Well,first of all, after dropping off my lovely family at the airport to spend a week with FR's brother in Mallorca, I pootled off, with a sense of absolute freedom, to IKEA - which is just a stone's throw from Malaga airport.
I bought some storage boxes for my new bedroom shelves - more of which later as they're not finished yet - some new chopping boards, a watering can, some new plates and candles. That's all. Good start, I thought.
Now on day four, I've managed to do all the backlog of washing and ironing; I've REALLY cleaned the kitchen, the lounge and the bathroom but haven't had the energy to tackle the bedrooms yet. I've diligently watered all the plants, including the potatoes - heaven help me if they take a turn whilst FR's away - early morning and late evening. Darwin and I have been for some lovely walks and I'll be doing my usual teaching during the week - I still have a few classes in the mornings, for which I am truly grateful. And I've had total freedom in my choice of viewing on the new TV - and oh, I did enjoy 'Sense and Sensibility' again!
But is it sod's law that a particularly breezy moment on Saturday afternoon managed to bring down the wire that held the curtain awning above the kitchen door, the green awning that is strung outside Mateo's room AND the shady awning that acts as our summer carport? Sod's law indeed as there is no way I have the strength or the height to fix any of them back again. I have managed to take down the curtain awning and have pinned the green one to the ground with stones so that it doesn't flap about and take off but I can't do much about the carport shade - that will have to wait. Til FR gets back, of course.
What I have really been enjoying is cooking and preparing food just for myself and have discovered a particularly summery and delicious salad - baby spinach leaves, beetroot and orange segments, sprinkled with a lemon and ginger couscous. Today, I think it will be fresh tuna and asparagus with a little more of the couscous...
I have thrown caution and good taste to the wind too and spent the week wandering around inside and outside the house in a bikini. FR certainly wouldn't mind if I did it all the time but foolishly, I feel very self-conscious and always have but I'm glad to say I've found it a very liberating experience. It's possible that rather flabby and baggy skin looks marginally better in a lightly tanned state but I will not post photos for you to judge this statement. For someone who really believes that body image is all wrong these days, I struggle to be honest with myself and to 'walk the talk'. And I've been thinking about this recently... possibly more about being honest with oneself in a future post...(lots of 'puntos suspensivos' in this post hence the title. Shame on me that I could only think what these were in Spanish, not English. I mean, does anyone ever stop to call these things 'ellipsis' or 'suspension points' - or do you think 'dot dot dot' when you put them?)
And this week, I remembered to buy some batteries for my camera. Hope I've managed to capture the peace and quiet and the sense of being completely relaxed in these photos...
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| Breakfast, lunch and dinner under the vine... |
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| ...which is coming along rather nicely after the initial frost scare! |
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| New plates from IKEA. And local, organic tomatoes... |
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| Always somewhere close... |
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| My favourite salad. And olive oil from our friend, Paco. |
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| Breakfast, Andalucian-style. |
OK, I have to tell you that the olives are not the local ones for which this area is particularly noted throughout Spain but are in fact a delightful recent find in our local Lidl! They are Kalamata olives from Greece - the one thing I have really missed since living here. I bought almost the whole stock! Making my mouth water just to look.
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| Long, long walks in the countryside and the evening sunshine... |
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| Feeling chilled. |
What do you like doing in those precious moments of peace and quiet when the only person you have to please is yourself?
You have captured a perfect picture of relaxation Annie.The photos are wonderful.Your photo of breakfast,lunch and dinner under the vine should go on a postcard.I think we will have to get better in the UK at creating shady areas outside---- as we are still in the throws of hot weather.According to the weather forecast on my blog it will continue until 26th July.
ReplyDeleteIn answer to your question----when the only person i have to please is myself i go into a pop up bird-hide i have in the garden.It has a padded swivel bucket seat inside.I can easily while away a few hours there.Although at the moment it is overheating in there!
Thank you, Maria! Praise indeed from you for my photos. I think it's the lovely colours that make it so appealing and photo-worthy.
DeleteThe heat you have in the UK at the moment is much more humid than it ever gets here - I am hot but hardly ever sweaty - if that's not too much information! Very dry, more scorching than anything else - so the shade is essential. I have to say, I can't imagine sitting inside a pop up bird hide in any type of hot weather - padded swivel bucket seat or not! I hope it cools down to a sensible temperature so you can indulge whenever you feel like it!
Axxx
I love all the photos - was definately worth charging the camera as its so nice to be able to see your lovely home and food...and dog.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you are very self critical of yourself in your bikini (aren't we all)but looko just lovely and I know how bad it is to be tanned but I was not blessed with creamy ivory skin, instead a golden olivey skin that tans easily and my wobbly bits definately look better brown than pale so I dont care what people say about tanning - I like a golden glow (I do sensibly slather myself in factor 15 though and 30 on the face - which goes more blotchy than golden.
The salad looks lovely - cant beet (get it?) a beetroot and orange salad combination.
Thank you Sophie. As the bikini look, well, I'm not blessed at all as far as skin goes - it covers my body, loosely speaking, but is neither creamy ivory nor golden olivey! I have to accept that and stop being so bothered - I can remember thinking my mum was daft for caring what she looked like once she reached 50 but I am doing it myself and it's definitely time to stop.
DeleteThe salad is divine - for me, it's the spinach/orange combination but I did appreciate your play on words!
Axxx
I just peel in the sun so a bikini would be the last straw, I think.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you're relaxing and enjoying yourself...occasionally it is good to have just yourself for company.
Left to my own devices I make tomato sandwiches,read, go out with the dogs and listen to music I like...and watch T.V. likewise.
Re your awnings...what's the name of that helpful neighbour...Sergio?
I could be on my own with you, Helen.
DeleteI thought about Sergio but then remembered the bikini...
Axxx
Lovely post Annie. I am on my own most of the time during the summer so it's normal for me. I do like the fact that I can eat what I want when I want, and not even bother to get dressed if I don't feel like it. However, just as the problem with your awning, I too have a list of jobs that need doing or things to be fixed that I cannot do. That's the downside of being alone I guess. In the midst of a problem at the moment which I'll blog about in a bit.
ReplyDeleteI know you spend a lot of time on your own, Ayak, and I'm always most impressed at the things you tackle on your own too. I'm not the most practical and years of living with FR have made me disinclined to try and do things... let's say he prefers to do them himself...so I have become a bit lazy. There is no way I could have re-hung the awning - I did try - but when I almost fell off the ladder, I decided to just take it down.
DeleteHope you've found a solution to your problem by now (and also hope you're eating more than dog biscuits too!!)
Axxx
Hi again Annie , I am on my own quite a lot , but to be honest , don't really like it , just something I have got used to. Yes I am married but he works all over the world at the moment, boys are married with their own children ,, and I am looking for a job .. like my own company some of the time :-)
ReplyDeleteLove the new plate from Ikea ,, :-)
The pleasure for me is, without doubt, the fact that being on my own is a rarity! If it was on a more permanent basis, I wouldn't like it. It definitely helps if you like your own company... though I wondered at first whether you meant - as you were looking for a job - that you'd like your own company..as in a company of your own! Now there's a thought!
DeleteAxxx
I wonder - do all non-lone women fantasise about eating what they like instead of always making what "they" like? I suspect so - it looks perfect to me!
ReplyDelete(I'm a dot dot dot dotty lady too...)
Well, Nilly, I spend hours trying to find a meal that suits everyone equally well - haven't got it yet. Most days, someone pulls a face (ingrates) at dinner time which really irritates me! I can please two of the children but hardly ever three - only with lasagne and fajitas and there's a limit as to how many times they can have these - and FR doesn't really like either...but then he's Spanish dot dot dot.
DeleteAxxx
I'm happy with my own company - for some of the time. I'd got used to having quite a lot of tme to myself if Tim was working away, Rhiannon had her own house and Tom away at Uni. The house is full again at the moment -Tim is away less, Rhiannon has been back home for nearly a year whilst we renovate her new house and Tom has finished Uni.
ReplyDeleteIt's almost impossible to get any peace!! I won't complain too much as by August Tom and Rhiannon will have left home again and I'll miss that constant buzz.
On my own I'd only ever eat soup, salad (I like your spinach, orange and beetroot idea) and sandwiches. I'd listen to music, have a sneaky look at an episode ot two of Judge Judy and head for the nearest mountain...
Glad that you're enjoying your calm knowing that even though when the family return your peace will be shattered, you'll be delighted to see them.
It's the change that's as good as a rest, I think, Gaynor. I'm either extremely gregarious or rather hermit-like. If it was colder, I'd definitely eat soup too but not in this weather - unless it's gazpacho, but I rather like having something to munch. Had a lovely salad with tomato, onion, cucumber and mozzarella - oh, and kalamata olives this evening. Perfect.
DeleteNot only will the peace be shattered when my dear ones return, but on Sunday, my in-laws are coming to stay for an undefined period! And I shall love every minute, however chaotic it gets!!
Axxx
Your shady place under the awning looks sooo inviting, and Darwin is clearly making himself at home there!
ReplyDeleteI use ellipses all the time, as you've no doubt noticed, but you're right, as I type I definitely think dotdotdot!
The shady place is also home to the most wonderful jasmine plant right now and that´s the most compelling bit! My sunbathing mat has been purloined by Darwin as a regal resting place as soon as the shade hits it. (I don't use it much - can't be bothered lying down for more than 5 minutes at a time!)
DeleteEllipses are good and necessary, aren't they? What would we do without them dotdotdot!
Axxx
I have thought about you a lot this week, knowing that you would be wallowing in seldom experienced being alone. I am sure you have enjoyed it, but I also am sure you will have been looking forward to seeing them all on their return. I love spending time on my own....but only because I know it is usually for short spells of time....( I must curtail my use of dot dot dots!) The IKEA plates are lovely, and as I said on fb, Jess bought some the same for her new flat.
ReplyDeleteMark and I are eating incredibly simple fresh food that takes hardly any preparation at the moment. I suppose it will change next week when the 4 grandchildren and their parents arrive. For some reason they all want different things, some don't eat tomatoes ( can you imagine that ? !) most don't like fish or sea food, and I refuse to stock up on Heinz beans for their visits. Matt, Mark's son, will probably spend the week eating bread,cheese and marmite ! AAAggghhhhh. Lots of love Jx
You've got it completely, Janice. Now I've reached day 6 in splendid isolation, I'm ready to whizz down to Malaga and scoop them up and bring them all home again. The best bit has been talking to Romy on the phone - she's so funny! And they've had a really wonderful time but sound ready to come back.
DeleteI've really enjoyed eating on my own - even though I am as fat as the proverbial at the moment! Since moving here, I don't walk even a third as much as I used to do and it's been tempting to make cakes and biscuits in my lovely kitchen. Need to get a little control..
As for feeding small children with limited tastes...so glad we've moved on, by although mine have broad tastes and eat most things, they have quite different tastes. I didn't like tomatoes when I was little and didn't chew a pea until I was over 20. (Wasn't allowed NOT to eat them, so swallowed them whole to avoid the flavour. Love 'em now)
Been thinking of you too and your visit at the end of September!!
Axxx
That vine arbour looks idyllic, Annie, and I'm not surprised you've spent so long under it. You sound like you've been having a super week pleasing yourself, though I'm sure you'll be equally glad to welcome them all home again. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat do I do on the very rare occasions DH is away? Like you, I get on with some cleaning, as it's so much easier when i have the house to myself. I read, watch TV, blog and read blogs and in the summer I garden. I eat very simply and at odd times. :-)
They're all home now, Perpetua, and FR has fixed the fallen canopy so tomorrow, we'll have shade in front of the house all day.
DeleteThe house has been so easy to look after when there was just me in it! It now looks a bit like a bombsite as bags and washing have been dumped all over. I can't say I mind that much - tidy is over-rated but at least I know I'm quite tidy when I'm on my own.
I will have to go back to set meal times...
PS As you've probably realised by now I'm addicted to dot, dot, dot... :-)
ReplyDelete...and all the rest dotdotdot
DeleteAxxx