Family time, lots of preparations, fake lottery win from Spanish reporter, our first Christmas with Elliot, The Queen's Christmas broadcast, an unexpected parcel from England and other stories.

Sunday 29th December, 2019

Happy Christmas from us all

Dear friends and readers.

I hope you have had a great Christmas and are enjoying the seasonal good spirit. After all the preparations, it seems so unfair Christmas is now over but of course there is still New Year and in our case, Kings' Day, to celebrate.

Last Sunday we saw the end of Storm Elsa. Last Sunday was also the first day of Winter but it wasn't too cold here and Eladio and I got our walk in that morning. There was zero sign of Suzy all weekend as she was out and about with friends. But we did have the pleasure of the company of Miguel, Oli and little Elliot. 

Oli and her family last Sunday

He's not so little anymore I can tell you. If last week I wrote that he weighs a whopping 6.2 kilos, we measured him that day and found he is 68 cm tall which is an increase of 15 cm since he was born on 17th September. He is now the size of a 6 month old baby yet he is only 3 months old. Hopefully he will take after my dear brother George who was slender and tall at 6 ft. 

We had lunch together and then Oli and her little family went out to do more Christmas shopping. Thankfully I had  all of mine. When they were back it was play time with Elliot and then time for his bath. I do love bathing him with Oli. We made dinner later which we had in the luxury of our own company with no guests and in our festive dining room. 

We had hoped to become millionaires or at least win a decent amount of money in the Spanish Christmas lottery called "El Gordo" (the fat one). With a total of 2.2 billion euros it is considered the world's richest for the total prize money won. Well we didn't yet again but many people did and it's always fun to watch them celebrating on the news. One of Miguel's TVE colleagues in Valencia, a reporter called Natalia, went a bit crazy reporting from San Vicente del Raspeig (Alicante) claiming live on TV that she herself had won a ticket from the top prize, "El Gordo" itself. She shouted out to the studio she wouldn't be going to work the next day. Her reporting was over the top. But it later transpired she had made it up. She had not won the lottery. Miguel knew that as her cameraman, a friend and colleague of his, told my son-in-law, she had made no mention of it to anyone until she was live on camera. She quickly became trending topic on twitter and then she was found out and RTVE had to issue a statement to say she hadn't won the top prize of El Gordo but a smaller one of 5000 euros. Miguel told me there is no 5000 euro prize in the Christmas lottery and that she was making that up too to save face I suppose.  The story went viral and was later reported on all around the world even in The Sun and The Washington Post. You can see the video in this article. Her behaviour and downright lying are unthinkable for a journalist especially from the country's top broadcaster.

The Spanish reporter, Natalia Escudero, and my son-in-law's colleague who made  a fool of herself on camera this week

If she worked for a private  broadcaster no doubt she would have been fired there and then. I just hope her conscience makes her reflect on her own stupidity. What a silly thing to do. 

So no we didn't become rich overnight and once again comfort ourselves saying we have won our own lottery with little Elliot and that we have all we need in life. No complaints compared to so many other people in the world.  Later in the week we were pleased to find out that we had in fact won just a little money, 160 euros, which at least saw the return of some of what we spent. But it would not last either as my husband immediately spent the winnings on the next lottery draw, "El Niño" which is said has more possibilities for winning. I hope so otherwise we have just thrown our money away hahaha. 

Monday came, 23rd December, just 2 days to Christmas. With  the present shopping out of the way, I turned my hand to all the preparations for our festive meals. First things first though and Eladio rang a few garages to see whether the Volvo could be mended as soon as possible and I rang my lovely dentist, Dr. Garralda, to see if he could fit in me for some emergency treatment for my broken tooth.  All this went on as our daughters and Miguel had their breakfast. I love seeing both girls together with their son and nephew and had to get this morning photo.

My girls with little Elliot on Monday morning

I got an appointment at 12.30. In between time Eladio and I went out to do the food shopping, well some of it as we would have to go out again the next day. Thankfully the tooth was ok, it just needed filing and I was out by 1. I rushed home to see to our lunch which had been cooking in my absence; chickpea and meat stew.

In my absence, Oli had dressed little Elliot in the Santa outfit I got him at H&M and he looked a treat. Here are mother and son together with him in the lovely red outfit.

Little Elliot in his Santa outfit together with his Mummy

It was Eladio who took the best photo of Elliot posing in the outfit on the sofa in our study. I liked it so much I turned it into yet another Christmas framed photo. Doesn't he look lovely?

Little Elliot - a Christmas picture post card

We were all together for lunch but all did different things in the afternoon. Oli, Miguel and little Elliot had a siesta or I imagine they tried to have one, Suzy did some of her evaluations and Eladio and I went on our walk. By then storm Elsa had gone and the sun shone that day as it would all through Christmas. That really cheered me up as non stop rain and wind last week tended to get me down.

I came home to get out the lobster and giant prawns from the deep freeze for dishes I would make for Christmas Eve. I also made the base of the trifle for our dessert on Christmas Eve. I took a quick look before we went to bed and it seemed as though the jelly hadn't set which worried me. Thankfully the next day it was all jelled and ready for the toppings.  I then set about making a simple dinner. Making dinner for 5 is more time consuming than for 2 but oh what joy to be around the dining room table all together again and looking forward to Christmas. We stayed up quite late, sitting in our festive lounge until it was time for bed.

Tuesday, Christmas Eve, came and I was awake early at 5.30 already thinking about all the things I had to do for our special evening meal. As soon as I had had my coffee, I finished making the trifle and it looked a treat as you can see in the photo below.

Trifle for Christmas Eve, always a favourite with everyone

We joined the girls, Elliot and Miguel for breakfast and then we all went off to do different things. Suzy had to give her lessons and Oli and her family went for a lovely sunny walk in Boadilla. Eladio and I went out on final errands for Christmas. First we went to the post office to pick up a parcel and were gutted to see it was closed. We then made our way to Carrefour Market to pick up a few last things for our dinner that night and lunch on Christmas Day. We also went to our local bakery, Alverán to get the croissants and pastries for Christmas Day breakfast. There we had a coffee and it was then I realised that Eladio was wearing slippers and had forgotten to put his shoes on. It was such a funny moment I had to record it to share with you. Oh my husband does live in the clouds sometimes, hahahaha.

Eladio wearing slippers when we went out in the morning on Wednesday

We came home to unload everything, see to the lunch (leftovers for everyone) and then went out on our walk again in glorious sunshine. I came home to finish making the potato salad I had started on very early that morning. We always make it for Christmas Eve as one of the dishes and it is my mother's recipe or actually her father's as she always used to tell me. Looks good eh?

My potato salad, made to my mother's recipe - one of our dishes on Christmas Eve

Lunch was a family affair again as Oli and her family had come to stay over the festive period. We all had  a tipple of our favourite Juan Gil wine; well Oli had just a sip, followed of course by more Spanish turrón. Then it was time for a short siesta. I was too excited to sleep and kept thinking of all the things I had make for our dinner. In our family we follow the Spanish tradition of a special meal on Christmas Eve and the English tradition of a proper Christmas lunch. There was lots to prepare and I got the help of Zena, our Ukrainian home help who takes over from Lucy when she has time off. Zena celebrates Russian Christmas on 7th January so doesn't mind taking over on the 24th and 25th December. She also contributed to the meal by making her daughter Oxana's courgette blini concoction which Suzy and I had first tried at the cousinade this year (Oxana works on and off for my cousin Zuka). This is it:

Zena's Ukrainian dish

The staple dishes are always potato salad, bacon rolls, perushki (Russian pasties) and lobster salad. But this year we added a Moroccan touch by ordering falafel, humus and "pastille" (Pastela) a flaky chicken and almond tart, from the El Tuareg restaurant in Villaviciosa. The food came with traditional flat bread and unfortunately at one stage it was within the dogs' reach and they ate nearly all of it hahahahaha. Zena helped me lay the table and peel things, Oli made the bacon rolls and Suzy was in charge of the turrón sweet tray.

Suzy with the sweet tray

Meanwhile Eladio got the fire ready in the TV lounge and here are my family sitting by the fire enjoying a quiet moment.

My family relaxing by the fire before dinner

This year my father preferred to skip  the big meal on Christmas Eve. After all he is now 100 and no doubt it would have been too much for him but we missed him. When little Elliot and I were dressed in our Christmas outfits I went down to his room to say goodnight and give him a kiss. He was delighted.

Soon the table was groaning with delicious food which no doubt would last us days. Here it is looking similar to other years except for the Moroccan food.

Our dinner table on Christmas Eve

We all got dressed up in our Christmas outfits, even little Elliot. Here he is with his mother feeding just before she had her own dinner.

Oli and Elliot kitted out in their Christmas outfits

Eladio and Suzy wanted to dig in as soon as possible but I begged them for a few photos and a toast and to savour the moment after all my planning for one of the two most special moments of the year. My begging had no effect on anyone hahahahaa.

Eladio, digging in with the girls and Elliot - all kitted out in our throw me back Yoigo Christmas outfits

We had made far too much food, enough for a meal three times over but that's no problem as it would mean I wouldn't have to cook for a few days hahahaha.

The meal was made complete with crackers and party poppers. Later after we helped Zena clear up, we moved to the lounge to sit by the fire. By then we had taken off our far too warm Christmas outfits. We watched a bit of a silly TV show with lots of comedy acts. Two of them had us in stitches so it was worth it. Then it was to bed at around 11 when most people in Spain would probably only be into their second course.

Eladio's last task of the day was to place the girls' stockings outside their rooms. The girls are now 34 and 35 but still get stockings. Next year, when he is old enough, Elliot will get one too.

I was awake at just after 5 on Christmas morning but forced myself to go back to sleep. I finally got out of bed at just before 6.30. While everyone was asleep and as soon as I had drunk my first cup of coffee, I laid the table for a festive family breakfast where we would gather for the first of the many events of the most special day of the year.

Suzy's day started when she was woken up by little Elliot. By then Oli had already opened her stocking and soon it would be Suzy's turn. But first Elliot's aunt wanted some special time with him. It was as if he was her first and biggest present of the day.

Suzy being woken up by Elliot on Christmas day

The stockings were knitted by my mother for her granddaughters when they were children. Next year Elliot will have his own, already bought by Suzy for him and personalised by Etsy.

By just after 9 am we were all gathered in the dining room for a very large breakfast comprising largely of the most delicious pastries, mostly mini croissants which we all love. Here we are about to start.

All of us at breakfast on Christmas morning

After the breakfast and in line with the traditions passed on to me by my father's mother, it was time to gather around the tree. To the accompaniment of Christmas carols we would spend the next hour and a half opening all our presents. I think I have written before that we always go more for quantity more than quality although each one of us gets a main gift.  In keeping with a new tradition of ours, I asked my son-in-law, Miguel to take the annual photo of my husband and I (to quote the Queen hahahaha) for which we always dress up and for which Eladio always wears a bow tie in which he looks most dapper.

Eladio and I - this year's official Christmas morning photo

I like to think we are ageing gracefully haha. But someone was missing and it was Elliot so we had to have one with him too and here he is.

Our photo with little Elliot 

It was of course his first Christmas but as he is only 3 months old I suppose he won't have noticed much. He got lots of clothes and a lovely first eating set from Suzy from Zara Home for when he starts on purées in a few months time. I especially love the festive outfit I Eladio and I got him from Zara in which he too looks dapper and is also wearing a bow tie like his grandfather.  Later I took a video of him in his new suit which included a waistcoat and the bow tie. Oh how smart he looks and oh how happy he is in the video. Watch out for Suzy's famous last words in the video which you can see here.

Elliot in his new clothes

My father enjoys the Christmas present opening ceremony as we all do. Here is Suzy showing him the blanket she and Oli had bought for him.

Suzy and her grandfather

I had to have a Christmas day photo with my father too. I remarked that I hoped he would be with us for many more Christmases to come. I cannot ever envisage Christmas without him, as, after all, every one of my Christmas days, except for one when I was in Mexico in 1978, were spent with him. Here it is and I shall treasure it.

My father and I on Christmas Day

When all the presents had been opened and everyone had gone off to do their own thing, it was my responsibility to go into the kitchen and start on the Christmas day lunch. Thankfully I had Zena to help me and she peeled the potatoes and laid the table. I was not at all hungry and found the task in front of me a bit uphill. I would have far preferred to go out for a walk but we would have to leave that to the afternoon. I had to have a full roast with all the trimmings for 6 people on the table by 2 pm. I did it of course and by then we were all hungry again hahahaha. Here is my father waiting at the head of the table.

My father at the the lunch table

Before digging in again I had to restrain my husband and family as we had to have a family photo. Thankfully Zena was there to take it. Unfortunately Elliot was not in as he was asleep. Here it is:

The five of us before lunch on Christmas Day

After we had all enjoyed our meal it was time for the Christmas pudding which we all love except for Oli who doesn't like it. I wish I didn't either as it makes me so full hahaha.

The fun didn't end there. There were still the crackers to come, some John Smith ones I read the Queen has every year. The exception is that she puts in expensive presents. My poor dear father mistook a mini sellotape dispenser for a chocolate and automatically put it in his mouth. Thankfully Zena noticed and removed it immediately hahaha. My father loves chocolates, as do I, and to quote Zena "he eats anything". It was  funny but rather a dangerous moment. We soon got over it when we tried out a 6 hand cracker I had ordered on line. Out of it appeared all sorts of items we later wore for a picture, such as moustaches, lips, glasses etc, all made of paper and not doubt made in China. Here we are with them on in another photo of all of us together.

A fun photo of the five of us after our Christmas lunch

As we were preparing to take my father down to his room in his wheelchair we all wished him a Merry Christmas once again. He said a few words, rare for him, and treasured by us all. He thanked us for all the details and reminisced on Christmas as a child at home. He said he didn't think he and Mummy celebrated it much but I reminded him that we did, especially at his parents' house when George and I were children. He was very thankful for a lovely Christmas and we are very thankful that he is still with us today.

We all chilled out afterwards. Eladio and I slept while Suzy and Oli were with the baby. At 5.30 we all went for a well needed walk to work "the turkey" off and of course all the chocolates hahaha. Here we are in a selfie on the walk. It was crisp but sunny and I ended up taking my coat off.

On our walk on Christmas day

Just as we arrived home, Miguel was back from lunch with his family and we all gathered around the fire in the TV, library or cat lounge as it is alternately called. It was then that we thought up a video to make to send to Amanda (my oldest friend) and her family who had sent us one that morning. So with Miguel as the cameraman and Oli and Suzy the choreographers, we made one sending greetings to each member of my friend's family. Oh what a laugh it was and it needed a few takes I can tell you. You can see it on my You Tube channel here.

It was about 8 pm by then and I couldn't believe it when the younger generation started talking about food. I really didn't think I could get a morsel past my lips but I did of course. There is an expression in Spanish we often use which says "comer y rascar, cuestión de empezar". It means "eating and scratching is a question of starting" except it sounds better in Spanish as it rhymes. I let them get on with preparing the dinner which of course was made up of Christmas Eve leftovers and told them I was on kitchen strike as I had done all the cooking. Thus there was limited service (hahaha) which was quite noticeable but for once I didn't care if the table wasn't laid properly or if there weren't enough glasses, etc.

Later we gathered around the fire in the TV lounge and watched the end of the news. I had missed The Queen's speech, officially known as "The Queen's Christmas broadcast" which I watched on Boxing Day the next morning. I have a lot of respect for the 93 year old monarch whose year, like mine and many other's, has been bumpy.  Her very first broadcast was made and televised in 1957, coincidentally the year I was born.

The Queen at Windsor Castle - photo taken of this year's Christmas broadcast. 

We had watched the (Spanish) King's speech on Christmas Eve and hers was a hundred times better. I read recently she writes her own speech and that gives her even more credit. It's unbelievable how well she speaks for a nonagenarian. What I love about the broadcast compared to the Spanish version is the setting and the pomp that goes with it, not to mention the national anthem at the beginning and the music provided by St. George's Chapel. If in the Spanish King's speech we were all looking for hints about the Catalan issue, in the Queen's speech we were all looking for a mention or hint of Brexit and it was there but very subtle.  The Spanish King's speech was boring and predictable in comparison. Her majesty's bumpy year of course refers to the issue of her son Prince Andrew and the woes of her grandson Harry and American wife Meghan Markle.  But it also refers to Brexit.  Her speech starts with a mention of the 50th anniversary of the moon landings and the famous words "one small step for man and a giant step for mankind", adding and "womankind". In a comparison to WW2 she asks for small steps to overcome differences. She cites the example of Jesus and how "small steps taken in faith and in hope" can overcome "long-held differences". She ends her speech praising young people for their action against climate change and protecting the environment and adds, after her reference to the 50th anniversary of the moon landings, "it is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change", I have to say her speech was very well crafted and I also hope she will be here in the coming years to continue to inspire us. I am not an out and out monarchist but the Queen has been there throughout my lifetime and I cannot imagine it without her, as I can't imagine my life without my father. I am sure he too liked this year's Christmas Broadcast.

There was not much news on Christmas Day and in any case we had missed the main section. When Elliot got a bit fretful, we all went upstairs to start the going to bed process. Before going to my room I was asked into Oli's to join the girls singing carols to our little baby. He was delighted.

Our day ended watching the first 2 episodes of the series about Chernobyl which needs no explanation to any of you. I well remember it happening in 1986 when the Ukraine was still part of the USSR. The series has caused a stir in what is Russia today.

I woke up on Boxing Day to a clear and sunny day. It was another day spent mostly with the family. In the morning Oli, Elliot and I went out on errands, principally to the post office to send off my father's book to an ex pupil but also to pick up a mysterious parcel. It turned out to be a Christmas present to my family and I from my new found Airbnb guest from last January, Joanne W. Joanne who is a teacher of Spanish in Lancashire, has become a friend and was instrumental in researching my father's book. She must like me a lot as she sends many gifts, even to my father who she actually never got to meet. She even sent gifts and cards on the birth of Elliot.

Oli and I opened the parcel when we went to have a coffee at Alverán and while little Elliot slept in his pram. It was so sunny we sat outside. It took a while to open the well wrapped parcel and we were astonished to see that inside there were various parcels which were beautifully gift wrapped, each with their own pretty label, as well as some fabulous cards. One of the cards was to me; a bereavement card for the loss of Fátima. That was very thoughtful. We saw there were cards for us all, luxury cards that can only be found in England, as well as presents for Elliot, my father and myself. Oli and I were overwhelmed at the generosity, thoughtfulness and creativity right down to the final detail. Joanne had even wrapped Elliot's presents in baby themed wrapping. So what was inside the unexpected parcel? Well, gosh, things you can't get here as Joanne well knows. For me there was a most beautiful metal poppy brooch to wear on Remembrance Day, something I shall keep for always. For Elliot there was a lovely Christmas decoration for the tree personalised with his name. Imagine. This is it and I know Oli will hang it on her tree every year from now on.

The beautiful tree decoration for Elliot's first Christmas.

Knowing Elliot's first Christmas with us was so special, Joanne had even found this little outfit for him in which he looks so cute. Don't you think?

Elliot in Joanne's "My first Christmas" outfit

Later I gave my father his present. He was surprised and asked "who is it from?". I had to tell him that my newly found friend from Lancashire had once again surprised us all and to explain who she was. He was delighted to see a pack of mint Aero chocolate, his favourite as my friend knows. I have no words to thank Joanne for her kindness and thoughtfulness. All I can say is: "Thank you my friend for remembering us at Christmas and for all the effort taken to come up with the most delightful presents possible".

Lunch was a sort of repeat of Christmas Day. I had plenty of trimmings left, so just roast a few chicken legs and made more stuffing to serve up the perfect roast again. Everyone appreciated it. We all needed to sleep off the excess later, except that I couldn't sleep. Instead I watched a fascinating film on Netflix, based on a true story, called "Brain on Fire". I was fascinated by the story and later downloaded the book by Susannah Cahalan, a reporter for The New York Post. She wrote her own story after suffering a most terrible brain disorder. It was just up my street and I was thankful for a happy ending.

It was just Oli, Eladio and I on the walk that afternoon. Suzy was working and would later meet her friend Elenita. Oli and Miguel would join them for dinner that night.  Before they left, Oli and Miguel bathed their baby. Later Oli sent us a photo of little Elliot in the bath. He always closes his fists as if to protect himself. I think he is a little scared don't you?  But just look at how big he is now. He is only 3 months old but is the size of a 6 month old baby!  Eladio loved the photo and remarked he is resembling our family now and looks like Suzy when she was a baby. I can't see the resemblance.

Elliot protecting himself in the bath as he is still a little scared. 

Thus that night we were sort of "home alone" and it was actually a bit of a respite, at least as far as providing food on the table was concerned. That night we watched two more episodes of Chernobyl. What a frightening story it is.

I woke up quite late for me on Friday, at about 7 a.m. Christmas was over but I still had to plan for New Year's Eve, our trip to Montrondo and for "Kings' Day" so there was plenty to get down to. I had to do my purchases online as Eladio took my Mini while his car, the old Volvo, is at the garage. Thus I had to stay at home all morning. Oli and her little family left to go to his parents for lunch and we wouldn't see them again until today. Suzy was busy with her lessons so I made lunch.

Our afternoon and evening were quiet. Suzy left to go away for the weekend and we stayed at home, once again "home alone" but not for long. At just after 7 pm, our last Airbnb guests of the year arrived; Silvia, her husband and one of their mothers. The young couple live in Lisbon they told me and spoke great English which is unusual for Chinese guests in my experience. The mother did not and all I could say was the only word I know in Mandarin: "nihau". After they settled in we had dinner on our own and later watched the last episode of Chernobyl. It's a great series but focuses on the story of the scientist, Valery Legasov, played by Jared Harris (King George VI in The Crown) and how he gets to the bottom of what really happened at Chernobyl and how the communist authorities wanted him to hide the truth. That part is very interesting of course but I would have liked to see more of the effects on the population, not much of which is shown, except for the terrible deaths of those involved in trying to stop the explosion or stopping the fire after the nuclear explosion happened. We later started watching The Handmaid's Tale which I was keen to see after having read the book. Eladio thought it was weird and it is so we changed to The Spanish Princess about Catherine of Aragon. She is a very important figure in Spanish and English history but the production didn't really convince us.

With so much TV, we switched off our lights at well past midnight. I was awake at 6 am yesterday morning and got up at 6.30 to a quiet and dark house.  Saturday was quiet without the girls. I took the opportunity to go to the hairdresser to see to my roots. I also dyed my blonde eye lashes; not that it makes much difference. I was there early and was lucky to be second in the queue. Thus I was out and free just over 1.5h later. I do hate going to the hairdresser but I'm glad I did now as I hated the dreaded white roots. I dashed into Carrefour Market on the way home to get some food for lunch. Yes, we were running out of provisions hahahaha. We had a healthy lunch of fresh fish and vegetables followed by more chocolate which is too irresistible at Christmas I am afraid. I can feel the pounds piling on and can only comfort myself by promising to go on a diet in January which I know I will. It will be my main New Year resolution.

The rest of the day panned out quite routinely which of course included a long walk in the afternoon. We didn't see our Chinese guests at all although we heard them arrive last night. This morning they will be leaving and we shall now have the house to ourselves until 8th January as I have blocked the calendar until then.

Today I was up again at 6 a.m, far too early but here I am. I have a pleasant day to look forward. Oli and her family will be here for lunch and in the afternoon my dear friend Julio will be here to see us. He is coming to visit Elliot really and bring him a present. Both Julio and I miss Fátima dreadfully this Christmas as well as our annual dinners with her. We didn't have the heart to carry on the tradition but his coming for afternoon tea this afternoon might spark off a new one. I hope so.

For the first time ever we shall be holding a New Year's Eve party. There is quite a lot of planning going into it and yesterday the silly glasses I ordered online arrived for everyone to wear. I just had to try them out on Eladio hahahaha.

Silly glasses for our NYE party

I have never really liked NYE, but this year will make a big effort, not only because we shall be celebrating the beginning of a new decade but because all my family and all of Miguel's will be here too as well as my Uni friend, Sandra. My life would not be the same without my beloved family and all I wish for 2020 and the coming years is good health and happiness for my family. May I take this opportunity  to wish all of you who read and follow my blog, health and happiness too, the pillars of a good life.

Cheers till next year my friends,

Masha

Suzy is home, my two best presents arrived early, Elliot turns 3 months, El Clásico riots, Trump impeached, family dinner and a very Happy Christmas to you all.

Sunday 22nd December 2019

My two best Christmas presents, Elliot and his Aunty Suzy. 

Dear all,

Another week has gone by and it's just a few days to Christmas, my favourite day of the year always. Everything is ready and my second biggest present after Elliot came in the form of my darling eldest daughter Suzy who arrived last Sunday. Her arrival would make our Christmas complete.

Last Sunday saw me preparing lunch in the morning for all the family. I also went on our walk with Eladio avoiding the fields because of the shooting. I came back to go out again to do more food shopping as we would have a full house and were running out of fruit, etc. Meanwhile Eladio went off to Oli and Miguel's place. Their car had broken down so they needed a lift home. They would join Eladio to pick up Suzy who was arriving from Bali via Doha at 13.30 approximately after a 25 hour long haul journey. 

I stayed at home as I would not have fitted in the car and also I had to finish making lunch. Suzy and co didn't get home till 3.15 pm and my poor father was getting tired and hungry of course. But he was all smiles when he saw Suzy and Elliot. Suzy was ecstatic to see her little nephew who had grown so much in her absence. 

Lunch was wonderful, not necessarily because of the food, but because we were all together, just how I like it to be.  That morning our tattooist guest and his girlfriend left and our other guest, Julia, was out at her classes. Thus the house was just for us. This meant that Suzy had her room back. I had no more reservations until 27th December but if I did I get any, she could always either sleep in Oli's room or the makeshift bedroom in the gallery just off our own bedroom. I later got a sudden one yesterday but more about that later. 

We all took a siesta and it was dark when we woke up. That's when Suzy finally slept and she did so in our bed. I had to have a photo of my peaceful darling daughter who needs lots of love and tender care after everything that has happened in Bali. Here she is. Aren't our kids - whatever their age - adorable when they are asleep?

My dearest darling Suzy sleeping off some of her jet lag

We all let her sleep while spending time with little Elliot who is our pride and joy. Oli and I prepared our dinner, a healthy choice of baked fish, steamed asparagus and some boiled potatoes to which I added  home made mayonnaise. I thought Suzy would sleep on until the next morning but she got up to join us, thus we were reunited again around the table.

Later while Miguel, Oli and Elliot left for their flat, Suzy and I had a good long chat together. It was late by then and time for bed so I joined Eladio and we finished our silly soppy but entertaining American series.

Monday came. It was a bright and sunny day.  Our second but last guest to leave this week was young Julia from the Canary Islands who had come to do a course in some fancy new alternative therapy technique which I didn't really understand. Suzy did though and was very interested. Julia will be back in January or so she told us. 

Suzy set up her teaching office in the annex off our bedroom which we call the gallery and Eladio and I went for a walk We all met up for lunch. Later in the afternoon, Suzy worked, catching up on the evaluations she has to write up after every class which is very time consuming. I read pleasurably by her side soaking up the Christmas atmosphere I had created in our main lounge. I am reading the story of the Duke of Edinburgh's mother, Princess Alice who married Prince Andrea of Greece and is also the mother of Lord Mountbatten. What a fascinating life she had with many ups and downs. 

Oli and Miguel were at the local clinic for little Elliot's meningitis vaccination. God forbid he ever gets that most deadly disease. His parents were told he may get a temperature and be a bit unsettled afterwards. He was more the latter than the former. He was also weighed and the scales showed a whopping 6.2 kilos (13.6 lbs).  Oli asked the nurse if it was normal that he wants a feed nearly every hour and the reply was; if that's what he wants then there is no way round it. No wonder he has put on so much weight hahaha. 

While they were at the clinic, we prepared a meal that no doubt Elliot would have loved if he was a bit older as it's obvious he is going to be a good eater. We made tortilla with salad; always a favourite. Again the nicest thing was being together. Elliot sat with Suzy while she ate, giving her parents a break from eating with one hand only. Our little boy doesn't like his cot or pram unless the latter is for going on walks. He wants to be with us all the time. Thus I captured them on camera, my two best Christmas presents this year, my grandson Elliot and my daughter Suzy who I had thought wouldn't be with us this year.

My two best Christmas presents that arrived early this year

Tuesday came and it was a bit wet but I hoped it would dry up later so as to go on our walk. Luckily it did. On Tuesday, Elliot turned 3 months old. Oh how much love and joy he has brought to this house and how much our lives have changed, especially Olivia and Miguel's. It was time for some photos to mark the day and here they are. Isn't he an adorable baby?

Elliot at 3 months

Eladio playing with Elliot during his photo session

Everyone was staying for lunch so Eladio and I went shopping to get more provisions. The cashier who knows us was not surprised to see our two huge trolleys loaded to the top and remarked "your usual style". It's amazing how much fruit and veg we get through. We must be among the top ten customers of our local Mercadona hahahaha. 

While we were out, Suzy was giving her animated English lessons to Chinese pupils but in one of her breaks she spent time with little Elliot. Suzy always dresses up with special headgear and glasses to look the part. This very special photo of my two best Christmas presents, Aunty Suzy and her nephew together, had to be this week's feature photo.  Love the photo don't you? She makes the different headgear using my scarves of which I have a huge collection but in one big mess. I must get round to organising them haha.

Oli and family went to the local pool for Oli to go swimming. By 2.30 we were all seated around the table having lunch. After lunch Oli and Miguel went off Christmas shopping, Suzy stayed behind, hopefully to catch up on her evaluations and later the three of us went on our walk. It was a beautiful evening, clear and crisp.

Suzy and I had a cup of tea when we got back and spent some precious mother and daughter time together until she had to get ready to go out, have dinner and stay the night at her bosom friend Elenita's place. I commented how I had lost my best friend here in Spain and that all my close girlfriends live abroad; Kathy and Amanda in the UK, Anne in Finland, Sandra in Brussels and Adele in France. Fátima was my closest friend here and she leaves a huge gap in my life in Spain. I have lots of girl friends but none that I am as close with as I was with Fátima. She was like a sister and is irreplaceable. 

I spent the hour before dinner reading my book - I call this my quiet time and I love it. Dinner for a change was just Eladio and I and we had it - the remains of the tortilla - while watching the news which was quite depressing. Our evening ended watching a new series on Netflix called Mythos. We are not sure about it yet.

Wednesday came. I woke up really early at about 5.30 and got up at 5.45. Eladio had forgotten to tell me the alarm was on so it went off and I woke up the whole house. Thank goodness there were no guests except for Andy. I always like my quiet time in the morning too with my first cup of coffee when I read my messages as well as check my Instagram and Facebook accounts and the latest headlines. There was a lovely photo from Oli in one of the messages of the three of them. It's funny to think she has her own family now.  I'm so happy for her. She has taken to motherhood with all its difficulties like a duck to water. I'm also very proud of her.

Oli and family

Wednesday was a busy day. Eladio and I went for our walk as usual - our walks are so important. Once home I organised the men's lunch as I had a lunch date with a friend and Oli and Miguel were elsewhere. My lunch date was to be quite special. It was with Fátima's other best friend "Tere" who were school friends. I laughingly told her we were rival best friends as I think our dear departed Fátima used to refer to us both as her best friend. I knew Tere a bit from over the years but our friend Fátima compartmentalised her different groups of friends. At Fátima's death bed I suggested to Tere that now that we had both lost our best friend, we should become friends ourselves. She agreed immediately and we have been in touch a lot since the funerals and on Wednesday we formalised our new friendship. I am sure Fátima would approve wholeheartedly. It was wonderful to have lunch with Tere, to talk about Fátima, about our own bereavement and to get to know each other more. We chose De María, an Argentinian restaurant in Majadahonda next to the Atlético de Madrid training fields. Unfortunately I did not take a photo. I promise I will next time.

Later I joined Suzy for an important appointment in Madrid. The highlights of our outing were her buying some Christmas lottery and having coffee together. I treasure every moment with her.

We were home late. Both girls went out to dinner to Elenita's, leaving Eladio and I alone in the kitchen for our own dinner. We watched the news and it was mono themed; the security around the Madrid Barça match.  "El clásico" had been postponed because of rising tensions in the Catalan city and there was huge security around this week's match for the over 90.000 spectators, not to mention the crowds outside, many of them hooligans, radicals and the new "tsunami democratic" movement which promotes violence. And violence there was, outside the stadium with rubbish containers set on fire and varying objects thrown at the police. Eladio and I were horrified to see the disturbances and I wondered what the world thought as no doubt images would be seen worldwide as the "Clásico" is one of the biggest sports events in the world, watched from everywhere. I reflected how sad it is that football is now tainted with politics or disturbances. The least important thing about this match was the score which is ridiculous. The score was disappointing as it ended in nil nil but the only news coming out of the event was the violence. Thankfully and due to the extreme security measures the match itself was almost incident free. I think the players from both teams and the teams themselves were horrified at the events and concentrated just on the football. Good for them. Way to go.

Violence erupted around "el clásico" this week

We ended up watching the riots in bed until late into the night. I kept thinking what an awful image for Spain. Luckily Oli and Miguel arrived bringing little Elliot to cheer me up. They had been clothes shopping for our little cherub as he has grown so much and he came clad in a beautiful yellow coat with matching boots. Earlier in the day Oli sent us a photo of him with his first pair of denims. Don't tell me he doesn't look adorable. It's hard to think he is only 3 months old as he looks a lot older.

Elliot wearing his first pair of denims

I immediately switched to "grandma mode" and swept him up into my arms and them went to change his nappy. Changing his nappy is now second nature to me although I learned the job more than 30 years ago and hadn't changed one till Elliot's arrival. He was in a playful mood afterwards feeling clean, fed and content and Eladio and I spent time enjoying being with him.

It was late by then and everyone went to sleep. I couldn't sleep as is normal for me and turned to TV streaming for entertainment. I watched the film "Snowden" about the famous CIA whistle blower and it made good watching. I eventually fell asleep and was awake on Thursday morning at about 6.45, a bit later than usual hahaha.

The news that morning was of Donald Trump's impeachment, the third in the history of the USA. Voting took place the day  before and impeachment was passed by 230 votes to 197. All this came from the now well known story of the Ukrainian affair where the US President abused power by putting pressure on the Kiev government to investigate his democratic rival Joe Biden. When I read the news I thought that's it, he's impeached, so he's out. It's not as simple as that I'm afraid and Trump will remain in office for at least another year before the the next stage which is a hearing in the Senate where there is a republican majority.  Really the impeachment is only a vote in Congress to support a trial against the President. Thus the story will go on for a while. He is the third US President to be impeached but did you know that not one US President has ever been kicked out of office after impeachment? I doubt Trump will either although I wish he would.

The other news was domestic and depressing. It's hard to explain if you are not familiar with the ins and outs of the Catalan independence issue dividing the region and causing tension in the country and in the negotiations to form a government depending on one of their parties (ERC).  This week the  European Court of Justice ruled that its head, Oriol Junqueras, who is in prison, has political immunity and should be allowed to take up his seat as an MEP. The Spanish courts ruled that when he was voted an MEP, he could not take up the position as he was in pre trial detention and thus could not swear the oath of the Spanish constitution. Therefore the European Court of Justice has overruled Spanish law, something that has infuriated people here. To top it all, this same ruling allowed the two independence politicians, Puigdemont and Comin who fled to Brussels to escape Spanish justice, to pick up their MEP credentials the next day. It's one big mess and what infuriates me and many other people is that the PSOE (socialist) leader, Pedro Sánchez, needs the support or rather the abstention of the ERC party to be sworn in as President. This means the next government will have to depend on the Catalan independence parties for every move they make, independence parties that are enemies of the unity of Spain. If only Pedro Sánchez would come to his senses and not rely on ERC but get suppory from the other constitutional parties, the PP and Ciudadanos. Meanwhile the European court ruling has given the ERC party even more fuel in its negotiations with the PSOE. They will be asking for even more concessions for their 10 MPs to abstain in the investiture. To me it seems that Pedro Sánchez has sold himself to the devil. When I saw little Elliot later my thoughts turned away from the disastrous political situation in Spain to my darling grandson. 

It's always lovely to have Elliot with us in the morning as we did on Thursday. He is at his best in the morning except that day he was quite sleepy which is pretty unusual for him. He was in and out of slumber land and I love the photo his father took of him with his eyes half open and his arm under his head in his green and white striped pyjamas.

Elliot content and half asleep on Thursday morning

It rained all day and this was apparently the effect of what was dubbed "storm Elsa". It's funny how storms have names these days. Thus there was no walk for us. The weather got worse as the week progressed and 6 people died which is a very sorry toll. Wind battered Spain and it was very strong and quite frightening. We kept wondering if one of our trees would fall but thankfully we were incident free. 

The highlight of the day was a family dinner at Oli and Miguel's place. We always love going there, not just to be together but because we are always served excellent grub. With his new cooking device, similar to a Thermomix, Miguel had made a delicious mushroom soup as well as anchovy and sardine spreads. The table was groaning with food as you can see in the photo below.

The dinner table at Oli and Miguel's on Thursday night

Elliot behaved perfectly as we ate, sitting in his little rocking chair until he started protesting. What he far prefers is being at the same height as us which I suppose is natural. Soon he will be able to sit in a high chair. Now that will be fun.  Oli and Miguel plied us with all sorts of chocolates and turrones (Spanish nougat) after dinner and we all felt full and content, too full really. It was then time for a family photo. It was a pity Elliot was asleep while it was taken. Here I am with my lovely family, Eladio and my two gorgeous girls, Oli and Suzy. I am so pleased she was finally able to join us for Christmas this year as it just wouldn't have been the same without Suzy. 

With my lovely family

Later I turned this photo into a Christmas greeting which everyone loved but nearly all asked where was Elliot? Well, he was asleep when we took the photo but no worries, we shall do another Christmas greeting photo on the 24th to include my father and our grandson.

Our online family greeting card without Elliot I am afraid as he was asleep when I took the photo:-)

We drove home in torrential rain and came home to deal with the dogs who had been locked in the kitchen in our absence. They were all reluctant to go out in the wet weather to do their business hahahaa.

We were in bed quite late but even so watched a bit of "telly". We watched the end of a very interesting documentary on the Kennedy family. What came next was the most depressing documentary I have ever seen. It was about a psychiatric hospital in Aleppo of all places. Thankfully we soon fell asleep.

Friday came and I woke up to more rain as storm Elsa lashed across the country.  I went out with Eladio to order the "bird" for our Christmas lunch, far preferring a "pularda" which I think is called a poulet to turkey. We then went to buy more Christmas lottery tickets and afterwards to our favourite bakery, Alverán to order pastries (mostly mini croissants) for our Christmas morning breakfast. Just as we were leaving Alverán and before driving home, I geared Eladio towards a local florist. I wanted to buy a big Poinsettia plant to add to our Christmas decorations as the one I had bought a while ago had withered to death. I also wanted to buy one for our neighbours as a Christmas gesture as they are such nice people. We couldn't have better neighbours than the Russo Spanish couple, Ekaterina and Julio. Here I am leaving the florist, plants in hand. I do love poinsettias and in Spain where they are called "flor de pascua" they are very Christmassy.

Buying poinsettia plants

We were not home long before we went out again on our walk. Thankfully by then the rain had stopped. At around 1.45, when Suzy had finished her lessons, I accompanied her to an appointment she had in the nearest town to our house. Thus we missed lunch with my father and Eladio and had it on our own when we got back. Again we went out, not long after on a lovely mission; last minute Christmas shopping together. I had bought all our presents when Suzy announced she was coming home so I needed to buy her her presents and she wanted to buy her presents to us all. Suzy, being a vegan and living in South East Asia, has become a bit anti consumer so we could only choose things we or she thought we really needed. Our expedition was a success, despite the traffic and the crowds and we were home by 6.30.

We were all going out that night; Suzy to  Elena's house and Eladio and I to dinner with friends. But first Suzy wanted to try on some of my dresses and Olivia's for a night on the town on Saturday. She looked stunning in everything but in this little black dress she looks simply gorgeous. Even Suzy, who usually finds fault with herself, could not find anything wrong with it and was quite pleased with how she looked. I do wish she would love herself a bit more. This is my daughter in Oli's dress, by the way, looking simply spectacular. I am sure you all agree.

My beautiful daughter Suzy dressed in black

I got ready to go out too but did not look nearly as spectacular as my daughter hahaha. In any case there is no photo to compare. Many people say that Suzy looks like me which I can only take as a compliment. It's funny, but as a mother, I do not see the resemblance.

Eladio and I were going out to dinner with our friends Javier and Ana whom we hadn't seen since the summer before last, far too long a gap. There was lots to catch up about each other's lives. Amazingly their second child, Laura had got married since we last saw them and their two eldest, Ignacio and Laura made them grandparents this summer of two lovely boys, Pablo and Matthew who were born within 12 days of each other. Since we last met we all became grandparents. A lot of our conversation at dinner at Tanteo in Majadahonda was about how our lives have changed. I think we all expressed a feeling that although we are delighted to have grandchildren, the fact that we have become grandparents has made us realise just how old we are now. Of course we are older but having Elliot in our lives, compensates any negative feelings about age, at least in our mind. The food was great; tapas of different sorts, but there was so much to talk about I hardly noticed what I was eating. In fact we sat and talked until terribly late. I couldn't believe it was past 2 in the morning when we finally got into bed. That is incredibly late for us who usually go to bed at just after 9 pm hahaha. I knew I wouldn't get much sleep that night and woke up at 7 am on Saturday morning.

Suzy was staying at Elena's, Andy had gone back to France for the holiday so it was just Eladio, my father, Lucy and I at home that morning. We had no guests coming until the end of next week, a fact I relished. I have, of course, blocked the Airbnb calendar for the most festive days.  But then suddenly I got a request to book for that very night. It came from two US scientists from Alaska of all places. They would be arriving later last night. Thus we had to turf poor Suzy out of her room and get it ready for their arrival. The green room was ready so if they needed a room each all would be ok.

On Saturday morning it was raining again - oh how I hate rain. Storm Elsa was at its worst yesterday and we never left the house. It was so windy it was too unpleasant to go out. Saturday was not a good day. It was full of bad news. Poor Eladio's 98 old year mother fell and broke her hip and will be operated on in a week's time. It's a very dangerous operation for such an old woman and I really hope she is ok with the anesthesia. Another bit of bad luck is that Eladio damaged our old Volvo which will need mending and of course with it being the Christmas period it will take some time. Thankfully we have my mini although Suzy uses it most of the time. Over dinner alone with Eladio I suddenly broke one of my back teeth. Oh dear I thought, tomorrow is Sunday so I won't be able to do anything until Monday but will my dentist be open then I wondered. I will  find out tomorrow. It began to hurt during the night. I knew I should be taking antibiotics which I don't have and wonder how I am going to get today. The last thing I need now before Christmas is a tooth problem as I can only eat on one side but most of all I dread the pain.

On the bright side, we loved watching The Two Popes on Netflix last night. It was right up our street. We were interrupted by the arrival of our Alaskans who didn't get here until past 10 at night. As I write they have left so it was a short stay.

Today is Sunday 22nd December, the day of the Spanish "El Gordo" lottery draw. Will we become millionaires? It's no doubt wishful thinking but one likes to dream. If it's not us who wins we shall still be content as we have our health and all things necessary for a good life so I am not complaining. My complaints are always minor. That is something I appreciate even more after my dear friend Fátima's departure on 5th December, something I shall never ever forget. I still miss her and will miss her always. She did not get the luck I did and I only wish I could have given her some of mine. Sorry to end on such a sad note.

I have now come to the end of the tales of this week and all that remains is to wish you all a very Happy Christmas. I'll be back next Sunday when it is all over. Hope you have a great time.

Cheers till next Sunday,
Masha

Fátima forever in my heart, an all woman Finnish government, GretaThunberg, Time's Person of the Year and the forces behind her, Conservative landslide win in the UK elections, Fátima's funeral, Suzy coming home and other stories.

Sunday, 15th December 2019

My first family Christmas photo this year - there will be more, for sure. 

Dear friends, colleagues, family and readers,

Another week has passed and it's now only 10 days to Christmas.  It's also just over a week since my dearest friend Fátima passed away. I still can't believe it. She is forever in my thoughts. I think of her with joy but also with a heavy heart. I wake up in the night to remember she is no longer with us and when I wake up every morning that is the first thought I have. It's been a very hard week. It's hard to think I cannot pop round to her house, send her a whatsapp, give her a call, meet for a coffee or have lunch together anymore.  None of these things will ever be possible again. It's easy to be told that she will be looking down at us and that we carry her in our heart. I'm sorry but the worst thing is that we will never ever see her again. That I cannot get over. I read our messages over and over again, look at our photos and yes they help but I shall never accept the fact that she went too early in life.

Her daughter, Fátima or "Fatimina" as we often call her, seems as strong as her mother. On the outside she is all warmth, love, light and positiveness. No doubt she suffers in silence. Now I want to be closer to her and her family. So last Sunday when she came for tea with her dear cousin, Sara, who is like a sister to her, we spent a wonderful afternoon together remembering her mother, the good times, her death and many other things. It's easy to talk to her as it was easy to talk to her mother. 

Last Sunday for us was in general just another Sunday, quiet and spent with the family. Oli and Elliot were still here which was a joy and we went on a walk together. It was in the afternoon that Fátima junior and Sara came for a very late coffee or rather tea and biscuits. Last Sunday was the night Julio and I had fixed for our annual "3 musketeer" Christmas dinner. I had put up all the decorations early this year so that the house would be decorated for the dinner. Fátima used to love what she called my "winter wonderland" and I was happy to see that her daughter loved it too. It's so sad that our traditions have now come to a sad end. 

Fátima, Julio and I at last year's traditional Christmas dinner at our house. 

The photo above is of the three of us, "the three musketeers",  last year at what none of us could have known would be the last Christmas dinner at our house.  Neither Julio nor I have the heart to continue the tradition this year without her.

After a happy afternoon together, the girls left and Eladio, Oli, Elliot and I enjoyed a late dinner together. After helping settled little Elliot - he is always more fretful in the late afternoons - my husband and I went to bed to watch another repeat episode of The Crown.

Monday came. It was a bank holiday in Madrid so a very quiet day all in all. It would be our last morning with Oli and Elliot as at midday Miguel would be back from Valencia and off for a whole month. We would miss our little baby but I knew with Christmas coming up that we would see a lot of him and his mother and father.

Since Fátima's passing away, I hadn't taken much notice of the news. But on Monday there were some important events which I must record. I like to think these events would have made an impact on my friend. For example she would have been as delighted as I was to hear that Finland was to have an all woman government. Social democrat Sanna-Marin aged just 34 is the youngest ever PM of any country. She will lead a female led five party government. I love the photo below of these mostly young women.

5 women leading the new government in Finland.

Finland is a country close to my heart, having worked, like Fátima, for Nokia for many years. However, the news, although great, didn't really surprise me coming from Finland which leads the way for equality between men and women. My Finnish friend Anne, commented real equality would come when news was not about gender. She is right, but this is a step forward in that fight for equality, a step many other countries should follow. It's true that in Spain, the socialist party has more women then men in its cabinet's ranks but there is not yet one woman party leader and there has never been a woman PM. Spain has a long way to go to become like Finland. if it ever does. I won't see it in my lifetime. I hope Elliot does.

The other news was about sport and how Russia was to be banned for four years from taking part in sports events, including the 2020 Olympics and 2022 World Cup. This is all thanks to systematic doping on the part of many athletes and in collusion with the Russian government. Sickening isn't it?

Equally sickening was the story of Boris Johnson who was criticised over his reaction to the image of a sick boy, Jack, which has now gone viral. The very sick 4 year old was lying on the floor of  the Leeds General Infirmary as there were not enough beds. The NHS was very much a topic of the general election this week.

Photo of the 4 year old boy lying in a hospital corridor in Leeds

When asked to look at the photo by a journalist, Johnson, coldly refused to discuss the matter although he did finally take a look but made no comment. Doesn't he care? Can't he see the problems? The photo and the whole story make me sick. How can this be happening in the UK in 2019? It shouldn't. No doubt that story would have sickened my friend Fátima too.

That morning I had a coffee date with her sister Gloria, her brother Manolo and niece Gloria. We met at 10.30 at the Rio café nearby and I was delighted to hear they had organised a funeral to bury the ashes this Saturday at the church in Villaviciosa. Later in the day I sent details of the funeral to all her friends and colleagues I hoped would go.

I came home to find Oli and Elliot gone - sniff, sniff. It was nearly lunchtime but there was no rush as I had made lunch before I went to have coffee with my friend's family.

In the afternoon we went on a late, dark and rather cold walk but we needed it. The day ended with another episode of The Crown.

Tuesday came. It was foggy and very cold. That morning, Eladio and I did something different. We went to the Majadahonda street market, in my mind, one of the best in Spain. My objective was to buy little Elliot some vests and pyjamas but there was not one baby stall. When I asked why, I was told because so few babies are born in Spain. That's absolutely true as proved by news this week which revealed that 2018 registered the lowest number of births in 20 years. It's funny but Spain is at the bottom of the league when it comes to births but at the top of the league for long living.  So there were of course  many stalls selling women's clothing and here I bought garments for both Oli and I for Christmas. We also bought some trousers for Eladio. He was reluctant to buy them as he hates trying out clothes; typical man.  Not having found any baby clothes at the market we went to Zara and H+M. I hope I made the right choices for little Elliot. I couldn't resist a Santa outfit for our baby and can't wait to see him in it at Christmas.

We were home late for lunch. Very soon after we had finished, new guests arrived. Manuel and Lorena are a young couple from Alicante. I thought he was here for some photography work but it turns out his profession is as a tattooist. We have had people with all sorts of professions but never a tattooist hahaha. Both he and his girlfriend, unsurprisingly,  had tattoos all over their bodies. I know tattoos are very much the fashion these days. They weren't though when I was a child. and perhaps because of my father's influence I have always hated them.  It was  working class thing to do at the time.  My father used to tell me it was very much a sailor thing to do too, especially when they were drunk. Well, he would know as he was in the Navy.  I hardly saw the tattooist or his girlfriend at all after their arrival until their departure this morning.

Tuesday afternoon was a repeat of Monday afternoon: siesta, walk, some work (I was preparing a press release), dinner together with the news and then the final episode of Season 2 of The Crown.

Wednesday came and I would be busy with all the preparations for sending out a press release on Thursday. The rest of the day was quiet with Fátima on my mind always. I felt very down that day. Very naughtily it was chocolate that kept me going but then that made me feel guilty.

Fátima would have been happy to know, just as I was, that Greta Thunberg, the 16 year old Swedish school girl who inspired a global movement to fight climate change,  was named Time Magazine's person of the year - their youngest ever. She was chosen because she has become "the biggest voice on the biggest issue facing the planet". Hear hear is what I thought when I heard the news,

Greta Thunberg, Time Magazine's person of the year and the youngest ever. 

Nasty Donald Trump, jealous of her winning, mocked the Swedish teenager saying she had an "anger management problem" and should to to see a good old fashioned movie with a friend. He added "chill Greta, Chill. He should chill, not her.

I am and have been a great fan of this young girl heading the new climate change movement so magnificently. But I often wonder how she really become a world famous icon in a short time since she used to sit outside the Swedish parliament not so long ago protesting. Anyone questioning her or her entourage is likely to be criticised  or dubbed anti climate change. Don't get me wrong but when my philosophy husband who always questions things, started asking what was behind her movement I got curious too. After all, how is it possible she has become a world figure in such a short time. Just by chance? Most probably not. There are many articles out there to be found that tell different but similar  stories. In short they say she is the puppet in the hands of much bigger forces who want to control the world as they always have. Can I believe them? One of the articles comes from Britain's most respected newspaper, The Times. Titled: "Greta Thunberg and the plot to forge a climate warrior" what the story boils down to is the possibility that the renewable energy companies are using her and her movement for their own agenda. This is explained well in the last paragraph of the article: "For energy titans in Sweden, as elsewhere, saving the planet means government contracts to print the green stuff. Green energy lobbyists are using populist scare tactics and a children’s crusade to bypass elected representatives. But the destination is technocracy, not democracy; profit, not redistribution. Greta, a child of woke capitalism, is being used to ease the transition to green corporatism". If you don't have a subscription to The Times, you can read the article from Standpoint where it first came from and which the British broadsheet refers to here. The latter's headline is "Greta's very corporate children's crusade", quite a chilling reference if it is true. I think it may well be as I find it difficult to believe her movement and fame came from just sitting outside the Swedish parliament on Fridays not so long ago. But please don't dub me as anti Greta Thunberg. I am not. I am  just questioning the forces behind her.

If Greta Thunberg was named Time's person of the year for 2019, this week Forbes named Angela Merkel the most powerful woman in the world. I can only take comfort that both accolades went to women.

Thursday came and it was that morning that I sent my press release out with the news that my customer, the Swedish fiber network operator, Adamo, was starting service in remote areas of the Pyrenees, including the village of Burguete. I didn't expect much coverage as the news was very very local and would most probably be seen as publicity rather than a corporate story.

Thursday brought good news and relief for us.  Suzy told us she was coming home. She will be arriving today.  I can't go into the reasons for her sudden return but can only tell you she was in danger in Bali. It was to be the best news of the week. It also means she will be home for Christmas and home to see Elliot who is now so much bigger than when she left at the end of October. Thus our family will be reunited again. If last week I said Elliot was my best Christmas present, Suzy's joining us is in the  same league. The news  not only filled me with relief but with joy. Her return will also help me with my bereavement over the loss of my best friend. My girls have known Fátima since 1990 when they were 6 and 7 years old. She loved them and they loved her. Many was the time she would babysit for them or look after them when I was away on  business trips. They, like me, cannot believe either that she is no longer with us.

Thursday was a week after the death of my dear friend. I thought about her every day this week but on Thursday especially so. In the morning when Eladio and I went Christmas present shopping again, I commented that that one week ago that morning she was still alive. I also commented that, sadly, I would not be buying her a Christmas present this year. I love Christmas and always have but I think this year it won't be the same as I am saddened by the loss of my friend. I know I am going through bereavement as I have felt down all week.

Most of our purchases were at that famous low cost Irish store, Primark. We bought a coat for 18 euros, trousers for 13, t-shirts for 2.5 euros which are unbelievable prices. Eladio, ever the questioner, commented that the prices can only come from slave labour. No doubt he is right.

Thursday was a rainy, dark and gloomy day and we never got our walk in. Instead, we watched stuff on Netflix. We started on the film Marriage Story with Scarlett Johansson but it wasn't our thing. We then started on a series Oli had recommended about a group of Afro Americans wrongly accused of a crime. Called "When they see us", we soon got tired of that too. Thus we turned to the documentary, "The Devil next door" which was just up our street. It tells the story of the trial of John Ivan Demjanjuk, a Ukrainian who moved to the US after WW2 and who was accused in the early 80's for Nazi Crimes and being the infamous "Ivan the Terrible" , the guard at the Treblinka concentration camp in Poland. He maintained his innocence claiming the case was one of mistaken identity but many Holocaust survivors identified him as the real person. In Israel where he was first judged there was not enough evidence to imprison him. Years later he was deported to Germany and finally in May 2011 he was convicted and sentenced to just 5 years in prison. The accused appealed and died a year later before a final judgement could be issued. Thus by German law he is still considered innocent. It is a fascinating story. The problem is that his identification by Holocaust survivors was based on a photo of him as a very young man and it must have been difficult to prove decades later that he was indeed the Nazi dubbed Ivan the Terrible. It's quite a story and the truth, it seems, will never be known.

Ukrainian John (Ivan) Demjanjuk accused of being Ivan the Terrible the guard at Treblinka

If it was a grey and dull day for me, it was a wet day for the General Election on Thursday 12th December. It was to be a battle between Boris Johnson from the Conservatives, bent on delivering Brexit with or without a deal, and Jeremy Corbyn, the unpopular Labour leader whose stance on Brexit is not so clear. It was also a sort of repeat Brexit referendum. I was cross all day that neither my father nor I who are directly affected by the UK leaving the EU, could vote because of an unfair law that dictates that after 15 years outside the country you are not eligible to vote. Friday morning brought the results. Boris Johnson had won the election by a majority which now means Brexit looms and all that that entails. I hate the man for being a liar and traitor to the peace and unity achieved by Churchill for Europe. My father is indignant as no doubt you can imagine.

The only thing that cheered me up on Thursday was news of little Elliot who I hadn't seen since Monday. Oli sent us a lovely photo of him. He seems to be thriving and is getting so big. It's his smile that captivates and his large endearing eyes.  He seems so alert for a baby who is not even three months old yet and what a perfect baby he is.

Little Elliot who brings joy to my heart

I think this is one of the best photos of him yet and this is the photo I used to make a fun Christmas framed photo like the one below.

Little Elliot in a Christmas frame

As I am a bit Christmas mad, after I had made his frame, I searched for a photo of the family to make more. Voilá, I made one of us all together, including little Elliot when he was tiny. As usual Pippa got into the picture. This is the picture I have chosen for this week's feature photo.

I was looking forward to seeing Elliot on Friday when Oli and her family were coming for lunch. I was awake at 5.30 that morning. I just couldn't sleep any more so got up, made my coffee and then fed the dogs.

Friday was Friday the 13th, never a good day although I am not particularly suspicious. After reading the headlines on the landslide victory of Boris Johnson, I finally took the long meditated decision to start the lengthy process that will take a year to apply for Spanish citizenship. This is not my choice but a forced decision after I was stripped of my EU citizenship in a referendum I wasn't even allowed to vote in.  It's a funny feeling and no doubt will get funnier when the process starts. I could have become a Spanish citizen many years ago and automatically so after I married a Spaniard but I never needed it until now and besides I didn't want to become Spanish however much I love this country.  Today the rules are far stricter and I will face the same process, with exams on Spanish life and its constitution, etc and on the Spanish language, set for all and sundry whether they have been here like me for more than 30 years or just for 5. South Americans don't have to take the language exam and you would have thought that with a degree in Hispanic studies I would be exempt but I'm not. No doubt I will pass it with flying colours but I feel angry that I have to take it. As to the exam on Spanish life, history, constitution, etc, that I will pass too but not every question I can tell you. I have taken a look and seen some of the questions that would flounder most Spaniards. I took a look too at the test for British nationality and it also includes questions many UK citizens would not be able to answer, including me.  What a sorry situation.

That morning, I spent some of the time wrapping up the presents we had bought this week. It was a good ploy to keep my mind off the election results and Brexit. It was also nice to see how the presents were piling up under the tree. We go for quantity rather than quality in this house. There is usually one major present for everyone, the rest being much smaller things.  But I just love to have lots of presents to unwrap.

The presents piling up the Christmas tree on Friday morning. 

Eladio was out on Friday morning so I went on our walk alone with Pippa. It was quite a sunny and mild day for a change.

The arrival of Elliot at lunchtime brightened up my day. He is just such a darling little boy. It was lovely to have lunch together and I'm sure my father agreed. Here he is dressed in an outfit my friend Kathy bought for him.

Little Elliot on Friday

The afternoon was spent quietly at home and it was lovely to have Oli, Miguel and little Elliot here. Later we went out to dinner together. We had left it a little late to make a reservation and most places were fully booked. In the end we got a table at El Tuareg, the Arab Moroccan restaurant in Villaviciosa. It was Fátima and her daughter who first recommended what is now one of our favourite places.

Saturday came, the day of my best friend's funeral. What do you decide to wear to your best friend's funeral? I always used to love going out with her on personal or work related outings and would make an effort to dress up. In the end I chose red, a colour she loved on me but also because I knew she didn't want anyone to be sad or to wear black. She didn't want us to feel sad but I did feel sad as I got ready to go. In the early morning I was told I would be reading the Psalm during the mass but I had no idea which one so I got to the church early to see the priest and go over the words. Eladio and I arrived early - Oli, Miguel and Elliot would take longer - and soon people from all her groups of friends started to arrive; neighbours, family, school and University friends, Motorola colleagues, Nokia colleagues and even people from the cycling world which is where our friendship started back in 1990. I was delighted to see Rafa, a well known photographer. It was Rafa who baptised us as "Pin and Pon" and of course he had to be there. Also there was the Spanish cycling legend Pedro Delgado and his wonderful wife  Ludy.

The ceremony had been arranged by Fátima's neighbours who are the mothers of her daughter's friends who feel they have lost a second mother.  The church was packed and made it obvious to us all just how much those who knew my friend loved her. At the end of the service, some of us went down into the crypt where her ashes were to be buried in a niche alongside those of her parents. It was an intimate ceremony and very sad. I cracked up when I saw the jar of ashes - my friend turned into ashes. How could that be when she was alive such a short time ago? In a way that "put the nail on the coffin". Gloria, or "Piyoyo" as the family call her - Fátima's neice - read a wonderful tribute to her aunt, words we all related to. We were all invited to say something if we wanted and I chose to read out one of my friend's final messages to me which I reproduce in the original Spanish. Those words crack me up too.

"Carino, no estés triste. Todos venimos para marcharnos. A mí me toca ahora hacer el tránsito pero voy muy tranquila, sintiéndome muy feliz, agradecida y afortunada por la vida que he tenido, pero sobre todo afortunada y agradecida porque la vida me ha dado a la mejor AMIGA que se pueda tener, GRACIAS AMIGA por haber estado siempre ahí a mi lado."

If you didn't have the privilege of knowing Fátima I think from these words you can get an idea of what a strong, positive and loving person she was. She will be forever in my heart and I am grateful to have these last words from her. They mean so much to me.

After burying the ashes, we joined the rest of the congregation and there was a chance to talk to so many people who had come to pay their respects. I especially want to thank our Motorola and Nokia colleagues for coming; Paco, Julio, Jill, Carlos, Paloma, Mari Angeles, Sonia, Peter, Carlos G, Alfonso, Lubas, Fernando and many more I should mention.

In England it is customary to hold a sort of celebratory wake for the departed person's life after a funeral but that doesn't happen in Spain. It's all a bit disorganised and after paying ones respects to the family and chatting a little to other people, everyone leaves. I would have loved to hold a special wake for my friend. Instead, Eladio and I went to have lunch with Pedro Delgado and Ludy. We chose a rice place which served pretty good food but was terribly loud.  A lot of my friend's daughter's family and friends were there too and the place was packed. It was a bit much for Eladio and I  who are averse to crowded and noisy places. So it felt like heaven when we came home and went up to our room to rest. I was exhausted emotionally more than anything else and slept till way past 6 pm.

Oli and Miguel had gone back to their flat, there were guests in the house who we didn't see so all was quiet. We had a token dinner and then spent too long watching a silly American romantic series which helped me get over what had been a very emotional day.

Today Sunday will be pretty emotional too but in a happy way as Suzy will be arriving at 13.30. Right now she is up in the air on the plane taking her from Doha to Madrid. I can't wait for the moment I see her and I also can't wait for her to see little Elliot again, her adored little nephew who will be 3 months old next Tuesday.

So now my friends, it's time to say thanks for reading this post and to wish you all a happy week ahead and of course to say "cheers till next time".

All the best,
Masha