MANILVA OVER THE WEEKEND.

SUNDAY 9^th/ DECEMBER 2012.

As we got up on Sunday morning after a little lie in the sky was blue and the sun was out, the forecast is looking OK for next week, so far; I made the Boulangere Potatoes for dinner later which we had with local ‘Chuletas de Cordero’ – thin Lamb Cutlets that I marinated in Rosemary and seasonings before pan-frying them pink and placing them on top of the Boulangere Potatoes in the oven to finish! We had sliced baby Carrots and Garden Peas (Mixed) and Mint Sauce that we add sugar and Malt Vinegar too – it is one of our favorite winter meals! The aromas of the potatoes cooking fills the house and wafts up the street!!

On Saturday afternoon I watched some of the football from the Premier League; Chelsea won 1-3 with Torres’s two goals, then on Sunday I followed the Manchester City v Manchester Utd. Derby match – full of action as Utd. won 2-3 right at the end, Everton had a good win 2-1 with their goals also coming near the end of the game, Big Bri over in Pori will be very happy as it was his birthday – “ Happy Birthday ‘Big Boy ’! And lastly Liverpool won 2-3 at West Ham with the winning goal in also right at the end. Meanwhile over here in ‘ La Liga ’ Real Madrid won 2-3 at Valladolid and Barcelona won at Real Betis 1-2 with both their goals being scored by who else then Messi – he has now set the record for the most goals scored in a calendar year with club and country - 86 so far ! But the ‘ Match of the Day ’was the Atletico Madrid win over Deportivo 6-0 as the Colombian hotshot Radamel Falcao scored five times !

Over the weekend we have started to read two more ‘ Patterson’s ’- they are always good and easy to read. The films on the TV have also been good, “ Death in Paradise ”from 2006 with Tom Selleck playing a small town Nova Scotia police chief ( Jesse Stone )  struggling with an alcohol problem. Then we watched “ Sum of All Fear ” from 2002 with Ben Afleck playing a young ‘Jack Ryan ’ in the part made famous by Harrison Ford, with Morgan Freeman in support. We have also discovered a new ‘ Foodie ’series – the award winning “ Jose Andres – Made in Spain ” – he is most famous in the USA for introducing them to Spanish Cuisine; he explores Andalucia to Aragon – along the way he shares recipes and local traditions before you see him back in his kitchen at his home in the USA.recreating the dishes.

Thought for the Day;

Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration,motivation,and a pinch of creativity.

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CAMPING PARQUE TROPICAL

Sunday 4th November.
After the last four weeks of running around,friends visiting,trips to Portugal and so on we have settled back to our life in the Winnebago on the site in Estepona.The roof being back on the pool has started to help warm up the water as the temperature is now about 22/23os each day but can go quite cold in the evening so we will get back in to our morning dip in the next few days.We went down to the marina for a tapas lunch after Brenda had put the washing out to dry in the warm sunshine and caught up with the news reading the local and national papers which are now printed on the same day,We do not watch any English TV. As the sat/dish is behind trees so we are watching and learning from all the Spanish programes and then check in the papers to see what we think is going on – is!In the evening we had a light supper and watched a DVD.
Monday 5th November.
In the morning we have cereals,toast and tea to start the day before we make up our minds what are plans are for the day and week to follow.Vidal called in after lunch to start work again on fixing the mass/pump and try some other pipes that we have found on the site.This then turned into a three day job.with visits to various plumbers in Estepona before he managed to get plastic pipes to fit and was able to finish the job on Wednesday to his satisfaction! I help by passing the tools and glue as and when needed!! Later in the afternoon I started to make the now famous Chicken curry for supper as Vidal and Gissy where going to join us – but Gissy was still not well after her heavy cold and bad cough so they took a rain ticket for another day.The curry was one of my best-even if I do say so myself! I used all the usual ingredients to make the sauce,diced onion and apple,pineapple chunks,with pineapple juice and lime juice,desiccated coconut,three sorts of curry powder and the secret extras !! The aromas travel around the camp and stay in the Winnebago for days! We serve the curry with nan bread and sliced bananas.
Tuesday 6th November.
We had to go into Estepona for some makeup for Brenda and to make an appointment at the dentists for her to have a check up.We love the town and the old part behind the flower square is beautiful and on a blue sky,warm day we sat outside in the square at our favourite restaurant and had Fried Monkfish and Chicken breast with fresh “Frits” with Tinto de Verano made with Seven-Up. We called into Carrefort to do some shopping later in the afternoon when it is not so busy due to the “siesta “time of the locals. In the evening we had a smoked salmon omelette for supper made with local eggs.
Wednesday 7th November.
As Vidal finished the work on the new pump which is now working fine with no leaks I started to make a stew for dinner as Brenda had prepared all the vegetables at lunch time.The diced beef from the Hypermarket is very good and I used leeks,carrots,turnips.celery,runner beans,onion,red and yellow peppers,mushrooms.with diced potatoes,garlic and the secret ingredients once again to make another memorable stew! Vidal is now working all the time on his own RV as he is planning to go to Germany next week on some business and is making sure that everything is all right as Gissy is staying here.
Thursday 8th November.
The weather starts off cool in the morning but as the sun come up it soon warms up and by lunchtime the sun block is required ! At the moment we are watching the e-mail all the time and expecting a phone call at any time from Carol as Michelle,her youngest daughter is due to give birth to her first baby today! Come on Michelle!! In the evening I went down to Estepona and picked up a chinese meal from our favourite restaurant for us and Vidal and Gissy - who carried on working on his RV as Vidal has got a flight on Sunday morning,Gissy is not going as she is still not right and is still taking medicine.
Friday 9th November.
Today it was cloudy as we went out to do some shopping and when we returned we had a bowl of soup and crusty bread to warm us up-we are not used to no sun!! The forecast for the weekend is better and we will be out and about to all our local haunts as normal.The picture below shows Brenda in her new outfit and with her latest short haircut that Gissy did on Thursday as well as giving me a quick trim and cut to the growing ponytail.