During week 12 of 2024, I met Frouk and Reinder for dinner one day and George and Yvonne for drinks and tapas another day.
Monday, 18th March.
I woke up around 7:00 am, got a coffee, and took a painkiller to help with my back pain. I surfed the Internet for a few hours and did the morning Wordle puzzle before getting myself some cereal for breakfast.
I decided to take the bus to the office, and just before midday, I walked to the bus stop around the corner from my home. I got to the office at about 12:30 pm and sat down with Martin. We had a very heavy workload in the office today, and management from the Ireland office, Bernard Fisher, came along to help with the heavy workload. We were also joined by Dave, Viv, Sean, and Kate before Aria´s bus arrived when she finished school.
When office hours finished, Kate dropped me off at home and picked up a big bag of fish fingers that I had and didn't want. This afternoon and evening, I watched TV and rested my legs. My back seemed better this afternoon, and I hoped it would still be better tomorrow.
Tuesday, 19th March.
When I woke up this morning, the sun was hidden by a thick grey mist. The mist was so thick that I couldn't see the beach. I got myself a coffee, and because my back still hurt, I sat in my massage chair and had a twenty-minute massage to relieve the back ache. After the massage, I sat at my computer and did today's Wordle puzzle online. I sat at my computer, surfing the Internet until around 10 am, and then I walked to the Buena Vista restaurant for a coffee and tostada.
I sat at Buena Vista till 11 am and then returned to my apartment. When I got home, I contacted NCL to see if they could tell me which hotel they had booked me into for my overnight stay in Honolulu. The lady I spoke to was very helpful and could tell me the hotel's name and give me its address. I was delighted to find that I would be staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort. I spent a couple of hours watching videos of the hotel and looking at videos of it online. I can't wait to get there, it seems like a great place to have a holiday so I am sure it will be fine for my one night stay.
Chicken and corn soup
Teriyaki duckAt 1 pm, my friends Frouk and Reinder picked me up and we drove to San Javier to go to Yamami, a Chinese restaurant, for lunch. Today was Father's Day in Spain and it was already busy when we arrived. We luckily got a table and we ordered our food. The restaurant quickly became very busy, and I realised we were lucky to get our table. I had chicken and corn soup as a starter and egg fried rice with teriyaki duck as my main course. The meal was very nice and I washed it down with a couple of beers. We sat chatting while we ate, and because it was so busy, the service was relatively slow, and it was around 3 pm before we left. Reinder drove us back to Los Alcazares and dropped me off at my apartment, where I thanked my friends for their company and went inside.
After watching some helpful YouTube videos this afternoon, I ordered some things for my holiday. To save money paying to have my washing done onboard, I got some washing strips that can be taken onboard and some magnetic hooks that I can attach to the cabin ceiling. I should now be able to do my washing in my cabin and hang it to dry in my shower during the day. It was a good tip from a video I had seen and should save me money on all my future holidays and trips.
I had two sessions in my massage chair this afternoon because my back was still aching. The first was a twenty-minute relaxation massage, and the second was a twenty-minute massage for lower back pain relief. I felt better afterwards and decided to move my furniture around in my apartment to make using my massage chair easier during the day. It also has a zero gravity position on it, so it will be more comfortable than my sofa if I sit in it watching football or reading my Kindle. I contacted my friend Bob to ask him if he could help me move my massage chair and sofa, and he said he could help me tomorrow afternoon, which I was delighted about because I know he is very busy.
This evening, I updated some of my website pages and watched TV.
Wednesday, 20th March.
I woke up early this morning, just before 6 am, and my back felt better than yesterday. I got myself a coffee, sat in my massage chair, and had two massage sessions, one for relaxation and one for lower back pain. My back felt better afterwards, and I then sat down at my computer to check for any messages and to work on my website.
My neighbour Liz knocked on my door just after 10 am, and we walked along to Buena Vista restaurant. We had a coffee and tostada while chatting until around 11:30 am, when we left and went home. When I got home, I continued to work on my computer until my friend Bob arrived at 1:30 pm to help me move my furniture.
It didn't take us long to move the furniture, and after Bob left, I swept the floor and continued to work on my computer. I stopped working on my computer at around 7 pm and decided to get myself a Chinese takeaway as I was cold and couldn't be bothered to cook anything. I picked up my plastic recycling bag and got on my disability scooter to take it to the recycling bin, and I dropped a bag of regular waste in the bin next to it. I then continued to the Hong Kong Chinese restaurant and ordered a chicken and walnut dish with a portion of special fried rice. I didn't have to wait long and soon returned home with my dinner. The chicken and walnuts were okay but nothing special. I would expect to cook something that tasted better and had better quality chicken. The special fried rice wasn't anything special. I ate half of it and saved the other half for tomorrow's dinner.
After eating, I sat in my newly repositioned massage chair for two twenty-minute sessions. I watched some English police interceptor programs on the TV before having an early night and going to bed.
Thursday, 21st March.
I woke up very early today, around 4:45 am, and because I couldn't get back to sleep, I got out of bed, got myself a coffee, and took a twenty-minute massage. My back did feel a bit better this morning but the heated back ache massage helped it feel better still. I had two deliveries arriving from Amazon today but as I didn't expect them in the morning, I went for a walk at about 8:00 am to get some exercise.
I walked along the promenade to La Encarnacion. The wind was blowing hard, and staying upright was hard a few times when big gusts caught me. When I reached the hotel, I turned up to walk towards the town hall, and I called in at Estribor next to it. I usually sit outside when I go there for a drink, but it was too windy to sit out, so I went inside. I ordered a coffee and tostada at the counter and sat at a table reading my Kindle. When a waitress approached me on my blind side, I jumped as she put my order on the table before me. I thanked her as she walked away, and for the first time, I noticed how pretty she was. I sat reading my Kindle, and after finishing my coffee, I ordered another as the waitress cleared my first cup away. When I finished my breakfast, I paid for two coffees and my tostada, which were all very nice and only cost €4, and got ready to walk home.
As I walked outside, the wind blew quite hard, so I wondered when the next bus was due. As I got level with the bus stop, I turned to look up the road and noticed that the bus was approaching. I got on the bus and paid €1 to ride home. It went through the back streets as expected, but I was surprised when the driver did a U-turn and then went down a road parallel to the one we were on. He stopped outside what turned out to be his house, dropped off a toy motorcycle from the storage under the bus and then got the bus back on its regular route. It turned off before it got to my stop, and I missed it altogether. I was deciding whether to continue until the bus returned or get off when it stopped at Rio Nalon. As we went around the roundabout before Rio Nalon, the bus stopped to let a lady with a pram get off. I took the opportunity to get off whilst it was stopped. The bus home had saved me some walking in the high winds but not as much as it should have. I will have to check if there is more than one bus route and see why it bypassed my stop.
When I got home, I got myself a glass of orange, carrot, and lemon juice and sat down to work on my computer for a while. At around 11 am, I felt tired after being up so early. I made an order on Amazon for a couple of things I wanted, then sat in my massage chair, put the TV on, and hoped I would hear the delivery driver when he arrived.
This afternoon and evening, I watched a series called The Cleaning Lady. I watched the entire first series while I waited for my delivery that never turned up. The series was very good, but now I have to wait again for my delivery without knowing when it will arrive.
Friday, 22nd March.
After waking up today, I got myself a ginseng coffee, put radio 2 on and then sat in my massage chair for a 20-minute massage. After my massage, I checked my email and saw a message saying that the deliveries that should have arrived yesterday would arrive today.
I got some scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast and then worked on my website while waiting for my Amazon deliveries. I finally finished adding descriptions to all the photos in the photo albums on my website. The final album I finished working on today contains my pictures from when I visited the Tatanka Story of The Bison exhibition.
My friend George called me this morning to ask if I wanted to meet him and his wife, Yvonne, for a drink. I told him I had to wait for my delivery and would call him when it arrived. At around 12:40 pm, the delivery arrived, and after checking that it was correct, I called George back. We arranged to meet at the Salón Avenida, a cafe/bar near the main road.
I walked to the bar at 1 pm, and George and Yvonne had beaten me there. I ordered a beer and we sat talking. It was pretty strange we were talking and laughing so much, it was like we hadn't seen each other for years rather than a week or so. After finishing my beer, I ordered a small tapa of pork balls with onion and another beer. The meatballs tasted fantastic they were, without a doubt, the best meatballs I have ever had.
We continued chatting, and later in the day, we were joined by my friend Sophia and, later on, by my friend Ady. George and Yvonne ordered themselves something to eat, which looked very good. We continued chatting and drinking and the day flew past. I hadn't even noticed that the cafe/bar had closed. It has a casino on the side, and we were being served from the casino by the time we had "one for the road" and finally left at about 8:30 pm. The day had passed very quickly, and after initially popping out for a swift pint and some tapas, I had sat talking with George and Yvonne for about seven hours and seven pints.
When I got home, I sat and watched the TV for a very short time before I fell asleep. I woke up about an hour later and watched TV until I went to bed at around 11 pm.
Saturday, 23rd March.
When I woke up this morning, it was grey and overcast outside, so I lay in bed until my alarm went off at 7 am. When the alarm went off, I got up to turn it off, got myself a ginseng coffee and then had a twenty-minute massage before turning my computer on and completing the Wordle puzzle. I found it easy this morning and got it on my third attempt.
I saw that my friend Mick had sent me a message and that he could fit my new clothesline for me on Monday morning. I sent him a message and arranged to meet him at Buena Vista for coffee on Monday. We could then go back to my apartment to fit the washing line.
After taking my tablets, I realised I had nothing I could have for breakfast, so I decided to go and get some shopping. Before I could go, my neighbour Liz messaged me to see if I wanted to get a coffee. I decided I could get a coffee and something to eat for breakfast at Buena Vista restaurant, and get my shopping later in the day.
Liz and I walked to Buena Vista for breakfast, and I had a medium-sized cooked breakfast and a coffee. We sat talking till 11 am and then returned to our apartments. I worked editing pages on my website all day and forgot about shopping. For my tea tonight, I cooked myself a steak with a Dijon mustard and herb crust with home made chips. It tasted fantastic, and I will try cooking steak like this again.
This evening, I continued working on my website as I tried to watch the England vs Brazil friendly football match on the TV. The first half was so poor I switched to watching something else and just checked the score on my laptop everynow and then. I was tired and went to bed early, around 10:30 pm.
Sunday, 24th March.
I slept well last night and had a shower as soon as I got out of bed this morning. After my shower, I dressed, stripped the linen from my bed, and put it in the washing machine. When the washing machine was going, I got a coffee and had a massage before sitting at my computer. I made a Skype call to my sister, Karen, and chatted with her and her other half, Brett, for about 40 minutes.
After talking to Karen and Brett, I got another coffee and trimmed some plants on my balcony. I need to spend some time cutting back and repotting many of my plants, but as it is pretty chilly out today, I will leave it till next week. I returned to my computer, indexed some of my website pages on Google, and then tidied up my dining table, or at least the stuff on it. The new watch strap I had ordered from Amazon turned up, but when I tried to fit it to my watch I discovered it was faulty and had to be returned. I immediately filled the return in on Amazon and will have to drop it off at Tecnyshop in the morning.
After temporarily moving things from my dining room table, I dropped some stuff in the rubbish bins. I put paper and cardboard in the recycling bin and dropped a bread maker next to one of the other bins, where I knew it would probably only remain for five minutes before someone picked it up by one of the local bin dippers. I then continued to the Aldi superstore to get some shopping. When I had the things I needed, I went back to my apartment.
I put away my shopping and got myself some dinner before settling down and putting the heating on in my apartment. Before bed, I watched the last episodes of season two of The Cleaning Lady this evening.