2024, Week 50 journal.

In week 50 of 2024, the temperatures dropped a lot, and I decided to stay at home from Wednesday onwards. I do not want to catch a cold like I have done every Christmas I can remember for a long time. I worked on my computer a lot and did some cooking.

Monday, 9th December.

Today was a relatively quiet day. I went to meet Martin and Dave at the office, and when Dave and Martin left, I stayed behind with Terry, chatting for a while before heading home. Once I got home, I did more family tree research before going to bed at around 10 p.m.

Tuesday, 10th December.

After getting up, I had my coffee and did the Wordle puzzle before getting ready to go out. Just before 11 am, I walked to the main road and waited for Dave to pick me up. When he picked me up, we continued to Los Narejos to pick up Martin, and after picking him up, we drove to Cartagena to visit the Mediterraneo Centro.

When we arrived at the shopping centre, Dave dropped me outside MediaMarkt and dropped Martin at the main entrance to Mediterraneo Centro. I went inside the store and headed for the section with coffee machines on display. I bought my present coffee machine before COVID-19, and it was a cheap one that I only bought to see if I got the use out of one to make it worth buying a decent one. After now finding myself drinking more coffee than tea, I decided to get a better one that uses real coffee rather than the coffee pots my previous one used. I have read about them online and can see what they look like and what they do, but I wanted to make sure I could get a full-size mug under the spout before buying one.

I looked at the extensive collection of coffee machines and found that the majority of them would allow me to get a full-size mug under the spout. I photographed a few of the coffee machines I liked so I could read more about them on the Internet, and then I left the store to meet Martin. I walked to the entrance of the shopping centre, and a few minutes after I got there, Martin came out. We walked to where Dave had parked to get back in the car.

Dave drove us all back to Los Alcazares, and we stopped at La Sombre Pizzeria for a beer. We all sat chatting, and after Martin and Dave left, I continued chatting with Sean and Terry. When they left, I chatted with Jesse for a while after handing him his passport, which he had dropped earlier. I walked towards home and stopped off at Harry's bar for a drink on the way.

Over the last few years, at Christmas, I have paid someone's bar bill or handed out money to strangers as a Xmas treat in memory of my very generous parents. I had previously donated money to buy Christmas dinners for people who used a cafe in the UK because I knew the owner gave free breakfasts to people who were down on their luck. I donated money to the Salvation Army instead of buying Christmas gifts for family, and I handed people living rough money to get a hot meal. Tonight, there was a young couple in the bar who were pleasant but didn't appear to have lots of money. When I went to leave, I paid for my beer, and without telling them I was doing it, I paid the couple's bar bill before leaving. It didn't cost me much, but I hoped it would be a pleasant surprise for them.

I returned to my apartment, immediately put the heating on, and sat watching TV. I was again unable to sleep properly and sat up, hoping I would fall asleep in front of the TV.

Wednesday, 11th December.

I didn't fall asleep in the chair and finally went to bed around 5:30 am. I did sleep till around 10 am but was still tired when I woke up. The temperature dropped again overnight, and I decided to take a pyjama day. I spent all day watching TV, trying to keep warm. I watched lots of episodes of Blindspot, had soup and a sandwich when I wanted something to eat and waited for the Arsenal vs Monaco football game to start.

Unfortunately for me, I got so engrossed in the storyline in Blindspot that I forgot all about the Arsenal game until after the game had finished. At midnight, I went to bed without even knowing the score of the game.

Thursday, 12th December.

When I got up at around 8 am today, I got a coffee, but instead of checking my email or looking at any messages, I put the heat on, put the TV on and watched last night's Arsenal vs Monaco on catch-up TV before anyone told me the score. Arsenal had to put out a mixed team because of injuries to first-team players. They did not disappoint, and in a challenging game, they won 3-0, with Bukayo Sako playing very well. Myles Lewis-Skelly, playing left-back at his first start in the Champions League at only 18, was brilliant.

This afternoon, I offered to lend someone a spare walking stick, which I have and was told they would pick it up tomorrow. I did some cooking, tidied up my kitchen and watched the next series of Blindspot. I was happy to stay indoors all day.

Friday, 13th December.

I had to go out to get some more tablets today as I had run out, but not wanting to go out and miss the person picking up the walking stick today, I waited at home for them to arrive. I did some cooking using my slow cooker and watched the last few episodes of Blindspot. I think towards the end of the series, it was losing its hold on me, but I watched till the very end. It had some great acting, some poor acting, some laugh-out-loud moments and some tear-jerking moments and all in all, I loved it.

In the afternoon, I received an email from the Vaccination Centre telling me that my Monday appointment, which was in Cartagena, would now be in Murcia. My friend George, who is giving me a lift to the Vaccination Center on Monday, arranged to meet me for a coffee at 5:30 pm. I only hoped he would still be able to take me even though the place I had to go to had changed. I peeled a bag of pears and placed them in a bowl of water with some lemon juice before putting them in the fridge to use tomorrow.

By 5:15 pm, no one had arrived to pick up the walking stick, and I had to leave to meet George and Yvonne. I walked to Cafe Avenida and saw George and Yvonne, but I walked straight into the pharmacy next door to get my tablets. Once I had my tablets, I walked back to the cafe, sat chatting with George and Yvonne, and had coffee. As I sat down, my phone beeped, and I saw a message from the person who was supposed to be picking up the walking stick today, asking if they could pick it up tomorrow.

George, Yvonne and I didn't stop long in the cafe as it was getting cold. George confirmed he could still take me for my appointment on Monday, and I said I could walk to him and would see him on Monday. I then walked home to get under a warm blanket.

I spent the evening adding some details for some of my great-grand-uncles and aunts to my website. 

Saturday, 14th December.

I woke up around 7:45 this morning. I got up and got myself a coffee. The temperature outside was the coldest so far this week, and it was only 9 °c. Once again, I didn't think I would be leaving the house again today. After taking my tablets, I got a pot of peach and jasmine green tea. I only have a few of these tea leaves left, so I will finish using them today and start using the Thai ginger oolong tea. Hopefully, the ginger will help ward off a cold.

I seemed to have no energy again this morning, and by midday, I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. I decided to see if I could get an hour's shut-eye before making the crumble to go with the pears I had prepared yesterday. I didn't get any shut-eye, but I did do lots more family tree research. Jim came round at 2:30 pm to pick up the walking stick on behalf of Brian, and after giving him the walking stick, I went back to my comfy chair in my warm apartment to watch the football.

I watched the Arsenal vs Everton game on TV this afternoon, and again, Arsenal's attack was terrible. If Arsenal had a centre-forward capable of scoring 20 plus goals a season, we could be at the top of the league by now. As it is, we don't and are only looking at a Champions League spot if we don't sign a centre forward in January.

The evening was spent doing family tree research and editing my website.

Sunday, 15th December.

I woke up quite refreshed this morning. I got a coffee, checked for messages on my computer and did the Wordle puzzle online. I had a second coffee and some cereal, stripped the linen from my bed, and put it in the washing machine.

I tidied up my kitchen and then finished making two double-portion pear crumbles. I didn't have any plain flour for the crumble and used almond flour instead. It was an experiment, and I hope it works. I put one in the fridge and kept one out to have later today. I didn't have everything I needed for my dinner, and rather than go to Aldi, I went along to my favourite takeaway restaurant in Los Alcazares, El Buen Sabor. I got myself a meal and took it straight home.

When I got in, I quickly warmed my meal and ate it. If you have never been there, try it. My peppered pork steak with chips only cost €6, and it was delicious. After finishing my meal, I sat down in my armchair and expected to fall asleep in front of the TV. I didn't fall asleep, and I managed to watch Carry-On, a film about a terrorist attack on an airport and plane. Die Hard was better but it filled a couple of hours.

This evening, I ate one of my pear crumbles. It was okay, but the almond flour didn't make a very good crumble, and I will make sure to get plain flour before I make the next one. I did some more work on my website before watching another film and went to bed around 11 pm.