War with Iran gets out of hand, oil prices soar, renovations on the ground floor, making Moroccan pastilla pie, the pains of installing a new door in Santa Pola, Eladio gets a new phone, and other stories of the week.

 Sunday 15th March, 2026

Elevenses one day this week at Manacor. Coffee in the sunshine is my kind of happiness.

Good morning all. 

While the world has gone mad we have had a quiet week with our own little headaches and ups and downs but really no complaints. 

Last Sunday was quiet. I spent most of the morning cooking for our weekly family lunch and I'm sorry to say I took no photos. The kids will be coming today for dinner so I must remember to capture them on camera - in the hope that one day in the future when I am long gone, they will read my blog with nostalgia. 

That day Segundo, a doctor and gynecologist, from Peru came to stay for 3 weeks. He is a charming man but we have not mentioned women's matters, hahahaha. 

Monday came and Iran, not cowered by Trump and Netanyahu's war on their country, appointed Mojatba Khameini, son of Ali Khameini, who was assassinated by Israeli forces, the new Supreme Leader. Many of their family were  killed including both their wives. If Trump hoped to replace Ali Khameini with a more liberal leader, he lost his chance as he hinted they were all dead now. Some of the more liberal choices died  in the assassination of 40 top officials. Mojatba who vows to continue his father's work and is blamed for the killing of 30.000 of his own people in recent protests, is a sitting duck right now. Apparently he was injured in the blasts and has not been seen since his appointment. So he must be in hiding. If Trump had hoped to change the regime, this choice must now come as a blow to his administration.

Life continued as normal at home. That  morning we did the weekly shop and took the bike we lend to guests to have the wheels changed. We had time to treat ourselves to chocolate and  churros which seems to be turning into a weekly tradition. What a lovely tradition. Here is Eladio enjoying his chocolate and churros.

Chocolate and Churros in Boadilla del Monte on Monday - what a lovely pleasure

We watched the news as we do every day and follow every moment of what is happening in the Middle East. That day saw Trump saying the war would end soon which helped the oil index go down a bit but not for long. For most of the week it is around 100 dollars a barrel. He threatened to hit Iran 20 times harder if it stopped the flow of oil through the Straits of Hormus. Both things have happened. 20% of the world's oil passes through those straits. His MAGA fans are not too happy either as he promised no wars so he keeps saying the war will be over soon. Reality is we have no idea when it will end. Things are not going well for the attackers. They miscalculated Iran's response and maybe did not factor in the threat of closing the Straits of Hormus or the continuation of the Ayotollah regime. I think the war is getting out of hand. In the first week of war  alone it cost 11 billion dollars. So at over a billion dollars a day, even the mighty USA economy will be affected. The thing is this affects the whole world, putting prices up on everything that is powered in some way by oil, including the food basket and airline tickets. It hits the ordinary person. Last week if we paid about 1.5 euros a litre of petrol, today that has gone up to 2 euros and will continue to soar. It has also affected 16 countries who are being attacked by Iran in the region. We have even learned this week that Putin is the hidden hand behind Iran which doesn't surprise me. Even worse, Trump went and lifted oil sanctions so Russia can sell its oil again. Thus Russia is the winner in this war. Makes me sick.

Tuesday was a bit of an upheaval. The insurance people were coming to put down a new floor on the ground floor. They didn't finish the job as they found some damp which later turned out to be condensation. Hopefully they will finish the job tomorrow. Meanwhile the place looks ghastly and is a bit embarrassing vs a vs our guests. Thankfully the rooms themselves don't have to be renovated.

Renovations on the ground floor this week. Hopefully they will lay down the new floor tomorrow. 

We had more work going on at home when a firm came to clean the guttering. We had no idea until clumps of grass kept falling that they needed cleaning. The man who did the job and went up on to the roof told me there was a veritable garden growing in the guttering. Oh dear. 

The man on top of the roof cleaning the guttering

There is always so much to do to maintain a house and I like to think we keep a tight ship to quote my friend Nurse Crane from Call the Midwife. It's like running a small company and you can't let things run down. So we are constantly on the move. It's a bore but keeps us busy. 

I left everyone to it and went out to get some ingredients to make a Moroccan flaky chicken pie - a very famous dish from that North African country called "pastilla"  and one I love. The excuse was I had lots or cold chicken in the fridge. Suzy helped me make it but actually it is quite easy. I  used a recipe from YouTube but there are many on the internet. And voila, this was the result when we had already dug into it

For those not in the know, I copied this description from Google: "Moroccan Chicken Pastilla is a traditional, festive savoury sweet pie featuring layers of thin crispy pastry (phyllo) filled with shredded chicken, a spiced onion and egg mixure and toasted ground almonds. It combines savoury meat with aromatic spices like cinnamon and saffron topped with a dusting of icing sugar". I was really very proud of the result and we had it two days running. I froze a piece for Oli who loves it too and is coming today. Now I know how to make pastilla we shall be including it in our repertoire of meals at home. 

I told Amanda about it in our weekly Facetime call and next time they come I shall make it. Talking to my friend is always the highlight of the week.

On Wednesday the rain went finally and we had a sunny day which was perfect for our walk. Of note that day I bought tickets to see the show How Horses Dance at the Real Escuela Andaluza de arte equestre (the Royal school of equestrian art) which is world famous and rivals with the Spanish school of riding in Vienna. The academy is in Jerez, the sherry capital, which we shall visit in May with Andy and Amanda. Wonderful!

That day I was also dealing with installing the new door to the flat in Santa Pola. I had contracted and paid a carpenter back in November and the door arrived on 15th February but Mauricio kept putting off the job. I had no other option than to find another carpenter. I did but he didn't do a great job. We also needed a locksmith and work went on for two days. This was the old door and below the new door.

Our very old and crumbling door

The new door

However, the carpenter had a problem with the floor which now looks like this and is rather depressing. 

This needs to be fixed

This has to be fixed and the door also needs a doorknob, a handle and a peep hole. Installing a new door is a whole new world for me and one I am not familiar with. It will all be fixed but meanwhile is a pain.

Thursday came and brought something exciting, a new  mobile phone for Eladio. He always seems to inherit my old phones or Olivia's and was struggling with a 5 year old Samsung Galaxy S20. So last week we ordered him a brand new Samsung Galaxy S26. Thus he is the member of the family with the most up to date phone and that makes me happy for him. We took it to a local phone shop to have everything transferred from the old phone. I had to do the rest and it took a few days. It always does. Here is is happily showing me his new phone, bless him.

Eladio happy with his new phone

We signed up for a swap contract whereby you pay a renting fee per month and every two years you get a new phone. Sounds good. I'm glad for my husband. I just hope that with his new phone he will answer  it when I call or message him, hahaha.

It was that day that a photo emerged of three bad men together from the Epstein files which must have been released that day. It is of the former Prince Andrew and former British Ambassador to the US, Mandelson in bathrobes with the infamous paedophile. For the records this is it.

Three bad men, former Prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson in bathrobes with the paedophile Jeffrey Eptstein. 

They thoroughly disgust me. 

Friday was another sunny day and I had slept well that night which is unusual for me. We went on our walk then to the bank to to get a code for the app in Eladio's phone. From there we went to Gran Plaza 2 shopping centre to get him a new case and other accessories. 

That day lots of guests arrived, thankfully many of them repeat guests who I leave the keys for and don't have to greet. The house is full this weekend but you wouldn't notice. It's lovely to have my Dutch guest Rachel here again with her son. She lives in Milan and has come to cook for him while he does his exams. Isn't that sweet?

Saturday dawned and the main news again was the war with Iran. I just hope it won't go on for years and end up like Iraq or Afghanistan or Ukraine. While the worlds' eyes are on Iran no one is thinking about Ukraine and Putin can do what he wants. The world needs rid of people like Putin and Trump. As I said last week, we need women to rule the world. We really do.

Today is Sunday and the only plan we have  today is dinner at home with Oli and the kids while Miguel has been sent to Valencia for the week. We shall go on our walk, I shall have my mid morning coffee and I will rustle up something for lunch and not much more. I wish someone could transport me to some lovely beach with good weather and no worries about doors, floors, guests, shopping etc. I need a break from routine. We all do.

So that my friends, is it for this week. I wish you all well. Cheers for now,

Masha