Just a quickie this week as I have enjoyed a lovely restful week with our son Ben, out here with his partner Dave for a week of sunshine.
They go home tomorrow so Ben and I took a quick selfie with a backdrop of our beautiful bright pink bougainvillea and oleander. It would have been better if we hadn't chosen to take it in full sun, but our smiles say it all really!
And they haven't been disappointed. We picked them up from Almeria airport last Saturday night, and as we drove home we watched this lovely sunset (sorry about the dirty windows on the car!).
Since then there has barely been a cloud in the sky, and although it has been hot each day, it is not yet so hot that you can't sit out in it.
They come for a break from work, and the hustle of life in Birmingham city, so much of the week has been spent lounging outside, reading, chatting, listening to music and dipping in the pool when a cool down is needed. Ben may be in his thirties now, but he still likes to prove that he can do a back somersault into the water. All those years at the gym club paid off. Our pool is not all that deep so he needs to land feet first, but he always does.
After their first full day here, we went to a local bar for the evening karaoke session. They know Ben there now and he always gets a warm reception. The same folk go most weeks, so they like to have a different voice to listen to, and he often chooses less well known songs too.
We'll probably go for another karaoke session tonight, at a different bar, after my choir practice.
We did have some more water fun on Wednesday afternoon when we bought half-day tickets at the water park in Vera. I don't go on all the scary slides, though it was so warm in the big swimming lake and the wave pool, that I had a lovely time in those. The park only runs for a short season so has only been open for a few weeks, and everywhere was sparkling clean, and there were little queues as the schools did not finish until today. I expect next week it will be much busier.
Ben, Dave and my husband Chris, tried out most of the slides before coming to the waves with me. Then Chris minded the bags etc while Ben and Dave did the slides again and I did my best to catch them on camera. That's no mean feat when they are hurtling over a blind ledge, or out of a black tube, so I was quite pleased with the shots I got.
Apart from that we have enjoyed some nice meals out together, and a fun barbecue at home. Last night we went to my favourite bar in the village for a quiz night. We came somewhere in the middle of the results so we didn't shine, but we didn't embarrass ourselves either. After the quiz there was raffle for local charities and Chris won a bottle of gin and some tonics, and Dave won a bottle of Limoncello. Then we had five rounds of card bingo, and Ben won one game, and Dave won shared-first place in the last game, so they had around 60€ in prize money between them. All in all, it was a successful night.
On Tuesday a parcel arrived bringing me the new yarn I have been waiting for. My blanket is packed away but I still need something to do when I am sitting around, so I am making a lacy shawl in 4ply cotton yarn, which will be much lighter and easier to handle during the summer. I have made a little start. It is in individual motifs, but they are joined up as you go. It will be triangular with thirteen motifs along each side, and I am doing mine in ivory with a band of turquoise along each edge. I may do the border in blue as well, and then there is a fringe along each side. So this is very much a work in progress.
And now I must rush to get ready for choir. Tonight we are being tested to see if we can all remember Hallelujah Chorus without looking at our scores, as we need to do this at the London concert in November. So I will quickly link up with Annie's Friday Smiles and Rocking Your World, and be on my way.
