Friday Smiles 2025 # Week 10

Yes I am smiling this week - because we have had rain. We needed some rain so desperately in this, the agricultural area of Spain. On Friday the man on the local radio announced that for the first time in his memory, rain was forcast for seven days 'on the bounce'. And this time they got it right. It  started Friday night and boy! did it rain!. It poured steadily right through to Sunday. Every one was warned to stay at home if possible on Saturday as the ramblas were filling up and there was localised flooding. And it has rained on and off ever since. This is a Facebook picture of the rambla at Sorbas, just a few metres up the motorway from here. And I guess ours is much the same. There is no point for viewing our rambla from the village except from a bridge out on the main road, and I didn't want to paddle that far to see, but they showed a picture of the road into the rambla being closed off by the local police. Ramblas are dry river beds and they are useful for carrying excess water from the mountains out to the sea, so it was good to see them fulfilling this function and leaving the village unscathed.

On Wednesday we had an appointment with out solicitor down on Mojacar player. It was a wet drive and very windy, but fortunately we didn't have far to walk. I took this quick picture of the tall palm trees, bravely standing against the wind. 

The sea was churning and breaking from way out, and crashing on the rocks along the sea front. Unfortunately I find it difficult to take a photo that captures the power behind this.

Today the rain has held off for a short while though heavy grey clouds are rolling down from the mountains, ready to drench us again. But I decided to grab the break in the rain to stretch my legs as I have been sitting around far too much this week. I walked up to the top of the village where there is a look-out bay out across the fields betreen us and the rambla. Just look at how green they are. They were just brown mud areas a week ago.

I really went up that way to see a new supermarket that opened last week. It was one before, but it was dark and cramped and I didn't go there much. It has been taken over by a young man who also owns the busiest bar in the village. He has gutted it, put in  new lighting and made a new attractive entrance. It is now  a well stocked shop with a wider range of goods than was previously available, all well displayed and clearly labelled. I was quite impressed. It seemed to be doing a good trade even on a day like this, and I am sure I will visit it again.

And finially this made me smile today. I cleared some debris and weeds from some of the pots in the front yard the other day, and I mentioed to Chris that one pot looked as though it had a little self-seeded pansy in it. And this morning there it was, smiling up at me, so I smiled back.

Now I have to get ready for two visitors this afternoon. The first is from a removal company to assess what we have to move, and give some advice of packing and labelling each box for customs. And the second is a girl from the estate agency to make an inventory of what we are leaving behind. So it will be all go from now on. First I will take this over to link with Annie's Friday Smiles in the morning.

Friday Smiles 2025 # Week 9

It has been a good week here starting with last Saturday which was Carnival day here in the village. After a week of lovely sunshine, it decided to rain on Saturday! and boy did it rain. We had a real downpour and I wasn't sure the carnival would go ahead, but the rain stopped at 5.45, and shortly after 6.00 the parade started almost on time. 

Fortunately non of the participants were too skimpily dressed this year, as with the rain there was quite a drop in the temperature too. We usually go down to the slip road below us where the parade musters, but it was damp and chilly this year so we stayed in our garden as the parade passes up our street, so we didn't miss anything. Here is a collage of the few photos I took. It is a fun occasion and everyone was smiling despite the weather.

Other than that I have finished two little projects. One is this Japonese flower pot stand. It is crochet rings, interlocked as you work it, and I have to admit there was some frustrated unpicking and re-doing as I struggled to get them interlocked the right way round, but I got there in the end.

The second project was this owl dream-catcher, cut with my laser cutter. I used three different woods - maple, birch and walnut - and added a little paint to a few pieces. Then it was glued together and spray varnished. It was something that had sat on my 'to-do' list for a while, but I had to order the sheets of different wood. I am pleased with it now that it is done.

Last Saturday was my son Ben's birthday and we had a lovely chat on the computer. Then on Sunday it was my sister Dorothy's birthday and she was 90 years young! Here she is with the photo book her daughter made for her with photographs collected from all of our extended family.

The big news this week is that we have provisionally sold our house. I say provisionally because the buyers have paid the deposit to remove it from the site, and we have all signed a preliminary agreement, but nothing is for sure until the contract is signed, and the full price paid, and that is some way off yet. We are hoping to be back in UK by mid-May, as long as there are no hitches on the way.

So all in all it has been a good week. So now I will get ready to post this tomorrow and link up with Annie's Friday Smiles.

Friday Smiles 2025 # Week 8

Hello all my friends. We have enjoyed another rather lovely week, with sunshine most days, warm enough to sit out on the porch for a few hours each afternoon, and then a cosy evening by the fire when the sun goes down. It has been good for me as I am taking yet another very strong anti-biotic which upset my insides as first and left me with little incentive to do much except sit and read or doze! Fortunately my body seems to have adjusted today so I was able to have a busy morning in the kitchen baking chicken pie for dinner, "maids of honour" cakes to use up the pastry, and a small brown and white mixed loaf. It looks good but we will know at tea/time whether it tastes good too.

When the sun sinks down behind the roof and the porch is in the shade, I sometimes sit round at the back, just below the window of this room. It is a real suntrap, and is too hot for me much of the time, but early morning and evening, it is lovely. It is very peace ful there and I sit and watch the birds swooping around for insects, or at this time of year, collecting dry grass etc to build a nest.

This tree that I showed when the first almond blossom appeared, never ceases to amaze me. It couldn't look more dead for most of the year, with dark, almost black branches, and not a leaf in sight, but in spring it suddenly produces blossom in a abundance. It will die off again before the nuts have time to mature, but right now the bees and other insects are having a feast.

When I walked over to the village for the market on Tuesday, I cut across the the village car park. This is an area of sandy ground, rough but worn down by constant vehicles. Most days, only the lower section is used, but on market day some cars venture onto the higher level, where I was walking. And it just struck me how very barren it is. When we had our first pups some fifteen years ago, we used to bring them here first thing every morning, and then they had a long run over the campo after breakfast. I remember then,  we were often knee deep in weeds and wild flowers, and the dew would soak our shoes and the dogs feet.  But they don't even try to grow now. It is just bare scrub land with a few straggly plants on the ground.

Round about this time of year I used to pick big bunches of bright yellow wild crysanthmums from here, and they would last for ages in a jar of water. Now I struggle to find any, though I did eventually find this rather sad little specimen.

It is sad illustration of how much hotter it is getting here, and how much dryer the winters are.

I was pleased to see a few asprodels were struggling up along the edges. These grow like weeds everywhere, and are often seen on the verges of roads. They are often taller and healthier than these, but at least they are still trying. 

Here is a close up of the flowers (from google). They are so pretty. I think in England they are grown as a cultivated garden flower.

My 'baby' Ben is 38 on Saturday. How time flies! I wanted a little something to put in with his card, so I made a couple of engraved coasters. He and his partner are in the process of buying an old railway station with a couple of carriages that they want to renovate for visitors to sleep in. So I used two of the photos he had sent to me, one of the waiting room and one of the signal box. I turned them into line drawings and engraved them onto squares of wood. This is the waiting room. 

I forgot to photograph the finished one of the signal box, but this is the photo I prepared. He loves them and that is the main thing.

Most days the sky has been cloudless, so the sun has set in a smooth band of pink and mauve, but one evening as I sat at the back, a bank of clouds rolled in and I thought they looked so pretty. More clouds soon came to cover them so there was still no sunset of note, but I liked the clouds anyway.

This has been quite a sad week in some ways as we said 'Good-bye' to both our lovely cats. Leo went on Satuday and then Tolly on Tuesday. They went to separate homes where I thought the environment would suit them best, and both sets of new owners have sent me photos to show they are settling in well. It seems as though my whole daily routine revolved around cats' feeding times, so I am all at sea with out them. Of course we miss them a lot, but it is good to know they are settling in well in their new homes.

So now it is time to prepare this for publishing tomorrow and linking up with Annie's Friday Smiles.

Friday Smiles 2025 # Week 7

 It has been another quiet week here but it was not without its positives.

For one, the sky has been blue every day so despite a cold wind, it is uplifting to look out of the window. I am almost always cold but I think that is mainly down to one of the medications I am on, and I just wrap up in a blanket whenever I need to.

I have finished my pink blanket and on Wednesday I handed them both in to the lady who collects them for food bank families. So right now my crochet is a bit in limbo. I need a few small projects that don't involve a big expense of more yarn, but will keep my hands busy in the evenings.

I have made a start on some cross stitch (just). I found a kit that didn't get packed when I was sorting out. It looked complete but when I opened it I found a piece of even weave linen, and my eyes are just not good enough to work on that. So I sent for a pack of four pieces of 14 count aida fabric. I had spent ages working out how many stitches were in it at the widest part, so what width of aida I needed, but when it came I realised that, although the design would fit onto it, there was only about half an inch spare all around - not enough to strech the finished work over backing card! So once again I went to amazon and found 14 count aida in a big piece and sent for that. The mistake was mine so I paid for it with good grace. The new piece was rather stiff, so after trying with a small square,  I decided to wash the piece I am using. I pegged it out and it was dry in an hour. Last night I found the centre and worked one line of green stems. The only needle I could find that fitted through the holes was so tiny I couldn't feel it or use it properly, so today I googled what size of needle is required for 14 count fabric, and ordered a set of them. They should be here tomorrow. I am obviously out of practice. I usually have "all my ducks in a row" beore I start a project, but hopefully I am on track now.

I treated myself to a new magnetic bracelet this week and I am very pleased with it. I have had a copper one for quite a while, but it only had one magnet at each end. This one has forty-four of them, all along the inside of it. Also the old one was an open circle and I was always getting it tangled in my clothes, or laying on an end and getting a bruise. This one is much better. I am not sure how much good it does you, but anything is worth a try.

One bit of good news is that I am pretty sure I have found a good home for Leo. It is with a family who already have two maine coons, plus two dachshounds, so I hope there is no jealousy, but he will be very loved, and get plenty of attention. They also have twelve year-old twin girls who love him already. The family came to see him yesterday, but the lady works all week and wants the weekend to make sure he has settled OK, so they are collecting him on Saturday. It will be a big wrench for me, and I will miss him so much, but it will be better for him, and that is what counts.

Once again I have exhausted the books on my Kindle, so I am going to upload a few more, and then sit outside in the porch if it is sheltered enough, and do some sewing while the light is good.

But first I must prepare this ready to link up with Annie's Friday Smiles tomorrow.

Friday Smiles 2025 # Week 6

Well we are right into February now, but I still seem to be on a bit of a 'time-out', with little desire or inclination to do much more than sit on the porch with a book, and do a bit of crochet while watching TV in the evenings.

However we had a couple of days of storms and even some significant rain on Monday, so I have been at  my computer some mornings. I have a thirty day free trial on another editing programme so I am trying to learn what it can do, but I don't think it is really for me. I have another couple of weeks to decide.

I have also done a bit of playing with my lazer cutting but nothing to show as yet. I had a bit of trouble with soot forming around the nozzle but I have given it a good clean now so hopefully it will work better next time.

Crochet wise I have almost finished my second blanket with the pink squares, so hopefully I can show that next week. I have no idea what I can do after that!

So I only have one photo today. After all the rain earlier in the week I was up early for clinic appointment on Wednesday, and I watched the sun rising between some pine trees. There were a few puddles still on the muddy carpark and I wanted to catch a reflection of the rising sun in one of them. But I couldn't get in quite the right position, nor wait for the sun to rise a little higher or I would have missed my appointment, so I took what I could, and I was quite pleased with this one. There is a clear reflection of the trees, and you can see the sun through them in the background.

Now I am going to take my book and sit out on the porch to read, where it is considerably warmer than it is in here.

But first I will prepare this to publish tomorrow and link up with Annie's Friday Smiles.

Friday Smiles 2025 Week 5

It may be colder each day and very windy, but Spring has sprung! Our back railings are well covered with the bright pink bougainvillea now, but peering between that the dull green of an old olive tree, you can just glimpse an ancient almond tree, and Yes, it has blossom on it. 

The trees are in the green zone, an area behind our house which is set aside as "not to be built on". It belongs to someone, but no-one seems quite sure who, and certainly no-one ever looks after it. So gradually the trees are dying off and the ground is more and more impacted where children run through it, and occasionally a herd of goats come to crop the remaining plants. But this old almond tree, that looks completely dead all winter, manages to throw out some blossom each spring. Sometimes a street person will wander through searching for a few nuts to chew, but I don't think it produces much fruit now. The land is too dry.

On our side of the railings we have a tiny square of plantable land where our baby grapefruit tree grows, but it is a bit of a wind tunnel and it didn't manage to hold on to any fruit this year. But next to it I planted a cutting that I took from a shrub in a friends garden when she moved house years ago, and that is prospering. It has grown into a tall bushy shrub which we have to prune back quite hard each year, but at this time of year it is covered with flower buds that are just opening. You can see their spears sticking up from the top, as well as down the sides. The flowers are white with a pale pink stripe and they remind me of antirrhrinum flowers or snapdragons. But after years of searching on line and asking various gardening groups, no-one has been able to tell me its name. I'd love to know, but I enjoy it anyway.

I hope no-one had serious damage with the storms this week. Once again we seem to be right on the edge of it, and the rain passed us by except for a few random drops, but the wind has been ferocious! I was foolish enough to think I could dry my sheets on the line on Tuesday, so I double pegged everything and checked every now and then to see it was still there. But sadly, the sheet was still pegged to the line but the main post of the line broke and my sheets were blowing back and forth on the ground. Chris spent yesterday afternoon trying to fix it, but his drill bits were not suitable. So he had some more delivered today and the line is half fixed. It took a lot of power to drill so now we are waiting for his drill to recharge. It is not a major job but all these things get harder as we get older so they take longer, but thank goodness for power tools to help us. (The sheets have been re-washed and now waiting for a line so I can hang them outside again - if it is calmer tomorrow)

It is much colder this week and I have been curled up in my chair with a book most afternoons. I make good use of my Kindle subscription at this time of year.

In the evening I still turn to crochet while I am watching TV. We enjoyed the Traitors, and I love 'Call the Midwife' on a Sunday evening. I think Tuesday was the end of this set of Silent Witness so I don't know what we will be watching now. But I did manage to finish one of the blankets I showed last week. I went with the 5 x 5 squares in the end and I am peased with  it now it is done. So just the pink one to put together now, and I have reduced a big bag of left over yarn, down to few small balls so that is a good job done. What next? I have no idea.

I am still trying to rehome my lovely cats. I am a bit surprised it has taken so long. I wanted an up-to-date photo of Leo to show, and he obligingly posed for me. Isn't he splendid!

And with that I am going to prepare this for publishing tomorrow to link up with Annie's Friday Smiles.

Friday Smiles # Week 4

Well here we are again. It seems to have been a short week, and looking back I can't think of much to write about. But as promised last week, I did make some picallili and on Wednesday, well over half of it was sold, with people saying they would have another jar next week too. As it is quite expesive to make, I have reclaimed my costs but all the profit will go to the food bank the sewing group supports, and when it is all sold, it will have raised 30€ for them, so that is good.

I have also been busy each evening with my crocheted squares, and now I have used up much of the yarn I decided to count up and see how many I had made. I found I had enough to make one 4 x 5 squares blanket,  and one 4 x 6 squares, though I may change that to a 5 x 5. I did a quick layout and chose the pink squares to make the first blanket with a few pale turquoise to add interest.

The rest were mainly blues, greens and a few in cream, and I laid them out like this for now.

Now I have the job of joining them all together and making some kind of an edge. These are a good size for the little buggies most mums seem to have now, and the bigger one would serve in a cot too. They will again go to the food bank for new mums to use.

I am writing this early as we have to go to the hospital this afternoon for an eye test for Chris, to see whether his injections have had the desired effect.

That's about it for this week so here are a couple of sunset skies to close with.

So now I am ready to post this tomorrow and link up with Annie's Friday Smiles here.

Friday Smiles 2025 # Week 3

This week has been a bright but chilly one. Several days have started out grey but soon the sun is out, and in a sheltered spot with the sun right on you, it is almost warm, but the wind has a nip in it that can take you by surprise. But we have taken the opportunity of any bright ones to have a short walk around the village. We have discovered some side streets that we have never been down before. 

But last Friday we went to our new chosen venue for our fish and chips, which is right along the Mojacar sea front. So after our dinner we drove home the long way round, via Garucha, and stopped off at the marina for a walk around the boats. There are always plenty of private yatchs and small craft moored around the walkways, and little silver fish dart in and out of them, easily spotted as the water is quite clear. The larger fishing vessels moor further along on the quayside where they unload their catch each day.

At the end of the marina you are almost at the working port where the barges come to load and reload mostly gravel and yeso (gypsum or plaster). You can tell how full they are by how low they sit in the water.

On Friday the nearest ship to us was a recue vessel, painted bright red, but apparently resting that day.

Just beyond that a huge barge was fully loaded and ready to set off for the open sea again. We watched two little tug boats attatch themselves to the ends of the barge and gradually lead it safely out of the port.

Then they left it to go on its way and came back until they were needed again.

This morning it was brighter but even colder and I decided to go for a bit longer walk than we usually do. Chris wasn't ready to come out as he was working on something on his computer, so I went on my own.

I crossed the main road at the roundabout and went towards the Huerta Nueva urbanisation, but turned right at the first junction. This is a road we often walked our two big dogs along, and they loved it because the surrounding campo was full of rabbits. Not that they ever caught one, but they enjoyed the hunt and chase. Today it was deserted and I enjoyed wandering along with just my own thoughts for company.

At the end of the road you come to the start of the rambla (dry river bed) that runs around the right side of the village. Unlike the green zone that runs behind our house, which is almost left to go wild with a few wizerned orange and almond trees and a few footpaths where the children play, the rambla is quite tidy and organised now. Except for the first little bit which was still wet, the river bed is dry and worn down to a fairly smooth gravel road, wide enough for a vehicle to access the small holdings in the centre. The scrub all around was brown and dusty despite some rain higher up in the hills.

Further along,on either side there are banks of bamboo which should be lush and green at this time of year. But this, also, was brown and almost dead, though it could revive again if we have a lot of rain. Bamboo has quite a strong root so there obviously isn't much water even deep down.

I walked to the end of that part of the rambla where there is a small road up to the top of the village, so just a walk down from there back to our house. At the end of the rambla there are several paddocks with lovely horses in them, and all were contentedly wandering around or nibbling on their hay. But the last paddock has donkeys in it and today one had a dear little foal, standing close to its mother for protection, while the others milled around them.

This sweet soul came over to say 'Hello' and I scratched her head while she laid there on the wall. She was so gentle and friendly. But then a big brown one came over and tried to eat my knitted jacket so I decided to continue on my way home.

It was nice to get back to my sewing group on Wednesday to catch up with everyone's news. We have our own Facebook page and on Tuesday I posted that if anyone brought in enough jam jars, then I would make picallili. You guessed, on Wednesday I was inundated with jam jars, so you know what I will be doing over the weekend!

I had a nice long chat with son Ben about a new song he has written. It is good to see him getting back into his music.

And with that I had better prepare this for posting in the morning and linking up with Annie's Friday Smiles.

P.S. I prepare my posts on Thursaday afternoons, and yesterday I said to Chris, "I didn't have a nice sky picture for this week's post", and then, we had one! So I will leave you with this. So lovely, and a perfect way to end the day.

Friday Smiles 2025 # Week 2

As you probably expect, my post this week is mainly about the Three Kings celebration in our village. It looked as though it might be a cold damp one but in the end it wasn't too bad. 

I always say these fiestas are the same every year as the Spanish are a people of tradition, but this year things were a little different. On the fourth we ventured across to the main carpark in the evening, where they had set up two rows of trestle tables for the "Roscon Gigantico". This has usually been down a side street at the top of the village, but the carpark was a much better idea. I managed to get near the front of the queue this year, (more by accident than design as no-one was sure which way to go!) and soon I was handed my generous slice of roscon and a cup of hot chocolate which I thoroughly enjoyed. The Three Kings were sitting on the stage in the marquee, and children could go up and either speak to them or post a letter of requests in a post box there.

The next night we went across again for the arrival of the Kings. This time I went up to the Town Hall where the procession starts, and there we were entertained by a dancer and drummer. 

Then the float appeared - a much smarter one than we have had other years. All three kings were on it with their assistants, and as they slowly passed through the village they showered the crowd with jelly sweets (wrapped!). We were all ducking to avoid them as they were coming thick and fast. Then we all helped the children gather them up and some had carrier bags full.

At the main carpark the kings alighted and went into the marquee to distribute any gifts left for children at the Town Hall earlier in the week.

The 6th, which is the main fiesta day, started off very dull and cold but a lot of folk still turned out to watch the pageant. This has been identical every year since we came here, but this year there were a lot of extra elements. It started with Mary and Joseph coming down to the main plaza with a real donkey. They stopped at a house to ask for room, and passed a tableau of shepherds and an angel. At the plaza they sat on bales of hay and suddenly they also had a real baby! After the usual arrival of the kings at Herod's palace, they were sent away and eventually came to the 'stable' to present their gifts to the baby. It made it much more complete than on previous years.

Here ate two simple collages, one of Mary and Joseph, and one of the Kings and Herod's palace.

By now the sun was out and although the wind had a bite, it was pleasant enough walking around.

All around the plaza there were the usual Medieval market stalls, mostly selling items like honey, tea and coffee beans, and olive oil, plus a few hand crafted items and a lot of 'cheap toys' which the children love. I bought a jacket which reminded me of ones my sons have worn for many years. It is a bit stiff but I know it will soon soften.

As well as the market stall, on the plaza and surrounding areas, there were examples of earlier crafts, such as a forge, basket weaving, stone sculpture etc. There were also several simple games that the children were enjoying, all made from wood. (Connect four, draughts, puzzles, air hockey without the air, etc). In one corner there was a giant bowl of migas being cooked but this year you had to 'buy a bowl' to be able to have some. Although we are used to free food at the fiestas, a lot of people were prepared to pay for it. We didn't because we don't like migas.

I had some mulled wine to warm me up, and then we went to a local bar for tapas. Before we went home we sat in the Arabian tent and had delicious sweet, mint tea in a pretty glass that we were told we could keep.

On the way home I ws drawn to the tent making mojitos - my usual fiesta treat so we both queued up for one to take home with us and it was lovely. While we queued we were entertained with another (probably the same) dancer and drummer and then a brass band appeared.

In the end what seemed like it would be a rather disappointing day, was in fact a very nice one.

During the week we were in Mojacar and we stopped in a side street for a quick pop into Consum supermarket. As I got out of the car I saw this palm tree. It was outside a shop that looked as though I might find it interesting! Unfortunately we did not have time to stop and investigate that day, but I shall be going back when I have more time.

I have had a bit of time down here with my computer, so I managed to get my one-page calendar made. I print this out A3 size and have it on the wall by my computer where it is very useful when the boys ring me with dates, or I am trying to make appointments. Chris has a copy on his office wall too. I like to make them interesting so this year I made a collage of everyone in our immediate family. I like to look up and see all their smiling faces.

And of course I must end with some skies. It was on the evening after the Three kings that I spotted this sunset. As well as having a vivid letter 'Z' in them, there were impressive layers of colour, and as the sun finally disappeared there were some little grey fluffy clouds drifting across (and of course I can see a face in that one!)

And with that I will close and link upwith Annie's Friday Smiles in the morning.