A BEAUTIFUL ' FRESH' WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY.

WEDNESDAY 15^th/ JANUARY 2020.

We had a little lie in this morning as we have no other guests with us in ‘ Doggy World Heaven ‘ this week, little ‘ Miss Bella’ is back next Monday/Tuesday as usual.

After freshening up we had our usual light breakfast of fresh fruit, toast & tea before getting another day on the go., Brenda then popped along to the local Chemists in ‘Calle Mar’ for our prescription tablets etc, on a beautiful sunny start to the day.  

The sun was out early and the sky is clear & blue, not a cloud in sight, it’s warm & sunny,  there is a very light breeze, so by lunchtime it will be 17 degs+ - overnight down to just 9 degs+ - the next couple of days are staying the same, then on Saturday & Sunday, it’s going a little cooler as the next cold & windy  ‘ Atlantic’ front comes in, going down to only 11/12 degs and as low as 3/4 degs at night time, the lowest temperatures since we arrived down here on the ‘Costa Del Sol’ back in 2006!

Next week we are in for more of the same cold weather with also the added ‘ Bonus’ of the ‘Wet-Stuff’ coming back at times, with moderate to heavy ‘RAIN’ – hovering in the low ‘ teens ‘ as the wind gets up, watch this space.

After breakfast I got this evenings supper on the go, my famous “ Beef & Vegetable Stew with Crispy Herb Dumplings “  - I lightly dusted the diced Beef in seasoned flour before browning it off, at the same time I sweated-off the diced Onions & Shallots with Garlic, adding a dash of ‘ Lea & Perrins Worcestershire’ sauce and ‘ Tabasco’ – then adding the diced Carrots, Leeks, Turnips, Celery and Button Mushrooms ( Tinned) as well as a good ‘ Glug’ of Brenda’s Red Wine, along with a large spoon on Tomato Frito, leaving it to cook-off, under the eagle eye of the ‘ Second Chef’ - after I added the browned-off Beef and adjusted the seasoning, to taste, consistency and colour ( Cross & Blackwell Gravy Browning!)

This evening I will re-heat the ‘Stew’ in large casserole dish, after adding the savoury ‘Mixed Herb Dumplings’ – in a very hot the oven, so as the ‘Dumplings’ are for a change ‘ Crisp’! We are having Whole Baby Carrots – ‘en branch’ and Parsley New Potatoes.  

“ Comfort Food To Die For “ - See below;

As you can see below the ‘ Wine Cellar ‘ is well stocked! ( if only!)

This afternoon we will be taking things easy, relaxing and keeping warm, after supper we will watch the second episode of the very gripping & excellent ‘ Silent Witness ‘ over on BBC TV.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A COLD, GREY & OVERCAST,DAMP, SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY.

SUNDAY 25^th/ FEBRUARY 2018.

We had a nice long lie in this morning as the village is ‘ dead’ – no traffic, no children, no deliveries and no bells! After freshening up we had a quick breakfast of fresh fruit, toast & tea, Brenda is washing/shampooing her hair later, I then got this evenings supper ready, with the help of the ‘ Second Chef’ before going up to the office/studio on the ‘ WWW’ to catch up with the ‘E-Mails, Facebook Messages etc’ and then type/post today’s Blog!

Later in the morning little princess ‘ Reina’ was dropped off for the day, she’s back next week on Monday/Tuesday & Thursday, on Wednesday ‘ Scooby’ is back with us for a short break ( 5 days) – as usual ‘ Chispa’ will be calling in to see her friends.

It’s grey & overcast this morning with the threat of the wet stuff in the air, there is a slight breeze, keeping it rather cold, only reaching, later, 13/15 degs, then from tomorrow and for the rest of next week we are in for, as forecasted, rain & wind every day, grey & overcast, with no sunshine, the only good spot on the horizon is that the overnight temperatures are hovering on the 12/14 degs mark overnight and during the day it will be 16/17 degs, so we will be having ‘ warm rain’?! Watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having my own classic version of “ Lancashire Hotpot “ – using, for a change, ‘ Spanish Lamb Steaks & Cutlets’ – seasoned/ marinated in Olive Oil & Tarragon, then ‘ browned-off’ I then build up the layers (3) with sliced Onions & Shallots with Garlic, hand-cut sliced Potatoes ( 3 decreasing thickness’s) – seasoning each layer, adding diced/sliced Carrots, Leeks, Turnips, Celery, Green Beans & Mushrooms. Finally I top up the pot with a strong Meat & Vegetable Stock, ready to go in the oven this evening, served with Cabbage with Acelgas and Pickled Red Cabbage!

See below;

Just a quick update on yesterday’s sports results; Liverpool won 4-1 and played terrific passing football, sadly Everton lost 1-0 and played terrible! Real Madrid won 4-0, with Ronaldo getting two goals and Barcelona beat Girona, on their first visit to their neighbours ‘ Camp Nou’ stadium 6-1, with Suarez getting a hat trick and Messi hitting two!

Meanwhile over in the UK in the ‘ Six Nations Rugby Union’ Ireland, with ‘Jonny Sexton’s’ help, beat Wales 37-27 in a very exciting game in Dublin, sadly up in Edinburgh at the ‘Murrayfield’ stadium, Scotland won 25-13, against England, scoring three tries and played with passion, desire and fierce national pride!

Later this evening, we are six hours behind them, here in Spain, we are calling Sandra & Bill, over in Everett, Ontario, Canada, to a nice catch-up/chat, sadly after 13 years of fields and forests behind their property ... it has bugun... the trees are being removed, there will be 3 new lots/homes backing on to theirs, in the next 2/3 years, the planning has been in the air for as long as they have lived there!

See below;

After supper we watched the next exciting, back to back, episodes of “ Modus “ – the Swedish crime drama series – it’s all getting rather gripping, as the main character has found the missing lady President (USA) but is surprised to discover the president doesn’t trust anyone in her own ranks?! Watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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