Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A week of Photoshop tutorials, digital art experiments, reorganising photos, long walks, good food, and a steady rhythm of football, sunshine, and small domestic victories.
Friday, February 19th
Photoshop training, beers in the sun, and a hearty pork feast.
I had no plans today and no deliveries arriving, so I did very little in the morning apart from watching online Photoshop training videos. At lunchtime, I went out for some fresh air and didn’t get far before stopping outside one of the local beach bars. I saw my friend Colin at the San Juan bar, sat down for a chat, and had a few beers with him and his wife for a few hours in the sun.
I had a lovely afternoon and returned home to use up the slow‑cooked pork in my fridge. I mixed it with barbecue sauce and ate far too much. After eating, I turned on the television but didn’t see a thing as I quickly entered the land of nod for an hour. I woke in time to watch a webinar about Canadian ancestry in Ontario, which ended just as Wolves vs Leeds kicked off. I hoped for a 6–6 draw that wouldn’t affect Arsenal’s league position, but instead got a dull 1–0 win for Wolves. At least both teams stayed below Arsenal.
Saturday, February 20th
A new drawing tablet, a steep learning curve, and a timely message from a photographer friend.
I woke up, made a pot of tea and sat waiting for my new drawing tablet to arrive. It turned up around lunchtime, and after a short while, I had it connected and running. It seemed challenging at first, but I quickly saw how much more accurate I could be with my Photoshop work and how useful it would be for digital art.
It will be a steep learning curve, but there are hundreds of helpful free videos on YouTube. First, I’ll have to learn to draw with it, then take more photos to practise editing.
In a strange coincidence, my friend Fructo, a photographer and teacher, contacted me today, and we arranged to meet next week at La Encarnación. With any luck, he may give me a few pointers or inspire me with his ideas and photos.
Sunday, February 21st
Aldi shopping, photo organisation, and a respectable Arsenal performance.
I had to do some shopping today because I was running low on food and had used up all my freezer meals. With cooler weather and possible rain forecast next week, I stocked up at Aldi and got home quickly, just in time for a delivery I had forgotten about. I had barely sat down with a pot of tea when the doorbell rang. Luckily, it all worked out, and I received my new power‑lead extensions.
This afternoon was spent organising my images again. I now have around 95% of the photos with faces correctly tagged using Adobe Lightroom. I also started clearing out the out‑of‑focus or poor‑quality photos. I should do this as I go along, but it always gets overlooked.
With my new graphics tablet, I installed Adobe Fresco, a drawing app included with the subscription that I had never even heard of. I’ll give it a try and see if it’s easier to draw in than in Photoshop.
I watched Arsenal vs Man City in the evening. After going a goal down in less than two minutes, I feared the worst, but Arsenal grew into the game and could have equalised. I wasn’t too disappointed with the loss and hope we took encouragement into Thursday’s Europa League match.
Monday, February 22nd
Council tax, furniture rearranging, and new family‑tree discoveries.
This morning I went to the bank to pay my IBI, the Spanish version of the English Rates tax. I had never had to do it before, as it was always taken by direct debit. Even with the €14 late fee, it came to just €83, brilliant compared to the UK.
I then went to the post office to mail a letter to my accountant in Florida before heading home for a pot of chai tea.
Around lunchtime, my friend Mark came round to help me move furniture. Some pieces are too big and heavy for one person. I swept the floor before he arrived, and together we moved the display cabinet, the massage chair, and finally the large dining table that will now be my computer and graphics‑tablet workstation.
Short bursts of physical activity leave me breathless, so after a break, we went to Bar Carzola for a beer and tapas. Mark then went home, and I continued hoovering, dusting and setting up my equipment. A shelf had to be removed to move furniture, and Mark will put it back up later in the week. For now, my books are temporarily living on the floor.
In the evening, I received family‑tree information from Penny, my 3rd cousin once removed. She sent certificates, a photo and a breakdown of the people involved. It was invaluable, and in return, I made the picture clearer and added colour to bring it to life.
Tuesday, February 23rd
A better apartment layout, market shopping, fresh juice, and a thought‑provoking film.
The first thing I noticed when I got up was how much better the apartment layout felt after yesterday’s rearranging. I made a pot of tea, had a massage and checked my email before heading to the Tuesday market for fruit and vegetables. It’s always quieter early in the morning, which I prefer.
The market had returned to its usual spot, though I preferred it at the sports centre; it felt safer. I quickly bought my fruit and veg, then made my weekly stop at the bakery for a pie and a cake. It was bright but chilly, and it took two pots of tea to warm my hands.
This week’s juice was made with six oranges, six apples, four celery sticks and four carrots. I juiced it all and put it in the fridge to cool. The rest of the day was spent reading my Kindle or watching films.
One of the films was Bliss, starring Owen Wilson and Salma Hayek. The story, about real people in a computer‑generated world surviving by taking crystal drugs, sounds odd, but it was excellent and surprisingly emotional. It deals with mental anguish, addiction, homelessness and the struggle with reality. Hayek was brilliant, and I enjoyed the film far more than expected.
In the evening, I watched Oxford vs Portsmouth, which reminded me of the first football match my dad took me to in the early 1970s. I told him I didn’t enjoy it and never wanted to go again. The following week, he took me to Highbury to watch Arsenal, and I fell in love with football and Arsenal forever.
Wednesday, February 24th
A mistaken early start, a long walk, and a faster laptop.
I got up early for the first day of the RootsTech online convention, three days of genealogy exhibitions held online this year. With speakers around the world, I got up at 05:00 Spanish time, only to discover it starts tomorrow. Unable to get back to sleep, I spent three hours sorting photos and deleting around 100 that weren’t good enough for artwork or were simply uninteresting.
After breakfast, I went for a walk along the promenade, cut up through Rio Nalon, where most bars and restaurants were still closed, then walked back along the main road into Los Alcázares before stopping at Bar Carzola for an Asiatico coffee.
In the afternoon, I worked on digital art projects and noticed my laptop running slowly. I spent time deleting unwanted files and games, then ran optimisation software. It soon sped up again, and I continued working. In the evening, I watched football before having an early night.
Thursday, February 25th
Computer trouble, old photos, Adobe support, and Arsenal’s dramatic escape.
This morning, my computer wasn’t loading some programs properly. After much head‑scratching, I gave up and went out for fresh air. I picked up a photograph from my friend Sean, one of my father in the RAF. I couldn’t remember ever seeing it before, but I was happy he kept it. It had been tucked inside a piece of paper I had given him months ago.
I then visited my friend Keith for a cup of tea. The tea was very welcome on a cold morning, as were the two jumpers he gave me that no longer fit him. After that, I went to a new café that opened today, saw some friends sitting outside in their small groups, and then returned home.
I reached out to Adobe support about the software issues. They connected remotely, reinstalled the software, and fixed printer issues that had been preventing it from running. It was all very organised, and for once, I have no complaints about an online help service; Adobe support was excellent.
In the evening, I watched Arsenal dominate Benfica in the first half of their must‑win Europa League match, only to finish 1–1. The second half worsened when Arsenal gifted Benfica a second goal. Luckily, Tierney equalised, but Arsenal would still go out on away goals unless they scored again.
Watching from behind the sofa, my emotions went from depressed to ecstatic when Arsenal scored a third, then nervous for the remaining minutes. They won, and the mighty Arsenal stumbled, crawled, and just about deservedly advanced to the last 16.
The life of a football fan is not an easy one, stumbling from game to game, clutching at straws, spending days in misery, only for our team to turn us into gibbering wrecks every time they play. But I love it. Onwards and upwards, Arsenal.
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