Foodies

Yesterday we had temps of 36 in the kitchen courtyard, higher up by the pool

so what does hubby request?

Can you cook muffins? You know like Rebecca? I really fancy some muffins

Can I co.... splutter, wont say my retort, but it was decided carrot and walnut

I really don´t like saunas but that is what the kitchen felt like

Note to self.....next time say no in this heat

Have to say they were rather yummy

(Rebecca and I used to cook muffins together, then as a money making spin for some pocket money, she began to cook several varieties to take to school to sell to her peers, made quite a bit with it too. Few years ago now lol) 

In for a penny as they say, so whilst it was hot I quickly prepared aubergine slices, courgette and red pepper to roast for 20 mins ready to go with dinner. I make my own version of cajun spices so I sprinkled some on the aubergine then served with a little balsamic vinegar.

I had some mince in the freezer I wanted to use up but Chris is not a fan, so enticed him with home made burgers served with a creamy mustard sauce

New potatoes here are called potato garnish rather strange, but tasty.

Our supermarket shopping was delivered this morning along with a new watermelon

I still had some left from previous so decided to dice and then blend

I have made this juice before, quick simple nothing added and extremely refreshing when ice cold

This evening someone gave a cheeky grin and suggested adding a splash of strawberry gin

It was quite nice, but I much prefer just the juice

Watermelon also can aid weight loss, contains Vit C and potassium and can help with inflamation and asthma, win, win then!

take care

xcx 

Smashing time

Training complete with flying colours then back to work Saturday

What a difference!

Rebecca doubled her targets in sales and of course was boosted by the treatments

the job satifaction has doubled and she even made some regulars who have rebooked

On the up!

I have sort of lost any mojo of late for sewing crafts and have been doing some knitting just to fill in the gaps and give me something to do, but the last couple of days have been too hot and uncomfortable to knit, especially as I knit with one needle under my arm.

So I shelved that and retrieved my cot quilt which I haven´t touched in a while

All hand stitched hexies, it is starting to take better shape

Suddenly a black and white streak landed and proceeded to make himself comfortable

I didn´t have the heart to move him

then he tried it out for size

Bit wider please

But a while later utter disgrace!

Ooh ooo, walk away, just walk away, wasn´t me!

Somehow he had managed to  upset the cat tree, landed in the plant and the momentum smashed the pot, he just ran, but came back to view the situation which was even funnier as the pot had been sort of swept and the plant righted

Don´t you just love them!

take care

xcx

Did the earth move?

Good morning all

Last night it certainly did

and before anyone goes anywhere

we had an earthquake here

It was only! a 3.1 but we were awoken about 2.45am to the sudden whooshing noise and what felt like someone rattling the windows and shaking the bed and that was just one of the after shocks.

The epicentre was Benissa, about 7km from here, although it struck near Calpe

Certainly a new experience for me, but for Chris having lived in NZ for 23 years it was a little shake
No reports of damage yet, which is good

I think those in the UK are  experiencing similar temps to here, hot at 35C in the shade

I know Rebecca is saying its hot as she prepares for day 3 of 4 days intensive training in Bristol

Apparently to do ít their way´rather than your qualifications

Still it will give her the opportunity to earn more money

She also discovered she is what they call a hybred! and has another one day course in August

Interesting.
She decided to stay with her SIL raher than commute so they are having a girlie time too which is really nice.

A few chores before melting then not alot!
We are heading for the August shutdown where most businesses close half day and other completely close, anything official paperwork related is practically non existent.

Well take care in the heat
xcx 

Good news!

Good news!

Not only has Rebecca´s neck improved a little but the car no longer has quite such a scrunch

With the help of a work collegue they have replaced the light and indicator

and pulled out alot of the damage and taped the rest

So she has got back in and driven again, always hard to do 

Saturday saw another village BBQ

It was a very good turn out with about 40 people attending, good mix of spanish and english
Everyone takes food and shares with each other

Chris started playing about 9.45 pm 

(nothing starts early here!)

The wind got up about midnight and stopped Chris from playing for a while but  he was able to continue, which he did until gone 1am

Everyone helps put everything away and before you know it it looks as though nothing had happened.

Chris always stays on quite a high after a gig so didn´t get to bed till gone 4am

Me? I just crashed lol

Last year they decided to have one every 2 weeks, far too often

but this time it works out that the fiesta is in 3 weeks, so the bbq will be 3 after that

Much more managable

An enjoyable evening had by all

take care

xcx

Only takes one

It´s been 35C today and the second time in the pool for me

Chris has been in loads already especially enjoying his midnight swins

We had a ´dirty´storm bringing loads of red dust and some rain

this had a devestating effect on everyone´s pools and it has taken ages to rectify it

all good now though

I can´t believe it´s a week ago, but last Monday evening I received a call everyone dreads

A rather shaky sounding Rebecca called to say she had been in an RTA earlier in the evening

An idiot pulled out from a carpark using the wrong lane and crashed into her front wing

Luckily she wasnt going too fast as she had just turned into the road

But as her car is rather old against the new car she came off worse

Luckily she has ónly´sustained whip lash, I say that with the knowledge that this can take months to heal and is literally a pain in the neck

But I mean no broken bones etc although of course the shock also comes into it

She is now playing the waiting game of insurance, although they have been very good and have already sent her off to physio because of the pain she is in, but they will not give treatment until the inflamation subsides.

Oh dear poor love, she ended up with a couple of days off from her new job too

plus a rather crumpled car

Luckily she took photographs and refused the other parties offer of doing things privately

The photos can´t lie.

take care everyone

xcx

Moors and Christians

Our local town of Benissa have just celebrated their Moors and Christians festival.

It lasts for days and most of the town shuts, so no post office etc

They built a castle in the main car park, quite realistic

then on various days they have processions with quite stunning costumes

Each group have their own band and they march along the streets

One parade the Moors take the castle, then the next the Christians reclaim it

Chris decided to go along on the Sunday evening

This is when they use the blunderbus guns

He said is was so noisy

They come along and spray the streets with water first so that any debris is extinguished

Then they go for it

Each town have their own costumes, so much work goes into these fiestas

this comes after only a few weeks of their own town fiesta

I´ll leave you on a quieter note

This was taken on a visit to Two Locks Exeter

take care

xcx

Home again, home again

Hello again

I had a lovely time in the UK, but it did zoom past very quickly. I flew into Gatwick where Rebecca met me and we caught the train.

My first week was staying in Reading with Rebecca and Antoni and seeing their flat

It is quite compact but we all managed and it was fine.

Rebecca and I had a few shopping excursions, I only took a hand luggage case knowing they wanted me to bring back one of their large cases, so of course I had to fill it up with something

Chris did well from a visit to Primark and I picked up a few things.

We also caught up with family for MIL´s 89th birthday celebration

They have bought themselves a little car so we went off in search of a yarn shop I had found via google, which was in Thatcham. 

It was housed rather out of the way in the countryside, in an old telephone exchange building.

Scrummy yarns, lovely colours and the circular needles I wanted that Amazon refused to send over here. I bought some sock yarn and some DK so I was able to knit up a beanie for Rebecca ready for the winter, she wants matching gloves now lol

 I was rather surprised when the bill came to 65.00 (Opps)

The yarn kept falling off the ball, most annoying

I spotted this yarn in a poundstretcher shop

Pound a ball but 3 for 2

We celebrated Rebecca´s birthday with a lovely meal in Waggamummas but the week disappeared.

Saturday saw us heading off to Exeter, a 3 hour journey, mainly motorways to visit Daniel.

My how the girls have grown, we had a lovely weekend catching up.

Rebecca and Antoni stayed on the Monday too and we heading into the city and visited the cathedral green.  They have finished the first part of the restoration and the cathedral looked very smart (and clean) The green has a calm, serene feel to it, very soothing

Beach time in Exmouth, fish and chips by the sea then playtime in the sand with the girls.

Rebecca got very upset when it was time for them to go home, as I was staying all week, they decided to come back the following Friday, which helped a lot. It´s very tough being so far away now, but we will do it

It was a quiet week with the normal routine of work and nursery, but lovely to catch up with bath and play time.

I was so pleased that the weather was warm making it all the more enjoyable.

My return flight from Exeter was at 6am, yes I know not good, but oh so much cheaper, so I was off at 4am. We were delayed for 45 minutes but he must have put his foot down as we were only 5 minutes late. 

So back to Spanish life and it´s Hot!

take care

xcx