SUNNY MANILVA THIS WEEK.

TUESDAY/FRIDAY 1ST/4TH FEBRUARY 2011.

The weather this week and into next week is clear blue skies, sun and getting warmer every day; Brenda has been out on the roof terrace every day sunbathing in her Bikini ! On Tuesday we went for a walk around the village with Cheta, Brenda’s ankle is getting better slowly so she is still taking it easy and keeping off her feet when she can. The pictures below show the view across the valley to the mountains and also in the middle of the next picture you can just see the snow topped peaks of the Sierra Ronda, the last picture is the underground car park at the entrance to the village, it is below the School of Music, Manilva Radio and TV, Police station, the new Fire station and the Town Hall Chambers! It is now free for residents and visitors so Tim and Jane will be able to park there when they are here. In the evening we had Pork Cutlets pan fried in Lemon butter with Lyonnaise potatoes and sliced Green Beans for dinner.

On Wednesday morning we had to be up early as Brenda had an appointment at the surgery for a check up on her ankle; our Doctor changed her medication for the blood circulation and also gave her more exercises to do. We then caught the bus outside the surgery down to Sabinillas to do some shopping, we have to split the shopping up as we can’t carry it all at once, as we missed the bus back up we got a taxi back up to the village. When we got back I then made two large dishes of Braised Steak and Onions for dinner; the streak was from our butcher in the village which we picked up yesterday when we went for our walk. In with a lot of Sauté Onions in the sauce there are Carrots, Celery, Spring Onions, Baby Turnips and Mushrooms all diced along with my secret ingredients ! Brenda made her special Mashed Potatoes and Cabbage with Alcegas to go with the meal,Mano and Anna joined us in the evening as they surprisingly had not had my Braised Steak before.

We took the Smart car down to the local industrial estate below the village at the bottom of the valley by the side of the Motorway first thing on Thursday morning,Mano on his way home from work called in and helped push the car out of the small square behind the house where we keep it, see the pictures above, he then followed us down to the garage. They put it on the computer and rang us later to say that it was a small part and would not cost that much so at the same time they are fixing a couple of small electrical problems, it will be ready during next week. We are then going to set about making it Spanish – we hope ! Anna then called at the house and took us down to Sabinillas to finish the shopping as she was going to the hairdressers, she was going to bring us back later but we met Lumy from Bar Rojas in Mercadona and she very kindly brought us back to the house. Last night we had the second dish of Braised Steak which we could not resist !

This morning after a little lie in we walked around with Cheta down to the Friday market for some new plants for our outside display and ended up also buying new slippers for Derby and Joan for three euros a pair ! On the way back we stopped at Bar Rojas to give Lumy a small plant as a thank you and then sat outside for a lunchtime drink along with Dos Huevos Fritas and Patatas Fritas – Egg and Chips !! I have just made a version of Provencale sauce with Red Peppers as we are having Scampi tonight with Rice for supper.


Thought for the Day;


Household tasks are easier and quicker when they are done by somebody else.


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