The broom blooms bonnier!

A few weeks ago I did a blog entitled 'The broom blooms bonny' because I was so taken by the sight of the campo covered with yellow shrubs. The flowers were quite a deep yellow and they didn't last long. The shrubs are now covered in little 'pea-pod' seeds, but there are still plenty of other flowers to enjoy. Then this week I was really surprised to turn a corner round the hill on the campo, and find myself surrounded by a new strain of broom. This one has a much lighter, brighter and smaller flower, and they seem to have all come out at once. The sun was shining on them and it looked stunning. This was just a small area of them. They actually cover a huge area. You can see from the second photo, how densely flowered they are. Unfortunately their moment of splendour will be short lived. Already the flowers are starting to fall like yellow confetti. Just at the end of our walk I spotted this pretty blue flower. It caught my eye as it is unusual to see a plant such a true blue. It is the first time I have seen this one but I am pretty certain that it is chicory. I know that because it is one of my favourite 'flower fairies' and Cicely Mary Barker's drwings are very accurate.

We feel our summer has really arrived now. I walk the dogs at 8.00 in just a thin dress, and most days we eat our lunch outside. Then I sit out for the afternoon with my lace-making, sewing or a book. It can get quite breezy but the porch is fairly sheltered and I don't like it when it is too hot and still. We've taken up the carpets for the summer and packed away the douvet. I hope we are not tempting fate there. On Wednesday afternoon we had our first dip in the pool. The thermometer in the water showed 22º but Chris doesn't think it is very accurate. It certainly was warm enough to stand around in without getting chilled. No doubt we'll be in there quite regularly now.

As you mostly know, I am a registered diabetic, and for the past few months I have been on medication, taking half a tablet in the morning and half at lunchtime. In England I was only tested once every six months, but here they do it every month, and yesterday I had my appointment. It is always at around 8.30 and I can't eat or drink until after I've been tested. It was a different nurse this week and she didn't speak any English, but when she had filled in my card (blood sugar level and blood pressure) she just said 'Medico' which was her way of telling me to go in to the doctor. I didn't know why as the levels looked much the same as usual but I went in to see him. He speaks fairly good English but I always try to use Spanish if I can. Anyway he looked at my card, did a big tick through it and said 'Fantastico'! He then went on to say my sugar level is still a bit high and was I taking my tablets every day. I said 'yes' but that I found it hard to remember the lunch time one so could I just take a whole one in the morning. We don't always eat midday. Often it's nearer 2 or 3 o'clock, or we may just have tapas in town and cook even later. But he said 'No, no, no. Lunch time is important. It is the strong time. You must take half a tablet in the morning and then have some breakfast, and at lunch time you need a whole tablet and then BIG FOOD', illustrating this by using his hands to draw a plate piled high! I don't do 'big food', but I guess that puts paid to our plan to move to a mid evening main meal as it gets warmer. I don't like cooking once the kitchen gets really hot, so I'll have to do some bulk cooking early in the morning, and freeze away things that just need to be reheated at lunch time. They won't be very big meals though. It is hard enough to keep my weight under control with the little I eat now and the hot weather does nothing to improve my appetite. I'll have to do my best. I know the problems that come when diabetes isn't taken seriously, so it's in my own interest to 'do what the doctor orders'.