Holidays - Day one

No lie in for me today - been quite a busy one! 

• First of all down to the ambulatori for more blood tests. All over quickly, but left bruised
• TO post office - letters to the UK.
• Dropped books off at school and picked up final pay.
• To the Bank to pay in cheques
• Viewed another flat, which I really liked, but someone else is viewing it tomorrow and is likely to pay the 'reserva' straight away. I refuse to be rushed into any decision, especially with Brockley still going through.
• To the florists to pick up some 'cat-grass'
• lunch
• bit of reading and sunbathing in the garden.
• Appointment at the Agencia Tributaria - rebate of tax agreed, and I didn't have to do anything.

• Home for dinner.

Phew - I think tomorrow will be a bit quieter....

It's all over...

... the school year for me that is.  I had my last class on Friday, to which only one student turned up, picked up her certificate and left, leaving me to go home early - the first tiem ever this has happened. Bit of a result, methinks. 

Then last night we had our annual 'End of year' party. This year it was held in the  'Sindicat del Vi' bar and restaurant. 

Tony and Karen

Tony and I arrived slightly early (well actually dead on time) to find June waiting on the doorstep too. We were delivering the puddings for the night's festivities, made by yours truly: Lemon Meringue, Raspberry Cheesecake and Tiramisu. 

June hacks away at the puddings

 The entertainment was provided by various staff members, all talented musicians, accompanying Roger (one of the Jefes). or playing solo. all were brilliant. Made me think about picking up the guitar again 

Roger & Bill

The food was good enough -I know, I know, I'm far too damned fussy (well I like my own cooking so much) - veggie croquettes of mushrooms and mozzarella and basil salad being the main fare for us. And of course the desserts sublime, not that I had any, but had some complimentary reviews from the other teachers. 

Mozzarella, basil & rocket salad

And there was an additional celebration for Liam, whose birthday is during the holidays , when he will hit the big 4 oh! 

So that's me unemployed again, for at least the summer, just the way I like it. Now I have plenty of time for me and doing those things I love. 

Today I have mostly ...

... been baking. 

Having been asked to prepare a few puds for tomorrow's Supernova end of year staff party I've been doing a little preparatory cooking, preparation etc. 

First of all I've made a tiramisu ... which will be topped off with chocolate before delivering

Then I've thrown together a raspberry cheesecake, which is languishing in the fridge. In the heat of the day (currently 28º) it'd melt in no time.

Additionally I have prebaked the base of a lemon meringue pie which I will make tomorrow, and also cooked up a few sausage rolls for my students this afternoon, as I just have two classes left before I'm on holiday (unemployed), and I really like my students to get a taste of England. 

Allotment update

Yesterday and this morning I spent a couple of hours  each day up the Lottie, watering and doing a bit of this and that. 

Most of the plants are suffering from lack of water so I made sure that they have all had a very good drink for the last couple of days, and will be doing the same tomorrow. The gooseberry bush we have in the garden at home is watered every other day and is thriving. The ones planted the same time at the allotment, clearly have not had such a good deal: 

I love messing about  'on the land'. watering, weeding, trimming the plants - all these so called chores I find quite therapeutic. Fortunately our lottie is in a fairly quiet space, so the sounds tend to be the birds, especially the chickens  of neighbouring allotments, and the buzz of insects going about their job of pollinating the plants. 

So I'm getting away from the hustle and bustle of life in VnG and also getting sun and a bit of a workout before I set off on the Camino later this month. 

Bloomin luverly

As the school year draws to an end (hurrah) I am finding more time to do those things I love. So today, besides preparing camino stuff (- see the other blog),  I've been pottering around the garden: 

Cherry tomatoes, Sage, sunflowers, lobellia and a couple of the family. 

Nuff said. 

Stationery or Stationary

I love paper, pens and all things stationery but get really frustrated when things appear stationary. 

Today I have spent the morning phoning and e-mailing various people. My prime motivation being I need to sort out the dates for our Camino and hopefully tie this in with a trip back to the UK to clear the remainder of our possessions from the flat.

• Firstly I have been communicating to the best of my ability about the sale of our flat in Brockley. Solicitors, Landlords, and Management company  My paper trail was deficient so couldn't provide all the information I wanted to, but think I have managed to dislodge the blockage that had slowed things and look forward to everything speeding up now. 
• Then I tried to change a hospital appointment to fit in with the point above, but the next available one wasn't until late September, and I really don't want to wait that long. 
• Finally I have been 'chatting' to my prospective mobile phone operator to ensure that I do not lose service as part of the changeover. They have promised it will all be smooth, and all I have to do is go to the post office on Thursday to pick up my new sim card....

So after all this I am a few steps forward and am now net-surfing to finally arrange the dates for our Camino, after which I will go directly to the UK. As always watch this space... 

Back on track

Look what I saw today as I walked the coastal path from Vilanova to Sitges.

JOY

For quite a while now I've not been my usual positive self. I can put this down to a few things:

• A difficult break up with someone who I considered to be my best friend -none of my doing - my friendship just wasn't good enough apparently. 
• A recently diagnosed problem with my kidneys which caused me to feel over-fatigued, but that (at least for the time being) is improved.
• and of course the loss of our little man, Xali, in December. 

but in the last couple of days I've started to plan a Camino for Janey and me to do (check out my Camino Blog for updates), and this morning I got my act together and set out for a walk along the coast. Walking in nature always raises my spirits and energy - 'why didn't I do it before then?' I ask myself, and seeing the letters J -O -Y written in the sand as I arrived in Sitges just about topped off my up-beat feelings. 

At last I feel I'm back on track. Energy levels back up, Spirit soaring, who knows I may even write a little something as well.....