was after dinner that an impromptu party started, all thanks to Suzy and her music making and to Elliot's enthusiasm. Here are the two girls together, Suzy singing and Oli playing the ukelele.
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| My two girls making music |
It was little Elliot who turned the lovely musical family moment into a party with his enthusiasm and his clapping. He clapped each time Suzy finished a song and we clapped with him and I couldn't stop laughing he was so funny. Here is a little clip of the lovely time we had that night.
Soon he turned to a new task. Lucy was loading the dishes from our dinner into the washing machine, a task the dogs always help her with as their favourite occupation is licking the dishes. Elliot being the same height as the dogs, joined them and I had to capture that on video too. He is so funny.
We were up till quite late and it was getting time to bathe Elliot and put him to bed. He goes to bed so late compared to the French kids who go at about 7.30 whereas his bedtime starts at 11 pm which is very Spanish and rather too late for a baby his age. On the other hand we love having him during our family dinner times.
The day ended late for us too. Eladio and I watched some rubbish on TV - a silly Mexican soap opera which we shall not be continuing and then both being still awake talked until late into the night. Even so I was awake this morning at 5.50. I couldn't sleep any more so up I got to feed the dogs and enjoy my first cup of coffee of the day in peace.
Today will be another scorcher but thankfully we will be able to reclaim our part of the pool and so cool off whenever we want.
Next week will be a quiet week without Elliot and Oli who will be returning to their flat when Miguel comes back from Valencia tonight. Grandparent duty was a a responsibility but on the other hand we have had a lovely week with him and both our daughters; a time we will look back upon fondly.
This week has seen a surge of new cases of coronavirus all over the world and in Spain the numbers are not good with hundreds of new outbreaks. I can only hope they get contained and the numbers don't go up next week. I am praying we won't have to go back into lockdown. Worldwide there are now nearly 20 million cases and the death toll last night was 729.666 but these are only the cases and numbers that have been recorded. For sure there are many more.
On that worrying note, I shall leave you now to publish this post and print a copy for my most avid reader - my father - and then get on with the day. Wishing you all well, cheers until next Sunday,
Masha
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