Location: Los Alcázares, Región de Murcia, Spain.
Summary: A week of health appointments, long walks, gardening, website work, lift breakdowns, new plants, new gadgets, and plenty of football. I spent time improving my fitness, tending to my balcony garden, dealing with frustrating lift issues, enjoying TV shows, and keeping up with Arsenal’s matches.
Monday, 22nd September
I woke up before 7:00 today, but stayed in bed with my feet raised until just after 7:00, when I got up for a cup of coffee. I sat at my computer, sipping my coffee, and completed the Wordle puzzle. I had a second cup of coffee and then took a shower before getting ready for my appointment at the health clinic.
I did some work on my website, redesigning the exercise section of my blog pages to incorporate more information from my new Oura ring. Just before 10:30, I went to the garage, got on my disability scooter, took some rubbish to the bin, and went to the health clinic.
The clinic was strangely busy today. I sat down and listened to a lady complaining, but before I could take out my Kindle, the nurse called me in. She called me by my first name only, so we must be friends now. She removed the plaster and padding, cleaned out the powder from last week, and applied more powder before redressing the wound. It looked slightly smaller to me. She made another appointment for Friday.
After leaving the clinic, I headed to Cafe Prensa. As I went round a roundabout, a car behind me started sounding its horn. I stayed where I was, and when it passed, I realised it was Kate driving and Martin in the passenger seat. It made me think about how car horns can panic nervous people, and I decided I would avoid using them if I ever drive again.
I joined Kate and Martin at the cafe and had a tostada and coffee. After Kate left, Martin and I moved to Pizzeria La Sombre. Dave and Leslie joined us later. I left around 13:30 and went to EconomyCash, where I bought two pasta salads and some grapes.
Once home, I ate a pasta salad and watched TV. I found a series called The Amazing Race Australia and became engrossed in it. My sister called during one episode, and we chatted for a while. When I next checked the time, it was nearly 23:00. I had been binge-watching for hours. I turned the TV off and went to bed.
Tuesday, 23rd September
I woke up a couple of times during the night but fell back asleep. With the summer visitors gone, I was able to leave the window open and enjoy cool air. I got up just after 7:00, had a coffee, and completed the Wordle puzzle. After posting my cryptic clue on Bluesky, I worked on my website.
The Oura app warned me that my biometrics showed minor strain and to rest if needed. I had woken up feeling unwell during the night but felt better after drinking water. I decided to continue my day as normal.
George called to say he would pick me up at 11:00 to go to the garden centre. I tried adding cocoa powder to my coffee, but it tasted awful. I pottered on my computer until George arrived.
We went to Unica Garden Centre, but it wasn’t great. I bought rhubarb seeds and left. George then took me to Ala 30 in San Javier, which was much better. I photographed plants and used Google Lens to check if they would survive the heat on my balcony. I chose several plants and compost.
On the way home, we stopped at the Overseas Store, where I bought two bottles of Dr Pepper. George helped me carry everything to my apartment. I was puffing like a steam train and had to sit down to recover.
I had a salad for lunch and watched TV. Later, I bought a new computer game, Kaiserpunk, but my laptop couldn’t handle it, so I installed it on my main computer. It was too complicated to learn in one go, so I turned everything off and went to bed around 23:30.
Wednesday, 24th September
I woke around 7:30, had a coffee, completed the Wordle puzzle, and went for a walk along the beach. I turned at the Hotel Balneario La Encarnacion and walked past the Town Hall to Estribor cafe. I ordered a coffee and tostada and began reading a new book, Mindfulness Matters. After an hour, my tostada still hadn’t arrived, so I left money for the coffee and walked home.
Back home, I repotted the two Rosemary plants into a hanging basket, repotted a White Anthurium for my lounge, and placed a Golden Pothos next to it. I cut back my dead bamboo plant and trimmed some balcony plants, adding the trimmings to my compost bin.
I had a pasta salad for lunch and watched more of The Amazing Race Australia. I loved the contestants, especially Skye-Blue and her brother Jake, and the Cowboys.
Before the football, I went for another walk along the beach. After returning home, I watched Port Vale vs Arsenal in the Carabao Cup. Arsenal won 0-2. The draw for the next round gave Arsenal a home game against Brighton.
Thursday, 25th September
I went to make coffee but found the milk had turned, so I made tea with fresh mint. It tasted fantastic. I watered the balcony plants and did the Wordle puzzle before working on my website. I bought new Joomla extensions and installed them.
When the Amazon driver arrived with my new garden clippers, I realised it was nearly 15:00 and I hadn’t eaten or drunk anything all day. I went to a local takeaway shop and bought two meals and some French bread.
As I left my apartment, I met my neighbours Richard and Val. We chatted briefly before I went to get food. When I returned, the garage lift broke. The doors closed but nothing happened. When it finally opened, the lift was stuck six inches below the floor level. I emailed FAIN to report it.
I reheated my meal and watched more Amazing Race Australia. Later, I checked the lift and found it had been fixed. I put my disability scooter away and returned to my apartment. Christine messaged me to say the lifts were fixed, not realising I had already checked.
I finished the first series of The Amazing Race Australia and went to bed around 22:00.
Friday, 26th September
I woke around 4:30 and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I got up just after 5:00. I put dishes in the dishwasher, made mint tea, watered my plants, and worked on my website. I heard the birds singing around 7:30 and did the Wordle puzzle.
Just after 9:00, I went to Mercadona for groceries. I returned home and worked on my website until 11:15, then walked to the health clinic. The nurse was on a house call, but she arrived shortly after and called me in. She cleaned and redressed the wound and made an appointment for Monday.
I thanked her using Google Translate, telling her I was happier with her care than the private clinic. She replied that the wound was healing well and new skin was forming.
Back home, I worked on my website and watched TV. At 17:00, I went for a short walk, but my knee began to ache, so I returned home and rested for the evening.
Saturday, 27th September
I didn’t sleep well and woke feeling sick. After turning on the air conditioning and drinking water, I fell asleep again. I woke around 9:00 feeling better. I had cereal and coffee and worked on the Wordle puzzle.
I worked on my website, adding new pages and experimenting with emojis in titles. They worked well on both computer and mobile screens.
After lunch, I went for a short walk but kept close to home because of my knee. Back home, I continued working on my website, had a salad for dinner, and went for another short walk. I watched football and more Amazing Race Australia before going to bed around 10:45.
Sunday, 28th September
I slept much better and woke around 8:00. I had coffee, ate some unappetising porridge mix with blueberries, and completed the Wordle puzzle. I indexed my daily limit of 12 pages in Google Index and then went for a walk.
My knee began to ache, so I stopped at Cafe Helena for a tostada and coffee. I read more of Mindful Matters, which resonated with me. After breakfast, I walked home and rested.
I watched more Amazing Race Australia. Some places in series 2 looked great, but many weren’t disability-friendly. Some Mexican locations were already on my Bucket List.
In the afternoon, I watched golf and then Newcastle vs Arsenal. Arsenal won 1-2 in a dramatic game full of talking points.
Afterwards, I watched the Ryder Cup. The American fans behaved terribly, shouting during shots and being ejected by armed police. I hope European fans don’t stoop to their level in two years’ time.
The coverage was biased towards the American team, and I struggled to follow the score as I grew tired. I went to bed with Europe still winning but the Americans mounting a comeback.
Add comment