AI turning wedding photos into film star posters, a quiet and sunny week on our own with Suzy in Montrondo, Oli and family staying in El Cuetu and exploring Asturias, Juliet turns 5 and other stories of the week

Home again, Madrid, 6th September, 2026

Juliet turned 5 on Friday 4th September. Here celebrating in El Cuetu. 

Hi again everyone. 

It's all over. We are now into September and yet it feels like yesterday when we came to Montrondo on 14th July.  We are back for the second time from Montrondo where we went to the family wedding and stayed on to enjoy the peace, the quiet, nature and good weather with Suzy.  Olivia and family are returning from El Cuetu today and for them it's back to work and to school tomorrow. Actually, it is not really over for Eladio and I, as tomorrow we are flying to the UK for a week for my dear friend, Amanda's 70th. So, again I have something to look forward to. And there will be more to come, I don't doubt it.

Last Sunday the wedding was over too but oh how we enjoyed it. It was a tremendous family gathering full of joy and lots of fun. We spoke about it endlessly afterwards and we will remember it always. A bit too late for last week's blog, Oli sent me the photo I most wanted to see; the one of the 4 of us. I would have loved to include Miguel and the kids but they were running all over the place. 

The four of us at the wedding in León on 29th August

We haven't stopped talking about it and this week, inspired by my son-in-law who created a film poster using AI, I decided to do the same with some of the wedding photos. They are absolutely great. I sent them to the bride who agreed the wedding had been like a film. These are just some of them. Amazing what AI can do.

AI turning some of the wedding photos into film posters. Well, as the bride said, her wedding was like a film. Amazing what AI can do. 

While they were on their way to El Cuetu, our house in Asturias, we had a quiet day in Montrondo. We enjoyed our stay there but missed the family who had all left by then. First things first, I injected my weekly shot of Mounjaro and I am pleased to tell you I am down to 59.9 from 66.2kg. I have lost 6.3 kilos which is just under a stone and I am now below 9 and a half stone. Whoopee. I don't need to lose anymore weight but shall continue until the end of September at least, as I know I will be eating more than usual while in  the UK.

Suzy and I went to have a coffee in Senra as we did nearly everyday. On our way back we saw Lourdes who told us Mass which is every other Sunday in Montrondo, was being celebrated that day at 12.30. So we joined her and other villagers. I do love the church in the village. Afterwards we headed to the bar which was quite full even though lots of people have left. We came home to make lunch and found Eladio having hoovered all the floors and cleaned all the windows.Good for him! 

My siesta was interrupted by Oli's arrival in El Cuetu. Andrea, the cleaning lady had not left them some vital supplies such as loo roll and later had to drive there to give them the key to the attic which is where we store everything. They found a broken window and it has taken me a week to get my local handyman, Héctor, to fix it. What couldn't be fixed was the new television we gave Oli and Miguel to take to the house after the previous one had been fused by a blackout in the village. They later realised the new one had a broken screen which must have happened during the journey. Oh dear. Thankfully they got another one this week and it is now fixed on the wall and working.  I could have done without that crisis; one of the reasons we are selling the house although we are in no hurry and still hope to enjoy it ourselves this month and next while the weather is still good. They have had a grand time there with good weather and have made the best of their stay. I am so happy for them. The biggest advantage of the house we bought in 2020 is its location as you are spoiled for choice of where to go, what to see and do and wonderful places for meals. Asturias is a true paradise. 

Later I sat outside under the shade of the apple trees and enjoyed my book. Meanwhile, immigrants were arriving in dinghies at the beach in Santa Pola of all places. 

Oli and family went to a very unique beach after they had settled in. Called Gulpiyuri, it is said to be the smallest beach in Spain. I think it is also the only inland beach. However, to swim in it the tide must be in, otherwise there is no water to swim in. I remember swimming there with Eladio and we had it to ourselves. Look.

Eladio swimming in the Gulpiyuri beach in 2020 when we had it to ourselves.

And here are some photos Oli sent me at that very unique beach.

Oli and family at the Gulpiyuri beach last Sunday

In the early evening Eladio and I went on our walk to Murias.

On our walk to Murias on Sunday evening

I finally remembered to take the 2 apples I had bought to feed the donkey and the pony I so love. Well, we found them both lying on their backs and enjoying the sun. They wouldn't get up so we had to throw the apples at them. Even then they refused to get up. We watched for a while and then left them, assuming they would enjoy them later. They are obviously well fed. 

For entertainment that night, we watched an excellent Spanish film called La Buena Letra. It is set just after the Civil War and is a wonderful period drama which I think got a Goya cinema prize.

On Monday I was up at 7.22 after a good 6h sleep.  It was Eladio's sister, Pili's birthday. Much to the delight of Elliot, she turned "six seven" (67) that meme that became so popular this year. She celebrated it at home in León of course.

That morning the three of us drove to Villablino to do the shopping for the week. Meanwhile, Oli and family had lunch out and later bathed at another favourite beach of ours, perhaps the nearest to El Cuetu. It's called Playa de Barro and has featured in many Spanish films. If anyone was filming that day, they would have loved to see Juliet buried in sand, or almost. This photo is typical Juliet. Take a look. What a character she is becoming and a beautiful girl she is too. 

Playa de Barro, Llanes, Asturias

They weren't the only ones having lunch out that day. I had booked a table at El Campillo in Sosas de Laciana, not far from Villablino where we went after our shopping. It's the best restaurant in the area and after being closed for a couple of years, I am glad it has opened again. Here is a photo of Eladio and Suzy at our table and another one of the lovely view from inside the restaurant.

Lunch at El Campillo in Sosas de Laciana on Monday

It was great to share all this with my friend Amanda in our Facetime call that afternoon, just a week before flying to see her. She had lovingly made a programme for the whole week for us and I know we will have a whale of a time. 

She would have loved to join us on our walk that day. We went on a longer and different one. We call it "El camino valle" (the valley path) which takes you up above the river and overlooking Murias. Here are some photos of that wonderful walk where we encountered a large herd of cows. Suzy was a bit worried but not me, nor Eladio. After all, he used to be a shepherd boy in his youth in Montrondo. 

On our lovely and longer walk on Monday evening via "El camino valle".

That day my smart watch told me I had done over 12.000 steps!

Tuesday came and it was another sunny day and I had slept 6 hours again. It was also the beginning of a new month, 1st September. Again we went to Senra for coffee. We did so while my enormous shoulder of lamb was roasting slowly in the oven. I took advice from AI and roasted it slowly on both sides for 45 minutes at 1601c each time and then gave it a final blast of 20 minutes at 220ºc. I swear that this method would make any meat tender. We had it with divine roast potatoes cooked the same way. There was enough left over for lunch another day. 

Oli and family were in Pendueles that day; a place I want to discover too. They also found somewhere good for lunch. I gave them a sheet of information of things to do in the area and Miguel did his homework and added places we now want to go to also.

Oli and family in Pendueles on Tuesday

The rest of our day panned out similarly to all the other days we spent here after the wedding. We had a siesta,  I read outside, we went for a walk but that day neither of us had any dinner as the lamb had completely filled us up.

Wednesday 2nd September, was the Day of Ceuta, that Spanish enclave in North Africa which has never belonged to Morocco but which they claim and they invaded at the end of July. Still today there over 10.000 illegal immigrants which the authorities are processing too slowly. That day there were demonstrations in nearly every city in Spain in support of Cueta and what its inhabitants are having to put up with. It is scandalous. The Spanish government has consistently said that Morocco did not provoke the invasion. However, a report by the Spanish border police submitted to a Spanish judge, tells another story. From their investigations, talks to immigrants, photos and videos it is very clear that the Moroccan police guided the immigrants to Ceuta in an act of provocation. There is no denying that however much Pedro Sánchez says the opposite. But then he would as he is afraid of the information the Moroccan government have of him; over 3 years of his Whatsapp text messages. Meanwhile, chaos continues to rein in the Spanish city.

Far away in Montrondo, we went for our morning coffee and further away in Asturias, Oli and family were enjoying another beach, "Playa de la Franca", one I particularly like. Here is a photo my daughter sent me of them that day.

Miguel, Elliot and Juliet at Playa de la Franca on Wednesday

We had "cocido madrileño" for lunch that day. It is a dish made with chickpeas, meat and veg and is a favourite in our family. It takes all morning to make so while it was cooking, I went to see Lourdes. I had ordered some of her home made biscuits I had tried at Dolores' house.  I had one in the afternoon with my decaf tea and it was divine.

The day ended with another walk, not much dinner and watching the news which is so depressing. 

Thursday dawned and again I had slept well. I had told my friend Amanda that Montrondo is good for the soul, but also for the body and the mind. It is so therapeutic if you you are not looking for an exciting life. 

I did some ironing but no cooking as we had lots of leftovers. Again we went to the grumpy man's bar for our morning coffee.On our way home we stopped at the bakery in Murias to get some delicious fairy cakes they make there. 

Meanwhile, Oli and family were in Panes (Asturias) going kayaking on the River Deva which would take them to Unquera in Santander. I know they will have enjoyed themselves enormously and what luck they had with the weather. Here is a picture Oli sent to remember that day.

Oli and family about to go kayaking on the River Deva on Thursday

It was around that time I got a call from an estate agency about the house in El Cuetu. The estate agent thought his client was very interested in buying it. We shall see. I promised myself if it gets sold this autumn. we shall go as often as we can before it is no longer ours. Will we regret it? In a way yes, of course.

Meanwhile, new guests were arriving at our apartment in Santa Pola where I want to go too this month if we have time. The house in Madrid was full of guests too and I would have loved to meet my guest Eliana who lives in Sarajevo but it was not to be. 

We had the rest of the roast lamb for lunch, followed by an hour's siesta after watching the news and I spent the rest of the afternoon reading in the shade in the back garden. What a joy.

Later we went for our walk while Suzy went jogging. As we approached Montrondo on our way back, I had to have a photo with a cow in a field which I dubbed the lonely cow. 

On our walk on Thursday evening

For once I was hungry for dinner and we had some of my cream of vegetable soup and the cecina (cured beef) from lunch at El Campillo. 

I did not sleep that well that night and was up at 7.15 on Friday  morning, our last full day here. It was Juliet's 5th birthday and Oli sent me pictures of her having a cake for breakfast, surrounded by balloons. We rang her to wish her a happy birthday and I hope we can celebrate it together when we are back from the UK. She is such a unique little person, full of energy and charisma and a lot of personality. You saw that in the photo of her in the sand. I must show you another one of her. It was at the wedding last week where she had an absolute blast. 

Just Juliet. 

We had a video call to wish her a happy birthday and her first question was "where is Pippa?", bless her. Later they went to my favourite beach, Playa de Poó and I got another photo to share with you here.

Oli and Miguel at Playa de Poó on Friday

Pili was coming from León to spend time with us before we leave and of course we invited her to lunch. I didn't have much food left but made a decent meal with what I could.

Eladio spent time giving our en suite bathroom a deep clean. Later Suzy and I went for our morning coffee to Senra and enjoyed our time together there while waiting for Pili to arrive from León. It was good to see her again and, as I told her at the wedding, Montrondo is not the same without her. It isn't. She is the heart and soul of Eladio's family. She was soon with us bringing joy as always. Once home I made lunch: grilled mushrooms, fresh asparagus, chickpea stew, followed by delicious melon. 

Of course it was siesta time after that but I couldn't sleep so went out into the garden to read. I was soon joined by Pili and then her sister Adela who arrived from León that afternoon. Soon we were all having coffee and biscuits outside and I had to have a last photo of one of our joyful moments in Montrondo, the last of many this summer.

Coffee with Eladio's sisters Pili and Adela on our last day in Montrondo

We had a good natter, mostly to comment on the wedding which we still talk about and will do for a long time.

The day progressed and it was soon time for our last walk to Murias for this time. Suzy went jogging and Eladio and I went at our own pace. Later I had quality time with Pili before I went in to start packing for our return.

And suddenly it was Saturday, the day of departure. I had had such a good and relaxing time this summer in Montrondo, I didn't want to leave but had to.  There is so much to do before leaving the house which we did between the three of us. By 11.30 or so, we were ready and there were Adela and Pili to see us off. We stopped at La Magdalena for churros and coffee which filled our stomachs long enough for a late lunch when we got home at just before 4pm. There were Tana and Pippa to greet us, the latter very enthusiastically. It was much hotter in Madrid than in Montrondo; always at least 10ºc more. I heard later that day was the hottest September dat on record. Thankfully, Tana had switched on the air conditioning in our room.We had a quick lunch and then retired to our rooms. It took me a while to unpack everything we had brought home but finally I had some rest time and actually slept a little bit. 

Later I met our new or not so new guests as they are all repeats: José (of José Pan fame), Elena who is Slovenian but lives in the Dominican Republic and her son Mark who is a student at the local Uni and who will be staying with us until the end of December. I didn't meet Fernando from Almeria. 

Our day ended watching the news - US Emissaries were in Moscow with Putin to discuss peace plans and the UN has come up with a new map of the world making Africa look its real larger size and Greenland its real smaller size. I will have to replace the old world map from the wall in our kitchen I suppose. After the news we continued watching a great Norwegian series set in WW2 about British and Norwegian troops trying to blow up a heavy water factory which was supplying the Germans in their quest to create the atom bomb. Called "The heavy water war" and also "The Saboteurs",  I was reminded of my father in Norway during the war where he learned to do cross country skiing and wondering if he wore the same sort of outfit. No doubt he would have lived through this most crucial moment in Norway's history. I went to sleep thinking my life, at the moment, is good.

Today is Sunday and one day before we go to the UK for Amanda's birthday. I will have to pack for cooler weather and rain, no doubt, but I am not complaining. I have got lots of things to do before we go, so I must sign off now and get this published.

Cheers then till next week. I wish you all a great day,

Masha

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