Week 23 of 2021 started with a cloudy, overcast sky and light rain again.
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 and tostada, I replaced it with bacon and scrambled eggs at home.
After breakfast, I walked around to the local supermarket to buy a few groceries. When I got home, I unpacked the groceries and decided to go for a ride on my bike. I cycled towards Los Narejos before turning around, cycling back through Los Alcázares and then turning back towards home. The route was just under 10 km. My legs ached a bit when I got back, and when I locked my bike back up in the garage, I went to the chiringuito. My friend Jane was at the bar, and we sat chatting for a while before we both left.
This evening, I got 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 began to rain so I turned back and went back home.
Spain switched to a new electric tariff this week, which makes electricity cheaper on the weekends. As the weather wasn't perfect, I put a lot of washing on and then dried it in the tumble dryer. As the electricity is cheaper the entire weekend, I also charge my mobility scooter, which is something I used to do overnight at a cheaper rate but can now do anytime over the weekend.
This afternoon, when the rain left off, I went to Mercadona for some milk. Despite the rain this morning, it is still warm out, and with the sun out, it is pretty nice to be whizzing along at high speed on the Sharky mobile. The rest of the day is spent playing computer games and watching garbage on the TV.
Sunday, June 6th.
When I woke up this morning, it was nice to see a bright blue sky again. The birds were singing, and after a protein shake for breakfast, I took some rubbish to the bin before continuing on a walk around to get some exercise.
I spent the morning reading, and in the afternoon, I walked around to La Playa bar to see the live singer. It was great sitting outside in the sun, listening to the singer and chatting with friends. I left, went home and spent the rest of the night reading.
Monday, June 7th.
This morning, I had bacon, scrambled eggs, mushrooms, and baked beans for breakfast. At lunchtime, I took the Sharky mobile out for a spin and went to Pizzeria La Sombra for a pint with my mate Martin. We sat chatting for a while, and his wife Kate brought me over a sun hat that she had made for me. It exactly matched their daughter Aria's hat, and we both looked brilliant in them as we posed for a photo.
On my way home, I stopped off at the Chiringuito for a quick pint before going home to change. I was invited to meet Martin, Kate, and Aria at the Asia Star restaurant for dinner, where we will be joined by more of Martin's family. It was a nice change actually to eat in the restaurant. I have just been getting a takeaway from there for a long time. After a lovely meal, we all left to go home. Dave (Martin's dad) dropped me off on his way home, and I spent the rest of the evening watching television before having an early night.
Tuesday, June 8th.
This morning, I stripped my bed as my leg had bled during the night, and the sheets needed to be changed. I then stored all the extra bed sheets I had been storing in the spare room in the base of my bed. This will make a lot of extra room in the spare room and will make it look a lot better.
I am having a cleaner come check my apartment out today, so I have no more excuses. I will have to clear some of the boxes from my living room at last. They only have old electric cables and things that I can't decide whether or not to throw out, 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, and she looks around. She tried to tell us something, but as neither Mick nor I speak Spanish and Google translate is very unclear about what she is saying, she will tell our friend Jo, who can then pass the message on to me in English.
This evening, I had an appointment for my 2nd COVID jab at the local sports centre. At about 18:45, I went to the sports centre for my jab. Luckily for me, the centre has heard that the Sharkster is due to arrive, and 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 and 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 was very professional, quickly gave me my jab, and pointed me to a seat to recover. After 14 minutes 59 seconds, I didn't need the full 15-minute recovery time, so I left to go home. Even after taking a circuitous route home, I was still home by 8 pm. The jab did not hurt, and the only discomfort I felt was 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 got up and cooked bacon, eggs, mushrooms, and beans to keep up my strength. I was going to go swimming this morning, but as my arm was a bit sore, I thought it would 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 and read whilst I wait for him to arrive.
After chatting with Mike, I returned to my apartment, and because my arm was still a bit sore, I did nothing more than watch TV, 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 had punched me and given me a dead arm. I had a pot of tea and then went for a shave.
Unfortunately for me, I nicked my chin whilst shaving, and because of the anticoagulant medicine I take, it would not stop bleeding. I don't mean that rivers of blood were gushing out of my body, but it continually dripped from my chin for the next few hours. Holding a tissue or kitchen roll against it didn't help, but they were soon soaked. I had to stay still with a piece of kitchen roll pressed against my chin for hours before it finally clotted enough to stop dripping blood onto my chest. I then had to be careful not to knock the congealed blood from my chin in case it started bleeding again.
The rest of the day, I watched home repair programs on TV. It was a lovely day out, but I didn't want to venture out with a sizeable dried blood scab on my chin. It looked weird, and I didn't want to drip blood everywhere if I did knock it off accidentally.