A WINDY & OVERCAST SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY.

WEDNESDAY 19^th/ FEBRUARY 2020.

We all had a nice long lie in this morning, in fact we overslept and were only awoken by the gas-bottle delivery man blowing his horn on the lorry!

After freshening up Brenda took ‘ Chico’ out for his first walk of the day, around the bottom of the village, in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ little ‘ Miss Bella’ is not with us next week, as it’s half-term, she’s back the following Monday/Tuesday, next Wednesday we have ‘Nacho’ the brown ‘Waterdog’ arriving very early, for the day, with also the new addition to the family, a little black ‘ Waterdog’ puppy - ‘Chris’! Next Friday ‘Lolo’ is due to arrive for his two-week holiday. Watch this space.

As I was on the breakfast rota I had my favourite ‘ Toasted Crispy Smoked Bacon Butty’ – smothered in ‘HP’ Brown sauce – open on brown for Brenda, with mugs of strong/hot tea.

This morning it’s still rather cold & overcast, the breeze has stiffened, as the new ‘ Atlantic’ front hits us, it’s the tail-end of ‘Storm Dennis’ that is causing all the flood problems over in the UK, we are in later for some of the ‘ Wet-Stuff’ – when it’s only going to reach 15/16 degs+ , but still overnight only dropping to 12/13 degs! Over the next couple of days and the weekend it’s forecast to stay the same, hovering in the mid ‘Teens’ – with patchy rain and clouds, next week is now looking a lot more settled, with the sunshine returning, going back up to 22 degs+ by next Tuesday, then dropping again as the breeze pick up, watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having for a change, a ‘Stir-Fried Beef & Mixed Pepper ‘ – I  have this morning got the ‘ Wok’ out and Oiled and heated it, to clean and prove it!

I will cut the sliced ‘ Beef Entrecote’ into strips & season, at the same time slicing the Red, Green & Yellow Peppers, along with the Onions & Shallots, Baby Mushrooms and the ‘ Diamond-Cut’ Runner Beans, which are tossed in the ‘ Wok’ with a dash of Oil, along with ‘Lee & Perrins & Tabasco and Balsamic Vinegar’ – then taken out, before stir-frying the sliced Beef, finally  adding back the ‘ Mixed Peppers etc’ to finish!  Served with small ‘ Hash-Browns’!

It’s going to be an ‘at home day’ today, relaxing and taking things very easy, after supper channel hopping to find something to watch.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY WET,THEN DRY & SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY.

WEDNESDAY 18^th/ OCTOBER 2017.

No lie in this morning as the forecasted storm hit us at 6-00am, thunder & lightening followed by a heavy rain storm, it didn’t last long and since then we have had light showers, when it rains in Spain, it ‘Rains’!

‘Reina’ arrived early for her day with us in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ – then we had a surprise guest ‘ Scruffy’ for the morning, Rose rang last night and asked if we could have him as she needed to go across to the hospital, with Adrian, first thing this morning. ‘Chispa’ will call in later, if it keeps dry, we have arranged for  ‘Anna’ the dog groomer, to give her a trim etc, next week, after her holidays down at the family ‘ Campo’ where she has been running wild.

After our regular breakfast I shot down to the Butchers, in-between showers, to buy some of his best ‘ Braising Steak’ for tomorrow night’s supper, when Lee & Daniela are joining us. ‘ Calle Mar ‘ looks very bare after the Contract workers have taken down all the road signs and most of the smaller trees, next it will be the drilling/diggers taking up the pavements, kerbs, street etc, watch this space.

At the moment the sun is trying to break through, the sky is still grey & overcast, yesterday it stayed dry and by the afternoon it was warm & sunny, it’s still 21 degs, tomorrow it’s picking up and over the weekend and into next week, we will be back to normal, for the time of the year, warm & sunny ,with a few clouds, watch this space.

See the forecast below;

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Grilled Gammon Steaks ‘ garnished with seared Pineapple Rings & Button Mushrooms, topped with a ‘ Campo ‘ Fried Egg! Garden Peas and of course twice-cooked ‘ Chips’ on the side.

Yesterday over in Liverpool the last cruise liner of the season, was berthed at the Pier Head, thankfully after ‘Hurricane Ophelia’ had passed, ‘MV Boudicca’ is based in Liverpool and carries 900 passengers, see below.

Last night after supper we channel hopped and watched various programmes, earlier we followed the regular Quiz shows.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A WET, WARM & NOW SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY.

TUESDAY 29^th/AUGUST 2017.

We had a nice lie in this morning until the gas-bottle delivery man came down our street blowing his horn, there are two suppliers  -‘Cespa & Repsol ‘ – both  major petroleum companies in Spain, we use ‘ Repsol’ who calls tomorrow, after freshening up we had our breakfast of ‘Weetabix’ fresh fruit, toast and tea.

I then popped along to the local bank in ‘ Calle Mar ‘ for some cash from the machine, Brenda then went along to the Chemists as her prescriptions were ready, I had met Miguel, the Chemist and he told me! While I was out I saw the ‘ Movistar’ engineers working along the street, after enquiring they told me that they were installing the ‘ Fiber Optic’ cables, it mean that we are now one step nearer getting the ‘Fiber Optic’ cables down to our house, watch this space.

While I was out the Council workmen have started to erect the two main stages along ‘ Calle Mar’ and install more decorations, they are also putting up the Green Awnings across the ‘ Plaza de al Vendimia’ - the house’s along the street are also starting to build their ‘ Sonbrajo’s’ each with its own particular style, watch this space for the pictures later in the week.

Yesterday afternoon Juan, the handyman called in, he’s coming back this afternoon to finish the work in the upstairs bathroom and then he’s starting on the downstairs toilet repairs, re-tiling, re-hanging the door/frame and window, painting and cleaning etc, he’s a very good worker, who Mano recommended.

As I set off it started to rain, we are very lucky as all over Spain they have had more severe weather, with storms and floods, the airport at Malaga is closed and all the flights have been diverted! We have more to come tomorrow before it gets back to normal on Thursday in time for the ‘ Vendimia Wine Festival’ over the coming weekend,  it’s still warm, 24/25 degs, overnight down to 18/19 degs, next week is now looking more settled with warmer weather & sunshine, watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘Pan-Seared Calves Liver ‘ dusted in flour, with Crispy Smoked Bacon, a sauceboat of ‘ Charcutiere sauce on the side, whole Green Beans & Cauliflower Florets in a Cheese sauce and Parsley New Potatoes in their skins.

On Wednesday I’m making my famous ‘ Cottage Pie ‘ using the diced Beef/Pork from our local butchers, I make a ‘ Mirepoix ‘ of finely diced vegetables, Carrots, Celery, Leeks & Onions, cooked on a gentle heat without colour in butter, then add the ‘Mince’ and my secret ingredients, along with a good strong Beef & Vegetable stock, then left to cook on a low heat, I then check the consistency and taste before Brenda tops the dish with her famous ‘ Mashed Potato ‘ ­­- ‘Comfort Food ‘ to die for!

Todays ‘ Stage 10 ‘ of the ‘ Vuelta a Espana 17 ‘ goes from ‘ Caravaca Año Jubilar to Elpozo Alimentacion ( Murcia)  over 165 kms, the major ascent is followed by a very fast descent to the finish, tomorrow is also a very mountainous stage, watch this space.

See the route map below;

Last night after supper we watched the next episode of “ Strike: The Cuckoo’s Calling “ – the final part of the trilogy is on Sunday, the plot thickened as ‘ Strike’ hit his stride, another ‘ Murder ‘ that looks like a suicide, his showbiz connections were revealed, as he bedded another supermodel friend of the first girl to loose her life, ‘Sian Phillips ‘ first appearance as a ailing ‘ Lady’ with a past, his vaguely neurotic sister trying to sort him out, his smart ‘PA’ drooling after him, all taking place with a backdrop of a rain-soaked, visually arresting London & Soho. Finally after enjoying too many drinks at the local pub, he sat down to watch the ‘ CCTV ‘ footage, given to him by a friendly cop, of the night of the first suicide/death – he suddenly realised that he recognised the killer?!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A OVERCAST & VERY WET SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY;

THURSDAY 1^st / DECEMBER 2016 !

I was up first this morning to see ‘ Reina’ back with us for the day, she shot upstairs into her duvet and Brenda stayed under ours for a little lie in, Brenda has had a much better night with no pain and by this morning the swelling has started to go down and her foot was not as tender, she is now able to walk on it, the new tablet regime is starting to take effect, I picked up the new prescriptions from the Chemists in ‘Calle Mar’ yesterday evening, we are checking her blood pressure every morning, as it’s one of our Doctors main concerns, hopefully by the time she goes back to see her for a check up on Monday lunchtime things will be a lot better.

After our normal breakfast we got the shopping list ready for tomorrow morning, Brenda was then able to have a shower and she is now catching up with her chores around the house, I then set too and got this evenings supper on the go ‘ Beef & Vegetables Stew ‘ which I will make into a ‘ Lob Scouse’ later with the addition of diced cooked potatoes, with it we are having Cabbage with Acelgas ( Swiss Chard ) & Pickled Red Cabbage!

Overnight, as forecast, a very large ‘ Atlantic’ storm hit us, it turned into a cloud burst with the loudest thunder and white fork lightening we have ever heard/seen!  Our wall plants have taken a bashing! There are reports of flooding in the local area and across the region of Andalucia, this morning it’s grey & overcast with rain, it’s in for the rest of the day, tomorrow and over the weekend it’s going to be dry and sun is due back with us here in sunny Manilva, but the rain could return before the start of next week, watch this space.

Last night after supper we settled down to watch the final episode of “ The Missing “ – it was a cliffhanger, the French Detective, with the help of the parents of the missing girl, Alice, tracked the kidnapper/killer down to the remote cabin in the Swiss wood/Alps, they had discovered the cell under the garage floor of the killers house, where he kept the three ( are there more ?) missing Girl’s, the butcher who was convicted for the crimes was let out but ignored his wife who was involved in the conspiracy, the killer had also shot one of the other plotters, it was not suicide, the body of the young Detective that he killed was found in the boot of a car,  the father of the ‘MP’ Detective who was also involved, was not going senile, he  had planted the wrong ‘DNA’ evidence to cover the killer, leaving him with a lifetime of pretending senility to cover his tracks!

As they approached the cabin the kidnapper/killer shot the father of the missing ‘ Alice’ – the other missing French girl with her daughter ( by the killer) escaped and was talked down from killing herself, over a cliff edge, the ‘ Swiss  Police’ squad arrived on the scene and shot the killer in the leg, they then found ‘ Alice’ hidden in the cabin and reunited her with her parents after 11 years, sadly her father died from his wounds, but not before seeing her for the last time, ‘ free’ and with her mother. Finally the French Detective went into surgery for his brain tumour, will he survive?! 

Will there be another series, watch this space?! 

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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WINDY AND SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY;

THURSDAY 27^th/ MARCH 2014.

I took scruffy out for his first walk of the day before breakfast, just around the block as its rather windy and cold, so we both shot back to the house quickly after he done his ‘Message’s’ – and yes we do of course ‘Pick & Bag’ He’s settled in very well and is into the routine, he has a lovely temperament and is very friendly and cuddley,he does as he’s told and is sleeping very well, in fact last night he was asleep on his back, legs ‘Akimbo’ dreaming of ‘Bones, Food & Girls!’ We will miss him when he goes home on Friday morning; he’s not with us again for a couple of weeks as his dad is on holiday!

Later this morning I’ am taking Brenda down to the hairdressers in Sabinillas and picking her up later, she’s having the ‘Full works’ – her hair is rather long and is blowing into her eyes in the stiff breeze – so she is rather overdue for a shampoo,blow,cut,highlights and touch up! See the picture above of the new woman in my life - a special 'Bob Cut ' - Thanks Annie !

The weather forecast is still the same for Friday and Saturday – wet and windy – we will have to get the wet proofs out! It’s not cold; in fact the temperatures have not dropped below 20 degs, not like the rest of Spain which is on alert for storms, snow and high winds!  

Today we are having an at home day getting ready for a busy few days from tomorrow and over the weekend into next week; Friday is shopping day and then sorting out the wardrobe for Saturdays trip to Cadiz cathedral and then Puerto Santa Maria, which we are really looking forward too, we might be picking our friend Josie and her husband Den up from the train station over in Algeciras on Sunday after their classic train adventure from London, via Paris, Barcelona and Madrid, we are waiting to hear from them.

Then next Tuesday afternoon we are collecting our friend Gillian up from Marbella bus station after she fly’s in from England for the first time since she moved back to Torquay last year.Sh’e kept her small house  below the village in the complex – we are also taking her to the airport in Gibraltar when she goes back.

Finally on Wednesday morning it’s the big one when I have an appointment with my Prostrate consultant over at the hospital past Marbella to find out the results of my Prostrate biopsy last month – fingers crossed!!

Tonight’s supper is the second pan of ‘Lancashire Hotpot’ which I’ve made up with rest of lasts night feast, which we really enjoyed, tonight we are having Cabbage with Alcelgas and pickled Beetroot! Then we will watch the news and weather forecast to see if there is any change!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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