A STILL VERY 'WINDY AND CLOUDY SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY.

THURSDAY 11^th/ JUNE 2020.   “ STATE OF ALARM – DAY 89 “

After freshening up we had our regular light breakfast of fresh fruit ( sliced Banana) toast & tea, I then shot off, ‘ masked/gloved ‘ up, down to the underground car park to ‘ turn-over’ the car, before going across to the ‘ Suma’ supermarket, where Brenda joined me, for our weekly shopping/stock up for the essentials, in the larder and wine & spirit cupboard!

After dropping off the bags at the house I then went along to the local Bank in ‘ Calle Mar’ for some cash from the machine.

Before we went out we were listening to, as usual, the ‘ Lockdown Party' show on ‘ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW’ as this morning’s ‘ Mystery Voice’ quiz came on, I got it straight away, it was the actor John Malkovich, so I’m 4 out of 4 this week!

See below;

This morning there is a very stiff breeze, blowing up from the Mediterranean, in fact there is a ‘ Yellow Alert’ storm warming out at sea, it’s still very cloudy, despite the wind, and a little overcast, so by lunchtime it’s forecast to only reach 22/23 degs+ today – overnight down to 16/17 degs+ - rather cool for the time of the year. Tomorrow we could even have some of the ‘ Wet-Stuff’!

Over the weekend, as the breeze drops, it’s going to be a little warmer, with sunshine, next week is now looking hot & sunny, back to normal for the time of the year, going warmer each day, as the breezes drop, hovering in the high ‘ Teens’ - by next weekend, when we will be out & about, for Brenda’s birthday, it’s now forecast to reach 30 degs+! Watch this space.

Yesterday evening on our regular walk ‘ Masked’ up only now, we met out friend Jan, out with her daughter, Jo  and with her dog ‘ Dixie’ – Brian is still back in the UK – as he was caught in the ‘ Lockdown’ three months ago and is not able to get back until sometime in July, hopefully!

We then stooped at ‘Bar Rojas Sol Vida’ as Mano, Anna & Carlos were sat outside, again, in the shade, they had a ‘Pizza’ which was very nice, the genuine article, made with ‘ Love’ – Italian style! We joined them for a nice cool drink (large) as the ‘World’ passed us by.

Tomorrow morning we are going along to ‘Bar Castillo’ as Juan is due to re-open, with his new ‘ Breakfast ‘ menu  ‘ Campo’ Fried or Scrambled Eggs with Bacon & ‘ Frits’! Watch this space.

“ CORANAVIRUS UPDATE – COVID 19 PANDEMIC “

All quiet and nothing to report or update, so far today.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Omelette’s of Choice’ – ‘Cheese for Brenda ( grated Mature Cheddar & Parmesan) – for me ‘ Paysanne’ style ( small diced Potato, Shallots, Smoke Bacon etc)  - made with three ‘ Campo’ Eggs, seasoned & beaten, then cooked in the ‘ Omelette Pan ‘ with a very small drop of Vegetable Oil and a knob of Butter, left to settle, before shaking & stirring, with a large fork, to the side, the fillings then added, the edges brought over, then the ‘Omelette’  is turned over onto a warm plate, finally ‘shaped’ with kitchen paper! Served with finely sliced ‘ French’ Green Beans and Baked Potato.

                                         “ STAY SAFE & WELL INSIDE AT ALL TIMES “

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY COLD & FRESH SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY.

TUESDAY 12^th/ NOVEMBER 2019.

I was up early, again, this morning to welcome back little ‘ Miss Bella’ for the day, she shot upstairs onto our bed and we then all had a nice lie in, she’s back next week, as usual, on Monday/Tuesday, ‘Chispa’ will call in later, as she does every day.

After freshening up we had our regular light breakfast of ‘ Weetabix’ with sliced Banana in cold milk for me, brown toast & banana for Brenda, with mugs of hot/strong tea to set us up for the day ahead.

This morning the sun was out early and the sky has cleared slowly as there is just a light breeze, by lunchtime it’s due to reach 18 degs+ - still very crisp & fresh, staying clear & sunny, overnight down to 12 degs+ - about normal for the time of the year, from tomorrow, as a new cold & wet ‘ Atlantic’ front blows in, it’s changing,  going a little cooler each day and over the weekend, with the threat of the ‘Wet-Stuff’ in the air, along with patchy clouds at times, next week is now going to be cooler & damp for most of the week, hovering in the mid to low ‘ teens’ –  sadly with light to moderate rain, on most days, watch this space.

Meanwhile over in Everett, Ontario, Canada, winter has arrived at the start of November, with a vengeance, we had a news/catch up on ’Facebook Messenger’ yesterday, from Sandra & Bill, they were still raking the ‘ Fall’ leaves and were caught off guard, as the heavy snow hit them, with the temperatures dropping down,  Bill was out working - ‘sanding’ for the 4^th time (crazy)!!   They had a nice/fun weekend away in Ottawa, celebrating Alannas graduation, including a special meal at “ The Grey Jay “  ( Dominique Duour ) – where Alannas friend is the ‘Sommelier’! Sandra is very busy at work and her life has been a whirlwind since getting back, she has a nice family weekend for her birthday- all the cards made it in time ( Norah & Jenny) – we have arranged a ‘ Skype’ video link-up later in the month.

At lunchtime we went for our walk with 'Bella' and called into ' Bar Castillo' - we sat on the sunny side of the street, in the very warm sunshine and had a nice cool drink, taking in the sights & sounds of Sunny Manilva, as the World passed us by! 

For our supper this evening we are keeping it simple,  with our ‘Posh’ version of “ Chicken n’ Chips “ -  ‘ Pan-Seared Escalope’s of Chicken Breast ‘ – finished with a ‘Lemon/Lime Burnt Butter Salsa’- served with Garden Peas and triple-cooked ‘Chips’!  Tomorrow it’s going to be our ‘ Comfort Food to Die For Day ‘ as I’m making my famous ‘ Beef & Vegetable Stew’ – topped with savoury ‘ Herb Dumplings’ – served with Cabbage with Acelgas( Swiss Chard ) & Parsley New Potatoes.  

Yesterday evening after supper we caught a very interesting documentary “ Maiden “  about Tracy Edwards, who at the age of 24, became the skipper/navigator of the first ever all-female crew to enter the ‘ Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race’ in 1989. She was opposed on all sides, male competitors thought an all-women crew would never make it, the chauvinistic yachting press took bets on her failure, she refused to give up and remortgaged her house to buy a secondhand boat, they went on to win two legs of the race and returned home to Southampton, to a triumphantly welcome home!

This evening we will watch the start of a new series ‘ Gold Digger ‘ – then later catch the next episode of ‘Rick Stein’s Secret France ‘ as he continues his journey without maps, around the Alsace & Jura regions!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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