Rocking Your World 2021; Week 16

Well my first 'grateful' for this week is that I will have to stop writing in a few minutes to go and have my first Covid vaccination. Chris had his on Wednesday (They are going in strict order of year of birth, and refused to do mine with his). We both have appointments for our second dose in the first week of May, so in just three weeks time. Finally we have caught up with our sons who have all had their first dose in UK.

But my week started with a lovely walk on Sunday. The forecast was for grey, colder and sometimes wetter weather, so as Sunday was bright and sunny it seemed like a good day to get out for a bit. We drove to the Laguna in Vera. The water level was quite low but there was still a good expanse of water, then sand and then the sea with a queue of big ships waiting their turn to go in to the port at Garrucha.

The board walk around the lake had gone - I presume it will return for the summer season - but we walked around anyway. Looking across the lake you can see a lot of white flats and houses that are part of the next urbanisation along the coast. It was early afternoon when we were there, and as you can see, there were very few people about.

The dark spit of sand on the left is often covered in water and the ducks come to the edge to be fed by the visitors, but this time it was just wet sand, or so I thought. In fact it was sand mixed with a fair amount of duck excrement that turned it to a slippery clay. I saw two ducks on the water's edge that were bigger than the others and different colouring, so I wanted to get closer for a photo so I could identify them when I got home. This was the best I could get before they flew away.

Needless to say, on the way back I slipped in the mud and fell over, not very gracefully I suspect. Chris hauled me back up and nothing was hurt except a small dent in my pride and a tiny bruise now coming out across my big toe, but I had to continue our walk coated in mud! It all came out in the wash, and I am not afraid to laugh at myself when I do something silly. It could have been a lot worse.

The wind was getting up and in such an exposed area I soon learned that though I am quite happy with my long hair, it has its disadvantages. Fortunately I had a hair tie in my pocket so I was able to keep it under control.

I decided to keep away from the water after that, and the birds weren't in the mood for photo posing, as every time I got anywhere near them they all took off, flew a few meters and settled back down on the water again!

From the far side of the laguna I looked back and took this photo. You can see from the bending palm trees, how windy it was.

When we got back to the car we decided we still wanted to walk a bit further so we drove back as far as Garrucha promenade and walked along the sea-front to the port and back. I took this photo of the palm trees there, that actually grow on the beach. They were also being tossed by the wind.You can see their orange flowers coming and these will eventually become bunches of dates. I wonder why the dates taste so sweet and not salty.

We took a different route home using what we call 'the back way', which goes through the Pueblo of Turre. It is a while since we went there to shop and we were surprised to see all the new road works. A very difficult and cramped corner had been cleared forming a new wider entrance into a much-used side road which is now one way, and also providing some proper paved and marked out parking spaces. We got out to have a good look and I had to take a quick photo of these beautiful hollyhocks in someone's garden. By the time we got home my fitbit said I had done over 8000 steps which is a record for me.

Yesterday it rained steadily all day and was quite chilly so I chose to have a kitchen day, and once again I made bread. When I was finally able to get to the better stocked supermarkets I was able to buy some wholemeal spelt flour so I started by making a brown loaf for me. I find spelt flour makes a lovely even dough and as long as I don't rush it, it rises very well. (It has a crack in the photo because it stuck to the side of the tin in one place, but that didn't spoil the eating of it. Chris prefers white bread so I also made a batch of little white rolls that I set fairly close to each other on a baking tray. The idea was that they would rise up together into little mounds, but actually they rose every which way and the end result reminded me of a tortoise shell. But they tasted good.

As it was such a wet day, the animals were very unimpressed. They are used to heavy showers but not a continuous downpour. Of course the garden was delighted and everything was sparkly and fresh when the sun decided to show its face today. But both dogs came inside and stayed on the settee in the sitting room all day, and for a while Luna curled up on the back of it too. But Tolly, Tango and Paco soon realised that with an oven on, the kitchen was the best place to be. They ran circles round me for a while, but then got bored and they all went to sleep. Peace reigned and I got my work finished.

We have had four parcels today. Some weren't expected until early May, so we were pleased to get them so early. One came while we were out at the vaccination centre, and they left it on the doorstep, but they did ring me later to confirm I had found it. Two others were deliveries of loose tea leaves which I can't buy out here, and have to look for online. Fortunately we have found a supplier in Ireland so can still get it as needed, though at a higher price than it was. 

But the last parcel was the one that made us smile. We had finally ordered a new mattress, after talking about it for ages. It took us a while to choose one but it arrived today, folded and rolled, and vacuum packed so when we opened it it didn't even look big enough for a single bed, let alone our king-size one. But we opened it up as per instructions and within minutes it was full size. So we are looking forward to a comfy night's sleep tonight. But it was the box that amused me. The mattress is called Emma, and it was in a box with this message on the side.

So I hope we do.

And on that note I will link up with Annie's Friday Smiles and Rocking Your World, and I'll see you all next week. But before I go, here is a little picture that was posted on our church Facebook page this week. It expresses what a lot of folk are starting to feel now. Keep hoping folk. Things are getting better.

HOPE.