Home from Santa Pola, Easter is over, taking our grandchildren to school, World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in Gaza by Israeli forces, the pool is ready for summer, a full house, the stuff of dreams and other stories.

 Home, Sunday 7th April 2024

A happy moment this week  - coffee on Friday at Manacor. PS note I am wearing flowers, not stripes!

Good morning all this sunny day in April. How time flies. It's only a week since we celebrated Easter Day. We were alone probably for the first time in many years. Even so, I made an effort and we had roast lamb with all the trimmings. I then had a chocolate feast. I honestly don't know why Easter is related to chocolate eggs but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the binge, after 3 months on a semi diet. 

Easter Monday was 1st April and All Fools' Day but it's not celebrated here. The equivalent is 28th December, the day of the Holy Innocents, in memory of when King Herod ordered the killing of all male babies under two. 

There was nothing foolish or innocent about Monday. It was all very efficient. I finally found an accountant who will be doing our tax returns this month. If you follow this blog, you will know that my accountant, Pilar, from when I was freelance did the worst job possible. Thanks to her I am still paying the tax people. Another claim came this week for over 4000 euros! Damn the woman. I spent practically the whole day gathering together all the documents of income and expenditure; no easy feat. It was a huge job but I had it finished by Thursday when I sent her everything. No doubt the tax bill this year will be pretty steep too but hopefully it will be correct and I won't be owing anything more to the Inland Revenue people for years to come. Since I got that job finished I have slept a bit better.

On Monday afternoon I had my last and final appointment with the dentist after all the work he has done on my teeth. He proclaimed all was well. Nothing more was needed except for one more bleaching session which I had done straight after seeing him. I am finally regaining the pleasure of chewing with all my new bridges but it does take some getting used to. Finally, too, I no longer blush or close my mouth when I see people or have a photo taken. However, I am now obsessed with people's teeth and look at everyone's. It reminds me of when I was pregnant; I would look at all other pregnant women, hahahaha. 

That day Eladio spent the night at Oli's as we had to take the kids to school the next morning. Miguel and Oli are trying to find someone to replace us but the girl they found suddenly gave her notice. Thus I slept alone with Pippa. I think I managed about 6 hours which is ok for me.

On Tuesday I was up at 06.30 to be at their place by 07.30. They too had woken up that early and I felt sorry for my poor husband. Thus we had masses of time to get them ready for school which doesn't start until 9 am. Here are the little mites still with their pyjamas on. They were watching The Power Rangers, something my girls used to love and which I found a bit aggressive. 

Elliot and Juliet on Monday morning the day we took them to school

We left them there at 9 feeling a bit bushed. There are so many cars, nowhere to park and the police there too, that it was all a bit stressful. Maybe we should park further away and walk to the school.

We came home feeling bushed. I had guests coming and going all week; I could hardly keep up with who was who and where they were sleeping. It was full house this week with people from Colombia, Peru, Mexico and Spain as well as Mohammad and Sarang from Iraq and India; quite the United Nations. 

I did more paperwork but then went out for a coffee while Eladio went to have a much needed haircut. I also took my white Zara jeans to be taken in - just don't like the flares - and to get a prescription. Eladio came home looking very dashing. Isn't he just gorgeous. Nobody would believe his age; not even me.

Eladio's new hair cut - looking very dashing.

Notice, he is wearing stripes like I nearly always do. I was too. I dug out a Lindex jumper which I bought in Stockholm in about 2015 and it is still going strong. I love the end of the sleeves in yellow. I took  a photo in the mirror where I hope you can appreciate I have lost some weight. 

Wearing my trusty striped Lindex jumper  this week which I bought in Stockholm in about 2015

I used to love shopping at Lindex. It's so my style; rather Scandinavian as a Swedish colleague from Nokia once said to me when we were shopping at a lovely Danish store called Jackpot. If only Lindex, Kappahl and Jackpot had shops in Spain. 

I was not thinking about fashion at all when I heard shocking news that afternoon. 7 aid workers belonging to the Spanish Chef, José Andrés' NGO - World Central Kitchen - were killed while taking food into Gaza by the IDF. The world is shocked, even the US, finally. After nearly 6 months of war, Israel is looking pretty lonely. I understand they want revenge for the attacks in October at the hands of Hamas but they have over reacted  It seems that in order to topple Hamas they are annihilating  Gaza. Apart from being bombed, the people will soon be starved to death. It's a horrible comparison but reminds me of  some of the effects of the holocaust. Please Israel, stop. 

The horrific attack on WCK killing 7 aid workers in Gaza this week shocked the world.

Israel has not made it easy for aid to enter Gaza and José Andrés' NGO was one of the first to get there by ship and then on land. José Andrés, an amazing man, whose NGO takes food to the most desperate places, is furious and heartbroken and wants an explanation. We all do. After all, his convoy was known to the IDF and should have been protected. There is no excuse here for these fortuitous deaths. My blog aims to put my life in context of world news, or news that has had an impact on me. Thus I want to quote José Andrés, so his words go down in history, if anyone read this in years to come when I am no longer here. "The 7 angels killed on a WCK mission in Gaza on Monday were the best of humanity, The Israeli government needs to open more land routes for food and medicine today. It needs to stop killing civilians and aid workers today. It needs to start the long journey to peace today" His final words are what really resonate what a lot of people are thinking; including me: "You cannot save the hostages by bombing every building in Gaza. You cannot win this war by starving an entire population".  If you want to know more, I encourage you to read an essay by José Andrés in the NYT, entitled "Let People Eat". How right he is. If only Netanyahu thought the same. My husband calls him a heretic. 

Shortly after I heard the news it was time for my weekly Skype call with Amanda. She was equally shocked at the events. Ever since I was a child, war in Israel and with Israel has been in the news. Will it ever stop? Lucky living in peaceful countries, our conversation soon turned to our own lives and our ups and downs. Talking to Amanda is my therapy and long may it last. We have been friends since we were 11 and started at St. Joseph's College, the Catholic grammar school in Bradford  in about 1968. Little did we know then that we would still be friends at the age of 67. God bless her. 

We usually talk from 5.30 to 7 which is her dinner time. Ours is one hour later and of course this week after the clocks went forward we now have another hour of light ; till around 9 pm. At about that time, my new guest, Alejandro, arrived. He is from Barcelona and works as a photographer for Google Maps. He is doing all the roads and paths (not streets) of the province of Madrid for them at the moment and will be coming again. Nice guy who gave me a great review. Airbnb are pleased with me too this week, as once again I am a super host, a status I have maintained since 2017 when I began this adventure. It always gives me a high when I receive an email or message to tell me I am super host again. 

Superhost again

My statistics are pretty impressive too. I got 4.9 out of 5. Reaching 5 is pretty difficult as you can't please everyone but keeping to 4.9 is a slog too and I always have to be on my toes. 

My super host statistics 

I might be retired but I am busy nearly every day and must be on the alert constantly for new enquiries, bookings, etc.  What I love best about my little rental business is the guest satisfaction and meeting people from all over the world. 

Wednesday dawned and I spent a lot of the morning on more gathering of paperwork for my new accountant but I was ready by about 12 to accompany Eladio to Móstoles. He was going to get his hearing aids which had been mended or adjusted. I took the time to find a  bank to pay the bloody 4000 euros to the Inland Revenue people. I then rewarded myself with a cup of coffee. Ah, and I wandered into a little Chinese run boutique which had the most gorgeous clothes for an absolute song. Móstoles, is  a god forsaken suburb of Madrid which I hate because this is where we had to go so often to the Courts during our trials and tribulations with Felipe Turover, the Russian spy who squatted in our house in 2021 and 2022 for over 6 months. However, the area is very cheap. I was astonished only to pay 1.5 euros for my coffee and very pleased to find a lovely pink t-shirt for around 9 euros (the one I am wearing in the feature photo) and a white summer jumper; both with flower motifs. I thought it was about time I swapped stripes for flowers. Later I took another photo in front of my bedroom mirror. Nice eh?

New jumper from a Chinese run boutique in Móstoles. 

I loved what I bought and am seriously thinking of going back for more. 

I was finished just as Eladio was and off we went to Decathlon. It was to look at ping pong tables after Elliot broke ours - he jumped on it and it collapsed. We desisted though as they were awfully expensive. I think that is the last of the ping pong table which I had to remove from 7 of my Airbnb listings - quite a job.

On Thursday morning we went to have coffee with the mother of a friend of Suzy's from long ago. She is English and I hadn't seen her for probably 20 odd years. We wanted to meet her to exchange experiences of our daughters' mental health. She battled for years with her elder daughter and gave us lots of advice. It was very informative but it was also lovely to see her. 

Meanwhile, Mohammad and Sarang decided summer had come and asked Eladio where all the outdoor pool furniture was stored. Thus they brought it out of the garage. They said they wanted to bring summer to the pool and they did just that. They even went in the water. I will not be going in until it is at least 35ºc.

The pool with the outdoor furniture 

We would have helped them but had to be off again, this time for a doctor's appointment for Eladio - routine stuff. We were home by about 5 and went up for a much needed siesta. I needed sleep and sleep I got but had the most terrible nightmare. 

I dreamed that there was a family "invited" by other guests who I told  to leave. They were all ready to go into the pool, carrying lilos, etc. When they finally agreed to go,  they couldn't get out because the garage was too full of ping pong tables! Meanwhile, outside there was a table with Orthodox Jews having some sort of elaborate celebration and the father of the family  joined in. I just looked on in amazement.  Next I found 3 mobile phones in my handbag which weren't mine but couldn't find my own to ring Airbnb and report the problem. Finally the whole family died and Eladio and I didn't know what to do. At the same time, Suzy was asking me to come and talk to her but I couldn't as I was overwhelmed by the circumstances. Thankfully, then I woke up. 

I woke up feeling in a daze and  groggy but also hungry and went downstairs for a cup of tea. There I found Sarang making a curry and told him about my nightmare which was surreal. The only conclusion is this is the stuff of my dreams, my worries; my work, the stupid ping pong table, the war in Israel and of course poor Suzy, who I can't help. Someone told me to have a drink. However, that doesn't really help as alcohol usually gives me a headache. Instead I had a medjool date and half a banana with my cup of tea and then I felt better. That night I slept better, had no nightmares and got 7.5h of shut eye!

On Friday, we finally went for a walk. It was another glorious day and I marvelled at the greenery and how so many wild flowers had bloomed after the rain last week  Later we had to do the shopping but stopped for coffee at Manacor. There we spoke about Suzy of course but also about our road trip with the first part being in Italy. Eladio wants to visit Pompei and I want to revisit Florence. We also want to get as far as Sicily. But then what, back up to the north of Italy and all through the Balkans to Greece and Turkey, or a ferry from Bari to Durres in Albania?  I  think that only once on the road will we know so watch this space. 

Just as we got back, a new guest, Melissa who is Mexican but lives in NYC, arrived. Coming up the drive behind her was Shirley from Peru whom I hadn't seen as she arrived in my absence the day before.  I soon settled Melissa in the green room and then came down to unload the shopping. That night we had 7 guests sleeping at our house, yet there is space for everyone They were nearly all solo student guests who are my favourite; much easier to deal with than families here to hog the pool and never leave the house hahahaha. 

Friday was a beautiful day with lovely weather and we had dinner on the table in the kitchen patio. 

Dear Mohammad who had seen my feature photo on Instagram, told me I was looking beautiful. That is indeed a real compliment coming from a young man to a woman of my age, bless him. 

Yesterday, Saturday, was also a beautiful day and ours for the taking.  We hadn't seen our grandchildren since Monday so met them and Olivia for a coffee at Alveran. We never got to interact with Elliot as he was asleep the whole time. They were going to have lunch with Suzy's old friend, Elena with whom, like with everyone else, she has broken off ties and we went home to have our own lunch.

It was a quiet afternoon with all our guests out. Eladio did some of the weeding around the rose bushes - thank you my darling - and I chilled out writing this blog, updating new bookings and binge watching Call the Midwife.

Today is Sunday. We have no plans so I expect it will be another quiet day. 

I have now reached the end of the tales of this week. I wish you all the best until next time.

Cheers for now,

Masha

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