Week 23 of 2021, started with a cloudy, overcast sky & light rain, again.

Week 23 of 2021.

Friday, June 4th.

I was supposed to be meeting my friend Jacqueline for breakfast this morning but because of the chance of rain, we have to cancel. Instead of the healthy walk, coffee & tostada I replace it with bacon & scrambled eggs at home.

After breakfast, I walk around to the local supermarket to buy a few groceries. I get home & unpack the groceries & decide to go for a ride on my bike. I head towards Los Narejos before turning around, cycling back through Los Alcázares & then turning back towards home. The route is just under 10km & takes me 30 minutes. My legs ache a bit when I get back, when I lock my bike back up in the garage I go to the chiringuito. My friend Jane is at the bar & we sit chatting for a while before we both leave.

This evening I get a message from my friend Mick who has a cleaner that he has recommended to me. He has arranged for her to come round to my apartment next Tuesday to have a look at it.

Saturday, June 5th.

This morning I was going to go for a long walk but as I set off it begins to rain so I turn back & go back home. 

Spain has switched to a new electric tariff this week, which makes electricity cheaper at the weekends. As the weather isn't very good I put two lots of washing on & then dry them in the tumble dryer. As the electricity is cheaper the entire weekend I also charge my mobility scooter up, something I used to do overnight at a cheaper rate but can now do anytime over the weekend.

This afternoon when the rain leaves off I go to Mercadona for some milk. Despite the rain this morning, it is still warm out & with the sun out it is quite nice whizzing along at high speed on the Sharky mobile. The rest of the day is spent playing computer games & watching garbage on the television.

Sunday, June 6th.

When I woke this morning it is nice to see a bright blue sky again. The birds are singing & after a protein shake for breakfast, I take some rubbish to the bin before continuing on a walk around to get some exercise.

I spend the morning reading & in the afternoon I walk round to La Playa bar to see the live singer. It was great sitting outside in the sun listening to the singer & chatting with friends. I leave, go home & spend the rest of the night reading.

Monday, June 7th.

This morning I have bacon, scrambled eggs, mushrooms & baked beans for breakfast. At lunchtime, I take the Sharky mobile out for a spin & go to Pizzeria La Sombra for a pint with my mate Martin. We sit chatting for a while & his wife Kate brings me over a sun hat that she has made for me, it exactly matches their daughter Aria's hat & we both look very smart in them as we pose for a photo.

On my way home, I stop off at the Chiringuito for a quick pint before going home to change. I have been invited to meet Martin, Kate & Aria at the Asia Star restaurant for dinner where we will be joined by more of Martin's family. It was a nice change to actually eat in the restaurant, for a long time I have just been getting a takeaway from there. After a very nice meal we all left to go home, Dave (Martin's dad) dropped me off on his way home & I spent the rest of the evening watching television before having an early night.

Tuesday, June 8th.

This morning I strip my bed as my leg has bled during the night & the sheets need to be changed. I then store all the extra bed sheets I have been storing in the spare room in the base of my bed. This will make a lot of extra room in the spare room & will make it look a lot better. 

I am having a cleaner come check my apartment out today so I have no more excuses & will have to clear some of the boxes from my living room at last. They only have old electric cables & things that I can't decide whether or not to throw out in them, but they need to be tidied up before the cleaner arrives. I will also move the step ladder that has been kept in the spare room for 6 years, down into the cupboard I have in the garage. My friend Mick brings the cleaner to my apartment & she looks around, she tries to tell us something but as neither Mick nor I speak Spanish & Google translate is very unclear of what she is saying she will tell our friend Jo who can then pass the message on to me in English.

This evening I have an appointment to have my 2nd COVID jab at the local sports centre. At about 18:45 I go to the sports centre for my jab. Luckily for me, the centre has heard that the Sharkster is due to arrive & when I pull up on the Sharky Mobile I am shown into the hall where I can safely park my vehicle. I am very quickly seen, processed & shown to a nurse. I think she is a bit in awe of me, I saw her eyeing up the Sharky Mobile when I arrived, but she is very professional & quickly gives me my jab & points me to a seat to recover. After 14 minutes 59 seconds, I don't need the full 15-minute recovery time, I leave to go home & even after taking a circuitous route home, I am still home by 8 pm. The jab did not hurt & the only discomfort I felt is comparable to the annual flu jab I had back in the UK.

Wednesday, June 9th.

This morning when I woke my arm was a little sore from yesterday's jab but no more so than it was from the first dose. I get up & cook myself bacon, egg, mushrooms & beans to keep up my strength. I was going to go swimming this morning but as my arm is a bit sore I think it will be better to delay my swim for a day or two. My friend Mike wants to meet at the chiringuito for coffee so I walk down with my kindle where I can sit & read whilst I wait for him to arrive.

After my chat with Mike, I go back to my apartment & because my arm is still a bit sore I do nothing more than watch television, work on my website or read.

Thursday, June 10th.

My arm is still a little sore from my COVID jab on Tuesday but again nothing more than when I had my flu jab or if someone has punched me & given me a dead arm. I have a pot of tea & then go for a shave.

Unfortunately for me, I nick my chin whilst shaving & because of the anticoagulant medicine I take, it will not stop bleeding. I don't mean that rivers of blood are gushing out of my body, but it continually drips from my chin for the next few hours. Holding a tissue or kitchen roll against it does help but they are soon soaked, I have to stay still with a piece of kitchen roll pressed against my chin for hours before it finally clots enough to stop dripping blood onto my chest. I then have to be careful not to knock the congealed blood from my chin in case it starts bleeding again.

The rest of the day I spend watching home repair programs on television. It is a lovely day out but I don't want to venture out with a large dried blood scab on my chin, it looks weird & I don't want to drip blood everywhere if I do knock it off accidentally.