During week 7 of 2021, I watched the rover, Perseverance, land on Mars. Being too young to have seen the moon landings I loved watching this amazing event.

Week 7 of 2021.

Friday, February 12th.

This morning I managed to send off a genealogy report to a family member for his branch of our family tree. Hopefully, he can see it, read it, & tell me some of the missing details from it. At lunchtime, I go for a short walk & then stop for a small beer & a tapas at a bar around the corner from my apartment, Bar Carzola. After lunch, I go back home & relax by sunbathing on my balcony. I read my Kindle, enjoy a can of beer & dose off in the sun.

Saturday, February 13th.

I had a quiet day today. I did a bit of genealogy, tagged more images in my collection & for lunch I went to a local bar on the beachfront & had lasagne, chips & salad with a pint. There were quite a lot of people out & about so I went home, once there I stripped off to my boxer shorts, got my kindle & went on to the balcony to sunbathe & read. It was so hot I put sun cream on so I wouldn't get burnt, not bad for a February afternoon. In the afternoon I flipped channels watching the football & rugby & was pleased to see Wales get win a very close match against Scotland.

Sunday, February 14th.

I spent the morning catching up on my washing & tagging more images in my photo collection. A bit of genealogy research was broken up with the odd trip to the utility room to unpack the washing machine or to do a bit of scavenging & hunting for something to eat in the kitchen. I managed to track & kill a large pack of pork ribs that had been sheltering in my freezer. It was a big enough pack for me to have some for lunch & the remainder for my evening meal whilst watching Arsenal play Leeds on the television. 

The weekend comes to a good end as Arsenal beat Leeds 4 - 2 & Wales won in the rugby.

Monday, February 15th.

I know its not Christmas yet & I have only just had my birthday but I thought I would treat myself this morning, so after a lie-in, I got up had a shower & a shave before going out to get my drugs for the month, & to book a blood test. The sun is shining & it doesn't look like there is a strong wind so it should be a lovely day. My legs are aching this morning so I will dust off my trusty steed & take the Sharky mobile out for a tour around my domain.

After getting my tablets I went to my local bakery to get a pie for my lunch & some bread rolls for later in the week. After collecting these I went & sat along the beach & ate the cream cake that had somehow managed to get into the bag from the bakery.  On my way home I saw my friend Angelia who physically dragged me, kicking & screaming on my scooter, back to La Encarnacion for a coffee & a chat. It was nice to catch up with her & see a friendly face again.

The evening was taken up with genealogy research, downloading & attaching census records to different people in my tree.

Tuesday, February 16th.

Today I will pop out to the Dr to make an appointment for my blood test. I was going in yesterday to make an appointment but the cream cake I bought at the bakery caused temporary amnesia & I forgot. I will go to the Dr on my way back from the market to get some fruit this morning.

I go to the Dr & make an appointment to have my blood test tomorrow, then go back to collect my friend Mark at his apartment close by. He only moved into his new apartment a few weeks ago & doesn't know where the market is & I take him along, just to show him where it is. When we get there we go through the security entrance & have our hands squirted with hand sanitiser & have our temperatures scanned before being allowed in. After we are in, I purchase some apples & oranges to make some fresh-squeezed juice with, some potatoes, some tomatoes & very hot chorizo sausage. I then take Mark to La Encarnacion on the beachfront where I can get a tostada, coffee & orange juice.

When I get home I make up some juice using my juicer. I juice 6 oranges, 6 apples, a mango, 4 sticks of celery & a large piece of ginger, mix it all up & put it in the fridge to cool. It made around 2 litres of juice which I mix with water when I drink it. Whilst working in the kitchen I get out a piece of pork for tomorrow. I put it in a bowl, cover it with honey, crushed garlic & coconut water, then place it in the fridge to marinate overnight.

This afternoon & evening I produce an image showing the Spanish Eagle Patrol flying in a cloudy sky. I like what I have done, especially when printed off & will get it framed for my house.

Wednesday, February 17th.

I awake just before 5 am today & can not get back to sleep. I have my blood test at 9 am & I worry that I may fall asleep & then miss my appointment, so I just get up. I do some online shopping on Amazon, buy a set of bottles to keep & serve my olive oil from & then purchase an all-singing & dancing digital tablet to allow me to continue to do my digital art. Many years ago I went to London & did Adobe training in Photoshop & I am a certified Adobe professional, I have just never really taken the time to take my hobby to the next level. I am hoping that the new tablet will allow me to do this.

I have a tostada & a pot of tea at home before I settle down to YouTube for a few hours watching some videos on exercises I can do to get started with my drawing & sketching, using my new graphics tablet when it arrives. I go for my blood test & I am seen quite quickly & am back home by 9:20. It was quite cold outside so I will warm up a bit before going out later to see if I can catch up with my friend Mike. He is a Tottenham fan & I do like to make sure the poor old chap is OK every now & then. I was taught that you should always keep an eye on older, senile, grumpy geriatric people if you can, even those with Totteringhamitus. After seeing Mike in Los Narejos I only just make it home on my mobility scooter before the battery dies & I have to immediately put it on to charge overnight.

In the afternoon my friend George calls & invites me for some libations at a bar I have not been to before, El Callejón de las Brujas, which translates as The Alley of the Witches. It is a nice little local bar within walking distance from my apartment & I can sit in the sun enjoying a beer in the warm with George & his wife Yvonne. When the bar closes we head home stopping off on the way at Cafeteria Avenida for an Asiatica coffee or two.

After leaving my friends & arriving home I find all of the fresh air & excitement for the day makes me fall asleep almost immediately, only waking up to watch some football on the television before retiring to bed.

Thursday, February 18th.

I woke up today to a really thick fog, it's just like being back in the UK. I have two deliveries arriving today, I just hope both of them can find my house. 

My first delivery, some CBD cream is delivered by Melissa at about 9:15 am, one down, one to go I hope the second one arrives early as well. I didn't have to wait too long for my second delivery, it arrived from Amazon at midday. I now have cream for my leg & bottles for my olive oil & vinegar, all my dreams are coming true.

This evening I watch Perseverance land on Mars. I will admit I was quite excited watching the Mars landing as I am too young to remember the moon landing. I am now looking forward to seeing the images & data that come back to us from Mars.

I was also able to watch the Benfica vs Arsenal game that because of COVID restrictions had to be played in Rome, Italy. It was quite disappointing that Arsenal didn't make the most of the chances they had to win, but hopefully, they will progress to the next round, next week after they play the next leg of this tie in Athens. The game finished Benfica 1 Arsenal 1.  The Benfica goal was a penalty when the ball hit the arm of Smith Rowe in the Arsenal penalty area, the Arsenal goal was scored by Saka who it seems this season is trying to drag Arsenal towards success all by himself.