Brindleboy123's Blog

Evening all!

I thought it was about time I let my fingers do the typing again.  Seems quite a while since I have been on here – don’t suppose for one minute you have been waiting with baited breath (is that right saying?!) but anyway, I will start my ramblings!

Well, Madrid must now be full once again as they have now left the area in their drones.  We still have one or two “hangers on” but it is only a matter of time before the last one leaves and we can lock the gate!  In all seriousness, it really is very quiet in our block now with just 4 or 5 apartments occupied out of 54.  Another month or so and it will just be three of us here.  I don’t mind, even though it is “quite” nice to have everyone around it is also good when we have the place to ourselves again and the community swimming pool and area becomes, once again, our front garden!  The weather has remained very warm though and the beach opposite is still full each day.  It is the “oldies” that are here now (know the routine nowadays – its the younger couples in May/June, families July/August and anyone over the age of 65 thereafter!). The “oldies” are experts at beach days! The use old shopping bags on wheels and convert them into deckchair carriers! There is usually a place for the brollies and when it is all up and running on the sand, they even have somewhere to hang their clothes without the risk of creasing! Curtains are also often stitched with eleastic and these apparently make good changing rooms without the need to leave the beach!  You have to give it to the Spanish – they waste nothing!

We ventured onto the beach for the first time in weeks yesterday.  We were only there for an hour or so but were offered two “free” day trips (in the hope that we buy a new bed/heater or blankets!), sunglasses, watches and would you believe tableclothes!

I went back to the UK for a few days to visit Samantha, Ben and of course, baby Jacob! He is enormous (thats Jacob not Ben!) It really was lovely to see them.  Babies seem to grow so quickly and I thank Mr Skype everyday for his invention so I can still see them when I am here.  Many of the clothes that we had bought for the little one were now too small and probably had not even been worn more than once! It seems that the Spanish sizing for babies is on a par with sizing for women because the 3 – 6 monts wouldn’t even go near him!  We managed to get out and about quite a bit and the weather was very kind.  I’m not blond but I do seem to have several “blond” moments nowadays (menopausal!) and I left £50 worth of shopping  in a changing room.  I couldn’t believe it when we got back and thought it was gone for good.  Thankfully, the shop assistant handed it in to the information area and so we had to go back the following day.  It shouldn’t have been a problem other than the fact that on the way home there was an accident on the motorway so we took the other road.  Big Mistake!  It took us 3 and a half hours to travel what should have been a half hour drive.   Feeling a bit stressed we pulled in for fish and chips …..the queue was outside the door.  It really wasn’t our day but one positive thing was that the journey gave Samantha and I an opportunity to have a nice mother and daughter chat.

Took Jacob swimming too.  I’m not 100% convinced he was really impressed but I would love to think he will get used to the water and not be a water phobic like I was.  I didn’t even learn to swim until we moved here.  Tony eventually taught me how to swim by getting me to tread water.  I couldn’t believe I could even do that and spent a week or so swimming in an upright position! Now I really enjoy it but not too keen on the sea as there are no sides to head for!

A few weeks ago Tony was looking out of the window and saw a small black dog sat outside a house across the road from us.  A lady came out and was trying to kick him out the way.  The little dog wasn’t deterred and stayed there when she went back in.  After a white Tony called him over and we gave him some food and water.  He was such a lovely little chap and I thought he was actually a puppy until I looked inside his mouth and it was then obvious he was actually getting on a bit in years.  We took him to the vets to check to see if he was chipped and fortunately he was (or so we thought). The vet phoned the owner who said he was too ill after a hip operation to collect the dog who was named Percy and 10 years old, so we took him back to the old chap.  Poor Percy was terrified when we got there and didn’t want to go inside.  The old chap was Spanish and obviously liked the dog but was unable to look after him .  He gave Percy a pat on the head but Percy moved his head.  I hated leaving the little chap there.

Three days later (you’ve guessed) Percy was back outside again! I brought him in, fed him and he played with our two dogs. Believe me I was solely tempted to keep little Percy with us but sense told me that our little flat was really too small for three dogs.  I know we had done it before when we had our dear Chunky boy but I knew I needed to find a new home for this little chap.  Someone had told me that a mutual friend had had to have her dear little dog put to sleep a few weeks earlier and I bit the bullet, put a lead on Percy and went out on the hunt for Diane! Luck was on Percy’s side as I found her in the local cafe with her family including her son who is a dog trainer and animal behaviourist in the UK!  Result!  I asked Diane if she knew anyone who would possibly take this old chap on for his last few years and Percy played the part too – smiling and rolling over exactly as I had told him to on the way down there!  To cut a long story short (unusual for me), Percy is now happily living with Diane and her husband and Peppy their other little dog who has now found a new lease of life.  Percy is enjoying life and I am very hopeful that the years he has remaining will be spent with this very loving family. He is loving the sunshine around the pool and has already been trained to play ball and now even gives the ball back – mind you, only so he can go and lounge by the swimming pool!  Percy has landed on his paws.

I have become obsessed recently – Jigsaws!  Is it possible for a 53 year old woman to be obsessed with jigsaws?  I discovered an app on the Apple Mac and it allows you to create your own so now the majority of our photos that I have on the laptop have been convered into a jigsaw!  Last month it was cross-words, I was doing them day and night.  Actually if I’m perfectly honest it became more a case of looking at the clue and then copying the answer from the back of the book, that’s when I decided I needed a new hobby – I had a book of 500 crosswords and the thought of copying all those clues was a bit too much!

I must be sad because I know I mentioned Celebrity Big Brother last month but I started watching the new Big Brother and noticed that one of the contestents came from my home town of Weston super Mare!  It turned out to be one of the lads that went to Playschool and on to all the other schools with Samantha!  Aaron Allard….well, he has changed!  I remember him at playschool and when he was in A Christmas Carol with Samantha!  I had a text from Samantha when she heard and she said she was considering selling her Christmas Nativity story from primary school to the Sun!!

We have decided to go on one of the Coach trip tours that are popular around these parts.  It is to a place called Cuenca which is north of here.  Its only for 3 days but I think it will be a nice change for Tony to be driven somewhere and will give us chance to see a bit more of Spain.  Our friends have said they will look after the dogs which is going to save us a little too.  We will return the favour later in the year.  I’ll let you know how our little adventure goes next month.

I have been using Twitter a little more lately and getting into the swing of it too although I’m not that good at working out how everything works on there – give me time and I will get there!  Following a dear little lad named Jack Marshall.  He is only 6 and suffering from a terminal brain tumur.  His mum writes each day and there are always smiles and happy memories recorded.  If you are “in” to Twitter give it a quick look.

Whilst on to things to look at – someone posted this on a local forum – if you don’t mind a bit of nudity you should give it a look (it really isn’t anything vulgar!) Again, could only happen here! I just love the look on the policeman’s face and also the fact that the same man seems to be following her around taking photographs!

http://player.vimeo.com/video/6779174?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&autoplay=1

Right then folks, time to get going as there are some grapes with my name on them – I know sounds ridiculous but Tony has decided to lose weight AGAIN and that means I can’t eat anything naughty either as it would seem so wrong!  Apparently the Johnny Rocket burger doesn’t count!  Hopefully I will look so slim next month you won’t even recognise me!

Take care everyone and those carers who are reading this – thinking of you all often and still stalking the forum!

Love as always,

Bell x

Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while, but our hearts forever.  ~Author Unknown