Grandparent duty, picking up Elliot from day care with Pippa, not a fan of Halloween, no water for 23 hours, coffee with Juana, the clocks go back and other stories.

Sunday, 31st October, 2021

Grandparent duty saw us this week walk Juliet and Elliot around the local village, Boadilla, before having lunch out with the family. It is a coincidence we are both in yellow. I think we look good in yellow.

Good morning again friends and blog readers wherever this post finds you.  Last night the clocks went back and that always confuses and throws me. Autumn has really arrived and it has been wet this weekend. This weekend too is when the G20 are meeting in Rome. It is unbelievable to think that 20 countries represent 80% of the world's wealth. I find that obscene. But some good will come out of the summit. Yesterday it was reported that the 20 had come to an agreement which comes into force today. The obscenely rich multinational companies will now be forced to pay a global minimum tax whether they be but only of 15%. 

Following the G20 summit will come the Climate summit in Glasgow called the COP26. Whether that with the noticed absence of China, one of the main culprits, will help the world fight climate change we can only hope and pray. But the main absentee there is the Queen of England who aged 95 has been advised by her doctors to take a rest from any face to face duties. Recently she had to cancel a trip to Northern Ireland and spent a night in hospital. We don't know what is wrong with her. I imagine it is frailty - early this month we saw her using a walking stick in public for the first time. I wish her well and dread the moment she dies. The whole country will go into mourning, myself included. She has been on the thrown throughout my life and I somehow cannot imagine Prince Charles taking her place. I hope she gets better soon. 

At the G20 summit, no doubt Boris Johnson will meet his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron. Right now there is an unprecedented fishing water rights battle between the two countries which are neighbours. The culprit is Brexit. It has something to do with the fact that post Brexit the UK had a commitment to issue a number of licences for French fishermen to fish in British waters but hadn't kept its promise. In retaliation the French overhauled a British fishing boat which had no licence. There have been strong words coming from the Elysee with threats of stopping British fishermen unloading at French ports and even stopping the supply of energy to the Channel Islands - those islands belonging to Britain but much nearer France. Hopefully this weekend Bojo and Macron can come to some agreement. The French are pretty cross at the moment and it all started with the Aukus alliance between the US, the UK and Australia against China's growing military assertiveness in the region. In the alliance the Australians would be supplied with nuclear submarines. So why is France cross about that? Well, because they had a deal with Australia to supply the latter with conventional submarines the Aussies no longer need. The deal was worth 50 billion dollars so no wonder Macron is fuming. 

The other big news this week affecting one of those obscenely rich corporate companies - Facebook which has a monopoly on social media - changed its group name to "Meta". That's because they want to concentrate on a new technology called Metaverse based on virtual reality and artificial intelligence - here is an explanation from Google: "a fully immersive online realm that looks similar to the real world but is computer generated". In the same way Google changed its group corporate name to Alphabet, Facebook this week announced the new brand "Meta". Like Google I doubt anyone will call it by its new corporate name.  As the Facebook app that name will stay the same. Some say this is  rebranding after all the troubles the company has been facing recently which have hit its reputation big time and which I wrote about recently. I really doubt this is going to help its reputation and although I use its apps, Instagram, Whatsapp and Facebook I do not admire this company which has the power to manipulate us all and do damage in many many ways. So, no I wasn't impressed by the news. "Meta", by the way, comes from the Greek word meaning "beyond". In Spanish, "meta" means the objective or finish line; so similar to "beyond". Some think that the metaverse which many companies are working on will be the next big thing after Internet. If it involves wearing virtual reality goggles then I won't like it. I once tried them and they gave me a headache. I did not like the experience. 

A change of name but not a change of company behaviour and it's all in the hands of one man; Mark Zuckerberg. 

None of this affected us as we were busy. I did, though, keep up with the news as much as I could - yes I am a news freak. This week we have been on grandparent duty as Miguel is back at work. We have been taking Elliot to school and picking him up everyday. That completely changed our normal routine but we don't mind as we love our little boy so much. We also had to help Oli out with the babies this weekend. 

But last Sunday was ours for the taking and we didn't do much, that's the truth. I was happy that morning that my father was slightly stronger and out of bed. He didn't have much for lunch and that worried me a bit as I don't think he is eating enough. When I had a video call with Suzy that day she advised me to give him purees including protein which we were doing. I tried that but he doesn't like them. I have to be vigilant as if he doesn't eat enough he will only get weaker. 

Vigilant we should all be about Covid too as infections are on the rise as the weather gets colder. In Spain we are still having good weather. Last Sunday my Danish guests bathed in our pool. The pool, sadly, will be closing tomorrow until April next year.  But I can't complain as it has come to great use this year and is the main attraction for my Airbnb guests. So Covid is not yet really on the rise in Spain although there are signs it might be thanks to the new Delta Plus variant but it is in other parts of Western Europe, especially my home country, the UK, where the debate is still on about maintaining distances and compulsory mask wearing. I wish the government wouldn't dither as thousands more get the dreaded virus. Worldwide the number of those infected and those who have died has gone up from 244.142.267  and 4.959.711 to 247.165.025 and 5.010.984. So, yes, we have to be vigilant.

Sunday for us was very quiet with really nothing interesting to report. So let me move to Monday when our grandparent duty began. We were at Oli's place by 8.50 and all was peaceful. Little Juliet was fast asleep as usual.

Little Juliet

Elliot had had his breakfast but was still a bit sleepy. I think he was surprised to see us. Eladio scooped him up into his arms and off we went into the cold of the morning. 

Taking Elliot to school on Monday morning

He perked up when he looked into the sky and said "moon". All was well until we left him in the day care class. When he realised we were leaving he burst into tears and we felt like criminals. Poor little boy, he had expected more time with his beloved "Mazha" and "Booboo". It was too early for a coffee out so we turned back home. Eladio had some errands to do in town and I had to go to an all important medical appointment at the local public hospital, the state of the art Rey Juan Carlos. As a part of breast cancer awareness day, week or month (not sure) I had received a letter for a mammogram appointment. I usually go privately once a year and do the lot - mammogram, ultra sound and smear - but I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to go along. After all, my mother died of the dreaded breast cancer. I must say the hospital in Móstoles - a working class area on the outskirts of Madrid - is absolutely magnificent and in sharp contrast to the rather run down town of Móstoles. Maybe that has to do with it being privately run. Whatever it is, it is efficiently run and has marvelous installations - there are even gardens on every floor!

Monday saw me at this hospital for a mammogram

I had an appointment at 11.45 and at 11.45 sharp I was called in. The whole procedure is short but if you are a woman you will know just how painful a mammogram is. Shortly afterwards I had the results in the form of a sort of x-ray on the Quirón Salud App - that is efficient. Not that I could interpret it.

We should have gone out shopping that morning - our cupboards were bare - but there was no time. There wasn't much time for a siesta either as I had to pick up Elliot at 4 pm. We decided later that Eladio would take him in the mornings and I would pick him up in the afternoons. I need more time in the mornings and Eladio needs his siesta. 

Elliot was ecstatic to see me and to get into "Mazha car". We were soon at his home and as soon as we got through the front gate, he went running down to his house. We were both surprised his mother wasn't there. Instead, Suzy's friend Elenita was babysitting for Juliet while my daughter had gone swimming - she needs the exercise. I waited until she came home and left shortly as I had a scheduled skype call with my dear friend Amanda that afternoon.

The house was pretty empty. Our lovely Danish ladies had left and no more guests were coming until Thursday - 2 German guys (turned out to be Belgians) and I hardly saw Felipe, our permanent lodger, that day. It was great to chat to my friend for at least an hour. We don't do much but there is always plenty to talk about.

By the time we had finished it was 7pm and I had an hour before dinner for my afternoon couch potato activity - watching TV. This week I finished Grey's Anatomy for the second time and thus started a series Oli gave me on a pen drive. It is a detective series called Mare of Easttown, starring a magnificent Kate Winslet. I binge watched it and finished it in less than a week. I highly recommend it. It reminded me a lot of Broadchurch, albeit an American version. 

If you like detective stories and Kate Winslet, this is a must watch TV mini series

which will have you guessing till the end. 

Dinner was made of what I could find  - eggs with grilled "padrón peppers". I did not sleep too badly that night and was up at 6.40 or so on Tuesday morning. It was Eladio's turn to take Elliot so I could follow my leisurely morning routine. It wasn't that leisurely really as it involved preparing lunch - "fabada" - Asturian bean stew for the family. I would be having meat and veg as part of my diet. Yeah, it's going well. I also had to update my book keeping as I got another booking that day, this time for our house in Asturias in December. We can't wait to go ourselves again.

The day got hectic when Oli picked me up to accompany her and Juliet to 3 medical appointments. Unlike me who likes to go alone, Oli likes to have company. But I must say it was hectic with a lot of driving around and rushing to appointments. It wouldn't have been too bothered if I didn't have to do the shopping before lunch. I finally got to Mercadona at 1.30 where I had sent Eladio ahead with his easy list - the heavy things and stuff he won't get wrong (hahahaha). Thus we were home by 14h and although lunch was late we were still in our bedroom by 3 pm for the midday news. 

I was off again to pick up Elliot at 4ish and decided to take Pippa along with me to surprise him. First he was surprised to see me when he saw me first standing outside the glass door to his classroom. He came rushing and banging on the door shouting "Masha, Masha, Masha". As soon as he was out I scooped him up into my arms and grabbed his satchel and coat from his teacher, "Itchy". Her real name is Itziar of Basque origin but is too difficult for the toddlers to pronounce so she has shortened it to Itchy. His next surprise was finding Pippa in the car. As soon as I fastened him in, our 6 year old mini chocolate smooth haired dachshund - our only dog left  - jumped onto his lap. He looked amused but was quite happy to see Pippa, saying "Hola Pippa". I keep trying to teach him "hello" but he mixes up his English and his Spanish at the moment while he tries to learn both languages.

Pippa surprised Elliot this week when I took her with me to pick him up from day care on Tuesday

We were soon at his home and I had to find a parking spot on his street - never easy. I got him out first and then Pippa, handing him her lead as I grabbed his school belongings. He looked so funny carrying her lead. It didn't last long as she pulls too hard for him, but long enough for me to take a photo which I knew would amuse the family.

Elliot and Pippa 

Both of them were happy to see Oli. I'm not that sure Elliot was pleased to see his sister - there is a little sibling rivalry here hahaha which is totally normal. He went from my arms to his mother's where he is at his happiest. From her arms he went straight to her breast while I held quiet little Juliet on Oli's brand new open out super comfortable sofa. I asked her whether she had ever had to feed them at the same time and she said yes a couple of times but she was fed up with it. No doubt she is but I find it charming. Breastfeeding is such an emotional act of love, I bet all mothers remember it as such but when you are going through it I suppose the feeling is not always the same. Obviously having two babies suckling at you can be a bit much. 

I left shortly afterwards and came home to have my afternoon apple before settling in front of the TV in our room like a couch potato. That morning my friends I weighed myself 3 weeks after starting my diet. The figure on the scales was lower than I thought but obviously not low enough so my diet will continue. I calculated I have put on a whole stone (about 6 kilos) since the pandemic began in March 2020 so not too bad. The scales inspired me to continue my diet. When I have the will power I am very very motivated and when I don't not I am not. 

Having done the shopping that day there was loads of choice for dinner and I chose the healthy option of tuna fish salad. We watched the news again - the volcano, the rise of electricity, a ruffle between the parties of the Spanish coalition government on labour reforms, etc, etc. What we were watching about the government at lunch that day had been filmed by Miguel as his first day out with the camera. He spent the morning at the government HQ called "La Moncloa" in Spain. What a fascinating job he has I think. So does Oli.  No doubt the two will be working together when Oli returns to her reporter job with the TVE morning programme. That is how they met, at work. 

I had a good night's sleep with only a small coughing incident which I quickly dispensed with thanks to my magical codeine tablets. I was awake, late for me, at 7.15 am. The first thing I saw on my phone over my early morning coffee - first things first - was another reservation, the second this week. This time it was for this weekend.  A solo traveler, Iban, was coming here the next day for 3 nights. He would coincide with my overseas guests who arrived on Thursday too. That means it's full house this weekend. When they all go tomorrow I have a solo Dutch guest staying here for 5 nights. He apparently wants to see the museums of Madrid. Good, I like cultural visitors. On Friday too a family of 6 arrived at El Cuetu. This weekend is a bank holiday as tomorrow 1st November is All Saints' Day. It is now becoming referred to as the Halloween bank holiday, something I loathe. Why on earth do we all have to adopt American traditions? Next we will be celebrating Thanksgiving, but not me. I refuse to celebrate Halloween. It's not something I was brought up on - rather Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Night or Plot as it is called in Yorkshire - so I have always been against it.  I hope you don't mind my posting the photo below I found on a friend's feed.

Totally against this pagan tradition that comes from across the Atlantic Sea. 

I used to hate it when I had to dress up the girls in outfits for the occasion at school. That's because I'm no good at sewing and in those days there was no online shopping and nowhere to buy outfits.  Thankfully I had a neighbour, a mother of the girls' friend, Beatriz who made two witch outfits for them. God bless Inés. I shall never forget her kindness. I think the girls wore them for years but always protested their outfits were not good enough to compete in the Halloween competition (ouch - that's something they have never forgotten). Today it is much easier. Elliot's other grandmother, Merche, bought him an off the hanger devil outfit. We all wondered whether he would want to put it on. It turned out he didn't mind at all. 

Eladio was off early to take him to school and I had time for book keeping and other household tasks. We both went for our walk - mine is the shorter version owing to the water on my knee. Just as I was returning, Lucy rang to say the police were at our house. The police you might ask? Whatever for? Well, I knew why. They were coming to see my father so that we could renew the disability badge for our car - not that we take him out that much as he is not at all mobile. They wanted him to sign two forms which was not at all easy. He no longer has enough pressure in his hand for the ink to reach the paper. In the end they decided I could sign to stop his suffering. Meanwhile I showed them the biography I had written for my father's 100th birthday. They were very impressed that they had met a Second World War veteran and said that it had been a privilege. I like the police here in Spain. 

The police car outside our house on Wednesday

Not much else happened that day. As usual at 4.15 or so I went off to pick up little Elliot. He was ecstatic to see me again and I was happy to be the one to pick him up. We were home soon as his house is so near his school. I played with him for a while and also enjoyed holding little Juliet. She really is the original sleeping  beauty. This is a photo Oli sent us that day of our little granddaughter.

Juliet, our very own sleeping beauty

While at Oli's house we made plans for the weekend. We hoped to take Elliot to a "farm school" nearby but it all would depend on the weather as rain was forecast for this weekend. In the end it poured it down and we had to resort to a Plan B. 

I cut short my stay as I had a Facetime call scheduled with my dear friends Kathy and Phil who live in Keighley in West Yorkshire. Over a cuppa and sitting on the bench outside the kitchen we had a good old natter, catching up on our lives. Kathy nearly tempted me to visit England in December for a St. Joseph's College reunion dinner. I would love to go but will leave it till later next year when the weather is better and Eladio can come with me.

That day I finished Mare of Easttown -a  marvellous series - and then continued with a new hospital series called Chicago Med. It's not as good as Grey's Anatomy or maybe I haven't got into the characters yet. What  a sucker I am for hospital series.

Dinner was light and were in bed soon watching the news. The top news for nearly a month now has been the volcano in La Palma. We have no idea how long it will last and so far it has destroyed over 2000 houses and displaced 7000 people. Now that is a tragedy.

Thursday came, the day of the arrival of my new guests and everything had to be perfect. It did not turn out to be a perfect day. It was rather topsy turvy in many ways. My first guest arrived at about 10 am, earlier than expected. Iban wanted to leave his suitcase here and check in later but as his room was ready I gave him the key and a tour of the house. It turns out he works for a Basque restaurant group which was opening a new restaurant this weekend in Boadilla called Perretxico. It specialises in pintxos/tapas and other typical food from the north. He even invited us to the opening night that evening but we declined as we not that social these days. We promised, however, to book a table for our Friday dinner out at the new restaurant. He said he would come back later in the afternoon for a shower before the party and would be bringing another guest for just one night.

It was only then I could have a shower - I didn't know I wouldn't be able to the next day - after his arrival and my book keeping session that morning. Eladio did the all important job of turning on the central heating for the first time since May. Traditionally in Madrid the heating goes off on 1st May and comes back on 1st November. It was still warm with the temperature reaching 21c but not so in the early morning or evenings. He had to check each and every one of the radiators in the whole house; getting rid of the air there might be. I didn't want my new guests to be cold. I didn't want to be cold either. I don't think you can imagine what it costs to keep this house warm - with 650m of building including 7 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms. As to electricity, with the costs rising, I dread to think what this month's bill will be. Eladio says it will have gone up by 50%!!!

My other guests - two guys from Germany who turned out to be a very recently retired married couple from Belgium - weren't arriving until 5.30 and in between time I had to go and pick up Elliot from daycare. As usual he was delighted to see me. Once home he and Juliet fought over their mother's breast for her milk. He was suckling away and Juliet was crying (unusual) which meant she was really hungry. When I handed Juliet to Oli and she tried to take Elliot away, he wasn't having it and used the non verbal sign of waving his index finger to say no. We had to coax him away but putting on "Fireman Sam" on Netflix. I found it hysterical. 

I then had to rush home to receive Luc and Dominque. They arrived at about 6 having driven all the way through France via the San Sebastian border. With their car they had a huge trailer, the same size as their car and had especially chosen our house to park their vehicles. Just as they were arriving my Basque guests did too. When I thought everyone was settled, the Spanish guests told me there was no water. They had come straight from the restaurant to have a shower and get ready to go their opening event. Oh my God that was the bad moment of the day. All this was happening while the Belgium guests were figuring out how to remove the trailer from the car and park it in the garage. It was bedlam and the barking of our neighbours' rather unfriendly refuge dog did not make matters easier. I had come out without shoes or slippers and after ringing our neighbours to find out if they had had their water cut off too, I marched in my socks to the next house as the former were not in. I then went into our neighbours' house when they were back where I was a bit attacked by their dog so I went out into the street again. What a moment. It soon materialised that there had been a huge leak up the road and and the water had been cut off in all the surrounding streets, I didn't know what to say to my guests, especially the two guys who had come back specifically for a shower. I rang the security guards who didn't know much. So after dinner I drove to the point in the street where the leak was to find out for myself what was happening. I found a huge crane with about 5 workers trying to find the source of the leak. They told me they would work until late but doubted water would be restored until the next day. Damn it. That is the second time in 4 or 5 months that this has happened but not for such a long period.  My Belgium guests were very sweet about it as was Felipe, our semi permanent lodger. It was very bad luck.

The leak on Thursday

Thankfully there were quite a few bottles of water around the house which were useful for minimum hygiene. Here I am complaining about the water mains being cut off when many people around the world do not have access to running water. Who am I to complain? We are so used to our home comforts and when the electricity, water, gas, heating or internet go off, we are lost. 

I did not get a good night's sleep but was amused to see photos of little Elliot dressed in his demon's outfit for Halloween which his other grandmother had bought for him.  As I said above I do not like this pagan tradition but have to admit he looked so cute to use an American word - a word which was not part of English vocabulary when I was a child. 

Elliot's first Halloween. 

That really amused me. That morning I perked up as I had a coffee date with my friend and ex Nokia colleague, Juana, who, owing to the Pandemic, I hadn't seen in 2 years!!!! It was the occasion to make the effort, dress up and put make up on. The only down point is that I couldn't have a shower and had to use a flannel with mineral water for my ablutions. I haven't dressed up  for a while, apart from dinner with my Spanish family last week. We are living in this little bubble thanks to Covid and my social life has got smaller and smaller. I went into my walk in wardrobe and I had  a pick of dresses to choose from which I hadn't worn for ages. Owing to the stone I have put on because of Covid, my choice was slightly limited. I chose a colourful dress I had bought in Llanes last September and which I think I have only worn once. With it I put on a shocking pink scarf and even heels (very low of course). It was quite a unique moment and I got Eladio to take a photo. It came out well, possibly because I was feeling so good. Your mood often affects how photogenic you are at different times. 

On Friday morning, all dressed up and ready to go out for my coffee date with Juana

I drove my little Mini to the upmarket town of Majadahonda leaving instructions with Eladio to let me know if and when the water came back. Juana had suggested a lovely bakery and cafe called Atuel. They have all sort of enticing pastries but I was sticking to my diet. I was there a little early and grabbed a table for us in the covered terrace. Shortly my dear friend Juana arrived. As we are both doubly vaccinated we hugged as friends should hug. It was so nice to see her.

Juana and I on Friday morning

I first met Juana, a telecoms engineer from La Coruña at Nokia  20 years ago in 2001. She was young and single then. A few years later she fell in love with a colleague, Oscar when they both worked for our mutual friend Julio. Oscar was posted to Mexico and that's where they formed their family and where their children Santi and Patri were born. They came back to Spain about 10 or so years ago. Oscar still works for Nokia - he is the longest lasting employee that I know there - and Juana works for Microsoft. She has been offered a senior post in New York - the city of her dreams and the family will be moving in a couple of months. All I could say was "olé" for this young Spanish woman engineer who will have under her a whole team of US workers as her staff. It's a wonderful opportunity for Juana and her family. In a way she reminds me of when I was at her stage in life. We nearly went to live in London but my Spanish boss at Motorola boycotted the move. Then I could have got a post with Nokia either in the US or UK but couldn't move as by then my father had come to live with us. Juana is living my dream and I am happy for her and also very proud. We had loads to talk about and vowed to see each other again before they move. Who knows, maybe we shall be able to go out and visit them. I would love that as Eladio and I have only been to the Big Apple once and that was about 10 years ago. 

We parted when it was raining and when I got to my car I spied a branch of Sánchez Romero - Spain's most luxurious supermarket. There and then I decided to go in and get some ready made food for lunch as I was sick of leftovers. There were English and American people buying food and I could only conclude they were well paid expat executives. Only the rich can afford to do their daily shopping at Sánchez Romero. It is a well known fact that that is where the Real Madrid football players buy their food. I wish I could too but I can go in on occasion and feel spoiled for choice. If I hadn't been on a diet I would have bought some of their sweet stuff - what a range - but came out with only meat and  veg.

From there I had to drive to a poundland like store. These are run by the Chinese in Spain and the shops are called "los chinos". Oli needed me to get some ghastly Halloween decorations to put on their windows so the children in the complex know where to go for "trick and treat". There was not much on offer but I bought what I could.

By then it was 13h and I decided to stop by the water leak breakdown place near our house before returning home to find out for myself when the supply would be restored. This is what I found.

Works on the water leak on Friday morning

The workers told me they were waiting for some special spare part which actually arrived while I was there. They told me they hoped the supply of water would be restored by 16h- that would be 23 hours without water. 

At home Lucy was doing her best without water. She was relieved to see me with food provisions which didn't require water or cooking. Lunch was a problem for my father who is now refusing to eat - he only seems to want liquid which is a huge challenge. It worries me. I wrote to his doctor who will do a full check on him on Tuesday - tomorrow is a bank holiday - 

When the water came back at 16 h it was a hallelujah moment and I would have loved a shower but I had to go and pick up Elliot from day care. It was raining and cold and I didn't realise the soles of my Camper black suede boots were broken so I got soaked. I tried to keep Elliot dry under my umbrella when we walked from a far away street from his house as there was nowhere else to park. He arrived dry while  I was soaking. It was good to be in Oli's dry and warm flat and to hold Juliet and have some fruit with Elliot as he watched Fireman Sam (his latest passion). He nearly ate half a big tub of bilberries;  he loves them so. I left as Miguel arrived and got wet again. Once home and in my bedroom I had the great idea of taking a jacuzzi, something I haven't done for years. A lot of people think a jacuzzi is the height of luxury but when you have one you hardly use it. But I did on Friday and it did me the world of good. I then changed into warm and comfortable clothing - the sort of lounge wear I am so accustomed to now hahahaha. We went out again as we had booked a table at Perritxico, the restaurant our guest, Iban, was helping set up. 

We got a lovely welcome and we liked the place. It is made to look like a typical Basque tavern with a modern touch. They serve the traditional "pintxos" -  Basque type tapas which looked enticing. 

Eladio looking at the pintxos on Friday at Perritxico 

Eladio went for fish and I went for meat which we had with a glass of "Txacoli" - a slightly sparkling light white wine from the Basque region. I have to say that of all the different food regions in Spain, the Basque cuisine is the best. People come from places as far away as Australia to dine at Michelin star restaurants like Arzac in San Sebastian. I once took Eladio there but he wasn't impressed. I was. So, yeah we were impressed with our dining experience on Friday night and will be recommending Perritxico to all our guests from now on. When we asked for the bill, our guest, Iban, came to say it was on the house. That was so unexpected and  kind, especially because of the lack of water incident. Thank you Iban we much appreciate that.

I felt more relaxed that night although I woke up with a headache thanks to the wine - my treat of the week. The house was quiet and dark and it was raining outside. I wondered what we would do that day for grandparent duty with Oli and the grandchildren as Miguel was working. 

Off we went at about 11 am and helped Oli get the kids cleaned and dressed - it's so funny to be changing nappies again. In the end we decided to have lunch out and then go to a shopping centre to be indoors and where there are remote controlled mini cars for children to drive. That was our Plan B when we couldn't go to the kids' farm or zoo because of the weather. It actually didn't rain much but the day was definitely autumnal. I admired our garden just before we left and had to have a photo to show you. 

Our Mediterranean garden in its autumn colours

It was purely coincidental but both Eladio and I were wearing yellow; great autumn colours too. It was Oli who took this week's feature photo of us both pushing our grandchildren's pram and push chair while they slept. We were walking around the streets of Boadilla, making time before our 1.30 reservation at an Indian restaurant where Oli had booked a table for us. Miguel was able to join us but had to go straight back to work afterwards. With the children sleeping we could enjoy a spectacular Indian lunch at the Spanish named restaurant "Mar y Montaña". I had to break my diet but it didn't matter. What was strange though was that my appetite has been reduced and there was far too much food. That night I only had fruit for dinner and Eladio didn't want anything at all. 

We all love curries and they had our favourites on the menu: onion bhaji, somozas, chicken tikka masala and lamb korma. We had the latter with naans and pilaf rice. I knew my dear friend Sandra who was born and brought up in India would have loved this meal.

Wonderful Indian food at Mar y Montaña on Saturday for lunch yesterday

Oli and Miguel ordered the pistachio Indian ice cream which I usually love. Indian ice cream is mainly made of condensed milk but these days I find it far too heavy.

After lunch we let Eladio go home for his siesta and took the grandchildren to a big shopping centre, Gran Plaza in Majadahonda, the main idea being for Elliot to "drive" one of the min electric cars. He loved the experience and chose a BMW X6 - that was the car I had in its adult version when I worked for Yoigo (oh how I miss it). He had a ball of a time and  I loved watching him. Here is a video I took to remember the occasion. 

Elliot in his mini BMW

While he "drove" I went into the Phone House shop to get an adapter (a jack) to be able to insert my headphones. Very annoyingly the Samsung 20 comes without the jack (hole for for headphones). I got one for Oli too. 

Before heading home and in order to extend our time out with the kids, Oli suggested ice cream. Elliot adores "i cream" and we headed to Haagen Dazs - a made up word by the way. Here they are enjoying a tub with two scoops while I held Juliet in my arms.

Oli and Elliot enjoying ice cream yesterday at the shopping centre

We were home by about 6 and shortly afterwards Eladio joined us. He looked after Juliet while Oli and I took on the task of bathing a very dirty little boy who is not fond of baths. 

Eladio with little Juliet. We call her The Saint

We left at about 7.45 an hour or so before Miguel would return. We were shattered after a day of grandparent duty. Of course we have brought up children too - our own girls - and know exactly what it is like and it is exhausting but when you are in your 60's or 70's like us it is much more tiring.

We went straight to bed, knowing the clocks were going back last night. I slept fitfully and every time I woke up I checked the time on my phone. In the end I got up at 7 which of course was 8 yesterday. I had the kitchen to myself with Pippa until Iban, my restaurant guest, came in to say goodbye. I persuaded him to have a coffee before driving back to his home town of Vitoria. He was the perfect guest and he told me he would be back soon. He will be very welcome.

Today we are on grandparent duty again and have to figure out what to do with the babies today. You'll hear all about our day in next week's post. 

Meanwhile I wish you all well and hope you have enjoyed the read.

Cheers till next time,

Masha

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Goodbye Asturias, home again, family time, Spanish nationality approved, mangoes and avocados straight from a fruit farm, walking again, the King's libido, actor Alec Baldwin accidentally kills crew member with a prop gun on a film set, reunion dinner with my Spanish family and other stories.

Sunday 24th October, 2021

Walking again - slowly (here with my new hair cut - same style as always).

Good morning all. How are you doing? 

All is well here. Last Sunday saw us leave our new house in El Cuetu where we had been for a week's autumn break. It was sad to leave on such a lovely sunny day but we had to return. Just as we left I snapped a shot of Eladio saying goodbye to our house.

Goodbye Asturias

I don't know when we will be back but hopefully soon. It won't be next weekend which is a bank holiday and it is booked but hopefully not long afterwards. When we go I hope the carpenter has made the new Dutch front door.  Crossing my fingers.

We set off late and afterwards I realised we had left some stuff behind, namely the lovely blue jumper I got at the street market in Llanes as well as a cupboard full of dry food - silly me. We had our coffee late too as well as lunch. We booked a table again at Restaurante La Cueva in the pretty village of Alar del Rey in the province of Palencia. Here is Eladio sitting down to his meal. We sat outside as the weather was glorious.

Eladio at Restaurante La Cueva last Sunday

It's a long journey back - over 5 hours - so we appreciated the stop. On the way we were delighted to receive a beautiful photo of pure sibling love where Elliot is holding his little sister Juliet. I just love it don't you? 

Brother and sister, Elliot with little Juliet. 

But don't be deceived by his angelic looks. One moment he can be kissing her and the next throwing something in her face!

We were home by just after 18h and the first thing I did was go and greet my father. It was good to see him again and to hear from him that he had been well looked after. Hopefully soon he will get his Covid booster jab together with his flu jab but we haven't heard anything yet.  I have to say he is a little frail these days; not his usual self and I only hope and pray he will be soon. Yesterday he gave us a shock. He didn't get out of bed all day and spent most of it sleeping. He looked so fragile. The good news is that he woke up a new man today. Oh, thank goodness. 

This brings me to this week's Covid figures. In Spain, at least, there is a feeling that the pandemic is over because the figures are so low but it isn't. Worldwide this week the number of infections and deaths rose from 241.190.547  and 4.910.402 to 244.142.267 and 4.959.711. I often think it is a miracle that none of us got it and I really hope we never do. In the UK the figures go up and up and this week saw infections rise in one day to over 50k. The reason for such high figures has to do of course, as I wrote last week, with the lack of wearing face masks and keeping distance from other people.  It may also be due, in part, to the waning of immunity as the UK was the first country to start the programme. But it was soon overtaken by other countries in Europe. Spain appears to be the country, together with Portugal, that has the highest vaccination rate in Europe. The German news outlet, Deutsche Welle explained the reasons behind Spain's success in a brief documentary which you can see here. It all boils down to people's trust in the health system which is very high and the concern of young people towards the elderly. Many Spanish families are inter generational.  I am rather proud of my adopted country.

I was very proud too this week of a young Spanish tennis player, Paula Badosa who won the Indian Wells tournament, often called "the fifth slam". It was the tournament Emma Raducanu dropped out of in the first round as she searches for a new coach but there was success for another British player, Cameron Norrie who won the men's singles title. So great sporting news for both my adopted and birth countries.  

That night I had a dreadful coughing fit again that had me up most of the night. Thus on Monday morning I sent a whatsapp message to my GP - bless her for letting me contact her that way - to prescribe the only efficient remedy I know for coughing  which is codeine. Doctors are reluctant to prescribe codeine but I know from experience it is the only remedy. From that night on the cough has been kept at bay which is a huge relief. 

The house seemed empty without guests except for our long term lodger, Felipe. But that wouldn't last as on Tuesday a party of Danish women would be coming. Ditte was bringing her daughter and a friend. She had stayed here before last month when she brought her son to  the Spanish Basketball academy sponsored by the NBA and the Spanish basket ball premiere league.She had expressly asked if the pool could be open when she came in October. Normally we close it at the beginning of the month but have left it open for her. Besides the weather has behaved perfectly although it is not swimming weather for me. Ditte jokingly told me her daughter was a Viking and could bear the cold water hahahahaa. They seem to be quite a sporting family as Ditte and co had spent some time at a Crossfit camp in Málaga before coming here! Tomorrow they will be leaving. They are lovely guests and I do hope to see Ditte again. 

On Monday I had lots to do. Most important of all was the food shopping - our cupboards were bare. That had us out and about to the chemist and Mercadona but also for our all important mid morning coffee at Alverán. I think we paid for everything on our phones. We are now heavy users of Samsung Pay, Eladio too. I have witnessed people paying on their phones now for a while but was a bit reluctant until Oli and Miguel began to do so too. Thus I installed it on my new Galaxy S20 and now I am addicted. Like "Bizum" (paying between friends using only their mobile number), using your phone to pay has become the norm. You probably know I worked all my career in mobile phones. In the early stages we were amazed by SMS messaging and could not envisage the use of instant messaging apps such as  Whatsapp that we have today. I remember in Nokia there were whole departments dedicated to "mobile internet", "mobile TV", "mobile radio" and then later "camera phones" and even video conference calls. We could not have imagined in the late 90's when these things were being developed that they would become reality. These days there are very few things you can't do with your phone. Now I am paying with mine.  Wow is all I can say and I wonder what is next. 

We had a quiet and pleasant lunch with my father and then went up to watch the news and have a siesta. I took my first codeine tablet and did not cough although it gave me a strange sort of high feeling. I didn't sleep and could hear that Elliot and co had arrived. They were coming for dinner but I didn't expect them so early. But what a joy to see them. Every time we see Juliet we see how much she has grown. She now weighs 5 kilos - 1.5 more than when she was born just over a  month ago. What a little sweetie she is. Eladio and I took turns in holding her.

Eladio with Juliet

Elliot was ecstatic to see us. Oli explained that when they had picked him up from day care they offered to take him to the park but he had insisted on coming to "Booboo's house" (Booboo -a play on "abuelo", grandfather  in Spanish- is Eladio). We had bought him a present in Comillas, a figurine of a bull to add to his collection of Schleich animals. I learned a while ago that the French investment company, Ardian that had bought Adamo, is the owner of Schleich. What superb toys they make. 

We spent  wonderful family time that afternoon and evening with our grandchildren and Oli and Miguel. Miguel is back to work so that he can take his full paternity leave when Oli returns in April but his return has been very gradual this week. He is a lucky guy and has a sort of sinecure in that as a cameraman for TVE he will generally be working one week on and one week off. That means every second week he is free. He is so lucky. When I sent a photo of my two grandchildren to my oldest friend Amanda, she remarked "I can't believe my old friend is a grandmother. Seems only yesterday we were hanging around outside the villas at school" (St. Joseph's college Bradford). I can't either.

Oli and family

Elliot is generally very sweet towards Juliet. Possibly thanks to her sleeping most of the time he doesn't feel too jealous as he gets as much attention as usual. He liked his bull but at one moment he threw it into Juliet's pram. Thankfully it fell on the blanket on top of her. We do have to watch him hahahaha.

We had an early dinner and I made a healthy meal so as to keep to my diet (yes, still on it). I made my flag ship tuna fish salad with tuna, spring onion, sliced hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado and this time grated carrot. There was gazpacho to wash it down with instead of wine (ouch).

The family left early and we were in bed on time for the news - mostly about the volcano which is still causing damage to the island of La Palma. That night thanks to the codeine tablets I slept much better.

Tuesday came and brought what could be considered good news. I got an email from my immigration lawyer to tell me that my application for Spanish nationality submitted last January had been approved. The next step is to wait for an appointment with a judge to swear allegiance to the Spanish King and Constitution and give up my British nationality in front of a Spanish judge (ouch). 

My application for Spanish nationality has been approved

When I told my husband and daughter Olivia they said "congratulations" but I didn't feel happy at all. I received the news with mixed feelings. I only applied for Spanish citizenship because of Brexit, mostly because I wanted back  EU citizenship which was stripped away from me without my having a say in the process - I was not allowed to vote. Truth to tell I will give up my British nationality in words only to the judge but no one is going to take away my UK passport away as the UK does not recognise Spanish law on this point- in Spain dual nationality is not allowed with the UK but it is in the UK. So yes, I finally got approval. The whole process which is not yet finished started in December 2019 and has taken nearly 2 years so far. The paperwork was impossible to face alone without a lawyer and the cost so far has been over 1500 euros. It's not easy to navigate the process and not easy to get Spanish citizenship. I reckon the process is designed to put people off. I have lived here since 1981 - so 40 years and when I married Eladio in 1983 I would probably have got Spanish nationality automatically but didn't need it or want it at the time. Over the years with so much immigration it has got harder and harder and being married is not the route to take as there have been so many false marriages for people to get citizenship. As to the exams on Spanish law and culture and the language, they were an insult to injury. Not all  Spaniards would  be able to answer all of the questions such as how many MPs are there in Melilla. As to the language test I should not have been subjected to it (more than 5 hours long) as I am bilingual and have a degree in Hispanic Studies. But I had to bear all that in order to get an EU passport and all because of Brexit. So yes, big news this week which I received with mixed feelings. I am not looking forward to having to swear to a judge. Watch this space for when that happens.

It was on Tuesday that Ditte, Mae and Alina were arriving but meanwhile, my Mexican guest, Gustavo, wrote to ask if he could come and visit. He had been staying here while we were in Asturias and  wanted to meet us. Gustavo had come from Mexico City to see his granddaughter who is studying Sports journalism at the Uni nearby. He had stayed on in the Madrid area and asked if he could come that day. I was very flattered he wanted to meet us and I was curious to meet him too. Gustavo is a retired pilot for the Mexican state airline Aeromexico  and an interesting person to meet. We spoke about our "hosting business" and how we have met so many people from all over the world and made so many friends, people who return again like my Danish guests this week. No doubt Gustavo will come again to see his granddaughter and will stay with us too. As an ex pilot he can get as many free flights with Aeromexico as he wants. That is possibly the best job perk that exists. Before he left we had to have a photo - I always like to remember my special guests. Many you do not remember but there are those you never forget. 

With my Mexican guest, Gustavo

Just as Gustavo was leaving, Ditte and co arrived. As she had been before there was no need to do a tour of the house, only give her the keys. Shortly the three women were by the pool and sunning themselves. Maximum temperature that day was about 25c and my Danish guests said it was about 7c in Copenhagen and raining:-(

We had our lunch shortly afterwards and the only thing to report about the rest of the day was a visit to my dentist, Dr. Garralda, who I have been going to for over 35 years. He and I are more or less the same age and I have complete faith in him. He will be putting in a double crown next month so all good.

I slept well again that night thanks to the codeine tablet ("Codeisan") and was up early on Wednesday morning. That morning after my breakfast, reading of the headlines and ablutions, I set off very determinedly to the big French sportswear outlet, Decathlon. I was not going to get sportswear but to get casual and warmer clothing for this time of year. On my list were puffer jackets, fleeces and leggings and I got them all in less than 20 minutes. I think that's the first time I have consciously bought new clothes this year. It's not that I am short of clothes - I have plenty but many don't fit (ouch) and some are getting old - namely my M+S fleeces and my Uniqlo puffer jacket (I lost one and the zip is broken on the other). In the old days I would never have gone to Decathlon but because of the pandemic I have got used to wearing lounge clothes so that's where I went. I bought everything in blue and grey but dared on a yellow jacket which I know goes beautifully with blue. I don't buy much in yellow but I think I will be wearing it a lot. 

Shopping at Decathlon this week

Of course all these clothes are perfect for our walks except that for the moment with an injured knee I have to take it slowly. I think my knee is getting better gradually so I decided to try out a short walk with Eladio and Pippa the next day to test my knee and see how I felt. I really need the exercise.

On Wednesday my exciting new order of mangoes and avocados was supposed to arrive direct from a fruit farm in Málaga called Dehesa de Cutar. 

The mango and avocado box I ordered

I was lured by an ad on Instagram - I don't click on many - that piqued my interest. Marketed by "Crowdfarming" and Tropiterranean (tropical fruit from the Mediterranean),  it allows private customers to buy direct from the farm and to enjoy fruit and veg picked straight from trees. Mine was from a farm called  Dehesa de Cutar in the province of Málaga. Also the produce is ecologically farmed - Suzy would approve - and looked enticing. The estimated delivery date was 20th October but it never came. I blame that on their delivery partner, the Spanish state postal service, Correos, notoriously inefficient. That skewed my dinner plans. I had not bought either fruit when we did the shopping on Monday and thus our salad that night lacked avocado; for me an essential ingredient.

I just hoped it would arrive on Thursday and it did. I was happy with the box but not too happy as both the mangoes and avocados were brick hard and would need more far more than the recommended 2 days to ripen. Today is Sunday and they are still hard(:

The box of mangoes and avocados that arrived on Thursday

The box wasn't all for us - far too much for us to eat - it was to share with Oli and Miguel and if we like the produce we shall order more. 

The mangoes and avocados arrived just after "our walk" - yes, that day I attempted a walk for the first time since my knee injury. I joined Eladio and Pippa for just the first part of it and walked gingerly in case I made it worse. I didn't and don't know whether it is good for my knee to walk or not to walk. The doctor I saw last I had said I could walk but not go on walks. So I took it gently. I had to have a photo to record the moment.

An attempt at my first walk after injuring my knee three weeks ago. 

I was wearing one of the Decathlon fleeces and the soft cotton leggings I also got on my shopping splurge. I don't think I look too bad but need to lose more weight. What I noticed too when I enlarged the photo is just how white or too blonde my hair looked - not to mention the dreadful wrinkles around my eyes and especially on my jaw and neckline. I couldn't remedy the latter but I could remedy the former as that afternoon I had an appointment with my new hairdresser, Conchi. It was at 3.30 so I missed my siesta.  The next day I went on another short walk I got Eladio to take another photo to compare my hair - I look much better as you can see in the photo which is this week's feature photo. I haven't changed my hairstyle for possibly more than 25 years. The style has remained the same although my hair now is slightly shorter. My friend Julio once commented I was like Nancy Reagan who also kept the same hairstyle for most of her life. Every time I have dared to change it I was never happy and always went back to the style I have today - my style which is rather conservative. 

I was home by 5ish and surprised to find Oli and family had come to visit, unannounced but it was a pleasant surprise. 

The day was warm with the temperature reaching 20ºc - and it will continue to be so until the beginning of November. So, we are still enjoying our Indian summer. Elliot would have liked to go in the water but we persuaded him not to and took him to the swings instead. I caught him unaware on camera in the garden by the pool at the steps that lead to the sunken garden where the swings are. It's such an autumnal photo. What a handsome boy he is.

Elliot in the garden with autumn leaves all around

They left just before our dinner. Soon it was news time. We didn't think there would be anything new but there was although it wasn't mentioned on TVE the state broadcaster, I suppose for political reasons. That day we heard from a corrupt ex police detective who is on trial that the former King of Spain Juan Carlos had been administered female hormones by the secret service to curb his sex drive which was considered a danger to the state! I mean what else are we going to hear about the ex King of Spain who is in self imposed exile in Dubai to get away from all the scandal caused by his corrupt dealings and money laundering activities tarnishing the Spanish crown? Now it's his sex drive that is the story a story that he later rubbished. Well, I was not surprised as he is known, like most Bourbon Kings, to be a woman's man. It is rumoured he had countless affairs and that his libido and goings on were not good for the image of his country. One of his last mistresses, Corinna Larsen, to whom he "gave" 60 million euros which came from the King of Saudi Arabia as a commission for a railway deal between the two countries, confirmed the fact.  Well, she would know wouldn't she? 

The ageing emiritus King with his mistress, Corinna Larsen

What next I wonder? King Juan Carlos, I suppose, has brought this upon himself with all his shenanigans improper of royalty. It is reported he is bored stiff in his luxury house in an island off Dubai and that he wants to come home. But I don't think Spaniards want him back. I, for one don't. Before all his scandals he was highly praised for his role in bringing democracy to Spain after Franco died but his greed for money and women have overshadowed any good he ever did. What a sorry story. He is now 83 or 84 so I suppose his libido doesn't matter any more. 

At a very tender age, the former King was brought from his exile in Portugal to Spain by Franco, the ex Spanish dictator. Franco groomed him to become his successor and to continue his legacy. No doubt Franco never thought the boy's libido would bring him down from his throne one day. That night Eladio avidly watched a new documentary on the life of Franco which is a hit on Netflix in Spain.  Called Franco: The brutal truth about Spain's dictator it is a German production. 

I find it fascinating as it tells the story of Franco from birth to death and with it Spain's history during that time. Eladio is more critical as he says it's very one sided against Franco. Of course as you know Spain is divided when it comes to politics and this led to a Civil War never to be forgotten. However, my husband was born in the post war era under Franco and can't help also seeing the good things the dictator did. He is no fascist.  In fact my husband is a philosopher so always tries to look at both sides of the story. In Spain there are no definitive authors on the country's recent history as they are all one sided. It's funny but it is English Hispanists who have written the most trusted history books on Spain and these include Paul Preston and Antony Beevor, both of whom are interviewed extensively in the documentary. Even so Eladio doesn't trust them. I do, not because they are British - or maybe - but because they will at least be a bit more neutral than any Spanish historian can be. Maybe too this has to do with the fact that when I did Hispanic Studies at Nottingham University I was surrounded by British Hispanists. They were a funny group. I remember doing my final oral exam with one of them whose Spanish accent was not good. In general their Spanish is perfect as is their knowledge of Spain but they don't seem to worry about their pronunciation. I am convinced I did not get a distinction in Spoken Spanish because of that and if a Spaniard had been the examiner I would have. I did, by the way, get a distinction in Spoken Portuguese; a bit of a feather in my cap for all it's worth.

That was the big news in Spain, at least for me. Worldwide, the cinema industry went into shock when it heard that Alec Baldwin fatally shot the director of photographer on the set for his film Rust in New Mexico that day.  Halyna Hutchins died and director Joel Souza was injured when Baldwin was handed a supposed "cold gun" by the film's "armourer" (person in charge of weapon props) but it was loaded with a live round. However that happened we still don't know. No one is going to press charges. They don't need to. Baldwin already has his punishiment. He is distraught and this will never go away. What a dreadful accident to happen. I can't begin to imagine the pain Halyna's family must be going through.

Alec Baldwin moments after the fatal shooting. He will never get over this. 

Friday came and the sun shone again. I never take the good weather for granted here as I was brought up in wet and cold England. Thus I had my mid morning coffee outside sitting on a bench in the sun - what bliss. We had a couple of errands to do and soon the morning was over. Friday evening was the highlight of my week. We were going to have dinner with "my Spanish family". If you want to know their story here is a post I wrote when Gerardo, the father died in October 2007.

I went to to live with the Gonzalez-Galvez family in September 1978 when I had my year in Spain as part of my studies in Hispanic Studies. I was supposed to teach the children English. Gerardo and his wife Pili had 4 children, Gerardo, Irene, Julieta and Toti. Gerardo was about 14 at the time and Irene maybe 12. We became incredibly close and still are today. I consider them "my Spanish family" and they made up at least half the guests at our small wedding in Madrid in 1983.

With my Spanish family at our wedding. 

The Saturday after I injured my knee was the wedding of Irene's son Tommy which I was so looking forward to but of course I couldn't go. This Friday's dinner at Irene and her husband Tomas' house was to make up for that. It would be just the 3 couples, Gerardo and his wife Vicky, Irene and Tomas and Eladio and I. It was funny to get dressed up and go out and socialise; something we have hardly done since the beginning of the pandemic. I mostly wear lounge clothes  - fleeces and jeans or leggings so that morning I got out a few dresses I thought might fit to choose what to wear. Thankfully I found a few and Eladio made the final choice - a flowery long sleeved tunic type dress bought I think at either H&M or Zara. We were due at our friends' house at 9.30 pm which is so late for us as that is our usual going to bed time. Thus I couldn't believe it when we left their house at about 1.30 in the morning. We are so at ease with my Spanish family we just couldn't stop talking and catching up on our lives since before the pandemic and so much has happened - in our case we are now grandparents and the owner of a new house.  My lovely kids, Irene and Gerardo are now in their 50's but they are still my kids. I was 21 or so when we met and they were about 13 and 11 but today the age gap has closed. What a wonderful evening we had. We had to have a photo to document it and thanks to Tomas' very long arms we got a decent selfie hahaha which I am happy to share with you.

Photo of the reunion dinner with my Spanish family

Reluctantly at about 1.30 we said goodbye and left but vowed to meet soon, maybe for a weekend at Gerardo and Vicky's house in the beautiful Cantabria region. We have to make that happen.

I guess we must have fallen asleep at about 2.30 am. I was up at 7.30 yesterday morning which didn't make for many hours of sleep. Who hadn't slept well was my father for some reason. He worried us stiff yesterday when he wouldn't or couldn't get up. So Lucy stayed this weekend as she is such an excellent carer. I kept looking into his room while he slept. Thankfully he was able to eat but spoon fed. I didn't know what was wrong with him. I suppose it is just his age - he will be 103 next May. His condition overshadowed my day - a day with the family that he missed as Oli and co came for lunch and stayed all afternoon. It was great to see them again but my happiness was not complete. 

I got an excellent night's sleep last night as did my father. He surprised us again when he woke up  this morning all perky and raring to go, asking for the newspaper. He is himself again thank God but he did give us a shock. 

Today will be another sunny day and I will go on my short gingerly walk which I'm not sure is good for my knee which feels stiff. I can actually see the swelling on my knee. I wonder how long it will take for the water to be absorbed; hopefully not too long and I can resume my hour long daily walks.

So, my friends, that's it for today. I have come to the end of the tales of this week which has had its ups and downs. Who knows what next week will bring? That's life isn't it?

Cheers then till next Sunday,

Masha.