THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

A DRY & SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY.

SUNDAY 25/th OCTOBER 2015.

Another nice lie in this morning with the bonus of the extra hour! We then walked the dogs, I went off with ‘Barny’ down the village and Brenda stayed locally with ‘Masie’ Its a little brighter this morning and it looks like it could be fine later, we are going along to Bar Castillo for a ‘Paella’ lunch, hopefully sat outside.

We had crispy Smoked Bacon Butties for breakfast and then we are showering and freshening ourselves up, we are having an easy at home day just relaxing with a little reading and then later watching the TV; yesterday afternoon we watched the ‘All Blacks’ beat the ‘Boks’ – just – at the ‘Rugby Union World Cup’ and this afternoon back at Twickenham the ‘Wallabies’ take on the ‘Pumas’ in the second semi-final! Come on Australia!

Everton were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal,who went top of the Premiere League and Real Madrid won 1-3 at Celta de Viga; later today Liverpool are playing and the ‘Match of the Day’ is when Manchester Utd welcome Manchester City – come on the ‘Blues’

For our supper this evening we are having ‘Escalope’s of Turkey Breast’ cooked in foaming Lime Butter and served on a bed of savoury Basmati Rice with whole baby Green Beans and a sauceboat of creamy Mushroom sauce on the side.

Last night before supper we watched ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ on BBC 1 for the first time since we left England all those year ago on our travels; then after supper back on Spanish TV we found an excellent film to watch that was produced, directed by and starred Robert Redford, its a political thriller “ The Company You Keep” from 2012 with a ‘Mega’ cast of Shia LaBeouf, an unrecognizable Julie Christie, the excellent Susan Saradon, Brendan Gleeson, Nick Nolte, Chris Cooper and Sam Elliot!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

..

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A OVERCAST SUNNY MANILVA;

A OVERCAST BUT DRY SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY;

SATURDAY 24 /th OCTOBER 2015.

We had a nice long lie in this morning, all of us, ‘Barny & Maisie’ go to bed downstairs on their doggy duvet and you have to wake them up in the morning; I took ‘Barny’ off in one direction and Brenda stayed local with ‘Maisie’ It’s overcast & grey this morning but there is no breeze and its still very mild, 22 degs during the day and 17 degs at night!

On our return we had for a change for our breakfast ‘ Campo’ fried Eggs with crispy Smoked Bacon, lots of toast crusts and a mug of steaming PG Tips to start the day! I then watched on our large screen TV 'Saturday Kitchen Live' - after we went for a nice walk with three dogs as 'Chispa' came calling,she's been in and made friends with both of them already!

Last night on our last walk of the day we bumped into Brian & Carlos outside Bar Ocana so we had a good catch up with all their news,then outside Bar Castillo a English couple that we see from time to time around the village chatted to us and she fell in love with little Maisie; we missed ‘QI’ on BBC 2 as we were out so long! All the locals comment  on the two dogs as we are out and are surprised that Barny is so gentle and his best friend is Maisie!

After supper we watched the second programme of ‘Great Continental Rail Journeys’ with Michael Portillo and when we eventually got back to the house it was time for the ‘Graham Norton Show’ with Daniel Craig before finally catching back over on BBC 2 ‘Later with Jools Holland’ The new system is very good with an excellent connection

.

On the sports front today I will be watching on ITV the first semi-final of the ‘Rugby Union World Cup’ from Twickenham as New Zealand play South Africa; in the Premiere League today Everton travel down to Arsenal and then tomorrow Liverpool welcome Southampton before the match of the day ‘ Manchester Utd v Manchester City!!

Over here in ‘La Liga’ Barcelona welcome Eiber and Real Madrid travel to Celta de Vigo. Meanwhile its the USA Grand Prix from Austin in Texas at which Lewis Hamilton could be the World Champion, that’s if it takes place as at the moment the practise session have been cancelled due to the Category 5 ‘Hurricane Patricia’ Watch this space

.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘Entrecote Steak’ cooked on a very hot griddle plate ‘Med-Rare’ with sautéed Baby Mushrooms, finely sliced Green Beans and twice-cooked ‘Frits’

We will then channel hop in Spain and England to find something to watch.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

..

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

A WARM & NEARLY SUNNY MANILVA ON FRIDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEKEND.

FRIDAY  23/ rd OCTOBER 2015.

We were up early this morning and I took ‘Barny’ for his first walk of the day and Brenda walked little ‘Maisie’ locally; after a quick breakfast I shot off down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping, my first stop was at the bank before calling into the ‘English Bookshop’ for the local newspapers,pens etc.

Steve asked if we were still house sitting as he has some very good friends that are looking for somebody to look after their grand villa and animals at the start of December?! Watch this space.

I then did our main shop in Mercadona,Brenda’s shopping list was spot on! On the way back I called into Super Sol for some English essentials. After un-packing back at the house I put the car away in the multi story underground car park,It’s nearly time for the yearly ‘ITV’ ( MOT) in November so fingers crossed for another year so as we can perhaps find another car in the new year!

We then took both the dogs for a longer walk around the bottom of the village after their one meal of the day, they are both very good ‘Barny’ is a gentle giant and little ‘Maisie’ or ‘Tinkerbell’ as we call her as she has a small bell on her collar which rings when ever she moves! She is also a character and they are both good company and very well behaved.

The sun is just braking through and the sky is clearing so by lunchtime it will reach 26 degs, for the time of the year this is very good,over the weekend there is a little rain threatening but its still very mild

.

This evening for our supper I’m making my now famous ‘ Seafood Risotto’ with assorted Prawns,Gambas,Cod,Crab,Mussels, Octapus etc; a good slug of white wine ( Brenda’s) with a strong fish stock along with Saffron for colour and flavour, Garden Peas & Red Pimento for texture and garnished with fresh Asparagus spears! See below;

This evening we are going ‘English’ for our TV later as we enjoyed last weeks Friday’s programmes; Last night we found yet another Bond film to watch on ‘La Sexta’ this time.

Thoughts for the Day; see above.

..

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

A WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY;

THURSDAY 22/ nd OCTOBER 2015.

We had a little lie in this morning and then had a leisurely breakfast before sorting our day ahead out; the sun is out and the sky is blue and by lunchtime it will be warm and sunny,the rest of the week is looking settled with none of the wet stuff!

‘Barny & Maisie’ Have just arrived and are settling in very well,they are not at all boisterous  and we have just come back from a long walk to get them accustomed to the village life and streets!They are with us for a short mini-brake until Monday morning. See below!!'Barny' on the left and 'Maisie' on the right;

At lunchtime we have Ann,the dog groomer, calling in to give 'Chispa' the full treatment so we are taking her down to Isabel's house to be safe !See below 'Chispa' after her shampoo & trim!

For our supper this evening I’m having the rest of the Beef Curry from last week and I’m making a Cheese Omelete for Brenda,tomorrow evening we are having a ‘Seafood Risotto’ and on Saturday we are back to our usual ‘Entrecote Steak’ with all the trimmings; on Sunday no roast so we are having ‘Escalope of Turkey Breast’ with savour Basmati Rice.

Last night after supper we settled down to watch a film using the ‘Putlocker’ video channel for the first time; I choose a James Bond film,the last one, “ Skyfall” from 2012. It’s very dark and different from the normal all action story and at the end there is a big surprise when ‘M’ – Judy Dench – dies in his arms! Oops I given it away!! I was reading later the late edition of the Daily Mail ( sorry Josie!) where there was the film review of the new one “ Spectre” which is Daniel Craig’s fourth and last one, its the 24^th in over 50 years and the critics are saying that its back to the normal formula and is the best so far!

We are back into our routine in the late afternoon for our ‘Happy Hour’ but are watching all the old ‘Bond’ movies which are being shown on a small film channel, the reading is suffering a little at this time of year as it goes darker by the day,don’t forget that the clocks go bad an hour on Saturday/ Sunday!

Tomorrow morning I’m going down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping and Brenda is looking after the two dogs back at the house, ‘Barny’ will not fit in the ‘Fiesta’!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

..

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A VERY SUNNY MANILVA;

A VERY SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY;

WEDNESDAY 21^st OCTOBER 2015.

I was up early again this morning as ‘Reina’ is with us for the day,we then had a little lie in before the noise started on the site as well as the local deliveries; after a quick breakfast I shot out on my travels,Brenda decided to stay at home and catch up with some chores around the house

.

The sun is out and the sky is blue,there is no wind so its a glorious day here in sunny Manilva and over in Estepona,the forecast is looking settled again if a little cooler,we can’t complain as this time of year is the nicest time down here on the Costa Del Sol with the settled weather and none of the summer holiday makers!

My first port of call was at the computer shop to drop off the Dell PC to have its new keyboard installed; I then carried on round to the local hospital/ medical center for my X-Ray appointment which was on time,they have updated the system so now the X-Rays are sent direct to your doctor back at the surgery,I then went back to the shop and collected the Dell PC and settled the rest of the A/C.

I then stopped on the way back at the bank in Sabinillas before calling into the surgery to make an appointment, with our Doctor, for my results at the start of next week. Back at the house the Dell PC is online again and all the new systems are working fine,last night I managed to post a picture on the Blog using the new format! The smaller Acer PC is also back in use as a standby and at the moment Brenda is using it!

Yesterday a new ‘Junta De Andalucia’ Pension Card ( Bus Pass!) arrived in the post, I’m registerd here as a pensioner,Brenda is not as when she arrived she was already one! The ‘Heart Monitoring’ online machine is registered in my name but is for Brenda in an emergency,they check on a regular basis,when there is a power cut ( last Sunday) it comes back online with a message and on my birthday they call to wish you Happy Birthday!

So tomorrow morning Barny & Maisie are arriving for their 4 day min-break,its their first time here in ‘Doggy World Heaven’ so we will get then settled in as soon as possible and into our routine. Watch this space.

At lunchtime we went up to Bar Rojas for an al fresco 'Tapas' lunch sat in the warm sunshine with the village to ourselves!

Last night after our supper we watched on ITV 3 a programme  Brenda spotted ‘Joanna Lumley’s Trans-Siberian Adventure’ – it was the final episode,it was very interesting and shows Russia at its winter best,of course there are lots of the train journeys across the vast country. We then came back to ITV and caught the ‘Jonathan Ross Show’ after first watching the ‘ITV News at Ten’ for the first time in over 10 years! Sir Tom Jones was amongst the guests on the Ross show and at the end sung a new very good rock& roll/jive number!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

..

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A WET SUNNY MANILVA;

A STILL VERY WET DAY IN SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY;

TUESDAY 20^th OCTOBER 20.

I was up early this morning to welcome back little ‘Princess Reina’ for the day,we then went back to bed for an hour as it was overcast and wet! The rain has not stopped for 24 hours with more to come for the rest of the day, by Wednesday its getting back to normal but a little cooler before the weekend

.

After breakfast I shot down to the ‘IT’ shop for some ink for the printer but they didn’t have any Black ink until Thursday, I had used the printer for the first time this morning to print off some documents for Daniela that she sent me by E-Mail last night,as her printer was not working. I then came back along Calle Mar to the local bank for some cash from the machine,it was not working so I arrived back home very wet and frustrated!

I then made this evenings supper “ Chicken & Mushroom Tarragon Pie” I will top-off the pastry this evening and then bake it in the oven, we are having local Baby Carrot Batons,whole Baby Green Beans and Saffron new Potatoes.See below;

Tomorrow night we are going to pick up something  from the butchers and on Thursday its the rest of last weeks “ Beef Curry” On Friday I’m making my now famous “ Seafood Risotto”

Tomorrow morning we are going across to Estepona as I have an appointment for a X-Ray at the local hospital, we are dropping off the Dell PC at the shop as they are installing a new key board, which we are collecting later after my X-Ray.No doubt Brenda will squeeze in some window shopping at the same time!

The workmen on the site are still here everyday as they install all the plumbing and electricity,the front outside wall is being plastered at the moment but the rain has stopped them working for now! Next we want them to paint all the outside walls ‘White’so as we can make something of the old terrace with wall pots and tiles?! Watch this space.

Last night we watched on ‘Telecinco’ the final of the Spanish “ Junior Voice” – its on for over four hours with the long commercial breaks so we fell asleep and missed the end! Its repeated on Saturday lunchtime so we will find out then who won!!

This evening after supper we will settle down to find something to watch on either the Spanish TV or a video film on the new system.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

..

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A RATHER WET SUNNY MANILVA;