This week started with me celebrating my 56th birthday. There are many doctors that told my family & me that I wouldn't make it to 25 years old so I would like to say a big "up yours" to them & a big "thank you" to the doctors, nurses, family & friends that made it possible for me to celebrate my 56th birthday.

Week 4 of 2023.

Monday, 23rd January.

I woke up feeling great after yesterday's Arsenal win. I got myself a coffee & then went on to my computer & started to read the many, many messages of congratulations from friends & family from all over the world, who had posted on my Facebook page.

At around 11 am I went to the Tipsy Thistle & had a full English breakfast to start my birthday with a good meal. After finishing my breakfast I set off on the Sharky Mobile to meet my friend Martin for a couple of beers at Pizzeria La Sombre. When I arrived my friend June was also there. As we sat talking my friend Amanda stopped by to wish me a happy birthday.

At around 2:30 pm I set off for home, I was going to stop at D´Pollo for food on the way home but as I passed they were already closing up. I decided to wait for a few hours & then get a Chinese takeaway later. This afternoon it was getting cold & I couldn't prize myself off of the sofa to go out in the cold for a takeaway & instead made myself a bowl of porridge. I watched the football match on the television tonight before going to bed.

Tuesday, 24th January.

I woke up around 6:30 am today. I lay in bed for a short while before getting up for a coffee. The weather did not look good & I messaged my friend George to see if he could take me to the supermarket to get some groceries. My Disability scooter is great for getting me around but can't be used when it rains.

George took me to get my shopping at Mercadona & we missed the rain but it started just as I got home so I am glad I didn't go on my disability scooter. I did briefly see my cousin Jill in Mercadona as we bumped into each other wandering around the store. She hadn't seen me for so long that she didn't recognise me.

After I have put my shopping away I check my bank account to see if my pension money has been paid in. Last year it was about 5 weeks late being paid. This year it is a day late but has been paid in so I am happy about that. 

My cold has returned this afternoon & I have a headache & I am wheezing a bit. I will remain under a blanket for the rest of the week & get some more tablets for it tomorrow. Tonight I have an early night & go to bed at 9:30 pm.

Wednesday, 25th January.

I woke up with a headache & wheezing this morning. I got myself a coffee & did some work on my website for a while, before getting some porridge with, banana, raisins, blackcurrants & honey for breakfast. I wait until about 10:30 am then go to the pharmacy to get something for my cold.

I got my medication & went towards La Encarnacion to have breakfast but when I got to the beachfront I was already feeling the very cold wind so I went straight along the promenade & back to my apartment. Once inside I wrapped up warm, turned the heating on & worked on my website for the rest of the day.

I am getting really fed up feeling so horrible because of this cold & I am also dreading my electric bill this month as I have had the heat on a lot more than I normally would. I went to bed at about 9:30 pm.

Thursday, 26th January.

I slept well last night & didn't wake up until around 8:30 today. I got up & had some porridge with a banana, blueberries, raisins & a splash of honey. I wash it down with black coffee because I have no condensed milk to put in it to make my Cafe Bon Bon. I work on my website for a while before heading to Lidl to get some condensed milk for my coffee.

I get my shopping at Lidl & after putting the small amount of shopping away I make myself a coffee. It was then that I realised I had bought lots of things but not got the condensed milk for my coffee. It was too cold to go back out so I had a pot of tea, took my tablets & crashed out on the sofa, where I spent the rest of the day & evening under a blanket.

Friday, 27th January.

I woke up at 4:30 am but was able to get back to sleep. I woke back up around 8:30 am. I got up & made myself a bowl of porridge with banana, raisins & honey. I had a coffee with milk & vowed to go back out today to get the condensed milk I forgot to get yesterday. 

At around 12:00 pm, I got on my mobility scooter & went to the Economy Cash supermarket to get the condensed milk I needed for my coffee. After buying the milk I stopped off at Rocco's bar & had a cafe bonbon with a shot of rum in it, hoping that it would kill off some more germs. There was no one about this morning so after finishing my drink I went home to my apartment & put the heat on.

The afternoon was spent wrapped up in a warm blanket. Sometime in the afternoon, I got a chicken & vegetable soup out of the freezer, defrosted it & had it to eat. It really is a lovely soup, I will have to make some more as I have nearly finished the batch I made last week.

This evening I watch the Manchester City v Arsenal, FA Cup football match. Arsenal made six changes to the team that had been playing so well & narrowly lost 1-0 to a very strong Manchester City team. It was a disappointment to be out of the FA Cup but I thought the team played well & it gave me some hope that we can go on & win the Premier League this year.

Saturday, 28th January.

I woke at around 7:30 am today I got myself a coffee & some porridge before logging onto my computer & sending my Niece, Holly, a Happy Birthday message. My immediate family all have birthdays in January & as we will be seeing each other in June we will arrange some sort of a celebratory meal when we are all together.

I put my washing on & spend a few hours washing my clothes & working on my website. At lunchtime, I have the last dose of the tablets I have for my cold so I go on my disability scooter to the pharmacy around the corner from me. It is closed but I remember seeing one in a back street not too far away from me & I went to see if I could find it. I find it & it is open, there is only one person waiting to be served & I am served very quickly served with a pack of Ilvico for my cold.

Afterwards, I head straight home & again spend the rest of the day under a blanket in my warm apartment. I have another portion of the chicken & vegetable soup I made last week & watch a film called "Shotgun Wedding", it was terrible & I fell asleep several times & had to keep rewinding it to see what I had missed. The storyline wasn't too bad but the budget must have been very low & the acting & humour was very limited.

This evening I look for any shock scores in the FA Cup. There were none so I go to bed before MOTD comes on.

Sunday, 29th January.

I woke up at about 8 am today. I did feel slightly better than I had but I am taking nothing for granted as this cold just keeps hanging on. I get up & have a coffee, make some porridge & take all of my morning tablets before settling down at my computer to work on my website.

I had a very lazy day today, I did a bit of work on my computer but one of the things this cold does, is make me feel tired all the time. In the afternoon I dozed off in front of the television & this evening I am in bed at about 10:30 pm.