Rocking your world 2014; Week 24

What a lovely week we have had. It has been hot and busy, but I have still managed to find a little time to PLAY. I am enjoying using my silhouette cameo machine and I find myself wandering round the house looking for things to add vinyl to! So this week the fridge got the treatment. I hope it makes you smile!

It looks as though it knows it is full of good food! At the age of 67 I am entering my second childhood, and sometimes it is even more fun than it was first time around! I love to see my friends' faces when they spot it, and I think, if it makes me smile each time I walk into the kitchen for a while, then it has done its job well, and when the novelty wears off, I can peel it off and do something different. I will be sharing this on Annie's Friday Smiles.

It has been a busy, busy week, as along with all my usual activities, we have had three Cantante concerts in a week, with another one to come tomorrow and one on Monday. This Tuesday we had the concert in my village, which is extra work for me as I liaise between Cati from ASADIS, the town hall for the practical things like hiring the hall etc, and the choir leaders. With the help of a couple of friends, we spent the early evening putting out 100+ chairs, which turned out to all need washing. They must have been left out on the street in the rain after the last fiesta. We didn't have quite such a large audience as we had at Christmas, but it was a very enjoyable evening. Everyone was so grateful to us, and we raised a good sum in donations for the children of ASADIS. 

In the weeks leading up to the concert, Cati worked with a small group of children from the village, teaching them three songs which they sang to open the concert. And very well they sang, too!

Last night we were at a new venue, a restaurant

down in Mojacar Playa, called the Kimrick. We were a bit aprehensive as we had been told the ceiling was low, so the acoustics would be difficult. But we needn't have worried. The sound was good, and the audience were so appreciative. Many of them had not heard us before, and they all asked for notification of our next concerts, so they could come again. This photo was taken at the end of the concert, while some of the choir and guests were waiting for their supper to be served. There is a happy buzz of conversation, which made you feel that the evening had gone well.

Tomorrow we are at a very different setting, The Convento in Vera. As its name suggests, this is a theatre in what was the chapel of an old convent. It is a slightly more formal affair, but we have sung there before and we love it. And we usually get a full house there too.

Other things that have lifted me this week? Well, I finally managed to have my first dip of the year in our pool. The water has been warm enough for a while, but somehow I never found the right time. It was a lovely refreshing break after a busy day. 

Through various e-mails and Facebook messages first, I managed to find a time when we were both available, and had a long chat on skype with two of my sons, and my sister. It was good to hear that son number three is settling down in his new flat in Denmark, and is making some friends there, though he is finding the Danish language lessons rather tough!

I am delighted to be able to announce that I will be a Great-grandma for the second time at Christmas. I 'spotted' the tell-tale signs on my recent visit to UK but was sworn to secrecy until she was ready to tell everyone, which, after her 12 week scan this week, she did. When I asked her on my visit, she said "I knew Granny Perry would notice"! Well I guess I have had plenty of practice.

I had five lots of mail all on one day which is almost unheard of unless it is my birthday. I had ordered various small bits of craft stuff from different companies, and for some unknown reason, they all arrived together. So after the last concert on Monday, I shall have a nice time trying everything out.

I decided it was time to sort through all my 'Knitting for Africa', and bag it up ready to go to UK. I rang my courier friend, Phil, and he said he will be going over at the beginning of July and would fit it in his van then. The total this time is;

42 blankets:

68 cardigans

50 jumpers and assorted hats

And there will be a few more items finished off by the end of the month I expect. That should bring a little happiness to quite a few African families shouldn't it?

At this time of year, a walk around the local market is always a happy spot in my week. I just love all the fresh summer fruits, and the market stalls are dripping with them right now. Look at this lovely selection I bought on Tuesday - peaches, apricots, nectarines, plums and cherries - all between 1 and 1.5 euros a kilo.

Even storing them in the fridge, they have a limited life in this heat, so any that are getting a bit soft, end up in the blender. This morning I used the last pieces of a water melon, one carrot, half an apple and half a banana, and instead of the apple juice I usually thin it down with, I added a small carton of plain yoghurt and made a lovely sunshine orange breakfast drink.

The other thing that gives me great pleasure is the garden. I am wary of getting the hose out too often as there is a lack of water this year, but I do give my pots just enough to keep them alive, and they are rewarding me with a lovely display of flowers. Here is my yellow hibiscus. This is the one that turns orange in the winter if there is a lot of rain, but it always reverts to its true colours in the summer. Isn't it beautiful?

And finally, this pot is home to three different pink geraniums that I bought recently. What a lovely spot of colour they make on the front step.

And on that colourful note I will go and link up with Annie's Smiles, and Virginia at Celtic House, and I'll see you all again next week.

Rocking Your World 2014: Week 23

Here we go with the high spots of another week. Come over to Virginia's blog at Celtic House, and share your happy moments too. It is a good way to lift your spirits.

I am starting with my Friday Smile which this week is a sort of  'Shaggy Dog' tale. Meet Miki.

Definitely a shaggy dog! One of Miki's parents was a full breed German Shepherd, but I wouldn't like to hazard a guess as to what the other one was. Just look at that soppy grin!

She is perpetually untidy, very friendly, and peace-loving, lazy with a tendency towards being overweight and no inclination to do exercise to help with that. (I could be describing me instead of the dog!!). We love her to bits, but you have to wonder what is really inside all that hair?

Well now you know.

Yes. This week Miki went for her annual haircut. Doesn't she look different? The poor thing was on the grooming table for four and a half hours, but they did a really good job on her, and she finished off with a bath and blow-dry, so she smells better too! Her body is firm and smooth, but not as fat as we had expected. I have to admit that really I like the shaggy mop-head look, but this will be so much better and more comfortable for her during the summer. She looked quite happy with it when she settled down for her siesta this afternoon.

I shall link this up over at Annie's Friday Smiles. Do come over and share a smile with us.

Well the week has flown past. We had another very successful Cantante concert last night. There was a good audience who all said how much they enjoyed it.

I managed to find a day to make a big pan of Picalili.

It is quite a long task to actually prepare and chop all the vegetables, which is done the evening before, so they can be covered with salt and left to marinate overnight. But the next day it is quite quick to mix up the sugar, spices and vinegar, and cook the rinsed vegetables. I think it looks lovely in the pan, with all the colours. I made sixteen jars but I expect they will soon be sold.

Tango is continuing to find his place in the family. I have been keeping him indoors as we live right on the main road into the village, and I don't know how street-wise he is. Also I didn't want the other cats to chase him away before he is familiar with his surroundings. But they are all getting along quite well. Paco and Luna mainly ignore him, but there have still been no fights, and this week I had a real surprise when I went down to my craft room and found this!

Feisty Arwen doesn't even like sharing 'her window-seat' with me, and it is my craft table! Tango didn't stay there for long, but it is a sign of his temperament that he was prepared to risk it, and he got away with it. Arwen would never have allowed the other cats up there. Fur would have flown!

So now I am leaving the back door open some of the time and I am delighted to find that Tango is happy to go out for a while, often sitting within sight of the others, and then he comes back in without me calling him. In fact he looks quite at home out there doesn't he?

He'll never be able to 'smile for the camera', but he purrs a lot.

I was pleased when I went for my monthly diabetic blood test recently and my sugar count was just one point inside the 'normal' range. Once you are on the register for diabetes you cannot get off it again, but this was my best result in the five years we have been out here, and it shows that all my fruit and vegetable blends are doing me more good than harm. I was a bit worried about the amount of sugar in the fruit, but I seem to be processing it correctly. Next week when I get my annual in-depth analysis results, I will find out whether it has done the same for my cholesterol levels too.

It is getting quite warm out here now, but we have had a few showers that are really needed, so we are not complaining about them. But it has also been very windy in the afternoons, and the wind is so strong that we have had to close some windows, and stay indoors. But today was calm and this afternoon I sat out on the porch to do some of my rather neglected cross-stitch. It is a good, bright light for sewing, but shady so I don't get too hot. I rarely sit right out in the sun, and if it is too bright, I can't see to sew. 

The dogs like it when we sit out with them, but today

Kim wasn't keen to let me sew. He kept coming up and putting a paw on my work to stop me. I had to give him a bit of fuss and then he settled down again for while. In the end the heat got to him and he joined Miki in having a siesta. I actually got quite a bit of sewing done too. But it isn't going to be finished any time soon!

And finally here is a piece of wall art for our room that I finished yesterday. It has been 'in the process' for quite a while, but I shelved it so that I could finish similar pieces to take to my sons in UK, but I am glad it is now finished. The background was made in Adobe Photoshop, and the words are cut from vinyl using my silhouette cameo machine. If you are interested in knowing more, you can read the process on my other blog by clicking on This Link.

Right, now it is link up time with Annie and Virginia. Have a great week everyone.