This week, I got the results of last week's tests from the Doctor. I took a short trip to Alicante to see Bob Dylan in concert and my friend Cindy arrived from England to stay with me for a holiday.
Monday, 12th June.
I woke up around 7:30 am, checked for any messages on my computer and got a coffee. The baskets I ordered from IKEA that should be arriving tomorrow are now arriving today, so I won't be able to go to the office today. At 9:30 am, I set off for the Doctors surgery to see what the results of last week's tests meant.
When I got to the Doctor, I checked in and was seen in a few minutes. My tests showed that I have high cholesterol and that the acid levels in my stomach were not right. I was given two more tablets to take to fix these problems. While there, I also asked about my swollen legs again. Previously, I had been prescribed some tablets that helped the oxygen in my blood and helped with the swelling in my legs. The Doctor added these tablets to my prescription again for three months. When I left the Doctor, I went to a pharmacy and collected the prescription.
When I got home, I spent the next hour sorting through all my tablets and putting them in my pill dispensers for the next few weeks. I have to put them in pill dispensers, so I don't get confused about which ones to take and when. I currently have to take 7 tablets a day at three different times: some before I eat, some after I eat and others just before I go to bed.
This afternoon, the delivery of wicker-style baskets that I had ordered from IKEA finally arrived at about 7 pm. They were just what I needed and looked good in my kitchen. I sorted out some of the things I wanted to store in them and put them on the shelving unit in my kitchen, alongside the bread maker I purchased last week. I finished clearing the kitchen up, ready to install my new dishwasher tomorrow. Inspired by how my kitchen is beginning to look, I ordered some new glass kitchen containers that can be used in a freezer, oven or microwave. They will quickly replace all the different plastic containers that get discoloured, scratched and look terrible.
I will soon start to batch-cook some more soups and other foods I like, and now won't have to put the nice recipes I make into horrible old containers. Hopefully, I will be inspired to make more healthy recipes that will help me control my cholesterol.
Tuesday, 13th June.
I had set my alarm for 7:30 am today in case I didn't wake up early. The new dishwasher could have arrived at 8 am, and I wanted to be awake if it did. I got myself a coffee and some orange juice and then sat at the computer to look at the world's news while waiting for the deliveries.
The delivery drivers from Amazon arrived at about 9 am, brought in the new dishwasher and unwrapped it. They went to fit it in, but its trim made it about 3 mm too tall. I told them I would adjust the countertop, and they left the half-connected dishwasher in the kitchen and cancelled the charge for fitting it.
I immediately messaged my friend Dave Pope to ask if he could look at it to fix it, and he said he could take a look later today. Dave turned up and looked at the cabinet and quickly managed to fit the new dishwasher in place. Unfortunately, the pipework, which I thought would be a simple plug-in job, was anything but. Dave had to make several trips to get the correct part to connect the dishwasher to the plumping on the sink that I have in my kitchen. He first tried the local hardware store and then had to go further afield and visit an out-of-town store for the part that would allow him to fit the dishwasher into my sink. I was worried that it might mean having to replace the entire sink at one point, but he managed to fix it with new plumbing, a lot of hard work and a little bit of cursing. Unlike everything else in the apartment, I knew the sink was cheap and nasty, but it seemed the plumbing used to fit it was as well.
I now have a new dishwasher in my kitchen, which goes well with the washing machine/tumble dryer I installed last month. Hopefully, I won't have to replace any more appliances for a while now. This evening, I watched the television and the storm over Los Alcazares. I love a good storm. I find the noise of the rain strangely comforting. I like the deep sound of the thunder and like to see the lightning in the distance. The storms here in Spain are nowhere near as spectacular as those I used to watch in Florida, America when I lived there, but they are still enjoyable.
Wednesday, 14th June.
I woke up around 7:30 am today. I checked my messages online and looked for an update on the delivery time for the second part of my food container delivery, which should arrive today. Nothing told me the delivery was imminent, so at about 9:45 am, I took some stale bread to the Mar Menor to feed the fish before I went for a swim.
The water was beautiful this morning. It was quite warm and very clear. I sat in the water, feeding the hundreds of fish that swam around me, and I watched the seagulls floating on the water around me, trying to grab the fish feeding on the bread I was giving them. After I had used up the bread I had taken down to the water, I swam out to the rocks about 200 m from the beach.
I sat on the rocks for a while listening to some very noisy women dancing to loud music on a boom box they had with them. The four of them wore leg springs and bounced up and down as they kept fit. When they had finished, they all jumped into cars and drove home. Why, I ask, do they need to drive to a public place to play loud, annoying music instead of doing their routine at home? They didn't support any of the local businesses, they upset the people living in the surrounding homes with their loud music, and I don't believe jumping around on leg springs on the promenade paving stones is not damaging. The local council always has to pay for repairs to the promenade, and the local businesses aren't allowed to play loud music, so why do they get away with damaging the promenade and the loud music?
Once the women had left Plaza de Espejo, I swam back to the beach, and whilst sitting in the water, I spoke to my friends Diane and John, who come to swim in the water most days during the warmer weather. After a short chat, I returned to my apartment to wait for my Amazon delivery.
Once at home, I carried out a lot of administrative work on my website, updating page titles in Google and removing indexed pages that no longer exist. My delivery arrived at 12:45 pm, and I was very pleased with the bowls I had bought to store and serve my homemade soups in. Once my delivery had been made, I took some recycling to the nearby bins and continued to the Mercadona store to do my shopping. I only wanted a couple of bits, and I went straight home as soon as I had them.
I relaxed at home this evening and cooked honey mustard chicken for dinner. I had it with a jacket potato with Camembert cheese and a small salad. Tonight, I watched television before printing off the documents for my trip to Alicante tomorrow to see Bob Dylan.
Thursday, 15th June.
Today, I woke up at around 7:30 am, and as soon as I had shaken off the heavy weight of my night's sleep, I got some bread and went down to the Mar Menor. I sat in the water feeding the fish for a while before swimming out to the rocks. I sat on the rocks briefly, breathing in the quiet comforting atmosphere of another beautiful morning before swimming back to the beach and returning to my apartment.
Back in my apartment, I showered and got some cereal, orange juice and coffee for breakfast. When I had finished my breakfast, I pottered about on my computer before putting a few items in an overnight bag for my trip to Alicante this afternoon.
At midday, I put my rucksack over my shoulder, locked my apartment up and headed off on my adventure for this week, going to see Bob Dylan in Alicante.
Friday, 16th June.
I woke up in the La Lonja hostel this morning after seeing Bob Dylan in Alicante in Concert last night. After travelling home I had an early night.
Saturday, 17th June.
I slept quite well last night and woke up around 7:45 am. I got some coffee and some orange juice and took my pills. After having some cereal for breakfast, I put some washing in my washing machine and started working on my website.
Mid-morning I checked on my washing and the machine had stopped so I opened the door but found the clothes were still wet. I thought I must have put the washing on but not the dryer, so I set the dryer going before returning to my computer to work. A couple of hours later I remembered the clothes being dried and checked again they were still wet, and I noticed the sink that the machine drained into had fluff blocking the sink which in turn had prevented the washing machine from emptying correctly. I unblocked the sink, ensured the drain pipe was in the correct position and put the washing machine on again.
This evening, I checked the washing machine again, and it worked. I emptied the machine and put my dry clothes on the bed in the spare room to put away later.
I then sat in front of the washing machine to watch Forest Gump on the television. I sat watching the film and spent the night messaging my friend Cindy, who is flying out tomorrow to stay with me for a couple of weeks. I completely forgot about the washing in the spare room, and after the film finished I went to bed.
Sunday, 18th June.
I woke up at around 4 am, and the immediate thought I had running through my head was that I hadn't put the last lot of washing in the machine before I went to bed. I got up went to the washing machine, and put the next lot of washing in the machine before I then went back to bed.
I woke up again at about 7:30 am. I got out of bed and checked the washing machine; everything worked well, and I put a second lot of clothes in the spare room with the lot from last night that I forgot to put away. I stripped my bed and put my cotton bed sheets in the washing machine before getting some cereal for breakfast.
At around 10:30, June picked me up, and we drove to Corvera airport to pick up my friend Cindy, who is coming to stay with me for a couple of week's holiday. The roads were very clear, and we arrived just before the plane carrying Cindy landed. June and I went to the arrivals waiting area and had a coffee until the passengers came out of the arrivals lounge. Cindy got off the plane, quickly collected her case, and walked through arrivals at the airport. Whilst Cindy and June went to the car and put her case in the car I went to pay for the parking. It was only €1.10, much more reasonable than I remember parking charges in UK airports.
We were quickly on the way home but before going to my apartment we stopped at Junes' apartment so that Cindy and I could move a sofa around for June. It didn't take long, and June dropped Cindy and me back at my apartment at about 12:30 pm. When we returned to my apartment, Cindy was about to put her luggage in her room when I remembered all my washing covering the bed. I quickly removed it all, and Cindy could settle in and get changed. At 1 pm June picked us up again, and we all went to Campbells for lunch.
I really enjoyed my lunch and was pleased to manage to eat it all because I was worried that my change of tablets this week may have affected me. I normally take omeprazole to control my indigestion, but have changed to some new tablets and stopped taking it. Apart from a few small hiccups I was able to eat all of my roast lamb.
We left the pub at about 3:30 pm, and June dropped Cindy and me off at my apartment. We sat talking on my balcony until around 6:30 pm and then walked along the promenade to La Playa bar. We ordered a drink but were the only people in the bar. As it was so quiet, we quickly finished our drinks, and when the local tourist train passed by, we jumped on it and rode to Rio Nalon.
It was quite strange. As we walked up between the bars and restaurants, I saw quite a few people I hadn't seen for quite a while, and others saw me who didn't recognise me because of the beard I now have. We walked to the top of Rio Nalon and stopped at Cafe Parking where we sat chatting and had an Asiatica coffee. When we left we walked back back down to Rocco´s bar where sat having a drink until around 10:15 pm. We finished our drink and then returned to the tourist train to get a ride home.
After we got home, we sat and talked until around 1:15 am before we both retired to our rooms for the night.