THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A VERY SUNNY MANILVA;

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A BEAUTIFUL WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON FRIDAY AT THE START OF A ' HELLUVA' WEEKEND!

FRIDAY 27^th/ APRIL 2018.

I was up early this morning and after a quick freshen up I took ‘ Nelly ‘ around the corner for her first ‘ message’ of the day, Brenda took her for her first walk of the day later, she’s being picked up at lunchtime, on Monday ‘ Charlie’ is back with us for another weeks holiday. I then shot down to Sabinillas, through the ever growing vine fields, on my travels, for the weekly shopping, as the sun was coming up above a sparkling ‘ Mediterranean’

I had a quick toast & tea in ‘ Itzabar’ before going into ‘ Mercadona’ for the main shop, I then collected the local newspapers from the ‘ English Bookshop’ as well as a birthday card, watch out it could be you?! On the way back I went along to the far-end of the promenade to the local market for our fresh flowers & wall plants, I then came back up through/around the hairpin bends to the village, to unload back at the house.

Yesterday evening we made contact with Sandra & Bill, on ‘ Facebook ‘ messenger, over in Everett, Ontario, Canada – Sandra is finally feeling much better, the pain is very faint, she is looking forward to a week off next week, as it’s Bill’s birthday, they are having an away day/night next Friday, on his birthday, in ‘Niagara Falls’ We have arranged to call them next Sunday on the ‘ Skype ‘ video for a nice catch up, watch this space.

Yesterday lunchtime when we were in ‘ Bar Castillo ‘ our friend Michala, called in with her two sons, after school, another local Spanish friend, Pedro, was there and he asked if they would like a new puppy, she ended up getting roped in and the result is a beautiful baby boy, as you can see below, she has just confirmed that they will be asking us to look after him at the end of June, for sure, as they are flying back to the UK on holiday! He could be ‘Doggy Worlds Heaven’ youngest guest! Watch this space.

This morning we have a glorious day down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’ – the sun was out early and the sky is cloudless & bright blue, there is just a very slight breeze, making it a perfect day to be out & about, by lunchtime it will be 24/25 degs+! – over the weekend it’s still going a little cooler with some clouds in the sky, as the ‘ Atlantic’ front comes in, but on one of the forecasts the ‘ April Showers’ have gone away, next week is also now looking dry, cloudy and sunny at times, hovering on the 19/21 degs+ mark, as the month of May starts, watch this space.

See below the start of the cruise season in Liverpool as the liner the ‘ Black Watch’ berthed at the Pier Head yesterday.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘Pan-Seared Fillets of Rodaballow- Turbot ‘ – lightly dusted in seasoned flour, finishing them ‘ A La Meuniere’ style, with a burnt Lemon/Caper Butter, accompanied with Broccoli Florets, Asparagus Spears & Garden Peas ( A Green extravaganza!) with ‘ Parsley New Potatoes( more Green!) 

The ‘ Head Chef ‘ and his very able assistant ‘ Second/ Vegetables Chef’ have been given the weekend off, for the first time in a long while, no doubt they will be out & about ‘ playing’ – watch this space.

This evening we will be channel hopping after supper to find something to watch.

PS; Just a quick line to wish our friends Kevin & Caroline a safe & comfortable journey/flight today, coming over from Brighton, we are looking forward to our ‘ Sunday Roast Lunch’ at Kokomo’!

      

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A VERY SUNNY MANILVA;

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A VERY WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY.

THURSDAY 26^th/ APRIL 2018.

I was up first this morning and after a very quick freshen up, after taking ‘ Nelly ‘ around the corner for her early morning ‘ moment’  - Brenda took her for his first walk of the day while I was out on my travels, she’s due to be picked up tomorrow lunchtime, next week in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’  ‘Charlie’ is back with us for another weeks holiday, from Monday, as well as ‘Reina’ for a couple of days.

I shot down the main Post Office’ in Sabinillas, to be there when it opened, as the queue’s are horrendous, to pay a ‘speeding ticket’ that I picked up the other day on the way back from the Hospital, if you pay it within a month you get a 50% discount!

When I returned we had our regular breakfast of ‘Weetabix’ ( including Nelly!) with fresh fruit, toast & tea, we then got the shopping list ready for tomorrow morning, I then popped along ‘ Calle Mar’ to the local Bank to get some cash from the machine, the ‘Contractor’s ‘ workmen (9) were on their morning break so I took some pictures as the work starts to take shape, at the top of the main street, laying the side-flagstones and now the centre pattern of smaller stones in different colours/sizes, as you can see in the pictures below.

This morning we have, at the moment, another beautiful day down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’ – the sun broke through earlier and the sky is cloudless & bright blue, there is just a very slight breeze, so by lunchtime it’s forecast to be 23 degs+! Tomorrow is going to be even nicer, warm & sunny all day and going a little hotter, at the same time, then sadly the ‘ Atlantic’ cold front hits us, on Saturday and over the weekend, bringing with it colder weather and more of the ‘ April Showers’ Next week is going to be un- settled, with it changing day by day, and a lot cooler, down to 16/17 degs at times, watch this space.

At lunchtime we went along to ' Bar Castillo for a nice cool drink and Tapas, Brenda had the ' Garbanzos Stew- Chickpeas & Spinach and Potatoes ' I had the ' Crab Cocktail Marie Rose' and the ' 'Spanish Ratatouille topped with fried Quails Eggs' - Paqui also gave us a taste of her 'Tortillitas Camarones made with Acelgas ' !

For our supper this evening we are keeping things very simple, I’m cooking, to order, my rather special ‘ Omelette of Choice ‘ – Brenda is having Cheese and I’m having Mushroom, I beat 3 ‘ Campo Eggs’ with just salt & white pepper, I then pre-heat the Omelette pan ( only used for making the perfect Omelette! ) – then add a knob of Butter after oiling the pan with Vegetable Oil, and quickly stir the beaten Eggs, with a large fork, to pre-shape the Omelette, add the ingredients, three grated Cheeses and pre-cooked sliced/cooked Baby Mushrooms, and then fold/shape the Omelette into a torpedo shape and turn it over/out onto the plate! Served with some finely sliced French Green Beans and twice-cooked, hand-cut, ‘ Crisp’ - ‘ Stringfellows ‘ Frits!

I was shown how to make the perfect  ‘ Omelette ‘ over 56 years ago, by a Ex-  “ J.Lyons Corner House Head Chef “ –  ‘Paul Bruchez ‘ from an old Liverpool family of Anglo/ French Chefs! He was my first ‘ Chef Tutor’ at the ‘ Colquitt Street Catering College’ in Liverpool city centre, at the top of Bold Street, ‘Happy Days & Memories ‘

Last night we watched the  first ‘leg’ of the second ‘ Semi-Final of the Champions League’ as Real Madrid travelled to Bayern Munich, Real Madrid had a lucky win 1-2, with neither team playing very well, watch this space.

                                                                                                 !!!!!!!!!!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A OVERCAST SUNNY MANILVA;

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A GREY & OVERCAST START TO WEDNESDAY IN SUNNY MANILVA.

WEDNESDAY 25^th/ APRIL 2018.

We had a little lie in this morning, Brenda took ‘Nelly’ out for a quick ‘ pit-stop’ just around the corner, she slept all night on her sofa, Brenda then had a nice shower as I did our breakfast of ‘Toasted Crispy Smoked Butties’ – smothered in ‘HP’ Brown sauce- open on brown for Brenda, with mugs of steaming tea, we also took ‘ Nelly’ out for her first walk of the day, we have left out the old gas-bottle to be exchanged later, Brenda is popping along to our local ‘Chemists’ in Calle Mar, for our prescription tablets.

The ‘ Contractor’s workmen (8) are carrying on everyday from 8-00 am until 7-00 pm, Monday to Friday, on laying the new flag-stones, 3/ 4 different sizes, colors & shapes, from the top of the street, watch this space.

This morning has started grey & overcast with lots of clouds, there is a little breeze, all very un-seasonal, the threat of the ‘ April Showers ‘ is also still in the air, and the forecast, for today & tomorrow! On Friday the sun is back in sunny Manilva and it’s due to reach the ‘ heady heights ‘ of 23 degs+! Over the weekend we have a new ‘ Atlantic’ cold front coming in, bringing with it, more un-settled weather, getting a lot colder, 17 degs, overnight down to 9 degs, and at the same time more of the wet stuff, all of next week is now not looking much better, what’s happening, it’s the start of May?! Watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘Pan-Seared Lambs Liver ‘ – dusted in seasoned flour and lightly seared in foaming Lime Butter, garnished with Grilled ‘English Pork Sausage’ & Crispy ‘Spanish Smoked’ Bacon, with Cabbage with Acelgas, Crushed Carrots & Turnips & Garden Peas, and a dish of my famous ‘ Lyonnaise Potatoes’ – sliced pan-fried local potatoes & thinly sliced Onions, sautéed in butter with parsley, ‘ Lyonnaise’ means ‘ from Lyon’ or ‘ Lyon-Style’ – from the French city of Lyon!

Last night after supper we watched the 1^st Leg of the ‘ Champions League Semi-Final’ as Liverpool, with a star-studded performance from Mo Salah, as they beat a very poor, until the last 10 minutes, Roma, 5-2!

This afternoon we are going to catch up on the ‘ BBC I-Player’ with the new series that started last night “ The Split “ a new drama about lady divorce lawyers and their cases. Watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A VERY SUNNY MANILVA;

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A VERY WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY.

TUESDAY 24^th/ APRIL 2018.

I was up very early this morning and after a quick freshen up I welcomed back little princess ‘Reina’ for the last time this week, she shot into her duvet, I then took ‘Nelly ‘ out for a quick ‘ stop’ around the corner, Brenda took her later for her first walk of the day. She sleeps all night on her sofa, when she comes back from her walk she has her ‘ Weetabix’ – then last night a ‘ Chicken’ dinner! 

I then carried on to Estepona, along the coast road, past a sparkling ‘ Mediterranean’  to the local Hospital for my ‘ X-Ray ‘ on my dodgy left-hand, as usual I was in & out in no time, my appointment with the ‘Trauma Consultant’ is at the end of May, watch this space.

On the way back I called into our local ‘Petrol Station’ in Sabinillas to top up the car etc – ready for when we are out & about at the weekend, on Saturday afternoon, Daniela’s 40^th Birthday party is kicking-off at around 5-00pm, with food a little later and then entertainment into the wee small hours!

Then on Sunday we are heading off to ‘Kokomo’ for their excellent ‘ Roast Lunch’ with our friends Kevin & Caroline, who arrive on Friday, for ten days at their apartment down in Sabinillas.

This morning the sun broke through as I was on my way across to Estepona, the sky has cleared and is now bright blue, with no clouds, there is just a very slight breeze, making it warm & sunny, so by lunchtime it will reach 19/20degs+ - then go hotter in the afternoon, just like yesterday. Over the next couple of days there are more ‘ April Showers’ in the air, then over the weekend it’s back to being dry & sunny, but still with the threat of the ‘ wet-stuff’ coming back! Next week is forecast to be warm & sunny but in the middle of the week it could go colder and wet, watch this space.

This evening for our supper we are now having ‘ Pan-Seared Medallions of Pork Fillet’- garnished with Button Mushrooms & finished with Lemon Juice and served with a sauceboat of a creamy ‘  Soft Green –Peppercorn Salsa’ – accompanied with Whole Baby French Green Beans and ‘ Rissole’ Potatoes, Baby New Potatoes, par-boiled in their skins and tossed in foaming ‘Parsley Butter’ until golden brown on all sides! On Wednesday it’s going to ‘ Pan-Seared Lambs Liver’ with all the trimmings, then on Thursday we are having ‘ Omelette’s to choice, as usual Friday will be ‘ Fish Night ‘ – then over the weekend we are out and about playing! The ‘ Head Chef’- as well as the ‘ Second/Vegetable  Chef has been given the weekend-off!!

Yesterday afternoon/evening we caught up with the ‘Quiz Shows’ that we follow; ‘Countdown, Pointless, Eggheads, Only Connect (Semi-Final) and then the Final of this year’s University Challenge’ – later we watched an interesting documentary on ‘ Paddington Railway Station’

Then just before we 'hit the sack' we made contact with Jack & Lyn, on the ' Skype' video, over in Melbourne, as we had arranged, to wish Jack a very " Happy 90th Birthday " - it was mid-night here, 8-00 am over in Australia, they are both very well and he had a ' Helluva' family birthday party at a local Hotel on Saturday ( 90 + from both sides of the family) They showed us the ' Birthday Cards' that he had received from the ' Prime Minister's ' of Australia & Victoria as well as local Dignitaries, they were going out for a special 'Birthday Lunch' arranged by his local ' Probus Club ' The parties have not finished, just yet, as on Friday it's Lyn's daughter, Annette, 60th Birthday 'BBQ' bash! Last week it was Lyn's other daughter, Deb, Birthday party - the are then having a month of rest & recuperation!! 

This evening we will be glued to the screen as we watch the 1^st Leg of the ‘ Champions League Semi-Final’ as Liverpool welcome Roma.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.  

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