This week was another cold week. I went out to eat three times at three different restaurants, saw a friend singing in one bar and met my good friend Alan Bond in another bar to celebrate his birthday at the end of the week.
Monday, 13th February.
I woke up and got a coffee at around 8 am. I worked on my website until around 11 am and then took a big bag of rubbish to the bins. After dropping my rubbish in the bin, I went to the Euronics store to drop off one of the pairs of trousers I had to return. Once again, Amazon deliveries confuse me. I have two pairs to return: one pair SEUR will pìck up, and one pair I have to take to the store.
After dropping off my trousers, I stopped at the doctor's surgery to make an appointment for a blood test and to see the Doctor; now I have the results from my MRI scan. I get both appointments for 9 am tomorrow and then head off to Pizzeria La Sombre to meet Martin for a couple of beers. It is very cold out today, and I am glad I went out with plenty of warm layers on. I am also pleased to see the restaurant has the windbreakers down to keep the wind off of us. Dave turns up for a chat, and we talk until the school bus arrives with Martins's daughter, Aria. Then, we all head off home.
I intend to go to D´Pollo for something to eat on my way home, but as I go past, it is all shuttered up, and they are not open. I go back to my apartment, sit in the warm and decide to get a Chinese takeaway to eat later. At around 5:45 pm, Martin rings me to tell me that he and Kate are going to a Chinese restaurant in San Javier and asks if I want to go. I gladly agree, and they will pick me up.
We had a meal at Yamami´s, which was very nice, and afterwards, we headed to a shop for Martin to get some new trainers before Kate dropped me off at home. I am quite tired when I get home. I watch television for a while before going to bed at 11 pm.
Tuesday, 14th February.
I had set my alarm for 7:30 am today to get me up in time to get ready for my appointments at the doctor's. As normal, I woke up before the alarm went off. At 7:00 am, I got up, got coffee, and made some porridge with banana, raisins, blueberries, and a dollop of Greek yoghurt. I work on my computer until 8:45 am and then leave for my doctor's appointment.
I see my normal Doctor at the doctor's surgery, but he can't advise me what to do about the tinnitus, and I will still have to see the specialist. After speaking with him, I leave him and go through to the nurse who takes my blood for my INR test to regulate the amount of Sintrom I take. Today, I saw the nurse I prefer. She is much better than the male nurse and always gets my blood the first time. After my blood test, I asked the receptionist for an appointment to see the specialist, who was only there once a fortnight. As luck would have it, he was due in this evening, and I was given an 8 pm appointment to see him.
When I left the surgery, I went to the Economy Cash superstore and got myself an apple pastry before heading home. Once home, I spent the day working on my website. At about 7:10 pm, I got a phone call from the surgery asking if I could come in earlier. I stopped what I was doing and headed to the surgery with the results of my MRI scan. I had to wait a little while to see the specialist, but I was seen at about 7:40 pm. After looking at my results, he told me that the scan looked good and that I did not have any tumours. He prescribes me some tablets that I have to take for 3 months, and then I go back to see him again.
When I left, I got the tablets from the pharmacy next door. I hoped the tablets worked; they cost €27 for 30, and I have to take 1 a day for 3 months. When I got home, I went online to get my blood test results from this morning and then adjusted the amount of Sintrom I was taking. I sort my pills out into my monthly pill dispenser. I am a few days short on my Sintrom and will have to get some more tomorrow.
Wednesday, 15th February.
I got a coffee with a bacon roll when I woke up this morning, then sat down at my computer and worked on my website for a few hours. I am meeting my friends Frouk and Reinder for lunch today, and around 12:30, I left home and took a slow walk along the beachfront before going to meet Frouk and Reinder at La Casa de Papel, where we are meeting for lunch.
When I arrived at the restaurant, the doors were all shut, and the metal grills were across the door. I tried the doors, and they were all locked up. I wondered if they didn't open till 1:00 pm, and as it was just before that time, I sat at one of the tables outside. I took my phone out and checked the opening times for the restaurant and confirmed that they should be open. I sat and waited for Frouk and Reinder, and when they arrived, we decided to go to Ramons restaurant just up the road.
None of us had been to Ramons for their Menu del Dia. We were not disappointed. We all shared a beautiful fresh salad, and then I had the seafood soup before my main course of fish and chips. It was followed up with a piece of chocolate cake. The meal, which included a glass of wine, cost €10.95. I thought it was very good and will definitely go again.
Alan Morris in Ramons restaurant, Los Alcazares.
Salad course at Ramons restaurant, Los Alcazares.
Soup course at Ramons restaurant, Los Alcazares.
Fish course at Ramons restaurant, Los Alcazares.
Cake at Ramons restaurant, Los Alcazares.
After we had finished our meal, we all left and went home. I walked back along the beachfront, and after not walking far for a while, my legs ached a bit when I got home. The wind had picked up a lot, and it was nice to see the waves on the Mar Menor.
This evening, I watched the Arsenal vs Manchester City game, in which Manchester City won 1-3. I think Arsenal were the better team in the first half, but Manchester City were the better team in the second half. Arsenal does not have a big squad like Manchester City, and this was most obvious in an attack where Arsenal were not able to bring anyone on to replace Eddie Nketiah, who missed two or three very good chances to score for Arsenal. Manchester City goes back to the top of the Premier League on goal difference but has played a game more than Arsenal. I hope Arsenal can soon find their way in front of the goal and start scoring goals again.
Thursday, 16th February.
I woke up around 6:30 am today. I was unable to get back to sleep, so I got out of bed, made coffee, and started working on my website.
At around 11:15 am, my friends George and Yvonne picked me up and took me to the Espacio Mediterráneo shopping centre in Cartagena. First of all, I went to Primark, and I looked for some trousers in case the ones I ordered from the UK didn't arrive on time for my holiday. The ones they have there are all horrible. They are called joggers and have no zippers and have drawstrings instead of a button or belt. The materials are all different, but some look like plastic, others rubber and others feel horrible. I don't want any of these, and I walk along to C & A. They do have proper trousers, the styles aren't great, and the colours aren't brilliant, but I do manage to get navy and karki coloured pairs of cargo trousers that I prefer as they have multiple pockets to hide stuff in. I also bought a new belt to go with them, and I was happy that I would at least have something other than shorts to wear on my cruise at the end of next week.
After we finished shopping, George dropped me off at my apartment. My friend Jacquie asked me to help her with her email account, and after I had dropped my new trousers off in my apartment, I went around to her home to help her. I made a couple of adjustments to her notepad settings. I instructed her how to delete images and videos that she doesn't want anymore, as these have filled all her storage capacity. I leave her to delete all the old files and will promise to go back tomorrow afternoon.
As soon as I got home, I put my heating on as it got cold while I was out. I worked on my website for a while before cooking some turkey fillets, jacket potato, and mixed vegetables for my dinner. After my dinner, I settled down in front of the television to watch more episodes of Homestead Rescue before going to bed.
Friday, 17th February.
Today, I woke at 7:45 am. I got up and made myself a coffee before settling down at my computer for a while. I have a few small jobs today, and they annoy me. They are all little jobs that I should be able to do in my sleep, but I find they make my back ache, and I don't like doing them.
I go out at about 11 am to get the pills I need. In the UK, they make all different sizes in terms of milligrams but here in Spain, I can only get two sizes. This is annoying because my blood levels change, and I have to cut tablets in half. They are so small to start with that it is easy to drop them, lose them, or cut them wrong. After buying the tablets, I pop into ATime4AChange to have a quick look around. They had a mirror that I considered buying, but it will have to wait until I get back from my cruise.
I head home when I leave the shop, and I am soon home in the warm. I trimmed my beard off over the bathroom sink without thinking. The beard hair blocked the plug hole, and I had to spend time unclogging it. This would be a quick job for most people, but I can't see the blockage well enough, and it takes me half an hour to remove the hair. While I am in the bathroom, I clean the sink, the bidet, and the toilet. I must admit it looked a lot better when I finished, and I was quite pleased with myself. I was not as happy with the back ache it had given me, so I settled down to watch some television and stretch out my back on the sofa.
My friend Deeana messaged me tonight to let me know she is singing at Boochies bar in Los Alcazares tomorrow, and I was glad of an excuse to go out to see her sing. This evening, I managed to connect my smart watch back up to my phone and get it working with all the different keep fit apps. I do find the apps spur me on to exercise, and as the warmer weather will hopefully be coming back soon, I hope to be able to begin to walk a little bit each day.
Saturday, 18th February.
I woke up around 7 am today. After getting a coffee, I sat down to work on my website for a while. I stopped work at around 1:30 pm to watch the Aston Villa vs Arsenal game on the television.
It was a great game to watch, and Arsenal won the game 2-4. The first four goals were all really good, but the one I enjoyed the most was the fifth goal. The Aston Villa goalkeeper, Martinez, had been time-wasting the entire game. In extra time, which was only being played because of his time-wasting, Jorginho had a thunderbolt of a shot for Arsenal, which came back off the crossbar, hit the Villa goalkeeper in the head, and went back into the goal. The fourth goal in the final seconds came from an Aston Villa corner, in which Martinez had left his goal and tried to score in the Arsenal penalty area. The ball fell loose, and Arsenal raced to the other end of the pitch to score. Martinelli was celebrating scoring into an open net before he even kicked the ball into the goal. Later in the day, Manchester City could only draw against Nottingham Forest, which means Arsenal are back at the top of the Premier League and still have a game in hand.
This evening, I went to see my friend Deeana sing at Boochies. When I arrived, the place was very busy, and there was nowhere to sit down. After getting a drink, I sat outside where I could still hear her sing and also watched the Newcastle vs Liverpool game on the television. Shortly after sitting down, I was joined by my friend Ady, and while we sat talking, our friends Bob and Connie arrived. We sat chatting for a while before I left to go to Rocco's bar for a quick pint. I had a pint whilst I sat at the bar and was about to leave when another friend, Helen, came in. I sat talking to her for a while before leaving to go to another bar just down the road. As I passed Perlitas Bar, I saw my friends, Bob and Connie, so I popped in to see them. It was only after going in I realised how late it was. It was 1:15 am. When I looked at my watch a short time ago, I thought it had said 11:15 pm. I apologised to Joe, the owner, for turning up so late, turned around and walked home.
As I approached my apartment building, I saw two young men looking through my neighbour's ground-floor window. As I approached, they ran off. I also noticed that the apartment opposite had a large group of youngsters having a party. They may or may not have been connected, but I am sure the owner would not be happy to find out her grandchildren had used it to host a late-night party. I went into the apartment block, and although it was late, I thought I had better check on my neighbour to see if she was okay. I knocked on her door but didn't get a reply. I would have to check on her again in the morning.
Sunday, 19th February.
I woke up around 8 am but stayed in bed until around 9:30 am. After getting up, I got myself a coffee and sat down at my computer for a while. I worked on my website until around lunchtime. I then went downstairs and again knocked on my neighbour's door. She answered the door and said that she had heard someone at the window last night, probably the kids I saw, and had heard the front door but not opened it. I told her that it was me at the door and explained what I had seen outside. I left her, and she said she would check on her car, which was parked outside. I then went outside to meet my friend June, who was picking me up to go for Sunday lunch at Campbell's bar.
This week, I had the roast pork with all the trimmings. It was lovely, but unfortunately for me, my GERD stopped me from finishing it. I had it boxed up to take home with me. June and I had a good chat and, as always, seemed to spend a lot of time laughing. When we finished, June took me back to my apartment so that I could put my boxed-up dinner in the fridge and collect my walking stick before she then dropped me off at La Playa bar so that I could join my friend Alan Bond for his birthday party.
I enjoyed chatting with Alan and my friend Gary but also bumped into a few people who will be on the same cruise as me next week. There was lots of singing at the party, some very good, some good, some not so good. As I didn't want to sing and spoil the fun time for everyone, at around 6:30 pm, I walked back to my apartment.
Once I was home, I had some crab salad on toast for a light snack before watching the Aston Villa vs Arsenal game on television again. All in all, it had been a good week, and Arsenal being back at the top of the Premier League really made it for me.